Reborn arrives at his apartment with Skull behind him, only to find Alicia dead on his living room floor and Fon sitting at the dining table sipping tea.

Fon places the tea cup down and stands.

Reborn immediately shoves Skull back towards the door, and the stuntman moves away quickly but doesn't go far. Skull doesn't want to leave Reborn alone, but he is also very aware of how bad he is at fighting. He stays away in order to not get in Reborn's line of fire or become a hostage but gets ready to be a distraction if Fon becomes too much.

"Maybe we should sit down and-" Reborn grunts, both hands catching an uppercut to his sternum. "Fon, stop, talk to me."

Reborn reaches for his gun but Fon is already too close. The martial artists grabs Reborn's arm and scarlet fire licks down the hitman's sleeve, the gun dissolving under his fingers. Reborn wrenches his arm away and dives for the kitchen island, the drawer where he keeps the knives.

Skull thinks about calling Colonnello but the blond is on a COMSUBIN mission today and too far away. Skull starts to call one of his friends in Interpol.

Reborn darts across the tiles between the stove and the island, curling his fingers around the drawer handle, but Fon is already pressing up against his back. Reborn throws an elbow and Fon catches the arm, spinning him around. They step away from the drawers together and Reborn's knee comes up.

Fon twists, avoiding it even in the small space, and Reborn steps just a little too wide after pulling back, his stance more open than he intended.

Fon redirects a punch with a raised forearm, grabs a fistful of Reborn's shirt and tie with the other hand and pitches forward. Reborn is slammed backwards, down onto the granite counter top of the kitchen island.

It sounds like a muffled thump of something hollow cracking open. Reborn goes limp and his eyes slide off Fon, losing focus.

Fon's expression abruptly blanks with shock, having expected more resistance to the push. He makes an aborted movement to jerk his hand back, but logic kicks in and he gently feels for a pulse instead while his other hand comes up to support Reborn's head.

There's a pulse and even breathing.

The hitman blinks, slow.

Fon lets out a stuttering exhale. "Reborn-"

A phone hits Fon in the shoulder, swiftly followed by Skull's entire body. They both hit the floor and Reborn groans weakly from being jerked around when Fon's hands left him.

It takes a while for Reborn to realise he's not dead. His Sun flames are already scrambling around but he calms them and makes the healing more efficient, which in turn clears up his scattered thoughts into something more linear. Nothing is broken, just … fractured in places. That's fine, he's kind of sure he can fix this.

Reborn musters up the concentration to send soothing petting motions through the bond to a distressed Colonnello because everything is under control, no need for backup, enjoy your day, yes I will call you later tonight.

Reborn can't really see or hear anything right now, it's a little bit hard to focus with the headache going on, but he does notice when the other two get closer again.

Skull takes a fist and an elbow to the face and chest, then a knee to his stomach, throwing him back through the space between the stove and where Reborn lies on the island counter. Skull's hands grasp at the stove top as he falls, ripping off the heavy metal grating. He hits the ground and rolls back over his shoulder to his feet, hurling the now Cloud-propagated spiky metal at Fon, who slides out of the way.

Fon steps forward into a high kick and Skull raises an arm reflectively, managing to take it against his shoulder thanks to a quick turn. He's still thrown sideways, hip jarring against the edge of the counter. He catches himself on the stove top and turns a knob on the side, blue fire sparking to life.

Skull's gloved hand slaps down on the fire and it explodes in hues of sharp blue streaks and violet swirls. Fon flinches back, feeling the dry heat gush past like a blastwave. The fire blooms against Skull's chest, vicious in its hunger, racing up his arms and around his back, turning almost invisible where it touches him but edged in sharp red, orange and Cloud-purple. It also spreads across the counter, licking up the splashback and jumping to the wooden cupboards either side.

Skull pushes off the stove and turns to Fon, all scorching heat and wild eyes.

Fon pitches forward and tries to take Reborn away from the danger but Skull lunges and Fon scrambles back from the stuntman on fire, retreating into the wider space between the adjoined kitchen and lounge room.

