It took the better part of a half hour before AJ could get Brian to move enough to get out of the doorway. The older man clung to him still. AJ was at a loss as to what to do for him. He knew, or at least guessed, what had happened. He also knew well enough to not bother asking Brian about details. One, he doubted he’d want to hear them. Two, it wasn’t the time to ask for them. The most basic part of what had happened, AJ had already figured out. All that mattered now was helping his friend, the man he loved.

 

 

“Bri, baby, do you want to go take a shower?” AJ asked him gently.

 

 

Brian nodded vehemently. He allowed AJ to lead him to the bathroom, where the younger man turned the water on and got it ready for Brian. He pulled back and stared in to Brian’s eyes. “I’m going to go out to the living area and get your stuff, get it set up in the dresser and such, ok?” AJ himself never bothered to do that with his stuff, but he knew that Brian did. Anything he could do to set him at ease he would.

 

 

When Brian nodded, AJ gave him a comforting smile. “All right. You just take your time, and come out when you’re ready.”

 

 

Just as AJ was about to leave the bathroom, Brian called his name softly. AJ turned to look at him. “If Nick shows up, don’t, don’t let him in, ok?” Brian asked hesitantly. Though it confused him, AJ didn’t hesitate in nodding. “No problem, honey.” As he shut the door, though, his mind raced a million miles a minute. What was that about? Was it just that Brian was ashamed of what had happened, or was it…no, no way. AJ cut that thought off before it could take root. No way was that the case.

 

 

He took all of Brian’s things into the bedroom and put them into the dresser. It left him with too much alone time with his thoughts. Too much to think about. He couldn’t help but speculate about what had happened, and worry about the man he loved. If what he think had happened had, well, happened, then his poor Brian was going to be tore up inside. The idea of someone hurting Brian had his anger boiling. He tried to calm himself. The last thing that Brian needed to see when he came out was AJ raging at the world.

 

 

Once everything was set up, AJ changed out of his club clothes into a baggy t-shirt and sweats. Then he put a pair of sweats and a shirt in the bathroom on the counter for Brian before sneaking back out. He stretched out on the bed, staring at the ceiling and trying to force himself to keep cool. But the image of Brian’s face when AJ had walked into that bathroom was hard to erase. Or the way that Brian had clung to him the whole ride back to the hotel.

 

 

So lost in thought was he that he didn’t hear the shower cut off, or when Brian came walking in to the bedroom. He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard someone clearing their throat. AJ’s eyes shot open and he looked down to the foot of the bed where Brian stood, shuffling his feet.

 

 

Without him having to ask, AJ understood what his friend wanted. He pulled the covers out and slid underneath them, and left the one side open in an obvious invitation. Brian didn’t hesitate. He scurried forward and climbed into bed, pulling the covers over himself. Once he was in, he scooted close to AJ. Taking the hint, AJ lifted an arm and allowed Brian to curl up against his side and rest his cheek on AJ’s chest. Reaching out, he turned the bedside lamp off.

 

 

AJ wrapped his arm around Brian’s shoulders and stared at the top of his head. He wondered again who would hurt his beautiful angel.

 

 

“Thank you, Alex.” Brian whispered softly in the darkness.

 

 

“Anytime, sweetheart.”

 

 

They lapsed into silence. One wishing to give comfort, the other craving it. Wrapped in AJ’s embrace, Brian felt safe. The panic ebbed slightly, and he found he could actually breathe better. He knew there was no way that anyone would hurt him with AJ standing guard. No one would get past him.

 

 

“I’m scared to go to sleep.”

 

 

The quiet admission had AJ’s arm tightening slightly around Brian. “I bet. But I’m right here, and I’ll stay here all night. I won’t leave you alone.”

 

 

“Promise?”

 

 

“Promise. Go to sleep, hon.”

 

 

Wrapped in the safety and comfort of his friends arm, Brian did just that.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Brian woke first. A strange buzzing sound had woke him, almost like an alarm. Groggy, he rubbed at his eyes. For a moment he was disoriented. Where was he? He was snuggled up to someone, but it wasn’t a feeling that he recognized. But as his brain woke up, the previous evening came back to him. Along with it came the fear.

