Be My Little Valentine: Shanny's Surprise

Riggs watched the gorgeous little skater boy do a cannonball into the ball pit and shook his head. The brat was going to get himself hurt if he wasn’t careful, or worse, hurt someone else. With no one else around to take him in hand, Riggs figured he’d better do it before there was blood to clean up, so he crossed the room, determined to get to him.

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The boy came up laughing and flinging balls over his head, giggling as they rained down on him, then bounding like a bunny through the balls as he made his way towards the edge again.

 

“Hey Riggs, you got a moment?”

 

He really didn’t, especially not for Casey, who stepped into his path as Shanny climbed out of the ball pit. Was it too much to hope that he’d sit quietly and wait for someone to take notice of him?

 

Of course it was.

 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shanny tip over into a handstand on the edge of the ball pit and sidestepped Casey.

 

“No, I don’t,” Riggs called over his shoulder as he hurried past, weaving around several others in his haste but he was too late to prevent

Shanny from balancing on one hand, showing off until he tipped sideways and went careening into the pit.

 

It looked like he’d caught his shoulder on the edge on the way down, and when he didn’t come up right away, Riggs felt a moment of panic. He reached the edge of the pit in time to see the surface of the ball pit bulge. Shanny stood there hunched over, clutching his arm and whimpering.

 

Oh yeah, he’d hurt himself for sure.

 

Riggs eased into the pit alongside him, keeping his voice low as he approached. “You’re okay little one,” Riggs cooed as he waded through the balls. “Let’s have a look and see what kind of damage you’ve done to yourself.”

 

Shanny made a low, distressed sound as Riggs slid an arm around him. He was shaking too and his breathing was erratic, like he wanted to cry out but was struggling not to. Lines of tears streaked down his face and dripped off his cheeks as Riggs steered him toward the edge of the pit.

Hadn’t the boy known he could get hurt pulling a stunt like that?

 

Riggs opened his mouth to deliver the lecture that was rapidly forming in his mind, only to have Shanny gasp and suck in a little breath followed by a long groan.

 

“It hurts,” Shanny whined.

 

“I know it does, sweetheart. I’ll take a look as soon as we get you out of here,” Riggs assured him, lecture turning to smoke as he focused on seeing what he could do to ease Shanny’s pain.

 

Even as he spoke, he kept both hands around Shanny, guiding him up the steps and over to the benches surrounding the play area. By then, Shanny was clinging to him and trembling, soft sobs making it clear that he’d truly injured himself. Riggs got him seated and gently tried to pry Shanny’s hands off his arm so Riggs could see the damage he’d done to himself.

 

“Noooooo, no touch it hurts!” Shanny wailed, sobbing as he doubled over and started to rock.

 

There was nothing quiet about his whimpers now and several heads had already swiveled their way to see what was going on.

 

“Shhh, easy now,” Riggs murmured. “I know it hurts, but you need to let me take a look at it so I know if we need a first aid kit or the hospital.

I won’t touch if you don’t want me to.”

 

“O-o-okie,” Shanny whined.

 

It sounded like he was on the verge of little space, which meant Riggs needed to tread carefully to not make the moment more traumatizing for him. Riggs didn’t rush him as Shanny slowly unfolded and sat up, but he was still clutching that arm and hugging himself protectively.

 

“You’re doing so good,” Riggs encouraged, keeping his hands to himself despite how badly he wanted to stroke his fingers through Shanny’s hair and soothe him the way he’d done when Shanny had gotten sick on Movie night.   

 

he got a look at that shoulder, he knew there was nothing they’d be able to do for it there. Shanny needed a hospital, which meant Riggs needed a car because there was no way in hell Shanny would be able to hold on to him on his bike. Fortunately, Casey was staring his way, so

he waved the man over, willing to put their issues aside to help their club's newest sub.

 

“Shanny hurt himself. Can you bring your car around,” Riggs curtly announced the moment Casey was close enough.

 

“Of course,” Casey took off in a flurry of motion, leaving Riggs to place a kiss on the top of Shanny’s head.

 

“Come on, up you go, I don’t want to try and carry you with your shoulder like that. I’m going to need you to be a brave boy and walk to the exit,” Riggs encouraged.

 

Shanny sniffled, but he let Riggs help him up and direct him towards the exit, one small hand clinging to Rigg’s t-shirt. If there was ever a moment that highlighted the difference in their sizes, this was it. Glancing down at the top of Shanny’s head, and lower, to where his fist clutched Rigg’s t-shirt right over his abs, Riggs was left with a feeling of protectiveness and possessiveness too, despite the circumstances and the shittyness of the timing. If he’d been able to stop Shanny from taking his tumble, he’d have been assured a wonderful evening filled with giggles, cuddles, and playing Trouble, which he’d discovered Shanny loved. Was something ironic about that too, with the little one’s tendency towards poking into things he shouldn’t.

 

“Here we go, sweetheart,” Riggs cooed as they reached the sidewalk where Casey waited with his car. He had the door open too, which made it easier to ease Shanny inside. His insides did a funny flip-flop when Shanny refused to let go, meaning Riggs about cracked his head on the roof of the car climbing in after him. Shanny immediately curled up against him which made it difficult for Riggs to get their seatbelts on, but he managed as Casey pulled away from the curb and headed in the direction of the hospital.

 

“How bad did it look,” Casey asked as he maneuvered through traffic.

