For His Own Good

By Kyizi

Disclaimer: The WWE and all related items do not belong to me; only the story is mine. No copyright infringement intended.

Rating: PG

Distribution: Please ask.

Spoilers: Up to and including about half way through August 2002, but I'm making a lot of it up after the initial few chapters, partially, because I want to, mostly because I'm now a little fuzzy on the timeline from back then.

Summary: Edge shows another side to himself when he stands up for his friends.

Feedback: Always:)

Notes: Whilst this originally began as a short one off, it received such a warm welcome as well as some requests for more and I just couldn't help myself. However, the initial idea might have been to write a more prolonged fic, along the same route as my other WWE fics, this one was best kept short, partly because the storyline is so old that what I remember is all mixed up and partly because it wasn't necessary to drag out. Therefore this is basically just the one fic, so I'm removing the chapters.

The ship that won the voting will be used, although perhaps not quite to the extent you may have hoped for. Despite that, I hope you enjoy and I hope that it meets your expectations!

Don't forget to vote for the WiP you want worked on the most in my Yahoo! Group poll and I'll do my best to deliver, despite my lack of internet connection atm. I'm hoping to get Cry Me A River finished next, but we'll see!

xxxxx

Prologue

xxxxx

"What's that look for?"

Edge almost laughed. "I think you know."

"And what exactly is it that you think I know."

Edge rolled his eyes at the man's feigned ignorance. "Steph may not want us to, but I do watch RAW, and I saw what you did."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

This time Edge did laugh. "Tell me, Matt, did you honestly think I wouldn't care about what you did?"

Matt's eyes instantly filled with anger. "What the hell is it to you anyway?"

"What is it to me?" Edge asked, walking the elder Hardy into a wall. "It is two things to me. Jeff and Lita. I know what it's like to have your brother turn on you."

"What I did was for his own good-"

Edge grabbed his collar and almost lifted him off his feet. "For his own good? His own good? You want to tell me how beating on your own brother will do him some good?" Matt was gasping for air, trying to speak, but Edge continued. "The only good it did Jeff was to let him know that his brother was a no good loser who was so jealous of his success that he had to beat him up. Know what Matt, that story's getting old. I've been there, I know. And as for Lita…"

Matt kicked out and Edge let him fall to the ground, but didn't give him any room, instead pinning him to the corner between the ground and the wall. Matt's eyes were no longer filled with anger, but Edge could detect a hint of fear and he smirked for a moment before continuing.

"Do you have any idea how Lita feels about all this?"

"Lita's my girlfriend."

"Like that makes a difference. Jeff is her best friend." Edge laughed, but there was no humour in it. "You haven't even spoken to her, so how would you know."

"How do you know whether-"

"Because you're not the one who got the hysterical phone call at one am on Monday night. You're not the one that had to fly to New York and calm her down. You're not the one that had to take her to see Jeff at five in the morning, thinking that he'd hate her. Matt you didn't do any of those things; you were the one that caused them all."

"How dare you-"

"How dare I?" Edge smacked Matt's head off the wall with a resounding thud. "You listen to me, Matthew Hardy. I'm glad you're on Smackdown now. You know why? Because I can watch you and, believe me, I will be watching. If you so much as breathe into the phone to either Jeff or Lita, I will make your life a living hell. You won't be able to walk, let alone think of talking to them. Jeff is like a younger brother to me, more than you ever thought of him. And I swear, if you even think of making another move on Lita, I will break every bone in your body. Understood?"

Matt's eyes were wide, but he nodded. Edge smiled and leaned a little closer to him, making sure that the man could feel Edge's breath on his face.

"Good. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a match tonight."

Edge stood up but couldn't resist the urge to kick the man before leaving. As he made his way to his locker room, he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. With every step he took further away from Matt, he felt his anger fade a little. He didn't know what Matt had planned, but he was sure that the man hadn't come to Smackdown without some agenda. He knew the man too well for that, in fact, he was likely the only person that knew that side of the elder Hardy brother – well, he and Chris Jericho, but the other man was a jackass now, so he didn't really count. All Edge did know for sure was that he was going to protect Lita and Jeff, no one would harm either of them again, especially Matt Hardy.

xxxxx

End of Prologue

xxxxx