Another chapter! Thanks as always for the reviews, everyone. I really do appreciate them, even though I don't have time to reply to them individually now...which sucks. :( I blame...working. But if I don't work...I'll be living with mom and dad. And, though I love 'em, as Carlito would say, "That's not cool." (laughs)
Anyway, I hope you all enjoy...This chapter is going to be a bit serious because, well, Shawn situation is pretty serious. And there's a thunderstorm outside that calls for this. I'm kidding. Sort of. (smiles)
Onto the story!
Shawn Michaels stood solemnly between the Undertaker and Triple H, blue eyes glowing with emotion. For the third time that day, the two had almost come to blows, and this last time, Shawn had just made it in time to stop them. Hunter had been back for one day, and already things were going to hell.
'Next time, I might not get here on time to break it up,' HBK thought sadly, although his face was a mask of anger.
"Please, you two, promise me that you'll never fight again. Please. I love you both, so much… And I swear, if one of you kills the other, I'll kill the survivor."
'Taker smiled slightly at Shawn's fire and anger, certain that the man wasn't at all joking.
Hunter growled, looking at the Deadman with all the hatred he could muster. Since last night, it became clear to him that the Undertaker wasn't just a quick fuck to Shawn, and that Shawn had been telling the truth--he was in love with the man! Or at least, he thought he was. Hunter was determined to bring Shawn back to his senses.
Triple H spat on the ground. "I promise," he said icily.
Shawn nodded and looked up at 'Taker.
"Sure, I promise," the Undertaker said with a cold glint in his green eyes.
HBK shook his head, knowing that this is the best he would get from those two, at least for now. "Good enough. Now, gentlemen, this is the only week we have off for a long time, as I'm sure you're both aware." He glanced at each of them, making sure that they weren't eyeing one another and mouthing threats. "So could we at least try to be civil?" A small smile broke the angry mask, and blue eyes glittered. "I have you both here with me--Let's enjoy today."
Seeing Shawn's smile, Triple H and 'Taker couldn't help but smile back and nod.
"Sure, Shawn, what do you want to do?" Hunter asked, draping an arm around Shawn's shoulders.
"Ice cream. Definitely we should get some ice cream," HBK said resolutely, and both men groaned inwardly. They were hungry for actual food, but they knew that with Shawn, it was always ice cream first, and then if they had room for anything else…
"Ice cream it is," the Undertaker said with a small sigh.
Shawn smiled and took both men by their arms and began walking out of the room.
'Maybe…this can work,' he dared to think to himself, although deep inside, he knew it was an impossible dream.
'I'll enjoy it, then, until I wake up.'
The three men unanimously agreed, the next night, to have their own, separate rooms until they worked something out, to diminish the arguing and fighting. The Undertaker and Triple H managed to completely avoid one another for the rest of their week off, only glaring at one another as they passed each other in the halls. And Shawn made sure that they were never with him at the same time.
That would have been disastrous.
'Wow, that was the worst week off ever,' the Heartbreak Kid thought once the week was over. He hadn't seen much of either man, and although a part of him was terrified that they were angry at him, the other part knew that ever if they were upset with him, they would redirect that rage towards one another.
One day the next week, however, when Shawn came back from the gym, he found Hunter sitting in his room, with a pen and notepad in his hands. He smiled up at him, and Shawn sighed with relief. If Hunter was mad at him, he wouldn't be in his room…unarmed.
"Whatcha doin'?" Shawn asked innocently, sitting on the arm of the chair. Hunter's smile widened.
"Oh…nothing," he answered sweetly, scribbling down a few more names. Shawn, curious, peeked over his shoulder and read the title of the notes aloud.
"What's that? 'Ways to Eliminate 'Taker?' Hunter, what?!"
Triple H grinned. "Oh, I'm just writing down a few ways to get rid of our little problem." He shrugged. "I considered calling back the Evolution guys, but they probably wouldn't… Randy and Batista pretty much hate me at this point. But then I remembered the Kliq, and well, Kev's as big as 'Taker, bigger, I think, and Scott's pretty big too… Throw in you, me and Kid, and we can take him down."
Shawn shook his head. "Are you seriously planning on doing something to Mark?! What are you hoping to do? Kill him?"
