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When you stopped taking notes and looked up to Gavin, you found with his amber eyes fixed on you. He smiled when your glances met.
“Got everything you need?” Gavin asked, nodding his head to the other police officer who was helping you.
“Uh…” You paused, looking around the police station. You did have everything you needed for your new show, but you didn’t really want to leave so soon. It had been so long since you could be with Gavin. “Yeah, but…”
A sudden chaos erupted in the precinct, causing you to jolt up in alarm. People were running everywhere, and there was a loud ruckus echoing all over.
Gavin’s relaxed stance immediately turned to a ready one. Not losing his calmness, he grabbed the arm of someone who ran by.
“What’s wrong?” He asked, not taking his eyes off his colleague as he reached out to hold you protectively by the wrist.
“A robbery in the jewelry store” The man replied in a hurry. “There are five hostages inside”
You stared at Gavin, watching his jaw clenching. His hand lightly tightened over you. He then let go of the man and completely turned to you.
“I gotta go” He said, a great seriousness in his eyes. “You stay here”
Gavin then lifted his hand from your wrist, but you held on to his sleeve.
“But Gavin! What about you? I…” He lightly shook his head, causing his bangs to fall over his eyes with the soft movement.
“I’ll be fine, I won’t take long” There was an attempt of a smile, but it didn’t quite reach his lips. “Don’t move, you’re safe here”
When he gently yanked himself free of your grip, you felt a void settling in your chest. Did he have that sinking feeling every time he went out on a mission? Did he also think about you like that?
You watched him go, almost hoping for him to look over his shoulder to give you a reassuring smile. He didn’t. Instead, you lost sight of him as he dissapeared outside. You stood there, lost amongst the crazed crowd and the deafening noise, resting your hand over your chest and against your racing heart.
-
Time went by so slowly that you thought it might have stopped. Gavin wasn’t back yet, and police sirens kept sounding outside. You couldn’t take it any longer, you gathered all your courage and stepped out of the building. You had to see where Gavin was.
Walking along the police border, you carefully looked over for him. You couldn’t stop thinking that he might have gotten injured. Or worse. And even if he wasn’t, he would be mad at you knowing you went out. But you needed to know what had happened!
Police cars and officers were all around you, too focused on the entrance of the jewelry shop to notice you. The criminal was nowhere to be seen at that moment, and civilians were rushing out of the store.
You heard many voices shouting orders. One of them you recognized, so you turned to it with a smile of relief.
“Gavin!” You called on an instinct, not realizing at first that his reaction wouldn’t be a pleasant one.
His warm amber eyes fell on you, but they widened all of a sudden as he took a hurried step closer to you. You understood why immediately.
“There he is!” Many people were yelling as someone grabbed you from behind.
Gavin had his arms raised holding his gun, but he automatically lowered it when another gun was pointed at you. You froze in place, not daring to move away from those strange arms that held you captive.
“Hold your fire!” Gavin shouted loud and clear, and you could read the panic in his eyes as he watched you intently.
You heart was racing even more than before, and tears reached your eyes as you felt the cold barrel of the gun menacingly resting over your temple.
“I’m sorry…” You mouthed, knowing Gavin was still looking at you.
His brow furrowed, and he hesitated for several seconds. All other cops were waiting for any orders he might give. For a moment, he was still as a statue, until he took a breath and nodded.
“Okay!” He announced, holding his hands up in surrender. “You win! You win, what do you want?”
The criminal behind you hesitated. His arms were shaking around you, making you feel that he didn’t really want to hurt anyone. That didn’t make the gun on your head any less threatening, though.
“I want money!” He announced, making you cringe at his loud voice next to your ear. Or maybe it was the adrenaline making you sensitive to everything around you. The blasting sirens seemed to blind you with blue lights as well. “A-And a car!”
“We’ll get it to you, but it’s gonna take some time” Gavin replied, trying to remain calm and not agitate the man further. “For now, why don’t you let go?”
Almost forgetting about you, the criminal keeping you hostage looked down at you. He fidgeted in the spot and readjusted his grip on you. You feared that he would pull the trigger, even if on accident because of his trembling fingers.
Tears started rolling down your eyes, and you couldn’t stop looking at Gavin. He was there, he would save you. He always did. He always kept you safe.
“I… No!” The man vehemently shook his head. “The money and car first!”
“Okay! Okay…” Gavin budged, taking a subtle step forward that the man didn’t seem to notice. “At least lower the gun. We don’t want any accidents, no one needs to get hurt”
Your heart raced even more when you realized Gavin’s eyes were darting from him to somewhere over the man’s shoulder. Maybe he had a plan.
“Yeah…” The man said in a daze, nearly as frightened as you were. “Fine”
Gavin seemed to let out a sigh of relief with you when the barrel of the gun left your head. Your skin still felt cold even in the absence of it. The man’s hand now lay by his side, keeping you away from his aim.
