Title: Reading between the lines
Rating: 18
Summary:Its amazing what you find in an old book shop.
Pairing: Bourton
Warning: UST,
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters/people of WWE. No copyright or trademark infringement is intended and no money is being made.
Notes: This is a companion piece to my Promise of a future read They can be read separately and yet again this is a strange little fic god knows what's going on in my head at the moment! Anyway hope you enjoy. As always this is unbeta'd so any mistakes you find, please, please, please forgive (I mean it PLEASE!).
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Randy sighed as he let the water cascade down him. It had been a rough night. A street fight with Christian, a good old fashioned brawl that left them breathless and the fans screaming for more. It had been fun, really fun but now he was starting to pay for it. His shoulder was killing him and his back was feeling the impact of the strong spear Christian had caught him with. Sure he'd won and sure the audience had been amazing but even so there was something missing. Some tiny little piece of him that seemed down and he had no idea why.
Sighing again he tilted his head back letting the water crash on to his face and run down his body. Wiping his eyes he ran his hands over his shorn head freezing when he heard a soft knock at the bathroom door. Frowning he pulled the curtain aside and glared at the door as if it was to blame for the interruption. He waited a moment then there as another knock slightly louder this time accompanied by a soft, "Umm Randy?"
Grunting in reply Randy fumbled with the taps, finally managing to get the strange shower to turn off. Grabbing the nearest towel he barked gruffly, "What?"
"Sorry to interrupt," called Evan his voice muffled by the door, "But I really need to use the bathroom."
Randy smiled slightly. He could just imagine the blush on Evan's face as the younger man knocked on the door. Looking at his watch Randy swore softly - he'd been in there over 45 minutes. It was no wonder Evan had felt the need to knock. Making sure the towel was firmly in place Randy grabbed his stuff and unlocked the door.
Evan jumped back, giving him an apologetic smile as he mumbled, "I'm really sorry I just ..."
"It's okay," soothed Randy meaning every word of it, "I'm sorry I hogged the place."
He slid past Evan - definitely not appreciating the view of Evan dressed in only his loose white gym shorts - and headed towards his chosen bed. Dumping his stuff he glanced back and found Evan's eyes glued to him, the deep chocolate sparkling intently behind the elegant glass that were perched on the bridge of his nose. Feigning annoyance Randy snarled, "Thought you needed the bathroom?"
"You're right!" yappedEvan, "I do!" all but diving into the other room and slamming the door behind him.
Randy shook his head chuckling softly to himself. Sometimes it was just too easy to make Evan jump. And while he might have a sadistic streak when it came to some on the roster, where Evan was concerned it was never anything more than indulgent banter. He knew if he ever heard or saw anyone teasing or mocking the smaller man he would do everything in his power to make it stop and make sure the perpetrator would never dared do it again.
He turned back to his chosen bed and grabbed his sleep shorts. He was half way through drying and dressing when he noticed the small collection of treats on the bedside table. Frowning he pulled his shorts the rest of the way up and padded over. Lifting the can up he half smiled as he realised it was diet coke – his choice treat drink. But it was the small bag of chocolates that made him smile fully - a small bag of plain M&Ms.
"I figured you could do with a treat after that match."
He snapped his head around and saw Evan had emerged from the bathroom and was now standing in the middle of the room with the softest of smiles curling his lips.
"You got these for me?" asked Randy genuinely touched that the smaller man had remembered from their conversation weeks ago what his favourite treats were.
"Yep," nodded Evan stifling a yawn, "I got myself a little treat and I figured might as well get you something as well."
"What did you get yourself?" asked Randy folding elegantly on to his bed.
Evan grinned and reaching over he grabbed his bag of mint aero ball, popping one into his mouth with a loud appreciative hum.
Randy settled back against the headboard and as Evan settled onto his bed, Randy asked, "So you planning on broadening my cinematic experience again tonight?"
"Huh?" mumbled Evan his mouth full of mints chocolate balls.
"Are you going to make me watch any more Japanese erotica?" smirked Randy loving the wide eyed look Evan was giving him.
