Once again Matt was the first to wake, his eyes blinking slowly to clear the blurriness. He stretched; wincing as his body protested the movement. Chris was curled up on his side; one hand wrapped in Matt's hair like it was a security blanket. Matt's nose wrinkled in disgust as the scent of sweat and spent seed assaulted him. He gently removed Chris's hand from his hair and slipped from the bed, tears forming in his eyes with each slow step he took. It took everything in Matt's power not to groan aloud as he bent over the side of the tub to start the water. While he waited for the temperature to right itself, he looked at himself in the mirror.
On each shoulder were four identical finger bruises and he knew without looking that the matching thumbprints were on the back. He rubbed his hand over his neck and down his shoulder, wincing when he ran over the bite mark. Rounding off the marks that he could see, were the long scratches that scored his skin from chest to hip. The scratches on his inner thighs were burning and Matt knew that it was going to hurt once he stepped into the shower. He closed his eyes and mentally gave himself a pep talk before pulling the curtain back and stepping into the tub.
He hissed as the water rained down; hitting each scratch and sending white hot shards of pain skittering through his body. Matt wasted no time in the shower, soaping up and rinsing off as quickly as possible. With a relieved sigh he wrapped one of the towels loosely around his waist and opened the bathroom door; letting the cool air rush in and breeze over his body. He brushed his hair out and then stepped out into the room; laughing when he seen Chris laying spread eagle on the bed. He turned and rummaged through his bag until he turned up a pair of sweats.
Just as he got them up and adjusted when there was a knock on door. With a furrowed brow Matt headed over and pulled it open, his face smoothing out when he seen it was Jeff. Jeff was about to say something, but his green eyes widened when he seen the scratches on Matt's torso and the claw marks on his shoulders.
"What did he do to you?" Were the first words from Jeff's mouth; more bellowed than spoken. He touched Matt's shoulder and his glare darkened when Matt winced in pain. "Is this what he does to you Matty? Is this what that sick son of a bitch--" The shouting pierced Chris's slumber and he stirred.
Grumbling he sat up and rubbed at his eyes to clear them; vaguely recognizing the shouting voice. He grabbed the sheet from the bed and wrapped himself up in it before going over to Matt to see what was going on. Matt was standing at the door in his sweats, bare from the waist up and the first thing Chris noticed was the bite mark that he left on his shoulder. He bit his lip; feeling a bit remorseful; it was already purplish black and it looked more than a little painful.
But then again he had asked Matt if he wanted him to stop and it wasn't as if he made it a regular habit of being that rough. It was just an occasional flare up every once and awhile and he could easily do without it if his partner asked him too. He wrapped an arm around Matt's waist and leaned on Matt's other shoulder, watching Jeff curiously.
"You!" Jeff growled.
"Jeff." Matt started, putting his hands up in a defensive manner. "It's not what it looks like…"
"I knew this was a bad idea." Jeff frowned as he cut Matt off. He seen the edge of the bite mark and moved Matt's hair to get a better look and finding the nastiest part of the bite. Jeff's nose flared and he snapped his eyes up to glare at Chris. "Jericho!" Jeff yelled.
The single word was yelled so loud that it caused a door across the hall to slam open. Cody timidly peeked his head out and asked quietly if they could keep the noise down. In his rage Jeff whirled around and made several unnecessary threats against his life. Cody was pulled back into the room and Randy poked his head out next, angry at being woken up from his nap.
"Shut your damned yap Hardy!" He hollered, then stared between the brothers; not really knowing which on had yelled. "Both of ya." He growled before slamming the door closed.
Jeff turned his attention back to Chris, his hands clenching at his sides as he started towards Chris. Chris took a step back, bringing Matt with him.
"Jeff—I wouldn't hurt—I mean—I." Chris started in his own defense, but Jeff wouldn't let him get any further. He shoved past Matt and launched himself at Chris who got tangled in the sheet as he tried to block Jeff's flying fists.
"You crazy ass!" Chris squealed as he tried to roll out of the way and untangle his arms.
Jeff's fists rained down on his face and torso and Chris felt pain rocket through his nose; which had just started to heal from his fray with Glen.
"Jeff. Dammit, stop it. Get off!" Chris finally got his arms free and shoved at Jeff; sending him backwards.
The younger Hardy landed hard on his ass but it didn't stop him from immediately getting back to his feet and charging at Chris again. Matt intercepted him and grabbed Jeff around the waist, putting him into a belly to back bear hug. As the two struggled Chris gathered part of the sheet and pressed it to his nose; watching as it quickly became a dark ruby red.
"Jeff. Calm down." Matt said through gritted teeth as Jeff struggled against him. He kicked the door shut, trying to keep most of the noise in the room. He looked over concerned when he seen that Chris's nose was bleeding again; and his grip slackened somewhat.
