Hey guy! So this is the last chapter of HVPD. There will be a more detalied A/N at the bottom for more information, so please read that!
Warning! This chapter contains mild violence and some intense scenes. Lots of angst and fluff. Please make sure you have the following with you before you decide to continue:
Box(es) of Tissues
Snacks (preferably ice cream or hot soup)
A pillow
Soundproof walls *optional*
Thank you, once again!
-kawaiijilli and KiPanda Cutie
-One Week Later-
~At the Hospital~
Leon could swear he saw Emil's lips curve into a smile as soon as they heard from the captain that Ivan was facing justice. An address of the Vrede en Liefde's next whereabouts had also been emailed from Lukas.
Be cautious, lillebror. Ivan said that this gang changes its hideouts often. This is the most recent address, but it's in a dangerous part of town. Apparently they are there to collect some supplies from an old drug dealer friend. The address is attached to this email.
Be safe,
Lukas.
P.S. Tell the captain about this. She's still confused. She's been busy writing fanfiction about you and Leon since last week.
Emil shut his phone off and sighed. "Captain Hédevéry is driving me insane..."
Leon, who had been sleeping, drowsily wrapped an IV-filled arm around him. "Morning," he yawned. "What about the Captain am I hearing about...?"
"Góðan daginn," Emil swept his lips upon Leon's thick brows and stroked his fingers into his dark hair. "How are you feeling?"
Leon groaned. "Better, I guess. My lips feel a little sore but my collar bone feels better."
"That's good to hear. As for your lip, the stitches the doctor sewed into them a couple days ago seem to have disappeared."
"So now that it's all better, are you going to give me a good morning kiss?" Leon smirked, and he sat up slowly. "If you do you'll make it feel even better~."
Emil rolled his eyes and silenced the rest of his lover's stupid remarks with a chaste kiss to his lips. "I have to get to work. I'll see you in a bit?"
"Aw, but Ice, can't I go with you?"
"Absolutely not. You haven't been released from the hospital yet."
As if on cue, Leon's assigned doctor came waltzing in, clutching a clipboard as well as pasting a small smile on his face. "I'm here to check up on the healing process of Mr. Wang's injuries."
The doctor carefully observed the recently healed skin on Leon's lip and his newly arranged collarbone. "I have great news! Seeing as the surgery was a success, and the stitches on his lip have been healed over, Mr. Wang can be discharged out of the hospital and can go back to his regular working routine. I just need him to sign some paperwork at the front desk and you both can be on your way!"
"What was that about not being released out of the hospital yet, Emmy?" Leon smirked as the doctor detached the IV tubes from his arms.
"Shut up."
~Later at the Police Station~
"You know that going on a mission for personal benefit is forbidden," Elizaveta frowned.
"But we have evidence, and it's also related to the case we just solved!" Emil cried out, exasperated. Explaining things to the Captain was harder than he had thought it to be.
"There are a plethora of more cases to be looked into," the Hungarian started, "and frankly, it seems that we don't have enough men that aren't occupied to send a force in with you."
"Then don't," Leon cut in. "We can take care of this ourselves. Besides, I'm sure Mathias and Lukas would be willing to take care of the other assignments that need to be taken care of."
"But it's dangerous! I wouldn't be able to stand it if two of the workers I'm particularly fond about in the force got hurt."
Emil sighed. "We aren't in the police force, we're just working as consultants for the HVPD."
"Which is exactly why I don't want to send you two boys out there! You, Emil, have experience out there as a police officer. You can defend yourself somewhat. The place you want to go to is a dangerous neighborhood; all the officers here loathe it, especially me. However, your lover here doesn't have any experience in the field, so of course he doesn't know how to defend himself."
"I know kung fu and my cousin is, like, teaching me Tae Kwon Do." Leon pointed out blankly. "And I can blow stuff up with firecrackers."
Elizaveta's frown grew deeper. "Well, it's still dangerous! You're already hurt-"
"-But I'm healed."
The Captain groaned and rubbed at her forehead warily. "Fine, I give. You two can go on a stakeout, then. Nothing more. There will be no kicking down doors and arresting. Not when you both are the only ones there. You two are to confirm if the gang's next location is correct or not, then you guys will leave without getting caught. That is my final decision."
Emil and Leon exchanged contemplating looks before turning back to their Captain. "We'll do it."
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"This place really is like one of those bad neighborhoods in the Jackie Chan films I watch..." Leon kicked away a broken beer bottle with the side of his foot.
"Shh! What do you think you're doing, idiot?!" Emil pulled them down behind a large SUV. "Stop being so loud or we'll get caught!"
"Cool it, Ice; they're not going to catch us. And even if they did, I would've-"
"Shh! They're here, they're here!" Emil eyed a vintage black Mercedes pulling into the closest alleyway near the hideout location. This really is dangerous. What if we never make it back...?
Two men stepped out, both bearing blonde hair, though one man's hair was styled up into flamboyantly high spikes while the other man's hair pooled at his shoulders in an extremely stylish fashion. They look pretty intimidating...
"Stay here near the car. I'll unload the pot." Spiky Guy gruffly mumbled.
"Oui. I'll notify the others of where we are so they can join us."
Emil sucked in his breath quietly. "That's them..." We both need to make it out of here. Alive.
"Do we have a name reading on them?" Leon asked, peeking his head just above the bumper of the SUV.
