The bar had emptied out in waves, still buzzing with the afterglow of what had become one of the most talked-about moments on the East Coast. The Dave Larson Band packed up quietly, grins lingering on every face. Gabriel stood near the back exit now, cradling the bass he had played with his father \u2014 fingers still idly tracing the strings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane watched from the shadows of the hallway near the bathrooms, arms folded, tail barely flicking. Not jealous. Not bitter. Just\u2026 proud. And aching, silently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He didn\u2019t need the spotlight.
He had Gabriel. That was enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jim came out from the back room, guitar case slung over one shoulder, still flushed from the crowd\u2019s love. He found Gabriel near the stage and put a hand on his shoulder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cYou always were better than me, kid,\u201d he said, with a soft chuckle.
\u201cJust glad I got to see it. Glad you never forgot where you came from.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nGabriel turned and pulled him into a tight hug. His voice cracked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cI never will, Dad. You gave me everything.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Jim nodded, clearing his throat roughly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cYou\u2019re out there doing it right. The music\u2026 it\u2019s not just notes. It\u2019s yours.<\/em> That band of yours\u2026 they\u2019re something else.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
He glanced toward the hallway and locked eyes briefly with Thane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It lasted half a second. A neutral expression. No warmth. No sneer. Just unreadable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then he looked back at his son.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cYou\u2019re doing good, Gabriel. Real good. I\u2019m proud of you.\u201d
He clapped his son\u2019s back again and gave a lopsided grin.
\u201cAnd if you ever bring that band back through here, I expect another duet. We\u2019ll show these clamsuckers how it\u2019s done.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nGabriel laughed and nodded, blinking fast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cYou got it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Jim nodded to Thane again on his way out. Still neutral. No words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nOnce the door clicked behind him, Gabriel just stood there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then he slowly turned to Thane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The smile he gave him was fragile \u2014 eyes glassy, mouth trembling with all the emotion he couldn\u2019t say aloud with his father nearby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane stepped forward, wordless, and gently pulled him into a hug \u2014 arms firm around Gabriel\u2019s shoulders, his muzzle resting against the top of Gabriel\u2019s head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel buried his face into Thane\u2019s chest, claws lightly digging into the back of his shirt, body shaking with silent, joyful tears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cHe saw me,\u201d Gabriel whispered, voice muffled.
\u201cHe really<\/em> saw me tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n\u201cI know,\u201d Thane said, quiet as moonlight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cAnd so did the rest of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel looked up, eyes shining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cI wish I could tell him about us.<\/em> About everything. About how you saved me.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Thane nuzzled his cheek, careful, protective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cYou don\u2019t have to tell him. He saw the best parts of you\u2026 and I\u2019m one of the lucky few who gets the rest.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
That earned a soft laugh. Gabriel leaned against him, their foreheads touching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cHe\u2019s gonna go home and tell everyone how I brought the house down with him.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou did,\u201d Thane said simply. \u201cHe was the hero. And you made sure he knew it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They stood in the quiet bar for a long moment, just holding each other under the dusty string lights. Not hiding \u2014 not from each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just\u2026 silent. Solid. Real.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The bar had emptied out in waves, still buzzing with the afterglow of what had become one of the most talked-about moments on the East Coast. The Dave Larson Band packed up quietly, grins lingering on every face. Gabriel stood near the back exit now, cradling the bass he had played with his father \u2014 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tour-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1448"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1448\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3067,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1448\/revisions\/3067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}