Chapter Text
Cassian’s hand twitches nervously in his pocket towards the small device he’s carrying, unsure how the dating process works. He knows that the device— his coach was there to guide him, but the entire idea was foreign to him. How was his coach supposed to find his one true match?
He sighs and walks into the restaurant where he’s supposed to meet with his first date, pulling out the device to find out where he’s supposed to go.
“How am I supposed to know who it is?”
The small screen flashes with a video of a man fidgeting in a booth, murmuring to himself. Cassian pauses to take in the man’s appearance, immediately noting the slope of his nose and his large brown eyes. At least he’s handsome.
He spends another moment admiring him before he shakes his head at himself to stop stalling. He stuffs his coach into his pocket again and his fingers flex anxiously without the weight of the device, but it makes him feel somewhat better that his date is nervous too.
He soon finds the booth in the video and makes eye contact with the man, flinching when his date stands up to greet him and knocks the cutlery off the table.
“Hi— oh— sorry.”
Cassian bends to pick up the fork and knife, gesturing to the table as he places them back in their original spot. “Shall we sit?” The corners of his mouth turn up in a polite half-smile as he takes the seat in front of him, but it soon turns into a look of confusion, his brows furrowing as his date remains standing.
“I was sitting there— you took my seat.” The other man points towards the side of the booth where Cassian is sat and looks as if he’s about to say more before he chews on his lip and sits down across from him. “Never mind, I suppose it doesn’t matter.”
Cassian stares at him for another moment dumbfounded, then clears his throat lightly, hoping that they get past this initial awkwardness. Are all first dates like this? He can’t remember.
“I’m Cassian, and you…?” He tilts his head inquisitively as he trails off, trying to start conversation.
The man’s eyes light up and he leans forward to introduce himself. “Bodhi. I’m Bodhi.” He smiles and then continues on with an awkward chuckle. “I’m also quite nervous— this is my first match. What about you?”
Cassian can feel himself relax as he realizes that Bodhi is in the same position as him. “You’re my first.” Somewhere in the back of his mind he forces himself to suppress his laughter— you never forget your first, he thinks. It’s only been a few minutes, but he doesn’t mind that somebody like Bodhi is his first match.
He smiles for a moment before he starts to look around, noticing that everybody else is already eating. There are no menus, so he’s unsure of how to order and leans in slightly, lowering his voice to ask his question. “Do you know how we’re supposed to get dinner? Do we use our coaches?” He instinctively reaches towards his pocket to pull the device out, watching Bodhi do the same. Before the other man can respond, a waiter comes by and silently drops two dishes off in front of them.
“I guess that solves our problem.” Bodhi’s lips twitch upwards for a second before his attention turns towards his dinner. “Apparently I’m a fish man?” He laughs lightly as he pokes the meal with his fork, wondering if he would’ve ordered it for himself if he had been given the option.
Cassian similarly looks at his own dish and twirls his fork into it. “I must like pasta.” He notices Bodhi’s eyes on him as he takes a bite, his attention focused on his mouth. Bodhi didn’t strike him as such a forward man, but he can’t deny that he’s enjoying the attention… He quirks a brow at him in a silent question and isn’t expecting the response he gets.
“Could I try some of that?” Bodhi asks as he points his fork towards the pasta. Cassian coughs, caught off guard before he glances around, realizing that they’re being watched by a larger man in a dark uniform. He looks as if he’s a security guard, but he can’t think of any reason that they need protection here in the restaurant.
He leans in again as his voice goes quiet. “Are we allowed to do that?” Usually he wouldn’t care about breaking rules, but he doesn’t like the feeling that they’re being monitored.
Bodhi is much more nonchalant about it as he shrugs and sticks his fork in his pasta anyway. “I’m not sure, but sharing food isn’t a crime. Besides, if you like fish, you can have some of mine.” He raises his brows as he samples part of his meal, humming in agreement at the taste.
Cassian watches him with a growing sense of fondness, then pulls his device out, suddenly feeling antsy. It worries him that he might not get many more moments like this and doesn’t want to get his hopes up. “We should check our expiry date— to see how much time we have together.” Once Bodhi nods and pulls out his own device It doesn’t feel as nerve wracking to see the number that determines the length of their relationship. He didn’t even hesitate. Maybe he’s looking forward to his first relationship too.
As they press the small screens, their smiles instantly fade as they realize how short their time is. Bodhi sighs and tries to give him a hopeful smile. “12 hours is… sad, but we should make the most of it.”
Something about only being afforded 12 hours together feels wrong. Cassian knows that he’s not going to find his perfect match immediately, but it feels cruel to tease him with such a short time to get to know one another. Especially since it’s already dark outside, meaning that a few of their hours will be spent sleeping. He doubts that their expiry stops during the night, always silently ticking away.
