I'm weak for soulmate AUs.
Please note: this is an AU. In the real world, people rarely find their life partner at 16. Most find them in their 20's and 30's, and some find them later than that. Maybe never take a partner. But in this AU, that's not the truth. I know this. So please don't feel the need to comment on it. Thank you!
Adrien Agreste was the oldest person on the planet. Not officially, mind you. He wasn't officially a person in the modern world. But the oldest person alive recorded was 187, and Adrien knew he was way older than that. When the laws of nature dictate that you age to 16, and then stop aging until you meet your soulmate, dying of old age without ever feeling love was just not possible. But there were crueler fates out there.
Gabriel Agreste, Adrien's father, was a very particular man. The son of a duke, he had found his soulmate early in life, and had Adrien soon after. Then poor Emilie Agreste met her demise at just 20 years of age. Gabriel stopped loving. He became hardened by the loss of his wife, and took it out on his poor son.
Adrien was declared an invalid, and too weak to go outside. Too sickly to be around other people. His heart wouldn't survive the shock of finding and losing a soulmate.
So he was shut in. His caretakers wearing masks came into his room, the windows nailed shut to prevent spores from hurting his lungs. Not even allowed to be in the sunlight because God forbid, sunburn.
Watching the years roll by the books brought in, the loneliest soul on earth.
You may be asking, how can a person know when they start aging again? Is it possible to tell the exact moment?
The answer is simply 'yes'. Each person was born with a clock on their wrist, counting the years, days, hours, and seconds of a person's biological life. At the end of life, the clock would stop, and the coroner could determine how long a person aged. With a birth certificate, they could find how long they had existed, and how long it took them to find a soulmate.
Most people found them within a ten year period. A few longer than that. But rarely did it take over twenty years.
Adrien had his clock covered. Unable to bear looking at it. In those days, the clocks were analog, with roman numerals and little intricate hands to point out each digit. Even more so, this was a time before hands that moved on an axis, and instead, the face itself turned and the hand, at the twelve o'clock position, stayed stationary. And there was a collection of faces each as detailed as the person it decorated. Adrien found his ugly. Ugly because it was frozen, and had been for a long time.
The Agreste Manor stood as a landmark for decades, centuries, as Paris grew around it.
It was hard, watching someone grow old in front of you, growing tired of you. Because though Adrien was incredibly wise and smart, he was still 16. Perpetually 16. Unable to develop those critical skills gained from socializing. He was naive, sheltered. Not even his maturity was allowed to develop. All those teenage hormones ran amok for decades. It was exhausting and frustrating.
"There be it nothing ill with me!" He'd beg his father, at least once a year. "Prithee father, I beg of thee, let me be free!"
"You shan't survive out there." Gabriel would argue back, growing older and older each argument, while Adrien stayed the same. "The strain will'st too much for thee. Thou shall be safer if thee just stay here in thy quarter."
Finally, at the age of 98, Gabriel Agreste passed away. The news was delivered by Adrien's caretaker. He wept because of course, he loved his father, no matter how isolating, but also, he wept in relief because now, after 70 years, he'd be his own man.
Then he got word that his cousin Felix was coming to visit.
Felix had lived far away, and was rarely allowed to see Adrien due to his delicate state, but when they did meet up, they had a great time together.
Adrien was looking forward to seeing him and had the chess set ready.
He was not prepared to see a middle aged man.
"My god, Adrien. Thou hast not changed a bit."
"Thou'st have. Thou taken your soulmate?"
"Indeed. I have a son now too, he has been 16 for a few years now, but we art quite optimistic that he shall start ageth neigh again."
"Thou did not realize it had been so long since last I saw thee."
"Wouldst come sooner, but the older thy father got, the more he wanted people to stay away from thee. Thou art very sick, Adrien."
"I dost not feel sick."
"That is because thee art safe in this room."
Dread coiled in his gut the longer this conversation went on. It was like talking to his father again.
"Well," he argued. "It shall not be an argument for very long. Once I see my father's Will, it will be thy choice to do what I want."
"That is why Thou hast come…" Felix had the audacity to look sheepish. "I have a copy of the Will. Adrien, Thou art now in charge of thy care."
"But…what about…no. This cannot be true!"
"Prithee take a deep breath. Thou cannot have thine heart rate raise."
"But Thou art my father's only son! I should have the estate! I should be in charge of thyself!"
"Adrien, the estate belongst to me as long as I take care of thee, and I am not going to let anything happen to thee. Dost thou understand?"
