This is for my FF sister chocolate-w-love. This is, by far, the most complex, long and exhausting one-shot (bi-shot, actually) I have ever written.
I hope you'll like the couple and the story itself. I have tried to remain faithful to how the events went on real life but, of course, I had to alter some stuff.
2006:
Nicky's POV:
How are you supposed to get into a ring and fight with the person you have a crush on? It's like if they are asking you to abandon the pet you have had for your whole life.
I hated to have to get onto that ring and punch him, hit him, insult him… But I always wanted to be a wrestler so I guess that was the price I had to pay for it. However, it didn't make me feel any better.
I was waiting with Mitch not far from the gorilla position for Kenny, Johnny and Mikey when Hardy and Edge walked by, Edge's arm around Hardy's shoulders and playing with the dark hair as he whispered something to him.
"Yuck. I don't understand how can men be together." A voice behind us said and we found Kenny, looking at the elder men disgustingly.
I didn't say anything, of course, but I thought that they made a great couple. And even if they had their problems (big problems) they were able to get over them.
"Guys. We are up." Mikey said.
We walked down the ramp to the ring where Hunter and HBK were already in there. He looked so sexy, so good, so hot with his ripped T-shirt, his black and green trousers and the cowboy hat.
I didn't want to be there.
But I had to if I didn't want to get fired, so I started to gesture and yell at them along with my tag-team mates.
Oh, and for the record, I hated our theme song.
Shawn's POV:
They were so annoying. Like really annoying. Yeah, it was a storyline but this one, was particularly annoying. I didn't know how creative thought this could be good for the company. And, somehow, it turned out to be a good thing for the company! And from where did those kids come from anyway? They were clumsy and had no talent. Well, maybe some of them did, but overall they didn't.
And they looked almost all the same! I couldn't even remember who was who! Not that I really wanted to, I had no thoughts of being friends with any of them. I had enough friends with Hunter, Nash, the Hardys, E&C. And Marky Mark as boyfriend.
I heard the Spirit Squad theme song (could that be even called theme song? It was embarrassing) and I focused my eyes on the five males going down the ramp, gesturing at us.
"You ready, buddy?" I heard Hunter ask me and I smirked, tossing my hat away.
"'Course I am, boy." I performed my Sweet Chin Music to the first one that came, like it had been scripted.
We did as it was scripted and then we headed back to our locker room, smiling to Matt and Adam who were talking outside the Hardy's locker room.
"Mark!" My lover turned around and I kissed him, feeling him correspond the kiss back.
2008:
As he sat down in the main locker room his eyes went from his long-time crush, who was talking with Rey Mysterio and he then heard something that startled him. He had just come back from his month suspension.
"Hey Hardy!" Jeff turned around to Jericho.
"What?" The younger Hardy asked as he pulled his now blond hair in a low ponytail.
"Do you know something about Matt and Adam?" The older man asked.
"Matty and Adam? Well, they are fine. Sad because they are apart but they are pulling it off." He explained. "And believe me, you are not going to want to be near them when they reunite."
"Why?"
"'Cause they get all lovey-dovey and I don't want too see my brother blowing Adam ever again!" He said and everyone shut up. "You are impossible guys!"
"Don't blame us, it's a pretty hot picture." Drew said.
"Yeah. When they are not your brother and one of your best friends." Jeff huffed. "Why the question, anyway?" He asked to the Canadian.
"Oh. You know, they had their problems and Adam is dear friend to me and so is Matt, so I just wanted to know how they were. I didn't have time to call him these past weeks." He said and Jeff nodded.
Everyone knew about Amy, Matt and Adam, but the males had been able to talk about it and get over it and finally move on with each other, forgetting the woman, leaving her in both of their past. And everyone had been expecting a nasty break up but instead; they stood strong, ignoring everyone that badmouthed them, proving everyone wrong.
And that's what Nick had been sure that had happened while he wasn't on the top brands but he was wrong. Terribly wrong, if he believed the younger Hardy's words.
He was wandering through the corridors when his cell-phone rang. Unknown number, but he answered the call anyway.
"Hello?"
"Nicky?"
"Kenny! How did you get my number?" He asked.
"Mitch. So, how is it going on RAW?"
"I just got here two weeks ago, so nothing happened." He said, leaning back against the wall.
"Well, we need to catch up one of these days. I heard that there is going to be a gathering with the three brands at some point next week, do you want to go have something then?"
"Sure! It's been a really long time since we saw each other!" He agreed, happy to see his old mate.
"Great! Have a nice week!"
"Yeah, you too." He hung up and went to the catering area and just then, he bumped into Shawn. "I-I'm sorry." He stuttered, looking at the blond man and quickly looking away.
"Bet you are." The older man growled and walked passed him, going towards Hunter.
He bit his lip until he almost drew blood and blinked rapidly trying not to shed tears. He didn't want to look any more pathetic.
"Everything ok?" Hunter asked when Shawn joined him at his side.
"Yeah. Don't worry buddy." He replied. "Kid's a clumsy one. Nothing to be worried about." He said as they headed to their locker room. "So, what about the gathering? Why is it for?" He asked as he looked for his new hat.
"Well, Vince said something about a new rules on the WPP." He said. "But he didn't want to tell me." He huffed.
"Not even Steph told you?" The older man asked, surprised.
"No. They said it wouldn't be fair towards the rest. And you know how stubborn those McMahon are." He said, shaking his head and pulling his hair in a ponytail. "Let's get some food, I'm hungry."
"You are always hungry." Shawn joked as he fished his phone in his bag. "Marky!" He said when Taker replied. They made their way to the catering area, sitting next to Jeff who was texting his brother and Hunter went to Jericho to ask him something about… He didn't remember about what. "Hey rainbow." He said to him and Jeff growled at that nickname: he hated it. He only let three people call him that. And Shawn was not one of them. "So, how's it going in SD?"
"Could be better." The Deadman replied.
"Are you hurt Marky?" The blond asked, worried for his boyfriend. They weren't young guys anymore.
"No. It's Adam."
"Adam? Is he hurt?"
"No. But he is driving me and everyone else mad with his 'Matty this', 'Matty that', 'I miss my Matty'." He growled.
"Can you blame him? They haven't seen each other like for two months or so. I bet Matt is driving everyone Matt at ECW." He replied.
"Probably. How is everything in RAW?"
"Pretty good. Besides that Nicky is back." The blond said. "Oh! We'll see next week, right?"
"Yeah. What's the gathering for, anyway?"
"WPP. But that's all I know, baby. Hunter doesn't know either." The blonde said. "I gotta go, darlin'. I need to pick up next week's script. Love you."
"Ok. I'll see you next week." Shawn hung up and sighed: never, ever, in their almost two years relationship, Mark had said that he loved him back.
"You okay?" Jeff asked, his eyes glued on his phone as he texted back Phil.
"Yeah. Why are you asking?" The older male asked.
"You just lied to Mark." The Carolinian pointed out.
"I have not."
"Yes, you have. You just told him you had to go to pick up the script when they gave it to us two hours ago." He pointed out and then smirked when Michaels sighed in defeat.
"I liked you better when you were just a kid, Hardy." Jeff chuckled and stared at him with his intense emerald eyes. "He is… acting weird, ok? I mean, he has never been the most talkative guy in the back, but lately he is sharper than usual." He told him. "So I just hung up when I notice that he is getting bored or doesn't want to talk." He said.
"You should talk about this with him." He suggested.
