𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠︱monty green

epilogue.

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epilogue.
i swear i lived.
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        They talked about it before, of course. Monty and Riley didn't just brainstorm the idea of letting their friends go into Cryo first so they wouldn't have to see them sit out, so they wouldn't have to recite their may we meet again passage. Monty admitted his fear to her - that they'd be stuck in Cryo forever, floating in space until they're nothing. They'd live in their bodies forever, stuck in their thoughts, never be able to break free from them. He didn't want to live like that, and Riley sure as hell would never want her friends to either. They wanted them all to have better lives, peaceful ones.

"I want to stay awake," Monty told her, cautious, like he was afraid of her reaction.

Riley nods. "Anywhere you go, I go too," she promises.

They came to a conclusion of what was best - screw Cryo. They'd be the ones to watch Earth come back.

Riley was eager to see the green colors sprouting from the planet, and it's only been a year since her friends slipped into Cryo. She spent more time than she should to gaze out of the station's window in hopes there would be something, even though Monty insisted multiple times the process would take years. Riley had hope, but she didn't have much patience.

She lightly pushes open the door to the control room where Monty often resided. He's currently locked on a screen, and Riley catches a few words but assumes he's mumbling to himself. She straightens her shoulders and saunters in, immediately catching his attention as she calls, "Monty!"

He turns his head in surprise as Riley presses herself to his side, bringing the chair to lightly swivel from the weight. Monty flushes as she scatters his neck with light kisses. "Riley, wait, I'm in the middle of - "

"You promised me!" Riley exclaims. Her eyes turn to the screen with the idea to hit the power button so it'd turn off and he'd move on. "We have another forty staterooms that - "

The words get caught in Riley's throat as she notices the reflections of them staring back at her. It causes her heart to skip as she lets out a surprised noise that relatively sounds like a squeak and bolts away. Monty had been talking about it recently the past few days. He wanted to record videos, a document of what their lives were like for the past few years, for their friends to watch for themselves when they woke up.

Riley threw herself behind the door, blushing and embarrassed, shouting, "Why didn't you tell me?!"

And she knows Monty is looking at the camera, apologetic as she hears his claim, "Uh... Not a lot to do in space."

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Nothing ever goes perfect, though. Riley has known this about every plan they've had.