I've decided to write a series of one shots based on songs I love. These are not song fics, but by taking the emotion of a song or the general feeling of the song and making it into a story type fic. I have no idea if that makes sense, but whatevs. I hope you enjoy these!

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Fic title: Thank You
Song: Thank You by Led Zepplin
Characters: Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat
Mentions of: Ricky's wife, Piper
Rated: T for language and brief m/m
Disc: Not my men or song, I don't make any claims on anyone's sexuality. It's all for fun
Summary: Ricky thinks back on his life with Ric Flair. SLIGHT SLASH
Genre: General/Romance

SPECIAL FIC DEDICATION: This one's for Wrestlefan4. Thanks so much for the awesome retro RP, for the fantastic Roddy Piper moments, and being there for me. I hope you enjoy this fic!

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A loud gunshot echoed over the peaceful silence of the corn field. Two men ran side by side, cutting through the field together, the sound of the gun going off still ringing in Ricky's ears. "What did you do?!"

"I remain innocent until proven guilty, Ricky. But if you must know I may have made a pass at the guy's daughter."

Ricky looked over at his best friend, his platinum long hair covered in corn stalk pieces and threads. "What possessed you to do that? He looked like your typical redneck! He'll probably feed our bodies to pigs!"

"That's if he's going to catch us. He's not going to catch us. We're almost out of the field anyway! So stop your complaining and look at the bright side of things."

"Ric, you said that exact same thing five minutes ago." Ricky complained as he finally pushed his way out of the corn, shocked to find them standing on a sun baked road. "…You don't get to say anything. Just because we found a road doesn't mean we're out of this." He leaned over, putting his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

Off in the distance, an old pick-up truck rumbled down the road. Ric's smirk grew. He smacked Ricky on the arm. "Oh yeah? I think we're out of this. Who's the man? I'm the man." He gloated and reached into his pocket to pull out some money.

"Surrrre, like that guy's gonna stop for a couple of guys with long hair, wearing bell bottoms. Yeah, this will go super well."

"Everybody stops for money." Ric fished a couple of twenties out of his wallet, waving them in the direction of the truck driver. "He's going to stop."

Ricky watched as the truck rumbled on past them. "Yeah, everyone stops for money." He spied the bottle of crown royal sticking out of Ric's bag and grabbed it by the neck. "Hey! Hey you stop! We got booze!" He shouted holding up the bottle of expensive alcohol.

"No! Not my crown royal! I need that!" Ric protested trying to wrestle the bottle from Ricky's hand.

"Knock it off, I'll buy you a new one!" He pushed Ric back, grinning at the truck as it began to slow down, finally coming to a stop. "Wait here." He jogged over to the cab of the truck, handing over the bottle.

Ric watched in slight dismay. That was his last bottle of crown royal. He clutched at the front of his shirt; if the guy just drove off they'd be down a ride and down one bottle of crown royal left to face an angry farmer and miles of cornfield.

"It's fine! He's going to give us a ride to town!" Ricky grabbed the side of the pick-up truck and swung up inside. "Come on!" He pushed open the back to help Ric inside. He grabbed the blonde man's arms, hauling him up inside.

"See? Who called it? I knew we'd be fine." Ric put his bag down, resting his head on it.

"Yeah. It's never boring with you Ric." He pulled up the back, and then knocked on the window in the back of the cab to signal to the driver that they were good to go. "Thanks for sacrificing the booze, Ric. I know that's so important to you." He laid back down beside Ric, looking up at the sky as the truck drove off.

"No, it's fine." Ric yawned. "I should lay off that stuff some. I drink it too much."

"Yeah, you sweat crown royal so much it's like cologne."

Ric snickered. "You only say that because you're so straight laced."

"No, I'm saying that because I room with you and I'm pretty sure that if I go by you with an open flame you'll combust."

Ric punched him playfully in the arm. "Sorry… I'll really try this time." He turned away from his companion, starring up into the autumn blue sky above them. It was a beautiful blue, not quite a light blue, but more of a cornflower blue. White puffy clouds dotted the sky, interrupting the smoothness of the blue. "All in all, it's a pretty nice day."

