Over the next week, Brie and Connor did leave Sky and Star alone for the most part. One or the other of them would come to the building to make sure the rats had food and water, and even then, they seemed to be using the lab’s separate entrance, not even coming into the house to check on the teens. Then again, all the cameras were still on except the ones in the master bedroom and adjoining bath, so they could still easily keep track of the two any time they left either of those rooms.

That particular morning Sky was just finishing his shower and Star was in the kitchen chopping up some fruit for breakfast; though her expression still only wavered between sad and just blank for that entire week. She sniffled slightly as she heard Sky enter the kitchen area behind her, though did not turn to face him.

“Quite the cook you’ve become” he attempted the joke; as her entire meal preparation consisted of just chopping up some fruit to nibble on for the mere purpose of keeping any hunger pangs from adding to her already dark mood.

Noting that she didn’t acknowledge his presence in any way, Sky allowed a soft sigh as he moved to a place behind where she continued the task. He gently wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and propped his chin atop her head, considering the near foot of height he now had on her.

“Talkative today I see” he murmured as he gave her the gentlest squeeze.

“What’s there to talk about?” Star replied in a near whisper, simply forcing her attention to remain on her breakfast, though she didn’t pull away from his embrace, despite the water dripping from his locks to dampen her own.

“We still have another five weeks til rat puberty. We don’t have to stop talking to each other just yet” he attempted more humor, though neither honestly felt that jovial.

“What’s the point?” Star returned in the same emotion-choked whisper.

That was when Sky allowed his own sigh as he gently turned her to face him, though she didn’t manage to bring her eyes up to meet his, sure that would cause her to melt, as it always did. “Star, we don’t know that it’ll change how we feel. And if it’s possible that it will, then do we really wanna waste our last five weeks not even being able to speak to each other?”

“Maybe it would be easier” she sniffled again, still not looking up at Sky, even though his hands remained on her waist after turning her to face him.

“Easier?” Sky scoffed, “how do you figure?”

“They already ruined sex for us... Maybe it would be easier for us to stop wanting each other altogether. Maybe it would actually be a good thing” she whispered, though her tears made it obvious that she didn’t believe her own words.

Sky looked like he was about to say one thing, then changed his mind before the words left his lips, and tried another, “I wouldn’t say ruined exactly. I mean that last time, at Brie’s...it wasn’t exactly horrible” he attempted a smile.

Though Star just shook her head, “no, it wasn’t” she agreed, but quickly moved on, “but it took us four months of trying to bury our fear of being together, any way we could... and now... now it just seems like it was all pointless to even try to get past those fears if everything we feel is just gonna disappear anyway. So maybe feeling nothing would be easier” she repeated as a few more tears slipped free.

“Weren’t you the girl who told me she was sick of feeling nothing?” Sky reminded her, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead.

“That was when I thought I’d have to spend the rest of my life being in love with someone I couldn’t touch. But now...” Star just shook her head again.

“Star, those feelings aren’t gone yet. They might not even go away at all. We don’t know yet, remember?” Sky attempted to reassure her with the reminder of that doubt.

“Since when are you an optimist?” she scoffed as she shook her head once more.

“Since you’re starting to sound like the one who...” Sky began, but didn’t finish.

But Star did finally look up then, not letting that sentence go just yet, “the one who what?”

“Star, please. We don’t know what’ll happen yet. We just have to hold on til we do” Sky told her gently.

“You, telling me to hold on?” Star simply scoffed as she turned away from him, back to the counter. That was when her eyes moved back to the discarded knife. She then moved her fingers to trace the handle, her thoughts growing visibly darker then.

Noting her fingertips tracing the knife handle almost longingly, Sky moved forward and pushed it away from her hand, across the counter, “don’t do this to me, Star” he whispered to her, desperately.

Star simply scoffed again, “should I promise I won’t?” she told him sarcastically.

“Come on, Star” Sky pleaded, his own emotions obvious then, “if this is gonna drive you to... this” he glanced at the knife, “then fine, fuck it. We can run right now.”

“Til they find us and kill us anyway” Star sighed, eyes down again, “either way, it really does end with our deaths; either at their hands or our own. Doesn’t it?”

Sky didn’t have very long to try to find anything he could say to make one more attempt at assuring her that all was not lost. That was quite the difficult task anyway, considering he wasn’t even sure of that himself. That was when they were startled more than a bit by one of the glass doors to the living and dining area whooshing open as Brie stepped inside, carrying a large, heavy backpack with her.

“Sorry, I guess I should have knocked” she greeted them as she noticed that they had visibly been startled from a seemingly intense discussion there in the kitchenette that morning.

