"Learn to Fly"
A CM Punk/Ashley/Jeff Hardy fic

Thanks to csimiamigirl73, Christal-R, Link Guru, Thee-Britty, TheRealRenee, AshMattXoXo, jojocheer28, xtobelovedx, JeffxMaria and Londrick-Forever for reviewing last chapter, you're awesome!!

SO SORRY for the one month wait, guys! First i had to struggle with writer's block, then i had a personal situation bugging me and i couldn't sat down and write before i resolved it, and now i'm currently sharing the pc with my bro so i had this ready on paper but couldn't type it here...! But finally here we are again, right? :)

R&R and enjoy it!

PS: This chappie is dedicated to my awesome buddy Mikki aka xAttitudex who came back today after her vacation! :D


Chapter 7
"Calm Before The Storm"

I love you baby, and if it's quite alright

I need you baby, to warm a lonely night…

Just as the lyrics of the famous song -whose notes were echoing in the kitchen said, Jeff couldn't take his eyes off of Ashley.

She was standing at the counter, with her back at him, probably chopping some carrots or other vegetables with Tobey and Lucas around her feet, obviously attracted by the inviting smell of the meat resting on the marble surface.

Singing along with the radio, she let out a giggle when Tobey lifted his front legs on her knees, barking to get her attention… and a special treatment for dinner.

"No way, that's not for you." She said in amusement, playfully splashing a few drops of water on the doggie, who barked in protest.

Jeff stood unnoticed with his back against the back door, watching the scene with a content smile on his face.

She was wearing just a pair of faded jeans shorts and a white tank top with Chinese letters printed in black on one side. A pair of white flip flops completed her outfit while her short blonde hair left loose with a single hairclip holding back a pink streaked lock from her face.

And watching her like this, smoothly moving around his house as if it was her own, distractedly singing along with the radio and cheerfully playing with the dogs… well, it gave him a strange feeling in his stomach.

A strange yet positive feeling.

As if he was really at home for the first time.

One of Lucas' barks in his direction broke the charm though, as she turned to see who it was.

"Here you are," she greeted him with a smile "hope it won't take long for the fire to be ready cause these naughty kids are going crazy with the smell."

He chuckled walking towards her and patted his four legged nephew's head before sitting on the counter. "Just a few minutes."

"Good," she grinned "I'm starving."

"Me too." He echoed with a smile… before frowning when she picked up a bowl from the cupboard.

"Excuse me, miss punk diva… what do you think you're doing?"

"…I'm making a salad." She answered looking quite puzzled at him.

"Oh no, I don't think so." He shook his head in amusement "You agreed with the rules."

"C'mon," she protested with a roll of eyes "I can make a salad, it's not that difficult. I've done that before!"

"Yeah… I remember that 4th of July when you put sugar in it instead of salt." He pointed out, desperately trying to hold in a laugh.

"That was just a mere accident." She rolled her eyes "And besides, you ate it anyway if I'm not mistaken."

"Yeah, cause Matt was death glaring at me from across the table."

"Then I'll share this salad with Matt only when he comes back from the tapings." She smugly announced.

"He just pretended to eat it," Jeff revealed with an amused grin "he hid every single leaf under the table every time you turned away."

"Well then you both suck." She muttered.

"C'mon," he chuckled as he leaned forward to pick up the meat packages from the counter and kissed the top of her nose as he did so "stick to the rules we agreed onto."

"Fine," she rolled her eyes again and let go of the knife "I'll bring the ketchup then." And with that she picked up the red bottle from the fridge and followed him outside.

x—x—x—x—x

CM Punk was relaxingly sat on the backseat of Matt Hardy's car and distractedly glanced outside the window, chuckling once in a while when Matt and Shannon's constant bickering interrupted his thoughts.

What was he thinking about?

Well he was re-living that afternoon encounter with the punk princess in his mind. A smile secured on his lips when he remembered the contagious smile of the blonde.

And you got her number now!

A little voice from inside proudly reminded him.

