They sat there together, each waiting patiently for the other to begin. One of the boy's feet dangled off the edge of the pier, water lapping gently up at it, only to miss it and fall back down to the ocean. The girl stared at this repeated motion, trying to keep quiet long enough so the moment could pass by.
They both had the same feelings, of course. And they both knew that they both had them. There was simply the point of getting them out in the open that was so hard. They had almost always been together:
Back at the School in California, stretching their hands through the bars of the cage just to touch their fingers together do they could sleep; Alone in the mountains in their house, trying to take care of children while wandering where their father had gone; She planting a light kiss on his lips while he lay on the beach, dying; He angrily bandaging her bleeding arm as she sat there crying from the strain of life; Breaking apart over her brother, both hating to leave; Being reunited; Him holding her tight while she cried over a grave; Kissing passionately before she leaves the submarine on an escape pod; flying over Africa, getting shot at; meeting her supposed soul-mate; him leaving; them meeting awkwardly once more.
But now it was just too much. She couldn't be with him, she reasoned. She had a duty to be with someone else. It hurt the flock too much for them to be together.
He felt the same. It wouldn't be right for them. They needed her leadership. If he was there, she didn't have the same leadership. And besides, she had that other boy… her supposed soul-mate.
He sighed. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
"It doesn't make any difference, does it?'
"No. We'll never get to be together. No matter how bad we both want it."
"Why don't we just escape? Just you and me, on an island, alone."
The old idea surprised her. She couldn't believe he remembered. "That wouldn't be fair to them. Just enjoy her."
"She's no you, Maximum. She never can be."
"And he's not you, Fang. But it makes no difference in the world. I'm sorry." A tear squeezes out of her eye. She stands up and walks away, leaving him on the pier alone.