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Asher had never felt more humiliated in his life. He tried not to think about the nights events as he pressed the key card against the lock. With one arm clinging to his side, he used his spare hand to slide the door shut behind him without making too much noise. He knew David would be asleep.
His eyes stung as he slid his bag onto the floor, wincing and clenching his teeth together as he heard David rolling over in bed.
It had made sense for them to share a dorm together when they went to college, even though they were doing two completely different courses. Even though Asher was messy and David was somewhat of a neat freak. Even though Asher was a night owl and David went to bed at 10pm almost every night. It had never even crossed his mind that they wouldn’t share a room together. God-knows they’d always shared everything else.
Well, almost everything else.
“Ash?”
Asher moved slowly over to the cupboard by the bathroom to grab a fresh towel. He knew David knew it was him. Pack could usually tell. David could always tell. It was more just his way of asking if everything was alright without actually asking.
Sometimes if Asher had been excited for a night out, he’d sit down and tell David about it whilst he was still half asleep. That way, Asher could get all his energy out whilst David at least got some level of rest.
To be fair to David he did at least try to listen, quiet ‘Huh's?’ and ‘Yeah’s’ morphing into soft snores and slow breaths. Asher didn’t mind, he knew he could be a lot at times.
But this time he really didn’t feel like keeping David up at till ass o-clock in the morning just to inform him that his new team had all turned out to be immature assholes.
“Asher?” David spoke a little louder this time.
Asher braced himself, forcing in a slightly deeper breath then he could manage. “Yeah buddy it’s me. Sorry didn’t mean to wake you.” He cringed at the way his voice broke slightly, grabbing some clean boxers and a t-shirt and standing up as tall as he could. Like it would make him seem sturdy.
He could hear the bedsheets ruffling again, as if David was sitting up. Shit he’d noticed. Of course, he’d noticed, Asher was never this quiet.
“Are you ok?”
David’s voice was rougher and deeper than usual from sleep but Asher could still hear the genuine concern in his tone.
Asher turned towards the bathroom not bothering to look over at his best friend. He didn’t need to.
“Yeah, I’m okay.” He laughed as if David’s concern was completely unfounded. “Just getting a shower, you can go back to sleep.”
And with that he slipped into the bathroom. He wasn’t planning to lie to David. He’d tell him what happened eventually but right now all he wanted was to wash the sticky beer out of his hair and go to bed.
Asher squinted when he turned the light on, eyes adjusting to the brightness as he stripped off his clothes. He caught his reflection in the mirror, and turned away once he noticed those damn lines across his face.
He stepped into the shower, not bothering to let the water heat beforehand. Asher leant his head back, willing the water to run over his eyes, the coldness of it numbing the aches across his torso.
He stood like that for a while, thinking.
He’d been so proud when he’d seen his name on the list for the varsity team. He was the only freshman on there, his Shifter biology played a part in it, making him stronger and faster than most teenagers plus he’d practised damn hard too.
Although he knew it might take his team-mates a little while to warm up to him, especially since one of their friends would have been put onto JV to make space for him, Asher wasn’t too worried. He had always been good at making friends. It was one of his best qualities.
Thats why he didn’t question it when his team-mates invited him to a party. Why he was possibly less apprehensive than he should have been when they told him to go down to the basement with them. And why the way they had treated him was so hard to comprehend.
Drink Up Mutt
His eyes flung open as the sound of his team-mates laughing bounced around his head. Quickly, he washed his body. Biting his lip so he wouldn't grunt as the sponge glided over his bruising side.
He barely dried off, running the towel over himself once before getting dressed and making his way to bed.
He just needed to sleep it off.
-
David couldn’t go back to sleep. Not that he would have. He sat on the edge of his bed waiting for Asher to come out after he retreated to the bathroom. If Asher had just seemed upset David would have waited, let him get some rest and then most likely Asher would tell David what was wrong in his own time the next morning. But he wasn’t just upset, he was hurt.
