Author's Note:

Hey there, SpectacularCombustion here. Just wanna let you guys know that this is my very first story ever on fanfiction and I hope you guys like it.

Try not to be too harsh on me, especially for my spelling and grammar. Yes, I'm looking at you, grammar nazis out there. In any case, I'd really appreciate a review on this, took me a whole day to write the first chapter but it was fun and there'll definitely be more!

For now, non-regular updates since my exams are coming up but after that, I'm all yours! :D

-SC

November 2012

CM Punk, or rather Phil Brooks, was a man who kept to himself a lot. He was not the most popular guy around backstage, especially around WWE officials, and he would probably be the first one in line to admit that. He was the type of guy who would make you feel as if you were his best friend in the world if you were close to him but if not, he would give you vibes that he just plain hated you. That's CM Punk for you, he either hates you or loves you. The truth of the matter is that more likely than not he does hate you. Nevertheless, he still was well-respected by his peers, especially the younger ones whom he continuously stands up for. Sure his attitude may rub people the wrong way, fans and co-workers alike can probably attest to that, but he does not give a single damn about what others think of him. It is probably why he's seen only hanging out with his small circle of friends or just on his own. It is the reason why he is currently sitting at a table located at the back of the hotel's restaurant in England all by himself.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Mr. Best in the World himself," a chirpy voice broke the trail of deep thoughts of the WWE champion.

"Heh, well good morning to you too, Miss crazy-chick-turned-general-manager," Punk replied as he looked up to see the face of the resident crazy chick, AJ Lee. She was decked out in her usual Chuck Taylor's and skinny jeans with a "Live the Revolution" hoodie covering a Batman top.

"You mean ex-general manager," AJ corrected, alluding to the fact that she "stepped down" from managing RAW a couple of weeks ago.

"Ah, how could I forget?" Punk chuckled, "Now there's one less person out to get me." This earned him a playful slap to his shoulder.

"So anyways, is this seat taken?" AJ asked, gesturing with the same hand that had just slapped Punk towards the empty seat across of him.

"Nope, but I would've thought you'd rather eat breakfast with the other divas over there," Punk said, nodding his head towards the group of divas eating at the front of the restaurant which consisted of the Bellas, the Funkadactyls and Natalya.

"Nah, they're no fun. They'll probably talk about stuff like shopping and shoes and clothes and yada yada yada. You know, the usual girly things. Plus, how could I just ignore my Punkybear?" AJ giggled as she sat down, teasing Punk with the nickname she had come up with for him a couple of months ago.

"Ugh, you still remember that? I've always wondered how you came up with that you know," Punk asked, taking another bite of his chocolate cupcake.

"Well, Punky is pretty self-explanatory and bear is from that night in your hotel room, remember?" AJ reminded him, bringing his thoughts back to that fateful night.

*Flashback*

Punk was lying down on the bed while reading one of his favourite Batman comics when all of a sudden, multiple knocks in a hurried rhythm greeted the door of his hotel room.

"Woah, woah, chill dude! Are you trying to break the door down?!" Punk shouted as he put his comic book down and leapt off the bed, walking hastily to the door.

"Hey! I said cool it with the-" Punk stopped abruptly after he opened the door, only to be greeted with the sight of AJ with tears streaming down her face and a rolling suitcase in her left hand.

"April? What's wrong?" Punk asked in concern as he quickly let her inside and locked the door.

"T-T-Trent, h-he was," AJ started, unable to control her emotions and stumbling over her words.

"Hey, hey. Come on now, stop crying, ok? I'm here now, there's nothing to worry about. Shhh," Punk said as he brought his arms around her and held her tight, allowing her to ball her eyes out on his "Ramones" T-shirt.

They stayed in that embrace for a couple of minutes, with Punk occasionally stroking the back of her head gently and whispering sweet nothings in an attempt to calm her down. Slowly, AJ managed to regain her composure and soon, she stopped crying. She pulled away slightly, not enough to totally get out of his embrace but just enough to look up to him.

"Thank you, err..." AJ said in a low voice, rubbing the part of his shirt which she cried on and left a distinct stain, "Sorry about... This..."

"Hey, there's nothing to be sorry about, ok? I can always get this shirt cleaned," Punk smirked at her, hoping to at least get half a smile out of her, "Now, if you don't mind me asking, what did Trent do?"

"He... He... He cheated on me," AJ forced out slowly, grimacing at the thought of Trent again.

