A/N: It's okay, I completely understand you guys' frustration with Punk and John. I'm frustrated with them too. Sigh. Here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoy!
Recap:
"What the hell?! You trying to go get back with Randy or something?!" Punk asks. "No! No! Punk, no! I just…I wondered because…Hayley's here. She's been here since yesterday. You guys seem…" John trails off, not knowing what to say. "Her? Are you kidding me? No, I'm not messing with her! I'm not messing with anybody! No, messing with other people is not a stipulation of our separation, dammit, and I'm not messing with her or anybody else! Fucking hell, did we not just discuss this?!" Punk gets extremely frustrated. [...] Punk assesses everything John just said and realizes he's right. He's exactly right. [...] "Go. You need to go. I can't handle you and your absolutely pathetic, self-conscious whining today. I just can't. Go. I want you out of my house, now." Punk whispers. [...] "I don't think things are going to get any better. I don't think we're going to get back together. He hates me. I don't know if I'll be Da-Da for too much longer. It's only a matter of time before we officially end. Things are just getting worse for us." John mumbles
Saturday Afternoon; Brooks' Residence:
"I luh you oo, Papa!" Gage squeals into the phone. "Now tell him bye." Amy says. "Byeee!" He yells, and Punk smiles a bit, "Bye, Gagey." He replies, then Amy fully takes the phone. "Okay. Well, thanks again for dropping him off." She says. "Yeah, it was no problem." Punk shrugs. "I'll have him back tomorrow afternoon, I guess?" She informs him, figuring that's what he'll want. "If you want. I mean, if you want him longer, you can. Just tell me whenever you'll drop him back off, no big deal." Punk replies, and Amy bites her lip to silence herself for a moment, deep in thought. Punk hates her, he's never nice to her, never willing to be fair when it comes to Gage. That can only mean things are progressively getting worse on his end for him to be so tired and out-of-it that he's not even up to argue with her. "Alright, well thanks. I won't have him for too long, though. I have a signing soon. Can I ask you something, though?"
This can only go one of two ways. He can explode at her, or he can be honest. She guesses it'll just show how bad things are, depending on which he does. She's just not sure which would mean worse.
"Yeah, sure." He replies. "H-How are things between you and John?" She asks nervously, and Punk winces a bit. With a small sigh, he runs a finger down the divorce papers sitting in front of him for a moment, "Things are going great, thanks for asking." Punk mumbles his lie, and Amy sighs. "Well I know it doesn't mean much to you, but I am here if you ever wanna talk." She says, and Punk gives a tiny smile, "No, thank you. That means a lot. I, uh, I gotta go, though. Tell Gage I love him." Punk doesn't wanna sit and get advice from yet another person who couldn't possibly know how he feels. "Alright, I will. Bye, Punk." She replies, and he hangs up the phone.
Punk goes back to reading the divorce documents that he was reading before Amy called, quickly finishing up the last paragraph. Other than a bit of confusion on whether their marriage would be a 'Divorce w/ Children' or 'Divorce w/o Children', being that Amy and Punk did have some legal papers drawn up giving John some legal rights over Gage in addition to the marriage, Punk completely and fully understands the document and he's filled out all the information spaces throughout the forms to the best of the ability. Punk grabs his pen and flips back to the last page, and after staring at the word 'divorce' for a few moments, with a sigh, he signs his name. Now all that's left is to have John fill out a few things and sign his name, and Punk can take it to the judge. Well...that and tell John about the divorce in the first place.
Before Punk's thoughts can go any further, he feels something smack him on the head, and looks to see Colt standing there with a rolled up newspaper. "Motherfucker!" Punk yells as he punches him in the chest. "Throw those away!" Colt yells, reaching for the divorce papers, but Punk quickly snatches them off the table and jumps off the stool, guarding the papers, "No!" Punk yells back. "You're not divorcing John! Give them here!" Colt yells, snatching them out of Punk's hand. "D-Divorce? You're divorcing John?" Shaleigh walks into the kitchen, her eyes wide, tears brimming. "Why don't you all mind your goddamn business?!" Punk snatches the papers back from Colt while he's distracted with Shaleigh, then storms to his room and locks the door, quickly shoving the papers in the back of one of his drawers...on top of the surrogacy papers. At seeing them, Punk gives a heavy sigh and slams the drawer shut.
