Artist Notes: This tale was written to fit into knune's universe (as she has given me permission) and is an AU alternate ending to her fic See the World Hanging Upside Down.
"Where do you want to go?
Silence answered Albert's question as did the soft thrum of tires rolling against the highway. The hour was late and he was uncertain where they were going, only that it was away from the city.
Bare hands continued to hold the steering wheel, as crimson eyes flickered from the road to his passenger.
"I haven't really thought about it to be honest," Claire replied as she met his gaze. Though her smile was sincere, the sadness still lingered in her eyes. He could no longer remember a time when they were free of the walls and the weight of the world.
Albert's gaze returned to the road as his thoughts drifted to another time, another place.
...We were going to run away to France...
It had been years since that discussion occurred but the memory was still clear.
"What about France?"
The young woman hummed in reply as she considered it. He had long since stopped caring about destination, with Claire by his side it no longer mattered.
Her fingers, calloused yet warm crossed the slight distance that separated them before settling into his hand.
"Alright. I'm game if you are." Her voice betrayed nothing; her touch said all that needed to be said.
With a hint of a smile his crimson eyes returned to the road, while pale fingers decorated with a single white gold ring adjusted their grip on the wheel. Outside their windows large flakes of snow floated from the night sky completing the serenity neither imagined they would ever experience.