Author's notes: Hey guys! Sorry for the absence, but here's a new chapter! I've been really busy for quite a while, but I finally got the time and motivation to write something new for this story. I hope you like it! I have the rest all planned out, so hopefully the next chapter won't take so long.

Also, the characters in this story are not mine and are NOT their real-life counterparts, and I don't do any of this for profit. It's all fictional fun times.

The walk back to the hotel wasn't the easiest. He had to hold his bloody nose the entire way back. His heart wouldn't stop thudding and his knees still shook and wobbled just a bit with every step. He had to keep his eyes roaming over every angle around him for any signs of further danger, his eyes open as wide as possible and his head constantly swiveling around on his shoulders. He was sure he looked absolutely ridiculous and very un-'zo-like, but he had to admit that being attacked earlier had… Unsettled him. Before he was going to meet up with some buddies at this one club, but after what just happened he just wanted to go back to his room, wash those guys off him, and pretend nothing happened.

The bleeding from his nose stopped halfway through and his face was already dry and crust in places by the time he pulled the keycard out of his wallet, but the throbbing pain was absolutely excruciating if he took pressure off of it. He could still feel the tightness of the tear-streaks down his face. The scrapes on his lower back were raw and he was able to feel every shift of his clothing over them. His gut was still tender. God, that guy hit hard for someone that didn't want money or… Whatever. He was very aware of all his latest injuries. Any explanation he could come up with for them sounded stupid and would make him look stupid and god he just felt so stupid. He grumbled while he slid in the card and pushed into the room as soon as the light switched green.

He couldn't see him from the doorway, but he could see that the light between the two beds was on. He could hear a page flipping over. Fuck. He was hoping Cass would still be out tonight, that he would have the room to himself long enough to clean himself up without any awkward explanations.

"Short night, 'Zo?"

"Ah, yeah, nobody showed up and the club sucked anyway. What's up with you?"

His word came out sounding strange because of his blocked nose and he hoped to god Cass didn't notice. He pressed his body against the wall and slinked into the bathroom.

"Nothin', just thought I'd get some readin' done here." Another flip of a page.

Enzo winced as he took his hand off his nose in from of the mirror. He couldn't see much through the mess of crusted blood, but it didn't look broken. It might have been broken but at least it didn't look broken. He didn't really know how to tell. It wasn't out of alignment and the pain wasn't excruciating, anyway. At least he didn't have to worry about hiding a straight-up, visibly broken nose from his friend. He wet a washcloth and dabbed it over the area with the most blood, right over the bridge of his nose. He winced and he hissed. Fuck, that hurt. At least it wasn't looking so bad anymore. Cleaning up the blood that ran over his lips and chin was easier work. He was definitely going to have to find a way to get rid of the now-bloody cloth later.

He got a tub running and started to strip. No way he was going to bed with those guys still on him. They smelled like a swamp, and no way was he going to curl up under the sheets smelling like a goddamn alligator. And… He could still feel them on him. He wasn't going to think about that. He had to check out the damage they'd caused. That's what he ought to be thinking about. He could see the scrapes down his backside in the mirror. They felt worse than they actually looked. He looked for bruises over his body, next. Some on his chest, legs, and a particularly angry one forming around the gash on his nose. There's no hiding that from Cass tonight, shit. But he would still have to try.

He turned to facet off and settled into the warm water. He got busy washing the encounter off his skin with cloth and soap. By the time he was done the water was just a little bit shy of opaque with soap, dirt, and blood. Not enough blood to scare or worry him, but enough to piss him off. How the hell did he let that happen to himself? He's Enzo Amore, the realest guy in the room! Enzo does not get beat up, 'specially not by a couple of filthy hobos. He crossed his arms and tucked his chin to his chest. This kind of shit doesn't happen to him, ok? He wasn't ever telling Cass about anything that happened. He slipped and fell and hit his nose and that's it. He wasn't pushed around like a bitch or dragged around like a doll and he wasn't used like a punching bag and he didn't scream or cry and he didn't get… Nothing happened, end of story. He was just going to forget it. From now on, all that happened was he fell down.

He didn't bring any pajamas into the bathroom with him. He realized this while rubbing a towel over his hair. No way was he getting back into anything he wore tonight before thoroughly washing everything. He was going to have to just walk out wearing the towel. He scrubbed a hand through his damp hair and groaned. Why did he keep having to fuck things up tonight?