"What?" stammered Evan before he realised Randy was pulling his leg. Throwing a chocolate at Randy he snapped playfully, "Oh piss off! It was not an erotic movie..."
"I thought it was," rumbled Randy softly, his low velvety tones dripping with sexual intent.
Evan gulped then blinking at Randy he smiled shyly as he conceded, "Okay so maybe it was slightly erotic..."
"Very erotic," corrected Randy cracking an M&M between his teeth,
"But it wasn't like it was a dir..." he caught the twitch of Randy's mouth. Then, just as the Viper burst out laughing, Evan chucked another mint ball at him huffing, "Oh shut up!"
Catching the minty missile Randy popped it into his mouth before asking, "You got any plans for tomorrow?"
"I was going to go and investigate the Old Town," mumbled Evan his voice muffles by his chocolate treats, "Apparently it's got old time shops and stuff. I thought it might be interesting to explore it for a few hours.
"Sounds cute, "agreed Randy, popping another few treats into his mouth, enjoying the way the centre oozed into his mouth after he cracked the hard surface.
"Do you want to come with me?" offered Evan suddenly fixing Randy with a piercing stare.
"I can't," sighed Randy genuinely regretting the fact he had to turn down the kind offer, "I've got interviews in the morning and then I promised I'd workout with John," he saw Evan's face fall for a split second before the normal soft smile was back in place. Sighing again he added, "But thank you for the offer. I ... I like it when we do stuff together."
Snuggling down Evan curled up on to his side, his covers draped loosely over his hips.
Watching him get comfy, Randy asked, "You okay if I watch TV a little more? I'm not ready to sleep yet."
"Sure," yawned Evan stretching like a cat before curling into a tight ball again, "see you in the morning."
"Night Evan," replied Randy. He paused then as Evan switched his bedside light off plunging the far side of the room into darkness, Randy called, "Hey Evan..." he waited for a soft grunt before continuing, "Thanks for my treats."
There as a rustle of bedding and Evan turned over favouring Randy with the biggest smile ever calling back "No probs. It was my pleasure."
Randy held his gaze a moment, so tempted to say something more. So tempted to just say the words burning the back of his throat but he didn't. He just nodded and called gruffly, "Sleep well."
"You too," replied Evan his voice holding a strange almost wistful tone before rolling back over and snuggling down to sleep.
"John its fine," soothed Randy absently picking fluff off his jeans, "Honestly John...John..." his sighed as John failed to calm down on the other end of the line
"I'm so sorry!" exclaimed John for the umpteenth time, "I just can't get out of it and beside they're little kids, Ortz and I..."
"JOHN!" shouted Randy finally getting his best friend's attention, "Shut up! I get it. You've got Make a Wish commitment. It's not a big deal, you know. I'll simply workout on my own then go back to the hotel. There is nothing to apologise for you daft lump!"
"Yeah but we said..."
"John" growled Randy ominously, although there was a wide smile splitting his face, not that John could see it, "I mean it! You apologise one more time and I am going to RKO your arse so hard tonight you'll need to eat breakfast through a straw!"
There was a loud chuckle then John sighed, "Okay, okay, no more apologies but seriously you going to be okay"?
"I'm a big boy," rumbled Randy, "I'm sure I can work out by myself for an hour and managed to get back to the hotel without getting lost. I'm not Cody you know," he added with a smirk. John chuckled as well as they both remembered the numerous times their younger friend had managed to get well and truly lost.
"Well if you're sure," chuckled John. He paused then added seriously, "I mean it, Ortz, thanks for understanding."
"No problem. Now piss off and have with the little angels!" snarled Randy fondly, snapping his phone shut before John could say goodbye.
Pocketing his phone he looked at his workout bag, pursed his lips and murmured "Sod it " under his breath before dumping the bag back in the boot of the rental. Grabbing the bottle of water he'd been drinking early he took a long gulp then pulled his phone out again. Stroking the shiny surface he debated a moment before pulling up his address book, scrolling through it. Finally finding the number he was looking for, he hit call and waited for the call to be answered. He waited what seemed an age before finally an answer phone kicked in. Hanging up without leaving a message he dumped the water bottle in the nearest bin, locked the car up and wandered away, heading towards the area of town Evan had offered to explore with him.
