“Oh, um. And, about everything...”
Turning, the young man looked ruefully at the other, his companion for as long as he could remember.
“Hey, so. I’m sorry. You’ll have to figure out the whole ‘rebalancing the world’ thing on your own, and that’s... That’s not fair, I’m... I’m really sorry for leaving again--and, um, I’m sorry that I won’t be coming back this time.”
“Don’t,” the word comes out choked, full of barely suppressed grief.
He shakes his head, taking an unsteady breath.
“No, I. I need to say this, I won’t... We won’t get another chance. To talk, to. To be. I’m sorry. I thought we’d have, well, forever.” Giving a lopsided, knowing smile, he watched the realization cross his companion’s face. “Yeah. I. Yeah. So. Heh, they say third time’s the charm but... Third time’s the end, for me I guess. Sorry, sorry, not. Not the time for jokes.”
A pause, then a shrug. “Not that. Not that there’ll ever be time for them again, I guess. So. Um. Anyway, I’m sorry. I... You’re everything to me, y’know? If. If I didn’t have a duty... I love you, I just. Wanted to say that one more time.”
He takes a step back when the other comes closer, tears slipping from both pairs of eyes.
“No, I. Please. This is. This is hard enough, if. I can’t... I have to do this but. It’s hard, it’s hard to... I’m sorry, I don’t want to leave you again.”
“I... I know. I love you, too. I’ll... I’ll cherish your memory, until the stars themselves go out.”
“Goodbye, Zu. I’m... Glad I got to meet you. Thank you. For everything.”














