Chapter Text
The craze started spring of last year. It seemed like by the end of winter every girl, teenager, and couple in town had one. A timer. A simple little counter placed in your wrist. As quick and painless as getting your ears pierced. Only this was not just some decorative flash of jewelry. It was a shiny thin piece of metal with a faux-glass screen that predicted the exact moment you would meet your soul mate. It had 100% accuracy. It was always right, always spot on.
The idea of knowing when you would meet your soul mate put a firm spin on building romantic relationships. Some girls would force their boyfriends into the procedure, only to leave him cold when his timer did not match hers. But that's the thing. There was no point wasting time and effort on something that was not meant to be.
That was for the girls who's time had not showed up on the device. If your other half was timerless, you simply did not have numbers. It was a blank screen. Unable to read.
The idea of getting one had budded in Dave Strider's mind around a year ago. When the fad first started. He was curious. No amount of irony or shitty lies was going to hide that. He knew it. His brothers knew it. There was no way he was going to be able to get it done without them finding out. With out them teasing him for it.
Not that they had room to talk. Dirk had gotten one as soon as a clinic came to town. His still had a year left until he met his partner, too. Bro had gotten his only a few months ago. His was blank. So Dave figured it was about time he swallowed his pride and broke open the piggy back. Today was the day.
Dirk had an hour to kill before work, so when Dave came knocking on his door demanding to be taken to town, he haughtily agreed. They where in his truck on their way to what felt like destiny within ten minutes.
"So you finally decided to say fuck it and give in, huh? You know it's expensive, and I ain't helping you pay," Dirk glanced at his younger brother as he pulled onto the highway. Dave was tapping his foot nervously, staring out the window with darting eyes.
"I know how much it costs, give me some credit here. I've got the money, don't you worry about that," Dave narrowed his eyes at a sign indicating they only had a few miles until their exit. Dave could feel the anxious jitters flitting in his stomach and settling heavily in his chest. He licked his lips and brushed some hair off his sun glasses.
"Well what do you think she's going to be like?" Dirk asked, trying to get Dave to cool down some by getting him to talk. The other seemed to take the bait, because his shoulder slouched some and he raised his eyebrows, tilting his head back.
"She's going to have dark hair, tan, nice body, cute face. She'll be the snarkiest chick you ever talked to. And she will be able to lay down the sickest rhymes." He smirked at his own stupid response, not actually having any expectations for what his dream girl would be like. Honestly, he had not really given it any thought at all. He was ready for any girl the universe wanted to throw at him. Be it tall, skinny, short, fat. He was not a very picky guy and prided himself in being open minded and accepting about things like that.
"Well considering who she's going to be stuck with, you better hope she can put up with your bullshit," Dave's brother noted with a snort. The younger boy rolled his eyes with a click of his tongue.
"The only bs I have is you and Bro. Besides, she will be able to put up with anything. She's tough. Just watch." He put a foot up on the dash and relaxed against the seat.
The older boy pulled off the interstate. The two Strider's were singing a song on the radio off-key while Dirk drove. The windows were rolled down, letting the sweet summer air in. It whipped their hair around, making everything feel a little lighter, a little happier.
The clinic was just off the highway turnpike. With a few sharp turns and a haphazard parking job, their were to their destination.
The jitters were back. Swallowing hard, Dave got out of the truck with a nervous smile plastered on his face.
The parking lot was practically empty. The waiting room wasn't much better, save for a young couple in the back that couldn't be older than Dave. The room was small but spaceish, white walls, white floors. Decorative red lamps sat on dark tables beside colorless chairs. Photos of happy couples littered the walls. It had an atmosphere of joy. Dirk took the necessary papers form the woman at the counter and filled them out while Dave paid. The procedure cost a pretty penny.
Taking seats by the door, they both pulled out their phones and started messing around to pass the time.
It wasn't ten minutes before the couple, who Dave noticed was two girls, was called back. He went back to skimming through apps. Ten more minutes and the girls returned hand-in-hand with wide grins. They must have matched up. He couldn't help but smile, seeing them so happy.
"Dave Strider," a woman called from the door. He stood with Dirk, they were led down a short hallway to a small white room. "Doctor Egbert will be with you in a moment," the nurse informed the two with a reassuring smile before closing the door.
"Hey what if she's it?" Dirk waggled his eyebrows and sat in a chair. Dave laid on the lounge-like medical chair in the center of the room.
"You're retarded. She's like thirty. You want her to go to jail?" the underage boy shook his head and made himself comfortable.
"She can wait three years for you to be legal."
Before Dave could offer his reply, there was a sharp knock on the door and a man in a red shirt and slacks stepped inside. He looked at each of them and gave a small nod, "I am Doctor Egbert." The other boys nodded in greeting. Walking over to the counter he started preparing the instruments needed.
"So you want to see when you will meet that lucky girl? You're a handsome young man, I'm sure she will be very beautiful. Is this your brother with you?" He sat on a stool and spun around with a small gun-like apparatus in hand. Dave eyed it nervously, but held his arm out for the man.
"Yeah I've been wanting this for like half a year but I just saved up enough money," the young boy chuckled to himself, looking at the wall as the doctor took his arm in his hands and pressed the cold metal against his wrist.
"Alright, take a deep breath for me and relax," the Doctor asked in a calm voice. Dave complied. As soon as he exhaled, the man clicked the trigger and there was a clanking noise as the gun clicked the thin timer into place. It stung and left him a bit shaky, but he had a small triumphant smirk on his face as he brought his wrist up to see what it said.
