Yours insanely

79.Denouement

"I think I see something," Robin said from the stem of one of the speedboats they'd changed to. "And it's-"

He took the field glasses away from his eyes and looked through them again.

"-burning," he completed and felt a presence near him.

Even without looking, he could sense the alarm in Shubman, the trepidation in him as the engine revved up, speeding towards the burning yacht.

It took less than a minute to reach the scene, but for him, it felt like an eternity.

The back of his neck felt cold with sweat, unable to speak as his elder in terms, gave out orders.

When they were close enough, he didn't hear a thing except the fire, and not even Mahi yelling after him as he leaped into the fire.

"This kid," he was in slight disbelief before telling his men to put out the fire.

But he knew he'd do the same if it was Sakshi in there.

He told Robin to make sure the cars were ready at the harbor.

His onsite doctor was the best he knew, but at the moment, he felt like you needed a hospital rather than his cruise.

It's only the bow that was burning. The deck had not completely caught fire yet.

The sight in front of Shubman both gave his heartbeat back and took it away again.

"Baby," the endearment sounded so faint as he crouched down, taking your limp body in his arms.

He patted your cheek once, then twice, and when you didn't respond, it took him everything to not burst into tears there and then.

He found you. You're going to be okay. Why should he cry?

"Y/n, honey, please wake up," his voice broke as he shook you slightly in his arms. "It's okay. We can leave now."

People stormed in and searched the yacht for anyone else, to torture or save, and assist Shubman.

His eyes frantically searched your body for wounds, and fell on your wrist.

Suddenly, the world around made him feel suffocated.

He felt closed. Like he had nowhere else to go.

One of his shaking hands held yours, staining it red, and he felt like he was slammed into an invisible wall.

Shubman could now hear everything around him.

The blazing fire, the steps of people working for him, Robin getting rid of the zip tie around your ankles.

And you? He could hear nothing from you.

He refused to think as he picked you up in his arms, his heart squeezing as your head fell back heavily.

Is this how it all ends?

-

Speed limits were ignored, Robin made sure traffic was cleared, and cars raced through the empty roads.

Shubman's breathing was erratic as he pressed another clean cloth to your wrist.

All the bandages were soaked up with your blood and his hold on you became weaker.

But the moment he felt your limp body again, he tightened his arms around you.

Robin looked back frequently from the passenger seat.

He was distraught too, but it wasn't even slightly close to what the former felt.

Shubman pulled your head to his chest, patting your cheeks softly, mumbling your name while telling you that you can't leave him alone. Not like this.

Fraught tears rolled down his cheeks, and he couldn't tell what he felt.

All his life, he's never been this scared. Not even with a fully loaded gun pointed at the back of his head.

This can't be happening. Not to him.

Not to you.

He felt devastated, his heart crumbling as he subconsciously became aware that you're losing too much blood.

Shubman's world fell apart in his arms.

But he wasn't going to think this through.

He knew you wouldn't leave him. And he won't leave you, ever.

You were going to be fine, he told himself and berated his mind for thinking any further.

"You'll be fine," Shubman mumbled, running his fingers through your hair desperately.

His breathing and words came out choked as he kept repeating the same thing.

"Yeah, you'll be fine," he said despite his tears that fell to your face.

You lay in his arms, unmoving, and it gets to him.

It ripped his heart out of his chest, held it in an impending darkness and taunted him.

Shubman fumbled as he pushed your hair aside to kiss your forehead, and Robin doesn't think he'd ever seen those hands unsteady before.

The car came to a halt, and he rushed out the moment the door opened, carrying you in his arms.

He tries not to break down when you refuse to wake up.

Shubman goes back to feeling nothing.

He tries, when he perceives that you don't react when he lets you go.

Without you, he'll be broken for the rest of his life.

His back hits the cold wall of the hospital, discerning that he couldn't do more.

And Shubman tries in vain, watching the stretcher being pushed inside the ER with you on it, still.

He found you, and brought you to the hospital.

What now?

He hit the back of his head repeatedly against the tiled wall, and finally broke down.

Shubman fought the world for you, but death?