Pairing: FAHC!Michael x Reader
Warnings: Character Death, Violence, Angst. So much angst.
A/N: I hate myself so much for writing this, but I also kind of liked how it turned out. I’ll also admit, I may have shed a tear while writing this …
You wandered the somber grounds which had become strangely familiar to you within the last few weeks. A heavy weight settled on your chest as you meandered through the rows of engraved stones. Your dull eyes settles on yet another family saying their last goodbyes to someone else who was torn from this world too early. Silent tears streamed freely down your cheeks as you grieved the loss of such a young life with the rest of the mourners. Unwilling to bear witness to yet another child put to rest, you slowly made your way back to the spot you’d always wait at. Your riding boots sank into the well manicured grass as you came upon the all too familiar bench that you sat at daily.
The marble bench rested beside the road and overlooked the vast field of grave stones. Crossing your ankles, you chewed on your bottom lip as you waited for him to show. The last few weeks, it had become a daily occurrence. Silently, you hoped today was the day the ritual was finally broken and he wouldn’t show. Making daily trips to the cemetery to mourn his lost fiancée couldn’t be good for his mental state. You silently hoped that eventually one of the crew would get through to him since you couldn’t anymore. Sadly, you figured that none of the gang wanted to cross that bridge and hurt Michael any more than he already was. Sure enough, you heard the sounds of soft footsteps approaching you. “Oh Michael,” you sighed somberly. You watched as the curly haired male made his way to stand before the grave stone directly in front of you.
Letting out a deep sigh, you stood from your seat and made your way to stand beside him. With a sad smile on your face, you flopped down onto the downy grass beside where he stood. Sure enough, Michael sat down as well. Not once did he glance over at you as his gaze was fixed on the overbearing stone lumbering over the two of you. “(Y/N),” he muttered, his head falling despairingly into his hands. Michael’s shoulders began to shake with silent sobs. The mere sight of him in such a state tore at your heart, but you knew there was nothing you could do to console the mourning male. Your hand came to rest on his quivering shoulder. If only he knew…
You forced yourself to look at the stone before you. “Here lies (Y/N, Y/L/N). Taken from us much too soon.” A lump formed in your throat as you choked back tears.
You’d been caught in the crossfire on a heist gone wrong a few weeks ago. It was supposed to be an easy job. At least, that’s what Geoff had said. A quick in-and-out on a gas station. Of course there had to be a silent alarm nobody knew about. You and Ryan were still inside the building when the cops started to roll up. Michael and Geoff were doing the best they could to pick them off to give the two of you a clear exit, but it seemed as though for every downed cops, two more would crawl out of the woodwork. Realizing it was a losing battle, you and Ryan decided to make a break for it.
Everything was going well. You held your own pretty well against the swarm. The two of you on the ground fired into the mass of blue in front of you, while Michael and Geoff picked off the ones you missed from their rooftop hideouts. You and Ryan had almost made it to the clear when everything that could go wrong did. Suddenly, you felt a searing pain explode in your chest, and you let out a choked wail. It felt like there was liquid choking you, and your hand instantly shot up to grasp at your chest. You couldn’t breathe. Panic coursed through your veins as you heard Ryan screaming your codename, but all you focus on was the pain and the sticky blood now soaking your tank top. You couldn’t help it as your eyes widened in fear, and suddenly, multiple people began screaming.
Confusion consumed you as Ryan surged back toward you, but ran past you as you stood clueless in the middle of the battlefield. You spun on your heel quickly, ready to give him an earful, but the words died on your lips when you saw him hoisting your limp body off the ground. Wait. How is he? But you’re … You glanced down at your body. You were standing right there. “Ryan!” You screamed. He didn’t even glance your way. Forcing yourself to look at the limp form in his arms, you scanned your body. Your knees instantly gave way, and your body hit the pavement when you saw what really happened.
Your free hand brushed over your smooth forehead just above your right eye where previously there had been a bullet hole. Taking a deep breath, you turned to face Michael. “You know, things aren’t the same without you here. I tell you this all the time, I know I do, but they really are different. It’s like you were the glue that held all of us together. You made us work. Now without you, the gang is a mess. Geoff is always losing things without you there to keep tabs on him. Nobody is around to protect the idiot when Gavin does something stupid and we all tear into him. Jack, well, she doesn’t really have anyone that seems to get her on the level you did. She’s kind of receded into herself, and we don’t know what to do. Little J has officially become the shortest one in the crew. Nobody lets him forget his height now that you aren’t around to tease.” Michael paused, choking back the sob that threatened to rip free from his chest. “You know I’m a mess without you, but Ryan, he’s taking it the worst out of everyone else. He blames himself for what happened to you.”
Your heart shattered to pieces at those words. Ryan was the one to bring you into the crew, and stuck with you through everything. He was your best friend, and you hated to know he blamed himself. You wished more than anything that you could just sit him down and let him know it was a fluke. You no longer tried to hold back the tears that ran down your cheeks like mini waterfalls. Your body fell against Michael, and for a second, he glanced over at the space your ethereal form inhabited. Shaking his head, he folded his arms across his knees and let his head come to rest on the makeshift pillow. The two of you remained like this until the sun began to set and Michael had to head back to the penthouse.
