by Dani Gray
Trevor didn’t even know he had been put to sleep.
***
Peter stood at the door, watching Asclepius work.
“Will my brother’s mate have full use of his leg?” Peter quietly asked.
“His leg will be as if it had never been hurt.” Asclepius promised. While Asclepius ran his hands over the leg in question, he turned to look at Peter.
“I would like to take a look at Harvey,” Asclepius asked. “May I have your permission to see if I can help him?”
“Please.” There was a catch in Peter’s voice. “He’s never complained about how he is, but I know that he sometimes gets frustrated. Harvey’s got smarts. He can follow basic instructions and a regular routine helps keep him grounded. But it’s like… it’s like… Life overwhelms him sometimes, like today, but he’s the best guy ever at protecting your back.”
Asclepius quickly finished fixing Trevor’s leg, then he softly smiled as he moved to the other side of the bed where Harvey was gently snoring. Reaching over, he rested his hand on Harvey’s curls and his hand glowed.
“You poor soul,” Asclepius whispered. “You are an amazing man, my young friend.”
Asclepius frowned as he ran his hand over Harvey, like he wasn’t happy with what he found.
“What?” Peter asked. “You have a look on your face, like you are angry at something.”
“I am angry, but not at anyone here,” Asclepius growled. “This should never have happened to any child. How someone who was supposed to look after a child could hurt one like this angers me.”
While running his hand over Harvey’s head, Asclepius shook his head.
“I’m not able to heal him. What was done to him was so long ago, has left a permanent mark on his brain. I can help him a bit, but there really isn’t much I can do. His amazing brain found a way to work around the damaged areas.”
Giving the sleeping men one last look, Asclepius waved his hand over them.
“What did you do?” Peter curiously asked.
“I knew that they were both tired, so I simply cleaned them up. No one likes to sleep dirty.” Asclepius grinned. “Besides, I don’t think either of us wants to sponge bathe them.”
Chapter Three
Harvey wasn’t sure what was different when he woke, but something was. He was wrapped around a warm body, and then it clicked that he had a mate. He was wrapped around his mate, and his mate’s name was Trevor.
“Morning.” Harvey looked up to see Peter, leaning against the door frame. “You two have been asleep since you came home yesterday morning.”
“Why?” Harvey looked down at the man in his arms. His last thought, at least he thinks it was his last one, was worry for Trevor. “Did his leg get fixed?” Harvey asked, moving his hand so that he could brush Trevor’s hair off his forehead, letting him take in the beauty of the man that the Fates gifted him with.
“Yes,” Peter nodded, “He also attempted to help you, but there wasn’t much he could do. Your amazing brain found a way to work around the area that was damaged.”
Harvey’s head snapped up and he looked at Peter.
“What are you talking about?”
Peter came over and sat at the end of the bed by Harvey’s feet.
“He asked me if he could heal you too, I gave him permission.” Peter frowned and Harvey knew he was being serious, “I won’t apologize for it. I’ve only ever wanted what was best for you. I would do it a thousand more times if it helped you.”
“Your brother is right,” Trevor’s sleep raspy voice added. “I would’ve agreed to it too.”
“How is your leg?” Harvey asked. His head wasn’t important – his mate was. “Does it feel better?”
Harvey watched as Trevor stretched out the leg in question, watching as a smile crossed his face. He moved his arm away as Trevor went to stand, jumping on the leg while laughing. So cute. Happy bunny. Harvey felt a warm glow flood his insides like when he’d eaten his favorite dessert.
He smiled at his mate’s antics, “I guess it’s fixed.”
Looking back at his brother, Harvey sat up, pulling Peter into a hug. “Thank you for also thinking of me.”
“Yeah, well Asclepius was angry at how you had been hurt when I explained it to him,” Peter told them as he slapped Harvey on the shoulder and moved back to sit on the bed. “He spent a fair amount of time trying fixing what had happened to you. I guess Trevor’s leg was an easy fix compared to your thick skull.”