"Francis Bonnefoy is the guy with the long hair, and Daan is the guy with the spiky hair."
Leon leaned back against the passenger door. "Okay, well, we have the information we need now. I guess that means we should be heading back."
"Hell no!" Emil hissed. "I'm going to find out what exactly they're looking for, then we'll go back!" But what if I don't make it out alive?
"Wha-?! But Em, the Captain told us that-"
"I know what she said. But I'm too far in to hold back now." This was far too bold for a boy like Emil to say.
"I don't like this, Em."
Emil sighed. "I didn't want to do this, but..." He scooted closer to his lover, placing a hand on his chest. "Please...Hong. Let's stay here for awhile." He practically crooned the underused nickname as he brushed his nose upon the other's in an effort to persuade him.
Leon's heartbeat started to quicken upon hearing his nickname, and a hot flush rose to his face. "This isn't a good idea, Ice." Dammit, that's hot.
"...Hong...please..." Emil's face had flushed reasonably, embarrassed at his own actions, but too stubborn to quit.
It took all of his strength to resist. "No, Ice. We're going back to the station, let's go." Leon tugged at Emil's sleeve and attempted to crawl his way back to the car, but the latter stopped him and slapped his hand away, giving up on his efforts.
"No. You can go home or go back to headquarters. I'm not going to just give up right here."
Leon wrinkled his eyebrows in frustration. "Ice, it's dangerous here. You could get hurt."
"I have a gun."
"Do you know how to use it?"
Emil glared. "Of course I do! I was trained to use one, dumbass!"
Leon furrowed his eyebrows deeper. "I don't trust you. I'm staying."
Emil pushed at Leon's arms. "I don't need a protector; especially when that protector is you! I can handle myself just fine!"
"Nuh-uh, I don't think so. I'm staying." Leon proved his point further as he made himself comfortable on the ground. "Besides, maybe we can get some more juicy details about this little gang they have."
Thus ensued their eavesdropping on the two most dangerous members of the Vrede en Liefde.
"I've finished unloading," Daan stalked back to the car. "We need to unpack the fish now. Did you tell the others?"
Francis nodded. "Oui. They brought some dealers with them. They will be on their way to buy from us later. And, remind me again; why do we need the fish?"
"Second profit. Cash is king, after all." Daan grunted as he hauled a crate of fish over his shoulder.
"I understand that, monsieur. But how are we going to make much money off of, well, fish?"
The Dutch man scowled. "You will not put your nose in places where it shouldn't be. The process is top secret." Pickle the fish with salt...that will give me more money.
Francis trembled slightly in fear. "I-I see..." Damn, after all my years of working with him, he still scares the merde ((shit)) out of me. "I will finish unloading the rest of the fish. You can, ah, do whatever you need to do to get the fish ready." Daan gave a small grunt in approval and left.
As they continued to unload boxes of fish, one out of the two boys behind the nearby SUV were busy reporting their findings to the Captain.
"Mmhm, mmhm...Yeah, we found them." Leon mumbled through the phone quietly. "No, we aren't going back now."
"Shh! They'll hear us! For God's sake hush it a little, Leon!" Emil whispered furiously.
"Yes, yes, he's still here with me. We're going to find more information."
"Leon, if you don't quiet down this instant, I swear, I'll-" Emil yelled threateningly in a whisper.
"Hush it a bit, Em. I'm trying to report to the Captain." Leon murmured, his voice getting louder by the second. "Yeah, you can send back up whenever you'd like. Em wants to listen in a little more."
Emil yanked the phone from Leon's long fingers and shoved it up to his ear. "I'm dreadfully sorry, Captain, but if we make any obvious noise we'll get caught and I don't want that to happen, so goodbye!" He nearly pushed his finger through the cellphone in an effort to shut it down.
"You didn't have to act so rash, Ice. She and I were just finishing up the call."
The Icelander grabbed his lover by the shirt collar. "I don't think you understand how imperative it is that we stay quiet!" He nearly shouted.
"I wasn't being too loud, and besides, you're the one who was being too loud." Leon shot back, his gaze staring down at Emil's challengingly.
"Oh, really? I believe that you were the one that was kicking a can all the way here, and basically shouting information over the phone!" Emil argued, his focus only on the Asian idiot in front of him.
"And I thought you said we should be quiet, but here you are, making as much noise as you want."
"I am not!"
"Shhh, Ice."
"Don't 'shhh' me!"
But Leon ignored Emil's refute, clamping his hand over the other's mouth. "Shut up...I think someone's coming."
The quiet sound of designer dress shoes clapping against the rough road grew closer. "Qui est là? ((Who is there?))" The Frenchman asked, maneuvering himself around the car slowly.
Leon quickly slipped both himself and Emil under the SUV, slinking as far back as he could to the sidewalk. He could feel Emil's erratic breathing on the palm of his hand and he tried to soothe him by lacing his free hand with the latter's, and rubbed circles around the back of his hand with his thumb. He could feel Emil's poor Icelandic heart racing, being able to feel the beat on his thumbpad.
"Ice baby, you have to calm down a little, okay? If you keep breathing this quickly, that guy is going to find us." Leon whispered in Emil's ear quietly, and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "Just calm down..." Emil's breathing slowed to an easy pace, and Leon pressed his lips to the latter's head.