"But—"
"This argument is over. Pray thee should take a nap. Thee have excited thyself today." And he stood and quickly left, without a game of chess being played.
Adrien tried not to let it make him bitter. No one was doing this to him to hurt him. They were doing it to protect him. They were trying to keep him alive.
Finally, half a century later, Felix died, and his son took up the role.
The horrible cycle continued.
After a while, they began to let Adrien watch the youngest family members. He played with them, taught them to draw and play the piano, and read to them all sorts of stories.
"Uncle Adrien, why are you in this room all the time?" Asked a cousin, six times removed.
"Because everyone thinkest I am sick, but I am not."
He hoped that by being kind and showing them that he was fine, someday, when they inherited him, they would let him go free.
But when the time came, the brainwashing had already set in.
"Adrien is sick, but he does not believe that he is."
As the sounds of battle and riots happened outside the window, Adrien lamented his lot in life. He had no want for material goods, but he couldn't even look outside. History was happening, had happened, but he couldn't be a part of it.
He tried not to let it show. Because if it showed, then the leash would get tighter, and his meager privileges would dwindle. Like his privilege to take a bath in private. Or to have a knife with his dinner.
It was better for everyone if he just played content.
Another war, and then another. Windows rattled with the sounds of thunder, and screams of anguish came from just outside the border wall.
He desperately wanted to know what was happening.
"Your cousin died in battle," said his caretaker, his hundredth in his lifetime. "His Will will be read soon."
"Dost thou care? They be vile snakes and liars, e'er victims to history. I find them strangers, as they ne'er bother to be in my presence."
"I'm sorry you feel that way." She sighed, looking for something else to talk to him about. "You know, they say that the American Army has liberated a lot of camps. Maybe Hitler will surrender soon."
"At the time I was born, America had not yet been conceived. The land mass was not even known. And now, these men are saving the world. Thou art centuries older than a world superpower, and have nothing to show for it. I believe not I am even a citizen of France. Dost I exist in documents?"
"In Wills, at least." The caretaker tried to joke.
"Then perhaps a German bomb can fall on me before they stop Hitler. I survived the revolution here 150 years ago. Prithee, this battle will finally be my end."
The next few decades, Adrien was not allowed to have any sharp objects.
In the early 1990's, though he couldn't tell you what year exactly, Adrien was given a new young Agreste to look after. A boy named Wayhem. Both of Wayhem's parents worked and the grandfather, the current holder of Adrien's fate, suggested Adrien have a little responsibility in watching the child.
After all, Adrien's extremely clean space was ideal for a child with a compromised immune system.
It was a blessing for Adrien. Three times a week, for 7 hours at a time, Wayhem stayed with him and kept him company. Adrien taught him how to read, write, and even play the piano. By the time Wayhem was able to start school, belatedly because of his health, he was at the same place as the other kids.
As he grew, he brought back stories and homework to show Adrien. Even taught him slang. Though Adrien's speech pattern was stubborn after so many years in isolation.
And also as Wayhem grew, his skin got tanner, and he needed less and less medicine. This was something that was not lost on Adrien.
Time felt different for Adrien. When you live so long, a year seems so much shorter. Wayhem reached 16 quickly, and Adrien knew the few good years were over. Soon the boy would find his soulmate, and Adrien would be alone again.
As school got harder, Wayhem's visits became more and more sparse. Once a week, once a month…once every other month. He at least brought new books for him. Even a CD player and some CDs of the day.
Wayhem appeared one day, beaming with joy.
"Thou'st seem quite happy," noted Adrien. "Did something happen to thee today?"
He nodded fervently and displayed his wrist.
The digital clock was ticking. "I found my soulmate!"
"Oh…how very good for you," Adrien tried to put on a smile.
"She's amazing! She's smart and sweet and kind and—Adrien?"
Until he asked, Adrien didn't even notice he was crying.
"Are you okay?"
"My sincerest apologies, Wayhem," he sniffed. "I so much wish to be happy for you…but I do not wish to lie."
Wayhem didn't take it personally, thankfully. "I didn't tell you to rub it in your face, you know. I just care so much about you…I wanted you to be the first person to know."
"And Thou art most honored. But I fear that jealousy has poisoned thine heart."
"I'm sorry. I should have thought about that. It was kind of rude to say that to you…"
"I cannot fault your joy. A soulmate is a wondrous thing, as I have only heard. But, as time has passed, I fear mine has long since stopped waiting for me. I have heard no word of anyone else being my age."
