Finn leaned into her, sobbing his eyes out. There was so much pain and so much self-loathing it was overwhelming. He really just wanted to leave this earth. "Make it stop... make it go away..." he sobbed.

Sera held him tighter, her arms wrapped around him like they were the only thing keeping him tethered to the world. She could feel how hard he was shaking—like the pain inside him was trying to rip him apart from the inside out. His sobs tore through her, deep and broken and raw.

"Make it stop… make it go away…"

God, she wished she could.

“I know, baby,” she whispered, her voice cracking. “I know it hurts. I know it’s too much. I’d take it from you if I could—I swear I would.”

She pressed her forehead to the side of his, tears still falling freely down her cheeks. “But we’re gonna breathe through it. One breath at a time. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. You don’t have to carry this alone anymore.”

Sera rocked him gently, like he was something fragile and sacred. His pain felt like it was seeping into her bones, and she didn’t care—she’d take every ounce of it if it meant he’d stay.

“You don’t have to fight this alone, Finn,” she murmured. “Let me fight with you. Let me stay. Just breathe, okay? That’s all I need. Just breathe with me.”

She matched her breaths to his, slow and steady, hoping he'd follow—hoping he could feel that he was still here, still held, still loved.

Because no matter how much pain he was in, no matter how much he wanted to disappear, she wasn’t letting go.
Not tonight.
Not ever.

Finn took deep, but shaky breaths with her. Eventually, he managed to calm himself down enough. He stopped crying, but he was left with this awful pit in his stomach, full to the top of self-loathing, hatred, and absolute pain. But he loved her, he loved her more than anything in the world, and he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. "...marry me,"

Sera felt every breath he took, each one unsteady, like a house barely standing after a storm. But he was breathing. And that was everything.

She didn’t loosen her grip on him—not even as the sobs faded, not even as the silence settled. She just kept holding him like the world might try to take him again the second she let go.

And then he whispered it.

“…marry me.”

For a moment, she didn’t move. She wasn’t sure if she’d heard right, if it was just the echo of his pain twisting into something else. But he’d said it. She knew him too well not to feel the truth in those two, fragile words.

Her chest clenched as a thousand emotions crashed through her all at once—grief, fear, love so heavy it nearly knocked the breath out of her.

“Finn…” she whispered, pulling back just enough to look at him, her hands gently cupping his face. His eyes were puffy and red, his whole body exhausted from the weight he’d been carrying alone. But he was still here. Still him.

She brushed her thumbs across his cheeks, eyes shining with tears. “You can’t ask me that when you’re this broken,” she said softly, her voice trembling, “but I’m going to say yes anyway.”

A shaky breath left her as she rested her forehead against his. “Yes, Finn. A thousand times yes. Not because I want some perfect fairytale—because I want you. In all your mess. In all your pain. For the rest of your life. However long that is.”

Her voice cracked, and she closed her eyes, holding him like a promise. “But you have to live that life with me. That’s the deal. You stay. You fight. And we do it together.”

There was no ceremony. No ring. No perfect moment.

Just two broken souls on a bathroom floor, holding each other like they might never let go. And to Sera, there was nothing more sacred.

Finns face fell at her first words. Two proposals and two rejections. But then she said it. She said yes. He nodded as he listened to her, happy tears began streaming down his face. "Together," he whispered, holding her close. He wanted to get her a ring, he wanted to do it right. He had the first time. But this felt more meaningful for both of them and thats all that Finn ever wanted.

Sera saw it—how his face dropped, just for a moment, when she spoke. Her heart ached at the flicker of pain in his eyes, that instinctive recoil like he’d braced himself for another rejection, another confirmation that he wasn’t enough.

But then the shift came. The tears welled again, not from sorrow this time, but from something softer. Hope. Love. The kind of love that broke through even the darkest places.

And when he whispered, “Together,” and pulled her close, she clung to him like he was oxygen. Her fingers curled into his shirt, her face buried against his shoulder, breathing him in. He was here. He was still here.

This moment—raw and messy and full of everything they’d survived—meant more than any picture-perfect proposal ever could. He wanted to do it right. She knew that. She could feel it in the way he held her, in the way his body trembled with all the things he didn’t say.

And maybe he would someday. With a ring. With a plan.

But this? This was real.

She smiled through her tears, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek. “Together,” she whispered back. “Always.”

There would be time for the rest. Time to heal. Time to grow.
Because he’d stayed.
Because he chose her.
Because they had a future again—fragile, uncertain, but theirs.

"Always," he whispered back, clinging onto her like she was a lifeline.

.

The next few weeks were rough. Finn had some good days, and some pretty bad ones, but it never got to the point where he felt like he had to end it all, thanks to Sera. He still hated his scars and would hide his face away when in public, but he supposed he'd always do that. After a while though, he got better. He still had meltdowns every so often, but he'd learned to squeeze her hand twice if he just needed a good cry and her comfort.

Two weeks after his initial proposal he bought a ring. He still wanted to do it right.

.

That morning, he woke slowly, cuddled up with Sera, sunshine streaming through her window. He smiled, kissing her head, just waiting for her to wake.

Sera stirred softly beneath the sheets, her body warm against his, breath slow and even. She felt the sun before she saw it—gentle warmth on her back, the kind of morning light that made everything feel a little softer, a little safer.

And she felt him. Finn, pressed close behind her, arms around her like he couldn’t bear to let go even in sleep. His presence was quiet, steady—something she’d come to treasure more than she ever thought possible.

She blinked open her eyes slowly, not quite ready to let go of the peace wrapped around them. A faint smile tugged at her lips as she turned her head just slightly, her voice low and sleepy. “You’re staring,” she mumbled, teasing just a little.

She felt him chuckle, the vibration of it in his chest against her back. He kissed the top of her head again, soft and full of something that felt like home.

God, she loved mornings like this.

The rough days still came—sometimes sudden, sometimes creeping in like fog—but they never stayed as long. Finn still had his scars, both the ones he wore and the ones he kept hidden. He still had moments where the world got too loud, where he’d pull away and press their hands together—two squeezes, silent and simple.

And she’d always squeeze back. No words needed. Just I’m here. I’ve got you.

Now, lying there wrapped up in his arms, she felt a stillness she hadn’t known in a long time. The kind of peace that comes only after surviving the storm.

She turned slightly to look at him, sleepy eyes soft. “What?” she asked gently, her smile lopsided. “You look like you’re thinking too loud.”

She didn’t know what was on his mind—yet. But she could feel something in the air, something quiet and steady and full of love.

And whatever it was, she was ready.
She always would be.

Finn chuckled and smiled. "Am I now?" he played along, kissing her cheek with a light smile. He blushed lightly, still thinking. "Would you like to go out on a date?" he asked softly.