Mending

The smell of bacon woke Mina around nine that evening. He tried to stretch, his muscles sore from being curled up in a pile of blankets for so long, but he immediately stopped when he felt shocks of pain radiate from his leg and tail.

Tail?

The previous day came rushing back to him and, if he wouldn't have hurt himself much worse trying to get up, he would have gotten his ass out of there. As it were, he knew that he couldn't even shift with his tail broken, so he was screwed.

Not sure who I would prefer to be stuck with. My brother or Del.

He heard a scoff in his mind and flicked an ear before the door to the closet, which had been mostly closed, was pulled open and Del walked in.

"Me, of course," he said as he sat down with a plate in his hand.

The thought of eating made his stomach uncomfortable, but Mina refused to decline bacon. It was his one vice.

"Is it now?" Del asked, having clearly heard what he hadn't thought he'd thought loud enough for him to pick up.

Del picked up a piece of bacon and nonchalantly began nibbling at it, being sure to watch Mina's lion's face as he did so. He finished a whole piece before grabbing another and nudging Mina's nose with it.

"Open up, little lion. You need to get better so I can screw you again," he said with a smirk.

Bristling, Mina snatched the piece of bacon from his fingers, one of his teeth catching his finger just enough to make Del jump and growl.

"Really? Mature much?" Del said with a scowl as he set his plate down and got up to go wash his slightly bleeding finger in the bathroom sink.

Mina took his chance and reached out with a paw while he was gone. It took a bit of shifting around and a slight amount of pain, but he managed to snag two more pieces of crispy bacon and drag it back to where he lay. It was gone in moments, along with the remaining three pieces, right before Del came back.

"You think you're so clever, don't you, you brat?" he said as he sat down next to the empty plate, ignoring it since it had nothing on it anymore. "I just wanted to get some food in you so that I could text the vet that you were eating."

Why am I even here? I can't imagine you wanting to take care of a crippled lion. Mina thought to Del.

"Of course I don't want to look after some injured cub. It's my darn wolf that's making me do this."

The wolf? You are the wolf. Mina replied, even though he knew that the animals could sometimes take over. His lion was a prime example.

Why don't you just give me back to my uncles, or even my brother?

Not that he really wanted to be shoved at them, either.

"Because I don't want to. You belong to me now." Del said with a half-shrug that had Mina hissing at him.

My ass.

"Especially that, yes."

Mina was about to swat at him, pain be damned, when the sound of the door to the bedroom opening drew their attention toward it. The moment they saw Buck step through the opening, Mina could feel Del's relief and excitement as the man jumped up and literally ran into his arms. Buck's back hit the closed door before he slid to the carpeted floor, wrapping his own arms around Del before squeezing him tightly against his chest.

"I'm sorry I was gone when you needed me," he whispered as he pressed a kiss to Del's hair.

Of course, he can snuggle into Buck's arms and nearly start sobbing, but all I'm good for is to hump until he's tired enough to fall asleep.

The thought left a sour taste in his mouth as Mina forced himself to stand as best he could with his broken limbs. He dragged himself out of the bundle of blankets he'd been resting in and carefully headed toward the bathroom.

You can't just walk around.

Ignoring Del's words, Mina walked into the bathroom, grateful for the switch to tile flooring so that his bandages slid much easier over the surface. He stopped in front of the toilet, then looked up in dismay.

Maybe the bathtub will be a little better?

Turning, he flattened his ears against his head and pouted. It looked much higher than it normally did... when he was in his human form.

I'm just gonna pee on the floor.

"Like hell you are!" Del shouted as he came running in.

Before Mina could react, he was being picked up and placed on a stack of newspaper?

Not on the toilet, genius?

"You want to try and squat on it in your condition? I mean, I'll lift you up there, but don't blame me for laughing when you fall in." He said as he moved to lift Mina up, only to be swatted at.

"That's what I thought." Del grumbled as Buck appeared in the doorway, a small smile on his face. He knelt down in front of Mina, making his lion's hackles rise slightly.

Del sat down when Buck motioned for him to do so, then returned his attention Mina. "I'm going to be here to help with anything you need until you're healed. If he starts giving you trouble, just let me know."

Mina eyed him skeptically, but he couldn't decline his offer outright. As far as he could tell, Buck was more level-headed than Del. That wasn't exactly saying much, but at least it was saying something. Mina was just about to nod when he heard Del let out a near-silent growl.

