Warnings: OmegaVerse, Previous Slash (Jeff Hardy/CM Punk), Pre-Slash (Brock Lesnar/CM Punk), Profanity.


Phil wakes up to the scent of frying bacon, and for a brief moment has no idea why. Then the fact he'd asked Brock to stay the night comes back to him, and he drags himself out of bed. It's just after six, but Brock looks like he's been awake for a while. The smell of cooking food fills the small apartment, along with the pleasing aroma of coffee. He heads for the bathroom first, then goes to over to greet Brock.

"Morning." Phil calls out softly, and Brock jumps slightly. Phil leans his hip against a counter, and chuckles at how easy it was to spook the giant alpha. Brock grins over at him as his flips a frying egg over. "You didn't need to make breakfast."

"I didn't need to, but I wanted to, so now there's breakfast. I figured you'd want to eat, before you get ready for calling the lawyers." Brock starts plating up, waving away Phil's help. "Sit, I got this." Brock jerks his head in the direction of the kitchen table.

"Lemme at least pour you a coffee." Brock nods in concession to Phil's request, and sets a plate of food down in front of him.

"I wasn't sure what you like, but I definitely knew you wouldn't eat as much as me." Brock's own plate is twice as loaded as Phil, and he almost looks embarrassed as he sits down to eat. "I forgot to ask if you wanted me to stay or go when you're calling last night." Phil looks up from contemplating his coffee at Brock's statement, and shrugs.

"I don't want to keep you if you need to be somewhere." Phil mutters, and takes a sip. Brock leans over the table, takes Phil's coffee cup from him, and sets it down beside his plate.

"Eat." He says it softly but firmly, and Phil can't help but chuckle at him. "I've nowhere to be for a while. Any press inquiries Paul handles, most folk by now know to not bother asking me much of anything anyway. My next fight isn't for a while. The dogs are all handled by Sasha and Bayley. The gym's in good hands. I'm a free alpha ninety percent of the time. So, if you want me here, I'm here." Brock's ears promptly turn red, and he starts eating once more.

"I'd be very grateful if you'd stay then. It's like I said, I'm not going to be able to handle seeing him again." Phil sighs, and makes to grab his coffee cup once more. He can feel the weight of Brock's gaze on him though, so he starts eating instead. "I've changed so much for the worst, and I bet he's still gorgeous." Phil laughs. Brock scoffs, and shakes his head. "It's true! I was as pretty as Seth when I met Jeff!" Phil gets to his feet, and heads to where the old photos are stashed in a drawer. He's kept a lot of photos solely for the purposes of embarrassing Seth when he brings his first potential mate home, but some are just for Phil. The few of him in his youth are there mostly for him to look at mournfully, and wonder what would have happened if he'd stayed in High School. "See. I was a pretty kid." Phil sets the one photo of him on his Bonding Day down in front of Brock. Brock stares at the picture, and then glances up at Phil.

"You've not changed that much to be honest, Boss. You looked beautiful then, and well…nothing much has changed." Brock's entire face is blazingly red, but Phil just shakes his head, and sets another picture down on top of the first.

"I was fourteen in that picture." Fourteen was an awkward time for Phil. He'd gotten taller, but nothing else had grown. He'd looked like an awkward, lanky alpha with long hair and big glasses, not the omega he is. The year after, fifteen when he'd met Jeff, had been better. At fifteen, his hips had filled out, his waist had been naturally small, giving him a lovely figure. It'd also been the year his grandpa had taken him to get contacts to replace his glasses. He'd always told Phil that omegas with glasses don't get dates, never mind mates, and well almost as soon has the glasses had been replaced Phil met Jeff.

"You were a cute kid." Brock chuckles, and grins up at Phil. "You don't need glasses anymore?"

"No, I do. I just wear contacts mostly. It's become a habit to put them in first thing in the morning." Phil gathers to two photos up, and puts them away. "Sethie says I look weird in glasses, so I always put them in before doing anything else." Brock nods slightly, and returns to eating. There's a perplexed look on his face, like he's debating saying something, but is deciding against it for some reason. "I'm gonna jump in the shower real quick, then get ready." Phil stands after breakfast, and sets his dirty plate in the sink. "Please leave the dishes. I'll do them once I speak to the lawyers, and before you say anything, you've done more than enough for me." Phil smiles softly, and Brock looks like he's going to argue, but nods once.