"Yeah. I should." He breathed out and rubbed his temples and then smiled at the boy. "He said that Adam is driving everyone mad talking about your brother." Jeff chuckled again before he turned his phone to him, showing what Phil and him were talking about. "Now I understand why they are together." He said: it seemed that the older Hardy was driving everybody insane too with his talking about Adam.
"Yeah. But they are happy." He said, staring at the ceiling. "I had never thought that Matty and Addy would end up together. And now that I look back, it seems so obvious."
"No one thought it, Jeff. Hell, no one ever imagined it." He said. "Not after all that shit." Somehow everyone agreed not to mention their past ever again but not one ever ask for it, so it end up being 'that shit'.
The RAW roster had been the first one to get to the headquarters where the meeting was going to be held.
"Matty!" Jeff called his brother, waving at him when the ECW guys stepped in and the brunette Hardy jogged over him, hugging his brother tightly.
"Jeffy! How ya been?" His accent thickening, as always when he tasked with Jeff.
"Ah'm fine. So… Phil said ya wouldn't shut up 'bout Adam." The older Hardy blushed a bit, sticking his tongue out.
"Yeah… Maybe Ah talked a bit to much 'bout Addams." He admitted, rubbing the back of his nape carelessly. "So how was every…?" He was interrupted by someone.
"Carolina!" The brunette Hardy turned around and his face brighten up when he saw his boyfriend in the middle of the room looking for him.
"Addams!" He ran to him and pulled him down for a kiss. A very passionate, sonorous kiss. Adam sneaked his arms around the younger man's waist and pushed him closer to his own body.
"Would you two please stop this?" Kane growled and Adam showed him his middle finger as he kept kissing Matthew.
"Well, I do understand what you said the other day now." Jericho said as he patted Jeff's shoulder. "And yes, you were right, I don't want to be near them." Jeff laughed and shook his head as his eyes landed on another two who were also all clingy and kissy.
Well, Michaels was all clingy and kissy because Mark didn't seem to interact that much. And Shawn didn't seem to care a bit about it.
The younger Hardy closed his eyes and sighed in pain inaudibly: why him? Of all people why he had to fall for Mark fucking Calaway?
He smiled sweetly when Adam pressed his lips onto Matt's forehead. His brother looked so small next to Adam. And he acted all sweet and whatnot. Geez! God knew that his brother had never been like that before Adam! As a matter of fact, he wasn't sweet when Adam wasn't around; he was his usual overprotective, wild, crazy big brother he had always known. Just like the Canadian acted so mature and loving with his brother and when Matt wasn't with him he would be his usual drama queen, gossiping attention whore.
"You okay there, Carolina?" Jeff turned around and smiled at Punk, who had just gotten next to him.
"Yeah. So, Matty's been bugging you, huh?" He asked, hugging the Chicagoan. "And don't call me that. It gives me chills since Adam calls Matty 'Carolina'."
"Ok, ok." He said, rolling his eyes. "And yeah, he's been bugging us, but it was… kinda cute. They are not really used being apart so it was fine. Besides, it was funny to hear Matt talking to Adam so sweetly and lovey. He definitely doesn't sound like he usually does." He said.
"Don't tell me about it." The older male growled as his eyes went to Shawn and Mark and he almost panted when he realised that two green eyes were looking at his direction.
"Why is Taker looking at you?" Brooks inquired and Jeff heart thumped a little faster.
"W-what?" He stuttered.
"Taker. He is looking at you, man. Have you done something to him?" He asked.
"How could I? I've been in RAW all this time and haven't seen him once." He replied, his eyes glued to Mark's.
"Well, he doesn't look angry." He patted his shoulder. "I'll see you around." They hugged briefly and Jeff could swear he had seen anger flicker in Mark's eyes. But then again, it could have perfectly been his very own imagination.
He snapped back to reality when he heard Matt giggle because of something Adam had said to him. Why couldn't he have a relationship as beautiful as Matty's?
Damn Punk! Why had he to be so close to baby Hardy?
"Marky?" He looked down to the man in his arms and sighed internally: he couldn't do that Shawn anymore. He had been crushing on the younger Hardy for years now, but Matt scared him away. Everyone in the rooster, even the rookies, knew to let Jeff be and to try to force him into something. The one that knew this better was Batista: he had try to get Jeff drunk enough so the younger male would agree to have sex with him. And he would have carried successfully with his plan if Matt hadn't been told about it. He broke Dave's wrist with such facility that no one believed that he had such strength. Someone had suggested that Matt was drunk and that this was the reason that he could have won The Animal so quickly, but Matt didn't even taste alcohol that night.
And Mark didn't want to mess with him.
But well, he would never try to get Jeffrey drunk to have sex with him. He wanted so much more with him: he wanted to be with him. Not to have a fling like he was having with Michaels.
Yes, sure, he cared about Shawn but he couldn't love him or, at least, not as much as he loved Jeff. He knew what he had to do.
"Hey baby, you all right?" Shawn asked as he stroked his cheek.
"Yeah. I'm just tired." He replied, feeling that he was the most disgusting, repulsive person in the country. No. In the world. How could he play with Shawn's feelings like that? It was cruel, vile, heartless and cold-blooded. And that was putting it nicely.
"You sure?" The older man asked and Calaway nodded.
Shawn smiled and kissed him sweetly and then his eyes moved again to Jeff, who looked down, sadly.
And then his line of vision of Jeffrey was cut down when Matt and Adam moved over to the younger Hardy and he almost sighed: to be with Jeffrey was going to be a really hard but worth road. Bad thing was going to be Matt. And Adam. Because Edge was going to be always in Matt's side.
He watched how Adam wrapped an arm around the older Hardy waist and pulled him more to himself. He saw wanted to be in a relationship like that with the younger Hardy.
Adam smiled and kissed Matty's temple, inhaling his woodsy scent. God, he had missed his hardy boy a lot. Not being able to wrap his arms around his body, to kiss him endlessly, to be inside him or to have him inside his body, to tell him how much love he felt for him.
When they started dating he wasn't sure that they could make it work, but after almost three years of relationship, he couldn't understand how could he had doubt about it. Yes, they had baggage, really heavy baggage, but they moved on one next to the other.
Before they started dating they had talked. For hours. They started sitting around a table, one in front of the other. Then they moved to the couch, sitting next to the other and eventually they moved to the bed, sitting cross-legged, knees touching and hands caressing slightly and finally they ended up talking with Adam leaning against the headboard and Matt between his legs, his back pressed to the blonde's firm chest and hands entwined over the brunette's belly.
"Adds?" He blinked and looked down at Matt and then to Jeff. "You zoned." The brunette said, smirking.
"Sorry." He said, smiling apologetically. "Were you saying?" He asked.
"I was saying if you two wanted to go out dinner with me some day." Jeff repeated.
"Sure." He said and Matt kissed his hand sweetly. "God I missed you so much." He said and the older Carolinian smiled.
"I missed you too, darling." He replied before he pecked his lips.
"If you two are going to be this mushy all these days, we are not going anywhere." Jeff growled and Matt rolled his eyes at him, clearly not caring about what was he saying.
"You so need to get someone, Jeff. Or at least to get a good fuck." The older brother said and the other one snickered.
"Yeah, like you would let someone approach me with that intentions." Adam gave a short laugh that stopped when Matt narrowed his eyes at him.
"Hey, I would if I knew that you really wanted it." He said and then trailed off as Vince stepped in.
The meeting was boring but luckily it was also short and then they went to the club Vince had rented for them. It was then that Nick and Kenny found each other. After a tight embrace that lasted for a minute they sat down at an apart table.
