Work Text:
July 3rd, 2002
Thirty minutes.
“Polonium injection detected in Southeast Europe.”
What can anybody say, or do, in thirty minutes?
Now, that was a question that would surely make any great philosopher ponder for hours and hours on end, because it was a good amount of time, but it also was nothing at all. Time never stopped and never will stop ticking away.
Even if that’s how it is, you could do a lot of things in thirty minutes. Anything, really. Except travel, but even that you could do, to some degree. If you really want something, and you’re determined enough to make it a reality, anything is possible. That's what Jay thinks, at least.
“Thirty minutes, to the destruction of Earth,” announced the feminine voice over the speakers, right after the ominous buzzers got everyone’s attention. “Thirty minutes to destruction.”
That sentence, that announcement, was a normal everyday thing to hear here.
It seemed like everything needed a deadline, to force you to do that thing you wanted to do. But, how could you do it, when you’re so sure you’d live to see another day? When you can just do it tomorrow? Or some other time? Whenever that could be, it didn’t matter.
Funny enough, Jay was on his thirty minute break of the day. It was a nice, warm afternoon in July. He could go for a walk, get a hotdog, see what the world upstairs had to offer; the bright blue sky turning dark and orange as the sun was setting, that summer breeze cooling him down, drying off the sweat off of his face.
That sounded good to him, but it wasn’t like the dollar coin in his hand was going to jump out of his hand and run away. Men in Black agents were the best of the best everywhere in the world, even if… even if a part of the planet got injected with Polonium, of all things.
Jay didn’t want to be one of the agents that had to save the planet from Polonium, but he was sure things were gonna be fine. He was content enough to stay right where he was, in the lounge area with the weird looking wallpaper, sat down on the pearly white sofa, flipping a coin in his hand to pass time until he had to go back to his computer.
He traced his thumb over Lady Liberty engraved on the golden platted coin, before turning it over and around, and now President John Adams seemed to be staring right at him, for what felt like the longest time ever. He felt someone pat him hard on the shoulder, knocking the breath out of him, before sitting down next to him.
“That must be one interesting coin there, slick,” Kay next to him said, acting intrigued as he looked at the coin Jay was still staring at. “You’ve been looking at it for five minutes. Care to tell what you gonna spend it on?”
Five minutes down the drain.
“I uh, I don’t know yet, Kay,” Jay almost forgot he could talk for a moment, “I think I’ll just keep it, I had it in my pocket along with my keys for like, ages. It's like a charm of some sorts at this point. Though, I don’t know if I'm lucky to have ended up here.”
“You having second thoughts?”
“I used to, yeah.”
“Well, you shouldn’t have any.”
“I don’t, man. Seriously.”
“It’s not because of the girl again, is it?”
“Kay, just-… just no.”
“If you say so,” Kay reached to take the coin, and Jay let it get taken away from his hand. Kay scrutinized it like it was a cure for a disease under a microscope, like he was trying to see what Jay saw. “It doesn’t look that special to me, it’s just a dollar coin, no point in keeping it.”
“Hey, I ain’t blind,” Jay snatched the coin away from him as nicely as he could. “Then again, why not keep it?”
Kay looked at him like he was an alien; seriously, right in the eyes, absolutely no different to how he’d talk to a human being. ”Money is a man-made construct, and nothing man-made lasts, and that coin right there in your hand was made to be spent,” he waited for a reply, but when he didn’t get one, he stood up to leave. ”You shouldn’t be so sentimental over a coin. Go get yourself a cheeseburger with it. You’re starting to get thin.”
“Kay, my man,” Jay reacted in a confused manner up at his partner. “The planet might get blown up in thirty min—”
Those same buzzers echoed throughout all of headquarters again. “Twenty minutes, to the destruction of Earth. Twenty-”
“Exactly, twenty minutes. Thank you, speaker lady,” Jay casually corrected his previous statement. “So, who cares about anything else? Ain’t you got plans of your own before the Plutonians wipe us off of the face of the universe?”
“What’s your plan, then, kid?”
