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"So what do you think of Bora Bora?"
"Seriously?" Jaren smiled. "Babe, no, that's too damn expensive."
" Well how about a cruise then?" He could practically hear John pout at the end.
Before the other could answer, Tyler cut in through the comms channel to remind them that they were "in a middle of a fucking job" and John should be "shooting, not planning a fucking honeymoon".
"You guys aren't even engaged yet, you fucks!" Tyler yelled.
"Fuck off dumbass! At least I have a man!" John refuted.
Jaren rolled his eyes and disconnected Tyler from their channel. Being back at the team's base was no fun but at least he could watch his friends' backs without worrying about getting hurt himself. And he got to talk to John (though distracting would be a better word to describe what he was doing).
The job they had was simple. If everything was to go according to plan, all they had to do was to sneak into one of the most heavily guarded buildings in the city, steal a case of 14 keys and blow up the place.
It was a simple four-man mission. Evan just had to secure the case with Tyler covering him and making sure no one was alerted of their presence. John was to plant explosives on every support beam of the building, at every alternate level, and get out safely before reducing the pace to rubble.
Jaren played the safest part, having to only hack into the security of the building and override all system controls of every entry, exit, communication device, and basically anything that's connected to the building. All he has to do is watch the guys through the cameras and alert them through the comms if anything goes south.
Obviously, any form of 'plan' that they had was thrown out the window as soon as they stepped in the building.
Evan had somehow managed to kill three security guards, which alerted every single person in the place. Tyler was apparently feeling particularly merciless and decided to fucking murder everyone on sight. And John has been in a flirty mood all evening and simply couldn't take anything seriously.
(Hence why Jaren ended up discussing possible honeymoon destinations with his boyfriend.)
"John, you're gonna have to hurry up the process, you've still got 28 more beams to put those bombs on," Jaren advised, eyes scanning the monitors.
His lover chuckled, but sped up nonetheless.
"Ok, but we're not done with this conversation. I genuinely want to know your opinion on going to Africa!"
Jaren rolled his eyes and listened to gunshots from John's end. Pushing away his worries for the other, he narrowed his eyes at the three monitor screens before him. He had the system panel on one screen andthe map of the building on another, with blinking dots that indicate the positions of his friends. The third screen allowed him to watch everything with the cameras in the building projecting the footage for Jaren to see.
He pressed a few keys on the keyboard under his fingers and searched through the cameras to find Tyler and Evan. He connected himself to their synced channels to update them on the situation.
"John still has a lot to go, and with people shooting at him from every angle, I don't think he can do it alone," he revealed.
He heard a yell on the other end and a few gunshots before Evan spoke, "I have an idea. Tyler can go back up John while I deal with these fucks."
There was a sound of protest from Tyler but a series of gunshots cut him off.
Jaren frowned at Evan's suggestion. The idea was stupid and would most likely get them all killed.
At that moment, a beep sounded through his earpiece and John's voice automatically rang through the comms.
" Hey, Smit, I-"
"John, now's not the time to talk about Africa," Jaren interrupted.
"Babe. Listen to me." John pressed.
Jaren stayed silent, allowing his boyfriend to continue.
"I overheard one of them saying that they're expecting two heli's with back up. ETA 8 minutes."
Jaren had to take a moment to process this new information. Evan and Tyler were struggling to get out alive, John still has a lot to do and sooner or later he's going to get hurt. Now there's two helicopters on their way to fuck things up even more. The odds were definitely not in their favour.
Jaren couldn't blame the panic he felt fill his lungs. Normally, all of them would enjoy a job such as this, where the stakes are high and the chances of getting killed are even higher. But those keys in the case Evan had were more important than their lives and it would be all for nothing if it got damaged or lost in the crossfire.
The screens he was staring at weren't any help in finding another plan. All they showed was footage of his friends getting shot at by the bad guys.
John brought him out of his thoughts before his anxiety got the better of him.
"Smit, love? You ok?"
Jaren focused on the other's voice to calm him down. Panicking wouldn't help the situation.
"John, if there's more of them coming, you need to get out of there." Desperation and concern were laced in his voice.
He switched the cameras he was on and the monitors now showed his boyfriend crouched behind a wall, desperately shielding himself from the onslaught of bullets.
"Smit, I have a plan. And you're gonna have to trust me on this, alright?" John said hurriedly, "Connect me to Tyler and Evan."
Jaren did as he was told, too stressed to argue.
As John revealed his plan, Jaren felt himself getting more anxious and frustrated by the minute.
Surprisingly, the other two had no hard objections to it and agreed to get out as fast as possible so John could do his thing.
Jaren tried his best to direct Evan and Tyler safely through the building and to the exit for them to escape.
Once they were on their way, he switched to a private comms channel with the stupid man he loved.