"What? How? When?" Punk blurted out in disbelief. Realizing this was a serious situation, he let go of his embrace and guided her to the front the bed where they eventually sat on the edge.

"I don't know how long exactly its been going on... I-I answered a call on his phone while he was in the bathroom and a w-woman's voice came through. She instantly asked for G-G-Greg," AJ stuttered, especially when she tried to mention Trent's birth name. She took in a long, deep breath, trying to fight back the tears that were starting to form again and wanting to continue from where she left off.

"April, you don't have to do this. I get it," Punk tried to reason with her when he noticed there was a possibility that she might break down and cry again.

"No! I have to get everything off my chest. I need someone to know what I'm feeling right now. I need you, please," AJ begged, hoping Punk would understand where she was coming from. In reply, Punk merely nodded his head and rubbed her back with his hand assuringly in an attempt to comfort her.

"So when i asked her who's calling, she casually replied 'his girlfriend'. It absolutely broke my heart and what's worse was that when Trent finally got his ass out of the bathroom, he didn't dare to look me in the eyes when I asked about his 'other girlfriend'," AJ sighed in exasperation.

Never once did she envision herself being cheated on by Trent. He was always sweet and caring towards her and she really thought their 2-year long relationship could have eventually seen both of them walking down the aisle. But she was wrong. Dead wrong. Seeing her so distraught was killing Punk on the inside. She was one of the few people he would confidently call a close friend. He was one of the first people to take her under his wing and show her the ropes after her stint in NXT. He even encouraged her to pursue a relationship with one of the guys if she ever felt lonely while on the road. Although he had done no wrong, he still felt slightly guilty that his advice had caused AJ so much pain in the end. Punk placed his index finger under her chin and lifted her head slightly so their eyes could meet.

"I'm so sorry, April. If it means anything, I think Trent was stupid to think he could find someone better than you. I know this may sound cliche but trust me when I say this, I mean it with all my heart. You're an amazing girl and any guy would be lucky to have you. I guess you just gotta find the right guy for you, that's all," Punk smiled warily.

AJ returned with half a smile but it still was a better sight than that of her crying. "Thanks, but I think I'm done with guys for now. I'm just gonna focus on my career and that's it. You're looking at the new all-business AJ!" AJ proudly said, placing her hands on her hips.

"That's more like it. You'll get through this, I promise, and I'll be here anytime you need me, alright?" Punk wrapped his right arm around AJ's shoulders and brought her close.

"Umm yeah... That time could be right now 'cause I don't really have a place to stay," AJ said, breaking their slight embrace. She then rubbed the back of her head shyly, hoping he would not reject her indirect plea to stay with him for the night.

"Say no more. The bed is all yours," Punk smiled gleefully as he got up from the bed and went to the nearby cabinet. He opened one of the drawers at the bottom to retrieve a white blanket and headed to the couch nearby.

"What?! No! I can't possibly take the bed. This is your room. I can sleep on the couch, I'm small enough anyways," AJ said, getting up off the bed as well.

"Nope, like you said, this is my room. So... My room, my rules and rule number 1 is to always listen to Punk so sit your ass back down on the bed... before I kick you out," Punk joked, adding the last part in to force her to sleep on the bed.

"Ok, ok! Don't kick me out your highness," AJ giggled, conceding defeat. Seeing AJ laugh reminded Punk why he liked having AJ as a friend so much. He liked the fact that her infectious laughter could instantly light a room up, no matter how dull and dreary it was before. Plus, it was much better than having her sulk and cry.

Later that night, AJ was struggling to sleep. She could barely keep her eyes shut for more than five seconds before her eyelids opened again. Her break from Trent was obviously still too fresh for her to totally forget about and each time her mind thought about him, a tear would fall from her eyes. Punk, unsurprisingly because of his insomnia, was still wide awake as well. He could hear her light sniffling and groaning each time after she cried softly on the bed. He couldn't bear to see and now hear her like this. He made his way to the bed, lying down beside her. He turned her body to face him and wrapped his arms around her. He proceeded to gently rock her to sleep and before AJ could say anything in protest, he just shhh-ed her, telling her without much words that it was okay. AJ just sighed softly and buried her head in his chest, accepting his cuddling embrace. For the rest of the night, she just fell into a quiet slumber in his arms, the thought of Trent far and away from her mind.

