A/N: That's my (kind of) Christmas Love Story. A Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all of you readers. I don't own anything and I don't earn anything either. Enjoy.

The whole club was moving in unison, hundreds of bodies swaying to the heavy beat of the music like one. Mike was one of these bodies, his limbs moving on their own accord, his vision blurred and mind hazy from how much alcohol he had already consumed tonight. It was not as if he cared though, or as if he was in a state of mind to actually form coherent thoughts – because well, he wasn't. The only thing that occupied his thinking was the way the mass of people was moving, how the forms of pretty blond girls and muscular young men pressed against his body, bare skin on bare skin, hot breath in his neck, one of his arms around the waist of a woman who was grinding back against him.

That was what he had come for tonight. No thinking but fucking, hot sweaty flesh pressed against every bit of his exposed skin. His intention had been to just get drunk and have sex with someone he'd never met before and would never meet again, fucking a nameless face that held no resemblance whatsoever and helped him forget, helped him to not think about him.

His plan was working perfect so far, the blonde girl rubbing her back against his chest while one of her friends pressed against his side, her hands caressing his neck and shoulder while she feasted on the sensitive skin where his pulse beat rapidly under his skin. He was already hard …Mike tried to think of a way how to maneuver them into a more secluded area of the club, but the thought slipped from his grasp when another body suddenly pressed into his back, an unmistakable and quite impressive bulge poking his ass. Fuck.

One of his arms sneaked around the stranger's neck on its own accord, his fingers burying themselves in soft strands of black hair before he could stop it – not that he wanted to. Sharp teeth sunk into the skin on the back of his neck and Mike moaned both in surprise and pleasure, but the sound was drowned by the noise of the crowd and the music of the dance floor.

Closing his eyes he just enjoyed the treatment he was receiving and tried to decide whether to take one of the girls, the man behind him or all three of them back to his hotel room. None of them seemed like they would protest at the proposal …they didn't have any reason to, he was a sexy little piece of ass after all. He wriggled back against the man who now had his hands on either side of his hips, the two of them and the blonde in his arm practically dry humping each other on the crowded dance floor.

Mike opened his eyes when the girl on his side suddenly let go of him, her lips leaving his neck and eliciting a disappointed sigh from him in the process. She had felt rather nice pressed against him, her hard nipples rubbing along his side and making him even hornier than he already was, his erection twitching in his now way too tight jeans.

A soft purr escaped his parted lips when she was replaced by a tall man whose face he couldn't exactly make out in the dim light, big palms shoving the hands of the guy beside him down of his hips in an almost possessive gesture and taking their place before Mike could really comprehend what was happening. The hard grip felt incredible good and he automatically turned his back away from one man and towards the other, neither registering the black haired one's angry growl when Mike's hand unfastened from his hair, nor the menacing glare that sent the rejected suitor stumbling away from them.

The blonde in his arms choose that moment to turn around and press her impressive bosom against his chest. One of her legs smuggled between his thighs, rubbing against his aching dick in a way that only increased the fire in his loins and made him want to take her right here on the dance floor. Fuck, he needed release. Badly.

When he was about to sneak his hands under the hem of her tight shirt however, the hands on his hips suddenly let go and instead grabbed Mike's wrists, holding him pressed against a muscular chest motionless. The girl growled in anger but went silent the moment she looked over his shoulder, her nearly black eyes making contact with the one's of the man behind Mike. He didn't know that the guy did in response, but she just shook her head, pressed a quick kiss to his lips and left them in the middle of the grinding mass of bodies.

Mike howled in frustration, the sound going ignored by the crowd – damn, he'd just wanted a good fuck and now he was by himself with a possessive bastard who obviously didn't want to share …if he'd at least made a move to indicate that he wanted to screw him Mike wouldn't have protest, but the guy remained just where he was, not moving an inch. His hard on didn't like it one bit.

Before he however could voice his obvious displeasure, warm breath hit Mike's ear, "That's enough, Mikey. You had your fun, we're going back to the hotel now."

At first he couldn't discern the voice but when a faint smell off earth and sandalwood entered Mike's nostrils, his fogged mind finally recognized the person in his back. Adam.

"Fuck, Adam." he tried to free himself from the elders grasp but failed miserably, "Lemme go bastard… I wanna fuck, dammit … go 'way and let me fuck … lemme go, I want…"

He couldn't make up coherent sentences but continued to struggle when Adam slowly dragged him though the mass of bodies away from the dance floor. Damn, Mike'd just wanted a good fuck and now Adam was ruining everything, obviously not caring about his protest or the way he tried to kick the blonde in the shin to get free.