"So, how's the coming back going?" Kenny asked as he sipped on his drink.
"Well, some of the guys are nice and some others… are not." He said shrugging.
"Helmsley and Michaels." Ken said. It wasn't a question it was an affirmation.
"Yeah." He nodded. "Not that they have done something to me personally, but I just don't want to be near them." He sighed and played with his drink.
"I understand the feeling. But believe me, it's worst to be around Edge." He growled, looking at the Canadian, who was currently talking with someone on the phone while he had Matt, who was sitting on a stool and talking with Glenn, in his arms.
"Why?" Dolph asked as he looked at the same direction and smiled a bit: they looked so cute together.
"Because it's…"
Adam interrupted him when he shouted at no one in particular. "Jay is coming back!" That gathered everyone's attention in a matter of seconds. "Hey, he just told me that he is in contract negotiations, I don't know anything else." He said after he was bombarded with endless questions.
"Were you saying?" Dolph asked his long time friend, looking at him. "What about Edge?"
"It's disgusting."
"Edge? Why? Has he done something to you?" He asked.
"Besides never shutting up about how wonderful Hardy is? No he hasn't. It's just disgusting, Nick. Hearing him talk with Hardy almost every day. Men shouldn't be with men. It's just wrong, don't you think?"
Nick didn't answer. At least not immediately. Disgusting? Wrong? No, he didn't think it was disgusting or wrong. He didn't he was disgusting. He was a person, a wrestler, just like any other one in the back but, like some others, he liked men instead of women.
"No." He said.
"What?" Doane asked, shocked.
"I don't think it's disgusting or wrong." Nick said. "I think everybody should be able to love whomever they want without anyone saying that it's wrong or right."
"What the hell are you saying? Homosexuality is just wrong!" The younger male yelled. "Homosexuals are the doom of this world! I wouldn't touch any of them if I could choose."
"You already did." Dolph said, furrowing.
"What? Who did I touch that is gay?" He asked, wrinkling.
"Me. I'm gay. Always been gay. And you have hugged me." He said before he felt a hand impact in his cheek. "What…?"
"You… you are the most disgusting, filthy thing I've ever seen!" The younger yelled, furious. "You homosexuals should die!" He had raised his hand to hit him again, but it was catch by someone in his back. "What the…?" He trailed off when he saw the look in Adam's eyes.
"You…" The Canadian spun him around and connected his fist with Kenneth's jaw. "You shouldn't be saying those types of things in here, you know? Not being a rookie and someone that is more a jobber than anything." He said.
"That doesn't change the fact that you are disgusting. You and your Hardy boy." He snickered and Adam punched him again.
"My Matty is known to be overprotective with Jeff, right? Well, I'm overprotective when something can hurt Matt, and although I know he is really tough, I will protect him from everything. And everything includes people like you." Kenny gulped: yeah, he knew about Matt, but Adam wasn't less scary than the older Hardy.
He saw how Matt walked until he joined Adam and pressed his cheek on the blonde's shoulder and kissed his neck. "It's okay baby." Doane narrowed his eyes at the use of the pet name, but didn't say anything. "It's not like I'd listen someone like him. He ain't worth it." Adam released him and then kissed the older American fully on the lips, smirking when Matt shoved his tongue inside his mouth and moaning softly as he was dominated. Oh yes, his Matty was all sweet-like with him, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't get dominant from time to time.
Using the distraction that Matt and Adam were being, Nemeth abandoned the building and started pacing through the big city, praying not to get lost and thinking a way to thank Edge and Hardy.
He couldn't believe that such a dear friend like Kenny had just rejected him because of his sexual preferences, but he wasn't going to lie about that, at least, not to his co-workers.
Meanwhile the fight had happened, Mark had taken Shawn to some place hidden enough from the rest of the guys. He still couldn't believe that the three branches' wrestlers were all inside there.
"What's the matter?" Shawn asked as he hugged Mark by the neck, biting it down. He had missed the slightly younger male and he couldn't help himself.
"Shawn… Shawn, stop." He said and pushed the smaller man away of his body.
"What is it? You want to go back the hotel?" The blond asked, hopeful that he would finally be able to spent quality time with his boyfriend.
"We… we have to stop seeing each other." The Undertaker said, staring into the baby blue eyes that looked at him, hoping that he was joking and that lost glim when he realised he wasn't.
"What?"
"That. I can't keep doing it."
"I-I don't understand. Why so suddenly?" he asked, his mind going at a hundred kilometres per hour. "You are with someone else." He stated.
"No. I am not with someone else." Mark denied.
"Then why? Did I do something wrong?" He asked, almost yelling, his blue eyes filled with fresh salty tears of pain. "Tell me why!" He snapped as the transparent liquid ran down on his cheeks.
"Th-there's someone else. There's always been someone else." The taller one told.
"I was a rebound thing?" Shawn asked, his voice trembling with ire, something really rare to see.
"No. You couldn't be. I never had anything with that person." He said, a pang of sadness shot his body.
"Fucking great Mark! I was just substitute!" He yelled. "At least you could have told you didn't want a serious relationship!"
"I never said I wanted one! Wait, what? You thought we were in a serious relationship?" He asked, shocked: they had never made that point clear, although that would explain the cheesy names.
"Well, after almost three years of sleeping around, yes, I though so!"
"And as far as I remember, we never talked about that! You just assumed things, Michaels." He growled and walked past him. "See you around."
He left Shawn there, alone and almost crying, but the blond refused to shed tears for that man (the man that played with him and his feelings) where someone could see him, so he walked out and went next to Hunter, who was smirking but frowned when he saw him.
"Are you okay?" He asked when he saw the angry and upset look is his best friend's eyes.
"Yeah. Don't wanna talk about it." He rasped out, looking at his feet. "So, what's going on?"
"Doane and Nemeth got into an argument about homosexuality. Turns our to be that little Nicky is gay and Adam got angry and punched him and then kissed Matt in front of his eyes." He quickly told. "Doane's face was quite hilarious." Shawn nodded as he asked for the strongest drink they had.
And while Hickenbottom was drinking endlessly, Calaway was going towards Jeff, who was now bantering about something with his brother, as usual, and stopped next to them.
"Hey Mark!" Matt said cheerfully at him, smirking when Adam wrapped both arms around his waist and groaned at the taller man possessively.
"Hey. Heard you are going for the Championship." He said and Matt nodded as he lent against Adam's chest. "I'm sure you'll get it."
"Thanks man." He said, smiling at him. "Darlin'?" He said to Adam.
"Yes babe?"
"Can we go back to the hotel? I'm really tired." Matt asked and the blond nodded, not being able to refuse his boyfriend anything. "Thank you." He kissed Adam's cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow, ok, baby bro?" Jeff nodded and leaned to hug him tightly and pecked his lips.
"See you tomorrow. Good night Matty!" The green-eyed Hardy said. "Good night Addy!"
"Good night. And. Don't. Call. Me. Addy." He growled, causing the brothers to laugh.
"Why don't you seat?" Jeff asked Mark, pointing at the seat his brother left free and smiled lightly when the older man did so. "How was everything in SD!?"
"I swear to God that if Adam talks about Matt one more time I'll kill him." He growled and Jeff laughed, enchanting the Deadman with it. "But, I didn't come here to talk about your brother and Copeland."
"Oh? What about, then?" He asked, tilting his head.
"Come." He said. "I need to talk you in somewhere more private." Jeff followed him outside.
"Shouldn't you wait for Shawn?" He asked when he realised that they were going back to the hotel.
"I don't think he wants to see me right now." The older replied.