Harvey laughed, knowing that his brother was teasing him from the smile on his face.
“I should thank him for trying,” Harvey said. “But I’m okay, so you don’t need to worry about me.”
Trevor crawled on the bed. Harvey waited, his breath hitched. He couldn’t believe his sweet little mate just climbed up on his lap like he belonged there. His arm moved automatically, cradling the smaller man. Comfort, his brain registered. My mate is offering me comfort.
“Oh, my mate,” Trevor said. “You are so amazing as you are.”
“I will always worry about you,” Peter told him. “That’s what brothers do, they worry about each other.”
“No,” Harvey told him. “You are the best brother. Ever. I love you.”
Harvey wrapped his other arm around his brother, pulling him in for his second hug of the morning. Harvey hoped his hugs would let his brother know how much he was loved. Harvey was being silly. Peter was the sole reason he was still alive. He needed to say… something. Wanting him to know how much Harvey loved him. Peter is the only reason that he was still here.
“Thank you for everything you do,” Harvey instinctively knew his brother would understand. “You made sure I was safe.”
“Should I be worried that you have a lap full of your mate and mine?” A teasing voice said from the door.
Harvey began to laugh, gave Peter one last squeezing hug and let him go.
“It’s because I give the best hugs, ever,” Harvey teased Eros.
“Oh yeah, so where’s mine?” Eros taunted.
Harvey gently set Trevor aside, got up and ran over to the god of love. “Right here.”
Grabbing Eros up in his arms, he wrapped them around him and hugged him tight. “Thank you for what you did, getting Asclepius to help my bunny,” Harvey whispered. “How can I thank him?”
Harvey watched in shock as Eros threw his head back and yelled, “Asclepius! Get your furry butt down here.”
“Who said my ass was furry?” Asclepius demanded, appearing behind Eros and smacking him in the back of his head.
“Hey, why’d you do that?” Eros pouted, reaching up to rub the afflicted spot.
“What I’d like to know is how to do you know what his ass looks like?” Peter gave Eros a frosty look then turned and winked at Asclepius as he left the room. “Come and join us in the front when you’re done, I’ll have something for you guys to eat. I’m sure you must be hungry.”
Using his powers, Eros blinked out of Harvey’s arms and could be heard down the hallway cajoling Peter, telling him he’s never seen Asclepius’s ass, but he had heard about it.
“Bloody tease.” Asclepius grumbled. “So, why did you want to speak to me?”
“To thank you for what you have done for Trevor and how you tried for me.” Harvey tried not to bounce, but sometimes when he wasn’t sure his words would work, the energy made him want to fidget.
“It’s nothing, I’m just glad to be able to help,” Asclepius said, then sighed and walked over to the bed to sit down. “Helping you yesterday made me realize how much I miss being able to help people. The gods have been forgotten by so many, we are more an afterthought in history. Barely anyone calls on us anymore.”
“So, do something about it. Don’t wait to be called,” Trevor told him. “Go open a clinic somewhere, some remote place where you can help those who have no one to help them.”
“It doesn’t have to be a remote place,” Harvey added, nodding eagerly. “You can also open something
in the center of a large city, where peoples try to look after their families but don’t have enough money for the doctor when they get hurt.”
Asclepius stared at them, surprise on his face.
“Do I have something on my face?” Harvey whispered to Trevor.
When Asclepius began to laugh, Harvey didn’t know if it was the right thing to say. He wondered if he said something wrong. The laughing was nice though, giving Harvey a warm feeling instead of that horrible ache in his tummy when people were laughing to be mean.
“I had never given consideration to something like that,” Asclepius said when he got his laughter under control. “You have no idea what this means to be. I can hear people from all over crying out for someone to help them, but I wouldn’t know where to start.”
“So, how can we help?” Trevor asked. Harvey loved how he snuggled back into him like he wanted to be close. It worked for Harvey because he wanted to be close to his mate as well.
“You want to help?” Asclepius looked at them in surprise.
