summary: a fiery tragedy strikes the besson family, resulting in a loss that no one could have imagined.  based off a scene from the tv show "this is us".

pairing: corbyn x female!reader

triggers: house fires, mentions of hospitals, death.

link to original post: https://youngbloodseavey.tumblr.com/post/174091443488/to-the-heavens-and-back-corbyn-besson

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"mom, dad!" giselle stumbled into corbyn and y/n's bedroom, coughing violently as she shook her parents awake.

"what is it," corbyn mumbled groggily, sitting up as he wiped the sleep out of his eyes.

"the house is on fire." giselle cried, sending a jolt down y/n and corbyn's backs. and that's when they began to smell it.

smoke. thick, grey, firey smoke. the nauseating scent of it entered their lungs at an instant, and corbyn and y/n leaped out of bed.

"y/n! stay here with ellie, i'm going to get justin and alex. wet some towels and hold them over your faces, it'll help keep the smoke out of your system." corbyn called to his wife and daughter, who nodded and immediately ran to the bathroom to retrieve the materials corbyn asked for.

corbyn took in a deep breath, before throwing the door open, immediately being hit with a wave of thick smoke. corbyn let out a cough, waving the smoke away from his face before closing the door behind him and beginning to run towards justin, his oldest son's room.

he sprinted across the hall, passing the balcony that overlooked the entrance to their gorgeous california home, that corbyn and y/n were able to purchase after years of hard work on both their parts. all their hard work, going up in red-hot flames.

corbyn spared a quick glance over the balcony, seeing that most of the first floor had gone up in flames, and the fire was steadily creeping up the stairs. corbyn let out a violent cough once again, trying to rid his system of the toxicity that was entering it, before barging into justin's room.

the fifteen-year old was still asleep, which was no surprise. he took after his father in the "need to sleep 24/7″ department.

"justin! get up right now!" corbyn yelled at his son, shaking his lanky body to rouse the boy out of bed.

"what's going on, is it time for school yet?" justin mumbled groggily, the intensity of the situation him and his family was in clearly not registering in his mind.

"the house is on fire. now get your damn ass up." corbyn growled, throwing the covers off of justin's body.

justin's bright blue eyes widened, and he immediately leaped out of bed.

"what? the house is on fire?" justin's eyes were wild, and he stared at his dad with pleading eyes.

"yes it is. hurry up, so i can get your brother too," corbyn ushered justin to the door, feeling the heat radiate from the other side. corbyn softly cursed under his breath.

he grabbed justin by the shoulders, feeling his son begin to shake and his breathing quicken.

"take a deep breath j, and it'll all be okay." corbyn reassured his clearly anxious kin, before slamming the door open, seeing that the hallway to the master bedroom had still not yet been consumed by the flames.

corbyn and justin sprinted across the hall, flinging the door open to the master bedroom where y/n and giselle were waiting. y/n immediately took justin in her arms, hugging and kissing his forehead and rambling on questions as to his condition.

"i'm going to get alex. the moment i close this door, stuff some wet towels beneath the door. got it?" corbyn breathed out, y/n reaching out and handing corbyn a towel to put over his own face.

"be careful babe, i better be seeing both you and alex back here in the next five minutes okay?" y/n spoke, terror in her eyes. corbyn pressed a swift kiss to her forehead and nodded, before using one hand to press the wet towel up to his face and the other to slam open the door.

the dark orange flames had caught to the main hallway of the second floor, slowly beginning to burn away at the carpet and banister. corbyn began to run to where alex's room was, knowing that there wasn't much more time to be able to get his whole family out alive.

corbyn slammed the door open, seeing that his twelve year-old son was already awake and pacing the floors, tears streaming down his face. alex ran to his father the moment he saw him, flinging his arms around him and beginning to sob.

"shh, it's gonna be okay. put this towel over your mouth, and hold onto me. you're gonna be okay. the moment i open this door, we are going to go as quickly as we can to mom and i's bedroom, okay?" corbyn pressed a light kiss onto his son's forehead, handing him the damp towel and taking in a breath of clean oxygen before whipping the door open. he stumbled back, seeing the flames licking at the frame of the door on one side, leaving only a strip of space untouched by fire.

corbyn's arm went immediately to push alex away from the impending flames, his ocean eyes looking about wildly for something to protect them from the fire.

his gaze landed on the twin mattress that laid upon alex's bed, and he immediately threw the covers and pillows off the mattress, heaving the mattress up as a type of shield.

"alright alex, no matter what, do not let go of me. okay?" corbyn spoke to his quivering son, who nodded and latched his arms around corbyn's waist while still holding the towel to his mouth. corbyn took in a breath and started into the hall, holding up the mattress to shield himself and alex from the flames.

corbyn felt his flesh become singed as flames licked at his fingertips, the exposed parts of his arm becoming red and painful. alex's grip on corbyn's waist was as tight as the poor boy could hold, and he held in sobs and screams as he jumped away from the deadly flame.

