Backstage, moments before the lights go up.

The rigging was fixed, the cables coiled, and the stage lights hummed back to life—finally. The crew had mostly scattered, retreating to their posts or melting into the dark corners where they could do their work unnoticed.

But Thane lingered in the wings.

He stood there, arms crossed, ice-blue eyes flicking across the stage where Gabriel adjusted his tuning in quiet concentration. That red bass gleamed in the glow of the fixed spotlight, and Gabriel—back turned—was nodding faintly to the beat in his head, tail swaying ever so slightly.

Guilt pricked at Thane like a thorn in his paw.

With a slow breath, he padded forward. His clawed feet made the faintest clicks on the wood floor, but Gabriel didn’t look up. Not until Thane stood beside him.

“Hey,” Thane said, voice low—quieter than usual.

Gabriel glanced up, his expression unreadable at first. Then came that slight tilt of the ears, the same look he always gave when he was trying to decide if he should be mad or amused.

“I was out of line earlier,” Thane muttered. “You didn’t deserve that.”

Gabriel blinked, slowly resting his clawed hand over the strings to silence them. “No,” he said, gently, “but I get it.”

Thane scratched behind his neck, visibly uncomfortable. “I wasn’t just pissed about the light. It’s everything. The venue’s understaffed, we’re down a fog unit, and I haven’t even checked the comms board. I snapped. I shouldn’t’ve snapped at you.”

Gabriel gave him a long, slow look… then reached up and pressed his nose softly to Thane’s.

Just like that.

A quiet nuzzle. No words. No dramatics. Just warmth.

Thane let out a low rumble of relief and leaned into it, his claws brushing Gabriel’s arm in return.

“You always make it through,” Gabriel said, voice barely more than a whisper. “Even when you’re claw-deep in chaos.”

“Yeah,” Thane said, with the faintest smile, “but it’s easier when I’ve got my wolf.”

That drew a grin from Gabriel. “Damn right.”

A stagehand’s voice crackled over the comms: “Feral Eclipse, five minutes to go time.”

Gabriel backed off just slightly and gave Thane’s chest a soft tap with the back of his hand. “Let’s go melt some faces.”

Thane chuckled, his earlier tension finally breaking. “Just don’t fall off the stage this time.”

Gabriel smirked. “Only if you promise not to fall off the ceiling.”