klancepride with cal

day 27- anniversary

i reeeeeally didn't know what to do for this one and idk if it flopped but here u go. at first i wanted to do a miraculous ladybug klance au but then i realized that some of yall might not get it and then i wanted to do like a cheesy treasure hunt like in mystic messenger but yall wouldnt get that either and THEN I wanted to just do a basic ass wedding anniversary but then I had this convo with a few other ppl about the world and shit so this is it- sorry if its not good lol (also sorry it's set on the beach again I've been at the beach in delaware for the past week and it's on my miiiiind)

The beach was surprisingly calm, a mirrored reflection of the city's demeanor. It had been exactly 10 years since the world had collapsed. Not literally collapsed, no, the economy, the government, society as a whole in one cacophony of chaos.

There had been conflict and destruction and riots, parades and protests, speeches and addresses, oppression, recession, depression. But those problems had only lasted long enough to see society eat itself up into a black whole of nothingness.

Now, human life was seldom but grand, terrifying but exhilarating, dangerous and beautiful. You lived on the streets or in abandoned houses but never your own home. You traveled endlessly and loved the steps you took. The world was, once again, nomadic. The Earth was beginning it's long and glorious process of healing itself and people had accepted it, embraced it.

You were united with the people around you whether you liked it or not. Discrimination and prejudice had all but vanished as citizens lived day to day, hour to hour. People were primal, beautiful beings that flourished, regrowing life where it lacked, encouraging the Earth to reclaim her land.

She did.

Cityscapes crumbled, houses fell, cars sat, idle, rusting, vines climbing through their windows and snaking through the ripped leather. Bees made a comeback and built giant mega-hives in office complexes and car garages. Wild horses and herds of deer and buffalo stampeded the continents once again.

We were in tune with the world, listening to her, growing and learning with her. People had found their balance, their place.

"And that's how we live now," Keith told his son, brushing the five year-old's sandy blonde hair out of his eyes. Aspen giggled, getting up from the beach grass and hopping off to frolic in the sand.

Keith smiled as he watched his son bounding across the beach, chasing crabs and birds that he disturbed, little arms outstretched. Keith leaned back on his elbows, closing his eyes.

There was the sound of the tall, dry beach grass swishing as footsteps approached him and he opened one eye. Lance stood beside him, hands on his hips, wearing a button-up, jeans, and an apron. "Hey," Lance said softly, sitting down next to Keith.

Keith sat up and leaned his head on his husband's shoulder, intertwining their fingers. "Hey," he replied. Lance looked at Aspen with nothing but love in his eyes.

"We did good, Keith," he murmured. He was right- they lived in Keith's family's old country home, right on the beach, grew their own food, had friends in the city who they traded necessities with, and led happy lives. They were more in love than ever.

They'd found Aspen in the city five years ago when he was barely a new-born, an orphan in one of the surviving hospitals. He'd just stared up at Keith and Lance with big, pure blue eyes, lighter than Lance's and like glass, bright and clear. The couple knew that they had to take him in.

Their lives were calm and beautiful, their worried nonexistent. They'd been together before the world had collapsed, meeting in college, but after the chaos ensued, they realized that they were meant to be together.

Of course, they still had struggles, but it was all worth it. They were hopelessly in love with a beautiful son and a beach in front of them and food on the table. They could only hope that, when the government rose again, it would be more conscientious of the needs of the Earth.

"Let's go swimming'!" Aspen shouted from the waters edge, splashing in the shallow waves. Keith looked at Lance for approval and the Cuban laughed, already taking off his shirt.

Within seconds, they were racing down the beach to their son, grins on their faces as they scooped him up in their arms, splashing him with salt water, laughing and running around in the waves, Aspen giggling uncontrollably.

The Kogane-McClain family was happy no matter what the future held.