You guys are going to hate this. Seriously. I hate this. I was planning on writing something cheerful. Maybe a little angsty. But this really got away from me.

"Cassie!"

"Cole!"

They collided like two magnets finally coming together, hands grasping at each other desperately. Tears rolled down Cassie's face as she clung to Cole, gripping handfuls of his shirt as she buried her face into his neck. Cole's hands were both at her back, pulling her in as close as he could.

The building shook around them, the self-destruct sequence initiating and beginning to tear down the compound they were in. The year was 2016 and they'd finally tracked down the Army of the 12 Monkeys to an underground bunker, after months of chasing them around the globe and fighting to stop the virus they wanted to unleash on the earth. The virus was gone, the last test tube of it destroyed minutes earlier, and as the last remaining member of the 12 Monkeys bled out on their office floor, they activated the fail safe that would destroy the compound and any evidence of their dealings.

Cole could feel his time running out, his hands and spine were aching, and with the virus gone, he was sure to blink out of existence any moment now. But Cassie…

"Cass! Cassie we have to get you out of here! This whole place is coming down!" He yelled over the sound of an explosion on one of the upper floors. Cassie shook her head firmly, clinging harder to Cole's shirt.

"There's no point, we'll never make it to the surface before this place goes down." She said, barely loud enough, her voice muffled by Cole's shirt.

Cole pulled her off of him firmly to look in her eyes, holding her at arm's length. "Cassie we have to try! I'm going to splinter any minute now and I can't leave you here!"

He started to move for the exit stairs, pulling her along behind him before a particularly bad wave of pain went up his spine, causing him to falter and clutch his head with both hands. He cried out as another wave tore through him, stronger than he'd ever felt.

Cassie ran around to face him, grabbing at his face with both hands to force him to look at her.

"Cole, there's no point! We won, you're going to leave soon…" her voice trailed off as more tears ran down her face, causing Cole's heart to clench in his chest. "We won. I don't care if I make it out of here. I just want to stay with you as long as I can before…" She was crying harder now, her voice cracking.

Cole felt his own eyes start to fill, and blinked quickly to clear his vision of her, reaching out to touch Cassie's face gently with a shaking hand.

"Cassie please…I can't let you die here."

"You can't save me this time, Cole." she whispered sadly, letting one of her hands slide down his arm to hold his hand. A small sob escaped her as she watched his face fall, realizing she was right. His hold on her hand tightened.

"No matter what I do…you always die." He said, almost too quietly, as he stepped close to her, pulling her back into his arms again. She complied, happy to be close to him. He always made her feel so safe, even if she really wasn't.

Another explosion from one of the upper stories sounded off again, causing some of the ceiling to break off and rain dust and bits of cement down on them. At the same moment Cole felt like his insides were ripping themselves apart again, and knew he had moments before he left for good.

Cassie clutched him tightly as he cried out, yelling his name hoarsely as she looked up at his pained face. The pain momentarily passed, and Cole leaned in to let his forehead rest against hers, trying to breathe deeply. It had been getting harder and harder to splinter lately, and much more painful, but this was a new level of pain. He was almost out of trips, and he'd known this coming in, not that any of that mattered anymore. He was going to cease to exist soon, and Cassie was going to be buried alive in this fucking building…

"I should have done this ages ago…" he murmured more to himself than her as they shared air, tilting his head down and kissing her soundly, one hand moving up to gently caress the back of Cassie's head. Cassie jerked in shock, but quickly recovered and wrapped her arms around him tighter, pushing her body against his with everything in her as she kissed him back. The kiss was deep, a push and pull of built up passion coming to the surface. Cole let his hands wander, feeling the curve of her back, the softness of her hair, and gently caressing her face with both hands while Cassie simply held onto Cole, revelling in something she'd been dreaming of for years, and was now scared was going to be suddenly ripped away from her at any moment.

A larger piece of ceiling broke free and landed close to them with a crash, startling them both back into the situation they were in. Arms still tangled and panting, Cassie and Cole looked into each other's wide eyes.

"Cole." Cassie whispered as the world came down around them. Tears made streaks down her dusty face, and Cole tried in vain to wipe them away with the pad of his thumb. Another wave of pain hit him hard, bringing him to his knees. Cassie cried out his name and knelt down with him, clutching at his shoulders as he screamed, his insides tearing themselves apart. "Cole please! I need you!" she sobbed, holding her chest with one hand as her lungs struggled for air as more debris fell around them. "Cole, I love you!" she choked out desperately.

Cole looked up at her and she could see he was crying, his hands and spine riddled with pins and needles. This was it. He was going. "Cassie, I-"

And suddenly, he was gone. The hand Cassie had been clutching his shoulder with fell into her lap as he disappeared in front of her. Cassie stared at the spot he was in moments ago, her eyes wide and still leaking tears. A pained scream tore its' way up from deep within her and out, echoing off the walls as the roof continued to fall down around her, diminishing into a sob as she crumpled into herself, her face coming down to rest on her knees as she clutched at her head with both hands.

The building continued to collapse around her.

Cole was screaming when he came out of it, tears running down his face. Hands were on him almost immediately, causing him to open his eyes in panic. Ramsey was beside him, and Dr. Jones, talking at him with a frantic look in their eyes, but Cole couldn't hear either of them over the ringing in his ears. Looking around, his stomach dropped as his heart started beating out his chest.

Everything looked the same. Ramsey was here, Dr. Jones, he's even sitting in the chair like he always is when he gets back. The pain, the pain in his head is unbearable but he can't seem to find it in himself to care because his worst nightmare is coming true before his eyes.

"No…" he whispered, his eyes growing wider as he searched for something, anything that would tell him that his sinking fear was wrong.

Turning to Ramsey he grabbed his arm and pulled him in close. "Ramsey! What year is it?!"

Ramsey paused, looking at Cole closely. "It's 2043, Cole."

Cole stared at Ramsey while it truly sunk in. "No…" he whispered again, letting go of Ramsey's arm. "No, please no."

They didn't stop it. Somehow the virus got out. It still all happened. Billions of people are dead. And Cassie…

"Cassie." Her name escaped his lips unbidden, fresh tears welling up. He left Cassie in that collapsing building, and the virus…it still got out. She died, she always dies, and she died alone, begging for him to stay with her.

Cole lets out a guttural moan, clutching his head tightly with both hands. Tears run down his face, his whole body shaking uncontrollably. He can vaguely hear Ramsey and Dr. Jones calling his name, but nothing can break through to him at this point.

He thinks about her smile. The way her eyes lit up whenever he said he liked something new she tried cooking for him. How her hair smelled after she showered, and the way it would follow her around for the rest of the day. Her hands touching him in concern after each battle, asking if he was okay. Her lips on his, the desperation and need and love he could feel coming off of her in their last moments together…

He was screaming before he was even aware of it, his throat protesting and his lungs aching, but Cole just screamed. It wasn't until he felt a needle in his arm and a liquid being pushed into his veins that Cole stopped screaming and clutching at his head painfully, his world becoming fuzzy before finally going black.