Story Title: 5 and 1- 5 Times Matt Said No and 1 Time He Said Yes

Story Type: Slash

Characters: Roderick Strong, Matt Sydal(Evan Bourne), mentions of Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, Austin Aries, Jack Evans

Pairings: Roddy/Matt

Rating: PG-13/NC-17

Series: None

Disclaimer: These guys aren't mine, they belong to ROH/WWE and, I would hope, to themselves.

Warnings: Slash, language

A/N: This one is for candy_belle. I wanted to do a 5 and 1, but couldn't think of one, so she gave me this prompt. Hope you like it, sweetie. So, this starts in '03, '04 and goes on until earlier this year. I usually call Matt 'Evan', mostly cause I think he looks like an 'Evan', but for when one this starts, I'm just going to call him Matt all the way through.

The first time Matt met Roderick was at a bar in Philadelphia. He had just started working shows for ROH and Alex had told him he was going to take his place in Generation Next. He was beyond psyched; he knew Austin a little bit, but he had never even met Roderick or Jack, so Alex had dragged him out for a guys night at the bar. Matt had a great night and when Roddy threw an arm around his shoulders and invited him back to his room, he almost said yes but changed his mind at the last second and spent the rest of the night wondering if he should have gone.

4. They worked well together. So good, in fact, that Matt started considering Roddy an actual friend, instead of just someone he worked with. He told himself that he was right to turn down Roddy's periodic invitations. He also told himself, as he drank a beer and glared across the bar, that he absolutely did not care who Roddy brought back to the room.

The thing Matt missed the most while he was in OVW was his friends. Sure, Colt was there, but he hadn't seen Delirious or Dazee or Alex or Chris in months. He admitted to himself that he missed Roddy the most and he tried to tell himself, again, that he had been right to say no to him all those times.

The next time he saw Roddy was almost a year later and Matt was in a terrible mood; his flight had been delayed so he only had five minutes to get to his connecting flight when he finally made it to the airport. He saw Roddy for all of two minutes before he had to sprint to his gate. The same question had been in Rod's eyes, but the other man hadn't even asked Matt anything. The whole flight Matt tried to get rid of the regret that seemed to be dodging him the whole time.

Raw was in Detroit for a couple days, so Matt met up with Alex and Chris. They ended up in some dive, doing shots and reminiscing over their indy days. Eventually, they ended up talking about ROH. "You're the only one who ever told Roddy no," Alex told him, waving an arm to include the whole bar in his statement. "Fuck, even I gave in once or twice." "Does Chris know you let Roddy on top of you, man whore?" Matt asked and his voice sounded snarky even to his own ears. Alex just laughed and raised an eyebrow. "Please, I don't bottom to anyone -well, almost anyone." Matt followed his gaze and sighed when he saw the emotion in Alex's eyes when they met Chris's. He knew neither one of them would ever admit it, but Matt was glad they were happy together. He remembered all those times he had told Roddy no and thought that maybe he should have given in while he still had had the chance.

And...

He was in Florida for god knew how long; the doctors were sketchy on when he'd be able to wrestle again and he had come down here to relax on the beach for a few days. Matt stopped at this Chinese place that Roddy had told him about and had run into Roddy on his way out the door. The grin that crossed his face at the sight of the other man was the first time he had smiled since his injury and actually meant it. When Roddy threw an arm around his shoulders and asked if he wanted to go back to his place and split some chicken and broccoli, Matt smiled again and answered the way he had wanted to from the beginning: "Yeah, I'd like that."