Wait? Did you just growl at Buck?

The look on Buck and Del's faces as they turned to stare at each other mirrored Mina's thoughts. Del looked like he was about to start apologizing profusely when Buck reached up and settled a hand against his face.

"It's fine, Del. I know that things are changing in your mind. I'm not the only one that matters anymore, and that's fine." Buck said right before Del snarled down at Mina, earning a pathetic hiss in response.

"Nothing is going to change!" He yelled before getting up and storming out.

Mina expected Buck to follow him, but he just chuckled quietly.

"He's really not that bad once he thinks you're worth his time. He's just a tough guy to deal with until then." He said as he stood up. "I'll leave you to your business."

With that, he turned and shut the door most of the way. Mina did his business, being careful not to get his bandages wet, then hobbled out of the room after nudging the door back open. To his surprise, there was a new nest of towels and blankets only a foot or so away. He noticed Buck walking around the room cleaning up some things, but when he pretty much ignored him, Mina limped into the soft makeshift bed and curled up gratefully.

"Wake up, Claws."

Del's voice had Mina grumbling and snuggling deeper into his blanket nest.

"It's already been two days. You need to eat something and I need to change those bandages."

Mina's eyes cracked open and he lifted his head, feeling way too tired for having slept for two days straight. Before he could even get his barrings he was lifted out of his blankets and carried into the bathroom. Once set down in the bathtub, Del leaned over and began unwrapping the bandages on his leg.

"I checked them when you were out cold and they looked okay, but the vet said to change them soon. You could also use a bath, so just deal with it for a few minutes." He said as he grabbed a few plastic bags from under the sink and began wrapping them around Mina's leg and tail.

I can wash myself.

"Give it a try, then." Del said, sitting back on his heels as he watched Mina with a raised eyebrow.

Mina tried to lean over and lick at his back legs or side, but just trying to reach those places made him hurt terribly. Deciding on a safer route, he leaned forward and started lapping at his front paws.

See? No problems.

"Uh huh."

Del quickly finished tying the bags around Mina's bandages before turning on the water for the detachable shower-head. "Just behave. I'll make this quick... unlike a few nights ago." Del said with a smirk as he started spraying down Mina's dirty coat.

You might have done several rounds, but if I remember correctly, they had definitely been quick. Mina quipped back with a flick of his ear, since he couldn't move his tail at all.

His face was suddenly scrubbed with suds in response, making him squeeze his eyes shut on a closed-mouth growl.

"Don't drown the poor boy in soap, Del," Buck said, his voice growing closer as he spoke.

My savior!

"You wish, punk," Del grumbled as he grabbed the hanging shower-head and sprayed Mina down with warm water, being careful around his bad leg and tail. "At least you don't smell like ass now."

Mina glared up at Del after the soap was washed away. He probably looked like a drowned rat, but if he had to, then Del did, too. With a huff, Mina shook his coat out as hard as he could without hurting himself. Water flung from his fur in all directions and the sound of Del scrambling back and growling was like music to his ears. When he had finished and looked at his handwork, Del was stomping out of the bathroom to change his soaked clothing and Buck was reaching down toward him with a towel, laughing quietly.

"Nice job. He needed a bath, too, honestly. He'd been looking after you so much that he barely rinsed off here and there." He said as he wrapped Mina in the plush towel and began scrubbing his fur gently to help dry it.

I might not mind having a connection with you... yet I somehow think that you don't show your true colors too often.

Mina let Buck rub at his coat until it was just a little damp before he started squirming.

"Alright, alright. I'll let you down, but since Del ran off, I'll need to take care of your injuries," he said as he gently set Mina in his blanket nest, then went to get the items he'd need to do the job.

When he sat back down, Mina was already nestled into the warm blankets and towels, drawing a smile from Buck before the man reached over and looked over his leg. "It looks pretty good." He mused as he gently tapped at the incision sight with some medication on a cotton ball, then got busy rewrapping it in a fresh bandage. "Nice and easy."

"Buck!"

Buck's fingers paused on Mina's leg before he finished bandaging the injury, then looked over his shoulder as Magnus stomped up to them. The slightly bigger man was just opening his mouth to say something else when Buck reached to his side and tapped the floor.

"Sit."

Magnus scowled, but shut his mouth and dropped to the floor into a sloppy sitting position as he glared between him and Buck.

