When and where (Fruk)

21 (final)

When we walked through my lab doors, I reached to turn on the light. It seemed like I was only gone for a few hours, but I had been gone longer. It was a weird sense of time that I could not shake off. "Wow, so this is your office?" Francis asked, looking around. I rushed toward my desk and began going through my things to find my needed stuff. I wanted To make something that would shut down their on-hands if they were to come to a certain distance from us.

I looked over to where he was and saw him trace his hand across the desk I was at. " For years, I tried looking for you after you left me in twenty-twenty. It was weird to see the you that did not spend all that time with me. It was hard to keep my emotions back when I last saw you," he spoke. I slowly placed things on the table and felt sad. I really hurt him by leaving...but I didn't have a choice. "Then a miracle happened a few years back, probably around when you started working here...You had won a prize for an invention..."

My eyes widened at what he said, and I smiled. "Oh my, don't remind me about that prize! It was a dumb idea that got popular!" I laughed. He started to laugh as well and took a seat beside me. "Oh, it wasn't that bad. I thought sweat-powered smart watches were interesting; I would have bought one if I had the money," he laughed. I rolled my eyes at him and covered my face. "One of the worst inventions! And it won a prize!" I laughed.

He shook his head at me and came closer. "Well, if you didn't invent that weird gadget, I wouldn't have been able to find you. When the news posted your face beside it, it felt like this weird dream. It was like seeing you for the first time. I saw the interview of you on the big screen, and I stopped to watch. Then I saw the company you worked for, and I wasn't sure if you knew about me yet. Then again, I'd remember that long-range travel wasn't invented yet, so that answered my question."

I smiled at what he said and began to make the device I had in mind. "I'm sorry you had to go years without me," I started. I pointed the bright light over my work and held a magnifying glass close to help me look at the tiny pieces. "I couldn't stay with you...as much as I wanted to..."

"Oh? You wanted to stay with me?" He teased. I laughed at what he said, shrugging. "A little but...I was worried about you the entire time. Even now. I realize the person I'm talking to now isn't the same person I saw the other day in the eighties or sixties. You look the same...but have grown so much, but I'm blind to how..." I spoke. Francis faced the table I rested my arms on and began to lean his head on my shoulder.

"Listen, I know you've constantly been running around, and you are probably exhausted, but I think that once this is over, we should go out..."

"Go out?..."

"Yeah!"

"Like...a date?" I asked. He looked at me quickly and shook his head. "No, No, No! I wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable! I thought it would be nice to finally have a nice calming dinner with you."

I smiled, giving him a side-eye. He looked nervous to ask that question. His face looked flustered, and he was fidgeting with his thumbs. Why was he getting so nervous? If anyone here should be, it should be me! He seemed like the confident person between the two of us. I only say that because of the ridiculous things I have seen him wear. It would not make sense to get nervous. "Are you only trying to get me to go out because our future says we are destined to get married?" I asked. I continued to work on the device, and I saw him jump. He was freaking out, and I could not help but laugh.

"WHAT?! NO! Not at all! That might be where our future leads, But I really like being around you! No rush or anything!" He began to stutter his words, and I laughed. "Don't worry, I will go for a bite to eat, You don't need to stress about it," I smiled. He nodded at me, and I continued to work. "What will we do about them? I know we plan to send them back, but, what about our future selves? How are we going to stop them from being such assholes? I mean, I didn't think I would turn out that way, but now I am worried. Now I feel confused ...." He spoke.

I stopped working, and looked at him. "Well, I know it may seem confusing now...I think everything will fall into place. Trust me on this! I promise you! We won't turn out they way they say we will." I smiled at Francis, and rested my hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him. "If you say everythingwill be fine, I trust you!" He smiled.

The device I was making was not going to take long to finish. It was a magnetic shock wave that would destroy technology that it is pointed at. As long as it is not pointed toward my thing, we should be fine with getting them back. The shock would disorient anyone it was directed at, so this will give me time to deal with Alfred and Matthew. I do not care for what they will say to us. I do not want to hear about anything else from the future! I will wait to find it out myself. My goal was to get everything back to normal.

"How is it going? It looks like an old television remote..." Francis laughed. I looked at the time, and nodded. I really just threw parts together. "Okay I think, we wont know till we test it out," I spoke. "Do you think they will find us?" he asked. I nodded at him, and tried to finish faster. "Yes, I think their on-hands are way more advanced than ours, so their malfunction could be fixed with a reset. I don't have an exact time frame, but I assume pretty soon," I explained.

"Great..." Francis laughed, nervously.

As I continued to work, I had overwhelming thoughts in my head. What if, instead of Alfred going back to curse Francis, I did it...on purpose. That way he becomes immortal, and lives forever. I can guide him to meet me...in the future so I could cure him. I could change the past that way maybe? "Say, you don't happen to remember seeing future me in the past at anytime, right?" I asked. He looked at me confused, and slowly shook his head. "Only the times we talked," he spoke. So...that possibility has not happened. I remember Matthew saying "they've never done this before." Could that mean they were watching every possibility? And now we are suddenly changing things? If they were watching every possibility, that means there is a chance there are multi-dimensions of infinite possibilities, different possibilities, yet we were still doing the same things.

Unless now, our dimension was finally doing something different. Which means that their future selves arent truly from our dimension. There was still time to change everything...in a very confusing way. "I have a questions..." I started. I was nearly finished with the remote. "What is it?" he asked.

"Did you hate your existence? Having to constantly live?" I asked. He looked at me shocked, and began to think. I felt nervous waiting for his response. What was the point of him living this long if he hated it? Maybe no one should go back. That is it...our relationship would eventually end the longer the loop plays out. "Yes...you would think that, but I didn't mind it..."

"What? why not?"

"Well...because I looked forward to seeing you every few decades..."

That still wasn't a life I wanted for him. To constantly wait for me. It was sad.

I had finished the device finally, and slowly looked back at him. "Really?" I asked worried. He nodded at me slowly, and I felt myself getting closer to him. This man...has waited decades to see and be with me. The dedication was unreal...and made me feel loved, yet sad. "Francis...you really do suck," I laughed. He looked at me confused, and turned red. "Huh? Well...you are rude all the time! It is a mystery why I like being around you in the first place..." he laughed.

The sudden noise, of a portal opening up, made my eyes widened. I quickly grabbed the remote, aiming it toward the direction, pressing the button.

This was it...our way to end things...

It had finally worked.