Damien pulled his hand back and crossed his arms. "No, I am not telling that little girl who looks up to you that you're too fucking .. whatever this is... to use the thing that gives you both independence."
That was the truth and then he let out a heavy breath. "I'd like to go back to bed with my boyfriend if we aren't getting food but unfortunately..." he motioned at Dee. "... there's someone in my way that doesn't want to move."
"Then tell her that you're too... whatever THAT is... to stop and ask if I wanted any help in the first place!"
He doubled down, because this too, was true. "I didn't even want to go out! You're the one who convinced me to try even though I was fucking terrified! And I did, all right? I did! I didn't have to, but I tried and I... I just... I can't think about it anymore right now! But you won't take no for a fucking answer!"
This wasn't Hunger City. This wasn't a life or death situation, but Damien was making it feel like one.
Damien went quiet and stared down at Dee. "You're right. I can't stop because I'm head of security."
If Dee wanted to double down then Damien wasn't going to back away. "All I can fucking think about is what if Aarne was too drunk or busy fucking Joe to be a busybody texting everyone and we lost something more important than your fucking chair in that bar."
Damien rarely raised his voice but the incredible stress inside was getting to him. "Unfortunately, it seems, it is my job to make sure you are all safe even when you're damned thorns in my ass about it."
"Yeah, well in case you haven't noticed, we're all safe!" He shouted, though his voice did soften a little when he added, more quietly, "and making me feel insecure isn't making YOU feel any less insecure either. So why don't you just lay off, okay?"
"Dee, I wish that was true. My job would be easier."
Damien looked down and shook his head. "You're not. You at the bar, Davy's been attacked again, we almost lost Rik and Mikkel to his family not long ago, Rekker opening his wrist, or someone else's face, every few months recently."
Damien sighed and stared at the singer almost sprawled on the ground. "Well, in case you haven't noticed, the reason you can think you're all safe is because someone is your shield all day, every day. While you're laying on the ground yelling at me maybe you should think harder on the name of your drummer and what that means outside of a fantasy realm?"
Damien was about to step right over Dee but instead turned his back and pushed his long hair back. He's stressing out. The pressure here, and back home, and Dee's own 'art' was driving Damien over the edge. Maybe it was what Dee sang about that made him so agitated. It was too close to home and Dee was so blind to it.
"Well, speaking of my fantasy realm, maybe you should stop acting like you belong in the Min..."
Before he could even finish, a voice broke in from atop the bus. "NOPE! Stop right there! BOTH of you, just shut up!"
Minoru hung his head over the edge. Minoru knew his coach very well, and had trained in Hunger City while not actually being a part of it. He knew Damien's methods. He also knew his triggers, and when the stress of keeping everyone alive was getting to him. They didn't talk about it often, but Minoru could read him pretty well.
"Dee, don't you dare even finish that thought! You have no idea how much it's about to hurt!" He shouted firmly. "So take a deep breath. And shut up."
The moment Dee even opened his mouth, Minoru snapped again, "No!"
He jumped off the top of the bus.
"Damien's got a job with really high stakes. Our lives are in his hands. Like it or not, he's got a point when he says learning to use a chair like that would keep you safe. Because it'd get you away from dangerous situations."
Then Minoru turned to his coach.
"Now, I'm only a physical therapist assistant student, not an occupational therapist or anything close. But we still learned about wheelchairs, mobility devices, all that stuff. For a chair like that, there's whole training programs. Recommended time of six months between evaluations."
Minoru already knew a new chair was on its way. He was going to meet with Gloria today, actually, to see what changes they'd need to make to their PT plan. He wasn't an occupational therapist, but he knew he'd have a hand in helping Dee practice in his new chair.
"You didn't expect me to finish the Manhattan Chase rope climb on my first day." He spoke of it like it was a sporting event, so as not to draw too much attention to the harsh reality that people in this world really didn't need to know. "and I already had a lot of training. You can't expect him to be comfortable in a power chair in an hour, especially when he's never been in one before. It's just not possible."
Kuro might sing about a world far too close to home to Damien and the other Pups, but they weren't actually from there. They couldn't be expected to have the same experience and skills.
"Take a break... Go back to bed." Minoru nudged his coach. "I can take the chair back to Choko."
He looked back down at Dee. "And you better rest right there while you can. Because I heard everything you said, and I'm calling you on your bluff. We've been working on stairs for a month and I know exactly how high you can lift your legs. So we're going to climb those. Step by step. I'm going to support you, but you're doing the work."
Damien's golden eyes narrowed and he knew what word is about to come out of Dee's mouth. Minoru can probably see that ebb of rage that gets crushed as soon as it rises.
