Prompt from Anonymous ask: "I remembered the AU where a clock on people's wrists tell when they'll meet their soulmates. And I got the idea that maybe that's why Tony takes time so seriously and has an organized schedule because he doesn't want to miss the moment that his clock gets to 0 and as his clock's numbers get lower he gets excited and nervous. Then when THE day finally arrives he looks at himself at the mirror to make sure he looks good and fixes his bowtie, he goes out and sees Paige and knows she is "the one"

Tony sighed as he stared in the mirror. He could feel his heart pulsing, the beat getting faster with anticipation. After that, his hands began to sweat, feeling slick as they glided over the little clock on his wrist.

Every human had one. It counted down the days, the hours, the minutes… until you met your soulmate. Only one person in the entire world had a clock counting down to perfectly match up with yours. And you would have no idea until you met them what they looked like, how they acted, or even their age!

And Tony's clock had passed 24 hours that morning. Less than a day left.

6:03:14 AM, he would meet his soulmate. He had calculated it long ago, and assumed that the meeting would happen while he was out getting the paper. That was what he did every morning, after all.

Pulling back his sleeve once again, he stared at the numbers, as if he couldn't believe it.

00000 d, 08 h, 04 m, and 48 s, the clock declared, slowly counting downward ever further.

Tony wondered if he would be able to sleep tonight as he walked out of the bathroom, still staring at his wrist. Falling backwards onto his bed, he debated just falling asleep so the appointed hour would come faster… when the phone rang.

Groaning, he pulled himself up and out of his imagination and answered. "Hello?"

"Ack!" a young female voice cried from the other line. "Sorry! Wrong number!" The phone beeped off and Tony stared at the phone.

Nobody he really knew had that voice. Oh, well. Wrong numbers happened all the time.

Falling back and crossing an arm over his eyes, he tried to fall asleep, despite his racing heart.

On the other side of town, a girl sighed in bed. She had wanted to call her friend and tell her that her clock was close to ending. It was almost done, and would soon ring at zero.

But in her excitement and lack of sleep, she had dialed the wrong number and gotten another person instead.

No matter. He sounded old, anyway. Dialing up another number, she talked with her friend late into the night, wondering what he'd look like, where she'd meet him, and how she would look tomorrow.

"I hope he's the way I always imagine – tall, dark, and handsome! And oh my gosh! It's reading zero days, seven hours, fifty-six minutes, and twenty-six seconds!"

"You're so lucky," her friend said from the other line, sadly. "I've still got roughly two years left. I'm beginning to feel a little lonely. What if my soulmate is younger than me, Paige!"

"I don't think they will be," she replied, a little put-out by her friend's interruption.

"What if they're a guy, Paige?"

"I'm pretty sure that they won't be…" She wasn't sure when the conversation had switched from her big day to her friend being concerned about their future soulmate, but did her best to reassure her, anyway.

It took her mind off of how nervous she was about tomorrow.

The next morning, Tony woke up, and groggily looked at the clock on his wrist.

"Ahhhh!" Pulling himself up out of bed, he looked to his other clock on the bedside table. It read "5:46" in big red numbers.

Tony began to skitter around the house, grabbing everything he had laid out the night before. However, he had not anticipated the sixteen-minute delay…

"Skipping breakfast would save time…" he muttered as he brushed his teeth. "Shave 12 minutes and 5 seconds off my time…" He had been feeling sick to his stomach anyway, and wasn't about to embarrass himself. Instead, he focused on wondering if he should wear the bow tie he picked out for the occasion – a red and gold one – to at least look a little nicer.

With two minutes to spare at the end of his routines, he checked himself in the mirror one last time before heading out the door.

"Am I really doing this?" he asked his reflection, hesitantly. "Is this really what I want to do?"

No response came, but he adjusted his bow tie and ran his fingers through his hair. What if she didn't like how he looked? What if she didn't want to be stuck with a man heavily dependent on routines? The habit had only come about because of his wrist's clock, but now it was so heavily engraved into his mind that Tony doubted he could break it.

Walking outside into the cool fresh air, he locked his door and began walking down the street to go pick up his paper. Muttering something about the fact that he was old-fashioned and that she might not like that, Tony tried to distract himself with the mental image he had painted of his soulmate.

However, he found it to be a blur, as there was somebody standing at the machine already, kicking it with the force of a soccer player, before bending down and checking the door once again.

Paige had been there since the early morning, asked to get the paper for her mother. The machine hadn't accepted her coins! Debating missing out on getting the daily news, she wondered if her mother would prevent her from meeting her soul mate. …She probably could, if she kept her home. Unless that was where she had to be?

Giving a small whimper, she hoped that her dress wasn't wrinkled as she checked the watch on her wrist again. She'd hate it if her outfit had been ruined by her kicking the machine and constantly crouching to check the door.

Tony, on the other hand, found that he could only stare, then heard her yell, "Fine, I give up!"

It was the voice he'd heard on the phone yesterday! Walking over, he leaned down to her level, deciding to help her out. His time could wait – he had minutes to spare, didn't he?

"I'd ask why you're yelling at a machine, but I've seen it done to this poor thing before."

Paige turned and stared back. "Well, what would you know?!"

"I happen to get the paper every morning. Sometimes…" Tony trailed off, looking into the coin slot while pulling quarters of his pocket. "Ah, yes. Sometimes, the coin just gets caught." Following that, he slid one into the slot ever-so-slightly, and the clang of a falling coin was here.

"There. See? Just stuck." Opening the door for her, he held out a paper. "I assume this is for you?"

Tony looked up at her face, and really registered it for the first time. It was round, and she had a cute nose. Somewhat like what he had pictured, but not that she'd have such pale skin, and would be in a dress with tights in the chilly weather. However, it suited her quite well. She knew her fashion tastes.

In return, Paige also began to observe him. His voice sounded vaguely familiar, but it was crisp. His coat was worn and his eyes, tired, but there was something about him that just…

As she took the rolled up paper in her hand, there was a beeping sound that broke the quiet air.

"Is it really that time?" they exclaimed in almost perfect unison, standing up as they let the paper drop to the ground. Seeing nobody else but each other, Paige looked up at the man – who was taller than she expected him to be.

"I was hoping my soulmate would be the same height…"

Tony gave a laugh. "My apologies for not living up to your expectations."

"…Well, anyway," she said with a huff, rubbing her shoulders from the cold, "My name is Paige. I want to be an artist and designer."

"Tony, accountant. It is absolutely wonderful to finally meet you, Paige. We have a lot of catching up to do."