"Look Jeff, I wasn't unwilling. Chris asked me if I wanted him to stop." Matt's face flushed as he turned his head so that Jeff couldn't see. "I-I didn't want him too."
Jeff did calm down; stopping the struggle against Matt's strong arms. It didn't really matter what Matt said; he still didn't like Jericho and he probably never would. He willed his eyes to glare daggers at the blonde man. He seen Chris flinch and allowed himself a small dark smile.
"I don't care." Jeff spat as he turned and looked at Matt, his anger growing when he seen the worry on Matt's face as he looked over at Chris. "He's a pig for doing that to you. A disgusting; cruel animal." He wiggled from Matt's grasp, flipping his mussed pony tail over his shoulder. "You deserve better than that sick pup Matty."
Jeff snarled at Jericho; his lips pulled back over his teeth like an attack dog giving its final warning. He wasn't close enough to see the tears that rolled down Chris's face; mingling with the blood from his nose. Matt tried to come up with a defense but Jeff left him standing in the door way as he retreated down the hallway. Matt stood watching silently, jumping when he heard the sound of another door slamming. At the sound of a lock clicking into place, Matt realized that Chris had holed himself up in the bathroom.
Matt was torn about whom to go after. Jeff was his brother and he knew that Jeff was just looking out for him. On the other hand Chris was his lover, and no matter what Jeff thought; Chris wasn't in the wrong. In the end he decided to check on Chris. He could always call Jeff later and get together to work things out.
"Chris…" Matt called softly as he knocked on the door. "Lemme in Chris so I can see your nose." Matt knocked on the door some more but didn't hear the lock clicking. In fact he didn't hear anything coming from the other side. "Chris, please let me in."
"No." Chris half sobbed and half coughed from behind the door. He leaned over the sink and watched through bleary, tearful eyes as the blood started to coat the basin. He grabbed one of the hand towels and tried to use that; pinching his nose tight. But the pain that coursed through his head had him stumbling back against the wall; stars dancing before his eyes.
"Chris, come on." Matt started to bang on the door harder, panicking when he heard the muffled impact of something falling. "Chris either you open this door or I'm going to kick it in." He threatened.
Chris hesitated, then with a shaky hand he reached over and fumbled with the lock; smearing his blood over the handle in the process. The simple action taxed his energy reserve and he slumped down against the wall, his head feeling dizzy as the towel started to drip crimson drops on his chest. Matt pushed the door open and knelt down next to Chris, taking the towel from his hand and tossing it into the bathtub. Chris's nose was still bleeding steadily and Matt had to swallow hard to keep the bile that rose in his throat from choking him.
As gently as he could, he pulled Chris forwards so that he could tilt his head back. Chris's nose had already swelled and discolored and Matt wondered if he should take him to the hospital to get it checked out. Softly Matt used some toilet paper to wipe the blood away, alarmed when it didn't stop. He wondered if propping Chris up in the bed would help. Deciding that it would be better than sitting the on cold bathroom floor, Matt tried to get him to his feet.
"Come on Chris; let's get you stretched out in bed." He put Chris's arm over his shoulder and tried to lift him on his own.
"Matt, I'm--" Chris stumbled to his feet; coughing as he tasted blood in his mouth. "I'm fine…..just a scratch."
"A scratch? Chris if CSI were to come in they'd think that I'd kill you." They took slow steps over to the bed and Matt held on to Chris' arm as he turned so that he could lie down.
Once he was positioned in the middle of the bed, Matt held him forwards so that he could stack the pillows behind him to keep him semi-erect. When Chris was settled, Matt disappeared into the bathroom; wetting one towel and grabbing another. He perched on the edge of the bed and started to clean the blood, taking great care so as not to bump Chris' nose.
"I'm sorry." Chris cried. "God Matt, I'm so sorry." He felt awful, like dirt, even lower than dirt, he thought as Jeff's words ran through his head. Pig, sick pup, cruel, disgusting, animal. Jeff's voice joined with Glen's and Shawn's; all of them swirling, mingling together and making him cry harder. No matter what he did it was never right, ever. "Jeff would never believe me if I told him I loved you." Chris sniffled through his tears; the words slurring a little. He was so upset and depressed over the whole thing that he didn't even realize he had just told Matt he loved him.
Matt stilled his hand and looked at Chris; surely he hadn't heard him right. He waited to see if Chris would say anything else, but when he didn't Matt set the towel aside; not commenting on it. He hated seeing Chris cry, hated seeing anyone cry; so he crawled up and stretched out next to Chris, moving the blond mans head so that it rested against his chest.
