"You look about as nervous as a virgin on prom night."

Sabin slanted Raven a glance. "And you have a way with words." He looked around, but there were precious few people in the hotel lobby. Chris stretched out a little, plopping his feet down on the ottoman that Raven was using as well. To anyone looking, they must have seemed like quite the odd pair, what with Raven's tattered jeans and faded concert T-shirt compared to Sabin's new black jeans and slightly wrinkled button up shirt. Well hell, this was the most dressed up Chris got, short of a wedding. "I'm just thinking of taking things to the next level with AJ."

"Ohh," Raven leaned back with a nod of understanding. "You're going to ask him to hold hands? Or are you rounding the corner to second base?"

"Shut up."

Raven rolled his eyes, "what? It's not like you two make out in public or anything, just go for it already. If it was me, we'd have already-"

"Yeah, that's because you're a whore."

"Not true," Raven made a point to look appropriately miffed. "I have never had sex for money… unless winning a bet counts."

"You-?" Sabin shook his head when Raven opened his mouth to elaborate. "I don't even want to know."

"Your loss," Raven said idly, crossing his legs at the ankles. "It's one hell of a story." They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, while a tackily dressed family of tourists wandered by, seemingly oblivious to them. Raven watched them until they disappeared into an elevator, then returned his attention to the young man sitting in front of him. "All I'm saying is that if you don't make a move soon, the locker room will explode from the sexual tension." He shrugged one shoulder and added, "Besides, it's my night in the betting pool."

Sabin looked at him with a combination of annoyance and disbelief. "You're an asshole."

"And yet I'm universally loved by all; go figure."

"Fun as this has been," Chris said, running a hand through his hair. "I think I'm gonna head upstairs and see if there's any decent movies on." He stood up and started towards the elevator, blinking in surprise when he realized Raven was following behind him. "What?"

"Nothing," Raven said in a too-innocent tone. "Just going to make sure you get upstairs all right. Besides, my room's on the same floor and brooding in a brightly lit lobby surrounded by happy tourists and fake perky clerks would be bad for my rep."

"You're such a humanitarian," Sabin shook his head.

"In the words of the strictly mediocre Mr. Saturn; you're welcome." Raven said just as the elevator doors opened.

AJ stood in the lift, tapping his foot impatiently. He'd gotten word from Daniels that Sabin and Raven were hanging out in the lobby. And it wasn't that Styles was jealous, he just had some things he wanted to discuss with Chris. Their relationship had been going so smoothly that AJ would like to make things a little more serious. They had sort of fallen into exclusivity, not out of any spoken request, but simply a mutual desire to stay together.

It was AJ's sincere hope that Raven would take the hint and leave. Not that he had any problem with the man, it was just that AJ wanted to discuss the matter with Sabin privately before letting it get broadcast all over the locker room. AJ found himself pacing the length of the elevator, practicing the speech he had developed a few moments ago. He wanted this to be perfect for Chris. He began to mutter the words to himself, trying to get them just right.

When the elevator doors opened, AJ began to step out of the elevator. He didn't have far to go to meet Chris. With his head down, AJ only took two determined steps before his forehead met Chris' nose. In turn, Sabin's head snapped back, catching Raven in the nose.

"Ow."

"Ow!"

"Son of a bitch!"

AJ finally lifted his gaze, rubbing his forehead. He was treated to the sight of Sabin doubled over, cupping his nose and Raven mimicking the pose, though his language was far more colorful.

"Oh hell," AJ whispered, immediately going over to Chris, but casting Raven a concerned glanced too. "You guys all right?"

Chris straightened up and gave him a somewhat disbelieving look. "You broke my nose." He mumbled, his voice muffled by the hand he kept over the lower half of his face.

"Mine too," Raven muttered, waving a hand dismissively when a hotel employee approached them to see what the problem was. "Well that's a perfect cap to a lovely night," he added, pressing the button to summon a lift. He ignored the shocked looks he got from the tacky tourist family when the doors opened and just stepped inside, flashing AJ and Chris a jaunty salute.

"I'm so sorry," AJ said, pressing the button for another elevator; when this one came it was mercifully empty.

"No, no, it's okay," Chris said, leaning against the wall and tilting his head back. "It stopped bleeding and everything." He closed his eyes and shook his head a little; so much for this being the perfect night.

"I didn't see you," AJ's accent thickened a little and Sabin had to admit that it was kind of sexy. "I was just walking and-"

"Shut up, AJ," Sabin said with no heat; but it did get AJ to stop talking, so he would take what he could get at this point. They made their way to their hotel room in silence and Sabin made a point to ignore the skeptical looks cast in his direction. Once they were in the privacy of their hotel room, he allowed himself to relax and went to sit on his own bed while AJ went over to his own and started to root through his back.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Styles asked. "It's not still bleeding is it?"

Sabin shook his head and winced a little. "No, no it's fine. I don't even think it's broken, really."

"Really?"

Chris looked over and he had to crack a smile at the expression of boyish contrition on AJ's face. "Really," he said, rising to his feet and stepping into the washroom. "I'm gonna take a quick shower and get cleaned up. Maybe we can watch a movie or something."

"Yeah," Styles' expression was a mixture of disappointment and annoyance. "That sounds great. But you're picking the movie this time." AJ watched Chris disappear into the bathroom, and then flopped on to the couch with a loud sigh; so much for this being the right night to move things along. After a few minutes, AJ realized he didn't hear the shower running and a frown creased his brow. Kicking off his shoes, AJ went into the washroom and found Sabin trying to wash the blood from the lower half of his face using a damp cloth. And apparently he'd dismissed his shirt as a lost cause; the sleeve was hanging out of the trash bin. Styles shook his head. "Chris, sit down on the counter."

To his surprise, Sabin did as he was told; even tilting his head back obligingly. AJ grabbed a fresh cloth and began cleaning away the blood, taking the opportunity to look more thoroughly at Sabin's nose. "It's hard to tell with the swelling, but it doesn't look broken to me. It hurt?"

Sabin stared at him.

"Never mind; I really am sorry."

"AJ, did you forget who you're talking to?" Chris chuckled.

"I don't think I could ever forget that," AJ whispered as he set down the cloth, then rested his hand on top of Chris'.

Read Part Two of Two of Lucky Nights