Love is not Extinct ~ HALLOWEEN SPECIAL

October Nights

"Man, what a night!"

Sawamura looked over at his partner as they walked into the little coffee shop that had become a frequent stop for them during their patrol shifts. Futakuchi shook out his short brown hair, flipping his bangs to the side to keep them out of his face, as he reached his arms above his head, stretching.

Sawamura hummed in agreement as he placed their order before they took a seat at a table in the back corner of the cafe. "Typical on Halloween. People think they can do crazy things just because it's socially acceptable to walk around in disguises."

"It's the same every year," his partner agreed, leaning back in his chair as he looked out the window, watching the people pass by. "Though I have to admit I wasn't much better growng up. I never did anything illegal but I definitely caused my share of mischief on nights like tonight in my youth."

"That does not surprise me." Sawamura chuckled.

"But all those days are behind me. Now I am a respectable keeper of the peace with a typical domestic life," Futakuchi mocked with a smile, but his partner knew that the man was quite happy where he was now.

"How are things going with you and your wife?" Sawamura asked as he nodded and smiled at the waitress who set down their drinks for them before walking away. "It's been three months since the wedding. Is she sick of you yet?"

"Ha ha very funny." The younger of the officers smiled, taking a sip of his coffee, relishing in the warmth and strong taste. On late nights, especially nights like tonight, nothing beat a rich coffee to push him through the last of his shift. "Things are going well. Honestly, she is an angel. I come home from work to a home cooked meal, and being able to see her without having to make time to drive out and visit her is the best. I love being able to come home and she is there, smiling and happy to see me. Beats the bachelor life of living alone any day."

Sawamura smiled, remembering what it had been like for him when he first got married almost four years ago now. It seemed like so long ago, it was hard to picture everyday life without Yui around. And now, with their daughter in the picture, he felt truly blessed. Pulling out his phone, he opened up the text that Yui had sent him earlier. It was a picture of their daughter in her Halloween costume, a yellow and black striped onesie with little wings attached to the back and a headband with bouncing antena. He knew he was biased but he thought she was the most adorable baby he had ever seen. Everytime he looked at her his heart overflowed with gratitude that he was blessed to be this angel's father.

"What are those idiots up to?..." Futakichi's comment brought Sawamura out of his train of thoughts, causing him to look up from his phone to see his partner looking out the window at a couple of kids who were having a heated argument outside, which looked like it was about to get physical. With a heavy sigh Futakichi stood up, and when Sawamura went to stand up as well, his partner just held up his hand. "I'll go check it out. It's just a little spat. I don't think both of us need to go, you stay and enjoy your coffee."

Sawamura didn't argue as he watched his partner walk out of the diner. He leaned back, taking another sip of his beverage and closing his eyes for a moment. Only a few more hours left of his shift and he would be able to head home. Tenshi would already be in bed but he would be able to take a warm shower and then curl up with his wife and talk until they both fell asleep. It was the simple things that were the most precious to him. Those little moments that were so easy to overlook made everyday worth it.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by a sudden commotion in the cafe. Looking up, he saw two people dressed in black cloaks with animal masks covering their faces. Both had guns out. The one who was wearing a tiger mask was waving his gun around wildly, threatening everyone to get down on the ground, while the other one wearing a dragon mask, was at the register pointing their weapon at the poor young barista.

"Come on lady, just give me the cash now and no one has to get hurt!" the tiger man yelled, and the barista cowered.

"I...I...can't. The system has safety features that prevent me from pulling the money out."

"I don't care! Find a way to do it you little..." His sentence was cut off by his partner nudging him. "What?"

Sawamura knew that the man had finally noticed that there was a police officer sitting in the corner and was now desperately trying to make his partner aware of it. Reacting quickly, Sawamura got to his feet, drawing his weapon at the same time that both men faced him, pointing their weapons at him.

"Don't even think about it," the tiger warned. "We have you outnumbered, two to one. You'll just get yourself hurt."

"Put the guns down. You don't want to make this any worse than it already is. Attacking me will just add to your charges."

He glared as the tiger just laughed, as if the thought was just too much for him to handle. "You think we are going to let ourselves get caught? Not a chance! Save yourself the trouble officer, you don't have the upperhand." Then the tiger smirked. "That ring on your left hand, you must be married. Maybe you should think about your lovely wife, hmm? I would hate to make her a widow." This comment angered Sawamura. Who did this guy think he was, to be so confident and cocky that he would threaten to kill a cop?

