Falling For You
I've heard that long ago time could flow freely. You were born, you lived 100 years if you were lucky and then you died. I can't even start to imagine how many lonely people there would've been out there. No one remembers anymore when it changed but I guess no one cares either. People are happy the way it is now. Most of them at least.
"Tino!" The voice of my boss brought me back to reality. "You'll burn them!"
"Oh no! I'm so sorry!" The smell of burnt bread spread through the kitchen as I took out the plate. Damn it, I'd done it again. "I-I'll start over…"
"Don't space out like that! I'd hate to fire my best employee for daydreaming" She stomped away and I chuckled as I packed away the bread. If you scraped the burnt parts off it would be edible. There was a lot of people living on the streets that would be grateful. As I started working on the new dough my thoughts trailed off again. I put a hand to my chest to search for the pounding from my heart but as usual, it was as still as ever. It had been like that for almost a year now, how could I be surprised? That's how it worked after all.
Most people call it romantic but I'm not as sure. Living in this world where you age until you're 20, where your heart beats until you're 20 was hard. I've heard that some people have managed to live hundreds of years! I slammed the dough onto the table, not really sure why I'd gotten irritated. I wanted to age, I wanted to grow older. I wanted to have a bunch of children, a dog and a small house on the countryside. But I knew that would only be possible if I found THAT person. I shook my head. That's just a dream silly.
Soulmates. The only way to age was finding your soulmate. That way you could grow old together. I kneaded the dough a bit too roughly before I threw it into a bowl. I've heard the stories but the chance of finding your "other half" was so small that most people thought it was a myth. At least in these, a bit poorer, districts. Then there's the rumours of people killing their soulmate so they can live forever. I looked at the clock and realised that the shop would open any minute now, I really had to get this done…
.
"See you tomorrow!" My boss waved at me as I stepped out of the bakery. My mood got a lot better as I saw the small puffs of white falling from the sky. Winter was finally here. I shuddered and pulled my thin jacket tighter around me. I stopped to buy some groceries on my way home, nodding and greeting the people I met. There was a lot of new people there, the town had gotten some newcomers lately. Well, with few deaths and long lives I guess overpopulation was inevitable. I shook my head, what was a horrible way of thinking! The bags were heavy but I knew it wasn't a long way to my apartment. I rushed a bit, eager to get out of the cold and to unload the bags but as I rounded a corner I suddenly hit a wall and bounced back. The bags, of course, fell onto the ground and the food rolled out. Great.
"You okay?" I don't know what freaked me out more, the fact that the wall could talk or the realisation that it hadn't been a wall. Instead I saw a big man towering over me with a stern look on his face. He didn't seem happy at all and when he lifted his arm, I automatically covered my face.
"I-I'm so s-sorry!" I realise that stammering might seem a bit pathetic but he was really scary. I froze as something grabbed my wrists and forced my hands away from my face. I still had my eyes closed though.
"Hey, you 'kay?" His voice was unsurprisingly deep but surprisingly friendly, almost concerned, with an accent I couldn't really place. I slowly opened my eyes and realised that he had crouched down to come into eye level with me. His eyes seemed worried and I suddenly realised that he was probably waiting for an answer.
"Me? Yes of course I am! I mean, I'm the one who bumped into you not the other way around so I guess I only have myself to blame and I mean my butt is getting a bit wet from sitting here and my food might be a bit ruined but it's fine since…" Oh no. I closed my mouth. The old ranting-when-nervous habit was kicking in. He seemed strangely amused even though his expression didn't change much.
"Good" He got back onto his feet and then easily lifted me so I stood up again. I blinked, a bit confused and suddenly the bags were back in my hands. I hadn't even realised that he had picked it up for me. Then, something suddenly covered my face. "Take 't, You seem cold" He walked past me and I was still a bit stunned. The scarf was warm and smelled softly of forests and wood. How it had gotten that scent in the suburbs of a big city was a mystery. I finally managed to snap out of it and turned around only to find out that he had already gotten pretty far away.
"What's your name?" I realised that it might be rude to ask a stranger his name, especially someone you should be thanking, but I couldn't help myself. He heard me, stopped and turned around.
"Berwald" Then he rounded a corner and was gone. I might have imagined it, but I was fairly certain I saw a blush on his face. Or it was only the cold. Most likely.
"Thank you, Berwald" I knew he couldn't hear me so I turned around and walked the last few blocks home. The rest of the day passed as usual. I made dinner, answered some e-mails, watched some TV and went to bed. Something that was different though was that I couldn't take my mind of Berwald. I barely managed to hope as I reached for my chest and as my hand reached the spot where the pounding should be, I held my breath.
Nothing.
I breathed out. Certainly, I was disappointed and felt embarrassed about hoping in the first place. The bed felt cold, I felt sad and he still wouldn't leave my mind. I twisted and turned and fell asleep only to see him in my dreams. The morning came all too soon and I dragged myself up.
.
"You look horrible!" My boss has always been an angel, always knew what to say to cheer me up! That was sarcasm. She was a very good friend though.
"I didn't sleep very well" I yawned as I continued to decorate the cake in front of me. I felt a few stares from the other bakers but ignored them. They were used to the cheery and fully energised me, not the tired version. I focused on my cake for another hour. That's when it happened. It felt like someone hit me right in the chest and I stumbled a few steps backwards.
"Tino! Are you okay?" One of the bakers ran up to me but I barely noticed. I was hit again but was caught before I hit the floor.
"What's going on in here?" Her voice cut through the air and I guess she must have seen me since I could hear her gasp. She ran up to me and pressed her hand over mine that was placed over my heart. We could both feel it. It was furious, it was fast but it was pounding. She took my face in her hands and only said one word, the only one I needed to hear.
"Go"
My apron practically flew off and I grabbed my jacket on my way out. I looked around, didn't know where to go. I made a quick decision to go the exact same route as yesterday. I entered the store. I couldn't be certain who I had actually reacted to even though I had my hopes. The cashier stared as I entered the store. I didn't blame him, I must've seemed mad. I rushed past the same shelves as yesterday but didn't see anyone. There was no one else in the store. I rushed outside and started running. Fast. I didn't understand why it had taken so long for it to react, why didn't it start pounding yesterday? My mind was filled with thoughts crossing each other and at the same time I couldn't think about anything but putting one foot in front of the other. I rounded the corner.
I guess I wasn't really paying attention well enough on where I put my feet. I should've been more careful but I wasn't so when the icy street made me slip I blamed no one but myself. But life still had its surprises because I never landed on the ground. Instead I felt a firm grip as someone grabbed me and caught me before I fell.
"Careful" Berwalds eyes were the same as yesterday and his voice sounded the same. But I had a hard time focusing on that since I could feel his heart pound hard through the winter jacket. "You're…" I realised that the hand not holding me had ended up on my chest and I guess there was no way he didn't notice. I chuckled.
"Guess I quite literally fell for you" The redness that spread across his face was adorable. "Speaking of which, you can let me go now"
"Oh" He let me go and we stood awkwardly in front of each other. I could feel a connection between us. It felt like this was meant to be. But we were still strangers, we had met only yesterday!
"So… Would you like to go for a coffee?" I noticed that he relaxed a bit and nodded so I led the way.
I couldn't know that it would only take us a few months to move in together. We would move into his house on the countryside and shortly after get a dog. I didn't know the happiness this man would bring me in the future but now, as he carefully took my hand, I got could at least get the first taste of it.
A/N A fic I wrote for a SuFin event I was part of in which I got the prompt "Time" and this is the result. I hope you enjoyed and feel free to review!
