Day 9 - If a clock could count down to the moment you meet your soul mate...

-Modern-Day AU-

Edward knew Leonardo never bothered checking the red numbers emblazoned on his wrist, always keeping them hidden with a wristband. Never had he told him what his countdown was, and frankly, the brunet worried that his blond friend was never meant to have one. A soulmate. And while he counted the days drawing closer to the numbers reaching zero, the other never did. Still, the former found himself looking forward to it. Leonardo sensed his glee, and was naturally happy for him, patiently listening to all of Edward's rants.

The blond himself actually had a rather negative opinion of the 'countdown', but he didn't speak of it that often, claiming that he wouldn't let a scripted fate simply assign him to someone he doesn't even know, that the relationship will feel forced that way. So every day, he kept the numbers out of sight, never even glancing at them.

But in truth, he was afraid of more than that.

That the numbers will suddenly stop counting and forever freeze, signaling that his other half will never meet. He was afraid of who he'll be stuck with, or who he'll never meet.

Five minutes.

Edward was rocking back and forth on his heels in an anxious manner, schoolbag slung over his shoulder as the two waited for their train. Leonardo put a slender hand on the other's shoulder, giving him a comforting smile. There wasn't much time left. The station, however, was empty, noone was in sight. The brunet was becoming increasingly nervous, rubbing his wrist until it was red and sore. He began talking quickly, spitting out words in a rapid-fire pace, making it increasingly difficult for Leonardo to pick out the syllables and piece together the meaning of them.

"What if nobody comes? I've been waiting way too long..."

"And what if it's and old geezer? Or a teacher? Oh gods, that's gross, I don't think I can live with that-"

"And I swear, if Soren comes walking up, I'm gonna stab something-"

The words swirled into an endless babble as Edward glanced at his wrist again. Three minutes left. His companion sighed, moving to straighten the brunet's school uniform and comb his hair down, before stopping and fluffing it through again. It looked better messy, the blond thought to himself.

He was concerned, too. The train wasn't scheduled for another seven minutes.

One minute left.

The rocking had gone to hopping and pacing, excitement slowly dipping down into anxiety. He wouldn't admit that he was on the verge of tears, not in front of Leo, no! But still, maybe he was right...

Thirty seconds.

The blond stopped him and shook his head slowly, mouthing a 'Don't give up so easily'. No train in sight. No other person besides the two on the platform. "It'll be fine."

Twenty.

"Nobody's coming, Leo."

Ten.

"Don't say that, I'm sure..."

Five.

"Someone's bound to..."

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

Edward's wrist glowed a brilliant red for a moment, before dimming down.

Nobody had come.

The brunet looked around, before deflating, the spark in his eyes dimming, flickering, going out as he sniffled. Leonardo looked around frantically.

Oh no.

"... You were right."

"Edward?"

No answer was heard. Brown eyes became watery as he harshly wiped the tears away with a sleeve. How dearly he wanted to sink into the ground now. Edward hiccuped and threw his arms around Leonardo, crying silently, making the other's shirt damp, but the taller boy didn't seem to mind. Awkwardly hugging back, he patted the other's back in an attempt to console him. It helped, a little, at least. That's when he accidentally caught a glimpse of his own wrist.

It was glowing under the plain black wristband, in a way similar to how Edward's had. The blond loosened his grip, hesitated, then took it off.

0Y 0M 0D 0m 0s

Leonardo looked at his still sobbing brunet friend, before grabbing him by the shoulders and muttering. "Look at your wrist." The other complied.

The red zeros had started glowing again. Hiccoughing, but still unable to speak properly, he looked around, bewildered.

Leonardo was the only person in the vicinity. And he was holding up his wrist, the red numbers flashing like his were.

"... What?"

"The countdown... The countdown must've been off."

Edward hiccoughed, blinked once, twice, before breaking out into a grin and an exasperated laugh, throwing his arms around the blond anew, mumbling thank yous and oh my gods over and over again.

Leonardo glady returned the gesture.