Chapter Text
Stanley and the Narrator sat together on the bench outside, overlooking the lake in the distance. The sun had started to set, which Stanley was eagerly watching, never growing tired of the sight of the sky changing colours so beautifully. Their fingers were intertwined, the Narrator's head resting on Stanley's shoulder with his eyes closed, while Stanley's head rested against the Narrator's. They had decided to return to the story the next day, and so they were here to finally see the night-sky together. Stanley had not yet seen it, having done his best not to look at it during the weeks he had spend alone. He'd only caught glimpses of the stars starting to show as the sun set, but he'd never had a proper look.
The Narrator wouldn't have been upset either ways. He was happy that his Stanley enjoyed the sky he had worked so hard on, and he could feel how happy Stanley was about the sky alone right now, after having seen it dozen of times already. It made him feel happy, knowing he had given Stanley something he enjoyed so much, and never tired of seeing.
"Would you enjoy if I implemented the sky into the Office? I couldn't do the day-night cycle, but it may be nicer than the white void there currently is."
The Narrator had many thoughts on what to do with the Office. He knew he couldn't put himself into the story, but he could still make it better for his Stanley. He had done many changes over time already, so he knew the Parable was fine with him changing things. Be it the visuals or the story, he did have the power to change and adapt things if he so pleased. He just now knew that there were a couple more limitations than he had first thought. So he wanted to try and continue improving the Office for Stanley, no matter if it were just appearances.
He could feel Stanley shift a little, giving his hand a squeeze, and the thrum of excitement. It made him smile, already knowing what Stanley would answer him.
[I would love that. Even if it's just always sunny out.]
The Narrator hummed softly and gave a little nod, careful to not dislodge Stanley's head against his own. He'd make sure to make the Office look more... real, maybe. Make it more comfortable, rather than the isolated feeling that it currently had. He had never cared much about its appearance -as long as it looked like what it should, and was recognizable, he had been happy. But he knew that it wasn't "realistic". Stanley had commented on it a couple of times before, that the Office looked empty and lifeless -and he hadn't meant the lack of people in it.
It wouldn't be easy to alter the appearance, mostly because the Narrator couldn't see what he was doing. Whenever he did things, he did multiple checks after he was done to try and "see" if everything was good. Not just working as intended, but also looked like it should. His blindness was something he had questioned before in the past, not understanding why he was made with a flaw, with imperfections. Broken, in a way. Since the Parable had created him, why not give him sight? Or had it been no one's fault, but simply a fact, because outside of his human model, he didn't have the same senses that a human had, and so they didn't translate properly?
He's long since accepted his blindness though, and he wasn't bothered anymore. He wasn't flawed, nor broken. It was simply who he was, and that was just right. Even if he sometimes wished he could see (how often had he wished he could see Stanley, could really take him in completely), he knew that simply wasn't a possibility. And while it sometimes saddened him, he was overall okay with it.
Stanley tensed as the sun's last rays began to disappear, holding tightly onto the Narrator's hand in anticipation. He was excited, ready to see what the night truly looked like. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he imagined just hundreds of little lights scattered across the darkness. It was what his instincts were expecting, given to him the same as all of his humanity had been given to him. So he couldn't possibly be prepared for what he actually saw.
What he saw was more than just some lights scattered across the dark. As the sun's light faded completely, the entirety of the sky was covered in stars, a sea of them, so much more than he could ever have thought. And not just stars, but there were colours. Galaxies lit up the sky, making it the most beautiful sight Stanley could've ever hoped to imagine. It was enough to steal his breath, eyes wide as he stared up, simply taking it all in in awe.
[Narry this is- wow.]
Stanley was speechless. Even his thoughts struggled to form any sort of coherent words, as he was simply taking in the sight of the nightsky that his Narrator had made for him. It made the Narrator chuckle softly, smiling to himself as he squeezed Stanley's hand, rubbing his thumb across the back of it. This was more than he could've ever imagined. He could feel Stanley's awe, he could tell how amazed he was with the sky, and nothing could've made him happier than that.
"I'm glad. I've tried to make it as real and as pretty as I could."
[It's more than just pretty. It's breathtaking, it's incredible, it's- it's indescribable.]
