Story Title: Understand
Story Type: Slash, AU
Characters: Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, Roderick Strong, Evan Bourne, Jeremy Buck, Max Buck, Chuck Taylor, Excalibur, mentions of Joey Ryan
Pairings: MMG, Roddy/Evvy
Rating: PG-13/NC-17
Series: Neko: Just Them, Don't Touch, I Agree, You, 5 and 1-Neko, For You, Never Again, Jump Start, Next Part 1 & 2 and Could It
Disclaimer: I know it's a huge disappointment, but they still aren't mine. They remain the property of TNA/ROH/WWE and themselves.
Warnings: Slash, language, AU
A/N: So, here's another neko story. I know it's been forever since my last one, and sorry about that, but in between the heat and trying to finish 'Mine' my neko muses have been scarce. They finally woke up from their naps and here we are. Hope you like, peeps.
Alex leaned against the lockers, his tail swishing back and forth lazily. He was in a pretty decent mood; in between Chris winning his match and watching Evan stare at everything in amazement, it had been a good night so far.
The only thing marring his good mood was the fact that Max and Jeremy were here; but they had kept their distance and it was easy for Alex to push them to the back of his mind and ignore them.
"Hey, boys," Chuck said as he walked in the back. He threw a towel on top of Alex's head, snickering when Alex glared at him. He walked over to his duffle, tossing the towel around his waist onto the floor and unconcernedly getting dressed in front of the nekos. Most wrestlers, Alex knew, had almost no modesty, but Chuck Taylor had even less then that.
"What's on the agenda for tonight? You gonna convince Chris to let you come along with Sexy Chuckie T and get fucked up?" Chuck teased, pulling on his boxers and grinning.
"I don't know, Chuck; Roddy hears what you said about him on comm the other day and you're not going to be doing much of anything," Alex smirked, raising an eyebrow at the disconcerted look on his face. "If he tries using that FRS on you, I think you're better off rolling over and not fighting him."
"Bite me, Shelley," Chuck scoffed, running his fingers through his hair. "No one's actually going to believe anything that comes out of my mouth; hell, I don't believe half the shit I say."
Evan listened to Alex and Chuck go back and forth, his mind racing. As far he could tell, even though Chuck was human, and he was teasing Alex, there didn't seem to be anything malicious about it; which confused the hell out of Evan. Experience had taught him that humans saw nekos in one of two ways: either as something less and then they treated you viciously and did whatever they wanted or they saw you as a sex toy and still did whatever they wanted to you. Very rarely, there was the third option; which consisted of them trying to be nice, but still, they treated you like an actual cat and expected you to behave like one.
Evan tilted his head. Now, that he thought about it, he didn't get that vibe from Chuck, either. As far as he could tell, Chuck was talking to Alex the same way he had talked to Chris and Roddy when they had first gotten here. It was a shock to Evan, to say the least.
Chuck threw his bag over his shoulder and hesitated. "Seriously, though. Do you know where Chris and Roddy are at?"
"Yeah, they're in the office talking to Ex and Joey," Alex answered, frowning a little. "Why, what's up?"
"Max and Jeremy are still hanging around," Chuck explained. "They're fucken douche bags, and I didn't want to leave you guys back here by yourself."
"Don't worry," Alex assured him, touching his collar. "We'll be all right; they shouldn't be too much longer. Thanks, though."
"OK," Chuck said, heading for the exit. "I'll be at the hotel bar later, if you guys want a drink."
Alex waved him off, looking at Evan for a minute. He couldn't deny that he was a little worried; the idea of the Jackson's there was bad enough, but he had Evan to worry about, too. Making up his mind, Alex turned to Evan.
"Hey, Ev, let's go -"
"Well, look what we have here," Jeremy sneered as he sauntered into the locker room. "If it isn't Chris's little pet," Max added.
Alex narrowed his eyes at them, his tail undulating angrily. He didn't say anything, though. His eyes flicked to Evan before going back to the brothers. Hopefully, someone would come back here before things got too ugly.
His ears flattened as they got closer to him, trying to intimidate him by caging him against the wall. He didn't like it, but it was going to take more then these two morons to scare him; once you've been through hell, bullies weren't nearly as scary as they thought they were.
"You see, Alex, since your boyfriend ruined any chance of any kind of push we could get around here, we thought maybe seeing you get a beat down would teach Sabin to leave us the fuck alone," Max told him, his voice taunting.
"Look, if you're stuck in mid card hell, it's because you can't fucken wrestle," Alex said, sounding unconcerned even as his tail was wrapping around his leg and he kept glancing over Max's shoulder for his master. "That's not my fault; why don't you go bitch at the idiot who trained you guys?"