Digging his nails into the blonde's forearms he tried to break the vice like hold, but Adam wouldn't even bulge under his attempts and finally pressed Mike against one of the cool stone walls in a less crowded area when he nearly succeeded in biting him.

"Stop it Mike, I'm serious." Adam snapped, "You're obviously past your limit and don't know what you're doin'. I'm taking you back with me. Bitching and low blows won't help you."

"I don't care… none of ya fucking business, Copeland… lemme go!" Mike wriggled in Adam's gasp, his member pressing against the older man's belly, still begging for the release that the fucking bastard wouldn't grant him.

His wrists where gripped so tight it actually hurt, a small moan escaping Mike's lips when Adam pinned his hands against the wall, effectively trapping him between his tall frame and the cool concrete, "No, I won't. Because you are obviously smashed and I 'm not watching you making yourself more miserable than you already are."

"Please…" he couldn't help it but pressed his painfully hard cock closer into Adam's frame, trying to gain at least some relief by rubbing against the blonde as much as his limited position allowed him, a needy mewl escaping his dry lips at the extraordinary friction. God, he wanted to get off!

A shiver ran through the other man's body but Mike only half noticed it, already too lost in finally getting some kind of pleasure from this.

"You'll be the death of me Mikey, I swear." without further warning the blonde yanked back from him, grabbed Mike by the hand and dragged him out of the club behind him, the younger man's mind clouded with lust and too much alcohol. He however was fast to once more press against Adam when he'd moved them inside his rental, Mike's hands grasping the elder by the collar of his shirt when he tried to kiss him.

This time as well the blonde stopped him before anything happened.

Looking down into blue eyes that were nearly black – whether from lust or because he was drunk he couldn't say – Adam sighed, "Mark always says that sex out of sorrow doesn't work …and he knows what he is talking about, believe me, Mikey... Come on, I'll get you back to the hotel."

~~x~~

Mike remembered a short sequence of interaction with some people when Adam had dragged him into a wide hall with too much light but mercifully way less people. There had been a woman who'd asked him something, he didn't remember what, and then he'd been sitting on a very uncomfortable plastic chair, his head resting on the blonde's shoulder and his smell of earth and sandalwood surrounding them. He'd felt save there.

Another memory was being half awake lying on a couch or something, hearing someone – a guy he believed? – arguing outside the room. Other voices had joined in after a few seconds …one of them was probably Adam, but all were familiar in a way. They'd gone on like this for a few minutes before one man had finally been kind enough to silence them, his voice cutting through their bickering like a warm knife through butter. The quiet had been wonderful to his aching head.

The last memory was of Adam again, brown-greenish eyes looking down on him with affection while strong arms held him close, his hot body warming Mike's cool skin. He'd snuggled against his living heater and went back to sleep nearly immediately.

~~x~~

The first thing he noticed when he slowly came back from sleep was the fact that his head hurt like hell. It felt like a herd of elephants was dancing on his poor skull, the damn creatures making his head throb in pain that only became more intense when he tried to open his eyes.

"Oh shit…" he barely whispered the words but they still echoed inside his head – not a good sign.

Trying to open his eyes Mike massaged his temples in hope of taking away at least part of the ache in his head. It worked …well, parts of it. He actually managed to crack his eyes open a little, the slits just wide enough for him to see some dim lights, darkness and a lot of white. The problem was only that the picture made absolutely no sense to him. Closing his eyes and opening them again didn't help either.

"You're finally awake." Adam's voice startled him enough for Mike to open his eyes in shock – what he regretted only seconds later.

"Damn…" he rubbed his palms over his tired eyes before he dared to look around again, this time a lot more careful than before.

He'd not really noticed that they were actually moving before, but now that the dark countryside flew past them it made Mike's stomach clench. Luckily it was only a minor discomfort and no I'm-about-to-throw-up kind of sickness – he didn't think that he could've handled that and his current headache at the same time.

Suppressing his desire of banging his fists against his skull to stop that terrible headache, Mike finally looked around the inside of the car they were in. There wasn't much to see though – it was pretty much your standard rental – expect for Adam who was concentrating on the road which was completely covered in white, the snow still falling against the windshield in a leisurely but constant pace. Save for the snow though it was absolutely dark outside, no other car using the highway they were on.

He groaned, "Fuck, that weather is really shitty. Driving like this has to suck."

Something between a snort and a laugh escaped Adam, "I'm a Canadian, baby. What the average American calls snowpocalypse isn't even considered bad weather where I come from."

