It was hard to be around each other after that. It was harder still to avoid each other now that school was out, especially with Eleanor insisting on daily family dinners as a way to “spend quality time together” before Maddy left for Yale. The siblings did their best to be civil, but every glance at Elliot sent shooting pain through Maddy’s heart. Every word spoken made her want to race off to her room and bury her head in a pillow and scream. Thinking of him brought her only pain.

One weird consequence of heartbreak was that they were both nicer to each other, their usual sibling banter all but evaporated. In fact, some noticed that they were a little too nice. Eleanor might have missed the fact that her children were fucking each other under her roof, but she didn’t miss the fact that something weird was going on between them now.

At dinner the night before Maddy was set to leave, Eleanor brought up the matter to her children.

“Are you two hiding something?” Eleanor asked bluntly, setting her fork down.

Maddy nearly choked on her food. “W-what?”

“Call it a mother’s intuition. You two have been weird. Where’s the bickering? The fighting?” Eleanor crossed her arms, her steely eyes piercing through Maddy. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining exactly… but I’m worried.”

Elliot cleared his throat. “We’re fine, Mom. I just don’t want to fight when Maddy is leaving.”

“Yeah, we’re fine.” Maddy said, her voice catching only the slightest bit.

“Well,” Eleanor said primly. “You both can talk to me. About anything. You know that, right?”

Silence met Eleanor’s remark. Finally, she let out a sigh and resumed poking at her food.

“I, for one, think it’s nice you're so sad about Maddy leaving us, Elliot. Maybe it would be a good idea for you two to do something together tonight? One last sibling outing?"

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Elliot said, too suddenly.

“Elliot,” Eleanor admonished. “That isn’t very nice. I’m sure Maddy would love to do something with you before—”

“I said I don’t want to, okay?!” Elliot stood suddenly, his face flushed red. “Sorry.” With that, he turned and rushed up the stairs, leaving Maddy and Eleanor alone.

“Go after him, dear.” Eleanor said, nodding at Maddy.

“W-what? No!” Maddy gulped, feeling heat rise to her own face. “I-I can’t. You heard him, he doesn’t—”

“Now, Maddy,” Eleanor raised her hands to cut Maddy off, speaking in her familiar “mother knows best” tone. “Elliot is clearly hurting at the thought of you leaving. I think the least you can do is say goodbye!”

Maddy stared blankly at her mom. Eleanor was right… for the wrong reasons, of course.

“Mom, I can’t just—”

“No, you can,” Eleanor interrupted. “I won’t take no for an answer. It’s better you go after him. Not me.”

Maddy closed her mouth, then opened it, then closed it again. Eleanor's face was steel. There was no arguing with her on this.

“Such a bad idea,” was all Maddy said as she left the table and walked upstairs after her brother.

A moment later, she was knocking on her brother’s door. Her mind drifted as she stood there, waiting. It was not so long ago she’d stood outside her brother’s door yearning for him to open the selfie she’d “accidentally” sent him. It was not so long ago she’d stood outside his door in her sluttiest dress, desperate to tempt him into entering her bedroom that night. Now, all of that was behind them. For good.

“Go away," Elliot’s voice sounded.

“Mom won’t rest until I’ve talked to you.”

There was a long silence that followed. But eventually, Maddy heard the unmistakable click of Elliot’s door unlocking.

Taking a deep breath, Maddy stepped inside, closing the door behind her.

Elliot was slumped on his bed, staring straight up at the ceiling, his face slack and unreadable. Maddy stayed standing by the door, not daring to move closer to him. Not trusting herself in such close proximity to her brother. She hadn't done such a good job of drawing a line between the physical and the messy emotional in the past. Now, it actually seemed somewhat important.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“For what?”

“I should never have… tried to seduce you. Not when I was planning on leaving all along. It was stupid.”

Elliot sat up suddenly, eyeing his sister intensely. “I'm not sorry. I wouldn’t change a thing, Maddy.”

The words yanked on Maddy’s heartstrings, nearly bringing tears to her eyes.

“But I’ve made such a mess of things…” Maddy said, trembling.