"How come? I mean, you were all kissy before the meeting started." He mumbled.
"He was kissy. I wasn't." He corrected him and Jeff nodded. "I broke up with him about half an hour ago or so." He explained.
"Why?" The Carolinian couldn't help but ask.
"Because I'm in love in someone. I never loved Shawn like that. I mean, sure, I care for him but I can't love him as much as I love…" He trailed off, heated green eyes meeting another pair of green orbs.
Jeff's heart was thudding heavily in his chest as he looked up to Mark, waiting for him to tell him with whom he was in love, for whom he had dumped Michaels.
"Who?" He finally asked, unable to resist the temptation, the need to know.
Mark bit his lower lip before he replied: it was all or nothing. Happiness or utter sadness, but it needed to be done already.
"You. I can't love Shawn as much as I love you." He finally said, never taking his eyes off of Jeff's.
And the younger male was hyperventilating, his head spinning around slightly as he tried to wrap his mind around the fact that Mark William Calaway, the man he had loved from afar for so many years, was telling that he loved him back.
"Is this a dream?" He babbled, looking up to the Texan, who laughed and shook his head as he stroke Hardy's cheek: he loved how innocent Jeff could be. He smiled slightly when the high-flyer pressed his big hand against his cheek and shoulder. And, judging from the younger male's action, it seemed that his feeling were being corresponded, but he hadn't been given any answer and that suspense was killing him.
"Jeff?" He called him.
"Hm?"
"Do you love me back?" He asked as he lifted Jeff's chin and leaned over him, to brush his hair and be, more or less, at the same eye level.
"Oh." The blond giggled and threw himself onto his arms. "Yes. Yes. Of course I do love you. I've always loved you." He said as he wrapped his arms around the strong neck.
Mark chuckled and pressed a soft kiss in his forehead. "Let's go back to the hotel, I don't want your brother in my throat anytime soon." At that, he realised something. "Oh God." He muttered.
"What's the matter?" Jeff asked, brushing the reddish hair off Mark's face.
"Your brother is going to fucking kill me." He said and Jeff shook his head and stared at him in disbelief: The Undertaker was afraid of his brother? That was hilarious in so many levels, because Mark was quite taller than Matt was. "Don't look at me like that, after what he did to Batista, you'd be scared too."
"Matty won't do anything to you." He said.
"How do you know?"
"'Cause he knows how I feel about you." He replied, smiling sweetly up at him, his big green eyes shining.
"He knows?"
"Well, duh. Matt is my best friend and my big brother." He responded and grabbed Mark's hand.
"Well, I have five siblings and I've never talked with them about my feelings for some other men. Or women." He said, shaking his head. "You and Matt really have a weird relationship." At that, Jeff shrugged.
Four days later, Shawn was sitting on a bench in the middle of a park, a bottle of vodka in his cold hands. It was December and while in Texas it wasn't as hot as the summer, the winter wasn't as fucking cold as it was in there.
He shouldn't be drinking that much and he knew it, but hey, he just received the news that Mark never loved him, so he was not going to be fine and dandy.
He was starting to think that he was doomed or something, every time he thought he was in a nice relationship, something or someone had to fuck it up. He sighed and took a swig of the alcohol bottle.
As he stared to the dark sky he sighed again: everything was so silent around here, only hearing a dog in the distance and the low rumble of the wind. And to top it off, it was almost Christmas season, so all the streets, squares and parks in every fucking city in the States was decorated with happy and sweet things.
God, his life sucked so badly.
"Shawn?" He heard a low coy voice next to him and when he saw the person in front of him, snickered: of all people, he had to cross path with Nicholas fucking Nemeth. Great, it was just great.
"Get lost, kid." He growled with slurred voice.
"Are you drunk?" Dolph asked, tilting his head.
"What if I am? Nobody fucking cares." He said, stirring the bottle in circles, before he drank again.
"Can I sit?" The bleach blond asked and Shawn pierced him with his blue eyes before he nodded.
"It's not like I can tell you not to since the bench it's not mine." He said and the younger male took a sit, staring at his hands.
They didn't say anything for several minutes, but Shawn was known for his endless chatting, so, even if he didn't like the boy, he needed to talk.
"So, why are you out here?" He asked and Dolph looked at him, startled: he was sure that the older man wouldn't talk to him.
"I just didn't feel like staying in the hotel." He replied. "W-What about you?" He asked, stuttering.
"Mark dumped me four days ago." Shawn replied as he took a good swing of the transparent liquid. "And I don't want to see him. And I thought we were in a relationship while, it turned out to be, that I was just his fuck doll. Want some?" He offered.
"No thanks." He denied. "You shouldn't be out here, it's going to start freezing at some point." He said when he realised that Shawn didn't even have a coat on him.
"Vodka'll keep me warm." He said and moved the bottle. "You know what, boy? I'll give you an advice: never fall in love. It only brings pain. At some point, always bring pain."
"Too late for that, but thanks." He grumbled and rubbed his hands.
"Does he feel the same?" The older blond asked, letting his tongue talk for him without thinking everything twice.
"No. He hates me." Dolph replied.
"Told you: love is a bitch." He shuddered and Nemeth nodded and finally accepted the bottle and drank down the liquid.
"We really should go back to the hotel, Shawn." He said as he gave the bottle back.
"What for? I don't have Mark anymore I don't want to deal with Hunter." He growled and rubbed his forehead. "I rather sleep in the car." He said.
"I…I have a free bed in my room. It's yours if you want it." The Ohioan said and Shawn stared at him, making him nervous. "I-I mean…"
"You are quite nice, kiddo." Nick furrowed at the name. Shawn stared at his almost empty bottle and finished it. "Let's go, I don't want to be in trouble with Vinnie." He said and stood up but almost fell, face first, onto the ground, however Nick grabbed him in time. "Uhh… I might have drunk a bit too much." He said as he rubbed his eyes.
They went back to the hotel, Nick half carrying him, until they finally reached the younger male's room. He opened the door and walked inside.
"You can take a shower or… whatever you want." He muttered, suddenly shy as he went to get a bottle of water.
"I'm just going… to sleep." Michaels said as he walked to one of the beds. "Is that one yours?"
"Y-yeah." Nick nodded, asking himself if that was rude to say, but the other one didn't seem to care at al because he just turned around and flopped onto the other one for a few minutes before he stripped down to boxers and climbed under the covers. "D-do you want me to set an alarm or something?" He asked as he climbed under the covers too once he had his pyjama on.
"No." Was the slurred answer. "I'm going to be hangover, so just let me sleep." He growled and in less than two minutes, he was sleeping deeply.
Dolph stared at the figure of his roommate for the night and sighed: at least Shawn didn't smash the bottle in his head as he had thought he would do. He didn't even say anything degrading to him, but that was because the alcohol had clouded his mind. He knew that, tomorrow, Shawn would treat him like a piece of shit again.
He closed his eyes, sad and tired and drifted off to sleep, listening to the soft giggles coming from the next room. Damned were the extra thin walls from the hotels.
Next morning, when Nick woke up the first thing he noticed is that he wasn't alone in the room: he looked at the curled up ball in the other bed an everything for the prior night came back to him: it had been quite weird, but he was happy that he could have talked with him.
He got up and went to the shower, then clad himself in a jeans and long-sleeve black shirt. He stared at Shawn's sleeping form, debating whether he should wake him up or just leave him sleeping, but remembering that Michaels had told him to let him sleep, he decided that he would go to have breakfast on his own, not that he was really expecting for the Texan to go with him, so he wrote a note telling him where he was and why he woke up in another room, left it on the nightstand and then left to the restaurant.
