Work Text:
The first thing Rufus thought was: unexpected. The afterlife was definitely not what he thought it was going to be. He walked around the intricate buildings that seemed to morph before his eyes. People walked around, smiles on their faces. Rufus felt a sense of peace in this place, something he hadn’t felt in a long time.
Rufus was looking for a particular person, his last friend, and true love. Once he found him, then everything would be alright. They promised to find each other. They had to find each other.
He came upon a small building that was different than the others. It looked older, more humble. He realized with a start that it was a movie theater, and his heart skipped a beat. Mateo was right. The title of the movie on the front of the theater said: Eternity. That name suited the current situation. Rufus slowly opened the door and walked in. He went into the first theater and realized it was his life.
Visions of his past swirled in front of him on the giant screen. He saw his family when they were alive. He saw the car crash, and he saw his escape. He saw himself meeting the Plutos and Aimee. He saw all the good moments with his friends, and then that fateful moment when he got the Death-Cast. Then the screen went black.
Rufus moved to the next theater and saw himself in the memories on the screen. Then he realized he was seeing his sister’s memories. She was here somewhere, he knew it. However, his sister wasn’t the person his heart needed to see at the moment. He knew his family was okay, he somehow always knew.
The third theater he came to confused him. He saw memories that he didn’t recognize. People passing in school halls, blending into the crowds. He saw, and felt, loneliness. He saw a cemetery that popped up frequently. A tombstone kept appearing in the visions, but Rufus couldn’t ever see what the name was.
The visions shifted and he immediately recognized a face: Lidia. She was smiling at the person, her smile lighting up the room. Most of the memories that followed involved her. Rufus saw a baby born, and he saw Lidia sobbing in the dark, holding onto the person. Then a new face appeared: Mateo’s dad. Rufus gasped and inched closer to the screen. Mr. Torrez was lying the hospital bed, his body still. Memories of the dad flowed through the person until they ended up back at an apartment. Rufus saw the Luigi hat, and then he saw the Death-Cast. The screen faded to black.
“Mateo?” he asked cautiously. “Are you here?”
Rufus ran into the lobby of the theater and immediately stalled. American Pie was echoing through the theater. Rufus slowly approached a piano and saw a boy sitting at the bench, playing soulfully. When the song ended, the boy turned and Rufus’s heart skipped.
“Mateo!”
The boy with glasses smirked. “Told ya we’d find each other. And I knew it was a theater. Oh, and look! My glasses came with!”
Rufus grabbed Mateo and hugged him tight to his chest. “I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you.”
Mateo giggled happily in Rufus’ embrace. “I love you, too, Roof.”
Rufus pulled back to look into Mateo’s kind eyes. “We have all of eternity together, my love. What’s next?”
Mateo bit his lip thoughtfully. “First things first.” Mateo kissed Rufus slowly and passionately. “Now, I was thinking we go find our families? My mom is here somewhere, and so is your family.”
Rufus slipped his hand into Mateo’s. “Here’s to us, the ones that not even death could separate.”
“Here’s to the incomplete who are finally complete. And here’s to the broken—"
“That are finally whole,” Rufus finished.
Mateo squeezed his hand. “Lead the way.”
Rufus looked at Mateo once more before facing the door. “And to eternity.”