Title: Bitter-Sweet

Author: TheVampireLucinda

Featuring: Vince McMahon/Eric Bischoff; Shawn Michaels/Triple H

Disclaimer: Slash, and a present for my dear friend and captain LCHime-sama. (hugs) I hope this is okay... XP Based on the August 10th ep. of RAW (2009, I think), kayfabe, of course. Short, a little sad maybe, but hopefully sweet.

Summary: Vince ruefully watches the continuing antics of wrestling's most famous duo, and thinks over what he had once shared with someone very special to him...and what could have been. A random present for LCHime.

"Will you look at those idiots!" Vince McMahon said with a shake of his head, although there was a small smile on his lips. From his office, he watched Shawn Michaels and Triple H come together for the first time in months, both of them grinning like fools whenever their eyes met.

When he had first heard of Hunter's "plan" to "find" the currently AWOL Shawn, Vince had been worried that the interaction between the two would be awkward and strained, and, at the very worst, not fit to air on TV. That was often how it went with friends, even lovers, who remained apart for too long. Things would be uncomfortable for a while as they became used to one another again, and fell into familiar habits.

'Not with these two, of course,' Vince thought with a chuckle. Shawn and Hunter hadn't seen one another in months, and while both had been obsessed with specific goals during that time, apparently, they never forgot each other. And now, watching Shawn deliver Sweet Chin Music to a yelling boss—Vince could definitely relate to that!—and place an arm around Triple H's shoulder, it was obvious that the deep, strong bond between the two men hadn't weakened in the slightest.

Love.

How jealous he was of them.

Against his will, Vince's mind wandered down the many paths of his memory, as he bitterly considered the days of his youth, when he had wished for a bond like that. Many of his adventures in love had been one-night-stands and business agreements, and even more required no emotional investment on his part. Sure, he had loved, truly loved, before, but it had never panned out.

Eyes refocusing on the present, Vince gazed wistfully at the TV screen in front of him. He had loved Shawn, once, he knew. In fact, if he were to be perfectly honest with himself, he still did. But everyone loved Shawn and, contrary to popular belief, Shawn did not love everyone, not like they loved him.

Hunter, on the other hand, had always been like a son to him, so Mr. McMahon held no ill feelings towards the younger man. Hunter had been the lucky guy, the one who ended up with Shawn's love. Vince couldn't resent him for it any more than he could resent Shawn for giving Hunter his love. That's just the way things happened.

Still, seeing Degeneration X goofing around again, both of them in chef costumes, Vince couldn't help but envy them. He could tell by their smiles that they were having fun; more fun, he'd wager, than they'd had in the past several months when they were apart.

And only now, ever so slowly, did his thoughts come to rest on a man that he almost had such a bond with. A man who was very similar to him in many ways, and yet so different, and full of enough spirit to be considered his rival for many, many years.

Of course Vince had won out in the end—that's what Vince McMahon always did. But even after thoroughly defeating and embarrassing his rival, he always seemed to find a reason to being him back. For a long time, he didn't understand just why he kept his rival around, but soon it became to clear to him that he had feelings for the man, that hate had somehow magically transformed itself into...love?

Could Vince McMahon honestly say that he loved Eric Bischoff?

"I never loved him," Vince whispered aloud, as his mind logically reminded him that he had rarely even hugged the man, even as his heart reminded him that he felt happy the few times they had hugged. "I hated him," he affirmed, sitting back in his chair and crossing his legs. He was Vincent Kennedy McMahon, dammit, and he had no regrets!

And yet...

If I could go back to that time, his heart whispered, If I could go back even 5 years, I'd confess all to Eric, because I know he felt the same.

"Weakness," Vince countered, although his own argument seemed without any strength. Within himself, he knew that he missed a once-in-a-lifetime chance, knew that he could never go back to that time and forge a bond between himself and his once-hated rival. All of the memories they shared seemed doomed to be forever bitter sweet.

Mr. McMahon's vision—now slightly blurred—returned to the screen as a thought occurred to him suddenly.

Shawn and Hunter's bond hadn't weakened, and probably never would.

Could the same be true for himself and Eric?

Vince reached into his pant pocket and pulled out his cell phone. What was it Shawn had told him a long time ago? That it was only too late when someone was dead? Or something like that?

Hesitantly, hopefully, Vince began to dial a familiar number.

As they were walking from the restaurant, Shawn and Hunter sneezed in unison.

"What was that all about?" the Game asked, wiping at his nose, drawing a snicker from his companion.

"It means that someone's talking about us," the Heartbreak Kid explained with a nod of his head. "Which isn't so surprising, since we just announced our triumphant return as DX to the world."

Triple H smiled and slipped an arm over Shawn strong shoulders. "I missed you," he said softly, looking up at the clear Texas sky. Personally, he didn't care all that much for Texas one way or the other, but with Shawn there...with Shawn with him...

Despite the noise of his inner thoughts, Hunter was quick to notice that Shawn hadn't said anything yet.

"I missed you, Shawn," he repeated slowly, looking down and seeing the smirk on his best friend's lips.

"I really did enjoy working as a chef, you know," Shawn mused aloud, smile growing more and more with each passing second. "I mean, it was so easy, and I was so good at it, and everyone loved me there..."

Hunter decided to take the bait; after all, it had been a while.

"But you make wrestling look easy, Shawn," the Game countered with a fake pout. "And you are so good at it...and everyone in the WWE loves you so much..."

Shawn turned his head away, pretending not to care.

"Especially me," Triple H added, folding his hands behind his back. "I love you the most, you know."

The Heartbreak Kid turned to his companion, grinning wickedly. "You love me?" he asked, suddenly feigning surprise. "Well, alright then!" In one single, swift motion, Shawn had hopped in front of Hunter and wrapped him in a comically tight embrace.

Triple H laughed helplessly, overjoyed more than he would let on to have his best friend back. After all, it wasn't every day that the proud Cerebral Assassin admitted that he needed someone—especially not on national television.

"You should feel so lucky, Shawn," he muttered under his breath. HBK gave him a questioning glance.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." With a smile, he put his arm around Shawn's shoulders again. "Let's go home, buddy."

DX walked together slowly to the car, both with small smiles, and it was only when they were at the airport and boarding the plane when Shawn at last burst into laughter and whispered into Triple H's ear:

"I do."

Vince felt his heart beating hard in his chest as the phone rang once, twice, three times.

'He probably won't answer...he's a busy man after all,' Vince told himself as he started to put the little phone away. A sudden clicking noise stopped him, though.

"Vince?" a so-familiar voice said through the tiny speaker. "Vince McMahon?"

Slowly, the owner of the WWE lifted the phone to his ear. "Eric? How are you doing?"

There was a long silence on the other end of the line, followed by a soft intake of breath. "Dammit I've missed hearing your annoying voice," Bischoff sighed. Vince couldn't suppress the smile that came instantly to his face. Just like old times.

"Eric, I know I've fired you about 5 or 6 times now, but I have a proposition for you..."

All's well that ends well, right? :)

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