Title: Treasure
Author: Cath
Disclaimer: Don't own the characters involved. Names trademarked to WWE, guys belong to themselves, not making any guesses on preference. I'm not making any money off this.
Distribution: Ask for and get my permission first.
Rating: PG-13
Content: Mild m/m stuff. Don't like, don't read.
Spoilers: None
Summary: Heath and Daniel go on a treasure hunt.
Treasure
By: Cath
Daniel Bryan dug around in his gym bag for his book, finding that it had migrated down towards the bottom, by his boots. He picked it up with a smile, checking that the bookmark had not fallen out. He grabbed his glass of water from the nightstand and brought it over to the coffee table, setting it down on a coaster. Daniel yawned and then stretched out across the length of the sofa. He took a sip of water, cracked open his book and started to read.
He'd only gotten a couple of pages in when there was a knock at the door. Frowning, Daniel got up and checked the peephole, his brows rising in surprise when he saw who it was. He set the book down and unlocked the door. "What can I do for you, Heath?" He asked.
Slater grinned at him; his face was more flush than usual. "Hey, Danny! Get dressed and let's go."
"Don't call me that." Bryan stepped aside, allowing the other man in. "What are you talking about? Are we filming something tonight?"
Heath shook his head. "Oh no. You and I are going treasure hunting. Well it's not so much a hunt since I know where the treasure is, so get dressed."
"Wait, wait, wait," Daniel held up his hand. "Treasure hunting, what are you talking about?"
"I'll explain in the car," Heath walked over to Daniel's bag and pulled out a pair of jeans and a plain white T-shirt, tossing them over to Bryan, who caught them instinctively. "Just trust me."
"Look, Heath," Bryan began. "I'm planning on taking it easy tonight. Why don't you see if one of the others-?"
"Can't." Heath interrupted him. "Skip's asleep, Tarver's a dick, Young's not answering his phone, Otunga's too clumsy and won't risk prison, Justin's too small and I don't trust Wade to scale a fence fast enough. Besides, I think you will appreciate this treasure more than anyone."
"Wait, but I... what?" To his surprise, Daniel found himself heading towards the washroom.
"You might need a jacket too, it's kind of cold and I don't know how long we're gonna be outside," Slater added helpfully.
Daniel glanced at his book longingly, then shut the washroom door to get changed.
(***)
Heath was oddly quiet as they pulled out of the parking lot about ten minutes later. "You can man the radio, Danny." Slater said as he manoeuvred on to the highway.
"Don't call me that." Bryan said, pushing his seat back so he could stretch out his legs a little more. He kept the radio off. "Can you tell me what this Is about now?"
"I already told you: Treasure." Slater's grin seemed to light up the car.
Despite his best efforts, Daniel could not glean any more information out of Heath. As they started out on a long stretch of highway, punctuated only occasionally by the headlights of cars coming in the opposite direction, Daniel found his mind wandering. He had no idea what Heath had in store for them, but Daniel still found himself longing for his book. Though he did have to admit that now that they were on the road, he was starting to get a little more curious about the whole situation.
Heath made small talk, discussion of in-ring stuff, gym things, travel stories and Daniel's answers grew shorter and shorter until he fell quiet, save for the occasional snore. That suited Heath just fine. He pressed the gas pedal down and the car accelerated accordingly. He wanted to have as much time as possible at their destination.
(***)
Daniel was awoken some time later by a hand gently shaking his shoulder. He fixed his bleary eyes on the clock. Less than an hour had passed. "Heath, what-?" He raised his eyes, then turned to the redhead in confusion. "Why are we at Titan Towers?"
Heath had parked the car somewhere that it probably wasn't supposed to be. The lot, if it could be called that, was in a darkened area, surrounded by tall grasses. In front of them loomed a tall fence topped with barbed wire.
"C'mon Danny, let's get a move on! Heath undid his seatbelt and bolted out of the car.
Stretching his legs, Daniel followed. His brows furrowed in confusion. "Heath, what are we doing here? And if you say 'treasure' one more time, I will make you tap right here on this... gravel thingie and no refs are here to pull me off, understand?"
"Aww, c'mon man, relax! If I didn't think it was worth it, I wouldn'ta dragged you out here!"
"What you think is worth it and what I think is worth it are probably two complete-"
Heath pressed his finger to Daniel's lip. "Just trust me on this. If in ten minutes you wanna go, then we'll go. But give me ten minutes.
Brushing Heath's hand aside, Daniel glanced at the car. In ten minutes they could be back on the highway. In an hour he could be on the lumpy couch in his hotel room, reading his book. However, doing all those things would mean that he'd be dealing with a disappointed Heath. Daniel did not want to be the guy who made that smile fade. He certainly didn't want to see the sparkle diminish in those eyes. Why did his eyes have to be so sparkly anyway? Maybe he had a medical condition. He cocked his head.
Daniel's thoughts stuttered to a half when Heath took off his shirt. It wasn't that the sudden bare skin was a shock. It was simply such an unusual action.
Sensing the other man's confusion, Heath grinned wider. "Watch and learn, Bryan. Watch and learn." Heath tucked part of the shirt into the back pocket of his jeans and started to scale the fence. As he neared the top, he let go with one hand, pulled up the shirt and slung it over a section of the wire. The barbs still dug in a little, but it wasn't enough to stop him. Once he was safely over, he dropped down, landing easily on his feet. "C'mon Danny. You can either join me or ditch me. Either way, we'll both have a story to tell."
