A.U. Oneshots 🌈

Last AU, I low-key hope

Alright, here's what I promised. So, this AU is about people that stop aging at 18 so they can meet their soulmate and grow old with them. Same credit as every other AU in this story. So, here goes.

The alarm rang beside me as I awoke. Groaning, I slapped it and pulled the covers off of me. I  blinked three times to indicate I wanted the daily news, and it was displayed across my retina. This was common, and was implemented in every citizen of earth at the time of their birth.

Turning off the news, I quickly got dressed in my normal clothes. I then went to the bathroom, and sighed as I looked in the mirror. I didn't look a day over 18. However, in reality, I was nearly 200 years old. And I didn't plan on aging now. 

I was one of a rare breed in today's world. I didn't want to meet my soul mate. I didn't want to fall in love and grow old. And very few people knew this about me, except my close friend Adrian. He knew everything about me but my age, and all I had done throughout my life. I was startled out of my trance as I heard a knock at the door. 

I went to the door and opened it to face the neighborhood collector. The collector was a robot with astonishingly human physique, with the only difference being that they all looked alike and didn't have hair or other distinguishing human traits. Their job was to take any leftover food from daily rations, which was rarely less than half of it. I was one of few humans left on earth with an actual refrigerator, so I kept leftovers. So I shooed the bot away and went back to my routine. 

A few hours later, I found myself at the library. As I often did, I roamed the aisles, looking for any sign of something I hadn't yet read. The holograms displayed title after title, all of which looked familiar. Actual books had vanished long ago, banned to save trees and conserve what little natural oxygen the planet had left.

Suddenly, I found myself bumping into something solid and warm. I stepped back, startled, and blinked. In front of me was a person with short brown hair. They had on a plain white shirt and a grey jacket, complete with tennis shoes and jeans. 

"Oh, hey, sorry. Didn't see you there." They stuck out their hand and smiled. "I'm Alex. I just moved here like last week. They/them pronouns, if you don't mind." Their smile was charming, and they seemed genuine enough. I shook their outstretched hand and returned the smile. 

"Hey Alex. I'm Charlie. I use he/him pronouns." I looked Alex over, taking them in. They had a stocky body and looked to be about 5'8". They seemed both awkward and charming at the same time. I liked it. 

"Hey Charlie. Um, this might sound a little weird, but, um, have we met before? You seem really familiar but I just can't place it." I felt myself go pale, and my mouth immediately went dry. I knew reincarnation was real. I had encountered this person many times throughout my life. I just wasn't sure how many times it would have to be. I quickly forced a laugh to recover, and Alex looked a little awkward.

"No, I don't think we have. Must be some weird case of deja vu or something." Alex sighed, relieved. I took my opportunity now. "So, um, this may be a little sudden, but do you want to go grab a coffee or something? I know this really great place just down the street." They smiled and nodded. I grabbed their hand, and led them out of the library, running through my plan in my head. Coffee, woods, home. It would be a shame, but it needed to be done.

A few minutes later, we were sitting at a table, coffees in hand. They were chatting happily about something, but I couldn't be bothered to pay attention. I was trying too hard not to get attached. Getting attached would just make it harder later on. Suddenly, I heard my name and looked up from the spot in the table I had been analyzing.

"Are you ok?" Their voice was sweet, and full of concern. I plastered a smile on my face, which seemed to calm them down a bit.

"Yeah, Alex, I'm fine. Just a little shocked is all, I guess. I mean, I've never really made a connection like this before." I looked Alex over, and saw that they were blushing. It was oddly cute. Like they were trying to hide something they didn't really want to hide.