However, you suddenly gasped when you felt a force hit you. Someone had pushed you two from behind, sending you away from the criminal. A strong wind suddenly blew around you, pushing you towards Gavin. Your legs felt shaky and you lost balance, but two strong arms caught you before you could fall.
You didn’t have time to recover as you found shelter in his embrace.
“Ah!” You screamt in fear with the sound of gunfire, shrinking over yourself.
“No!” Gavin shouted, turning around and clutching you against his chest to shield you with his body.
Before your field of vision was blocked by Gavin’s chest, you saw a uniformed man struggling with the criminal, holding his gun hand above their heads.
Another shot echoed around the streets and Gavin groaned in pain, being moved with the great force of the impact. You felt time stop. It couldn’t be. Not him, not Gavin. Not him...
“Gavin!” You exclaimed, trying to break away to get a good look at him. You could see crimson from the corner of your eye.
Distant sirens resonated on the streets, announcing the arrival of the ambulance.
His hands tightly held you in place, one on your hip and another one in your head. You could hear his heart beating frantically under your ear.
After that, everything seemed to happen too fast. You were ripped away from him as he sent you with the paramedics. You were too shaken up to say or do anything other than obey.
You just watched him as he insisted that they took care of you before anything. ‘Y/N first’. Then he clutched his shoulder, leaving his hand stained with blood, and limpered away to help with the criminal.
-
It all had happened just minutes ago, but the thoughts already burned in your mind with the horrible and haunting memories. Gavin’s pained groan echoed in your ears. The sight of his blood was still fresh in your head and it made you shiver. The thought of losing him forever made you nauseous and dizzy.
The paramedics had sat you down at the back of the ambulance and had checked you up. You were okay and unharmed. Even with that blanket over your shoulders, though, you couldn’t stop shaking. You hadn’t moved from the spot, your fingers clutching to the edge of the blanket. Only one thought occupied your mind, but it was hard to focus enough to grasp it.
“Is Y/N okay?” A familiar voice close to you filled you with warmth.
Your heart sped up a little, but you still couldn’t move. Who just spoke? You knew them. Him. You had seen him just a moment ago, even if it felt like you had been apart for years.
“Yeah, just in shock” The paramedic replied calmly.
“Thank you” When he spoke up again, you finally lifted your head.
“Gavin” You jumped to your feet and ran to him. He breathed out seeing you responding now.
There was a grave expression on his face and a stern look in his eyes that stopped you before you could hug him. He looked you up and down, brow furrowed.
“I-I’m sorry” You found yourself saying, knowing he was mad at you for leaving the police station. For ending up a hostage after you didn’t listen to him. “I just…”
Before you could continue, you were pushed against his chest. It quickly moved up and down with his elaborated breathing. His arms desperately clung on to you like his life depended on it.
“You’re okay” He feebly said, apparently exhausted.
You were startled when he wobbled, and even if you tried to break away to look at him, you couldn’t. He was holding you so tightly against him that you could barely breathe.
“You’re hurt… aren’t you?” You muttered, almost too afraid to speak up.
For the first time since you knew him, Gavin seemed fragile. Realizing you weren’t reciprocating the embrace, you quickly put your arms around him. That also helped him stand, since he apparently had a problem doing it on his own.
Much to your surprise, one of Gavin’s hands left your back to settle on your jaw. You looked up at him to meet with his familiar amber eyes. His were almost closed, but there was no trace of the anguish you felt deep within you in them.
Almost too exhausted to exist, he showed you a weak smile. His lips parted with the words he told you next, which shook you to your core.
“I love you…” With that, he closed his eyes completely and collapsed in your arms.
“Gavin!!!” You stumbled under his weight, feeling completely vulnerable and lost.
You looked around you, helplessly, until the paramedics noticed you and rushed over to check on him.
-
A soft weight fell against your head, tearing you away from your restless slumber. Your weary and hazy mind found it hard to recall what happened. Your eyelids felt too heavy to open and your arms too heavy to lift.
You stirred a little when you remembered the hostage situation. The robbery, the shooting, the blood and… Gavin. He was shot, trying to protect you. He had fainted right before you, to a deathly wound.
You frowned as you begged your body to move. You needed to know how he was, but you were so tired that you just wanted to sleep.
Distant images of the hospital filled your mind. How they wouldn’t let you in the room with him. You had almost fainted yourself from the relief when the doctors told you he would be okay. When you saw him peacefully resting. The bullet nearly reached the heart, but it had missed it by a hair.
“Gavin…” You whispered, wishing you could open your eyes. Your tired body still wasn’t responding. After hours and hours sitting by his bed, you didn’t blame it.
“Hey…” A voice gently said, and that soft weight sunk further into your hair. You recognized the warmth of that hand as yours rested over it.
