I had things written here but I guess I forgot to save them before I posted, so...yeah.

Anyway, many thanks to Keefer, egyptian1995, DetrimentalHabitsPt4, KitCat 1995, IslanderBib, Kathrin J Pearl, Chloe JP, Sexy. Lil. Emo, and r2metoo for your reviews to last chapter! They made me so happy!

Lu wandered back into the kitchen and deemed Balthazar's eggs a lost cause. Fortunately, over-easy wasn't too difficult for him, so he dumped the old eggs in the trash and started over.

The blonde had also left his cigarettes on the counter (the one he'd lit right before Lu had confronted him had burned out in the ashtray), so as he set about fixing breakfast, he lit another one and used it to keep himself occupied as he worked. He put the kettle on for tea, slid two slices of bread in the toaster, quickly flipped over the eggs, and grinned to himself, exhaling a stream of smoke. He was getting pretty good at the breakfast thing by now, even if it was nearly noon. He'd just finished his grand breakfast-in-bed routine, grabbing a knife and a fork and balancing it on the plate with a mug of tea in his other hand when there was a knock at the door.

Shit! He wasn't entirely sure who it was, but he suspected it was Ray, and this was definitely not a good time. As quickly as he could, he brought Balthazar his food (the blonde shooting him a puzzled look and asking him who was there) and almost sprinted to the door.

"Hey, Ray," he said, hoping his nerves didn't tinge his voice. Had he been fifteen minutes earlier, he most definitely would have heard Lu and Balthazar going at it.

Raphael shot him a concerned look, his gaze flicking down for a moment before returning to Lu's face. "Um. This is going to sound like a strange question, but where are your pants?"

Lu looked down. Damn it! Again, he'd forgotten he was only in his boxers. At least they were a nicer pair, though. "I was making breakfast," he said, although he didn't really answer the drummer's question.

"Without pants."

"Yeah." Lu shrugged like it was the most natural answer in the world. "I just got up and made breakfast. Do I need pants for that?"

"I see you've progressed to the 'wandering around the house half-naked' stage of your relationship with Balthazar."

"He does it, too. We're lazy."

"Where is he, anyway?"

"Sleeping, I think. Rachel went home about an hour, hour and a half ago. He's exhausted," Lu added, although the words (and even mentioning Rachel) caused him physical pain.

Ray blinked. "He brought her here? Jesus, how was that?"

Lu's heart skipped a beat. "What do you mean?"

"It couldn't have been easy trying to sleep with that racket. That's almost obnoxious," he said with an embarrassed grin.

"Oh. Yeah, I probably got less sleep than they did. I was definitely not happy about that."

Ray gave him an appropriately sympathetic look. "I hear you. So are you going to put on pants, or what? I figure you probably don't want to go to Oak Ridge looking like that, right?"

"Yeah, hang on." Lu hurried back to his room and slithered into the first pair of jeans he could find, shoving his feet into the closest pair of shoes and sliding a clean shirt over his head on his way out. "Alright, let's go," he said, pulling out his phone and sending a quick text to Balthazar. Going to pick up my last paycheck. Be back later.

He patted down his pockets to ensure he had everything—keys, wallet, phone in hand—before following Raphael out the front door and locking it behind him.

Lu had just handed his final paycheck to Eva when his phone rang. His first reaction was to ignore it, but something told him that would be a bad idea, so he sighed (which then led to a yawn) and dug his phone out. He nearly dropped it in surprise. "Crowley?"

"Morning, darling. Listen, I was about to call the rest of your band of misfits, but I wanted to let you know first that Roman wants a meeting with you on Tuesday morning. I don't really care what you have to do, just make sure you're there. I'll be there and if a single one of you even thinks of not showing up, I promise, I will quit."

Lu laughed until he realized Crowley was being serious. "Um, why exactly?"

"To discuss the latest In Style magazine—what do you bloody think? He's got the contract for you and you're probably going into the studio next week, so you lot better make sure you're free for that."

Lu shot a quick look toward Ray, who was straining to hear their manager's side of the conversation. He'd already accepted the cash for Lu's paycheck and was tapping it against the conveyor belt next to Eva's register. "Uh, yeah, sure. I got Ray with me and I can let Balthazar know if a bit, too. When exactly is this, again?"

"Tuesday morning, nine. Just meet me in the lobby of Leviathan at eight-forty-five. And for God's sake, wear something nice. This isn't a show."

Lu rolled his eyes. "I flat-out refuse to wear a suit."

"You don't have to wear a suit. Just don't wear jeans and if one of you shows up in leather, so help me, I will sic Hellhound on you."

The strawberry blonde snorted once. Hellhound was Crowley and Bobby's black pitbull. Bobby had allegedly tried to change his name to Spike or something, but he was already answering to Hellhound by then and wouldn't go by anything else. Despite his name, though, Hellhound was actually a very sweet dog; the most dangerous thing he did was jump on people and lick them. "Yeah, got it. I'll relay the information." He hung up and accepted his money from Ray. "Apparently Roman wants to meet us on Tuesday morning, and I have been informed that we are not allowed to wear denim or leather." He fist-bumped Eva in goodbye, turning toward the door.

