“Fuck, bro. Leave your shit everywhere, why don’t you?”

Zacky frowned at the pile of oil rags sitting on the side bench along the left-hand wall of the shop. His brother had obviously left them there when he headed out to lunch. Rubbing at his forehead, he sighed heavily as he went about tidying them away.

His mind was wandering as he shook them out, and folded them before putting them back in the cupboard beneath the main counter. The other Matthew in his life was ever in his thoughts. He couldn’t believe he’d actually managed to call Shads out for his work at the Creed. It was something that was always niggling at the back of his mind, but never had Zacky actually dared to voice his opinion. It was a sensitive topic and one the guys usually avoided unless it directly affected them, as it had six years ago...

Zacky kicked the door shut, straightening with a grunt. He really needed to exercise more, but with all the jobs he’d been getting lately, and the stress, he hadn’t been to the gym in forever. Of course, that really wasn’t a reason to skip the gym. He’d read somewhere that working out was actually good for relieving stress, so he didn’t have any room to complain. Yet, time was an issue.

He still managed to make time for his friends, though.

Unlike Matthew.

Not wanting to follow that line of thought, Zacky shook himself, walking back over to the Mayor’s Bentley. He frowned at the vehicle, rubbing at his chin. The Honourable Mr Elliott Johnston had called in to say that he couldn’t come and check on progress because of more important appointments. Which in all honesty was absolutely fine with Zacky. He hadn’t gotten headway with the repairs, especially since parts were hard to come by. He’d had to order some in from Canada and they would probably take a week to arrive.

The steel grey car looked pathetic hoisted up in the air, barely a shell of its former glory. He stared up at it, his green eyes narrowed critically on the undercarriage.

“Hey, can you spare a moment, buddy?”

He started, hearing the familiar raspy voice, coming from the entrance of the shop. Turning his head he recognised Matthew’s big frame propped up against the side wall. He could hear the faint growl of a running engine coming from outside.

“Matt? What’re you doing here?” Zacky cocked his head to one side noting that his friend seemed really tight, on edge.

Matthew’s brow furrowed above his Aviators and he started rubbing at the back of his neck, his gaze darting back toward whatever vehicle was outside.

“I just need to borrow that tent you bought last summer. I called your brother. He said you keep it here.”

Zacky frowned, curiosity evident in his eyes. “Why do you need it?”

Matt glanced at his friend, still scowling. “I’ve just come from the Astor.”

“That doesn’t explain why you need my tent.”

“I have to accommodate a guest...but I don’t think Val would appreciate having him in the house,” he answered in a strained voice.

“A guest? You never mentioned you were going to have any visitors...” Zacky leaned back against the metal beam that was supporting the main body of the car. He wracked his memory trying to figure out if that were indeed the case.

Matt snorted. “Well, he’s not really a guest. He’s an inmate from the Astor...you might know him.” The edge in his voice got sharper.

Zacky’s expression was one of confusion, but before he could ask anything, a voice that he recognised instantly, even though it had been such a long time, could be heard yelling from the vehicle outside.

“Oi, Shadows! You gonna just fucking leave me here all day, or what!”

“Holy shit.” Zacky was shocked. “You’ve got Johnny with you?”

Matt’s expression became even darker, if that were at all possible. He didn’t bother acknowledging the question. It was damned obvious, the answer. Zacky stared at him, unblinkingly then groaned as if he’d been hit.

“Holy shitballs...why?”

That Matthew decided to respond to. “He’s out of his mind. Eski thought it’d do some good to get him out of prison for a while.”

Zacky scrunched up his face. “His term’s not done is it?”

Matt laughed harshly, “He’s not fifty, yet.”

“Shit,” Zacky repeated. He raked his fingers through his hair, absently making the spiky bits at the front stick out. “How’s this going to work out, anyway?”

“No fucking clue,” Matthew said, “but, I guess anywhere will be better for him, than the Astor. At least for now.”

He went silent after that, prowling across the shop toward the door marked ‘staff only’. Zacky watched him, not bothering to ask where he was going. Matt had been to the auto-shop enough to know where everything was. He disappeared through the door leaving Zacky to wait.

The sound of cursing started up almost straight away; obviously Matt was having a hard time finding what he was looking for. But, then Zacky had a difficult time himself and he was the one who had put the tent in there. He stayed put, though. He knew from experience that Matthew hated when other people tried to assist him in anything.

