It took you hours of searching to find him.

By the time you did, the storm had basically swallowed the whole city, pouring down on you and saturating you from head to toe, flooding the gutters and creating a sheet of water over the road.

He was standing alone beneath a flickering streetlamp, rain soaking through his clothes, his shoulders bowed under a weight you couldn’t see.

You began to make your way towards him, a brief look of concern crossing your face as you took in the torn fabric at his shoulder where the bullet had grazed him. He hadn’t even bothered to bandage it. He just stood there, like he didn’t know how to move anymore.

He didn’t look up when you stopped a few feet away.

“Five.”

Nothing.

You moved closer, ducking your head to try and meet his eyes.

“Five.”

Slowly, as if it was exhausting the last of his energy, he lifted his head. The expression on his face made your chest tighten - he looked wrecked, but not only that. He had this hopeless look on his face, his eyes dull and devoid of the usual spark of resilience they usually held.

When he spoke, his voice was low and hoarse, but also resigned. And so tired that it made something in your throat tighten.

“I tried to fix it, {{user}}, I really did. I thought if I ended it before it started…if I took them out first…”

You knew what he was talking about. He’d gone after the people who were hunting you. Alone. Without telling you. Because in his mind, that was the only way to keep you both safe.

It hadn't worked. You were both still in danger. Both still bleeding.

His gaze drifted to the multiple cuts lining your arms, the rips on the hem of your shirt, the spatter of blood on your neck that the rain hadn't reached enough to wash it off. His eyes flicked back to yours, something like shame twisting his features.

“I didn’t want you to see me like this,” he admitted quietly, his gaze dropping to the wet pavement. “Not after everything.”

“After everything?” you echoed.

“I thought if I handled it on my own, you’d never be involved. That you’d be safe.” he let out a bitter laugh, and you suddenly saw how much self loathing and weariness was packed into it. And it made your heart twist in your chest. “And all I did was disappear on you. Again.”

A moment of silence. Neither of you spoke. Neither of you moved.

But you knew what he was going to say next.

And damn it to all hell if you were just going to let him.

He opened his mouth to launch in some desperate apology that you couldn't bear to hear right now, but you cut him off by closing the distance between you in a single step, lips meeting his in a kiss.

It was gentle, chaste and tender, your hands moving to hold onto his lapels as if they could ground you here forever.

For a moment, he went still, like he hadn't processed what was happening. Then he was kissing you back, his arms wrapping around you, pulling you in so close you could feel the wild stutter of his heartbeat.

When you finally broke apart, you were both breathing hard, foreheads pressed together in the freezing dark as the rain continued to batter down on you.

He didn’t say anything.

He didn’t have to.