fast car {edelmandola au}

Chapter Two.

Julian woke up the next morning before Danny, which was unusual. Danny was usually up by six at the latest, it was like he had an internal alarm clock. It was now eleven thirty and Danny was still sleeping like a rock. Jules knew that Danny must've been exhausted. He probably hadn't slept much for the last ten months and traveling back to the states was no doubt a long and tiring process. 

Julian began to untangle himself from Danny, but Danny groaned and pulled Jules back. "No, stay," Danny murmured, "Don't leave me, please." Julian frowned, Danny didn't sound like himself. He sounded like a scared child.

"I'm never leaving you, babe," Julian promised, kissing Danny's cheek, "I'm just gonna pee and call for room service."

"Okay," Danny mumbled, relaxing his grip a bit. He was still asleep, but he was such a light sleeper that Julian's breathing could wake him up. That's how the army trained him, he can't protect himself if he's in such a deep sleep that he can't hear what's going on around him. 

"So," Julian mumbled when he finished calling for room service, "Will you explain what going on now?"

"Baby, it's nothing," Danny sighed, sitting up slowly, "If I tell you, you'll freak out."

"I would not--" Julian cut himself off, "Okay, maybe I would. I worry about you."

"You really want to know?" Danny bit his lip. Julian nodded, looking concerned. Danny sighed and pulled up the right side of his shirt, revealing a bandage that was hiding stitches. Danny winced and pulled the bandage back, revealing the stitches to Julian. The stitches were holding Danny's side together where he was shot two weeks ago. "I told them not to call you, I knew you'd panic."

"You got shot?" Julian asked quietly, "You could've died, Danny!"

"But I didn't," Danny smiled, wiping Julian's tears, "Don't cry, baby. I'm fine."

"I hardly call getting shot fine," Julian shook his head. 

"This isn't the only one," Danny admitted. He didn't want to tell Julian this because he knew that it'd scare the hell out of Jules. "There's another one, uh, on my leg. It's fine though, I'm gonna be fine. You don't need to worry," Danny laughed, "The guy didn't have very good aim."

"Don't fucking joke about this!" Julian yelled, tears running down his cheeks, "This isn't a joke, I could've lost you!"

"Hey," Danny said softly, "You didn't lose me. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere." Danny pulled Jules into a hug, "I'm sorry I upset you. Are you okay?"

"Don't fucking be nice to me right now!" Julian cried, "I should be asking you if you're okay! You got shot! Twice! Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine, Jules," Danny insisted, "It's really not a big deal. I can walk, everything's fine. I'm just a bit sore, baby. That's it."

"You're not going back there, right? I mean, you can't go back there..." Julian sighed. 

"Baby," Danny murmured, "I just got home. I might have to go back. I don't have much of a say."

"Yes you do!" Julian yelled, clearly frustrated.

"I don't want to argue with you right now, Jules," Danny said softly, "I don't have to go back for at least another month, baby. Let's focus on me going back later." Danny pulled Julian to his side, "For now, let's focus on the fact that you won the Super Bowl, baby! I'm so proud of you!" 

A knock on the door made Danny jump nearly ten feet in the air. The noise was loud and sharp and since he was just returning from a battlefield, he was startled. Julian looked worried, "Are you okay, babe?"

Danny nodded, placing one of his hands on the bandage on his side. He pulled on the stitches a little when he jumped, so it was a bit sore. Julian stood up and opened the door, expecting it to be the food he ordered. Instead, it was Julian's parents, Frank and Angie, who literally pushed by Jules to go see Danny. Julian laughed and joined Danny back on the bed.

Julian's parents absolutely adored Danny. They thought that he was perfect for Julian and that he was just an amazing person in general. This meant a lot to Danny since he never had a Dad and as a result, his mom blamed him for his Dad leaving, which put a strain on their relationship. When his mom remarried, it was almost like Danny didn't exist. That hurt Danny a lot more then he would ever admit. 

"So, how was it over there?" Frank asked, "You okay?"

"It was hot," Danny laughed, "And, yeah, I'll be fine." Julian shot a glare at Danny but relaxed almost instantly against Danny's chest. "Jules, I'm fine, I promise," Danny reassured Julian, "It's really not a big deal."

"Yeah, almost dying is no big deal," Julian muttered, looking over at his parents, "Please tell him he's crazy."

"We already know that he's crazy, Jules," Angie giggled and shook her head, "How much more crazy can Danny get?!"

"He got shot twice, told whoever not to call me because I'd freak out and is saying it's no big deal," Julian muttered, "Danny's lost it."

Danny played with Julian's hair, "I swear, I'm fine." 

A few hours later, it was just Danny and Jules again. "I'm so proud of you," Danny murmured, pecking Julian's lips, "You're so fucking amazing."

"Danny, are you kidding me, babe?" Julian smiled, "You're the amazing one. I love you. Thank you for coming home."

"I'm always gonna come home," Danny promised, smirking, "Even if it's in a body bag."

"Danny!" Julian gasped, "You asshole! You sure know how to ruin a moment!"

"But you love me anyway," Danny grinned.

"Yeah, whatever," Julian rolled his eyes, "I'll be right back, I was supposed to be at an interview ten minutes ago."

Julian practically booked it to the ballroom where the press was. This was the last thing that he wanted to do, he wanted to go be with Danny. 

"I haven't see you since last night," Tom said, "You excited Danny's home? Did you two celebrate?" Tom's tone was suggestive and Julian rolled his eyes. 

"I'm really happy he's home," Julian grinned, "But we didn't have sex, he has stitches so I'm not trying to fuck with them."

"Is he okay?" Tom frowned. 

"He uh, he got shot a few times," Julian bit his lip, "The little shit is trying to tell me he's totally fine and it's no big deal, oh, and he just made a joke about coming home in a body bag, so yeah, he's good. Being his usual humorous self." 

"You didn't laugh, did you?" Tom chuckled.

"Can't say I did," Julian shook his head, "It was basically 'hey babe, I got shot, by the way, I love you and I'll always come home, even if it's in a body bag!' Like where did I find this guy?!"

"Shit," Tom laughed, "I don't mean to laugh but he has a great sense of humor."

"It's great if you're not engaged to him when he jokes about dying." Julian chuckled, "He's crazy."