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The sun was setting over the city of Ketterdam as you stood at the rooftop of the Slat, leaning on the railing and staring to the distance. It played over and over in your head, Lia falling down after getting a bullet right through her forehead. You dragging her safe, screaming for Nina even though you knew it was impossible to resurrect your best friend.
But Nina had tried anyway. Jesper cleared the way for the heartrender, and Nina started to resurrect her - but Lia didn’t wake up anymore. You had screamed, angry at the world, before you had slumped against the wall, crying uncontrollably. Nina had helped you back to the Slat and Matthias carried Lia’s body back after you got away from the unavoidable ambush.
Kaz had rolled his eyes when she saw Matthias carrying Lia and remarked that “Ketterdam takes who she owns” and suggested that Matthias should dump Lia into Reaper’s Barge if you truly wanted to bury her yourself, and you swore you had never wanted to punch your boss more. But you tried to remind yourself that a heist had just gone wrong, he was being grumpier than usual, and it was his anger talking. Mostly. Partly.
So now you were alone at the roof of the Slat, your tears being dried on your cheeks as you looked over the darkening city. Kaz’s words echoed in your head. Ketterdam takes who she owns. You knew it was true, it was a cruel city - and Lia surely knew it when she became a Dreg and never left during all those years. Even though, she had planned to, a voice reminded you in your head.
You heard the door opening and closing, but you didn’t even bother to look at her - you knew who she was.
Nina sighed, coming to stand beside you. “Matthias is digging a grave for Lia. A beautiful spot just outside Ketterdam. We’ll give her a nice funeral.”
You nodded, looking at your hands gripping the railing. “It’s just so unfair.”
“I know.”
You stood in silence for a while, just staring into the distance. Then you felt Nina’s hand sliding over yours, her thumb brushing over your knuckles. You let her, and your grip on the railing loosened slightly.
“I kind of wish it would have been me instead,” you mumbled, and Nina stopped after the words left your mouth. “Lia had so much more to give to this world. She was planning to have a family with Aly. She talked about moving to the countryside. This was supposed to be one of the last heists before she would have started to make real arrangements. And I… I wouldn’t have had anyone missing me that much. People would have got over me eventually, no one cares about me as much as they cared about Lia.”
Nina was quiet for a moment, before her hand slid up your arm, finally cupping your cheek gently, making you look at her. “Don’t say that.”
You swatted her hand away. “Can you name one person who would miss me that much? You know Lia was loved, I’m a shadow in the corner, unnoticeable, worthless, useless, decent in fighting probably because otherwise Kaz would have kicked me out long ago or told me to move on to another task, but—”
“I would miss you,” Nina cut you off, maybe a little bit louder than she intended. “If… if you were gone, I would lose my love with life. No amount of waffles, hugs or support would fix it. I would become a shadow of myself, not caring about anything anymore. Because… I’d have lost the love of my life.”
You stared at her for a good minute or two, before you felt how all the blood in your body decided to take a trip onto your face. And you knew Nina heard your heart pounding so wildly it might pop any minute.
“Y-you?” you managed to stutter out.
“Yes,” Nina mumbled with a nod. “And I know this may ruin our friendship, I know there’s that tiny itty bitty chance that I’ve misinterpreted your heartbeat, but… I just can’t keep it inside me anymore. Even less so when I know how you see yourself. You are precious. And you are everything else than what you just said. You are not worthless.”
You searched her eyes for a moment, expecting to see a sign that she was saying those things just to comfort you, give you false hopes or overall lying, but instead you were met with her being on the verge of tears herself. And seeing it made you spill your tears once again, sobbing into your hands as you let Nina to pull you in for an embrace.
And as Ketterdam’s sky became pitch black and lights started to illuminate the streets, two people had found each other - found their way home, even when it happened through grief.