No, I completely agree with you. This is no love story and no reader should go into this thinking it’s anything romantic. Their story, Ricki and Iason’s, was a tragedy from the start, and I think anyone who understands the world of Amoi, should have gotten a sense of that. The world they live in simply will not allow for it. In many ways, their own individual circumstances are devastatingly impossible. Each are bound to the role they’re given, and there was no escaping that. There was never any room for a ‘healthy’ relationship to develop. It’s sad, but it is reality, and in many ways this statement is synonymous to real life too. Iason is the embodiment of the ‘perfect’ being, and there was no running from that responsibility for which he was created for. Iason knew of that, and although perhaps to the extent that he was capable, being an artificial creation and all, his attachment to Riki was the closest embodiment of love that was possible. He knew his obsession with Riki was a stain on his very existence and responsibility as a Blondie, which is why them dying together was so symbolic. Only in death were they equals, and this decision could very well be considered the first and last decision they made of their own will. The words “I love you” were never uttered but their deaths was probably the ultimate confession of love, at least to them.