"only a few more seconds alex, you're gonna be okay." the blonde man spoke through gritted teeth, pushing away the immense pain flowing through his veins to focus on saving his family.

after a few more agonizing seconds, corbyn flung open the door of the master bedroom to see the rest of the family huddled by the window, and he pushed alex towards his mother.

y/n immediately smothered alex with affection, checking him for burns and any type of injury. she pressed a firm kiss to her youngest son's forehead before moving him along to his older brother, who took alex in his arms and held him tight.

y/n rushed up to her husband, taking his face in her hands and planting a hard kiss to his lips.

"never scare me like that ever again besson." she warned, wiping some of the soot from his porcelain skin.

"i would never dream to." corbyn kissed her again, before running over to the large window that was on the side of the wall and prying it open. "c'mon kids, y/n. climb onto the roof," he ushered out his children one by one, and took y/n by the hand as he guided her onto the tiles of the roof.

it seemed as though luck as on the side of the besson family, for the moment they stepped foot onto the roof the door to the master bedroom blew in, the flames now beginning to overtake the room.

corbyn grabbed a sheet from the bed before joining his family on the roof, rolling the sheet up as tightly as he could in order to create a make-shift rope.

one by one, corbyn swiftly lowered each member of his family to the ground below, until he was the only one left standing on top of the roof.

corbyn stood on the roof for a moment, debating on whether or not to risk himself and run into the fire to save items of importance, or to go safely back down to the ground.

"princess! where's princess?" he heard giselle yell from down below, referring to the fluffy, white pomeranian that y/n and himself had bought for giselle's eighth birthday.

the moment the screams escape from his daughter's mouth, the deed was sealed in corbyn's mind. he took one glace at his terrified family before leaping back through the window into the firey house, before disappearing from sight as the smoke consumed his form.

"corbyn!"

"dad!"

"babe!"

the horrified screams of y/n and the kids filled the air, piercing like a knife in the cold night. sobs broke out from each member of the family as thoughts of the worst entered their minds, each of them clinging to each other for support.

y/n gathered all her children in her arms, tears running uncontrollably as she choked down sobs. she could hear the sound of sirens approaching her, but all she could focus on is the burning house that contained her husband.

she felt as if the world was crashing down upon her as all she could do is cling onto her children. staring, hoping, praying that her sweet corbyn will reappear from the flames.

she could see out of the corner of her eye the bright red firetrucks approaching, but she couldn't seem to tear her eyes away from the horror.

she could feel the firemen pulling her back, away from the house. but she felt as if she was glued to the ground, not able to move even a single limb.

she could hear the screams and sobs of her children, but they were distant. her whole body felt numb.

let him be alive. let him be alive. let him be alive.

the words repeated themselves like a prayer, and minutes felt like hours as the distressed besson family waited to see if their beloved corbyn would appear.

it had been at least a minute since corbyn had disappeared into the flames, and the hope that had ignited itself inside the members of the family had begun to die out.

and just as the last bit of optimism had died in their hearts, the front door burst open. it seemed like the world had stopped turning as the charred wood revealed a dirty, sooty, coughing, but alive, corbyn besson.

"i got princess," he managed to choke out between heaves, holding up previously white pomeranian, who was now black with soot. with him he also carried a sack, which was full of important documents, albums, and family photos.

"corbyn!" y/n burst out in sobs, breaking away from the grip of the firefighters to run to her husband. corbyn set down princess, who immediately ran to giselle.

y/n barreled into corbyn, taking him tightly in her arms as her tears made marks on his blackened clothing.

"never do that to us again you bastard," she mumbled into his chest, before taking his face into her hands and planting a firm, passionate kiss on his lips.

"i love you," he murmured, pulling away from their embrace.

"i love you too besson." y/n replied softly, savoring the beauty of his presence, a presence she never thought she would be able to feel again.

"dad! daddy!" the voices of justin, alex, and giselle rang out as they ran to their father, each of them enveloping him in a bear hug.

"i love you guys," he coughed out, trying to choke out some more words. but instead of words, only coughs and heaves left his mouth.

"give your father some space," panic settled back into y/n's heart, as corbyn fell onto his knees. "medic! we need a medic!" she screamed towards the fleet of first responders, and nearly immediately a stretcher came running towards them.

corbyn was nearly passed out, and he was on all fours desperately trying to breathe.

"what's happening to daddy!?" giselle shrieked, trying to run to her father but was quickly held back by her two older brothers.

"shh, everything is going to be alright," justin whispered into the ears of his younger sister, but inside he knew what he said wasn't true. he knew something was wrong.

corbyn was quickly lifted onto a stretcher, the paramedics immediately put an oxygen mask onto his mouth before running him to a ambulance.

"kids, i'm going to go with your dad. stay here okay? these nice firefighters are going to take care of you," y/n rushed over to her kids, her breath speeding up as panic settled into her heart. "i love you guys very much," she managed to choke out, before running to the ambulance that corbyn was being loaded into and hopping in.

giselle, justin, and alex were left there, being guided into a police car by a nice woman in a firefighters uniform. justin gently picked his baby sister up, feeling her wet tears soak into his t-shirt.

no tears fell down the teenager's face, but he felt the fear and despair in his heart. something was going to go wrong.