When the Frenchman's shoes had disappeared from their view, Leon uncovered his hand from Emil's mouth.
The Asian let out a breath he had been keeping in since he had been under the car. "Okay, I think he's gone. Let's g-"
Emil held the both of them in place. "There's been a question that's been nagging at my mind since we've gotten here."
"Okay, what is it?" Leon propped himself on his elbows just enough so his head was touching the bottom of the car.
"What if...what if we do get caught? What if we don't make it out of here?"
"We won't get caught. And we will make it."
"How can you just say that so easily, though?" Emil frowned. "There's always that slim chance that we're going to be in serious danger."
"We aren't, though."
The Icelander's frown deepened. "...I don't get you."
"But you love me anyway."
"Whatever. How can you just not think about the possible outcomes in this situation?"
Leon laid back down onto the pavement. "If you're so set on these horrible consequences, why did you resist me telling you to go back to headquarters when you had the chance?"
"Well, I was thinking about this before that too." Emil twisted his fingers around his lacy bow tie timidly.
"Then...why did you agree to this stakeout anyway? We could've asked Lukas and Mathias to help you out or something at a later date."
"I don't know! What if they move to a different hideout or something? This is the only chance we get at justice, and I don't want to back down."
Leon gripped Emil's arms tightly. "Listen, Ice. We'll find them either way. Let's just go back to headquarters so we can get backup with us next time. You'll get your justice, I know it."
Emil narrowed his eyes at first, then rolled his back down from Leon's firm stomach onto the pavement. "Fine. But, before we leave...Tell me something." When Leon had given him his full undivided attention, he took a deep breath. "What would you do if I didn't make it? What if those guys killed one of us?" Emil was reminded of that time so long ago, when his parents had been murdered right before his very own young eyes.
Leon affixed his gaze to purple orbs with his soft amber ones, then squeezed his hand morosely. "I don't know, Ice. I can't imagine that because you're still living, right in front of me."
"Just try imagine it, then. What would you do?"
"Hm...Well if you had been killed by those guys, I guess I'd kneel down to your dying body, I'd lift it into my arms, and I'd hold you for one last time." Leon gazed wistfully into the distance. "I would shower you with kisses, even if you couldn't feel them, and I'd make sure you weren't dirty or anything, then I would lie you down again...and bow to you three times."
Emil gave him a scrutinizing look. "Bow to me? I'm your boyfriend, not the king of the world."
Leon chuckled. "Actually, in my culture, when someone is deceased, we bow three times to them to show respect to them." His eyes took on the same wistful look as before."After I'd do that, I imagine I'd be so painfully heartbroken that I'd fall to my knees like one of Yong Soo's K-dramas and yell, "It should've been me!" Or something like that," he smirked.
"Stop joking. Life isn't a television show," Emil frowned.
"It is to me. So tell me, what would you do if I died?"
"Well...If you were the one dying, I would have told you how much you meant to me, even if you can't hear me. I would've told you, 'Ég elska þig,' and I would just hold you there, in my arms until nightfall. Then I'd take you back to the station, where I would call up your family, and we would mourn together."
Leon was silent for a moment as he drank in all of his Icelander's words. "...I...Em..." The surprise that had flashed upon his face quickly wiped itself away; instead a small smirk took its place. "What does 'Ég elska þig' mean?"
"It means 'I love you' in Icelandic." Emil fought the colour in his cheeks down.
Leon smiled. "How sweet of you, Ice. I would tell you what 'I love you' is in Cantonese, but writing it out is better. Wait-I have an idea.." He took out his cellphone and tapped his finger on a drawing app. "Here, give me your hand, Ice."
"HetaScribble? Are we in preschool, Leon?"
"Just give me your hand, Em." The latter did so reluctantly.
Leon slowly dragged Emil's index finger across the small screen, forming a series of intricate characters with each swipe.
"This is I. Ngóh." 我
"This character is Love. Ngoi." 愛
"This is weird, Leon." Emil stammered, his heart racing.
"And the last character means You. Néi." 你 "Got it?"
"I...I can't possibly remember all of those strokes! They're too complex!"
"You're just being doubtful of yourself, Em. If you really love someone, the characters should come naturally to you."
"You're a really hopeless romantic, aren't you?" Emil asked, covering up the small smile that had crept its way up his lips.
"Only when I'm with you, babe." Leon slid out from under the car, and helped Emil to his feet. "Let's go. I say we go back to headquarters and then get something to eat. How does that sound?"
Emil nodded. "Fine by me, as long as it's not fast food or anything too fancy."
"How's my place then? Kiku is bringing his Greek boyfriend over, so you can meet him." Leon's eyes seemed to shine excitedly as soon as he mentioned his Japanese half-brother's name. Must've cleared everything up with Kiku, then. That's good, Emil thought to himself.
But all of Emil's thoughts blanked as soon as what the Asian said sunk into his brain for processing. "Wait...you want me to share a meal...at your place?"
"What? You've done it before, haven't you?"
"Y-yes, but Im Yong Soo will be there..." And from the events that had occurred quite a while ago, Emil didn't want to be anywhere near the Korean chest-claimer.
Leon ruffled the latter's platinum locks with a small smile. "That's okay. When I bring you over and he finds out we're a solid item, he won't bother you anymore. That, or he'll bother you less."
