To the floor they went, with no struggle on the bear’s end. He had basically stopped fighting at this point, both against himself and the smaller fox before him. His solid, chestnut brown eyes are in view, in all their squinted, half-open glory. He could hardly see anything but a blurry golden form before him, but he didn’t care. He knew it was Gregg, and he trusted Gregg with his whole life. He could be vulnerable in front of this fox, he could pour his heart out and know he wouldn’t be dejected.
His tears only seem to come harder with Gregg’s words, his lips quivering as he tried to give a little smile. He started to feel all fluttery inside, his body shivering even though it wasn’t even chilly. Angus trembles at those sweet kisses that Gregg plants on him, his heart practically melting. His guard was shattered, his field down, and he sat at the entire mercy of his beloved boyfriend.
He’s unable to bring himself to speak, his throat only trembling harder as he starts to fight again. He wants to smile, he wants to embrace those sweet words that Gregg always sung. Sweetened notes that never grew old to Angus’ small, eager ears.
“I-It’s not…” Angus’ voice staggered, and he gulped to try and finish the sentence he so desperately wanted to release. “…y-your f-fault, b-bug…” He mumbles those final words. It was true. It wasn’t Gregg’s fault; Gregg didn’t have to do anything. Angus was at fault for the tears he relented to shed. Whether it was because the world hated him or if he was truly a bad person, he didn’t think he’d ever know the answer.
He was about to say something, but then the rubs started. While tears still ran down his face, he practically erupted into purrs as his sweet spot was touched. Gregg always knew how to make him feel better, even if it was the easiest thing to do. Angus didn’t let anyone touch his belly; he always felt insecure about it. But Gregg was the exception; he was always the exception.
Angus finally manages a half-decent smile, trying to rub at his own eyes as his throat releases purrs on it’s own account. “I-I…” He sputtered, sniffling hard as he tried to force himself to calm down enough for his vocal chords to start working again. “Y-you… y-you’re too g-good to me, bug.. I…” He puts his arms around Gregg and pulls him closer, his arms managing to find their way around the obscured, golden blob Gregg was to his shitty eyes.
“I-I love y-you, too.. I… I-I don’t want… w-want you to a-apologize, t-though, c-cause… it’s not… it’s n-never your fault… y-you’re the one that.. like…” He manages to grin a little, even with a few tears still making their way down his now wet face. “M-makes t-things… better. M-makes me… l-like… happy.” He manages to sputter, trying to put on his best smile. But it falters as he speaks again, “I… I-I j-just… c-can I-I go… back there…? T-that one kid… he almost…” Angus stopped. Could he even mention what that one kid had done?
He remembered that one the most of the three. The tallest, buffest and probably oldest of the three. Who had decided to even try and take a swing at Angus with a knife. And yet, the manager had still watched with an emotionless face. Stone-cold, even.
Angus couldn’t help but shudder, tightening his grasp on his boyfriend. He was scared. Petrified. He didn’t want to go back to work again. He was lucky to be without a wound, but next time… he could lose something.
“…c-can I e-even go back, b-bug…? I-I h-have t-to work i-if I w-want us t-to get out of h-here, b-but…” He stammered, trying his hardest to fight off round two of his tears. He rubs at his eyes with almost frustration. God he wanted to leave this town so badly. “…I… I-I’m scared. I-I k-know what they c-could do to me, and I…” He trailed off.
“…I c-can’t do this anymore.”
“It still sucks, man. You don’t deserve that.”
He wanted to fight anyone who so much as looked at Angus the wrong way. He wanted them to hurt. They deserved to hurt if they hurt his boyfriend. He was angry, and he couldn’t even express it. Getting angry wasn’t going to help Angus feel better. It took all of Gregg’s willpower to remain calm in this situation. He had to do it, though. He had to do it for Angus. He had to be someone Angus could cry on. For this bear, he would have done anything and everything.
Purring. Purring was good. Crying was bad. Angus was still crying. Why was Angus still crying? Was that not enough? Something really bad must have happened to shake him up so extremely. Something worse than fat jokes, and homophobic comments. But Gregg didn’t know what it was that was affecting Angus so badly. There was something he wasn’t being told, and it was making him worry. If rubbing Angus’ favorite spot didn’t work, what was going to work? What could he do?
Gregg wasn’t good at comforting. He knew that. He never said the right thing at the right time, which pretty much went for every situation in his life. Always the wrong words.
Gregg’s brows knit together. “What did he do? Did he try to hurt you?” He asks. That was the first thing that came to mind. If someone raised a fist to Angus, there was going to be hell to pay. No one had that option. Not in Possum Springs, not anywhere. If someone raised a fist to Angus, they were going to hurt. Badly. Gregg would see to that personally. He didn’t care what law he may have broken doing it. “Did someone try to punch you? Dude, all I need to know is what they looked like. I’ll make his ass sorry he ever looked at your beautiful face.”
Anger was coursing through Gregg’s veins. Pure anger. He clenched his teeth, and his hands were balled into fists. He was trying to control that anger, but he was finding it extremely difficult to do so. Angus didn’t need to be around an angry fox right now. He needed to be around someone who knew how to comfort people. Unfortunately, that wasn’t Gregg, but Gregg was what Angus got.
Gregg lets out a deep exhale through his nose. “No one’s gonna do anything to you. I’ll hang around when you go to work. I can miss a few days. If anyone looks at you funny they’re gonna be sorry.” He says, as he continues the affections once again. It took some effort to open his palms. He had to do it, for Angus. Everything was about Angus right now. He couldn’t be selfish, no matter how hard it was to fight it. That fight was worth it. Worth it for Angus.
“Let’s play hookie tomorrow. We can ride out to the woods and I don’t know. Do something. Missing one day isn’t gonna kill us. You need a break, dude. A serious one.”