Notes: I haven't seen the finale yet, but I read a synopsis and got and itch once I found out that David was back in the game. Another short one-shot from an outsider's point of view from me. Hope you guys like it.

Disclaimer: I own an unfinished Invader Zim story. And a pixie-stick.

Whenever He Was There

"Love is not a victory march.
It's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah."

- Leonard Coen

The stars were out, tonight.

The cool night wind left pinpricks on his cheek as he slowly walked up to her front door, the moon invisibly dark in a cloudless infinite sky. Far-away suns and rocks making their presence known with soft glares.

David hummed some forgotten song, long legs carrying him towards warmth and comfort, but also that nagging, unjustifiable insecurity. His breath making wisps- veiling his vision with dead air.

He had never been one for over-analyses. He was the type to just let things go with the flow, allowing his life to be directed by the freezing winds of fortune. But the threads of fate had always been known for capriciousness, and sometimes, it irked him to know how something that once seemed so perfect soon finds its own flaws.

A soft curse cut through the night as the image of her partner automatically appeared in his mind. He had known from the start that the agent might get in the way of any relationship he and she could hope to forge. But still, he had allowed himself once again to be blown by the wind.

It had seemed a dream, at first. He couldn't believe his luck. He had had faith in online dating, but he had never thought that someone as engaging and as unassumingly beautiful as Temperance would walk into his life. And even when the alarms and death glares tried to rouse him, he had simply refused to wake up.

But now, as he trudged onwards, things have a way of coming into sharp focus when you least expect them to. Fickle fate.

It wasn't that she wasn't caring enough, nor was it because she openly flirted with her colleague- she didn't. She was perfect; always smiling that sad smile that never seemed to reach her eyes whenever he was there.

And that was the reason why, like most times, he had been caught unawares of the depth of the partnership that the former sniper and she shared. Now, as the pieces started to fit together like the remains of a broken fortune cookie, he could finally see exactly what was it that caused the cold shiver in his spine whenever she was alone with him.

The late nights, the dedication- the lack of calls asking how the other was doing, and all the other instances which he had at first simply chalked up to her being her. Interestingly and disarmingly inept about the nuances of normal life and all its quirks.

But all too soon, he realized something. Their relationship was already starting to die, and not because of anyone's fault, really. Sometimes, wars are lost even before they are fought.

He had always been one to leave things to chance, following ever which way the wind blew him. And although he was mature enough to know that he was far from being undesirable, he also knew that some dreams were never really meant to come true.

She would never be content with him. Caring, yes. Maybe even affectionate. But she was a woman of passions and fears. A woman whose intelligence was only matched by the strength of her will. A person who didn't allow the cool winds of change to come whistling and direct the course of her life- she navigated her own route.

And that was why she had dedicated the book to him, not to David.

Because he was just like her. A man who made his own destiny.

And although she was happy enough with him, and he with her, he couldn't allow himself to go with the flow anymore. Because whenever he was there, David could see that her smile finally reached her eyes.

He stopped just outside her windows, peering in to the scene of comfort and care laid out in orange and white. Another case closed, another skeleton in the closet buried to rest. Beer and smiles punctuating the moment.

The wind blew, the cool night air carrying falling leaves wherever which way. His breath forming veils of dead dreams in front of his face as he turned around.

He started walking towards his car, and smiled. A sad smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

The stars twinkled in reply.

Notes: How'd you like it? If you have any opinions, remember that reviews keep me warm at night.