AN: Song for this chapter is "Start of Time" by Gabrielle Aplin. Listen while you read!

Chapter 6: Start of Time

/Oh today I'm just a drop of water
And I'm running down a mountainside
Come tomorrow I'll be in the ocean
I'll be rising with the morning tide/

Amy opened her heavy, sleepy lids in the quiet morning. Her vision was obscured by long, wavy, chestnut-colored hair covering her face.

Whose hair is that? She asked herself. She realized it was her own and lazily moved her tresses behind her ear. Then, she felt a warm breath graze her lips. As her eyes slowly began to focus, she realized she was snuggled up next to someone, but no one she recognized.

"Samuel" her mind offered and then "Jake!" after that. She understood now. She was having a dream of her past life, when she was Charlotte Doyle and she was here with her soulmate, Samuel Snowley, now Jake.

A wave of warmth and contentment fell over her as she took in her surroundings. She was in a large four poster bed with an intricately designed canopy and thick, lush covers. The room they were in was lavish with expensive furniture and art hanging on the walls. Light escaped the curtains and gave a soft, gentle glow to the whole room. Amy could see the dust particles dance in the air and she almost hummed she was so at peace.

She realized she was naked under the covers and briefly got embarrassed before looking back at the sleeping man next to her. He looked so different from Jake. His hair was sandy and wavy. She reached out to touch it and found it soft. Jake's hair was brown, deviously curly, and course. Samuel's nose was buttoned-shaped and his cheekbones were higher than Jake's, but still, she knew they were the same.

It must have been the morning after their wedding night, she realized. She had an overwhelming desire to kiss him, to touch him, but his sleeping countenance was so beautiful, she couldn't bring herself to do it. She watched him sleep on silently. The steady rhythm of his breath had her hypnotized as she studied every little detail of his face. Eventually, her need to touch him overpowered her desire not to disturb him, and she found her hand gently caressing his cheek.

He began to stir and Amy felt all her insides begin to stir as well. His eyes slowly opened half-way and then all the way. They were a deep emerald color and Amy was sure she'd never seen such a beautiful hue. His eyes focused on her and for a second, he was confused, but then he realized where he was and his mouth revealed the most dazzling of smiles. Within one second, Amy felt her heart break and re-assemble itself back together again. How could a smile have such a power?

"Charlotte…" Samuel said in a quiet, warm voice still groggy from sleep. Tears prickled at her eyes. Hearing her lover say her name made her heart soar to new heights.

"Samuel" she said back and she knew it affected him the same way it had her. There was no purer bliss than this moment.

/I'm an atom in a sea of nothing
Looking for another to combine
Maybe we could be the start of something
Be together at the start of time/

Then, Amy really woke up. It took her a moment to adjust from the elegant furnishings of her wedding bed to the drab and dark break room she found herself in. The couch she as lying on was old and offered her spine no support, which now ached with pain. There were no windows for the light to dance in through and the room was far chillier than the one in her dream. Upon this reflection, Amy remembered that after her and Jake made love, they had to immediately dress because it was so cold, but then they both fell asleep in each other's arms.

Despite the less romantic setting, Amy was just as content and peaceful as she had been in her past life. Jake was situated to the side of her against the back rest of the couch. His arms wrapped around her hips and his head rested on her chest. She, again, watched him sleep: calm and serene, with the innocence of a child. She felt her heart swell. She let a hand stroke his hair gently as she felt his chest rise and fall against her.

Lying next to him, she couldn't help but reminisce of her time working at Savage Vinyl. They had both suffered so much for nothing, really. She should have just kissed Jake when he had first suggested it. Her reason against it seemed small compared to the enormity of Soulmates, but she told herself that it was the right thing to do and shrugged it off. They had found each other. Again. That's what mattered.

She smiled to herself. How did they not figure it out sooner? It seemed so obvious now. Holding him felt like the most natural thing in the world, like breathing. She dreaded the moment they had to part from each other. She was sure that once they stopped touching she wouldn't be able to breathe properly and anxiety would fill her. Amy was more than Amy now. Last night had transformed her. Transformed them both. Everything was different.

Jake began to stir. His eyelids tensed and then popped open. He sat straight up, confused about his surroundings, until his eyes landed on Amy. Still startled, his eyes widened, but then softened and his mouth broke into a sweet smile as he remembered where he was.

