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bilgisticallykosher · 5 days ago

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Settling In And Moving Forward

Shot Through The Heart, And Tom Weaver's To Blame (Alright, So It Was More The Stomach Region)

My Masterpost (no other Hot Fuzz yet) | AO3

Word count: 2464

Warnings: Vague hospital scene. Mentions of: guns, gunshot wounds, stabbing, nightmares. SPOILERS, MAJOR SPOILERS please watch this movie and then come talk to me about it, I'm obsessed. And I can tell you so many facts and give you warnings for blood.

HUGE thanks to Lux @banjoline-artichoke my British beta, who helped me with Danny's regional lingo.

Summary: Danny's recovered from getting shot. What happens now?

One and a half months.

It had been one and a half months since Danny had jumped in between Tom Weaver's gun and Nicholas. Luckily, the bullet had missed all of his internal organs, but it had still been a lot of surgery, upkeep, medication, physical therapy, and above all, time. He didn't regret it. How could he, when he'd saved Nicholas's life? But he was more than ready to get away from the hospital walls.

Even though he didn't quite mind them when Nicholas came to visit. To chat, or watch something on the horrible hospital telly. Oh, sure, he was happy when anyone else from the service visited, too, but Nicholas was different. Any time he brought his chair over to the bed, or leaned over him to grab something, or even just the way he'd talk to the hospital staff to get an update on his health, well, it made his stomach feel all queasy.

Alright, there were probably another term for it, but the other options he knew sounded stupid, so queasy would have to do.

It hadn't really been a shock to him, the realization that he fancied Nicholas. Well, alright, it had a little bit. But the transition from near-hero worship to partners to mates to equals in badass shootout had gone so smoothly that he hadn't even noticed when he'd started considering exactly how attractive Nicholas was, and how great he was, and all those other things they could be doing on his sofa instead of just watching movies.

So, he'd come to accept his feelings towards Nicholas, even if he didn't quite put a name to them. If he could avoid having to name them to himself, he could avoid having to name them to Nicholas. And he wanted to avoid having to name them to Nicholas, because, well, there was no way he were interested.

At least he didn't think it was personal like. He did enjoy Danny's company, clearly. And he respected him and all, now. But he just didn't think he were interested in blokes. Danny could relate; he'd never thought he were interested in blokes, neither. (Although he certainly had been rethinking the nature of his appreciation for his favorite actors.)

But, honestly, that didn't matter now. What really mattered was that he was finally being discharged and was able to go home!

Well. Not his home. Nicholas had insisted that he stay with him until Danny was one hundred percent ready to be on his own. And not no room in The Swan. About the third week that Danny'd been in hospital, Nicholas's cottage had finally been finished. Probably helped that Nicholas was a big, real life action hero now. People seemed more willing to go out of their way for him, from what the others had said. He were humble about it, though, always making sure everyone else got credit, too.

"All set?" Nicholas was driving him back. They'd both listened to the instructions Danny had received from the doctors and nurses, and he was just pulling on his shoes. "I've got the patrol car out in the car park."

"I need a police escort, do I?" Danny stood up and grabbed for his bag of things on the bed.

"I'm afraid so," Nicholas said faux-seriously, grabbing the bag from Danny. "It's the only car I have access to," he said, slightly more abashed.

"Is that strictly legal, Sergeant Angel?" Not that he'd turn it down, either way.

"Yes, of course," was the immediate response, and they began to walk towards the exit. "You're an officer in need of assistance due to medical complications. Just had to fill out the proper paperwork on it."

"Paperwork? Just for picking me up? A waste of time just for a ride, innit?"

"It wasn't a waste, Danny," Nicholas corrected as he held a door open for him. "It's just abiding by the proper procedures."

"Right," Danny sarcastically protested without much vigor. "Still, at least you won't be brought in for vehicular theft." Nicholas rolled his eyes.

"Let's just get you home." And Danny liked the sound of that.

---

They were about to pass by the shop that Annette Roper used to run. According to what he'd heard from everyone, the store'd been taken over by someone else after the broken windows had got fixed.

"Do you want anything from the shop?" He asked as Nicholas stopped to let someone cross.

"No, I'm alright," Nicholas tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, and Danny could tell he was on the lookout for any misdoings, even now, which made his stomach give another lurch. "Just need to get you home as quickly as possible to rest and recover." Aw, well, that was sweet of him. But still...

