The sun was sinking behind City 1 when Blue returned home, the sky stained crimson like an unhealed wound. Dust clung to his shoes, and the stolen uniform rested on his shoulders with unsettling confidence, as though it belonged there. For the first time in days, his spine was straight, his gaze steady, his steps unafraid.
Arin noticed it the moment Blue crossed the doorway. Not the uniform first, but the change—the way Blue no longer looked down, the way his eyes no longer asked permission to exist. Something cold settled in Arin's chest as he turned slowly to face him.
"Take it off," Arin said quietly.
Blue stopped.
"What?" he replied, pretending confusion.
"That uniform," Arin said, his voice tightening. "Take it off."
Blue looked down at himself, then back at Arin, a crooked smile tugging at his lips. "Why? It fits."
Arin stepped closer, the air between them thickening. "Where did you get it?"
Blue shrugged. "Found it."
"You don't just find something like that," Arin snapped. "You know what wearing it means."
Blue laughed, short and bitter. "It means I finally belong somewhere."
The words struck Arin harder than he expected. "You belong here," he said. "With us."
"With you?" Blue shot back. "No. I belong where people see me."
Arin clenched his jaw. "Those people will destroy you if they find out."
"They didn't," Blue said sharply. "And they won't."
Arin's patience frayed. "You don't understand the danger."
Blue's eyes flared. "Because you survived it and I didn't?"
Silence stretched, heavy and poisonous.
"I wore that uniform once," Arin said slowly. "And I paid for it with everything."
"And you think that gives you ownership over my future?" Blue demanded.
Arin's voice softened, edged with desperation. "I think it gives me the right to protect you."
Blue shook his head, laughter trembling with rage. "You call this protection? Watching me rot?"
"You were a child," Arin said. "I did what I had to."
"You decided for me," Blue said. "You always decide."
The walls seemed to close in as old wounds surfaced.
"I watched Father die," Arin said. "I watched Mother collapse. I watched doors slam shut."
"And I watched you walk through them first," Blue whispered.
Arin's eyes darkened. "I gave everything to keep this family alive."
"And you took everything from me," Blue replied.
Arin recoiled. "That's not true."
"You got the schools," Blue shouted. "The teachers. The chances."
Arin's voice broke. "I lost my childhood."
"And I never had one."
The room trembled with unsaid years.
"You don't know what the elites are," Arin said. "They don't forgive."
Blue stepped forward, fists clenched. "Neither do you."
Arin raised his voice. "You're gambling your life!"
"And you gambled mine," Blue screamed.
The words shattered something fragile.
"I starved for you," Arin roared. "I bled for you!"
"You controlled me!" Blue fired back. "You became just like them!"
The accusation burned.
"Don't say that," Arin warned.
"You wear responsibility like a crown," Blue said, tears streaming. "And call it sacrifice."
Arin's restraint snapped.
The slap echoed.
Blue stumbled, shock freezing his breath.
Then pain followed.
"Stop!" Blue cried as Arin struck again.
"I carried you!" Arin shouted. "I buried myself for you!"
Another blow.
Pema's weak voice pierced the chaos. "Arin—please!"
Blue collapsed, blood on his lip, sobs tearing free. "I hate you!"
The words landed like knives.
Arin froze, breath ragged, fists trembling.
Their eyes met—love drowned in betrayal.
"You're not my brother anymore," Blue whispered.
Arin staggered back.
"You became Father," Blue said. "Pride. Control. Silence."
The room fell apart.
Blue forced himself up, shaking, pain etched into every movement.
"I'll rise without you," he said hoarsely.
He turned.
Pema screamed his name.
Blue didn't look back.
The door slammed, final as a verdict.
The night swallowed him.
Inside, silence returned like a curse.
Pema collapsed, sobbing into the floor.
Arin stared at his hands.
"I lost him," he whispered.
Outside, Blue ran.
And the bond of brothers shattered beyond repair.