After what felt like another hour of swearing and banging issuing from the back room -- it was really only ten minutes -- the door opened and Matthew came out backwards, dragging the rolled up tent out in front of him. It looked a little tattered, but they probably wouldn’t be able to see the extent of its tattiness until it was set up. With hardly any effort, Matt slung the weight of it across his shoulders and made his way back out of the shop.

Zacky rolled his eyes, following him out. “You’re welcome, Matt.”

Matthew glanced back at him, the corners of his mouth turning up in a genuine smile. “Thanks, Zack.”

Then he turned to the large black SUV that was parked in the driveway, opening the trunk and sliding the tent into the back. Zacky noted the golden insignia painted on the rear passenger door. A scroll with a shepherd’s crook was the emblem of The Creed and anyone who had a half a brain recognised it. The symbol was practically everywhere one looked. Matt had obviously borrowed the vehicle, because all he owned was his Harley and a couple of damaged bicycles.

Zacky observed his friend quietly not really sure whether there was anything he could say to him. He still wasn’t happy that Matt had agreed to go back to work, even though he had said he was going to spend more time with Valary, and with the guys. Actually he was still pretty pissed about that. But he decided he’d let Matt see that enough already, and at any rate, silence sometimes spoke louder than words.

Matthew finished shoving the tent into the back and shut the trunk, turning back to look at Zacky.

“You coming back to Bri’s later?”

“Probably. You?”

Matt looked to the front passenger side of the SUV. Zacky followed his gaze, recognising the silhouette of the younger man sitting there. Johnny was leaning up against the door, face blank, eyes covered by a pair of dark shades. His arms were folded tight over his chest in a defensive posture, shutting him off from the rest of the world.

“We’ll see,” Matthew murmured. “Depends on Johnny.”

Zacky grimaced; his friend read the expression on his face correctly, because he added in a soft voice, “I’ll call Val on my way, ‘kay?”

There was a heartbeat of silence then Zacky said, tersely, “Call her now.”

Matthew’s expression froze. “What? Jeeze, thanks for the vote of confidence, Zacky.”

“Welcome. Call her.”

Zacky wasn’t going to budge on this. Brian had called him earlier just to chat and had mentioned that Val had been unusually quiet since Matt had left. That bothered the younger man quite a lot. He didn’t like it when any of his friends were out of sorts. He glowered at Matt.

“Fine.”

Matthew relented, pulling his cell phone from his back pocket. He walked up the driveway, away from his friend so he could make the call without any interruption.

Zacky observed him in silence, noting absently that Johnny had turned his head, also watching the big man as he spoke on the phone.

The conversation was obviously short and to the point because it wasn’t long before Matthew strode back up to the SUV, shoving the cell back into his pocket.

“Right. I’m off.”

“What’d she say?” Zacky asked worry evident in his tone and not wanting to let his friend leave until he at least told him what was said.

Matthew scowled at him but answered, in a low voice, “She’ll wait for me.”

“Did you tell her about Johnny?”

“No.”

Zacky sighed, “You’re an idiot.”

Matthew gave a nonchalant shrug as he turned to get in the car. Zacky gave a tight shake of his head his expression one of disapproval as his friend backed out the driveway.

* * * * *

Brian curled his fingers around his pen, chewing on the end of it, a frown playing across his face. Jimmy sat opposite him, rocking on his chair, the soft creaking noise almost hypnotic. The two of them had been sitting there for the past hour, both of them watching the third occupant of the room.

Valary was standing in the kitchen, glowering at a recipe in one of the many cookbooks her twin had inherited from their mom when she had moved out of home. She had announced earlier that she would cook dinner for them all. There had been a hint of hope in her voice suggesting that the ‘all’ would include her husband.

Brian was a little sceptical about whether Matthew would actually show, but then he was probably feeling that because of the negativity that Zack had passed onto him when he’d called him earlier. That man was capable of making the brightest person depressed, except for maybe Jimmy. Nothing could depress James Sullivan.

“What’re you writing?”

Brian snapped out of the stupor he’d gone into, glancing up at the tall male. “Huh?”

Jimmy pointed at the pad that he was doodling on. “Anything new?”

“Trying. It’s all shit, though.” Brian pushed the notepad away from him.

“Oh, come on. I’ve read some of your stuff. It’s better than anything I could write.” Jimmy grinned at his friend. Brian rolled his eyes before looking over toward Val.

“Do you think Matt will show?” he murmured.

Jimmy followed his friend’s gaze, giving a slight shake of his head. “No idea. I hope so. Val needs him to be here.”

