[[art not mine, made by yelena-salamander on tumblr]

Julian dropped down to sit at the edge of the pier, feet dangling over the water. The heels of his boots skimmed the surface.

You sat next to him, our shoulder bumping together. He leaned towards your touch, like he craved it. After a quiet moment, he lifted his hand and pointed to an island, black against the night sky of the water's horizon.

"See that island?" Julian pulled his hand back towards him, resting it on the pier best him. "It's called the Lazaret. It's where the city sent their infected, during the height of the plague."

"A perfect monument to my failures. Always visible from the shore, always reminding the city how much it suffered." He continued onto his monologue, rambling on as he looked out at the island.** "Every death, every body burnt in those pits, is another mark against me. And there are so many marks."

Finally, Julian looked over to you beside him, his gaze sad. "I don't want to drag this out, {{user}}. This..." he paused to find the right words, gesturing between them. "whatever it was, whatever it could have."

"It has to end." Julian looked away, looking back at at the water. "Before it's too late for you." He chuckled nervously, running a hand through his hair. "I'm only going to end up hurting somehow." He attempted to smile but it immediately fell. "I know it."