home? back? starring ; faelynn-jue, riley-jue
07/03/2025

it was supposed to be a love story.

that’s what riley thought, anyway. that’s what it had felt like. meeting her in the park that day, the spliff burning low between his fingers, the way she had laughed at something stupid he said—it had felt like fate.

and maybe it was. just not the kind of fate they wanted.

every day, he still remembered the moment everything changed. the way his father looked at him. the way the world had tilted under his feet. The way his hands had gone cold, his breath caught in his throat, his mother’s face twisted in some unreadable emotion. the sickening realisation.

it was only one sentence..? right? it could still stay the same, couldn't it?

but no, it couldn't. maybe to them, it could—but not to others. and just like that, their love became something ugly. something 'wrong'.

but it wasn’t. it wasn’t.

because how could something that had felt so right be wrong? how could the way she looked at him, the way she touched his hand, the way she said his name—how could any of that be unnatural?

they had tried to stop. tried to be normal. tried to pretend they could just forget.

but they couldn’t.

and so, on the valentine’s day of 1956, they stopped trying.


the room was small, quiet. the bed was unmade, the lamp cast a soft glow against the old floral wallpaper. outside, the world kept turning. people fell in love. people went on dates. people kissed in the streets.

inside, they sat at the end of a bed, holding hands.

riley’s fingers traced over his sister’s wrist, over the soft pulse of her veins. he had never loved anything the way he loved her.

“are you scared?” she asked.

he turned to her, smiling.

“no.”

because he wasn’t.
because this was the only ending that made sense.

he lifted the knife first, but faelynn didn’t flinch. she never flinched with him.

the blade pressed against her ribs, right where her heart beat the strongest. her breath hitched. but her eyes—her eyes lay steady.

“do it.”

his hands trembled. not from fear. not from doubt, but from love. from simply being so close to her that he was able to touch her.

loving her had never been a mistake.

the blade sank in, and she exhaled, a sharp, soft sound.

and then—she laughed.
it was breathless, beautiful. a real laugh. a real smile, because finally, finally, they had taken control of their own story.

her hands, shaking but certain, pressed against his chest. his ribs. his heart. her hand moved softly and slowly as the knife slid in.

he gasped, blinking—but there was no pain surging through his brain. just warmth. just her.

faelynn rested her forehead against his, breathing him in for the last of the time she had.

“i love you.”

he smiled.

“i love you too.”

and when they collapsed on the bed, they collapsed together, and they didn’t let go.

not when the knives sliced through their flesh, not when their bodies trembled from the shock, not even when the warmth began to fade from their fingertips.

riley pulled her closer. his arms wrapped around her like they always had, like they were supposed to, like the world hadn’t told them it was wrong.

faelynn curled into him, her breathing shallow, uneven, but she was still smiling. her head rest gently against his chest, where his heartbeat had once been strong—now slowing, softening, fading.

“it doesn’t hurt,” she whispered. "i just love you."

riley pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.

“i know.”

blood began to completely pool beneath them, soaking the sheets, seeping into their clothes, but it didn’t matter. nothing mattered anymore. not how their parents saw them, not how their future would be, nothing.

they had each other.

his fingers ran through her hair, slow, gentle. she nuzzled closer, chasing the warmth while it was still there.

“i love you,” he murmured, over and over, like a prayer, like a promise, like something he should’ve said a thousand more times while they still had time, all while she sighed, content, and peaceful.

“i love you too riley.”

their hands stayed locked together even as their breathing slowed. even as their bodies grew heavy.

even as they finally, finally fell asleep.

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Pub: 23 Jun 2024 00:34 UTC

Edit: 12 Mar 2025 21:18 UTC

Views: 65