Chapter Text
His depression wasn't a fight he was ever willing to make public.
Even with close friends - the teammates he worked with for years - he always kept his personal battles to himself. The turmoil of self doubt and longing for better times that nearly consumed him in his youth now simmered in a general melancholy that afflicted him more often then he let on.
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It was a Sunday afternoon. Rain pitter-pattered on the roof of the apartment building, and its gentle echo reverberated throughout the room. The dull grey light filtered in through the blinds, casting an almost comforting blanket of somber, dulcet tones onto the living quarters.
Fox had curled himself into the arm of the couch, lounge pillow in his arms. As he listened to the gentle rain, he sighed. It was another bout of turmoil. Guilt. Loneliness. An indescribable sense of pain.
And so he gripped his pillow tight, as if to guard his heart from the sadness that bubbled within. If tears were to prick at his eyes, he wouldn't have known.
The mixture of rain and his sorrow had almost dulled the world around him. And as such, it was a surprise when he felt someone sit right next to him, resting a gentle hand on his calf.
Panther met his green gaze with a look of gentle concern, lurking softly in his yellow eyes.
"Are you okay, dear?"
It was always his voice that undid Fox. He felt his heart soften, the tension in his shoulders lax away.
"I'm…not."
"I know." Panther gripped the pillow in one hand, using another to grip his love's clenched fist and pull it away.
Fox resisted, if for but a second. The sudden vulnerability would always catch him off guard. Yet it never deterred Panther.
He tossed the pillow aside and gently, gently wrapped his arms around Fox's shoulders. It was but a moment until he returned the gesture, wrapping his arms slowly and tenderly and clinging to his upper back.
Panther gently stroked his shoulder, squeezing his darling close to his chest. "It's okay, my rose."
Fox, meanwhile, buried his face in Panther's shoulder. He took a deep breath. Roses and pine needles filled his senses.
He relaxed.
"Do you need to talk about it?" Panther whispered in his ear, as if not to disturb the gentleness of the moment they shared.
"Not yet." Fox murmured as his only response, his eyes closed tight and his grip tightened on his boyfriend, as if he was worried he'd lose Panther if he let go.
"Okay. I'll be here until you are."
Where moments ago he thought it impossible he could cry, now he felt his lip quiver and his eyes water up.
Panther wiped the tears away, and smiled. "I love you, my summer rose. I promise, we'll get through today."
And with a sniffle and a quivering voice, Fox replied,
"I love you too, dear."