"There's nothing to be sorry for Chris." Matt tilted Chris' head up and kissed him softly, "Please stop crying….or I'm going to cry with you and I promise that you don't want to see that." He said with a forced chuckle.
"I can't." Wearily Chris laid his head back down on Matt's chest. "I'm tired of always being the bad guy no matter what I do. I'm not…am I? I'm not really a bad guy…or, or do I just not see it?" Chris closed his eyes, squeezing them tight to try and stop their flood.
"No Chris, you're not a bad guy. It's just that no one else sees you."
"What do you mean they don't see me? How can they not."
"No…they see Jericho….they don't see Chris." Matt put emphasis on his name, trying to get Chris to see the difference. He stroked Chris' hair, making up his mind to go and confront Jeff after he got Chris calmed down. "If anyone should be sorry Chris, it's me. I never thought that Jeff would react that way. But I'll take care of it." He promised.
"Don't get in trouble over me." Chris sighed. "It doesn't really matter." He finished, sounding depressed and lost. His eyes felt heavy, and a few stray tears clung to his long pretty lashes. But lying there, listening to the steady drum of Matt's heart and feeling the rise and fall of his breathing soon had Chris calmed down and drifting back off towards sleep.
"It matters to me." Matt mumbled.
He waited until he was sure that Chris was sound asleep before he slipped from the bed. He grabbed a shirt from the floor; not bothering to see which one it was. Then he grabbed the keycard from his pants and tip toed out of the room; shutting the door as quietly as he could. He knew that Jeff's room was on the same floor, and down towards the elevator but Matt wasn't sure which room was his exactly. Fate smiled on him and he seen Jeff leaving his room, a towel draped over his shoulder.
Jeff was still seething as he headed down to the elevator. He had decided to go to the gym and work off some of his anger and was just a few feet from the elevator when he heard his name barked irately. He turned and seen Matt storming at him, his face set in an angry scowl. He really wasn't in the mood for another confrontation so he started to punch at the buttons impatiently; praying that the doors would open before Matt could get there.
"Nuh-uh." Matt snarled as he placed himself between the doors and Jeff. "What in the hell was that back there?" He demanded as he waved his hand in the direction of his room. "I don't know what you have against Chris, but he didn't do anything to me that I didn't want." Matt hissed when he heard a door opening somewhere down the hall.
"You don't know what you're doing." Jeff insisted as he ground his teeth in frustration. "Look Matt, I kept my mouth shut when you were with fucking Amy. I knew she was bad news from the very beginning. I never liked her, but I kept quiet because you were happy. After she tore you up, used you then tossed you aside and…and I seen the pain she caused you…"Jeff's voice wobbled as he remembered the nights that he spent holding his brother broken in his arms, the nights he spent on the phone while Matt cried and babbled. "This time I'm not just going to stand by and watch you get hurt again! Now move so I can go down and put my fist through something that's not going to cost me money or my job." Jeff said as he tried to push past Matt.
"Jeff, he's nothing like Amy, and he's not going to hurt me. You'd know that if you took the time to get to know him. He's not an asshole all the time like everyone thinks." Matt laid a hand on Jeff's arm, his eyes begging his brother to understand. "How about we both go down and work out." He suggested.
Jeff kept his glare up at Matt for a few minutes longer, his eyes heated and his lips pressed together in a tight line, but finally he caved. He dropped his eyes to his shoes and sighed; dragging his hand through his colorful hair.
"Alright." He conceded. He flicked his eyes back up to Matt, noticing for the first time the blue shirt with the code numbers and the lettering 'Save Us'. "I guess I'm just tryin to save you. You're my bro damn it." He added as he stepped onto the elevator.
"Jeff, I'm not the one that needs to be saved." Matt mumbled softly, his mind going back to Chris lying on the bed with tears streaming down his face.
The ride down was silent and Matt could feel the tension rolling off of Jeff in waves. He needed a way to defuse the situation, to make Jeff smile before he punched the first person to look at him wrong. When the doors opened, Matt grabbed Jeff's towel and sprinted from the elevator. He heard Jeff squawk and then the heavy sounds of him running. Matt really had no idea what he was going to do, but suddenly the answer was right in front of him. The doors to the hotel swimming pool were open and he ducked in; moving out of the way so that Jeff wouldn't see him when he entered.
Moments later Jeff came barreling through the doors, stopping just short of the edge of the pool. Knowing that he'd never get a better chance, Matt moved from his hiding place; spearing Jeff and sending them both into the pool. The minute that they disappeared below the water, Matt let go of Jeff and swam as far from him as he could. Jeff bobbed to the surface of the pool; tangling his fingers in his hair as he tried to sweep it back from his face. By the time he could see again, Matt was standing near a folding chair; wringing his sweats out the best he could without removing them.
