A/N: I will be updating Fears later, but for now enjoy this AU one-shot that would not leave my mind. I'm not going to include the honorifics because I'm going to get tired of writing them since it's English and not Japanese… Shin-Sena interaction is more heavy towards the middle/end, and almost non-existent in the very beginning.

And it's 2 AM. I'm tired. That explains the extended title.

Also, Sena has a cat. I can't remember who created the fanfic in which Sena's cat was named Pitt, but I'm totally in agreement with that author, so I'm stealing the idea. I'm pretty sure that someone else came up with this name and not me, but that could be my delirious, sleep-deprived mind speaking.

Enjoy~

Oh yeah. Warning: Firefighter AU :)

/

The world could burn but I would never let you burn with it:

/

"Sena, could you get table 17 for me? I gotta use the bathroom!" Monta shouted as he rushed towards the back of the café.

"Ehh? Ok, sure…" Sena quickly pulled out a notepad and a pen, hurrying towards the large table while dodging the other waitresses and waiters who were starting to clean up. It was pretty late for afternoon tea or coffee, after all. "Hello, and welcome to Café 21, what can I get you today?" he put on his best smile.

The group of customers looked up, and a boy with glasses was the first to speak. "Sorry, we'd like a bit more time. A few of us have not made up their minds yet." He shot the two across from him a pointed look. The handsome blonde ducked his head apologetically, but the bigger, beefier boy just laughed loudly, picking his nose in the process.

"O-of course!" Sena nodded quickly. "Take your time!"

"Um… Do you have any recommendations, perhaps?" The glasses boy inquired while the others continued to argue. "Any specials, or signature drinks?"

"Ah, yes!" Sena relaxed a bit. The menu was something he was definitely familiar with. "If you don't mind me asking, what is the event today?" When the other boy looked confused, Sena realized how odd his question had sounded, and hastily tried to amend it. "I-I mean, w-we have a special cake for birthdays and so I was just wondering-"

The boy smiled ad laughed. "Oh, nothing much. We're not even getting any food, just some nice things to drink. No alcohol, of course. It's the end of the year so Chief Shoji decided to take all of us out for a reward before another job comes in. He's a bit late, but he should be here with the rest of the Oujou squad soon."

Chief? Sena wondered, until his eyes trailed to the side and caught sight of the blue and orange firefighter uniforms hanging over the seat backs. "Oh, so a celebration for the entire squad," he smiled. Or at least, he tried to.

"Yeah," The boy smiled. He looked back at the other squad members before leaning forward slightly and whispering, "If you have any specials, that would be great, because I'm afraid my colleagues will never make up their minds…"

"Oh!" Sena blinked, straightening up. "Yes, we do have some signature drinks. The menu, if I may?"

The boy passed him a menu, which Sena took gratefully. He quickly flipped to the iced beverages section. "If you're looking for something authentic or sweet, our peppermint milk tea is quite nice. You can also try some of our more exotic new creations, including the key lime coffee and raspberry-shortcake Frappuccino with cucumber-flavored shaved ice!"

The boy hummed thoughtfully before looking up. "I'm Takami, and I'll have the key lime coffee with soy milk."

Sena scribbled it down, nodding.

"And Sakuraba will have the peppermint tea—"

"Huh? What is that?" Sakuraba looked up, appearing slightly worried.

"AHAHA, I'll get that too!"

"Eh? Otawara I don't think you'll like that very much, you should try something else-"

Sena looked back and forth, frantically trying to keep up with the conversation to figure out what everyone was ordering.

"Wait, sorry, can you change my order to this chilled orange colored drink?" the blonde called, looking up and pointing at the menu.

"Oh, the Passion Frenzy? Sure- wait sorry, what was your name again?" Sena asked, but was completely ignored as the menus passed to and from different ends of the table. "Um excuse me-"

"WELL, I wanna have sex!" the big beefy boy laughed loudly.

"Mhm ok- wait, what?" Sena exclaimed, feeling his face flush. He didn't dare look up from his notepad.