David could see how tense his muscles had been even in the dark. Had heard the strain in Ashers voice. But he hadn’t seen him. Asher kept his back to him the entire time. Purposefully.
They never hid anything from each other, feelings, crushes, embarrassing stories all shared and trusted between each other.
David watched as Asher walked stiffly over to his bed. He didn’t so much as glance at him. Moving to get under the covers and laying curled up on his side facing away from David.
What the hell had happened?
David inhaled, softening his voice before speaking. “Ash?”
“Hmm?”
David picked his words carefully, standing to turn the lamp on by the bedside table. And sitting back down on the side of his bed closest to Asher’s head. “Did something happen?”
Asher took in a deep breath before whispering a simple “Yeah.”
“We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.” Not yet anyways but David would eventually want every name of every person who’d even looked at his friend weirdly the past night. It took a lot to dim Asher down like this. “Are you hurt, physically? Do you need a healer.”
“I-”
Asher curled up even tighter, pulling the duvet up just past his neck. Hearing his voice crack like that created a physical pain in David’s chest. Asher was the kindest, happiest most easy-going person David had ever had the honor of knowing; how could anyone make him cry?
On instinct David moved over to Ashers bed. Movements slow so that Asher could reject them at any point, he climbed under the covers with him. David rolled him over and Asher practically buried his head into Davids's chest.
It was a tight squeeze but David managed to shuffle his arm underneath Ash, holding him gently into his side as he cried. It was quiet and controlled and heartbreaking. David whispered soft reassurances into his ear as Ashers breath continued to grow more and more sporadic.
“It’s ok Ash, you can let it out. It’s ok.”
David could feel a wet patch forming on his shirt from Ashers tears. Which he would no doubt apologise for if he noticed it before trying to downplay the entire thing. David kept his breathing steady and slow, grateful he’d opened the window earlier so that they weren’t both boiling under the covers together. “Breathe with me Ash it’s ok.”
Eventually Asher’s breathing slowed and his sobs turned into sniffles. David just waited; he’d wait there for as long as necessary. For as long as Asher needed him too.
“Sorry.” Asher croaked; the sound muffled by the fact he was still laid face down into Davids side.
He wanted to tell him not to. That apologising wasn’t necessary but that would be pointless, Asher hated feeling like a burden. It was better to let him apologise for it instead of trying to convince him that he was the furthest thing from it. “It’s ok.”
“I’m really over-reacting, must have drunk too much.” He mumbled.
Bullshit, Asher wasn’t drunk, even if he had stank of booze when he came home. Asher was loud when he was drunk, a little clumsy and a lot flirty. Asher was none of those things now.
David hummed, rubbing his arm up and down Asher’s back, Ash tensed up so slightly that David wouldn’t have even noticed if his friend wasn’t practically laid on top of him.
“They hurt you. I don’t think you’re overreacting.”
“I’ve taken worse beatings and not cried like a baby about it.” Asher laughed shallowly, staying put at David’s side despite his arguments that he was fine.
David didn’t find the humour in it. Beatings? Someone had beaten him up? Why?
The worst part was that Ash was right. David has seen Asher really banged up, had seen him break bones and gain cuts deep enough to leave scars without so much as a tear. Which meant that what had happened wasn’t just physical.
Maybe he was close with whoever had hurt him? Maybe it was a betrayal?
Whatever it was it was bad.
“Can you tell me what happened?” It was a genuine question, no pressure.
Asher’s arms tightened around David’s torso. “Do you- do you know what hazing is?”
David had to keep himself from tensing, out of fear of holding Asher too tight. Steadying his breath and grinding out a solemn “Yes.” he fought to keep himself calm. Getting angry now wouldn’t be helpful to anyone.
“Apparently they do it to everyone new in the team.”
The doubt in Asher’s own voice was prevalent but David wouldn’t point that out. If believing that made it easier for him at the moment, then David would play along.
“Your team-mates hurt you?”