“I didn’t say I got one.”
Kay gestured at the main hall, before putting his hands in his pockets, looking at him expectantly, like Jay should know this, like it was obvious, so obvious he didn’t say it. He said something else, catching the younger agent off-guard. “We’re sure the agents over in Europe will succeed, if they dont… Where do you wanna go? It’s your call.”
“You… want to spend the planet’s last minutes with… me. H-How many times were you stung as a child again?”
“I’m not gonna ask you twice.”
“Fine, fine, you cranky old guy,” Jay’s knees cracked as he got up off the sofa. “Pack your skates quick,” he exclaimed, a bit too joyful as he took Kay’s hand in his own, turning it palm up to press the coin on his white skin, tails up. “‘Cause we’re going to Rockefeller Center, then Central Park. How’s it sound?”
Kay actually kinda smiled. Blink and you’d miss it.
“Sounds good.”
“Then we both finally agree on something.”
—
“Fifteen minutes, to the destruction of Earth.”
Compared to his partner, Jay couldn’t ice skate for shit, but he didn’t care.
He wasn’t even sure why Rockefeller Center crossed his mind, maybe it was because it was the most obscure thing he could do, when he could’ve just shot some hoops in the local basketball field, or just watched some game of ball. But he’d done both those things countless times. Plus, the ring was completely empty, with the sun almost set and 4th of July right around the corner.
It was almost like the craziest things he didn't even know he wanted to do, he’d do them last minute, without any second thoughts, rushing to find two pairs of skates at the last minute. Even that felt nice, and he kinda liked that about himself finding even the tiniest bit of joy in simple things.
By no means, Kay was no expert like they show on the Olympics doing top spins and other fancy named moves, but he’d pass with an eighty percent if this were some test. He made it look easy, and Jay couldn’t believe his eyes, or even imagine how or why he was this good.
“Hey, Kay. Where’d you learn to skate like that?”
“Think of it like roller-skating, ace.”
“You know how to roller skate?!”
“I didn’t say anything.”
Kay did five loops around the ring, Jay did two.
—
“Five minutes, to the destruction of Earth.”
Then the ride to Central Park, with the windows rolled all the way down, with city air rushing in the car to ruin their hair. Just to get a view of the park he grew up playing in, mother nature cramped up in such a small yet big space in the middle of a bustling and very noisy city.
It wasn’t bad, because it was almost quiet here. Only the sound of pigeons splashing around on the lake and kids playing on the nearby playground could be heard, along with the rustling of leaves from the tree covering their bench from the somehow still hot sun. Kay just breathing, existing, right next to him, engulfed in the stars' orange colored rays of light.
Jay would need a lot of words, and a lot of time than five minutes to describe how he felt right now. A lot more to describe the view, the sounds that came with it. He wouldn’t trade being here with anything else in the world. New York was his home, and it was beautiful, absolutely worth fighting for.
“Two minutes, to the destruction of Earth.”
“I feel like you and me have a lot more to say,” Jay put his half-eaten hotdog aside and extended his arm out for a handshake, Kay took his hand and shook it. “But, It’s been… an honor, working with you and all. That’s all I gotta say.”
Kay, who was a rather quiet man, looked back at him like he wanted to say something. Jay didn’t know why, but he felt like it was… something important. It made him hold his breath unknowingly as if he was underwater, like if he didn’t hear what his partner had to say, he’d never emerge from the drowning depths.
“One minute, to the destruction of Earth.”
“You’re—” Kay finally spoke, letting go of Jay’s hand. “You’re a good man, James.”
“Wow, Kevin,” Jay laughed as he looked away, hearing his name felt like getting run over by a train and a herd of bison and wild horses. “That… might actually be the nicest thing you ever told me.”
“...Your father would be proud.”
“Yeah… I like to think he’d be, wherever he is. If he’s alive or not.”
“Ten.”
“Nine.”
“Eight.”
“Seven”
“Six.”
“You don’t look like a Kevin, by the way.”
“Yes, I know.”
“Fi—”