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This vignette was written for Serling as part of his top tier Patreon reward for the month of August 2018. It contains romantic cuteness between consenting adults. <3

Backstage Backup

"E-excuse me..."

Clawhauser's voice trembled as he saw the tall, handsome figure sitting at the edge of the stage, resting his glitzy purple short-clad rump upon an amplifier with his back to the corridor from which the rotund cheetah had emerged. Slowly the tiger's head turned, and he furrowed his brow as he failed to recognise Clawhauser's face, that expression changing into one of regret and sorrow as he saw the VIP badge hanging around the cheetah's neck.

"Oh, hey. Look, I'm sorry man but I think you've missed Gazelle, and I'm not able to put you in touch with her. That's not my job. I just dance, if I can even manage that these days. Okay?"

The cheetah's face fell, but as he spoke it swiftly became clear that it wasn't for the reasons the tiger had assumed.

"U-um, oh. No, I wasn't... I already met her. S-she signed my... w-well, anyway that's not important. I was just looking around, and, well... y-you're Simon, right? Simon De Reeve?"

Turning slightly where he sat, on leg folded over the other as his hands massaged his raised foot somewhat idly, the tiger nodded with a less frustrated, now more curious look on his face.

"Yeah, that's me. You must be quite a fan of Gazelle's to bother learning the names of her backup dancers. Hell, most people can't even tell us apart."

Clawhauser's face turned red. He looked down at the floor, then nervously back up at the tiger once again.

"Actually, a-and... please, don't think I'm some sort of stalker or something, but... I kinda found out about Gazelle's early work because of you. Before she got big, w-when you weren't just one of her dancers, but you did some performing of your own. I had your first album, 'Ti-grrrr!' I listened to it all the time when I was a teenager. You're amazing."

The tiger's eyes widened, and for a moment Clawhauser swore he saw a slight reddish glow upon the other feline's cheeks before he chuckled dryly and turned away again.

"Yeah? Well, thanks. That means a lot. But... those days are well behind me now. They said that me continuing to tour or record while I was working with Gazelle might dilute her brand. She tried to stick up for me, she's great like that, but... in the end, it was more worthwhile to just go along with the record label and be her dancer full time. Pays much better, even if I am getting a bit old for it."

Silence fell over the now empty stage for a few seconds, the vast auditorium in which they had been performing just over an hour ago now utterly still as the rest of the venue was cleared before the cleaning crew would begin their invaluable work. Simon's sharp ears perked up, but he heard nothing more from the cheetah, and frowned at himself for being so morose. For chasing away the first fan he'd spoken to in more than a month who actually knew who he was by name, never mind who seemed to have really cared about his music. God, he was starting to turn into such a diva, and...

"I'm really sorry to push, Mr De Reeve..."

The tiger jumped, and Clawhauser let loose a squeal of shock as the far larger and stronger male leapt to his feet, only to wince and stumble as he put both paws upon the ground.

"O-oh my god! I'm so sorry!"

Hurriedly Clawhauser swept around and placed himself beneath one of the tiger's shoulders for support, easing the dancer back down to where he had been sitting before taking up a position more directly in front of the wide eyed feline.

"You're quiet for a..."

The tiger's voice trailed off before he could finish that rather backhanded compliment, and he scowled at himself once again. Clawhauser chuckled softly, shrugging it off as he did so many comments each day.

"Oh I know. Add up being a cheetah and a cop, even one who enjoys their food more than folks might expect, and you get someone who's quiet on their feet even if they can't use those feet to get places particularly fast. Sorry for startling you. I just..."

Simon saw the autograph book in the cheetah's hand, but chuckled and raised an eyebrow when the other feline's voice trailed off, and instead of asking for a signature he made another query instead.

"A-are you okay? Your foot, the limp. Do you need me to go and get someone? A physiotherapist or... just some ice?"

Smiling, the tiger shook his head as he gingerly rubbed his foot.

"No, it's fine. Like I said before, I'm just getting a little older. I get cramp after some performances, and today it's just... ah, a little bit worse than normal. Thank you, Mr..."

The cheetah smiled, slipping his autograph book back into his fanny pack and lifting a hand, not to shake but simply waving at the tiger from where he stood just a few feet away.

"Benjamin Clawhauser. But please, just call me Clawhauser. All my friends do."

Nodding warmly, the tiger beamed back at the undeniably friendly cheetah.

"Well, thank you, Clawhauser. I really will be fine though, so please, don't let me spoil the rest of your evening. I'm sure there are still a few other members of the crew hanging around that you might want to talk to."

