August 2047 - October 2048

His fireman formation is quite doable.

Since he's used to live like a soldier (five times more exhaustive), he easily succeeds his training. Well, you speak about as much for experiment of danger than body building. His colleagues are as muscular as him (if they aren't more) and even more gorgeous. Which is odd because this career is really dangerous but they don't seem to be touched by the wildness, he actually wonders if they really fight against the fire.
They do. And they are really into that, all their focus during an incendiary is to save everyone stuck up in the fire. Sure, they have to put out the fire with the water turbine but their first mission is to save the people in the building.
And Aden now understands more what his secret (and creepy) admirer told him.
He will be the best fire-fighter to save the more people in danger.

And since he's actor (quite successful, if he's honest with himself), he could use his fame and calmness to appease the victim when he has to take care the saved people. (In his debut and after because no one is more able than other to go inside the fire building to save people, everybody in this career is important to assist and help people in need). He just regrets for not having followed some medicinal lesson, because sometimes his first aid isn't enough.
Then, he isn't always able to help everyone.

Like during eathquake.

July the 28th, there is a very huge earthquake in the States, Illinois, not far from Chicago, magnitude 8 on the Richter scale. Aden and his squad have to wait at least fifteen minutes before intervening, in the case there is a second round.
But they're allowed to enter in the skyscraper, because they are indicated there are more victims, the seventy floors is already collapsed half and the rest is threatening to fall too. Aden and his colleagues manage to exit the people already in the ground floor and some who were reckless enough to use the stairs. But the lifts are useless. The firemen bring stuffs and sheets to help the victims to calm and also ask to the less shocked if they know if there are still people in the building. Most of them are too shaken to answer but the last ones all say that there are just behind but aren't sure if everybody followed. Well, not helping.
Six hours later while the spotted victims of disaster are outside and received the necessary care by the doctors and healers on the premises, the fire department doesn't know what to do. But one of them is sure to hear noises against the staircase wall. So a S.O.S reports. Plus, maybe there is someone in the lift too.
And since the job of fire department is to rescue all people alive who asks for assistance, they have to go.
The supervisor decides to send two firemen in both directions. Aden and Leon go to the staircase while Connor and Dijon go to the ninth floor (of seventy, whew) where the lift seems blocked.
Aden and Leon bring ropes and they decide that Aden will go down in the underground where the scratching is heard. To find out his target, Aden asks continuously questions so that the victim could indicate his location by the scrapes. When he spots the man trapped under a column, he informs Leon that he finds him but it will take time to exit the victim under the wreck and his colleague affirm he'll be waiting for him. Since it will be difficult to move the pillar alone, Aden benefits that's broken and forces the concrete to give way. Now, that he sees the man in his whole body, it's obvious the victims is severely injured, and certainly couldn't move by himself, let alone say walk. He reaches him and makes him at least comfortable even if he's still stricken and needs first aid, Aden sees a red patch at his legs and gives a bandage with his ripped jacket to stop the bleeding, he keeps talking to him to keep him awake but the man couldn't answer so he's mostly monologuing. He doesn't know how mush time passed, but eventually notices the bleeding stopping, then he lifts up the man and helds him to the exit. He calls Leon to lead him by pulling the other edge of the cord to go faster.

He is just at one yard to the exit. And the building shakes again.

