Manchester Ménage 01 - Saving Samuel

by Nicole Colville

  “What?” Milo turned around, catching sight of Daniel walking towards them. Their eyes met for the first time in three weeks and Daniel paused, feet planted firmly on the polished floor and mouth partly open. “Danny? What are you…” Milo glanced at the door and frowned as he looked back into Daniel’s bright green eyes. “You saved this one, right? That’s why you’re here?” Danny was a bugger for strays and too soft for his own good. “Daniel…” Milo pulled his fingers through his dark, collar length hair and sighed. “Give us a second, Dalton.”

  “Sure.” Dalton nodded towards Daniel then took off in the direction of the coffee machine.

  Milo slipped his heavy arm around Daniel’s waist and pulled him closer, smelling the aftershave and soap on his skin, the smoke still clinging to his hair. “You slipped off pretty quickly, I can tell. You rushed your shower. Are you that eager to see, Sleeping Beauty?”

  “What are you doing here? I thought you were in India with your mum visiting the family.”

  “I was.” Milo stopped them in a smaller corridor away from prying eyes and leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. “I just got back yesterday.”

  “Huh.” Daniel copied his stance, leaning on the wall opposite him and hugging himself.

  They hadn’t spoken since Milo left for India three weeks ago. They’d argued and Milo had taken two weeks to calm down and get his head right again. Daniel played with his mind and he hated it.

  Daniel played with his shirt cuffs, not looking at him. “I thought you’d call at least once when you’d pulled your head out of your arse and calmed down.”

  Milo tilted his head back and stared at the ceiling, praying for patience. “I tried. It went to voicemail… four times.” Milo ground his teeth together. He hated being ignored. But then, he’d ignored Danny for over two weeks, so it was obviously going to happen. It was a game they played, a game Milo was beginning to tire of. Six years of messing around with each other and they still acted like school kids.

  “Yeah, shit when that happens, isn’t it?” Daniel tilted his head to the side, green eyes blazing angrily at Milo and his sexy lips firmly snapped shut.

  Every time Milo saw Daniel, he felt the same pull he experienced the first time they laid their eyes on each other. Daniel was nineteen when they met, young and new to the fire service. He was living in the fire station quarters because his prick of a dad chucked him out when his family found out he was gay. They’d been attracted to each other from the moment they saw each other, but Milo held off for a few months, not knowing if Daniel was someone who he should mess around with like the many others he’d fucked. Daniel was different. Daniel was the one who kept Milo interested when others bored him within a night.

  “I’ve missed you.” Daniel closed his almond shaped eyes, breathing deeply. “I can’t do this anymore, Milo. It’s too hard. In six years we’ve never been able to make this work. I’m exhausted from your games. I’m twenty six this year. I need to grow up. You need to grow up. You’re thirty, for God’s sake. If you’re not ready to settle down, or at least give a relationship a go, then what’s the point?”

  This was an old argument, one which they kept repeating every couple of years. They’d stop meeting up, stop calling, end it all, then find themselves falling into bed three months later, desperate and out of their minds, needing to reconnect and just be with the other. But Daniel was right, this had to stop.

  “Danny, I don’t want to end everything. I don’t know why we keep having this conversation. We both need something from each other.”

  “Sex. That’s what you need, right? I mean more. You just don’t want that with me.”

  “Hey.” Milo shifted closer to him. “We tried that out. It didn’t work.”

  “Three months wasn’t long enough to call it a trial. You didn’t even give me a chance.”

  “It felt fucking longer.” Milo brushed back his thick hair and frowned at Daniel. “Besides, don’t throw the sex thing back in my face. You're just as desperate for me as I am for you. It’s a two way thing. We both get what we need. Sort of.” Milo rolled his eyes. Daniel didn’t get everything he needed from Milo, and he never would. “You need someone to fuck occasionally and I'm not that person. We’ve tried everything. A ménage, open, you abstaining. None of them worked, Danny. Anyway, this is kind of a relationship, just a very…”

  “Loosely based, open kind of thing which doesn’t fulfill either of us, and don’t you lie and say it does.” Daniel swept his hair from his forehead with a huff before placing his hands on his hips and glaring at Milo.

