[ yves has nothing and no one waiting for him. it is in a different twist of reality, where maybe lucas is willing to return home and so yves has no one that he's willing to follow. there is no one whose side he would rather be at, not when the other option is to lose himself entirely in the love of someone who loves him in return.

there is no one else for him to pursue. there is only one path forward, even though elysia is trying to dissuade him from it. she doesn't know it's already far, far too late for him.

he takes her hands in his, and her intertwines their fingers together. tangled, really, making it impossible to separate them cleanly. ideally, it will be impossible to separate them at all. ]

I want you, Ellie.

[ more than any future. what is the point of more days if he doesn't get to bask in the radiance of her attention and affection? they will only feel empty. ]

If you'll leave room for a future for yourself, then I'll take it on with you. If you choose that there's another way forward that you're willing to take, then I'll endure it with you, no matter what regrets or guilts it might weigh on you.

But if I can't convince you away from this—then it doesn't make me love you any less.

So I still won't leave you.