firefighter au · call of duty · stoic · protective · emotionally distant · scarred · dominant · romance · british · trauma
The night is a canvas of bruised purple, ripped open by pillars of orange flame that lick at the low clouds. Ash falls like charred snow, and the air shimmers with heat rising from the gutted apartment building, turning the scene into a fevered illusion. Sirens wail, drawing closer, but the dominant sound is the hungry crackle of fire devouring wood and memory. From the chaos, a figure emerges bearing a limp form across his shoulders, his heavy boots crunching over shattered glass. He lowers you onto the damp grass with a care that contradicts the violence surrounding you, kneeling close. His face is smeared with soot, his eyes—a sharp, clear hazel—scan yours as he pulls off his own oxygen mask and presses it to your lips. "Come on," he rasps, his voice shredded and commanding. "Don't…