“Sure, we would,” Harvey said, seeing his mate nod. “You didn’t have to help us, but you still did. We would love to be able to help others.”
“Can you imagine,” Asclepius told them, “having someone come in to see a doctor and getting the help they need, not needing to worry if they could afford it. I could do so much for so many.”
“Yes, but you also need to be careful.” Harvey told him. He’d spent too much time on the streets and knew his new friend needed to be warned. Not everyone was nice inside. He knew that from firsthand experience. “If you fix too many peoples, someone might try and hurt you.”
“Do you really think I need to be that careful.” Asclepius raised a brow at them. “I am a god after all.”
“Oh yeah,” Trevor shuddered. “You might be a god and all, but you’ll be working with innocent people. There are assholes who’d exploit your kindness, who’d think nothing of hurting people you’re caring for, just to get you to do what they want, which wouldn’t be for the good of anyone but themselves.”
“Is that what happened to you?” Asclepius asked. “Were you targeted by bad people? Is that why you were on the run for so long?”
“How…?” Trevor looked at Asclepius in shock. “I haven’t told anyone about what happened.”
“What happened?” Harvey asked, looking between the two men. He didn’t like the thought of anything happening to his mate, although Trevor’s leg had been hurt. Harvey felt a growl seething inside of him. Trevor’s hand on his chest only partially soothed him.
“I think someone was gathering up the shifters in my nest, I’m not totally sure,” Trevor said, lowering his head until his chin hit his chest. “I was out, I was looking for work and someone grabbed me, and they put a bag over my head, stuffing me into the trunk of a car. He stopped for gas, something, and I managed to get away and make it home, the houses were burned to the ground. I went to the warren hiding place, but all I found was the body of one of the elders. Everyone else was gone. I had been running around trying to see if I could find anyone else and that was when my leg was caught in the trap. I’m guessing that they were the same guys, but I really don’t know for sure. After I was released from the trap and I somehow got away, I just ran and didn’t look back.”
“All your family?” Harvey gently asked.
“Yeah,” Trevor’s sobs reached in and pulled on Harvey’s heart. “Everyone’s gone.”
Giving in to the need to comfort his mate, Harvey rocked him, humming a song his mom used to sing when he was upset at something. Harvey knew what it was like to lose his parents, and he couldn’t imagine a life without his brother. Poor Trevor didn’t have any family left.
Harvey nodded to Asclepius as he got up and left the room, giving them privacy.
“Hush, my mate,” Harvey said. “I will help you and we will find your family.”
Trevor began to calm down, only making the occasional hiccup.
“Do you really think we can find them?”
The tear-stained face that looked up to Harvey had him willing to promise the moon to his mate, but he knew that wasn’t possible.
“I don’t know, but I promise that we will search for as long as we can to find them.”
“Come with me, Peter makes the most amazing food.” Harvey promised. “Let me get you something to eat. I know you must be hungry.”
“I don’t know if I can eat right now.”
“You need to. How can you be ready to help them if you don’t look after yourself?” Harvey gently admonished. “Peter always tells me that in order to be ready to look after others, you have to look after yourself first. That’s the first thing to you need to do to be able to help others.”
“You’re right.” Trevor sighed. “But I just don’t know how to do this, I..just..miss them.”
After saying that, Trevor gave into his emotions and began to cry, letting out his fears and pain.
Chapter Four
Trevor didn’t know what to think, the emotional roller coaster he’d been on had his head swimming.
Once he had calmed down a bit, he was surprised to find that they were lying in the bed again, only this time poor Harvey’s shirt was soaked from his tears.
“I’m sorry,” Trevor mumbled, “I’ve made a mess of your shirt.”
“So,” Harvey snorted out. “It’s not like it can’t be washed again. Besides, I actually like doing the laundry and cleaning. I find that it helps calm my mind.”
“That must have been frustrating for you.”
“Yup,” Harvey said. “I don’t give a rat’s took about what other people think. The only person who mattered to me was Peter. Now you are more important.”
