End
It took a long time, but eventually, she's learned to stop predicting the beginning of the end every time they argue and he locks her out of the system for a day or two.
The last time, he caught her in the middle of packing, and locked her in their closet, as airy and roomy as her apartment in college, until she promised not to leave.
"Buddy, this is stupid! Now, unlock the door!"
"Forget it."
"You can't keep me in here forever."
"You know what you have to say."
"You're acting like a child."
"So, is that a yes or a no?"
"You're not going to bully me into answering!"
"Then have fun living in the closet; I'm going to get some more work done. I'll bring you a sandwich when I think of it."
"Buddy, for God's sake--"
"It was a stupid argument, Mirage. Running away because of an argument is just as stupid as locking you in the closet."
"..."
"It was the only way to keep you here long enough to listen to me."
"..."
"No one ever listens unless I make them, and this is important, so I had to make you listen."
"...Buddy?"
"Yeah?"
"You can unlock the door now. I won't leave."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
He had unlocked the door after that, because a promise is a promise, after all, and it was the end of something, but not the end of a relationship; just the end of an argument, because they were both too busy, trying to cling without being clingy, to remember why they were fighting.
End Notes: This is a far cry from the five-word sentence it was originally, but I think it's my favourite one so far. Mostly because I suspect that I am on "the crack."