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"FLUFF!"

Damien flinched suddenly, his hand darting behind his back as he wheeled around, just in time to see a large wolf step through the door. He heard his bandmates snigger, as they tended to whenever his boyfriend joined them backstage, as he tended to do during before and after a performance. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Jukka, that sleazy yeen of a drummer, failing to hide his giggling.

"Hey, Marc, how'd you like the show?" Damien asked fretfully, his tail ducking between his legs as his boyfriend got closer. He swallowed fearfully as Marcus neared, arms outstretched for the usual after-show hug, his tail wagging merrily and his smile wide and bright.

"You killed it," Marcus greeted, "like always!"

"Thanks, I-You know," Damien said, stepping back almost reflexively. He stepped awkwardly around Marcus, keeping his back (and hand) hidden. He stepped in front of Jukka, who was still chortling. "You don't wanna hug me right now. You know how all the lights and stuff on stage makes me all sweaty and sticky."

Marcus looked hurt and Damien felt a tug at his heart at the sight. "Fluff, I just wanted to give you a hug and let you know how proud I am of you."

"Let me take a shower and then we can-"

"Why can't I just give you a hug now?" Marcus demanded, sounding more and more hurt and irritated.

Damien sucked in a pained breath as he felt something graze his hand. He glanced behind him to see Jukka, swiping a finger across his hand, a sickening red fluid visible on Jukka's fingertip. Then, remembering Marcus, he looked back and saw his boyfriend's countenance change. His eyes narrowed and he pointed at Damien's arm.

"What're you hiding?" he asked in suspicion.

"Who says I'm hiding anything? I just need to-"

"Damien, what're you hiding?" he asked more firmly, frowning.

"Say, why don't you head home and I'll meet you there in a bit," Damien suggested. "We're gonna go get ice cream anyway and-"

"Then I'll come with you," Marcus remarked, though he sounded far from happy.

"No! I mean, you're probably tired and-Hey!"

Marcus had reached out and grasped Damien's arm, pulling it around to the front. His jaw dropped as he beheld the sight-Damien's palm was cut open and bleeding steadily, a sickening color that was dying his fur a sickening crimson color. The blood was dripping down onto the tile floor, and Marcus peered behind Damien, his countenance hardening as he saw the small puddle of blood at his boyfriend's feet.

"WHAT THE HELL? WHAT HAPPENED?!" he yelled, more shocked than angry.

"Well, it's a funny story-"

"His guitar string broke during that last song," Gil, the bassist, announced. Damien shot the panther an angry look, though he looked completely unabashed. "And it cut open his hand."

"Fluff... We need to get to the hospital now!" Marcus insisted. He reached up and tore off his left sleeve, wrapping it hurriedly around Damien's injury. "Shit! Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Because I'm fine," Damien insisted, jerking his hand back. The cloth was already getting soaked in deep red. "I just need to wash it out-"

"You don't know that! You might need stitches or... We're going to the hospital," Marcus said firmly, seizing Damien's arm.

"We'll make sure all his stuff gets home safely," said Jukka. "Safe and sound."

"But I-"

"Come on, Fluff," Marcus said, ushering Damien out of the room.

"But-"

"No buts! You're going to the emergency room and that's final!"

-

"Come on," Marcus said, turning off the car and unbuckling his seatbelt. "We need to get your hand looked at."

"Wait, I think the bleeding stopped!" Damien said, reaching to unwrap his hand.

"Don't you dare," Marcus snarled. "Get out and let's go."

Damien hesitated, watching as Marcus walked around the car and paused, staring angrily at Damien. With a huff, he walked to the passenger side door and opened it, unlatching Damien's seatbelt. Damien flinched as Marcus pulled him out, steering him towards the emergency room entrance. Damien dragged his feet the whole way, despite knowing that Marcus was too strong for him to resist.

"Quit playing around, Fluff," Marcus said, pushing him into the emergency room. They stepped into the waiting room and Damien swallowed. "Sit down and I'll have you checked in."

Damien took a seat and peered around him, his leg bouncing nervously as he peered around himself. His nose scrunched at the sickening stench of hospital antiseptic. There were others waiting too and he clenched his injured hand, as if afraid they were judging his injury. Marcus soon joined him and Damien flinched when he heard Marcus sink into the seat beside him.

After a few seconds, Marcus looked down at him and asked, "What's wrong with you? Why're you bouncing like that?"

"I just... I don't think this"-he gestured to his hand-"is bad enough for me to be wasting the doctor's time. I mean, I'm okay and... Let's just go. We can still meet the guys for ice cream and... Let's go get some dinner from that steakhouse you like and we can watch that tv show you like and-"

"You're overreacting," Marcus growled. "Relax or you're gonna make your hand worse."

"I can't relax! I mean, I just-"

"Miss Eleanor Milian?" came a nurse's voice. Damien jumped and looked, seeing a limping, elderly lioness be guided to the nurse by another, far younger lion. Damien swallowed as the doors closed, his eyes starting to water.

"I don't wanna be here!" Damien insisted in a hushed, panicked whisper.

"Neither do I but you need to get that looked at," Marcus replied. "Calm down."

"I can't-Please just let me go home, Marc," Damien said, starting to breathe a bit heavier. "I just can't be here. It's not-"

"Fluff, calm down, you're fine," Marcus said. "You're overreacting."