Jeff put his hands on the side of the pool and pushed upwards, hauling himself out of the water. He flipped his hair back out of his face again and walked over to Matt, his shoes sloshing the entire way. His wife beater was clinging to chest and his shorts were sagging low on his hips as water drained steadily off of him. He waited for Matt to look up before quirking an eyebrow at him.
"I guess I did need coolin' off…but did you have to do it that way?" He asked.
"Probably not. But it worked." Matt grinned as he moved on to his hair, wringing the dark mass out as best he could. He smiled when Jeff peeled his shirt off and flung it at him. "Come on lil bro, it wasn't that bad."
"Well, if you must know; I usually prefer to swim in the nude." Jeff quipped, biting his cheek to keep from smiling as Matt made a horrified face. He then frowned as he dug around in his pocket. "And um…normally without my cell." He flipped it open, watching as water dripped from it. "Hm. I have a text. I'd better get to the front desk and call her. Let her know that my dumb ass brother tossed me into the deep end." He grinned at Matt and play punched him as he left, a wet trail of foot prints following him through the lobby.
Matt shook his head and followed Jeff out of the pool; waiting at the desk for Jeff to finish with his call. He kept things interesting by making faces at Jeff every time he looked at Matt; pulling more than one laugh from his brother. Jeff pushed at his shoulder mouthing the words 'Go away ass' with a grin. Matt decided to mover over to the other side of the lobby; staring out of the glass windows and watching the people pass by on the street.
"If I don't return her calls, she might just kick my ass." Jeff smirked when he joined Matt at the window. He stood close to Matt and squished his nose against the glass like a child. "What's so interesting?"
"Nothing. just watching the normal people." Matt said without turning his head. "You're afraid of a girl?" Matt teased when he glanced at Jeff from the corner of his eye.
"This one….kinda." Jeff said as he bit is lip and laughed. "One second thought, nah. I don't think she'd hurt me. She says I'm too cute." He smiled cheesily at Matt, laughing when he grabbed his throat and started to make gagging noises.
"Cute? She thinks you're cute? Next thing you know she's going to be calling you a nice guy. And you know what they say about nice guys……don't you?"
"What….they fuck on a first date?" Jeff teased.
"No…..well, yes that too." Matt laughed. He then put on a serious face and lowered his voice. "They say nice guys finish last." Jeff rolled his eyes, laughing at his brother's melodramatics.
"Well, I'd better get up to my room and get changed. I want to spend some time with Jessica while I can. And don't tell no one," Jeff shifted his eyes around as if he was a spy looking around to make sure he was safe, and that made Matt laugh again. "But I'm going over to TNA tonight and watch her perform. We can't let Vinny find out….fraternizing with the enemy and all that." Jeff chuckled; wondering if Matt knew who his girlfriend was yet.
"Jessica?" Matt asked, he secretly thought that Jeff was messing around with one of the younger ECW guys and twisting things around so that no one found out. "Well, just make sure that you stay out of sight of the cameras. Remember what happened to Robby and Rory? And they were out injured when they got spotted." Matt warned.
"I'll go incognito." Jeff laughed. "I'll put on an afro wig and look just like you." He shot over his shoulder as he headed to the elevator and pushed the button.
"Hey!" Matt cried; jogging after Jeff and making it just as the doors slid open. "I do not have an afro. And I do not look like Carlito or Ricky O thank you very much." Matt said as he combed his fingers through his damp hair. In the elevator Matt turned and faced Jeff. "What happened to our work out?"
"Well, see this idiot threw me in the pool, and I decided that if I'm going to get wet; I'd rather spend that time with my girlfriend." Jeff laughed. "Besides, I really wanna see Jessie." Jeff mumbled; his face flushing red clear to his hair line.
"You're whipped." Matt said as he mimed cracking a whip.
"Shut up." Jeff pushed Matt, rolling his eyes.
"Fine." Matt snickered. "Just be careful and stay off screen." The door slid open and they started to walk down the hallway. "Hey I have a great idea."
"What?" Jeff asked warily.
"If you don't get fired, why don't you, Jessica and I go out for breakfast or something tomorrow? I have to meet the girl that has my bro's knees a-quaking if he misses a call." Matt said; wondering in the back of his mind how he was going to explain that to Chris without him getting upset or depressed.
"Um…sure Matty." Jeff said. "Well, here's my stop. I'll talk to you later and get it all sorted out."
"Kay."
Jeff pulled Matt in for a hug and then disappeared into his room. Matt stared at the door for a moment before heading back down to his room. Chris was still sleeping, so Matt decided to tidy up the room a bit before he settled back on the bed and channel surfed; waiting for Chris to wake up again.