"Save for getting shot at." Ricky muttered looking up at the sky. "But you're right, it is a nice day."

"It's always a nice day when I'm with yo-"

Ricky held up his hand to silence Ric. "Hush. Don't get all mushy on me."

Ric laughed a little. "Sorry man. You know me, I'm an old softy."

"Soft doesn't begin to explain it." Ricky turned to look at his friend, laughing at the other man's pout. "Oh relax. You do that so well, sometimes I think you're really pouting. Is that the Ric Flair secret to getting women?"

"Partially." Ric still pouted. "Sometimes on guys too, if my aim is off."

"Seriously? Well… what the hell happens when…" He trailed off, half wondering why he even wanted to know.

Ric grinned broadly at him. "You really don't want to know, my friend. Trust me on that one."

Ricky looked to his friend, watching the way his smirk lingered briefly on his face before he flipped his sunglasses down over his nose. Ric was unlike any man he had ever met. He was loud, boisterous- as if he were afraid that if you couldn't hear him he'd simply vanish. He wore the strangest things- from glitzy robes to suits he could barely afford to buy. Ric left a trail of glitter in his wake, whether it was from his clothing, or the bits of glass from the many broken bottles of alcohol smashed in hotel rooms across the country.

The bump in the dirt road knocked them up into the air. Ricky tried to settle back into a comfortable position on the floor of the rusted pick-up truck bed, while Ric examined his fingers for any broken nails. After finding one, he cussed lightly and shook out his hand. Ric intrigued him like no other person he had ever met before, and he wasn't sure if it was his lifestyle, or the mystery Ricky created about the man's sexuality. His feathered pink robe in particular made him think twice, but not in a negative way. If anything, it made Ric all that more alluring. "Ric… I gotta know something. Ever since I met you, I've wondered about something."

"Mm?" He asked glancing over to the other man. "What's up?"

Ricky looked to his friend, one of the few men who first tried to know him. Ric didn't judge him; he didn't make a rude comment about his heritage. Just reminding himself of that made him hesitate. So what if Ric seemed a bit off, did it really matter in the end? "Ric, you're… you… do you-"

Ric snickered slightly. "You think I'm twink, don't you?"

Ricky promptly turned bright red and began to stammer. "Well I just- I don't know the clothes the… the everything! I can't help but wonder."

"Relax, Ricky. I'm not offended or anything like that. And even if I was, ya wouldn't be my type." Ric turned his attention back to the clear sky. "So you really don't have anything to worry about."

"Not your type?!" Ricky sat up, looking outraged. "Why the hell not?! What's the matter with me, that I wouldn't be your 'type'?"

Ric looked over to him with a snort. "You're a nag, man. I don't date nags."

"Oh whatever! If me being a nag means I care about your general health and well being, well then sure! I'm a big ole nag!"

"You're borderline battle-axe. Better watch it, Ricky- you'll never catch a hot anything like me with that type of attitude." Ric's serious tone faltered and he lost it. He burst out into a round of horse like laughter, holding his ribs as tears threatened to sting the corners of his eyes. "Your face! You look so offended! Just relax! I'm only messin' with ya."

Ricky forced himself to relax, shaking off the insulting words for what they were; a joke. Ric was joking with him. It didn't matter, they weren't that way anyway. He finally allowed himself to laugh, it was pretty funny. "I guess you're right, I should lighten up. I just don't like causing trouble."

Ric rolled on to his side, pushing his sunglasses up to his forehead. "You're the quintessential good guy, Ricky. Don't let anyone-even me, change that. Though you really should consider lightening up a bit-it couldn't hurt."

-

Ricky stared at himself in the long mirror. His tuxedo was perfect, his hair nicely trimmed and looking perfect. He ran a trembling hand over it one last time, before nervously fiddling with the red rose boutonniere tucked into his lapel. "Okay Ricky. Today's the day. You can do this. Gotta lighten up. You know you can do this. It's the day you've been waiting for."