Clawhauser nodded, smiled warmly at Simon once again, and began to step back towards the stage edge. However, almost immediately he paused and took a deep breath. He looked bashfully back at the tiger, and blurted out his remaining question in a breathless flurry.

"CouldIgetyourautographpleasebeforeIgo?"

Simon laughed, and he nodded as he patted at the absent pockets of his shimmering purple shorts.

"So long as you have a pen, I'd be happy to, Clawhauser."

He took the pen and autograph book from the cheetah, and after flipping to a fresh page, past the one upon which Gazelle's flourishing signature was present, he signed his name alongside a brief message.

'Thank you for knowing me, Clawhauser. I'm glad I got to know you a little, too! ~ S De Reeve'

He handed the cheetah back his book and pen, grinning as Clawhauser read it, his eyes widened, and a soft squee of delight escaped the younger feline.

"Thank you so much, Mr De Reeve."

The tiger grinned, and nodded warmly to the cheetah before pausing for a second, smiling broader still, and addressing Clawhauser in return.

"Simon. My friends call me Simon, Clawhauser."

It looked like the cheetah was about to explode, or cry, or both, in the end though he just bounced up and down, eyes wide and hands clutching the autograph book lovingly to his chest, and breathlessly spoke back to the dancer he admired so much.

"O-oh em goodness, thank you Mr... u-uh... thank you, Simon. It was so good to meet you. You've made my day. You've made my week, you've..."

He saw the tiger wince again as Simon's hands continued to repeat the same massaging motions against the ball of his cramping footpaw, and the cheetah's voice faded for a moment as a look of concern and thoughtfulness crossed his mind. After a few moments, he tilted his head to one side and cleared his throat, trying to speak more calmly as he addressed the tiger yet again.

"This might be way out of line, but... I got a fair bit of medical training when I took my sergeants exam. Police field medicine was an elective course and... well, I can be a bit of a nerd when I want to be. A lot of one, actually. But the point is, there were elements of that training course which dealt with physiotherapy. Helping out other officers if they pull a muscle or strain something during a chase. There were some... w-well, some massage techniques they taught, and one of them was for foot cramp. I know that you were just being a sweet guy by saying I'm a friend, and that I'm asking for a lot of trust right now, but... I think I could really help you out. Lessen your pain, make it so you can at least walk to your car and get back to your hotel room, somewhere more comfortable than... well, an amplifier on the edge of a stage."

The cheetah's eyes met with the tiger's own, and Simon felt himself blushing under the sheer sincere warmth he saw and believed within Clawhauser's gaze.

"So... can I help you out? Will you at least let me try?"

Clawhauser murmured hopefully, obviously nervous that his undeniably over-familiar offering was going to undo any good will he had earned with this incredible, talented man but still unable to help but try. To his surprise though, to his joy and wonder, Simon smiled back at him. Smiled, and nodded.

"That's... really sweet of you, Clawhauser. And frankly, unless I plan on sitting here for the rest of the night or buggering my foot up even more trying to walk on it when I admit to myself later on that I'm not gonna be able to fix it here alone, I really could use the help. So... yeah. If you really think you can do something to help? I'd really, really appreciate it."

Simon extended his foot gingerly out in front of him, and smiled bashfully as the cheetah dropped to his knees and sat himself down cross-legged, shuffling forward until he was sitting directly in front of the tiger and the crotch of his shiny purple shorts. Carefully Simon moved his foot onto Clawhauser's lap, and he winced, gasping in discomfort as Clawhauser's thumbs gently probed and tested its surface, the already cramped muscles spasming anew as they were prodded and stimulated by the new contact. After that initial bout of discomfort though, Simon felt a ragged breath escape him as Clawhauser's brow furrowed in determination and his hands got to work. Without a word, his features looking decidedly more serious than at any point during their brief conversation thus far, the cheetah began to massage the sole of the dancer's foot. To try and loosen up the source of the cramp and in general to make the tiger feel better.

Truth be told, barely a minute had passed of the massage when a sharp, sudden gasp escaped the tiger, and his shoulders slumped visibly in relief as the cheetah's paws hit a particular spot with one probing application of pressure. The pain and the tension of the cramp vanished, and as Simon ever so carefully and gingerly wiggled his toes, it remained absent. He opened his muzzle to tell Clawhauser that his work was done, that he had succeeded in his task, but as he did so their eyes met. He saw the delight, the pride in the cheetah's expression, and the genuine desire to continue trying to do good for this figure he admired so much. Thus instead of speaking the absolute truth, Simon instead murmured something which was only partially a lie... but one spoken to continue both their enjoyment of this current situation.

"T-that's... it's helping. Thank you, Clawhauser."