"Wow, that reassured me tons, Leon."
"Hey, you! Who are you guys?!" A voice shouted from behind them.
Emil and Leon froze in place and turned around slowly. The guy looked quite shady, as there were glasses covering his eyes and his hair was swept over in a grand mohawk-pompadour. ((A/N: This is Molossia. We've seen him before in Chapter 3 when Emil has a flashback.)) He was holding a small suitcase of something, most likely drugs, and Emil had to choke back a squeak of surprise.
"I know him..." Emil whispered. "Lovino and I apprehended him on the day I got jumped by those two guys from the Vrede en Liefde. He must've been bailed out or escaped."
"Ay! I was talking to you, boys. Who are you?!" The guy with the shades asked a little more forcefully this time.
Leon took a deep breath and held Emil back in a protective stance. "Sorry, sir. We were just looking around town...when we ran into this place unintentionally. We were just trying to look for a place to eat, that's all."
"Maybe you should consider eating at our lovely joint, mon petits." A sly voice muttered very close to his ear.
"Wha-?!" Leon turned around quickly, and his eyes widened in horror when he saw the tall Dutchman holding Emil's arms down and pushing a cloth (most likely infused with drugs to pass one out) to his nose and mouth. "Ice!"
But before he could do anything, something hard and heavy crashed into his forehead, and Leon was out cold.
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Ah...Where...am I...?
Damn, my head hurts...
Where's Emil?!
The world was fuzzy and spinning as soon as Leon's eyes blinked open. It smelled nastily of drugs and alcohol, and surprisingly like quality French food. And fish. Leon's head and eyes adjusted slowly, and when his vision had cleared, he realized he was in some kind of abandoned store.
He also noticed that his hands and legs were tied up in a series of small and inescapable knots. The ground was cold, but surprisingly not covered with grime. Whoever took him to this place did a really good job of cleaning it up.
Leon explored as much of the area as he could with his eyes. There were booths that ran along the side of the room, and a large counter in the middle of the room, in which he was resting his back against. To his left, there was a small platinum haired boy, still apparently dozing from the drugs, his arms and legs tied up the same way as Leon's. He looked pale, more so than he usually was. And he was awfully still, his chest barely rising and falling in the motions of breathing. It scared Leon, to see Emil so fragile.
It scared him.
"Em...?" Leon inched his way over to his unconscious lover.
"...Nngh...My head feels...heavy..." Emil groaned and opened his eyes a fraction.
"You're alright, that's good." Leon smiled. "We're going to get out of here."
"How...?" Emil mumbled, putting up some effort in order to sit up from his position on the floor. "I don't think these knots are exactly...maneuverable."
"I'm going to help you up, okay? Then you pull me up and we hop out of here like idiots."
"That's not going to work."
"We won't know unless we try. Let's go, Ice. On a count of three, ready?"
Emil glared frustratingly but complied. "Fine..."
"One...
...Two...
...Thr-"
"I see you're awake. What do you two boys think you're doing?" Daan muttered, edging out of the shadowy room that was most likely a kitchen for this abandoned diner.
Leon and Emil said nothing, looking away from those piercing green eyes.
"If you won't talk, I will." Daan rumbled out. "But I guarantee you are not going to like what I am going to say.
"You see, Ivan Braginsky has been keeping tabs on you and your brother ever since your parents died. Your parents owe us money, money they were trying to obtain in hopes of raising you and your brother in a better lifestyle. However, they never finished paying us back."
"You killed them before they could ever pay you back," Emil pointed out sourly.
"It was necessary. They surpassed their deadline, betraying my trust. Now shut up. Your brother's father and your mother were both involved with us. That...Stielsson guy, however, was not. That being so, your brother is the one I'm more focused on. Thus, by kidnapping you, we can hold a ransom, as well as throw in the cost of all those loans your former parents forgot to pay off."
"Why are you doing this?" Emil asked; it was helpless of him, but the question flew from his lips in a flurry.
"Because cash is king."
Leon raised a thick eyebrow. "Y'know, if we weren't kidnapped and such right now, I'm pretty sure we'd be great friends."
"You're not helping, Leon!" Emil grit his teeth in irritation.
"I'm just saying..." Leon mumbled back.
Daan ignored the lovers' spat in front of him. "Anyway, I did not expect you to bring your soulmate here, and he is not part of our plans in any way. Therefore, I'll dispose of him."
Both boys' silenced themselves, eyes widened in horror at the taller man's words, and Leon started struggling in his bonds. The knots held his limbs down like a vice; escape was futile.
"Francis, hold him down. This will make the process much easier." Daan deadpanned.
The Frenchman stepped in from the kitchen and pushed Leon up against the side of the diner counter. He then proceeded to hold down the younger's struggling shoulders, as well as his squirming knees.
"Let me go! If you want money, fine! I'll pay it!" Leon cried out, his eyes blazing with hatred and fury.
Daan considered the offer, but shook his head. "No. We'll get a hefty ton already for the Stielsson boy's ransom, whether we sell him to some shady guy or his brother." He pulled out his revolver then, cold and black as midnight ice. "On second thought, Francis, let him go. I don't care where I hit as long as he's out of our hands." And the Frenchman complied.
"NO! STOP IT!" Emil screamed, watching every terrifying second with large and tear-puffed eyes. He desperately hoped for the clicking of a gun with empty bullets.