"Alright. I'll nip over to the gym, and get cleaned up there. I'll be back around seven-thirty, okay?" Brock lightly rests his hand on Phil's shoulder, and smiles encouragingly at him. Phil nods, and forces a bright smile ot his face. His stomach is rebelling. The mere thought of seeing Jeff again makes him want to vomit.

He showers quickly, and pulls on the nicest black clothes he's got. He probably doesn't look formal enough but it's the best he's got, and Jeff can just deal with it. He washes the dishes, and makes a new pot of coffee, before sitting on the couch staring at the darkened laptop screen. He can see his reflection in it, and winces. He looks old and tired. He feels old and tired to be honest.

"Makeup." Phil mutters to himself, and heads to his bedroom to put a face together. Jeff had never commented on him wearing makeup, but Phil always had to make himself feel better about being with someone so far out of his league, at first at least. Later in their relationship it'd been to cover the bruises. He remembers once Jeff's dad had come over to visit when Seth must have been around four. It'd been about seven in the morning, Phil was getting breakfast ready for Seth before he'd finished getting himself ready to face the outside. Jeff's dad had stared at him in shock, and Phil had asked what was wrong. Jeff's dad had dragged him to the bathroom, and made him look at his reflection. Phil hadn't seen anything wrong with the black eye he was sporting, and had assured him that he'd cover it up before work. Ten years and lifetime ago. Phil sighs, and starts applying his foundation. It'd once been a routine, making his face look presentable, but now he rarely bothers. His skills aren't what they once were, and he's not used wearing makeup anymore. It feels itchy, and he's aware of it constantly, but he will admit he looks younger made-up. A knock at the door draws his attention from his reflection. Phil scampers to answer it, and let Brock back in.

"You look different all made-up, Boss." Brock smiles at him, and Phil shrugs awkwardly.

"I figured, I should make an effort." Phil ducks his head, feeling a little odd under Brock's thoughtful gaze.

"If we're making an effort, you want me to do your hair? I do a mean French braid." Brock smiles, and fidgets slightly, his ears tinged with red. Phil looks at him oddly, and doesn't bother fighting the chuckle that bubbles up his throat.

"Sure. Lemme fetch my hairbrush." Phil gestures towards his bedroom, and nips off to fetch the brush, tossing it to Brock, then takes a seat at the kitchen table. Brock carefully takes Phil's hair down, and runs the brush through it a few times, before starting work on the braid. "How come you know how to do this?"

"I had lots of little siblings… Jamie, my youngest brother, used to love getting his hair done, and even though we had a Ma and Pa, there just wasn't enough hands to indulge a five-year-old omega who wants a new hairdo every ten minutes." Brock laughs softly, his fingers gently moving Phil's hair around out of his sight. "I can do mean Princess Leia buns too." Phil chuckles at that comment. "He had the prettiest hair… All my siblings did. I miss them being little now that they're all grown-up and have kids. Jamie's got two little omegas now, a boy and girl. He's over in Minnesota, married some trucker who sounds more like a Canadian than a good red-blooded American should, but he's a good dad and a better mate, so I can't complain." Brock fingers are oddly soothing, his tone low and soft, all conspiring to take any of the tension that'd been in Phil drift away. "I should go visit them some time. It's been a while since I've paid any of them a visit."

"How many do you have to visit?" Phil's almost feeling sleepy with Brock's big fingers gently working through his hair. He can't remember the last time anyone other than Seth touched his hair, and he certainly can't remember the last time an alpha did his hair for him. He thinks it might have been at his bonding ceremony. His hairstylist had been an alpha, who was probably a beta but keeping it secret because North Carolina wasn't that friendly to betas.

"Too many." Brock laughs, and lets ties off the end of Phil's braid. "One alpha, and two sisters, and three brothers."

"Seven? Oh my lord… Your papa must have been exhausted." Phil reaches behind him to touch Brock's handiwork.

