the first time they say "I love you".

It was a quiet night, when he thought she was asleep. The words slipped his lips, when he stroked her hair, holding her close. How surprised he was when she whispered back the same words. They shared a smile and a kiss, darkness and comfort of the room their only witnesses.

... the words resting quietly on the air, spoken in time with the rising sun and the soft whispers of morning.

Much farther in their lives, it would be the way she would greet him upon waking. The slow morning, words whispered over a coffee mug, carried by the wisps of steam. It was a ritual, strength given for the rest of the day. A little thing that meant so much.

. them spoken at night, roughly, in the middle of an intense romantic encounter.

Their breaths would be mixing, bodies pressed to each other, hands clasps together over their heads. The heat still enclosing them. It would be spoken between the gasps of air, breathed out when coming down from their heights. It was both declaration and gratefulness for being together. For second chances.

them bursting forth in the middle of a laugh, childish in their enthusiasm but shocking enough to silence all sound.

A rare playfulness, one that didn't show up in public. When they would almost be falling off the couch, the "fights" no longer serious but childish battle of tickles he'd always win, simply by his bulk and, as she called it, dirty move. When he'd suddenly just stare at her, in that somewhat confused, yet awestruck way and just let the words fall out of his mouth. She'd snort, not knowing what to do with it, and they would just sit there until something would distract them. Later she'd walk up to him and whisper them in his ear taking him by surprise. Payback was always a must

them choked out in relief as hands race over skin, checking for injuries and begging for reassurance.

She never expected to worry for him. Not with his cocky talk and showing off. He always had it figured out. But things don't always work as one would expect. She didn't even knew she was crying as he came out from under the rubble. Her first instinct was to punish him, kick and scream at his stupidity until he'd grab her wrists, his usual cocky grin on his face. When she finally looked him in the eyes she couldn't help herself, demanding he'd never do this again. The words just there as his arms - bruised and bleeding - closed around her. She was safe and he was alright. It was all that mattered.

.them shouted at top volume, in the middle of an argument, never meant to come out that way.

He wasn't listening, he rarely was. That stubborn nature of his never let him back down. It was desperate cry that nearly choked him as she shouted them at him. Throwing it in his face, angry, in despair. Anything, anything to stop him. When his palms rested on her face, she flinched at the gentle touch. She tried not to listen to his promises and begging to believe in him. And when he left all she could do was to break anything in her sight.

them repeated, quietly, with desperate eyes and a defeated voice.

He didn't believe in miracles. Everything had a cause that could be explained. There was no place in his life for miracles. But if there was one thing he'd ask for it was miracle. At first he didn't even want the paramedics to touch her, although he knew he should. They were still in the middle of the rubble, world saved and yet falling apart. He refused to step back, kneeling behind her head, watching her still face. He never cried, not even now. He only felt empty.

Once someone told him that people fought because they have reason to. He leaned down, forehead touching forehead.

"Please, please don't leave me. I love you." he whispered, more broken than ever, and repeated them, over and over. "Please be alive."

The gasp for air shocked him. Enough for him to finally let her carter her into the ambulance. She was going to live. She was going to live. She was going to li-


A/N: Based on tumblr post that I saw and thought that I must write a Dark Gray ficlet based on it. The Italics are the parts that create the whole post each line starting with the words "Imagine". Anyway that would be yet another contribution to the phandom and my rare pairing lol.