Before he can do anything else, he hears banging on his door and he goes over and answers it to see Shaleigh and Colt standing there. "Ugh, I seriously need to get rid of you two." Punk says, rolling his eyes. "You're just trying to get rid of everybody, huh?" Shaleigh asks back with anger clear in her voice, and Punk rolls his eyes again and goes to shut the door, but Colt stops him. "We came back here to tell you to hurry up and get ready before we're late." Colt says. "Late where? Where are we going?" Punk asks, looking at him as if he's crazy. "We have more wedding stuff with Selene today. Or did you selfishly forget?" Shaleigh hisses. "Look, I'm not in the mood for that. Do it without me." Punk goes over and collapses on his bed. "No. No. We're not doing it without you. You can't just abandon your fucking Sister when she needs you the most, just because you don't know how to handle a fucking marriage." Shaleigh says, and Punk quickly rolls over to look at her, "Dammit, Sha!" He yells, and Colt quickly cuts in, "Look, man, you need to get up. Selene is waiting on us. All of us. She wants you there and you're not going to let her down. Get up. Now." Colt says, then shuts the door and ushers Shaleigh back to the den.
As much as Punk wants to just defy them and lay in bed for the rest of the day, he knows they're right. Selene wants him there and he needs to be there to support her. With a heavy groan, Punk gets up and heads back over to his dresser, switching out his t-shirt and shorts for something a bit more formal. Once ready, he grabs his cellphone, keys, and wallet, then heads to the front of the apartment. "I don't even know where we're going, so you're going to have to give me directions." Punk says. "We're taking my car, so just follow behind us." Colt says as he and Shaleigh get off the couch, heading to the door, and Punk just nods and follows.
Allen/Williams Events:
"Are you gonna behave?" Shaleigh asks as they walk up to the wedding consultant's building. "Sure, why not?" Punk mumbles, and Shaleigh groans. The three walk into the building and the first thing Punk sees is John standing there laughing and talking with Selene. "What the fuck is he doing here?" Punk growls lowly. "He's in the wedding. Plus he's her Brother, she wants him here." Shaleigh answers. "He's not gonna be ya'lls Brother for long." Punk says, and Shaleigh smacks him in the chest, "Don't you dare bring that up today and freak Selene out more about marriage than she already is!" Shaleigh hisses, and Punk just rolls his eyes and steps away from her. He looks up and sees John looking at him, but John quickly looks away when he sees Punk looking.
"You okay?" Selene asks, rubbing John's arm. "Yeah, I'll be fine." John puts on a fake smile and nods. "Don't worry, Johnny, things'll be okay. He loves you, and love conquers all. Right, babe?" Selene says, then turns to Tanner and he grabs her hand, "Exactly." He replies, kissing her forehead, and John smiles at how cute they are, but his smile quickly falls again when he sees Punk glaring at him.
After Punk kicked John out that day that Hayley was there, his anger just built up more and more. Not only was there the anger that had been continuously building up from before, but then there was now the added factor that Punk's been wrong this entire time, that John's anger and paranoia was justifiable, and that only fueled Punk's anger. His anger got so bad that two days later when John called him, he just answered the phone, screamed for him not to call him again, and hung up. They haven't spoken since.
And just like Punk, John's anger has been building up too. This entire time it's just been anger, or sadness, or hurt, or pain. But not anymore. Now it's pure anger. Angry that Punk refuses to see his side, angry that Punk won't just sit down with him and try to work things out, angry that he's still at that goddamn fucking hotel. He's just angry. And he's slowly beginning to hate Punk. Everyone keeps saying the same thing to him. 'He loves you. Things will be fine because he loves you.' But that's not working for John anymore. Punk doesn't love him. There's no way. Not after this long. And at this point, John can't just keep holding on to love that's not there anymore. Yes he's still in love with Punk. Yes he wants to make things work. Yes he wants to go home, be a family again. But it's not going to happen and he knows it. He's just going to go to Boston for some R&R for a bit, then head back down to Tampa, find a place, and submerge himself in work. That's really all that he can do.
"Guys, come sit." Selene waves the trio over to the table she and Tanner just sat down at the head of, and Shaleigh and Colt sit on one side of the table, and John sits on the other side, across from Shaleigh. Punk stares for a moment at the two seat choices left, and heads to the other end of the table to sit. "Can't sit there. That's where the wedding planner is sitting. Move." Selene says with a smirk on her face, and Punk glares at her for a moment, but reluctantly goes and sits next to John, moving his seat as far away from him as possible. John just angles his chair and leans to his left, away from Punk as he possibly can get.
"Sorry I'm late. So sorry," The wedding planner comes out and says, "Oh, I see we've got everybody today! Hi, I'm Heather Williams." She smiles and says as she goes over to the table, shaking everyone's hands. "That's my Sister Shaleigh. That's her boyfriend Scott, he's my Brother's best friend so I've known him for the longest. That's my Brother Philip. And this is his Husband, my Brother-in-Law John. Philip and John are basically my marriage inspiration." Selene explains to her, and at hearing that, the two men sit up a bit, trying to look like a normal, loving couple. "Well then it's especially nice to meet you two." She smiles at them. "Nice to meet you too." John replies.
