_If you don’t know the characters yet, that’s on you…_

(I know this has been second person this whole time, bc I’m really bad at 2nd so I thought I would try, but for this I feel like it would be better to do first. Youll see why)

_Finn_

“I want to take you somewhere.” I say, our fingers laced as we walk the halls of the bunker. We have only been openly together for about two months, but it felt like I had known her for an eternity.

Her nose scrunched and she looked at me skeptically, and In that moment I tried to commit every detail of her face to memory. The freckles on her cheeks, the shape of her lips, the mixed shades of dark in her hair, all of it.

“Where…?” she smiled while keeping her face scrunched up. She looked at me skeptically through the side of her eye.

“It’s a surprise, you will see.”

“Oh absolutely not, I hate surprises more than cockroaches. I _hate_ roaches.”

“Don’t you trust me?” I ask as Innocently as a man can.

“No, no I don’t.” She sad mocking my attempt at sweetness. I couldn’t help but laugh. Smiling with my teeth and eyes.

“Smart girl.” I say pulling her a little closer, dropping her hand from mine, I wrap my arm around her waist.

Making my way towards one of the exits less popular to my employees, leading out to a large hill.

“We have just got to walk a little, less than a mile I promise.” She tried to stand still, arms crossed, promising not to move until I told her where we were going. Me having no choice, I picked her up, holding her by the backs of her knees as she wrapped her arms around my neck, piggy back style.

It wasn’t a long walk to our destination, and the feel of her talking in my ear seemed to give me the extra energy I needed. When we got close I made her walk, so I could make sure her eyes were closed.

“Okay, you can open them.” I say hesitatingly, starting to second guess myself.

She practically ripped her hands off her eyes and looked around. Her mouth fell open when she saw the orange, yellow, and red trees, all slowly dropping their leaves.

“Please tell me you’re going to make a leaf pile and then you are going to jump in it…”

“Look May, you’re amazing, but not enough to make me jump into a pile of leaves.”

-.-

I lied.

She was amazing. Perfect even. So I found myself with my head on Mays lap, while she picked the broken leaf bits from my hair. She was talking. I didn’t really care about what though. The sound of her voice was like silk. Soothing and soft and absolutely perfect. I stared into her eyes while she tried to do the impossible.

“Ugh I give up.” She throws her hands in the air before they slap against the grassy floor.

“I told you. Now it’s never coming out, it’s a part of me now I guess.” I shrug my shoulders.

“You didn’t even jump into the pile, you tripped and look me down with you like the jerk you are.” She didn’t lie.

I stumbled on a branch after helping May construct her leaf pile, and in my attempt to stay on my feet, I grabbed Mays hand, and pulled her right on top of me.

But I would not change the way things happened, because after we stopped laughing and giggling, she kissed me silly. The kind of kiss that makes you feel like you are one too many drinks in. The kiss that makes a giggle bubble out of you, and makes your head turn to fuzz that can’t seem to stop spinning.

Short and sweet, but what had to have been hundreds of them. On my lips on my nose and cheeks, on my forehead and neck and ears. But I was still left wanting for more.

I stood up and extended a hand towards May, she hesitated but took my hand as I helped her up, both of us with a large grin taking over our face.

Even though we had done much more Then hold hands, when she took mine, my stomach bubbled and fluttered as if I had a moth in my stomach just now leaving the cocoon. I wrapped my arm around her waist, pulling her close to me. We fit together like pieces of a puzzle. Meant for each other, meant to be together. She put her hands on my chest clearly confused on what we were doing.

“Dancing? You know? Moving to music with a partner…” I teased.

“First of all,” May pointed a finger at me, “there is absolutely zero music out here, and second of all, I am completely and utterly horrible when it comes to dancing.”

“We don’t need music, and I can teach you”

We tried a basic box step dance, but after my toes were brutally abused my her clumsiness, I had her stand on my shoes and I moved for the two of us. Slowly but steadily dancing through the fallen leaves.