As he reached the Old Town area he could see why Evan wanted to visit it - it was gorgeously quaint. Tiny shops lined the well maintained main road and the place was busy but without being hectic. More than a few shops felt slightly touristy but as Randy wandered down the slatted sidewalk he found himself drawn towards one shop in particular – "The Good Read". Pausing outside he looked at the mix of old and new books, the wonderfully over stuffed shelves and the general chaos of the bookshop and nodding to himself he went it.
A little bell tinkered as he ducked to avoid hitting his head on the door frame of the old shop. Almost instantly the smell of old books hit him. Smiling faintly he started to head in when a kind voice called, "Well hello there. Can I help you, Son?"
Randy turned and saw an elderly lady smiling at him. He wandered over to the counter and rumbled softly, "Do you have any horror or thriller books?"
"Oh I've a whole room of those," she replied quickly, "Any author in particular?"
"Umm Steven King," murmured Randy, trailing after her as she started to lead him past the front of the shop heading out towards the back, "Dean Kootz, maybe a James Patterson."
"Oh King and Koozt have their own bookcases," she called brightly stepping aside to let him enter the small back room. The room was literally stuffed with books from floor to ceiling.
Feeling like a kid in a sweet factory Randy thanked her and crouching down he started looking at the books. Running his hands over the spines he pulled out a few titles he hadn't read before. Flipping the cover open he shook his head, murmuring, "$2.00 for these? That's mad they're almost brand new. They're worth way more than that."
After about 15 minutes he had gathered together quite a pile of his favourite authors. As he piled them up and turned to head back to the counter he was suddenly stuck by an idea. Taking his finding to the front of the shop, he set them on the counter and asked the owner, "You don't have any books on Japan, do you? Books on old medieval Japan?"
The old lady looked at him frowning slightly she replied slowly, "No, no I'm not sure I have many of those. Not much call for that sort of book here. That's quite a specialist read."
"Yeah," agreed Randy subconsciously thinking it was for a specialist reason he wanted the book.
She suddenly gave a little cry of delight and said, "You know I think there might be a few in the journal section, you know in people's travel journals that sort of thing. Third room to the back."
Randy thanked her and leaving his books on the counter he hurried back. It was as he passed another room that he spied something that made him stop dead in his tracks. The room to his left was slightly larger than the others and there were a few old overstuffed rather worn armchairs in here. But it was the contents of the armchair that stopped Randy. There curled up like a small cat was Evan. Randy knew it was him despite the fact he had his baseball cap pulled right down and the fact he was all but hidden behind a pile of book. Leaning against the doorframe Randy coughed and called, "You found something to read then?"
Evan actually jumped in surprise, his head snapping up so quick Randy thought he might hurt himself.
"Shit I'm sorry," apologise Randy quickly, "I didn't mean to make you jump. You okay?"
"Yeah," chuckled Evan rubbing his neck wincing at the slight muscle flare he felt, "What are you doing here? Thought you were working out with JC...wait you haven't bought JC to a bookshop, have you?" asked Evan giggling to himself at the thought of John in a bookshop.
"God no," replied Randy shaking his head, "No he blew me off in favour of a terminally ill kid who wanted to meet him," the smile on his face took away any heat and Evan just nodded; both of them knowing how dedicated John was to his make-a-wish commitments, "I did try and call you to see what you were up to but I didn't get any answer, so I came down by myself to see what the fuss was about."
"You did?" exclaimed Evan wriggling to try and free his phone. As he pulled it free from his pocket he winced mumbling, "Shit yea sorry I've got a missed call." He replaced his pocket then slowly lowering his book, he fixed Randy with an intense gaze and with a slight breathlessness he asked, "So do you like what all the fuss is about?"
Randy paused then nodded rumbling, "Yeah I do. I like it a lot." He wandered closer and leaning against the nearest bookcase, he asked, "What did you find in here?"
Evan blushed slightly but didn't reply. But then as Randy asked again he sighed, confessing "A fantasy book I've been looking for," As Randy took the offered book Evan added quickly, "Please don't tell the others, especially not Mike. He gives me enough shit about being a geek without him knowing I come into places like this and read books like that!"