He was texting his brother when he bumped onto someone. "Hey Nick! Long time no see!" he looked up and saw Matt and Adam, holding hands and smiling at him.
"H-hey." He said, accepting Adam's hand and the blond helped him to get onto his feet again.
"You going to have breakfast?" Matt asked and he nodded. "Well, join us then." He said and the blond nodded, smiling. "We need to pick Jeff and Mark first, though."
"Mark? Why?" Adam asked tilting his head to the side.
"Because Mark and Jeff are fucking around." Matt replied matter-of-factly.
"Wasn't Mark with Shawn?" The oldest of the three inquired.
Oh. So that was the reason of why Taker had broken up with Shawn: because he was fucking Jeff too.
"I don't know. I thought they had broken up or something." Matt replied. "I mean, Mark isn't one of going behind someone's back like that." The brunette replied.
"How do you even know that they are fucking? And since when?" Adam asked, shocked.
"Three or four days ago, I think. And I know because Jeff told me."
"Jeff told you? Why would he talked about his sexual life with his brother?" Once he had finished the sentence he stopped and looked at his boyfriend in the eye. "Do you talk with him about us?" He asked, panicking.
"Yeah." The older American said as if it was obvious.
"And what do you tell him?" He asked. He knew Jeff had a hard time accepting their relationship and accepting him and he didn't want Jeff to get mad at him again.
"How good you are with me, how much I love you, how amazing you are in bed…" He said, stroking his neck and smirking.
"You two have a very bizarre relationship." Adam sighed and kissed him sweetly on the lips, stroking his cheeks.
And Nick couldn't help to remind the words Shawn had said at the park: Never fall in love. It only brings pain. Well, for the look of the things, those two didn't seem to be feeling any pain.
They resumed their way to Jeff's room and Matt banged on the door. "Get up you lazy asses!" He yelled and door shoved open and Jeff smiled at him, kissing his cheek.
"Morning, bubba." He said.
"Morning, baby bro." Matt kissed his cheek too. "Nick is coming with us today." He said and Jeff nodded, as he turned around and grabbed Mark, who stared at Matt. And Matt stared back, narrowing his eyes.
Nemeth stared at the silent confrontation: trying to guess who would back off first. His votes were on the only dark haired man since Mark was bigger and scarier than Matt was.
And he was wrong again, because it was Mark the first to look away. Adam chuckled and kissed Matt on the temple. "Ok, now that you have done your big brother thing, can we go please eat? I'm starving." He said and Matt nodded, leaning against Adam's frame when the Canadian wrapped an arm around his waist to lead him to the elevator.
Nick hurried after them, not wanting to be alone with Mark and Jeff. Not after knowing that it was because of them that the one he loved was in a horrible pain. They sat around the table and it wasn't long until Glenn joined them, patting his brother on the back.
"Morning."
"Morning." Calaway replied and Adam and the Hardys waved at him, the Carolinians deep inside a discussion from which Nick could only pick up some words: with their really strong accent and the fact that spoke with each other really fast made it hard for some of them to follow them.
"C'mon Matty, Jeff is right. You should go see your dad on the next break, it'll be Christmas, baby. You have been coming to Tampa for the last four breaks and I'm sure he misses you a lot." Adam said as he kissed his nose.
"Why don't you come with me, then?" He asked, looking at his boyfriend with his large brown eyes and Adam nodded, as if enchanted. Matt smiled, threw his arms around his neck and kissed him deeply.
After that, the brothers kept talking again and Edge turned to Nick, who was looking at them, furrowing.
"Everything ok, kiddo?" He asked and the youngest turned his head to him.
"How do you understand what they say?" He questioned. "I can only catch a few words." He said.
"I have spent a lot of time with them, in the end, you just get used to it. You should hear them when they talk with Shane and Shannon. It gets worse because Shannon speaks faster than them." He explained.
"Is that even possible?" He wondered out loud.
"Surprisingly, yes, it is." Edge took a bite of his pancake. "So, how is everything in RAW? Are they treating you nicely?" He asked.
"Uh-huh." He nodded. "It's not like it can happen a lot of things in the short time I've been there." He said.
"Yeah, you are right in that one." Glenn said to him, making him shudder. "Don't worry. I don't bite. Much." He said and the oldest at the table rolled his eyes.
They kept eating until they decided to go back to their respective rooms. As he opened the door, he noticed that Shawn was still in bed, so he closed the door quietly and then sat down on his bed and took a book and started reading, lying flat on his belly.
"Morning." He heard after half an hour and he turned his head to Shawn.
"Morning." Well, he was expecting demands on why was he there or something like that, not a simple, plain and kind of friendly 'Morning'.
"Don't look at me like that, boy. I wasn't drunk enough not to remember anything." Shawn grumbled. "What time is it?"
"Half past eleven." He replied.
"Shit. Hunter is going to fucking kill me." The older male said as he sat down. "Have you had breakfast?"
"Uh? Yeah. I was hungry." He excused himself but Shawn make a movement with his hand to diminish it's important, showing that he didn't mind it at all.
He started to gather his clothes from around the room and to pull them off under Nick's eyes. Fuck! Shawn was so sexy, like a god in Earth or something. Of course he loved him, how could someone not to. He was so perfect. And he didn't feel anything but hate -maybe not hate, but almost- towards him.
"Have you seen my shoe?" He heard and then lifted his head again.
"Huh?"
"My shoe? Have you seen it? I can't find it." Shawn said, arching an eyebrow.
"Oh…" He scanned the room for a few seconds and then pointed the closet. "It's there, in the corner." Shawn moved there and took it before he put it on.
"Well, I gotta go." He said and smiled a bit at him. "Thanks for letting me stay. It was nice of you."
"Any time." He whispered as he got up to go next to him and hold the door open for him. "S-see you a-around." He stuttered and Shawn nodded.
"See you around."
As he walked away, Shawn started thinking: the kid wasn't so bad, in the end. He seemed to be even sweet and caring, something that he had never showed two years ago.
He opened the door to his and Hunter's room and smiled when he realised that Hunter hadn't sleep in there due the fact both beds were perfectly done and the cleaning lady didn't get to their room yet which meant that Hunter didn't know that he didn't sleep there either and he wouldn't have to give him any explanation.
He undid his bed so it seemed that he had slept there and then headed to take hot long a shower. Thank god he wasn't hangover, after many years of drinking contest with Nash, Mark, Hunter, the Hardys and some more, he got a really high resistance to alcohol. Not as much as Mark and Matt, though. Those two could go at it for hours until one of them finally passed out or until they ran out of alcohol which was, most likely, always the second option. It was like they, instead of blood, had alcohol in their veins.
He sighed painfully at the remembrance of his old lover, or boyfriend, or whatever they had been. He didn't know who was the one Mark was in love with, but what he did know is that he was going to kill him or, at least, beat him up until his face was unrecognisable.
He didn't hear the door opening so when he came out of the bathroom he found Hunter sitting on his bed. Shawn smiled at him as he rummaged his bag for fresh clothes.
"So, you stayed with Steph?" He asked casually, eyeing him.
"Yeah." The younger male replied. "Where were you last night? You weren't at the bar and when I came here to get some clothes you weren't here either." Hunter said and Shawn could feel his heart beating faster.
"Oh… Well, I didn't feel like staying here and either going to the bar so I went for a walk." He replied, without looking at him as he slipped into his jeans. "At what time did you come, anyway?"