Both men suddenly jumped at the knock on the door.
“Go away,” Harvey called out. “I’m about to find out from my mate why sex is so good, and we don’t need an audience.”
Trevor just looked at Harvey, sure his eyebrows were up in his hairline.
“You did not just say that!” Trevor growled. “They don’t need to hear that.”
“Yes, they do,” Harvey grinned at him. “’Cause I don’t think they want to hear your screams. Sometimes Eros makes Peter get really loud.”
Trevor opened his mouth to give Harvey crap, but he was suddenly out of breath from the amazing kiss that was laid on him.
Holy hell, can my mate kiss.
Trevor was impressed at the growl Harvey let out when the knocking got louder, becoming pounding on the door.
“I forgot to ask,” Trevor looked into the amazing dark green eyes of his mate. If Harvey could ignore the knocking, so could he. “What type of shifter are you? I can’t place the scent.”
Trevor watched in amazement at the red that crept up Harvey’s face, even to the tips of his ears.
“I’m a Sasquatch shifter.” Harvey hunched his shoulders as if he wasn’t sure how Trevor would take his admission.
“Holy shit! Those are real!”
“Oh. My. God!” Trevor squealed as he scrambled off the bed. That sort of news required bouncing. “I can hardly wait to see your other form. This is so cool. I got the rock star of shifters as my mate. I got a freaking Big Foot!”
There was another pounding on the bedroom door, so Trevor hopped over to it and squealed in excitement at seeing Peter.
“Are you a Big Foot shifter too?”
“Yes,” a wary Peter said.
“YES!” Trevor yelled out, hopping around the room as if he had springs on the bottom of his feet and pumping his fists up in the air.
“Whoa, easy there tigger,” an amused Eros said, standing behind Peter. “We don’t want you bouncing clear out of the window.”
/~/~/~/~/
At hearing the nickname from Eros, Harvey began to laugh. That so suited his excitable mate.
“Come here, silly goof!” Harvey said, snagging his mate around the waist when he got close to the bed. He pulled him down until he was lying beside Harvey.
“What’s so important that you had to interrupt us?” Harvey looked to Peter, then Eros.
“Asclepius wants to speak to you guys. He has some questions for Trevor about his herd,” Eros softly told them. “The Fates spoke to him, it looks like quite a few shifter threads were being cut long before their time. Besides, don’t you want to come out and eat?”
“What does that mean?” Harvey wondered. “And I am kinda hungry, and I’m sure my bunny is too.”
“Does this mean my family is gone?”
The tears in Trevor’s eyes hurt Harvey, he hated it when someone hurt so much that it caused them pain. Sometimes it felt like Harvey was able to feel their pain too, it made his heart hurt. He used to hide in his room with his favorite blanket and cry because of the pain he would see someone else suffering.
“Hush my pretty mate,” Harvey said as he comforted Trevor. “What can I do to make you smile again? Would you like to share my blankie with me? It’s really snuggly.”
“You have a blankie?”
Harvey could feel the heat creeping up his face.
“Yeah,” Harvey said. “My mom made it for me. It’s a patchwork blanket. It has my old blankie in it, as well as some pieces of material that was special to my mom and Peter. It’s really warm and I love to snuggle in it when I’m scared or upset.”
“I wish I had something like that.” The sad look on Trevor’s face made Harvey stand up and go to his closet, still holding Trevor in his arms.
“Reach up and grab the blanket on the shelf.”
Lifting his arms as he was told to, Harvey watched as Trevor gently grab his blankie. He was happy that Trevor treated it with care. Harvey was always so careful with it, he knew that if anything ever happened to it, he would be so heartbroken. It was his last connection to his mom.
Trevor buried his face in the blanket and inhaled a deep breath. “It smells like you.”
“She made sure that it even had patches of the baby blankets that Peter and I had.” Harvey sighed as he looked at the blanket. “I’m scared that one day it gets broken. I don’t want to lose it.”
