Title: Flawed Perfection

Rated: M (Mature)

Genre(s): Romance/Angst

Pair(s): Kane/Zack, Kane/Lita

Summary: All his life, Kane has been told that he is a monster. He doesn't deserve to be loved. He doesn't deserve to live. His wife, the woman who claimed to love him for better or worse, tried to break him from the inside out. Now, all he has to live for are a child that's never seen his face and a brother who wants him to rot in hell. Kane's been taken to his limit. The heartless monster is in need of a savior like never before…

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone, besides the child.

Warning(s): Slash, Het, Violence, Cruelty, etc.

Part: 7/? – F is for First

OOOO

The day after Wrestlemania, Zack Ryder found himself in Kane and Nell's hotel room. Nell rushed him at the door, but before she could throw her little arms around him, she slid to a halt and started to cough violently. The noise that she made seemed much too loud for such a small body. Finally, when she could control herself, her brilliant smile returned and she threw herself at Zack. Zack caught her with ease and lifted her into the air, laughing as she laughed and waved her little arms to and fro. Finally, Zack set her down and she led him over to the dream house.

Kane was already over there. He had a mountain of naked Barbie dolls, both male and female, in front of him. There was a pile of clothes next to it. Zack raised an eyebrow, but Kane didn't comment. The Broski chalked it up to the child's odd behavior and let it roll off of his shoulders. Quickly, Nell motioned for Zack to take a seat next to her father. She dressed two dolls, a Barbie and a Ken, in a beautiful white wedding dress and a tight-fitting tuxedo. Coughing a little bit, she handed the female doll to Kane and the male doll to Zack.

"Um, Nell?" Kane looked down at the female doll as if it had a second head. "Why do I have the female doll?"

"Cause you have more hair, silly." Nell said, as if this was the most obvious statement in the world.

Kane rolled his icy blue eyes, but relented. It was useless to put up a fight, at least where something as insignificant as Barbie dolls were concerned. "Fine."

"What exactly are we doing, sweetheart?" Zack asked as Nell lay down on her stomach and held her favorite doll out in front of the Barbie and Ken.

"You're getting married, of course." Nell said, before she coughed again.

Before he adults could say anything else, Nell started the ceremony. Since she was only four-years-old and didn't know much about weddings, she skipped a lot of the ceremony. Kane and Zack's dolls exchanged imaginary rings as they said their vows. Zack could see that Kane was still confused as to why he was the female doll, but he went through the motions because it made Nell happy. Finally, it came to the last part of the ceremony. It was time for the husband to kiss his bride.

Not thinking too much of it, the two men made the dolls kiss. But this didn't satisfy Nell. She climbed to her feet and took Kane's hand, making him stand. And then she turned around and did the same for Zack. Linking their hands together, she smiled up at him expectantly. Kane blinked at her uncertainly. She couldn't seriously want them to kiss, could she? When they didn't move fast enough, she frowned and moved behind Kane, pushing him closer to Zack. Her little body really wouldn't move Kane all that much, but he moved anyway because he didn't want to hurt her.

Actually, Zack was the one who made the first move. He closed the distance between them and kissed Kane. Kane's icy blue eyes widened and he tensed, surprised. Nell squealed happily, satisfied that she had done her job well. After a moment, Kane relaxed and started to kiss back. His eyes slid closed and for the first time in so, so long, he allowed the icy barrier around his heart to melt. He hadn't allowed anyone this close since Lita had broken him, and he had to admit that it felt nice. It felt nice to know that someone wasn't afraid of him, that they weren't disgusted by him.

"Can we play Chutes and Ladders now?" Nell asked excitedly. Before they even had a chance to answer her, she took the board game out and started to set it up.

"What about the Barbie dolls, Nell?" Kane asked. "When are you going to clean those up?"

"Later." Nell answered simply.

The child then took out her favorite piece and set it where she wanted it on the board. But before they could start to play, she took out her binky and walked over to Zack. She took Zack's hand and handed it to him. Zack looked at her oddly, but she assured him that it was a present and she wanted him to keep it. She didn't need it anymore. Leading both her father and Zack over to the board game, they all stretched out on the floor and started to play. Zack was quick to learn that Kane and Nell were extremely competitive.

The rest of the afternoon leading up to the show was spent playing different games. Even if she was only four-years-old, she could start to see the connection that was forming between Zack and Kane. Occasionally, she would start to cough viciously. She was weaker than usual and didn't have the boundless energy that she usually had either. But seeing her Daddy happy for the first time in all of her life made her happy as well. Maybe Zack was the missing puzzle piece that could get Kane to take off his mask…

OOOO

A/N: Well, another chapter down. Please remember to review – they make me write faster!