*End of Flashback*

"So you came up with bear because I'm a good cuddler? Wow, your impression of bears is way off, you know that," Punk chuckled, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Not those bears dummy, teddy bears, the ones kids hug with when they're about to sleep," AJ laughed, causing Punk to almost do a spit-take with his coffee as he tried to contain his own laughter.

"You okay there?" AJ asked, still giggling.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I still can't believe you actually tweeted out that I'm a cuddler though," Punk said, referring to the tweet AJ sent out a couple of months ago after their promo with Paul Heyman and Brad Maddox.

"Hey, it helped to develop the story, didn't it? Plus, it's not like I lied or anything," AJ replied shyly as she turned her attention towards the breakfast buffet spread the restaurant had laid out from afar. "Anything good they have over there?"

Punk briefly glanced at the buffet table before shifting his eyes back to AJ. "Meh, not really. This cupcake's okay, I guess, definitely not the best in the world," Punk smirked as he looked down at his half-eaten cupcake.

"Oh, and for some weird reason, they don't serve pancakes," Punk said, annoyed.

"This isn't Waffle House, Phil. This is England. They probably eat biscuits and drink tea for breakfast," AJ uttered in a low voice, trying to not let the people around them hear her referring to the British stereotype.

"I'm sure they have pancakes for breakfast too, April."

"Well, whatever the reason may be, it doesn't change the fact that I'm starving right now. Be back in a sec," AJ took off, with hunger being her driving force, towards the buffet table.

Punk merely chuckled seeing her scurry the way she did. In the meantime, he took out his iPhone to check through his twitter when suddenly, he felt that someone was staring at him. He took a peek by looking up for a moment and a female waitress instantly turned her head away. He just grinned to himself and shifted his attention back to his phone after gazing at the woman for a couple of moments.

"What are you smiling about, hmmm?" AJ questioned after noticing him just smiling to himself. She sat down back in her seat but this time with a plate full of eclairs and various biscuits as well as a cup of hot coffee. If there was one thing the girl couldn't live without everyday, it would probably be coffee.

"Oh nothing... Just... Just don't look back but there's a girl who was staring at me behind you and she looked away the instant I lifted my head up just now. It's hilarious," Punk filled her in, trying to avoid making eye contact with the waitress so that she would not realise he was talking about her.

"CM Punk… Liking the attention of a woman… How am I not surprised?" AJ asked sarcastically as she finished an eclair in one bite.

"Hey! It's not my fault women find me irresistible. Anyways, she's not my type and I have a girlfriend, remember?" Punk retorted, referring to his long-time girlfriend known to many as Lita.

"Yeah, I do and I wonder how she would like it if I told her you were eyeing up another woman," AJ teased, swallowing another piece of eclair.

"I wasn't eyeing her up!" Punk denied.

"So how did you know she wasn't your type, hmmm?"

"I-I-I… Ok… Maybe I looked at her for a bit but that was it, honest," Punk declared apprehensively.

"Sure. Whatever you say chick magnet," AJ said sarcastically while mentioning the original meaning behind 'CM'.

Punk sighed, hoping she would not actually mention anything to Amy. "Speaking of women, how's your storyline with Vicky and John going?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"That's so mean," she gasped at his jab at the face of the company, John Cena.

"The guy wears a pink hat and pink wristbands to the ring, April. I think what I said was warranted," he reassured.

"Wearing pink doesn't make you any less of a man. Don't you know the saying 'it takes a man to wear pink'?"

"They never said it was a straight man…" Punk muttered, earning him another slap to his shoulder but this time, it was a little more forceful, "Ow, ok, jeez, I was just joking. God, I didn't know you felt so strongly about John. Somebody's gotta warn Nikki, huh?"

Next thing he knew, Punk was grimacing in pain and favouring his right shoulder slightly. "Ok, I probably deserved that. Ahhhh, for somebody so small, you sure do pack a punch," Punk said, choosing his words carefully this time around because he did not want to get punched again. AJ just smiled gleefully at him, knowing he finally got the message.

"Anyways, it's okay I guess… It's great that I'm finally gonna be active again but it sucks that I'm gonna be straight away paired up with another guy again," AJ sighed looking down at her food, clearly not knowing whether her upcoming storyline was going to be good or bad for her as a singles competitor.

"Hey," Punk said, lifting her chin up with his curled index finger so their eyes could meet, "Working with John is gonna be a big deal, ok? I'm sure it's gonna be the next biggest story after my feud with Ryback. Your career's gonna skyrocket from here on out for sure."

