Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Author Note: Set after 'Takeover 2: Fatal Fourway.'

'TIL YOUR FEET (AND CHEST) GET SORE

It was a good morning. Adam's arm was heavy and comfortable around Sami; Sami could smell Adam's cologne and the cocktails he'd drank the night before. The sun was filtering through the bus' curtains but it didn't feel too bright. It just felt welcoming and Sami pressed contentedly close to Adam. Adam was good at making Sami forget his problems for a while. Adam was good at a lot of things.

A loud knocking broke up Sami's contentment. He frowned into the pillow; the noise wasn't close enough to be someone hammering on the bedroom door. Anyway, the Rosebuds tended to stay quiet in the mornings, especially before breakfast. So was someone outside the bus trying to get in? God, really? What time was it? Sami considered himself an early riser but always within reason.

Adam stirred and brushed a kiss to Sami's forehead as he pushed himself up and out of bed. The kohl around his eyes was smeared and his hair was a mess but he still looked good. He bent down to scrabble through clothes strewn across his bedroom floor, probably looking for some pants so that he could go find out who was disturbing the peace. Sami made a protesting sound; he liked the view as it was, thank you.

Adam smiled and stroked a hand through Sami's hair before grabbing a pair of very bedazzled fitted jeans. He didn't bother with a shirt, his necklaces quite happily rested against his bare chest as he ambled towards the door with a yawn. Sami enjoyed that view too until his eyes fell shut again and he went back to dozing. He'd get up soon, he wanted to work out and see if Marco had any ice hockey plans. The Exotic Express' resident barman shared Sami's love for Canada's sport.

Adrian's voice pulled him out of sleep suddenly and without mercy. Resentment, anger and hurt disappointment began coursing through him as he lifted his head to try and hear more. Adrian was here, outside the Exotic Express, trying to get in? Once, Sami would have been pleased about that, about spending time with Adrian. Only his definition and Adrian's definition of how friends behaved had changed and that had changed everything else too.

"I thought I had an open invitation," Adrian was saying, something hard running through his words.

"You did and we're always happy to welcome the champ on-board but right now it's time for all Rosebuds to enjoy some shut-eye."

Adam sounded friendly and casual but Sami could detect what Adrian probably couldn't – that Adam had no intention of letting Adrian on-board, now or anytime soon. It made something like a smile twist Sami's mouth; Adam was protecting him. So sometimes Adam Rose did refuse company. Sami was flattered, honored and kind of sad too; Adam wasn't Adam if he was turning down any kind of gathering.

"I'm not talking about starting a party, man, I just want to talk to Sami."

Adrian was sounding dangerously determined now. Sami sat up to try and find his pants when Amelia, one of Adam's Rosebuds, suddenly slipped into the room. She was wearing a jean skirt and a bright purple bustier with lots of plastic-flower bracelets looped around her wrists. She pressed a finger to her lips and hurried closer.

"Adam's got a plan," she whispered. "Want to have some fun with the champ?"

Her eyes were dancing and apparently Adam had managed to relay a plan to her without Adrian noticing, which seemed unlikely. Unless Adam had signaled something behind his own back, something that'd pointed Amelia towards one of the myriad coded 'situations' that Adam and his Rosebuds were always super-prepared for. Sami gestured for her to look away as he grabbed some sweatpants and a Rammstein t-shirt that he'd worn only the other night. His heart was racing a bit because Adam wanted to mess with Adrian, maybe in an effort to force him away from the bus or maybe just because Adam wanted to mess with him to get back at Adrian for what he'd done to Sami. That could be dangerous for Adam. Sami felt more than a little guilty about that.

"Why? Adrian's not going to thank him, at all," he pointed out in a quiet voice.

Amelia smiled and squeezed his wrist, "Adam thinks this is worth it and Adrian won't even realize the kind of fun we're having. It's more like a warning beat, you know?"

"A warning?"