The door to the church bathroom swung open wildly. The heavy wood banged on the ceramic tile of the wall, echoing loudly in the room. There stood Ric, his eyes red and puffy, his suit a mess, and his platinum hair flying off in different directions. Ricky smelt the distinct aroma of crown royal lingering in the air and he frowned.

"Ric, you're drunk." He said unable to hide the disappointment in his voice. "You're drunk on my wedding day."

"Don't do it, man!" Ric shouted his blue eyes wide and manic. "Don't do it, she's wrong for you!" He grabbed the other man by the arms and shook him slightly. "She's a bitch!"

"Ric, come on!" Ricky scowled and knocked Ric's hands away. "Get a hold of yourself! I'm going to forgive you for saying that simply because I know that you're drunk out of your mind-"

" No!" Ric hollered out. "No, it's more than that! Ya can't marry her, Ricky- ya just can't!" He whispered and fell forward, wrapping his arms around Ricky's shoulders. "She's so bad for you she just… she is!"

Ric's tone while drunk, his frantic look, his overall dishevelment bothered him. He threw his arms around the other man, hugging him tightly. "Stop… stop, calm down Ric. It's going to be alright. Just relax. You're drunk, that's all it is."

"No! No, no…" He picked his head up from Ricky's shoulders, grabbing the man's face. He brought him in for a hard kiss, Ric's fingers messing up Ricky's perfect hair as he held desperately to him. Their lips bruised and mashed together, kissing and moving in a fevered type of embrace. It was Ric that was the one who pulled away, and he did so with such great gusto he toppled over onto the tiled floor. "I'm sorry! Oh what have I done…?"

Ric's wail sounded strange in his mind. Ricky stumbled back against the sink of the bathroom, pressing his fingers to his lips. He could feel Ric on them still; the flavor of Ric's favorite alcohol burned lightly.

The bathroom door opened up again, Roddy staring at the sight in front of him. There was Ric on the ground, and Ricky looking like he got kicked hard in the gut. "Look, I know my man hates weddings but what the fuck is goin' on here?!"

"Pipes, I did a bad thing!" Ric said extending his hand to the other man to help him up.

"Yeesh!" Roddy exclaimed loudly as he hauled Ric to his feet again. "What did you drain the open bar before the reception even began?! Ricky, I'll get him sober and we'll see you at the reception. He hates weddings." He said in an attempt to explain their friend's wildly erratic behavior. "Come on ya nut. Roddy's got ya."

"I know. Ya always got me, man." Ric said slinging a limp arm over Roddy's back as the other man helped him out of the bathroom.

Ricky stared at the chaos Ric yet again left behind. Slowly, he let his arm drop to his side. Ric's manic kiss, his desperate attempt to get his attention worked. Frustrated and upset, he spun around gripping the smooth porcelain of the sink. He turned on the water, wetting down a paper towel and pressing it to the back of his neck in an attempt to calm down. "He lied to me…" He whispered staring down at the water swirling down into the drain. "Why didn't he tell me the truth…?" He pressed his fingers again to his lips and shut his eyes. He could still feel Ric there, his presence burned into his memory. "Damn you, Ric Flair…"

-

"Damn you Ric Flair!" Ricky grumbled as he forked over the last of his money to the man behind the clerk desk. The jail was tiny, and fairly dirty. An old calendar from 1980 was still stuck on the wall, despite two years having flown by since then. "There! That's all I got! Is that enough to get the two of them out?!" He gestured wildly to the two men stuck behind the one room jail's only cage.

"Yeah, yeah. It's fine. Just hold on so I can process this."

Ricky stared at the two sheepish men. Ric's hair was half stained red, and Roddy's shirt was torn with a very suspicious chalk white, blue, and red smear stained across the front. "What did you two do?!" He finally said biting back the anger he felt toward the two of them. That was his last bit of money, and being woken up at three in the morning wasn't something he totally enjoyed either.

"Okay now, I know you only damned me, and normally it is completely my fault but this time it's partially Roddy's."

