2074

Alexander sighed and rubbed a hand over his tired eyes. The morning light streamed in through the thin curtains and right into his eyes. He groaned and turned away from it. He wanted to go back to sleep but he knew he needed to get up.

He'd stayed the night at Jaden's house, on the spare bed in the guest room. They'd had a movie marathon the night before and Jaden had offered for him to stay the night when it reached eleven o'clock at night. There was no way Isaac would have been willing to pick him up at that time of night.

Alex climbed out of the uncomfortable bed, shuffling along the cold wood floors until he made it to Jaden's tiny kitchen. A mug of coffee was already sitting on the bench with a note that said it was for him. He'd stayed at Jaden's a couple of times and every single time there was a hot cup of coffee waiting for him when he woke up.

"You always look so confused when you see that," Jaden's voice said. Alex looked over to find him sitting on his blue couch, a cup of coffee in his hands and an amused smile on his face.

"It's always hot," Alex grumbled.

"You make a lot of noise when you wake up, you know," Jaden laughed. "A lot of groans and stuff. Doesn't help that the bed squeaks like crazy too. You're a loud bastard in the morning, you know."

Alex rolled his eyes. "Shut up," he replied, letting out a huff of laughter and grabbing his coffee. He sat down on the couch next to Jaden with a grunt. The holographic television was on, blaring out news about a tsunami in Japan. Alexander didn't pay much attention to it, he'd heard all there was to say about it days ago.

"How'd you sleep?" Jaden asked him.

Alex grunted. "I hate your spare bed," he replied. Jaden laughed, loud and excited. Even the smallest of things could make the younger man laugh like it was the funniest thing he had ever seen. It was oddly refreshing to see someone so happy. He himself had been so depressed and surrounded with the old and dying had only made it worse.

"Sorry, it's all I can afford," Jaden said. "I'd let you sleep on the couch but it's way worse."

"I know. I've slept on it before." Just the memory of it made his back ache.

Alexander leaned back against the couch, sipping slowly at his coffee. He could feel Jaden's eyes on him but chose to ignore it. It happened a lot, Jaden watching him. When he'd asked, the other man had just said he was trying to figure out where he'd seen him before. He was convinced he knew Alex from somewhere. He was waiting for the day where Jaden would figure it out. It would be an awkward conversation that Alexander wasn't ready for. He didn't want someone he enjoyed spending time with pitying him like everyone else.

"We should do something today," Jaden proposed out of the blue.

"Like what?" Alex asked, "I have to go to the farm this afternoon, so nothing too big."

"Why not lunch then?" the younger man suggested.

"Yeah, that would be good," he said with a smile.

The pair lounged around at Jaden's house for another few hours, joking around and watching the television. He had found that he got along with Jaden better than anyone else he had met during his time on the farm. They had become friends extremely fast.

Ever since the movie marathons at Isaac's house, he'd spent a lot of time with Jaden and the others. He went to lunches and dinners with them every week and spent more time with Jaden than he cared to admit. For some reason, the other man wanted to spent time with him.

They got along like a house on fire, better than Alexander had ever expected. Their tales of travelling started the long conversations but eventually, they drifted to whatever caught their fancy. He'd had a lengthy debate around the conspiracy theories in their government and a bitch fest about one of the other farm hands that had left the week before. They could talk about anything and never grow bored. It was something Alex had missed dearly since his friends had died.

Eventually, the long conversations and lunches with the group turned into days spent together with none of the others. They stayed at each other's places and met whenever they both had a free moment. Alexander spent more time with him than with any of the others he was friends with, and he assumed that it was almost the same for Jaden, barring Isaac of course.

Jaden barked out a laugh at something he said, leaning back against the couch. Their shoulders brushed and Alexander took the opportunity to shoulder the other man to the side. Jaden gave him a look of mock offense. "How old are you? Five?" he asked, sounding upset but shoving Alex back anyway.

The older man let out a chuckle, ignoring the part of his mind that wanted to answer with 'too damn old' and shoved Jaden again. They went on for a while, pushing at each other like children and laughing. It felt good to just laugh at silly little things that shouldn't make anyone so much as giggle; with Jaden he could relax and laugh and not have to worry about the things his mind tried to scream at him.

Eventually, Jaden's stomach began to growl like an angry lion, and the pair decided it was time to go to lunch. The younger man had a car that his parents had returned to him when he got back from his travels. He drove them around the corner to a quiet cafe the pair had begun to frequent on an almost regular basis. They made good food and it wasn't far from Jaden's small house.

Because they had been going to the little cafe so often, the owner now knew them by name and greeted them cheerfully as they walked in. They sat down at a table near the window, Alex watching the cars drive by quietly. He already knew what he was going to have; he got the same thing every time he ate there.

Jaden went up to give their orders and came back with two steaming mugs of coffee. They sipped at their drinks in silence, their conversation having drifted off on the way to the cafe. Alexander didn't mind, he had found that silences with Jaden were more comfortable than awkward.