The straight edge superstar had never considered the possibility of dating a diva in his short career with the WWE. Partly cause the extreme roster didn't offer much of a choice, and partly cause he didn't want his sentimental life to affect his work and the relationship with his colleagues.

But now, for the first time, he found himself wondering how that would be… and, maybe not surprisingly, when he imagined the dirty diva at his side… the answer was definitely positive.

Yes, he had quite set his mind.

There were only a few problems he had to resolve now.

1) She was on Raw and he on ECW. Meaning that the two rosters traveled separately. He couldn't hope to charm a girl he met once a month at the usual inter-brands ppv. Even if the union was destined to be perfect, that was surely difficult.

2) What seemed a very protective/jealous/interested ex-almost-brother-in-law and current best friend. Yes, she had told him they were just friends, but he had the feeling, probably caused by the death glares he had shot in his direction in the last 24 hours, that the rainbow haired warrior wanted something more. Meaning that he would surely try everything in his power to prevent Punk to reach exactly what he aimed for.

Shit! He silently thought. There were indeed some odds to overcome… but he was determined to win this fight. He had a feeling, a feeling he hadn't had for long time, that told him she could be the right one for him.

And when had CM Punk given up on a challenge?

Exactly, never.

"Punk? Are you listening, man?"

Shannon's voice burst him back to the present, where no blonde divas and no charismatic enigmas were involved at the moment.

"Yeah? Sorry, I guess I spaced out for a second." He apologetically smiled.

"Never mind, we had a long trip last night, you probably need to catch some more rest." The older Hardy shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah, 'guess so." He agreed… well knowing that lack of sleep wasn't exactly the problem. But he surely wasn't going to tell him that his thoughts were fixed on his brother and his ex girlfriend.

"We're almost there." Shannon announced checking the arena's address on a little piece of paper he had just taken out of his pocket.

Matt nodded, focusing his attention on the other dark haired man again. "So are you enjoying your stay so far? How do you like it here?"

Now, normally Punk would have found the countryside a little too quite and slow for his liking, but the fact that he had bumped in the punk diva twice in a day probably made the difference. So he didn't blink twice as he responded with a huge grin on his face.

"Great, thanks. I like it very much."

"You should visit again one time or another." The Reject added.

"Yeah, we'll be glad to have you." Matt echoed.

"Thanks guys, that would be my pleasure."

Especially if she'll be around again.

x—x—x—x—x

"Ash, would you please help me?" Jeff shouted through the loud music blasting from the stereo and to whose rhythm the punk princess was crazily dancing by herself.

"But I already did my part," she protested, swaying her hips in tune with 'My Moves Are White, White Hot That Is' by Cobra Starship, you forbade me to do anything else in case you forgot.

"Cooking speaking yes, but you could always bring me our dishes, right?" He innocently smiled.

"Fine," she gave up with a roll of her eyes as she turned down the volume and marched towards the barbecue, two large plastic dishes in her hands.

"Thanks honey," he teased when she stuck out her tongue at him.

"I was enjoying the song," she pouted "and you should too. It reminds me of you."

"Really?" He looked surprised, then cockily grinned. "Oh yes, I think it's because of the I'm the kind of guy it ain't no easy to forget, right?" He quoted.

"Mmm, not exactly…" she innocently smiled "I was actually thinking of the part that says I'm the kind of guy you have never seen before, cause, you know, you're kind of a freak."

His grin changed quickly into a pout as he realized she had fooled him.

"That hurt." He said in mocked disappointment, a hand on his heart.

"Aw," she giggled, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek "just kidding, you know I love you."

"Yeah, I know." He smiled back… maybe even more than he should have at the innocent friendly declaration.

"Will it take long?" She asked heavily collapsing on one of the deckchairs "I'm still starving."

"Nah, actually I think we're ready." He announced, turning one of the hamburgers on the grill.

"YAY! I'll go get the drinks then!" She cheerfully exclaimed, jumping up again and ran towards the kitchen with Tobey promptly following her.