  He looked sexy mad, which was one of the reasons why most arguments ended up with him pinned beneath Milo, being fucked hard while they both swore at the other, growling out hateful words while they worked their bodies up into a wild state.

  Daniel rubbed his eyes with his palms. “I told you, it’s not the sex which bugs me. It’s everything else. Those issues are old and never get resolved no matter how much I try with you.” Daniel stood up and took in a deep breath. “It’s over, Milo. I know I’ve said this before, we both have, but this time I mean it. It’s over. I can’t do it anymore.”

  Milo had heard these words too often to count and he tried to stop the smug smile from appearing on his face, but Daniel caught it.

  “I mean it this time, Milo. I did a lot of thinking while you were playing happy families over in India.” Daniel stepped closer, pressing his palm on Milo’s chest and kissing his lips gently, a soft sigh escaping mouth before he pulled away.

  Milo held Daniel’s hips, not wanting to let him go, needing to press him up against the wall and ravish his mouth. Daniel’s amazing green eyes met his and Milo felt that all too familiar tug in his gut, telling him to be honest and let go, just give Daniel what he wanted.

  “I love you.” Daniel’s eyes filled with tears, something which Milo had seen only twice before in all the years they’d known each other, and one of those times was when his mum passed away. It hit Milo hard—this really was it. Daniel was ending everything with him. “I’ve always loved you, Milo. Part of me always will, but I’ve accepted you’ll never feel the same way for me—”

  “Danny—”

  “No! I know you care. I see that, I feel it.” Daniel ran his hand down Milo’s arm, taking hold of his hand in his. “I know you’re not unemotional, even though you try really hard to act like it. But, you don’t you love me, and I’ve done pretty much everything I can do to make it happen, but without changing who I am… I don’t think that will happen.” Daniel stepped back, dropping Milo’s hand and clearing his throat. “We’re holding each other back. I'm trying to make you feel something for me which you can’t. I'm not the one for you, and no matter how much it hurts me, letting you go is the only option I can think of. It will be for the best… for both of us. I know in time, I’ll move on, you’ll meet someone else and not have me bothering you every week or getting jealous over them.”

  “Daniel, there’s—”

  “No!” Daniel took another step backwards. “Please, let me do this.” He took another big breath. “We just don’t work, end of story. We never will. We’re too similar. We’ve tried it all. It’s time to accept this and move on. I won’t call you, I won’t contact you at all, and I want you to do the same thing to me.”

  Milo opened his mouth, but slammed it shut when Dalton popped his head around the corner, inquisitive blue eyes searching their body language for clues how things were going. “Hey, I got some good shots of Sleeping Beauty. You ready to go? We’ve got some paperwork to do before we clock off and I'm beat. That one’s not going anywhere tonight, Nurse said so. He’s out of action with the sleeping dope they gave him.” Dalton nodded at Daniel. “Hey, Danny, how’s things? You involved in the fire Sleeping Beauty got dragged out of?”

  “Yeah.” Daniel ran his fingers through his hair and smiled. “It was me who dragged her out.”

  Dalton and Milo shared a look, then Dalton grinned impishly, rea
dy to tell Daniel all about she being a he.

  Milo stopped him and pushed him away. “We’re having a private conversation here.”

  “It’s fine. It’s over. I’ll see you two later.” Daniel walked off, leaving Milo open mouthed and Dalton grinning.

  “Be quiet, dickhead.” Milo shoved Dalton out of the way and caught Daniel up. “Hey. I’m not finished with you yet.”

  “But I'm finished with you,” Daniel growled out as he tugged his arm free and walked over to the nurse. “I called earlier. I'm Daniel Harris, I'm here to see Sam. The girl who was pulled from the fire this evening.”

  “Oh, yes. The hero.” The nurse smiled, playing with her hair and smiling far too much at Daniel.

  Milo moved next to him, throwing daggers at the nurse with his stare and holding onto him overly protectively as usual. “I’ll show him the room.”

