Firey's blood felt like it was on fire.
In fact, every part of him scorched with heat and fury as he glared at the insane man in front of him.
From behind Two, he could see Leafy who looked like she had seen better days, she looked terrified and tired but there was a small, loving smile on her face that lit her up.
No matter what, Firey was going to get her home.
Firey had insisted he enter the building first, Four was outside conferring with other members of the agency on what the best course of action was, they would be joining him soon but Firey wanted to see Two's face properly and face him one on one.
"Oh my, what a romantic turn of events, the young bastard come to save the love of his life," Two cackled.
"Just surrender quietly Two, maybe you'll get parole if you behave," Firey responded.
"It's over, give it up,"
At those words, Two's face changed, they no longer smiled, instead a scowl-like expression took it's place and the insane glint on their eyes turned dim and hateful.
"You're probably going to demand an explanation from me, aren't you?" Two sighed.
"That'll be the least of it," Firey snapped.
"Well then, allow me to illuminate your dark, disgraceful mind," Two said, their smile returning.
"But first..."
Two reached for the holster on their belt, drawing out the gun that sat there and pointed it at Firey.
"Now it's much more equal,"
Firey's throat felt dry but he did his best to stay strong, having a gun pointed at you was very emotionally jarring.
"After you escaped this very same warehouse, I began researching you, I found out almost everything about you, I've had eyes on you for years," Two's voice was calm and gentle but there was a hint of tension behind it.
"I learned that you have people you care about, to a fault even and after a lot of digging, I found out about this lovely woman right here," Two said as they gestured to Leafy.
"You've always been just out of reach Detective Brennt, despite all my knowledge, I could never quite get to you but, good things come to those who wait, don't they?" Two grinned like a Cheshire cat.
Firey's expression darkened as he placed a slight bit of pressure on the trigger, daring Two to say something about Leafy.
Two stayed relaxed and composed, like he was scolding a child who had been throwing a tantrum.
"This pretty girl is your Achilles heel, isn't she? You'd do anything to make sure she's safe, you'd even throw your own life away, am I right?"
"I figured out that all I needed to have you where I want you was to get to her and I must say, she's been wonderful company," Two laughed.
"I know that the sun is setting for me, my carefully sculpted empire is collapsing and it's all because of you," Two hissed accusingly.
"So, why shouldn't I take something important from you? She's much too pretty for you anyway,"
Firey wanted to just charge at Two, to beat him to the point he wouldn't even be able to use that stupid smile ever again.
Firey was trembling with rage while Two was stupidly smug, both of them had their attention on the barrel of the other's gun, both of them equally tense but keeping it hidden.
Neither of them looked at Leafy, as much as Firey wanted to see if she was alright, he knew better than to turn his back on Two, who would use any cheap tactic to win.
Leafy was watching the scene unfolding in front her, scared out of her wits and pleading that it would end well, with herself and Firey leaving this place together.
When Two had taken out the gun it took everything in her willpower not to kick and yell at the top of her lungs .
How dare that prick threaten Firey? She wanted to punch him senseless, with no restraint or remorse.
Nothing could happen to Firey, they needed to get out of here side by side, he needed to hear Grove call him "papa" for the first time, he needed to have the chance of living the life he never got to live.
She heard footsteps from behind her and she did her best to turn as quietly as possible to see Nickel, with his finger to his lips as an indication for her to be quiet.
He undid the ropes that kept her trapped and helped her to her feet, she wanted to know why he did that but he quietly shushed her and pointed at Two while shaking his head.
Just as Nickel was about to go back into hiding, Leafy grabbed his hand and mouthed "thank you," to him with a smile.
He returned the gesture and wished her luck before darting off into the shadows once more.
She stood up for the first time in a while and immediately, a harsh, stabbing pain shot through her and she had to cover her mouth and bite her tongue in order to stop herself from screaming and she slumped to her knees.
Every part of her felt like it was burning, tears pricked her eyes as she clenched her fingers into fists, trying to see through her blurred vision.
She pushed herself up again, this time she was able to stay upright but the pain still remained.
With each step she took, it felt like pure hell, like a knife stabbing from the inside but she needed to keep going, she wasn't going to sit back and do nothing.
If something happened to Firey, she wouldn't be able to forgive herself.
She held her breath as she got closer to Two, doing her best not to grab Firey's attention incase it gave her position away, staying silent the whole time.
She was right behind the green haired snake, she needed to act quickly, any distraction would ruin her whole plan...
Using all of her strength, she lunged forward, restraining both of Two's arms and forcing the gun to no longer be aimed at Firey, instead having it point upwards with no chance of misfiring and hitting him.