"He means Sex on the Beach, the drink!" Takami hastily clarified. Sena relaxed and began to jot that down when suddenly- "Wait, Otawara, I think that has alcohol in it, maybe you should pick something else!"

Sena cleared his throat. "W-we offer a non-alcoholic version called Safe Sex on the Beach so-"

"Hang on, scratch my previous order, I'll just get the Red Mary!" The blonde called out again.

Sena gave up on trying to figure out the names and just wrote 'Blonde guy- Red Mary'. "And would you like that with strawberries or tomatoes?"

The blonde just looked confused. "Um.. which would you recommend?"

"Personally, the strawberries are-"

"-Sakuraba, you should have gotten the Lime Blizzard! My friend said it was good!"

Oh, the blonde is Sakuraba- or wait, is it that brunette? Wait… Sena felt an impending headache as he tried to work through the chaos.

Suddenly, a deep voice sounded in his ear. "Excuse me."

"A-ah, s-sorry!" Sena stammered, stepping out of the way to find a tall, dark haired guy waiting patiently behind him. "Uh.. please… have a seat," Sena managed to get out despite his staring. The guy sat down in the seat directly to the left of where Sena was standing.

Whoa… Sena thought, unable to stop his staring. He's… really hot- I mean, tall! (A/N: ffn does not support strikethrough?)

"Shin! You made it!" Sakuraba grinned, waving.

"Where's old man Shoji?" The beefy boy- Otawara, was it?- called loudly, picking his nose again.

"Chief Shoji, Otawara! Show some respect!" Takami scolded. Otawara just laughed loudly.

"Chief Shoji is unfortunately caught up in filing the reports for the restaurant fire we put out last week. He will not be able to make it." Shin took off his outer jacket, draping it over his seat back, and set down his bag. Sena noticed the banded uniform inside.

Takami grimaced. "Well, he is a busy man after all. I'll head back to the station after this and see if he needs any help. But meanwhile, sit down! We're debating over whether Sakuraba should order the Lime Blizzard, the Passion Frenzy, or the Sweet Mary!"

"Red Mary," someone else corrected. Sena thanked that person in his mind.

The handsome guy- no, Shin (Sena mentally scolded himself for his brain's slip-up)- blinked slowly. "…Does it matter?"

Yes, yes yes! Finally, someone who's sensible, Sena cheered to himself.

Takami shrugged. "I suppose not to you, but to him it does. Although, I do have to say…" his glasses glinted as he smirked. "The Lime Blizzard is absolutely sublime."

And so, the argument continued. Sena watched on helplessly as the Oujo Firefighting Squad continued to butcher the names of the menu items ('aux' was French, and was most certainly not pronounced the way Otawara had said it: ow, with an x sound on the end complete with a cowboy accent).

"Excuse me. I would like room-temperature water with lemon."

"Ah! Right," Sena jumped slightly, jotting down Shin's thankfully simple order. "I'll check for lemons, but we usually serve beverages with lime…"

Shin looked to be deep in thought, before… "Is the acid concentration the same? I need to eat a very carefully balanced diet. I have been planning to increase the citrus content by a very specific amount. Please put exactly five teaspoons worth of lemon juice in the water. According to Takami's research, too much of an increase will lead to a citric acid overdose, inducing stomach cramps and nausea, as well as vomiting."

"Oh! Uh…" Sena stuttered awkwardly, not knowing how to respond. It wasn't like he could say, 'I have no clue what you're talking about but those symptoms sound sucky so I'll bring lemons and not limes?'

"I-I'm not very sure about that. I'll try to see if we have lemons!" Sena bowed apologetically.

"That is fine," Shin said stoically.

"O-oh! Y-yeah. Uh… Sorry for bothering you!" Sena exclaimed, slightly put off by the other guy's stony exterior. "Er… should I grab your order and come back, because…" Sena glanced conspicuously towards the arguing firefighters.