The Narrator chuckled, smiling happily to himself. He couldn't be happier than now, knowing how much Stanley was enjoying the sight of the sky he had made for him. He had no idea if it looked proper, or "real", or whatever. But because Stanley liked it, it was good -because nothing else mattered than his Stanley enjoying it. He didn't need any words or thoughts, the two of them content to sit together in quiet company. Stanley taking in the sight of the sky, unable to tear his gaze away for even a moment, while the Narrator enjoyed being close to his Stanley.
It would be nice if they could do this more. If they could sit beneath the sky together, and watch it change -watch the sun rise, the night fading into day with an array of colours. Watch the white fluffy clouds travel across the blue sky, until the sun would set once more. Watch the night-sky, the stars shining bright, the galaxies a colourful display.
They were both aware they probably wouldn't get to. Not any time soon. Not together like this. So they sat there, together, treasuring every single moment they spent here.
Eventually Stanley began to feel tired. The game's reset had fixed a lot about him -or maybe 432 had done it?- which he vaguely recalled being troubled by after the skip button, but he still grew tired. He wasn't really bothered by it, and he hoped that maybe it would be a nice change of pace. If only because he could actually dream now, rather than just being unconscious for a while. Resetting would probably still help him feel not tired of course, but as they weren't resetting the game lately, Stanley did grow tired. He liked that, though. This completely human feeling of needing to sleep.
So as Stanley's eyelids grew heavy, and he was close to falling asleep where he was sitting, the Narrator suggested they go inside and to bed. While they were both aware they'd return to the game the next day, Stanley agreed, standing up and walking hand-in-hand with his Narrator to the bedroom. His Narrator was always more than happy to snuggle into Stanley's chest, their legs tangling together as Stanley wrapped his arms around his love. They very largely preferred cuddling like this, though during their sleep the Narrator sometimes managed to turn around and they'd end up spooning.
Stanley fell asleep quickly and easily, happy with his Narrator in his arms. He usually slept well when he had his love in his arms, often dreaming about the life they had only gotten a taste of, sometimes dreaming of old memories, sometimes having weird dreams like humans tended to have. His Narrator on the other hand struggled to fall asleep. He tried, desperately so, but it was hard. Whenever he was left alone with his thoughts, it went back to things he shouldn't be thinking about: the skip button, the story, the parable. Things that made him feel bad, downright horrible, sending him down dark spirals.
So he clung to Stanley, and focused on the real things. Stanley's breathing. Stanley's heart-beat. Stanley's warmth. Stanley's little movements. Stanley's mind buzzing softly. Until, eventually, he was calm enough to drift off into sleep himself.
When they woke up again in the morning, neither of them wanted to move. They just wanted to stay together, in bed, cuddling and never having to part. But they knew they had to. That didn't mean they couldn't enjoy their time together though. Making their morning drinks, cuddling and kissing, dragging their departure out as much as possible. Until they said goodbye to the Memory Zone, and went back to the entrance, the stone room with the vent leading back to the office.
Neither knew what awaited them there. If anything would change, if something would happen to either of them. It may not be likely, but there was a chance, and that made it scary enough. But they went, Stanley going first followed by his Narrator. They went to the Narrator's office together, everything looking the same as always pretty much.
"I know it won't be enjoyable, but I think I should detach myself after the reset. It'll be a lot easier for me to make changes to the Office that way, while also being able to go through the story with you."
The Narrator was fiddling with his scarf, avoiding looking at Stanley as they stood together in the little office. He knew he could work without (fully) detaching himself from his form, but it would make it all a lot slower and more work. And while he knew Stanley wouldn't enjoy himself much that way, he hoped that Stanley wouldn't hate the idea. The Narrator had a lot of things that he'd been working on prior to all of this, which were nearly ready for implementing. So besides the visual changes he wanted to do, they'd have fresh and new story-paths to go through.
As expected, Stanley was frowning, his emotions a mix of disliking the thought, some sad feelings, a bit of worry and some dread. It was never fun when his Narrator was detached, though he did understand why he had suggested it. He still took his time thinking about it, slowly reaching for his Narrator's hands to hold, continuing to frown a little.
