When morning gleams overhead, Thomas awakes with a jolt. He automatically looks to his right. No Jimmy. Perhaps it was all but a dream, he tells himself. It fails to placate his aching chest. He led himself to believe that he had acquired a friend.
"Ah, finally you're up!" And Jimmy is standing above him, his cocky grin in place. The sun catches in his hair, illuminates his silhouette. He is gilded, Thomas decides. "I brought you a bit of breakfast to eat before the stand-to."
Thomas accepts the hard biscuit. It is of no comfort to his eternally growling stomach. But the fact that Jimmy thought of him at all provides him with a much more different variant of nourishment. He chews mechanically, wanting to prolong the moment for as long as he can stretch it.
"It's quiet-like today." He says, noticing the lack of metal streaming about. Every now and then, a distant explosion echoes in the air.
Jimmy nods. "The calm before the storm, I presume," He bumps the toe of his boot against the duckboard below them, lingering. Thomas glances up at him before averting his gaze. He reminds himself that he mustn't cock-up again, or else he might lose his only friend.
"You slept well enough last night. I was glad to see one of us gettin' it." Jimmy says, still standing. His tone is friendly, open.
Thomas pauses mid-chew, and regards Jimmy with surprise. "You should have woken me." He doesn't mean it, but his voice is clipped.
Jimmy shrugs, still nudging his boot against the board, almost shyly. "You looked peaceful. Didn't want to disturb you."
Thomas feels his face grow warm as he thinks about Jimmy allowing him sleep. Swallowing, he tries block his feelings out. "I thank you very much for that, but I must insist that you never prevent me from fulfilling my duty again. It reflects badly upon our integrity." He closes his mouth before he can fill the air with any further malarkey.
The blond nods. "Yes. Well, I must be going then." His boots trod off.
When Thomas allows himself to look up again, he sees another biscuit that Jimmy left for him.
[[ AN: Apologies for the slow start; there are many, many chapters ahead. Some will be short and succinct, others long and dreadfully lengthy! ]]