Minoru wasn't getting the levity though and Damien's eyes turned on Dee. "If you ever finish that sentence about me you will NEVER play on this tour again."
This was serious and Minoru might be trying to stop this argument but Damien was looking to stop any future ones. He had a good grip on his temper, his training to kill, but he's not stupid. Even all his mental and physical control had limits. The Dog is afraid that finishing that sentence might push him over a line he doesn't want to cross any time in this universe.
Damien stayed quiet and stared down Minoru. "You never answered my encouragement by walking off in a huff or treated an offered hand like poison when you fell."
He bit back a lot more because the stress was higher now even thinking about the Ministry. His voice went calm and he addressed both of them. "I wish I could give you months or years or whatever but recent events convince me that we need to move that timeline up as much as we can." He looked at Dee. "Your safety is compromised now that fans know you can get pinned down when you're alone. I don't like it and I know you don't either."
It was all business, sort of kind, mostly nervous and distressed but that command to go to bed had him laughing, sarcastically maybe but it did break that tension a tiny bit. "I will as soon as I can get to the stairs without stepping on someone."
He had a point and though he could, he had no desire in the moment to start climbing all over.
Even Dee shrunk back at that outburst, enough that he fell backwards off the last step. Which, honestly, was a couple of inches off the ground at most. He'd be fine.
Minoru jumped in the now-open space to stand between them. Hands out, he would keep them physically apart if he had to.
"Nope. Never did. You're totally right about that. But I had a pretty good idea what I was getting into when I sought you out to be my coach. You honestly think he'd do what I did? Willingly?"
Minoru glanced over his shoulder, making damn sure Dee kept his mouth shut. Dee, meanwhile, just gulped as he pushed himself up on his elbows. He shook his head no.
He sighed, "I get it. But some timelines just are what they are. You can't rehab an injury any faster than a body heals. You can't always make someone swim by throwing them in the deep end. Sometimes it works, sure. But some of them just drown."
He stepped back off the steps, motioning that the way was definitely clear now.
Damien crossed his arms. "You can't compare a hobby to something needed to survive."
Damien was at least calm now. No more venom or argument. "If we're being honest, the chair gives him more time to rehab his body, not less."
"Damien."
The thick British accent stopped anything more from coming out of the Dog's mouth. Martyn was there looking like he had been shocked for how his curly hair was a mess and the robe all rumpled up. "Get in here before you wake up someone who starts screaming."
Thankfully, for the others, most didn't argue with the Sterlings. He looked down at Dee once Damien was inside. "I think you may benefit from me joining your rehab. I'll find time between all the others."
Martyn sighed because he was supposed to be semi-retired. not doctor to a whole circus of people with mental health needs.
Well, Damien wasn't exactly training Minoru to run the gauntlet and fight the Ministry. He was his American Ninja Warrior coach. So yes, comparisons could be made between a hobby and what's needed to survive, but arguing the point would be a waste of time. He was trying to calm everyone down, not rile them up any more.
Thankfully, Martyn beat Minoru to the punch.
"I'll take the chair back to Choko." He reiterated, making sure Damien knew it would get done. "You go take a break."
Dee just stared up at Rekker's brother like a deer in headlights. Martyn was a psychiatrist, and that was throwing off all sorts of alarm bells inside Dee's mind at the moment. He tried to push himself up, but couldn't. He could barely slide back against the pavement, though he flailed weakly in a panicked attempt.
"Please... no..." he finally choked out. "Just... just stop..."
"Later, but you're one of the minority that doesn't come around." Martyn yawned. "But don't think this stubbornness will bother me. I've dealt with my brother for years. He's far worse than anything you'll bother me with."
Martyn looked between the two of them and figured he might as well wake up at this point. "Tea?"
Martyn might have intended it with 100% honesty, but the only thing that went through Dee's mind was someone planning to drug him against his will.
"You can't make me... I won't..."
It sounded like such a pathetic threat in the panicked tone it was delivered in. If Dee hd the strength right now to do it, he'd have taken off. But none of his limbs would even support him. He rolled over, trying to crawl away, but even that got him nowhere, fast.
"I think I'll take a rain check." Minoru decided, trying not to keep escalating the situation. He also had stuff he needed to do. "You might be on your own for tea this morning."
Minoru had no idea what Dee was freaking out about at this point. But it was definitely something.
Martyn sighed. "I'd prefer if you come on your own to talk." Martyn rolled his eyes because bloody hell he sounded like Rekker at that age. "What I do works better for everyone when you're the one talking more than me."
Martyn nodded. "If you change your mind, I'll be inside." Tea was what he needed after waking up to this.
Dee was completely relieved when he disappeared back inside the bus, so much so that he just let himself collapse on the pavement.
