2076

Alexander landed on the ugly red couch with a grunt, trying to ignore the nervousness that was eating away at him. He put his head in his hands, groaning loudly. The door swung open and someone made their way into the room. He could almost recognise the sound of the footsteps.

"Oh, God, not you too!" Isaac exclaimed. "I'm already dealing with one nervous dumbass, I don't want to deal with a second."

"You signed up for this," he replied, looking at the other man through his fingers. "And you can't tell me you weren't nervous. I was with you at your Ceremony. You were a mess."

"Yeah, yeah, but you didn't have to run between two different rooms because one guy doesn't have any other friends," Isaac replied. Alexander looked up at him, spying the messy hair and exhausted face. Jaden must have been tiring him out.

"That's a bit harsh," he said, frowning angrily at his friend. He didn't want to think about the real answer to that statement. That all his friends had died years ago. "I didn't ask you to sit with me, you volunteered. I would have been fine on my own."

Isaac sighed. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that," he said. "Jaden is stressing me out. I kinda figured you would be the same."

"Of course he is," Alexander replied. "I'm actually fine. I'm nervous, obviously, but I'm okay."

"Well, good," Isaac said, taking a seat next to him on the ugly couch. "I'm going to stay in here for a bit anyway. I need a break and Jaden needs to calm down. I think Amelia is in there with him at the moment so she should be able to help."

"Good," he replied, not paying too much attention. He and Amelia didn't talk much, despite everything that had happened with him and Jaden. She didn't seem to be able to forgive him for his lies, especially now that he had come back from his sabbatical.

He and Jaden had been in the news a lot when he'd returned. Everyone wanted to know how they met, what it was like for Alex to have a soulmate after so long. Both of them had hated the spotlight on them and had only gone to one interview so that all questions could be answered. After that, not many people tried to bother them, even with their Ceremony on the horizon.

All of his lies had come back to bite him when he'd returned, but he'd been able to deal with it. Jaden had forgiven him for them long ago, along with Isaac and Lucy, which was more than enough for him. Amelia would come around eventually, but for now, it didn't matter too much to him.

He still worked for the big tech company and he'd moved back into his apartment in the city. Jaden hadn't come to live with him, only visited sometimes. He hated the cities too much to live in one. They saw each other more than enough and the distance wasn't too bad. Alex did miss him when they weren't together.

He was thinking of moving into the countryside after their Ceremony. He'd still work as a CEO but from a distance. He'd been there for years and the company had run just fine while he was on leave, he was sure they would be fine with him at a distance. He just wasn't quite ready to retire yet. He was getting ideas for other devices different from the AgeFinder.

"Oh, God damn it," Isaac muttered, bringing Alexander back to reality. The other man was on his phone, eyebrows furrowed in irritation. "Amelia just texted me. Jaden's freaking out, he wants you in there."

"Oh, well I can-"

"No!" Isaac said. "You two aren't meant to see each other yet, remember?"

Alex rolled his eyes and stood, looking down at his friend. "Does it really matter?" he asked. "He needs me. Why should some old tradition stop him from feeling better? We were going to walk out together anyway."

"Fine, do what you want," Isaac replied, gesturing towards the ceiling in exasperation. "I need to get out there soon anyway if I'm going to do this. He's across the hall."

"Thanks," he said, making his way from the room and across the hall. Isaac was meant to conduct the Ceremony for them instead of some priest, something Jaden had asked for. Neither of them was particularly religious and so they didn't find it fitting for a priest to do it. That was also why they had chosen to have it at Isaac's farm. The scenery was much nicer than a church in the town. It also meant fewer people would bother them. Not many news crews would be sent out so far for a CEO's Ceremony.

He knocked on the door, waiting in silence as it opened. Amelia was on the other side, looking just as tired as Isaac had. "He still hasn't gotten changed," she said. "He's too nervous."

"I'll see what I can do," he said, stepping into the room.

"Thank you. I'll leave you to it. I think I'm only making it worse," Amelia replied with a sigh, making her way out of the room and closing the door behind her.

Jaden had been given Isaac's parents room to get himself ready, while Alexander had changed in Isaac's room. His room had been given to the new farm hand after he left and wasn't available for him to use. Isaac hadn't exactly liked the idea of someone else being in his room, but he would deal for a couple of hours.

Jaden was nowhere to be found in the main room, but Alex could hear his heavy breathing coming from the en suite bathroom. "Jaden, baby? Are you okay?" he called, slowly walking towards the bathroom. He didn't call the other man 'baby' often, it only seemed to come out when he was worried about him.

"I'm fine. Just nervous is all," he called back, but Alex could hear the shakiness in his voice. He stepped in, finding Jaden sitting on the edge of the antique bathtub, head in his hands. "I don't want to be wrong."

The words brought him back to a day long ago, when Sarah and Scott had had their Ceremony. He'd almost forgotten about it. He sighed, kneeling down in front of Jaden. "We're not wrong," he said. "Does this feel wrong to you?" Jaden only shook his head in response, looking up at him with eyes wet with unshed tears. "It's going to be just fine. You don't need to stress."

"But what if we are wrong?" Jaden asked.

"Jaden, I love you," he started. "No one else I have seen in this last year had made me think about them as much as I think about you. If we are wrong, and I think that's a big if, then we'll still stay together."

"That's a stupid idea."

"I don't care."

Jaden sighed. "Why are you always so sappy?" he asked.

"Because it's the only way you'll listen to me," Alex replied. "You love it, don't deny it."