The wedding planning meeting doesn't run too long, and thankfully all that Punk and John needed to do was nod their heads and smile and agree to a few things Selene said in compliments to them. Once Selene and Heather were in agreeance that everything was coming along smoothly, the gang all got up and went back to their various cars, heading off to the next location: wardrobe.
Formally Modern Tuxedo:
"Okay, we just gotta get you fitted for your tuxedos is all, I swear." Selene says as they walk into the shop. "You sure you're not gonna change your mind and make us find new ones for the third time?" Colt asks with a groan. "Yeah, if you do that, I'm leaving." Punk shakes his head. "No, I'm content with these. It's just a fitting, I swear." Selene replies. "She's right, it's just a fitting. I told her if she changes her mind on these again, there'd be no Selene Jrs." Tanner explains, and the group laughs. "I still don't think threatening your soon-to-be wife is an okay thing, jerk." Selene mumbles. "It's obviously efficient, though." Punk laughs.
"Ah, Selene! Tanner! We've been expecting you. How are you?" An obviously gay guy comes over and kisses both of Selene's cheeks. "Hi! I'm great. We're here to make sure everyone's tux's are still fitting." She explains. "Ah, yes. Follow Christian. I'll go get your things." He smiles and says, and another man takes them else where in the shop.
Within minutes the four men have their tuxes in hand, and are in the dressing room putting them on. "I'm still mad Selene won't let me wear those sick skull cufflinks." Punk chuckles as he buttons up his shirt. "They were pretty badass." Tanner replies. "I should buy them anyway, sneak them on last minute." Punk says. "And Selene's gonna take her heel off in the middle of the ceremony and clock your ass." Colt busts out laughing. "I can actually picture her doing that. Good point. I'm still gonna buy them. Wear 'em to the next Hall of Fame ceremony or something." Punk replies. "I need a bigger pair of suspenders. I'm being suffocated, holy fuck." Colt says, over-dramatically breathing heavy. "Fat ass." Punk chuckles, and Colt scoffs as he leaves the dressing area in search of new suspenders.
"So, Tanner, what about your best friend and Brothers and stuff. When are they getting their fitting?" John asks. "Selene's being difficult and saying my half should all wait till my cousins come in from Europe instead of all of ya'll now, and them when they come." Tanner explains. "There's no arguing with that girl. She's secretly worse than Shaleigh." Punk chuckles. "Tell me about it." Tanner replies.
The men get their clothes on and come out to the main area of the dressing room to look in the large mirrors. As John messes with the sleeves of his tux, he notices Punk struggling with his tie. At first John decides to let him struggle, but he soon decides maybe he should try and initiate some contact. Throughout this whole separation, they've always been able to overcome their little fights and spats. What makes this one any different? John heads over to Punk and takes the tie in his hands, "Here, let me." John says, fixing the tie for him, then smoothing it out against his chest. "Thanks." Punk mumbles, then quickly moves away from John. Well he didn't punch John in the face, so John guesses it's a start? Colt comes back with some new suspenders and the men finish getting ready, then go out to the main area to show the girls.
"Aww, you guys look so cute!" Selene squeals, getting up and jumping into Tanner's arms. "Well aren't they just a cute couple?" Shaleigh says to Punk and John as she leans in Scott's hold. John gives a little smile as he stares at the ground, but Punk just rolls his eyes and goes to sit down. "Alright, well you all look pretty good. Everything's fitting properly? You're comfortable? Good. Okay, go change back in your clothes. One last stop and we're done for the day." Selene says, and the men all nod and grumble and head back to the dressing room to change.
Mira Couture Chicago:
"Alright, babe, I'm gonna go work on Honeymoon plans. I'll see you at home. Have fun picking out a dress." Tanner says as they stand right outside the boutique. "Okay. Thanks. I'll see you at home." She smiles. "Don't worry, we'll make sure she looks beautiful." Shaleigh says, and Tanner pulls Selene in for a kiss, "She'll look beautiful no matter what. Love you, babe. See you guys later." Tanner says to Selene, then the group, and after a small exchange of words, he leaves.
The group heads inside and one of the women takes them to the back to try on dresses. The process basically goes exactly like that Say Yes to the Dress show that Selene made them all watch with her goes. They head in, the group gets to pick their choices for her, then they head to the waiting area for her to pick some out and try them on.
Dress 1, Colt's choice, nobody feels it. Dress 2, Shaleigh's choice, it's very Shaleigh and not the least bit Selene's style. Dress 3, John's choice, she liked but felt it didn't go with her theme. Dress 4, Punk's choice, was something he wanted her to put on for shits and giggles and was obviously not the least bit a contender. Dresses 5-7 were nice, but Selene didn't think they were contenders. By 8, she'd finally figured out her style, and while it was a contender, it wasn't her final choice. 9 and 11 were potential contenders, but still wasn't her dream dress.
