I was in desperate need of bitty!Danny tonight.
Un-beta'ed, so quibble away.
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In the Dark of the Night
Danny liked Philadelphia. It was…
Well, it wasn't a castle him and Charlie were living in, but it was close. Castles were big places and there were lots of rooms for people to live in, and there was always food. (Danny had figured that out when he'd snuck down to the kitchens, and had just looked around. The cooks had sent him back to bed with a snack. He hadn't gotten in trouble, which was awesome. Charlie liked the strawberries and sugar almost as much as he had.)
But sometimes, it was just a little too scary. Him and Charlie had been there for almost a week. They hadn't been hit once or anything. And they'd been allowed to sleep in (not that either of them had slept, but they weren't telling Unca Mi or Fishy about that) if they'd wanted. It was perfect.
Danny had his own bed, and so did Charlie. Neither of them really used them, though. They still preferred hiding in the closet. It was warm and comfy and it felt… He didn't know, safe. It was safe. Uncle Miles had given up trying to make them sleep in their beds in the room and let them put a nest in the closet. Danny kept Archie—his wolf—with him in the nest. Not all the time, though—he kept the wolf with him whenever he could, tucking it in his shirt if he had to. No one took it away from him. That was nice. He liked hugging the plush body, and he'd never had anything that soft. Like…ever.
They were supposed to sleep at night. They usually had to pretend to sleep so Uncle Miles didn't worry, but… Well, Danny didn't want to fall asleep because he was afraid that when he woke up, he'd be back in Sylvania Estates, freezing and starving and he wouldn't have Archie. And Charlie wouldn't have her closet full of nice clothes, and their Unca Mi would still be their mystery prince in daddy's picture book. And it'd be bad.
So he didn't want to sleep. Never. Not until he was sure it wasn't going to go away. He wanted to be happy, and he wanted Charlie to be happy, so they were going to stay awake as long as possible.
Sometimes, though… Well, it didn't work. He didn't always get to stay awake like him and Charlie wanted. And then he had bad nightmares. Really bad ones. Sometimes, Unca Mi was one of the bad men in the village, and he kept sending Charlie and him upstairs, even when they'd done their chores right. Or Mr. Caleb killed Unca Mi with the gun he wasn't supposed to have, and Charlie and him never got to leave like they wanted to so bad.
Danny tried really hard not to cry during those nightmares. He did, though.
Those nights, he tucked Archie under one arm and let Charlie take him out of their room by the hand. They'd wander around the halls, rubbing sleepily at their eyes as they tried not to fall asleep. They'd usually wander back to their room before they were supposed to "get up" and catch a few minutes of sleep.
Except tonight, because someone else was wandering with them.
Danny didn't know how Unca Mi had found both of them. He looked up at his uncle, lower lip trembling as his eyes filled up with tears. He pressed himself against Charlie's side, suddenly feeling very, very small in his new pajamas. Charlie was shaking just as badly, staring down at her toes. She was twisting the hem of her nightgown—white, with pretty pink flowers embroidered around the cuffs and hem—in her free hand.
"What are you two doing up?" Unca Mi asked, kneeling down. He was wearing a t-shirt and jeans, and he was barefoot. He had big feet, Danny noted idly. They weren't very rough, and it looked like he'd always had good shoes. Danny felt even worse about his feet—tiny, rough, and it looked like he'd just been cut up so bad… Him and Charlie both looked the same. Not like Unca Mi.
"We…we couldn't sleep," Danny whispered finally, burying his face in Archie's fuzzy body. He didn't want to get hit for not sleeping. He just… Him and Charlie didn't want to sleep.
"Come with me," Unca Mi said, taking his and Charlie's hands. Danny didn't drag his feet. Neither did Charlie. Unca Mi took them to one of the doors they weren't allowed through and unlocked it, before letting them through it.
The room was filled with books and comfy-looking green furniture. There was a window seat between two bookcases. Unca Mi picked them up and put them on the window seat before he went to browse the bookcases. He came back a few minutes later and sat down in the plush green armchair in the corner.
Danny curled up against Charlie, Archie tucked protectively between them, just in case. Their uncle opened the book and began reading.
As Unca Mi finished the first fairy tale, Danny felt his eyes drifting shut. He stubbornly rubbed them to make them stay open and tried to listen. Charlie's head drooped and she leaned more heavily against him. Her breathing deepened and evened out.
Danny lasted a few more minutes—all the way to the end of the story—before he fell asleep.
Just as he drifted off, Unca Mi pulled a big, heavy blanket over both of them.
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