Looking at the text inked into her skin brought back the memories of trying to rescue those who had been taken before her, of arriving too late for so many and finding only piles of bodies instead of the friends and students she'd own known. Of searching all those faces for the ones belonging to Remy's family, the people who had accepted her as one of their own, who had stayed behind to give them time to get to safety. Even years after, they had searched for them, hoping blindly that even one of them would be found alive.

The pain of her experiences both in and out of that lab was so intense that in the end it became numbness, a defense her mind created to help her deal with the trauma. That numbness could be punctured easily enough with a simple word or phrase, or something as innocent as tears - Steve's tears that she saw in his eyes, that single tear that she felt hit her skin following that perfect, heartbreaking kiss.

By the time he sat up again, her own tears were falling, and she didn't hesitate to lean in to press her lips to his in the kiss she'd wanted for what seemed like forever. Her free hand found its way to his jaw, and she moved as close to him as she could possibly get. He made her feel safe, even though she knew as well as he did that she was anything but in this world. The war had cost her everything, her family and home and purpose in life, but she refused to let it take this from her too. If he would have her after all of this, she wanted to be by his side, regardless of the threats this world posed to her. So long as she had that hope he gave her, then she could face it all.