000 days, 000 hours, 001 minute, 34 seconds.
"Holy shit, it says 60 seconds," Dave exclaimed, showing it to the other two men. Dirk scowled at him for using a curse word, he still wasn't allowed to do that, and the doctor just raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Well it is very rare, but there could be something internally wrong with it. They are supposedly 100% accurate, but when something isn't put together right, it doesn't work right. So if you two don't mind I will wait here while it counts down to be sure it is working correctly," Doctor Egbert said in mild fascination. Dave sat up and rested his hand on his knee so they could all see it. His heart was beating faster with each second that was shed.
What would she be like? Maybe she worked here. But that would mean she was older than him. He was not sure how to feel about that. All he could think about was all the different things he should say when he meets her.
Thirty seconds. His breathing was starting to come out a little forced.
Twenty seconds. His hands were clamming up.
Ten seconds. He was almost shaking from excited nerves.
Five seconds. His foot was tapping like crazy against the floor.
Four. Three. Two. One.
Dididididi. A loud alarm sounded from the timer on Dave's wrist, matched by a muffled echo simultaneously in the hallway. There was a quick burst of knocks on the door and they all jumped slightly, looking up at the closed door. Just outside, behind that thin piece of wood, stood Dave's soul mate. The thought made him bite his tongue and take in a sharp breath.
"Dad! My stupid timer just went off. I was waiting for you in your office and it suddenly started counting down. I don't know if I broke it but I was kind of messing with it," a voice called from outside. Dave's mouth fell open in shock and Dirk slapped a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing. The Doctor looked distraught, he was speechless. It wasn't a girls voice that spoke. No, it was obviously a males voice. And from the sound, he was around Dave's age.
"J-John! Go back to my office, I will be right there in a few minutes!" the doctor finally said after his son started banging on the door again. There was a muffled grunt and then the sound of footsteps leading away. The doctor stood and excused himself, telling the Strider's to stay while he dealt with his son. As soon as the doctor was out of earshot Dirk started laughing uncontrollably. Dave just sat with a frown, staring at the now blinking timer resting on zero.
This had to be the exception. The one time these things were wrong. There was no way, not a chance, that his soul mate was a boy. That just was not an option. He liked girls. He'd never even thought of any guy in that way ever. This thing was wrong. It had to be.
John went back to his father's office, not bothering to close the door. He sat on the small sofa in front of the window and looked at flashing zeros on his wrist, unimpressed. He never thought it would work. He only got it because his dad worked at the clinic. The stupid thing had only just started working a few minutes ago, and even when it got to zero he didn't meet one new person. There was no way around it. It was shit. He scoffed at the device, putting his hand back down as his father came into the room. A rush of nervous energy followed him.
Taking a seat at the desk he looked at his son with a stern, yet anxious expression. John raised a brow and sat up on the couch.
"What kind of face is that? You look like you are about to give me some awkward fatherly talk about stuff I already know," he pushed his glasses back up his nose and rested his elbow on the armrest so he could lean his chin into his hand.
"John, you timer isn't broken. I was with a client when it went off. Their's went off at the exact same time. And you know that these devices are highly sensitive and perfectly accurate, so I know that despite how I am sure you are going to react, the blatant truth here is that your soul mate is just down the hall in that room," his father informed slowly, watching John for a reaction.
His son smiled wide, revealing braces and slightly crooked teeth. He sat up a little straighter and looked at his dad with blue eyes full of hope.
"Seriously? What does she look like? Can I go meet her?" he nearly bounced in his seat in excitement. He wasn't much of a lady's man, but knowing that his life partner was just down the hall can get a guy excited.
Mr. Egbert frowned and looked at his son with a cautious gaze.
"That's the thing, son. It turns out that your soul mate," he paused and knit his brow together, "is a boy."
The words sunk in slowly. A boy? That didn't make any sense. Why would his soul mate be a boy? That was just stupid. What the hell kind of prank was his dad pulling?
"This the the worst prank ever. I'm not even going to go along with it. I know you are lying. Now tell me when I can take this stupid timer off. It didn't even work," John rolled his eyes and raised an eyebrow again.
His father sighed in irritation, giving his son a stern and serious look.
"John I am serious. The odds of this happening are slim. I think you need to meet him and you need to take a few days to think this over," his father's voice was demanding and hard, putting an end to any sense of it being a joke.
John gaped at his dad in disbelief.
"You have got to be kidding me. I'm not gay. I'm not a homosexual. I'm straight. I like girls. This is so stupid. This whole thing is stupid! This timer is stupid! And that stupid guy down the hall is stupid and I am not going to indulge you in this! I'm going home!" He stormed out of the office without another word, slamming the door as he left.
As he exited the building he barely paid any mind to the boy who held the door open for him. He was too pissed, too flabbergasted to care about some random act of kindness. All he wanted was to go home and watch the movie he had recorded on DISH last night.
"Hey I have to get to work soon. We can't wait for the doctor, I have to take you home," Dirk said a few minutes after the older man left. Dave nodded and followed his brother back into the waiting room. The woman at the desk bid them a good day and they went to leave. Just as Dave was about to walk out, he heard loud footsteps and turned to see an angry looking brunette striding toward the door. He held it open for him as he rushed past. The blonde could not stop himself from watching as the boy walked quickly down the sidewalk away from him. John was his soul mates name, right? That is what the doctor had said.
What if that was him? He could just call out the name and see if the boy in shorts turned around. The idea made his heart jump in a way he wasn't fully comfortable with.