Randy paused his inspection of the book and slowly looking up, he growled menacingly, "Mike gives you shit? What sort of shit?"
"Just stuff," shrugged Evan reaching to take his book back but Randy pulled it out of the way demanding, "No, tell me what that loud mouth has been saying!"
"Why?" asked Evan slowly getting to his feet and fixing Randy with a hard stare
"So I can tell him to..."
"No!" barked Evan, getting into Randy's space, "Don't get involved! Look I appreciate the offer but please just...just back off okay. I don't need you fighting my battles. I never have and I never will. Trust me I can cope, I just..." he seemed to deflate a little stumbling over his words slightly, "I just don't want him to have extra fuel for his fire."
Randy glowered at him. Every instinct telling him to go find Mike and ram the book he was holding so far down the loud mouth's throat until it came out the other end. But there was something about the way Evan was looking at him, something about the way the normally soft chocolate eyes hardened that made him pause and look couldn't help the smirk twisting his lips.
"What?" asked Evan suddenly suspicious of the look on Randy's face, "Orton," he drawled, "What are you thinking?"
"That I really never want to get into a proper fight with you," rumbled Randy fondly.
When Evan squeaked in surprise Randy added, "I mean it," he gave a little chuckle adding, "Maybe I'll have a word with Mike and warn him off pissing you off. Because you know what? I think you'd knock him so hard on his arse he might never get up again."
Evan blinked at him, the dark chocolate eyes sparkling behind the glasses. Then with a loud giggle he aimed a playful swipe at Randy, giggling, "Oh shut up and give me back my book!"
"Nope," called Randy turning on his heel and heading back towards the front of the shop.
Evan yapped indignantly and grabbing his bag that had been sitting by the chair he hurried after the retreating figure calling, "Randy! Hey that's my book! Hey I..."
He stopped dead in his tracks when he realised Randy had taken the book to the counter and was already halfway through paying for it and the substantial pile of books he had left there before. Stunned into momentary silence Evan could only follow Randy out of the shop and back on to the bustling sidewalk. With a sincere simile Randy handed the book over saying, "Here - hope you enjoy it."
As Evan took it there was a moment of contact and both of them happened to look up the same time catching the other's eyes. Snatching his hand and the book back, Evan gulped audibly before mumbling, "ummm Thanks,"
He was absently clutching his new book to his chest, staring at Randy like he'd never seen him before. He blinked a few times opening his mouth then closing it, suddenly uncertain what to say.
Randy too suddenly felt very awkward and for a moment there was a definite tension between them. Neither man quite sure what to say or do, so they stood in an ever growing uncomfortable silence, both of them fidgeting with their respective purchase.
It was Randy who broke the silence asking nervously "You umm you want to go get some lunch or something?"
"I already ate," sighed Evan pushing his glasses back up his nose and looking almost upset at the fact he was refusing Randy's offer.
"Oh," replied Randy his face falling slightly. He would never admit it but he liked being with Evan, he liked it far more than he should.
"But I could do with a drink," offered Evan a split second later.
"Really?" replied Randy slightly too quickly to be cool. Trying to recover his composure, he rumbled gruffly, "I mean sure a drink would be good..." his voice faded as he scanned the surrounding area looking for somewhere appropriate.
"Only a soft drink though," added Evan, "I don't' want alcohol before a show."
"Agreed," rumbled Randy his face suddenly lighting up as he spied the perfect place. Grabbing Evan's arm he started to steer the surprised man towards his new intend goal.
"Where are we going?" asked Evan chuckling at the way Randy was steering him along the pavement, the long fingers absently caressing his elbow as Randy powered them towards the road crossing.
"Over there," rumbled Randy indicating with his head.
"Oh god yes!" giggled Evan his face beaming with a massive smile as they reached the crossing. Waiting for the traffic to stop Evan couldn't take his eyes off the establishment Randy was taking them to - it was the Mecca of all things bad – a small Dunkin' Doughnuts outlet and the promise of an afternoon full of sugar, caffeine and laughter.
FIN x