To Hold Freedom
by the mighty mighty m
disclaimer: not mine. yes mom, I'll put them back when I'm done playing.
Danny steps into the hold without a sound, Willie slipping in behind him. The hold is a mess of boxes and barrels, the identifying prints unreadable in the dark. Willie is almost rocking with barely leashed energy, in contrast to Danny's almost sullen stillness.
"See Danny? We've gotten away. We're getting away! Just a little longer Danny, and we'll be back in England!" Danny only grunts in reply, sinking to the floor with his back against a crate, drawing his knees up to his chest with his muscular arms wrapped around them. Willie has seen this before, hell, he had seen it only a few hours ago, same face, same posture, same Danny.
He gets down in front of Danny, "Danny, we've made it. " Willie tentatively reaches out, strokes his shoulder reassuringly. "Danny, it's over. You'll never have to go in a tunnel again. I promise." Danny is sighing now and he reaches for Willie to hold him, pulling the blonde's body to him, awkwardly pressed up to Danny's knees. And this close, Willie can feel the tiny shakes that are running though the larger man's body, and he reaches out and wrapped his arms around Danny, and Danny has his nose pressed into Willie's neck, so Willie hesitantly cradles his head, pets his dark hair. "I promise."
Danny knows the feel of Willie's body, the boyish muscle and the prison camp sharpness, knows it from a hundred cave-ins pressed together, saving each other. Danny hates small spaces, but he doesn't mind being crowded, not when it's Willie, whose closeness has saved him too many times. Willie's body meant safe, alive, free from the dark.
And the hold was dark, was crowded, two men packed in a grid of crates and packages. Danny feels like a rat in a maze, everything so close he can't see where to go. Tunnel vision, he thinks with macabre humor. Nothing in here to guide him, no light of open space, nothing but the press of Willie's body against his, the slight warmth shared between them. And maybe he would be able to see, if he could just get close enough to Willie.
So Danny tries, lies back and pulls the smaller man down with him, chest to back lying flat on the dirty floor as a strange two headed creature with an extra pair of arms and legs. Willie's hair is in his mouth now, golden strands tickling Danny's nose as the blond wriggles to get comfortable. In the end, they're cheek to cheek, the backs of Willie's hands resting on Danny's open palms, their chests rising and falling in unison.
Danny brushes a kiss against Willie's cheek and finally he can see.