Disclaimer: I don't own Lorien Legacies, otherwise our favorite jester would still be alive.

Snatches of Memories

He met her underwater, and she was, without doubt, the most beautiful woman he's ever seen. But it wasn't the first time he saw her. He remembers her in the year-long journey to Earth, when he would wake up in the middle of the night, or what the Cêpans deemed so, to sniffling beside him and he knows that she's crying again. The others were never bothered, they were probably too fast asleep, but he would always wake up, would always be the one to comfort her until she too falls asleep, and has declared himself her protector, even though it was Adel's job. He doubts she remembers him though, but he'll never forget those thoughtful eyes. She was the only thing he remembered about the journey. But it probably wasn't love back then. After all, they were just children whose innocence are a gift.

He definitely didn't fall in love with her when she was undertaking his test. No. He fell in love way before that, in the visions he sees of them finding him. She stuck out the most, what with her tall statuesque, sophisticated haircut, and thoughtful eyes. There's also something about her that draws him in, wanting him to never leave his visions of her. He knows that he's found her again (or she found him) and happiness swells up in his chest, an emotion he hasn't felt in years. He would never tell her, but Reynolds used to tease him that if he ever finds her again, they would undoubtedly be together.

She calls herself Marina, and as far as he knows, the name means 'of the sea' in Latin. He thinks the name fits her, she would be the sea he would willingly fall into. When she falls with him into the water, her hair sticking to her face, he's tried calling her Marina, savoring the name in his mouth. A roller coaster of emotions come with it and he's almost afraid of them.

When she found his Chest, he couldn't contain the happiness swelling up inside him. He snatches his Chest in the air and hugs it tightly before teleporting right in front of her. He grins from ear to ear and because a simple thank you doesn't begin to cover his gratitude (and maybe, just maybe, he's just trying to find an excuse to do it), he kissed her, full on the lips. He spent the next few minutes rewinding back to the kiss and the hours after mentally slapping himself for doing it, and asking what made him do it.

He finds it funny and cute how she'd been so careful in the Stonehenge, and tried hard not to laugh as he pushes one of the tall boulders, causing the whole thing to topple over one another. The look on her face was just priceless, he wished he'd brought a camera with him.

He regretted the hug he gave Six, or who he thought was Six anyway, he feels nothing but pain. He thinks about the prophecy at the cave, and feels sad because of the little time he's spent with her. His eyes close and he feels like giving up but he hears her faint voice, calling out to him. Finally the pain subsides and he flutters his eyes open, and looks at her, confused. He has to warn her and the others. He tries to tell her, but Marina has explained everything to him, and then stands up. As he himself stands up, she turns to look back at him, considered something for a moment, and pulls him in for a kiss. His eyes widen, his breath hitches, his heart pounds wildly inside his chest and butterflies form in his stomach. She pulls back and smiles at him and says something like "Hey, there's no time like the present, right?" and hurries back inside the battlefield. For a second he stands there, dumbfounded and staring at her retreating figure, before the noise of the battle jarred him back to reality.

Everything was great for a while. They were in Nine's penthouse in Chicago, and he spends most of his time with her. It was until one night, when he had a dream, that he knows that his days are still numbered, that the prophecy has yet to come true. It scares him. The fact that he'd be another person on her list of lost loved ones greatly depresses him and he's afraid to lose her (or maybe it's the other way around). Sometimes he wishes he doesn't have precognition, the Legacy doesn't always bring him good news anyway. He decides not to tell her, or anyone else, about the dream. He doesn't want to scare anyone.

While John, Six and Sarah are gone, he takes her out for a walk. He never exactly told her why he wanted to, but he thinks that this may be his one and only chance to be with her alone. They had a great time together, walking around the park and making up stories here and there. There was a gross hotdog stand in a corner and she laughs and actually says that she wouldn't mind one and he tells her that he's vegetarian but if it's the disgusting hotdog she wants, then fine because he never got around to thanking her properly for saving his life and delaying the prophecy for a couple days. She makes a statement that she deserves more than a hotdog and he makes a show of kneeling down on one knee and pressing his forehead to her hand. She looks around at the other people staring at them and pulls him up. The mischievous glint in her eyes are gone, replaced with something more solemn and she tells him he could promise her more days like this, and he squeezes her hand a little as he promises because he knows it's one promise he can't keep, and the thought of it slowly breaks his heart.

After going through the contents of their Chests, he purposefully takes his time in putting his Inheritance back. He takes the Loralite she has created and concentrates hard. He wants to get out of there for a little while with her, wants to forget about the war, and he wants to at least somehow fulfill the promise, to take her away for a day, if not more. She tells him that they can't leave, that they have to focus on the war and something akin to disappointment blossoms inside of him. He sighs and tells her that at least they'll still have pizza. He looks at her and the fear that he's been trying to ignore the past few days returns full force and leaves him breathless. He wants to tell her. He wants to tell her about the fear of dying, of losing her. Mostly he wants to tell her how much he feels about her. He opens his mouth to speak but as soon as the words form, Nine disturbs them. He closes his mouth and shakes his head, letting out an almost inaudible sigh escape from his lips, before he follows them out. Maybe, he thinks, it would be the last time he'd be with her alone.

His death came soon, with Nine enraging Five and him teleporting just in the nick of time to save him. He knows that he's done for, as soon as the blade plunges into his heart. He looks at her stricken face and staggers towards her, a million thoughts running through his mind a thousand miles per hour. He has always been afraid of love, of what love can do, how it twists the minds of people. He's seen what it did to Reynolds, what good it's done for him, but when he sees Marina again, he knows that it was all worth the risks, she was worth all the risks, and he wishes for the millionth time that he doesn't have to die. He wishes he could have one more day with her. He wishes he could go back to that day when they walked around the park in Chicago, just the two of them. He wished he could have told her how much he loves her that day they opened their Chests, but they're all nothing more but wishes.

He meets with One, Two and Three and lives the rest of his days peacefully with them, lending Lorien their services and hoping against all hope that the others would win the war that took their race. But mostly he wishes for a few minutes to be with her. The request was granted soon after he offered his body to Lorien, he was allowed a few minutes of life. He was so amazed that all he could say was "Wow, hi." He doesn't focus on anything else but her, and as soon as she sees him, as soon as she sees his emerald green orbs, she breaks into a sob and grabs his shoulders and face before pulling him to her, hugging him as if she'd never let go. He would surely never let go. It breaks his heart to think that she's been depressed because of him, and the words that he's been wanting to say, the words that has been itching to get out, slowly dies in his mouth. He decides that he won't tell her, if not telling her would help her move on. She apologizes to him and he shakes his head, telling her that it's not her fault. Parting with her again is close, he can feel it, see his own body cracking, but right now it doesn't matter. All that matters right now is her, right there in front of him. They look at each other in silence for awhile, and he smiles at her as he tries to remember every little detail about her: her soft, thoughtful eyes, her sharp nose, the way her lips are curled ever so slightly at the corners, the soft texture of her brown hair.

"Can I kiss you?" she asks, and his heart skips a beat, the way it always does when he's around her, before he replies.

"I really wish you would."

He decided that he won't tell her, but as soon as her lips crashes into his and he pulls her close to him, he settles in telling her in his mind what he originally came here to say.

I love you.

A/N: a short one-shot because I'm deprived of Navrina and I'm re-reading the whole Lorien Legacies and need Navrina lol. I hope I didn't mess up much. I know I'm a crappy writer and everything /sobs at a corner. Anyways, thanks for spending some time reading this. Hope you enjoyed it. Forgive me for my grammatical errors. Leave a review! :)

-olympicmayhem