Heavy on the Beca/Jesse, but unfortunately necessary. Bechloe endgame. Beta'd as usual by my lovely girlfriend. Thank you, babe!

Beca had decided when she was just thirteen, she would not be getting a timer. She wasn't going to let some… chip, tell her who to love, who the love of her life was supposed to be. Her parents had, and look how well that turned out for them. So much for being a perfect match.

She wasn't the only one without a timer of course. There were others, more than Beca had ever expected, and later in life, she learned there were some with blank timers. Those whose soulmates didn't have one themselves.

Beca hadn't ever felt any guilt over the possibility that her soulmate could be one of those people walking around with a blank timer and a broken spirit.

That is until she met one Chloe Beale.

Chloe actual-ray-of-sunshine Beale, who radiated love and positivity, who one day was going to make some undeserving bastard very happy had a blank timer. And as much as she claimed to have come to terms with it a long time ago Beca could see the underlying sadness. The air of hopelessness that seemed to burrow deeper and deeper as the years went by.

It was the first time Beca had spared a thought to her soulmate and hoped against all hope they weren't one of those people and if they ever found each other, they would be able to forgive her for all the years of pain she would've probably caused them.

And Beca thought of whoever Chloe's soulmate was and vowed that when—not if—Chloe ever found them, she was going to punch them in the face. Hard.

For all the nights in the past four years, though few and far between, Chloe spent drunkenly crying on her shoulder wondering why her soulmate didn't have a timer. If she was ever going to meet them. If she even had one in the first place. It was some kind of bullshit that a girl like Chloe, lovable, beautiful, vivacious Chloe walked around with so much sadness and despair bogging her down, all because of some fucking clock.

Maybe it was hypocritical and a little—a lot—selfish and more than a little cowardly but it only served to strengthen her resolve to never get one.

Then Jesse happened and Beca truly, honestly stopped feeling guilty. Sweet, kind, funny Jesse with the soulful, gentle eyes, the boyish smile and such a passion for life it eventually fueled her too. Jesse, who didn't have a timer either and firmly believed if he and his soulmate were meant to be, they would find each other without the help of some machine. He believed in the power of love and the inevitability of destiny.

He believed Beca to be his soulmate.

And Beca loved him. More than her emotionally stunted self ever thought she would be capable of.

Against all conceivable odds, their relationship had survived past the honeymoon stage and what Beca soon discovered was that though things had inevitably changed, their romantic relationship was smooth sailing. Jesse made her happy and their easy, uncomplicated relationship was what Beca wanted from a partner at that stage of her life.

It was almost enough to make her change her stance on the timers.

They talked about the possibility of finding out for sure if they were 'meant to be' often. But it was always in the abstract, the idea of it more than anything. After a year together, Jesse had jokingly brought it up for the first time as they made their way to one of their usual date-night spots.

"You know, this whole dating deal isn't half bad."

Beca bumped her shoulder against his with an eye-roll, fighting a smile, "Excuse you, I am amazing."

"That you are. If I was ever gonna get a timer, it would be for you Beca Mitchell," he said with that stupid, goofy grin of his.

It made a ball of anxious energy settle low in Beca's stomach but she smiled nonetheless, "Same, Swanson. Same."

Conversations like that happened a few more times through the course of their relationship. "If we make it another year, we should totally get those timers." Or "If we make it to graduation we're gonna do it." Then a year turned into two that unbelievably turned into almost three years and before anyone knew any better graduation was around the corner. Suddenly real life, adulthood, was waiting for them. Suddenly they were struggling to find reasons not to bite the bullet.

They were in love, they were sure and committed… Weren't they? They'd been finding excuses not to do it for months. Jesse was set to start film school in LA a few weeks after graduation; Beca was staying in Georgia to finish her internship with Residual Heat. No one said it out loud but long distance wasn't for them. So was it even worth it to keep going without any guarantees? Beca knew deep down, it wasn't.

Already they were drifting apart. Maybe it was why Jesse was pushing so hard for them to find out for sure if they had a future.

He seemed so, so confident and Beca tried—without much success—to soak up some of that confidence for herself because truth be told, she was absolutely terrified.

There existed every possibility that they weren't soulmates and the thought that she wouldn't have his dumb, nerdy face in her life anymore was devastating.

So Beca put on a brave smile and held onto his hand like a lifeline as they walked into the small, corner building for their 12:00PM appointment. They were ushered into a back room with two large, reclining chairs and not much else. It reminded her a little of a dental procedure room, it was just as sterile and white too.

"Hi! I'm Sydney and I'll be installing your timers today," a preppy, brunette woman said as she entered the room with a big smile. A young man trailed behind her, that Beca assumed would be helping. Jesse had requested it was done simultaneously. "And this is Michael, he's gonna be my assistant today."

Beca sought out Jesse's warm, reassuring gaze once they were laying down side by side.

