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The Narrator rarely, if ever, brought himself down into the office space with Stanley. Sometimes he’d show himself off, mostly appearing whenever Stanley stayed longer than usual in the zending. He’d sit down next to Stanley and, without a word, lean his head on the man’s shoulder and watch the lights from down there, sometimes eerily still, yet his breathing sometimes lulled Stanley into a comfortable sleep. After that, however, he had no clue, since each time he woke up The Narrator was gone.
A small, content sigh escaped Stanley at the memory, focusing back on the two doors in front of him. He was debating whether or not to go to the zending and meet The Narrator again, perhaps even try talking to him, yet his muscles ached from his unstoppable demise once he dedicated himself to that ending.
`` Something the matter, Stanley? ,, The Narrator spoke up, his voice quieter than the one he used whilst he narrated. Stanley found it that he enjoyed this softer version of his voice somewhat more. It felt more private, like he was speaking to Stanley and not just reading off of a predetermined script. `` You’ve been sitting there for a long time. You don’t normally debate this for so long. ,, His voice had a tinge of worry, yet he tried to mask it by adding, `` We need to continue the story, after all. The protagonist can’t just sit in front of two doors and do nothing, that would be a boring story! ,,
Stanley couldn’t help but chuckle, shaking his head. He placed his hands on his hips, thoughtful for a moment, before he signed, [Do you know how to dance, Narrator?]. Stanley had decided to drop the honorific, as he didn’t find a need to add it in the first place.
`` Well- Hold on, why are you asking that so suddenly? ,, The Narrator quizzed, even as Stanley finally decided to move into the right room, script completely forgotten. `` I don’t know how to dance, but why would you even be curious about that? ,, The voice questioned, utterly puzzled.
[I knew how to dance, I used to go to dance lessons before I entered The Parable], Stanley explained, skipping through the lounge area and continuing onwards, [I miss dancing, is all. It kept me in shape whilst I had an office job but with all the walking I’m doing, it’s lost its purpose, hasn’t it?]
`` Well, I don’t think dancing should have a set-in-stone purpose, ,, The Narrator offered, diving back into that voice he used when he was about to ramble, `` Dancing is a form of art, a form of expressing emotions through movement, the only ‘purpose’ it should have is expression. Sure, some people use it for exercise, but if you go back to- ,,
Stanley had managed to tune him out for the time being, an exhausted sigh slipping past his lips as he stepped onto the yellow cargo lift. Sure, The Narrator’s rambling was sometimes nice, but right now it just felt overwhelming. With a small ‘huff’, Stanley made his way off of the catwalk and onto the metallic railing, cutting The Narrator’s rambling short.
`` Oh, already going back here?,, The voice asked, although his voice sounded just a tiny bit (a lot) scared. `` You- you really don’t have to come back here, Stanley. You can just go through the blue door and I’ll cut it short and- ,,
But Stanley’s hand was already on the handle of the red door, much to The Narrator’s displeasure. [I thought you liked it here?], Stanley signed, making sure his expression looked puzzled.
`` I- I do, don’t get me wrong, this is probably the best place I’ve ever made!-,, The Narrator spoke, as if offended Stanley even thought of that- `` It’s just… the other part. I don’t want to go through it again, not so soon… ,, his voice dropped low, barely above a whisper, and if the being’s microphone wasn’t so high quality Stanley wouldn’t have heard it at all.
[Don’t worry about it,] Stanley signed as he stepped onto the platform in the middle, triggering the lights to burst to life, [I’m not going to the staircase soon.], he explained, and he could hear The Narrator shudder at just bringing it up. [I came here because I want you to come down.]
`` Huh? ‘Come down’? ,, The Narrator’s voice asked in a curious manner, the sound of a chair squeaking as if the person on it leaned closer getting picked up by his microphone. `` What is that supposed to mean, Stanley? Do you want me to… join you in watching the lights? ,,
The Narrator’s voice suddenly picked up speed, sounding mildly shocked. `` Oh god, you know about me coming down? Ah, I thought all the times I did you were asleep, I guess not- Well, that’s quite embarrassing, Stanley. How about you just forget about that and- ,,
Stanley lifted his hand up to the air in a ‘stop’ motion, willing The Narrator into a tense silence. Stanley sighed, rubbed the bridge of his nose between his fingers, and signed. [It’s not embarrassing, Narrator. I just wanted to dance again, and was wondering if you’d like to join me, since I know more moves that involve a partner.], Stanley explained, expression looking both tired and amused.
`` Oh… ,, The Narrator trailed off, a whispered ‘partner?’ faintly audible before the being coughed twice, startling Stanley at the volume. `` Well, ah, if you insist… we can just consider this a new ending, eh? ,, He spoke, a bit of mirth in his tone as Stanley nodded and gave the ceiling a thumbs up, waiting and facing the lights until The Narrator made himself present.
