Chapter Text
As a child, Alexander didn't know what the numbers meant. Days to live? Chances to take? Words to speak? All he knew was there was a lot of them. He asks one night, an eight year old snuggled into his mothers chest.
"What do the numbers mean, Mama?" he had asked quietly.
Alexander breathed in the silence before she quietly responded,"It's the number of how many steps you take until you meet your soulmate."
"What's a soulmate?"
"The person who loves you most in the world."
"Oh." Alex had said simply. Several minutes passed before he asked, "So your number is zero now?"
Alex doesn't understand why his mother remains silent. He simply huddles closer to her.
He figures it out when he's ten.
His mother is in the hospital when he finds her counter, two years later. There are hundreds of thousands of steps still on it, ticking down each moment. Years. Suddenly, the numbers stop dropping. Alex's gut twist with dread.
The phone starts ringing.
He doesn't pay attention to his counter after that. How can he? There's too much work to do. He pays no mind to the children running in circles to take their numbers down or to the people kissing complete strangers in public. All that matters is getting out. He begins to write like he's running out of time. And he writes his way out.
Six years pass before he finds himself in the heart of Manhattan. He doesn't stop working; never stops writing. His first month of university flies by in a blur of classes, coffee breaks, and sleepless nights. He doesn't notice exactly how much his numbers have gone down until his roommate points it out. It's late at night and Lafayette leans over to stare at Alex's watch, looking back up with a smirk.
"You excited?" Laf asks in a sing-song tone.
Alex looks up from his laptop, scowling slightly. "What the hell are you talking about?"
Mocking offense, Laf pouts. "C'mon, Alex, haven't you seen your count? It's looking awfully low." They extend the counter to Alex.
Alex picks it up gingerly, as if it'll fall apart if he touches it wrong. He gently turns it over in his hand, staring down at the watch, now reading 5,000. Less than a day!
Alex lets out a little gasp, despite himself. "That's definitely..." he pauses, contemplating. "Unexpected." Lafayette chuckles knowingly and winks at him.
"Get to sleep, Alexander. It seems like you've got a big day tomorrow."