Fire Fire

"I cant tell you." Garrett said, sadly.

"Why not?" Love frowned. "We saved each others lives back there, I don't think a whole lot is going to change that." Love said. Garrett looked at him.

"I cant risk it, I cant change crews again after one day." Garrett shook his head.

"Come on, Garrett. You can trust me." Love promised, putting a hand over Garretts. Garrett stared up at him.

"The crew found out I was gay." Garrett said, staring at Love to judge his reaction. Love pulled his hand away, staring at Garrett.

"You're right, you shouldn't tell anyone." Love said. Garrett looked hurt. "It's not like that, Garrett. I just meant that people can be cruel. That's...why I haven't come out yet." Love said, after a moment of hesitation.

"You mean-"

"Yeah, yeah. Just...Just keep all of this between us." Love grumbled, digging in to his salad. Garrett stared at him before nodding and cutting into his own steak.

"Will you tell me about Reed?" Garrett asked. Love looked up, shocked. He hesitated.

"...No." He finally said, before looking back down at his plate of salad.

"Why not?" Garrett asked. Love sighed.

"Why do you want to know?" Love asked.

"Did he die in a fire?" Garrett didn't answer Love's question. Love seemed to sigh and swallow.

"Yes." His voice cracked.

"Were you two together?" Garrett asked. Love looked up at him, shocked.

"He wasn't gay." He said. "He...He was a good man." He was almost angry.

"If he was gay, that doesn't mean he wasn't a good man." Garrett said, Love didn't know how to respond to that. "You talk about him like he's a lost lover." Garrett said, after a moment of silence.

"It's none of your business." Love glared at Garrett. He took the hint and changed the subject as fast as he could.

"So your parent's really named you Love?" Garrett laughed. Love laughed with him, the anger gone from his eyes.

"Yeah, they were hippies." Love smiled.

"I bet that was rough during highschool." Garrett smiled, cutting into his near cold steak.

"Yeah, that was an adventure." Love chuckled, looking at his fellow firefighter across from him.

~~~~~~~~~~

Three months earlier.

~~~~~~~~~~

"See, aren't you glad you gave me a chance." Reed said, out of breath after their love making. Love rolled over and snuggled into his chest.

"Oh hell yeah." He mumbled, breathing in Reed's scent. "We really shouldn't be doing this." He added.

"Our pagers are right there, Love. If they need us we can be-" He was interrupted by both of their radios going off. They jumped out of bed and threw on their clothes quickly. They ran out of the door, still putting their shoes on.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Where the fuck have you two been?" The chief said, as they drove up to the fire in Reed's truck.

"We were..." They both hesitated.

"Fuck it, get your asses in there." The chief said. They grabbed their helmets and Reed grabbed an axe and they ran after Adams who was waiting near the building.

"You two were together?" Adams asked as they went in.

"Just shut up and lets get to work." Love said. "What are we doing in here?" He asked.

"Have a woman on the second floor." Adams said. Love headed towards the stairs and began climbing them when he heard a crash behind him. He looked back to see a piece of ceiling fall at the bottom of the stairs. Reed and Adams jumped back as flames and burning chunks of wood flew in their direction.

"Shit!" Adams cursed.

"Go around, there should be another set of stairs down that hall." Love said, through the radio. Adams took off down the hallway but Reed hesitated.

"Go." Love said, whispering it, hoping that no one else would hear him. Reed swallowed before following Adams down the hall.

Love continued up the stairs and turned down the hall to meet the other two men.

"Where are you two?" Love asked when a good thirty seconds had passed.

"The stairs collapsed, there's no way up there." Adams said.

"Alright, I'm calling it. Get out of there." The chief said through the radio.

"But chief, I'm up here. I can find her." Love said.

"Yeah, your up there. But you cant get down and it's only going to get worse. get your asses out of there." The chief repeated. Love froze before moving to the first door and slamming against it with his shoulder. It broke under his force and he searched the apartment quickly before moving to the next one.

"Gordon, where are you?" The chief asked. "The other two are already out."

"I'm staying in here, I'm going to find her." Love said.

"God damn it Gordon, get your ass out of there!" The chief was really pissed. "Reed, where the fuck are you going?" He heard him over the radio.

"He's not going to stay in there alone." Reed said.

"No, Reed. You stay out there." Love said over the radio.

"Fuck you, Love. I'm already inside." Reed said. Love heard wood splinter and the roof begin creaking. Reed suddenly appeared at the stairs that had been blocked off.