"Are you sure you don't want anything from the shop?" Nicholas sighed and resumed driving.

"Do you want anything from the shop, Danny?"

"Cornetto!" He chirped. "Treat yourself to something, too." He knew he wouldn't, usually concerned about his sugar intake and all. But it was his first day out of hospital, and besides which, traditions was traditions.

"No, that's quite alright, I- Oh, I'm treating you, am I?" But he was smiling.

"Yeah, you'll have to. I left m'wallet in my hospital gown." And Nicholas exhaled a laugh as he pulled up to the curb in front of the shop.

"One moment." He stepped out, but Danny stayed in the car; no unnecessary activity outside of his prescribed exercises. He took the time to take a look around, see what he'd missed in all his time shut away. Lot of rebuilding, sprucing up of everything, fixing the damage, new paint. He nodded to himself. A few places had gone with different colours than they had done. Still looked basically the same as ever, though. The Crown had still kept its name, too. Ooh, how he missed the pub. But he was on a strict no drinking diet, and there were no way Nicholas'd let him have a kip under his watch. Probably not even in the safety of his own place, whenever that would be.

Nicholas came back out and into the car, ice cream in hand.

"I don't suppose that I could convince you to wait to eat this, so I could drive you home?"

"Nawwww, it'd be all melty, and I'd dirty up your couch and all." Nicholas sighed and leaned back in his seat as Danny unwrapped the Cornetto. "Noticed the sign's different."

"Hm?"

"On the shop," he explained. "The limit on school children." Nicholas looked at him, and he smiled and gave one of his nods.

"Haven't lost your touch. Good." Danny smiled back. "Yeah. It is," he turned back to the sign in question. Now it read, 'No More Than One Shootout Allowed In The Shop At Any Time.'

"Ah," Danny sighed. "Times of the changing signs."

Nicholas turned back to him, face contorted in what looked like physical pain. Danny just smiled, chuffed with himself. He took a rather cheeky lick of his Cornetto, tip of his tongue darting out only enough to leave a little indented stripe in the ice cream from one side of the cone to another.

Nicholas wasn't grimacing anymore, but he was still staring at him. At least, he thought so. It was hard to tell through his aviators, but Danny couldn't bring himself to mind; Nicholas looked proper cool in them. Danny raised his eyebrow at him, and was about to ask if the joke had really been that bad when Nicholas snapped his head back facing front and cleared his throat.

"So. How are you feeling?" He sounded stilted. Danny frowned.

"You know how I am, ya knob, you were talking to the doctors and nurses every time you visited." He had visited every day, which just made Danny's stomach feel all queasy again. He took a few more normal licks of his Cornetto to distract himself.

"No, Danny, I mean." And here he waited a spot for Nicholas to keep talking. "How are you feeling, mentally?" Oh.

"Oh." He fiddled with his snack, staring down as he passed it from one hand to the other. "Better, I think." He thumbed the side of the cone. He thought about if he should tell him or not, but, really, not telling Nicholas nearly anything weren't even up for debate. "I had a therapist while I was in hospital." He glanced at Nick from the side to try and see his reaction.

"Oh, yes? How'd that go?" He was looking at Danny again, but he couldn't read anything from his expression except what seemed like genuine interest.

"Well, that helped some. Still have nightmares occassionally." An understatement, but they had been less frequent. "They, eh, still want me to see someone. Sometimes." He took a bite of the ice cream, still side-eyeing his partner.

"Good. I'm glad." Danny turned sharply, and immediately felt a twat for being so uncool about it.

"Yeah?"

"Of course." Nicholas took off his glasses to look him in the eyes, which made him feel warm in spite of the ice cream. "Danny, the NWA, everything that happened. That was incredibly traumatic." Well, he'd hear no arguments from Danny on that one. "I also saw someone for a few sessions. I had nightmares, too. And I haven't known these people since I was born, nevermind one of them was your own dad." Danny exhaled a laugh.

"Yeah. Yeah." He took a bite, perhaps a bit more aggressively than usual, and thought until he swallowed. "I had a lot of time to think, y'know, in between visitors. At night. I still don't really know how to feel. He's still my dad, but then, after everything he done..." He trailed off.

"And you thought my uncle Derrick was a cunt." Which was so unexpected, it made Danny laugh into the Cornetto, which set Nicholas off, too.