"Isn't it possible to have more than one soulmate?" Wayhem asked. "What if one dies young, before they meet? Is the other doomed to never age?"
"I suppose you speak the truth. Perhaps there is yet hope, though I know not if I could even survive in today's world. I do not possess a phone, nor is my speech pattern acceptable or discernible by most. Even you, who hast know me all thy life, have a hard time understanding what I try to say."
"Those are both fixable, though I doubt your soulmate will mind your speech pattern. She's your soulmate after all. And it's not that bad! A few 'thee's and 'Thou's aren't going to hurt."
Adrien had a wisp of a smile. "I thank thee. I appreciate you doing what you can to improve my mood. Though we are both kidding ourselves if we think your grandfather is going to let me leave any time soon. He is the same as all the others, and no doubt, has been training his successor."
"I don't know who it will be," Wayhem stated. "But he's mentioned your illness to me plenty…though never with any name. You, apparently, have a weak constitution."
"Apparently." Adrien rolled his eyes.
"Grandfather also mentioned that whoever inherits the manor, inherits your care. It's hand in hand."
"I thought as much. Tis a shame that my family would be so selfish as to keep me here for the luxury of a house."
"You think grandfather is selfish?"
"He visits once in a blue moon. He never once took me to a healer, a doctor, and I know modern medicine hast become better now than when I was a babe. He cares not. Thou art the creature in the attic. A ghost that haunts his house. That is all I have ever been to any Agreste."
"Not to me," Wayhem insisted. "You're my friend. My hero."
"I thank thee. To have a friend once in a century is an honor. I am glad it's you."
Wayhem continued his visits, as limited as they were, until the day came where he arrived with a grave and serious expression on his face.
"Why dost thou looketh at me that way?" Said Adrien.
"Have you heard the news?"
"No. Nothing has happened here."
"My grandfather has passed away."
Adrien considered this news briefly before answering, "my condolences for thy loss."
Wayhem smiled gently. "And I have inherited the manor and your welfare."
All the pleasantries Adrien had as a facade vanished. "So what then? Hast thou come to deliver the news that you will be following in the foul footsteps of your ancestors? Prithee, get on with it. I have heard it a hundred times."
Wayhem was not perturbed. "You don't trust me more than that, cousin?"
"What good would it do me to raise my spirits, only to have them dashed upon the rocks? I cannot hope for the best, Wayhem, because it has been snatched away from me time after time. So tell me that my fate remains the same, and be gone!"
Wayhem stepped forward and hugged his cousin tightly, briefly, and pulled away, tears in his eyes. "I made a doctor's appointment for you. I'm going to take you there now."
Adrien blinked. "A doctor? Really? Truly?"
"Yes. If you really are sick, she can help figure out what new treatment you should have. I'm certain it wouldn't be staying in this room."
Adrien stumbled backwards and landed on his bed, thankfully. He blinked a few times as he looked at Wayhem. "You mean…I am…going to go free?"
"Basically. I still have to take care of you, so if you really are sick, we'll make sure you have the right care. I can't just let you go free to run into the street."
"Right, of course, that makes sense."
"Come on now, get dressed and put on some shoes."
Adrien stared at Wayhem, like he had spoken gibberish before digesting the sentence and heading to the closet.
When Adrien returned dressed, Wayhem grimaced. Not only were his clothes outdated, but wildly outdated.
"You don't need to…dress up fancy."
Adrien looked down at his breeches and waistcoat, his hard leather loafers and frock coat and looked back to Wayhem. "These are the only day clothes I have. Unless you prefer I go in my nightwear?"
Wayhem briefly glanced at the pajamas Adrien usually wore when he saw him. Teal, button up, and a matching robe. It was still fancier than the T-shirts and jeans he was wearing.
"You know what? It's fine. We'll go shopping later to get something more casual."
Adrien smiled, pleased with this, and joined Wayhem at the door.
For a moment, he just stood there, looking at the hall beyond that had changed hundreds of times in his life.
"Adrien?"
"I have never before left this room." He admitted. "It's…scary."
"Well, we do have an appointment to get to. So don't take too long."
Adrien took a deep breath and bravely stepped into the hall. Then he followed Wayhem down the hall and down the stairs, his eyes looking everywhere and absorbing everything.
He'd lived in this house all his life, but he'd never seen the foyer before.
"I'll give you a tour of the house later. For now, why don't you wait in the front yard while I go get Gorilla?"
"Gorilla?"
"My chauffeur— err our chauffeur. Wherever you want to go, he'll take you in the car."