Keeping the gun aimed but with no clear mark, Firey frantically tried to figure out what to do as he watched Leafy and Two struggle against each other.
He should have just shot when he had the chance, now Leafy was too close and Firey wouldn't be able to even make an attempt without running the risk of hurting her.
Two was cursing at Leafy, doing their best to try push her off, both of them trying to grab the gun.
Friey did his best to aim but they kept moving, there was no way to get a clear shot through.
His thoughts raced as he desperately tried to come up with ideas or ways to disarm Two without any harm coming to Leafy.
His heart was beating faster than it ever had before, by now his hands were shaking and even if he had a clear shot, he wasn't sure if he would hit his target.
Leafy was putting up a good fight, she always was stronger than she looked and she was fighting dirty, kicking, hair pulling and biting, she did everything she could think of.
Leafy had forced Two's arm to point totally upwards, and her hand was only on their bicep, the only person with proper contact with the gun was Two.
It would be tough but maybe Firey could shoot Two's hand, making them drop the gun and in addition, they would be wounded and in shock.
There was still a chance of misfiring but it was better than trying to shoot for a kill but they kept moving, he couldn't tell if it was too risky.
He needed to calm himself and then take aim, he would definitely miss if he tried anything now...
Firey squinted his eyes shut, just for a moment, less than ten seconds, just to compose his nerves.
He needed to control himself, it would all be worth it, he needed to breathe.
Stay calm, stop shaking, hold it properly.
Bang.
The loud, sudden noise caused a ringing in Firey's ears and it took him a moment to register what was going on.
With his gun still aimed at Two, Firey realized that the gun was no longer aimed in the air and was instead near to Two's waist.
For a moment, everything was still and deathly quiet.
Leafy suddenly fell limp, clinging to Two's jacket in an attempted to stay balanced but her weakness betrayed her.
"I told you to let go," Two shrugged with a smile as they took a step backwards, shoving Leafy as the did so.
Firey's blood no longer boiled, it felt cold and so did his sweat, everything around him seemed to become dim and far away as he watched Leafy crouch down and curl into a tight ball on the filthy, freezing warehouse floor with her back to him, clutching herself like a hug.
Despite staring open mouthed and in total shock, Firey knew that Two was aiming at him.
He knew they still had that smile on their face.
Without hesitating, Firey shifted himself slightly, raised his gun, aimed and fired.
After firing, he sprinted to Two, punched them square in the jaw after knocking them to the floor and kicked the gun from their hand.
Firey yelled for Four before turning his attention to Leafy and falling to his knees beside her, picking her up gently and cradling her, one hand supporting her head, the other on her stomach.
Full of dread, he saw her stomach from the corner of his eye and one again fear drove through his nerves.
A pool of blood was slowly but surely forming and Leafy's breathing was laboured and soft.
Firey's hands were covered in blood.
Her blood.
"No, no, no, no," Firey pleaded quietly as he gazed into Leafy's eyes, although she was going though horrific pain they still looked beautiful, so eerily perfect and glistening with tears.
She gave him a weak smile as she clutched his arm, sighing slightly.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for this to happen, I just wanted to make sure nothing happened to you," she choked.
"You idiot," Firey said as a sob escaped from his mouth.
"Firey, I want you to look after Grove, okay?," Leafy breathed.
"No, we're both gonna look after him, you're gonna see him grow up, you're gonna be there," Firey insisted.
She continued to smile but Firey could see her faltering as the pain got worse.
"You're gonna be okay, you're gonna be okay," Firey said as tears streamed down his face.
At that moment, Four walked in, alone and glaring as they cocked their gun.
Electric blue eyes locked with burning red ones and a nod of agreement was shared.
Four stood over Two as they writhed on the ground in agony, with a sick, gargle-like laugh coming from them.
"How fitting, killed by the one who started this case, the who ruined and ended so many lives indirectly," Two cackled.
"I did what I had to," Four defended.
"To die, to sleep; to sleep, perchance to dream," Two spoke dramatically.
Four gave a disgusted look as they groaned
"God, you're pretentious,"
Four pointed the gun at Two's head, upon seeing this, Firey covered Leafy's ears with his hands, praying it would be enough to block out the sound, she shouldn't have to hear something so horrible .
Bang.
And just like that, it was over.
They shot again just to be certain, kicked the maniac's side and walked over to a distressed Firey.
Four placed a hand on Firey's shoulder, genuinely feeling for him as someone who had lost the only person they loved.
"Tree called the agency's medics, they'll be here soon," Four tried to reassure.
Another sob came from Firey and he turned away, placing his forehead against Leafy's before he kissed her.
