Hired To Kill (FILLIE AU)

ii. - the intruders

song - Half A Man by Dean Lewis 

~"But how am I supposed to love you
When I don't love who I am?
And how can I give you all of me
When I'm only half a man?
'Cause I'm a sinking ship that's burning
So let go of my hand"~

The hours on the clock ticked slowly, each slight movement setting her on edge. She was wide awake, staring at the wall as the minutes passed by, watching the clock hand as if it was taunting her that something was coming. Finn had fallen asleep hours ago, his warm arms locked around her waist as if reminding her that she was there in his arms, that she was safe. The soft exhale of his breath on her cheek should have soothed her, but as she stared at his nose inches away from her own, all she felt was dread. The clock's movements were ominous, as if reminding her that everything would eventually end, that you needed to deal with the rain to get the rainbow. She watched it with wide eyes, unable to sleep or relax until she knew that they would both be safe again, that nothing was coming to tear them apart. She felt him shift in his sleep, breathing deeper as his head fell down to her neck, ebony curls tickling her chin lightly. He mumbled her name under his breath and she thought that he was awake, but he simply started breathing peacefully again while she held her breath nervously. The shadow of the night cast such beautiful shadows over the pale surface of his face, but as soon as she turned her gaze away from him, she lost the ability to see the beauty in the darkness. 

 "Millie" he mumbled, more clearly this time. 

His eyes popped open and looked into hers sleepily, a halfhearted smile grazing her lips as she glanced back at the clock. He did not notice her stiffness and wrapped his arm around her tighter, mumbling sleepily into her neck. 

"Why are you still up?" he sealed the sweet words with a peck to her collarbone. 

She shook her head to get rid of the bad thoughts. "Just can't sleep..."

He looked up at her for a second with narrowed eyes, eyebrows furrowed together with sleep as if he was trying to figure her out. But she could see the exhaustion poking out behind them, dragging him under an ocean of rest, and he simply dropped the subject. Knowing that he was never good at making her feel better with words, he cradled her face in his hands and let her nuzzle her nose into his neck, something that always gave her comfort. She kissed his skin gently, letting out a deep sigh of relief before feeling him fall back asleep before another minute had passed on the clock. As soon as he was asleep again, she rolled over and stared at the clock, her eyes growing more panicked with each second that ticked past. 

They both startled awake to the sound of insistent banging. 

Finn immediately jumped, protectively holding onto Millie and the memory of the night that he told her he loved her swam through his mind, how he walked downstairs to his greatest enemy. He narrowed his eyes at the sound of someone kicking in their front door, Millie stiff and practically shaking against him. When he motioned for her to stay quiet, she whimpered and clutched at him desperately so that he wouldn't leave her. 

"I have t-to go check" he stumbled over his words, tugging her hands off him. "Stay here, please...I c-can't have you hurt. It could be nothing-"

"Finn" she begged quietly. "Please-"

Before she could make him stay with her pleading words and soft sunshine-filled eyes, he had managed to escape to the door. He sent her one last longing look before going outside of their room, walking down the hallway quietly. Millie leaped out of her bed at the first opportunity, quickly reaching for something that she never imagined she would have to reach for. Finn had always kept a small pistol in his bedside drawer, something that she led him to believe that she knew nothing about, even though she knew it was just for protection. It had never bothered her and now she was grateful, remembering his warning about the safety in her mind before creeping down the hallway. He had taught her how to shoot a gun for a few weeks, but she had never held one in her hands since, the heavy metal feeling wrong against her fingers. When she peeked around the hallway, she gulped nervously, seeing Finn arguing with two tall men that held their own weapons, knives pointed in his direction.