AN: This is my first ever Brightwell fic, and, as the title suggests, it was inspired by/based on the song Writing's On The Wall by Sam Smith. I really love this one, tbh. I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!

It wasn't something that he wanted to notice. The moment he did, he actively tried to forget about it. That wasn't going to work. Every time he saw her, what he knew came screaming back to the forefront of his mind. There was no way around it. He was in love with her. Malcolm Bright was in love with Dani Powell. Part of him wanted to scream it from the rooftops, to tell every single person he knew. A much larger part of him - the part he listened to - said to bury that feeling deep down and never let it out. Not only would she never love him back, he didn't deserve her love. Someone else did. Someone better did. He was not, nor would he ever be, good enough for a woman as amazing as Dani Powell.

This wasn't something that Malcolm had ever felt before. Any time he had ever felt anything even remotely similar to this, he wanted to run, to get away, but this time, that wasn't going to happen. This love demanded to be felt. It demanded he stay. This love was deep and true and desperate and all-consuming. And it lived in a little box that Malcolm refused to open. Confronting the mystery of the girl in the box was one thing, but this love that he dared never even to speak of? That had to be held down and pushed back and shoved so far away that even he forgot it was there. Except he couldn't forget, and he couldn't fool himself to think that he possibly could, not when she looked at him with those eyes that seemed to stare right through him, not when her curls perfectly framed her beautiful face, not when she put her hand on his shoulder to ground him during an anxiety attack, not when she told him that he wasn't broken beyond repair. Trying to ignore the way he felt about her was like trying to ignore the sun when it was shining directly into your eyes. Not only was it impossible, it was dangerous to even try.

But it was more dangerous to embrace what he felt. Embracing it would mean a dangerous amount of vulnerability, and Malcolm couldn't do that. But what if she said yes? What if, by some incredible twist of fate, Dani felt the same way? Then embracing it could be the best decision he ever made. Then embracing it would mean that she would catch him when he fell. Could he do it? Could he risk it all on that amazing 'what if'? His heart told him yes, because life without her was like life without air. He was suffocating. He couldn't breathe. He needed her. But trusting his heart was never a good idea. That always ended in pain, in betrayal, in being alone once again.

He loved her. He loved her so much and he wanted to be strong enough to let her in, to take a chance on that glorious 'what if', and maybe the pain like a shard of glass that would inevitably find its way into his heart would be worth it. Even though she could never feel the same way, maybe it was worth it to tell her anyway. Maybe she deserved to know more than Malcolm deserved to protect himself. Yes, this was something he needed to face, the consequences be damned. Besides, he may never get another chance. He was lucky to have survived the explosion and landing on top of Gil's LeMans. Malcolm couldn't assume he would have the same luck this time. No, this time, when he started to tell Dani the truth, he was going to finish it.

"Hey, uh, Dani?" he asked into the dark of the car trunk. The two of them had been stuck in there for several hours, but the car had only started driving about twenty minutes earlier. Hopefully, they were still in the city. The trunk didn't seem to be airtight, but he and Dani had tried to conserve the available oxygen by not talking, just in case.

"What, Bright? Do you finally have a plan?" To most people, she would've sounded annoyed, but Malcolm could hear the fear in her voice. The mafia wasn't known for playing nice. There was a very good chance that when the car stopped, the two of them would be dragged out and executed. There was also a chance that Gil would find them before that happened. He had known where his team was when they stopped responding, and since the car whose trunk they'd been shoved in had only recently started driving, there was a good chance that Gil and JT would be able to find them. But it didn't matter. No matter which was waiting for them when the car stopped, death or life, Malcolm had to take the jump and risk it all. He was tired of letting fear control his life. It was time to jump.