 

“I’m not a doctor, but I’m pretty sure he's either separated or dislocated it.”

 

“Damn.”

 

“It might not have happened if you hadn’t gotten in my way.”

 

“Dude, what the hell? I just wanted to invite you to a munch at Angus’.” Casey said. “Look, I know shit has been tough for you lately but why all the hostility?”

 

“Now isn’t the time or the place to get into it.”

 

“Fine, I can respect that, just know it had better come soon.”

 

Riggs just grumbled under his breath as he stroked Shanny’s hair. All of his focus on the man in his arms.

 

“I see how you look at him,” Casey said. “I have no intention of getting in that way if that’s what you’re worried about.”

 

“It’s not, but thanks,” Riggs growled, refusing to give the man the satisfaction of knowing that there had been some concerns regarding just that particular issue.

 

“Good, ‘cause I mean it. I’ve got my eye on someone else and I wish you all the best. Despite the circumstances, he looks like he was made to be in your embrace.”

 

“How very poetic of you,” Riggs muttered. “Now would you kindly drop it?”

 

“Consider it dropped.”

 

They hit a pothole and the anguished cry Shanny let out made his heart ache.

 

“Can you not hit every bump in the street,” Riggs snapped.

 

“I’m doing the best I can, here,” Casey growled. “It’s not my fault the city can’t be bothered to repair their streets.”

 

“Gonna fill it with your corpse if you nail another hole like that,” Riggs declared.

 

“Under the circumstances, I’m gonna let that slide, but if you ever threaten me again, we will have issues. Just tend to your boy and let me get us there.”

 

“He’s not…” Riggs began, only to catch a glimpse of Casey in the rearview, looking fierce and pissed off.

 

“Don’t bother feeding me that line of bullshit,” Casey said. “It might not be official, but he is in every way that counts.”

Riggs looked down at the man clinging to him and wished he could take all his pain away.

 

“Goddamnit, how far are we from the hospital?” Riggs hissed.

 

“Less than two minutes,” Casey said as he took a somewhat sharp left to beat a light, drawing another cry from Shanny.

 

“Casey…” Riggs warned.

 

“Look, it’s right there,” Casey said, the lights at the end of the street showing that they were practically there. Another hard bounce, another heartbreaking whimper, and then they were slamming to a halt in front of the ER doors.

 

“We’re here,” Riggs said, gently hugging Shanny while Casey rushed to get the door open and help Riggs guide Shanny out.

 

“It hurts so much,” Shanny sobbed as they got him inside.

 

With Shanny pressed against his side, Riggs headed for the door.

 

“I gotta move the car,” Casey said.

 

“You don’t have to stay,” Riggs called over his shoulder.

 

“Maybe not, but I want to.”

 

Riggs was forced to leave it at that so he could speak to the nurse and see about getting Shanny some help. Fortunately, the place didn’t appear to be busy, so they were quickly shown to a cubicle to await someone to take Shanny’s vitals.

 

“Just breathe with me and they’ll have you fixed up soon.”

 

“Th-thank you,” Shanny stammered, still pressed against his side. “S-sorry I messed up your night.”

 

“You did no such thing,” Riggs told him. “I was hoping for the chance to spend some time with you, and then you went and managed to find the

perfect opportunity.”

 

“Wouldn’t call this perfect,” Shanny sniffled.

 

“Okay, so maybe the execution could use some work, or not,” Riggs replied with a little shrug. “Personally, I think you could do without a repeat of the falling part. That was a real downer. Maybe save the handstands for someplace with crash pads for you to safely land on.”

Shanny managed to giggle at that, and Riggs kissed him on the forehead, glad they could at least laugh about it, no matter how it had happened. He had Shanny all to himself, if only for a little while, and the unexpected opportunity to take care of him. Valentine’s Day might be two weeks away, but as far as he was concerned, he was getting his Valentine right now, the only thing he wished he could change was the pain Shanny was having to go through to make it happen. 

 

“They don’t have tumbling classes for adults at the rec center no more,” Shanny murmured. “Just a kid’s one. I miss it.”

 

“I bet you do,” Riggs said, glad they’d happened upon a subject to occupy them until he could be seen. “How long did you take it?”

 

“Two years,” Shanny said. “When I was little, I wanted to take gymnastics like my sister, but mom said she’d bought me a skateboard and that was enough for her to worry about.”

 

“How many siblings do you have?”

 

“I dunno,” Shanny said. “Like, eight, I think.”

 

“You think?”

 

“It’s complicated.”

 

“Yeah, it sounds it,” Riggs said. “Had to get kind of crowded if you were all living there at the same time.

 

This time, when Shanny laughed, it just sounded bitter and painted. “I’ve never met three of them.”

 

“Oh,” Riggs remarked, unsure of what to say about that, especially when Shanny already sounded so miserable.

 

“It’s okay. My folks were never together or anything. None of us had the same set of parents.”

 

Well, if that didn’t shine a light on the some of the reasons behind the boy’s incessant need for attention, nothing ever would.

 

It was hard enough to image having seven siblings. Hell, there were times when having two seemed like one too many, especially when they were snipping back and forth at one another the way only sisters could do. What would it be like to know he had siblings out there somewhere that he knew absolutely nothing about?

A nurse with bright, smiling yellow ducks on her scrub top stepped into the room and regarded Shanny with a kind smile and from that point forward, Riggs’s sole focus was on making sure Shanny was going to be okay.