TW for description of injuries from abuse
res· cue | \ ˈre-(ˌ)skyü
transitive verb
:to free from confinement, danger, or evil
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xx
winter
age twenty-four
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When Kelly's name shows up on Sting's caller ID at two in the morning, he immediately knows that something is wrong.
"It's your friend," Kelly says when Sting answers. "We got a call from the hospital."
A cold sense of dread creeps up Sting's stomach and through his chest. "I'll be right there," he manages. Rogue rolls over, frowning at him and yawning. "It's Gray," he says, and Rogue's awake immediately, pushing himself up and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Sting stumbles out of bed, cursing when he trips over the carpet on his way to the closet. His hands are shaking so badly that he nearly drops his phone.
"I'll stay up," Rogue says as Sting tugs on his uniform and runs a trembling hand through his messy hair. "Text me if you can."
"I will." Sting exhales, rubbing his face and giving Rogue an uncertain look. "What if he…"
"It's going to be okay," Rogue insists, but Sting's thoughts are racing too fast for the words to sink in. His mind is filled with tears and terror and his dad shouting, and his head aching while his fingers went numb.
His phone dings again and he looks down at it. It's from Natsu.
Natsu [02:25] im at the hospital w gray. he left joel.
Natsu [02:26] hes hurt pretty bad but he's okay. hospital called the police.
Sting stares at the message as anxiety and fear battle for space in his stomach. 'Okay' can mean so many things. Sting was 'okay' too, even with thirty-six stitches and a broken arm.
Sting [02:26] I know, they just called me. I'm coming in with Kelly.
"What can I do, love?" Rogue asks, touching Sting's elbow. He flinches, then shakes his head in embarrassment.
"Sorry—"
"Don't apologize." Rogue waits for Sting to step forward before wrapping his arms around his neck and kissing his cheek. "I love you. You're so brave and I know you can do this."
Sting nods, trying to believe him. "I…" His phone lights up again and he stares down at the words.
Natsu [02:28] im so scard hes gonna change his mind.
"Go," Rogue says gently, nudging Sting toward the door. "I'll get the guest room ready."
Sting gives him a grateful look, then presses one last kiss to Rogue's cheek before taking the stairs two at a time down to the garage.
Sting [02:30] I'm on my way.
As soon as Sting steps into the hospital room, he wants to cry. Gray's sitting on the couch with Natsu's arm wrapped around his shoulders, staring at the floor with a blank expression on his face. His lip is swollen, and his face is bruised, and Sting's stomach aches when he sees the reddish fingerprints on Gray's throat.
"Hey," he says gently, pushing aside the anger that rises into his throat as bile. He crouches down next to the couch. "How're you doin'?"
Gray shrugs. He looks exhausted. Natsu's holding him tightly, as if Gray will fall apart if he lets go. Sting's eyes flick up to Natsu's face, but Natsu isn't looking at him. His eyes are on Gray, and they're so filled with love and pain.
"I know it hurts, but I'm proud of you," Sting says to Gray, hoping he can convey the same love through his voice. "We're gonna do everything we can to help, okay? Do you know where Joel is right now?"
Gray stares at the badge on Sting's uniform, eyes dull. Up close, he looks worse – his eye is bloodshot and there's still a streak of blood by his nose, and there are half-moon fingernail marks on the side of his neck. Sting grits his teeth and counts backward in his head. Anger is the last thing Gray needs right now, even if it's all Sting can feel.
"Home," Gray says. His voice is rough and raw. "When… he passed out. Drunk. Probably still asleep."
Sting bites the inside of his cheek as memories start to surface.
He's eight and hiding in his bedroom, pushed back in the closet with a hand over his mouth. Quiet, quiet, quiet. Footsteps pound down the stairs, loud and uneven, and Sting waits and waits. He doesn't move, just makes himself as small as possible and counts to a hundred over and over again.
Sting exhales, letting the memories wash over him and then dissipate. He's not there anymore. He's safe, and he's here, and he's going to help Gray
"Does he have any weapons in the house?" Sting asks.
"I… don't think so." Gray sounds so small and uncertain. Sting nods, and then Gray looks up at him, expression desperate. "He… Bella. My dog, she… I had to leave, she… s-saved me, and I just, I left her, and…" Tears spill down his cheeks and he pulls in on himself, resting his head on Natsu's shoulder.
"I'm going to do everything I can to help you, and her," Sting reassures him. He touches Gray's knee carefully, and when there's no flinch, he squeezes. I'm here for you, he thinks, hoping Gray can feel it through the touch. You're safe now. I promise.
Then he stands and turns around, giving Kelly a nod. They usually work together to take statements, but Sting's too close to this. Kelly squeezes his arm as she passes by and he turns on his radio.
"Dispatch, this is Eucliffe," he says, trying to keep his voice steady as he heads out the door. "Requesting officers at 6 Willowdale Crescent for domestic disturbance and assault."
Sting cries the whole way to Gray's apartment. They're quiet tears, but they just won't stop, no matter how many times he wipes at his face. When he arrives at the apartment and sees the other cruiser parked in the lot, he takes a deep breath and pinches his arm until he's focused.