Even so, there was a part of him that just wanted to hear the other man talk. "Got any plans for the rest of the day?" he asked, wincing at the startled look on Jaden's face, he must have been lost in thought.

"Not really, just packing for the camping trip on the weekend," he answered. Jaden was going on a camping trip with Amelia, Lucy, and a bunch of their friends. Alexander and Isaac had been invited, but Isaac's father needed them on the farm that weekend. There was meant to be a harvest and the old farmer needed all the help he could get.

"Excited?"

"Yeah, of course," the younger man laughed. "I wish you and Isaac could come. Maybe you could just sneak away with us. No one will notice a thing."

"Sure," Alexander said with a smile. "I don't have any camping equipment or anything. Where would I sleep?"

"I have spare space in my tent, my sleeping back is big enough for two," Jaden suggested, smile dropping when he realised what he had said. A blush formed on his face. "I mean... Ah, you know what I mean."

Alex let out a noise of affirmation, staring at the other man's rosy cheeks. "Still, I'm needed at the farm. I can't just ditch them when they need me," he said.

"I know, I just wish you could come," Jaden replied. "Both of you."

"There's always next time."

The waitress came then, placing their food on the table with care. She smiled at the two of them before wishing them well and wandering off. "Speaking of waitresses," Jaden started. "Has Isaac found out if it's the little waitress down the road that's making him age?"

"Not yet," Alexander said, thinking back to the many rants he friend had given him. "He said he met too many people around the same time and isn't sure which one it is. I think he wants it to be the waitress though. They do seem good for each other."

"He needs to get some guts and just ask her. We've got those AgeFinder things, it's not too hard to figure it out."

"I suppose it would be hard to do." He thought back to the night he and Philip had used his device. He hadn't wanted to use it, that sinking feeling heavy in his gut. There had been others too, over the long years of his life, men and women he thought would be his soulmate. Every time he had been disappointed and heartbroken when they found someone else.

Despite it being his own creation, Alexander had grown to hate the AgeFinder. He hadn't used one in almost ten years and vowed not to. He would find his soulmate the old-fashioned way as his parents and grandparents had.

"I guess so," Jaden replied, then shrugged his shoulders. "Eh, but what do I know? I've never even considered someone being my soulmate. And I'm not aging as far as I'm aware, so I can't really judge the guy. What about you?"

"What about me?" Alexander asked, confused.

"I know you're a lot younger, but have you ever thought someone was your soulmate?" Alex was stumped at the question, forgetting for a second that Jaden thought he was only thirty-five. Some days he felt like he could just be himself around the other man, himself being an over one-hundred-year-old depressed mess.

"Once," he answered, thinking back to Philip. He had been the first of many, the most memorable. That first heartbreak would be one he'd never forget. The others had come and gone like the seasons in a year, so often that he had gotten used to it. "It didn't end well."

"I'm sorry," Jaden said, looking genuinely upset by the words. "Probably should have thought about the question a little more before I asked it."

"Nah, it's fine. I don't mind," Alex said, finding that the words were the truth, something he hadn't expected. He found that Jaden could ask him just about anything and he would answer as truthfully as he could. If he asked him his real age, he would scream it at the younger man until he understood. But Jaden would never ask, so Alex would never have to scream.

The rest of lunch went by peacefully, the two chatting away like they normally did as if Alex hadn't had some kind of strange revelation in the middle of the cafe. It didn't take the two hungry men long to finish their food and soon enough they found themselves waving goodbye to the owners and leaving the store.

"Come on, I'll take you back up to the farm," Jaden said, making his way over to his car. "Don't want Isaac's dad getting angry at you, do you?"

"God, no," Alexander replied with a laugh, climbing into the car. He'd seen the man's anger enough over the past few months and didn't want to see it directed at him. It didn't take them long to get back to the farm, the trip filled with comfortable silence.

"I'll see you when I get back from the camping trip?" Jaden asked as they pulled up at the ranch.

"Of course," Alex replied. He didn't see why they wouldn't. He looked over at the other man, trying to ignore the shy expression that had formed on Jaden's face, he was obviously trying to hide it. Jaden wouldn't look at him, only stared at the ranch as Isaac came out and waved to them.

"Right, yeah. Great," the nervous man muttered before letting out a sigh. "I better let you go then." Part of Alex wanted to stay in the car and figure out what was making his friend so nervous, but he knew he had to go. The farm needed his help.

He shook his head as if it would get rid of his thoughts. "Yeah. See you later," he said, beginning to get out of the car. He froze when he felt a hand brush against his own on the car seat, looking back to find Jaden still not looking at him. Alex smiled, turning his hand over to grab Jaden's, but the other man pulled it away in a snap, leaving Alexander's hand upturned and empty.

He gave him one final smile and got out of the car. Jaden pulled away without a word or a wave as soon as the car door had been closed. Alex didn't mind, the man was obviously embarrassed, but he was hopeful in a way he probably shouldn't be. Something good might come of it and that thought alone left Alex smiling for the rest of the day.