"The car!" Adrien beamed in excitement. "I get to ride in a car! Ne'er have I even seen one before!"
"Well, there should be some driving down the road. Go ahead and watch, I'll be right back."
Eager, Adrien ran to the front doors and pulled them open, the sunlight absolutely blinding him immediately.
"The sun!" He shouted. "It hast been so long!"
He closed his eyes and stepped out into the warm rays. The UVs beat down on his Snow White skin, and would burn him soon if he stayed. But he didn't care. He could be lobster red and he'd be happy about it.
When he opened his eyes, he let his vision adjust to the light. Then he saw a car, or what he assumed was one, parked on the other side of the street.
Excited, he ran for it, wanting to examine it closer, and unknowingly running head first into moving traffic.
Disaster would have struck if Wayhem hadn't been a faster runner. He snagged Adrien by the back of the shirt and yanked him back to safety.
"I leave you alone for five minutes, and you almost get yourself killed."
Adrien watched as another car sped past him, right in the spot he was about to run to. He hadn't seen it coming.
"I know not—"
"I know you didn't. It's fine. I'll teach you everything you need to know about safety in this new world. Just…don't run off on your own until I give you the okay."
"That is quite fair. I suppose this is a new world. It is foolish for me to think everything is the same as it has been written."
The car pulled up and Wayhem climbed inside. Adrien watched, and then copied him.
All the way to the doctors, Adrien never looked away from the view.
"So much glass and metal! Last I saw, buildings were made of stone. I suppose they would never have gotten this high though."
When they arrived at the doctors, Adrien was directed to the waiting room while Wayhem checked him in.
All the other patients eyed him warily, suspicious of his attire, and for the fact that he was pale and gaunt.
"Are you a pirate?" A little girl asked.
Adrien laughed. "No no. Though these clothes would be from the same time. You see, I have been cooped up for a while and neglected to go shopping."
"Oh, so you haven't found your soulmate yet?" The little girl rolled up her sleeve and showed her digital clock, still counting up to 16. "Me neither. But I'm still aging, see?"
Adrien rolled up his sleeve to compare, politely showing off the intricate clock face that marred his skin. "Thou art a bit older than sixteen, actually."
The girl's mother looked terrified.
"Wow! Your clock is so pretty! I wish mine looked like that!"
Adrien covered his clock. "I thank you, most earnestly."
"Agreste?" A nurse called from the door.
Then Adrien was being whisked down a hall that was sterile and sleek and modern and smelled kinda funny. It was totally different from his room. Everything was. The doctors room was plain, beige walls. So different from the cold stone that made up his own room. The lights were in the ceiling, long and flat, and not at all like the sconces he was used to.
"Alright, we're just going to get you set up in the system here. This is your first time coming to us?"
"Yes, that is correct."
"Do you have any other physicians we can contact for records?"
"I do not believe so. It has been a long time since I saw a medical professional."
"Alright, name?"
"Adrien Augustus Adonias Anise Athanese Agreste."
"What a mouthful," the nurse chuckled. It took her a few minutes of checking his spelling before moving on. "Age?"
"Sixteen, perpetually."
"Date of birth?"
"24th of September, 1021 A.D."
The nurse fully stopped and looked at him. "Are you serious?"
"Yes, I am. Pray tell, why would I not be?"
"May I see your clock?"
Embarrassed, Adrien rolled up his sleeve again and let her look.
"Fascinating!" She didn't comment anymore before going back to the computer and writing a note.
"Any allergies?"
"I am allergic to sunlight, dust, mold, feathers, and a collection of medicine…though I know not what they are called anymore."
The nurse frowned in concern, but typed away. "Any medication for preexisting conditions?"
Adrien sighed. "To be quite honest, I believe I have been through every medical procedure concocted in the last one thousand years. Leeches, herbal remedies, opiates of all kinds. That was quite a shock to go from taking cocaine on a normal basis to finding out it was a hugely controversial treatment."
"What were these treatments for?"
"When I was first born, my parents were told I had a weak constitution. Weak heart and lungs."
"So do you know the name of the conditions? Arrhythmia? Asthma?"
"I know not what those are."
"Okay. I'll make sure the doctor tests you for those."
Wayhem spoke up. "We really need to make sure Adrien gets a comprehensive diagnosis. It's been so long since he's been examined, I wonder if medicine has evolved passed a lot of his so called 'conditions.'"
"I totally understand. As long as it's okay with you, Adrien, we'll take a blood test today too."
"Do whatever you desire!" He said with a little too much enthusiasm.