Minoru stepped over and crouched down. "well, I was gonna ask if you'd be okay for a few minutes while I make sure Choko gets her chair back. But I guess the last thing you want right now is to be the center of attention, huh."
"I can't do it..."
"Yeah, I know how high you can lift your legs on a good day." Minoru sighed.
He knew he should hold Dee to his threat, but at the same time, he knew when enough was enough. That was a lesson Gloria had to help him figure out with Dee's normal routines. Doing too much too soon was an easy way to backpedal.
"I won't make you fail in front of everybody. You need to cool down just as much as Damien does. The way you feel about medical stuff? That's how he feels when he hears you say Ministry. I know it's just metaphors to you, but in case you haven't noticed, it's way too close to some really bad shit he went through. There's places you don't want to go back to, yeah? Don't take him to places he doesn't want to go back to."
Minoru picked up the singer.
"Let's get you back to your bunk. We'll talk about plans for learning how to use your actual chair when you have your session this afternoon."
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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That was the truth and then he let out a heavy breath. "I'd like to go back to bed with my boyfriend if we aren't getting food but unfortunately..." he motioned at Dee. "... there's someone in my way that doesn't want to move."
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He doubled down, because this too, was true. "I didn't even want to go out! You're the one who convinced me to try even though I was fucking terrified! And I did, all right? I did! I didn't have to, but I tried and I... I just... I can't think about it anymore right now! But you won't take no for a fucking answer!"
This wasn't Hunger City. This wasn't a life or death situation, but Damien was making it feel like one.
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If Dee wanted to double down then Damien wasn't going to back away. "All I can fucking think about is what if Aarne was too drunk or busy fucking Joe to be a busybody texting everyone and we lost something more important than your fucking chair in that bar."
Damien rarely raised his voice but the incredible stress inside was getting to him. "Unfortunately, it seems, it is my job to make sure you are all safe even when you're damned thorns in my ass about it."
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Damien looked down and shook his head. "You're not. You at the bar, Davy's been attacked again, we almost lost Rik and Mikkel to his family not long ago, Rekker opening his wrist, or someone else's face, every few months recently."
Damien sighed and stared at the singer almost sprawled on the ground. "Well, in case you haven't noticed, the reason you can think you're all safe is because someone is your shield all day, every day. While you're laying on the ground yelling at me maybe you should think harder on the name of your drummer and what that means outside of a fantasy realm?"
Damien was about to step right over Dee but instead turned his back and pushed his long hair back. He's stressing out. The pressure here, and back home, and Dee's own 'art' was driving Damien over the edge. Maybe it was what Dee sang about that made him so agitated. It was too close to home and Dee was so blind to it.
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Before he could even finish, a voice broke in from atop the bus. "NOPE! Stop right there! BOTH of you, just shut up!"
Minoru hung his head over the edge. Minoru knew his coach very well, and had trained in Hunger City while not actually being a part of it. He knew Damien's methods. He also knew his triggers, and when the stress of keeping everyone alive was getting to him. They didn't talk about it often, but Minoru could read him pretty well.
"Dee, don't you dare even finish that thought! You have no idea how much it's about to hurt!" He shouted firmly. "So take a deep breath. And shut up."
The moment Dee even opened his mouth, Minoru snapped again, "No!"
He jumped off the top of the bus.
"Damien's got a job with really high stakes. Our lives are in his hands. Like it or not, he's got a point when he says learning to use a chair like that would keep you safe. Because it'd get you away from dangerous situations."
Then Minoru turned to his coach.
"Now, I'm only a physical therapist assistant student, not an occupational therapist or anything close. But we still learned about wheelchairs, mobility devices, all that stuff. For a chair like that, there's whole training programs. Recommended time of six months between evaluations."
Minoru already knew a new chair was on its way. He was going to meet with Gloria today, actually, to see what changes they'd need to make to their PT plan. He wasn't an occupational therapist, but he knew he'd have a hand in helping Dee practice in his new chair.
"You didn't expect me to finish the Manhattan Chase rope climb on my first day." He spoke of it like it was a sporting event, so as not to draw too much attention to the harsh reality that people in this world really didn't need to know. "and I already had a lot of training. You can't expect him to be comfortable in a power chair in an hour, especially when he's never been in one before. It's just not possible."
Kuro might sing about a world far too close to home to Damien and the other Pups, but they weren't actually from there. They couldn't be expected to have the same experience and skills.
"Take a break... Go back to bed." Minoru nudged his coach. "I can take the chair back to Choko."
He looked back down at Dee. "And you better rest right there while you can. Because I heard everything you said, and I'm calling you on your bluff. We've been working on stairs for a month and I know exactly how high you can lift your legs. So we're going to climb those. Step by step. I'm going to support you, but you're doing the work."
