Entwined- Dunkirk fanfic

Chapter 7

Tommy's eyes fly open as his eyeballs bulge in panic. Water jets out of his mouth, he sits up exhausted, coughing feebly. Air passes through his burning lungs, charging through his veins and soothing his numb limbs. Colour reappears in his face but not in his mind, all around is the grey of Dunkirk beach. A place he thought he'd never see again.
"Tommy" a tentative voice reaches out to him. Gazing towards the source of the sound, a spark of hope erupts inside him.
He stares into those deep grey eyes, for what seems like an eternity. After a while Isabelle breaks the gaze and looks down, Tommy sees that's shes blushing, that makes him blush.
"Oh my god, Tommy, you're alive" alex practically screams, shaking his shoulders thoroughly, making him look a touch bonkers.
"Y-yeah" Tommy stutters feeling like he might chunder.
" for gods sake, give him some space" Isabelle scolds Alex, pushing Alex of him
"Put a sock in it, Izzy" alex mocks her. Frustrated Isabelle shuts up, but Tommy notices how her eyes are practically slits and her lips were in a full pout. What did Alex do to get her to hate him so much? Tommy wonders. Gibson sat behind Alex smiling supportively, Tommy manages a pained grin in reply. Then he turns back to isabelle noticing how far away she's sat from Alex
" thank you" he whispers
She smiles grimly
"I think I owed you one"
"Oh" Tommy says disheartened, he didn't expect that the only reason she'd wanted to save him was to relive herself of her debt to him. It hurts him.
"No, I am very happy your alive" she insists.
"Me too" he grins, not sure if he ment it.
After that there wasn't much conversation between the four. Isabelle continues to shoot Alex dirty looks, as the stormy sea, that so much matched the colour of her eyes, throws foam around their ankles and salty spray into their eyes. Tommy eventually nods of, the exhaustion gets the better of him. It wasn't like there was anything interesting to stay awake for: the bombing had stopped for a while and they were all in desperate need of some kip. For hours they just sit there, watching the sea, wondering hopelessly if they'd ever see home again, a tin of beans washes up on the beach at some point, which they open unenthusiastically. Tommy doesn't get his fair share but he lacks the strength to complain.
Isabelle is angry as she eyes the mole, another ship hadn't appeared for hours, she couldn't imagine how they were going to get, the men and the wounded, who litter the beach for what seems like miles, home. What did they think they were doing, the German ground forces were closing in on them, the Luftwaffe were preparing to blast them, the absence of the RAF was simply infuriating. She couldn't breathe. She just felt so helpless, sitting in the sand longing to be in a spitfire, dancing over the sea, shooting down the jerry. She was powerless on the ground, the exhilaration that piloting he plane brought her just couldn't be matched. Frustration pulses through her, if she wasn't wearing this this tight pilots uniform she might explode, her toes wriggle in her too small boots. Tommy notices her unease and squeezes his hand into hers, which in embarrassment she realizes she's been clutching for some time. His hands are big and strong, but with long and skinny fingers, they are stained by dirt and sweat, but they're warm, much like the rest of him. Dirty, sweaty, malnourished to the point of his wet brown uniform hanging of his frame, but he was so warm. She can't help herself, she snuggles her damp blond hair right underneath that bony jaw. To her surprise he doesn't push her away, or mumble something about a girlfriend. They just sit, his arm around her, until signs of life appear from the other two.
"Hey, highlanders" Alex yells at a group of men marching through the wet sand between them and the sea. Isabelle can only guess they're what remains of his regiment, as he gets up and legs it towards them. Rolling her eyes, Isabelle summons her mental strength and pulls herself of the beach, Tommy does the same, which confuses Gibson greatly, who just sits there with a confused look about him. Sighing, she trudges over to him and whispers in his ear.
"Levez-vous, nous allons"
He nods, understanding and joins the pair.
They run of to catch up with Alex.
"What's that way" Alex breathes pointing in the direction they were marching.
"A ship, she's grounded" the leader claims
"Not when the tide comes in she's not" another man pipes up triumphantly, which receives him a hard stare from the leader.
Isabelle glances in the direction that Alex had pointed. The flat beach provides a perfect line of sight, or fire for that matter. The boat appears to be a small blue crawler, grounded about a mile down the beach. Based on the perimeter she'd been taught that the French soldiers were making, which had probably shrunken considerably since she took of, that boat was about 500 metres into enemy territory, she wasn't getting on that thing.
"That's a death trap" she remarks
"I'm staying here"
"Oh for goodness sake, Izzy" Alex cries
"It's outside the perimeter, you knobhead"
She stares harshly up at him, it was so frustrating how much taller he was than her, she had to crane her neck just to glare at him, she'd once loved the powerless, womanish feeling he exerted over her, now she hates it more than she hates him. The anger and tension bubbles inside her, until she releases it as a kick in the bollocks for Alex. As he reals over in pain, men chuckle around them. A sense of accomplishment floats around Isabelle, but she knew she'd never be able to hurt him as much as he'd hurt her. The highlanders don't seem to care for her warnings and continue on to the boat, Isabelle wants to scream at them for being so stupid, but then Tommy gently fingers her back, soothing away years of tension in a single touch. He leads her effortlessly towards the boat. When they finally reach it, it seems like a hopeless cause. The tide barely licks the stern of the crawler, it would be hours before it floated. But there were worse places to stay than in the hull of a rusty boat, it would at least provide some shelter from the elements.
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They're almost off the beach, thank god 😂. Hope you are enjoying.
Fun fact: a swarm of 20,000 bees followed a car for 2 days just because their queen was stuck inside.
Sabine xxx