The massage of his bare paw continued, and before long Simon felt and heard himself purring. It had been so long since the last time someone else had made him purr, he honestly felt a bit self conscious about it. As his cheeks flushed and those happy rumbles escaped him though, he heard a sound which made his eyes widen and his face burn brighter and hotter still. Clawhauser was purring too, eyes half closed as he worked on the tiger's foot, seemingly so content just by being here and helping out that he too couldn't help but make it audibly known. In near silence aside from their purrs, they sat there for ten minutes as Clawhauser's fingers explored every nook and crevice of Simon's paw. A quarter of an hour passed, then twenty minutes, and before long a full thirty. Still no-one spoke, and still neither of them found themselves with any desire whatsoever to bring either the massage or their quiet, peaceful hang-out to an end.

Finally, it was the intrusion of someone else that tore them out of their shared reverie. The lights came on within the main body of the auditorium, and several cleaners looked up at the stage in surprise as they saw the tiger in nothing but his purple shorts sitting there with a plump cheetah between his legs, massaging one of his feet with a faraway, rather blissed out look on his rounded features.

"I... I t-think I'm okay to walk now, Clawhauser..."

Simon murmured bashfully, knowing full well that he had been perfectly capable of walking for the best part of what had to have been a full hour by that point. Sure enough he rose to his feet, and as the cheetah did so too they both saw the tiger putting his weight down carefully, only to beam at one another when there wasn't the slightest trace of a limp or any return of the prior cramping.

"I'm glad I could help. Really glad. T-thank you for trusting me, Simon."

Clawhauser spoke to the tiger as they stepped off stage together, the cheetah already idly fondling his VIP badge as he realised that there was probably very little left for him to do beyond heading back to the front desk and signing out, then heading back home to unwind and consider everything he'd seen and done that evening. His hand fell away from his badge however, and his eyes widened slightly once again as he realised that the tiger had stopped walking with him, turning on the spot to see an arm extended towards him.

Bashfully, Clawhauser took hold of Simon's outstretched hand, and beamed as the tiger shook it warmly.

"Thank you, Clawhauser. For being someone I could trust, and for being so willing to take the time to help me out. I... it means a lot, and..."

Their hands lingered in contact, the tiger's cheeks reddened, and the cheetah's eyes widened further still as he saw embarrassment cross Simon's own face.

"Hey, uh, I... I don't suppose that you'd be free to... grab some food now, would you? I haven't eaten since lunch and, well... I'd appreciate the company."

Still their hands held onto one another, and as Simon mentioned company, he squeezed the cheetah's paw within his own. Clawhauser took a deep breath, forced back a whimper of joyous disbelief at what seemed to be happening here, and nodded.

"I... I could eat."

Simon nodded, then paused for a moment, thought about it, and cleared his throat.

"Listen, uh... I don't like being vague, so... you get this is me asking you out for a date type meal, right? I'm not just being polite and offering to buy you dinner. I'm... I'm saying I'd really like to get to know you better, and dinner would be a good place to start that."

That time, nothing in the universe could have held back the cheetah's audible squee.

"U-uh huh..."

Clawhauser rapidly nodded his head, squeezing tighter at the hand clutching his own.

"...I got that, a-and. Yes please. Yes please I would very much like to go on a date with you right now."

The tiger grinned, sagging slightly with relief for the second time that evening in the other feline's presence.

"Okay, good. Great. I.. I just need to go back to my dressing room first, change into something a little more, well... clothes, y'know?"

Clawhauser giggled.

"No worries, I can meet you in the lobby in a little while. But... there's no need to dress up on my account."

His face burned crimson as he wondered if he'd gone a step too far with that teasing insinuation, but the tiger roared with laughter and playfully shoulder-bumped the other cat while still holding onto his hand.

"Actually, I was kinda hoping you'd come along. Help me pick out a nice outfit."

The cheetah's face flushed brighter still, feeling like a lighthouse searing a beam of light for miles around. He whimpered, nodded, and murmured in assent even as Simon leaned in closer to him and whispered playfully once again.

"And of course, I'll need a shower before we go anywhere nice. You can help with that too, if you'd like."

A moment later he was walking once again, moving away down the corridor which led away from the stage and towards the VIP dressing rooms where his stuff was still waiting even though the rest of his team would no doubt have long since headed out for the night. All the while though as Simon bashfully grinned, he boldly held onto Clawhauser's hand. He eagerly led the blushing, trembling cheetah towards his dressing room, and every so often he glanced over his shoulder at the kindest, sweetest guy he'd met in a long time with warmth, with hope, and with passionate longing beginning to burn hotter and hotter within his own vivid amber eyes.

By Jeeves

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