𝙷𝙱𝙾 𝚆𝚊𝚛 𝙸𝚖𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚜

Little Fall of Rain | Romus Burgin

Sort of like a part 2 to On My Own, but can be read as a stand-alone fic. Less unrequited love part in this piece, more of the sacrifice part. Based off the song Little Fall of Rain from Les Mis. I do not own the song, or any references and lines I use in this piece. Props and credit to Claude-Michel Schönberg for coming up with such a beautiful and heartbreaking song. Death, blood, cursing, and angst.

~~~

"Jesus Christ, SHUT UP!"

"Fuck you!"

You groaned as Eugene and Snafu were locked in a screaming match with each other. We get it, we're all fucking tired, but get your shit together or else we're all dying stupid deaths, you wanted to tell them both. But Peck had suddenly stood up and stormed off up the hill overlooking the muddy valley below us.

"Shit." you muttered. "Peck! Hey, Peck!"

He ignored everyone's cries, and you and Hamm scrambled to bring him back to safety.

You watched with frustration as Peck started taunting the enemy, shooting at them and yelling at them to get him. You reached him before Hamm did, huddling behind a rock and trying to tug him back a safe distance.

"Come on, we just gotta grab him." he muttered, inching forward. You each grabbed an arm and tried hauling Peck backwards, back towards Eugene and Snafu. With Peck secured, you turned around.

And then everything happened in the blink of an eye.

A searing pain in your side.

The splash of blood and grime on your face.

Something warm on your fingers.

Faint screams echoing in your ears.

You laid there in the mud, rain falling on your face like tiny kisses of water. The night sky had never looked so dark before. Or was that just you growing more and more faint as the seconds ticked by?

"(Y/N)?" a voice somewhere above you said. "(Y/N)! Open your eyes, sweetheart. You gotta stay awake for me. The corpsman is patching you up, okay?"

You opened your eyes. You hadn't even realized they had closed. Burgie's concerned face greeted you and you smiled, reaching up to cradle his face. You felt tears start to run over your fingers and you weakly smiled at him.

The corpsman shook his head; there were too many bullet wounds. But you already knew that. You were knocking on Death's doorstep, and Death opened the door and welcomed you inside.

"Don't you fret, Burgie." you rasped, coughing with the effort. "I don't feel any pain."

"Shhh, you don't need to talk." Burgie sniffled, being careful as he propped you up against him.

"A little fall of rain, can hardly hurt me now."

"No, no, no, stay with me, (Y/N)."

You shook your head and tightly grasped his hand. "You're here, that's all I need to know."

Burgie looked over at the corpsman. "Come on, you gotta try something. Anything."

The corpsman shook his head and left, patting Burgie on the shoulder apologetically. The both of you had gone into the war together, promising to come out alive together. Was he really going to have to leave the war without you?

"You'll keep me safe? And close?" you interrupted his thoughts, pulling him back to the present.

Burgie nodded, pressing his forehead against yours. "You will live, (Y/N), dear God, you're going to live. If I could just heal your wounds with words of love."

You shook your head again and closed your eyes. "Just hold me now, and let it be. Shelter me, comfort me."

"(Y/N), don't close your eyes, stay awake for me."

You blinked the rain out of your eyes, focusing on Burgie's tear-streaked face. "Don't you fret, Burgie. I don't feel any pain. A little fall of rain...can hardly hurt me now."

Coughs wracked your body. Sharp pangs of pain flashed through your side and made you grimace in pain. Burgie clutched you tighter and it gave you a small sense of relief to still be able to feel his touch.

"It's okay, Burgie. You gotta let me go."

He shook away your comment and tried smiling at you. "We promised each other. We're supposed to come out of here together!"

"Burgie, I'll always be with you. I'll be right next to you when you step off that train home, okay?" You weakly held out a hand and felt the rain wash off the mud and grime that had collected on it.

"All this rain...would make the flowers grow. Be nice to have flowers dotting the fields instead of mud and dead bodies." you chuckled, letting your hand fall back to the ground. "We never got this much rain back at home."

He didn't answer, too afraid that if he said something he wouldn't be able to stop himself from crying any more.

"Burgie? Stay with me."

Burgie nodded when your hand cupped his face and your thumb stroked his cheek. "I'm here."

"That's all I need to know, Burgie." You closed your eyes again. "Tell me what you want to do when we step off that train home."

"Well, I'd take you home for dinner. It'd be real fine; I was thinking a picnic on that hill we played on as kids."

You hummed in agreement, a content smile on your face. "Those sunsets on the hill were really pretty, weren't they?"

"Yeah, they were. We'd have dinner there, just the two of us. A fine night with the fireflies and the beautiful sunset. But that wouldn't be the best part."

"It wouldn't?"

"No."

"Then what would the best part be?"

"You." He grinned. "You would be the best part. You would have on your best outfit, and when the time was right...I'd propose. Our wedding would be small; nothing too flashy."

You went silent.

"(Y/N)?"

You pulled Burgie down for a kiss. You felt yourself smiling into it, but it was far from happy. You only wished you had more time.

"You'll keep me safe and close?" you repeated when you pulled away from the kiss.

He nodded. "I'll stay with you, 'til you're sleeping."

You trained your gaze on Burgie, your hand finding its way back to cradle his face. "And rain...will make the flowers...."

Burgie let out a strangled cry when your hand fell slack and dropped from his face. Your eyes glazed over, lifelessly staring up at the night sky. He wiped as much mud as he could off your face and smiled at you one last time.

"And rain...will make the flowers....grow."