"What the fuck?"

"It's called an axe, Love." Reed held up the large fire axe.

"You know how dangerous that is!" Love slapped him on the shoulder. "Fuck it, you're already up here. Check those rooms." Love said, he took the axe and cut down his doors while Reed slammed through his.

"Love." Reed said. Love ran to the room Reed was in and saw him kneeling next to the burnt corpse.

"Do you think...?"

"Yeah. Come on, we need to get out of here." Reed said. Love stared at the woman before following Reed qucikly down the cleared stares. They got out and Love went directly behind the fire truck sitting near by. Reed followed him and soon they were alone. Love ripped off his helmet and leaned against the truck. Reed turned off his radio quickly.

"Love." Reed said.

"It was my fault, I should have found her faster." Love said, tears falling from his eyes as he ripped off his mask and turned off his radio.

"It wasn't your fault, you know as well as any of us that this kind of stuff happens. She was probably dead long before we got there, Love." Reed stepped behind him, putting his large hands on his shoulders.

"That's bullshit Reed, and you know it." Love said.

"No, it's not. You're to god damn hard on yourself." Reed said. Love cried and shoved his face into Reed's soot covered chest. Reed stroked his back and let him cry. Love pulled away suddenly and wiped the tears from his face.

"We cant let anyone see us." Love sad. He put on his helmet again, and walked back to the crew, getting ready to search the ashes.

~~~~~~~~~~

Present Day

~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey, Gordon." All the guys muttered when he stepped into the room.

"Hey, Love." Garrett's voice rang out above the rest. All the other guys grumbled.

"Hey, Love." The chief said, in a girly voice. Love set down the can of soda and picked up the large chef knife.

"I will cut you." He said, pointing the knife at the chief. The chief laughed and walked off in the direction of his office. Love put the knife down and turned back to the soda.

"So you guys, I was with this chick last night." Adams started. "Oh, my, god! She was as tight as a virgin but as wild as a well seasoned whore." Adams and most of the other guys laughed.

"You're such a pig, Adams." Love laughed, and the other guys nodded their agreement.

"What about you, Gordon. You never tell us about your hot dates." Adams smiled.

"I don't think what you do counts as a date, Adams. More like sucking, fucking, sleeping." Love laughed.

"Come on, tell us."

"You know I never tell you guys shit." Love rolled his eyes.

"What about you, Garrett?" Thomas asked.

"What about me?" Garrett asked.

"Who have you fucked lately?" Adams asked.

"Your mom." Garrett said without missing a beat. Adams threw a fork at him.

"Asshole, come on tell us."

"I'm with Love on this one, I don't kiss and tell. Sorry boys." Garrett laughed.

"Prude." Adams threw a spoon at him.

"No more silverware for you." Garrett pointed the spoon at him with a scowl. Adams stuck his tongue out at Garrett.

"Children, Children." Love rolled his eyes. Suddenly the alarm went off and the men piled into the truck as fast as they could, some still putting on their helmets.

"What do we have, Chief?" Ross, the ever quiet, asked.

"Some dumbasses tried looting a burning building. The fire burned itself out, but those two daredevils got trapped under some rubble." The chief laughed.

"Jesus..." Garrett shook his head with a smile on his face.

"People get more and more stupid every day." Love mumbled.

"What dumb shits." Ross even chimed in, Adams and Thomas nodded in agreement. They arrived at the scene to see several cops standing around.

"Useless pigs." Ross muttered.

"You say somethin', fireboy?"

"You got arms, use em." Ross gestured towards the rubble where several groans of pain were coming from.

"That's your job, shithead." The cop put his coffee down on his car and stepped towards Ross.

"Guys, chief will have my ass if I let you two go at it." Love stood between the two bigger men.

"You saying you refuse to help out if there's not a pay check in it for you?" Ross ignored Love.

"Guys!" Love shouted, as the two pressed against his hands trying to seperate them. Garrett, Adams, and Thomas watched, surprised with several cops.

"Bite me, you piece of shit!" The cop shouted, and the two lunged at each other like territorial cats.

"Fuck me!" Love grunted as he tried to keep the two appart. Ross swung at the cop, and missed, hitting Love in the cheek. Love grunted and lost his temper. "Enough!" He shouted, He pushed the cop back violently, and Garrett grabbed Ross around his chest, keeping him away from Love and the cop.

"Sit your ass down!" Love shouted at the cop, who had fallen on his ass on the ground. "Get your ass in there!" He shouted at Ross.

"Fuck off, Love." Ross growled. Love picked up the fireaxe he had dropped when force to pry the two men apart.

"What did you say?" He pointed the axe at Ross. Who seemed to go just a little pale.