"Oi, you'll mess it up." Brock gently bats Phil's hands out of the way, and there's the sound of Brock's phone taking a picture. "Here, does it look okay?"

"You're good at this." Phil grins up at him, and catches sight of the time on Brock's phone's screen. Phil needs to call into the lawyers in ten minutes, and the tension starts seeping back into him. "So, your papa had seven kids?"

"Yup. I said that my Da liked having little ones around, didn't I?" Brock takes a seat in the chair opposite Phil, and stares down at his phone. "Here. That's all the Lesnar kids at Pa's funeral." Seven very blond children, all sombre faced and dressed in black. "You see the tall omega at the back?"

"Uh-huh." Phil's staring down at them, trying to imagine them being kids, and how much work seven children must have been.

"That's my oldest sister, Grace." Brock takes his phone back, and flicks through a few more pictures. "Her wedding was the last one I went to. She had to wait for it to be legal for them to get married in state, but they've been together for years. Da was so proud to be giving her away to such a good omega. She married a doctor don't you know." The picture Brock shows him has his sister standing beside a grinning black omega, both in suits looking delighted with their lives. Brock's father is in the background of the picture, his thumbs up, and a grin on his face, beside him his bond-mates are both face-palming. "Da used to like to photobomb." Brock chuckles.

"Your Da's religious?" Phil asks softly, and Brock shrugs slightly.

"He's traditional more than anything. He does subscribe to tri-bonding, but I've never been sure if that was because he was religious or he just feel in love with two omegas. We'd go to church every week, but I don't remember him subscribing to much else to be honest. He always was fond of a drink." Brock smiles fondly down at his phone, and then turns up to Phil. "I think if he was himself, you'd like him. He had the best sense of humour." Phil nods absently, and takes a deep breath.

"I suppose it's time I called." Phil gets to his feet, and heads over to the couch. The first person Phil sees when the Skype call connects is a lawyer. He recognises him from the divorce. He'd been efficient and pleasant. That's about all Phil can remember about the alpha. The lawyer smiles politely at Phil, and nods in greeting.

"Morning, Messer Brooks. You're looking much better than the last time I saw you." His drawl brings back so many memories that are neither good nor bad, just memories. The people in North Carolina had been nice, and he's little more to say about them than that. He'd been welcomed as Jeff's bond-mate, and that'd been how they'd treated him. The other half of one of their own.

"Morning." Phil nods slightly, and adjusts the computer screen, hoping to catch himself in a better light. Brock meets his eyes with a slightly smile, and Phil takes a deep breath, steeling himself for when he spots Jeff and his new mate. The lawyer moves, and that's when he first sees them. Jeff's changed. Gone are the strange colours he'd put in his hair, gone is his pointed thinness, gone is the manic glee that'd be in his eyes. In place of the slightly crazed alpha he was is one who looks tired, sad, but healthy. Jeff turns to the screen and stares at Phil. His mate is sat beside him, and she glowers at Phil. "Jeff." Phil offers a greeting, and Brock moves from sitting on the chair to sitting on the couch. He's still off camera, but having the big alpha closer is comforting. Phil glances over at him with a slight smile that Brock returns easily.

"You look so good, Philly." Jeff's still staring at him. The camera's resolution isn't great, but it feels almost like Jeff's in the room with him, staring at him with slightly bewildered and unblinking eyes.

"I didn't like being called Philly when we were bonded, and I still don't, Jeffery." Phil snaps, and that seems to jolt Jeff out of his staring. He laughs awkwardly, and takes his mate's hand in his.

"You never were one for pet-names, Philip." Jeff mutters, and glances over at his mate. Jeff's brother's face fills the screen suddenly. Matt looks strange. His face is oddly bloated, his hair frizzed out bizarrely, and there's a white streak in it.

"Well, well, dear Philip. It's been some time." Matt grins at him, and Phil nods. He knows he's staring now, but he can't help it. The last time he'd seen Matt, he'd looked sane. Now he looks like he's on day release. "I finally got my big break… I'm going to set after this, and having the hair in character is faster." He smiles fondly at Phil, and settles back into his seat. "Where's little Seth? He must but what, fifteen now? I know you demanded no contact from us, but we do still think of him. It was his birthday the other day, right?"

