#fireman!au

Fireman!König who spots you one sunny day roaming around the local farmers market, a full grocery basket on your arm and in a beautiful sundress. You’re breathtaking. He kinda stood there in the middle of the road like an idiot before someone bumped into him, “Excuse me,” and König felt absolutely mortified. “I’m really sorry- let me just- yeah- so sorry.” He steps out of the way, stopping himself from blurting out another “Sorry.” by biting on his tongue. Honest mistake. But you’ve disappeared into the crowd by the time he lifts his head and König curses himself for losing sight of you. He can’t let you slip away.

Fireman!König who, well, he’s not proud of it, but who uses his imposing stature and powerful shoulders to gently make his way through the sea of people…he didn’t shove anybody! Just lightly encouraged them to take a different direction. When he finally finds you, he doesn’t know what to do. Does he walk up to you, tap you on the shoulder and introduce himself out of the blue? No, nonsense…that would never work, hell like that would ever happen. Look at you, he thinks pitifully, and look at him, never in a million years. He needs a plan. Something to woo you into ever thinking you’d want to date a guy like him. So he follows you, discreetly, weaving this time through the crowd, being extra careful not to catch anybody’s attention, especially not yours. Not yet.

Fireman!König who watches from not too far, crosses the streets you’ve crossed, lingering behind like a ghost until you reach your apartment. He doesn’t know anything about you, why is he doing this? He suddenly has half a mind to turn around and pretend this never happened, but then he spots the glow in your apartment from the lights in the kitchen, the living room… sees a plant or two through the window, pictures himself coming home to you after a long day, ducking under the doorframe only to surprise you with another. A begonia, maybe. His chest aches at the thought, would you smile and run up to him, arms laced around his neck while you kiss him senseless? Would you look up at him with adoring eyes, murmuring your thank you’s while your lips brushed against his? It dawns on him, it’s love at first sight. It has to be, it’s the only reason he can’t get you out of his head.

Fireman!König who almost gets dizzy with the idea of having you all to himself. He’ll get to experience the small things like drawing you a bath, make a beard out of bubbles and make silly faces just to hear you laugh. Pictures himself holding you in bed, strong arms wrapped tight around your waist, nose buried in the crook of your neck, murmuring a “Gut Nacht, Schatz,” before pressing his lips there for the softest kiss you could possibly imagine. He makes a mental note of the address and goes home. There is such a thing as a controlled fire…maybe he can manipulate the flames to his favour after all. It’s a small fire underneath your apartment, right below your floor, he’s not trying to damage your home. Calls Kim and trusting that he doesn’t poke fun, spills all the details, from singling you out from the crowd to following you home, to wanting to play the hero and come rescue you from the flames. Kim thinks it’s ridiculous but then, would it really be him if he didn’t encourage this?

A steady sliver of smoke goes up, travels through the vents and into your room, where you’re peacefully asleep. You don’t notice the fire alarm blaring through the halls, or hear the chatter of your neighbours as they all rushed outside. Someone called the fire department and König got the call. Horangi must’ve done it, he thinks, slipping into his gear and climbing into the truck. What he didn’t anticipate was how big a fire it turned out to be and a bright orange began climbing up the walls. His heart sank. König quickly scanned the residents posted outside, some wearing oxygen masks, others standing further back but he doesn’t see you. He could kill Kim with his bare fucking hands, this wasn’t apart of the plan and you weren’t there. A worried looking young woman, who sees König’s imposing figure, steps up to him and taps him rather urgently on the shoulder, “Sir, sir my friend is still in there! Please! I didn’t see her leave.”

Fireman!König never regretted a decision so much in his entire life. Why couldn’t he just ask you out like a normal person, instead he put you right in the middle of danger just to pass off as your knight in shining armour! He bursts through the door, fire crackling everywhere, scorching the air. “Miss!” He bellows, “Miss, please! If you can hear my voice…” he suddenly trails off when a familiar window comes into view, that must mean your door is…

Fireman!König who breaks down your door, finding an unconscious you on the bed, all curled up and unassuming. He tries to shake you awake, even tapped you on the cheek a few frantic times. “Miss, miss! Oh, Gott, please be okay…” he doesn’t wait for you to wake before he’s scooping you in his arms. It’s around that same time you sense someone moving you, in your haze you mumble out, “Hey…do I weigh anything to you, big guy?” König huffs and responds by adjusting his grip on you, holding you more securely. You nuzzle into his neck and inhale his scent, probably delirious from the smoke, König starts to feel hot under the suit and it’s not because of the fire.