"She's one of a kind." Jeff commented with an amused smile on his face, while a happy sigh escaped his lips.

xxx 2 hours later xxx

"I can't believe how much I ate." Ashley commented while she comfortably adjusted herself on the couch, legs stretched out on the coffee table and a hand on her stomach "I think I won't even look at food for the rest of my life."

"Don't you think that would be a little too much?" Jeff asked in amusement, sat in the same position next to her.

"At least till tomorrow morning then." She corrected herself.

"Sounds better." He chuckled.

"Oh, it's almost time, ECW is about to start!" She announced as he unwillingly switched the TV on Sci-Fi.

"Do we really have to watch it?" He whined.

"Jeff, you watch it every week!" She pointed out with an amused/confused look.

"Yeah, I know." He rolled his eyes.

"Ooops, that's my phone." She announced picking up the small device from the table, giggling as she proceeded to read the text message.

"Who's that?" He asked in curiosity, expecting to hear it was just Mickie James or something like that… but he surely wasn't prepared for her answer.

"Oh, it's Punk."

"…Punk." He repeated, swallowing hard, "as in ECW's own CM Punk?"

"Yeah, how many other Punks do you know?" She asked with a laugh.

"I didn't know you two were text messages buddies." He pointed out with a roll of his eyes.

"Cause we're not, we just exchanged numbers this morning, that's the first time he writes me."

"Yeah, whatever." He shrugged before folding his arms and focusing on the flat screen where Kane was opening up the show with an in-ring promo as the new ECW champion.

"What… oooooh!" She exclaimed with a playful smile as she observed the rainbow haired superstar next to her.

"What?"

"You're jealous!" She giggled "You're jealous of him."

"Of who? Punk? Psssh." He rolled his eyes.

"Well you don't need to be anyway," she giggled and snuggled next to him "cause you're always, always, always my number one."

"Whatever, I'm not jealous." He muttered. "…But that's really unprofessional of him to text your right now when he's supposed to be doing his job!" He indignantly added when the alert went off again.

"It's not him." She announced a few seconds later, a weird tone in her voice.

"Who is it then?" He asked confused by her sudden change of mood.

"It's one of the assistants from Stamford. Apparently they rescheduled my photoshoot… it's tomorrow." She explained finally lifting up her eyes again from the electronic device.

"This means that…"

"I have to leave like… right now, yeah." She finished for him.

"Oh." Was all he was able to say, clearly not thrilled to say goodbye to her so soon.

"Jeffy I don't want to go!" She pouted "We had to stay together at least till Saturday!"

"I know," he sighed "but I'm afraid there's nothing we can do about it."

"All our plans…" She trailed off, her voice shaking.

"Hey," he softly said pulling her into a hug "it's not like we have to be apart forever, right? We'll have plenty of days for all our crazy plans, I promise you. And I'll come back soon, you'll see." He added almost in a whisper.

She nodded against his shoulder, wiping away a single tear.

"C'mon, let me see your smile. I can't let people think I made you cry, I have a reputation to defend." He tried to cheer her up, obtaining a playful roll of eyes but eventually a smile.

"That's my girl." He chuckled, kissing her forehead. "Now go get your stuff then, I'll drive you to the airport."

She silently nodded and stood up, headed to the stairs, then suddenly stopped and ran back to him, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him on the cheek before rushing upstairs.

Finding himself alone, Jeff finally allowed his face to turn into a sad frown as well. He just didn't want her to go… he needed her right there… but he knew he couldn't say anything. She would have done anything to remain with him and he couldn't allow it since it would mean troubles for the dirty diva. One suspended superstar in the family was already enough.

So he just let out a sigh and stood up, starting to search for his car's keys.

x—x—x—x—x

"Hey Punk!"

"Yes?" The straight edge superstar turned to see who was calling him, just to find a very breathless Matt Hardy entering the locker room, cell phone in his hand.

"Man, I just got this call… there's a storm approaching so all tomorrow flights are cancelled."

