All I Have To Give

Peacekeeper

Nick ran into the Kevin's room "Brian!!"

He responded flatly "No."

Nick wailed "Briannnnnn!"

Brian turned to face his blond bestie "How many times do I have to tell you, no!"

Nick took a second to process this and started again"Bri-"

AJ groaned "Nick, just leave the guy alone."

He huffed "No, he's been hogging the controller for the past ten minutes. It's my turn now!"

I sighed "Son of.. Brian just give Nick the controller so we can get some peace and quiet."

Brian got up and handed the controller to Nick and quickly exited the room.

Howie restarted the game as Nick joined happily.

It's been crazy tense these last couple days on tour. If it's not AJ picking fights with anyone and everything in his path, it's Brian and Nick at each other's throats. Maybe it's too much testosterone flying around here.. Or being around each other in such tight quarters for too long that's getting to them.

Kevin looked at me and said "I'm gonna go to talk to him."

I shook my head "No, I got this. Just keep an eye out for those two."

I'd nodded in Nick and AJ's direction.. Kevin groaned in response.

My first stop was at Brian and Nick's room, I'd knocked on the door and patiently waited before using my key to the room. After walking in to find no one, I realized Brian wasn't in there. The boys and I spent most of our time in Kev's room since AJ insisted that his room had the bigger TV. I guess this is a small price to pay for having a room all to yourself. I took the elevator down to the hotel's lobby and saw Brian walking around the gift shop.

I walked up to him "You okay, hun?"

He shrugged and kept walking around.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

Brian looked at me and shook his head.

Keep in mind he's two years older than me.. I decided to keep the "conversation" going.

"Listen, I didn't mean to snap at you earlier it's just-"

Brian interrupted "Why does always Nick get the special treatment?"

I blinked "Wh-what?"

He sighed "If it's not from the guys, or our team, it's you."

"Bri, I'm not following.."

He looked at me "Nick whines and gets what he wants, all I do is bust my ass and get nothing in return. This isn't about a game controller or whatever, it's about not feeling appreciated. Nick gets coddled every step of the way and I get nothing."

I put my hand on his shoulder "Brian, everyone here appreciates what you do for the group. Okay? Don't you ever forget that. Look, Nick is still a kid. You and I both know he's never had it easy. Now, do I think we 'baby' him a little too much.. Yes, yes I do, but you have to know that's not going to last forever. He's growing up and so are you.. We all are and if this feeling of being underappreciated isn't discussed, then you guys are just going to grow to resent each other."

I stepped a bit closer to give him a hug "We'll sit everyone down tonight and talk about this over dinner, alright?"

Brian nodded.

I kissed him on the cheek "I love you."

He held me tighter "I love you too."

*************

While it didn't go as smoothly as we hoped it would. It definitely went better than expected.

I'd sent out a text in the group chat, but a point to warn Kevin and Howie beforehand. Brian spoke his piece and Nick took it personally, Howie desperately tried to defuse the situation. Kevin and AJ ended up trading some unkind words with each other at one point, I'd done my best to cut that shit short. In the end we rode back in small groups to the hotel. Kevin, Brian and myself in one car, then the rest in the other.

By the next day the tension was seemingly squashed. The guys went back to talking to each other like nothing happened. Things had gotten better, but of course some issues still remained.

Nick called out "Rok it's my turn now."

Brian sighed and passed him the controller "Here, demon."

Nick laughed "Yeah, well this demon is going to beat your high score!"

Brian scoffed and ruffled his friends hair "Not a chance."

He shook his hair back into place and raised an eyebrow"Wanna bet?"

AJ sighed "Here we go again.."

I laughed "My thoughts exactly."