Mending Hearts

Shannon tried to convince Adam he didn't suspect anything was wrong by excitedly telling him all about his evening out. Chris and Terry interjected points here and there, but remained silent for the most part. Whatever had upset Adam, those two knew about it. And it was a safe bet they wouldn't tell him, either. He already suspected he would have a lot of trouble getting it out of Adam and the direct approach probably wouldn't work too well. Adam was very private sometimes. And Shannon suspected it had something to do with Jay. He didn't know what gave him that feeling, but it was strong.

"And so then Rey grabbed Cena's cap and ran around the bar with it like a lunatic," Shannon smiled, hoping Adam didn't read the worry in his eyes.

"How did Mr. Thuganomics take that?" Adam smiled back.

"Not well," Chris laughed. "Rey had to hide behind Terry for the rest of the night. Even after Cena got his hat back."

"I don't know why those two don't just jump each other already," Terry muttered darkly.

"Cena's jonesing for Rey?" Adam asked.

"Oh yeah," Chris grinned. "Big time."

"I knew Rey wanted John," Shannon chuckled. "But I didn't know the attraction was mutual."

"It definitely is," Terry said. "But when they met, Rey was still going out with Jamie and John wasn't a well known star yet, so he thought he didn't have a chance."

"Jamie was a casual thing," Shannon informed them all. "In fact, I'm surprised they lasted past a one-nighter, what with Rey preferring heavyweights. And he doesn't care about popularity contests."

"Well, Cena didn't know that," Chris said. "Or, trust me, he would have let Rey know he was interested."

"Maybe we could fix them up," Terry mused.

"Matchmaking school girls," Adam coughed under his breath.

"What was that?" Chris gave the tall Canadian a sharp look.

"Nothing," Adam said then grinned at Shannon. "Something caught in my throat."

"Sure," the Rabid Wolverine looked skeptical. "I know when we've been insulted." He looked over at Terry dramatically. "Let's go, honey."

Terry laughed and took Chris' hand as they both exited.

"Well, you sure know how to clear a room," Shannon giggled as he plunked himself down on the end of Adam's bed. "Now that we're alone, what's wrong?"

Adam looked suddenly uncomfortable and Shannon could see he'd taken him a little off guard. Good, he thought.

"What do you mean?" the taller man asked looking away."Yo"You know what I mean," the small blond grabbed Adam's chin and pulled his gaze back. "You can't fool me. You weren't upset when I left and you acted like you were determined to do something as soon as I was gone. I can only deduce that it would be an unpleasant, or at least an uncomfortable, task. So, what happened?"

"I'm really not ready to talk about it yet, Shan," Adam sighed, his eyes pleading with Shannon to let this drop.

"Are you just not ready," the small blond challenged, "or are you afraid I'll change my mind about our friendship?"

The flash in Adam's eyes told Shannon it was more the latter than the former, but he denied it. "I'm just not ready yet," Adam breathed softly. "I'll tell you when I am."

Knowing he couldn't get anything out of his tall roommate short of demanding it, Shannon nodded and went over to his own bed.

"Feel like watching something freaky tonight?" he asked Adam as he clicked on the television.

The other man shrugged so Shannon turned the channel to the movie station and settled in for the horror marathon the station offered. They both watched in silence.

********************************

Matt opened his door and was greeted to a darkened room. That's weird, he thought. Jay must have fallen asleep. He walked over to the bathroom and clicked on the light to give him something to see by but not to disturb his roommate. The lighone one dimly on Jay as he lay sprawled across his bed. Matt noted the dried tear tracks running down the blond Canadian's cheeks and wondered what had transpired since he'd left. He quietly went about ick ick shower and threw on a tee and some shorts before crawling into bed, on the way to which he stubbed his toe and bit back his cry in an effort to let Jay sleep. When he finally got into bed, there was a rustling from the other direction.

"Matt?" Jay whispered.

"Yeah, Jay," he whispered back. "Sorry I woke you."