"Fuck you, Shelley," Jeremy snapped, shoving Alex. "There's nothing wrong with the way we wrestle."
"Sure, there's not. That explains why you're here whining at me about it," Alex drawled, moving Jeremy's hand off his shoulder. "And I wouldn't fuck you if my life depended on it."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Max demanded, confused. "My brother would never touch a freak like you."
"Jeremy knows exactly what I'm talking about," Alex said quietly, loathing in his voice. "Don't you, Jeremy? I'm going to assume you've never shared that little piece of information with your darling older brother."
"Shut up," Jeremy said viciously, an angry flush spreading across his face as he glared at the neko. "Don't fucken worry about what I tell Max."
"Come on, Max, don't tell me you've never noticed the look on your brother's face when he sees me," Alex taunted, completely ignoring Jeremy. "Or the look on his face when he sees me with Chris.
"Ah, that's the killer, isn't it, Jer? Seeing me with him, knowing that he gets what you want, whenever he wants it? It must be a kick in the nuts to know that I give Chris what you'd have to kill me for. Knowing that I would do anything for him, for my master, and I wouldn't spit on you if -"
"Shut the fuck up!" Jeremy roared, back handing Alex and sending him into the lockers. "I don't want to listen to your fucken mouth, and neither does my brother."
Max was looking at Jeremy, a dumbfounded expression on his face. At his brother's words, he shook his head and sneered at Alex, but there was a look in his eyes that said he was still thinking about what Alex had said.
Alex glared at them, but kept his mouth shut. While everything he said was true, he was just really trying to kill time until his master got here. He knew it was only a matter of time before Chris got there; he always seemed to know when Alex needed him, it was like a sixth sense with him.
Alex stepped forward and wasn't surprised when two sets of hands shoved him back into the lockers.
"Stop fucken moving," Max hissed. "The more you fight, the more this is going to hurt you."
"You should take a page out of your little friend's book," Jeremy sneered, his hand gripping Alex's shoulder hard enough to leave a bruise. "He's being a good little pussy, isn't he? Too bad you can't keep your mouth shut like he is."
Evan stared at them, his tail wrapping nervously around his leg. Everything he had known his whole life, his training, was telling him to stay as quiet as possible; to stay still and let Alex get whatever punishment these humans thought he deserved. Because if he was quiet enough, if he was still, if he barely even breathed, they might walk away and leave him alone.
But a part of his mind was telling him that was wrong, Alex hadn't done anything to warrant getting punished. And he especially didn't deserve where Evan knew this was going to end up at. His survival instincts had kicked in the moment the brothers had walked into the room; the brunette might just want to rough Alex up a little, but the blond wasn't going to stop there.
He kept thinking of the way Chris treated Alex; the affection and sheer adoration that was present in both master and neko.
And then Evan thought of how careful Roddy always was with him, never asking too much of him, always letting him decide what they did and when they did it. Evan knew that if their situations were reversed, Alex would try to help him.
Jeremy pushed on Alex's shoulder harder, making sure he was pressing the neko against the row of lockers behind him. He took a vicious pleasure in the grimace that crossed his face.
"You need to learn where you belong," Jeremy said quietly and the gleam in his eyes was one that Alex recognized instantly. He had known, some how, that it would come down to this eventually. "And since your boyfriend is too much of a bitch to do it, it looks like I'm just the one to show you."
He grabbed at Alex's pants roughly, fumbling with his belt. Ignoring his brother's sharp hiss of disapproval, Jeremy got them open, smirking when he saw that Alex wasn't wearing any boxers.
"My master is going to fucken kill you," Alex said softy, his voice sure. He didn't yell or scream, he didn't even attempt to fight them off; he knew Chris would come, just like he knew the sun would rise tomorrow. Some things were just inevitable. "If you let me go now, maybe you'll be able to walk out of here. If you don't... Well, I hope you have good insurance."
"You have no idea what you're talking about," Jeremy sneered, moving his hand to grab the front of Alex's shirt. "Why would he even bother? Once he finds out how bad we've used you, he won't even want to go near you again."
With those last words, Jeremy went to pull Alex's collar off of his neck. As soon as Alex felt Jeremy's fingers brush against his collar something in him snapped, and he moved faster then anyone would have expected.
With a grunt, Alex head butted Jeremy and then caught Max with an elbow. Max cried out and stumbled back, clutching his face. Evan chose that moment to tackle Max to the ground and to start trying to hit him.
Chris rubbed the back of his neck as he walked down the hallway with Roddy; something seemed off to him.
