A/N: As usual, I own absolutely nothing and no one mentioned in the following story...if you can even call this a story. I wrote this a few months ago and never planned to post it but I felt the need to post something so here it is! Review if you'd be so kind... In the meantime, I'm still working on my other fics, slowly but surely...
WWF Unforgiven - September 23, 2001
"...The laid-back, cool, cocky, cofident RVD against the brash, outrageous, somewhat of a vigilante Y2J, that is...and there is a... He just doesn't like Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley, and she likes him less..."
"...and both men thinking the same thing, both men getting up at the same time, and getting a round of applause for their efforts..."
"...Well I don't know if they're thinking the same thing. Van Dam is thinking about defending his title and Jericho has Stephanie on the brain..."
The end was near, he could feel it. Chris raised the chair above his head, waiting for Rob Van Dam to get up. He was going to hit him as hard as he could. He had to do it, he had to win this match. He didn't want to just win for the WWF, no, and he didn't want to win just to become the Hardcore Champion. No, he wanted to beat RVD so he could rub it in Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley's face.
Just as Chris was about to hit RVD with the chair, he felt someone pulling on it. What the hell? he thought, bewildered. He turned around to see what could possibly be keeping him from bringing the chair back down and was surprised to see Stephanie there on the ring apron. He pulled the chair away from her.
"What the hell are you doing out here?" he whispered angrily. "Trying to ruin my match?"
"Wow, for once, you got something right, Jericho," Stephanie replied.
He looked at her, just stared, and then he swung the chair at her. He didn't know why. It wasn't like he really wanted to hit her or anything, and he was relieved when she moved out of the way in time, falling to the ground outside of the ring. Glad that he had missed her, he turned around, still holding the chair up, and that was when his downfall began. Rob Van Dam did one of his patented moves, the Vandaminator, kicking the steel chair and in turn, forcing the steel chair to connect with Chris's face.
Chris fell to the mat clutching his eye, which had been hurt earlier in the match. "Shit," he muttered, rolling over. He glanced at Rob and saw him heading for the corner, probably to climb up on top of the turnbuckle, but Chris just couldn't gather up enough strength to move.
"Get him, Rob!" Stephanie yelled, now back on her feet outside of the ring. She pointed at Jericho and looked on with wide eyes as Rob climbed to the top turnbuckle. "Get him!"
And "get him" Rob did, delivering a Five-Star Frogsplash from the top that hurt both himself and Chris, but it hurt Chris more. Chris could only lay there as Rob covered him and got the three count, successfully defending his Hardcore Championship.
Chris laid there for a while, just listening to RVD's music. Damn it, he thought. Damn it! He laid there as the referee talked to him, asking him if he was ok. "I'm fine," he said, but inside he knew he wasn't. "I'm fine." And then, after RVD had gone backstage, Chris got up and slowly headed up the ramp, head hung in defeat...
"You fought a good match, Jericho," Jeff Hardy said to him as he walked through the curtains.
"Thanks, man," Chris said, running a hand through his hair. "I didn't win, but at least I tried."
"You could've won, though, if that bitch hadn't interrupted," Matt said, referring to Stephanie.
"Come on, she's not a bitch," Chris said, thinking about Stephanie. "She's just a little...misguided, that's all."
"Don't make excuses for her," Matt said, frowning. "She's not misguided. She's just a bitch."
"She's not right," Jeff agreed, shaking his head sadly.
"I guess," Chris said with a sigh. "Look, I'm going to go to my locker room, so I'll see you guys later."
"Bye," both Hardy Boyz called. They watched him walk away, both shaking their heads...
Chris found his locker room and went inside. He closed and locked the door behind him, then walked over to the couch and sat down. He put his head in his hands. He was beaten up, sweaty, bloody, and the loser of the match... But none of that really mattered at that point. The only thing that mattered, the only person that really mattered to him was...
"Chris."
He looked up and there she was, emerging from his bathroom. "What the hell are you doing in here?" he asked, frowning. "Did you come to gloat over RVD's victory?"
"No," Stephanie said, walking over to him. She sat down next to him and observed him. "I just wanted to make sure you were ok."
"Come on, Stephanie, don't play with me," he said, leaning back on the couch and holding one hand over his eye. It had stopped bleeding, but there was dried blood all around it, and it was hurting like hell.
"I'm not playing with you, Chris," she whispered, touching his thigh softly. "I came to check on you..."
"Right," he said, looking away. He wanted to believe her, but he didn't know if he could trust her. After all, they had been enemies for as long as he could remember, and besides, she was in the Alliance. He was with the WWF all the way...
She stood up and grabbed his hand. "Come here," she said softly. He didn't know why, but he stood up as well, and followed her to the bathroom. When they got in the bathroom, she made him sit on the closed toilet seat while she got a clean washcloth and ran it under some warm water. She wrung the washcloth out, then walked back over to him and bent down. "This might hurt a little, ok?"