"I wonder what Grove is gonna grow up to be, I hope he's happy though," she whispered.
"You'll see it, you'll see him, you'll -" Firey's words were becoming incoherent as his tears
Leafy's sad smile was heartbreaking for Firey to see, he couldn't bare the thought of losing her and the idea of Grove losing her hurt him in ways he couldn't explain.
The medics would arrive shortly, until then Firey needed to keep her conscious and responsive, he needed to staunch the flow of blood.
Taking his jacket off he wrapped it tightly around Leafy's torso as a crappy makeshift bandage and kept his hand over it to apply pressure.
He needed to keep her talking, he needed to keep her with him, she needed to be distracted.
"Leafy, tell me about when Grove was born," he said.
Leafy furrowed her eyebrows and sighed. "I know what you're doing, Firey,"
"No, please, just tell me," he begged.
Leafy took a deep, shakey breath as she started.
"It was a lovely, warm day, he was born sometime around noon," she began.
"Very early that morning I felt the contractions and I knew I needed to get to the hospital, I drove myself and I was put in a room with cute dupcks and meadows painted onto the walls and there was a perfect amount of natural light coming in from the windows,"
Firey's grip on Leafy tightened as though he was scared to let go.
"Unfortunately, no one else was there but there was a nurse who was so sweet and she held my hand the whole time, I probably broke the poor woman's hand, it hurt like hell," she laughed weakly.
"But after all of it, the doctors held him, wrapped him in a small green blanket and I got to hold him for the very first time,"
Tears ran down her face as she recalled the day and the possibility she wouldn't hold him again was killing her.
"He was a healthy baby and that was all I needed but to make things even better, he was the prettiest baby I had ever seen, I even heard the doctors saying the same thing when they thought I couldn't hear them," she smiled.
Firey did his best to smile but his shakiness betrayed him as he brushed some hair from her eyes.
"Firey, he was the most perfect baby, he was so well behaved, he always nursed, he always stared at everything in wonder, I was blessed with him I swear," she sighed happily.
"It was the least you deserved after what you went through," Firey nodded as he continued to comfort her.
"He really is a little knight in shining armor, he's the best little guy, " Leafy's eyes welled up.
"Tell him I love him Firey, please," she requested.
"You can tell him yourself, I promise," Firey muttered.
"No, tell me...tell me you'll look after him...promise," Leafy was growing increasingly weaker.
"No...I can't-" Firey stammered.
"Promise me Firey, you need to look after him, you need to help him if I'm not there," she insisted.
"I...I promise," Firey said reluctantly.
Leafy pushed herself up slightly and kissed Firey gently.
At the sudden change, Firey held her close, her blood staining his clothes but he didn't care.
"This really isn't ideal, is it?" Leafy smiled.
Firey gave no response, unable to talk through his crying.
"If I...make it...I-I'm not...gonna let you go again, Firey,"
"I won't leave," he choked.
From outside there was loud talking and a moment later, med teams rushed in and Four directed them over to Firey and Leafy.
They had to force Firey's hands off her and he pleaded with them to be careful and to help her.
"We'll do our best, sir," was all he got in response.
He watched as Leafy was carried out in a stretcher and placed in an ambulance, leaving him behind.
...
He was a mess, sitting on the dirty floor, his head hanging and hair covering his eyes and sticking to him from the sweat.
His clothes were stained with blood as were his hands, he was still crying but no sound came out any more.
He was blood and tear soaked mess and he was supposed to be a lead detective.
He didn't want to be though.
Four helped him up and walked him to the car, nothing really registered with Firey at the moment, it all felt blurred and hot yet cold at the same time.
Four drove back to their house, Firey didn't protest and slept for almost the entire journey.
By the time they got to Four's house, Firey was informed that Leafy was in a hospital outside the city that had connections to the agency.
He was not told what her status was.
As he lay in bed, he planned out the next few days.
He needed to see Grove and make sure he was okay, he wouldn't tell him everything but he'd say that mama was just...busy for a while.
Leafy would be alright, Leafy would be alright.
He felt empty as he stared up at the ceiling, everything was numb and terrifyingly peaceful as he lay in the dark.
He was going to try visit Leafy as soon as he was able to but he knew that Leafy would want Grove to he the priority.
As soon as Firey saw Grove, he would give him the best bear hug that anyone has ever had.
Firey owed him so much more than the little guy would ever know.
And just like Leafy, in such a short amount of time, he had come to adore him.
================================
You used to captivate me by your resonating light
But now I'm bound by the life you left behind
Your face it haunts, my once pleasant dreams
Your voice it chased away, all the sanity in me.
Hope you enjoyed that chapter.
XOXO
LeafCake