"Let's get a read on your blood pressure first."
Adrien watched in fascination as she secured the cuff on and began to inflate it.
"That is uncomfortable," he commented.
The nurse laughed. "Just for a moment, it has to feel your veins." After a minute, it deflated and she smiled. "120/70. That's perfect!"
"Now, I need to get your weight and height." She guided him over to the scale and measured him.
"5'10, 110 pounds. You are underweight…by a lot, I'm afraid."
"I am on a strict diet," Adrien explained.
"Take him out for something greasy and full of carbs and protein." The nurse told Wayhem.
After the preliminary examination, the nurse left, leaving Adrien and Wayhem alone.
"You okay?"
"In a word, petrified. For so long, I have lived in my belief that I was just weak. What will I do if there is something wrong with me?What if I have a disease? What if having it for so long undetected has ruined any chance I freedom I might have?"
"Well, if there is something wrong with you, you can get treatment. You haven't died yet in a thousand years."
"Thou makest a good point. If a disease I did have, how has it not killed me yet?"
The doctor entered, a blonde woman with a kind smile. "Good morning! How are you today?"
"Nervous," Adrien answered honestly.
"Not a fan of the doctor's office?"
"I have not been to a doctor before. When I was first diagnosed, they were called 'healers'."
The doctor scrunched her face up. "Hm, so you've been 16 for a while, correct?"
"Yes."
"Well, let me just look over your file." She took a seat at the computer and scrolled through the screen. "Oh, oh I see."
The next hour was filled with a lot of silence, as Adrien was stripped naked (well, down to his underwear with a gown on), poked and prodded. He got a blood test, from which he almost passed out. As he laid back, light headed, a nurse gave him a can of Coke.
"Here you go, kiddo. Drink this and relax. Did you eat breakfast this morning?"
"No," he said weakly.
"Well, that would do it. Drink your soda, dear."
Adrien looked at the can with the straw in it and gave it a test sip.
"It burns!" He cried.
"What? The coke?"
"The drink! It…it is bubbly?" He took another sip and grimaced.
"We can get you some juice," the nurse chuckled.
"No no, I like it. It is just foreign to me."
He got a scratch allergy test, with all of his previously assumed allergies being put to the test.
Then his heart and lungs were tested, with an Echocardiogram, a stress test, and a series of challenges where Adrien blew into a tube.
Each result made the doctor hum in interest, but she didn't give away much else.
"Last thing. If you'll go into the bathroom across the hall and pee into this cup."
"What will that do?"
"You'd be surprised at what we can find out from urine. Overall health, plus the functions of your kidneys, liver, and urinary tract."
"Oh, well that is most interesting. Technology has developed so far. I shall proceed to the restroom then. Should I bring it back with thee?"
"There's a silver cabinet in the restroom. Please leave it in there."
"I thank thee. I will return."
When he left, Wayhem gave the doctor a wince. "So, how bad is he?"
"He is extremely behind socially, obviously. I'm worried. I won't know the extent of his physical health until we get his blood and urine tests back. But, whatever this young man has been through, he needs therapy, immediately."
"Do you think he can go to school?"
"I think he should get involved with other sixteen year olds as soon as possible. He needs to find his soulmate. I have no idea what kind of psychological impact this existence would have given him in the last thousand years. A thousand! Where has he been?!"
"In his room. My great great great uncle, times ten, his father, believed he was super sick. In his Will, he made the condition that whoever got his manor had to care for Adrien and make sure he survived. So, everyone just kept him in his room. I know it's been hard on him, but he's been a lot better these last few years. I think all the media I brought him helped."
"What an awful way to live. I would have killed myself."
"I'm sure he tried."
Adrien returned a moment later, looking quite optimistic. "Prithee tell me, am I fit? Or am I ill?"
"I won't know for sure until we get all the tests back, but at this time, I have no concerns. You can go home, and we'll call you with the results."
Adrien turned to Wayhem. "You will tell me when you hear, yes? The moment you receive the call, you will come?"
"You'll be there, Adrien. We're going to watch movies and hang out together until we find out. I don't want you to wait alone."
"Bless thy soul, Wayhem. For thou knows my hearts fears and desires."
When the results came, there were many tears, but mostly jumping and cheering.
Adrien was severely lacking in vitamin D, so he was to get as much sunlight as possible. The boards on his windows were removed.
He was underweight, so he was escorted around Paris to try all the best foods.
And most importantly, he was required to go to school.
But he really was allergic to feathers, so there was that at least.