Sadly, you watched your once fiancé leave you behind in the cemetery to wander the graves.
The days continued on like this, Michael coming to visit you like clockwork, then leaving as both of your hearts would break time and time again. Sometimes he would bring other members of the crew along with him. It was nice to see how the others were getting along since you left. Gav had managed to get himself a girlfriend. Maybe one day she’d come by. Hopefully she would, you wanted to see the doll the cheeky Brit had managed to snag. Jack was finally starting to come out of her shell again. You could see the change in here every time she came back. Your heart began to glow every time you saw her now. Little J had gone and dyed his hair green! Oh if you could smack him you would. You shook your head when you’d catch sight of the bright flash of green. Geoff was honestly the same as he used to be. You were glad to see he hadn’t changed.
As for Ryan … Ryan had yet to come visit your grave. Maybe that was best …
Days soon turned into weeks which flashed by into months. Holidays passed and Michael would come to celebrate each one with you. Hell, for Christmas, the whole gang showed up and even brought you wrapped gifts. The sentiment was nice, but you shook your head at their foolishness. What was a dead girl going to do with presents? As if he knew what you were thinking, Geoff spoke up, “You know, kiddo, it just didn’t feel the same having Christmas without you, so we all decided we’d get you a little something. If you can see us right now, just know we still love you.” You sobbed as you went around the group, giving each of them a hug they couldn’t feel.
Your days were filled with wandering the graveyard, waiting for your lover to show.
Finally, June rolled around again. Everyone showed up again, and they all sat on the plush grass before your grave stone. Michael sat directly beside the marble, and you sat beside him. On your left was Gavin and next to him, his new girlfriend, Meg. Geoff sat beside her, then Jeremy, Jack, and finally, Ryan. There was a tense silence as nobody knew what to say. Finally, Geoff spoke up, slicing through the tension easily. “So, it’s only been a year? It feels longer than that.” You lowered your head dismally. “But, today, we aren’t here to dwell on that fact. We’re here to remember all the good times we had with you.” Around the circle, everyone nodded in agreement.
It honestly didn’t feel like they were honoring the year anniversary of your death as they went around the circle telling stories of all the things you did. Stories from the time you hid Geoff’s keys from him when he lost them for the third time, to the time you almost dangled Gavin out of the penthouse window were told. By the end of the day, everyone was laughing … Even Michael and yourself. By immersing yourself in their laughter and oddly guilty joy, you could ignore the fact that today was the day you had to face the cold truth.
As the sun set, everyone sadly stood and said their goodbyes to you, not knowing you were saying your own goodbyes back. They all shuffled to the crew car. Well, everyone except Michael. He still lingered beside your grave. “Michael,” Gavin called, his accent thick as he called his friend’s name. “Come on, we gotta head out boy.”
“I know, just give me a minute. Okay?” You watched as Gavin nodded and jumped on the outside of the car. Michael kicked the grass as he stared solemnly at my grave. “So, a year, huh?” he mumbled. Silently, you made your way over to your fiancé and wrapped your arms around him, leaning against his chest. “You know, sometimes it feels like you’re still here with me.” You froze and glanced up at him. He was still staring at your name engraved in the marble. “I wish you were.”
Swallowing hard, you released Michael and took a step back. You willed him to look at you, but to no avail of course. Taking a deep breath, you readied yourself for what you had to do. “Michael,” you began, “I love you. So much. I hate that things ended how they did, but honey, it’s time you moved on. I’m not asking you to forget me, but you can’t keep living like this.” You stepped forward, daintily placing a hand on his cheek. The man looked stunned for a moment. “You need to move on now Michael. I promise that one day, you will see me again. But you’re only hurting us both by continuing on like this. Live your life. Live our life. Then one day, come back home to me. I’ll be waiting for you, I promise.” With tears streaming down your cheeks, you stepped back. Michael’s eyes were fixed on where you were standing, almost as though he could see you.
To your shock, he nodded. “I love you, (Y/N).” With that, you saw Michael for the last time as he walked away, tears running freely down his face.
When the day came, you were sure to be there. Sadly, it wasn’t too long after you were taken that your lover joined you on the other side. A few years had passed after you told him to move on that Michael was killed on a heist, much like you were. Michael glanced around himself, totally confused about the situation. He swore when he saw his body lying on the ground. You shook your head at his all too familiar antics. “Michael,” you called.
The male spun on his heel to face you, and his eyes widened when he saw you actually standing behind him. In an instant, you were wrapped in his warm embrace again. It had definitely been too long. “(Y/N), is it really you?” he muttered against your shoulder as he buried his head into the crook of your neck.
Smiling, you wrapped your arms around him. “It really is me. I told you, you’d see me again one day.”
Michael stiffened in your arms. “Wait. That was really you that day?”
You were stunned. “You saw me?” He nodded. “I’m glad you did, otherwise you may not have come back home to me.”
“Baby, no matter what, I’d always come back to you.”
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