Outside, you finally take a well deserved breath of fresh air, König carried you to where the oxygen masks are and pressed one to your mouth himself. “Deep breath,” you comply. “Gut. Another one.” Once he’s sure you’re okay, König had to physically restrain himself from leaning down and pressing his lips to your head. He can’t bear to touch you now, he feels too guilty. Instead he leaves you with your visibly worried neighbours and returns to his squad. Gets utterly confused that same night when he receives a text, saying “Thank you for saving me,” followed by a heart and a kiss. You then text him that you’re staying at a friend’s house and that your insurance covered all the damage and personal items lost in the fire and that you’d like to see him again soon, to thank him properly, of course. But he never…gave you his number… Horangi! He swiftly calls his partner, furious, every ring dug under his skin until the call finally went through. “Couldn’t you have made a smaller fire?” He sneers, voice harsh like gravel, a low growl followed when all he heard was a mean cackle on the other side of the line.

“Aw, c’mon pal. You secured a date, no? Be happy, you’re finally getting laid!” Click.

Sango: You haven't heard from her yet?

Inuyasha: No

Sango: I'll try calling her.

Inuyasha: I have been.Not picking up.

Miroku: I'm sure she's fine, probably just helping people down to the shelters.

[1:39pm]

Sango: Just heard from Kohaku, he'sat the school with Rin. They're okay. Anything from Kagome?

Inuyasha: no

Inuyasha: im going on shift fuck I cant reach her

Miroku: I'm heading to Sango's place. We'll keep trying to get a hold of her.

Inuyasha: ok

Sango: Be safe out there

Inuyasha: just worry about yourselves, try to reach kagome

That was six hours ago. Surrounded by burnt rubble at the site of the pharmacy they just hosed down, it seemed like days. Inuyasha growled in frustration and tossed his phone back into his bag, running a soot covered hand through his hair when no one was looking. His legs dangled off the side of the fire engine. Its vibrant red paint was covered in ash. Taking a swing from his water bottle, Inuyasha fixed his bandana over his head again. Six hours, and not a word from Kagome. He'd gotten a few messages from Miroku and Sango since then, with updates from their end, but none of them had heard from her. This was the first time he'd been able to sit down, let alone check his phone, since he went on shift; nothing.

The earth quake hit Japan at 11:34 that morning. It was supposed to be a relaxing day. Kagome had left that morning saying she was going to run some errands and then be back. Maybe they'd go to the park for the afternoon. He had a shift the day before and was on his two day leave, but when it hit, he knew before the chief even called that they were going to need him. He had been out the door before the shaking stopped, texting his friends and girlfriend as soon as he got down to the station.

Six hours. Maybe Sango was right, and she was just trying to help get people to safety. Maybe her phone was dead, or destroyed, or maybe she just forgot to check it all together. Maybe it was sitting on the kitchen counter of their run down little apartment. That certainly would be just like her. Still, he couldn't ignore that one little voice in the back of his head screaming, tearing him apart in anxiety. It wouldn't be silenced until he saw her again.

“Inuyasha!” One of the other firemen called to him as he jogged toward the engine. “We're needed at the library.”

The hanyou grunted and rose to his feet, climbing up into the passenger seat. “It collapsed?”

“Yeah. A shame too, they were just about to update the structure to prevent this kind of thing from happening.” Any further chance at conversation was drowned out by the wailing of the siren as they took off to the next disaster. That was all it had been all day, one disaster after the next.

All in all, Tokyo held up pretty damn good. Earth quakes were no new concept to Japan, and both the people and the buildings were prepared. Of course, nothing was completely invincible, there were always a few unlucky buildings collapsing, but it was better than having to reconstruct the whole city after every quake. As they flew down the deserted streets, flashes of red and yellow lights on every soot smeared wall, it was more clear than ever just how indifferent the city itself was to earth quakes. Tokyo would not be moved.

Getting to the site of the crumbled library, Inuyasha braced himself for hours of work and leapt down from the engine. The scent hit him immediately. His coworker didn't miss the change in his demeanor, his tense shoulders and rigid back, eyes wide and brimming with terror. “Look, I know this is your first quake working with us kid, but its nothing we all haven't seen before.” The fireman consoled.

Inuyasha took off running toward the rubble without a word of acknowledgment. The catastrophic damages to the library weren't shocking to him. That wasn't what had him racing into what looked like a war zone. He could smell Kagome; too close to be passing by on the street, and too covered in smoke to be anywhere but underneath that smoking heap.

