CRASH
Lucky screamed, knowing exactly what was coming. Brian and Gavin both shot up in bed, startled. Cherry and Switchy leapt from the foot of the bed and into their owners’ arms.
“What the fuck was that?” Brian exclaimed.
“I-I think someone’s in the house.” Gavin stammered, scooting closer to Brian. Cherry squeaked in terror and started to shiver.
“Hooman dat nu am pawt of hewd am hewe? Why?” Switchy gasped. His pink eyes were as large as dinnerplates, his pupils blown wide with fear. Lucky leapt right up onto Brian’s head with her strong hind legs. Apple scrambled under the bed. Dusk braced himself in front of the doorway, hackles raised and growling.
“I-I don’t know why, Switchy. I need everyone to stay quiet, okay? No noise.” Brian whispered, putting a finger to his lips. The fluffies nodded. Dusk stopped growling, though his body language still betrayed how scared and angry he was that something was threatening his family.
Meanwhile, Apple quivered under the bed. He knew he was too frail to do anything if a threat actually showed up. He was still getting used to eating normal meals, he wasn’t ready to defend the house if he needed to. He felt helpless, useless and like extra baggage. If he came out, he’d just get in the way. So he resolved to stay hidden until the danger had passed.
Until Dusk noticed that Apple was cowering. The earthie wouldn’t stand for that. He was the alpha. He’d decide when his herdmates would run and hide. Now was the time to fight and defend, dammit. The purple earthie growled and grabbed Apple by the scruff of the neck, trying to pull him out.
“D-Dusk!” Apple whispered harshly. “Stop! I dun’ wanna come out! I’m usewess when fightin! I’m not stwong enough!”
“Dat am a woad of poopies!” He stomped a hoof. “Five fwuffies pwotectin hewd am bettah than fouw! Nao come out!” Dusk yanked Apple out and made him stand beside him, staring into Apple’s eyes. “If yoo am weak, dat am because of Dusk. Dusk was bigges’ meanie to yoo fow da wongest time. Am sowwy fow dat. But if aww fwuffies nu pwotect hoomans, den hoomans gon get huwties! Nu can hab dat. Yoo nee’ hewp pwotect dummeh hoomans. Pwease.”
Apple was taken aback. Dusk had just… Apologized. To him. When a couple of months ago, he’d have beaten him bloody for speaking a word to him. Alright, he could work with Dusk’s change. Apple gulped, nodded and stood beside Dusk at the door.
All the while, they’d heard crashing and banging downstairs. After a few minutes, the noise stopped, and they all tensed when they heard a yell.
“WHERE ARE YOU, GAVIN?” A male voice roared. Whoever it was sounded ballistic. Gavin gasped and went pale. He scrambled behind Brian, his breathing picking up the pace.
“What, what? Do you know who that is?” Brian hissed.
“M-My ex…” Gavin breathed. Brian glared at the doorway, starting to get angry. There was no way in hell someone was going to hurt his boyfriend. Especially some abusive ex who thought Gavin didn’t have the right to choose who he loved.
“G-Gu ‘way munstah! Nu huwt hoomans!” Dusk snarled, shaking like a leaf.
Brian and Gavin heard loud, fast and heavy footsteps making their way upstairs and into the hallway outside their room. Dusk deflated, realizing he’d just given away where they were. Gavin leapt out of bed, throwing Switchy off him and the man stepped in front of Brian protectively.
Brian blanked when he saw the tall, wide silhouette of a stranger in the doorway. Gavin shook his head at the livid man before him. Switchy screamed in terror and wet himself when he caught the scent of the very same man who had beaten him so brutally as a foal.
Gavin tried to speak, his voice high with panic. “Julian, don’t hurt-” In an instant, the huge man lunged forward with his hands outstretched and grabbed him before stabbing him in the side with something. Gavin gurgled, then fell to the floor holding his side. Brian saw dark red seep into Gavin’s pajamas and between his fingers. Blood.
“NO!” Brian shot out of bed, and before he could even think of what he was doing, he grabbed the man by the sleeve of his black hoodie and yanked him back. The momentum caused by the adrenaline-strengthened yank threw the big man back a small bit. This gave Brian time to punch the man in the face.
