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Till We're Grey And Old

Summary: soulmate au: people stop aging at 21 until they meet their soulmate, during which the aging process picks up. the idea is that soulmates can grow old together

p.s. Jade and Perrie are the same age in this and Jed is older than both of them.

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Jade is 11 and thinks the whole soulmate theory is very romantic. She thinks it's fascinating how the universe sets aside one person for every soul and no one else can claim that person. She finds it absolutely adorable that people get to grow old with the person they are meant to be with and she can't wait to meet her very own soulmate.

She can't wait to be 21 and it's probably not for the reason most people think. Her mam has told her that she'll know she's met her soulmate once she kisses him. Ever since learning about this, Jade has decided that she's only going to give her first kiss to someone who she has a strong feeling will be her soulmate. She's heard horror stories about soulmates switching partners, or one soulmate dying before getting to meet the other person, or the saddest of them all, people who never get to meet their soulmates at all.

The thought horrifies Jade. One of her biggest fears is that she'll grow old without anyone by her side.

The way this soulmate thing works out, as will be poorly explained by the writer of this universe, is that people will only start to age past 21 years old if they've met and kissed their soulmate. The universe gives every individual 50 years to find their partner and if they are unsuccessful 50 years after turning 21, then mother nature takes over and they start to age normally. These people are branded as the solitaries of the universe. No one says it out loud because it's kind of taboo and just down right rude to point it out, but people generally look at these soulmate-less individuals with a sense of pity.

The easiest way someone can tell if they've met the one is by watching the color of their hair, since hair color is one of the fastest features that develop and showcase the aging process when people find their soulmate in this universe. It's not uncommon to see 25-year-olds sporting smoky-grey hair.

If someone's soulmate dies, their living partner ages normally.

*****

Perrie thinks the whole idea of having a soulmate is absolutely ridiculous. She's only 11 but she can tell that whoever gets to decide that there is only one person in the universe for every individual in a world that has more than seven billion inhabitants is an idiot. Human beings are capable of creating a meaningful connection with more than one person, she rationalizes.

She hasn't met this universe writer person, but she can tell they're not very smart. All her classmates ever talk about is whether or not they've met their soulmate and do you think Jason is my soulmate? Should I kiss him to find out? No, Tiffany, you shouldn't kiss him. You're 11. You won't even find out till you're 21.  Meanwhile, all she wants to do is draw and for her peers to leave her alone.

Perrie discovers at a young age that she really doesn't care for most people around her. She only really likes her best friend Jade, but she can be soulmate-crazy too sometimes. Unlike her peers, she's not worried about finding her soulmate.

She's pretty sure she's found hers already anyway.

Just because she thinks it's ridiculous, doesn't mean she doesn't think it's real. Perrie has seen people transform before her own eyes. She's seen how couples start to grow grey and white hair and the sheer happiness she witnesses on their faces when they realize they're aging with their significant other makes her think that maybe having a soulmate isn't so bad.