"No, just grab any drink that's good for the rest of them," Shin shrugged. "I have noticed that they are not picky."

"Right," Sena nodded, feeling apprehensive, but relieved. "Thank you, Shin!"

Hurrying to the back room, he pulled open the refrigerator, searching for some lemons. Finding none, he sighed and called for Suzuna: "Where do we keep the lemons?"

"Huhhh? Lemons? Just use a lime like usual!"

"I can't!" Sena groaned.

"Why?"

"J-just because!"

"Why?"

"Because a customer asked for it!"

"So? Just say that we don't have any!"

"I can't do that!"

Suzuna raised her eyebrow. "Oh? You had no problem telling a customer that we would have to replace honey with syrup last week."

"W-well, it's different this time, ok?" Sena mumbled, feeling flustered. "H-he's on a special diet!"

"Mhm, whatever you say," Suzuna laughed. "I told you I'd make you regret telling me that you bat for the other team!"

"God," Sena moaned, facepalming. "Please, just help me find some lemons."

"Oh? Well, if I'm going to help you… I deserve to know your reasonings, don't I?"

"Becausehe'sreallyattractiveandineedtolooklegitok" He blurted out hastily before covering his eyes with his hand. "Oh my god I didn't not say that. Just help me find the lemons!"

Suzuna giggled. "Ok, ok, I get it. There's a grocery store two streets down. You should go out the back."

Sena smiled. "Thank you, Suzuna!"

/

/

"I'm really sorry sir, but these are the only ones we have…" The store keeper smiled apologetically.

"Are you sure these are lemons? They look a bit green and oddly shaped…" Sena shifted uncomfortably, unsure.

"Oh, don't worry kid, these are definitely lemons!" The other shop keeper came up and grinned. "They're nice and ripe ones too."

There wasn't any time left! "Ok, then I'll take them," Sena declared, slapping the bills onto the table, grabbing the fruits, and running off. "No change needed!" he called over his shoulder.

…And once he arrived back in the café, there was the matter of figuring out how many slices to put in the water. One slice? No, that definitely wasn't enough. Three? No, he'd better ask for help.

"Suzuna, how much exactly is a tablespoon?" he called.

/

/

"Here are your drinks, I'm sorry for taking so long!" Sena bowed before serving the beverages. He placed Takami's and Shin's drinks down first, as they were really the only two who got to decide their own orders. Then, he nervously picked up the other drinks, hoping that the rest of the Oujou squad wouldn't mind to much that they were getting something they hadn't ordered. "…I was told to give you guys any one of our special recommendations, so I brought one of our newer concoctions. It's called Ice on Fire, and consists of-"

"AHAHAHA! That looks pretty good!" Otawara grabbed the glass placed in front of him and took a large gulp, not even using the straw placed in front of him. "It is pretty good!" he laughed, pushing one of the glasses towards Sakuraba. "Try some, Sakuraba!"

Sena sweatdropped as all the rest of the squad all grabbed their drinks and began talking rowdily.

Sena stood awkwardly still for a moment, trying to figure out if they needed anything or if he could leave them to it. Just as he was about to leave, a voice said, "Would you like to join us?"

"E-eh?"

Takami smiled. "It must have been a real mess dealing with us. The café looks to be almost empty already. I'm sorry for staying past your closing time…"

"Oh no, it's fine," Sena laughed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"If you don't have much work left to do, why don't you sit down and take a quick break?"

"Huh? Oh, no, I have to-" He looked up, but caught Suzuna's eye over the bar counter. She was frantically making no-sena-don't-chicken-out gestures, along with a hand motion that Sena read as sit-down-next-to-Mr.-Hot-&-Silent-over-there. "Um.. Actually, I guess there's not as much work as I thought… I'll sit for a short while."

I like how they don't even mind that they didn't order it… Sena thought, noticing that veryone else at the table looked quite content with their drinks, chatting happily.

Sena smiled, and pulled out the chair inbetween Takami and Shin.

