A/N: Today is the 1 year anniversary since I've been back into wrestling, so why not celebrate with an update?

This chapter is equal parts sweet and angst and I love it.

Dean is in the chapter briefly.

I had a lot of fun writing this chapter and I hope that you will enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the wrestlers, they all belong to WWE. If I owned John or Seth, I'd never leave my apartment.


Chapter 9: Month 8


When Seth wakes up in the morning, he feels paranoid and he thinks that something is wrong. He shakes the feeling and goes about his day as he normally does. He enters the teacher's lounge and before he can get some coffee, he notices Natalya and Beth sitting at the table. This is a common sight, except for the fact that Nattie is crying and Beth looks sad. Seth sits down across from the couple and he gently takes Natalya's hand.

"What's going on?" Seth wants to know.

"You didn't hear about John?" Nattie asks.

Seth turns pale. "No, what happened?"

"We don't know the specifics, but he's in the hospital," Beth reveals.

"Is he ok?" Seth questions, panic in his tone.

"We don't know," Natalya replies as she dries her eyes.

Seth desperately wants to take the whole day off and go visit John. His first class starts in 15 minutes though, so there's not enough time for the school to get a substitute. Seth kisses Nattie on the cheek and tries to cheer her up before he leaves the lounge. Seth knows that he has to focus and mask his emotions for his students, but he's not feeling well at all. He plans to go visit John as soon as he's finished teaching. Seth isn't much for prayer, but he prays that John is all right.


Seth stops by the gift store at the hospital before he goes to John's room. He sees a teddy bear that has "Get Well Soon" written on it and he thinks that John will like it so he buys it. Seth knocks softly on the door to John's room because he isn't sure if John is sleeping or not. He hears John tell him to come in so he enters the room. One of John's eyes is swollen and black. His hospital gown is open in the front and Seth notices that there are bandages around his midsection. He approaches the bed and hands the bear to John.

"Thank you," John tells him with a smile.

"You're welcome. What happened to you?" Seth wonders.

"Your fiancé has anger issues," John responds.

"Dean did this to you?" Seth questions.

John nods. "He came over to brag about getting married to you. He got a few cheap hits in and then he started kicking the hell out of me. I have a few fractured ribs. It still hurts to move, but at least I'm breathing better than I was."

"I should have known that he was lying to me last night. I am so, so sorry," Seth apologizes.

"It's not your fault, Seth. You can't control what someone else does," John replies.

Seth shakes his head. "I was supposed to give you an invitation a while ago. If I would have done it, this never would have happened to you."

"Please, stop blaming yourself. I am a little curious though; why didn't you give me the invitation?" John inquires.

"I didn't want to see the look on your face when you received it. I also thought that you wouldn't want to come," Seth explains.

"Do you want me to come?" John wonders.

"Not if you don't want to," Seth responds.

John makes some room on his hospital bed and he requests that Seth join him. Seth looks a little uncertain, but he complies. Seth makes sure not to put too much pressure on John's ribs. John wraps one of his arms around Seth and he tries to hide the grimace on his face. John hopes to get released from the hospital tonight, but he won't be leaving without any pain medication. Seth snuggles a little closer to John and for the first time since he was injured, John ignores the pain.

"Is there anything that I can do for you?" Seth offers.

"Just stay here until I fall asleep," John answers.

"I can do that," Seth replies.

John's doctor comes in a little while after John falls asleep. He checks his chart and he tells Seth that John will be discharged after he wakes up. Seth reaches for his phone and he texts Nattie, Beth, Punk, and Stephen with an update on John's condition. Natalya really wants to see John, so she tells Seth that she and Beth will come get him and take him home. Seth stays until it's time for John to go.

Seth looks at Nattie. "Take good care of him."

"You know that I will. Beth is going to cook for him and I'll give him his meds," Natalya states.

"Call me if you need anything," Seth mentions.


Seth doesn't know how he managed to keep his cool around John because he is absolutely pissed with Dean right now. He checks his watch and it's a little after 7:00 p.m. Dean should be off of work and at their house. Seth is going to confront him about hurting John. Seth parks behind Dean's car in their driveway. When Seth doesn't see Dean in the living room or kitchen, he goes to their bedroom. Dean is lounging in bed like he doesn't have a care in the world.

"You lied to me!" Seth accuses.

"What did I allegedly lie about?" Dean counters.

"You conveniently left out details about your fight with John," Seth points out.

