"They say that a hero can save us..."

[themiraclekid]

Who? Ainsley Ashwood and Cheyne Rousseau
What? When it hurts...
When? After receiving Nick's text
Where? Nick/Cheyne/Harry's apartment

Ainsley had to admit that, when Nick told him that Harry had been hurt, he was shaken. He and Harry were still in the early days of getting to know each other, but they definitely liked each other, and they were enjoying their time together now that Ainsley had learned to chill the fuck out and quit being nuts. Or at least he was learning. It was nice now that it wasn't stressful. But hearing Harry had been hurt was stressful, and Ains was trying not to panic as he caught the train over.

Once he was at Nick's apartment, he was taking the stairs two at a time to the front of the building before cursing the elevator for being too slow. But once he'd arrived at Nick's front door, he was ushered inside by Cheyne with reassurance that Harry was going to be okay, just was feeling pretty crap now, and had wanted to see Ainsley. But Ainsley couldn't completely be okay until he saw the other boy. Which he did, when Cheyne brought him to Harry's room. The other boy was sleeping, but that didn't mean that Ainsley wouldn't lie there with him for a while to provide cuddles, gentle though they may have been for fear of hurting him more.

After a while, though, he was up again, and making his way to the living room where Cheyne was on the sofa. He'd told Ainsley that Nick was Skyping with the family to let them know that Harry was okay, and now Ains wanted to talk to Cheyne. He'd been there when Harry was hurt, and Ainsley needed to know how and why. He sat down awkwardly next to Cheyne, somewhat in awe of who he was, but wanting to talk to him. "Hey," he said sheepishly. "I... Um... What happened with Haz? Nick told me he got hurt dancing. Is he gonna be able to dance in Romeo & Juliet? Because he'll be crushed if he can't."

Comments

[pirouetteinrhythm]

Nick was taking some time off to take care of Harry, so Cheyne decided to take a couple of days off himself to help Nick, and so they could collectively get some rest. They spent the better part of a night at the hospital waiting for Harry to have some x-rays on his ankle and scans of his head to make sure he hadn't done himself seriously damage. Then Nick had hardly slept last night either, getting up every half hour or so to check on Harry. It had all been a shock, and this was new territory for Cheyne too. He had never dated a guy before who was the guardian of a teenager, let alone a teen he taught. Although he and Harry had done well keeping a firm line drawn in the sand between work and home, this was one of those times it was inevitably blurred. Which was okay. Cheyne couldn't just ignore that Harry was his partner's young brother, who had just fallen in rehearsal and banged his head. He cared about Harry incredibly. Those damn lines were getting blurred.

So, he was taking some time off with his boyfriend to be on hand if Nick or Harry needed him. His manager understood and even supported Cheyne's decision. Nick was tied up relaying to his family what happened with Harry. Even if Harry had been given the all-clear on anything serious, it had still been a scare. Harry still had a head injury. Any injury in dance could potentially put your career on the line. Cheyne had just made him and Nick a cup of tea. Nick was over behind him at the dining table having a full conversation in Italian. Cheyne knew a little Italian, but not enough to follow Nick's conversations with his family. Even the few times Nick had brought Cheyne into things, they had switched to English for his ease. "It's a little too soon to know how things will pan out with the production. Productions are rarely stalled for one dancer because they're expensive to put on. He slipped in a lift and twisted his ankle. Because Zara came down on top of him, Harry banged his head back on the stage when they hit the deck. He knocked himself out."

[themiraclekid]

There was nothing that made Ainsley feel worse than someone he cared about being in pain. It had happened with Ange when Elliott was born, though that was a different kind of pain. She hadn't spoken to him about it. He knew she didn't want to worry him with it or didn't think that he'd understand, and that was okay. He didn't want her to feel the need to explain herself about something that clearly hurt a hell of a lot. It didn't hurt any less for Harry to be hurt, either. He was feeling the concern deep down, and it ached. He could only hope that he'd be feeling better soon, but a concussion could be really bad, and could even cause severe damage, depending on where it happened. What if Harry had dizzy spells or something? What if he couldn't dance as well anymore? There were a number of things that could come of that, and Ainsley was near panic stations thinking about it.

