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crash-bump-bring-the-whump · 1 year

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A Mariano POV for this super fun drabble by @brinkofdiscovery!! I've been so excited about this like y'all don't even know.

TWs: blood, violence, panic attacks, intimidation

If Mariano was upset at the mysterious robber about anything, it was the fear they'd caused everyone in the shop. The teenagers had been shaken up, Andrew was nervous to close at night, and Mariano couldn't even eat his lunch in the office anymore. No one wanted to. Not since "the party", as they'd taken to calling it. There was still a faint stain on the carpet where Mariano had collapsed that no one liked to step on, much less eat next to.

So Mariano had done the logical thing. He'd gone to a thrift store, and bought a rainbow-colored plastic table that was a little bit too short for him to sit at, and an equally almost-but-not-quite-right plastic chair. Then he'd moved some of the store room shelving enough to fit said chair and table into the little alcove against the wall.

Just like that, their new, not-traumatic break area was set up. It was almost perfect. He had to sit further back than was really comfortable to eat there, and it definitely took him a minute to sit or stand with how tight of a squeeze it was, but it worked. And it would make the employees laugh if they saw him eating there, which almost felt more important.

So their new routine started. Getting through long shifts was much easier, too, now that Mariano didn't have to stop eating halfway through his break because he stopped being able to breathe or his hands started to become too shaky. He could even put his headphones in without feeling like a muzzle was going to press up against his back.

That was exactly what he was doing, that day. He hadn't even gotten around to getting his lunch until four since the afternoon rush had gone on so long. His head was still gently spinning from going ten hours without eating, but the episode of the telenovela he'd been watching finally hit it's climax so he couldn't complain. The main characters' season-long misunderstanding was finally being hashed out, and the love octangle was on the line.

He was so drawn into the messy way Javier explained away his side-piece-turned-guardian-angel-turned-would-be-assassin to Gabriela that he didn't quite hear the shouting from the front. A quiet moment hit just in time for "I want you to move that piece of shit van out there!” to cut through the pensive background music.

Who was upset about Bananarama?

Mariano left his phone and earbuds on the table, trying to hurry out of the cramped little corner. His shoe caught on the chair leg, threatening to topple the table and send his remaining quarter-sandwich to the floor. He hopped, a frustrated groan escaping as he finally freed himself and stumbled backwards to freedom.

“No? No? That’s not your fucking van out there? That’s not your fucking van you hit my truck with?”

The sound of a man yelling sparked anger in Mariano's chest. Who came into his shop and thought they could speak to someone like that? Much less, Andrew? Mariano swung the door to the store room open just in time to see Andrew hit the floor, their caffeine-addicted Scary Regular almost in tears, and a man in camouflage pants with a fist still in the air. "You need to calm the fuck down." The man mocked, sneering down at a bleeding, stunned Andrew.

That angry spark condensed down into a black hole, cold and focused. Mariano's shoulders were squared, filling the doorway as he drew himself to his full height. He locked eyes with the man, all the loud bluster withering away. For once, he was glad that he'd worn something with short sleeves under his usual hoodie.

"Step away from my employee." He didn't need to growl or snarl like Bastian to get his point across. He held the man's gaze, striding forward from the stock room door to stand over Andrew, nose-to-nose with the man who'd hit him. He was so close that he could smell the gum on the man's breath. His voice dropped into a softer, lower pitch. "I do not care if you wait outside or leave. We will give your information to the authorities either way. Now." Mariano slammed his fist down on the counter, hard enough to make his wrist smart. "Get out of my shop."

Mariano didn't blink. He didn't relax his shoulders. He didn't even shift his weight until the man who hit Andrew did. When the man stepped backwards, Mariano took a step of his own. He evenly matched the man's pace, not giving him even a second to look at Andrew or Scary Regular as he was backed out of the coffee shop.

When the door chimed and swung shut again, Mariano took a breath. He held it a moment. Then released it, dropping his shoulders back down. When he turned back around to Scary Regular and still-downed Andrew, his expression had softened. "Please call emergency services." He said with a nod towards Scary Regular, who seemed pulled out of his daze by the request.

While Scary Regular dialed the number, Mariano reached down and slid an arm up under Andrew's shoulders. "It's okay, you're okay." He said, pulling Andrew up to sit against him. It didn't seem like Andrew had heard him.