"No, I still don't have a plan," he admitted, his fingers wringing together from their place tied behind his back. Dani's hands were much the same, only a few inches away from his own. He wanted to reach out and hold them, but didn't. His ankles were tied together as well, and Malcolm could only be grateful that his ankles weren't tied to his wrists, as the mafia was known to do. He and Dani wouldn't be able to fight back when the time came, but at least they weren't as helpless as they could have been. "I just, uhh, there's something I need to tell you," he finished, his heart beating faster with every word. Could he really do this? Facing down the mafia was less scary than telling Dani the truth - and less likely to end in pain, as extraordinary as that sounded.

"What?" Dani asked him, her voice almost a whisper. It was if she knew exactly what he was about to say, and knew she was about to break his heart. Malcolm was glad that they were facing away from each other, him towards the back of the car, and her towards the front - when the trunk inevitably opened, Dani would be the first to see their captors - because that meant that she couldn't see his face, she couldn't see how scared he was to admit this. He had always been told that his eyes often betrayed him when he put up any kind of facade, as expressive as his eyes were. That wasn't something he could hide, but this time, she wouldn't be able to see.

"I tried to tell you before, when I was holding the land mine, and I just- I couldn't then, and I should have, and I'm sorry I didn't, but I have to now-"

"Bright-"

"No, Dani, please, I need to say this. I have to." Malcolm took as deep a breath as he could, psyching himself up. "I know there's an equal chance of Gil getting to us as there is that we'll be executed when they open this trunk, but no matter which happens, I need you to know the truth. You deserve to know. You're my best friend, and I- I love you. No, I don't just love you, I'm in love with you, Dani. You've always been there for me, even when I tried to push you away. You're one of the first people who didn't treat me any differently because of my father, or because of my family's money, or because of all the stuff that's wrong with me." Once again Malcolm was glad that he and Dani couldn't face each other, because he could feel his eyes welling up with tears as he finally got everything off his chest. "You're so kind, and you make me laugh, and you get so passionate about the job and getting justice, and you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. Everything about you is beautiful, not just how you look, but you are stunning. Who you are, down to your very soul, is just so beautiful, and I can't help but wonder if everyone who meets you falls as madly in love with you as I have." Malcolm stopped and took a breath, slightly exhausted from his own outpouring of emotion. "I'm so sorry, but you deserve to know. It wasn't fair to keep that from you, and now, whether at the end of this day we live or die, you know."

Malcolm waited with bated breath. How could he have just said all of that? He hadn't simply told her the truth, that he loved her, he told her absolutely everything. Was that fair of him? Was it fair to put so much on her shoulders at this time? Should he have just simply said he loved her and left it at that? Malcolm closed his eyes in an effort to tamper his emotions down once again.

"Bright- Malcolm- I-" Dani stuttered, breaking off completely when the car came to a stop, but Malcolm felt her reaching out with her fingers, suddenly finding them intertwined with his own. Footsteps could be heard on the ground outside, crunching, probably on gravel. The trunk was opened, and Malcolm suddenly hated that he was further back in the trunk than Dani. He couldn't see their enemy, nor could he do anything to protect Dani - although, realistically, she was more likely to be the one protecting him anyway. He felt her fingers grip his tighter before they were violently wrenched apart.

"Don't touch her!" Malcolm shouted, trying and failing to gain enough leverage to turn himself around. He could hear Dani lightly struggling against their captors, and quickly felt another set of large hands on his arms, pulling him up and out of the trunk. With his ankles bound, there wasn't anything he could do as he was placed beside Dani, both of them kneeling. That wasn't a good sign. Neither was the the motorboat waiting at the end of the dock, or the man standing beside it with a chainsaw. They were definitely about to be executed, and then their bodies would be hacked apart and dropped into the Atlantic. That was not how Malcolm saw his day going when he awoke from his night terror that morning. "Are you okay?" he asked Dani in a low voice, although none of it mattered. They were about to die.

Dani looked at him, and yes, there was fear in her eyes, but there was something else as well, an honesty and sincerity and vulnerability that he didn't often see in her.