“Gavin!” You finally shot up, opening your eyes and seeing him there with you.
“Y/N” He said back, his voice so weak and raspy that you could barely understand your own name from his mouth. “Are you-?”
“Don’t you dare say it” You reprimanded him, even if you knew you couldn’t be too intimidating as you rubbed the sleepiness out of your eyes. “Don’t you even ask if I’m okay”
“But…”
“No buts, you almost died”
The two of you stared at each other for several seconds. Gavin was pale and had dark circles under his eyes, which lacked their usual confidence and liveliness as well. Was that what he went through every day? Did he experience something like that every time he went on a mission? The thought made your heart sink.
“I told you to stay inside” There was softness in his voice despite his harsh words.
“I know… I’m sorry” The tears you had been repressing for hours finally came cascading down your cheeks. “You’re hurt because of me, it was my fault, I’m…”
“No, that’s not true” He sighed, the hand that hadn’t left your head caressing your hair. “It wasn’t your fault, Y/N. It was my choice”
“Gavin, you didn’t think twice to… to…” You couldn’t even speak, the force of your sobs being greater than the strenght of your voice.
“I don’t regret it” He interrupted you, and his voice gained a little more volume and security. “I would do it again with no hesitation”
You only started crying harder, knowing he was serious. He was your guardian angel, and he wouldn’t think twice to protect you with everything he had.
“If it weren’t for that criminal…” You thought back to what a normal day it had been. You were just taking notes for one of your shows when…
“What about you, keeping hostages yourself?” There was a certain amusement in his voice that confused you. “You’re a criminal too, you know?”
“What are you talking about, Gavin?” You asked, exasperated and on edge. Was he delirious? Was he talking nonsense now? You wondered if you should call a doctor to check on him.
“You stole my heart, you had it hostage” Staring at him, you couldn’t believe what he had just said. “That’s why he couldn’t touch it, it’s yours. Only yours”
As sweet as his words were, they felt goofy coming from him. Especially at that very momment. You had to chuckle at how silly he was being.
Gavin smiled too, lowering his hand to carefully wipe your tears with his thumb. You sighed, knowing he was well enough to joke like that. Even if it was just to see you smile.
“Stop it” You rolled your eyes a little, standing up from your chair to hug him.
Your sore muscles complained at the movement, but that wasn’t why you halted midway. He was still injured, and you were afraid to touch him.
“Come here” Gavin tenderly told you, opening his arms and welcoming you in.
“I don’t want to hurt you...” You tried not to look at the blood stained bandage that covered his bare chest.
“You would never hurt me” He said, voice soft as velvet.
Sighing both in exhaustion and relief for letting go of the tension you had been holding on to for hours while he was unconscious, you climbed in the bed with him. You rested over his right side, away from the bullet wound on his left shoulder. His arms easily wrapped around you as you leaned your head on his chest. It felt like you could finally breathe, like that lump finally left your throat.
“It’s okay” He whispered, engulfing you in a warm embrace that he seemed to need as much as yourself. “I’m alright”
The silence calmed you down. Unlike hours prior, now it meant calmness and not unease. You had been so scared when he fainted from blood loss that for a moment you feared you would never hear his voice again. That reminded you of what he told you last. Those three words that he might have thought were his last words to you. Ever.
“Gavin…”
“Yeah?”
“Remember what you said to me before?”
His silence was eloquent enough. Moving his head away from you, he cleared his throat. When you looked up at him, you noticed his ears were red.
You struggled to speak up. Even if you trully felt it, the significance of those simple words was so heavy… But after all that happened, you wanted to say it. So you did.
“I… I love you too” You nuzzled his neck, causing him to freeze at the gesture.
Very slowly, he turned to look at you. His eyes were wide, full of surprise. For a moment, he didn’t move, but then he chuckled happily and took your hand in his. You smiled back at him, finally relaxing into his touch as he put your knuckles to his lips.
Almost like you had silently agreed to do it, Gavin closed his eyes and leaned forward just as you did. When your lips met with his, your heart started racing. You melted into his touch, feeling like you were floating. You were glad that you were lying down, because everything started spinning around you. You were overwhelmed by how amazing it felt to kiss him. Especially after that long day.
The kiss was soft and short, although passionate and needy. You clung on to each other until you broke away, remembering he was recovering. The two of you were breathing heavily, knowing that was what pure happiness must feel like. You bit your lip as you broke away, keeping your eyes closed for just a second longer to linger in that wonderful sensation. The warmth, the softness, the tenderness. It was exhilarating.
You met with Gavin’s eyes, now sparkling with joy, and his wide smile. You both sighed at the same time and touched foreheads. After that, you rested over his chest once more. Everything was okay with the world again.
Gavin kissed your head and gingerly placed your hand over his heart. It felt like his wound was already healing at your touch. Like magic.