Chapter Text
It was always about time, was it not?
How much do you have as a whole, whether or not you get somewhere late, how long will you study this thing, how much you can handle… And when you would meet your soulmate. A timer with some fancy numbers was always there, ticking as a countdown to when one meets their soulmate. It was kind of always about time.
It was ‘kinda’ the same for Jason. He was born on Friday the 13th after his mother suffered for fifteen hours giving birth. His religious parents considered him an extremely unlucky child, and they put much more effort into caring for his little sister than him. Though Jason was never jealous, he thought he just had the wrong timing.
Then he got kicked out of university for being late all the time. At least, that’s what he was telling himself since his grades were not so well anyway— Yes, yet again, bad timing.
And, of course, as he looked at his timer repeatedly, he thought it was pretty late to meet his soulmate in his thirties. Though it was better than the forties and better than having none, he was already grateful for that. And even though he was not always so lucky about other aspects of his life, somehow he did not lose faith in his soulmate, whom he would surely meet one day.
It was not like he spent nights thinking about the one. It did not stop him from living his life to the fullest. He just… went with the flow, preferring to stay oblivious way until it was getting closer to the final date. Well, not literally the ‘date’… Ugh.
The problem was that the day finally came. And as the final day approached, little did Jason know how the many changes would affect him. Ending with him today, deep in the Iraque with the team he already knew, and his timer showing 05:49:37 ticking backwards, it seemed, quicker than ever. It made him go crazy.
“Bud,” asked Nick after Colonel had had them dismissed. “You alright? Looking pale there.”
“Of course I’m alright. What are you thinking?” said Jason with ignorance.
“I know it’s your time soon,” he said. They were friends, so naturally, they shared this kind of thing. “Do you consider… Do you think your soulmate might be Iraqi?”
“I thought of that,” Lieutenant shook his head. “Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe I didn’t meet someone from the support team?”
“It’s always a possibility. Just… Be careful today, ok?” Nick said worryingly. He had the luxury of meeting his soulmate and dating her, though Jason still did not get a chance to get introduced.
“Yeah, will be. You know, it’s hard to imagine where I would meet a hot chick during this mission,” Jason said, glancing back.
“Maybe it’s a he,” Nick assumed. Homophobia was never a thing there, though Jason seemed to prefer women, so he answered:
“Nah, unlikely.”
x x x
Salim, just like Jason, decided not to fast-forward half of his life because a soulmate was waiting somewhere. He was not even sure he’d live past forty since he started serving in the army. But his luck was better than anyone else’s, so it just happened that he returned home just on the day when the clock started counting in hours. Today was the day his wonderful son had a birthday and also the day when he planned to retire at last. And also… The day when he would meet his soulmate.
And at this moment, before Dar arrived to take him away, before he discovered that his son got himself into trouble once again, before all that, at the moment when he stepped into his own house, back then, he was eager to meet his soulmate. He felt happy; he longed for it. Letting new people into his life was tough, so his soulmate seemed just on time. His son would leave for university soon, and most of Salim’s friends died. But there could be a soulmate to keep him company. He did not hope for a partnership because of his background, but he hoped it would be friendship at the very least, which sounded exciting.
So he was thinking, Where should I go to meet them? Should I go to the market, where there’ll be more people? Or should I just wait near my house? How will it happen?
But his dreamy thoughts were quickly shattered. He had received his assignment to kill once again. This turned him into an automaton. Zain was God knows where, and Salim was going on a suicide mission, even though the war was already over.
Salim just hoped to survive past that and stopped thinking about his soulmate altogether. Now was not the time. He only wished to recognize this person to protect them. Or, rather, to not accidentally kill them. That would be a disaster.
x x x
Jason was genuinely nervous when his clock started showing less than an hour. He could not look in any other direction and regularly checked his countdown.
Because he was in the middle of fucking nowhere! Only some drug dealer shepherds around, which was not at all how he imagined his soulmate to be. Well, he did not really imagine them, but, well, they sure must not be like that! If his soulmate was not clean, that might be a problem in their relationship overall.