“Maddy,” Elliot said, striding over to his sister, his brow furrowed with concern. “The time we’ve spent together… Every second of it has been incredible.”

Maddy melted under her brother’s gaze, those intense green eyes looking at her with so much care, so much love.

“Even if, God forbid, we never saw each other again,” Elliot continued. “I still wouldn’t change a thing. You’re in my heart, Maddy. Forever.”

Maddy couldn’t help herself. She surged up onto her tiptoes and met Elliot in a kiss, cupping his face in her hands as she kissed him like she’d never kissed anyone before. Elliot grabbed Maddy by the waist, pressing her up against the wall as his hands roved her body.

“Maddy…” Elliot murmured.

“Don’t forget about me, El.” Maddy grasped the roots of her brother’s hair, pulling his head back as she trailed hungry kisses down his neck and collarbone. “Don’t you dare.”

Elliot’s hands went to his sister’s breasts, massaging them deeply as his erection grew, poking against Maddy’s thigh. She let out a breathy moan as her brother pinched her nipples, rolling them gently between his fingers.

“I could never forget you,” Elliot whispered as he leaned forward to nibble on Maddy’s ear.

“But you’ll meet so many other girls…” Maddy could barely breathe between sucking on her brother’s chest, much less talk, her voice pitched and breathy. “Hot, young, eager girls. Girls like Holly Anderson.”

Elliot pulled back suddenly, his eyes narrowing. “Fuck Holly Anderson.”

Maddy giggled, pulling her brother back in to press her lips against his. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

Words faded to soft moans as the siblings deepened their kiss, devouring each other’s mouths with a wordless lust. The way they touched each other was carnal, almost desperate. Both siblings were fully aware that this might be their last time with each other, at least for a very long while.

Maddy finally broke the kiss and bent to her knees, her face flushed with arousal. She fumbled with Elliot’s belt for only a second, deftly extracting his hard cock and letting it sit against her face.

“I’ll never forget you either, bro, or this monster cock.” With that, Maddy opened her mouth and swallowed Elliot’s cock, causing her brother’s eyes to roll back in pleasure.

She bobbed her head up and down, fully coating the length of his shaft in saliva before pulling it out and pumping it with two fists. Maddy looked up at her brother from below, her eyes big and watery and full of untapped desire.

“Take me, bro. Make it a fuck to remember.”

Maddy stood, and Elliot needed no further encouragement. He reached under his sister’s skirt and pulled her panties to the side, then in one slick motion, he thrust inside her, pinning Maddy to the wall.

Maddy met her brother’s green eyes as he thrust into her slick pussy, slowly finding a steady rhythm that sent waves of pleasure rolling through them both. The heat in her brother’s gaze was simmering. Something about their connection now was different, deeper than before.

Elliot fucked his sister. It wasn’t like all the times before. This time, there was no trickery or rage or manipulation or other messy emotion behind it. No, Maddy realized, we’re making love.

It was a gentle love, Elliot easing himself in and out of his sister’s slick entrance with care. Maddy grasped her brother’s arms to steady herself as he picked up his pace and they neared their climax. They never broke eye contact, staring into each other’s very souls as they moaned and breathed, focusing on that incredibly tight sensation where their bodies met.

The moment passed all too quickly. A rolling wave of pure pleasure washed over Maddy, every muscle in her body clenching as Elliot continued to thrust into her at the same slow, steady pace. Elliot came not long after, burying himself to the hilt inside his sister, lifting her up the wall a little bit as he deposited his seed deep inside her.

They stayed like that for a long while after their orgasms had subsided. Elliot’s cock still inside his sister’s pussy, their eyes still locked in a loving embrace. Heat and desire and primal love emanated between them. No words were necessary — they felt it all within themselves.

Eventually, Elliot withdrew, his eyes tinged with a bittersweet sadness.

“When do you leave?” He said, his voice croaking.

“Tomorrow. My flight is at six in the morning.” Maddy’s chest heaved with sadness, with lingering desire, with a thousand unresolved emotions. For a moment, she wondered… What if I just stayed?

“Good," Elliot said, cutting off Maddy’s train of thought. “Go make something amazing of your life. I’m proud of you.”