Amelia nodded and slid a bracelet off her wrist and onto his. Sami noticed that some of the bracelet's plastic flower beads were shaped like blooming roses. So it was going to be that kind of warning. Sami shook his head but the thought of more space and time away from thoughts of Adrian and the belt that Sami could never quite get hold of, God, yes, he needed that. Adam had always known how to give him that – he'd successfully helped blot out everything for Sami only the previous night - and he was tougher than people gave him credit for. Sami wanted to warn him off irritating Adrian too much though because Adrian's temper was getting worse by the day and Sami didn't want Adam to suffer because of him. But Sami also wanted to see what Adam had up his sleeve because Adam's plans did tend to work and for a little while longer at leastt Sami really did want to think about anything other than Adrian Neville's superiority issues, their rapidly and painfully deteriorating friendship and the championship that Sami still couldn't win.

He nodded and Amelia grinned. She scooped up Adam's favorite pair of sunglasses and tucked them into the neckline of Sami's t-shirt for everyone to see. Then she wrapped an arm around his waist and led him out of the room to where another Rosebud, Ethan, was waiting for them. He was dark-eyed and wearing a friendly smile, a Roman-looking skirt and a wifebeater vest. He owed Sami a couple of rounds of cards and a Hungry Hungry Hippos rematch. Sami knocked knuckles with him and wasn't alarmed when Ethan draped an arm around his shoulders. Sami could already see where this plan was going.

"Follow the leader," Amelia whispered to him with a lift of her eyebrows.

"And what kind of situation is this?"

"Marigold," both Amelia and Ethan replied as one.

Then they walked past the rows of bunks with curtains still drawn and into the kitchen area which revealed them to Adrian. Amelia smiled up at Sami like he'd said something funny and lightly kissed him on the lips before breaking away towards the fridge. Ethan leaned against the countertop, his arm staying around Sami. He leaned closer to whisper in Sami's ear.

"Think this'll make him uncomfortable?"

Sami shook his head, "It'll be a surprise and a distraction."

Ethan grinned and kissed Sami's temple before disentangling himself, leaving their shoulders pressed together as he accepted a glass of something that could have been orange juice from Amelia. Sami raised an eyebrow at it and Amelia nudged against his hip.

"It'll clear you out and put you in the mood for partying."

"But what color will it turn me?"

Amelia laughed and went back to the fridge to retrieve eggs, promising pancakes and omelets for any and all Rosebuds as Ethan offered Sami a sip from his glass. Adrian's voice cut through their conversation.

"Sami!"

Sami raised his gaze, taking in Adam lounging in the bus' doorway, looking louche and relaxed but Sami could see how Adam was also blocking the way in. Adrian was wearing jean shorts and one of his own WWE t-shirts, his hair was all skinned back into a ponytail and of course he was carrying his championship belt. Sami stared at it for a beat and then looked up at Adrian. He hoped his hurt and his anger was tucked away for now, he didn't want to ruin breakfast.

"Morning, Adrian. I thought you'd be working out by now."

Adrian always got his work-outs in early so his appearance at the bus was unusual. He was frowning first like he was trying to work something out and then like whether he believed what he saw or not. Sami didn't offer him a drink, suspect fruit juice or otherwise. His chest felt tight now that he was face to face with Adrian again, they hadn't shared a civil word in weeks and Adrian still didn't think he'd done anything wrong at Takeover. Ethan squeezed a hand to Sami's hip and retrieved the newspapers that mysteriously got delivered to the Exotic Express every morning no matter where they were.

Sami kept his eyes on Adrian who had one hand firmly tucked around the title belt.

"I was looking to talk some sense into you first."

A few Rosebuds made their way into the kitchen area, some of them wearing pajamas, some of them already dressed for the day in bright sparkling colors. It made Sami smile and his chest loosen, he accepted kisses and pats on the back. Amelia was already mixing up pancake batter from scratch and asking who wanted chocolate chips and who wanted fruit. Sami put a order in for strawberries and chocolate and felt Kimberly snuggle up against his chest, her purple-streaked hair falling to her waist over orange and violet pajamas. Sami dusted a kiss to the top of her head and aimed a slightly amused look towards Adrian. He was anchored here; he wasn't going to let what Adrian had done ruin this too, he wasn't going to give in to any of the pain and anger that kept trying to pull him under. He wasn't going to give in in front of Adrian anyway.

