A/N: no specific content warnings, but Gabe is still trying to work himself out over this pain thing, and Henry continues to be Henry, so, um, soz

And pronouns/names were a bit of a nightmare here, so let me know if anything is too blergh on that front.

Henry turned back to Gabriel after the door had slammed shut, taking in the cut on his cheek and the wild, scared look in his eyes.

"What happened?"

Gabriel looked away, down at his empty plate.

"I'm fine."

"That isn't what I asked. Why was he with you?"

"He wasn't. He must have been walking home himself, or something. He saved me."

Gabriel looked uncertain – perhaps over whether Sawyer had indeed saved him. It made Henry shudder.

"Darling, tell me the truth."

"I was mugged. They got my messenger bag, and they tried to take my cello."

"Oh my god! Did they?"

"No...Mr. Montgomery stopped them, like I said."

Gabriel was even more pink. Henry hated it when he tried to hide things.

"Did he do anything inappropriate?"

Gabriel's jaw fell open, and he blushed even harder.

"No! No, he didn't do anything. Scared them away, and walked me home."

Henry reached for him, feeling a little guilty that his mind went there so easily. It was unfair, he knew. His boy was nothing if not loyal.

Gabriel winced, pulling away from the soft touch, making worry rise again in Henry's chest.

"Let me see."

Henry pushed the arm of the overlarge t-shirt up, and he could see vicious purple bruises across Gabriel's upper arms.

"Gabriel! You didn't say they'd beaten you."

His boy broke into sobs, hanging his head.

"I'm sorry..."

"Darling, you have nothing to apologize for. Come into the bedroom – I'll find the arnica cream, and some antiseptic for that cut."

In the bedroom, Henry lifted the cello reverentially off the bed – he opened the battered case when it was safely tucked into the corner of the room, but thankfully the instrument didn't seem to be damaged.

He turned back to Gabriel, who was standing uncertainly in the doorway, shifting from one foot to the other. "Take your clothes off, darling, let me see where you need the cream."

Henry watched with increasing horror as Gabriel pulled the t-shirt over his head, revealing huge blooms of bruising across his chest and stomach. He slipped the trackpants over his narrow hips, and his thighs were no better, his lovely, smooth skin marred with awful welts.

"What did they do to you?"

"I'm sorry, Henry..."

"No," he gulped, "you have nothing to be sorry for. Poor baby."

Gabriel lay back on the bed, and Henry tenderly tucked a pillow under his head before using some cotton wool to apply antiseptic cream to the cut on Gabriel's cheek, making him hiss at the cold sting.

"I'm sorry, I'll try not to hurt you."

"I'm okay." Gabriel's voice was deeper than usual, husky and rough. He was obviously incredibly stressed by what had happened, and it was Henry's duty to make him calm again.

Henry squeezed out the arnica cream. He was going to have to remember to put it on Gabriel's shopping list, because there was no doubt they were going to use the entire tube. He slicked a large glob onto Gabriel's smooth torso, pressing gently to check there was no damage to his ribs. He hissed again, with a whimper, and Henry soothed him with soft murmurs. His sweet boy was suffering, but he didn't think his ribs were cracked or broken. He concentrated on making sure as many of the bruises as possible were covered with every bit of the thick balm.

"You like my hands on you?" he chuckled softly when he realized his massaging motions had made Gabriel hard in his underwear.

"Uh, yes. Sorry."

Henry chuckled again at the sweet way Gabriel was trying to hide his blushing face, but he kept up the motions of his hands, lightly slicking the cream over Gabriel's bruises until he was shifting his hips and there was a small patch of moisture on the front of his underwear.

"Much as I'd like to do something about it, you were hit in the face and I think we should be careful about possible concussion."

"I'm okay. I promise. Please, Henry..."

"Now, now, no whining."

"Henry, I can take it. Please, just touch me more, I need it."

"Gabriel," he said warningly, looking right at him to make sure he understood the importance. "Don't be a bad boy, I already said no."

"Please...I need..."

"That's enough! What's gotten into you? I won't do something when there's a chance your head is injured, so stop asking. You're being very bad."

"I'm not, I'm sorry, I just..."

Gabriel turned to look at Henry then, and there was something a little strange in his eyes. Something knowing, which Henry wasn't sure if he liked, though after a moment he bit his lip sweetly and his big eyes went very wide as he whimpered. "If I'm so bad, maybe you need to punish me? You can spank me if you want."