"What?" Phil blurts out, and glares over at Jeff. "I never asked for that. I never said anything about you not being able to see Seth." Phil can feel his hands shaking, his tone has dropped low and poisonously soft. Jeff's face is the stony mask it always became when Phil caught him in a lie, and Matt looks incredibly confused.

"Jeff said that once he signed away his parental responsibility you didn't want any of us to have anything to do with Seth." Matt sounds oddly distressed, and is looking between Phil on the computer screen, and his brother. Jeff slams his hand on the table, and gets to his feet.

"Can we just get on to dad's will." He's looking at someone Phil can't see, but presumes is the lawyer. The lawyer says something that isn't picked up by the computer, and comes back into frame. "Read the bit for him first. We don't need him hanging around." Jeff points over at the computer screen, and Phil can feel bile building up in the back of his throat.

"What other lies have you told them about me, Jeff?" Phil asks sharply, and Jeff turns to glare at him. His mouth opens and closes uselessly a few times, and Matt is once more glancing between the two of them. "I never asked for your family to stay away from me or from Seth. I wanted them to stay in touch. Hell, I wanted you to stay in touch with him, but-"

"Shut up! You fucking divorced me! You decided you didn't want anything to do with me! So, shut the fuck up!" Jeff snarls, and the connection is severed presumably by Jeff cutting the call. Phil sits back on the couch and looks over at Brock. The big alpha wraps an arm around his shoulders, and lets Phil rest against his side. He feels numb. His hands are still shaking. His eyes are burning, but Brock's a warm solid presence beside him, grounding him in the reality that Jeff and his lies are far away, and can't hurt him anymore.

"You okay?" Brock asks softly after a while, and Phil can only shrug. He's no idea if he's okay or not. He's no idea if he can process what he's just heard, and no idea what to do with the information once he does.

"I didn't tell them they couldn't see Seth." It's the only thing Phil can force out, and Brock's hand tightens on his shoulder for a second.

"I know, and I think they know that too, now at least." Brock squeezes Phil lightly, and moves to take his arm away.

"Leave it. For a little while, please. I need… Just leave your arm where it is, please." Phil knows he's being selfish, but he needs comfort in this moment, and Brock's arm around him is just that. For a long time, they sit in silence. Phil's mind whirling with speculations about what other lies Jeff may have told, what things that were true have been made lies, and what truths are were made false by Jeff's words. The computer rings with a Skype call, and Brock moves out of frame once more. "Hello?" Phil answer the call, and this time the lawyer looks stony-faced and grey. He nods once, and a forced smile comes over his face.

"I'm sorry, Messer Brooks. Jeff…" The lawyer shakes his head, and sighs.

"I punched him." A smile spreads over the lawyer's lips as Matt's loud, gleeful voice comes over the speakers. "I've also a good ten years of birthday cards and Christmas presents to send up to Sether." Matt's gleefully smirking face appears over the lawyer's shoulder. "I've missed the little monkey." Matt smiles at Phil. "He's got a little cousin from me now too." Matt holds up at baby between one and two, still grinning at Phil. "Say hello to your uncle Phil, Maxell." The baby waves a pudgy hand, and says hello too loudly and badly, but with a glee level matched solely by his father. Phil can feel his eyes beginning to water, and swipes a tissue from the Kleenex box on the table. He waves to the little baby, which gets a cheerful gargle from him and another hello.

"Can I finish reading the will, so we can let Phil get on with his day?" The lawyer cuts in, and Matt steps away from the camera. "I hope you won't object to me giving Matt your Skype id." The lawyer smiles awkwardly once more, and Phil shakes his head. He's not entirely sure he can trust himself to speak right then. His eyes are still watering, and he doesn't want to examine why too closely just then. "Oh good. Now." He sets a large wooden box down on the table. Phil recognises the box easily. It was a toybox Jeff's dad had made for Seth when he was first born. "The will is very clear that this box, and everything in it is what Mr Hardy left you."

"What's in it?" Phil clears his throat after speaking, cursing himself for sounding so frail. The lawyer shrugs, and taps the lid of the box.