"Why are you taking care of Del's mate?" He asked with a glare toward Mina.

Why are you here, is the real question... and I'm no one's mate.

"Calm down, Maggie. I'm just helping Del. He's been very stressed lately and I am perfectly capable of changing some bandages." Buck said calmly as he worked on unwrapping Mina's tail. His leg hadn't been too bad, but when Buck started tugging on his tail, though unintentional, Mina couldn't help but swat at his arm, as it was the only part of him that he could easily reach without hurting himself more.

Before the swipe could even connect, however, Magnus grabbed his small paw with a snarl. Mina pinned his ears and tried to pull his paw away while Magnus bared his teeth, but was useless against his strength... until Buck released his tail and promptly tackled Magnus to the floor with a frustrated snort. Even in his human form his deer's annoyance came out loud and clear.

"Stop it, or you're going home." He warned.

Mina watched the two with interest. He hadn't exactly had an exciting time the last few days, so it was quite interesting watching a deer shifter dominate a carnivore.

I wounder who tops in their relationship.

"There is no relationship!" Del roared from the doorway as he stormed into the room carrying a huge bag of Chinese take-out in each hand.

Buck looked up from where he had Magnus pinned on the carpet and chuckled, then leaned off the man.

"Your attitude says something else, Del." He reminded him, clearly having mistaken which relationship he had been yelling about.

Either way, Buck's response had Del's narrowed eyes widening as they locked on Magnus.

"You're actually in a relationship with that crazy bear-dog?" He growled, clearly close to shifting right where he stood and giving Magnus a run for his money.

I think I'd put my money on Magnus.

Del turned his glare on him, but Mina just yawned.

What? You're getting a little soft. I think he might stand a decent chance.

It was entertaining to see Del's face begin to turn an angry red shade.

"Stop instigating him, Mina. I can tell by the look on your face." Buck said as he backed off of Magnus, allowing him to sit back up before looking up at Del. "Calm down and finish changing the bandage on his tail."

Buck got up and grabbed Magnus's arm, making him stand, too, so that they could give Del room. Mina watched the two start for the door as Del got himself situated and tried to hold back a smirk when he saw Magnus nudge his face into Buck's neck and lick him from his collarbone to his cheek.

"Pay attention, stupid lion," Del grumbled as he grabbed Mina's tail... way too hard.

In a flash Mina had his claws in Del's arm. Even one of his little teeth had slipped into his skin, but he couldn't help himself. His tail was freaking broken! Just grabbing it like that had seriously hurt!

Del jumped up abruptly and carried Mina to the bathroom, since he couldn't retract his claws just yet. When the door shut, he expected Del to yank him off of his arm without a care to his injuries, but to his surprise, the guy took a very deep breath, then sighed it out as he closed his eyes. They remained that way for several moments before Del opened his eyes again and gently set Mina down on the fuzzy bathmat in front of the shower.

"I'm sorry that I wasn't careful touching your tail. You didn't deserve that." He said, shocking Mina to the point where his mouth hung open.

Del shook  his head and sighed again before gently working Mina's claws out of his arm, then getting up to wash it in the sink. He added some disinfectant and band-aids, then turned back to Mina with a small spool of fresh bandaging and knelt down.

"I'll take care of your tail, carefully this time, then, if you want some, I bought Chinese for us." Del said as he got busy working on unwrapping Mina's broken tail.

Mina was silent for several minutes as Del worked, contemplating his words as well as trying to keep from fidgeting as his tail was tended to. Once Del had finally finished and tossed the old bandages, then got up to put away the rest of the stuff away, he slowly got to his three good feet and looked up.

Did you get some of those krab wantons?

The grin that slipped onto Del's face had Mina looking down, but soon enough he was being lifted and tucked against Del's side as he carried him out of the bathroom and set him down on the bed. What proceeded that was a wonder. Del must have bought out the entire Chinese place with how much stuff he set out before  Mina. There were at least five different meals, including two bags of wontons, egg rolls, and two containers of soup.

Wow. Buck and Magnus are going to be super excited.

Del grunted and shut the bedroom door, then walked back over to sit beside him on the bed as he took one of the disposable forks out of the packaging, then speared a piece of chicken and lifted it to his own lips as he grabbed a wonton and offered it to Mina.

"It's not for them... It's for this guy who's been driving me more crazy than I usually am."