The longer the moment lasted with them on opposing sides of the fence, the more nervous Heath became. It hadn't occurred to him that Daniel might take the second option. He could surely explain himself and catch his flight, but it would require a lot of creativity on his end. The night air seemed a little colder.
In the end, Daniel decided that he wanted to see how Heath's story played out. He scaled the fence easily, mimicking Heath's technique of protecting his hands with the now shredded T-shirt. Within moments he found himself face to face with Heath once again. "Now can you tell me why we're breaking into the building we work in?"
"You'll see."
(***)
Threats of violence and exotic submission holds did nothing to loosen Heath's tongue. It was easy to get into the building. As they moved through the halls, Daniel was struck by the intensely serious look on Heath's face. He usually only saw it when Heath was in the gym or when he was in the ring. Heath seemed like the kind of guy who took very little seriously, save for his work ethic.
Heath directed them to a darkened hallway, freezing when a security guard walked past. The guard did not notice them and it was only when Daniel cleared his throat that he realized he was holding on to Daniel's wrist. Coughing weakly, and thankful for the cover of darkness, Heath led them down the hall. The walls were a drab beige color and it was clear that this area did not receive a lot of foot traffic.
"This is it, Danny." Heath stepped ahead and fussed with the doorknob. "This is the treasure you've been waiting for." With a dramatic flourish, he flung the doors open.
"Don't call me—"
Daniel's words trailed off into a stunned silence. He stepped into the room and Heath followed, closing the door behind them and flicking on the lights.
It was some kind of storehouse. Massive colourful props cluttered the shelves and floor. Everything from old Pay Per View sets to gaudy feather boas were stretched out all through the room. The ceiling was incredibly high and Daniel leaned against the railing for a moment, a myriad of images from his childhood flashing through his mind. That looked like one of Flair's robes, that was one of Bret Hart's jackets. That phone booth was what they put on set whenever they toured in the UK.
"Isn't it great?" Heath didn't wait for an answer and simply ran down the stairs, starting to sort through boxes of things. "Hey, holy crap, this was the bag that Jake used to carry Damien in!" His eyes widened a little. "I sure hope it was supposed to be open..."
Daniel followed suit, his quick, short steps clanging loudly. He had a passing thought of security coming in and catching them, but it was soon overwhelmed by the sight of the heart shaped bed from the old Heartbreak Hotel set, not to mention the dented casket that the Undertaker had once put the Ultimate Warrior in. "How the heck did you find this place?" He breathed, going over to one of the colourful costumes, running his fingers over the bright sequins.
"I got lost. Don't ask." With the first box done, Heath glanced over at the second and grinned, pulling up an oversized button that read 'YES I AM A MODEL' as well as a gigantic perfume sprayer. "Hey, I can bring these back for Justin!"
Daniel went over to one of the larger sets where four steel walls hung. They were bright blue and had large square holes. It was definitely the old style steel cage he remembered growing up. He ran his hand over the metal, curling his fingers around one of the bars. His eyes widened in wonder.
"Danny—"
The sudden quiet in Heath's voice made Bryan winced. He turned, ready to immediately start explaining himself to whoever had caught them. When there was no one there, he frowned and followed Heath's line of sight.
There they were.
They were miniature replicas of the ring that they competed in. During Wrestlemania 3 the wrestlers had ridden in them, down to the ring, instead of walking down the incredibly long ramp. He ran over to one, lifting the apron and spotting the engine underneath. "Holy." He breathed.
Heath walked over, occasionally sidetracked by a memento from his childhood. He went over to another one, which rested next to the one Daniel was currently inspecting. "Hey, Daniel," Heath grinned. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"You want to race them, don't you?"
"Hell yeah I do!"
"There are so many ways this could go wrong..." Daniel shook his head. "Let's do it."
(***)
"Hey, Heath-" Daniel was surprised when he got no response. He looked around until he spotted the shock of bright red hair. Heading towards him, Daniel found Heath sprawled out on the Heartbreak Hotel bed, fast asleep. Glancing at his watch, Daniel realized that they needed to get going soon. Not only were people undoubtedly going to come into work soon, but they had a flight to catch.
Despite all of that, Daniel took a moment for himself. It was probably the first time he'd ever seen Heath completely still... not to mention quiet. That unmistakable hair of his stood out in stark contrast to the red velvet on the heart shaped bed. His brow was smooth and even now, a hint of a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
"Heath," Daniel reached out and shook the other man's shoulder lightly. "We need to get a move on. It's morning."
"Huh? Oh right." The redhead sat up slowly, rubbing the back of his neck. He smiled. "Was it worth it?"
"It was definitely worth it," Daniel smiled back, offering his hand to help the other man up. "And it was definitely treasure. I can't believe they keep all of this stuff." He took another look around the room again, then met Heath's eyes. They were as sparkly as ever. "Thank you for bringing me."
Heath accepted the offered hand and stood up, but he found that he wasn't in much of a mood to let go just yet. "Well thank you for coming along with me."
Daniel looked down at their hands, hesitated for a moment, then closed the distance between them, pressing his lips to Heath's. It was a quick, chaste kiss.
Once it broke, Heath found himself speechless. Within a couple of moments, a familiar grin slid across his lips. "Hey now, Danny, that's a whole 'nother kind of treasure. You'll have to work a whole lot harder for that." He started for the door.
Daniel watched him for a moment before starting off after him. "I'm looking forward to it."
THE END