[Okay. But promise me you won't be silent at all? So I always know you're there?]
Stanley knew that the Narrator outside his human form very likely would be as he always had been, and thus would have no fears and worries or other emotions. So Stanley wouldn't need to necessarily worry about keeping his mind open for the entity to listen to. But Stanley... he didn't want to be alone either. He didn't want to be in silence, when he couldn't know that his Narrator was still there and okay.
The Narrator gently squeezed Stanley's hands, giving him a gentle smile. It made Stanley feel a little better, relaxing slowly.
"I promise. I'll make noise nonstop so you can hear me."
Stanley smiled softly, gently gripping the Narrator's hands back. Feeling calmed down now, he leaned in to give his Narrator a kiss. Slow and gently, their hands moved from their hold to hold each other closer -one of Stanley's arms around the Narrator's middle, pulling him close, while the other hand went to the back of his love's head. The Narrator wrapped his arms around Stanley's neck, holding himself close, eyes fluttering closed.
Their lips moved in sync against each other's, Stanley the first again to give the Narrator's lips a little nibble, prompting him to part them for Stanley. Stanley eagerly took the opportunity to deepen the kiss, lightly gripping the Narrator's hair as he tilted his head into a better angle. It made the Narrator whimper softly, pressing himself more against Stanley, breathless as the man stole the air from his lungs. Stanley never wanted to part, only pulling back for moments to let them both gasp for breath, before he was kissing the Narrator again, pressing the small entity against himself and gripping onto his hair, gentle enough not to hurt, but clearly felt.
"S-stanley..."
The Narrator managed to whine softly between kisses, another little whimper being pulled from him as Stanley claimed his lips in another kiss. Stanley loved every little sound he drew out from his Narrator, eager to hear more, seeing how completely flushed his face was. Stanley could tell the Narrator was more than just flustered, which was almost enough to make him stop. But only almost. So Stanley continued kissing his Narrator, nibbling on his lip every now and then just to let his love breathe and whimper so cutely. He could tell the Narrator thought it was finally over when Stanley pulled away again, just for Stanley to gently pull on the Narrator's hair to tilt his head back, giving Stanley easy access to his neck and throat.
A quiet and slightly shaky moan left the Narrator as Stanley nibbled and sucked on the skin of his neck, still above his collar so no mark or hickey would be hidden. Stanley loved how flushed the Narrator got, the yellow blush trailing down his neck, his skin so warm. Stanley loved it, and he was extremely tempted to keep going, to see if his Narrator would stop him if he tried. But he already had his love panting and squirming, so flustered and shy. Stanley took mercy on him, finally easing his hand out of the Narrator's hair, and pulling back enough to signal that he was done.
[Next time I get to see you I'll renew those hickeys.]
Stanley thought cheekily, gently caressing the Narrator's jaw, loving to see how adorable and flustered he looked like this. His Narrator could only nod mutely, far too flustered to attempt words, making Stanley giggle softly. He just held his Narrator, gently swaying with him where they stood, letting his love calm down. Sure, Stanley also had a lot of human desires, but none could win over the comfort of his love. He knew his Narrator wasn't human, and he knew that meant there were still feelings and desires that he wasn't familiar with. But Stanley would never force him to experience something, or to go past his limits. He'd tease him, but if he thought his Narrator was truly uncomfortable and upset, he'd never continue.
"I'll look forward to it."
The Narrator murmured eventually, making Stanley laugh softly -but happy. He pressed a happy and quick kiss to the Narrator's lips, smiling brightly, enjoying how cute his Narrator looked. His furious blush had calmed down to just yellowed cheeks, though he still looked so cutely flustered. Stanley really didn't want to let go of him, but he had already dragged this out much longer than either of them would've thought this temporary goodbye would take.
So Stanley finally let go of his Narrator, but he lead him to his desk and into his seat as well. He just... he just wanted to be close to him for as long as possible. He didn't want to go back to the story, especially without his Narrator physically there with him. But this was for their own safety. So that they wouldn't be tortured again, and maybe would have a chance to enjoy time together, without needing to be afraid.
The Narrator typed the familiar reset command into the command line, taking a deep breath.
"Ready?"
[Ready.]