Guy pushed his fingertips into his scalp, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to think of exactly when the picture in front of him was taken so he didn't have to go and check his files again. "What does it bloody well matter? It's the damned tree that's important, not the day it was taken!"

They'd sent him the 'results' of the first photoshoot he'd done since his return to modeling and Kevin wasn't sure what to make of them. One minute he thought they weren't all that bad, then he figured they were a little too commercial and then he worried that maybe they weren't as commercial as they should've been. Or maybe - Kevin sighed; he really didn't know. And when he recognized what felt like the beginnings of overthinking and complicating something that shouldn't be that big of a deal, Kevin did the one useful thing he could think of and headed down the stairs and knocked on the door of Guy's studio.

"Yeah!" Guy called out, eyes still fixed on the photo in front of him of the tree laying on its side, the crushed roof of a house just discernable beneath its massive trunk. On the other page, strikingly, was a child clinging to the body of an animal, face streaked with tears and dirt, mouth open and eyes screwed shut, the pain almost audible in the silence of the devestating scene beside it, on the other page.

"Hi, wazzup?" Guy asked, glancing up.

"Hey," Kevin drawled, leaning against the doorframe. "Nothing much - am I interrupting because I could totally like, you know, come back later?"

( Guy gestured Kevin into the room with his hand )

"Hope there' enough for me too," Guy told him, stopping his attempt to get his hand under his coat and beneath his jacket to retrieve his keys from the pocket he'd left them in without putting his bag and camera case down.

"Not sure, babe - was just telling Karl we should've ordered more," he mumbled, opening the door a little wider and taking a step back. "Wasn't expecting you tonight - "

( Guy threw Kevin a look as he passed him giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before heading straight down the small hall to the second door )

He guessed that the reason for him being this tired could have something to do with the drinking he'd been doing the night before, but Kevin preferred to think he was feeling this worn out because of all the work he'd done that day: he really wasn't used to being on his feet all day anymore. But it had definitely been worth it, if anything it had made him realize how much he missed his old job. And reminded him of all the reasons why he'd wanted to become a nurse in the first place. Kevin turned the water off and reached for a towel, hoping Karl would be there soon and save him from having to make the decision whether to cook or order out.

( Knocking on the door again Karl leaned against the wall and waited )

"Morning," Kevin yawned when he noticed he wasn't the first one up that morning and while Kevin had showered and was just about ready to head out, he was unable to resist the smell of fresh coffee.

"Coffee?"

Kevin nodded. "Hell, yeah," he drawled. "I'm so never drinking again, man."

Josh made a noncommittal sound, though his eyes narrowed slightly. "Right. Not a good night?"

"No, I was a little - " Kevin gave a small shrug - he wasn't sure what he'd been. But it a little probably didn't cover it.

( "A little what?" Josh asked )

Kevin thought he could woot in excitement when he spotted Bill sitting at one of the tables at the back of the bar. A familiar face was always good, a friendly face even better.He wasn't too sure Bill was friendly though, but so far few people had been. Maybe Bill wanted to be his friend. Of course there had been more than a few who'd pretended to want to be his friend. Pervy, however, wasn't friendly. Not tonight anyway. "Bill," Kevin said before actually wooting in excitement - because he could - and waving enthusiastically.

He'd been thinking about leaving ever since he'd noticed Kevin, being overly friendly with, well, just about everyone - young and old. And older - at the bar. So, about five seconds before Bill decided he should really get out of there already, when Kevin finally gave him some attention Bill didn't feel all that special. And when the man arrived at his table and sat down, after pulling the chair closer to Bill's and, drawled, "Hi."

"Kevin," Bill said with a nod, studying the young man's face: up close he looked slightly less drunk than he had from a far. "You seem to be enjoying yourself - "

"No." Kevin shook his head adamantly. He hadn't been enjoying himself at all, what with the distinct lack of friendliness. "I have no friends," he continued, waving his glass in the air. "In here. None. None whatsoever." Kevin finished his drink in one large gulp and then asked, tilting his head. "You alone?"