Maddy nodded. Of course, she couldn’t stay for him.

“Goodbye, El.”

“Goodbye, sis.”

And with that, Maddy left the room and headed to bed. She knew it was over, but in the back of her mind, Maddy sorely wished her brother would follow. One last time.

*****

The next morning, Maddy arrived at the airport with a fresh face of makeup — trying to cover for the bags of sleep beneath her eyes. She’d hardly slept, tossing and turning as she thought about Elliot, about everything she was leaving behind.

I will not cry. Maddy drew herself up as she went through airport security, resolute in her decision. The past couple months had been a rollercoaster, one with so many sweet highs, but also some pitiful downs. Her inner demons had nearly won. I almost threw away my whole future for a boy.

Not just any boy.

Maddy pushed the thought out of her mind as she stepped through the scanner and went to grab her bags.

“Hold up.” A gruff male voice sounded from behind her. Maddy resisted rolling her eyes. How was it that the petite provocatively-dressed school girl was always the one that needed to be patted down?

“Is there a problem, officer?” Maddy batted her eyelashes, ladening her voice with that sweet, seductive tone she reserved for her teachers and other adults of authority.

“You, er, dropped this.” The security guard held up a small egg-shaped device, pink and plastic and smooth and—Oh my fucking god…

In his hand was the remote-controlled vibrator Maddy had shoved in her pussy as she got ready to go early that morning. Shit.

“Oh-my-god, thank you! That’s mine!” Maddy practically ripped it from the guard’s hand, bobbing her head politely as she sped away before he could ask too many questions.

Okay, maybe I haven’t completely beat my demons…

It was an old habit. Maddy had planned to see how many times she could bring herself to orgasm in an enclosed, public space like an airplane. It would’ve been a fun game to pass the time. It would’ve been really fucking hot.

Maddy shook her head as she approached a nearby trash can. She knew what she was really doing. You’re trying to numb the pain.

Tears threatened to well up in Maddy’s eyes suddenly. She forced them back, exerting an iron will over her emotions.

“Get a grip, Maddy,” she muttered.

It’s time to grow up. Before she could think twice about it, Maddy dropped the pink vibe into the trash can and continued onward towards her gate.

Half an hour early, Maddy sat with her suitcase and patiently waited, trying desperately to think about anything except the dull ache in her chest. This wasn’t something where she could just masturbate her feelings away like she had with crushes beforehand. This was something that was going to be with her for a long, long time.

Who knows… Maybe I’ll meet a boy at school. Of course, she would. Girls like Maddy didn’t go long without finding another boy to tease or get teased by. But it wouldn’t be the same. No one knew her like Elliot.

Despite herself, Maddy found her mind drifting in that twenty minutes as passengers checked in to board and the plane readied itself. She imagined Elliot rushing through the airport, finding her at the last second and begging her to stay.

Ten minutes to boarding. Her heart skipped a beat when she swore she heard her own name called by Elliot’s voice. Maddy felt foolish as she looked around, her eyes wide with hope. It’s not like I’d even stay if he came…

No. Their goodbye had been final. It was time to start a new chapter. Apart.

The tears threatened to break their way through the wall Maddy had put up. This time, Maddy relented, just a bit. She allowed herself to grieve the relationship that could’ve been.

If I’d been a better sister… Would we be together right now?

A single tear rolled down Maddy’s cheek.

“Group B, boarding now!” The flight attendant’s voice echoed over the microphone.

Maddy wiped away the tear, careful not to stain her makeup, and got in line.

The line moved forward.

She scanned her ticket.

She stepped onto the connecting walkway.

Goodbye.

“MADELINE!”

Maddy stopped dead in her tracks. She turned, her heart pitter-pattering with cautious hope. There, across the airport, was her brother walking—no, running towards her.

“El? Elliot?!” Maddy dropped her bag. She didn’t care how foolish she looked, she ran towards her brother and didn’t look back.

“I’m here, Maddy! I made it. I fucking made it!” Elliot was sweating, apparently from having run half-way through the airport. Maddy didn’t care as they embraced. His scent was warm and comforting and everything she desired.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Maddy said, her voice cracking.