After a bit of waiting, what sounded like steps rang out into the small space before they turned into.. A squealing noise? Turning his head around, he was shocked to see that The Narrator had decided to change his appearance on such short notice. Instead of being in the usual brown suit and fancy tie, he was in a white lab coat with blue highlights, along with rolled up dark blue jeans and a button-up underneath the coat, with a pattern that resembled a line zig-zagging through it. The Narrator’s face had changed as well, and whilst half of it remained human enough, the other half looked almost holographic with the cyan color, detailed with white stripes flickering in and out and scrolling down their face before looping back once more. But what brought his attention even more was..
[You put on rollerskates?], Stanley signed, nearly dumbfounded, and The Narrator began slowing down, now merely an arm’s reach away from the office worker as the man…robot? Put his hands behind his back, looking amused.
`` Well, I thought some skates might help my dancing look more smooth! ,, The Narrator grinned, doing a twirl as if to show that off, quickly stopping before he got too dizzy. `` And I didn’t really have time to change into my other form on such short notice, so… ,, he continued, scratching his chin in mild embarrassment, looking to the side.
‘I think skates will do the opposite of helping you’, Stanley thought but didn’t sign it out, instead huffing and rolling his eyes. [Just don’t blame me if you fall flat on your ass because of them], he decided on instead, watching with amusement as The Narrator’s face twisted into shock, to embarrassment, to anger.
`` I will not ‘fall flat on my ass’, thank you very much Stanley!,, The robot..? Robot. Huffed, crossing his arms and looking offended. `` Whilst I don’t know how to dance very well, I am simply so talented I am nearly certain I will perform better than you! ,,
[Is that a challenge?] Stanley asked, a grin already starting to form on his face at the thought. Oh, he will wipe the floor with The Narrator.
‘’ It is but a mere fact, Stanley. ,, The Narrator’s cocky voice became louder with confidence, and a matching smirk spread across his face as well. `` I won’t let a mere office worker defeat me , at anything! ,,
[Let’s see it then,] Stanley signed before he closed the gap between him and The Narrator, placing his hand on the robot’s hip. The Narrator smirk simply grew as he placed his hand on Stanley’s shoulder, a challenging glare being sent his way, which Stanley met with the same intensity.
Oh, it’s so on.
Stanley made a move first, going backwards and dragging The Narrator along with him. The Narrator didn’t miss a step, his own feet spinning around and using the motion to drag the two of them close to each other once more. Their gazes didn’t falter from one another’s as they moved to the side, Stanley putting his foot in between The Narrator’s before the Narrator simply did a small spin to get away, pushing them closer to the edge of the platform. A shaky laugh escaped The Narrator as he was teetering dangerously close to falling off, but before he could Stanley dragged him back, resuming their back-and-forth in the middle of the platform instead.
Their free hands linked together as their feet moved with fervor, seemingly tangling together for a mere blink of time before they came apart once more, only to repeat the cycle once more. The calming music of the zen room had faded out, replaced with an intense violin piece as the two danced to the beat of it, neither of them faltering even once. Their movements were graceful, as if their souls guided them and not their mind, syncing up to one another and performing along with the other flawlessly.
With a spin, The Narrator had backed away from Stanley, breaths now coming out in quick huffs as they stared each other down for a moment. You could tell that, despite their panting breaths, they still held a passion akin to fire to continue, and with a sharp step The Narrator was in Stanley’s arms once more, their gazes remaining unbroken.
`` Hah, you’re not as bad as I thought, ,, The Narrator praised over the music, letting himself freely fall away from Stanley before the other’s hand intertwined with his, bringing it up above their heads as he was pulled back up. ‘You’re pretty good too,’ Stanley wanted to speak, yet his hands were occupied holding onto both The Narrator’s hand and their hip. He hoped the smile he gave him told him enough.
After The Narrator had regained his footing, they went right back to their fast-paced exchanging, feet synchronized as they swayed around the platform. Sometimes they got dangerously close to the edge, and The Narrator’s breathing would pick up once more. Yet there was this crazed look in the robot’s face, this near ecstatic grin whenever they teetered just barely over the edge, as if the thought of falling off into the abyss below sounded exhilarating. The Narrator was hovering over that void, one slip of the foot away from falling down, looking into Stanley’s eyes with the most emotion he’d ever seen in the robot, and before long Stanley pulled him to safety once more, his own grin giving away his excitement.
The Narrator was lifted into the air, and their excitement quickly turned into shock as they let out an embarrassing squeak, shocked at how strong Stanley must be to lift him up so easily. Stanley merely smirked and twirled him around, The narrator’s fingers digging into his forearms before he was let down once more, a pout on the robot’s face before it was wiped away when Stanley brought their faces mere inches from one another’s.