"What've we got?" Kim gets out of the car as he pulls up beside them, and Sting breathes a sigh of relief when he sees that Lev is with her instead of Janson.
"I'll wait down here," he says quietly once he's given them all the information he has. It's dark enough in the parking lot that he hopes they can't tell he's been crying. "Call me if you need backup."
Then they're both gone, and Sting is left with nothing but a seething anger and a head full of memories. His phone buzzing is a welcome distraction and he quickly pulls it out of his pocket.
Natsu [04:03] were leaving the hospital now. rogue called, were going to your place. u ok?
Sting exhales noisily and runs a hand over his face. Relief tempers the anger – at least at his house, they'll be safe.
Sting [04:04] I'll be fine. How's Gray?
Natsu [04:05] not good. is that fucking asshole in jail?
Sting [04:06] I can't say anything yet. I'll let you know as soon as I can.
He's about to put his phone away when it starts to ring. The picture on the screen pulls a smile from Sting's fears – it's the one of him and Rogue and the dandelions.
"Hey, darling," he says quietly. He's not supposed to answer his phone on duty, but he needs to hear Rogue's voice.
"Are you okay?"
"No," Sting says honestly. "I can't tell you much yet. Natsu said him and Gray are on their way." He looks up at the apartment building – a light is on in one of the windows, but Sting isn't sure if it's Gray and Joel's place or not. "He..." Sting swallows. "Gray. He's... it's bad."
"He's safe now," Rogue reassures him. "And so are you. You're so brave and I'm so proud of you, and I love you so much."
Sting swallows, willing himself to not start crying again. He has a sudden, desperate urge to call Uncle Wes, but then there's movement in the front of the apartment building.
"I have to go," he says quickly. "I love you, too. I'll text you when I'm on my way home."
He shoves his phone back in his pocket as the doors to the apartment open. Joel looks surprisingly docile as Lev leads him over to the cruiser, but when he sees Sting, his expression turns sour.
"You," Joel growls, and it's clear that he's still a little drunk.
"Me," Sting agrees, pushing his anger back behind a wall of calm. He's about to ask Lev about Kim when the apartment door opens again and there's a loud woof. Sting quickly makes his way over to where Kim is holding the leash of a large, friendly-looking Rottweiler.
"Hey, Bella," Sting says, crouching down and reaching out his hand. Bella sniffs him, then quickly headbutts him and moves in to lick his face. "Good girl," he says softly, stroking her head. He reaches out and takes the leash from Kim, nodding in thanks. "I've got her," he says. "I'll meet you at the station."
Bella sits patiently next to Sting's desk while he fills out his paperwork, eventually curling up under his chair. The precinct is nearly empty this early, and the quiet helps to clear his mind as his pen flies across the forms.
He finally makes it home at nearly ten in the morning. As soon as he walks in the front door, Bella bolts down the hallway toward the living room, nails clicking on the hardwood floor. There's a moment of silence, and then Sting's heart cracks as he hears Gray's quiet sob.
"Hey, love," Rogue says, appearing next to him and reaching out to touch his cheek. Sting quickly pulls him into a hug, tucking his face into Rogue's neck and letting out a shaky breath. "It's okay," Rogue says quietly, running his hand up Sting's back. "We're all okay."
"I love you," Sting mumbles into Rogue's sweater. There's something about Rogue that always feels like home, and Sting wishes he could just stay in Rogue's embrace forever. Gray needs him, though, so he pulls back reluctantly.
"I love you too," Rogue says, kissing his forehead. "They're in the living room."
Natsu's on the couch, looking sleepily at Gray, who is sitting on the floor with Bella nearly in his lap. He looks worse in the morning light – his eye is almost swollen shut, and the marks on his neck are turning to fingerprint-shaped bruises. Bella is licking his face, tail pounding against the leg of the coffee table in excitement.
"Thank you," Gray whispers when Sting crouches down next to them.
"He didn't hurt her," Sting reassures him, setting the leash down on the table. "She had lots of fun riding in the back of the police cruiser, didn't you, girl?" Bella licks his hand happily, then headbutts it until he scratches behind her ears.
Gray's voice is rough and quiet when he asks what happened, and Sting does his best to explain custody and bail hearings and a no-contact order. When he offers to take Gray back to get his things from the apartment and Gray shakes his head and starts to cry, Sting's heart breaks a little more. He can't help thinking of a smashed TV, and broken glass on the floor of his dad's living room. He'd never gone back there, either.
"You're safe now," Sting says. He's heard the words a hundred times – from Kelly while she held his hand in the hospital, from Uncle Wes when his dad got out of prison, from Natsu when he thought he couldn't stay sober, from Rogue when he woke from nightmares and cried. Now they're his words. His promise.
The look on Gray's face is somewhere between disbelief and tentative hope, and when he reaches out and pulls Sting into a hug, Sting nearly starts to cry. He returns the embrace carefully, settling down on the floor next to Gray and holding him close.
"I know," he says gently, hoping that Gray can believe him. "You can do this."
Natsu slides down to the floor and takes Gray's hand, and the three of them sit like that for a long time – a wall of hope that Sting hopes tempers the fear and anger in Gray's heart.