Huffing, Mike snuggled closer to the fluffy blanket that was spread out over him, the soft cotton material providing a nice warmth compared to the rather cool air inside the car. The blonde didn't seem to care though, and that was when Mike remembered that Adam had always been a living heater – growing up in a freezing environment seemed to have given him a unique high body temperature.

"Where are we?" he tried to read one of the signs at the side of the road, but the thing was half snowed up plus his headache clearly didn't thank him for trying to concentrate this hard on reading something from this distance. A jolt of pain exploded in his head, leaving Mike feeling more than a little lightheaded.

"Painkillers are in the glove compartment and the coffee pot is standing somewhere by your feet. Feel free to use both." the older man had obviously noticed his discomfort and Mike reached for the weapons to kill his headache with with a thankful sigh.

The coffee was only lukewarm and left a sour taste in his mouth, but he didn't care.

Adam made a move to turn the radio up a bit and Mike took a short look at the digital display. It was 2:43 in the night.

"We passed Charleston a while ago." this time the older man shed Mike a quick glance he couldn't quite discern before his eyes switched back to the snowy highway in front of him.

"…and we're heading where exactly?"

He was good enough in geography to know about where they were, but not being able to read signs meant that you didn't knew in which direction you were heading and that in conclusion meant that Mike didn't have the slightest idea where to Adam was driving them.

"If you want to be at home on Christmas Eve I'd say we are heading for Cleveland, Ohio." Adam chuckled when he saw the disbelieving look on Mike's face.

"But how…" he trailed off and then a panicked look settled on the younger man's features, "Damn, how long have I been out?"

Not fazed in the least Adam himself took a glance at the internal clock of the car. He shrugged before he met Mike's more than confused gaze.

"Some 22 hours at least, probably more if you count the time you were half-asleep while I chartered you across half the country."

"You… how…" Mike trailed off when he noticed that he was stammering like some idiot and that Adam was already grinning at this stunned behavior. It however didn't stop him from wondering how Adam had managed to bring him from San Antonio, Texas, to Charleston, West Virginia, in a matter of 22 hours.

"We… we were on a plane." it had been a guess, but the moment he said the words Mike remembered sitting in the waiting hall off what could have only been an airport with Adam at his side, the older man's arm drawing him close against the blonde's always warm body. Plus there was another memory of him talking to a woman, but he couldn't remember even a word she'd said, still less if he had shown her his ID or passport.

"Yep." a small smile played across Adam's lips, "You can be lucky that I convinced the lady at the counter that you'd just had a very tiring day and wanted to be home for Christmas. If anyone had noticed that you were plastered we'd most likely not made it."

Mike's jaw literally dropped.

"Oh my good…" he couldn't have stopped the laugh from escaping his throat if he'd wanted, "You are one of a kind, Copeland …and I'm still not sure if this is a compliment or not."

"It better be, kid, because I'm just sitting in a car driving to Cleveland so you can see your Mommy and your Daddy on Christmas Eve."

The painkillers seemed to do their work now, because his headache was slowly getting better and left Mike able to actually think the whole thing he'd slid into through. His considerations left him frowning however.

"Why didn't we just take a direct flight from San Antonio to Cleveland?" he asked, not getting it.

Adam rolled his eyes, "I thought about this Sherlock. The problem is that there are no flights to anywhere north of Nashville. The snow has crippled about every airport in the northern US, Canada and Europe. Cleveland, Chicago, New York, Boston… no chance to get a flight until after Christmas. The only thing I managed to get was San Antonio to Tampa."

"Okay okay, I get it, you're a god!" he flashed the blonde one of his best smiles, "But why Tampa of all things?"

"Because" Adam gave him an odd glance and ran a hand through is long hair, "Jay lives there. He and I promised to be at Jeff's for Christmas Eve anyhow so he just picked us up and drove up to Cameron."

There was something about this sentence that didn't sound right. In fact it where two things, when Mike carefully thought about it. One was that he knew for fact that Adam had a house in North Carolina and that he sounded like he'd not even spent a single thought about spending Christmas there. The second was…

"Why don't you, I mean …spend Christmas Eve with your family?"

The elder's features hardened at the question. It was just a minimal change in his facial expression, but Mike noticed it none the less like he noticed how tight Adam was suddenly grabbing the steering wheel.