He tried not to think back on how excited Asher had been for the night. How he’d rambled on and on about how nice these guys were. How he’d changed his outfit 3 times before deciding on one. He looked handsome, in oversized blue jeans and a smart top that brought out the colour of his eyes. Sure, his hair was still a mess but David liked the way the front strands hung down naturally, framing his face.
“Yeah.” Ash breathed.
“Can I see your side?”
“David, It’s not that bad.”
David nodded, his chin resting on Asher’s head.
“You’ve said. Can I look at it anyway?”
Asher sighed, sitting up, waiting for David to get off the bed so he could swing his legs over the edge of it.
David knelt down on the floor as Asher sat opposite him. His entire body rigid.
He kept his head down as David slid up his t-shirt, hissing at the amount of grazes across his ribs. Tiny spots of blood and scrapes scattered across the entire left side of his body, David slowly lifted his arm up to reveal the cuts up the side of it as well. “They dragged you.”
It wasn’t a question. Asher nodded. “I didn’t really see it coming we were laughing one minute and the next thing I knew I was on the ground. I should have been more alert, I usually am.”
Unless he was around people he trusted, was left unsaid.
“It was just the usual stuff, they blindfolded me and tried to get me to chug a drink, poured it on me and shit, I just wasn’t expecting-”
David looked up at him but Asher was still avoiding eye contact.
“Wasn’t expecting?”
“Wasn’t expecting, it.”
David remained unconvinced but he wasn’t going to force Asher to share anything he wasn’t ready to.
“Is it just your side?”
“Pretty much.”
David stood up, walking to the bathroom to get the first aid kit. He knew he could just call up Marie and she’d turn up for him straight away, but she’d ask questions and want answers and this didn’t seem like something Asher was willing to share. Still, those cuts looked like they stung.
He grabbed the anti-bac spray from the small box Gabe had given him when he moved out. Plasters and gauze, some Advil, he grabbed that too, it seemed pointless at the time but David was grateful for it now.
He picked up a water bottle from the mini-fridge Asher had bought for his snacks and returned to the bed.
“I’ll just clean them up a bit, ok?”
“Okay.” Asher removed his shirt, throwing it on the floor on the other side of his bed before returning his gaze to the ground. Why wouldn’t he look at him?
David put the anti-bac spray onto some cotton pads, cleaning up Asher’s arm first so he could get used to the stinging. His knuckles were completely fine no cuts or bruising of any kind. There was no way that Asher thought this was normal, that this was ok. A lot of people confused Asher’s open nature for stupidity. But Asher wasn’t stupid, he knew when people were playing him and when people hit him, he’d hit back harder.
“What happened after?”
David just wanted to hear him talk, Asher being so silent made him feel uneasy.
“They all just laughed about it and I left.”
“You left?” David tried to soften his tone, tried not to get angry but he honestly could not understand why Asher would let anyone get away with treating him this way. If it had happened to anyone else, he would have been the first one to put a stop to it. Fuck herd mentality. “You didn’t tell them were to shove it?”
“I just wanted to get out of there.”
He moved on to Asher side, placing the lightest pressure he could manage on his raw skin. David breathed deep again, closing his eyes to ground himself.
He shook his head “People aren’t allowed to treat you like that Ash, I don’t care if they ‘do it to other people’. It isn’t ok or funny it’s fucked up.”
Asher gripped the side of the bed, was he shaking? Surely it couldn’t be hurting him that much.
“I know. It’s just-” His voice shook again and another tear fell onto his thigh.
David looked up, cupping Asher’s jaw and using his thumb to wipe his cheek of the tears free-falling down his face.
He moved Asher’s head up but he still wouldn’t meet David’s gaze. His eyes were glossy and red and there were two thick dark lines moving from the top of his cheekbones down to his mouth, dented into his soft skin.
“What?” David thought out loud, his brows furrowing in confusion as Asher’s eyes met his.
“They put a muzzle on me.”
-
Asher struggled not to look away again, but kept his gaze lifted as he watched David’s face morph from confusion to red-hot anger. He growled low and then the anger subsided into something almost tender.
