Title: Sweet Memories - Oneshot

Author: slashburd
Pairing: John Cena/Randy Orton

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I do not know of any of this to be true, I don't know or own these people.

Summary: M/M Slash, relationship only, no smut.

John sat quietly at the kitchen table, a large bowl of just cooled, cinnamon seasoned popcorn in front of him. One by one he threaded each piece onto the cotton thread and it was taking him a considerable amount of time to do. His big hands didn't lend themselves well to such a fiddly task but he'd done it ever since he was a kid and didn't intend to give up the tradition now. If nothing else it had given him the patience to do things that he found difficult, something he'd never forgotten as he grew from a boy into a man.

Eventually the bowl was empty and he carried the long string through to the lounge where the Christmas tree stood proudly. Seven feet of natural pine placed close to the open fire that he'd made shortly before starting the threading task. He looped the string carefully around the tree, ensuring that he didn't get impatient and tangle it in the lights which, being as clumsy as he was, he had been known to do.

He took a deep breath, the smell of the tree mingling with the fresh popcorn; the gentle crackle of the fire the only noise to be heard. Grabbing the large cardboard box filled with decorations he began to carefully unpack them and one by one suspended them from the branches of the tree.

There were baubles from when he was a child, new ones they'd bought together and all kinds of beads and spangles to make the tree sparkle. He'd learned over the years that less was definitely more after one year when he caused a tree to tip over with the weight of the trimmings he'd piled on it. John laughed at the memory of Paddy when he was just a pup dragging the angel away and gnawing on it before it could be rescued, leaving one family heirloom destined for the trash.

He worked methodically around the tree and dressed it with as much love and care as he could, determined to make it more perfect than ever before. Taking a step back to admire his handiwork he nodded, pleased with his efforts. In typical man fashion he had yet to check that the lights he'd draped around the branches worked. Moving over to the socket he closed his eyes and flicked the switch. After a seconds' flickering they came to life, hundreds of tiny clear lights that lit the tree like a candle was balanced on the tip of every branch.

With just the candy canes left to hang and the star to put on the top John went to grab a coffee from the kitchen. His entrance was enough to distract Paddy from his canine slumber, especially as he interpreted movement as a sign of either an imminent walk or food. Weaving around John's feet he was trodden on by accident once, almost squashed twice and ultimately disappointed when there was no sign of his lead. A dog biscuit was as much as he was getting and that was only because his eyes tugged unbearably on John's heartstrings.

Grabbing the candy canes in his other hand he strolled back to the lounge and deposited the coffee cup and the canes on the nearest side table. John sat down where he'd left the almost empty decorations crate. Reaching down he gently retrieved the box that contained the gold tipped spun-glass star for the very top of the tree. He opened the box and withdrew it, carefully unwrapping the crinkled and torn tissue paper that had somehow so far kept it from damage after years of use.

John's eye caught something white drop to the floor and his heart sank, it looked as if the paper had finally succumbed and he hoped that there was no damage. However as he bent down to pick the paper up he realised that it was a sheet of the tissue paper folded into a perfect rectangle. Across the front in black pen it just said 'John'. Placing the star gently onto a nearby cushion he unfolded the paper, more than a little confused as to how it'd gotten there. The box had been in the attic since they packed away last New Years' and he'd peeled the tape off himself around 2 hours ago when he started his task for the afternoon.

The tissue paper was covered in black ink and in a script easily recognisable as it had been on the bottom of cards, love letters and shopping lists for so many years now. John smiled, sat back on the couch and began to read.

"My darling John,

So, you thought I'd finally broken the star after all these years hey? I bet you were thinking it, so don't try to pretend otherwise, I've known you too long to believe otherwise. And I bet by now you're wondering what the hell this is doing in there with the decorations. Well let me explain.