Cassian puts the device away once he realizes that they’re wasting time just sitting in the restaurant. He blurts out before he can think about the implications of his suggestion. “Do you want to get out of here? We can ask for takeout boxes.”
Bodhi seems to perk up at the idea and pushes his plate away from himself, already starting to scoot out of his booth. “I’d like that… I’m not hungry anymore.”
Without another second wasted, they both stand and leave without a word, not even bothering to ask for boxes. What would they even do with the food? Let it sit in their shared fridge for the night before taking it back to their respective bachelor pads? There’s no point. He only wishes that he got to try Bodhi’s fish before they left— to share a piece of him even if it is only food.
Cassian feels like he can relax again once he’s safely packed away into the small, self-driving vehicle that takes them to their home. His mind is racing with scenarios about what could happen once they’re truly alone, but it quiets and goes blank once he feels the side of Bodhi’s thigh press against his own. He can see out of the corner of his eye that the other man is fighting back a smile, gazing out the window as he takes in the passing scenery.
A similar smile starts to appear on his face as he looks out his own window, watching as they leave the hub of a city and travel along backroads leading further into the countryside. Every passing tree is a fleeting blur that offers him some sort of peace. Things can still be beautiful even though they pass by quickly, right?
He takes a deep breath and gently nudges his leg further into Bodhi’s once he feels more comfortable to reach out. Something sparks in him as he feels a soft push back and before he can put his hand between them with his palm up as an invitation to take it, the car stops in front of a small house. There’s nothing special about the exterior— the color a quite plain tan. He gets pulled from his thoughts as Bodhi breaks the silence between them. “This must be ours.”
Bodhi glances at him once before he gets out of the car, the absence of his warmth immediately felt once they’re not touching anymore. Cassian follows him out and takes another look at the house before approaching the front door, unsure of who should go in first. He pauses once he realizes that Bodhi is waiting for him, making no move to enter yet.
He feels like he should say more, but all he can manage is a short, “After you,” as he pulls open the door, not wanting to have the first look. His stomach drops as Bodhi gasps and utters that it looks horrible on the inside. Maybe 12 hours was meant to be if what was supposed to represent the both of them together looked so terrible. Cassian quickly peeks around to take a look, then whips his head around to find Bodhi grinning at him, clearly having lied.
“Come on— it’s not so bad.” Bodhi nods his head towards the inside as he enters, Cassian following close behind. Once the door is shut behind them, soft lounge music starts to play on its own, probably to ease the tension of being alone with somebody new. He stops in the living room to admire every inch of the house that he can see, noticing that the walls are the same shade of blue as Bodhi’s shirt. Bodhi seems oblivious to it as he wanders around, opening a random door that he assumes leads to the bedroom.
His suspicion is confirmed as he hears Bodhi call out, “There’s an en-suite!” Cassian can already tell that there’s only going to be one bed and tries to steer the conversation around it, like Bodhi is probably doing, once he enters their room. “Shower or bath?”
“Both.” Bodhi comes out of the bathroom to find Cassian awkwardly standing in the center of the room, looking at him like he’s lost.
Cassian blurts out that he needs to use the bathroom, then shuffles around Bodhi to close the door in between them. He puts his forehead against it once he’s alone and lets out a deep breath, trying to figure out what to do. He can hear a muffled response from Bodhi, who also sounds unsure, either about Cassian himself or what they’re meant to do. He hopes that it’s the latter. “Okay… I’ll be in the living room.”
He pulls out his coach once he’s sure that Bodhi is far enough away that he can’t hear him. “Are we only meant to have sex with each other?” He feels strange for asking, but why else would their time be so short? And why would they only be given one bed?
The device does little to guide him when it responds, “Participants are not required to take any specific action.” It only leaves him feeling even more thrown off. “But is that something that people do if they only have a short amount of time?”
Again, it doesn’t directly answer his question. “If that is your decision.”
He hides his coach in his pocket again, then washes his hands, checking his reflection in the mirror to make sure he still looks somewhat presentable. His cheeks don’t look flushed, but he dabs them with water anyway to cool the burning that he feels. Once he’s ready, he joins Bodhi in the living room just in time to watch him quickly shove his own coach away, unaware that Bodhi was asking the same questions as him.
Cassian drops into a seat near the couch and scratches at his beard, trying to figure out how to bring up the topic of their sleeping arrangements. “We could share the bed—“
“I can sleep on the couch—“ They accidentally speak over each other and Cassian tries not to feel somewhat disappointed at the fact that Bodhi wants to sleep out here. It could just be the polite response, but he doesn’t want to spend the night alone in an unfamiliar bedroom. Before he can reason with Bodhi, the man sits on the couch, then curls into a ball. “I can fit, it’s not awful.” Even Cassian can see the uncomfortable furrow of his brows and how he shifts ever so slightly to ease the unnatural curve of his back.
