'Wake up, look me in the eyes again. I need to feel your hand upon my face.' The lyrics floated around inside his head. Turning onto his side, he quietly regarded the sleeping male beside him.

In the early morning light Matt looked young, vulnerable. And sexy, really, really sexy. He blushed as Matt's eyes opened slowly to find him looking.

"Hey" Matt muttered huskily, "Awake so early? I didn't have you pegged as a morning person." Matt reached up and stroked his face with the back of his hand.

"You are so, so…." Matt halted.

"I'm so what?" He laughed softly, leaning into the hand still cupping his face.

"So" Matt paused, smiled that crooked smile of his, "human" he finished simply. "You're just so human."

He sighed, bent down and kissed Matt lightly on the lips. "Yeah, I'm human. And so are you. Weird isn't it? That you and I would end up…" He stopped, unsure of how to label what was happening between the two of them.

"In bed together?" Matt finished, laughing. "Yeah, it is kinda unexpected. Can you imagine Elena's face if she were to walk into your bedroom right now? She'd totally lose her mind. Or if Vicki were to suddenly appear? What would she say about this?"

He wrinkled his nose. "Really? Why do you think Elena would lose it? I mean, she'd be surprised, but 'lose it'? I don't know about that."

Matt abruptly pulled him down and began kissing him ferociously. He felt himself responding, Matt was definitely a great kisser. He rolled on top of Matt, he liked to feel in control.

Both of them were naked, clothes from last night still strewn around the room. He could feel Matt's erection against his and the sensation drove him wild. He forgot that Elena could walk in on them at any moment. If she was back from wherever it was she went these days.

The only thing that mattered at this moment was Matt. Until his cellphone vibrated on the nightstand. He stopped kissing Matt long enough to glance at the call display. Bonnie. Seriously? It wasn't even 8 am. This had better be good.

Dragging himself reluctantly to the side of the bed, he sat up and answered the persistent vibration. "Hey."

"Hey yourself. I just thought you'd want to know I'm back in town." Bonnie's tone was less than excited.

"When did you get in?" He found his voice matching hers, dull and void of emotion.

"Late last night. I didn't want to wake you." Involuntarily, he glanced over at Matt, who was watching him warily. "Do you want to meet for breakfast?" she continued with an obvious attempt at sounding enthusiastic.

His heart sank. There was nothing he wanted less, he couldn't even muster up enough energy to sound contrite. "I'm kinda busy this morning. How about lunch? We can meet at the Grill." She agreed and they both hung up, words unspoken but hanging there, heavy in their absence.

He sat there silently, eyes closed, toes curled against the cool floor. The reality of what had happened between Matt and himself started to sink in. Christ. Bonnie. Anna. Vicki. He didn't want to think about them. He wanted to lie down beside Matt, to hold him, to hold onto him.

"Jer?" It was a question, asked tentatively, softly. One syllable. His name. Just his name. Yet so much was being asked of him in that simple utterance.

'Words can be like knives, they can cut you open.' The song that had crept into his thoughts earlier returned, unbidden.

'It was true, he thought to himself, 'words can be used as weapons'. Or they can heal, a salve for old wounds. Words can make you whole again. Either way, words are not just sounds; they can change your world forever.

And yet he couldn't find the right words. No matter how he tried. He couldn't find a way to tell the boy lying beside him how complete he felt at this moment. How their being together made the world feel manageable, safer. How he'd been waiting for Matt, without even knowing it.

He pushed himself into standing and walked to the bathroom without looking back.