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Fear.
Fear was the only thing Schofield could see in Tom’s innocent, blue eyes. The way he flinched when artillery shells exploded, ironically hugging his rifle for comfort.
Schofield was sitting across from the younger boy, his eyes focused on Blake. For some reason, starring at the boy helped him manage his own fear.
Blake wasn’t meant for the war. Schofield had known this since the day Blake had introduced himself to him, a big, innocent smile plastered on his lips. Blake was too sweet, too kind to be here - he should be at home, surrounded by daisies and cherry trees.
But Blake couldn’t just leave and go back home. Once he got drafted, there was no way out - except death.
Another shell exploded and Blake whimpered lightly, pressing his eyes closed. Carefully, Schofield looked around him. There were a couple of soldiers not too far off, but Schofield decided to take his chance. He couldn’t let Blake suffer on his own.
“What are you doing?”, Tom whispered as soon as William got up, looking at him, the shock written on his face. But William just shook his head and sat down next to Tom. Carefully, he removed Tom’s hands from his rifle, laying it on the muddy floor next to him.
“Scho”, Tom whispered quietly and Will gave him a soft smile, slowly taking Tom’s hands in his. They were so soft - way too soft for the roughness of the war.
“We’re going to be alright”, Schofield said with serenity, slowly rubbing the back of Tom’s hands. Then, he quickly looked up to make sure they were not being observed. No one was looking at them as there were much bigger problems than two men comforting each other around them. Hence, Schofield quickly raised Tom’s hands to his mouth, pressing a little kiss on them.
“Everything is alright”, he repeated and looked up to Tom, who seemed to breathe a little slower than a minute ago.
Will pressed another little kiss on Tom’s hands.
“I don’t want to die”, Tom whispered quietly, the fear in his voice as clear as a river. Quickly, Schofield wrapped an arm around Tom, bringing him closer to him.
“You’re not gonna die”, Schofield replied hastily, cupping Tom’s chubby cheek and looking at him with calmness.
“There is no way I’m going to let that happen”, he added and Tom shrugged, pressing his head into the crook of Will’s neck. His lips faintly touched Will’s skin, being so warm in comparison to the air. Tom was like a little, portable heater.
“How are you going to manage that? No one knows where a bomb is going to explode next. Or a grenade”, Tom answered, slightly rubbing his nose. He got out of Will’s tight embrace, biting his lower lip.
Schofield didn’t have an answer to that. The war was unpredictable, deadly, devious - nothing like the world had ever seen before. Nevertheless, he knew that he would do anything to protect Tom, giving his own life in a heartbeat.
“I- I just do”, he answered, looking to Tom with an unreadable expression. Then he started unbuttoning his military coat.
“Scho… We can’t do that… here”, Blake spoke, his cheeks gaining a pink color as he looked around nervously. But Schofield just giggled, shaking his head.
“Even when you’re scared, your thoughts are still dirty”, he chuckled, Tom’s cheek now fuchsia. He hid his face under his hands, but Schofield delicately removed them, a smile plastered on his face.
Another bomb exploded, the lightness of the moment disappearing and Schofield quickly took Tom’s hand back into his, pressing it lightly. Tom’s eyes had lost their sparkle again and Schofield would have loved to kiss it back.
“Look at me”, he whispered dearly, pressing his finger under Tom’s chin so that he was forced to look at William, giving him a tired smile. Once Tom was only focused on him, Will removed his hands, fiddling with his jacket again. Then, carefully, he took off his scarf.
“What are you doing?”, Tom replied a little lost, staring at the scarf. The scarf was made out of wool and was of a brown color. Like the mud around them, but it was so much lovelier.
“I want you to have it”, Schofield answered softly, earning a confused look from Tom.
“But your mom made it for you”, he contradicted. Delicately, William placed the scarf around Tom’s neck, nodding.
“She made it for me to always keep me safe. And it did work pretty well, I did survive the battle of the Somme”, he started, quickly caressing Tom’s cheek.
“I want you to have it. This way I’ll know for sure that you’ll always be safe and that nothing is going to mess up your pretty face”, Will continued, looking at Blake fondly. He brushed his finger over Tom’s delicate, porcelain skin, raising his gaze to look directly into Tom’s beautiful eyes.
“But… what about you? You have to be safe, too”, Blake replied, his voice hoarse. Will just shrugged, putting a knot into the scarf to better protect Tom from the cold.
“I only care about you, Tom. If you’re safe then I am happy”, Will spoke truthfully. Blake was the one who needed to get back home. He was too young and still had so much to experience. Will, on the other hand, was already pretty fulfilled with his life.
“Thank you, Scho”, Blake whispered after a moment, slowly touching the scarf around his neck. It was so soft and felt like home.
“It’s going to protect you, but please don’t do too much stupid stuff”, Schofield chuckled, and Tom giggled lightly, rolling his eyes adoringly.
“We’ll see about that”, Tom responded, the fear vanished from his gaze. Slowly he took Will’s hands in his, holding them close to his chest.
And Blake wore the scarf every day until the end of the war. He wore it during the deadly battles, during the cold nights in his lover’s arms, during the dangerous missions that he was sent off to do.
Tom only took it off once they entered their new apartment Schofield had just signed the lease for. He softly touched Schofield’s shoulder, making Will turn around. Tom carefully placed the scarf in Schofield’s hands, a gentle smile on his lips.
“I am safe now”, Tom said softly and pressed a tender kiss on Will’s lips, his hands on Will’s tiny waist.
They were both safe.
Finally.