Title: Concrete Hearts

World: AU

Rated: M (Mature)

Genre(s): Romance/Angst

Pair(s): Phil/Beth, Chris/Jessica, Chris/Phil, etc.

Summary: Chris and Phil are both heartbroken souls looking for a connection. When they find it in each other, the whole world conspires to keep them apart.

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone. I also don't own the movies mentioned.

Warning: Slash, Het, etc.

Part: 4/? – The Ceremony

OOOO

THE NEXT DAY

Where the hell was he? Selene shifted uncomfortably in her blindingly white wedding dress, her black hair falling in a soft waterfall of curls over her exposed back. Their father was back in rehab and their mother had been in an accident when Phil and Selene were still in school, which caused her to be wheelchair bound. This, of course, had led to the decision that Phil would walk her down the aisle. But it was already 11:30 AM and her brother hadn't arrived at the church. Selene walked back and forth nervously. The minute that her brother walked through the door, she made an oath to hurt him. She looked at the clock. It was now 11:35.

"Selene, calm down." Her mother ordered. "Have a seat before you wear a hole into the floor. I'm sure that your brother has his reasons for his absence. Has he called?"

Selene shook her head. "No. He hasn't called, texted, left a note… nada, zilch, zip. I can't walk down that aisle without him! Where the hell is he?"

Her mother rolled over to her, before she made her sit down on the bench in the corner of the bridal chambers. "Sweetheart, try to call him."

Selene bit down on the inside of her mouth. "What if he doesn't answer?"

"He'll answer, dear. He'll answer." Her mother assured.

Selene wasn't so sure. Ever since her brother had received that call in the middle of the rehearsal dinner, he had been different. His sarcastic remarks while they watched the movie had lost their bite, and he seemed to be lost in his mind more often than not. For the first time, she felt bad about the fact that she had so willingly tossed their plans aside for some extra time with Mike. She would have eternity with Mike, but soon she would be moving out of the apartment that she shared with her brother and out of Chicago. They couldn't have that close-knit relationship forever. She missed him already.

Selene dialed the familiar number and waited. After a moment, Phil answered. "Hello?"

Selene didn't spend time on pleasantries. "Where the hell are you?"

"Um… well, I'm at the corner of First and Manor Street… and my car broke down. I should be at the church in ten minutes. I would've been there sooner, but I had a job offer that I couldn't turn down." Phil said.

"A job offer? But… don't you enjoy working at the precinct?" Selene asked, confused. She thought that her brother loved being a cop.

Phil was silent for a minute as the connection fluttered. "I do. But I have to get out of this fucked-up town before Beth drives me out of my mind. It's a security job that will be for six months out of the year. We'll talk about it later."

"B-But, what about the apartment?" Selene asked.

"Consider that my wedding present to you and the bitch." Selene growled and Phil immediately backed down. "Sorry, sorry. Anyway, I'll be there soon. Don't throw a bitch fit before I arrive."

"Too late." Selene smirked.

True to his word, Phil arrived ten minutes later. His sister practically mauled him, instantly attacking him with questions such as 'where were you' and 'what kind of security job will you be working' and 'is it safe'. Phil assured her that he would tell her all about it later, but right now she had to get married. Taking her glove-clad arm, he led her through the winding halls of the church, knowing each hallway as if it were the back of his hand. Their mother had already taken her place at the front of the church with the rest of their family. Selene mentioned only once that it was a shame that their father couldn't be there, but fell silent when the Bridal March started.

The wedding was nothing short of beautiful. Each had written their own vows, which had hours of loving thought put behind them. Trembling hands slid rings onto fingers. And finally, a kiss was shared. The entire crowd of friends and family burst into applause, thankful for a ray of sunshine in the cloud of darkness that had hovered over the Brooks family ever since their father's alcoholism came to the forefront. Selene shot her brother a nervous look, but he quelled her fears with a smile. All too soon, Phil was lost to the crowd that was heading downstairs for the reception. Selene was immediately surrounded by well-wishers.

Meanwhile, Phil had found a secluded little alcove. He used it to pull out his cell phone and scroll through the messages that he had received during the ceremony. As part of his contract, he had given his cell phone number to Shawn (who would then give his number to the other members of the band) as a security precaution. He just hadn't expected Shawn to make use of it this soon. All of the messages were from Shawn, the earliest one having come in at 1:30 and the most recent at 2:15.

"Hey, Phil. Sorry to call you so soon. I know that you said that your sister was getting married and all that. I just wanted to let you know that the band is extremely excited to meet their new Head of Security. The lead singer of the band had a reservation for two at NAM for 3:00 and wanted to know if you were available to join him…"

Phil killed the message as his baby sister finally cut through the crowd of well-wishers, unintentionally stumbling into his little alcove. Phil looked down at the ornate Celtic watch on his wrist, which had been a gift from one of his best friends (who also happened to be the Commissioner of Police), Sheamus. When Phil's olive eyes flickered up, Selene flashed him a little smile. She looked a little worse for wear – her black hair was coming out of its flowerbed home and her gloves were missing – but she was no less beautiful.