"I do," Jaden said, leaning forward to peck him on the lips. He drew back and sighed again. "I'm sorry, I'm overreacting. I'm nervous."

"So am I, but it's going to be fine," he said, placing his hands against the other man's knees. "We're soulmates. We've double and triple checked on the AgeFinders, there's no way we're not. Now, can you get changed? We have to be out there soon."

"Ugh, don't remind me," Jaden mumbled, standing from the edge of the tub and helping Alex to his feet. "You look really good in a tux, just so you know."

Laughing, Alex pressed another kiss to Jaden's lips. "And I'm sure you will too once you get changed," he said, taking his hand and pulling him into the main room. The tux sat on the bed, neatly folded and waiting for Jaden to put it on.

Jaden got ready quickly now that Alex was in the room, changing as quickly as he could and getting Alex to help him button up his cuffs. The other man always seemed to struggle with it. When they were finally ready and Jaden's hair was no longer a mess from running his hands through it, they sat on the bed together, hands clasped together tightly.

Alexander could feel his own nervousness rising now that they were so close to going out there and facing the music. He was sure they were soulmates but there was always that fear deep in the back of his mind that he was wrong and he was going to find out in front of everyone they knew. He only held Jaden's hand tighter, wishing he could never let go.

He'd recovered well from the accident, not needing as much physical therapy as Alexander had feared. He'd walk about on a crutch for a while, and he'd needed help to do basic things because of the injuries in his arms. Alexander had been more than happy to help. Jaden's recovery had caused him to stay longer in the little town, wanting to make sure the younger man was going to be fine on his own before he left.

The police did eventually catch the person who hit him, but he went to prison for only a few months. Not nearly long enough, in the couple's opinion, but there wasn't much they could do about it now. At least the guy had been punished.

The door swung open and Amelia poked her head in, disturbing the peace that had filled the room. "Oh, good, he's dressed," she said with a sigh. "They're ready for you."

"Oh, Jesus," Jaden groaned as Alex stood. "Can we just not?"

"I'd really like to have my Ceremony, you know," Alexander replied, looking down at his soulmate and offering a hand up. Jaden took it, not letting go when he made it to his feet. "Come on, it's going to be just fine."

The pair followed Amelia out, standing at the back door of the house as they waiting. Amelia went out first, taking her place in the first row with Lucy. They hadn't separated the seating into different sides, mostly because Alexander wouldn't have many people on his. Instead, they'd all been put together.

Isaac stood in front of them all in his own tux and his hands behind his back. On a small table next to him sat the ribbon that would be used to tie their hands together. Even though he'd been to plenty of Ceremonies before, Alex still didn't know just how the ribbon would work. There was something holy about the fabric, and it had to be blessed before it could be used, but he didn't know why it worked the way it did. The knowledge left the world years ago and all they were left with was the tradition.

At Isaac's signal, the pair began to walk out of the house and towards the filled up rows of chairs in the grass. Their friends and family stood, watching as they walked, and Alexander found himself wishing he had more than just his close work colleagues there. He wanted his parents there, wanted Sarah and her family, Philip and Thomas, but of course, they were nowhere to be seen.

Everyone clapped as they walked past and Alex tried not to look too hard, knowing that if he did his nerves would come back in full swing. They all sat down when the pair stopped in front of Isaac, the clapping dying down until the only sound that could be heard was the wind.

"Thank you all for joining us today for the Ceremony of Alexander Jacobi and Jaden Summers," Isaac started, staring at the crowd. His eyes drifted and he gave the couple a small, reassuring smile. "Because I'm not a priest and I don't have to do any religious ramble, I'm going to get straight to the point and join their hands together."

There was a wave of chuckling from the audience as Isaac turned to grab the ribbon. Alex took the moment to stare at Jaden, who was watching Isaac with wide eyes. He grabbed his other hand so they could be tied together. Jaden's eyes snapped to him and Alex smiled, squeezing his hand tightly.

Before Alex could even think, the ribbon was being wrapped around their joined hands, snaking up their arms. He took a deep breath, tuning out the speech Isaac was making to their guests. He'd heard it before and it was lovely. He spoke about how they met and the hardships they had faced with Jaden's accident and Alex just being a complete mess. He vaguely heard a few people crying at the words but all he could concentrate on was Jaden's face.

He looked just as terrified as Alex felt, the feeling only growing worse as the seconds passed. He didn't know how long it was meant to take, but in other Ceremonies, it looked almost instant. How much time had even passed since their hands had been tied? It felt like almost a minute.

If they had been wrong, what would happen? Would all their preparations be thrown out? Would their relationship crumble? He had said they would stay together, but if it was revealed here that they weren't soulmates would that be the case? He'd spent so long waiting, searching, he didn't want it all to be thrown out the window in a second.

Then joy washed over him like a tidal wave, so strong it brought tears to his eyes. He had never felt anything like it before in his long life. He let out a quiet gasp, tears falling from his eyes as he stared at Jaden's shocked, joyful expression.

They'd been right and now it was official, they were soulmates. Alexander's long years of waiting and searching were over and all the happiness he had missed out on was filling him now. He longed to pull the other man towards him, but their tied hands made it impossible.

The people around them were cheering and crying. He spied Mrs Summers tucking her head against Mr Summers shoulder, the old man smiling proudly at him. Isaac eventually untied their hands, announcing the couple with a proud voice. As soon as their hands were free, Jaden pulled him closer, wrapping his arms around and pressing his face against his neck.

"I love you," Jaden whispered as Alex pulled him closer and pressed a kiss to his temple. "I love you so much."

"I love you too."