"It was early, about twelve or so." He replied and Shawn nodded: by that time he and Nemeth hadn't even met at the park yet. "What are you going to do today?" He asked.
"I think I'll hit the gym and then just stay here. Maybe I'll go see Adam and Matt." He shrugged. "Why?"
Hunter just stared at him and narrowed his eyes. "What about Mark?"
"What about him?" He asked, trying to sound normal although his heart was aching painfully.
"You haven't gone with Mark any day. I thought you'd be around him all the time." He pointed out and Shawn sat down on his bed, sighing deeply.
"We broke up." He said, not wanting to get into details; knowing Hunter he would go find Mark and ask for explanations.
"What? When? Why?" The youngest asked, moving to sit next to him.
"After the gathering. At the bar. It wasn't working, Paul. Not being in different brands." He said.
"That's bullshit and you know it. Being at different brands it's not an impediment, never was. Look at Copeland and Hardy. And they had more baggage than anyone." Hunter pointed out and Shawn sighed, angrily.
"Look, I don't wanna talk about it, ok? Just drop it, Hunt." He said and the younger one nodded, still not believing that his best friend snapped at him. "I'm sorry buddy." He apologised, smiling at him sorrowfully.
"It's all right. I guess I wouldn't like to talk about me and Steph either." He patted his back. "I need to go see Vince, I'll see you later."
Shawn nodded and after some minutes to headed downstairs to eat something and then debated whether going to see Matt and Adam or the gym. He settled but none of them and went back to the room, not wanting to do anything besides sleeping.
And so he did.
Two days after that, the three brands' roosters were at the airport, looking at the tight embrace Matt and Adam had, obviously not wanting to be apart again.
"It's okay darling." Adam whispered at him stroking his cheeks sweetly. "Christmas break it's only a few weeks away and we'll get to see again. We'll meet in Cameron, okay baby? We'll spend the whole holidays together at your house." Matt nodded and got onto his tiptoes to kiss him on the lips, nipping sweetly at them.
"I'll miss you." The brunette said and Adam hugged him tighter.
"I'll miss you too."
"I love you." The American said and pressed his forehead on the blonde's shoulder.
"I love you." The older whispered and pressed a kiss on the pouty lips.
When they broke the embrace it was Jeff's turn to hug his brother. Matt caressed his brother's back soothingly. "Call meh when ya land, alright?"
"Ya too." The younger Hardy replied. "Love ya."
"Love ya." Matthew kissed his forehead lovingly and shot a glance to Mark, who narrowed his eyes.
Nick observed the lover's intercourse with longing eyes: he really wanted to have a relationship like that. He needed it. He said bye to Adam, Matt and the Brothers of Destruction.
Shawn was wandering through the arena until it was time for his match, looking at his feet when he turned on a corner and bumped on somebody, causing the both of them to fall on the floor. He was ready to bark at whoever it was but then he saw the blue eyes and the bleach blond hair and he smiled a bit, getting up and helping the younger man to do so.
"Is this going to become a tradition between us, kiddo?" He asked, arching an eyebrow when Nick smiled coyly at him. "Are you going somewhere?"
"My locker room." Dolph replied. "Why?"
"I meant once we are done. Are you going out with the guys?"
"Oh. No." He shook his head, his blond hair moving along with the movement.
"Well, you and I are. I want to pay you back for letting me stay in your bedroom when you could have perfectly left me in that park." He said. "I'll meet you up in your locker room, ok?"
"B-but Hunter…" He said, unsure.
"Don't' worry. He is going at a dinner with Steph." He patted his shoulder and continued his way.
As the Heartbreak Kid walked away, Nick could feel his heart racing faster in his chest and he felt like he was going to do cartwheels. He didn't expect Shawn to propose him something like going to have a drink together and alone. He had wished for an opportunity like that one since he had met him and he was not going to waste it.
Once Shawn had showered, he headed to Ziggler's locker room and knocked on the door, smiling when the boy opened it and smiled at him.
"You ready?" He asked with his raspy voice, that voice that had millions of fans wrapped around his little finger.
"Yeah." He nodded and took his bag before he followed the older male to his car, since he had gone to the arena walking.
They sat down in a table for two, ordered up they drinks and waited, chatting amicably, both surprised for the fact they were actually talking.
"Is it true that when Jeff first made it to WWF he was underage?" He asked.
"Yeah, it is. God, those two were Vince's worst nightmares for sure!" He exclaimed as he took a sip on his whiskey.
"What do you mean? I thought they were just jobbers." Nick pointed out.
"And they were. But Jeff was underage, which caused him to be moved to the minor leagues and Matt… Matt was crazy as shit. I remember once, when Matt was a jobber back in 1994 or so, that Jeff came to see him and Crush said that he would fuck Jeff when he got older. By then Jeff was only fourteen and Matt, hearing that, turned around and broke Crush's nose and three fingers."
"Crush? As in Brian Adams?" The Texan nodded and Nemeth blinked several times, shocked. "But he is so much bigger than Matt!"
"So is Batista and Matt broke his wrist. That's why no one messes with them. Matt follows by heart his paper of older brother. He always has and always will." He shook his head. "Well, when Vince got notice of that they got into a screaming match and, somehow, Matt convinced Vince to suspend Crush for a month without pay."
"How did he get to do that?"
"No one knows. Not even Edge. So our theories are that he let Vince fuck him, which we don't really think it was, or that Matt threatened Vince that he and Jeff would go to WCW."
"WCW? I thought they were no competitors for WWF." Dolph said.
"Oh, but they were. WCW really was a threat back then for us. And Vince really needed them." He said and asked for a new round of drinks.
"Why?"
Shawn smiled mysteriously at him. "What are Matt and Jeff known for?"
Dolph thought it for a couple of minutes before he answered. "Because they are dare-devils and the TLC matches."
"Exactly. They represented a new generation of wrestlers, a new style, and even though Jeff wasn't even working, Vince wanted both of them. He needed them. And this is the most plausible theory we ever came up with. Besides, there aren't many people who remember that so it's part of the WWF history. And I don't think Jeff really knows about that." He observed.
Nick was in awe: he knew that Matt was overprotective when it came to Jeff, but he didn't know he could get into those lengths.
"Why wrestling?" Shawn suddenly asked.
"Huh?"
"Why did you choose wrestling as you way of living?"
Nick stared at his glass: he didn't know why. He just knew that this is what he was meant to be, he was meant to be a wrestler.
"I don't know. It's what I have always wanted to do. To be." He replied.
"What if you didn't make it to the wrestling world?"
"I was going to study at the law school in Arizona. If not I could have worked as a translator."
"What other language do you speak?" Shawn asked, surprising himself: he had never cared for the kid and now he wanted to know everything from him, it just didn't make sense at all, but he was no one to stop himself.
"Sign language. One of my childhood best friends was deaf, so we actually learned the sign language at the same time." He explained.
"Well, at least you have a back up plan, there quite a few that doesn't have a career or nothing besides their secondary grade." He said.
"Yeah? Who?"
"Well, me, Jeff, Jay among others. Then, there are some that actually have a degree. Kane, Striker, Evan, Eve Torres, Rock, Edge and Matt. And I think Jericho has an AD of some kind."
"Matt? I thought he had to drop University because his dad was ill." He said: he had heard that many times so he decided that it was true.
"And he did... For two weeks or so. And then he applied for long distance lessons, so he studied at home and went to the University only to do the exams. Not many people know about that. Only me, Hunter, Mark, Glenn and Edge."
"Not even his family?"
