Chapter Six

A/N: This is it folks… the official last chapter of Used! There will be an epilogue, but this is pretty much the end of the story. Thank you so much to all the reviewers who encouraged me to finish this, even if it could be a lot better. You guys rock!

Ah, one last thing- this chapter is dedicated to the reviewer who called his/herself 'Anti-Quincest', a person, who (unfortunately) seems to dislike both free speech and cute quincest. That person truly inspired me to write more quincest, if only to piss him/her off. xD

She can see her breath coming out in clouds, can feel the sting in throat from breathing heavily in such cold air and the goosebumps rising on her arms, and can all but here her heart breaking into a million tiny ice-shard pieces. And all Tegan can think about is that song from their most recent album, 'Like O, Like H in Her Gut', and how it pretty much is how she is feeling right now, like that word has just come up and hit her as hard as it can, right in the fucking solar plexus or something.

Either that or she has been hit by a truck. It's one of the two.

She has to slow down now, because her lungs are practically screaming at her, and she has a stitch in her side that hurts like a bitch. So the slapping sound of her feet against the concrete sidewalk gradually slows to all but a dull thump until Tegan is just walking.

'I was walking with a ghost,' she sings in her head. She wants to cry, she really does. It figures that as soon as she let herself be happy, as soon as she thought she had a chance at a decent love life, life or whatever the hell was up there in sky would strike her down. 'I guess that's what happens when you fall in love with your own twin sister,' she muses mirthlessly.

Tegan finally comes to a stop at a small park, much like the one that Sara and she used to play in as kids. She sighs, takes a seat on a beat-up swing, and tries to resign herself to being alone for the rest of her life.

---

Sara is running like a woman possessed, and even though she's breathing like a fat kid with asthma and her side is killing her, she refuses to stop, because somewhere out there is Tegan, all alone, and Sara will be damned if she'll let her sister stay that way. She is vaguely aware of Emy running just behind her, but decides not to think anything of it for the moment.

The younger twin stops briefly to ask a man walking down the street if he's seen a girl who looks 'pretty much just like me'. He nods and points to a park just down the block before flashing a shifty grin at Sara and asking her if she wants to… Oh wait, he's stopped, probably because Emy has just said something rather intimidating… Sara doesn't catch it, because she's already sprinting towards the playground.

She gets to the entrance and sees Tegan a ways away on a swing, looking like a kicked dog. Sara gets an ache in her heart that tastes like pure sorrow, and in that moment she hates herself for all she's ever done to her sister, down to every last toy-stealing and hair-pulling moment.

She starts forward only to find herself restrained by Emy's hand on her shoulder. "Wait," says the taller woman. "Let me talk to her first. I'll probably explain a little more coherently than you." She doesn't say it like an insult, just as a fact, and a very true one at that, so Sara accepts her help gratefully, but watches nervously nonetheless as Emy jogs over to Tegan.

---

"It wasn't what you thought."

Tegan is startled out of her reverie by, well, Emy of all people. She feels shocked for a second, then angry, and settles on that particular feeling because it makes her feel a little less shitty.

"Oh," she counters, staring up at the taller woman from her swing, not even bothering to get up, because she just really doesn't feel like it. "So I didn't see you and Sara kissing? Gee, I must be hallucinating. Guess I better see a doctor…"

Emy can't help but wince a little at the bitter sarcasm in Tegan's voice, but she quickly gets a hold of herself. "I was telling her goodbye, dumbshit."

"Good…bye?" The look on Tegan's face is so similar to a deer in the headlights that Emy would laugh, if this wasn't such a serious moment.

"Yes, good-bye. It's not everyday your girlfriend of a year or so dumps you for her twin sister out of the blue," states Emy with a weak laugh that doesn't fool anyone. "Rest assured; I get it. I hope you two will be happy."

"Emy, look, I-"

"Stop Tegan," orders Emy firmly. "There's really only one thing I want to do…" She slowly raises her right hand…

---

SMACK!

Sara's head snaps up in time to see her sister's whip sideways with the force of Emy's slap.

"What the hell!" exclaims Sara, running over to the two women. "Emy, what the hell do you think you're…"

She trails off when she realizes that both Emy and Tegan are smiling.

"I guess I deserved that one, huh?" remarks Tegan, standing and brushing the dirt off her bum, a red mark already appearing on her cheek.

"Damn right you did," agrees Emy good-naturedly, holding her wrist in one hand and rotating it slowly. "Anyway, I'll see you two around. Gimme a call when you need some new art." She begins to walk away briskly, hands stuffed in the pocket of her hoodie.

"Emy…" says Sara, at a loss for words.

The taller woman sticks an arm up and waves. "Take care now!" she calls, not turning around.

"Sara." The younger twin jumps at the harsh tone of her sister's remark. She looks over at Tegan and realizes that her sister is smirking. "Idiot," says Tegan fondly, ruffling Sara's hair. "What the hell were you thinking, coming out here without a jacket?"

Sara grins back, and realizes that she's freezing. "I could ask you the same thing, stupid," she notes, teeth chattering. "Look at you, you're fucking shivering."

"Shut up," counters Tegan, sticking her tongue out at Sara, making the younger sister laugh.

"Hey," begins Sara, pressing her forehead against Tegan's. "Guess what."

"What?"

"I love you."

Tegan smiles, just slightly, because what she's feeling now is beyond happiness, beyond anything she can describe.

"Yeah, I know."

"Tegan!" scolds Sara, stomping her foot in a mock gesture of anger, making it Tegan's turn to laugh.

"Kidding," the elder says quickly, capturing Sara's lips in a quick kiss. She pulls back and smiles again.

"I love you too."

The End

Thank you to anyone and everyone who read or reviewed this story. You've all been a great audience.

Epilogue will be up around Tuesday.