Work Text:
"Loop..."
You can feel yourself fading. Your stardust is cupping your face in their hands. They're crying. You think you're crying too. You didn't think you could do that anymore. Loop never cried, it wasn't in their script. Even when you were alone, you could do nothing but stare up at the stars - the cold, unforgiving Universe staring back at you. Taunting you.
"Where will you go now?" Stardust. They don't want you to go. Of course they don't. They can be so blinding stubborn sometimes. So could you, once. But now... how can you tell him? How can you tell them you don't want to fight anymore? You meant what you said to them: you don't want to be here.
"Oh, stardust... I don't know! I'll join you so we can be one? I'll die? I'll stay under this tree forever? Does it matter?"
You know what their answer will be before he opens his mouth. "It does!"
Of course it matters to them. You wish you knew how to answer. You wish he would forget about you. You wish, you wish, you wish...
Your vision blurs. Your stardust's face is so far away now. You think you can see the stars behind it. The bright afternoon fades, the curtains closing, and you see...
Four stars, brighter than the rest. They're calling to you in familiar voices. You think you can feel Bonnie tugging on your cloak. ‘ Hurry up, Frin! ’
Just a minute, Bonbon . You have a few more lines before you send them off. Your stardust, your replacement, your other self.
"Aw... don't worry, stardust. Somehow, I'm sure I'll see you again. You... and everyone else." You hope that day won't come for a long, long time. You hope that when your stardust... when Siffrin returns to the stars, they'll have lived enough for both of you.
"Mirabelle, Isabeau, Odile, and Bonnie." Saying their names still hurts. It still fills you with regret. But you can hear their voices, the voices of your family. You wished to stay with them too, didn't you? You had forgotten. But the Universe remembered. As you look past your stardust, you can feel it. An empty space in their constellation, a place they saved just for you. You still don't think you deserve it. But they're not giving you a choice, are they? Because you belong with them. Maybe you always have.
"I'll see you all again soon enough, stardust." For them, it will be a lifetime. For you, for the Universe... you're not sure. But you know, as surely as you know exactly where your place will be among the stars. You know you'll see them again.
"So don't forget me, okay...?"
‘Siffrin!’
You feel warm...
You smile.