The wall collapse first, he doesn't even know it could be possible, then the ceiling breaks down and a fragment of stone falls close to the man. Who panics, which is understanding, but he's hurt and couldn't do anything, so it's just useless and bothering. Aden couldn't handle all those things happening in the same time, so he protects as he can the victim being above him and receives all the hard bricks. At first, they're lucky because all fall close to them and they are just touched by some projection. But then, a big lump collapses on his back, wounding his vertebrates. He shouts painfully and falls on the man, unconscious.
He recovers later and first feels pain of any other feeling. He is suffering on the back and he isn't sure if he can move either. Then, he checks on the man and almost freaks out when he doesn't find him. How could him loose him just by passing out for...what thirty minutes? He calms himself when he catches the hint of a human hand. He reaches the man's wrist and relieves a breathe when he feels the heat (although weak) of the man's arm. He forces himself to stand up and ends his rescue mission, but all his bottom body wouldn't obey and when he tries to whirl his hips he screams. It likes his lower waist is tore off from his top. He almost hears a laceration.
He breathes heavily to beat back the pain and to feel the rest of his body. Yeah, he couldn't reach his toes, he can barely know where his foot are.
"Aiden?" A whisper calls him.
He snaps his head up and looks amazedly at Adrian who finds his way, using his flying power, to him.
"Adrian? Why are you here?"
"Cael told me that you are hurt and that... Anyway, don't move, I help you go out of there."
He lifts his hand and it lights up, whatever he does, Aden immediately feels lighter and the seventh son carries him.
"Wait, Adrian. There is a man who is stuck under the rubbles. Here, you can see his hand, you have to help him."
He tries to reach the hand which lost all the heat, but the blonde stops him shaking sadly his head.
"I'm sorry I can't do that. It will be suspicious if he's pulled out of wreckage."
"But... You can't let him here, he..."
"He isn't moving, Aiden," Adrian says quietly and sadly.
The youngest doesn't say anything but his look expresses enough of his feeling. Fail. Defeat. Breakdown.
"I'm sorry," he just hears that from Adrian before the man tightens his hold and apparate to outside.
But he doesn't pay attention, he just knows that where Adrian places his hand on his back, he feels healing.
Once outside, he barely recognizes Clyde's voice asking him if he wants to be healed magically or not. He remembers retorting if they use magic to save the disaster victims, he wouldn't be here. Then, Clyde grabs ruthlessly his chin and tells him coldly that if he's really rational, he would know that they couldn't be involved to no-maj's trouble, since they are the ones who repel them. So, if he wants to help them, he has to cure whether by magic or muggle way.
Teary-eyed at the speech, he begs them to bring him in the closest hospital where there are still places, he wouldn't take room where others needed more medical care than him.
Two days later, he learns that not only the man he wanted to help passed away, Leon didn't survive either. When the second shaking took place, the rest of the building collapsed, including the staircase where they found the fire-fighter's corpse. His neck was broken with some of the ceiling falling on him.
Thankfully, Conner and Dijon survived although severely injured too, but they didn't managed to exit the five people stuck in the elevator. They passed away when the firemen came to find the bodies the next day. No one say anything about his miraculous escaping. And Aden feels really guilty.
It's pretty obvious that he feels ashamed and the supervisor couldn't let him guilt alone.
"You didn't do anything wrong, Brooks. You have to understand that, we heard someone who was alive and being a rescuer, we did all our power to help him, but nobody would have think that there would be another tremor. You don't have to blame yourself and should help the alive."
Upset and still little traumatized, he listens his elder and focus on his healing so he would be able to help people.
He isn't hospitalized because he says he has personal physician who can assist him and that the hospital doesn't have the place to deal with him too. He hires Wyatt's personal doctor to have the permission and heals in two weeks, then he spends the first month to assist all the disaster victims. He helps them for the reeducation, spends the day talking with them, reassures them when they have Post traumatic stress disorder (Ptsd) . For the next month, he visits all the decease's family.
But before, he finds his way in the cemetery and visits tombstones.
Joel X. Pomelowski, born in 2001 and dead the 28th of July 2048. Leon Gordon, born in 2017 and dead the 28th of July 2048. Two graves that he will forever remember.
And he just noticed that he indeed didn't even know the man's name.
Those weeks were particularly hard to deal. Not over the bereavement, Joel's wife is weak and could barely raise her children, now that she's widowed, so Aden helps her. He accompanies the children to school, helps them do homeworks, to handle the lost of one parent. He does the same thing with the others families, even if he isn't the one in charge to save them. His daily visits give sometimes results, some of them manage to bear the pain and stop mourning, the others are still in pain but they do take themselves back, for their family at least.
The hardest part is to visit Leon's family. The Gordons have just one son, his ancient colleague, who was 31 without any heirs. He has two younger sisters, more or less close with, they all are devastated at the announcement but are now all moving on. 'Cause it won't bring him back. And one of them, the youngest daughter, even jokes about their meeting isn't how she dreams of, as she's his fan since his debut and this situation is a bit awkward.
Then, she told him to move on too, because he just has this painful look that makes his fans sad.
Chuckling, he promises to try.