“I-I’m coming with you, Maddy,” Elliot said.

“No, you’re not!” Despite herself, Maddy couldn’t stop smiling.

“I am. Look, I’ve got a ticket and my luggage and everything.”

Maddy stared blankly, noticing his suitcase for the first time. She rubbed her bleary, eyes, half wondering if she’d fallen asleep and this was all a dream.

But Elliot was real. He was very real. And he was right in front of her.

“Are you sure about this, El? What about you? Your life? Mom?”

“Oh, this was Mom’s idea, actually,” Elliot smirked. “She caught me moping this morning and said she didn’t want me wasting my life away. Gave me a ticket and said you were the only person she trusted to actually make sure I did something with it.”

Maddy was awestruck. It sounded so unlike Eleanor to be so caring, and yet… Did she catch on to more than I realized?

“Are you sure, El? You can’t stay at the dorm. We’ll have to find an apartment together, and jobs, and-”

“Relax, Maddy, relax,” El’s voice was soft and comforting. His arms folded around his sister, and Maddy let them envelop her, let them sap her anxieties away. “I’m coming. If you’ll have me. We’ll sort everything else out later.”

Maddy stared up at her brother, his green eyes twinkling in the airport light.

“Besides, it’s not like I had much of a life at home without you anyway. I hadn’t even decided on college. This will be good for me!” Elliot said, though Maddy wasn’t sure if it was for her benefit or for his. “Mom was right.”

Around them, a hush had gone over the waiting passengers at the gate. Everyone was waiting for her response.

“So, what do you say, Maddy?” Elliot grinned, his freckles making him look more boyish than ever. “You’re not sick of me already, are you?”

Maddy swallowed. “Oh, shut up and kiss me you big doofus.” And with that, Elliot cupped his sister’s face in his hands, and kissed her.

A smattering of applause rang out across the gate, passengers cheering for the reunion of two young lovers.

“It’s so nice to see a couple work things out like that…”

“Young love is alive and well!”

“Heh, I give them six months.”

Maddy ignored them all. She melted into Elliot’s lips, letting him absorb her completely. She pressed against his hard body, not caring that half the airport was watching. All she cared about was the taste of her brother on her lips. I’m never letting him go again.

When they finally parted, Maddy was all smiles. Elliot’s eyes, too, seemed brighter and more alive than Maddy had ever seen them before.

“Shall we?” Elliot said, gesturing towards the plane check-in.

“We shall,” Maddy said, taking Elliot’s arm in hers.

A few minutes later, Maddy and Elliot sat nestled together on the plane, in a row of their own.

“You know,” Maddy said, smirking. “No one on this plane knows we’re siblings.”

“Yeah, I guess not.”

“To them, we’re just a boy and girl in love.”

“Uh-huh,” Elliot said distractedly, mesmerized as he was by his sister’s lips.

“That’s true for where we’re going too. No one ever needs to know.”

“What are you getting at, sis?”

“Don’t call me sis, El!” Maddy jabbed her brother in the ribs playfully, at which Elliot gave a mock expression of hurt. “I’m saying… We’re free. We don’t have to hide.”

“Meaning I can kiss my sister as much as I want? Wherever I want?”

Maddy smirked, lowering her voice to a whisper. “Exactly, bro.”

She grabbed Elliot’s chin, pulling him in for another voracious, exquisite kiss. Her other hand trailed up Elliot’s thigh, tracing the outline of his rapidly growing hardness. This is going to be a long plane ride.

It was a new chapter, and Maddy was excited for every last second of it.

*****

The dawning golden sun lit the clouds outside the airplane window afire, giving the impression that Maddy and Elliot were flying through a sea of smoky flames. The gentle hum of the airplane engines had lulled Elliot to sleep almost immediately, his cute, freckled face pressed against the cabin wall. Maddy watched him peacefully, her own eyes drowsy but contented.

I never thought we’d actually get here. It was like a dream come true. Correction: it was like a wet dream come true. Maddy rubbed her legs together, thighs slightly sticky from the gush of arousal she’d...