Hired To Kill (FILLIE AU)

twenty seven - one last fight

song - If By Chance by Ruth B. 

~"Cause you don't mean to be selfish
But your heart breaks every time
That you see me smile
Cause you know its not you
Who brings it out of me anymore"~

Finn could remember the first time that he laid eyes on her. He remembered the politeness in her tone and how it was sharp at the edges, and how her hands were almost too gentle as she cleaned his face in the bathroom. He remembered thinking that her eyes were more than one color, that they stole all of the light from the sun and stars in the night sky combined, burning brighter than the exact moment before the sun finally set every night. But what he drew him to her eyes more than anything, was how she could not hide a single emotion from him. They were filled with such softness when he was kind to her, and such hurt and disappointment when he snapped at her, never able to stay guarded like his had been trained to stay. When she took his jacket from his hands in that first week, his eyes softened for the first time and ever since then, he had been hiding everything. She thought he hated her, despised every word that came out of her plump lips and every sparkle that shone in her caramel orbs. But perhaps he had just hated how weak she made him, how he felt like she deserved the word. He would light up the entire sky for her, paint the sun and the moon if that is what it took for her to stay happy. Maybe that is what always scared him about her. 

Every sleepless night and deary hours of mapping out the remaining buildings, it had drained his body of all his energy and almost the last of his hope. But he remembered what the stranger said to him in the bar, how he could read Finn's face without even knowing him. Her eyes were what got him through every day of hard work, every hour of her ignoring him and brushing past him in the training center without so much of a longing glance. 

"Got it!" one of the men slammed the maps down on the table, circling a small black square in red pen. "How could we have been so stupid?"

Finn clenched his fists against the table. "Tell me you have good news for me, Blake."

The young boy was almost as old as him, perhaps a few years younger with eyes lit up with excitement. His knees were bouncing with impatience, a certain kind of fire in his eyes that Finn used to have before he realized how messed up his life was. Blake pointed with wide eyes to the spot with a proud smirk. "Better than good news, Boss. I know where he is hiding her."

Finn noticed immediately how Millie's eyes lit up on the other side of the room, half with fear and half with hope. She gnawed on her full lower lip like when she first met him, and he suddenly remembered why he was putting himself in danger in the first place. He grabbed his coat, slipping it over his bony shoulders while the rest of the gang grabbed weapons. Millie had reminded them that they needed to be careful and use weapons as a last resort, but most of the men had simply rolled their eyes at her antics, pretending to nod in agreement. Finn looked in the mirror shakily, swallowing down the sick feeling that was building up in his gut, the worry that something would go wrong. Before he left the room, a familiar desperate grasp latched onto his arm, his eyes instantly meeting hers. Her eyes were full of slight panic, her grip tight as if she was trying to hide how much she was shaking in fear. She swallowed lightly, glancing at the rest of the men waiting for him before speaking in a small voice. 

"Be careful" she whispered. 

Finn's eyes softened, a hand instantly coming up to stroke her cheek. He smiled gently when she didn't pull away, letting his touch reassure her more than any words ever could. His tone was firm. "I'll bring her back to you. I promise."

The next few hours were a blur to his frenzied mind, every second passing by quicker than the last as they set out to bring the woman home to her daughter. Time dripped to a stop as they approached the safe house, a comfortable spot where Frank had been planning on keeping an eye on her, several credit card statements leading back to the address. The wooded structure was strong and hidden behind several trees, the men instantly grappling with the guards as the first few gun shots went off. His heart dropped in his chest as he heard the first shots, eyes squeezing shut at the idea of not returning back to the girl that he loved. His fists were clenched against his pistol in determination, eyes peeking out of his curls as he checked around the corner quickly, kicking open the wooden door with much ease.