This story decided to write itself. Grand total will probably be around four chapters but we'll see. Just a quick reference, in this story Austin is seventeen and a high school graduate while Danny is nineteen and playing in the minor leagues.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything recognizable.
All I want is to keep you safe from the cold,
To give you all that your heart needs most,
Let me raise you up, let me be your love
-May I by Trading Yesterday;
She looks like hell; raven tendrils escape the loose braid that one of the nurses did after her shower and her body is swimming in his plaid and jeans that used to be skin tight. The chapped skin of her lower lip peels off beneath the harsh rakes of her thumb nail and her feet betray her cool exterior with their incessant tapping on the tile floor of her hospital room. Danny sits close beside her, a hair's breadth between them, but not touching because she can't handle it right now. She can't handle anything.
She's broken.
Her father succeeded.
Fifty-seven stitches between the incision to repair the broken bones around her eye and the deep gashes from falling into her mother's glass table let her know just how broken she is. Butterfly bandages replaced the stitches the day before but it doesn't do much to make it better. She jumps at loud noises, gentle touches, and slamming doors. Jack Hawthorne won this round.
"Danny." She breathes his name like the prayer it is and her fingers dare to twine with his.
He exhales slowly. "Almost done, love, almost done."
"Then we'll go, right?" He's already promised but she's almost expecting everything to go terribly wrong. "Away?"
"Austin," he speaks her name and waits until their eyes meet. "We'll go. I've already got your stuff in the car."
She nods once before drawing her knees to her chest. He holds onto her hand, anchoring her like always has. The routine is almost second nature these days; he waits patiently while she folds deeply into herself, gives her a few moments to find her control again, and then he gently untangles her limb by limb. This time he starts with her legs and pulls each one back out before she can tense. He's mindful of her wounds as he unravels the tangled ball of pain that she's become.
"I'm sorry."
He presses a gentle kiss to her shoulder before nuzzling his nose just beneath her ear. "I love you, Austin Grace."
Tears pool in the ducts beneath emerald eyes and she chokes on her words. "H-h-how?"
"This," he pauses to let the word settle and encompass the world they now reside in, "this is just a page in the book, Austin. Not the whole story. We'll fill the pages that are left with all the good things, okay? Anything you have ever wanted that is good; jumping on the bed, singing along with Nirvana, trips to Florida that end with us in Canada – that's what we'll fill the book with."
"I love you too," her voice almost disappears between them, "but-"
His lips cut her off before she can finish the thought. Danny's always had a specific way of kissing her that makes her head spin and this time is no different; his lips insistent but soft against hers and her teeth nipping in an unveiled attempt to claim her as his for the rest of their lives. They only manage to part when the nurse clears her throat and extends a packet of information to the patient.
"Thank you," Austin accepts the papers with a soft blush.
The older woman laughs and gives her a pen to sign her life away. "You think you're the first couple that I've caught necking on release day?"
She chuckles and smiles softly. "Thank you. For everything."
"Hush, child," the nurse replies, "just take care of yourself."
Austin nods before climbing in the waiting wheel chair. Danny grabbed her duffel bag and placed it gently on her lap before heading for the car he borrowed from Don. She relaxes in the chair and tilts her head to look back at him as they journey through the never-ending, dimly lit corridors while he smiles down at her and presses a kiss to her forehead. "Your range of motion is already coming back."
"Well, you know me, I always have to lead the curve."
Don's car is a crappy little Chevy Celebrity but it was means of egress and that was the important part. Austin settled in the passenger seat while Danny returned the wheelchair and rolled down the window to release the day's heat that was captured inside. Her finger traced over the crucifix that hung from the rear view mirror and a quick glance told her that someone had cleaned up her blood that had spilled across the backseat two weeks ago when the boys had come to her rescue. The small amount of clothes and belongings that she had gathered over the years now took up the bench seat and she was eternally grateful to Danny and her mother for taking care of the packing. She didn't think she would ever be able to walk back into her parent's house.
Austin couldn't stop the startle that shook her body when Danny opened the door to get in. He didn't let it bother him, though, and she was grateful. "Let's go home, okay?"
Home. The word had once meant the hell that her father kept her captured in but now it meant a cramped loft in Brooklyn that Danny had spent all his hard-earned money on. He had met with the lady who owned the building and used his baseball money in combination with the small trust that his grandfather had left him to put down first and last months' rent. She almost couldn't believe it but he had brought photos to show her while she recovered from the second surgery on her face; the loft was beautiful and more than they really needed but it gave them room to grow.
The drive through Manhattan and across the bridge into Brooklyn seemed to take no time at all as she watched her beloved city pass her by. Part of her was so excited to be free but she couldn't shake the fear that this wouldn't last, that her father would drag her back home and put her through hell for daring to leave. Her hand aches for Danny's but she grabs the knob for the stereo instead; she turns the volume up and lets the sounds of Social Distortion pull her away from all of this. Her eyes flutter closed while she focuses on keeping her heart beating, her breathing even, because it's all seconds from falling apart. She is seconds from falling apart.
Danny's hand finds hers on the console between their seats and she knows that, if she asked, he would pull over and wrap her up in his arms, let her lose herself in him, but she can't right now. The touch of his skin against hers still causes her heart to hammer but it also makes her chest clinch and her stomach revolt. She doesn't want this; she wants to kiss him and let everything pour from her lips, she wants his body wrapped tightly around hers, and she wants the outpouring of love that always sits precariously on the tip of his tongue. She wants to love him and let him love her but all she can manage is a meek squeeze to the tips of his fingers.
He parks Don's beater in front of the red brick building that had once been a warehouse. During the gentrification movement, the city had morphed the rundown building into several beautiful lofts and they were lucky enough to gain residence in one of them. She's always loved old buildings like this and dreamed of living in them but never really believed that she would. "Leave it to Daniel Messer to make my dreams come true."
"Austin," he spoke softly as he helped her out of the car, "you deserve for something to go right."
"Well, thanks for being my white knight."
He kissed her lightly before grabbing the bag from the floorboard and swinging it over his shoulder. "I'll come back for the rest of your boxes later. Let's get you settled first."
He kept one arm locked around her waist while he unlocked the main door to the building and ushering her in. An elevator sat off to the left in the foyer and Danny lead her past a series of mailboxes to it as they road to the level that their loft sat on. The doors opened and he used a second key to let her into the loft; she gasped at the sight.
It was sparsely decorated; an overstuffed plaid sofa sat in the middle of the living room next to a milk crate full of books and another filled with CDs while their boom box and TV sat on the floor against the wall that was covered in a large AC/DC poster. He lead her over to the couch and helped her ease herself onto the cushions. "I know it's not much to look at yet but you have some recovery time ahead of you so I figured I'd leave the decorating up to you when you're bored."
"It's perfect."
In a moment of wild abandon, she let her guard drop and raised up to kiss him fully. Her fingers found purchase on the lobes of his ears and she yanked him closer even though her body protested. It was rather chase compared to kisses in the past but it was more than she had allowed herself to have in the past two weeks. She let go of him slowly. "I love you."
"I love you too." He smiled. "Welcome home."
She smiled back and echoed softly, "Home."