 

 

That buzzing sound interrupted Brian’s thoughts. He looked over at the dresser where a cell phone was vibrating.  He was afraid he knew who it was, and he didn’t want to answer it. After a moment it stopped, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Then it started again. Three times the person called. On the fourth call, Brian jumped when AJ spoke above his head. “Do you want me to answer it?”

 

 

Brian turned his eyes upward, and AJ must have seen the answer there because he smiled and slid out of bed. On bare feet he padded over to the dresser and scooped the phone up, pressing the answer button before holding it to his ear. “Yo, Bri’s phone service. Please leave your name and number after the beep. BEEP!”

 

 

The insane urge to chuckle filled Brian. Leave it to AJ. No matter how a person felt, he could always manage to get them to either smile or laugh. Even when that person was feeling lower than they ever had before. It was one of the reasons that he enjoyed AJ’s company so much. He caught AJ’s eye and smiled at him. AJ smiled back and tipped him a saucy wink.

 

 

AJ chewed on his lip as Nick’s voice rang in his ear. “Where the hell is Brian? Why do you have his phone?”

 

 

“As I said, I’m just the phone service, bud. He’s still sleeping right now,” AJ lied easily. From where he lay on the bed Brian sighed in appreciation. The last thing he wanted to do was talk to Nick right then.

 

 

“What the fuck is he doing sleeping over there?”

 

 

“Not what you’re thinking, Nick my boy. I’m not a poacher, you know.”

 

 

“Bullshit. Why else would he sleep over there? That little fucker won’t give it up to me cause he’s ‘not ready’ but he’ll come bang you? Real high fucking class.”

 

 

“Oh, grow up, Nick.” AJ tried to censor what he was saying, conscious of Brian watching him. He didn’t want Brian to know that his asshole of a boyfriend was accusing him of cheating. “You know better than that, so shove it.” There was so much more he wanted to say, but he held it in. Yet again he wondered what it was that Brian saw in Nick. They fought all the time. If AJ ever had the luck of having Brian in his life, he would have spent his time making that beautiful face smile, not frown.

 

 

“All his shits gone, J, and apparently he’s rooming with you. You tell me what the fuck to think! Cause to me, it sure as shit looks like I just lost my boyfriend to you.”

AJ looked over to where Brian was still lying in bed, staring at him with wide, fearful eyes. He tried to control his temper. That wasn’t what Brian needed to see or hear. “Think what you want, but you’re wrong. Now, is there a message or just an attitude? Cause you woke me up, thank you very much.”

 

 

“Yeah there’s a message! I want my Goddamn boyfriend back, AJ! His shits gone and he’s gone. I want him back over here so I know what the fuck is going on! Why is he hiding from me? Why isn’t he answering his phone? I want him to come talk to me!”

 

 

“Duly noted. Thank you for calling and have a super day!” On that note, AJ hung the call up and shut off the phone. After putting it back on the dresser, he picked his phone up and shut it off as well. Then he walked over to the hotel phone and unplugged it from the wall. When he was done he dusted his hands with a satisfied smirk. “There, now no one’s gonna bug us.”

 

 

He went back to the bed and climbed under the covers. Instantly Brian was back under his arm, snuggled close. AJ held him tightly and, unable to resist, kissed the top of his head. “Go back to sleep, honey. There’s nothing planned for today and we got in late. Take advantage of it, and sleep.”

 

 

“It’s hard to sleep.” Brian whispered. “It’s hard for me to close my eyes. I, I see it all. All over again.”

 

 

This had to be played very delicately. AJ tried to modulate his tone as best as possible. “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked gently. For a moment Brian was quiet, then he was shaking his head. “I can’t. Not yet. Please, J, not right now.  What uh, what did Nick want?”

 

 

“He wanted to know where you were.” AJ promptly replied. If Brian wanted to change the subject he wouldn’t argue it. Especially when he pleaded like that. There was fear and heartache in Brian’s voice that he wanted to fix, but he didn’t know how. “Wanted to know why you stuff was gone, all of that. He wants you to come see him.”

 

 

A shudder ran through Brian’s frame and he snuggled in closer. “I…I’m really tired.”

 

 

It was an obvious ploy, but AJ let it pass. He kissed the top of Brian’s head again. “Go to sleep, honey.”

 

 

“You’ll stay with me?”

 

 

“I’m not going anywhere. Go to sleep.” AJ began to hum softly. A wordless tune that soothed Brian until finally he fell asleep.