Brian hurriedly dragged Gavin over to the wall, gagging at the blood trail his boyfriend’s wound left. Then he grabbed a wooden stool that was by a desk in the room and hit Julian over the head with it, breaking off one of the legs. Julian’s hood flew off and Brian saw dark red dyed hair. “Thank fuck,’” Brian thought. “If this asshole gets away I have a description.”
The fluffies were in hysterics. Cherry didn’t have accidents often, but his owners would have to change their sheets and run them through the washing machine multiple times after this. Apple and Lucky raced over to Gavin, and Dusk rushed Julian in a tearful rage.
“Dada! Othew dada has wowstest huwties! What shouwd we do?” Apple yelled.
“Get some sort of cloth and press it on Gavin’s wound! Don’t stop pressing on it!” Brian barked as Dusk yanked hard on Julian’s pant leg. The fluffies ran around, searching desperately for a bandage of some kind.
Brian grimaced. The intruder’s breath smelled like booze. The man was on a drunken rampage. Brian’s muscles strained as he held the man back. His joints cracked and he was sure he’d pulled multiple muscles. But he was nowhere near as hurt as Gavin. He regretted glancing at his partner.
Gavin was in absolute agony. He was practically howling in pain as blood gushed onto the carpet. Switchy had climbed down from the bed and started yanking open drawers. He found a shirt, scrambled over to Gavin and used his front hooves to heavily press the shirt on the wound. Lucky and Apple ran over as well.
“Nu wowwy nyu daddee! Wucky sabe yoo wif wucky huggies!” She wrapped her body around the affected area, squeezing as hard as she could. Apple was sobbing the whole time, but he added his body weight to the pressure by leaning on Switchy.
“Cherry! Call for help! Remember the emergency number!” Brian ordered. Cherry snapped out of his daze and zipped to the phone that was on the bedside table. He used his nose to press the second to last number once, then the first one twice.
“911, what’s your emergency?” Cherry heard someone ask.
“HEWP! Chewwy’s daddeh am fightin’ meanie hooman munstah! Othah daddeh hab bigges’ huwties an’ booboo juice! Pwease huwwy!” Cherry yelped. Then the alicorn saw Brian was putting the intruder on the defensive and decided to help.
Cherry zipped behind Julian as he backed up, causing the man to fall and hit the back of his head hard on the metal footboard of their bed. This caused the bastard to black out, and Brian quickly dragged him into the closet with the help of the fluffies. Brian stuffed the chair under the doorknob, so now the man would be forced to stay there until the cops got here. Julian started pounding on the door and screaming bloody murder, but Brian ignored him and raced to Gavin’s side.
“Honey? Honey, I need you to breathe for me, please. Come on- Don’t die on me baby.” Brian’s voice sounded too calm, despite his extreme panic. He kept pressing on the wound, and the fluffies guarded the door in case Julian escaped.
Eventually the cops arrived and took Julian away. Gavin was rushed to the hospital, and had to have 12 stitches. Brian stayed by his side the whole time, waiting for Gavin to wake up from the anesthetic.
After a few hours, his mind offered him something horrible. “What if he’s comatose?” He asked himself. “What if he never wakes up?”
“Baby…” He begged, gripping onto Gavin’s hand hard. “Baby please wake up, I can’t do this without you.”
He lowered his head and hid it in Gavin’s chest. “Please…” He whispered.
“Guh… Wha’ happened?” He heard a familiar voice slur. “Babe? Izzat you?”
“GAVIN!” Brian yelled, crashing into Gavin’s arms. “You’re okay! You’re alive! You’re not comatose, oh thank fuck!” He blubbered.
“Comatose- What?” Gavin huffed a tiny laugh. “I wasn’t stabbed that bad!”
Brian only hugged him harder, happy that Gavin was there.
First chapter: Cherry And Brian, Chapter 0: Cherry's Backstory (Star-The-Alicorn)
Previous chapter: Cherry and Brian, Chapter 13: Reprociated Feelings and Petrified Premonitions (Star-the-Alicorn)
Final chapter: Cherry and Brian, Chapter 15: Epilogue (Star-The-Alicorn)
