A/N: As I said, I have the story all written out, so it's just a coincidence that their dialogue reconnects with what somebody said in the reviews lol

Just to make it clear, Mike doesn't hate her. But two years have passed and they live miles away from each other, never got a chance to talk about what happened, so of course things are pretty messed up.

Thanks for reading/reviewing/favoriting/DMing.

A low music came from the living room and reached the kitchen with a soft jazz melody. The lights were dimmed and DC's colorful night skyline shone behind him, sitting across from her. A wide panoramic window opened over a huge portion of the city, making her feel like in a movie.

Except for, this was far from being a comedy.

"Why are you doing this? I mean, don't get me wrong. It's great. Really. I just didn't think you'd give in so easily." Paige asked, looking down at her plate.

She poked at her leftovers with the fork when she felt Mike's stare on her, her eyes low. He stopped mid chewing and wiped his mouth slowly.

"You thought I was going to put up more of a fight?"

All night long, they talked about everything. From Johnny's latest crazy ideas to Graceland's newest addition. But the real reason why she was there didn't come up until then.

"More or less, yeah." She confessed. Finally, she looked back at him. "What I did was horrifying... I was ready to go back to Graceland empty handed, to be honest. When I gave you my number-"

"-you thought I would tear it in pieces. I know." He completed for her. "I almost did."

His stare was strong and serious and she managed to hold it with equal strength, despite the quavering emotion burning inside of her.

"But just as I was about to, I remembered how much I've hated you and how much I've wanted you to suffer for what you did. It all just felt... incomplete, leaving things that way."

Paige nodded. If he only knew how bad she had felt all this time. How much she had truly suffered. How his absence reminded her everyday of what she did.

"There hasn't been a single day I haven't tortured myself for it. I swear, Mike, I never meant to go that far. It just sort of... happened. But as soon as it dawned on me that..."

Taking a deep breath, she held back the tears burning into her eyes.

It was difficult to keep it together like she originally planned to when Mike was there staring back at her. What a fool she was. That was what she came for, after all - what she had wanted for years - for him to listen to her and for them to talk things through. The fact that it was actually happening for real was making her an emotional wreck.

"...that you wouldn't be there anymore, I-"

"I know. Briggs told me." Mike picked at his napkin in his hands, looking down. A few moments of silence followed, until he placed his elbows on the counter and leaned forward. "The moment I saw you this morning I knew you were gone too. Everything about you is different, not just your looks. You used to be full of life, now you're..."

"...dead inside." Paige breathed out. Their eyes locked instantly. How come they didn't feel an inch of what they felt before, yet they could still complete each other's sentences? Maybe that was just it: Mike would always be the only one able to read her. The way she couldn't even read herself. "I know. I have been for a while now. Since the day I realized that my pride killed you."

"You didn't kill me, Sid did."

"Same thing."

"No, it's not. See, that's the point. When it happened, it was easy for me to say 'oh, you betrayed me, you have to pay for what you did to me'. That's why it was also so easy for me to hate you that much. There was a moment there I actually hoped Sid would find you and kill you slowly, like he killed me - make you pay for what you did to me, you know?"

As much as it hurt to hear those words, something in her eased and she slowly felt the broken pieces of her soul recomposing. Only a greatest love can turn to deepest hate. If Mike was so hurt to actually wish her death, it meant that he still felt something for her.

Back then.

Because he didn't feel anything for her now, she was sure of it.

"But I had plenty of time to think about everything that went down and I came to the conclusion that we both made mistakes. Terrible ones."

"I'm not defensible, Mike. I won't hold it against you if you wanted me dead. What I did is outrageous."

It was.

There was never going to be a day she wouldn't feel disgusted with herself because of that. For some strange reason, Mike had forgiven her and maybe that was enough for him to feel at peace. But it wasn't for her - she would live with that one greatest regret for the rest of her life.

"So was burning Lina's body."

"Yes. But you weren't the one who killed her."

"Just like you weren't the one to kill me." He pointed out.

The intensity of his stare reached a breaking point for her. Even though his composure was still and unreadable. All Paige wanted was a sign. She just wanted him to react, somehow. But in the end, she knew that there was nothing uniting them anymore.

So why would he forgive her? Out of everything that happened between them, this was the one thing that made her go insane.

"I punished you to have somebody to blame, Mike. You paid with your life for eveybody's mistakes. How could you forgive me that?"

She was being selfish, but her only desire was a sign that he felt something for her. Though she knew that wasn't going to happen. How could he show a feeling that was completely non-existent?

Mike collapsed in his chair and his eyes stared off into space as he started speaking. She could almost see his mind recalling those painful times. But he was still impassive. Unmoved. Nothing about his body showed any kind of emotion.

Mike used to be a tangle of feelings, a great guy. Despite the years gone by, however, he was still the shell of a broken man she contributed to create. And she hated herself for it.

"At first it was something I didn't ever consider doing. But then I did."

He did. He forgave her. What she couldn't understand was why. Over the year and a half Mike spent in Graceland they became inseparable. Wherever Paige was, Mike would often be right by her side and viceversa. All the longing stares, the smiles, the laughs - their noses touching, their mouths seeking each other's lips, their kisses... if there was still a part of the old guy she used to know in that grown up man body of his, there was a good chance that the memory of their subtle touches helped him forgive the unforgivable. But Paige knew none of that mattered, not after all the shit that went down. For a while they were the secret glue that held all things together, but they screwed up somewhere along the way. They lost it and there was no going back.

"Once I saw how self-destructive and helpless you were, I realized there was no sense in doing this - making somebody I used to care about, suffer."

He paused for a moment in search for words. Suddenly his eyes were back on hers, harder than before.

"I hated you intensely. Until I realized it wasn't really hate, just red anger. I was angry for how things turned out, for what got lost and for what little had been gained. There was no reason for me not to forgive you when we were nothing to each other anymore."

Something broke between them long before she sent Sid to murder him. Yet the fact that everything got lost so quickly between them still hurt Paige to these days.

Her voice quivered slightly when she spoke. "That killed me, Mike. You forgiving me was the worst punishment of all."

"I know. Maybe deep down I knew it would wreck you. Just not to this point."

"Is that why you changed your mind? Is that why I'm here? Pity?"

Despite being a strong woman, Paige needed him to help fix her wounds. She needed answers. But she didn't want him to lie to her again. She didn't need him to make up some sorry excuse for inviting her over tonight.

If this was just a sick way to punish her even more, she would never recover from it.

"No." His tone was resolute and it left no doubt about the truth lying beneath his words. "You're here because I moved on the day I left Graceland. You didn't. You're still trapped in there and you have been for all this time."

Paige smiled sadly at him. "You've always been a step ahead of me."

Since they met, Mike had always known his place - always known what he wanted and where he stood. Even before they started, he had known that they wouldn't be just a fling. That they would be real.

It took him dying for her to realize they had indeed been real.

"I'm glad you called." She whispered.

Taking her by surprise, Mike slid his hand towards her end of the counter and took her hand in his. His thumb brushed softly over the back, as his lips returned her small smile.

"Me too."