Stanley Pines, a man who has been through more than you’d ever know. So many adventures out of your grasp, beings you can’t even comprehend. Things seen no mortal should see, battles fought that were lost. The war far from being won. The scars a sign of all those loses, the look in his eyes that of a raging war. Blood will always be shed, but when he looks at his hands, he can’t tell whose it is anymore.

——

He’s haunted by his past, all the mistakes a mountain taller than Mount Everest. All his regrets the snow that lies atop. And his family? The souls who dared to climb the mountain, failing the challenge.

He had recently found his own way back to his own dimension. Yet looking at the faces, both familiar and new, it’s hard to let go. They blur, mixing past and present. Each new set of eyes, each new smile, all in passing. All he’d never even cast a second glance to. He’s always lost in thought, still adjusting to the normalcy. A hard change to make. Although he’s never been best known for changing, has he?

That’s what he thought. Caught in a constant storm of regret, criticism, and self pity. Always lost in a haze.

Until, he saw you in the shack. He was normally overwhelmed by his thoughts. Until his eyes met yours, and suddenly, it was quiet.