"A Sanctuary Safe and Strong"(Marianas Trench)

Chapter 45

Peering over a to-go cup of coffee, Matt asked, "Sleep well?" the moment Josh stepped off the bottom stair and rounded the corner into the living room about an hour later. The brunet was sitting in the chair facing him, legs crossed with smile on his face that said he was much more awake now than he had been sixty minutes earlier.  

"Sure." Josh flashed him a practiced thousand-watt smile and nodded, but quickly changed the subject. "When the fuck did you have time to get dressed and go out for coffee?" 

Matt raised the cup to his lips and took a sip before setting it on his knee with one hand wrapped around the cardboard. He tipped his chin up toward the stairs and smiled back. "Just because you spend more time in front of a mirror than everyone else I know combined doesn't mean I take more than twenty minutes to get ready. I went out while I was waiting for you. You're not a coffee drinker and I needed caffeine. Hey," he joked, smile widening even more, "Nickelback in the shower? Really, Ramsay? You're not up Kroeger's ass at 604 enough as it is?" 

Laughing, the blond shrugged and made his way into the kitchen, tearing open a box of sugary cereal. He pulled a handful out and jammed it into his mouth, crunching as he leaned back against the counter. "Beats having our own shit stuck in my head, doesn't it? At least this way I only wanna drill three fuckin' holes in my head instead of four," he said around the mouthful of half-chewed food while he brushed crumbs from the front of his shirt. 

For the first time in about two weeks, Josh was feeling more like himself than he had ever hoped to feel again. Sure, he was starting to get a little loopy due to the lack of sleep, but that was nothing he couldn't handle. It was nothing he hadn't dealt with before in the past. He knew his limitations where that was concerned and it worked in his favour this time around. He just had to be careful though, because he'd spent enough time with Matt in close enough quarters for the younger man to also be well aware of how he acted without enough sleep, and the blond didn't want Matt to worry. The brunet was already doing way more for Josh than he needed to, and this was one thing that he couldn't control for Josh. There was no need to concern him when the problem would eventually pass. 

The singer reached back into the cereal box, crinkling the plastic loudly and pausing before his fingers touched the food. "Hm?" he asked when he heard his name being called. Josh looked up at the guitarist who now sat leaning back against the chair, eyes closed, empty coffee cup now out of his hand and sitting on the end table beside him. 

Matt opened his eyes and lifted his head, turning it in Josh's direction. "What? I didn't say anything." 

"Oh..." Josh lifted a shoulder in a shrug and pulled his hand from the cereal, not really all that hungry. He folded the top of the cereal box over, setting it back onto the counter and shoving it back against the wall.  

Moving into the living room, Josh climbed up onto the couch and sat on the back, feet planted on the cushion below him as he leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. "So, what's up for the day?" He sort of secretly hoped for two things all at once - Josh wanted a bit of alone time during the day. He'd been watched, babied, taken care of and checked up on nearly every minute of the day since he'd been wounded, and a little breathing room would have been welcome. Besides, he was mostly fine as long as the sun was up, so far. It was only once it set that he couldn't seem to control the jitters that always seemed to sneak up on him, even though he'd come to expect it like clockwork.  

In the same breath, the blond also kind of hoped that Matt would stick around because, with everything that had gone on, he really wasn't sure he'd know what to do with himself once he was left completely to himself. He'd probably wind up walking in circles for hours until the guitar player came back. But, once again, fate rolled the dice and decided for him.