"Phil! I've been looking everywhere for you." This conversation sounded a little too familiar. "Come downstairs! I want to have a dance with my big brother."

Phil looked at the clock. It was already 2:30. "I'm sorry, Selene. I really wish that I could stay. But I have a work obligation… new job and all. You understand, don't you?"

"Yeah…" Selene said dejectedly.

"I knew you would." Phil kissed her cheek. "Love you, 'sis."

"Yeah, I love you too…"

TWENTY MINUTES LATER

Phil barely made it to the restaurant in time. He rushed in the front door and came to stand at the front desk, as disheveled as he could be. The waitress looked him over uncertainly. "What can I do for you, sir?"

"I'm Phil Brooks." Phil announced breathlessly. "I received a call about 2:15 PM that said I was to meet someone here to introduce myself. Has he arrived?"

"Yes." The waitress smiled sweetly. "If you would follow me, Mr. Brooks."

The waitress led him over to a table in the far corner of the restaurant, which was secluded from all of the others. There was already a bottle of wine, which had been opened, on the table. The man who currently sat at the table was lightly muscled with tawny blond hair, and he looked awfully familiar. When he noticed that Phil was there, he set his book aside and looked up, flashing a dazzling smirk that would most likely charm the panties off of any waitress in the restaurant in Phil's direction. It was the man whose son had lost his dinosaur toy.

"Glad to see that you could make it. I was a little worried there." Chris motioned to the seat across from him. "Please, feel free to take a seat. Would you like a drink?"

Phil's olive eyes flickered over to the bottle of wine. "No, thank you. I don't drink."

Chris nodded fondly. "You look like you've just been through a hurricane. Let me guess: you ran over here from your sister's ceremony, didn't you?" Phil looked at him oddly. "Shawn told me you might be late because of it."

Satisfied with that explanation, Phil nodded sheepishly. "Yeah, I did. I know that I look like a wreck and that it's not exactly professional. I'm sorry about that -,"

But Chris cut him off. "Don't worry about it. Actually, it's kind of cute."

Phil's eyes widened a little bit. He had been called a lot of things in his lifetime, but cute had never been one of them. It felt nice, actually. Butterflies swarmed in his stomach and flew up into his chest, making it rather difficult to breath. And, much to his chagrin, a dark flush came over his alabaster cheeks. Maybe it was the sentimentalist in him, but he had always wanted someone who cared about him enough (other than his family, of course) to call him something other than 'sexy' or 'hot'. And even if he had only known Chris for a little while, it felt nice.

"I'm not sure if you remember this or not, but we went to high school together. Granted, there were two grades between us. I was in twelfth and you were in tenth. But we were both on the wrestling team." Chris said softly.

Phil nodded slowly. He did remember that, in fact. "Yeah. I'm surprised that you remember me, though. I certainly wasn't the most memorable face on the team."

"No, that would've been Jeff." Chris admitted. "But I know why I remembered you. I've always had a fascination with the underdog. You faced insurmountable odds and always came out on top."

Phil was a little embarrassed, so he decided to change the subject. "But you didn't call me here to talk about our high school days, did you?"

"No." Chris affirmed. "I wanted to talk to you about the tour and explain one little drawback."

"What's the drawback?" Phil asked.

"My ex-wife and I are currently in the middle of a heated custody battle over our three children. Normally, this wouldn't interfere with work. But the drawback is that she's the head of costume and make-up for the tour." Chris said.

Phil nodded. "So, she'll be with us for the entire tour?"

"The entire tour." Chris exaggerated, before he took a drawn-out drink of his wine.

Now, Phil was of two minds about this recent development. Of course, he felt awful that Chris could lose his kids to a woman that he didn't love anymore. Just because he didn't love her doesn't mean that he doesn't love his children. But also, some tiny part of him was thankful that he wasn't married anymore. As horrible as it sounded, it meant that the feelings that Phil felt could possibly be reciprocated without disastrous side-effects. He would never come between a man and his family. That would be wrong.

Chris spent the rest of their lunch explaining to Phil the ins and outs of the tour. He explained that they would head up to Pennsylvania, would wind up until they were in Rhode Island, and then sweep down into the central states, and end in California in three months time. Then, they would take the tour to Europe and Canada. This would take another three months. By the time they returned, the plans for their next album would be underway. But all Phil could think about was six blissful months away from Beth…

It would be heavenly.

OOOO

A/N: So, here's the next chapter. I hope you liked and please remember to review!