"Yeah… The thing is, I'm only going to be working with John for a short while. I then have to work with Dolph for a couple of months," she revealed which caused Punk to almost choke on his cupcake for some reason.

"Are you okay? Boy, have you heard of digestion?" AJ chuckled as Punk somehow managed to not expel the bits of his cupcake that caused him discomfort moments ago.

"Dolph? Dolph Ziggler?" he blurted out after regaining his composure.

"Yep, creative want us to be the PG era's Lita and Edge," Punk's eyes widened at what she just said.

"Ummm, I don't know April… Nick's a good worker and all but he is a known womaniser," Punk admitted worryingly as he gulped down another piece of his cupcake.

"You do know how ironic you sound right now, don't you?" AJ snickered, hinting at the long list of women Punk's been with.

"Hey! I'm different, ok?" Punk stated, only to be greeted with an 'are you serious' face from AJ, "Ok, ok, maybe not much but at least I have relationships with most of the girls I've been with. Nick, on the other hand, just sleeps around, having one night stands."

"Look, I have no interest in what he does in his personal time. Like I said before, I'm all-business now. No more guys and I mean it. There's no need to worry, Phil. I'm a big girl afterall," AJ asserted, hoping it would bring him some peace of mind.

"Not really…" Punk muttered, causing AJ to raise her hand again but before she could hit her target once more, he raised both his hands in surrender, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Don't hit me, please!"

AJ laughed at his cowardice and lowered her hands, accepting his apology in turn. She then proceeded to finish up her meal. "In all seriousness, I just don't want you to get hurt again, April. It pained me to see you all broken up after Trent and I'd hate to see you in that state again anytime soon," he expressed in a worrying tone.

"Thanks for caring but really, there's nothing to worry about," AJ responded while placing her hand on top of Punk's which was lying on the table and rubbing it with her thumb. Punk smirked at her as he welcomed the extra heat of her hand after hours of putting up with the cold of the air-conditioner in the hotel.

"In fact, if I were you, I'd worry more about working with Ryback. Dude's a monster!" she exclaimed before taking one last sip of her coffee.

"Heh, sweetie, I'm the best in the world. You really think Ryback will be too much for me? In any case, if Nick hurts you in any way, you know who to call, right?"

"Yup, John Cena," she answered audaciously.

"Haha very funny. You're lucky I don't hit girls," Punk warned as he too finished up his food and drink.

"Oh, my hero," her three words riddled with sarcasm as he rolled his eyes, "Plus it's not like I'm gonna have a live sex celebration with Dolph in the ring. We're most probably gonna just make out, you know."

"Ugh," the thought of AJ and Dolph kissing irked Punk somehow.

"What, you jealous?" AJ teased.

"No!" Punk replied defiantly in almost an instant, "We've kissed before, remember, nothing special…"

He hoped his last sentence managed to cover up the fact that his green eyes were literally showing through. "Whatever you say, Punkybear. I wasn't the one who slipped the tongue in," AJ reminded him in a teasing fashion.

"You used tongue too!"

"Of course I had to! You chose to go off script. If I had rejected it, it would have looked bad for the both of us," AJ reasoned with him.

"I'm just saying, you could've not opened your mouth in the first place," he maintained, wanting to win the argument.

"You know what? Let's just end it here. This could go on for hours. No one wins this argument, agreed?" she offered her hand, waiting for him to accept the handshake.

"Fine..." they shook hands and plastered fake smiles, "But you totally did this 'cause you knew I was about to win."

"Ugh whatever. You can be such a child."

"What can I say? I'm a kid at heart," Punk professed as he placed his hand on his heart before looking at his phone to see the time, "By the way, you got any plans for the day?"

"Not really, unless you call reading the 'Dark Phoenix Saga' a plan for the day," she declared, referring to the X-Men comic book series she got when she was a kid.

"Woah, cool! I didn't know people still had those," Punk replied in astonishment.

"Yup, my brother got them when i was really young. Loved them ever since," she added, recalling one of the bright spots in an otherwise relatively dark childhood.

"Listen, there's this comic book store nearby. Kofi said it's around here somewhere. I'm gonna see if they have anything interesting to buy. I'm sure they have some X-Men series over there too. Care to join me?" Punk asked, hoping she would say 'yes' so that he did not have to go there all by himself.

