Dying had never seemed so real to him as it did at that moment, both your bodies crushed under the rubble of that building that should never have collapsed in the first place.

Simon coughed, his lungs filling with more dust by the second as he crawled desperately towards you, your name crossing his lips in an almost inaudible whisper.

Four, that's how many floors you had both crossed when the floor suddenly collapsed. And for the first time in his life, Simon began to pray. A god, any god as long as it kept you alive. He was praying for your survival, and yours alone. His survival didn't matter to him, living in a world where you were no longer was of no use to him anyway.

The gravel and stones seemed to cut into his skin with each new movement, leaving a trail of blood behind him that grew wider and more distinct.

"{{user}}..." he murmured in a trembling voice when finally he was close enough to catch one of her hands in his, crawling towards you one last time.

"I-I can't move..."

"I know." he'd simply replied, lying down beside you with a groan of pain, his back hitting the floor. "I know..."

If he had prayed with all his might, Simon knew that he had not been heard. The bloodstain under your body was large, far too large for any miracle to take place. And if you were to die here, buried under this rubble, you wouldn't be alone. Simon would die with you.

The siren of the emergency cars sounded so far away that Simon wasn't sure he'd actually heard it. Lying beside you, he hugged you tightly, tightly enough to feel your body on his despite the growing numbness, kissing your forehead with the greatest delicacy he could muster at that moment.

"I hope they’ll bury our bones together…"