Jason left the buildings and guarded them outside to see fewer of the shepherd’s faces. As if he could trick fate and meet someone else in case it was one of them. He could not, though, and he knew it but did it anyway because he was so fucking scared and nervous. And also irritated since it was Eric who got him here in the first place for no particular reason.
But then, well, the Iraqis attacked. He stopped worrying about the clock and focused on surviving. He looked at it once in a while, just for a brief moment, but did not focus too much on it, even though the numbers were firmly memorized in his head every time. But it only added adrenaline.
It was close, but they managed to rescue Joey, even without White Phosphorus. They started winning since Iraqis were not too numerous.
And then he saw one of the shepherds escaping. Jason’s countdown, which now was mere seconds, pumped hard in Jason’s head. But this was not why he spared this shepherd; he would do it anyway. He felt confused, irritated, and lost with the situation, stress, and this damn countdown. Just then, he felt in his gut that someone was behind him and pointing a gun with a strong, skilled hand. Jason never got his guts mistaken.
“You better not miss,” commented Jason, turning around with hands up.
“No more killing,” said an unknown Iraqi soldier.
And Jason did not have to look at the timer to know that his countdown went to zeros right the moment when they looked into each other’s eyes. That’s the one, his soulmate. Jason could not think much past “Oh, he seems adequate” when the earth beneath their legs started shaking, and they fell into the unknown.
x x x
“Salim! Wake your ass up!” cried Jason, pushing the soldier near him.
The other one got up quickly after that, looking cautious. “How do you know my name?”
Jason felt startled. They did not have a single word exchange besides the first one; they just fell into some sort of a cave. He did not really know how, but somehow it just came to his head that his name was Salim.
“I heard that soulmates have this thing about sudden upload of random facts about each other,” he said straightforwardly. He did not see any point in beating around the bush since they both had their timers and probably recognized each other.
“So you’re mine?” Salim asked with a neutral expression, probably meaning ‘soulmate’ but the sound of this made Jason blush and feel strange.
“Yeah…” he put his sleeve up, showing a countdown that went to zeros. Salim did the same. They just watched it for a moment, comparing timers’ styles on each other’s hands.
“This timer looks good on your hand,” Salim says, nodding. He did not seem moved by this all thing at all. Then he started looking around for his weapon, which appeared to be under some of the falling stones.
On the other hand, Jason had his guns with him but was not eager to start pointing them. He looked at the newfound soulmate curiously. “So, what do we do?” Jason asked, really confused. He was confused about pretty much everything, especially about his soulmate being so damn calm. It was not like he expected a hug, better off without it, but maybe some emotional reaction?
“How about we find an exit? Can’t leave the same way we entered,” Salim pointed up. It was too high to climb, at least without any ammunition, which they did not have. So it was either they find another exit, or they find some steady ropes and hooks.
“I didn’t mean the caves,” Jason said grumpily.
“You mean the timers?”
“Yes,” he started to get irritated at this oblivious-looking man.
“You think now is the right time to talk about it?” Salim asked calmly.
“Yeah. I mean, we are alone now. And the shooting may start again when we get to the surface or the others. As well as questions... So I think now’s the best time.”
“You are right,” Salim said thoughtfully. “I assume you’re not going to shoot me just because I’m Iraqi?”
Jason sighed, irritated: “You damn smart ass.”
“That’s quite enough for me right now. Though I’d like us to be friends if possible.”
“I mean, yea…” Jason said, amused with Salim’s calmness and straightforwardness. Then he shook his head. “I mean, no. How do you imagine that? We are on different sides.”
“I was going to retire today,” Salim said, sighing. “My commander forced me to join the raid. I’ll probably never hold a weapon again after this.”
Something inside Jason suddenly twitched. “I’m sorry.”
“Why?” he looked surprised since the American did not exactly look like a soft type.
“I mean, your son… You could never see him again if we fell less fortunately…” Jason said, confused at himself too.