"Yeah, I'll fess up. I had an equal part in it, Ricky." Roddy huffed. "Ya see, there was this ass in a clown suit at the bar, and we don't like that kinda shit as it is so-"

"That's enough, I've changed my mind. I don't want to know." He said abruptly and held up a trembling hand to his temple. "Guys, I love you and everything- but you're killing me here. I can't devote part of my pay check to the 'Ricky bails his two friends out of jail every week because of some wild ass excuse fund' anymore! I'm married, my wife wants to-" Ricky paused to give Ric a long, impatient glare as the blonde man instantly made a face at the mention of his spouse. "Ric, enough. I know you hate her, but she's my wife and I love her. And for the love of all things, she's right. You two need to grow up!"

"I don't see why!" He sputtered out and grabbed the bars. "She never lets you have any fun! She's draining the life outta you! You know we'll pay you back for the bail money, but god damn it Ricky! She's a bitch! She's no good for you!"

Ricky gave them an incredulous look. "You two beat up a clown in a bar and you have the nerve to tell me that! And don't try to tell me otherwise, I can see it all over Roddy's shirt."

"See, it wasn't at all like that. That clown and his midget friends had it coming. Me and Ric were at the bar minding our own business when-"

Ricky held up a hand and shook his head. "No. No. I still don't want to know. Just keep this in mind. When I get the chance, I'm going to kill the both of you. I'm tired of always being the responsible one. I'm tired of you doing things that don't make any sense. I'm very tired of you doing things that hurt me, because you want to be reckless. Because you both lack the capacity to realize when something should be kept in and not shared." He stared at Ric for that last comment. Sometimes when he shut his eyes, he could still feel Ric's lips on his. "Overall, I'm just fucking tired."

Ric looked to Roddy, and then Roddy to Ric. Ricky barely ever cussed- he was serious. Ric spoke up first. "Ricky, man… I'm sorry. We don't mean to drag you around like this. We just get worried that you don't get to have any fun. We won't do this again to you."

"You promise?"

"I promise." Ric held up his hand. "We won't involve you in any more nonsense. But… could you do me a favor? Let Roddy tell you what happened, he's dying over here."

"It's a good story!" Roddy protested. "Come on!"

Ricky pinched the bridge of nose. "Oh fine. What happened, Roddy?"

"Well, the guy was this huge clown. Like- real circus freak show type clown- and man did he stink to high heaven! Anyway, he blew this huge cigar cloud into Ric's face and I didn't like that because he didn't even have the dignity to smoke and blow a good cigar and do that to my friend. So I said some words. Ric said some words. He honked his horn and in came these two midget clowns. One of them had a monkey on a leash, and I knew it was going to be a fight right then and there. You don't bring in monkeys and midgets to a bar unless you're looking for-"

"Stop. I can't take this. I've changed my mind." Ricky reached through the bars and covered Roddy's mouth. "I'm sorry Roddy. But monkeys, clowns, and midgets- it's far too late at night for this, and I don't think I have the capacity for the amount of alcohol it would take to appreciate this story. Tell me in the morning."

The jailer finished up the paper work, and got up from his desk. He went over to let the other two men out the jail. "Out ya go. Your court date's in the morning. Try not to cause any more trouble between now and then."

-

"It's in the morning, Ric. I have to meet with her about the divorce." Ricky said hollowly as he sat down in his empty living room. He watched with sad eyes as his long time best friend took a seat on his overstuffed couch. "I'm scared she'll take that from me too."

Ric bit his lip, looking at the other man. So much of his life was spent with that woman, the same woman he warned Ricky about years before that he looked completely drained of his vitality. "Man, I told you. I told you she was no good. I tried to warn you."

Ricky gripped at his knees, frowning. "You did. On my wedding day. Nice timing, Ric. Real nice. You couldn't have told me earlier?"

"No, because you were all 'I love Bonnie, she's so groovy'. And for the longest time I tried to see this whole 'groovy Bonnie' but all I saw was super bitch Bonnie." Ric put a hand over his tired eyes. "I'm sorry, Ricky. I wanted to tell you earlier, but I just couldn't."