But he was keeping it under control right now, because Cheyne was a dancer, and had probably seen plenty of injuries before. If anyone was somebody to talk to about what was happening, he would be that person. So he listened as Cheyne explained that it was all up in the air as to if Harry would be able to do the show. Ainsley wanted to cry at that. This show meant the world to Harry, and missing it would crush him. "Is his ankle okay? I know the concussion's scary as hell, too. I just... How was he when he came to? He must've been freaked out."

[pirouetteinrhythm]

"It's badly sprained and swollen. He's going to be on crutches for the next week or so to rest it. No weight-bearing at all. The doctors will assess it closely over the next fortnight. If there is still pain come opening night, well, there are options." Cheyne just didn't know if he should tell Ainsley said options and stress him out even more. These were options Cheyne had been discussing with Nick pretty deeply since Harry was injured, and Nick really wasn't a fan. In fact, he god a prized case of Bitch Face when Cheyne admitted he had leant on some of these options in the past to still be able to perform despite being injured. It boiled down tot he fact this production for Harry could well ignite his professional career. It could land him a spot on Joffrey's Ballet Concert Group, which would inevitable launch him into big things in the ballet world. But if he missed it, he might not be guaranteed another bite at the apple for some time because the school was filled with young hopeful, and very talented, dancers vying for the same professional opportunities.

He was also aware of not wanting to freak Ainsley out with how serious Harry's accident may have been. "He was groggy and disoriented when he came-to. He was out for a little longer than we would want with a bump to the head. He was quite sick when he came-to, so we had to call the ambulance in case he had caused himself some more serious damage. He's very sore and miserable right now. He hasn't done any lasting damage. Dance does, unfortunately, come with risks such as this sometimes. At the end of the day, we're only human, not machines."

[themiraclekid]

"Oh, no," Ainsley breathed, shaking his head. This was fucking awful, and he knew that Harry was going to be heartbroken if he wasn't able to perform in the show. "What... Um... What sorts of options do you mean?" he asked, his eyes meeting Cheyne's and hoping that there were options that would ensure Harry's ability to perform in the show. He didn't know what those might be. This show meant everything to Harry, and Ains knew it. He knew that it would shatter his world to not be able to dance in this show, and it just wasn't fucking fair. He was grateful that Harry hadn't broken anything, but he knew that, when it came to dancing, a sprain could be just as devastating as a break. "Not... Not like options where someone else gets his part, right?"

"Shit, he really bumped his head hard, didn't he?" Ainsley asked softly, his concern written all over his features. He ached to know that Harry was hurting, and he wasn't too naive to realize just how bad a concussion could be. He also knew Logan, and knew that there were far more terrible things that could happen to dancers, so any sort of injury was scary as fuck until you knew the full extent of it. "He's gonna be okay, which is good," he said, grateful for Cheyne's reassurance there. "He's gotta be freaked out that he's going to lose his part, though. It would be horrible if he did. He said that getting a lead like that again could take ages for him."

[pirouetteinrhythm]

Cheyne shook his head. "No. No one will just take the part from him. Unless a doctor medically states he is completely unfit to dance, we wait to see how he goes. He hasn't done any lasting damage, there is just swelling and pain where he twisted it in the lift. If he hadn't been lifting, he would have simply stumbled and righted himself. But he had Zara in a hold and she fell onto him, which is what caused him to bang his head on the stage. Of course, that means she is riddled with guilt and blaming herself, but it wasn't her fault either. He'll bounce back. The options would be to get a steroid injection into his ankle, which would reduce the pain and swelling enough for him to dance on it. There's just risks it may make the injury worse if he gets on it too soon. Unfortunately, he has selected a complicated career. As much as we wish we can keep driving on like a machine, bodies aren't built for that. Harry's a smart young man, and he is old enough to make his own decisions. I am just not sure Nick will be so happy at the prospect of an injection. He is a firm believer in rest and recovery," he said knowingly, having been on the receiving end of Nick's protectiveness when he fell ill with appendicitis.

