Graduated Time [ 00.00 ] - StevexTony AU

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟯𝟵 - 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝘄𝗼 ⎊

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I panicked at the sound of his voice. I hadn't heard it for 2 years, except for faintly in the back of my mind while doing things that would remind me of him. And if I dream. It's his voice, this is Steve's voice. I've spoken to him so many times before, I can't even count them all or recall what a single one of our conversations were about, but this time I was physically not able to speak.

I couldn't utter a single word. I opened my mouth to speak but my throat was restricted, it closed each time I pushed out air to speak.

"Are you there?" His voice was soft, calm but in some strange way expectant. My heart leapt and my breath hitched in my throat, causing me excessive discomfort.

"St—" I tried to push out, I tried to pry it out of me but my brain took control of my further actions. My heart spoke loudly once I heard his voice, it said: I still love him. But the rational side of me is stronger, I've used it more and trusted it fiercely all my life. And I'm thankful for it taking the command, look what trusting my heart made me like. A lovesick wreck.

With a quick but heavy sigh I close the phone, keeping it loosely in my hand as I tilt my head upward to the sky. A sudden thought struck me while staring at the stars.

I need to look at the watch.

I dashed inside, which was a bad idea I ended up stumbling into everything under the sun, and found the watch on the kitchen floor where I last left it. My steps slowed down, to the pace where they felt like a heavy goo I had to slosh through to get to it. My whole posture was sluggish and hunched forward, like I was getting swallowed by the goo.

That's what I saw, at least. I saw a thick black substance, black to the point where no light could escape it. Like a black hole without the horrible stretching of time and space. And I was walking through it, each step towards the damned watch made me sink deeper into it. For some reason I was fighting to reach it, despite my deep hatred for the thing. It didn't matter that I'd be consumed by a vantablack slime, I was getting to that watch to look at the values.

Neck deep into it and I reach it, holding my head up and feeling like the rest of my body had dissolved in the goo. But I look at the values. The rust is gone, the crack is gone... the display is empty still.

I can't fight the goo anymore, I have no limbs to keep me above the surface. I succumb to the goo and sink into terrifying darkness.

⎊

"Tony? Can you hear me?"
I know that voice! Why is it so echoey? The hell am I, it's like 0 degrees.