He smiled, that soft Jesse-smile of his and squeezed the hand he still hadn't let go. "You ready?" He asked.

Beca looked into his eyes for a long moment and nodded, "Ready," she whispered.

"I love you."

"I love you too, weirdo," she took a deep breath and let go of his hand.

She gave the woman—Sydney—a quick nod and presented the underside of her right arm to her. Her heart was pounding so hard she thought she might be having a heart attack. This was such a bad idea.

"If you too are meant to be, as soon as you make eye contact your timers will beep at the very same time," the matchmaker explained.

She closed her eyes as cold metal pressed against her wrist then flinched as the timer pierced her skin and was implanted.

Jesse's eyes were already on her, wide and hopeful.

Beca held her breath and waited for the beep but the room stayed just as silent. She tore her gaze from his, looked down at her timer and gasped.

000d 11hrs 51mns 42s

She stared at her wrist as her timer kept counting down, trying to figure out what the hell it meant. She vaguely remembered what that annoying commercial that played late at night sometimes said, "The timer will zero out the night before you meet your perfect match. The next day it could beep at any moment."

She was going to meet her soulmate within a day. God no. No, no, no. She was so not ready for this.

The sharp sting of tears made itself present and Beca blinked them back focusing instead, on Jesse. He seemed frozen in place staring down at his own timer with an expression Beca had only seen a handful of times in the last four years. He looked so utterly disappointed a wave of sadness washed over Beca, "Jess."

Jesse startled and looked around the room, like he forgot where he was or that there was anyone else in the room, before settling his gaze on her. "I don't understand…" he said.

"Jess," she sighed, "I'm so sorry." Beca sat up slowly, swinging her legs over the side of the chair.

He looked down at his wrist again, brushing his thumb over the timer before he too sat up and lifted his arm so she could read the digits, offering a weak smile.

908d 11hrs 49mns 20s

"Guess I have a while left until I find her."

"That's… That's almost two and a half years."

"Yeah."

Neither one spoke for a long time, looking at anything but each other until Jesse cleared his throat and asked the question Beca had been honestly dreading.

"What about yours? How long until the day you meet The One?" He asked.

Beca closed her eyes and released a rueful sigh, "a few hours. It um, it zeros out tonight."

"Woah, seriously?"

"Yup," Beca said with an eye roll, "Guess I lucked out or something."

"I think we should talk."

Beca hesitantly agreed even though she felt the entire situation had done all the talking for them already.

They made their way to a quaint, little coffee shop across the street and sat across from each other staring into their respective coffee cups in not-quite-tense yet no-quite-comfortable silence. Jesse was the one to break the silence this time.

"How do you feel?" He asked.

Beca blew a breath through pursed lips before responding, "I don't know. I don't think I'm ready."

"Bec, it's gonna be okay."

Would it be? How was she supposed to reconcile the fact that her three-year relationship was over and less than twenty-four hours later she'd be meeting the person she was supposedly destined to spend the rest of her life with? Eleven hours, six minutes and forty-three seconds were not enough time for her to heal and come to terms with this new development.

"Just because you're gonna know who it is, doesn't mean you have to jump into a relationship with them."

"God I know, Jess. But you know I never wanted this. The timers don't mean jack shit at the end of the day. I mean look at my parents. They were soulmates and look where that got them. My dad's married to someone else and my mom's been alone and unhappy since he left. They mean nothing to me."

"Dude, just because your parents couldn't make it work doesn't mean you can't. Don't deny yourself happiness because you're scared," Jesse reached across the table to grasp Beca's hand tightly, "Remember why we wanted to do this, Beca."

Because they weren't on the same page anymore. Hadn't been for a long time. Because the insecurities and doubts were starting to overwhelm all the other aspects of their relationship. Because of all the nights Beca had spent seeking solace and a shoulder to cry on in Chloe's bed for a change. Because above all else Beca wanted happiness for Jesse and he wanted the same for her.

Because love wasn't enough anymore.

"I know. It's not fair to keep going like this."

"Now we know. Now we get to move on."

"I'm almost offended you're so level-headed and calm right now," Beca pushed a hand through her hair, sighing.

This whole situation was so fucked up yet there Jesse sat, all calm and confident as ever. She could feel anger bubbling just underneath the surface, threatening to burst through. At him, for making her do this in the first place, undeservedly so, at whoever the hell her 'perfect match' was for having such crappy timing and a new wave of anger towards her parents for leaving her to deal with a lifetime of trust and commitment issues.

"Do you want me to freak out like you are right now?" He asked.

"I'm not freaking out!"

Jesse raised an eyebrow in answer, "Yeah okay."

Beca heaved a defeated sigh rolling her eyes toward the ceiling, "I'm gonna miss you, Jess."

"I'm gonna miss you too, Bec."