Dean rolls his eyes. "Why does it matter?"

"He was in the fucking hospital, Dean!" Seth yells.

"Do you expect me to feel remorse?" Dean questions.

"No, of course I don't. I'm just now realizing what kind of man that you are," Seth comments.

Dean looks offended. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You don't care about anyone but yourself. I should have figured this out when you asked me to marry you," Seth reflects.

"Whoa, Seth! It sounds you regret being engaged to me. Remember what's at stake here," Dean reminds him.

"I fucking know what's at stake! I think about it every single day!" Seth exclaims.

"You better start acting like it. After we're married, you're mine, Seth. No more hanging out with your little boyfriend. Have your fun now because in 2 months, everything is going to change. The only time that you're going to see John is at your job," Dean informs him.

Seth is seething, but he decides not to say anything back. Instead, he walks into his closet and finds a duffle bag. He starts frantically grabbing some of his clothes and throwing them into the bag. He grabs his phone and laptop chargers and tosses his laptop into the duffle as well. He walks past Dean to get to the bathroom so that he can grab his toiletries. Dean watches Seth pack with an almost amused expression on his face.

"And where exactly do you think that you're going?" Dean questions.

"Anywhere but here. I can't stand to look at you right now," Seth answers.


When Seth gets into his car, he drives quickly away from his house. He pulls up at a gas station because he needs to figure out where he's going to go. He doesn't want to stay with Punk and Jeff because Jeff just got back from his tour not that long ago. Jeff and Punk are going to be fucking like bunnies and Seth doesn't want to intrude. Nattie and Beth aren't an option because Seth definitely doesn't want to hear them having lesbian sex. John's apartment only has one bedroom so that won't work either. The only person left that Seth can think of is Stephen. Stephen lives by himself and he has an extra bedroom.

Seth calls Stephen beforehand because just showing up at his house at night would be rude. He briefly explains that he needs somewhere to stay for a few days and Stephen tells him to come over. Seth smiles because he's so grateful to have such amazing friends. Stephen welcomes him with open arms and Seth feels so thankful. Seth drinks a beer with Stephen and then he retreats to the guestroom. It's been a long, stressful, and emotional day so Seth is exhausted. He sends John a text to make sure that everything is fine before he falls asleep.


The March days turn into April showers as a few weeks go by. Seth is still staying with Stephen and he's spending even more time with John. Dean calls . . . a lot, but Seth continually ignores his calls. Seth really wants to punish Dean for his actions, so he's avoiding him until he has forgiven him. It's a Friday night and Seth wants to go out somewhere. Stephen is going out with the new Marine Biology teacher, Wade Barrett, so Seth wants to stay away from Stephen's house. John made the excuse earlier that he wanted to stay in because he had a lot of papers to grade. Seth picks up a few movies from Red Box and he buys some snacks. He's going to crash John's work session.

"I know you're in there, John," Seth remarks as he knocks on John's door.

John opens the door. "Hey Seth. I'm pleasantly surprised to see you."

"You said that you couldn't go out, so how about we spend a night in?" Seth suggests as he walks into the apartment.

"You know that I wasn't blowing you off earlier, right? I really do need to catch up on my grading. I missed a few classes with my injury and I fell behind," John explains as he sits down on his bed.

"You still have tomorrow and Sunday to grade. Have fun with me," Seth encourages.

John laughs. "You're not going to leave me alone until I say yes, are you?"

"Nope," Seth simply replies.

"Fine!" John concedes.

John removes all of the essays from his bed so that Seth has enough room. Seth lets John pick which movie that they want to watch. John chooses The Cabin in the Woods and Seth likes his choice. Seth pops 2 bags of popcorn and grabs 2 beers before he joins John back in his room. Seth hands John one of the beers and places the large bowl of popcorn in the small gap between their bodies. John puts the movie in his DVD player and he gets into a comfortable position beside Seth.


After the movie ends, John and Seth share a pint of John's favorite ice cream from Ben & Jerry's. Somehow, Seth ends up facing John and straddling his hips. They're only using one spoon so they alternate spoonfuls. John scrapes the corners of the carton and feeds Seth the last of the ice cream. Seth licks the spoon lasciviously and John has to will himself not to get hard at the sight. Seth grins at John and wraps his arms around his neck. They spend a few minutes just staring into each other's eyes.

"I don't want to go back to Stephen's house," Seth tells John.

"You know that you don't have to. You can stay here," John offers.

