💕 SCIENCE BABES ( hardwarenut ! )
—— KISSES.
they stand, together, at the gates of heaven and the doors of hell. the air of the elevator is closing in on her, and there is an irrational fear that it will suddenly drop and land them back in the belly of the beast, but the rational part of her knows that isn’t likely ( killing you two… is hard. just go ). the scientists share a look, fingers tightly clasped in absence of the cold handshake of the portal gun. every small noise, each breath they take suddenly magnified, chell takes the first step of the rest of their lives, out of their metal cage and onto a solid, dirt ground.
the sun blinds her for a moment and, horrified, she loses her grip on holtzmann – once her eyes adjust, she sees the blonde ricocheting over the ground like a loose turret, whooping victory cries and laughter into the air. chell, never one to wear her heart on her sleeve, feels her eyes gloss over as she stares into the clear blue sky, letting the wind and sun wash over her, making up for lost time. closing her eyes, she feels holtzmann come to stand beside her, presence non-threatening: it’s the quick kiss she doesn’t expect, the hyperactive peck on her forehead that makes her eyes open, lips part in shocked and joyous laughter.
just like that, the two are howling, doubled over with pain and excitement, clutching each other and pounding long-fall boots on the newfound, non-moving floor. breath is caught when she wants to, not when she needs to, and chell’s eyes are bright when she clears her throat, voice utterly hoarse from decay and disuse. ❛ we won. ❜