Without hesitation, Sawamura stepped closer, his gun not wavering. "This is my last warning. Put the guns down and save yourselves some trouble."

"Hmm…" The tiger put one hand on his chin, as if he was truly considering it, before he smirked. "No." He aimed the gun at the officer and fired three times. The people in the cafe screamed, some taking the risk to run past the masked men and out the door, but most just stayed on the floor as low as they could, terrified.

The first bullet hit Sawamura square in the chest and the second nicked his shoulder before he could drop down to avoid it. But he had been expecting this and as soon as he was down on the ground he fired a single shot, hitting the man's arm, causing him to drop his gun and cry out in pain. Before the dragon could register what had happened and retaliate, he found himself tackled to the ground by Futakuchi and quickly wrestled into handcuffs.

Putting his non-injured hand over the bleeding wound in his arm, Sawamura winced as he reached over and pulled his handcuffs from his belt, sliding them over to his partner so he could cuff the first robber. Once both men were secured the young barista ran over, kneeling next to Sawamura, offering a cloth to hold against his arm and help stop the bleeding.

"I called for an ambulance already," she assured him in a soft, kind voice. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'll be fine. Thank you."

Futakuchi walked over to him and knelt down in front of him. "I leave for one second and you go get yourself shot, old man?"

Sawamaura rolled his eyes. "Shut up Futakuchi, I am only a year older than you."

His partner smirked as they heard the sirens coming closer and the flashing lights of, not only the ambulance, but other police vehicles pulling into the parking lot. Another young officer came in and started to usher the guests out, making sure they were all okay, and sending them to the other officers waiting outside to get their statements.

Thanks to the kevlar vest, the damage Sawamura took from this incident was minimal. He had a large and tender bruise starting to form on his chest where the bullet had hit and now had a stitched and bandaged shoulder, but not enough to even warrant him having to go to the hospital.

"Daichi!"

Sawamura looked up to see Yui running over to him as he sat in the back of the ambulance, the medic finishing up bandaging his shoulder. Her cheeks were streaked with tears and as she approached she reached out, gingerly touching his chest.

"I'm alright," he assured her, reaching up with his uninjured arm to cup her cheek and wipe away a tear with his thumb. "I'm alright, Yui. You don't need to cry."

"Futakuchi called. Said you had been shot. I was so scared." She hiccuped as more tears flowed.

"It's alright." He reached out, pulling her forward gently into a hug. "Stop crying sweetheart, I am okay. Just a bruise and a little scrape on my arm, nothing to get worked up about. Where is Tenshi?"

Yui pulled back, wiping away her tears and trying her best to keep control of her emotions and stay calm like her husband. "She is in the car with Suga. He brought us some treats that were left over from his class's party and I invited him to stay for dinner. He was there when I got the call."

"Hey, Daichi-san," Futakuchi called as he jogged over to them. "I just talked to the chief. He said to go home and that you can do your statement later."

"Are you sure?" Sawamura asked, standing up carefully, his wife fussing over him to make sure he was really alright.

"Yeah, just go on home. We've got this all under control, don't worry." He gave his partner a thumbs up and a wink before walking back over to the other officers now on the scene.

Yui put her hand on her husband's back, urging him to go with her to the car. "Come on, let's get you home. I don't care if the injuries were minor, you need to go home and rest, okay?"

Sawamura smiled at his wife lovingly. "Yes dear."

He allowed her to help him to the car where Sugawara was sitting in the backseat, entertaining Tenshi with a plastic keychain toy. His friend looked over at them as Sawamura slowly got into the front seat, his face was as full of concern as Yui's was but he didn't press the matter, he just seemed relieved to see his friend was okay.

Sugawara insisted to Yui that he would stay over and help out so that she could take care of her husband - despite said husband's many reminders that he was in fact alright and didn't really need to be tended to. He took care of cleaning up the remains of dinner, doing the dishes, and getting Tenshi ready for bed. Despite not needing the help, Sawamura was grateful for his friend's kindness and for allowing his wife to be able to feel at ease, so that she could fuss over him all she wanted.

Laying in bed, Sawamura looked down at Yui, who was now fast asleep next to him. He smiled and carefully leaned over, kissing her forehead. He truly did feel blessed for what he had. A beautiful, loving wife, a perfect little daughter, and friends that he could rely on when he needed them. He couldn't ask for anything more.

-san: the English equivalent is "Mr.", "Mrs." or "Ms.". This is a gender neutral word and is the most common honorific used.