Reborn sighs.

He continues to lie there for a while but does eventually get up and off the counter. He slides to the cold tiles and lands on his hands and knees. Reborn thinks, but it's really hard to think, so instead he just crawls on the floor to the cupboard beside the stove. He sits back on his calves and opens the double doors, avoiding the parts currently on fire, and pulls out the small fire extinguisher tucked into the very back of the lowest shelf.

Reborn pulls out the pin and sprays the bits he can get while sitting on the floor. He hugs the fire extinguisher to his chest and waits until the room stops spinning, then uses the cupboard shelves to help him stand up.

Reborn putters around the kitchen, putting out the fire and turning off the stove. He rests against the wall for a little bit and then stumbles around the island and up to Skull and Fon who are wrestling on the ground.

Fon is sitting on top of Skull, doing a really good job of beating the shit out of the stuntman. Skull is clinging to keep Fon on the ground and isn't letting go anytime soon.

Fon is technically winning, but also he's on fire, his clothes torn and blackened and skin already visibly blistering with the heat. Skull is technically losing, but also he's distracting and hurting Fon which seems to be the intention.

Reborn sprays them both with the fire extinguisher and then rams the base of the metal canister into Fon's head. Skull rolls the stunned martial artist off him and bounces to his feet like he doesn't have a punctured lung and several fractures in his foot - among other, lesser injuries.

Skull takes Reborn by the upper arms and guides him backwards into a chair at the dining table. Skull then borrows the fire extinguisher and charges Fon, only to be tripped and have his head stomped on.

Reborn pats the nice darkwood table and waits expectantly. Nothing happens so instead he has to lean for it and pinch the edge of the stacked placemats, dragging them and the nice wooden box on top over to him. He opens the box and starts taking out coasters and the matching salt and pepper shakers. Reborn pushes down on one side of the base and the other levers up, allowing him access to the compartment underneath.

Fon slaps Skull back to the ground and looks to the hitman when he hears the distinct click of a gun loading.

Reborn puts two bullets into Fon's legs and then one into the man's stomach since Reborn feels like Fon deserves it. He also lays the gun down and rests his head on his folded arms because everything is too bright and Reborn wants to throw up.

Skull rolls to his feet and stands over Fon for a bit but the martial artist has abruptly become obedient, arranging himself neatly on the ground and bleeding out as he stares up at the ceiling, appearing to contemplate something.

Skull goes to sit down next to Reborn instead. He grips the edge of the table with his burnt gloves. "Um, are you better now?"

"Nah really," Reborn slurs.

"Are you gonna die?" the Cloud asks quietly.

"I hope so."

Skull looks away.

Reborn sighs and sits up. "Don't cry, idiot. Holy shit, who sets themselves on fire?"

Fon pipes up with a little; "It was an interesting tactic."

"You," Reborn declares, pointing a finger at the Storm. "You shut up and die faster."

Skull sheepishly raises a hand and waits for Reborn to look at him. "My suit is flame retardant and I thought he would run away from me, but he kept trying to grab you so we did end up fighting again."

Fon offer up a soft, encouraging smile to the Cloud. "I would have normally tried to get some distance between us, in which case your tactic would have worked. Unfortunately, I was worried about Reborn being left so close to the fire."

"Yeeeeah," Skull drags out. "I didn't really think about that part until after I did it."

Reborn lies down on the table again. "I miss Colonnello."

Fon bares his teeth before suppressing it down to a close-lipped smile. "Is that the weak, pathetic Storm you tried to replace me with?"

"Fuck you," Reborn deadpans into the table, too tired to put much emotion into it. "You know what? I'm going to find a damn Storm Guardian just to spite you, you psychotic asshole."

Skull looks between them in shock. "That's what this is about? You attacked Reborn because Alicia wanted to get in his pants?!"

Fon blinks and his smile turns serene once more. "Oh. It seems I have yet again made a small error in my judgement-"

"Die faster!"


.

A/N: Don't look at me, Skull did that on his own.