A/N: For Anna. Enjoy, darling.
He stares at her body. She is too still, too stiff, too not Marlene.
He remembers her small. Cheeky grin with a pink tongue poking between her lips. "Bet you can't catch me!" she calls.
She's gone in a flash, running too fast on slippery, uneven ground. She doesn't seem to care, doesn't seem to notice. And he follows behind, refusing to be beaten by a girl.
She falls, and he hears a crash. Even as blood pours from her knee, she doesn't cry. Uriah thinks that maybe this girl is something special.
And suddenly Uriah doesn't care that he's Dauntless,that he's been taught to ignore his emotions, that tears are weaknesses. He falls to his knees, fingers pressing against her wrist, searching for signs of a pulse, salt stinging his eyes.
He remembers her laughing. The classroom is silent, but she doesn't care. She's doubled over, laughing so hard that everyone stares like she's lost her mind.
Maybe the Dauntless-born are a little crazy, Uriah thinks to himself.
He doesn't know why Marlene is laughing, but as the teacher tries to restore order in the classroom, he finds herself laughing along with her until his ribs ache.
God, she is too cold.
He remembers her stumbling. She's jumped on the train a hundred times before, but all it takes is a slip of the foot, and she's holding on for dear life, legs working in a panic to keep up.
Some laugh and make jokes. Most just watch with wide eyes and open mouths.
Uriah moves. He grabs her hand, pulling her to safety.
She grins at him, leaning against the wall. "I totally had that," she says, poking her tongue out at him. But he can hear the gratitude hidden beneath her words.
"Live, Marlene," he whispers.
He remembers her confident. She takes the knife, slicing into her palm. Without even a second's hesitation, she moves her hand over the coals, letting her blood seal her fate.
Her eyes find his, and he can read the teasing challenge within. Catch me if you can, Uriah.
"Live."
He remembers her determined. Gun in hand, a smile on her lips, she turns to look at him. "Bet I can hit the target first."
Uriah rolls his eyes. "You're on!"
And her brows crease as she takes aim, firing and missing. He tries, his bullet sinking into the target.
"I win," he says.
Marlene narrows her eyes, raising her gun again. "Best two out of three?"
But she doesn't move, doesn't breathe.
He remembers her dirty, her pretty face smeared with dirt and paint. A victorious smile plays at her lips as she looks over at Christina who's still clutching the rival team's flag.
"Feels nice, doesn't it?" she chuckles. "Beating Eric like that."
Uriah nods, but he isn't really listening. He's watching her lips, wondering what they feel like.
She is gone.
He remembers her breathless, cheeks pink and hair windswept from the ride down the Hancock building. She pushes a hand through her hair, bright eyes gazing up at him. "Let's do it again," she laughs.
His stomach feels sick at the thought, but the way she looks at him eases away the tension. To hell with his nerves. "Of course," he says, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
And he finds himself thinking that maybe he'd do anything for her.
Dead.
He remembers her struggling, scared to death of whatever she sees in her fear landscape.
He's on the edge of his seat, flinching every time she screams. It's all in her head. It can't hurt her. But that doesn't stop him from wanting to protect her.
Uriah closes his eyes, pressing his palms to his face.
He remembers her blank, eyes staring straight ahead, weapon in hand. He can feel what's coming. This is wrong, so very wrong, but there's nothing he can do to stop it.
He stays close to her, playing along so that no one becomes suspicious. He doesn't want to see her become a killer, but he's too afraid to leave her side.
And when she wakes up after the attack, Uriah holds her bloodstained hand, whispering that it will be okay.
He doesn't want to remember her like this.
He remembers her as his. She holds him close, pressing small kiss after small kiss against his lips.
Uriah almost laughs. It's so typical of Marlene. The world is going to hell, but there she is in his arms, giddy and smiling, drunk on happiness and infatuation.
He thinks that maybe he loves her for it. Everything they've known is falling apart, but she is unchanged. She is still the same happy, carefree girl, and she's the only light he's seen in too long.
He wants to remember his Marlene.
He remembers her alive.