My Forever and Always (Soulmate Aus)

Time stands still- Artemis x Zoë

Artemis Olympia stopped aging at the age of eighteen, that's just what happened to everyone until they met their soulmate. But it's not exactly like she wanted to, she always hated the idea of soulmates. Being forced into a relationship with a man that would most likely abuse her or leave her knocked up was not Artemis' picture of a perfect life. Instead she would rather be in the forest hunting or at the archery range shooting arrows. Her twin brother always said she was odd for not wanting to be with her soulmate; to which she fired back with the fact he never found his either. That shut him up real quick.

Zoë Nightshade stopped aging at the age of eighteen. Not that she noticed; she was always too busy not thinking about the whole soulmate thing. She was never really attracted to men so being stuck with one for the rest of her life wasn't something she was planning on doing. Just like Artemis Olympia, someone she had never met before and didn't even know existed, she would've been out in the wild firing at the targets she put up. 

One day, the two ran into each other at the local archery range both frequently occupied. Artemis always used the target at the very end of the range, that way she would be away from everyone else because no one really went that far down. Zoë was currently using the target for her own practice when Artemis arrived. Confused and slightly pissed, Artemis marched down to the target and tapped on the girls shoulder.

"Um, excuse me!" Artemis shouted when she noticed that the girl had earbuds in her ears. Zoë put down the bow and paused her music, turning to face Artemis. The younger girl raised an eyebrow.

"Can I help you?" She asked, clearly agitated by the disturbance. Both of the girls noted that the other didn't look older than eighteen, meaning they hadn't found their soulmate yet. Most people noticed such things as it was extremely obvious once they opened their mouths. However, the girl stood in front of Artemis sounded close to the age she appeared. 

"You're using my target!" Artemis pointed out as if it were an obvious fact everyone knew. Zoë looked back to the target she was using, her eyes narrowing as if she were inspecting it.

"I don't see your name on it." Zoë remarked, looking back to the girl stood in front of her. Artemis was taken aback. "Use one of the other ones." 

"But I like this one more. It's away from everyone else." Artemis defended. Zoë chuckled.

"That's actually why I chose it." She admitted. In midst of thinking of her next witty retort, Artemis was taken aback by what Zoë had said.

"Really?" She nodded before extending her hand. Artemis did the same. "Artemis Olympia." She introduced, starting to change her opinion on the girl stood before her.

"Zoë Nightshade." The other introduced a moment later, her opinion changing as well. The two smiled at each other before turning back to the activity they came here to do. Artemis just chose the next one over, her temper settling down. In all honesty, she was still so far down the target lane that it didn't matter; she overreacted. 

As time went on, the two had become good friends. When Zoë got evicted from her apartment complex because the owner was extremely sexist, Artemis let her stay at hers. The two had gone on hunting trips together when they needed an escape from the real world. They found time to go to the archery range together when they weren't busy with work. Zoë and Artemis have grown inseparable over the years. But the two have failed to realize that with each tick of the clock, they've started to age again.

It wasn't until Artemis' 38th birthday that they noticed it. She woke up that morning and stared at her reflection as she brushed her teeth, not something she commonly did but today felt different. The hunter noticed the start of wrinkles and laugh lines, simple things that shouldn't have been there. When she walked out of her bedroom she knocked on Zoë's door.

"Come in!" The girl called through the door. Artemis walked in to find Zoë sketching a new bow and arrow design for work; Zoë had the best job in the world (in the girls' opinion) because she actually created bows. "Whatcha need, Arty?"

"Do I look. . ." Artemis sighed. "Different to you?" She scrunched her nose, hating how she worded it. Zoë looked up and stared at her best friend. She started noticing the differences of when they first met upon further inspection.

"Y-yeah. You look older." She answered, surprised. "But you haven't met anyone other than me for the past twenty years." Artemis frowned and walked out to grab a photo album. The two girls started flipping through the pages, noticing the slight differences from how they looked when they met. Zoë had laugh lines and the start of wrinkles as well. "I don't understand. Neither of us have met our soulmates." Artemis was the first to realize it, gasping softly when she did.

"Zo. . ." She drifted off. Zoë looked up and looked at her in pure curiosity. "I think we might be soulmates." Zoë's eyes widened before she started smiling brightly.

"Really?!" She asked, bouncing on the bed. "I always thought I would be stuck with some slob that would make me his slave, I never thought I would have someone like you as a soulmate." Artemis brushed some of Zoë's dark brown hair behind her ear. "You're a total upgraded from what I expected!" Artemis laughed softly.

"I thought my soulmate was just going to abuse me or leave me when they got what they wanted out of me." She smiled before bringing Zoë's lips to hers, meeting them in a kiss. "Not that I would have someone like you." Artemis moved her hand to the side of Zoë's face, Zoë leaned into the touch.

"I love you Arty." She confessed, not finding it odd at all to confess such a thing so soon. They were soulmates and had practically already been in a relationship. 

"I love you too Zo." The two smiled at each other, happy that the person they were destined to be together for the rest of their lives was their best friend.

"Oh!" Zoë exclaimed. "There's one thing I forgot to say." Artemis raised an eyebrow at her.

"And what exactly would that be?" Artemis asked. Zoë captured her lips in another kiss. When they broke apart, they pressed their foreheads together. 

"Happy birthday."