"I love you too," she whispered, her bound hands reaching to the side and gripping his once more. Not for the first time, Malcolm hated himself for not telling her the truth earlier. He knew there was a lot to unpack as he stared at her in shock, almost disbelieving that she could possibly love him, because he could never deserve her love and why on earth would she love him? But they didn't have the time for that.

"Alright, lovebirds," the very large mafia man standing behind them. Malcolm heard the cock of the handgun. They really were about to die, but part of him wasn't afraid anymore. He stared into Dani's eyes, and she stared into his, and suddenly, it didn't matter. None of it did. He loved her and she loved him, and they were together. There was no death, only each other. "Time's up," the man said, and Malcolm felt the barrel of the gun against the back of his head. He saw Dani's eyes flick to it before coming back to rest on his gaze, as both of their eyes filled with tears. At least Malcolm wouldn't have to watch Dani die.

"I love you so much," Malcolm said, one more time before it was too late, and then the gunshot sounded, and it was loud, so loud, so much louder than it should have been, because he shouldn't have heard it at all.

Wait.

He wasn't dead.

The mafia guy who had held the gun to his head was on the ground, dead, as was the man standing by the motorboat, the one who had been holding the chainsaw.

"Dani! Malcolm!'

Malcolm tracked his wide eyes from the dead bodies, back to Dani's equally wide eyes, then turned to see behind him, where Gil and JT were running towards them, weapons still drawn.

"Are you guys okay?" JT asked quickly reaching down to cut their bonds. If he noticed that their fingers were still intertwined, he didn't comment on it.

"Yeah, yeah, we're fine," Dani replied. She looked just as much in shock as Malcolm felt. No sooner had JT cut them loose than Gil was pulling them both towards himself in a hug, each of them resting their heads on his shoulders.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked them. Malcolm could feel the man's fingers carding through his hair, and he relaxed into the touch, just as he always did.

"I'm sure," Malcolm answered. Gil finally pulled away and gave them each a once over. Nodding, seemingly satisfied, Gil got up and moved to the dead man, to make sure he was truly dead. Just as Malcolm turned back to Dani, she launched herself at him, pulling him into her arms rather than putting herself in his. Malcolm wasn't about to fight it. He wrapped his arms around her, breathing her in. "You love me?" he asked in a whisper. They were alive, and thus had to face the consequences of the conversation that Malcolm had forced.

Dani suddenly pulled apart and kept Malcolm at arms length for a moment, saying, "Of course I do, you dumbass." Malcolm barely had time to react before she was pulling him in again, but not for another hug. This time, it was for the kiss that Malcolm had dreamt of since the day he met her. Dani pulled him close, one hand on the back of his head, the other holding his hand and bringing it up to her cheek. Malcolm quickly got the idea, and let his other hand rest at her slender neck. She deepened the kiss, and Malcolm was in paradise.

After an eternity and brevity at the same time, the two finally pulled away, but not too far. Dani rested her forehead on Malcolm's, and looked straight into his eyes.

"Of course I love you, Malcolm. Of course I do," she repeated, suddenly beaming.

Malcolm couldn't help but return her smile. She loved him back. He had told her that he loved her and she had returned his affections. It wasn't for nothing. That glorious what-if had turned out to be true. His leap of faith had ended with her catching him. The shard of glass that he had thought would end up striking his heart had instead turned out to be a stained glass window, a beautiful kaleidoscope through which he gazed upon this beautiful woman who loved him back. Air was endless. He could breathe without fear of the next breath he took being his last. He had seen the writing on the wall and embraced what he felt, risking everything, and it was okay. It was more than okay. It was paradise. Loving her had been both heaven and hell, but being loved in return? That was paradise.

If either one of them had been paying attention, they would've seen JT slipping Gil a twenty, having lost the bet on how long it would take for them to admit their feelings to each other. But they didn't care, much less notice.

No, they were in paradise.