"Hey" he said, cuddling back up to her.

"Hey" she replied as her hand found its way back to Jake's hair.

"So…big night"

"Really? Felt like it was a little on the mundane side, if you ask me"

Jake lifted his head to reply, but when his eyes locked unto Amy's, the thought left him and his attention went to her lips. He kissed her slowly, as if he was memorizing the shape of her lips. Her hands explored his chest and they released a low moan from Jake. The sound sent vibrations through her being, almost like she made the sound herself.

Two halves of the same whole, she thought.

Eventually, they separated. Jake, still close to her, pushed a lock of hair behind her ear.

"How will I ever stop doing that?" he asked.

"Don't try" she said, kissing him again and allowing her hands to be more adventurous. Jake gasped and Amy smiled as she met his lips again.

Eventually, they couldn't ignore they're buzzing phones anymore ("We can just say they died. I can't believe they're not dead anyway" Jake protested), and Amy broke away from Jake long enough to send an assuring text to Rosa.

They stepped out of the break room and started towards the front doors. The snow was nearly two feet tall along the door, but the roads had been plowed through. The sun was shining and Amy surmised it was fine for them to leave.

When they finally freed themselves from the front door and locked it, they began walking down the deserted street hand-in-hand, with no destination in mind.

"So…you never told me. Did the sad mix make you sad?" Jake asked.

"What?"

"Y'know, the sad mix I made for you" Jake said.

"Oh! Oh, yeah. I cried like a baby. Mind you, I listened to it the night Teddy dumped me…"

"Hmm…I got some bad news for you, Santiago" Jake said, his teasing tone emerging.

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"You totally lost our bet"

"What?! No I didn't!" Amy said defensively before accounting the parameters of the bet.

"Oh, yes you did. The happy mix? Made you happy. Sad mix? Turned you into a blubbering mess. And the hot mix? Well, I'm still sore because of what the hot mix did to you" he said with a cocky grin. Amy felt her cheeks go red.

"Shut up! Ugh, fine. No NPR podcasts for a month, whatever"

"Aww, don't be mad. This will just give me plenty of opportunities to introduce you to new music!"

"You'll always have plenty of opportunities, stupid" she said, leaning on his arm.

"Yeah" he said and she could hear his smile.

Amy smiled too, because it was Amy and Jake forever. For the rest of their lives, for the rest of their next lives, and for the next of the lives after that. It was the one thing in the whole entire world that would be true and constant. She never had to fear death, because no matter what, they'd find each other again. Amy stopped in her tracks and Jake stopped with her.

"What's up?" he asked and Amy looked at him. He was different than before. He was changed. He had half of her, just like she had half of him, and she could see the difference in his eyes. There was a wisdom there that could only come from the vivid memories of his past life and the collision of their souls. She wondered if he saw a similar change in her. She certainly felt different.

"I just…I just wanted to tell you that I'm glad it was you" Amy said. She didn't know why she felt the need to tell him this, but knew that she had to. Jake smiled at her and placed a quick kiss on her lips before placing his forehead on hers.

"Me too" he said and she smiled back. Then, wordlessly, they began walking again.

"Dude, all that cosmic, life-changing love-making's got my tummy all rumbly. Let's get food" Jake said. Amy laughed.

"I think there's a twenty-four-hour diner down a couple blocks. It might be open" she said.

They walked with their fingers and souls interlaced, as they would countless times after, content in knowing that once this cycle ended, another one would start. An endless loop together. Their favorite song set on repeat forever.

/It's like the sun came out
It's like the sun came out/

AN: First of all, I'M SO SORRY! This fic is a year old (god…) and I just now finished it! I apologize a hundred times. In my defense, I was working two jobs (down to one now, yay!), an internship, AND grad school, so finding the energy for fics has been difficult. I kinda lost my inspiration there too. I have two other fics I started and didn't finish. I've been a bad, bad author :(

Well, I hope you like this chapter! Nice and fluffy. Also, lol what was I thinking with this AU? I combined like five different ones haha.

Thank you guys so much for your reviews! They mean so much! If you are actually reading this chapter, then thank you soooo much for actually coming back to it.

As always, please feel free to follow/contact me on Tumblr (I'm thunder-dor now!). I'd love to talk to you!