Disclaimer: I don't own anyone, other than Lily and Madison.
Rated: M
Warning(s): Slash, Past Mpreg, Storyline Fanfic, Rare Pair, etc.
A/N: This story is a Storyline Fanfic. In other words, it is set between Elimination Chamber and WrestleMania '14. It will be updated three times a week - Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday - unless otherwise noted. It will follow a more in-depth look at the Daniel Bryan v. Triple H & Brock Lesnar v. Undertaker storylines, in addition to CM Punk's mysterious disappearance. In addition to this, this story is to help me break my writer's block. As always, please let me know how it is!
It was three weeks removed from the birth of his second daughter, Madison, when the paperwork first crossed his desk for a WrestleMania match between himself and Daniel Bryan.
There was no doubt in his mind that it would be a fantastic match. After all, the 'Authority' had been selling Bryan as the 'Ultimate Underdog', and had been forcing him to contest several matches (sometimes all in one night) in order to 'prove' himself. If he could defeat Triple H at WrestleMania, he would cement himself in history as one of the greats. Triple H was willing to give him the push... just not in a match with himself.
He'd hung-up his boots several months before when he went on leave, preferring the semi-peaceful environment of a cooperate office to the heart-pounding rigors of the ring. At the time, he couldn't afford to take any risks. He'd had a high-risk pregnancy - the doctor had confined him to bed rest on two separate occasions near the end - and now that he'd had the baby, his body was not returning as quickly as he would have liked.
Honestly, he wasn't sure if his body was ready for the taxing demands of a WrestleMania match. He'd put on thirty-five pounds (which wasn't enough, and was part of the reason his pregnancy became so physically taxing near the end) and had lost ten in three weeks. It was good, but nowhere near good enough. That kind of weight gain could lead to all sorts of complications in the ring. And then, there was the more superficial aspect...
His five-year-old daughter, Lily, sat on his knee, body curled closely around his own. She looked like a human version of a boa constrictor. Hunter laughed, ruffling her blonde curls softly. "You comfortable there, babe?"
"Mommy fluffy." Just like a pillow, Hunter thought agitatedly. He knew that she didn't mean it how it sounded, but still...
"I am, huh? I guess that's a good thing." His button-down dress shirt was slightly tight and he regretted trying to dress formally for work today. "I just have a little bit more work to do... then we can go home and see Daddy Mark, hmm?"
Lily shifted a little, pulling her Cabbage Patch doll closer to her. "Daddy Mark travel with us soon?"
"Yeah, he will." He tucked a blonde curl behind her ear, wondering how she always managed to figure out what was on his mind.
This match had been weighing heavily on his mind. Of course, he could always veto the match then and there. It wouldn't be authorized to run if he didn't sign off on it. But he also knew that Mark would never forgive him if he did. The Streak meant the world to Mark - sometimes, Hunter questioned just how important it was to him - and he would take on any opponent in order to defend it. To take Brock Lesnar away from him... it would almost be an insult.
He hesitated for only a moment longer, before pushing the stamp down heavily onto the paperwork. The red ink leaked onto the page, stamping his signature onto the contract. It was now official. "Mommy?" Lily asked softly.
"What's the matter, babe?" Hunter asked softly. He needed a distraction. Any distraction would do.
"Is Mommy sick? Mommy shaking." It was soon after that, that Hunter realized he was, in fact, shaking. Taking a deep breath, he did his very best to steady himself.
"Mommy's fine, sweetie... Mommy's fine." But Hunter was far from fine. Why did he have a feeling that this WrestleMania was going to bring about the end of... well, everything?