"Hey, Chris," Chuck called out, striding over to them. "I was looking for you guys. I'm on my way back to the hotel, but I wanted to let you know that I saw Max and Jeremy hanging around earlier."
"Did they say anything to you?" Chris asked, his hand curling into a fist.
"Those two?" Chuck scoffed. "They wouldn't say shit to me if they're life depended on it."
"Oh, yeah, why not?" Roddy asked, smiling despite the look on Chris's face. "You're such a funny guy."
"I am, aren't I?" Chuck grinned, showing off the infamous charm that let him get away with almost anything his mind could come up with. After a second, he turned serious. "They may have heard that if I got wind of them getting up their usual tricks, that I'd be a little put out with them."
"Really?" Chris said, a little surprised. Chuck was a nice guy, and Chris had always considered him a friend, but the idea of it just seemed out of character for The Southern Gentleman.
"Sure," Chuck answered, a strange glint in his eyes. "I mean, a rib is one thing, but I know how the Jacksons are; I've met people like them before. And little games like they play have a nasty habit of escalating. And I'm definitely not down with that shit."
For a second, Chuck looked like he was ready to go beat up Max and Jeremy himself, but then he smiled, and the same Chuck Taylor Chris had always known was back.
"Just thought I'd let you guys know; I told Alex and Evan once I got done changing, but I figured I'd tell you, too. See you guys later. I'll be at the hotel bar if anyone wants to get fucked up."
Chris hurried up down the hall as a terrible feeling invaded the pit of his stomach and he jogged the last couple yards to get into the small back room that doubled as the PWG locker room.
As Max easily rolled them over and went to punch him, Evan reflected that it might help if he actually knew how to fight. He closed his eyes and braced himself, but the hit never landed. Opening his eyes, he saw Roddy toss Max at the wall and then kneel down next to him.
"Hey, you OK?" Roddy asked, tipping Evan's chin so he could look him over. Despite the anger in his eyes, his touch was gentle and it hit Evan what a huge difference there was between him and his other owners or even Roddy and Jeremy and Max.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Evan assured him, sitting up. "He didn't even hit me. I was just trying to help Alex."
Roddy looked over to where Alex was slumped against the lockers and then to where Chris was just annihilating Jeremy. "Alex'll be alright," he told Evan, smiling a little. He helped Evan to his feet and walked over by Alex. Evan stopped to pick up Alex's collar and then hurried after him.
Roddy watched dispassionately as Chris broke Jeremy's nose and then punched him in the stomach. Jeremy's eyes rolled in back of his head and he fell forward, only to have Chris pull him up by his hair and punch him again.
"Chris, you have an audience," Roddy told him conversationally when he noticed wrestlers piling into the room to see what all the noise was about.
Chris turned to look and Jeremy sunk to the floor, barely conscious. Chris switched his attention back to the blond crumpled on the floor. Sneering, he kicked him in the ribs and stomped on his hand, and after kicking him until he was on his side, Chris pulled his leg back and kicked him in the balls hard enough that even Roddy was wincing in sympathy.
"Hey, Alex, are you alright?" Evan asked softly, leaning over and touching the other neko's shoulder. He hissed in surprise when Alex swung at him and barely managed to avoid a fist to the face.
Roddy pulled him away from Alex, and after looking at the neko and cursing, he called out to Chris. "Chris, Alex -"
The words weren't even out of his mouth when Chris turned toward them and started over.
"What's wrong with him?" Evan whispered, looking worriedly at his friend. "He's having a flashback," Roddy answered, backing them up a couple feet so Chris could crouch down in front of his neko.
"'Lex, look at me," Chris said firmly, his voice even. As much as he wanted to haul Alex into his arms and comfort him, he knew that it wouldn't be what Alex would want while there were other people around. Alex looked at Chris, blinking slowly. "Do you want everyone to see you like this? Do you want Jeremy to know he got you this upset?"
Evan frowned and opened his mouth to say something, but Roddy put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. "Let him; trust me," he murmured, knowing Chris would only do what was best for Alex.
Alex sat up straighter and after looking over his master's shoulder at the number of people in the locker room, he smoothed his expression to one of ague disinterest. His hand immediately went to his throat and a low, needy whine escaped before he could stop it.
"My collar," Alex muttered, his heart in his eyes. "They took it and -"
"I found it," Evan blurted, thrusting it into Chris's hand. "It must of fallen off during the -well, yeah."
"Here, 'Lex," Chris said, using the same tone of voice. He leaned forward and fastened the collar back around his neck, taking a second to rub the back of his neko's neck and drop a quick kiss in his hair. "Just as good as before."