"…It's alright, Ric. You kept warning me after that but I didn't want to listen. I wanted to love Bonnie. …I wanted to hide behind her." He whispered.

"Huh?" Ric let his hand fall back to his side. "Hide behind her- why? What the hell are you going on about?"

Ricky pressed his lips tightly to form a thin line. "I… Ric… Do you remember when we were lost in that cornfield and we had to catch a ride in the back of that pick-up truck?"

"Vaguely." Ric slouched down on the couch, letting his head rest against the back of the couch. "I remember you used my booze to pay the guy off."

"Of course you remember that." He scoffed. "Like you missed it."

"I also remember something else. You asked me whether or not I was twink. I told you no. …Is that what this is all about?" Ric asked turning his head to look at Ricky. "Look man, I'm still not mad at you for asking that. It was a pretty valid thing to ask."

"Yeah. But you lied, you damn twink!" Ricky shouted and threw the remote control at him. "You kissed me on my wedding day! What the hell was that?! For the past twenty some years I've kept quiet about it because I figured you were just drunk outta your mind! But every time I thought about it, every time I looked at you and Roddy- I just… that conversation in the truck came back to my mind where you denied it! Why did you lie to me! Why didn't you just tell me- I wouldn't have been mad! I wouldn't have cursed you out!"

Ric blinked at him, rubbing his arm where the remote hit him. "Whoa- Ricky… Steams- calm down. I meant what I said. I wasn't a twink. Sure, I liked nice things. I liked the color pink. And hell, I even did things like kiss you. But I'd say that's being more bi-curious than being a twink. You know me and women, after all."

Ricky blinked. "But… I don't understand. Why didn't you tell me all those years ago that… that's what you were? You could have told me. Maybe we could have-"

Ric took in a slow sigh, interrupting the other man. "Ricky, do you remember what else I said in that truck? About you bein' the good guy?"

Ricky nodded his head. "Yeah. I remember. You always said that. You always said don't get wrapped up in crap because I was too good for that. Your point?"

"…Other than you bein' denser than McMahon's fling of the week? I included myself in that group of people who shouldn't be with Ricky Blood. Ricky, like Bonnie, I wouldn'a been any better. I didn't even want you to consider me as an option. What happened at the church, I'm sorry man. I'm really sorry for that, I never meant for that to happen. But just like every bad guy who wanted a shot at the good guy, I just had to have a taste. I love you, Ricky. But there was no way I was ever going to drag you down with me."

Silence filled the room. Ricky stared down at the hardwood floor of his living room. "…Maybe I should have let you. I've always been curious about you Ric. Maybe instead of always playing it safe, I should have tried to live a little maybe-" He had to stop as he felt tears stinging at the corners of his eyes. Once he felt like he could continue, he went on. "Maybe I wouldn't be fighting my ex over the rights to my own damn name!"

Ric looked up at his long time friend's face, full of heartbreak and betrayal. He sat his drink down, and reached over to put his hand on Ricky's knee. "Ricky… You did everything right. Don't worry man. Somehow, things are gonna work out for you. Me, Roddy, your friends… we'll make sure of it. We'll take care of you like you did for us after all those nights when we needed you the most. You're not in it alone. You're never in it alone. Whether you're running from crazy rednecks, or from bitchy ex-wives it's gonna be okay. We'll get through it together."

Ricky let the tears of frustration stream down his aged face. Ric's blue eyes shone so honestly that it nearly hurt to look at them. He choked slightly on his own emotion. He stood up, going over to Ric and embraced him tightly. "I don't care what you say Ric, but… you are the best worst thing that's ever happened to me. Thank you for everything. Thank you for being my friend in the best way you knew how to be.. Thank you, Ric. Thank you."

Fin.

NOTES: I couldn't figure out the exact date of Ricky's marriage. Sorry.

I'm hoping you liked this. I tried to put in some transition between the scenes by linking them together with similar words instead of throwing in dates to separate them. If it worked, hooray!