"What are you doing?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm helping you," she replied, and then she gently started to wipe the dried blood from his face. He winced and she did, too. "I'm sorry, baby, I'm not trying to hurt you."
"You ruined my match, you know," he told her, closing his eyes. "I had that match in the bag and you just couldn't resist interfering." He opened his eyes and looked up at her. "Why do you hate me so much?"
"I don't hate you, Jericho," she said with a heavy sigh, finishing up with her task. She turned to the sink, rinsing out the washcloth. "I'm supposed to, but I don't."
He was standing close behind her before she knew it, one hand braced on the sink on either side of her body, his lips near her ear as he spoke quietly. "Then help me understand, what is it with you?"
She turned to face him and he backed up a little so he could see her face while she talked. "The truth is...I like you," she admitted, blushing and looking down. "I really, really like you."
"So that's why your purpose in life is to make my life a living hell?" he asked, amusement dancing in his eyes.
"I don't know how to deal with the way I feel about you," she whispered, daring to reach up and touch his face. "I thought that maybe if I acted like I hated you then maybe I wouldn't like you, but it doesn't work, it hasn't worked!"
"I'll let you in on a little secret," he said, lowering his voice conspiratorially. "I kind of like you, too..."
"Really?"
He kissed her softly, the stinging of his eye forgotten as he felt her hand softly caressing his face as she kissed him back. He pulled back just a little, his forehead pressing lightly against hers as he smiled at the look on her face.
"Really."
7 Years Later
WWE Unforgiven - September 7, 2008
"Congratulations, Chris, I always knew you could do it again. Know that even though we've gone our separate ways personally, that I still believe in your dreams and I know without a doubt that you can achieve them. You've made me so proud... Again, congratulations, and take care of yourself, ok?"
Chris smiled to himself as he listened to the voicemail Stephanie had left on his cell phone a few minutes before. It seemed as though he'd just missed her call, which sucked because he would've loved to talk to her, but maybe it was better this way...
Seven years ago at Unforgiven 2001, she'd been there, and they'd locked horns, as usual, but there had been something different that night... That had been the first night when they had completely given in to each other... And now seven years later at Unforgiven 2008, she wasn't there physically, but she might as well have been because he could feel her presence all around him.
"The agony and the ecstasy." Boy, had Joey Styles hit the nail on the head with that one.
He picked up his phone again and decided to make a call, not to Stephanie, but to his wife. Tonight was reminding him too much of how the whole thing between himself and Stephanie had started, and he really didn't need to be thinking about that, not now. Things between them were different now, cordial at the most these days, and they pretty much avoided all face to face contact with each other. It was better this way, safer.
They couldn't afford anymore slip-ups.
He listened to the phone ring, wondering what was taking his wife so long to answer. He knew it was a little late, but she couldn't be asleep already, the pay-per-view had only just ended about twenty minutes before, and he knew she'd been planning on watching it to see him.
"Hello?" his wife answered groggily.
"Hey, baby, were you asleep?" he asked curiously.
"Yeah, it's kind of late here," she replied, yawning. "But don't worry, I saw your match and I'm so sorry that Shawn Michaels beat you."
"So wait, are you telling me that you didn't watch the whole show?" he asked, sitting down on a chair that was nearby.
"No, I didn't have a reason to after your match was over. No one else really interests me unless they're facing you."
"Oh," he said, a little disappointed. "Well, just so you know, I won the World Heavyweight Championship tonight, I have gold again."
"How did you do that? You weren't even in the match!"
"Long story, but it's mine again, just like I said it would be..."
They talked for a little while longer, and then she decided to end the conversation because she was anxious to get back to sleep. He hung up the phone feeling even more disappointed than he'd felt when she'd told him that she hadn't even watched the Championship Scramble. No congratulatory words, no nothing... It was almost like she didn't even care about his accomplishment, and that thought killed his buzz a little.
He gathered up his things and got ready to leave, still not in that great of a mood. As soon as he stepped out of the room, though, he came face to face with an old friend, one whose excited expression on his face made him smile instantly.
"Matt, dude, congratulations on your win!" Chris said with a grin, high-fiving his friend.
Matt Hardy high-fived him back, laughing. "Congrats on your win, too! I was just about to ask you if you wanted to go out tonight, a few of us are going to grab a couple of drinks."
"I didn't really have anything planned, sure, I'll come with..."
They ironed out the details as they walked to the parking garage together, and then they parted ways, agreeing to meet up at a nearby bar in just a few minutes...
Later that night...