Chris helped Alex to his feet, making sure his body was blocking the neko's as Alex fumbled to refasten his jeans. Turning around, he growled at the sight of Max crawling over to Jeremy, who was finally starting to move.
"Alright, what the hell is going on?" Excalibur demanded, standing in the middle of the room. "And it better not be what I think, either," he added, his voice hard.
"My brother," Max said, trying to get Jeremy to sit up. "What the hell did you do to him?"
"Your brother's lucky he's not fucken dead," Chris spit out, taking a step towards them. "If I had gotten here any later," he broke off when Alex put a hand on his back.
"I want a fucken explanation," Excalibur repeated. "Now."
"We were waiting for Chris and Roddy," Alex said quietly, motioning between him and Evan. "Chuck came to shower and get changed, and we bullshitted for a few minutes.
"After he left, Jeremy and Max came in," Alex hesitated, taking a deep breath.
"They went straight for Alex," Evan put in, biting his lip when everyone looked at him. Roddy curled a hand around the back of his neck and squeezed reassuringly. "They were pushing him around, and the blond one, tried to..um," Evan stammered, blushing a little.
Chris growled again, taking a step forward before he stopped himself. He glared at both Max and Jeremy, his fists clenched; and Evan had the brief thought that he was glad Chris never looked at him like that.
Jeremy leaned forward, his chest barely moving. "Fuck," he moaned, his voice hoarse. "What the hell happened?"
"I fucken happened," Chris snarled, his fury all over his face. It was obvious to Roddy that the only thing preventing him from committing murder was Alex's hand on his shoulder. "I hope you understand how fucken lucky you are. If I ever see you any where near us again, I'm going to finish the job I started."
"We don't have to take this," Max protested, finally getting his brother to his feet. Jeremy moaned, leaning on Max and barely able to focus his eyes on anyone. "Alex attacked us, we didn't do anything."
"I suggest that you get your shit and go," Excalibur told them before Chris could say anything. "I'll put up with a lot of shit in the locker room; wrestlers aren't exactly known for their shy ways and timid natures, but I'll be damned if attempted rape is ever something that I'll ignore."
Deciding that leaving would be the best thing they could do right now, Max dragged his brother out as fast as he could and didn't even bother grabbing any of their gear. He didn't like the look in Chris's eyes and Max wouldn't have put it past him to jump them when they were outside.
Taking a deep breath, Alex played with his collar while Chris talked to everyone. He knew it could've ended so much worse, but right then all he wanted was to go to the hotel, get a shower and then crawl into bed with his master.
After reassuring Excalibur that he wouldn't go hunt down Jeremy and kill him, Chris turned to Roddy and Evan.
"We're going to head back," Roddy told him, throwing an arm around Evan's shoulders. "I'd stay with you, but I've got the feeling Alex isn't going to want any company for a little while."
"Yeah," Chris sighed, running his hand through his hair. "I'm going to take him back to the hotel; he'll be alright in a couple days, but for now, it's better if it's just the two of us.
"Oh, Ev, thanks," Chris added as he turned to go back to Alex. "I saw you rolling around with Max when we got in here. It takes balls to jump in the middle of a fight when you don't know what you're doing, but some advice? Let Roddy teach you the basics, so you can kick ass a little more next time."
Evan smiled, ducking his head a little in embarrassment, but he was pleased that Chris realized he had been trying to help Alex. Roddy grinned and led them out of the locker room, leaving Chris alone with Alex.
"Hey, 'Lex," Chris said softly, rubbing the backs of his fingers across the unbruised side of Alex's face. "Ready to head out?"
Alex nodded, stepping forward and wrapping his arms around Chris's waist, his tail snaking around his leg. Chris hugged him back, resting his head on top of his neko's.
"I wasn't scared," Alex admitted, rubbing his face against Chris's shoulder. "I wasn't even going to fight back, because I knew you were going to come. But when he tried to take my collar..." Alex trailed off, shuddering and burying his face against his master's neck.
Chis rubbed his right hand up and down Alex's back and closed his eyes. "I'll always come for you, 'Lex; no matter what."
Alex nodded, sighing a little. After a few minutes, Chris pulled back and placed a quick kiss on the bruises starting to show along the right side of Alex's face.
"Come on, let's go get a shower," Chris told him, handing his hoody to his neko and grabbing their bags. "Wear mine, it's a little bigger then yours; you should be able to pull the hood far enough so no one'll be able to see your face."
Alex nodded, pulling it on. As he slipped the hood on, he inhaled and sighed again, happily this time. It smelled just like Chris and made him feel immediately better. Following as Chris left, Alex was glad that not only did his master understand him, but that he always knew what to do to make sure he felt safe and protected.