"Andrew." He tried again, shifting to sit more comfortably on the floor. Andrew...didn't look great, but he probably wasn't dying. His nose didn't seem broken, but the floodgates had definitely been opened. "Andrew, breathe." Blood streamed down his face and chin, not helped by the ragged gasp Andrew finally managed.

Relief wound into Mariano's chest, coiling around and snuffing out the anger. Even the distant sound of two bumpers colliding in rage couldn't drag it back out. "Oh my god, he's crazy." Scary Regular muttered, quietly. "Yes, yes, at Cup o' Joe, the coffee shop? Someone just assaulted one of the employees--and that was a hit-and-run. No, no...yes. He's driving away."

“I can’t,” Andrew mumbled, dragging Mariano's attention fully back to him. “God– God I… I can’t, I–” He was blinking hard, tears starting to roll down his face.

“Breathe.” Mariano repeated. It was really disorienting to get punched in the nose, he knew that well. Andrew needed an anchor. Mariano's free hand came to rest at the center of Andrew's chest, hoping to give him something steady to focus on. “Breathe… in: two, three, four…”

Andrew's shoulders heaved as he sobbed, then tried to take another breath. This one was slower, and he leaned more heavily into Mariano's hold. “Two… three, four…” Andrew whispered, not quite able to keep the rhythm but clearly trying. Was he concussed? It looked like he'd hit the floor pretty hard.

“Blood…” Andrew stammered, after another moment. “There’s blood. Blood in my mouth.”

There sure would be. With a nosebleed that heavy, he would've been more shocked if Andrew wasn't swallowing some blood. "Out." Mariano said, winding more gentleness into his words. “Two, three, four…”

“He broke my nose.” Andrew started to reach for his face. He did not need to feel how much blood was running down his face right then. Carefully, Mariano leaned them both forward, curling around Andrew more and guiding him to look down.

“He didn’t.” Mariano answered. He lowered Andrew’s hands back down to his stomach. “In: two, three, four…”

“He-he did. He did.” Andrew shuddered as the tears started to come quicker, mingling with the red already dripping onto Mariano's wrist. “There’s–bones. Bones… my bones are in my brain…”

“They’re not. Breathe with me.”

“They are!” This time he coughed, choking out another breathless sob and sending more blood to be soaked up by his shirt collar. “There’s– I can feel– feel it in my throat… bones in my throat…”

“I can promise you, there’s not–”

“And my brain, my brain’s in my throat, my–my blood. I’m–my nose, he…”

“Andrew,” Mariano cut him off, his tone grounding and steady. He ducked his head lower, black eyes meeting green. Andrew needed to feel like he was safe. “In: two, three…”

Finally, it seemed like he was getting through the fear. Andrew looked at him--really looked at him. His crying still made his chest hitch, and the blood still dripped down Mariano's arm, but he didn't look lost anymore. Pulling Andrew tighter against him, Mariano felt Andrew rest his head against his chest.

He kept counting, low and even, Andrew's mohawk tickling his face as he shook in Mariano's arms. Tucked up under Mariano's chin, he was safe from any more weirdos who wanted to ruin some random barista's day. Outside, Mariano saw Scary Regular talking, taking pictures of Bananarama's new dent while still trying to hold his phone close to his face.

"This is all you need to do." Mariano murmured now and then, one thumb sliding along Andrew's arm. "Just breathe, I have you."

In minutes that felt more like hours, a very familiar hawk landed outside. Evritt. Mariano's favorite knight slid off of his familiar, relief clear on his face when Mariano gave him a small smile through the glass door.

Finally, the ambulance pulled up, and the paramedics hurried in. "He was punched by a customer." Mariano explained, shifting to let them work. "I don't think his nose is broken, but he hit his head on the floor."

The paramedics took over, pulling Andrew from Mariano's arms to get him ready for transport. "Are you riding with him?" One asked, putting a stethoscope to Andrew's chest.

Mariano glanced to Scary Regular, talking with Evritt and his mentor. They had this covered. "Yes, yes. I'm his manager." Andrew was feeling bad enough already without going through an ambulance ride alone. He didn't let go of Andrew's hand the entire time.

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