"So.." Takami noticeably looked down at Sena's hand-written nametag. "So, Sena, how long have you been working here?"

"Only a few months. I'm still pretty new, because I'm just a part-timer…" Sena was distinctly aware of Shin carefully drinking the water next to him. After answering Takami's question, he allowed his eyes to stray slightly.

"Would you like some?"

Sena swore that he whipped his head around so fast, he got whiplash. He found Takami offering him his cup of coffee. "Oh no, I'm fine, I don't drink coffee," he explained.

"Well, you can have some of Shin's water then." Takami grabbed Otawara's un-used straw, unwrapped it, stuck it in Shin's glass, and pulled it over to Sena. Shin made no move of rejection, nor did he do anything to indicate that he wanted the water back.

"Erm…" In the end, Takami's incessant pushing got to Sena and he agreed to just have a sip. The moment the water touched his lips, he knew something was wrong. Sputtering and choking, he blindly reached for a napkin to wipe his mouth on, immediately regretting the rather large sip he had taken.

Is this karma for violating the café policy on maintaining appropriate distance with customers?

Finally, after he recovered, Sena looked up at Shin. "How are you drinking this stuff?"

Shin blinked, and continued to sip at the water as if it wasn't affecting him.

Sena felt as horrified as he looked. "Oh god, stop!" He quickly tried to pull the drink away. "It's really really sour! I must have put too much lemon juice in this it's atrocious and undrinkable please don't push yourself-"

"This is important for my health. It tastes fine. I must continue."

Sena looked on helplessly as Shin continued to drink the atrocious, sour concoction before turning to Takami for help. "Um… can you help?"

Takami tasted a tiny bit with his finger and his entire face scrunched up. "Oh, I'm really sorry but this is really really sour and gross…"

Sena nodded his head in agreement, until Shin cleared his throat. "I believe that this drink is quite a nice complement to my dietary habits. It was very well made."

Takami just stared dumbfounded while Sena blushed, trying to make his ears turn less red.

"How much lemon juice did you put in there?" Takami asked, taking a few rapid sips of his coffee to remove the taste.

"Exactly how much Shin said to… approximately five table spoons!"

"Teaspoons, Sena, he probably said teaspoons!" Takami exclaimed.

Shin didn't say anything, but Sena had a feeling that he was just being nice. Out of embarrassment, Sena mumbled something about having to clean some of the dishes and how he didn't want to slack off, making excuses to hastily retreat into the back room.

When he returned to the back for clean-up, Suzuna actually told him to head home, promising to take good care of the Oujou squad.

"Are you sure? I can stay for a little bit longer if you want."

"No need~" she sang. "I'll get their bill later and then lock up."

"Don't forget to—"

"—lock the cash register and turn off the AC, I know. Go home and take a break, Sena. Shouldn't you be studying for your college exams? This job is only part time, and it's way past your shift. I have Monta with me, cleaning in the back, so everything will be fine!"

Sena did not think that 'I have Monta with me' and 'everything will be fine' should ever appear in together in the same sentence unless there was a negative somewhere, but he decided that Suzuna was right. He did need to study, and his roommate/childhood-best-friend had ordered takeout for the past two days (because really, Mamori couldn't cook to save her life; she would ruin everything) so Sena felt somewhat obligated to make some dinner this time.

In fact, he really hoped that she hadn't thought to cook without him because she would probably burn their apartment building down.

"Alright, I'm off then. Bye!" Walking out the door, Sena turned to wave. Just as his eyes drifted over the Oujou group, Shin looked up, and their eyes met for a moment before Sena averted his gaze to the ground, trying not to show any reaction.

/

/

As he walked home from the café, Sena noticed a faint trail of smoke in the distance. Huh. That was odd.

Suddenly, his phone rang. "Hello?" Sena stopped walking to check the signal (good) and caller ID (Anezaki Mamori), before continuing.

"Sena? Sena, is that you? Sena I'm so sorry—"

"Hello? Mamori?"