"Right, I'm the one not talking sense."

Adrian's frown deepened, "You'd have done the exact same thing for this belt. You should have, then maybe you'd have become champion instead of hiding on a bus for days on end."

Adrian had noticed his absence. Sami shook his head, a different kind of anger taking him over. Adam glanced at Amelia.

"Cancel any pancakes for Mr Grumpy Champ here."

Amelia nodded amiably and dished up a plate of delicious-smelling chocolate-studded pancakes which she then handed to Kimberly. Sami accepted the rolled-up bite that Kimberly offered him, her purple glitter nails sparkling before his eyes.

"So I can't criticize your morals but you can slam who I hang out with? And you wonder why I'm disappointed."

Adrian was the one who shook his head this time, "You're not gonna listen to reason so why should I bother, eh?"

"Yeah, I mean why should you listen to one of your best friends whose known you for years and traveled the world with you?" replied Sami, a bit of hurt creeping into his tone. "You've changed, and not for the better."

"I've got the title; I think I'm doing all right."

"Because that's the only thing that matters."

"Gold fever," muttered Amelia from beside Sami now. "He's a dwarf now, not a hobbit."

Sami swallowed a very inappropriate laugh – he liked Tolkien too so knew exactly what Amelia was talking about – and watched Adrian take a step or two back. That hurt too.

"I'm not the one that's changed, Sami. You should take a good long look at yourself."

With that, Adrian left, his championship belt glinting in the sun. Adam closed the bus door and locked it firmly. Amelia immediately handed him a plate of pancakes and omelets, garnished with crispy bacon. Kimberly kissed Sami's chin and quickly made room for Adam. Adam offered Sami a piece of bacon; Sami ate it out of his hand morosely.

"Hey," Adam's voice was soft while his fingers were firm at Sami's jaw. "Don't you catch his grumpiness. You dance to your own beat; it's on him that he doesn't like it."

Sami's smile was sad and pained, "He used to dance too, I don't think he remembers how anymore."

Adam put an end to that particularly depressing metaphor by kissing Sami warm and fierce. Amelia handed Sami his chocolate and strawberry pancakes and Adam clapped his hands to get everyone's attention.

"Okay, plan for the day, everyone. I'm in the mood for a Lord of the Rings marathon."

There were cheers and people started talking about retrieving pillows and duvets so that they could watch altogether in the area they usually danced in – there was a screen that folded down and a projector linked to a laptop that was kept behind the bar. Sami tucked into his pancakes. Adam stole a bite and kissed Sami's cheek.

"Maybe he'll find his way back to his old moves or maybe you'll be doing a victory dance soon and he'll have to find something new to give him rhythm."

The metaphor was still alive and kicking apparently. Sami watched as Rosebuds began filling the dancefloor with pillows and bedclothes. He hadn't known them for long but they'd been willing to bolster him and help him out when the champ had come calling. A lot of people wouldn't have done that.

Adam took Sami's now-empty plate off of him. Sami's chest was easing even more now, which was a relief. Adam had helped him gain a little more space from everything that'd recently caused him pain. Once Sami had really immersed himself in that space, he'd focus again on getting his hands on the NXT title. Staying relaxed but focused was a fine balance but Sami was sure he could do it, he had to. He couldn't lose again.

He kissed Adam resoundingly, Adam tasted of chocolate and strawberries and bacon. Adam nibbled on Sami's bottom lip and grabbed his ass.

"Get your work-out in. We'll be waiting for you to come join us."

Right. They would be.

When Sami left the bus to hit the nearest gym, The Fellowship of the Ring's score was looping through his ears and chest, blocking everything else out. Amelia's flower bracelet was still rattling around his wrist and Adam's sunglasses were tucked into his jacket, close to his heart.

-the end