He shakes his head at Bodhi and frowns at how ridiculous he looks. “The bed is big enough for us both. I’ll sleep out here if you’re not okay with it.”
Bodhi sits up and rubs his hands nervously on his thighs, Cassian’s eyes guiltily flicking to them for a brief second before he focuses on his words. “I’m only okay with it if you are.” It gives Cassian hope that maybe he won’t have to be alone. His voice softens as he reassures him. “I want you to.”
He watches as Bodhi smiles and looks away, whispering a quiet, “Alright,” as he stands from the couch, ready to go to bed. Cassian starts to walk back towards their room and glances over his shoulder to make sure Bodhi is following him, catching the way that his eyes go wide once he notices Cassian watching him. It warms him as he turns back around, slowly crawling into bed in his dinner clothes. The problem with such a short relationship means that they have no time to gather their things. They don’t even have the luxury of pajamas tonight.
Cassian lays on his back, staring at the ceiling as he listens to Bodhi walk around, turning all of the lights off before the bed dips with his weight as he gets settled. After a moment of silence, Cassian turns to glance at him and whispers, not wanting to disturb the comfortable quiet settled around them. “It must have been a mess before the system.”
Bodhi turns on his side to look at him, then whispers back. “How do you mean?” He tries to get his thoughts in order before responding, not wanting to mention that he might not have met Bodhi if it weren’t for the matchmaking service. “Think about it. There are so many people out there— infinite options. How can you narrow it down?” He continues on, rolling onto his side to look at him better. “And having to end a relationship yourself? Awful.”
He can see the slow blink of Bodhi’s eyes as he takes it all in, tired, but still trying to process everything he’s saying. “Do you think the system saves us from heartbreak?” The question is the one thing that he’s been starting to doubt. He turns onto his back again and mutters. “No… but I do think it’s easier to have things mapped out.”
Cassian can see Bodhi studying him out of the corner of his eye, then releases the breath he was holding once the other man turns to lay flat too. He has no idea what Bodhi is thinking and worries that he could’ve just ruined the night for him. Maybe even ruined the experience of the system with his questioning. Bodhi doesn’t look at him, still staring up as he quietly whispers. “Maybe.. but this is strange.”
“Maybe, but I’m glad that it was you.” Cassian murmurs, then closes his eyes. The room is silent except for the soft puffs of their breathing and the rustle of the bed as Cassian slides his hand over. He reaches out until he brushes the back of Bodhi’s hand with his fingertips, then pauses as he feels him turn his palm over, carefully holding onto his hand. He doesn’t say anything else, not needing to. Whatever is happening between them only has a few more hours and he doesn’t want to ruin it.
— — — — — —
When Cassian wakes, he can barely register the buzzing in his pocket, zoned in on the feeling of arms around him. He groans as he leans back into the warmth behind him, reaching down to find the device he forgot about over the night. He tries his best not to move too much as he glances at the screen, freezing as soon as he sees that it says 10 minutes left. The arms around him tighten and he feels Bodhi’s breath on the back of his neck.
He moves to hold onto the arm wrapped around him and allows a few more seconds of peace before he has to get up. It crosses his mind that maybe the system is wrong because he can’t remember ever feeling so comfortable and secure. It’s almost tempting to fall back asleep, but he slowly disentangles himself from Bodhi’s hold, gently shaking his shoulder to wake the other man up. “Hey… it’s almost time.”
Bodhi just swats his hand away and rolls onto his side in his sleepy state, hugging himself as he curls up. Cassian rubs his eyes, then puts a hand on Bodhi’s shoulder, shaking a little more firmly. “Bodhi, you need to get up.” He’s not whispering this time, but his voice is still hushed. “I’ll wait outside.”
Cassian pulls his hand back, then leaves to wait outside the front door, feeling a pit in his stomach form as he glances at the timer for their expiration. It’s only a few more minutes now, but it still doesn’t feel right to be leaving so soon. They probably won’t see each other again.
He can see their separate cars in the distance as soon as Bodhi pulls open the door, yawning and looking entirely disheveled. He smiles as he greets Cassian. “Good morning.” Cassian tries to smile back, then nods towards the cars approaching. “We only have a minute left— I had a nice time.”
Bodhi pulls out his own coach and frowns as it ticks down the last minute. “I did too.” Cassian smiles sadly, then reaches out to shake his hand. “Maybe if we had a next time?”
“Maybe.” Bodhi smiles as he shakes his hand, not letting go even as they both take a step back, their cars ready for them. They linger for a few more seconds before their devices buzz again, signaling that their time is up. It snaps Cassian out of it and he puts his hands in his pockets as he walks to his car, looking over his shoulder to find Bodhi already watching him.
As he gets in, he can’t help but to keep checking behind him, wondering if maybe the system could be wrong about who his future match was.