"Nowaki! Nowaki! Wake up!" Hiroki hissed, shaking his fiancé's broad shoulder later that night, at around one in the morning. Nowaki stirred in the darkness, groaning.

"What'sit, Hiro-san? Is somethin' wrong? You hungry?" Nowaki slurred in a gravelly voice.

"There's a weird noise coming from the front door," Hiroki whispered fearfully. Nowaki's head immediately shot up and his hand grasped the sheets, ready to jump out of the bed.

The noise that had roused Hiroki sounded again: a purposeful tapping on the door, followed by a low pounding. Nowaki went to the edge of the bed and he clicked on the bedside lamp. Hiroki clutched Nowaki's arm, trembling with fright.

"Stay here, Hiro-san," Nowaki instructed gently, prying Hiroki off of him and standing. Draping the covers over his little fiancé's shivering body, he patted Hiroki's head comfortingly. Hiroki couldn't calm down, though, as Nowaki grabbed the heavy-duty, metal flashlight from the bedside table. "Go back to sleep, it's probably just a drunk neighbor."

Nowaki slipped into a pair of sweatpants before sweeping from the room and padding softly down the hall. Hiroki sat up in bed, his hand automatically resting on his baby bump in a protective, comforting manner as the baby fluttered questioningly.

When he didn't hear the front door open, Hiroki slid out of bed, dragging the oversized quilt with him. He wrapped it defensively around his shoulders as he tip-toed into the hall. Nowaki stood still in front of the door, and as Hiroki approached, he noticed his big, strong fiancé was shaking.

"Nowaki?" Hiroki whispered. Nowaki jumped and looked over his shoulder.

"Go back to bed. Please, Hiro-san," Nowaki hissed, his eyes flashing with fear in the dim moonlight that soaked in from the window above the door. The tapping and pounding began again, just outside the door. Hiroki squeaked and rushed to Nowaki, clinging to him. Nowaki held him as he furrowed his eyebrows at the peephole.

"What is it?' Hiroki asked, his voice wavering with fear. He shakily moved out of Nowaki's grasp, brushing away Nowaki's hand as he tried to stop Hiroki. Hiroki peered through the peephole.

Just outside the door were two masked figures with papers and nails in their hands. One held a hammer, and was holding something up to the door. The other had what looked like a gun in his hand, and Hiroki backed away, his heart racing.

"What are they doing?" Hiroki asked frantically, as if expecting Nowaki to know the answer. Nowaki shook his head in the near-darkness.

"I don't know. Go get the phone and call the police, Hiro-san. Then go straight to bathroom and lock the door behind you. Don't open the door unless I tell you that it's me," Nowaki instructed firmly. Hiroki whimpered, jolting as the hammering on the door began again.

"What about you?" Hiroki asked.

"Do as I say," Nowaki snapped. He shooed Hiroki down the hall and away from the door. Hiroki scrambled for the kitchen, where he picked up the phone and shakily punched in the three dreaded numbers he had hoped we would never have to call.

"This is the-"

"I need you to come right away!" Hiroki exclaimed in a whisper, not caring that he sounded like a child. He glanced over his shoulder as he heard the door to the apartment slam open.

"Calm down, sir. What is your emergency?"

"There's two men outside our apartment, and-" Hiroki's voice was cut off as the sound of rapid gunfire sounded throughout the house. Hiroki screamed and fell to his knees in terror. The baby kicked Hiroki hard, seeming to sense its mother's fright. "They have guns!"

"Sir, please don't panic. Get as low as you can and go to a secure area of your home immediately. Stay on the phone with me, and tell me when you're in a safe place," the female voice said sternly. Hiroki blindly scrambled towards the bathroom. Another round of shots rang in Hiroki's ears, and he flopped onto his side and covered his ears. Over the shouts of unfamiliar voices, Hiroki could hear the incoherent roaring of Nowaki, his usually soft and kind voice positively ear-shattering as it echoed throughout the apartment.

Hiroki got up and threw himself into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him as he sobbed. The baby was bouncing frantically, silently asking its mother what was going on. Hiroki coiled one arm around his belly, squeezing his body between the toilet and the shower. He clutched the phone to his ear as if it was his final lifeline.

"I'm in m-my b-b-bathroom, b-but m-m-m-my fiancé is st-still out there!" Hiroki choked, desperately straining his ears as he listened to the shouting resound all through the house.

"Okay, just give us your address and we'll be there as soon as we can."

