Explanation for this fic: I'm a girl, so expect me to want a romantic ending to this intense game. The game already has a perfect ending, but I kept expecting Clara to still be alive, having faking her own death and popping up after the credits. When she didn't, I started writing. This is the result.

Rated T for hints towards sex and rape, not in that order. Set at least eight months after the end of the game. I hope everyone enjoys!

Aiden Pearce was having one of those nights. It was a normal occurrence; he couldn't sleep, because the nightmares wouldn't allow it. If his eyes did fall shut, it was only for an hour or so. Faces of the ones he lost, along with those that he had killed, would shortly wake him up. And so, feeling like he had to do something, he patrolled the streets.

He had hacked enough people to create a list of criminals that didn't deserve to be on the streets. Nothing as big as his late adventures, just drug dealers, scam artists, murderers, sex traffickers and scandalists.

But not tonight. Tonight, he heard a woman's scream in the park, and he bolted. He got there in under a minute, but he had heard enough. A man was over her, tugging her to the ground, telling her that it wouldn't hurt, and from her cries of help, Aiden knew the man's intention. He didn't need to profile the man to know; Aiden had seen his kind before. Too many times.

The vigilante pulled out his retractable baton, and with a single swing, the man was tossed aside, unconscious.

The woman- a blonde- struggled to stand, but Aiden stepped back. The woman wouldn't be able to accept another's man touch, not for a while. She would probable shy away from him if he didn't give her space.

He removed his hat, slipping it into his coat pocket, so she wasn't intimidated by him further. "Are you alright, ma'am?"

Once she had her bearing's, she immediately backed away. From Aiden, from the unconscious man, from the park, from the situation itself. He saw the fear in her eyes, suspicious of him. "Th-thank you," she muttered, before she took off.

Aiden let out a sigh, and stuffed his hand into his pocket. "You're welcome," he whispered, watching as her silhouette disappeared down the poorly lit street. His hand came back out with a small baggy, filled with small greens. The vigilante leaned over the unconscious criminal and reached into the man's pocket, leaving the marijuana there. At least the man wouldn't be able to hurt anyone for a while. Aiden searched his other pockets, then found the man's phone.

Dispatch answered within a few seconds. "911, what is your emergency?"

Aiden raised his voice an octave, so hopefully they wouldn't recognize his voice. He could always go back and erase the recorded call later, so there wasn't really a point. "There's a man, here, in the park." He made it seem as if he were scared, now. "He looks like a druggie. I think he's going to-" Aiden cut himself off, but kept the call up. He knew the police would trace the call. The vigilante dropped the open line into the grass, hearing the dispatcher asking if he was still there. He wasn't.

Aiden only got about twenty feet from the unconscious criminal when he heard someone call out to him.

"That was a nice shot. You only had to hit him once."

Aiden looked over to the voice, startled. He didn't immediately recognize the woman's appeareance, but he knew that voice- that accent- anywhere. He could never forget her voice.

If he hadn't heard her speak, Aiden didn't think he would have been able to recognize her. Being in the dark park wouldn't have helped either. The right side of her head was still buzzed, but her left was covered in black hair, falling to the side, barely touching her shoulder. Her makeup was lighter, thinner, but her eyes still stood out, accented by the small patch of white hair in her bangs. She was actually wearing a bra- Aiden could tell- under the white t-shirt that covered the tattoos that he knew were on her chest. She still wore the leather jacket and black jeans, but all her jewelry was absent, including her facial piercings, all but her ear piercings. She looked different, but Aiden knew her voice. It was one of the many that haunted his nightmares.

"Clara," he whispered, and it felt good to say her name out loud. She revealed herself from the tree and approached him. Aiden openly stared at her, because how was she here? Was he hallucinating? He wouldn't doubt it.

She gave him a small grin. "You look like you've seen a ghost," she said teasingly, appreciating his face without a hat shadowing it.

"How-" he started, but he couldn't get himself to ask the question. It was too much. He couldn't open the wounds, not if this wasn't real.

Clara folded her arms over her chest, losing the smile. "I didn't think I would get another chance to disappear, so I faked my death," she explained. "Changed my look a little."

Aiden shook his head, then closed his eyes. Flashes of memory, of gunshots, a shouted "Clara!" and blood clouded the back of his eyelids, and Aiden visibly cringed from them. "You were dead…"

"It seemed that way, yes. But, Aiden, open your eyes." He did, and she gestured to herself. "I'm right here."

The vigilante nodded, blinking. She was there, wasn't she? It wasn't a dream. There was too much detail. This was real. She was real.

"You don't have to do this alone anymore, Aiden," she whispered, stepping towards him, and he caught her scent. He instinctively leaned towards her, and a second later he had wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest. His eyes closed in relief as his nose brushed against her hair and her felt her hand slide up her back. Oh, how he had longed to hold her.

Aiden wanted to ask her where she'd been, what she had been doing, why she hadn't come back, but those questions could be asked later. She was here- alive- and that was all that mattered to him at the moment.

Clara pulled away, the hacker glancing shyly up at the man. "Actually, I could use your help."

Hearing those words- words he had once said to her, in a very intimate way- made a force in his gut turn. He couldn't tell what it meant before she was moving again.

"But first," she murmured, before she was in front of him, and her lips crashed into his. She held his face as she kissed him slowly but sweetly, causing Aiden to melt into her embrace as he held onto her waist. When she pulled away and settled back onto flat feet, the vigilante grinned happily.

She needed his help this time, and just that thought brought so many questions to mind. He didn't know her as well as he wanted to, but he had a feeling he was going to find out a lot about her. At least he could say that now.

Aiden reached out and grabbed her hand, then began to gently pull her back toward his apartment complex. "The cops will be here any minute," he told her, still grinning. Clara returned the grin, and allowed herself to follow him. Feeling her presence next to him brought him comfort, and relief. Aiden felt as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders, knowing that no, he would not have to do this alone anymore.

"What is it that you need?" He heard himself asking as they crossed a not-so-busy street. He looked down to see her reaction, but hadn't expected a sly grin to appear on her face.

"It can wait until tomorrow."