"Fine, but I don't want to sleep on your couch," Seth whispers directly into his ear.

"Really?" John asks with a raised eyebrow.

Seth nuzzles his cheek. "Really."

John closes his eyes as he enjoys the sensation of Seth's soft skin caressing his. John rubs Seth's arms delicately and Seth loves how gentle that John's large hands always are. Seth can feel the goose bumps forming and he knows that his whole body is flushed. John's hands explore Seth's chest and abs over the top of his shirt. Seth isn't sure that he has ever felt so much pleasure from a rather innocent touch. Seth grazes his lips against John's in a light, barely there kiss.

"We should probably get ready for bed," John says.

"I sleep in just boxers, what about you?" Seth wants to know.

"The same," John responds.

Seth reluctantly detaches himself from John's body and gets off of the bed. He slowly unbuttons his top and steps out of his jeans. He's left wearing a pair of luxurious black silk boxers. John does get an erection this time and he knows that he can't force this one away. Seth gets back on John's bed and he lays with his hands behind his head like he's waiting for a show. John slips his t-shirt above his head and he quickly gets rid of his jean shorts. He's left wearing a pair of white cotton boxers that leave absolutely nothing to the imagination.

"Wow!" Seth exclaims.

"I'm sorry. I'm kind of like a 13 year old boy and I pop a boner quickly," John apologizes.

"I definitely understand the problem," Seth hints.

Eventually, both men calm down and their erections go away. Seth gets into a comfortable position on his side and he shudders when he feels John's bare skin against his. John drapes his arms around Seth's body and Seth immediately feels safe and secure. Seth's eyes close and he knows that he's going to fall asleep soon. He mutters a good night to John and completely relaxes in his embrace. John gives Seth a chaste kiss on the forehead and whispers good night. Both of them drift off into an extremely contented sleep.


Seth is brought out of his slumber when he feels a wet pressure on his neck. He thinks that maybe John is drooling in his sleep, but then he feels soft, plump lips moving against his neck. One of John's hands is lazily resting on Seth's morning wood and he assumes that John is still sleeping. Seth is trying to remove himself from John's arms without waking him, but he stops when that hand squeezes his erection. The sudden pleasure catches him off guard.

"John!" He groans in surprise.

John starts to stir after he hears Seth's half-ecstasy, half-shocked moan. He immediately removes his mouth from Seth's neck and quickly snatches his hand away when he realizes what he was just doing. John leaps out of bed like it's on fire. Panic is written all over John's handsome face. He runs a frustrated hand through what little hair that he has and takes a few deep breaths.

"Fuck! I'm really, really sorry about that," John apologizes.

"It's ok," Seth placates him.

"No, it's not, Seth," John argues.

"You were asleep, so you weren't even aware of what you were doing," Seth explains.

John shakes his head. "That's no excuse. I shouldn't have even . . . this was a mistake."

"What was a mistake?" Seth inquires.

"Whatever the hell this is between us. Your wedding is in exactly 2 months. What the fuck was I thinking?" John exclaims.

"John, what—"

John interrupts him. "I should have stayed away from you the minute I realized that I had feelings for you. I should have been strong enough to resist you when you looked at me with those damn brown eyes and asked me to be friends. You're getting married soon and I'm falling harder for you every day. I can't do this anymore, Seth. You were right not to give me an invitation to your wedding because I'm not going. I can't watch you promise forever to Dean."

Seth has a reply on the tip of his tongue, but he doesn't get a chance to say it. John starts putting his clothes on and he walks out of the door. Seth hears the front door slam and he desperately wants to go after John. He thinks that John probably needs some time to himself, so he decides not to follow him. He feels bad because John is completely justified in everything that he said. Seth has selfishly lead him on and he feels so awful about it. Seth bites his lip and lets the torrent of tears fall from his eyes. He's marrying a man that he doesn't want to be with anymore and he just broke the heart of the man that he truly cares about. Seth cries himself to sleep and he dwells on how complicated and unfair that his life is.


A/N: Here they go again taking 1 step forward and 2 steps back!

They have 2 months (and 2 chapters) to get their shit together! Can they do it?

Chapter 10 is probably the most anticipated chapter of the fic and it was my favorite to write!

Here's what's coming up: John and Seth spend another night together, Dean threatens to call off the wedding, a secret gets revealed about Seth and Dean's relationship, and Seth finally tells John why he's marrying Dean.