"Well, not kill," the Game said with a small smile. "Just whatever it takes to make him realize that he can't have you. And if he has to get…roughed up a bit, then so be it. I'll show him who to fuck with."
Having heard enough, Shawn took his best friend by the sides of his face and looked deeply into his brown eyes, throwing the notepad on the floor. "Hunter," he began, voice low and serious. "Listen to me. I love Mark… I don't want you to kill him, or hurt him, or whatever you're planning! I love him! What don't you understand about that?"
"No, you don't understand, Shawn," Hunter said, eyes sad and furious, capturing Shawn. "I love you…Me! Not him! You're supposed to love me! I've always loved you, and I'll be damned if I lose you to… to him!" The hard edge on his voice softened. "I just can't imagine my life without you by my side…without me being by your side… I don't want to even think about it, but now it's a possibility…"
Shawn kissed his long-time boyfriend on the forehead, heart heavy. "Please, don't ever doubt that I love you…" he started to say, when Triple H suddenly stood and went to the door. Shawn's fists clenched as anger began to build inside him. "And now you're just going to walk out on me?!" he shouted, growing angrier. "I told you that I loved you too! What more do you want from me?! I love you Hunter!"
"I want so much to believe you Shawn," the Game said, blinking back rare tears, face a mask of rage. "But I seem to remember you promising to never, ever break my heart. And, well, we see how well you kept that promise, huh?" he concluded bitterly, slamming the door so hard that it bounced back open.
Shawn stood still for a moment, shaking with fury, and then suddenly he sat sown heavily in the chair Triple H had been in, dropping his head in his hands. "It's breaking my heart too," Shawn whispered after him.
But Hunter was already gone.
The Undertaker decided to stop by Shawn's room after the SmackDown taping that night, and was surprised to find the door slightly open.
"Shawn?" he called, opening the door further, surprised at the lack of light in the room. "Are you sitting here in the dark?"
"I think it's appropriate," Shawn's voice said from an armchair. 'Taker flicked on the overhead light, and turned on a few lamps before kneeling next to the Heartbreak Kid, who was sitting, bowed, with his head in his hands.
"Shawn… What's wrong?" 'Taker asked gently, placing a hand on HBK's slender shoulder.
"I… I might not have to choose between you two in the end," Shawn said with a sad chuckle. "I'll just drive you both away and then I'll be alone, like I was before."
The Undertaker stood and pulled up a chair next to Shawn. "Michaels, it'll take a lot to drive me away from you," he said with a small smile. "In fact, I'm certain that nothing could make me want to leave you. I love you."
"What if I told you that Hunter was planning to… God, I don't know what he's planning, but he wants to hurt you… Because of me!"
"Shawn, that's not your fault--"
"It's all my fault! Mark, he's serious about this! He's already recruiting Kliq members, I think…" Shawn sighed heavily. "He's going to hate me by the end of this, I know it. And then I don't know what I'll do."
'Taker sighed. "Obviously he's determined not to lose you," he said softly. "But…he does love you. I don't think he'll ever stop loving you, Shawn." He hated to say it aloud, but he knew it was the truth--he could see it whenever he looked into Hunter's eyes, always flashing with hatred when they fell on him--and, more importantly, he knew that it would comfort Shawn.
He still hated to say it, though.
Shawn smiled at him sadly. "I hope you're right," he said with another sigh. "I mean, what would I have left if he abandoned me?"
There was a short silence before 'Taker gave Shawn a kiss on the forehead. "I have to go," he said quickly, "But… It'll be alright Shawn, I promise. Just…don't worry about it for now," he said before walking out and closing the door.
However, he didn't go straight to his room, and instead stood outside of Shawn's door, leaning back against it, thinking over Shawn's words.
"You'll still have me," he whispered sadly, knowing that Shawn couldn't possibly have heard. "You'll always have me, Shawn."
But, for some reason, he felt oddly invisible.
Triple H paced around his room, sighing often, barely resisting the urge to destroy something.
Or someone.
'How could things have gone so wrong?' he thought to himself, falling into a chair and dropping his head in his hands. 'Things were perfect between me and Shawn… And then he came, and out of nowhere…' Hunter tried to quell the sense of betrayal he felt, knowing that it wasn't Shawn's fault that he thought he loved someone else.