"I've no idea to be honest, Messer Brooks. It's padlocked up, and Gil would never tell me what was in the damn thing. He just had me keep it here. I'm going to need to get your address to send it up to you."

"Jeff has it." Phil can't help but wondering what might be in that box. Once it'd been filled with toys, but he's fairly sure that Jeff's dad wouldn't leave him Seth's baby toys, especially as Phil had thrown those out when Seth had out-grown them.

"And we don't have Jeff… Matt really did land a good one on him." The lawyer chuckles, and rubs his eyes. "If I can't get it from him, would you mind leaving it with me on here?"

"Sure." Phil moves closer, and types his address in quickly. It seems like much easier to just give the lawyer his address now rather forcing him to try to get it out of Jeff. Phil has the distinct feeling Jeff won't be acknowledging Phil's existence for a long time after being punched in the face by his own brother over Phil.

"Thank you, Messer Brooks." The lawyer's gently moved aside by Matt once more. The older Hardy brother grins at Phil, and seems to just stare at him for a moment.

"Do you have a picture of Sether? I've not seen him in so long, and-" Without letting Matt finish Phil holds up a random selfie of him and Seth. "Jesus… He's really taking after you, isn't he?"

"A little." Phil mutters, smiling awkwardly. Matt had always been nice, a little too intense, but nice. "He's a bit more bold than I ever was at his age."

"Bold? That's probably from Jeff, I guess. He always was a headstrong asshole." Matt laughs, and glances down. He vanishes for a moment, and reappears with his son once more. The baby makes a grab for the screen, and Phil can't help but laugh, which makes the baby giggle.

"What's your little one called again?" Phil supposes he should try remembering the baby's name, because he has the feeling that Matt might message him sometime in the future.

"Maxell. Reby, come on over." A pretty female omega comes over and stands beside Matt, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek as she tucks herself in at his side. "This is my mate, Reby. Reby, Phil. Phil, Reby." She smiles politely, and nods at him. Phil returns her gestures.

"You make a lovely pair. He's a beautiful baby. You're lucky he's taking after his mama, Matt." Phil laughs, and Matt barks an amused guffaw. "I'll let you guys get on with the rest of the will now. It was really good to see you again, Matt. I'm free most weekends, if you wanna call and catch Seth."

"Next weekend, Saturday about ten your time okay?" Matt's smiling, and Phil's surprised that he'd want to set a date so quickly. Phil nods, and Matt grins at him. "Great! We'll see you then!"

"Sure. Saturday at ten." Phil smiles, and disconnects the call. Brock's watching him carefully. Phil forces a smile at him, before closing his eyes and resting his head against the back of the couch. "I don't know what to say." Phil says it softly, but Brock seems to have heard everything he can't work out how to say, because he settles beside Phil without a single word, and lets Phil rest against him in silence. "I never thought he'd lie to them. Always thought it was my fault that they stopped caring about Seth. I never wanted him to not know them. I…" The first sob, Phil chokes back and blinks away. "I thought it was because I moved him away from them, or because I divorced Jeff, or something else that was my fault. I never thought he'd do that to his own son." Brock doesn't say anything, he just draws Phil to his side, and lets his weep against his shoulder. It should be embarrassing to break down in front of Brock, but somehow the single last thing Phil feels is embarrassed. Instead he's entirely relieved that Brock's there. The strong, solid presence is exactly what he needs right then. Brock's soft, fresh scent is so much more soothing than any other that could be filling his senses just then.

"I sent Colt a message." Brock says after Phil's calmed down. He still feels weak and teary, but at least he's stopped actually crying. "He said he'd be over soon."

"Okay." Phil mutters, closing his eyes, and losing himself in the feeling of Brock's arm around his shoulders. He feels unreasonably safe where he is, like nothing could hurt him if it had to go through Brock first. "Thank you for being here for me. I don't think I'd have made it through this without you."

"You'd have made it just fine, Boss." Brock mutters, and Phil swears he feels the big alpha press a kiss to his hair. "You're a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for, you know that?" Brock pulls away slightly, so he can look Phil in the eyes. "Your mascara's run a little." Brock leans over, and grabs a Kleenex, then dabs at Phil's face gently. "There you go."