Ray made a face as they headed out. "He doesn't expect us to wear suits, does he?"

"Hell, no. He said, 'Wear something nice.'"

The drummer shook his head. "Damn it. A black man in khakis? I'm gonna look so stupid."

"Not as stupid as me, I promise." Lu climbed into the passenger's seat of the truck. "I couldn't pull it off if I tried. I still can't believe that shit worked on Cas's manager."

Ray snorted. Putting the truck in gear, he checked his blind spots and pulled out of the parking lot. "Okay, what time on Tuesday morning? Did he say?"

"Yeah. Nine. He wants us there at eight-forty-five, though."

"Wonderful. I guess I need to switch with someone, then."

"Yeah. He also said we're probably going into the studio next week."

"Oh, good Lord." Ray rubbed the bridge of his nose. "We are stupidly unprepared for this shit."

"Yeah, I know. But, whatever. They're gonna be paying us, so…" Lu shrugged. "We'll get it." He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. For a moment, he let his thoughts wander.

His band was going into the studio the next week. This mess with Balthazar seemed close to working out, somehow (he still had to figure out how to tell the singer that he liked him but maybe it wasn't a good idea to get involved, especially now), and he'd had a repeat performance with him (he got the feeling that didn't often happen). He had a new job. He had his best friend next to him.

He grinned. So there had been a lot of bad that had been thrown at him at once, but there was good, too. Things weren't so terrible.

Once word had spread to the other three members of Blue Archangel, they decided to have an immediate band practice. None of them worked that day, which was fortunate, so they were able to meet at Ray's house less than an hour after they got the news about the meeting. They rehearsed for hours (Balthazar still visibly sore despite his grin, perching himself on one of the taller speakers) until Anna showed up with a stack of large pizzas for dinner.

By the time Lu and Balthazar got home, it was nearly midnight and they were both exhausted. They slept in their own beds, although it took Lu longer than he wanted to admit to fall asleep.

Sunday and Monday passed in almost the same way: whoever wasn't working met at Ray's house early and practiced until they had to work, and then they'd leave while the rest of them went on until eleven at night or so. It was complicated, rehearsing with one or two people missing at once (when Balthazar was working, Lu dutifully agreed to sing), but they needed it to tighten up their arrangements. Lu and Ray in particular, as the rhythm section, had to make absolutely sure they were in sync. It had never really been a problem before (Lu liked to think it was because they were such good friends that they worked well together), but once in awhile, Lu could get off-beat and he had to stop and start over.

Monday also heralded Lu's first day at Radio Shack with Castiel, which passed by mercifully quickly. It wasn't that Lu didn't like his new job—electronics didn't particularly interest him, though, unless they had some application toward his bass or the band. He managed to retain enough information to let him believe that it hadn't been a total waste, but he was grateful when he finally returned to the band and to something at which he knew he excelled.

He was relieved also for the distraction that the sudden flurry of activity caused. Because he and Balthazar typically tired themselves out during work and practice, the blonde didn't do much more than shoot him a loaded look over a bandmate's shoulder or trail a hand across an exposed bit of skin when no one else was watching. It was momentarily off-putting, but Lu was able to keep his head while they were together during the day and not think (too much) about tumbling into bed with him again.

At night, though, after he'd crawled into bed and tried to fall asleep, his mind raced over memories tangled with fantasies. He tried to derail that train of thought, but he found himself masturbating more than he wanted to admit, biting his lip to keep himself from moaning out loud. He knew the object of his lust was in the next room and probably wouldn't be adverse to another round between the sheets, but he reminded himself that he was trying to just focus on the band right now and that fucking his singer wouldn't help their dynamic. He managed to stay in his own bed, but still.

He was torn. There was an undeniable physical attraction between them, but that couldn't explain his burn of jealousy when Rachel had been wrapped around Balthazar. That wasn't the result of a purely sexual relationship, at least not for him. He was slowly starting to realize that his desire for the blonde stemmed from far more than just sex. He actually liked him, wanted him for more than just a night. It wasn't a pleasant realization, but that explained why he kept putting off the discussion he obviously needed to have with Balthazar.

He needed to tell him they had to stop, they couldn't get involved, they needed to stay away from each other. He didn't want any of that, though. He wanted just a little longer to believe that they could make it work, that maybe Balthazar genuinely liked him, too, that he didn't just see him as an easy lay. Even though it was stupid to pretend, he wanted to cling to that delusion for a little longer.

Soon, he promised himself. I'll tell him soon. Sleeping with him on Saturday morning had been a moment of weakness, but he promised himself it wouldn't happen again. It couldn't. And if Balthazar believed him when he said he didn't want to continue whatever this was or wasn't, so much the better. If it kept the singer from pressing the issue, excellent.

Soon.

