all you have is your fire

one

The alarm bell blared angrily above him, and Stiles Stilinski grimaced, shrugging into his uniform jacket. Why did the alarm have to be so loud, especially in this small locker room that only amplified the already harsh tone? He could easily hear it from anywhere in the station, even from outside.

It was pointless.

Trying to think past the constant attack on his eardrums, Stiles scanned the locker room for his EMS bag. It wasn't in the usual cubicle with his name on it, which could only mean one thing.

"Liam!" He screamed over the growing din of the alarm. "Where did you put my med bag?"

"What the..." A young, almost babyish face peered around the corner into the locker room, blue eyes wide in disbelief. "Why are you asking me?"

Stiles rolled his eyes as he frantically searched the other cubbies. "Because you borrowed my stethoscope last week. And my blood pressure cuff the week before that. And just yesterday I caught you sneaking bandages."

"And I appreciate you for loaning them to me." Liam stepped inside and wrapped an arm around Stiles' shoulder, guiding him towards the hallway. "But dude, I swear it wasn't me this time. Have you asked-"

"Scott!" Lydia dashed down the hall. "Scott, I swear, if you have my med bag again..."

Stiles glanced over his shoulder at Liam, sharing a knowing glance before they both stepped out of the room and followed Lydia down the hall. "Sorry, man."

"'S ok." Liam shrugged his shoulders as they made their way to the ambulance bay, the alarm growing louder by the second. "You can use my bag for this one. I'm driving."

"Scuse me." Isaac squeezed past them, pulling his red suspenders up over his shoulders, then chugging the last of his energy drink. "Coming through!"

Stiles stepped to the side, knowing that where one firefighter was, more were sure to follow. As if on cue, Boyd and Erica dashed down the hall, racing each other like children. A long pause followed and Stiles counted in his head - Isaac, Boyd, Erica... weren't there always four firefighters that responded to each call? Against his better judgment, Stiles turned to see if anyone else was coming, only to be met by a brick wall.

A six foot brick wall to be exact - with broad shoulders and dirty black hair peeking from under a ridiculous bright red beanie that almost seemed to small for their head.

"What the..." Stiles fell backwards, landing with a thud on the concrete floor. The man glanced at him for a moment with striking green eyes, then stepped over him and continued down the hallway.

"Oops, my bad!" The man gave a clumsy mock-salute. "Gotta go save some lives!"
"What a jerk." Liam held out his hand, echoing Stiles' sentiment as he helped Stiles to his feet.

Stiles rubbed his hip, glancing in the direction the man had gone. "Yeah, who was that? I don't remember seeing him around here before."

"Some newb." Liam rolled his eyes as they both started down the hallway to the ambulance bay. "Fresh from the academy, huge hero complex. Heard he had the highest CPAT score, which isn't surprising, considering he used to be a-"

"Let me guess," Stiles sighed. "He used to be a football player?"

"Wait, yeah." Liam paused next to him. "How did you know?"

"Lucky guess," Stiles gritted through his teeth. "Wait... you said he's new, right?"

"Um... yeah." Liam swallowed as he fell into step beside Stiles, biting his lower lip and averting his gaze. Like he was hiding something. Something unpleasant.