The gun gleamed with the foreboding of death and blood, the finger on the trigger promising of torn flesh and spilt crimson. It was a terrifying thing, surely, but the terrifying person wielding the gun was Emil's true fear, for he knew that he would pull the trigger and feel nothing of it.
"PLEASE! STOP IT THIS INSTANT!" Emil cried out once more, the creeping knowledge that Daan's finger on the erect trigger was not going to hold up any longer.
The conversation that he and Leon had earlier still rang in his mind, his own cloudy words pestering his mind now.
Well...If you were the one dying, I would have told you how much you meant to me, even if you can't hear me. I would've told you, 'Ég elska þig,' and I would just hold you there, in my arms until nightfall.
And by time he remembered, his tears had dried, the salty liquid unable to pour from his eyes and caress his cheeks. Instead he sat there, horrified and helpless to fate.
And then in all one simultaneous movement, the trigger was pulled, and the pointed bullet flew.
It was all a slow journey from Emil's eyes, he could see the tiny demon sprinting across the air and he could see the point where the bullet had made contact with its victim.
Emil made a noise between a strangled shriek and a choked back sob. "L...LEON!"
Leon didn't have time to comprehend the exact moment himself. He saw the bullet zooming towards him in the corner of his eye, but other than that the rest caught him by surprise. He didn't expect it to hit him with so much force, and he certainly didn't expect it to hurt so much, that is, before he was overwhelmed with such a numbing burn throughout his body it didn't seem to hurt anymore. The whole sensation took his breath away, sending it forth from his body, making him release a pained exhale. He could feel his stomach boiling, the blood in his throat spilling from his lips in thin streaks. His hearing caved in, his eyelids falling, reducing his vision to slits. Leon knew already that there was blood blossoming onto his crisp white-collared shirt, spreading into his black designer blazer as well.
"Release us from our bonds...I'll go willingly with you. Just let me say goodbye." Emil nearly whispered.
Francis, who had been watching the whole moment with a soft expression of sympathy on his face gave Emil a sad smile. "Well who can say no to that face? Ah, the dying thorns of romance are so heart wrenching to look upon." He pulled out a small pocketknife and tore through the tough bonds on both boys.
"I'll be waiting outside. The truck, enter it through the back when you're done. Don't betray my trust or I'll hand your brother your dead body after his payment. Francis, watch over them." And with that, Daan left.
It seemed like a stereotypical soap opera, and maybe it was, Emil was far past his delirium to comprehend. He inched closer to Leon, and the latter smiled.
"Looks like we won't be eating dinner at my place...I won't even see the old man again..."
"Leon...Leon..." Emil whispered again, and again, and again. "Leon..."
"Shh, Ice. You're not hurt are you?" Leon reached his arm out to let his spidery fingers run through Emil's hair shakily. "Damn, everything feels so heavy."
They forgot that Francis was watching them, they forgot that they were in an abandoned diner in a dangerous part of town.
"I'm okay...You're not." Emil frowned, earning a raspy chuckle from the other.
"Yeah, I kind of noticed. I really didn't want to end our relationship this way, I was kind of hoping it would be a 'it's not you, it's me' kind of thing."
"You were imagining us breaking up?!" Emil pulled away a little, pouting. "I honestly thought that we would stay together like Lukas and Mathias."
"Of course, of course," Leon nodded. "I just think too much."
Emil accepted that answer and started peeling away Leon's bloodstained clothes. "I want to see where the bullet hit you..."
If Leon's flesh wasn't cold sweat-covered or stained with congealing blood, Emil would say that his skin was very well-kept. It was a buttery oriental golden that only Leon could pull off. However, near the edge of his breastbone and shoulder blade his skin was grotesquely set in by the bullet; it was surprising how such a small hole produced so much loss in blood. If Emil squinted hard enough at the bullet hole, he could make out the hard bullet end, small puddles of blood forming there.
"Hey...Em?" Leon sounded extremely tired, and Emil just suddenly noticed how closed his eyes were. The liquid amber was barely visible, and dry blood colored his lips and part of his chin lavishly. "Your hair...is really white."
"Stop saying things like that, for crying out loud! I don't want you to die, so stop saying things like that!" Emil felt his tears returning.
Leon tugged on a thick strand of Emil's tresses. "Seriously, though. It's so...white."
"Leon..." Emil warned, pulling long fingers out of his hair and entwining them with his own.
"Make these last moments feel like one of those stereotypical dramas for me, Ice. C'mon..." Leon rasped out.
Emil narrowed his eyes. "You're not dying. You're not."
Leon smiled. "Of course not; I'm just going to sleep."
"Idiot!" Emil slapped Leon's forehead gently. "All of this blood loss is making you high."
"Come on...Please, Ice...Baby, please." Leon forced his heavy-as-lead eyes open, the syrupy orbs nearly fogged up.
"F-fine...But I don't know what to do..." Emil gave in grudgingly.
"For starters, you could kiss me." Leon suggested, waggling his eyebrows ever so slightly.
Emil's face fired up several shades of red, but he leaned in and nudged his lips against the latter's. He could taste the metallic saltiness of Leon's blood with every soft kiss, the sweetness of Leon himself, something between oriental spices and a honey-sweet that was specifically Leon's. He was going to miss this taste, this person that enveloped himself around his whole life. He was going to miss those liquidy and mischievous golden eyes that teased at him or were bathed with cold fury when aimed at an object of harm.