( Bill almost groaned at the question especially because it was accompanied by actual batting of eyelashes )

Kevin cursed, throwing the phone next to him on the couch as soon as he'd hit the end button. This was exactly what he'd been afraid would happen when telling his mom about losing his job: his family no longer daring to ask him for something when they needed it. And it wasn't like they should even have to ask. Josh had promised him he'd take care of it, that he'd send Kevin's family the money Kevin used to send home. Apparently, Josh had other priorities.

And it wasn't like Kevin could ask him.

With a glance down at his watch, Kevin cursed once again. Even if he did want to talk about it there was no point in hanging around and waiting for either Josh or Guy these days as they hardly spent any time here anymore. He considered calling Karl for a second but apart from the fact that the man would still be at work now, Kevin wasn't sure how much more neuroses the man would be able to handle. And Colin, Colin seemed incredibly busy lately, with setting up his new clinic. And as happy as Kevin was about Colin staying in town, he wasn't too happy about hardly seeing him anymore. So he tried Colin and found himself having to bite his bottom lip hard when the phone went to voicemail.

He contemplated going to the gym, thought it be good to get some aggression out. Then he remembered he'd canceled his subscription. Because Josh had told him to.

Thanks again, Jayce.

Kevin jumped off the back of the bike, grateful to be on his feet again, but not too excited about being home again. He'd told Karl that afternoon, after the man had noticed he'd been a little off, that he'd have liked to have a few more days at home. With his mom. And Karl. A few more days and then some. He took his helmet off and patted his pockets for his keys, then remembered he hadn't brought his keys, thinking he didn't want to risk losing them. Giving Karl a tentative smile, he rang the door bell and tried for a cheerful, "Sure hope we haven't missed dinner."

Guy looked up from where he was reading through a magazine, music playing and Josh singing along to it as he moved around the kitchen. Guy glanced up, smiling to himself as the dancer couldn't help himself. The journey from fridge to sink was as entertaining as any Guy'd ever seen. He continued to watch, enjoying the view as JC bent down to put their dinner in the oven.

The sound of the doorbell broke into his reverie, a quick glance up at the clock confirming it was a little late for couriers. "I'll get it," he said, dropping the magazine down on the coffee table and padding his way down the stairs. He opened the front door and stared a little. "Kevin! Hey, you're back!" he laughed, looking over and greeting Karl too. "We thought you two had eloped or something." He took a step back to let them both in from the cold night air.

"I don't know about you." Kevin glanced at Karl. "But I gave that some serious thought - " he drawled, giving Guy a quick kiss as he brushed past the man. "I'm still thinking about it actually."

Karl stuffed his gloves into his helmet and unzipped his jacket as he followed Kevin into the hours, giving Guy a grin. "Reckon he'd let you get away with that?" he asked Kevin, tilting his head at Guy as the man closed the door behind them.

( Guy slung his arm around Karl's shoulder as he turned and laughed )

The walk over to Colin's hotel had helped ease some of the worst irritation in his knee and Kevin hoped it would be enough to keep Colin from noticing. Although, with the roadtrip only a few days away, he did realize having his knee checked wouldn't be a bad idea he didn't want to spend today worrying about the knee when he was just glad to finally get a chance to see Colin again: the man had really been gone for too long. And Kevin guessed he had probably been too preoccupied with himself as well, but that didn't mean he hadn't missed Colin. Thinking that using the stairs would probably be a bit much, Kevin opted for the elevators and, once in front of Colin's room, he decided it wouldn't be right to use his key card, and instead he knocked on the door, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he waited for Colin to come to the door.

( It hadn`t been too late a night the night before, Colin getting back to the hotel around 1am )

It had become somewhat of a routine, JC usually being the one up first, making coffee, grabbing a quick shower and then waking Guy, if the man was still asleep. Of course even when Guy was already awake, Josh often pretended he wasn't and Guy never complained when Josh went through his rather elaborate ritual of waking the other man. This morning was different though, because when he left the bathroom Kevin was waiting for him. Well, not exactly waiting for him, but waiting for his turn in the bathroom. That alone was pretty telling, because Kevin usually didn't bother waiting and went in instead. Something Josh had never been that happy about, but now that Kevin wasn't behaving like he normally did, Josh wasn't sure he liked that either.

