Title: Stay
Summary: Shawn and Hunter talk after Breaking Point
Notes: Kinda kayfabey. A little slashy

He hesitated outside the door, hand poised to knock but not quite daring to.

He was unsure where the apprehension came from. He usually made these kind of treks after they'd had a falling out, but there'd been nothing like that tonight. He just felt like this was where he should be. But still, he wasn't able to bring himself to knock.

He leant against the wall, sighed as he rested his head against the hard wooden doorframe. He almost jumped when the door clicked open. Nothing else happened, he knew he was supposed to go in. He hesitated again before he moved his balance off the wall and walked through into the hotel room.

The small bedside lamp gave off a dim yet warm glow. Contrasted the coldness that seemed to eminate from the man in the room.

"How'd you know I was out there?" Hunter asked.

"Saw you arrive. I knew you'd be out there sooner or later." Shawn replied, voice quiet.
He was still stood at the window, looking out. His back faced Hunter, showing him the red marks that would likely turn into bruises in the next few days.
The match had been harder than Hunter thought and Shawn seemed to be wearing the brunt of it. It had been hard on him too, maybe those few years between them helped him bounce back that bit quicker. Maybe not. Maybe it was just Shawn had more wear and tear on his body than Hunter did.

"You okay?" He asked eventually.

"Sure." Half turning. "You?"

"Until I wake up tomorrow, I guess."

"Yeah." Shawn replied.

Hunter moved closer to where Shawn stood, close the distance, but Shawn created new distance by going into the bedroom. When he didn't come back out, Hunter went to the doorway. Shawn was laying face down on the bed, ice pack resting on his back. "You need anything?" Hunter asked, a pang of guilt stabbing at his chest.

"I'm fine." Shawn replied again, even if it was clear he wasn't.

"I guess I'll go then." Hunter said. When Shawn said nothing, Hunter turned to leave.

"Hunter?"

Turning, he waited for Shawn to say something. When he didn't continue, Hunter felt his anger rise. "See ya later." He snapped, trying not to let too much anger spill out.

"No wait!" Shawn called after him. Shawn had sat up from the bed, ready to chase if needed. Hunter could see the pain etched across his features as his back protested the movement, the soothing icepack having slipped onto the bed.

Any anger Hunter had quickly slipped away.

"Maybe you should see a doctor." he said.

"It'll be fine. Look... I... I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" Hunter asked

"I tapped."

Hunter's expresion softened. "Why are you sorry for that?"

"I know I let you down..."

"Of course you didn't!"

"Oh c'mon, you got me back to help you sort out the problem you had with Legacy, I'm sure tapping out to them wasn't part of the master plan."

Hunter sighed, wiped a hand across his face. Tiredness was creeping up, but this was more important. "I don't care about Legacy. I care about you. I wanted you back."

"What?"

"It's not the same without you there." He hesitated. "Look, lay back down and put your damn ice pack on, will ya? I'm getting backache just looking at you."

Shawn laid back down on the bed, but this time he kept his head at the foot of the bed so he could see Hunter.

The younger man grabbed Shawn's icepack and gently placed it on his battered body, helping to soothe away the aches.

"Thanks." Shawn said. After a few momets silence, Shawn pressed Hunter again. "So what were you saying?"

"I was saying that I like having you around." Hunter said, smiled gently at his friend.

"I like being around too. I'm still sorry though."

Hunter sighed. "I'm sorry I didn't get to you in time."

Silence stretched between them. "Being partners is tough sometimes." Shawn said.

"Yep." Hunter agreed. "Wouldn't have it any other way though."

More silence. Shawn moved his head to a more comfortable position and Hunter could barely see his features. "Geez, it's so late."

"Yeah. I should.... go."

"Or...."

"Or?"

"You could stay."

"You think that's a good idea?"

"I don't think it's a bad one. But you don't have to."

"I don't think I can say no to you."

"You can. If you don't want to stay." Shawn said.

"I always wanna stay with you."

"So stay."

The End