" Okay, so we jump on the count of 3 okay?"

" I can't do it Will. I can't." The panic in her voice was rising, and her hand was shaking against his.

" Yes you can. You can do anything."

She shook her head violently at him, and he had to bite his lip to supress his laughter. " I'm so scared."

They were standing at the top of a cliff with a large body of water underneath. He had checked it out first to make sure that it would be safe for them to jump, and once he had cleared it they took the long hike up together. She had seemed so excited and eager at first, but now she was terrified.

" Clarke, I promise you, I checked it out and there's nothing down there that will hurt you. I've been cliff diving many times, You will love it." She grasped his arm so tightly he was pretty sure she'd break the skin.

She looked on the verge of tears and he felt bad that he was forcing her to do this.

" Okay. It's okay. We don't have to do this. Let's just go back down and swim okay?"

" Oh Will." She sighed, and leaned over a little bit looking at the drop. " Do you promise that we'll be okay?"

" Please trust me. I will never let anyone or anything hurt you. Not ever. I promise."

She nodded. " Okay. Let's do it then."

He smiled and leaned down, kissing her cheek.

" Alright. On the count of three." She closed her eyes and he heard her take in a sharp breath.

" I- 2- 3!" She screamed at the top of her lungs as he pulled her down with him andthey plunged to the water. The water was cold and their hands disconnected as they went underneath. He pushed back up and resurfaced to see her, smiling , probably one of the biggest and brightest smiles he had ever seen from anyone.

" Will that was so fun!" He laughed and she swam over to him wrapping herself around him.

It was hard to put into words exactly how much she meant to him. He felt connected to her on a deeper level then anyone else he had ever met. He just wanted to protect her, love her, and do anything to make her happy.

" See I told you, I'm never going to let anything happen to you."

" I know." She whispered, resting her head against his shoulder. " You've always protected me."

" Always will."

-

They had been hiking uptrail for at least half an hour when he finally saw the spot he had been looking for. It was a large sitting rock hanging out directly over the ocean. No one else around. The water was a beautiful blue and the only sound was the waves and a small waterfall that had formed on the cliff across from them.

" Oh Will." She breathed. " This is so beautiful."

He smiled at her, and opened up his backpack, He had bought a bottle of wine and a blanket. " Would you like to have a drink with me?"

She nodded and sat next to him kissing him softly before he poured her a glass.

" I love you Will. This has just been so wonderful."

" I love you. I can't tell you how happy you've made me. Being with you like this is the best thing I could've imagined."

She blushed and reached out for his hand, intertwining their fingers. " Come here." He gently pulled her into his lap resting his head on top of hers. He held her for a long time in the quiet, she traced tiny shapes on his neck,

" You know the night we met?"

" Yes. Unfortunately." He kissed the top of her head and gave her a tight squeeze. He hated thinking of it, it hurt his heart to remember it.

She looked up at him and he was surprised to find her eyes were streaked with tears. " I was just thinking about it last night. My life was so bad back then. I was so depressed, and just trying to get attention from anywhere. Hanging out with people who didn't care about me and drinking. And I just never thought that anything like that would happen to me.. But it did. And then you came along and you saved me from the worst thing that I would've probably ever experienced. I mean they could've killed me if they wanted to... And I'm just so thankful for you. You make me feel like I could do anything I want to, or be anything. I would've never done anything like what we did today. But you make me feel so safe, and I'm just so lucky."

He rested his forehead against hers.

" I'm the lucky one. I needed you way more than you needed me. I didn't know what I was missing until you came along."

And it was true because he had been missing out on a lot. He had never in his life had someone who had genuinely cared what he had to say, or who was so excited just to see him everyday. He remembered the last time she had come over before he had messed everything up with Alicia.

He had heard the ring on the doorbell. 11pm on a Friday night. He knew it was her. He opened the door and there she was holding some kind of cheesecake she had made.

" Hi Will!" She exclaimed. Smiling ear to ear.

" Hey. Just getting off of work?"