"John, you can't go through with this."
"Baby, you know I can't just leave a job unfinished."
Jaren groaned and wiped a hand across his face. His boyfriend was as stubborn as he was a dumbass.
"Fine. But I'm helping you from here because I care about you too much to let you get yourself killed."
John smiled at a nearby security camera, knowing his lover was watching him.
Jaren directed John through the hallways until he reached the elevator lobby. The doors opened with a few clicks on Jaren's side.
John stepped in and quickly got to work. He pulled apart the latch that leads to the top of the elevator and climbed up till he was sitting on top of the car itself. He attached himself to a bar beside him with a bungee cord so he wouldn't fall off.
"Babe you need to tell me when to open the landing doors. I can't watch you when you're in the shaft," Jaren pointed out.
John replied with a hum of confirmation. He reached into the bag he carried and pulled out the devices that were usually saved for occasions where huge explosions were needed.
John had come up with the brilliant plan to toss said devices onto every landing from the top the elevator car. Jaren was going to open the doors remotely from the system control panel he had on his monitor.
The pair managed to work undetected, despite the hundreds of men roaming the building. Each time Jaren opened doors, John 'frisbee tossed' the bomb was fast as he could and as silent as possible.
As they got to the roof, John realised a flaw in his plan.
"Shit," he muttered, " Smit can you see if there's any guys on the roof?"
Jaren pressed a few keys and confirmed that there's-
"-about 10 mother fuckers with big guns. John you can't go out there! Please tell me you have a plan B?" he begged.
"Hey I can't get pregnant, remember?"
"Fuck you. Now isn't the time for shit jokes." Jaren argued.
John laughed lightly but apologised. He had tried to calm his boyfriend down with a joke, and unsurprisingly failed.
John loaded his gun with the last of his ammunition. He did have a plan B, but he had hoped it wouldn't have to come to it. They were at the roof but Jaren hadn't opened the doors
"Babe, Imma need you to open the doors," John spoke, slightly impatient.
"I can't. They're gonna shoot you." Jaren insisted.
"You have to trust me ok?"
Jaren tried to protest further, but John had already gone ahead and forced the doors open. He took a deep breath and stepped out onto the roof.
He took down three men with bullets through the hearts before his gun ran out of ammo. He cursed and tossed the useless weapon aside and turned to the other seven.
He knocked the nearest one unconscious and took his weapon. Before he could aim it at the rest, one of the men pounced on him and wrapped his arms around John's neck in a headlock. John kicked back at the man and flipped him over his shoulder and onto the ground. In one swift motion, John grabbed the nearest loaded gun and shot the man who tackled him and sent the rest of the rounds in the gun through the others, killing them all.
Panting heavily, he stepped over the bodies. "Smit, baby, you there?" he called into his earpiece.
"Yeah I'm here. Are you ok?"
John looked down on himself and watched as a dark patch started to form on his shirt. He lifted up the fabric to see what he recognised as a bullet wound just below where his right rib would be. He was surprised he didn't feel it, but he knew the pain would hit him soon.
"Yeah, I'm fine," He lied.
"John, there's about twenty guys coming to the roof… so if there's a time to escape it's RIGHT NOW!"
John slowly walked back to the elevator to get his bag. A hand clutched his wound as he made his way, the pain finally hitting him.
He searched through the bag til he found a remote.
"Hey, baby, we still haven't finished our conversation about Africa."
"John what are you- You need to get out of there, John!" Jaren was confused why John wasn't trying to get away.
"If we're going to go on a honeymoon together, we need to find a place we both like." As John said this, he locked the door that leads the stairs to the roof.
"John, please don't do what I think you're going to do." Jaren begged.
"Baby, where do you want to go for our honeymoon?" The question was soft.
Jaren was trying not to cry when he heard his lover. "John, no. I can't answer that question if there's not going to be a honeymoon… Or even a wedding, if you do this."
"Do you want to go to Japan? Or maybe Italy?" John went on as if he himself wasn't crying.
Jaren sniffled and smiled,"I want to go to Italy."
John laughed and tried to ignore the banging coming from the locked door.
"Jaren, my love, will you marry me and go to Italy with me?"
"I won't say yes. You come back here alive and I'll say yes!"
"Baby I hope you get married and go to Italy."
"John, please, don't do this," Jaren cried.
"I love you, Jaren."
Without waiting for a reply, John pressed a button on the remote and all over the building, beeping came from the bombs. The banging on the door paused for a moment and muffled shouts were heard. John closed his eyes and pictured his love one last time.
Jaren was sobbing when he heard John's last words. Seconds later, a loud sound rang through his ears before being replaced with deafening silence.
He broke down and screamed from heartache and pain. Jaren punched his monitor and cried out for the love of his life.
"I love you too, John. I always will."
FIN.