"Nothing."

"That's what I fucking thought, get in the fucking building, Ross." Love scowled. Ross spit on the ground, before walking over and pulling a large slab of wall off of the pile that sat on top of the men. Adams, Thomas, and Ross stepped into the mostly standing building.

"Jesus, Gordon. You got more balls than I do, looks like I made the right choice making you the crew leader." The chief said.

"Right." Love mumbled, before walking towards the building. Garrett caught up to him and stopped him before he could enter.

"Are you okay, he hit you pretty hard." Garret ran his thumb over the already purple cheekbone.

"I'm fine." Love slapped his hand away. Garrett frowned.

"Alright." He said. The crew spent the next hour digging out the would-be-thieves from the rubble.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Love groaned as the hot water washed over his shoulders. The steam filled the showering room and he let the hot water wash away the dirt and grime. He heard the door open and let the water run over his face. He heard the sound of another shower head being turned on. He moved his face away from the water and turned to see the muscled back of Garrett. He swallowed and let his eyes wander down to the firm twin globes. He licked his lips and turned forward again. He ran his hands over his face and winced at the large bruise that formed on his cheek.

"It looks pretty bad." Garrett said. Love looked over his shoulder. Garrett hadn't turned around, but spoke to the wall instead.

"It hurts pretty bad, too." Love mumbled, over the roar of the two shower heads. Love couldn't help but watch over his shoulder as Garrett soaped up his body. He felt his cock twitch and forced himself to look away. As soon as he did he heard Garrett hiss in pain.

"What's wrong?" Love turned around, looking over his shoulder again. At this rate, he was going to get a crick in his neck.

"I think I hurt my wrist, when I pulled Ross off of you." Garrett moved his right hand carefully. He rotated his wrist and hissed in pain again, bringing it close to his chest.

"Let me see." Love said. He walked across the tiled floor and took Garretts hand in his, completely forgetting they were alone and naked in the shower. He held his wrist gently and turned it.

"Does this hurt?" He asked. Garrett shook his head.

"What about this?" He put pressure on his thick arm. Garrett winced and nodded.

"I think your arm is broken." Love said. "You'll have to take off until it's healed. You should go get a cast." He turned and walked back to his hot water. He turned to see what Garrett was doing and saw him staring at him. "Were you looking at my ass?" He frowned.

"I showed you mine." Garrett smiled.

"Busted..." Love mumbled, and turned back to his water.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Garrett is taking a few days off, it seems Ross here fractured his arm while trying to beat the crap out of Gordon and that blue suit." The chief said.

"When will he be back?" Adams asked, they all knew how bad it was. Losing even one team member could mean someone loses their lives. The odds were against them as it was.

"As soon as his arm heals, it's only a small fracture and the Doc said he should be able to come back to work in a week or two. As long as he goes easy on his arm." The chief said. He turned to Ross. "You're lucky he's not pressing charges, get in a fight again, and I'll love you alone in a room with Love." The chief pointed over his shoulder at Love with his thumb.

"Stop calling me that!" Love threw a wooden cutting board at the chief, who scurried out of the room. The cutting board smacked the wall loudly and

"Jesus." Thomas laughed quietly. "That's why I stay on his good side." he sipped his coffee.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Just a second!" Garrett called out. He was making dinner as the knock on his door echoed through his tiny apartment. He turned the stove down and jogged towards the door. He was as surprised as possible to see Love standing there.

"Love... What are you doing here?"

"I came to see how your hand was, you got it hurt trying to help me so I figured the least I could do was come check on you." He had a small blush to his cheeks.

"Oh, that's really nice of you...Sorry, come on in." Garrett stepped aside.

"Smells good." Love said.

"Pasta, there's plenty if you want to stay." Garrett offered.

"I'm fine, but thanks." Love smiled. Garretts arm was in a blue sling, with a brace to match. "Hows your arm?" Love asked.

"It's okay, hurts if I put any pressure on it, but other than that it's painless." Garrett shrugged, looking down at his arm. "How did you find out where I live? Not that I'm not glad you're here." Garrett went to stir the sauce for the fettuccine.

"I snuck into the chiefs office and found out." Love shrugged, looking down at the ground.

"Isn't that illegal?"

