NEEDY - B.E. IMAGINES

firefighter *

gxg
billie dom ;)))

-

Y/n didn't notice the smoke until the kitchen was half engulfed.

She'd been lying on the couch, a blanket tucked around her legs, the scent of lasagna wafting from the oven—until it turned sharp, bitter. Like burnt plastic and oil. Her brows furrowed, nose wrinkling as she sat up and glanced at the clock.

The plastic cover. She never took it off.

She ran to the kitchen, heart pounding. Black smoke curled along the ceiling, and when she opened the oven door, a flash of flame surged out. The plastic had melted and caught fire, flames spreading to the inside of the oven and licking up toward the cabinets.

"No, no, no–"

She reached for the fire extinguisher under the sink, but the heat drove her back. Smoke thickened, her eyes watering immediately. She coughed violently, waving her hand in front of her face, stumbling into the hallway. Her phone was on the coffee table, but she could barely see it.

She grabbed it, her fingers fumbling.

"911, what's your emergency?"

"My kitchen's on fire," she coughed. "It's spreading. Apartment 2b on 29th Street."

"Get low, we've got a few trucks on the way."

The phone slipped from her hands as another wave of smoke hit her, knocking her back into the wall. Her chest burned. Eyes stung. She turned and rushed down the hallway–her bathroom was at the end. The only place that wasn't full of smoke.

She slammed the door behind her, dropped to the tile floor, and pressed a wet towel to her mouth. Her lungs screamed. The heat was everywhere now, pressing in through the walls like a furnace. She curled into herself, dizzy and terrified.

Minutes felt like hours, until she heard pounding footsteps.  A loud crash. The sound of something splintering.

"Fire department! Call out!"

Short on breath, Y/n banged her palm against the bathroom door. More stomps. A second later it flew open.

A firefighter filled the doorway–helmet, facemask, heavy coat. Wide shoulders. One gloved hand grabbed the door frame as she crouched, a flashlight beam sweeping across the haze. When her eyes found Y/n, she immediately dropped to her knees.

"I've got you," she said, voice calm and low despite the chaos.

Y/n coughed again, vision swimming. Without hesitation, the firefighter reached forward, scooping her up in strong, gloved arms like she weighed nothing. Y/n's head dropped against the woman's shoulder as the firefighter lifted her effortlessly, pivoted on heavy boots, and charged back through the smoke-filled hallway.

The world spun in a whirl of flashing lights, sirens, and smoke. Y/n's cheek was pressed to a broad chest, her senses overloaded. She could barely think, her throat thick with smoke.

Outside, cool air hit her face like salvation. The firefighter carried her across the lawn and knelt, laying her gently onto a waiting stretcher.

"She's breathing–just took in a lot of smoke," the woman said to the paramedic, pulling off her helmet.

Y/n blinked up at her, dazed.

Under the gear, the woman was gorgeous. Dark hair plastered to her forehead, cheek smudged with soot, jaw sharp and steady. Muscles rippled beneath her coat as she shrugged it off, and even through the haze of adrenaline, Y/n couldn't look away.

"Hey," the firefighter said softly, brushing a damp strand of hair from Y/n's face. "You okay?."

"Yeah," Y/n rasped. "Thank you for pulling me out." Her eyes tore away from the ravenette, landing on the scene in front of her; blue and red lights flashed in her face, strong men in suits hosing down the apartment, washing away the flames.