A/N: Yes, I know this story is not one of my greatest. This is the product of 'I can't sleep so I guess i'll write?' 3AM drowsiness. I'll likely redo this one when I am more coherent and able to use my actually good writing skills. Until then, I guess you can try to enjoy this one.

A/N again: also, I got the idea from a tumblr post 5ever ago and I wrote a dr. who story using it, I'm just reprising it with coma.

In which time is of the utmost importance.

When Ash was born, Delia, being curious, checked the newborn's timer. 10 years, 4 months, 2 days, 12 minutes, 30 seconds and counting. She wondered who the lucky person would be. Would they be male or female? What will she think of them? What are they like? Questions flew through her mind in a flurry, but Delia put them out of her mind, deciding to worry about them when it was a bit closer to time.

02y:00m:00d:00m:00s

"Mom, in exactly two years I'll meet my soulmate!" said an 8 year old Ash excitedly, showing his mom his timer.

"That's wonderful, honey!" Delia said excitedly.

"I wonder what they'll be like!"

Meanwhile, a 9 year old boy stared at his timer with mild disgust. It hit exactly 2 years left while he was staring at it.

"Reggie, my timer just hit two years exactly," Paul said, causing Reggie to smile.

"That's great, Paul!" Reggie said. He looked at his own, his still had a good 4 years on it. He looked down on it with a smile, believing that the wait was worth it.

01y:03m:09d:12m:57s

Ash stared down at his timer, thinking about who it could be. At 9 years old, he didn't really have a grasp on the entire 'love' thing, but he knew he'd want to stay with this soulmate of his forever.

"What's yours at, Brock?" Ash asked his friend sitting next to him. Brock suddenly looked very sad.

"Mine just hit zero yesterday!"

"Whoa! I've still got a bit over a year on mine!" Ash said. "Who's the lucky lady?"

"I don't know her name, but she was so beautiful!"

"Good luck, Brock!" Ash said with a big grin.

Meanwhile, Paul looked at his timer blankly. He watched it count down slowly, then looked over at Reggie, who was grooming his pokemon. At 10 years old, Paul was almost ready to get his first pokemon, and was sure he had his choice picked out.

"Paul, it's time to go get your new partner!" Reggie said, and Paul smiled.

00y:01m:00d:16m:00s

Ash was traveling through Sinnoh with Brock and Dawn. Dawn's timer had hit zero about 5 years ago, but she was just a small child, so she didn't really get close to her soulmate yet. Ash stared at his timer, thinking it must be someone he meets on this journey through Sinnoh. There was only a month left.

Meanwhile, Paul glared at his timer, unhappy that it wasn't going faster. He wanted to meet his soulmate so he could stop worrying. He shook his head and kept looking at the road ahead, deciding to focus on his travels instead of the timer on his wrist.

00y:00m:00d:10m:20s

"Only 10 minutes!" Ash said as he got dressed in the nicest looking clothes he had in his backpack, which were pretty much the same thing he usually wore, just a bit cleaner.

"I can't wait either," Brock said with a smile, happy for his friend.

"I want to meet her so badly!" Dawn said.

"Nobody said it was going to be a girl! My uncle swore up and down his soulmate was gonna be a beautiful woman and he got a really nice man instead," Brock said. "He's my favorite uncle."

"Boy or girl, I'm really excited to meet them!" Ash said with a huge smile as he put his backpack on and Pikachu climbed onto his shoulder.

Paul was staring at his timer with a slight sense of excitement. Finally, it was gonna happen! About time! He rushed ahead, then slowed down when he nearly tripped. He wasn't gonna meet them any faster by running, there's a set time indicated by the timer on his wrist. He kept walking forward.

00y:00m:00d:00m:15s

Ash beamed, knowing it was gonna be any second! Well, 15 seconds... Brock and Dawn hung back, allowing Ash to have his moment. He stared at his timer, watching the numbers hit zero...

CRASH!

Ash collided with another person walking the path, and both fell to the ground, slightly dazed.

"Are you my soulmate?" Ash asked, pointing to his timer, which stayed on zero.

"I must be, seeing as my timer's at zero, too," the other boy said. He extended a hand. "I'm Paul. What's your name?"

"I'm Ash, it's amazing to finally meet you!" Ash said shaking Paul's outstretched hand with a big toothy grin on his face.

"My brother was right, he said you'd be really attractive," Paul said, making Ash blush deep red.

"You're not so bad yourself," Ash said, causing Paul to blush too. "Seeing as you're travelling alone, would you like to join our little group?" Ash said with a smile.

"I suppose it can't hurt," Paul said, gently grabbing Ash's hand. Ash smiled and intertwined their fingers. He didn't know much about the whole 'love' thing, but he knew he'd want to stay with this guy for the rest of his life.

They finish Sinnoh, neither winning the league, and continue on their journey together to Unova and Kalos, then Alola.

When Ash, the younger of the two, turns 18, they are wed, Ash inviting his plethora of friends and Pokémon, and Paul inviting those closest to him, like Reggie and his new wife, who Reggie met when Paul was 13. The sun sets as the pair share their first kiss as husbands, the sound of cheering from the plethora of attendees accompanying them.