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He let out a laugh, letting his voice echo through the endless seeming fields of– freedom. Rolling in circles, hands clutched against the cheeks of the man turning along with him. He smiled at him in return, soft eyes engulfing his.
“We did it, Stanley!” He laughed, leaning into the forehead against his, “We are free!”
Though Stanley didn't answer, fond glance telling more than a thousand words ever could. He did have a way without words after all.
All they could do was stare at each other, trapped in the other's eyes. They had the whole world to explore. Though all they wanted to really see lay in front of them, flushed faces and pure fascination written in their eyes.
Perhaps they shared a kiss, two, three. No one knew except the two, laughing, giggling, smiling in a way no one should ever right after escaping a time looped reality waiting for the end to never begin and the beginning to never end.
All they had gotten was another. And all they now needed remained the same. Another. As one. Engulfed like two halves, not ready to ever separate. Like childhood best friends, clinging onto another, enjoying every second. Yin and yang. Dark and light. Silence and never ending rambling. They were all that but more.
And maybe they've never seen how much they completed another, how one could guide the other in their sleep, would have their back in every life.
Even as soulmates weren't real, this was the closest we could get to them.
Their content grins and flustered cheeks. Their clumsy kisses and moving hands, one to hold, one to talk. And they remained lying on the ground, as if it was the most beautifully comfortable mattress ever made. They plugged flowers and placed it atop of another's hairline. They talked about everything and nothing.
They stared at the sun setting and the day turning night.
Never leaving the others side. Never stopping to hold each other as if they could disappear into the stars at any second. As if anything could be over in a blink, never able to hold on.
Stanley's hand found the face of the other, cradling his cheek, pulling him so close as if to huddle under an umbrella. Though no droplet reached them, just their breaths melting on their faces, noses, foreheads touching. So peaceful, so unbothered, so idyllic in a way. As if nothing had ever mattered except this. As if nothing could ever matter as much as this did.
They didn't need to talk to share the moment, their glances, their small movements, the smiles of comfort; it was all they needed.
Perhaps they knew they'd have to move in the morning, perhaps earlier than they would have liked.
Though the thought never seemed to cross their minds more than a second, paralysed by the other's warmth, the flowery scent mixed with the remains of what used to be their home just a few hours ago.
They pointed at stars and made up stories about their origins, compared it to the sparkling room of their past, made stupid little jokes as if it hadn't led to Stanley's death at least a couple of times.
As it didn't matter any more. They were free.
Free of everything but themselves, their entanglement of another, engulfed in utmost trust and care. One would have to spend their whole life around another to feel so safe.
And perhaps they had.
Their smiles never dropped, even when they drifted off into sleep, when they were greeted by the morning sun waking them from their peaceful slumber.
The opposite occurred. They stayed engulfed, smiles turning into more laughs as they watched the other wake up beside them.
Butterflies flew through the air, soft clouds brushing through the sky. And as they finally lifted themselves, hands in another, a slight breeze hit their faces, inviting them as if greeting a new friend.
Arm in arm, linked by the elbow and hand, sides pushed against another, heads leaning to the middle, they walked. They strolled through the fields and grassy meadows. Through the tiniest hills and making references to open worlds and the uncertainty that lies ahead.
And as their feet became sore, they settled down beneath a tree, plucking its fruits for nutrition. Who knew what it was? Though they never cared too much to begin with; so they never stopped until they were nourished, swirling around the tree as if in a dance that never seemed to reach its peak.
And perhaps they did dance as the sky turned murky and their skins were plastered with small droplets escaping the sky, engulfing them with something else than the warmth of the sun. They weren't discouraged though; what once stood in front of a separation of them remained as a reminder for the inseparable nature their relationship had turned to.
Now they laughed and swung around the bleak sky, as if to counter whatever lied in the past, as if to counter every dread and horror they’ve faced so far.
“I adore you,” he said, let it escape his mouth, mind, as if nothing else had crossed his mind so far, “Stanley, je t'adore.”
His mouth met the hand of his adored, being pulled up to his face not a second later. As if teenagers, so giddy, so happy, so beaming with joy one might think the sky wasn’t pouring down on them.
And the other placed both their hands to his chest, letting them lay there, long, unbroken, steady. He could feel his heartbeat through the shirt he never changed, through the wet of their hands. It was a simple gesture, really. A gesture any other might have maybe smiled at, then forgot about again. Though moments like these lingered in the air, the sense of pure adoration from both parties.
And they couldn’t help themselves but fondly smile at another, through the hurting cheeks and tired eyes. Through the cold on their skins, the way their clothing pressed against themselves.
Hand in hand, giggling like young lovers, they ran through the rain. Stumbling and catching the other, rolling together, sliding over muddied floor.
Just until they arrived at a small house, steps coming to a halt, laughs calming down to turn to a tighter press onto another's hand. They engulfed themselves into another hug, then he spoke up, just as they parted. “The end is never the end,” he whispered as if reliving a memory, distant but present, “so don't you dare give up on me now.”
Where one would perhaps see a judgment for past behaviour, Stanley just shook his head, leading them into the village, content smile never leaving his face.
And if one was to read his lips or mind, one could make out the word ‘never’.
‘As long as you do the same.’
As ready as they could be; hand in hand; life just begun as if they hadn't lived eternities before.