Elementals (#Wattys2017)

Battlefront

I sat back down on that stupid metal table.
Pine took a silver medical instrument, I didn't know what it was, and scanned my wounds. A chart showed up on the screen. It made no sense to me but, it obviously did to him.
"Well, good news is that they're all almost healed up. Bad news is you can't train for a few weeks."
"Darn..." I mumbled under my breath. He heard me, looked over, and smiled a bit. He knew how much I hated training. I wished that I could just know it all right now.
"Wait, how am I almost healed? It's only been three days."
"We heal faster than normal people." He said looking at the charts. His expression changed. He looked sad.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"That's three times I watched you almost die in front of me Lina." He said looking at the floor.
So this is what he's mad about.
"First when you ran into the burning building, second when you got attacked, and third when you ran without backup into an armed robbery to save a girl who almost beat you to death." His voice had raised.
"I can't exactly say I'm sorry, Pine. I had to help those people and I couldn't help being attacked."
"I know..." He said softly. "It's just, you don't understand how much I care about you. I can't loose you. If you die I'll die to."
"Pine don't say stuff like that!" I said with tears coming to my eyes.
"Why?! You are so fearless! You let your sense of "adventure" get in the way of your common sense! I'm not the only one who can't function without you here Lina, we all have our jobs! Breeze organizes and makes sure everything goes to plan. River finds our missions. Tricity's our mentor. I and the team leader and the doctor for all of you. And you... You're supposed to protect us! You're not supposed to run into danger or go looking for trouble! I can't have everyone's responsibilities and I will die before I loose any of you!"
He turned away from me.
"Sometimes I wonder if..." He hesitated. "If you really do have a suicide wish."
I can't believe he just said that to me.
"How could you say something like that!" I screamed. "I don't go running into danger without a purpose! I don't put my life on the line for nothing! And I don't have a suicide wish!"
I put my head in my hands as I sat back down on the table.
"I do my "job". I protect you, all of you but, the downside to that job is that I'm going to get hurt. I'm going to feel pain but, guess what, the pain I've felt from getting shot, burned, and beaten is nothing compared to the pain I would feel if I failed and lost any of you!" I growled.
"And maybe I die. Maybe I die saving people. But that's better then dying because you feel you have no purpose. And I do have a purpose, Pine. You."
He turned back to me with sadness and guilt in his eyes.
"You are my purpose for fighting the evil in this world. You are my greatest strength but, you are also my most vulnerable weakness because I would give everything I am just to save you." I was hunched over sitting on the table with tears streaming down my face.
Pine walked over to me and knelt down so that his face was close to mine. My lava-like hair flowed all around my face.
He reached his hand up and wiped the tears from my cheek.
"I..." He started but just stopped and put his head on my shoulder and pulled me into a hug. I just sat and cried into his shoulder for the longest time.
"I'm going to die Pine. And no one can stop it. Like Tricity said, a war is coming. One that I won't have you're help or anyone's for that matter. I will be alone fighting who knows what. And I-"
"Shh..." Pine said softly.
"We're done. None of that matters now. In this moment I have you. I have you and no one is going to touch you. You're safe right now and that's all that matters."
"I love you." I whispered.
"I know." He said. "I love you too."
We just sat in silence for awhile thinking over what just happened.
"what time is it?" I finally said.
"It's late. We should get some sleep."
I didn't want to leave him and he could tell.
"Do you want to stay with me?" he said.
"Yeah."
"Okay c'mon." He said with a tired smile on his face. We walked down to the bedroom corridor. Breeze and River were already asleep.
He opened the door to his room. The subtly obvious smell of trees was seeped into the hallway.
We both climbed into bed and he put his arm around me as I rested my head on his chest.
The sound of his heart was so soothing.
Soon, we both fell into a much needed sleep.