Notes: Just want to briefly disclaim that I do not own them and do not claim this ever happened. I also do not own the rights to the song "Dig" by Incubus, which is sort of this fic's theme song (if fics had theme songs). I kind of mess with the timeline some, but I'll address that in more detail when I get there. I put a lot of effort into this and I hope it shows. I know JBEY is a really weird pairing -- I mean, they don't even have character tags! -- but I hope you give them a chance. Anyways... enjoy!

1.

Although he didn't realize it until much later, one brief moment in 2004 changed the rest of his life. It was as simple as meeting the eyes of a young man with peroxide-blonde hair, sitting in one of the chairs outside of Jarrett's office with the latest batch of TNA potentials. JB passed them on his way to conference with Jeff about said potentials, giving them only a quick glance on the way. But only the blonde, who gave him a shy smile as he passed, managed to stick in his mind.

JB officially met the young man two hours later, when he walked into Jarrett's office for his interview. He offered a firm handshake and the same shy smile. "Eric Young," he introduced himself, his voice startlingly hoarse. Thirty minutes into the interview and JB was already impressed with him. He spoke with a great deal of self-assurance, although he was greener than anything; not like most of the new talents he saw in this office. They were so excited they could hardly sit still, eager to show everything they had and everything they would be, making up along the way what they didn't have. Eric, however, sat there calmly, answering their questions with honesty, confidence and a quiet sense of humor.

They concluded the interview and he left the room, head held high. JB watched him exit and leaned back in his chair, tapping a pen against his jaw. "You should hire him," he said thoughtfully. Jeff turned to look at him, one eyebrow raised.

"What? Why? You heard what he said, about that respiratory condition. He has to have surgery all the time… he'll have to miss shows… he's unreliable. I don't even know if we'd be able to put him on the mic."

"Because of his voice? I think it's… different. Memorable. You say we need to look for unique talents if we ever want to compete with WWE someday. And anyway, as I'm sure you heard what he said, he only needs those surgeries every couple of years, and they barely affect him at all. I'm telling you, that kid has it. Put him in some dark matches or make him a jobber. And then if you don't think he has it, fine. But at least give him a chance."

Two weeks later, Eric Young was back in Jeff Jarrett's office, signing a short-term TNA contract.

"Your first match will be next week, here in Nashville. Think you're ready?"

"I'd be ready tomorrow if you gave me the chance." He was grinning from ear to ear, all trace of that shy, sweet smile lost in his excitement.

Their paths didn't cross again until the night of the show; although in actuality, it turned out to be more like a head on collision. Eric was backstage, attempting to fight the pre-debut-match jitters by pacing back and forth. JB had his head down, rushing from point A to B and trying to check off objectives one through fifteen in the process, his eyes on the clipboard in his hands and not where he was going. As Eric Young turned, he ran into Jeremy Borash, both of them going full speed. While the impact only knocked Eric back a step, mostly in surprise, JB stumbled backwards and fell, landing heavily on his butt. The clipboard clattered to the floor, alerting any other superstars lucky enough to be backstage at the time.

"Oh shit, I'm sorry!" Eric reached down and JB allowed the larger man to help him to his feet. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," JB muttered, adjusting his blazer and brushing off the back of his pants.

"Are you sure? I'm so sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going…" Eric babbled, bending down and grabbing the fallen clipboard.

"Thanks," JB said, taking the clipboard. "I told you, I'm fine. Nothing bruised but my pride." He smiled, hoping to put the other man at ease. He had roughly fifty things to do in the next twenty minutes, but Eric's cheeks were decidedly pink and JB didn't want to send the man to his TNA debut all flustered.

"Take a deep breath. You're going to be great, all right?" The flushed deepened just a bit on Eric's cheeks, but that shy smile was back on his face.

"Thanks, JB."

With a hearty clap to the younger man's bare shoulder, JB hurried off to finish the rest of his checklist.

When the show was over and JB finally had time to breathe, he ran into Eric again; fortunately for both of them, not literally this time. Jarrett had cornered the new acquisition and was giving him pointers. Eric nodded at everything he was saying, but seemed unable to get away from the lecture. JB leaned against the wall a few feet behind Jarrett, listening to the speech and meeting Eric's eyes, both struggling to keep a straight face.

After a few minutes of this and Jarrett showed no signs of stopping, JB took pity on the new guy and hurried up to Jarrett, hoping to divert his attention.

"Jeff, I think Dan's looking for you. He had a question about booking or something. I think he's in the sound booth."

"Oh? All right. I'll see you later, guys. Remember what we talked about, Eric!" With a wave, he hurried down the hall to find Dan, who had no questions for him whatsoever and was probably not even in the arena anymore. They watched Jarrett disappear down the hall. As soon as he was out of earshot, they met each other's eyes and burst out laughing.

"How long did he have you cornered?" JB asked, as their laughter tapered off.

"The last twenty minutes or so. Was someone really looking for him?"

"Nope. But he'd stand there and talk your face off all night if you let him."

"Yeah, I was beginning to notice that."

Their eyes met again and JB just shook his head, still grinning. Maybe it was that moment of shared laughter, or maybe it was just Eric's contagious boyish grin, but JB heard himself make the offer before he really even thought about it. "There's a bar around the corner some of the guys go to after shows. Why don't you come along? I'll buy you a drink to celebrate your debut."

Somewhere between the second and third round of beer, they became friends.

While TNA guys were a more or less regular fixture at Jack's, the bar around the corner, JB and Eric Young were the only guys who were there on a consistent basis. After every home show, and sometimes even when there wasn't. They'd buy a couple of rounds, unwind and laugh off the pressures of the business. Jarrett listened to JB's good advice and offered Eric a long-term contract, making him a stable in Team Canada. TNA made it to television and moved down to Florida, and JB only picked up a few dozen more odd jobs with the transition. For a while… everything was pretty good.

If he noticed Eric shooting him thoughtful, lingering glances over beers in Jack's, or the various other bars the guys frequented when they were in shooting in Florida, he made no mention of it.