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Yes, the company actually "remembered" to get the Bucks a room in the hotel everyone was staying at that week, unlike the week before where they "forgot" and left them scrambling to find some cheap motel last minute. No, they didn't get a room in the same block as everyone else. They got what they could only assume was the cheapest room in the building. It was small, there was barely any natural light, the view from their window was of a brick wall and an alleyway, it clearly hadn't been remodeled as recently as the lobby, and it might have been right above the hotel's daycare if the occasional shrill child shrieking was any indication.
Matt was laying in the center of their bed, a big enough bed for him to somewhat comfortably lay in by himself, but it was the only bed in the room, so it woudn't be even that spacious for long. Once Nick was done with his shower, he would have to move over and share. They'd had to share a one bed room plenty of times in their career, even ones smaller than that one when they were first starting out, but they hadn't had to resort to that in a long, long time.
Matt just wanted to go to sleep and stop thinking about all of it for a few hours, but Nick was taking forever to shower. Matt couldn't blame him. He knew why, a combination of water pressure that was laughably pitiful, and dwelling on their most recent embarrassment.
When Nick finally emerged from the bathroom, he was clutching the towel around his waist far tighter than necessary. They were normally more comfortable around each other than that, but Matt looked away anyways. They'd seen each other naked in shared hotel rooms and locker rooms before so many times that they'd been more or less numb to it for a long time, but seeing each other like that made it weird again.
Matt shuffled over to one side of the bed as Nick got dressed. He felt the whole bed shift as Nick got in next to him, their arms touching in the just too small bed as soon as he laid down. Matt knew Nick was about to say something because they were close enough he could feel the shift in Nick's body as he breathed in.
"It's not enough."
Matt sighed. "I know."
"Fifty bucks? Only fifty bucks?" Nick groaned, running his hands through his hair.
Fifty bucks a day, each… for every day they wore the cock cages. That was the deal.
"There's no way- It's so- This has to be worth more than that." Nick threw his hands down against the comforter in frustration. "We should ask for more."
"Oh yeah, because we're really in a position to do that right now," Matt responded with an eye roll. "Go on, ask the guy literally holding the key to your penis for more money. I'm sure it'll go well."
They both settled into silence for a bit, Nick doing whatever he was doing on his phone, and Matt scrutinizing their upcoming schedule on his. He was trying to work out how many money matches they could manage to be a part of and how soon. Surely if they just kept fighting, they had to win again eventually.
He could tell Nick was getting restless long before he spoke up. He kept shifting his position, shaking the whole bed with him, sighing, putting his phone down only to pick it back up moments later. "I don't even usually… you know, do it that much-"
"I know."
"But with this stupid thing on I-"
"I know."
"It just makes me want to even more, but I can't-"
"I know!" Matt yelled. He closed his eyes and forced himself to calm down and lower his voice again. "Sorry. I know. I'm frustrated, too. Just-… Just try not to think about it."
"But it-"
"Just think about the money instead."
Nick whined. "It's only fifty bucks."
"Fifty bucks that we really need right now," Matt reminded him.
"Fifty's not enough."
"Don't push your luck." Even as he said it, Matt knew Nick wouldn't listen. Telling Nick not to push his luck was about as useful as telling a fish not to swim.
"We haven't even had to wrestle with these things on yet. Imagine," Nick pleaded with him. "Imagine how… freaking pent up we'll be after a match."
Matt really didn't want to imagine it, but he wouldn't have to if nothing changed. They'd be living it the next day. "You're right," he sighed. "You're right. Fifty's not enough. I'll text him."
One carefully worded text later, they were laying in silence again, waiting impatiently for a response. They didn't have to wait long.
"Oh come on…" Matt muttered to himself as he read the response.
"What?"
"He says we'll only get more if we switch to smaller cages."
There was a long stretch of silence where they both stared up at the ceiling before Nick dared to ask, "How much…?"
"Hundred fifty a day."
"Hundred fifty? Really?"
"Each."