Since my last attempt at a smutfic didn't work out quite as I anticipated, I tried to write another one.
I'd just like to take this opportunity to tell you there will be no incest (unless kissing yourself counts), and no rape. Just good clean fun. (Don't let Atlas know though. You know how he is...)
Silence on the empty sea. The waves are still, too still. The man and the woman in the little dinghy are lost in thought, contemplating the end.
The woman is the first to speak. "What a complete waste of time."
"Time?"
"Time is all we have, brother. I've lost track of how many hours we spent holding their hands..."
"And the moment we let go-"
"She gets her head caved in."
"Among other things..."
Silence again.
"I suppose that's it then." the man remarks at last, reaching for the oars.
"Don't be ridiculous." the woman says sharply.
"I'm not being ridiculous, I'm being reasonable. The signs were there. That is the way it has to end."
The woman purses her lips. "I never took you for a quitter."
"Rightly so, I expect."
"Are you suggesting we let the universe do what it pleases?"
"Wasn't that the idea?" He begins to row.
"The idea was to break the cycle. Something THAT will never bring about."
"He does save them."
"The Little Sisters are irrelevant. The girl is what matters."
"Apparently not."
The woman actually scowls. "Are you sulking again? You know it doesn't suit you."
He stops. "I daresay I'm a bit more upset than you. But I fail to see what can be done about it."
"There you go again, thinking like an ordinary scientist."
"How's that?"
"The universe is wrong. Killing her there doesn't solve anything."
"So it's reality doing the sulking?"
"Yes. If you like."
"Then what do you suggest we do?"
"Go back to the beginning. Rewrite the laws of nature."
"What?"
"I refuse to sit about and do nothing while all our efforts go to waste."
"Are you sure that's the only reason?"
"I beg your pardon."
"You just proposed altering the fundamental principles of the universe to give one little girl a happy ending. We call that guilt where I come from."
The woman gives this some thought. "Hmm. Perhaps we're not so different after all."
"That wasn't so hard." He picks up the oars. "Where to?"
"We'll need a stable vantage point, unravaged by time and tide."
"Then I suppose we should start looking." With that, he starts to row once more.
Some time later, or no time at all...
"I..." He breaks off into a fit of coughing. "I never imagined rewriting the laws of nature...would be quite so unpleasant."
She nods in weary agreement. "I wasn't aware I still had bones that could be this sore..."
"Let's hope we got everything right. I'd rather not have to go through that again." he wheezes, struggling upright.
They watch the proceedings together, just as they've always done. Just as they always will.