"A Sanctuary Safe and Strong"(Marianas Trench)

Part 1: "Bruised and Battered, Always Sore" - Chapter 1

        Matt pulled his car into the lot outside Josh's condo and put it into park, laughing at the most recent joke in a long string of obnoxious off-colour one-liners the lead singer had just let fall from his mouth on the drive home. Neither man was ever sure whether Josh actually thought about this stuff before he said it or if it just flowed in a way that he couldn't control. Stretches like that weren't at all unusual, and it was how they spent most of their time together. In fact, on that particular day, they had spent approximately eight hours straight at the recording studio Josh owned and operated, volleying anecdotes back and forth along with Mike, the band's bass player, and Ian, the drummer, in between throwing lyric and melody ideas around for an upcoming Marianas Trench album. The men worked until they couldn't think straight anymore, finally deciding to call it quits somewhere around five in the afternoon.
           Josh pushed the passenger door open and stuck a long leg out before turning back to the guitar player. "Dude, thanks for the ride. My car should be outta the shop within the next week, I guess. Can you really fuckin' believe that it broke down on the highway yesterday and all I could do was listen to the police report about it on the radio because my goddamn phone was busted too? How fucking embarrassing is that?"
           "Ramsay, I wouldn't expect anything less from you. That's how your life goes. You're a perfect disaster from start to finish." Matt grinned as the singer tilted his head back and laughed loudly, nodding at the entirely too true statement.
           Josh looked up and lifted his sunglasses, the twinkle in his eye as mischievous and prominent as ever. "Yeah, but you wouldn't have it any other way, right?"
           "I wouldn't? Hey, if I had my way, you wouldn't be such a slob, you'd always know where your wallet, keys and all that shit is, you'd actually arrive at places on time for a change, and you could get your own ass around town," the brunet slung back at the blond.
           "Hey, it's not my fault! When you're a musical god like I am, shit has to give." Josh tried to sound serious about his words, but a wide grin gave him away easily.
           The guitar player gave in, laughing again with a shake of his head. "Get outta my fucking car, man. Just go home." He pointed toward the singer's front door, nearly completely engulfed in shadows by the sinking late afternoon sun. 
           "I'm going, I'm going!" Josh pulled himself from the car and patted his hip pockets, feeling for those ever-missing articles Matt had just listed. He felt nothing there, sending him into a momentary panic. Sliding his palms around to his back pockets, he dipped his hands into each, coming up empty there too. 
           "Uhh..."
           "What?" Matt asked, shielding his eyes from the sun as he looked over toward the singer, still standing next to the car. 
           "God... Thank fuck," Josh breathed as he reached into the last pocket of his jacket, his fingers tracing along the edges of the smooth metal. Reaching around that, he found his keys and pulled them into sight. "Keep an eye out for my wallet? I have this shit, but I must've fuckin' lost that somewhere between the studio and here."
           Matt laughed again, leaning down and looking under the passenger seat.  "Josh! What the hell did we just talk about??"
           The singer looped the key ring around his index finger and braced both hands against the roof of the car as leaned down a bit, watching Matt feel around under the seat for his missing item. "Yeah, but there's nothing in there but my nudes, so I'm not that worried. Don't judge me."
           The brunet's head snapped up as he shot a lopsided grin at the older man. "Wait, nudes of you or nudes you've somehow acquired?"
           "Friday night hobby, dude," Josh answered evasively with an exaggerated wink.
           "I don't wanna know!" The younger man ducked back down and reached under the passenger seat a bit further, dragging out a couple of coins, a paper straw cover, and the soft black leather wallet that looked so familiar to the singer. "Here! Man, chain that to yourself or something."
           "I could do that. That would be fuckin' awesome!" Josh pushed his sunglasses up and set them on top of his head as he reached out with his free hand to take the wallet back and tuck it safely into his pocket. "That wouldn't be douchey at all. I wouldn't have to dress in denim overalls and combat boots, looking like I just stepped out of some '90's era boy band, right?"
           "Shit, man, you'd be the epitome of the rock god you think you are," Matt answered in monotone. His joke was ruined by silent laughter, the shaking of his shoulders and the reflection of his smile in the glass when he turned his head in the opposite direction giving him away almost immediately.
           "Fuck you, dude. Fuck you." Josh smiled and took a step back, slamming the passenger door shut. "Pick me up at noon tomorrow on the way to the studio?" he asked through the open window.
           "You got it, man. Have a good night," Matt said, jerking the car into 'drive' and circling the parking lot to get to the exit.
           The blond turned and walked quickly to his front door, keys still in hand as he searched through them looking for the right one to let himself into the house. Matt's car was out of sight, but Josh smiled when he heard the brunet gunning the engine half a block away. Everyone in the band had their own interests outside music, and one of  Matt's seemed to be cars. Josh had always found it to be kind of teenager-y of the younger man to still subscribe to something he thought he'd once heard called "Car and Driver Magazine", but, hey, whatever floated the guy's boat. As long as he was willing to give Josh rides to and from the studio every time his own car broke down, Matt could have been a subscriber to "Serial Killer Pride Monthly" and Josh wouldn't have given a shit.