Tuesday morning arrived and Lu and Balthazar fought not to laugh at each other. Lu had never seen the blonde in anything besides jeans or boxers, so seeing him in khaki-colored Dickies work pants was a bit surreal, even with the black button-down shirt with dark gray pinstripes over his white V-neck. Balthazar, for his part, found Lu's obvious discomfort in his khakis to be hysterical. Lu knew he had to get used to them if he was going to keep working at Radio Shack, but it would take awhile.

Ray, Castiel, and Gabriel looked much the same as they congregated in the lobby of Leviathan at twenty minutes to nine. All three of them also wore khakis, but Castiel was the only one who looked remotely comfortable in his attire. Then again, he generally wore that expression of disinterest no matter what he wore, and Lu suspected that was a result of his time in the Army. It was also the cause of the faraway look he sometimes wore, a look Dean called the "thousand-yard stare." It only appeared when he was incredibly annoyed or frustrated, but he was neither right now.

Crowley appeared out of nowhere with Bobby in tow. Their manager immediately looked them over and handed Gabriel a comb, telling him to fix his hair. The guitarist stuck out his tongue but quickly ran the comb through his hair before handing it back. When Crowley saw the wallet chain clipped to one of Balthazar's belt loops, he looked like he wanted to say something, but finally decided against it. "Alright, boys. No sense keeping Roman waiting any longer than necessary."

They followed Crowley and Bobby to a conference room (into an elevator, up six floors, down the hall, fourth door on the left) where Roman was already waiting. He grinned as he stood up to welcome them.

"Morning, boys. So glad you could all make it."

They murmured their greetings before Crowley smoothly cut in. "So, about this contract."

Lu thought to himself that Sam should have been present. There was so much legal jargon being thrown around that the pre-law student probably would have passed out from excitement. It was giving him a headache, though, so after nearly two hours of just sitting there and listening to Crowley, Bobby, and Roman hammering out the details, Lu quickly and quietly excused himself under the pretext of looking for the bathroom.

Once the conference room door shut behind him (Castiel seemed to be the only one paying attention; Gabriel was feigning sleep, Raphael was texting someone under the table, and Balthazar stared unblinkingly out the window), he breathed a little more easily. He looked left and right before locating the bathroom down the hallway and heading toward it. He was just about to head inside when he heard a female voice behind him say incredulously, "Lu?"

Shit! He recognized that voice, too. He turned around. "Eve. What are you doing here?"

She looked as gorgeous as ever, but she didn't affect him like she did a month and a half ago. She was almost distractingly beautiful, but he was able to note it with a cool detachment and actually focus. "I…" She seemed surprised to see him. "I'm visiting someone. I had no idea you'd be here, Lu. What are you doing here?"

"Blue Archangel's getting signed."

She nodded slightly. "I see. Um, that's great. Congratulations." She bit one pink-glossed lip for a moment. "Hey, look, I… wow. Um, you got some mail about three weeks ago and I've been trying to find you since then. What happened to your job at Oak Ridge?"

"Got fired. Already found another job, though. Mail?"

"Right." She reached into her purse. "I kept thinking maybe I'd run into you, so…" She laughed nervously. "That's why I have it on me. Yeah, here," she said, pulling out a slightly-battered envelope and handing it to him.

He furrowed his brow and stared at the return address. It was from his car insurance company. This was either very good or very bad. Unable to resist his curiosity, he slit the envelope open and unfolded the paper inside it.

At the bottom of the sheet was a check for eighteen thousand, six-hundred and eleven dollars and twenty-two cents. He couldn't keep his grin off his face.

"What is it?"

"They finally coughed up for a new car." Almost giddy with excitement, he pocketed the check, letter, and envelope and went to sail back down the hall, completely forgetting about his trip to the bathroom, when Eve spoke up again.

"I miss you."

Lu froze. He hadn't been expecting her to say that at all. "That's… surprising."

"I know. I'm sorry about what happened. I'm sorry about Michael," she added softly. "That was a bitch move on my part." She tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear. "I… I'm sorry. And I was hoping… maybe you'd move back in with me."

In the time they'd dated, she'd never once apologized, and she'd certainly never shown this nervous, uneasy side before. It was almost endearing.

But she'd cheated on him, kicked him out, and been all-around bitchy to him, and even though it would be easier to convince Balthazar that they weren't going to sleep with each other again, he had no intention of going back to Eve.

He shook his head. "You know, I lost my job, got kicked out of Ray's house, got my bike stolen, and had—have—to deal with bullshit from a new bandmate, and the last month has still been better than the time I spent with you. Thanks, but no thanks. I like where I'm at right now." That was a lie, but Eve didn't know that.

A flash of anger crossed her face but it was gone as soon as it appeared. "I see. Well, if you change your mind, you have my number." She shot him one last sad look before brushing past him and back down the hall.

Lu remembered he'd intended to use the bathroom while he was out of the conference room and ducked inside. Five minutes, he slipped back into the conference room and took his seat.

If anyone found the smile on his face to be suspicious, they didn't say it.

Don't feel bad for Eve. I promise you, she doesn't deserve it.