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y/n had one hand on alex's shoulder, the other wrapped around giselle's small frame. justin stood directly next to her, stone faced and looking at the floor.

y/n didn't know a human could produce as many tears as she could, it seemed like there was a never-ending stream of pain flowing through her body since the fire.

the piercing noise of a heart monitor, driving her to near insanity. the monotone "beep" of a flatline echoing through her brain, tearing her heart apart with each passing second.

she never thought she would be clad in black, standing next to the polished wooden box that contained the body of her husband.

her sweet corbyn. the love of her life, the boy who stole here heart in a moment when she was merely 16. the boy who she exchanged tender vows with, the one who held her hand as she birthed their beautiful children into their lives.

the love who would live no more.

his lungs had failed him. the very same lungs that let him travel around the world with his four best friends. the lungs that touched the hearts of millions with corbyn's angelic melodies. the lungs that saved lives, failing to save his.

his brain had lost oxygen. the same brain that mesmerized millions of adoring people for years. the brain that held a love for outer space, the brain that was smarter than he ever let on. the brain that could solve any problem thrown at it, not able to think anymore.

his heart no longer beat. the heart that pulsed with adrenaline as he raced around stage, feeling the energy of the crowd and hearing the lyrics that the band poured their hearts into being sung back. the heart that held so much love for music and his fans, always wanting to go out and play or meet fans no matter how exhausted he was. the heart that was filled with so much love and kindness, the heart that touched millions of lives with a mere smile. the heart that could no longer sing, no longer feel, no longer live.

who knew that the boy who seemed like he could live forever with his energy and mind, would die from cardiac arrest in his hospital bed.

"and now mrs. besson will be giving a speech." the pastor gestured to y/n, who dried her tears and kissed the foreheads of her children before walking up to the podium.

her bloodshot eyes scanned the crowd, seeing the mass amounts of people whom her husband had changed the lives of. they had decided to have an open funeral, and whomever wished to attend could. fans from all over the world came to mourn the loss of the charismatic, goofy singer, and sea of people seemed to go on for miles.

it was incredible to see how many people a boy band member could touch with his music and heart.

"i met corbyn when we were sixteen, and the moment i saw him, i knew we would be together. i was never a believer in love at first sight, well, that was until i locked eyes with him before third period science. and who knew that a single moment of eye contact would bring me the best experiences of my life," y/n laughed tearily, trying to compose herself as she felt her voice begin to break.

"corbyn was a blessing to this world. there's no other way to put it. from his music, to his laugh, to his pure and gentle soul. he was practically perfect," y/n felt to the tears begin to trail down her face, and she did nothing to stop them.

"but more than that, he was human. he had rough days, hard times. but that's what made him so amazing."

"there's nothing that can fill the void that burns our hearts and souls. there's no one and nothing that can replace his sunny smile and his goofy ways. my children-" y/n's voice broke, and she nearly ran off stage when she made eye contact with her son.

justin gave her a reassuring nod, becoming teary himself as he tried so desperately to keep himself composed. with his father gone, it was his job to take care and look out for his family.

he had to be the "man of the house" now, the one who took over his father's role. he couldn't let his dad down, not when his family needed him the most.

justin tried to wipe away his tears, but gave up as they simply rolled down his face in streams. he put his arms around his younger siblings, squeezing their shoulders as the trio watched their mom onstage.

"corbyn gave me the most amazing things i could ever ask for, my children." y/n continued, her heart swelling as she saw her children hug each other in the crow. "corbyn matthew besson blessed the world with his incredible mind, his angelic voice, and most of all, his compassionate heart."

"he never failed to amaze, and will never cease to. i know that his memory will forever live on in the hearts of millions, and i hope it's comforting to all to know that corbyn will never truly leave."

"and while i would trade anything to have him standing here today, i know that he is where he is truly meant to be. among the angels." y/n looked up into the clear blue sky, feeling the warmth of the sun shining on her skin.

she closed her eyes for a moment, relishing in the warmth that suddenly ran through her body. her eyes opened, being met with the sight of the gorgeous azure sky that mirrored the mesmerizing color of corbyn's irises.

"i love you corbyn, to the heavens and back a thousand times," she whispered to the sky, repeating the words that corbyn and herself exchanged frequently. it was their phrase of love, their "always" and their "okay".

"thank you," y/n spoke for a moment, not knowing how to end her heartfelt speech. she relished in the silence that followed, and slowly walked back to where justin, alex, and giselle stood.

the pastor took the microphone and began to say a closing prayer, and y/n took her children under her arms again. she choked back sobs, closing her eyes as she imagined corbyn's warmth enveloping her as it used to.

she imagined his soft lips on her forehead, his arms wrapped around her shoulder, his chin balanced on top of her head.

maybe if she imagined hard enough, his touch would be real again. he would have never been torn from the universe as he so painfully was.

but she knew that wasn't going to happen. and her sweet love was gone forever.

and it was such a painful reality to know.