Hiroki sputtered the address to the apartment, having to repeat it several times due to the violent tremble in his voice. He wept quietly in fear of the intruders finding him, and he hugged his knees to himself as he silently prayed for Nowaki's safety.

"Sir, I'm going to stay on the phone with you until the police arrive. You need to calm down as much as you can, please. What's your name, sir?"

"K-K-Kamijou Hiroki," Hiroki whispered in a shaking voice.

"Okay, Kamijou-san. Nice to meet you, I'm Hiroshi Emiko, but you can call me Miko-chan for short, okay?"

"O-O-Okay," Hiroki sniffled.

"What's your fiancé's name, Kamijou-san?"

Hiroki was about to answer when another gunshot exploded throughout the house and Nowaki's voice roared in agony.

"NOWAKI!" Hiroki screeched, throwing himself forward and dropping the phone in the process. He was about to shoot to his feet, but the baby kicked again. Torn between protecting his baby and protecting Nowaki, Hiroki cried out. He curled up on the floor, covering his ears and crying.

Suddenly, the door began to violently rattle, and Hiroki fell silent and slapped his hands over his mouth. He couldn't suppress a shriek as the door flew open and a figure knelt down and grabbed Hiroki's shoulder.

"NO!" Hiroki screamed, lashing out with all of the energy he had. There was a hiss of pain, and without warning, a flashlight shone in Hiroki's face.

"Hiro-san!" Nowaki exclaimed, his face illuminated by the glow of the flashlight. A trail of blood ran down his cheek where Hiroki had viciously scratched him. Hiroki burst into fresh tears and flew into Nowaki's arms, earning a grunt from the rather shaken-looking man. Somewhere in the distance, police sirens wailed, and the sounds of frightened voices from the other tenants of the apartment building grew louder and louder as they emerged from the safety of their homes.

"Nowaki, I was s-s-s-so scared," Hiroki said, his body quivering with fear. As the adrenaline fought to escape his body, his teeth began to chatter and his trembling became so violent that his limbs grew numb.

"Everything's okay, Hiro-san. They're gone," Nowaki said soothingly. Hiroki's eyebrows furrowed as he sensed the strain in his fiancé's voice. He glanced down, spotting something dark. He sat up abruptly, and before Nowaki could stop him, he grabbed the flashlight and pointed it down onto Nowaki's leg.

His right thigh was soaked with blood, and there was a hole in his sweatpants where the red ooze bubbled endlessly from the wound. Hiroki let out a strangled sound from the back of his throat.

"N-N-N-N-Nowaki, your l-leg!" he cried, choking on a sob as he hovered his hand over the gushing bullet wound, not knowing what to do.

"Hiro-san, it's fine," Nowaki hissed. Hiroki pointed the flashlight up to see Nowaki's face, which was contorted and pale. Perspiration ran down his forehead and his teeth were bared in pain as he doubled over and leaned into Hiroki. Hiroki shook his shoulders.

"Nowaki, Nowaki!" he begged breathlessly. Nowaki stirred slightly in his arms and gazed up at Hiroki, resting a sweaty cheek against his baby bump.

"I'm fine, really. Trust me, I'm a doctor. Don't be scared, Hiro-san. I'm going to pull out of this just fine," Nowaki said reassuringly, his voice gravelly with anguish. Hiroki wept, cradling Nowaki against his body and lowering his head to press his lips to his fiancé's hairline.

"You're so stupid for doing that. You could've been killed, you asshole. What were you thinking, going up against two armed men all by yourself like that?" Hiroki whispered. Nowaki grinned up at Hiroki as his little fiancé's tears plopped onto his face to mix with the salty sweat.

"I had to protect you and the baby," Nowaki said softly, his eyelids slowly lowering as his eyes glazed over and his breathing became labored. "I… told you I'd… give up my life… if it meant… keeping you safe."

Hiroki blubbered as he clutched Nowaki to him, hunching over his fiancé's limp form. The baby kicked against the side of Nowaki's head, and he smiled dazedly, nuzzling into Hiroki's baby bump.

"Hi baby. Don't be… afraid, Daddy's right… here. Daddy is… going to be… okay," Nowaki murmured between raspy breaths, pressing feeble lips to Hiroki's belly. The baby fluttered in response, the outline of its tiny foot pushing against Nowaki's cheek.

"Nowaki," Hiroki choked, baring his teeth as more tears squeezed out of his tightly shut eyes.

"Don't cry… Hiro-san. I told… you, I'm… going to be… okay…" Nowaki said. His shallow breathing sped up for a moment, then dwindled with a light sigh as he lost consciousness.