falling for the keyboardist (a mirapants x george jones of sm6 fanfiction)

five

mira 

George wrapped his arms around me tightly, his embrace warm and comforting. in that moment, the emotions I felt were overwhelming. 

my initial reaction was sorrow. how could I not be sad? the home I had grew up in and made my own was diminished to nothing in the blink of an eye. one mistake had changed my life forever, ruining my safe place and the dreams I held with it. 

I was also angry, angry at myself for being so careless as to leave my straightener on, which I presumed had started the fire. I was angry at George, for disappearing and ignoring me, but then suddenly reappearing in my moment of crisis, as though he was some form of hero. 

my house was engulfed in flames, my belongings charred to the core. I wasn't even sure if I was going to have a place to live after this. I had my car, yes, but what about my clothes? or my furniture? or the trinkets and photos and memorabilia that I held close to my heart? 

smoke engulfed the air, my nose burning at the sharp odor emitting from the burning wood. the flame crackled softly as it began to die, a bit of water spritzing across me due to the fireman's hose. the neighbors who had been surrounding the zone seemed to scatter away, leaving me to deal with the remnants of the disaster.

"mira." George said softly, his hand grazing up and down my back in a comforting matter. "I am so, so sorry this happened to you. I-"

"save it, George." I muttered, breaking away from his grasp. I couldn't stop the tears from streaming down my face. they hadn't stopped since I'd arrived on the scene, and I doubted they would stop anytime soon. "I don't want to be around you, I need to think."

"about us?"

"us? you're thinking about us right now? George, my house just caught on fire. my belongings are all gone, burnt to nothing more than a few ashes in only minutes. and you're thinking about us?" I scowled, tucking my hair behind my ear. "go back to ghosting me, or whatever the hell it was you were doing. I don't need you, nor do I want you."

"I'm sorry." he took a deep breath, his eyes gazing at the mess that surrounded the two of us. "I didn't mean to sound insensitive. you're going through so much right now, and I, I get it." 

"oh, you get it? you understand how i'm feeling right now? you understand the hundreds of emotions swirling around inside my head? you understand the adrenaline running through my body because I don't know if I'm going to have a damn bed to sleep in tonight? don't say you understand because you have no idea how I'm feeling right now."

I took a deep breath, wiping my eyes as I gazed at the remnants of my house. some of it seemed to be salvageable which gave me a flicker of hope, but there was still an enormous amount of damage, with my bedroom reduced to nothing more than a pile of ashes. 

I felt a hand on my waist, George's voice filling my ears once again. as angry as I was, I had to admit that I didn't mind his presence. he made me feel safe, in a way, as though everything was going to be okay. 

"you're right." he said softly, clearing his throat. "I have no idea what you're feeling right now, and I shouldn't act as though I do. but, I do have some prior experience in this field, considering I've been a firefighter for a few months now, and if you'll let me, I'd love to be here for you right now."

"you weren't here for me the last few days." I mumbled, his hand guiding my chin up to look at him. the two of us locked eyes, and I swore I could see his eyes water up a bit.

"I know, I wasn't. I'm not going to make up any excuse for me ignoring you, I know you'd rather hear the truth than some sugar coated lie about how my phone was broken. it wasn't intentional, I just got caught up at the station. you've been on my mind though, and, when I saw that we got a call to your place, my heart broke for you. I wasn't there for you, and I didn't treat you as I should've after our date, and I'm sorry for that. I'm not an asshole, I just got too caught up. but, I want to be here for you now."

"okay." I said gently, oxygen filling my lungs as I took a deep breath. 

"okay?"

"yeah, okay. I want you here for me as well."

George tucked a stray lock of hair behind my ear, pressing his lips against my forehead softly. I spoke with him and the other firefighters, who advised me to find a new place to live, at least for a while. I would probably see if kelsey had a free room, as that was much more practical than getting a hotel room for a few weeks. they also said that about half of the house was salvageable, and that I could file for insurance claims for the other half. that instilled some form of hope in me. this wasn't an ideal situation for me, but it certainly could've been so much worse. 

"would you like to look through the remnants tomorrow?" George asked me softly. I'd finally seemed to calm down a bit, my heartbeat slowing back to normal and the tears drying up.

"mhm." I nodded as he wrapped as blanket around me. it was way past sundown now, and I had yet to inform kelsey about the accident. 

"mira, this might sound crazy, but, do you want to live with me?"

"what?" did I hear him correctly? I barely knew him, and he hadn't proved himself as consistent in the slightest.

"me and my siblings, we've got a guest room. you're more than welcome to stay with us until you get on your feet."

"I don't want to impose on you."

"you're not imposing on us. you always wanna be so independent, and I would never do anything to infringe on that. I admire it, really. but, desiring independence doesn't mean you don't need some help sometimes, and I want to help you. and, you and I have a lot to talk about, but, I can't let you live out on the streets. my sister can lend you some clothes, don't worry about scavenging through the mess right now, and, you don't have to say yes, but, I'd love it if you did." 

"okay. thank you." I said softly, his fingers interlacing with mine as I took a deep breath, everything feeling somewhat okay for the moment.