QLFC Catapults, Beater 2 - Your OTP's lives have caused them to drift apart

Prompts -

(object) hourglass

(object) key

(quote) "Your memory feels like home to me, so whenever my mind wanders, it always finds its way back to you."- Ranata Suzuki

Word Count - 1151 (wordcounter .net)

AU - James and Lily didn't die.

Inspired by - (quote) "Your memory feels like home to me, so whenever my mind wanders, it always finds its way back to you."- Ranata Suzuki


Lily sat in the dark, the only light in the room coming from the open window where the unfiltered moonlight streamed in. Thoughts were dancing around her mind, but she didn't try to linger on any one in particular as she remained staring at the hourglass placed prominently at the centre of the table.

The cool light of the moon illuminated it. The smooth, sleek edges of glass were rounded off to create a shape with an almost otherworldly sheen. It was constructed so meticulously that the joins of the glass were invisible to the naked eye. The black sand inside it, speckled with gold flakes, added a flare of elegance to the already luxurious piece.

Second by second, she watched as each grain of sand passed through the opening. The sound of it was a soothing white noise that tried to quiet her turbulent thoughts.

It didn't.

She finally forced herself to focus—already so much time had passed her by. She clenched her fists tightly, then inhaled, exhaled, and relaxed. From her right hand, she threw what she had been holding oh so tightly to, onto the table. Her house keys, their house keys.

They tumbled down next to the hourglass, clanging loudly. The sand continued to fall. Time stopped for no one.

She wasn't sure how long she remained there, unmoving as a statue, frozen in place for the sands of time to ravage. She didn't move as she heard the door creak. She didn't move as she heard the footsteps behind her, nor when the chair was pulled out.

"Lily?"

She finally turned to face him, with a lone tear rolling down her face. "James."

"Lily? What's wrong?"

She smiled. It wasn't a happy smile, but one of love, longing, and despair. "We both know what's wrong, James."

"Lils, please…" The pain in his voice almost broke her. Her heart was aching just seeing him sit there, too afraid or too insecure to reach out towards her and pull her towards him.

"James, I love you, but I can't, you can't. Neither of us can give each other what either of us need."

"Please, Lily, we can work on it."

She shook her head as the tears started falling freely.

"No, love, we can't. You're at work every day and every night. And I understand, that's your job, your life. I get it. But then, I'm at work every day and every night because that's my life. We don't see each other, we don't spend any time with each other, this isn't working. We aren't working."

"Please, Lily, I love you, we can work on this. Please don't throw this away."

His words cut her heart into tiny pieces as her world slowly fell apart. "I could never not love you, James. But this isn't working, this isn't sustainable. You need someone who can fit their life around you, and I need someone who can fit around me." She let out a small, heartbroken laugh. "And let's face it, neither of us want to quit working on what we love. We need to face reality."

Lily stopped talking, watching in the moonlight as his emotions ran across his face, appearing before disappearing just as quickly. She couldn't start talking, she couldn't give in, she couldn't live in this passable situation that wasn't upsetting but just as much wasn't happy.

"Lily… I…"

She tore her eyes from him, unable to witness the hurt she was causing. She watched the hourglass, the sand still slowly falling.

She heard his muffled sobs—it took everything within her not to break down and cry with him. She had sworn all those years ago that she would do everything in her power to make him happy, that they would stick together through thick and thin. But she couldn't do it anymore, and she hated herself for it. She felt like a failure for breaking that promise, as if they hadn't done everything in their power to make it work. The fact remained, they had failed.

That this relationship had never been destined to be something that lasted forever.

Time went on, the sand kept falling, the gold specks glistening in the pale light.

She remained silent as the sobs turned to small sniffles as he gathered himself. She didn't know why she wasn't breaking down, crying hysterically. It had to be that all of the pain that would cause the onslaught of tears had already taken its toll on her (she had no more space to give the failure). When the room was finally silent once more, apart from their slow inhales and exhales, she reached forward to pick up the keys from where they had been sitting so benignly on the table.

She finally turned to face James. His eyes were rimmed red and his cheeks puffy from crying.

With a shaking hand, she held out the keys to him; they both knew it was more than the keys she was handing over. She was handing over everything they had, everything they had shared. Their love for one another and the home they had been trying, trying so hard, to build together. The life that they had promised one another.

Her hand remained outstretched, quivering.

"Please, James."

She watched with tears in her eyes as he reached out, grasping her hand, the keys between them.

He tugged her forwards, towards him, she fell from her seat and into his arms. For once (a little too late), he was the solid rock in the interaction whilst she was the weeping mess, as the tears she thought she had already finished crying broke past her forced calm exterior.

She didn't know how long they remained there, her tears wetting the shirt he was wearing. But when she finally drew back, the moonlight had been replaced by the pink hues of morning sunlight as the sun rose upon the horizon.

"I should go," she whispered, more to herself than to him. She tried to pull away from James, stopping only when his arms kept her in place.

"No, stay, please."

"James… Please don't make this harder than it has to be."

"No, just listen to me. Please. I- We both understand that this isn't working, that we need to accept this, that we can't be what we need each other to be. But I want you to know that you'll always have a home here, you can always find a home with me."

"James, I-" She choked back the tears. She couldn't afford to start crying again.

She watched as he extended his hand towards her, the keys from earlier still clasped in his grip. "Keep them, you'll always have a home with me, even if it's not with me."

She took them. The keys holding a heavier meaning than they first had originally.

On the table, the last of the sand trickled through the hourglass.