"Ég elska þig, L...Li Xiao." Emil whispered Leon's full name with a touch of his lips. This was the first time, the last time he would ever say it.
Leon froze for a minute, shocked that Emil had used his full name, the name only his closest family used. "Em...Emil...Ngóh...ngoi néi..."
Emil pulled away for air, with a small smile gracing his lips. "You know, I always imagined us getting married one day...I always pictured us with a nice house..." Emil laughed humorlessly. "What am I even saying...I...You mean so much to me, Hong. You're sweet, you understand, you listen, you reassure, you're my everything. I don't want to lose you, Leon. Please don't die...please...You're so important to me..." Emil noticed that Leon hadn't intervened at all, and he took a closer look at his lover's visage. Leon's eyes were cloudy, as if they were not quite focusing on something, lost in their own world. A new dribble of blood started dancing it's way down his lips, and Leon's wound had started spurting out fresh trails of thick blood. "...L-Leon...?"
No answer.
"Leon?" Emil asked more urgently this time, only to receive silence once again. His chest was still, skin cold to the touch. "N...n-no...NO LEON WAKE UP!" The world stopped, pausing to listen to his every mourning shriek. "Hong...Hong...why...Hong..." He repeated his nickname like a constant mantra, fat tears inching down his already tear stain-caked face.
Francis suddenly got the picture, and rushed to Emil's side. He tried to sooth the sobs that wracked through Emil's small frame, but his attempts were in vain. "Shh, Emil. It's alright, shhh..."
"What do you mean it's alright?! Damn it, it isn't! We only just started dating, and I wanted to-I saw our life together, and I-it can't just stop here! I can't live without him here! I need him!" Emil shook Leon's limp body. "Listen to me, Leon! Open your eyes! Listen to my voice! Can...can you hear me?!"
"Listen, Emil. You cannot stand here anymore. He's gone. You must go to the truck." Francis said, voice laced with deep guilt and empathy.
"N-no! You don't understand! I need him, I need him here with me alive! I need him! LEON! LE-" Emil's cries were cut short as he fell limp and unconscious from the anesthetic drugs he was injected with.
Francis removed the needled syringe from Emil's neck , sighing with deep remorse as he pushed the boy off of Leon's body. "I'm sorry. I deeply apologize for your loss."
He stood up and carried the drugged boy over his shoulder, praying the boy's soul be taken to a better place. "I know you cannot hear this, mon petit, but I used to have a young love as well...back when I was about your age. Her name was Joan, and she was the toughest girl I had ever met. She tried to get me away from the harsh gang life...She tried, but in the end she had gotten herself killed by them. Daan sent that Braginsky fellow after her, and he made sure her death was permanent. I can still see her pale ashes floating across the floor, the stake she was upheld to. The burning flames...I still remember how disgustingly orange and vivid they were. I wished her soul to a better place, one in which she would be protected from the harms of the world. I wish your lover the same as well, or at least may his fate be cleared of any harm or an early end."
...
"...'m...i...l..." The nearly dead body choked out suddenly.
"Sacrebleu!" Francis yelped out, and scurried over to Leon's body.
Leon didn't speak again, but his chest rose and fell slightly. The Frenchman reach out and pressed his hand against the boy's chest.
Bum...
...Ba-dum...
...
...Ba-dum...
...
...
...Bum...
It was a slow heart, one that was ready to give up its fight. Miraculous, really; but what was he to expect? Young love was a gift from God. Quickly, Francis tore apart Leon's white shirt into long stripes and knotted the ends together. It wasn't as designer as his blazer, so it wouldn't be as expensive to replace the shirt.
The Frenchman knew he shouldn't be healing someone that his leader had left for dead, but the sorry sight of the boy's significant other (as much as he wanted to woo the boy as his) was much too much to bear stop his shoulders. Francis carefully wrapped the makeshift shirt bandage around the wounded boy's torso, tucking the two main ends over and under the wounded shoulder.
"Ah, just like making a designer dress," Francis muttered to himself.
Francis Bonnefoy; loyal gang member to the Vrede en Liefde, as well as a talented model and designer for Karpusi Co. Bonnefoy is also a very talented chef, as his one dream is to make his own bakery in the hub area of Hetaliaville.
"...There, the bleeding should be temporarily stopped. I'm afraid that is all I am capable of doing, mon ami...But wait a moment!" He pulled out Emil's cellphone from the sleeping boy's pockets and searched up the police headquarters' main phone.
"'Allo? This is Francis Bonnefoy. I am here to report a wounded officer that is unable to answer at the moment."
"Hello? This is Captain Hédevéry speaking. Wait...Francis?! Is that you?!"
"Oui, mon cher. But there is no time for pleasant words or frying pans, my friend. One of your officers, Leon, I presume, is on the brink of death. He was shot by-I mean, he appears to have been shot down. I ran into this young man in this condition downtown on my way from work and he looks deathly. Elizaveta, can you hear me? Eli-"
"I hear you Francis!" The Captain shrieked through the phone. "What I'm confused about is why you're using Emil's cellphone. Emil and Leon are consultants working here, and-Oh God! Leon! I'll send my officers there right away!"