Search and rescue dogs crawled over the remains of the library, flashing crimson with the engine and ambulance lights, and gold with the setting sun. Inuyasha followed the scent just as they did, crashing to his knees on cracked drywall and broken steel rods. Holding his breath, he began to throw aside tons of wreckage like they were nothing, drawing the attention of more than a few first responders. He paid them no mind though, his focus narrowing to the scent beneath the debris. The only thing that kept him sane was that he could smell no blood.

The moment he roughly through aside a mangled desk to reveal tangled locks of black hair and ashen skin, his hands became gentle. With movements more tender than even he thought even possible, he loosened the debris around her and pulled her out. Inuyasha cradled the girl in his arms and bounded off the mound. Sprinting back to the fire engine, he used one hand to throw open a compartment on the side, pulling out an oxygen mask and a a few bottles of water.

“Kagome? Hey, can you hear me?” He coaxed her awake as he knelt down and pressed the mask over her face. The fluttering of her eyelids as they slowly opened made his heart flip. Kagome coughed as he woke up, her hands flying to the mask as she struggled to keep up with what was happening. “No, don't take it off. Just breath, you're alright.” Inuyasha slipped the elastic cord around her head so she couldn't peel it off. Pouring some water into the palm of his cupped hand, he let it spill over onto her face, wet streaks in the black soot cascading down he skin. She was breathing too fast. “Calm down, you're okay.” 

He was still trying to convince himself that. When he joined the Fire Academy and decided this was what he wanted to do with is life, he never would have guessed it would turn out like this. He never thought one day he'd be pulling someone he loved out of a disaster. Now that it had happened though... he couldn't imagine not having been here to save her. They got lucky. That was it.

“Inuyasha?” Kagome choked, her voice muffled by the plastic.

Inuyasha tore off his helmet. “Yeah.” He breathed. “Y'know, when I told you that you could visit me at work... this isn't what I had in mind.” Kagome let out a weak laugh, dissolving into a fit of coughs. Inuyasha cursed under his breath, moving the mask enough to raise the water bottle to her lips. “Drink slowly.” He instructed. Kagome tried to obey, but relief the cool water brought to her parched throat made her desperate for more, excess dribbling down her chin. Inuyasha dutifully wiped it away.

“Inuyasha! Bring her over to the paramedics. They're about to leave with the first load and we need to get back out there!” A voice called to him from the wreckage.

The hanyou cursed under his breath. The last thing he wanted was to leave Kagome, but the best thing for her at the moment was to get her medical attention. “Alright” He sighed before turning back to his girlfriend. “Kagome, take a deep breath.” As soon as he watched her lungs fill out her chest, although the pain on her face from the strain killed him, he scooped her up and hurried her to the back of the waiting ambulance. “They're going to take care of you, okay? Don't cause'em any trouble.” He said as he set her down on the bench inside. Taking a blanket from one of the paramedics, he drapped it around her shoulders. “Okay...” Was Kagome's only response through it all. Another oxygen mask was placed over her mouth.

Inuyasha didn't get a chance to say any more. All too fast, he was pushed aside, the ambulance doors shut, and it roared down the street. Wailing sirens and flashing lights haunted his memory for hours to come.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

The library and a few unlucky souls were the only casualties that day, but the clean up and rescue took hours. Inuyasha returned to the station that night absolutely exhausted. He'd be on call for another day in case any fires broke out, but he was finally allowed to take a break.

Throwing his uniform into his locker, he enjoyed a hot shower, and changed into a pair of comfortable sweatpants. He went through all of these motions in a daze. His mind was completely occupied by Kagome. He hadn't heard anything more from her since she was brought to the hospital, and his anxious imagination was getting the better of him.

Towel draped over his head, the hanyou dragged himself to his bunk- only to find a petite form curled up under the sheets. “Kagome?!” He stammered, sitting on the edge of the mattress. “What are you doing here?!”

Moaning when her nap was disturbed, Kagome blinked her eyes open. “Hey...” Her voice was cracked and dry almost beyond recognition. “I got out of the hospital an hour ago, I'm fine... just didn't want to sleep alone tonight.”

Inuyasha deflated. He couldn't blame her for that. “Alright, alright.” He sighed. Crawling under the covers behind her, he pressed her back to his chest and his nose into her hair. “Just let me know if you need anything.”

“Mhm... you smell like a bonfire.”