" Yes. Were you sleeping?"

" No, just watching a movie. Did you walk here by yourself?"

" Yes, but i was careful."

" Louisa.. You know I have a car right? I can pick you up anytime, anywhere. It doesn't matter how late. Please just call me. I don't want you to get hurt."

" I'm sorry. I just missed you so much. And work was really slow today, so I made you a cake." He had even felt himself blush at her admission. He had missed her to even though it had only been two nights since he saw her last.

He sighed. " I missed you too. Come in. I rented a movie for us to watch and left you dinner in the microwave. I thought you might come." She had smiled so brightly at him and hugged one arm around his neck.

" Did you have a good day at work?" She asked, heading straight to the counter to cut him a slice of cake.

" Same old, same old."

" Oh." She sat down close to him and handed it to him. " I thought you had a big meeting today with your new client?"

He remembered being surprised that she would even remember something so small. He had told her that over a week ago.

" I did. I got it. 5 million dollar deal."

" Oh Will!" She squealed throwing her arms around his neck. " Oh I'm so proud of you. That's so exciting. Congratulations!"

He couldn't hide his smile from her, and he hugged her back tightly. He had never had someone that shared excitement over his work, and even when he tried to downplay things, he was actually really excited about this deal.

" Thank you Clarke."

" What should we do to celebrate?"

" What do you say to a few glasses of wine?"

" I'd love that so much." She paused and placed a hand on his arm. " I'm so happy for you."

He smiled to himself remembering that night, and reached down lifting her chin up to kiss her. " Mmm. I don't want to leave."

" Oh, you don't want to go back to the hotel with me and cuddle a bit?" She bit her lip playfully.

"Okay. Well maybe I'll leave for that."

She laughed. " I had dreamed of you touching me the way you did last night for so long."

He ran his hand up her leg, " Yeah?"

She nodded. " Well lucky for you. I could do that every night for the rest of my life and not get tired of it." And that was true. He had not expected her to want be intimate with him yet. He had personally had no sexual encounters since before the night he had found her in the maze. It had scared him enough to lose all interest for a while, scared him enough that he had completely held back all of his emotions for her for so long. He had never wanted her to worry that he would be the same as the men in the maze, or that she she should feel any pressure to take things with him further than she wanted to. But then last night it had all changed.

He remembered in extremely vivid detail the way her leg shook as he ran his hand up her thigh, the sharp intake of breath when he kissed her neck. The way she softly breathed his name and trailed her nails up his back as he entered her for the first time.

" Please go slow." She whispered.

" I'll do anything you want me to."

Her skin was so soft, he felt every goosebump that crept up her body as he kissed down her neck past her stomach. " Oh Will."

" Do you like this?" He looked up at her and smiled, her eyes were closed and she bit her bottom lip.

" I love it."

She had wrapped her legs tight around him and arched her back so that she was completely pressed against him. He could barely form a thought or a word to say as she breathed heavily in his ear.

" I need you so much." He rolled them over so that she was over him.

" You can have me forever if you want me." She kissed his hand and ran it down her neck. He shook his head 'no.'

" That's not long enough for me."

" I've never felt like this." He carefully sat up against the headboard, with her close against his chest. She arched her neck against him as he gently pressed his mouth against the spot where it connected to her shoulder.

" I never have either. I love you so much." He reached for her hand, intertwining their fingers together.

" It feels good to hear you say that."

" Well I do. More than anyone. You're the most beautiful, kind, and strong person I've ever met. I don't want to let you go."

" I don't ever want you to."

And after hours had passed and they were completely spent, he pulled the blankets around them and let her rest in his arms. There was no more words that needed to be said, and he just looked at her for a long time, until they were to heavy to hold open anymore. She kissed him one more time and hugged him a little tighter before they both drifted off together.

He snapped out of his revelry from the previous night and caught her giving him a small grin as she pulled her dress back on and began to pack up to head back for the evening.

" What were you thinking about?"

" Just you." She blushed a deep red and he smiled to himself following her down back down the trail.