“The doors and most of the walls are all glass, and there’s cameras everywhere. I think privacy is a long-lost dream in this place” Sky retorted, his own frayed nerves of the moment easily hardening his voice.

“What’s in the bag?” Star forced herself to try and pretend she had some interest in the answer.

Trying to ignore the obvious moods apparent in each of them, Brie hefted the bag up onto the counter before offering an answer, “so, the two of you missed the end of ninth grade and all of tenth and eleventh. This week you both should have started your senior year, actually. But before you can rejoin your classmates, there’s a bunch of make-up tests you’ll have to take so they can be sure you’re prepared for that senior year. These books are your study material” she attempted a smile at the prospect of returning some normalcy to their lives at long last.

“You’re kidding, right?” Sky scoffed.

Brie was a bit thrown by that response, but replied, “well don’t you two wanna try to get back to being normal teenagers, finally? I mean that was the main point of trying this whole gene suppression thing, right?”

“So, you want us to spend our last five weeks taking make-up tests? Tests for the school that we were yanked out of, against our will, so we could be guinea pigs for our so-called parents and all their supremely fucked up asshole friends? Am I following?” Sky retorted with the same anger.

Brie swallowed a bit at yet another reminder of her past deeds and what had happened as a result of them. But then she was caught by the beginning of his question, “last five weeks?”

Star was the one who offered the answer, “if the suppression makes us stop caring about each other... We’re done.”

“Done?” was all Brie could respond with.

Star continued, speaking more slowly, deliberately, “if Sky and I no longer love each other, then I’m ending it” she said the words with such certainty and an almost calm acceptance that it sent chills down Sky’s spine, while Brie just looked on with a bit of confusion.

“Ending what, exactly?” Brie asked, not sure she wanted the answer.

Star simply reached for Sky’s arm, turning the scar toward Brie, “that enough of a hint for you?”

Brie swallowed hard, as Sky just looked down, biting back his own emotions at the thought of Star really going through with that, and being so sure of it. And he knew that she was right; if Star did take her own life, his would be forfeit too. He couldn’t live without his other half any more than she could.

“Star... Sky...” Brie breathed their names, not sure how she could possibly react to such a confession, not to mention the calmness with which Star shared it, “we don’t know... you don’t have to...” again, any words she could think of fell short. She tried to compose herself for another long moment before the logical side of her brain finally forced her words then, “I doubt either of you would do that.”

The two just scoffed in unison, though Sky was the first to speak “have you met us? I already tried, even before life sucked this bad. Where the hell have you been for the last three years?” he added sarcastically.

Another deep breath from Brie, “what I mean is that your statement is just... illogical.”

Another scoff as Star spoke again, “since fucking when is suicide logical? It just is. It just happens. When life is too much to bear anymore. Logic doesn’t have any fucking place in it!”

“What I mean is...” Brie began, trying to completely remove her emotions from her answer, as much more difficult as that had been for her since losing them a year earlier, “what I mean is that, you’re saying that if you no longer love each other, then you’ll end your own lives. But the fact is, that if you two come out of this not loving each other anymore... you won’t care that you don’t. You won’t miss something if it’s something you no longer feel. And if you no longer feel it, then you won’t miss it. You won’t feel like anything’s missing at all. So there’ll be no pain from that loss. So, no... I don’t think either of you would do that” she repeated again, though somehow sadly.

It was true that she was talking about them not losing their own lives; but what she was talking about them losing was something that had always been more important to them than their lives. Something that defined their lives and every bit of who they were. Though, in a way, losing that would be the same as losing their own lives; which is obviously how they already saw it.

After another long moment, Sky finally spoke again, “so what you’re basically saying is that our love for each other is actually the source of all our pain?” he just shook his head again.

Brie then allowed what was almost a smile, sad though it was, “told you you were still human.”

Shortly thereafter, Brie left them alone with the books and her words, and went to check on the rats for the day. Sky and Star just looked back at each other as the door closed behind Brie. Finally, he spoke again, “so I guess we should be thrilled by the prospect of no longer caring about each other after all. It’s apparently a cure-all for our pain.”

Star sighed softly as she took a seat at one of the stools next to the kitchen counter, “then I guess I like pain a lot more than I thought.”

Sky took a seat on the stool next to her with his own sigh. He then smirked, “I guess if you really are a masochist now, that could open up a whole new world of experimentation in the bedroom. Which is saying something, for us.”

“Shut up, Sky” she scoffed, though almost smiled, almost.

“Make me” he smiled as he leaned over to cover her mouth with his in what he hoped wasn’t one of the last kisses they would share. He apparently liked his pain too, after all.