—

_May_

I like to listen to his breathing, with every intake of air and exhales feel just a little bit more relaxed. We stared at each other in silence, while my heart tried to hammer out of my chest.

He stared into my eyes and I drowned in his. Each blink made my knees want to give out. They probably would have already if it weren’t for Finn holding me to him, while unknowingly, keeping me from crashing to the ground.

Such a pretty name, Finn.

Finn, Finn, Finn.

I really like Finn. Maybe even love Finn.

I put my head against his chest, listening to each and every heartbeat. And sure enough, Finn’s heart was pounding just as fast as mine was. A small smile spread across my lips as I closed my eyes. This place was beautiful, he was beautiful, and what we had, was beautiful.

He suddenly went stiff however, rigid and tight around me. I froze, our dancing stopped.

“Duck.” He whispered frantically in my ear, practically pushing me to the ground. My right arm hit the ground hard and a sharp pain sliced through it. My head hit one of the trees and my vision went white, a ringing pounding in my ears for what seemed like forever. But by the rate Finn was falling, I knew time was passing quicker than I felt it was.

I snapped back to it, quickly getting to my feet before seeing someone running just out of her view in the maze of trees. I whipped my body around, tripping over myself as I run up to him laying on the floor.

“No. No nonononono no!” I picked up his face in my hand as his beautiful smokey eyes looked into mine lazily.

He was bleeding. He was bleeding a lot.

“Please.” I screamed. My whole body shaking, my hair falling onto his chest as I inspect the wound. A bullet hole resting permanently in his chest.

“May…” my head shot up looking him in the eyes once more.

“I’m here. Shhhhh I’m here! You’re gonna be okay.” I hate the way my voice breaks as sobs rack my body. My insides feel broken. Jumbled up and inflamed, as if I might explode at any moment.

“You’re hurt,” I can barely hear his voice at all. He reaches up and brushes his finger along my cheek. When he pulled his hand back to inspect it, deep red coated his thumb.

I’ve never felt like I might explode, but also feel so incredibly empty at the same time.

“I think yours is worse.” I try not to look as the blood pools.

“Have I ever told you,” his voice is raspy and quiet, “how much I love your eyes.”

I laugh a little despite the tears carving trails down my face.

“Or how magical your laugh is…”

He closed his eyes then before I practically forced him to keep them open for me.

“Please… please don’t die.” I almost can’t say the words as my throat goes sandpaper dry as I realize that that is, in fact, a likely outcome.

“Hey.” He slowed this word down, trying to comfort me as I clung to him. “It’s okay May. You are going to be okay… you just need to… need to remember how to breathe like this…” he tried to demonstrate, but a cruel cough jolted his body as blood started to fill his mouth.

“No…” my voice stopped working. My heart stopped working. My brain, my gut, my soul. I was broken without him. I didn’t realize how much I needed him until the possibility of him not being there anymore was thrown at me.

My life before him wasn’t right. I thought it was perfect but being with him, fixed the deep cracks and dents I didn’t notice before. Looking back on it now, I see the cracks reopening, and the dents digging deeper.

“May…”

“Finn.” I couldn’t even think his name.

“May will you stay here with me. Will you lay here and hold me while I drift off for a minute. It’s always so cold without you.”

“Always.”

That was the last thing I heard from him. I held him and cried over his slowing body. He held me back, like he wasn’t bleeding, like we wasn’t shivering and blood wasn’t starting to fill his mouth.

I wouldn’t let go. I screamed until my vocal cords broke and bled when I stopped hearing his breathing. I tried to scream even if no sound came out. His heartbeat, so happy and fast a few minutes ago, was gone. No longer able to be heard. Crying tears that burned my face. Begging and pleading for him to come back to me. But he didn’t listen. When it came to a complete standstill and his grip loosened. I wanted to rip my own skin off of my face and body. Whatever he didn’t touch felt like stab wounds that I didn’t want anymore. All of the words I didn’t speak, would go unheard my his ears forever.

She made Finn one last promise. That whoever did this, would pay a painful price.

THE END.