A normal Tuesday. That's what many would call it. Though, for a certain person it was everything but a "normal" day. It wasn't because it was a special kind of day. Neither was there something strange going on. Today was just a day different from others.
With both hands stuffed into the back pockets of his jeans, Hunter strolled through the streets, enjoying the sun shining down on his military trained figure. His face held a superior smirk notable to every passing individual. The glow from a green neon light shone from the lower part of his left arm. A clock.
The man lifted his arm to check the time. Not just any time. He checked his time. Six months. Half a year. Hunter's smirk grew so wide he had to stop himself from bursting out in laughter that would sound like a maniac. What a poker game that was. A good last hand he had, indeed. That to think they'd had him down for two minutes, only two small minutes. He wouldn't even make it home to tell his husband what happened or get a chance to say he loved him.
The man rounded the corner as realization hit him. His husband. Shit. Out of nowhere he broke out into a run, not surprising any bystanders. This happened on a daily basis.
Hunter ran a mile before he crossed a clock. A real clock. It read 04:36 a.m.
"No, no, no! Fuck!" He turned on his heel frantically searching for a vehicle nearby or any form of transportation for that matter. While his eyes scanned the neighborhood, his mind calculated faster than any calculator could do.
"Evening, love." Hunter entered the kitchen with a tired smile. The strong scent of home made burritos entering his nose. "Hmm, burritos. Do you know I love you?" With less to effort he wrapped his arms around his husband who laughed lightly.
"Hunt, aren't you forgetting something?" The man shook his head, resting it on the shoulder of his taller husband. "Mwah, am I?" He used his left arm and carefully slid it along his husband's left arm, downwards until he reached his wrist. Hunter lifted the man's arm and avoided the blinding green light coming from the place between his elbow and wrist where skin had been replaced with a clock.
Suddenly, Hunter appeared wide-awake again. "Damn it, Sebastian!" He dropped his husband's arm and took a step back while Sebastian turned around to face Hunter, who by now looked as displeased as they come.
"Didn't we promised to tell each other exactly when we reach 24 hours, did we? I can't believe you..."
Sebastian couldn't help but sigh. With both hands he stopped Hunter from punching the fridge in frustration that flowed through his veins. "Hunt, look at me. We can do this alright." Hunter let out a frustrated hum, closing his eyes as Sebastian brushed the fallen strands of hair out of his face.
"I can't lose you, Sebastian."
Somewhere between those words Sebastian's heart broke. "I know, love, I know. Look, I'm going to my brother right after we finish dinner. He promised I could use his capsule in case of emergency. When I get my paycheck tomorrow I'll give the time back to him."
Hunter shook his head frantically, opening his eyes again. "Bas, you can't afford the trip to your brother. You can't cross zones with less than twelve hours." This earned a dirty glare from Sebastian, not towards Hunter though, towards everything that surrounded him. "Fuck."
"Sebastian. I'll do it." Hunter looked his husband in the eyes, trying very hard to focus before he drowned in the green colour of them. "I'll go to your brother. I'll pick up the capsule, take it home, give you some extra time and we'll bring it back tomorrow after you've got the paycheck."
"No—" Sebastian got no chance to speak more as his husband pressed his lips against Sebastian's.
"Period, Sebastian. Now, onto those delicious burritos. I'm hungry and it's already 9:00 p.m."
"Fuck!" Hunter called out. He needed a cab and he needed one fast. That's when luck struck him. From the corner of his eye Hunter noticed the black car rounding the corner. The man turned around, waving his hands to get the driver's attention who stopped in front of Hunter.
The window on the driver's side rolled down. "Night, where to, good sir?"
"I need to get to Dayton. I need to get there before the clock strikes five. Can you make that happen?" Hunter commanded, not even waiting for any form of response as he jumped into the back of the car. He stuck his hand into the control panel in the middle of the backseat, waiting for the chauffeur to drive.
"I can't guarantee success, sir."
"Well, try moving then!" Hunter nearly yelled. He took one deep breath to calm himself down and caught the quick eye-roll from the driver before the car started rolling.
"Dayton. One zone. Twelve hours."
"Do it." The countdown on Hunter's arm started and in less than a second he had five months, 30 days, nine hours, 57 minutes and 39 seconds left.
It didn't took long for the car to cross zones. In fact, it took a little less than twenty minutes to arrive in Dayton. "What's the time?" Hunter asked worriedly, as drove through the streets of Dayton.
"4:57 p.m. Let me guess," The chauffeur stated, continuing with his eyes fixed on the quiet roads. "You have to save your girlfriend or your mother? Don't worry man, you'll be home in a minute."
"Husband." Hunter muttered, seeing his house from afar. His nerves kicked into full speed and his heart was beating out of his chest. He needed to get in there before 5:00 a.m. That's when the car stopped.
Hunter jumped out, with a halfhearted thank you, storming to the front door, yelling his husband's name before he even made it inside the house.
"Sebastian! Bas, where are you? Love, Sebastian!" With sweating palms and his lungs losing air quickly Hunter ran to the living room only to knock into Sebastian with full force, sending them both to the ground.
"Sebastian!"
"Hunt, what took you so long. What are you- You're not going to make it... Hunter stop!" Sebastian tried to get Hunter's attention but his husband would have none of it. There was already a transfer capsule on his arm before Sebastian had even started speaking.
Time was ticking, and ticking quite fast in this situation.
"Bas, will you shut up!" Somewhere in between Hunter's clumsy movements to grab his husband's arm he noticed tears sliding down Sebastian's cheek. His gaze fell on Sebastian's clock, only to notice then why he was crying.
Three seconds,
Two seconds,
One second,
Dead silence.
Both men had their eyes closed. Neither wanting this moment to be remembered as their last moment together. It gave neither of them the opportunity to actually look at Sebastian's clock and see that it had started counting again.
Two seconds,
Five minutes,
Nine days,
One month,
Three months.
Sebastian opened his eyes again, blinking rapidly, trying to make his racing brain monitor the situation. He was still alive. Hunter was sitting up straight, meaning he was still alive too, right? His eyes quickly glanced at his husband's clock. Two months - and something more but that wasn't important right now –, they were both alive.
"Love, you need to let go of my wrist because I can feel my blood circulation giving up on me any minute from now." Hunter's eyes shot open, looking at Sebastian with pure horror and utter confusion. The man dropped the transfer capsule, let go of Sebastian's wrist and pulled him into a choking hug, to not let go, ever.
"Bas, love, I'm so, so sorry. I-I, I don't even know. I got this offer that would get me at least another year, for both of us. So I took it, but it was a horrible game and I kept loosing and then I won. I won six months and I forgot the time and I'm just so sorry." Abruptly, Hunter released Sebastian to look him in the eyes. "I almost lost you."
Sebastian shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips. "You're an asshole. Have I told you that before?" With his smile growing wider, Sebastian pulled Hunter into a breath-taking kiss.
"Also," he muttered with his lips against Hunter's. "you're on cooking duty for the next—" They both glanced down at Hunter's clock, and back up at each other. "—two months, 30 days, eight hours, 26 minutes and ten seconds."