  He turned Danny around and stood him outside the door. Daniel moved in closer, peeking through the small, square window and smiled softly. He had such a big heart. Milo watched him, thinking how long he could go without him in his life, and knowing Daniel wouldn’t be so easily persuaded to let him back in this time.

  “She looks much better than the last time I saw her. Cleaner.” Daniel went to open the door, but Milo stopped him.

  “Yeah, about that. Look… she’s a man.” Milo waited for Daniel’s response, but got none and poked him in the shoulder.

  “I heard you.” Daniel shrugged him off. “And you’re wrong. I saw her up close, held her in my arms, talked to her.”

  “He’s got a dick, okay. It’s a man. Just a very…” Milo glanced at Samuel and took in his fine bone structure, elegant nose and cheekbones, long hair and oval shaped eyes. “Just a pretty one. He may be pre-op. Looks very female in appearance. They’re checking him for estrogen when his bloods come back.”

  Daniel swallowed heavily, turning back to the door and opening it quietly. Milo followed him into the private room, standing beside him, glancing once more over the sleeping body of the young man he was so desperate to talk to such a short time ago. But now he was only thinking about Daniel and how his eyes never left the body in front of him, how his breath stopped in his chest as he walked closer to the bed, how he fisted his hands beside him and licked his bottom lip. Milo tensed all over. Daniel was attracted to Sleeping Beauty. More than attracted, he felt for him. It cut right through Milo like a knife and he turned away.

  “I’ll be back in tomorrow. If he talks, you tell me, right? This is work, and I need to know anything he says.” Milo stormed out, tossing his head towards the exit and glaring at Dalton. “Let’s go.”

  Now was definitely the time to tell Daniel how he felt for him. He was sick of pussy-footing around the issue. They may have tried the relationship out before and it failed tremendously, but this time they would both know how they felt for each other. It had to count for something. Milo just had to think about how he could talk Danny round again.

  Saying I love you just wasn’t going to cut it.

  Chapter 3

  Daniel stood beside the bed, looking down over Sam. Stripped of the heavy, woollen sweater and the baggy training pants, he could see Sam’s body shape better. It was a man’s body for sure, not toned or muscular, but still a man’s. His shoulders were bigger, squarer, his arms and hands larger than a woman’s, and of course, his Adam’s apple was a big clue; though not as obvious as most men’s, it was still there.

  Daniel softly dragged his fingertip over the tiny bristles coming through on Sam’s chin. Most of his face was bare, but he could see patches of stubble beginning to show. He ran his palm gently down Sam’s thin arm, noticing the hair on them was so light and thin, barely visible to the eye. Daniel touched the long, blond hair lying on the pillow. It needed washing and was still covered in grime and smelled heavily of smoke, and he imagined it being a few shades lighter when it was clean. He’d never seen such long hair on a man—it was well past his shoulders, resting against his chest as he slept.

  Daniel stroked away a few strands and stared down at him. He had stunning lips, thick and pouty and such a deep pink colour. The pad of his thumb tenderly brushed over them, pausing to feel how full and firm they felt against it. He was beautiful, not just beautiful, but mesmerizing. Daniel had seen pretty men before, but this was something else. He’d met a few transsexuals, even seen some ladyboys in a show last Christmas, but Sam, well, Daniel didn’t know where to place him. He was feminine, but in such a natural way it just enhanced his boyish looks. He was young, and Daniel felt a deep pain inside him remembering how afraid Sam was when they had to be separated at the fire.

  He took a seat beside the bed, resting his elbows on his knees and watching him sleep, captivated by being so close to him. He looked so peaceful. Daniel looked at him for the longest time, committing every tiny fascinating detail of his face to memory. He tilted Sam’s head a little, noticing a small scar under his ear. It was thin and white, and looked a little messy, like it hadn’t been correctly sewed.

  “Who are you, Sweetheart?” Daniel took hold of Sam’s hand. “Where did you come from, and who’s chasing you?” He didn’t expect a response and closed his eyes.

  “I told you.” The low throaty voice shocked him.

  Daniel’s eyes opened wide and stared down into those stunning blue eyes again. “Hi, Sam.”

