darker_london | Suspicions (Danny, Cai, and a little of Peter and Thomas)

Considering how horrified Danny had been after his nightmare, Cai's attempts to cheer him up with his antics were much appreciated. It hadn't made him smile like it might have on a normal day, but it had made him feel a little less panicky about the world in general.

Still, by the time fifteen minutes had passed, Danny was waiting outside for Cai's car, his arms wrapped around his chest as he paced the footpath. What he hadn't expected, and what froze his blood in his veins for a moment, was hearing his name called by a voice he didn't immediately recognise.

Danny whirled around, his hands out, ready to protect himself. That was when he spotted Thomas Littleton, the man who had sparked his panic attack at Zoe's house. He was walking down the road with a man Danny didn't recognise at all. Thomas had been through the same things Danny had though, and that knowledge allowed him to relax, at least a little. That didn't mean he didn't back up away from the two men by at least ten feet.

"Whoa, sorry to surprise you," Thomas said, his hands up in a form of surrender. "Peter and I were just headed towards the park to get some air and I saw you standing there looking upset."

"Bad night," Danny said, wondering why he was even admitting that.

Thomas' expression was pure sympathy. "Sorry, kid. Hey, this is Zoe's uncle Peter. Peter, this is Zoe's friend, Danny." Peter waved, but seemed to know Thomas was aware of something he wasn't and he should stay out of this. "Anything I can do for you?"

"My brother's coming," Danny said, his voice betraying his panicked and desperate mindset. "I just sort of...needed to get out, you know?" He debated saying anything for a moment or two before coming out with, "so you have nightmares are stuff? I mean about the...you know?"

Thomas nodded slowly, "not as often any more, but they still happen from time to time."

Danny's arms slowly wrapped themselves around his chest again, and though he didn't look comfortable there, opposite two large men, at least he wasn't poised to fight them any more. To any outsider it appeared he was terrified of them, but Danny was more troubled by the things in his head than anything else. "I was getting better," he admitted to Thomas, ignoring Peter completely. "I mean...a little bit. But then I thought I saw- I thought I saw him a few weeks ago, and it got worse again. And yesterday- Fuck. Oh, sorry. Heh. I thought I saw him again, and I called the police and they're looking for him but I didn't tell my mum because I don't want her to freak out but now I'm freaking out and I kind of want to just die and I don't even know why I'm telling you this."

"Hey-" Thomas took a step forward before remembering he shouldn't, and Danny responded with three steps back and a wary look. "Sorry. Look, I remember feeling like that. Peter here has ways of finding people too if maybe you had a description or something?"

And only then did Danny finally look at Peter. "Zoe called you the other day, when she needed to know about our friend's sister. She also called you during the prank at the school. I think she trusts you a lot." That was a round-about way of saying he didn't entirely distrust Peter if he was someone Zoe called in a crisis. "I could draw a picture and uhm, email it maybe? I'll get your email from Zoe." He trusted that information from his friend more than this man. "If that's okay?"

"Of course," Peter nodded. "Or if you wanted to send it to her, she could send it on, and then I wouldn't have your email. I mean, if it made you feel safer." Even if Peter had no idea what was going on, he seemed to know Danny wanted to feel secure.

"Yeah...yeah okay. I'll do that. Uhm. Thanks. Thomas can tell you why. I mean. I don't really want to and Zoe might not assume it's okay. But you can tell him," he said to Thomas, who nodded. Just then, a familiar car came into view and Danny glanced over at his brother who was behind the wheel. He didn't even realise this could look slightly worrying.

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Cai did wonder, rather than worry, when he saw Danny talking to the two men. Danny's posture was tense, and worth worrying about, but by the time Cai was close enough to note his posture, he'd also recognised Peter.

he did a careful job parking the car- always a bit more wary about it when adults were watching, although his parking skills were fine. Passable, anyway. He left the car unlocked (and the music on - Noah and the Whale) as he climbed out. "Hey team," he said, joining Danny at his side. "What's cooking?"

The moment Cai joined them, Danny relaxed visibly. "Cai," he said, this is Zoe's uncle Peter and his friend Thomas."

Peter grinned at Cai, nodding his head. "We've met before. Nice to see you again, Cai."

"I was there too!" Thomas smiled at Cai.

"I was telling them about Greg," Danny explained. "I thought I saw him again. And Thomas has been through some...some shit, so he understands me."

Cai wasn't sure what the protocal was for adults who had 'been through some shit too', but he gave Thomas a sympathetic twist of a smile with a "Sorry bout that ... Greg huh," he said to Danny, understanding a bit more why Danny needed someone tonight. "That's twice now, isn't it? "

Danny nodded quietly and then he moved towards Cai's car. "I'll email Zoe," he told Peter. "Uhm. Bye?"

"Take care," Thomas said to both of them. "And we'll do what we can."

They moved off together, and Danny sighed in relief. "The first time I saw Thomas at Zoe's house, I had a panic attack. He touched me and I freaked out. I mean he just touched my shoulder, not- Not anything else. I'm just rambling now. I'm so freaked out."

As they reached the car, Cai pulled his hands from his pockets where they'd been safely hidden. "Because of Greg?" he asked, though he wasn't really asking a question, just talking. "You really think it's him? Not that I'm doubting you - sorry, dumb questions all round." He rolled his eyes at himself; Cai wasn't too worried about his own ramblings, hoping that it would mean Danny was less anxious about his.

Rambling wasn't a bad thing. Streams of consciousness were beautiful, fascinating, revealing things. This wasn't a concept that Cai could quite put into words, but he hoped Danny would understand that he didn't have to apologise for speaking.

Danny nodded as he climbed into the car and pulled the door closed behind him. Once he was buckled in, he drew one leg up so he could wrap his arms around his knees. "I wasn't sure when I first saw him that day at the cafe," Danny admitted. "I mean, he was so far away. Yesterday though- I saw him from the side and, god- I almost froze, but I knew I couldn't let him see me, so I turned and ran and Wolf thought it was a game so he ran too. I know it was him. He had that same searching expression on his face, like he was looking for someone to-"

He knew he was choking up and he didn't want to cry in front of his brother. His emotions didn't seem to care how uncool he might look though, and he choked out a sob. "I'm sorry!" he wailed, burying his head in his knee.

"Hey," Cai said gently, biting his lip as Danny began to fold himself up into tears. "Hey, you're alright." He pulled his sleeve over his hand, and gave Danny a bit of a pat on his shoulder. "You did the right thing running away and calling the cops. And calling me right now. You're pretty damn good at looking after yourself at the moment, y'know?"

Danny sniffed and wiped at his face, but then he hid it in his knee again. "Thanks," he said, because he did appreciate someone noticing he was trying so hard not to slip. "I just- God, Cai, if he finds me again- I- I don't-"

He squeezed his eyes shut as more tears flowed out of them. "It'd be worse." His voice was breathless from crying and some of the words came out haltingly. "It'd be worse because, I- I'm older and- And things work now- Oh, Jesus, I'm so scared."

Suspicions (Danny, Cai, and a little of Peter and Thomas)

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