"Oui, I see, I see! Emil must've dropped his cell here, so I looked through its contents for a phone number to call, but I've seen no sign of the boy!" It was kind of a lie, Francis had to admit. But there was no time to comprehend the weight of his actions.
"Okay, we will speak later! Goodbye, Francis!" And Eliza hung up.
Francis pocketed the phone back in Emil's pockets and lugged him over his shoulder again. "I pray for your good health and full recovery, Leon. Come now, Emil, it's time for our journey."
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"I always imagined us married one day...
...I always pictured us with a nice house..."
White blinded his eyes before fading into a thousand bright colors, morphing into some kind of scene. Leon found himself staring at Emil, who had looped his arms around his neck. They were standing before a bright white altar, Emil wearing a clean white vest and matching collared shirt. It was surreal, it surely had to be.
"I love you, Leon. I always have." Emil whispered, his face twisting into a smile he looked positively radiant in. He leaned his lips forward, almost as if to kiss him.
"I love you too, Em. You're my one and-"
"I love you, Leon. I always have." Emil repeated, this time his voice sounded hoarse and his eyes were full of shining tears. His arms were no longer looped around the others neck. Instead, his white hair was matted with sweat and his hands were clutching at his abdomen. Crimson splotches bloomed and melted through his fingers from his stomach, staining the floor below him and his clothes.
"Emil?!" Leon couldn't move, he couldn't reach out and hold his other.
Emil crumpled to the ground, his eyes barely open. "Save me, Hong." Blood splashed onto his beautiful porcelain face, and he reached out to Leon with weak fingers.
"Save me."
"EMIL!"
...
The scene morphed again, and in Emil's place lay his mother and father. They were unmoving, still. Vibrant flowers rested upon their chests, wrists and head. The same condition from when a very young Leon spent their anniversary with them before their death.
"Bàba..." ((Cantonese and Mandarin for Father)) "Māma..." ((Cantonese and Mandarin for Mother)) Leon ran his fingers through his mother's silky dark brown locks slowly.
It had been years since their passing away. Leon remembered, he always did. It was why Yao was so overprotective, it was why he had all of this family surrounding him. His parents had died on their anniversary. Yao was barely fifteen, Leon almost six, and they still lived in China back then. Māma and Bàba decided to take them to the harbor, the skies clear and sparkling blue like the water. That day, they had gone shopping at the bakery, buying rose petal covered fruit tarts and drinking the sweetest lychee bubble teas. Māma and Bàba held hands and shared kisses, to much of Yao and Leon's dismay. As they returned home, they planned to prepare for supper together and make dim sum for dinner. However, they had no idea that one of their neighbor's houses caught fire, bringing the other houses around it into flames.
"Māma, what's that smell? Did you burn the food?" Leon had innocently asked, the whole family unaware of the fire burning next door.
His mother ceased her stirring of her pan of mapo tofu. "Hm? No, Li Xiao. I haven't burned anything. But now that you say it..." She sniffed the air. "Something is burning, Li Xiao. You didn't set off any of the firecrackers for the New Year ((Chinese New Year)) did you?"
"No, Māma. Do you want me to see?"
His mother had shaken her head. "No, I will. Stay here, children."
He remembered how Yao and him sat in the couch, his older brother helping him tie his long hair into an elegant ponytail. His mother returned back, face pale in fear as she slumped down and whispered that a fire had burnt their neighbors' houses, and that she had seen a charred burnt body of their close neighbor lying on the ground.
"We need to leave, come boys. I am going to tell Bàba. Yao, stay with Li Xiao." She pulled out two slips of paper from the small silk purse she would always carry. "I was going to wait until dinner to show you, but it cannot be helped now. There isn't much time. These are tickets for a boat ride to Hong Kong. Bàba and I were going to take you there for a small visit over the weekend, but this is going to be a permanent trip now. I have my ticket and Bàba's. You two take a head start to the harbor and Bàba and I will catch up."
Yao frowned. "Why do we have to go first? Why can't we all go together, aru?"
Māma smiled. "Bàba and I want our children to be safe, and we need to pack a few things before we leave."
"But you said we didn't have much time!" Yao's frown grew deeper.
"It will just be a couple things that are important to us." She pushed the brothers out the door. "Now go! Stay together!" And she left to inform their father.
As soon as Yao and Leon were almost out of their neighborhood, they could hear their parents running to catch up.
"Yao! Li Xiao! We're coming!" Bàba yelled out. "Stay where you are!"
Yao and little Leon froze in place, patiently waiting, that is, until they saw one of the support beams from one of the burning houses collapse, toppling over straight towards their parents.
"BÀBA! MĀMA!" Leon screamed, "WATCH OUT!"
Had Leon's screams been a second sooner, they would've stopped where they were and avoided the flaming beam.
It hit Bàba first, the scorching flames licking up at his exposed skin and burning it to a dark crisp.
Leon shrieked at the top of his lungs, watching in complete horror as his father became an ashy corpse in flame. He cried and screamed, reaching his free hand that wasn't holding Yao's towards his parents, but the distance between them was too far.
Before the fire enveloped Màma, Yao decided that it be time to move again, forcing Leon to look straight ahead without turning back again. He could tell that Yao was crying too, but Leon was too traumatized to tell. When he had awoken from his shock, he found himself halfway from China, headed towards Hong Kong on the boat his mother had informed him about.