"What? No!" They'd never done anything like that together. Henry didn't want to spank Gabriel – he'd never wanted that from him.

But something was affecting Gabriel, and Henry thought back guilty to where he'd been when what he should have been doing was walking his boy home – keeping him safe. And he wanted his sweet, compliant boy back.

"Your head's getting all muddled darling. I know you feel all hot and hard," he pressed the palm of his hand down, gasping at just how hot and hard Gabriel was against him. "How about I make it go away? Make you feel better."

"Please, something, anything," Gabriel whined, bucking against him.

Henry crouched between Gabriel's spread open legs, pulling his underwear down to reveal him, thick and already red with need, leaking copiously from the tip. He wasn't a fan of this – much happier when they were the other way around, as Gabriel's beautiful mouth was heaven on him – but he'd do it if it would calm his boy down. He suckled on the tip, wincing at the taste, but using his hand and tongue to give as much pleasure as possible in as short a time as he could. Luckily, something had got Gabriel riled up, even as Henry ran his hands over his poor, bruised skin, unable to even find a clear space, feeling bad when Gabriel whimpered and pressed a hand firmly against his own hip, probably trying to distract himself from the pain. It didn't take long before Henry felt the tell-tale tensing in the abdomen and Gabriel's hips jerked. Henry pulled away, using his hand to push him over the edge, covering the bruises on his stomach with white globules.

When Henry returned from the bathroom with a cloth, he was stunned to see Gabriel was already hard again.

"Please, can I have more?"

"No, darling. I'm putting my foot down."

"Please..."

"You know how I feel about whining, Gabriel. Do I need to leave you in here to think about your behavior?"

"Please, no. Don't leave me. I'll be good, I promise. Please, don't leave me."

Henry felt for his poor boy, who had been through so much, so, when the cloth had gone into the laundry basket, he slid into the bed behind him and carefully pulled him close, until Gabriel's stuttered breathing finally evened out into sleep and he could slip away too.

* * * * *

There wasn't much light when Gabriel woke up, and he winced as he rolled over, feeling like one giant bruise. Henry was still sleeping next to him, but his own phone was lit up. That must be what had woken him. There was a message, signed 'Sawyer', and it took him a moment to remember that was Mr. Montgomery. It was just asking if he was feeling alright, so he sent a brief message back saying he was okay, wondering how the man got his phone number.

He didn't feel as though he could go back to sleep – his skin felt as though it was buzzing – so he slipped out of bed and into the living room to try and relax with some yoga. He managed a few minutes, although almost every move was pressing on at least one bruise, and he was mortified at how it sent shots of pleasure through him, much as Henry's hands rubbing his body the night before had. He cringed as he remembered how demanding he'd tried to be. He shouldn't have done that – he knew exactly how much Henry didn't like it, and he knew he'd been angry and the way he'd pushed. Though Henry had still done that – sucked him – so maybe Gabriel could convince him to try some new things, given time.

He was so caught up in his thoughts, he didn't hear Henry until he was standing in the doorway, holding Gabriel's phone.

"What's this?"

"What? It's my phone." He stood, reaching for it.

"Don't be obtuse. Why are you receiving messages from Sawyer?"

"Oh. I don't know. I don't even know how he got my number. It's only one message."

"I don't want you speaking to that man. There's something wrong about him. And I've seen the way he looks at you."

Gabriel didn't know what way that might be, but he did know Henry hadn't looked at him with any special glances for a while, and that thought made his heart sink. But he just nodded.

"And what are you doing? You shouldn't be exercising yet. You were hurt."

"I'm fine. I promise, I'm okay."

"Oh? You suddenly know better do you? You know I know the best ways to look after you, Gabriel, and you're going to stay in today. You can practice."

"But I thought we could-,"

"I have things to do. I'm going to the Conservatory. Just behave yourself, and stay here. And don't communicate with that man."

Gabriel didn't want to be left on his own – to be ignored – but Henry stormed out of the apartment without another glance, and he dropped to his knees, banging them sharply against the hard floor. He wrapped his arms around his middle, pressing them against the storm of bruises, feeling the dull pain pass through him. He pressed harder as he let himself fall forward, resting against the couch, sobbing even as he felt electricity. He had no idea what was wrong with him, wasn't even sure he wanted to know. It hurt – the awareness that Henry wouldn't want to help him find out, and he hiccupped out great wet tears as the thought ruined his heart.

A/N: thanks for reading 😊

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