"I'm not," Damien whined, ears flattened against his head. "I feel like it's getting really hard to breathe in here. I hate places like this. Marcus, I don't want to-"

"Enough," Marcus said with a strong, overwhelming sense of finality. Damien flinched and Marcus let out a heavy sigh. They both looked up as another person was called back, a brown rabbit holding a stained towel to his forehead. Marcus sighed. "You think I want to be here instead of at home? You think I like that you've cut your hand open so much that you're getting delirious?!"

"I'm not delirious!"

"You're acting like it!" Marcus countered. "How much blood have you already lost? Maybe I need to see if we can speed this up before you pass out." Damien sniffled and began to stand, but Marcus grasped his shoulder. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I need air," Damien answered.

"How do I know you're not just gonna bolt on me? No, sit down and wait," Marcus ordered.

"I need to go get some fresh air," Damien repeated urgently, pleadingly.

"We don't know when they'll call you back there, so just hang out and-"

"Damien Blackwell?" called a nurse and they both stiffened. Marcus rose and, with his hand still on Damien's shoulder, began to steer him to the nurse, a stern-looking gopher who seemed confused by the sight of a protesting husky getting pushed by an adamant wolf. "Which one of you is...?"

"He is," Marcus said. "It's his hand. It got sliced open by his-"

"I can't-" Damien said suddenly and ducked beneath Marcus's arm, stepping back quickly before rushing off to the side. He spotted a bathroom and hurried in, leaning against a sink gingerly to avoid putting pressure on his injured hand. He heaved over the sink, his vision swimming. He didn't even hear when someone else entered the bathroom and let out a scream when he felt a touch on his shoulder.

"Fluff, it's just me!" Marcus insisted, eyes wide in alarm. "What's gotten into you? What's going on?"

"I told you I don't want to be here! I can just bandage this at home! Why didn't you listen to me?!"

"Why are you acting like they're going to hurt you?!" Marcus demanded. "I brought you here to get better not to be hurt even more!"

"How do you know they won't! They've already messed me up before!"

Marcus's jaw dropped and his fury seemed to abate, replaced by confusion and worry. "What're you talking about?"

Damien wiped his eyes-when had he started crying? The tears were running down his face, matting down his fur, and he swallowed. "I was young, really young and I had gotten hurt when playing with my brother. They brought me here, right here, to the same hospital. They said I needed emergency surgery to set the bone properly and I just remember waking up and seeing them messing around with my leg cut open but I couldn't do anything. I couldn't move, I couldn't scream, all I could do was just watch and..." He took a deep shuddering breath, unable to look up at Marcus, his mind racing and his heart pounding painfully in his chest. "I can't go back there. What if they do that again? What if they-?"

"Hey, hey, listen to me, Damien," Marcus said, moving closer. Carefully, he lifted Damien's chin, tilting it so that they were looking eye to eye. "I won't let them hurt you. I'll go back there with you and you can hold my hand the entire time. But you need to have them at least look at your hand. They need to clean it out and maybe stitch it so that it'll heal properly. If it gets infected... or if the wound doesn't close... Please, Fluff...? For me?"

"...What if it goes wrong?" Damien simpered.

"I won't let it go wrong," Marcus said kindly. "I'll be with you every step of the way."

-

"Fluff?" Marcus murmured as they stepped back into the apartment. "You okay?"

Damien said nothing as he made his way to the living room, head bowed low and his eyes strangely watery. He plopped down onto the couch and stared at his hand; it had been cleaned, stitched and bandaged at the hospital, but looking at the gauze made him scowl. Marcus filled a cup with water at the kitchen sink and brought it over, his voice low and kind.

"You okay?" he asked again.

"I don't know," Damien admitted, his voice weak and flimsy. He felt the gauze around his hand and frowned. He could feel the stitches underneath. "How am I supposed to play guitar now? We have another show in two weeks."

"I'm sure the band will figure something out," Marcus said soothingly. Then, abruptly, he said, "Don't touch that bandage."

Damien jumped at the sudden force in Marcus's voice. "I hate that I was there. I hate having these stitches in my hand." He glanced up at Marcus, then at the glass his boyfriend was offering. "And I don't want any water."

Marcus set the cup down on the coffee table and joined Damien on the couch. "It'll be okay, Fluff. After some time, it'll heal and you'll be fine."

Damien sniffled, absentmindedly rubbing the gauze again. "Can I have some chocolate?"

"Of course," he said, kissing Damien's forehead. He looked down and gently moved Damien's arm away from the bandaged hand. "Don't touch."

"But it itches."

"Try to ignore it okay. We'll get some ice cream tomorrow."

"Fine... Can we have pizza tonight?"

"Definitely."

"And can we never go back there?" Damien asked. Marcus's jaw tightened and Damien continued, "I hated watching them put stitches in my hand. I was so..."

"Scared?"

Damien chortled. "You probably think I'm being overly dramatic."

"No I don't," Marcus said, pulling him into a cuddle. Damien snuggled into Marcus's warmth, a feeling of tiredness starting to wash over him. "If I'd gone through what you did..." He shuddered. "At least your hand is clean and wrapped up properly. If it got infected, you might've lost it and never been able to play guitar again."

It was Damien's turn to shudder. "Please don't say that."

"Sorry, but it's true." Marcus tightened his grip on his fluffy little husky. "But you know I wouldn't let that happen. Even if you hate me for it, I'm not gonna let you get hurt."

"I don't think I could hate you," Damien said, leaning into Marcus's chest. He let out a drowsy yawn. "You're just too lovable."

"Aw, thanks, Fluff," Marcus said pleasantly, scratching behind Damien's ear. A soft snore reached his ears and he chortled. "I love you too, D."