The phone line went dead. Feeling worried, he began to speed walk, before breaking into a slight jog.

His suspicions worsened the closer he got, and were confirmed when he saw the yellow caution tape clearing an area around the building.

Looking up, Sena saw not only smoke, but billowing orange flames.

Oh my god I was right—wait that better not be the fifth floor—oh my god it IS the fifth floor and holy crap is that Mamori stuck on the fire escape?

/

/

Meanwhile, at the café, Suzuna was just ringing up the bill when…

"Everyone up, we have an emergency at the station! Chief Shoji just called us in. It's not looking good," Takami yelled, jumping to his feet and gathering his bags. Everyone followed suit, and some even began to change into their uniforms on their way out.

"Wait, where are you guys going?" Suzuna exclaimed, looking confused.

"Sorry, emergency!" Sakuraba yelled over his shoulder as they all hurried out of the café.

"But you haven't paid!" Suzuna screamed after them, contemplating whether she should chase after the group.

"What's the situation?" Takami asked while he suited up with the rest of the squad.

"Not looking good. A large fire in a densely populated area. Fifth floor of an apartment building. Student residence." Shoji grabbed some gear and tossed it towards Shin, who caught it even with one hand trying to put on his pants. "We need to get going now. Take only the people who are ready. Everyone else will stay here on the control team and monitor the situation."

And that was how, two minutes later, Takami found himself squished awkwardly inbetween Otawara and Shoji, while Shin and Sakuraba rode in the front and a few other squad members sat in the back.

By the time they arrived at the site, quite an audience had gathered, and the flames were already making their way around. Without knowing that it had started on the fifth floor, Takami realized that he wouldn't even have been able to tell. The fourth and sixth floors were both already set ablaze. This would be difficult to put out. Shoji jumped out of the truck to clear the way, and they all piled out, beginning to unload the equipment.

"Is there anyone left in the building?" Sakuraba yelled, ducking under one of the caution tapes.

"A boy ran in awhile ago to save his friend, but only she came out! She was stuck on the fire escape," one of the spectators yelled. "The fire escape broke after she climbed down!"

Takami groaned. That was most certainly not what a normal person should have done in such a situation. Then, Takami saw Shin reach towards the hose mechanism, and he immediately stopped him. "Shin, you're on rescue duty today. We'll take care of it down here."

Shin frowned, but nodded. He tugged his gloves a bit further down, grabbed one of the packs, and entered the apartment.

Takami sighed in relief. Shin + Technology = Disaster. A catastrophe had just been averted.

Shin sprinted up the stairs, quickly finding the origin of the fire. The smoke was already thickening, and he hoped that whoever had run back inside was already long gone. Carefully navigating through the burning doorway, Shin sprayed as he went, searching for any signs of life.

And then he heard it: faint coughing and footsteps, coming from deeper inside the apartment.

"Don't move!" He yelled, pushing his way through the flames and searching for the person. "Where are you?"

"O-O-over here!" A faint, trembling voice came from the dining room area. "I think the fire-escape is broken!"

Entering, Shin saw Sena trying to pick his way through the pile of wreckage and flames, wincing at the heat. Dismissing the shock of meeting Sena again, Shin realized that the other boy must have seen the broken escape, tried to get to the apartment door, found the way blocked, and then realized that the way back was also occupied by flames. Shin blundered through the blazes quickly, feeling rather thankful for his uniform, and picked Sena up, setting him down on the other side of the flames.

Sene grimaced as the smoke made his lungs burn and his eyes water. He stumbled forward, using Shin's arm at his back as guidance for when to move faster and when to slow down. "T-The esc- escape is broken," he managed to rasp out, before Shin shoved a hand over his mouth as a sign to stop talking, lest he inhale more smoke.