As soon as Chris entered the bar, he could feel her presence. He couldn't see her, but he could feel her, and he immediately turned around to leave. As much as he'd been looking forward to those "couple of drinks" Matt had promised, he knew that being anywhere near her would be dangerous, even after all this time. And he just couldn't afford to take that risk, not when things were finally...well, not normal, but he could deal with that.
"Hey champ, get your Canadian ass over here!" a voice yelled from the far corner.
Now that he'd been spotted, he couldn't very well just walk out, so he sighed and headed over to the corner. He couldn't see everyone who was over there but he could feel her presence getting stronger and stronger the closer he got to the corner...
And there she was.
"Hey, everybody," Chris said cheerfully, putting on a fake smile as they all greeted him. He looked around for a place to sit and immediately cursed softly to himself. The only spot left for him to sit was between Matt and Stephanie. The fates were not on his side on this night. He took a deep breath and walked over to the spot, then sat down, biting his lip as his arm brushed against hers.
"Hi, Chris, did you get my message?" Stephanie asked quietly, so she wouldn't be heard by her husband who was sitting next to her. Not that he would've really cared tonight, he had been drinking profusely and talking to Shawn since they'd arrived at the club and he was already drunk.
"I did, and thank you," Chris answered, not looking at her. "You were the first one to congratulate me, it means a lot."
She smiled, looking over at him even though he wouldn't look at her. "You deserve it... It's really too bad that we don't get to be business partners this time around."
"Yeah, because I'll really miss running all over town to grab your favorite lotion, only to find out that it's the wrong one," he said with a little laugh, sneaking a peek at her. He shouldn't have done that, though, because she was still looking at him and now that their eyes had met he wasn't sure he was going to be able to look away. They stared silently into each other's eyes, neither saying a word as they took each other in.
Matt elbowed him in his ribs, causing the trance to be temporarily broken. "Dude," Matt hissed, as Chris turned his head to look at him again. "Don't, don't do this here of all places."
"Relax, I'm thinking with this head right here," Chris replied, tapping his temple lightly with one finger, before turning back to look at Stephanie. They looked into each other's eyes again, wondering, remembering. She looked so gorgeous under the dim lighting in the club that he could just feel his mouth watering. It had been so long... "Bathroom," he said suddenly, getting to his feet. "I'll be back."
"Ten bucks says he doesn't come back," Matt leaned over and said to his brother Jeff.
"Fifteen says that she follows him," Jeff countered, nodding his head in Stephanie's direction. They shook hands right before she stood up. "I win," he gloated. "Boy, those two are predictable."
"You don't know that she's following him," Matt argued quietly, not wanting the rest of their group to hear the conversation. He and Jeff were the only ones who Chris had confided in about his relationship with Stephanie over the years, and they needed to keep it that way.
"I'll be right back, Paul, I have to go to the ladies room and freshen up," Stephanie leaned over and told her husband, who just nodded and kept chatting with his buddy Shawn.
Jeff just smirked at the look on Matt's face and held his hand out. "That'll be fifteen bucks, bro."
Chris made it to his destination on the other side of the club and just stood there for a minute outside of the bathroom, leaning against the wall and trying to push the feelings down that were threatening to spill out of him all over again. He was supposed to be over her by now, and she was supposed to be over him, but he knew that he would never be able to get her out of his system no matter how hard he tried. No amount of distance and time put between them was ever going to matter if just sitting next to her for a few minutes was going to make him want her all over again.
He just wondered if she was feeling the same thing.
"Chris, why did you leave?" Stephanie asked, coming up to him. Not waiting for his answer, she looked back to make sure that she hadn't been followed before stepping closer to him and wrapping her arms around him. "God, I've missed you."
"I've missed you, too," he whispered, hugging her back tightly and throwing caution to the wind. He didn't have the will to resist her, not this way, not when she was right in front of him. "Every day I missed you, and then hearing your voicemail tonight..."
"I tried to stay away, tried so hard not to start this with you again, but I just, seeing you tonight," she whispered, rambling somewhat. "It's symbolic or something, how it all started seven years ago, and now we're right back at this night..."
"That's what I was thinking about tonight," he told her, closing his eyes for a minute, as if remembering everything that had happened between them. "About how it all started, how innocent it all was... Why did we fall apart?"
"We had to make the right decision, we're married to different people," she reminded him, looking up into those familiar blue eyes. "But I never stopped caring about you, baby... I never stopped loving you... I love you."
"I love you, too," he whispered, kissing her softly. "Too much..."
She kissed him back, falling back into this pattern that she was so used to. She had missed this more than she'd let on, craved it more than she wanted to admit to herself, and now that she was back in his arms again, it was all rushing back to her full force.
"Leave with me," she whispered, breaking the kiss. "Let's just leave tonight and worry about the consequences tomorrow..."
He smirked a little at her playfully. "Yes, let's do that..."
It was just too hard to let go and too easy to give in.