"Room for more than one, I reckon," he grinned after a moment. He gave a few more licks as they settled into companiable silence. "What'd you have nightmares of, then?" It was a very personal question, but Nicholas didn't even hesitate to answer.

"Those catacombs, mostly." Danny nodded in sympathy. "And how nearly all the people I filled out paperwork on wound up there." Danny pieced together the implication, and was shocked.

"Now that weren't your fault!" He half-yelled at him.

"I know, I know!" Nicholas put a hand on the side of his forehead. "I just..." He sighed harshly. "Well. That's why I had the sessions." Danny put a hand on his shoulder, and he was rewarded with Nicholas relaxing his arm down, and smiling at him, albeit a bit sadly. "I also had some about you." Danny nodded, taking his hand back.

"Me, too."

"I'm, erm, sorry about threatening to kill you, back then, against your father." And while, yeah, that had been in his own nightmares a few times, he certainly had other things that featured.

"Sorry that I stabbed you. And, well, that I told you to leave." Nicholas snorted.

"I'm sorry I left." They smiled at each other, Nicholas looking at Danny with that Look that he sometimes had. Truth be told, while Danny had had nightmares about Nicholas with the knife, and his dad with the gun, he'd definitely had some that starred himself with the knife, too. Facing Nicholas alongside his dad, watching his face as he realized Danny'd been lying all this time. Danny plunging the knife into him, but unable to stop his arm as it went past his notebook...

Nicholas put his hand on his shoulder.

But he'd stopped having those weeks ago. And here he was, out of hospital, in the car with Nicholas, ready to get back to a nearly normal life. He looked at Nick again, who was smiling at him, hand still resting on his shoulder, and suddenly he felt a pain flare from within his ribcage.

"Agh!" Danny clutched a hand to his chest.

"Danny!" Nicholas removed his hand from his shoulder, looking at him, but also looking around as though he were expecting to see what caused it. "Danny are you alright?"

"Yeah." The pain had gone, at least, but he realized, looking at Nicholas's worried face, what had been the cause. He thought quickly. "It were just a brain freeze." Nicholas frowned.

"In... your chest?" Nicolas raised an eyebrow.

"Happens sometimes!" Danny defended, slightly off-kilter from the real reason his heart had hurt. It had been like his heart had been squeezed right there inside his chest. Well, he supposed he shouldn't be too surprised. This would just be something else he'd have to deal with.

"Do you mean...heartburn?" Nicholas asked as his other eyebrow raised to join the first, still doubtful.

"I might do, yeah," he took the excuse. "I'm fine now, Nicholas, honest."

"If you're sure..." He calmed, and rested both his hands back on the steering wheel.

Danny smiled at him, crunched down on the ice cream and the cone, stuck his hand in the air, finger pointed, and spun it once.

"LET'S ROLL!" Nicholas laughed, worry eased, and drove on to get him settled.

---

Two weeks at Nicholas's had been nice, he couldn't deny that. He'd been helping him where he could, making sure that he was, in fact, able to walk about the house. Getting him to and from appointments. Even standing outside the bathroom when he bathed in case he needed anything.

He had been taking care of things for him at his own place. Watering his lily, tidying up a bit. He'd told him there weren't as many boxes laying around anymore because he'd either unpacked them properly or at least set them in their appropriate rooms. Danny had protested, but Nicholas had insisted he didn't want him to stumble over any of them.

All this in between his shifts at the station; the temporary station, until the new one was finished being built. He must have been knackered, but he always seemed to have energy for movie nights, bringing some over from Danny's collection for them to watch on his newly purchased DVD player. Honestly, he usually didn't make it past the first movie, but it were alright, he needed the sleep.

And so it went until his most recent checkup. He was determined to be able to live on his own, no assistance. Danny was proud of that, although he had to admit, he was going to miss living with Nicholas. And he thought, maybe a little hopefully, that Nicholas was going to miss living with him, too.

(When he got back, he'd discovered that Nicholas had emptied his fridge of beer. Bastard.)

(But at least he'd watered his lily.)

~~~

Will be five chapters! Love this movie, I have so many more ideas for this fandom.

Taglist: @callboxkat because I will always tag you, just don't read it yet.

#my stories #hot fuzz #danny butterman #nicholas angel #angelbutter #cursing #siamf chapter

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