Tobirama:

We shared one moment of tenderness, the two of us.

Just one.

We lay in bed, his tiny body frame close to mine, one leg slung over mine, me with my arm around him, him with his hand on my chest, nuzzling my serratus.

Emil.

Yes?

Are you anorexic?

Yes.

I'm so sorry.

Don't worry about it. It's being treated.

I took his slender hand, kissed one finger at a time.

He looked up at me in surprise of this display of softness from me.

You need to eat. Izuna will need you and I need you to eat in order to have the energy to take care of him.

He looked worried.

What do you plan to do to him? he asked.

I don't plan to do anything. I want to be good to him. But it might be that I can't. Emil, you need to-

I know, he interrupted.

He thought for a while.

Tobirama.

Yes?

Promise to always protect him. Promise to do what is right.

I took his slender frame and pressed him close to mine. He really was thin. It was awful. I really didn't like it. But I was surprised to find I started to like him.

Promise to let him lead a good life with you. I... Oh, God!

I gave him some time to keep his tears at bay.

I love him, he whispered.

I lifted the hand of my other arm, started fingering his burn.

He took my fingers between his lips, nibbled.

I felt my erection starting to grow.

I put my fingers underneath his chin, lifted his face up, kissed him.

Get better, I said. Get better and I promise to give Izuna the best life he can have.

Next time I saw him, just before I was going to kill him, I was happy to see he'd gained some weight, had a different light in his eyes, a passion for Izuna.

It broke my heart because I knew that meant his life would just begin, but I was about to end it.

Izuna never found out I'd loved Emil as well.

Izuna:

Stars were swimming before my eyes, as if I'd been dropped into the ocean at night.

It was cold. So. Cold.

There was no heat in the building.

"Finally got you where I want you."

"Tobes..."

"Shut up", he said.

This can't be happening... This just can't be happening.

"Tobes, you're my husband... PLEASE-"

"I said, shut up!" he said harshly, and I felt a kick in my side.

He bent down to me. I could feel the familiar smell of the love of my life in a confusing mix with that horrible vanilla cologne, that actually probably really was pretty good and expensive. But I associated it with so many Bad Things that it made me gag. I felt him grab hold of my hair and lift me up. I wailed unhappily.

"You know what the best thing is?"

I opened my eyes, met his dead, cold ones. Fuck, he'd acted it out well. Fuck, fuck, fuck fuck, he'd acted it out well. No-one who'd attended our wedding could ever believe that he hadn't been real. That he'd tricked me to... To what, exactly.

"I said, you know what the best thing is?"

I looked at him dead-pan. "I'm not your whore", I said.

"I know, you're Emil's whore. The best thing is that you'll die by my hand." He bent down to my ear so he was whispering. "As opposed to him."

He threw me down on the ground. I looked back, saw that my team was gone.

"Don't worry about your team. They're where the other kidnapped people are. Including Cassandra. Figured it would be... Appropriate if Keith and Cassandra died together.

"Don't you dare!!" I screamed.

I felt a kick in my side, the crack of a few ribs. I pinched my eyes closed. Don't cry... Don't cry... Remember Emil; he was brave. He was brave when he was in pain.

And when I disconnected myself from the fear, It all came over me.

Tobes, NO...

Our wedding night.

The vows we'd written to each other.

Him taking me to the children's home, letting me help them with their homework, coming with a mug of warm blueberry soup for me.

All of the nights we'd been up, talking.

Just talking.

I curled up into a ball and scream-cried, in a full blown panic attack.

Tobirama was having none of it. He was still holding my hair, and slammed me into the wall. Getting to let your panic attack go until it passed was one thing. Having it brutally interrupted was a whole other thing.

"It's time for us to dissolve the police", he said. "You're in the way."

He lifted his gun, put it into my mouth.

"Same gun..." he purred, stroking it with his thumb as he unsecured it. "It did a good job with Emil. Let's see what it does to you."

I gave in.

With all that I had, I just gave in.

Emil, please let there be a heaven so I can come and see you...

Izuna, I love you...

Izuna, please be safe.

Please be safe.

Please, live.

I love it when you kiss me.

I want to be in this world with you.

Izuna...

I didn't have anything left in me.

But Emil did.

His place in my heart contained that final power I needed.

I put my knee to Tobirama's groin, and in the fraction of a second, I'd grabbed the arm that was holding the gun, forcing it behind him.

With one swift movement, I broke his arm.

Then, I stood up and I ran.