Swinging out through the window in order to avoid the destroyed semi-balcony, Shin avoided the broken fire-escape by gripping tightly onto one of the window ledges. He climbed carefully while Sena clung to his back precariously until he managed to make it onto one of the neighboring balconies. Sakuraba had looped a rope through a hook sticking out of the distant neighbor's walls; Shin grabbed onto it and began his descent towards the firetruck ladder, calling for Sena to follow him.

Just as Sena reached for the rope, he froze.

"Oh no! Pitt!" He cried.

Shin frowned. "What pit?"

"Oh my gosh, I forgot Pitt!" Sena wailed. Immediately, he turned around and clumsily began to climb back towards his window.

"What's going on up there?" Shoji roared. "The building is not in good shape. Hurry and get down here, Shin!"

But Shin ignored the shouts from below and instead focused on where Sena was going. Why was he risking his life for a pit? Maybe it was from a precious fruit that he had eaten earlier? Shin wondered what type of pit it was.

Shin climbed back up the rope, despite Takami's protests, and began following Sena. The smaller boy was surprisingly fast, given how much smoke he had inhaled, and how much his legs had been trembling earlier.

Sena swung back through the window and yelped, feeling the gentle yet scorching flames lick his legs. He stumbled to the ground and staggered, reaching out to steady himself before snatching his hand back, realizing that he had just grabbed a burning piece of wood.

"Pitt!" He called desperately, rushing through the house. "Pitt, where are you? Pitt?"

Think, think, think. Pitt is not dead. Pitt is ok. Pitt is smart. Think, Sena. Think!

And then, he knew exactly where Pitt was. Half running and half tripping through the rubbish littered across the floor, he fought his way to his bedroom. He almost missed it, considering the doorway was almost burned down to it's bare bones. "Pitt!" He cried, scrambling into his bathroom and swinging open the closet door to reveal his stacked washer and dryer. He could see the cat's outline inside the washer, on top of a stack of shirts.

Sena tried to open the door, only to cry out in pain from the metal's heat.

"Let me," a husky voice from behind him said. Before he could even turn around, he found gloved hands opening the washer and tugging his cat out.

"Pitt!" Sena grabbed the cat and nuzzled it happily. "Thank you!" he exclaimed.

"We need to get out of here." Sena didn't know if it was the hot air or the smoke clouding his brain, or the mask, but Shin's voice sounded two octaves lower than usual, and it made him sound even more commander-like.

"O-ok—"

"Don't talk too much. Just nod. And try to stay low. You'll inhale less smoke." Shin immediately began shoving aside bits of debris, clearing a path for them to exit.

Sena stumbled through and started to make his way towards the window, trying to keep his footsteps light to avoid the searing heat from the flames. And then he realized that the window they had struggled out from before was covered in flames.

"Wait, I don't think we can go this way, Shin-ack!" Sena coughed, trying to relieve his lungs and his throat. Shin grabbed his arm (the one that wasn't clutching Pitt) and began to steer him towards the apartment entrance.

Sena tried to move his legs, he really did, but they just weren't working properly. Shin stopped nudging him, and, with a grunt, scooped Sena up as if he weighed nothing. Sena clung to the fabric of Shin's uniform like a lifeline and decided that he would ignore the humiliation of being carried for now. Charging through the flames, and out the door, Shin realized that the stairwells were too narrow and short for him to carry Sena that way.

"I-I'm ok, I can walk," Sena croaked, pushing aside the burning in his chest.

"Don't walk, run," Shin growled, pushing him forward. They both took the stairs two at a time, until they reached the third floor. This was the point where the flames seemed to have spread onto the stairwell. Taking a deep breath, Sena charged through and hoped that he wouldn't feel anything.

And surprisingly enough, with the adrenaline pumping in his veins, he felt mostly high and numb. Until he looked down and yelped, seeing the scorch marks. Now they started to hurt.

"Keep going," Shin called behind him, urging him to move faster. Sena heard a terrifying crack behind him, and tried to turn, but then Shin was pushing against him, urging his head forward and helping his body to follow.

At last, he reached the first floor, but he realized that this stairwell needed a key.

