Work Text:
Roman dies of a drug overdose. The irony is he’s never touched drugs before, he’s seen enough with Kendall to put him off for life. He’s always managed to avoid taking anything at parties. It’s like the sex thing, a sleight of hand here, a lot of big talk there, and nobody notices that you’re not actually doing it.
But it’s been three years since his father’s death, and the physical pain of it is no closer to dissipating. He doesn’t know who he is any more or what his purpose might be.
So he does a line, and then another, and before he knows it he’s on the floor with his heart pounding in his ears like he’s in some cheesy after school special about the risks of drugs. His body has no tolerance for cocaine, it seems.
The news shocks the world. If the headline was Kendall Roy dies of overdose that would check out, but Roman? Isn’t he the younger, sex pest one? It’s a huge deal, for a couple of days anyway.
Romulus Ewan Roy
1983–2023
…
Kendall drives his car into a river a couple of months later. Losing Roman is the one thing he can’t come back from, so he nopes out at the funeral and starts planning how he’s going to do it.
He records video messages for Connor, Shiv, Rava and his kids and leaves his phone unlocked where it can be found. He writes a letter to the parents of the boy in England, explaining what happened and apologising. Then he drives out to a secluded location, having already fired both Colin and Fikret. Sitting in the driver’s seat, he can’t believe he ever thought that he would die if he didn’t get to take over his dad’s company.
He makes sure his seatbelt is securely fastened before he takes the plunge into the water. Shiv gets the call in the middle of the night and knows before she answers what the news is going to be.
Kendall Logan Roy
1979–2023
…
Tom dies on a plane, like Logan. It’s not natural causes though, more of a misunderstanding with air traffic control. The plane is shot down while he’s on his way to visit the president.
He tries to call Shiv, but he can’t get through to her. She’s probably screening his calls. He calls his daughter and does manage to leave her a voicemail. So quaint.
Fortunately he’s not completely alone at the end, his assistant is with him. “Will you kiss me?” Greg asks, only half-jokingly.
Unfortunately Tom doesn’t get the chance to answer.
Thomas David Wambsgans
1978–2029
Gregory Hirsch
1991–2029
…
Connor actually makes it to old age. Shiv, as his one surviving sibling, honours his wish to be frozen afterwards, although science is no closer to being able to revive him.
By this time Connor has had two more wives and produced a daughter. He doesn’t remember any of that, though. He doesn’t know who he is most of the time. Some days, he thinks he’s Napoleon.
Shiv is there at the end. She sits at his bedside, holding his hands, fighting back tears as she talks about her childhood, about memories of Ken and Roman.
“Are you my wife?” he asks. These are his last words, as it turns out.
Connor Logan Roy
1964–2045
…
Shiv makes it to old age as well. She almost reaches her 100th birthday, her 60th one without Roman. She’s in a bed, in a white room with images of herself and her brothers, her husband and her daughter and grandkids projected on the walls and ceiling.
Is this a good death? she wonders. Has it been a good life? It’s been a long one, and that’s something. The world she was born into is completely different to the one she is leaving.
She’s the last Roy left, her daughter is a Wambsgans and Connor’s daughter and Kendall’s kids have all married and changed their names. Even Waystar Royco is a thing of the past. Her father’s legacy ends here. She can almost hear his voice, calling her Pinky and she dies with both tears and a smile on her face.
Siobhan Geraldine Roy
1983–2083