"Don't look, Cass, I forgot to bring in clothes." He scooted out of the bathroom with his hand holding up the towel around his waist, higher up than usual. He tried to keep the bruised front of his body -his face in particular—angled away from Cass as he made his way to his bag.

Cass looked. He always snuck looks when he could. He wasn't ever going to admit to checking any guy out, least of all his all-time best friend, but he couldn't really help himself. It made him feel weird. Good weird. Light? Happy? He couldn't put a finger on it. It was a good feeling, as much as he hated to admit to himself, but it was definitely different than how he felt looking at girls. So, he didn't worry too much about it. There was some history there, but he chose not to think about it. It meant nothing, anyway.

He watched Enzo fiddle with a pair of sweatpants under the towel and pull a shirt over his back. Even with such a mundane task he could see all those muscles working underneath those terrible tattoos… and yeah, he was a little bit mesmerized. He tried to mask his gaze with his book as a now fully-clothed Enzo rose back up and moved to crawl into the empty bed. It was only for a moment, that one second Enzo faced him while turning, but he could see an ugly bruised gash on his friend's nose. Worry built up in his stomach.

"Enzo, your nose ok? Looks kinda nasty to me."

Enzo froze, half a leg already under covers. Well shit.

"Ah… It'll be fine, Cass. Just gotta keep it clean 'n' all that."

"You gotta let me see, c'mere."

"Don't worry about it."

"You know I always worry about you, 'Zo. Now, c'mere."

Enzo slumped his head. Well, he was already caught, he guessed. He didn't know how the fuck he could keep an injury like this from a guy like Cass. He knew he couldn't. He turned around and knelt down by Cass's side. The book was laid down and a hand came up to cup Enzo's cheek. Enzo closed his eyes, trying to mask his annoyance. Cass was sometimes too tender with him, and he didn't know what to do with that.

The question of how this happened was on the forefront of Cass's mind, but knowing Enzo he knew he would just get a bunch of equivocation instead of an actual answer. He would just ask later.

"Just put some ice on it for me, okay, 'Zo? I… I'll just feel better about it."

Before Enzo could say anything, Cass sat up and swept his long legs over the side of the bed. "Just relax and I'll get the ice for you."

Cass left with the ice bucket. Enzo sat back on his bed and kicked his legs fretfully against the bedframe.

"Great… How am I supposed to lie to him? I can't lie to the guy about anything. He'll catch onto my shit and make me tell him anyway…" He scratched his chest hair and chuckled to himself pathetically. "Don't talk to yourself, man."

He probably wasn't supposed to, but he touched the cut on his nose, anyway. It stung, and his fingertips came up with barely noticeable smudges of blood, but it was fine. It couldn't possibly look as bad as Cass was acting. It was nothing. Why couldn't Cass just ignore it and let him go straight to bed as planned? Why did he have to worry about him so fucking much? He was a grown ass man. He could take care of himself. He sighed through gritted teeth and flopped on the bed. What a fucking night.

He heard the lock turn and Cass stepped in. He craned his neck to see him wrapping the tied bag full of ice with a hand towel. He let his head fall back down against the mattress. He heard the faucet run and some clinking and rattling in the bathroom.

"You okay? Nothing else hurts, right?"

Cass returned to the main room and set a glass of water and the ice bag on the bedside table. He was about to sit up but a large hand scooped up the back of his head and brought him upright for him. A pair of pills were presented to him, which he took along with the glass of water. The ice bag was gently applied to his nose when he downed all the water.

"Stop acting like my mom, Cass"

Enzo grabbed the bag and held it to his nose himself. Cass's other hand was still on the back of his head for some reason. It was warm. Enzo was about to tell him to leave him alone, but something was blocking him. It was nice. Enzo averted his eyes, looked at the patterns on the bedspread. Cass's fingers shifted a bit. Enzo clutched the bag tighter.

"Ah… Um… Thanks, Cass."

"Good night, Enzo." His thumb ran over his shave scalp one last time before the hand left.

Enzo crawled under the covers and stared up at the ceiling. The light turned off and he could hear Cass's bed shifting and his sheets rustling. His eyes slipped close. He didn't know what to think of tonight, any of it, but right now he felt safe. He felt warm. He felt loved. It was just bro love but he could still say he felt loved. His stomach felt like with was full of butterflies, though. He really didn't know what to think of that.

Tell me what you thought! Next chapter has sex, so, uh... Look forward to that, I guess.