"Morning," Kevin mumbled, eyes still half-closed, a sleepy smile on his face.

"Good morning," Josh said, smiling despite himself at the sight of a sleep-rumpled Kevin, dressed in nothing but a pair of old,faded jeans, hanging low on his hips. It had been quite hard to miss the sounds coming from upstairs that night and it was good to see - hear - a slightly happier Kevin for a change. "All yours."

( Kevin nodded. "Thanks."  )

Having grabbed both helmet and gloves from upstairs, Kevin did his best to ignore not just the sounds coming from the bedroom as he passed the floor but also tried to ignore the lingering feeling of discomfort that had been there ever since he'd called Colin. And now, with him pissing off Guy, that feeling only seemed to be growing. "All right," he drawled once downstairs, still attempting to get his voice to sound a little less subdued. "Let's go."
"Sure," Karl agreed, already having turned the bike around and sitting astride it. "You know where we have to go?" he asked before pulling his helmet on and fastening it.

Kevin handed Karl the card, knowing that even if the story itself would probably not ring any bells the address likely would. "Think it's best to not start navigating just yet," he murmured.

( Karl nodded as he recognised the street and handed it back to Kevin )

Karl rode through the early afternoon traffic to Kevin's, a little nervous knot in the pit of his stomach again, much to his disgust. Leave it off, Urban! He parked the bike and secured it, tucking his helmet and gloves under his arm as he knocked on the door.

Josh was just about to holler to Kevin that he'd better get his ass downstairs and get some pie, when he heard the knock on the door, he arched an eyebrow at Guy and shrugged to himself before quickly heading down the stairs, unable to not smile when he opened the door to Karl for the third time that day. "Hi," he said cheerfully.

"Hi. We're gonna have to stop meeting this way," Karl said, smiling when he saw JC's smile.

"I'm kind of enjoying it actually," Josh told him, grinning and shaking his head as he closed the door behind Karl. "Come on up - there's pie," he added already heading up the stairs himself and calling out, "Kev - Karl's here."

"Smells good," Karl admitted as he climbed the stairs behind JC, thinking to himself he really felt like he'd done this before that day.

"I know," JC said, because if there was one thing - beside dancing - he felt confident about it was his apple pie. "You should probably stay and have a piece - because I'm not letting Kevin leave the house without at least eating something," Josh added, knowing there was little he could do if Kevin really didn't want to eat but that had of course never stopped him from trying.

( Karl just smiled not sure what Kevin had in mind to do )

Colin looked up at the board that indicated which flight's luggage was coming out on which carousel and moved to the one that should have his appear. He turned his phone back on, interested to see if Kevin had returned his call.

Once upstairs he'd plugged his phone into the charger - because sometimes Guy did have some helpful things to say - Kevin turned his phone on again, thinking there would probably be a message or two. Minutes later he found himself wincing as he listened to over a dozen of messages on his voicemail, most of which he could delete without actually listening to them - the one from Andy especially - but not the ones from Colin. Feeling like an absolute dick by the time the message in which Colin passed Kevin his flight information ended, Kevin actually groaned seconds later when he realized he'd just missed Colin's last call. Without hesitation he dialed Colin's number, for the second time today not having a clue what to say if his call would be answered.

Colin had put the phone back in his pocket when he'd finished trying to call Kevin, and had left a message when it had gone straight to voicemail again. He was watching the moving belt of the carousel idly, wondering whether to give the coach of the basketball team a call and go along to the next game when he felt the vibrations of the phone before he heard the ring. Pulling it out again he saw Kevin's name and lifted the phone to his ear. "Happy new year," he said after pressing the answer button.

"Hey," Kevin drawled quietly, feeling just about as nervous as he had been when calling Karl. "Happy New Year," he immediately added, already wondering whether or not to head straight for the apologies. "Have a good flight?"