We both know now that I haven't got long left and I'm thinking but not saying that this might have been our last Christmas together. Now I could be being pessimistic but you know me, I'm always realistic, and if I make it, you won't see this as I'll have palmed it while you're sneaking the 'odd numbered and therefore unlucky' candy cane – and yeah I've seen you, that minty breath I smell on the kiss we always have when the tree's finished doesn't come from toothpaste does it? But don't get me wrong, I don't mind, never have. I just like to see you happy, especially at Christmas.

Now I want you to call Paddy up on the couch now. Yes, that's right. If you're reading this I won't be there telling him to get down all the time and not to scratch the leather. I know you would've let him up there years ago, well now, my beautiful soft-hearted boy, now you can."

John's eyes had filled to the brim quickly and he couldn't read on for a moment, using the sleeve of his sweater to wipe the big, hot tears away from his face. He patted his leg and with one jump Paddy was by his side, enjoying having his head patted and ears stroked and the inevitable comfort of the many cushions that covered the couch.

Paddy was peacefully resting his head on John's thigh and after taking a long deep breath John continued reading.

"So now you're not alone, I can get to the hard part.

I just wanted to thank you for everything you ever did for me, every doctor's appointment you came to, every breakfast in bed when I couldn't get up to go downstairs, all the fetching and carrying you had to do. Don't think for a second I took it for granted and didn't appreciate every single gesture. I was fortunate to have had someone like you who loved me enough to ride that rollercoaster with me every step of the way from the good times, in fact the great times, to the last year and a half when times got real hard for both of us.

I know we talked but I used to see you colour up so quick when I tried to say thank you that I just left it be. I love you John, with every breath I ever took you were my world, the reason I got up and the reason I fought so hard to stay. I know you did all those things for me out of love and I could never thank you enough.

Now that's out of the way, I don't want to ruin your Christmas Eve altogether. I hope you remembered to put the lights on first and that you're hands aren't too sore from doing the 'corn. What I wouldn't give to be there now and kiss better every sore spot on your hands.

So, anyway, I'm running out of room on this paper. I hope you are bearing up ok. I'll be watching over you baby, don't ever think I'd leave you alone. I hope your family and the guys are taking good care of you. You are the most special person I ever met and I am so grateful to have been able to share ten years of my life with you. By the time you're reading this letter I will have told you these things a million times, but just in case you ever forget, here it is in writing for you to keep.

I love you John; my darling you are always strong, always beautiful, always and only you.

All my love, now and forever,

Randy x"

Paddy looked up, his big brown eyes connecting with John's. The sound of John's crying had pricked up his ears. As only dogs do he shuffled closer, putting a paw on John's thigh and pushing his head under the hand that held the letter.

It had only been a month since Randy had gone. He'd fought until the last day to beat the cancer that had racked his body for almost 2 years. John had been undecided as to whether or not to put the tree up at all, he didn't feel festively inclined but it was the routine of their many Christmas Eve's together that had driven him to go through those familiar motions, almost to delay the shock of changing the comfortable pattern they'd lived in for so long.

Looking at the tree the lights blurred and sparkled through the tears that streamed from his eyes. Reading the letter had been like hearing Randy's voice one last time. John was touched deeply by the gesture, by the familiarity of the tone and comforted by the sense that Randy was there with him as he read it. He folded the note back the way he had first found it and pressed it to his lips, kissing the back of it so as not to risk damaging the paper or the message it carried. John slid it back inside the box and set the box aside almost reverently on the couch.

Gently shifting Paddy's weight off his leg he stood, his entire body trembling, and reached for the star. Stepping forward he guided it onto the vertical branch at the top, adjusting it so the first strings of lights caught it and made it glow. In a deliberate fashion he hung the canes next, and as always there was 15 in the pack and he held the last one in his hand as if it were the most precious thing in the world to him. Staring down at it he clutched it to his chest directly over his heart and smiled, feeling love wash over him for the first time since he'd been alone.

Sweet memories.

*

A/N: Hope you liked it, inspired by the breathtakingly awesome Christmas fics by Wrestlefan4. All reads and reviews appreciated.