"Oh crap!" Sena groaned before doubling into a fit of hacking and coughing as he patted the pockets of his pants, desperately hoping.

"Careful, step out of the way," Shin muttered as he used the empty fire extinguisher on his back to smash the glass window set in the metal gate. On the other side, Sakuraba and two other Oujou members rushed over to help. With the combined effort, they managed to rip out the hinges and Sena staggered into the clean air, gasping and panting.

"Sena!" He heard Mamori scream.

He tried to raise his hand for a wave and get enough air to yell back, but suddenly he found that even after opening his mouth, no air was rushing into his lungs. His heart began to pound and he wanted to claw at his throat but god he didn't want to let go of Pitt and wait why was the world tilting sideways?

Sena turned around and saw Shin, backlit and illuminated by the flames behind him. Almost as if he had a halo of light. Sena seemed to lose control of both his mouth and his brain for a second or two, because the second he rediscovered his ability to speak, the only line that slipped out, delivered in a very raspy fashion, was: "Wow… you look… hot." And then he was keening over, skin burning and lungs screaming.

The last conscious thought he had was wondering if Shin got out without getting hurt too. And if Pitt was going to be alright.

As he sunk into black, Sena felt a pair of arms scooping him up off the ground, and even after his eyelids sunk closed, he could feel himself being rushed somewhere.

Somewhere…..

/

/

"Do you think he'll wake up soon?"

Sena's head throbbed as he listened to the voices around him.

"The doctor said he would be fine, so obviously!" That sounds like… Takami…

"BWAHAHA, good thing you were quick, Shin!" Definitely Otawara…

"It was nothing. If I had been faster, this would not have happened." Shin… Oh my god, Shin. Hope he doesn't remember that disgusting pun I made while keeling over-

"Come on Shin, it was the boy's own fault. He went back for that damn cat, for god's sake. Who does that?" Sakuraba… Cat…..? Pitt!

"Eieeiiehhhhh-!" Sena tried to speak, but the only noise that came out of his throat was a mix between a croak and a rasp.

"He's awake!"

"Get the doctor!"

"Get the cat!"

"What?"

"I mean get Shin!"

"Shin's right next to you!"

"Well I meant get the nurse!"

"Sakuraba, stop trying-"

"Shin," Sena managed to choke out. Immediately, the room went silent.

"See? I told you he would be the the one Sena's most concerned about," Sakuraba not-so-quietly hissed into Takami's ear. "You guys all owe me money."

"Yes?" Shin asked, standing up and moving closer to the bed.

"….Is my cat ok?"

Everyone in the room sweatdropped except Otawara, who bellowed laughter because he had somehow miraculously won the bet by saying that Sena wouldn't call for his friend (Mamori), Shin, or his parents.

"Yes, your cat is ok," Shin answered seriously. "I have been taking care of him for the past few days." This made Takami and Sakuraba both start, glancing at each other nervously. If Shin had been taking care of the cat… well, the word 'ok' would need to be assigned a very… loose definition.

"Are you ok?" Sena croaked.

"I am ok as well," Shin responded stoically.

"Lighten up," Sakuraba whispered, nudging him.

Shin looked puzzled, but it was Otawara who ultimately broke the silence. "Huh? Why would Shin lift Sena up?"

"No, Otawara, lighten up, not lift him up," Takami groaned.

"Oh. Lighten up? Why would Shin want to get lighter? He would lose muscle mass."

Sakuraba face palmed, while Takami mumbled something about how he was surprised Otawara even knew what 'muscle mass' was.

"OH! I get it," Otawara declared loudly, picking his nose some more. "You want Shin to get lighter skin! But that's just because he got kinda burnt- he doesn't always look half-baked!"

At that point, Sakuraba nearly passed out on the ground and Takami decided that for everyone's sake, Otawara had better wait outside. Thank god Shin wasn't an easily embarrassed person.