"He did," he confirmed with a wry smile. "I think once he feels better and his head stops hurting so much, he will fear his role is on the line. But I'll sit down with him and talk to him. The last thing I want is for him to be scared. Or worrying that he has to try to hide his pain from me here because I live with him and he will think that might mean I tell everyone he's not well enough to do it." It was a bit of a balancing act for Cheyne. He loved Nick deeply, and adored Harry by default. He wanted Harry to know he could confide in him and trust him, and if he had doubts about his dancing, that was okay too. "I think he just needs a good long sleep to let the painkillers do their job, and he'll feel a bit better when he wakes up. If he does as he is told in the next week or so, staying off the foot and completely resting it, he can get back to where he needs to be."

[themiraclekid]

There was a huge wash of relief that flooded over Ainsley when he was assured that Harry's role wasn't just going to be taken from him. He knew how much this meant to Harry, how unlikely it had been that a first year student would've landed the lead in a major production like this, and how big of a deal it was to him to prove that he deserved it... especially when there were always going to be bitchy teenagers who'd point to Nick's relationship with Cheyne as the reason he got the role instead of Harry's own, very real talent and hard work. "Poor Haz. He'll be blaming himself for dropping her, too, if I know him. Rest and recovery is really important I'm sure, but I'm also damn sure that not missing the chance to dance this lead is really important to him, too. Have you ever gotten hurt like this before a performance?" he asked, eyes turned up to meet Cheyne's face in hopes that the older guy could give him more comfort.

"I'm glad he has you," Ainsley said. "You and Nick. I know he'll be worried, but he'll have you to talk to him and explain things to him. I know if there's a way to get back on the stage he will. Mostly he's probably feeling crappy from the fall right now. Whether you hit your head or sprain anything or whatever, a fall in itself can rattle you pretty hard sometimes. I don't know much about dancing, but I know a bit about falling down. I'm kind of a klutz sometimes. I'm sure as soon as you tell him that, he'll be doing the best he can to keep it in line, but probably also itching like hell to get back to dancing so he'll be ready."

[pirouetteinrhythm]

Cheyne hadn't been involved in the audition or casting process of the Romeo & Juliet production. That wasn't part of his role at the school. He was on the panel for new students, but not the actual productions. Once the ball was rolling, he helped train the kids in the auditions, but he didn't have the time to be instrumental in the production process with the school. He only worked there part-time, and his other job with the New York Ballet was more demanding than Joffrey. He took the second job at Joffrey because he knew he wanted to help young dancers with incredible talent come up in the world. He had the talent himself, so he wanted to share it. Kids like Harry. It made his life rewarding when being a Principal Dancer for a major ballet company took its toll. Which it did. It was all grace, beauty and breathtaking performances on the outside, but on the inside, it was a gruelling schedule. "It's natural to have insecurities early on in any career, but it is perhaps more impactful on performers and artists, because we put so much pressure on ourselves to be perfect. It's just easy to forget there is a road you have to take from imperfect to perfect, and the only way to get to the finishing line is a lot of hard work and focus. Harry is dripping in natural talent, there is no doubt about that. But dance is about choreography. The whole purpose of it is to learn and perfect new routines. The career is going back to the start, and aiming for the finishing point, over and over again. Accidents happen. Every dancer will have falls, or accidents, or screw ups. It's part of the journey."

He laughed a little. "Oh, yes. I've had many accidents. Many times I have relied on modern medicine to make me better or well enough to just get through a performance. The show must go on. But we were all amateurs once. I just happened to have been one when I was very young. My mother is a dancer, I learned from her. But one of the silver linings is that because a dancer's body is resilient and strong, it is usually fit and healthy enough to recover from accidents swiftly," he explained. "Until you lose the capacity to walk or stand entirely, there is always a way back on the stage. He'll have had quite a scare. He does, however, have a very protective family who will ultimately have the final say in what he does."