"Nope. His father didn't want him to take care of him, so Matt told him he had dropped university. For what Jeff have told us, Matt and his father got into a big fight because of that, but Matt is really stubborn, so instead he started working and taking care of his father and Jeff." He shook his head. "You never know how Matt and Jeff are going to react."
"What about Jeff? Does he have a degree or something?"
"Jeff? Not that I know of. He says that he was about to drop secondary school but that he didn't do it for Matt, because he wanted him to finish. Besides, he could make his living with his painting or sculpting." He missed.
"Why did you choose wrestling?" Dolph asked, staring at him.
"I guess for the same reason you did. I did try to go to University, but it isn't my thing. My siblings got really mad at me and told me that I wouldn't do anything good in life. Turns out that I make more money in one year that all of them together in five." He said.
"I didn't know you had a brothers." Nick said timidly.
"Three. I'm the youngest of four. I don't talk to them. They didn't approve it when I said I was going to be a wrestler and didn't want to help me out and when they saw that I was going to be famous the three of them started to call me, trying to win me back, asking for money all the time and in the end, I cut all relationship we had. Now we only see each other for Christmas and it's because my mom wants me to go there." He shook his head. "Do you have brothers?"
"One. Ryan." He replied and then told him about him and Ryan.
After that, they kept hanging out together, becoming closer and closer. Dolph found out his adoration for the HBK was completely justified and Shawn discovered that Nick was more than just a pretty face and that he indeed had talent but most importantly, he had the passion wrestling needed from it's wrestlers. That, and the fact that the kid was actually really nice. He was helping him a lot with all the shit with Mark, and he was really thankful for that.
But there was someone who didn't accept that friendship at all. He looked at them disapprovingly but he didn't say anything. He didn't say anything until Shawn invited Nick to have a drink with the group.
"Shawn, can I have a word with you?" He said and the HBK nodded and went with him outside. "What's going on?"
"Huh? With what?"
"You and that Nicky boy." He said. "Why are you hanging out so much with him?"
"He's a good kid, Hunter. And he's been helping me."
"Helping you?" He repeated. "Yeah, right."
"He is Hunter. He's been helping me with Mark."
"I would have helped you if you would have let me, Shawn." He pointed out and the older sighed.
"Look. I know, Paul. Your way of helping always involves asking and fists. Nick knows how to listen, ok? He doesn't ask, he just listens." He said, crossing his arms.
"Has it ever occurred to you that he is only using you?"
"Using me?"
"C'mon Shawn, you are one of the most influential guys in the back, any rookie will try to be your friend so he can get a good report in front of Vince. And if you have told him about your break up with Taker he'll use it to control you." He said and observed how Shawn stared at his feet.
Nick wouldn't do that, would he? He had helped him with everything he could: listening to him, making him laugh, inviting him over his room. And he told him everything and, then, he realised that the Ohioan had never told him anything related to his private life besides that first day he invited the boy to the bar and he asked him questions. But still, he didn't seem that kind of person.
"Don't come to me crying if he then disappears and leaves you alone." Hunter said next to him. "Because I'll say "I told you." He said and the oldest nodded.
Maybe Hunter was right; maybe Nick was only using him for his own benefit. He sighed and rubbed his temples.
"I'll tell him to stay away from me." He said and then headed inside.
He didn't see the dark, twisted smile that spread over Hunter's face: he wanted his best friend's attention back and all for him. He didn't want to share him. He had only accepted his and Mark's relationship because the bigger man scared the shit outta him. And for the Hardys and E&C… well, he would have kept Shawn away from them, but when those four wanted something… separately they were stubborn, together, they would stubborn anyone in the back for sure, and they wanted to be friends with Shawn so they were friends with Shawn.
Shawn stood in front of the kiddo's room and knocked, almost hating himself for not asking Dolph his side of the story.
"Hey. What's up?" Nick asked when he saw the frown on his face.
"I don't wanna be friends with you anymore. I can't." He said and the younger blond stared at him, eyes open wide.
"W-what? Why?" He stuttered, his eyes becoming watery.
"Because I don't want to be used." He only said, turning around.
"I have never…"
"That's what you say." He interrupted him and walked away, not giving the Ohio native an opportunity to defend himself of whatever he was being accused.
Nick sat down on the bed, knees pressed against his chest with big crystalline tears running down his cheeks. He didn't know what he did wrong: he had tried to be his best for Shawn, because he needed someone to talk to, to be listened and now that he seemed to be better he just told him that he didn't want to see him anymore.
It was cruel. Really cruel.
He wiped his tears away when he heard a couple of knocks on the door. He opened again, a part pf him wishing it was Shawn who was there, but instead of beautiful blue eyes and blond hair, he met shiny green eyes and multi-coloured hair.
Out of all people he wanted to see at that moment, Jeff wasn't one of the first options.
"You okay? I heard crying and…?" Dolph's fist connected with his jaw. "What the fuck is your problem, Ziggler?" He growled, his eyes with a dangerous flash, so similar to matt's when he was angry despite the colour.
"It's all your fault!" He yelled.
"My fault? What did I do? I just wanted to check on you!" The younger Hardy said, not understanding a thing.
"Taker left Shawn because you and him were fucking around!" Hearing that, Jeff pushed him inside the room since they were in the hallway and closed the door behind himself.
"I've never, ever gone behind Shawn's back. I would never do that to a friend. And yes, Mark left Shawn for me. I can't deny that. But I have never done a move on Mark to cause him to abandon Shawn." His emerald eyes were glued to the ocean ones. "And I'm sorry for that, I have never wanted to hurt Shawn. He's a great friend of mine and one of the people I care for the most. He took care of Matty and me when we first landed here. His like a big brother, almost a father for us." He said.
And for some reason, Dolph believed him, he didn't know why, but he did: he knew that Jeff was too noble to ever do something that heartless. He sat down on the bed and Jeff joined him, smiling softly.
"What's going on between you and Shawn?" Jeff asked him, taking the younger man's hands into his own; he had felt the sudden change on the Ohioan.
"Nothing." He mumbled.
"Look, you can't lie to me. You can lie you yourself, but not to me." He pressed and Dolph sighed, rubbing his hands together.
"When we were in Connecticut I went for a walk late at night and at a park I found him sitting on a bench and drinking vodka straight from the bottle. He told me about him and Mark and then we headed back to the hotel. He stayed in my room because he didn't want to face Hunter." He explained. "A few days later he invited me over a bar to talk a bit and have a few drinks."
"Ok. What did you talk about?" Jeff said, encouraging him to follow.
"Mainly you and Matt." He replied, blushing. "About his family, about my studies… A bit of everything. And everything was good until today."
"What happened? You had an argument?" He asked tentatively.
"No. He just came and told me that he didn't want to be my friend anymore. And when I asked why he just said that he didn't want to be used." Upon hearing that Jeff furrowed.
"Hunter."
"What?"
"That's Hunter doing. He must have told Shawn that you were going to use him somehow."
"How do you know?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at the high-flyer who chuckled.
"Because he did the same him when Matty and I first approach Shawn. He said we were going to use him for own on benefit and I don't know what more. Anyway, along with Adam and Jay we showed the both of them that we were not going to use Shawn to get good reports in front of Vince." He said, shrugging.
"But… why does he do that?"
"Because Hunter is a Shawn's attention whore. He wants him for his own. There's only one reason of why he accepted Shawn and Mark's relationship and it's because no one wants to mess with Taker." He said. "For obvious reasons."
Dolph nodded, understanding it: he wouldn't mess with Taker either; he looked at Jeff and saw that his jaw was red.