"Tolerable," Colin replied, the weather having been a little rough, the change of planes in Chicago a little tight, something he disliked intensely, having to sprint from one to another flight. "Still, it was either today or not for another 3 days, unless I was prepared to go and sit at the airport and get on a standby when someone didn't show."

"Well, I'm glad to know you're back," Kevin said without thinking about how that would sound. "And I'm not just saying that because I haven't been answering my phone for a while but seriously you should probably be glad I didn't - believe me." He paused, not sure how to explain himself, instead finishing with an even quieter, "I'm just really glad you're back."

( Colin frowned as he heard the slight pause )

It took just about choking on a large mouthful of coffee for Kevin to actually get dialing, after hitting the call button, Kevin sat down on the edge of the bed, nursing his coffee as he waited to see if Karl would answer his call.

Karl had finished at the hardware depot, the timber he'd ordered for a job he had coming up was still not in. He walked back out to his bike and looked at the panniers. Just as he swung his leg over the seat he felt the vibration of his phone in his pocket and stood up to pull it out, glancing at the caller ID as he flicked it open and feeling a lurch when he saw the name.

"Hey."

"Hey," Kevin drawled after a moment's hesitation, spent trying to come up with something better to say already.

"Didn't you get your phone? I dropped it in a little while ago," Karl said when he confirmed in his head it was Kevin, unsure at first.

"Yeah, I did. But, you know, I figured the battery would be low and I didn't want to risk getting cut off or something, you know?" Kevin rambled, grimacing as he heard his own words. "Thanks, though, you know, for bringing it over and stuff. Just sorry I missed you - " he mumbled, voice dropping a little as his fingers tightened around his mug.

( Karl nodded despite knowing it couldn`t be seen by Kevin )

Guy sprawled out on the couch after he'd seen Karl off, one leg bent and his foot resting on his thigh as he absently rubbed at the sole, thinking. His eyes followed JC's movements as the other man tidied up the kitchen and rinsed out the cups. "Any chance of some more coffee?" he asked eventually, pushing his leg down and rolling onto his side, reaching for the remote for the stereo and turning it on.

"There's a slight chance of that happening, yeah," JC said, rolling his eyes at the other man. "You want anything with that coffee - seems I have one croissant left here."

Somewhere between trying to hear - and failing to do so - what was happening downstairs and attempting to come up with the right thing to say to Karl if he were to talk to the man again, Kevin dozed off, waking up about half an hour later and pretending not to notice his own drooling when he did. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Kevin again attempted to hear anything, his brow furrowing when he heard nothing but silence. He didn't, however, have a lot of time to think about why it was suddenly all quiet downstairs, as he had - even if he hadn't wanted to - no choice but to go downstairs, no longer able to ignore the fact that he really, really needed to take a leak like right now. Rolling off the mattress, Kevin grabbed the first pair of pants in sight, pulling them on before quickly running both hands through his hair and opening the door.

( Guy flicked the CD selector until one of Josh's favourites started playing them put the remote down )

What was that old saying? A watched pot never boils? Karl was convinced it was the same with a phone. When you watch them they never ring. He tossed the one in his hand up and down a few times then shoved it in his pocket and walked across to his bike. He was soon slowly steering his way toward the phone's owner's home, unsure whether he wanted to see Kevin, or just wanted to return the phone.

JC figured it'd be better to just go upstairs and tell Kevin the coffee was ready instead of bringing him a mug, because Kevin seemed to need a reason to get out of bed.And apparently yesterday's viewing of Babe hadn't been a good enough reason. At least Kevin had left the bed long enough to take a shower, which meant Josh could actually get close enough to make sure Kevin was in fact wide awake. "Coffee," he told Kevin, giving the man a bright smile. "Downstairs - "

Still astride his bike Karl pulled off his gloves and helmet and shoved the leather gloves inside. After finally securing the bike he knocked on the door, helmet slung over his arm as he shoved his hands back in his pockets and waited.