“True.” Brian stretched his arms out and rolled his head slowly, letting out a loud yawn. “Damn, I’m tired.”

Jimmy laughed, “You haven’t even done anything.”

“True again,” Brian smirked, unable to resist the mood his friend was obviously trying to create. “But, we could do something fun.”

“Like what?”

“Well, I bought something that might interest you.”

“Don’t tell me,” Jimmy pretended to groan, “Not your dad’s latest studio mix? I mean, no offence to Papa Gates, but it’s so...mundane.”

Brian looked suitably offended by his friend’s statement. “Come off it, it’s good shit.”

“Humph, if you’re into political crap,” Jimmy scoffed.

“Just because the Mayor endorses him-”

“That’s exactly it. I don’t get why it’s artists, like your father, who get kudos from the government. You’d think they’d be banned as well.”

“Dad’s a session muso, though,” Brian pointed out. “And he does everything himself. He’s no threat to the establishment.”

“Oh, and a band is?” Jimmy shook his head. “Just because that one band did what they did, way back when.”

Brian snorted, “It wasn’t one thing. It was a lot of things. But that attempted assassination was the final straw.”

“I still don’t understand it.”

“Yeah, but you know everything there is to know about the Creed. I don’t understand that,” Brian countered.

“That’s because to be able to fight against them you need to understand them.”

“Fight against them? What kind of an idiotic thing is that to say?”

“It’s not idiotic. You never know when it could come in handy. Anyway, I hate what they do-”

“You sound like Zack,” Brian started to interrupt.

But, Jimmy kept talking over him, thinking out loud really, “-and I always imagine one day starting a band and-”

“Don’t, Jimmy.”

Val’s crisp voice cut across their conversation, causing Jimmy to pause, and drawing both men’s attention to her. She stood with her arms akimbo, an anxious look in her eyes. Deepening the already dark brown hue.

Her voice shook faintly as she almost begged, “Don’t even say that. Please. Remember yesterday’s conversation?”

“Damn it, Val...” Jimmy sighed, sliding down on the chair, kicking his feet out. His chair wobbled. Then he let out a snort of laughter as he ended up on the floor the chair tipping onto its side. “Fuck...”

Brian pressed his face against his hand, shaking his head, not sure whether to laugh at his friend’s antics or be frustrated at what he’d been saying. Val just turned back to the stove, obviously not trusting herself to remain calm.

Jimmy looked at them both then mumbled, “I’m not stupid.”

Neither of his friends bothered responding.

* * * * *

Matthew rested a hand against the top frame of the tent. It was sturdy, even if he leaned hard on it. It hadn’t taken long for the two of them to put it up, probably around half an hour, from unpacking it and getting it up. Johnny was standing inside the tent, looking away from the big man, just studying the space around him. The tent space was sparse. All there was inside it was a small hanging lamp, a blow up mattress and an old blue blanket. Nothing special, but warm inside.

“So, you’ll be right out here?” Matt asked.

Johnny gave a small shrug, not bothering to answer.

Matthew sighed, rubbing a hand over his head. “I gotta go back over to Brian’s. Val’s over there.”

He didn’t really know why he was explaining this to the younger man. Maybe because he felt he needed to include him somehow. It was a little awkward having him there, but Matthew knew he didn’t have a choice. Neither of them did, really. And he wasn’t willing to fob him off on someone else. Johnny was his responsibility, so he would suck it up and do his job.

Johnny just lifted his shoulders again before sitting down on top of the blow-up mattress and wrapping himself up in the blanket. He still didn’t look at Matt, just gazed blankly at a spot several feet from him. As if there was something more interesting there than looking at the other man’s face.

“Well, don’t go anywhere,” Matthew said in as stern a tone he could muster. “I don’t want to have to hunt you down.”

Johnny made no response, just continued staring into space. The elder man had no idea what to say after that, so stepped back from the tent and made his way back to the house.

He paused before entering, though, turning to look back at the small shelter. It was pitched in a large expanse of grass by the pool, but somehow even for its large size it seemed extremely small, insignificant, lonely.

Matthew grimaced picturing the younger man sitting inside, bundled up and appearing just as small and alone as the tent did. And the fact that Johnny hadn’t reacted to anything he’d said. That made Matt more anxious than he wanted to admit. When he returned from Brian’s maybe he would try to talk to him again. And if he failed that time he would keep trying, and keep trying, until he got somewhere with the younger man.

Still, there wasn’t much he could do now, and he had promised to go back to his friend’s as soon as he was done. So, with a sigh, he turned and went inside.