"Why father was an asshole." Mike cringed at the pure ice of the blonde's words, "The moment he learned that my mother was pregnant he hightail and didn't come back. I've never seen him and believe me I don't want to …because if I ever do I'll end in jail. My mother was a single parent for all her life, she worked too much too long … she died three years ago. That only leaves Jay's parents and they're in Hawaii visiting Emily. I'll never understand how the woman can stand to live on an island where it has 75 degrees on Christmas…"

Mike blinked, "Who is Emily?"

For a moment they stared at each other, both rather dumbstruck – Mike because he hadn't known about Adam's lack of an actual family and Adam because Mike really never had heard of Emily – before the older man suddenly burst out laughing.

"Sorry, my wrong, of course you don't know her." Adam still grinned, "Emily is Jay's older sister. She's… forty now I believe, but still smoking hot. Married a guy who proved to be an ass, kicked him out and moved to Hawaii to become a diving instructor. She has a son, Tyler, who is about four. When I was in high school I so had the hots for her, it wasn't even funny anymore… Jay said it was gross and he's probably right, because your almost-brother being in love with your sister is sick on so many levels…"

Adam couldn't stop giggling when he finished and Mike experienced that it was impossible for him not to join in.

"Fun times?" he asked.

Adam smirked, "Very… just imagine us doing shit together: me, Jay and Em who's actually the female version of me only better looking and much worse in math. Pretty much some of the best times of my life."

They both stayed silent for a moment after this, Adam indulging himself in some very old memories and Mike not wanting to interrupt him. Only when he older man's far away expression vanished did he continue talking.

"Okay, so Jay drove us up from Tampa to Cameron …and then you left him there and spontaneously decided that it would be fun to drive through half the country with me out cold beside you?" the younger man raised an eyebrow in question.

"Not quite, but similar to it." Adam gave him a meaningful glance, "I know how much you wanted to spend Christmas with Chris …I couldn't just leave you in San Antonio drinking yourself into oblivion and making yourself miserable by sleeping with every chick and pretty boy available. It would've been wrong and I don't leave my friends hurting themselves."

Mike went stiff at the words, not moving an inch while he bit his lip to stop himself from saying something he would regret later.

"You don't know… Chris and me…" he stumbled over the words and in the end chose to rather say nothing than embarrass himself.

"I know that Chris is an idiot, that he feels guilty, that he is in denial and that he'll come back for you when he realizes all of that." greenish brown eye stared into blue ones and Mike only just managed to not let the desperate sob on his tongue escape his mouth.

"You don't know that." he sounded bitter.

"Yep, I don't." an ironic grin settled on the blonde's lips, "But if he doesn't come back he is a stupid idiot and I never took Chris for the stupid type… plus, if he doesn't recognize how great you are he isn't worth it."

Not knowing what to say and at the same time knowing that he didn't want to say anything further on the matter, Mike decided to change the subject. "Why did you argue?"

Adam shot him a confused look, "Who argued when?"

"I think it was at Jeff's house. I was half sleeping and you were screaming in the hall outside the room."

For the longest time he didn't get a response and Mike started to think that it must've been something bad if Adam didn't want to tell him. Really, it was none of his business if Adam and the Hardy's had had a fight, but at the same the younger man was curious what could've gone wrong for them to scream at each other.

"It was nothing." Adam finally grunted, "Matt just was a bitch like he usually is these days. He got on my nerves a little too much, I snapped and then Jeff came in and told him to shut up. After that I took you and left, that's pretty much everything …he'll be back to normal by the time I'm back."

Somehow, Mike didn't believe his little story – not a single word of it – but he didn't press the matter because Adam obviously was uncomfortable talking about it.

"Now go back to sleep, your head still isn't okay and you had a bit of a fever for a few hours. I don't want you sick on Christmas, especially when I personally take the time to drive you to Cleveland so you can celebrate with your family."

"You're not my Mom, dammit!" Mike pouted but was already yawning.

He nestled back into the cozy and warm blanket, all the while thinking that he was forgetting something important here. Because, really, Adam was taking the time to drive him to Ohio so he could be home on Christmas Eve while he still had to drive back to Cameron after he'd dropped him off in Cleveland. It totally made no sense…

Eyes closed, Mike snuggled as deep as possible into the seat of the car, his voice barely more than a whisper, "…it doesn't make sense, do you know that? …why would you …drive me home and risk …risk missing spending the fest with Jay and the others? …don't get it…"

Greenish brown eyes looked down at Mike with an amount of affection Adam would have never shown had the young brunette been awake.

"Why would I indeed?" with a sad smile on his lips he run a hand through his blonde hair, "…for the same reason you don't save sex out of sorrow …because no one can ever replace the person you love, Mikey."

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