[ He has to lie with it for a minute, his big hands soothing Silco’s hip, his back. This isn’t the first collapse; these aren’t the first friends they’ve lost to the mines, and they won’t be the last. Next time it could be them buried under five feet of dirt and coal.
Next time -
Unthinkingly, his arms wrap around Silco tight. Squeezing, desperate to keep him in one place. He buries his nose into the black of his hair and smells smoke and grime and inhales it deep. He should get up and man the rescue. He should be putting on his boots and preparing himself for days of digging out bodies.
Instead he holds Silco tight enough to fuse their ribcages together, futile desperation to keep him safe.]
Let me see the scrapes, [ he says after a beat, voice trembling in its roughness. ] They might’ve missed something.
no subject
Next time -
Unthinkingly, his arms wrap around Silco tight. Squeezing, desperate to keep him in one place. He buries his nose into the black of his hair and smells smoke and grime and inhales it deep. He should get up and man the rescue. He should be putting on his boots and preparing himself for days of digging out bodies.
Instead he holds Silco tight enough to fuse their ribcages together, futile desperation to keep him safe.]
Let me see the scrapes, [ he says after a beat, voice trembling in its roughness. ] They might’ve missed something.