So, end of September, he rings at the Yuans door.
The mid-age woman opens him and smiles softly. Maybe he ain't in the right place to say anything but he thinks she's older, like she aged quite fast in those two years. But then she lost her daughter.
"Aden, come on in," she greets him.
"你好，阿姨。"
The mother smiles at him and he steps inside respectfully, not like he uses two years ago, when Claire invites him like they're best friend.
Without him asking, the women lead him to her room. There isn't her wooden bed, neither her desk that she used to often change the style to have new air, she said.
There is just the funeral booth. Claire's picture is in middle of the booth, smiling. Two bottles of incense are lit and between them there is her funeral urn and a tray of mandarin closes the decor. Aden kneels in front of the booth and closes his eyes to pray for her rest.
When he opens his eyes again, he notices that the mother is lost in her mind and in the corner of his eyes he catches some moves, and Claire's younger brother stands in front of him and nods his head. Aden nods back smiling slightly.
"要喝什么吗？"
"不用，谢谢。"
The boy nods again and eventually let them alone. At least, his intervention calls his mother attention at his depart.
"她今年二十一岁了," the woman speaks up lowly.
She releases a shaking breathe and makes eyes contact with him. He doesn't know why but he feels a pang in his chest and his eyes shred a tear.
"你现在做的很好。很伟大想到帮助别人-"
"我就希望只能早点想到."
"你还是年轻人，你刚刚出学、你还有时间、不要一直在想念她了."
"阿姨你放心、我不会做什么超过的事。我只想帮其他人，我想当一个有智慧的人."
"你已经是了."
He smiles watery at her and whips his eyes, accepting finally his fate.

One month later, after spending all his time with his fans, because he doesn't have work (it's hard to put back in the chain, and show-biz is particularly rude), and Jun Hosokawa (because he's also upset by the death of the last member of their Madarin trio) and his family (no-maj part since they really care about him) who are worried about him, he is then invited to Eileen's wedding.
The day he learns that, he almost choked on his glass of almond milk. Then he beams like a child.
First official wedding! (His brother doesn't count, especially if they haven't prepped anything.)
And it's his bestie. He has to be present to congratulate her in person.

So Saturday the 30th of October 2048, Aden heads to the bride room without being stopped. He's not the groom so he can sneak around and see Eileen. But that doesn't mean he doesn't have to be discreet. He closes softly the door and it seems that his friend is right too in thought to notice him.
"Wow, you're beautiful."
"Aiden!" The blonde bride starts and greets him with a wide smile.
And he means it, especially when she's as flushed as her red lipstick.
"I need this, you're good distraction."
"Aww, what happen lemon?"
"I'm ashamed to admit it but... I'm nervous, carrot."
"Ow, why that? You guys love each other, don't you?"
"Yes, I do. But I don't know what to do if we have a fight? Where will I be going to hide?"
"So cute. Did you already had this situation?"
"Not a fight at this level. But it's exactly my point. What if it isn't what I expected? If I know him more and we couldn't fit?"
"Now, come on, Lemon, you're overthinking."
"But what if?" She insists.
"So you just have to extemporize. You're clever girl, honey, I know that you'll take a step back when you feel it's too much. And you guys will be able to deal with all interference, ok?"
Eileen looks up at him with shakings lips, and maybe a bit of tears in the eyes, and Aden opens his arms and she throws herself in the warm embrace.
"Then, I'll be here for you, banana," he whispers against her hair.
She actually chuckles. "Thank you pumpkin."
"Anytime." He kisses lightly her capped hair (Claire's job?) "Congratulations, Eileen."
He doesn't hear an answer but then it's understanding.
Later, he meets Elise's new son, Earl. He's twelve and is in the same house than Cain, Kylian's son of his triplets. The poor boy lost his parents in a plane crash and Aden really wants to make him comfortable. So after his tear crisis into his newly sister Iris' arms, Aden spends a lot of time with him to help him adapt with the other children.
(And Earl is little overwhelmed because his mother is such a fan of him.) 

Few days later, he runs into Julian. And he's very glad to see him again (after eight years without any contact).
And if he's greeted by a kiss (on the lips), he isn't bothered as he very missed his first boyfriend.
Then, he remembers what his lemon told him during their dance at her wedding.
"One day, you'll find the person who will turn you into a mellow one too."
He doesn't really believe in fate, 'cause his whole life is caused by his own volition and now he's here thanks to his will power. But then, it's been 10 years since their first official encounter, so he can use this meet up to rekindle with one Julian Lambert.

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(Initially posted : 3 Mars 2017 à 23:04)