And here Leon was now, probably dreaming, most likely dreaming. He was sure this was a before-death dream, and he would find himself among the heavens with his parents and heaps of money from all those times he performed his cultural funeral rituals and burnt paper money. He was sure that was going to happen. The bright white lights dotted his vision again, and suddenly overwhelmingly black darkness engulfed him into a dreamless rest.
...
Am I dead...?
~A Half Hour Later~
"The Captain said we should look in this location," Lukas muttered quietly. "The same place that gang is located in."
"Are you sure, James Bondedick?" Lovino asked, but his name calling was more halfheartedly, a certain softness edging up to his voice. Lovino was worried for those two weird bastards...he was worried.
"Hej! Luke! Lovino! I think we found 'im!" Mathias called out from an abandoned diner.
Elizaveta had sent Lovino, Antonio, Lukas, and Mathias downtown to look for Leon and Emil. She also notified the fire department and ambulance, those of which were staying a couple meters behind with Antonio.
"Is that really him, Anko? Is it Emil? Leon?" Lukas followed his fiancé, Lovino trailing behind.
The three officers were taken aback when they found the body laying there on the diner floor, a puddle of dried blood under him. The bandages around him were nearly soaked through, leaving a fresh rotting stench that was specifically of the moist blood-drenched bandages. His hair was dripping with cold sweat like his skin, and his body seemed limp and weak.
"Oh my fucking God...it's Leon..." Mathias murmured.
"Ch-Ch-Chigi...is he dead...?" Lovino squeaked, eyeing Leon's body with disgust and horror.
Lukas knelt down beside the Asian and rested his head upon the boy's chest and pushed two fingers up to his mouth. The smallest puff of air was released onto Lukas' fingertips, as well as a faint beat from his heart. "He's alive, just barely. The bandages just saved him. Without them, he would've been dead before we got here."
"Okay." Lovino nodded before yelling out. "WE'VE GOT A CONSULTANT THAT NEEDS MEDICAL ASSISTANCE! HE SUFFERS A GUNSHOT TO THE LEFT BREASTBONE. GET A FUCKING STRETCHER OVER HERE STAT!" He narrowed his eyes at Antonio, who was helping the medical team get their equipment out. "Oi, tomato bastard! Get your ass over here! We're gonna need help to lift him up, bastardo!"
Antonio immediately came to Lovino's aid and hoisted Leon's legs over his shoulders gently. "Lovi, mi querido, will you carry his wounded shoulder? And Lukas can get his other shoulder. Mr. Tough Danish Man can lift the boy's stomach so his body doesn't collapse." The officers followed in suit, slowly moving their way to the stretcher that the medics had laid outside the diner.
"Bring him to the hospital. It doesn't seem like Emil was here, he must've gone somewhere," Lukas quietly told his fellow officers.
Just where are you, lillebror?
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"...Gun...
fatal...
...critical..."
...Who's speaking...? Where am I?
"...Much blood...
...Bandages...him..."
My limbs feel heavy...
Why do I feel so...sleepy?
"He's...stable condition. He'll need...to recover..."
I need to wake up...
...
Leon's eyes fluttered open, pupils narrowing from the sudden burst of white that bombarded his vision.
White walls, white curtains, white bed. An IV sac was dripping medicine into his arm through a narrow tube that was attached to his arm. He could hear the acute 'beep beep' of the heart monitor. The only colorful objects he could see were people. People that were looking at him. There was a blonde man with a silver cross clip in his hair, a man with sunshine-like blonde hair swept up wildly, and...
...Oh. A crowd of people that all looked like him-Asian.
Lukas. Mathias. And...his family.
"What are you all doing here...?" Leon croaked.
Yao was the first one to pipe up. "What do you mean?! We were worried about you, aru! When this nice young man with the girly hair clip said that you were in the hospital suffering major injuries, we all came to check up on you! For the last three days all you've been doing is sleeping and undergoing dangerous surgery, aru!" He held his younger brother's hand tightly. "Are you feeling better, Li Xiao?"
Leon nodded slowly. "Yeah. Everything feels heavy..."
Mei Lin hugged Leon's feet lovingly. "Aw, that's great to hear, Xiao! Take all the time you need to get better!"
Kiku placed a small Chinese baozi on his bedside, completed with a plastic cup containing his special blend of chrysanthemum tea. "I wish you a full recovery, Li-kun. This herbal tea will help your body heal faster." Ah, superstitions.
Leon waited on as the rest of his large family showered him with gifts, even Yong Soo and, surprisingly, Pochi, Kiku's dog. Although, all the pooch had to offer was a slobbery lick to his face. Yong Soo offered a coupon to his nightclub, that of which Leon quickly disposed of after.
When all of his relatives had left, Lukas decided to speak.
"We come here to ask you a couple of questions, Leon." Lukas deadpanned softly. "Try to remember best as you can."
Leon nodded and took a small sip of Kiku's tea.
"Where is my brother?"
End of HVPD: You're Under My Arrest Now
So that was the last chapter of HVPD! Don't worry though, we're working on a book 2 at this moment! Book 2 should hopefully be out around early August. Until then we have other works that should be out soon, like a HongIce oneshot, and I'm working on a Spamano that would be out soon. We hope you guys enjoyed reading!
We both enjoy feedback, please review!
~ KawaiiJilli + KiPanda Cutie ~