"Maybe a little." Love shrugged again. Garrett smiled and laughed, he looked at Love quietly for a second.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay? There's really to much for me to eat alone, and to tell you the truth, I'm kind of lonely here alone." Garrett smiled. Love hesitated.

"Sure," He finally nodded. Garrett beamed.

"I'll set another plate." He grabbed a plate and set it down in front of the second chair on the table. Love took off his jacket and set it on the chair.

"Are you on call?" Garrett asked.

"Yeah." Love said, as the radio he had to carry with him cracked as a call was given out.

"Do you need to go?" Garrett asked.

"No." Love sat down. Garrett poured the sauce over the noodles and dished up both plates. He opened a bottle of wine. "I shouldn't." Love shook his head.

"But you will?" Garrett smiled and set down his glass.

"I get off at Midnight." Love shrugged and sipped the wine, it wasn't often that he was this care free when it came to his job. He usually took it seriously enough.

"This is really good." Love smiled and pointed at the mushroom, chicken, cheese, and spinach filled pasta.

"Thanks, I'm not much of a cook but I do make a mean Fettuccine Alfredo." Garrett smiled. Love laughed. "So how are you guys holding up without me?" Garrett asked.

"Fine, I guess. It's weird being back to just us again, I think we all kind of miss you." Love said, honestly.

"Good to see that the party of hate that greeted me my first day finally went away." Garrett laughed.

"Yeah, I guess we were all just missing Reed. We weren't really open to replacements." Love said.

"I'm sorry, about Reed." Garrett said.

"Shit happens, we all know what we sign up for when we take this job."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Three months before

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Love, can we at least talk!" Reed chased after him as he walked down the street.

"Fuck off, Reed." Love said, over his shoulder.

"Come on, Love." Reed begged.

"I said, fuck off." Love repeated. Reed caught up to him and took his hand in his.

"What's up with you? One minute you're cuddled up in my chest, the next your telling me to piss off." Reed asked.

"Just leave me alone." Love tugged against Reed, trying to wiggle out of his grasp.

"Not until you tell me what's so bad about me liking you." Reed said.

"Maybe I don't like you back, did you ever think about that?" Love snapped.

"No, because I know you do. Come on, Love. Don't be like that." Reed begged.

"You're wrong, I don't feel that way about you." Love pulled against his grip.

"Shut up, god damn it!" People began staring and Reed quietly pulled Love inside his apartment building.

"Get out of here, Reed."

"No, not until you admit that you're into me." Reed said.

"Fuck off!" Love cursed.

"No!" Reed shouted even louder. Love stared at him, they were both breathing heavily. They stared at each other silently. Reed gripped Love's hand and the two were in an intense gaze for a long moment. Finally, Reed saw tears forming in Love's eyes. Suddenly he leaned in and kissed Reed passionatly.

"Shit..." Reed mumbled between kisses. Love pressed him up against the wall and nearly climbed up his body. Reed moaned and pulled Love into his chest. Love sighed happily into Reed's kiss. "Told you, you would come around." Reed smiled as he pulled Love through the hallway.

"This doesn't mean anything." Love pulled away.

"Oh no, you don't." Reed pulled him back into the bed. "You're mine now."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Present Day

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Love?" Garrett spoke up. Love blinked.

"Sorry."

"No problem, you kind of just spaced out there for a second." Garrett smiled over a forkful of pasta.

"Yeah, I was just...thinking about something. So what about you? You came out at your old department and had to move?" Love asked. Garrett went a little pale. He looked down at his dish and set down his fork, wiping his mouth.

"It's a little more complicated than that." Garrett mumbled.

"I'm sorry, touchy subject?"

"No, it's just... Yeah I guess it is. But it's only fair, I asked you about Reed..." Garrett said, a little louder but not much. He sighed. "I was with somebody, Jack, he.." Garrett's voice cracked. He took a deep breath. "He didn't want me to come out. Said that it was to dangerous. But I was so sick of hiding. I just wanted to be myself, you know?" Garrett said. Love nodded.

"I didn't listen to him." Garrett looked at Love with regret. "I came out. Some of the guys reacted badly, I should have thought it through more. But I didn't. They followed me home one night. They beat me unconscious. When I woke up..." Garrett stared off into space. "There was so much blood. They rushed Jack into surgery, but there was to much blood loss. When I last saw him..." Garrett began crying. He tried to continue but he only sobbed quietly. Love stared at him for a second before getting up and stroking his hair.

"It's alright, Garrett. It wasn't your fault, you just wanted to be free." Love said softly.