Originally posted December 9, 2008
((This was a wonderfully storyline that Untradynamic cooked up; a future American Promise, child of Chance's girlfriend Regina, the current American Promise. It gave Chance all sorts of angsty things to ponder. Here are a few examples.))
Chance sat at the table in the apartment he shared with his father. His father wasn’t home. Chance’s father hadn’t been home much since finding a new girlfriend, something Chance and Reg had taken advantage of on numerous occasions. It had grown comfortable, nice, waking up next to her.
Things had never been better for them. They had never been closer. Chance hadn’t worried one bit about Harley and Ace breaking up. He knew where Reg’s heart lie. They were going to visit Chicago together before the holidays. Reg was going to meet his mom.
Missing.
Superheroes go missing all the time. Hell, Chance had spent a night in an old meat locker that had sealed behind him accidently. It took him hours to figure out the lock. That’s an odor that doesn’t come out of tights very easily. The two of them knew the risks. It wasn’t a relationship where you could always answer the phone.
Missing in time.
Weird.
American Promise from the future? Even weirder.
What would he want to know?
On one level, Chance knew that he and Reg would likely break up at some time. High school romances rarely lasted. He knew that.
But there were the moments in the morning, moments when he would watch her sleep. He would lie stock still, his skin against hers, hoping not to wake her. Her breathing; he could hear her breathing. At those moments he would let his heart dream of a future together; marriage; scary smart, well behaved kids; a dog. Chance would want a big dog.
What would he want to know about their future?
Less and less compared with what he wanted to know right now. Where, when was she? Was she safe?
Maybe Jen had found something out. He would catch a few hours sleep and ask his dad to call him in sick. Then he would go out and try to find some answers.
--
"I could have handled that better," said Chance to the bathroom mirror. He tugged at his mask. The spirit gum gave way under the gentle pressure. The light adhesive burned when it got wet. There had been some tears.
Chance rubbed his exposed face and sat on the closed toilet. It was so obvious who Gwen was, and sadly, who she wasn't. He had been able to stay with her to construct her device. Jen had helped. He smiled weakly. Jen gave him the strength to stay those extra moments and help finish the timer.
How many times?
How many times had he and Reg kissed and wondered if it would be the last time? Now he knew that time was coming. Relief filled a part of him. There were a lot of reasons why they might never see each other again. Reg, or him, finding someone else was not the worst option.
He stood, walked from the bathroom to the kitchen to get a glass of water. Chance made a face. Time travel. Maybe this is the moment. The moment when they're separated and she lives out her days in another timeline.
He sighed, rubbing his face again. The last day will come. Until then, he would make sure that he kissed Regina as if he would never see her again. She would never wonder as to his feelings. He would do everything he could to get her back...
... and then they would see what the future would bring, just like any other day.
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