At this distance, both of the men could feel the other’s ragged breaths on their skin. It was clear this dance was exhausting both, but neither truly felt tired enough to call it quits. The passion in their eyes spoke enough, hands intertwining to their sides once more as they stepped back and forth. Two steps back, two forward, one to the left.
The Narrator began picking up the pace along with the violin speeding up in the background, spinning and twirling around Stanley as he let himself be supported by the hand on their hip, a safety net in case he slipped so he wouldn’t totally fall. Their skates did help them exponentially, the circular motions easier to replicate than if he was wearing normal boots, and Stanley could only stare in awe. Like this, The Narrator looked majestic. Stanley never wanted to take his eyes off of him.
Still, with such a distracting sight in front of him he was bound to slip up. The Narrator was a robot, but he was a mere human. One slip up and Stanley felt himself lose his footing, saw in almost slow motion how The Narrator’s eyes widened as he realized they were both tumbling down to their demise.
Yet before they could hit the ground, Stanley put his foot down and wrapped one of his arms around The Narrator’s middle, using his leg as an anchor as he used all of his strength to stop the robot from falling and instead holding them up. The two stared at each other, chests rapidly rising and falling, as The Narrator realized he was not, in fact, on the floor, and instead safely being held in Stanley’s arms.
Stanley could feel it before he could see it, the slight tremor passing through the robot's frame. He had mere seconds to contort his face into a relieved smile before The Narrator’s laughter echoed through the room, the background music fading out until he could clearly hear the being laugh and chuckle, head thrown back and hair falling off and away from their face.
`` Haha, what a- what a wonderful trick, Stanley~! ,, The Narrator praised, mirth still present in his voice as he attempted to stifle his laughter. `` Truly, I- I didn’t expect that move! ,,
‘Yeah, a trick…, Stanley thought, beads of sweat rolling down the sides of his face as he sighed in relief, deciding to let this miscommunication slip. Just this once.
The Narrator just couldn’t seem to calm himself down, laughter continuing and evolving into cackles as they desperately gasped for air, the amused noises robbing him of it as he continued wheezing through them, making Stanley slightly worried.
`` Oh- ahaha, I haven’t- I haven’t- whoo, I haven’t moved this much in- haha, in so long! ,, The Narrator managed to choke out, laughter continuing to drown out most of their words. `` You- you’re really, haha, you’re really good at this whole ‘dancing’ thing, Stanley! Haha, that was- I had so much fun, I- hahaha… ,,
Stanley rolled his eyes, yet smiled in amusement anyways. Still, The Narrator’s laughing was growing concerning. Biting his lip, he thought about what to do to help them stop. He knew how painful laughing without any breath must be, and judging by The Narrator’s twisted up face, they were at that point of painful giggles.
`` Oh, oh man- Haha, this whole laughing thing is starting to hurt- ,, The Narrator huffed, continuing their chuckling. Like this, they looked genuinely happy, bordering on ecstatic. Stanley’s eyes softened as he drank in every small feature, every small change he could notice, making The Narrator be aware of their staring.
`` Stan- Stanley, why are you- ,, The Narrator’s words died in his mouth as he realized he was getting pulled up, higher and higher, until his face was merely a hair away from Stanley’s. His eyes widened as Stanley’s closed, a shocked gasp being the last thing that escaped The Narrator’s mouth before it was silenced by Stanley’s lips.
The Narrator remained stunned as he could now feel Stanley’s breath escaping through their nose instead, tickling at his cheek which made The Narrator open his mouth to chuckle at the sensation. This let Stanley to sneak his tongue into their mouth, and The Narrator finally had half a brain to close his eyes, letting himself enjoy the sensation fully.
After just a few short moments the two parted, still out of breath from their dancing, and opened their eyes to look at eachother, the calming music which had returned now cut off to leave the two in stunned silence.
With a yelp, The Narrator felt himself lose his footing as Stanley’s hands retracted, leaving him to wave his hands around comically for a few moments before falling onto the hard ground with an ‘oomf’, opening his eyes after colliding to look at Stanley, witnessing how the office worker’s whole face slowly started turning beet red.
`` St-Stanley…? ,, The Narrator stuttered, still trying to catch his breath as he lifted himself up, now holding himself up with his arms as he stared in shock at Stanley, his own cheeks feeling like they were on fire.
`` Stan- Stanley! ,, The Narrator yelled as Stanley quickly rushed to the only exit in the room, the door leading to the staircase, and with a groan the robot got up and dusted his lab coat off. So much so for ‘not going to the staircase soon’.
`` Oh, Stanley… ,, The voice tutted, pinching the bridge of his nose as he made his way down the small set of stairs, before he began rolling down the hallway to catch up with the office worker. Even if his face looked quite disappointed, showing off how upset he was that the kiss lasted for such a short amount of time, the blush on his face surely gave away his true feelings. That, and the way he had to clutch at his heart since he felt like it’d stop any moment now from the shock. Curse this old body...