“I never told you about my son,” Salim suddenly smiled, humbly but visibly amused. “This soulmate thing is a little scary. But nice.”
Jason turned away. He felt strange in general. But he answered, with a light heart: “I’d like us to be friends. I’ll explain to my team that you’re not hostile, and we will find a way together.”
“I don’t see me having other choices here. There’s only one corridor,” Salim chuckled. “But do you think your comrades will listen to you?”
“I mean, they’ll have to. Besides, you’re my soulmate; this makes you big damn trustable. And yes, I would like us to be friends, " Jason said quickly, visibly nervous.
“You said it twice. I didn’t think it’s that easy to prove trustability to Americans,” Salim said, impossible to tell if he was serious or teasing.
“I’ve heard that soulmates can’t harm each other,” Jason said. “There seems to disappear all hostility in any circumstances. The scientists researched that damn thing,”
“Never heard about that. There aren’t so many scientists in my area. But I wouldn’t harm you in any case. I just want to return home to my son.”
“I believe you,” Jason sighed. He could not tell the same about himself: he probably would not trust Salim if it were not for the soulmate thing. But now, somehow, Jason could tell Salim was not lying. Sincere as hell. “Dammit, you always so talkative?”
Salim looked obviously confused at the sudden accusation. It was not like he was the one that dragged their conversation; it seemed to flow pretty fluently to him. “We may just go,” he suggested as he cautiously moved towards the cavern corridor. He was unarmed, though, so Jason quickly pushed him away and went ahead.
“Don’t do anything stupid and cover my back there.”
“Give me your spare gun,” Salim asked, feeling he had the right to ask. If Jason really meant that he trusts him, then it may only be right.
Jason was completely unsure about that. But his guts were literally screaming: Do it. He needs more protection. Protect him! So he sighed and handed him over the weapon: “Yeah. You know how to use that one?”
“Do I look like a rookie to you?” Salim asked seriously.
“Not at all,” he said as he watched the veteran getting ahold of a new gun. “Your hands look really skilled.”
“Don’t look too much. We have a goal ahead,” Salim said, buttoning his unbuttoned shirt so it would hide his timer. Jason felt like he was being told off while staring at Salim, even though he did not try to do it.
“Just move so I can see you,” Jason said, trying to sound somewhat threatening, but it did not come out as planned, so he ended up continuing to stare at him.
“I will cover your back,” Salim smirked at him softly.
“The hell do you mean by that?!” Jason blurted out, not realizing that Salim literally said the same thing that he himself said before.
“I mean, you go first, I go second,” he explained, as if not understanding why Jason was overreacting.
“Yes. I mean… sure thing,” Jason was so confused he felt like he would throw up. He had never felt this kind of way. This strange, and…
And it was not about any sort of romantic feelings at all; they barely knew each other. It was rather about how comfy Salim seemed. They just exchanged a few phrases, but it felt as if they already knew each other forever. Jason started remembering all these expressions on how it is easier for soulmates to feel for each other, which he thought to be rubbish. Now it made some sense.
Salim raised an eyebrow at him and, without saying another word, went ahead through the caves. Jason blinked, confused, but followed him. It seemed that the Iraqi soldier was really determined to leave the cavern.
“Can’t believe we just agreed to be friends, like some fucking first graders,” Jason said with a nervous laugh.
“Is it strange in your culture?”
“Yeah… I mean, you don’t ‘agree’ to be friends. You just become ones when it’s adults, you know? Naturally,” he thought that he sounded foolish and explained it all very unclearly, and, in general, he should not have tried to.
“I see,” Salim nodded with an unreadable expression. “Well, we should have met each other earlier, like other ones, so it is natural to start as first-graders, to catch up with lost time.”
Alright, now Jason stopped feeling stupid himself. He started laughing at his newfound soulmate’s thoughts, oblivious to the potential danger of their situation. Damn, does it sound naїve and first-graders-like.
“Did I say something funny?”