"Thank you, Brock." Phil's certain he's not meant something as much as he means that simple statement in a long time. There's a lot he has to thank Brock for, and he's not entirely sure how to go about thanking the huge alpha properly. Anything he could offer, he's sure Brock would turn down with a smile, and wave of his massive hand. Maybe ten minutes pass before Colt lets himself into Phil's apartment.

"How'd it go?" As soon as the question's left Colt's mouth, Phil finds himself on his feet, and breaking down once more, without a word, Colt wraps him in a tight hug. Phil stands in his best friend's arms sobbing for no real reason he can work out beyond he's incredibly hurt that Jeff would hurt not only his own family, but also his own son just because Phil divorced him. It makes no sense to him, and he had no idea that Jeff had hated him so much. "That well, huh?" Colt mutters, walking them towards the couch. "You sticking around, Brick?" Phil snorts a soft laugh at Colt's purposeful misnaming of Brock, and pulls away from him to sit on the couch once more.

"I'll make a pot of tea." Brock's already in the kitchen, flicking the kettle on. "Then I'll head off." Phil twists so he can look at the big alpha. His back is turned, but there's a strange tension in his shoulders, like he's holding something back.

"You okay, Garbage Man?" Phil calls softly over to him, and Brock turns with a tight smile on his face. He looks like he's holding back a great deal of rage, and putting on a brave face for Phil. It's sweet and oddly flattering, and once Phil curses his lack of attraction to the huge alpha. If alphas like Brock were his type, Phil's life would be so much easier.

"I'm fine. Although, are you sure you don't want me to contact my real boss, Boss?" Brock grins at him, and Phil hears Colt take a sharp intake of breath. He supposes that the grin on Brock's face must be intimidating if you're not Phil. He's almost entirely certain that he'll never be intimidated by Brock. Phil laughs softly, and shakes his head. "It's a standing offer. In fact, I'd be happy to do it without my boss's permission or an octagon. At this stage, I'd settle for a parking lit." Brock laughs, and sets the teapot down on the coffee table. "I'll shoot off then."

"I'll see you Sunday?" Phil gets to his feet to see Brock to the door for no real reason other than he feels like he should. Brock'd been there for him, and this is the least he can do to repay Brock his incredible kindness.

"I'll be in the gym if you wanna grab another smoothie." Brock grins. "You gonna stop by the gym too Colt?" Brock calls over to Colt, who's still sat on the couch, watching them both with an odd little smirk on his face.

"Me in a gym? Are you trying to imply that I am a little too cuddly? I get plenty of workout with my kids, thank you very much Mr Lesnar. Although, having seen you shirtless, I'd not object to watching you work out." Colt laughs, and Brock's ears turn crimson. He turns to Phil, clearly looking for support, but Phil can't help but chuckle.

"He looks even more impressive in person." Phil winks over at Colt, and this time Brock's entire face is crimson.

"I'm going. I'll see you Sunday, Boss. Take care of him, Colt." Brock waves to Colt, and smiles fondly at Phil. Before he can leave, Phil wraps his arms around him in a hug.

"Thank you again, Brock. You're a good friend to me, and I wish I could be as good a friend to you." Phil squeezes the big alpha tightly, and Brock laughs softly.

"You're a perfectly good friend to me, Boss." Brock assures him, and leaves the apartment.

"So, are we going to talk about your phone call, or the garbage man, because I feel like both are worthy of discussion, but only one is going to be fun." Colt pours out two cups of tea, and levels Phil with a look. Neither topic is something Phil really wants to talk about. There's nothing going on with him that he particularly wants to discuss, from his ex to Brock to his continued attraction to Dean, there's no alpha Phil wants to mention right now. What he wants instead is to lose himself in the life of someone else.

"Can I put off talking about both, and instead let you talk shit at me for a while?" Colt nods with an understanding smile on his face, then starts bitching about Cena. Phil takes a sip of tea, settles more comfortably on the couch, and listens to Colt's rambling.


Many thanks to lovergyul, syreina, ambroserollinsgirl, takers dark lover, Guest, and Rebellecherry.

If you'd like to see your handle in bold italics please do review, and you can!

Next update - 2017/01/28