"Um.. anyways, we'll wait outside until the doctor arrives. We'll have to interview you for the report that we're filing, but that can wait. Also, Sena, stop Shin from trying to do anything technology related. Such as maneuvering the bed angle. If you don't stop him, it'll end in a disaster." Takami nudged Sakuraba, who picked himself up off the floor, seemingly recovered from Otawara's stupidity attack.

"Yeah. We'll leave you to it," Sakuraba laughed, winking.

If he wasn't connected to a thousand wires, Sena would have covered his face in embarrassment.

Shin pulled over the visitor chair and sat down.

"So uh…" Sena tried to say, but ended up breaking into a hacking series of coughs again. Shin immediately handed him the cup of water, but Sena found it nearly impossible to drink in his lying down position. Shin seemed to reach the same conclusion, because he reached for the remote control.

Sena then remembered what Takami had told him; that Shin and technology could only equate to disaster. "Wait, just… it's fine," he rasped. "I'll just sit up a bit here."

Shin withdrew his hand from the remote's direction and instead tried to help Sena up, which turned out to be a much better choice. Shin patiently held the cup of water and tilted it slightly, letting Sena drink.

"Thanks," Sena smiled, feeling much better. "Um… how long have I been out?"

"Four days, twelve hours, and fifty-three minutes," Shin declared without hesitation. That made Sena wonder if the larger boy had actually been keeping track, which in turn made his insides melt into liquid butterflies.

Suddenly, Shin cleared his throat. "Ehem. You may… if you wish of course… That is to say…"

"…Yes?" Sena asked cautiously, wondering what was worrying Shin.

"You may stay in my apartment. If you want to."

Oh. Right. He had nowhere to live. But… "Oh, I wouldn't want to trouble you-"

"It's no trouble. It would be an honor to have you over, Kobayakawa."

"Oh, Sena is ok, no need to be too formal…"

"Very well then. I would be happy to have you over, Sena."

The way Shin said his name made Sena feel warm and fuzzy. "Thank you so much, Shin!"

For the first time, Shin smiled. A real smile. "Seijuro."

Sena blinked. It took him awhile to realize what Shin meant. "O-oh! Yay! Yeah!" He exclaimed before realizing that maybe his over-eagerness was a bit off-putting. "I mean, yup! That's cool! Mhm," Sena giggled awkwardly.

Then, they both heard Takami's voice: "Oh, Mr. Doctor! Good thing you're here. I think he's awake, yes."

Shin stood up. "I will check which day you can be discharged from the hospital. Expect me to be waiting. Also, I would like to invite you to dinner some time."

Sena nodded, before wincing slightly. "Ok! Thank you so much! Wait, what? Dinner? I mean… Yeah. Like… uh… like a date?"

Shin nodded, and Sena grinned. The line was delivered stoically and awkwardly, but it was also such a Seijuro Shin manner of speaking that Sena found he didn't mind. "Yeah, sure!" he agreed enthusiastically.

Shin smiled again, and Sena realized that the window behind him made him glow so bright, he looked like an angel.

…..And then, he remembered the horrible, horrible pun he had made before passing out.

Oh god.

/

A/N: And that's it. Sorry guys I fell asleep before I could post this lol so now it's about 10 in the morning. I went back through and edited a bit to fix some stuff. I considered writing a mini-epilogue about how their date went and stuff, as well as how Mamori reacted, but decided that for now, it's best to end it here. We'll see. Anyways, I was aiming for 2000 words at most but now I have almost 6000 so…. Whoops.

Oh yeah, and last night/morning (lol), while writing this, I scared the crap out of myself because I searched "firefighter mask" to try and fact-check some things in the story. I forgot that ever since that one Doctor Who episode with the child during world war two, I have had the weirdest phobia of masks that are not designed for artistic or aesthetic purposes.

Yeah none of you are actually reading this so I'll just go now. Next up: Theater Club AU xD And my new chapter for Fears.

Feel free to review if you enjoyed this, or if you have any requests/comments/suggestions to make!

~Vieux

Ao3: Vieux

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