"Hmmm, read a comic book which I've read dozens of times or go to a comic book store that I've never been to before with you?" AJ pondered playfully as she continuously tapped her chin with her index finger.

"Alright, alright smart-ass. I get it, you wanna tag along. But be warned, I have no idea where exactly the place is at. Kofi... didn't really give me great directions," he informed her, smiling warily.

"It's cool, being lost in England is so much better than lazing around in my hotel room anyways," she admitted, grinning at him.

"Ok then, after you ma'am," Punk said playfully as he got up from his seat and went over behind AJ's to pull hers out for her.

"Why thank you my good man," AJ played along, getting off her seat easily thanks to him. Both of them headed out of the restaurant and subsequently the hotel into the wilderness that is the city area of Nottingham, England.

A couple of hours later…

"Oh my god, I can't believe we got lost on the way there and coming back here," AJ chortled as her and Punk were making their way to his hotel room, their purchased comics in hand. Fortunately for them, both of their rooms were at the same level so it gave them the opportunity to walk and talk together some more.

"Don't blame me, blame Kofi! His instructions sucked! It brought us to a lap-dancing bar!" Punk snorted as he tried to contain his laughter but truth be told, with AJ laughing the way she was, it was hard for him to stop.

When they reached the front of Punk's door, their laughter slowly died down as they realised their time together was unfortunately coming to an end. "Well, I guess this is it, huh?" AJ asked as she unknowingly fiddled with her fingers.

"Erm… I guess so…" he started slowly before realising he had brought something along for the tour of Europe, "Oh wait! I have all the X-Men movies so far in my bag. Are you willing to sit through hours of those with me?"

Immediately, AJ's eyes lighted up. "All of them? Including 'First Class'? 'Cause I haven't watched that one yet," AJ revealed, hoping he had the latest one of the series.

"Yup! I haven't watched it either," Punk clarified as he retrieved his key card from the pocket of his hoodie and subsequently inserted it into the lock, opening the door with a 'click' sound.

Before AJ got carried away, she looked at her phone's home screen to see that it was already 6pm. If they were to get through the entire series, it would surely last till the dawn of tomorrow. "Ummm Phil," she started as she entered his room and closed the door. She then went to seat on the edge of the only bed in the room which faced the television set.

"Uhmm," he simply replied as he took out the discs from his luggage and began to insert the one both of them had yet to watch into the DVD player. This was followed by him turning the TV on and starting the movie.

"We'll be here all night if we finish all of that," she pointed out as she gestured with her hand towards the stack of DVDs on the floor.

"I'm not gonna force you to finish them, silly. Anytime you wanna go, just say the word and you're free," he clarified, taking a seat next to AJ on the bed.

"You say it as if you're holding me captive or something," AJ giggled, causing Punk to laugh.

"Just sit back and relax and enjoy the show, April," he said as he pushed himself back until he was sitting against the headboard of the bed. AJ followed suit after roughly thirty minutes into the show when she realised her back was starting to ache. An hour later and both their stomachs started to grumble in hunger. Apart from breakfast and a meal at a local 'Burger King', they had eaten nothing else for the day. When AJ's stomach growled loudly, it alerted both of them and she could not help but to blush in embarrassment.

"Looks like someone's hungry. I'll get us some room service," Punk chuckled as he picked up the hotel phone that was on the nearby bedside table. AJ smiled thankfully to him before she turned her attention back towards the TV.

"You okay with fish?" Punk questioned her as he was on the phone, about to make the order.

"Yep," she responded quickly, briefly looking over to him and giving him a smile.

After their food arrived, they went on to eat the food on the bed itself. They were going to be out of the hotel and the country in less than twenty-four hours anyway so they really didn't give a damn if they accidentally dropped a bit of sauce onto the bedsheets. After managing to watch through 'First Class', Punk popped in the first X-Men movie and went back to sitting next to AJ. Slowly but surely, as the hours passed by as well as another movie, both of them started to feel weary and tired. In fact, AJ was the first one to rest her head on the pillow. Not thirty minutes had passed since she lay on the bed flat on her back before she was sound asleep with her body facing Punk. When Punk realised the sleeping form of his friend, he turned the TV off and lay next to her.

"Goodnight April," he said quietly so as to not wake her. He then followed it up by placing a soft kiss on her forehead before turning his body towards her and closing his eyes. A small smile crept up on her face as both of them enjoyed their peaceful slumber with each other.

~Review~