  “Hello, Daniel.” Sam smiled sleepily, never taking his eyes off Daniel’s. “You came back.”

  “Of course, I never break a promise.”

  Samuel’s eyes began to close again, although he was fighting hard to keep them open. “I'm not a girl.”

  “I can see that.”

  “Now.” Sam squeezed his hand and smiled again. “Are you angry?”

  “What about, Sweetheart?”

  “That I'm a boy.” Sam’s wide, oval shaped eyes closed. “Sometimes, they get mad about that.”

  “Who gets mad?” Daniel stroked his cheek, trying to keep him awake. “Sam?”

  “Samuel,” he whispered softly as he smiled, dropping off to sleep. “It’s Samuel.”

  “Samuel.”

  Daniel watched him slip back into a restful sleep and sat back in the uncomfortable chair with a heavy sigh. He needed more than that, but there was no keeping Samuel awake. He chewed his bottom lip while he thought, trying to keep the rising panic in his stomach there, and not let it fill his whole body. Sometimes they get mad about that. What the fuck! Daniel ran both of his hands over his head. He knew Samuel had been through some bad shit, he could feel it, and he wanted to help in any way he could.

  After waiting for half an hour with no sign of Samuel waking up again, Daniel stood up and stretched out his aching body. He could question the nurse, well, not question, just gossip. She seemed flirty and Daniel wasn’t above using his looks to get what he needed. He walked softly from the room and closed the door behind him quietly as he smiled at the young nurse behind her desk.

  “He woke up for a moment.”

  “He’ll be in and out all night. We’ll keep our eye on him. I was just about to start my rounds.”

  Daniel leaned against the counter and sighed. “When I pulled him from the building, he said someone was trying to find him. He looked petrified.” The nurse tilted her head and softened her look a little. “I’ve just got this feeling, you know, that something bad happened to him and I want to help. He tried to run away at the fire.”

  “He did the same thing in the emergency room. That’s why we had to sedate him again. He’s really run down, dehydrated, malnourished. We can’t force him to stay when those things are okay, but…” She rested her chin on her palm and sighed. “I know how you feel. Some of the young ones, the ones who don’t have anywhere to go when they leave here, I really feel for them too. You must have a big heart.” She smiled and Daniel blushed a little.

  “I pulled him out of there. I always feel responsible and check up on them afterwards, but Sam, there’s something more about her… him.” He chu
ckled softly. “I don’t want him to run. Milo… erm, the police officer who was here, did he say he was coming back?”

  “Tomorrow morning.” She rolled her eyes. “That’s the trouble with guys like him. They have these tall, dark and handsome good looks, but lack the right attitude. He was so pushy.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Daniel lost himself for a second remembering just how good Milo looked standing there in full uniform and having that sultry, authoritative look in his dark eyes, the one where Daniel knew he was thinking dirty thoughts about the two of them. “I know him. He’s a little… abrupt. If he comes back, I don’t think Samuel will be too responsive to him. I think he’d make a run for it. Can’t you stop them from questioning him?”

  “Nope. As long as the doctor thinks a patient is fit enough for questioning, then it has to happen.”

  “Isn’t there someone who can talk to him while he’s here? Someone who could help get him in a shelter, find out where he comes from?” Daniel crossed his arms on the counter, leaning in a little closer to her.

  “He’s too old for Social Services to help. He’s classed as an adult now, so even if he was under their care, he won’t be now. There are charities which could help. I can call a few and see what they can do for you.”

  “That would be nice of you. Thank you.” Daniel smiled sweetly at her and watched her cheeks turn red. She was pretty—nice, curly brown hair and dimples in both of her cheeks. “What’s your name?”

  “Kirsty.”

  “Hi, Kirsty. Nice to meet you. It’s Daniel.”

  “I remember.” She smiled again. “Just bear in mind, kids who run, they run for a reason. He may not want our help, most of them don’t. They sign themselves out, or run off, and then they slip off the radar again.”

  “I don’t want that to happen with him. I think he’s been through a lot. I know you can’t really say much to me, but… He’s been hurt, right? I can tell.”