"I wasn't totally asleep anyway," Jay replied. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"Without questioning it?"

"As long it's legal," Matt smiled in the darkness. Jay was quiet for a few long seconds.

"Would you just hold me tonight?" he finally asked timidly. "It's nothing personal. I just need to feel someone next to me."

Matt frowned at the 'nothing personal' part of the request, not exactly sure why it bothered him. He understood the occasional need for human contact, though. That was another advantage to sleeping with Shannon. Knowing he wasn't alone helped, even if he wasn't with who he wanted to be with.

"I can do that," he said as he stepped out of his bed and into Jay's.

He gathered the blond into his arms and held on tightly. It felt good to be doing something Jay asked rather than arguing, as they did a lot these days. Jay sighed against Matt's shoulder and curled into him, gradually falling back to sleep. But rest didn't come easily for Matt that night and his guilty conscience chose that moment to make its triumphant return. Matt didn't know when he'd begun to regret treating Jay so badly, but the niggling feeling wouldn't let him be. He was stuck now trying to think of a way to re-motivate himself into proceeding with his plans.

********************************

Jeff was still troubled by Jay's phone call long after they'd hung up. His doubts about Adam persisted, even though he'd read the emotion in the tall man's eyes that night he'd visited him and Shannon to tell them about Matt. He knew that Adam had learned his lesson well from the fallout of his relationship with Jay and that the other man would do whatever he could to make amends. But what he'd said to Jay tonight was true. Adam wouldn't have come to any realizations unless Jay forced his hand. Perhaps there could have been a time after Adam told his family about his sexuality that he and Jay might have made another start. But Jay was too hurt and broken by that point. Too much pain had been suffered for him to take Adam back.

Jeff understood that, and also remembered what Jay had gone through and how he wanted to beat the shit out of the tall Canadian himself when Jay lay crying in his arms after the particularly nasty arguments. How could he even consider trusting this same man with Shannon's fragile heart? Yet that's what Lance asked him to do. Jeff had questioned the man again about the wisdom of this decision, but Lance explained that it was too late not to trust him. Shannon obviously alreadred red for him or he wouldn't be staying with him. Jeff couldn't argue that point.

The phone rang as Jeff was trying to settle back into bed.

"Hello?" he asked sleepily, hoping it wasn't Jay again. He wanted his friend to find some sleep tonight.

"Jeff?" Shannon asked uncertainly. "Did I wake you?"

"No, Shan. I wasn't asleep yet. What's up?"

"Adam's acting strange," the small blond replied. "I don't know why he won't talk to me about it."

"About what?"

"About his phone call with Jay."

"You know about that?" Jeff asked.

"I guessed it," Shannon said and filled Jeff in on his own evening's activities.

"Where's Adam now?"

"Asleep upstairs," Shannon sighed. "I came down here to call you so he wouldn't hear me. How do you know about it?"

"Jay called me."

"Can you tell me what happened?"

"Shouldn't you wait for Adam to be ready?"

"I think he'said aid he's going to hurt me like he did Jay," Shannon said softly. "He won't be ready on his own."

Jeff marveled at how perceptive his younger friend was. He'd guessed the scenario without even knowing both sides. Maybe Lance was right. Maybe Shannon did know what's best for him after all.

"I can tell you what Jay told me, but don't forget it's one-sided," Jeff warned. "I'm sure Adam's perspective is a bit different."

He then recounted his time on the phone with Jay and Shannon listened patiently. When he was finished they both sat in silence for a while, digesting the facts.

"Do you think he'd do that to me?" Shannon finally broke the silence.

"I don't know," Jeff admitted. "The fact that he did it to his best friend doesn't sit well with me, though."

"Yeah," the small blond said absently. "But we're overlooking one thing."

"What's that?"

"The fact that he's worried about it at all," Shannon replied. "That's a good sign at least."

Jeff smiled. He hadn't looked at it that way.