I spin around on my heel to see Peter, eyes cold and merciless. He aims the gun at my chest and I resist the urge to scream. The coward, how could he?! I blink tears from my eyes and glare at him. The night air stings my eyes, making it harder to choke back the tears that portrayed my fear, my weakness.
"How could you?" I keep my voice steady, monotone, but I can feel my hands trembling at my sides. I ball them into fists. "Why?"
He doesn't answer, he just fires the gun. I jump out of the bullet's path, only to have it nestle itself within me. I stumble backwards, caught by a nimble pair of hands before I can finish my descent. Tobias.
"To-Tobias," I coo; the sound weaker than I intend it to be. He presses his finger to my lips and shoots a menacing glare at Peter. He uses one hand to cradle me while he pulls out a gun with the other. He aims it at the one who will soon be the cause my destruction. The sound of Peter's attempt at escape reach my ears, but he doesn't have a chance, not with Tobias shooting.
"No." At the sound of my whispered protest, he drops the weapon. His eyes are locked on me, frozen, like a dark night sky trapped beneath ice. I don't want to see him like this, not now. "Kiss me." I plead, swallowing back the tears that threaten to pour over. He hesitates, ready to go after Peter, but my eyes continue to plead with him.
I shudder; the life leaving my body as the blood leaves me faster than my body can replenish it. "Just kiss me. Please?"
He gives in, pressing his lips to mine as if I am fragile. I must be. Tears drip down his face, landing on my lips. I burst into tears in a way I never have before, but I refuse to let go of him. Our lips fuse together. We were one, we are one. We always have been; him and I.
His tears are my tears, my tears are his. His sorrow is mine, my heart-wrenching guilt his. In this moment, we are one. The taste of salt is potent on his lips. He himself is my only anchor to life. I realized he is the reason I've been fighting to my last breath. And at my last breath, he is still my anchor, my reason to live. We separate, and I feel myself fading. The pressure of his fingers intertwined with mine keeping me here longer than I should.
"You and I are alright." He murmurs, "Nothing else is, but we are."
My hand reaches for his face, skimming it with my fingertips, and I focus on his eyes; the same dark, dream-like blue I've known since I arrived at Dauntless.
"I love you, Beatrice Prior, the bravest girl who ever lived." His voice, mangled by tears, reaches my ears and fills me with warmth. It is the last thing I hear.