"Shit." He muttered, quickly throwing a t-shirt on "I really need to get home by tomorrow, you know, stuff to organize before starting to travel all over again next week…"

"Your only chance is to leave right after the show then. Special flights are being added for the emergency."

"Yeah," Shannon jumped in from the next bench where he was tying up his shoes "you have to get on one of those. We can drive you straight to the airport."

"Really? Is not a problem?"

"Absolutely not." Matt honestly said, shrugging his shoulders.

"And I'll bring you the rest of your stuff at the next show, don't worry." The Reject added.

"Thanks guys, I appreciate that."

"Never mind dude, let's get ready then."

x—x—x—x—x

"I still have to understand how the keys ended up in the cookie jar." Ashley pointed out in amusement as they paced in the airport, waiting for her flight to be called.

"I told you, maybe Shane and I went a little over cleaning the house the other day."

"Yeah, just a little." She giggled "Good thing I wanted to take a little snack with me or we would be still there in the middle of the hunting."

"Yeah, and I'm afraid they wouldn't accept a 'Sorry, I couldn't make it in time cause the cars' keys for some weird reason were in the Hardys' cookie jar's as an excuse'." He chuckled.

"I'd love to see their expression, though." She echoed with a laugh.

"Ash… isn't that… my brother?" Jeff then asked with a 'please-tell-me-I'm-not-crazy' tone, distractedly looking over a small crowded of people.

"…Yes, that's Matt! And that's Shannon behind him!" She exclaimed in surprise "What are they doing here?!"

"I have no idea…! Let's find out…!" He echoed as they approached the other two.

"Guys, how come you're here?!"

"…We've accompanied Punk, what are you doing here?!" Matt asked with the same surprise.

"I have to leave sooner," Ashley explained "I got a call an hour ago."

"Done…!" The straight edge superstar announced joining them, a ticket in his hands. "Oh, hi." He added in obvious surprise when he noticed the other two "What brings you here?"

"Seems like you're not traveling alone tonight." Shannon grinned pointing at Ashley's ticket.

"…You're going to Chicago?" His eyes widened.

"Not exactly," she explained with a smile "I have to change flight there. They couldn't find me a direct one."

"Cool!" He grinned in approval, making Jeff roll his eyes behind his brother. "I mean that we're traveling together, not that you couldn't find a direct one."

"Yeah, I got it, don't worry." She giggled.

"Think it's time to go now, guys." Shannon announced as on the flights board upon their head the number of the gate for the flight to Chicago finally appeared.

"Yeah…" Ashley commented, turning to Jeff with a pout on her face. "Kidnap me and say you couldn't find me anywhere."

"Yeah, I could hide you in the cookie jar as well, shortie." He chuckled as he hugged her and received a punch in the ribs as response.

"Behave while I'm on the road, alright?" She lifted up her eyes to stare into his, genuinely concerned.

"I'll be fine, don't worry." He playfully rolled his eyes but tightened the grip on her back. "But I'll miss you." He added in a whisper audible only to her.

"I'll miss you too."

"Ew would you two stop this heartbreaking scene?" The self proclaimed prince of punk interrupted them as he and Matt mocked gagging noises.

"Don't be a stranger, Jeffy." She warned before kissing his cheek and looked at him one last time.

"I won't." He smiled, reluctantly letting her go.

She then glared at the two Smackdown! superstars before quickly hugging each of them.

"And you two try not to burn the house down while you're here, alright?" She playfully rolled her eyes.

"We won't."

"Yeah."

They both innocently grinned, as she turned once again to meet a smiling CM Punk.

"Shall we?"

"Yes, sir." She smiled back as they started to walk away from the others.

Jeff stared at the two of them with an unreadable expression on his face, his features hardening when Punk casually slid his hand on her back.

"Jeff? You ready to go?"

Matt's voice almost made him jump as he drifted away from his not-so-happy thoughts.

"Yeah, let's get back." He unwillingly muttered and after glancing one last time at the other two, turned his back at the airport.

He hid a sigh while Matt and Shannon started to push each other.

He hated watching her leave.

Especially in company of another man.