It wasn’t pity and Asher appreciated that more than he’d be able to vocalize. Fuck he was having trouble saying anything at the moment.
It wasn’t concern either. Care? Empathy? He wasn’t sure. He’d never seen this expression on David’s face before.
He watched as David placed the cotton into the little plastic bag they’d been using as a make-shift bin.
David walked away and Asher felt shame creeping through and around his body like a fever. Scrubbing the salty tears from his face with the inside of his wrist. He’d embarrassed himself and the pack, letting his guard down around people he’d hardly played 10 games with. People he barely knew.
David returned, standing in front of him with two of his t-shirts in hand and Asher tried to disguise the shock on his face with a wobbly smile.
Asher stood up, ready to apologise but David simply spread the top of his t-shirt open with his hands and signalled for Asher to bend his head down so that he could slide it onto him. Asher obliged and he helped him into it fully, carefully sliding it down his body.
It was big on Asher, almost like a very short dress and even if he tensed his biceps, the sleeves were still slightly baggy.
Asher watched as David took off his own shirt. Watched the curves of his muscles flexing in the dim light of their dorm. Watched his taught shoulders roll as he placed on the fresh shirt and concentrated on the soft concern in his eyes as David unscrewed the lid on the water bottle and passed it to him with the pain-killers.
“I’m so sorry Ash.” Asher forced a swallow, his throat tight from crying like someone had wrapped barbed wire around it. “They had no right. You did nothing wrong and they had no right to treat you like that.”
Like an animal.
David took the water from him once he was done, closing the lid again and placing it beside the bed. “They’re ignorant assholes, every one of them.”
Asher nodded so that David would know he was listening. That he was taking in the words he was saying.
“I embarrassed the pack; they shouldn’t have had the chance to even get me into that position.”
“No.” David said, a little roughness back in his voice. “They embarrassed themselves and no one else. The pack has always been proud to have you, and you have always been proud of being a shifter. No-one get’s to change that.”
David took Asher’s hand and placed it in his own.
“You’re allowed place trust in your team mates, they are the ones in the wrong for betraying it. They didn’t deserve it and they sure as hell don’t deserve your friendship or your forgiveness.” Asher could hear the tension in David’s tone, it was taking a lot for him to remain as calm as he was.
There was also a seriousness in it that was undeniable no matter how much easier it was for Asher to believe he’d done something wrong. That there was a reason for their cruelty that he could fix.
David’s words were true.
David sighed; he was probably glad to have gotten that out. Not usually the best with words, which ones to say or how to say them.
He leant forward wrapping his arms across Ashers shoulder blades and enveloping him into the warmest hug he could ever remember receiving. David’s always warm.
Asher relaxed into it, breathing freely for the first time since he’d returned home. Davids arms were safe. He thinks he could stay there forever just feeling his rib cage expand and his breath slow.
“Thanks, David.”
“Mmm.”
As they pulled away David placed a soft kiss onto the top of Ashers forehead, like it was an inclination. He coughed looking over to his bed, equally as surprised as Asher had been.
“Hey, you wanna sleep in the same bed like we used to, when you’d sleep at mine?” Asher blurted before thinking. Desperate to fill the silence.
David chuckled quietly “What like top and tail?”
Asher shrugged, that’s not exactly what he had been thinking “Sure. If you want.”
David climbed into bed leaving about 1/3 of it on the edge for Asher to slip into. He climbed in feet facing the headboard.
“Ash?”
“Yeah?”
He heard a gentle thud as David moved his head back into the headboard. “Asher.”
Asher laughed hushed as he turned around, kicking David a few times as he awkwardly shuffled the right way round. They’d never top-and-tailed.
David opened his arm so that Ash could snuggle into his side before wrapping it around him again.
-
David watched as Asher fell asleep against him, eyes swollen and fluttering. His hair still half wet as David moved it out of his face. Tomorrow they’d file a report together and then David would take him to that god-awful kebab place he loved that certainly broke almost all the food-safety laws.
And depending on how Ash felt about it, maybe David would get into a little revenge of his own.