"I'm sorry for hitting you." He apologised but Jeff dismissed it with a move of his hand.
"It's okay. Mattie hits harder than you. And so does Jay." The older said, smiling. "Look, right now Shawn is going to stay all the time with Hunter. Wait a bit before approaching them again, ok? It worked for us." He was going to say something more when his cell phone rang. "I… I gotta take it." He said and Nick nodded, knowing it was Mark. "Me and some guys are going out, wanna come?"
"Okay." The blond thought it would help him not to obsess over Shawn.
"Cool. At ten in the lobby." He smiled and answered the call, going back to his room. "Hey sweetie!"
Days went by and Christmas holidays had arrived. They were saying good-bye to each other's, some hugging, some not. Jeff hugged Jericho and said something to him that caused the Canadian to blush slightly, then moved to Shawn, hugged him too and finally went with Dolph.
"Heading back to Ohio?" He asked.
"Yep. Where are you going? NC?"
"Yeah. Adam is already there, Matty arrives in two days and Jay might be coming too. So, if you get bored of Ohio, come visit us."
Nick laughed slightly at that and then tilted his head. "What about… you know. Aren't you going to spend Christmas together?"
"He is coming after he goes to Texas to visit his family. You know, to introduce him to Daddy. Well, they know each other, but to introduce him formally."
"That's nice. Have nice holidays. And Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas to you too." Jeff smiled and then headed to the airport, since his flight was only two hours away before departure.
Matt opened the door to his house, yawning: his fly had arrived one hour later than what it was supposed to. He rubbed his eyes as he stepped in, not realising that the kitchen light was on.
"You tired babe?" His head snapped up and when he saw his boyfriend leaning against the kitchen's doorframe.
"Adds!" He ran, literally ran, to him and tackled him to the ground, nuzzling against his chest. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, I told you we were going to spend Christmas together, angel." Adam said stroking his dark curls sweetly.
"But I thought you were going to Canada first to see your mom." He replied, moving to get more comfortable on his chest.
"Nope. She is coming down, though. Do you mind?"
Matt shook his head. "You know I love your mom. Besides, it's time Daddy and Judy meet each other." He said and kissed his lips before getting up and helping Adam to get onto his feet too. "How was everything in SmackDown?" He asked as he sat down on the sofa, resting his head on Adam's lap and his legs propped up in the armrest.
"Well, I understood why Mark didn't want to be near me when we talked. It's scary to hear him talk all lovey-dovey, seriously." Matt smirked at his serious face. "Besides that, everything was normal. Well, as normal as it can be with this bunch of crazy people. What about you?"
"Well, Punk and JoMo are together, which we all were kind of expecting." He said. "And… nothing much, actually. Evan has asked me to teach him a couple of old school moves."
Adam threaded his long fingers in Matt's black hair before speaking. "You don't do anymore shit like the back days, why?" The American only shrugged and cuddled closer to him. "Well, I prefer it this way, less chances that you'll break your neck any time soon." Matt laughed at that, but nodded.
"I'm hungry, Addams." He said and the blond nodded.
"I already made dinner." They moved to the kitchen.
A few days later, Judy had joined them and, finally, met Gilbert. Although it seemed they had known each other for age due the stories their sons had told them about the other. Two days after that, Mark arrived.
"Jeff! Mark's here!" Matt yelled at his brother. They were in his dad's house, helping him with the dinner, or supposed too, because Jeff was outside playing with Lucas.
Three seconds later Jeff was inside the house and jumping at his boyfriend, wrapping his long legs around the elder's waist.
"Hey babe." Jeff said.
"Hey darling." Mark replied, pecking his lips softly. "Hey Matt, Adam." He said, setting Jeff down on the floor. "Hi, Mr. Hardy." He said.
"What did I tell you, Calaway?"
"Gilbert." The older man narrowed his eyes. "Gil."
"That's better, boy." Adam and Matt rolled his eyes. "So, Matthew, are we expecting anyone else?"
"Not that I know of. Oh! Jay! When is he coming?" Matt asked, looking at Adam.
"Damn! He's coming tomorrow." The blond Canadian said.
"Honey, aren't you going to introduce me?" The woman Mark had noticed a few seconds before said, although he didn't know to whom she was talking to. Maybe she was Gilbert's girlfriend.
Adam stuck his tongue out. "Mom, this is Mark Calaway. Mark, this is my mom, Judy Copeland."
"Nice to meet you." She said, smiling at him and shaking hands with the tallest man.
"Nice to meet you, Ms. Copeland."
"Call me Judy please."
They talked for a bit more before having dinner. Judy couldn't be happier for her baby: she had known Matt for a really long time and she always liked him. He was what Adam always needed: a sweet, serious yet playful, homeboy who enjoyed the same things he did. That didn't mean that she wasn't surprised when Adam told her that he and the older Hardy were pursuing a relationship.
She had completely disapproved what Adam did to him with Lita: she chewed him thoroughly and then was when Adam started crying like he didn't in ages. He clung to his mother and told her about his feelings. His real feelings. She encouraged him to tell Matt, at least, to know if the dark haired man corresponded his feelings or not. She was sure that Matt would turn him down.
"Hey Nick!" Jeff waved at the Ohioan, who smiled at him and then jogged towards him. Christmas break was over and they were back: Adam and Mark in SmackDown, Matt in ECW, and he, Jeff and… Shawn in RAW. "How was Christmas?" He asked, tucking his, now, brown and green hair behind his ears.
"As usual. Family dinner, spending time with my cousins' kids, my cousins… Nothing special. What about you?" They started to Jeff's room. He smiled inside: after that talk he and Jeff had, Nick realised that Jeff was, indeed, a great person.
"Well, Adam stayed with us, so did Mark, Adam's mom and Jay also came by to stay a few days." He explained and a voice behind them interrupted him.
"Mark?" They turned around and both went pale when they saw Shawn, staring at Jeff with wide eyes. "Mark left me… for you?" Before Jeff could answer, Michaels had started running to his room.
"Shawn! Wait!" Jeff tried to run to him, but Dolph stopped him.
"I don't think it's a good idea, Jeff. Hunter is in there." He said and Jeff sighed in pain: he should have been more careful. "Whom are you rooming with?"
"Jericho, I think." Jeff replied. "Why?" Nick shrugged. "I gotta call Matty before he freaks out, I'll see you later, ok?"
"Ok. Hey Jeff." He said before they closed their respective doors of their rooms, which were one in front of the other. "It isn't your fault." He smiled when Jeff smiled tiredly and then closed the door.
A few rooms from theirs, certain blond had smashed a glass onto the wall, sending little pieces flying all over the room, before he broke down and starting sobbing, sliding onto the floor.
Mark left him to go with the younger Hardy. He couldn't believe it. He was better than Jeff in every aspect: he was a better a wrestler; he was more sexy (not that Jeff wasn't, both Hardy were like walking sex: one exuding dominant aura and the other one exuding sexy sweetness), ha head more money, he didn't dye his hair in crazy stupid colours, he was older…
Older.
That word echoed in his head multiple times: Mark left him because he was old. Because Jeff was younger than him, which meant… he didn't know what it meant, but it was the only logical reason. Because Mark… Mark wasn't in love with Jeff, right? He couldn't be. And he wouldn't have done a move with Matt around. But then again, it didn't make sense that he was having a fling with Jeff knowing how overprotective the dark-haired Hardy was. And why would he have gone to Cameron if they were having a fling.
Nothing made sense for him right now.
So, that's everything for now! It only has another chapter. I hoped you enjoyed it!
Reviews are highly appreciated.