(  JC was just heading down the stairs when he heard the knock on the door )

It was morning. And he wasn’t in his bed, or Josh’s, but upstairs. In rapid succession the scenes from last night flickered through his mind and Guy sighed, opening his eyes and focusing on Kevin’s profile. He lifted his head and looked across Kevin at JC, seeing the other man’s eyes open. “Should we maybe leave while he's still asleep?” he whispered.

JC hesitated. “You think he`d freak out more with us here than by himself?”

Guy thought a bit more, gently stroking Kevin's hair. “I dunno - might give him time to himself... or it might be better he doesn't have that time.” He sighed. “I really don't know... “

“I do know he doesn't usually like being alone, but I also know he's not a big fan of waking up with me, so...” He sat up, rubbing his eyes. “Coffee?”

( Guy remembered the day after Kevin`s birthday and nodded slowly )

Andy pulled Kevin under the shadows of the tree on the edge of the park, laughing as the other man stumbled against him. “What happened to ‘twinkle toes’? Y' used to be a lot lighter on y’ feet than that!”

"I used to be a lot more sober," Kevin pointed out, grinning as he rubbed his groin against the man's hip. "Like, you know, an hour ago - "

"Used to be hell of a lot hornier too, like, you know, a year ago," Andy told him with a low growl, hands grabbing Kevin's hips and edging him toward the tree trunk.

Kevin arched an eyebrow at the other man, not fighting the man's hold but drawling, "Probably because you were a lot hotter back then?" That, of course, wasn't entirely true - Andy was still pretty damn hot. And Kevin's cock had definitely noticed that.

Andy's lip curled in a slight sneer. "What? Not hot enough for your ass now?" His fingers started working on the fastenings of Kevin's jeans, practice overcoming the drunken fumbles. "Lemme reacquaint you with just how fuckin' hot I am, Kevin, you seemed to have forgotten..."

( All he did was just stand there and let Andy unfasten his pants.... )

"Well?" Kevin asked, smiling hesitantly at Colin, only now wondering if maybe he'd said something wrong.

"Have you ever.. met... Bill before?" Colin asked, eyeing Kevin curiously for a moment, recalling the feeling he'd had at one time during Bill's visit.

Kevin blinked, because he definitely hadn't expected that. "No," he said without hesitation. "Because, you know, if I had? I'd have said something. He would have too, I reckon. What made you think that?"

( Colin gave Kevin a curious look )

Sliding the keycard through the slot Colin waited for the familiar green light, turning the handle as soon as it lit. His other hand squeezed Kevin's as they entered the suite, the heavy door closing on its spring with a resounding click. Without even asking Colin made his way to the small bar and poured them both a drink, handing Kevin his as they sat down on the couch. "So did you and Josh perform together?" he asked, stretching an arm along the back of the sofa behind Kevin, his hand resting on the other man's shoulder.

Kevin shook his head. "No, never. Or, you know not officially anyway. We dance together for fun but our dance careers are - or were - completely different. He's into the more, well, serious stuff, I guess. Although you wouldn't know if you saw the classes he teaches."

"Oh?" Colin chuckled as he looked at Kevin. "What sort of classes does he teach then?"

( "Ballroom dancing," Kevin tried )

Kevin wasn't entirely sure Guy would be home tonight, but the one thing he did know was that when he checked the fridge this morning there had been beer. Lots of it. He was more than willing to bet some serious money on there not being quite so much beer tomorrow morning. Dropping his bag right next to the front door, Kevin just about slammed the door shut before rushing up the stairs. Beer first, shower later.

Guy came out of the studio and saw Kevin's bag, hearing the fridge door open. He picked the bag up and carried it upstairs, looking across to the kitchen as soon as he reached to top. "Worked up a bit of a thirst there babe?" He put Kevin's bag down next to the couch and looked at the beer in Kevin's hand. "Want to get me one of those too?"

( Kevin had to think about that for a moment, then thought that perhaps he could go and get them some more beer if there was more wallowing to be done )