Besides, it was much easier to just blame 'Taker for that.
"That son of a bitch," he muttered, shaking his head. "How did he steal Shawn right out from under me? If only I hadn't gotten hurt…" Hunter felt himself blinking back tears, and it was then that he realized that he had left Shawn's room on a bad note. The last time that had happened…
In one swift motion, he was up and out the door, standing in front of Shawn's room.
"Shawn?" Hunter called softly, knocking lightly. "Shawn, please open the door."
After a few long minutes of silence, the door opened, and a not-very-pleased looking Heartbreak Kid peered out. "Here to yell at me some more?" he asked dryly.
"Shawn… Can I come in?" Hunter asked humbly, lowering his eyes. "I need to apologize."
Shawn stepped to the side, and let the Game in, motioning for him to sit in the chair he had occupied earlier.
"I'm so sorry I yelled at you," he began earnestly. "Shawn, I love you more than anything, and these past few days have been hell for me because just the thought of you leaving me is enough to drive me crazy."
"You don't think it's hell for me too?" Shawn asked quietly, blue eyes closing on their own. "I love you--you know I do!--but I love Mark too, and it's just…confusing. I feel like I'm betraying you both…but then, when I choose one of you, I will be betraying someone…" He shook his head and sighed helplessly. "I don't know what to do."
Hunter gave him a sad smile. "I don't either, and I doubt 'Taker does. That's why we keep fighting… The only thing we can do is beat the hell out of one another because…" His voice trailed off as he looked up at the ceiling. "Shawn, I'm so afraid to lose you. Last time I thought I could live without you… Well, I realized pretty quick that I couldn't. I can't. It was like being dead inside."
"I know, Hunter," Shawn said in a low voice, walking over to his best friend. "I know." He let a hand run through the long blond locks, smiling slightly. To his surprise, however, when Triple H looked up at him, his brown eyes were wet with unshed tears.
"Shawn, I came back because the last time I yelled at you and walked out of a room, you had gotten beat up at a bar." He closed his eye, remembering that night vividly.
"Kid called me to tell me that you were in the hospital, and that you had been hurt bad. At that moment, everything I thought mattered to me…didn't anymore, and…I knew that I wasn't strong enough to live without you, and--" His rush of words was cut short by Shawn's lips coming hard against his, causing his brown eyes to widen slightly, before drifting shut, allowing the few tears that rested on the edge to finally fall. But the kiss quickly softened, becoming one that lovers share after many years together, and the two men, for the moment, forgot everything else except one another.
Shawn reluctantly pulled back, blue eyes now shining with tears as well. "Hunt, you're the first person I ever loved," he said with what sounded like a short laugh. "Before I met you, I didn't even use the word…" His blue eyes locked with Triple H's. "Do you think I could just leave you? It would kill me. And I swear, I wasn't lying when I said I loved you!"
Hunter blinked before taking Shawn into his arms. 'So, he does still love me,' he thought with a relieved sigh. 'And the only problem now is…him. 'Taker.'
"I love you so much," he whispered into the Heartbreak Kid's ear.
"I love you too." Shawn smiled and placed a small kiss on Hunter's cheek, leaning his head against his strong shoulder. "Please lets not fight anymore. Arguing with you breaks my heart."
The words hit Triple H hard, but he knew they were necessary. He had demanded that Shawn never break his heart… Shouldn't the promise go both ways?
"I'll never, ever break your heart, Shawn," he whispered, feeling content, at least for the moment, to be back in Shawn's warm embrace. "Can I stay with you?" he asked tentatively.
"Of course," HBK answered with a laugh. "Do you have to ask?"
As the pair slipped quickly off to sleep, Hunter was surprised to find himself sleeping easily for the first time in months, just grateful to be by Shawn's side.
And Shawn, for the first time in months, found his dreams to be completely and utterly Mark-free. Instead, he dreamt of himself, sitting dejectedly on one of the locker room benches as Hunter walked in, humming "November Rain."
It was the first time they had met.
So...Shawn and Hunter get ever closer...and poor 'Taker is (rightfully) feeling left out. Will he be the one to final do the impossible and break up Shawn and Hunter? Heh, I'm not gonna tell ya...yet. (wink)
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