Work Text:
"Would you still love me if I was a stone?"
William looked up from whatever he was doing and groaned.
"Not this again."
Est grinned.
"Answer."
"Yes."
"You didn't even think about it."
"Because you've asked me this like fifty times already."
Est laughed.
"Okay, but what if I was an ugly stone?"
"I'd still love you."
"A really small stone?"
"I'd still love you."
"A stone nobody notices?"
William reached over and flicked his forehead.
"Then I'd notice you."
Est immediately started giggling.
The question followed them everywhere.
During long drives.
Late-night calls.
While waiting for food.
On random Tuesday afternoons.
Sometimes William wondered if Est only asked because he liked hearing the answer.
Sometimes he answered before Est even finished the question.
"Will you still—"
"Yes."
"I haven't finished."
"Don't need to."
Years passed.
The question never got old.
At least not to Est.
Every now and then, completely out of nowhere:
"William."
"Hm?"
"If I was a stone?"
"Yes."
Est would always laugh afterward.
Like the answer was exactly what he wanted.
One afternoon, William found himself thinking about that question again.
The ridiculous one.
The one Est had asked so many times over the years that William eventually stopped counting.
Will you still love me if I was a stone?
Back then, William always rolled his eyes.
Always sighed dramatically.
Always complained about how stupid the question was.
And yet, he answered every single time.
Yes.
Without fail.
A hundred versions of the same question.
A hundred versions of the same answer.
The memory made him smile.
A small one.
The kind that hurt more than it comforted these days.
"You really never got tired of asking that, huh?"
His voice disappeared into the quiet.
No answer came.
Of course not.
Still, William laughed softly.
A sad laugh.
A fond one.
The kind reserved for someone who had become part of him long ago.
His fingers traced over the cool surface in front of him.
Silent.
Unmoving.
Exactly like the stone Est had always talked about.
For a moment, William simply stood there.
Remembering.
Missing.
Loving.
The same way he always had.
Then he looked down.
And there it was.
The answer to a question Est had spent years asking.
Carved neatly into gray granite.
SUPHA SANGAWORAWONG
William smiled.
The same way he always did whenever Est asked that ridiculous question.
"Yeah."
His voice was quiet.
Certain.
Unchanged.
"I still love you."
And this time, there was no question attached to the answer.