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Minoru wasn't getting the levity though and Damien's eyes turned on Dee. "If you ever finish that sentence about me you will NEVER play on this tour again."
This was serious and Minoru might be trying to stop this argument but Damien was looking to stop any future ones. He had a good grip on his temper, his training to kill, but he's not stupid. Even all his mental and physical control had limits. The Dog is afraid that finishing that sentence might push him over a line he doesn't want to cross any time in this universe.
Damien stayed quiet and stared down Minoru. "You never answered my encouragement by walking off in a huff or treated an offered hand like poison when you fell."
He bit back a lot more because the stress was higher now even thinking about the Ministry. His voice went calm and he addressed both of them. "I wish I could give you months or years or whatever but recent events convince me that we need to move that timeline up as much as we can." He looked at Dee. "Your safety is compromised now that fans know you can get pinned down when you're alone. I don't like it and I know you don't either."
It was all business, sort of kind, mostly nervous and distressed but that command to go to bed had him laughing, sarcastically maybe but it did break that tension a tiny bit. "I will as soon as I can get to the stairs without stepping on someone."
He had a point and though he could, he had no desire in the moment to start climbing all over.
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Minoru jumped in the now-open space to stand between them. Hands out, he would keep them physically apart if he had to.
"Nope. Never did. You're totally right about that. But I had a pretty good idea what I was getting into when I sought you out to be my coach. You honestly think he'd do what I did? Willingly?"
Minoru glanced over his shoulder, making damn sure Dee kept his mouth shut. Dee, meanwhile, just gulped as he pushed himself up on his elbows. He shook his head no.
He sighed, "I get it. But some timelines just are what they are. You can't rehab an injury any faster than a body heals. You can't always make someone swim by throwing them in the deep end. Sometimes it works, sure. But some of them just drown."
He stepped back off the steps, motioning that the way was definitely clear now.
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Damien was at least calm now. No more venom or argument. "If we're being honest, the chair gives him more time to rehab his body, not less."
"Damien."
The thick British accent stopped anything more from coming out of the Dog's mouth. Martyn was there looking like he had been shocked for how his curly hair was a mess and the robe all rumpled up. "Get in here before you wake up someone who starts screaming."
Thankfully, for the others, most didn't argue with the Sterlings. He looked down at Dee once Damien was inside. "I think you may benefit from me joining your rehab. I'll find time between all the others."
Martyn sighed because he was supposed to be semi-retired. not doctor to a whole circus of people with mental health needs.
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Thankfully, Martyn beat Minoru to the punch.
"I'll take the chair back to Choko." He reiterated, making sure Damien knew it would get done. "You go take a break."
Dee just stared up at Rekker's brother like a deer in headlights. Martyn was a psychiatrist, and that was throwing off all sorts of alarm bells inside Dee's mind at the moment. He tried to push himself up, but couldn't. He could barely slide back against the pavement, though he flailed weakly in a panicked attempt.
"Please... no..." he finally choked out. "Just... just stop..."
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Martyn looked between the two of them and figured he might as well wake up at this point. "Tea?"
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"You can't make me... I won't..."
It sounded like such a pathetic threat in the panicked tone it was delivered in. If Dee hd the strength right now to do it, he'd have taken off. But none of his limbs would even support him. He rolled over, trying to crawl away, but even that got him nowhere, fast.
"I think I'll take a rain check." Minoru decided, trying not to keep escalating the situation. He also had stuff he needed to do. "You might be on your own for tea this morning."
Minoru had no idea what Dee was freaking out about at this point. But it was definitely something.
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Martyn nodded. "If you change your mind, I'll be inside." Tea was what he needed after waking up to this.
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Minoru stepped over and crouched down. "well, I was gonna ask if you'd be okay for a few minutes while I make sure Choko gets her chair back. But I guess the last thing you want right now is to be the center of attention, huh."
"I can't do it..."
"Yeah, I know how high you can lift your legs on a good day." Minoru sighed.
He knew he should hold Dee to his threat, but at the same time, he knew when enough was enough. That was a lesson Gloria had to help him figure out with Dee's normal routines. Doing too much too soon was an easy way to backpedal.
"I won't make you fail in front of everybody. You need to cool down just as much as Damien does. The way you feel about medical stuff? That's how he feels when he hears you say Ministry. I know it's just metaphors to you, but in case you haven't noticed, it's way too close to some really bad shit he went through. There's places you don't want to go back to, yeah? Don't take him to places he doesn't want to go back to."
Minoru picked up the singer.
"Let's get you back to your bunk. We'll talk about plans for learning how to use your actual chair when you have your session this afternoon."
Dee nodded weakly. "..o..okay..."