But dress 12? When she came out in dress 12, everyone was amazed. Shaleigh threw her hands over her mouth in shock as she squealed, Colt could only breathe out the word 'wow', John laid a hand over his face and smiled as he whispered, "You look amazing", but Punk...it hit Punk the hardest.
"Oh my God, Philip, you're crying!" Selene says, throwing her hands over her face as she tears up herself. "You look so beautiful, Lene," Punk says in amazement, and she holds out her arms, and he gets up and quickly pulls her in his arms, squeezing her tightly, "You look perfect. Absolutely perfect." He whispers, then kisses her cheek. "You really think so?" She asks. "I really do. This is definitely your dress." Punk says, and Selene squeals. "Thank you, Punky." She says, and he smiles and nods, then sits back down.
John, his heart absolutely warmed at what he just saw, leans over and wipes the tears from Punk's face. "Thanks." Punk gives him a small smile. "You're welcome." John replies, then takes a chance and intertwines their fingers. Punk looks down at their hands, then back up at John's face, "She looks so beautiful." He says, squeezing John's hand tighter. "She sure does." John replies with a smile. "So tell us! Are you getting that dress? You've got to get that dress, Leney!" Shaleigh says, going over to her and grabbing her hands. "Yeah, yeah, I'm totally getting this dress." Selene announces with a huge smile on her face. "Fabulous!" The woman helping them says. "Hey, Lene, lemme buy your dress, okay?" Punk says, getting up and going back over to her. "Punk, you don't have to do that. Tanner and I have budgeted to pay for everything." She replies, but Punk shakes his head, "No, no. I don't care. You've gotta let me pay for it. I really want to." He says. "You're the best big brother ever!" She hugs him tightly again.
Once Selene's back in her regular clothes, and Punk's got the dress paid for, the group gathers around the front of the shop. "Thanks, guys, for coming with me today. It meant a lot." Selene says. "Wouldn't have missed it, Sis." Shaleigh replies. "John, I've got some other stops to make, so can you catch a ride back?" Selene asks. "Yeah, no problem." He nods. "Alright, I'll see you guys later." She says, then hugs everybody and leaves. "Well, we'll see you guys later. Bye!" Shaleigh says, then she and Colt quickly try to run out of the store, but John stops them. "Hey, can I get a ride?" John asks. "Er, actually we're driving down to Kentucky for stuff. Sorry. Punk drove here, though, he can take you. Bye!" She replies, and they quickly head out, leaving the two men looking stupid. Well, they did hold hands earlier. Maybe this won't be so bad. John gives a quick little sigh and turns to Punk, "Uh, can you..." He trails off. "Whatever." Punk groans, then heads out of the shop, John lagging behind him. They get in the car, and Punk heads off. John's not sure what terms they're on, so he decides to see. "Uhm—" He's immediately cut off when Punk turns on his music, turning it all the way up. Oh. Okay. That's where they're currently at. Oh...
Hilton Homewood Suites:
The men walk to John's door and he pulls out his key, unlocking and opening the door, then walking in and turning to Punk. Punk stands outside, staring at the ground, rubbing his hand over his hair as his other hand is in his pocket. He doesn't know what to do, what to say. He just knows he's frustrated. He doesn't know whether he should sit John down and they have the talk, or to just give up and leave, leaving the anger still between them. John watches him for a moment before settling with the understanding of Punk not wanting to be there with him.
"Thanks for dropping me off." John says softly, then begins to close the door. Punk watches the door close, and as he does, it feels like the door inside him is closing too. The click of the door being shut sends him into a panic, "John, wait!" Punk yells, and John can hear it from the other side, so he opens it again, "Yeah?" He asks. "C-Can I come in?" Punk asks. "Oh… Sure." John opens the door fully, allowing Punk in. He comes in and goes straight for the sitting area, pacing back and forth between the couch and coffee table, his hand still continuously brushing over his head, occasionally pulling at his hair. John just watches, watches for the longest, before giving up.
"I'm gonna go change." He says, then disappears to the bedroom, figuring Punk will just pace himself into ultimate frustration and leave. John looks in the closet at the clothes he has hanging up, the clothes spilling out of the luggage, and at the dresser containing his other clothes. He gives a loud groan of frustration and kicks his luggage, hard, so sick of living out of his luggage, so sick of sleeping in this room, so sick of living in this place, so sick of not being home. He seriously just wants to give up on everything, pack up and just go. Disappear to Boston and figure out how to start over. He wants to just put out that tiny, little, dim glinter of hope in the back of his mind, knowing it's pointless to keep hoping for something he already knows is hopeless. He squats down and runs his hands over his head in frustration, much like Punk just outside the room. He closes his eyes, giving a few deep breaths, before leaning forward and going through the luggage. He find some shorts, and strips completely down, then pulls them on. He then stands and goes and leans against the wall adjacent to the bed, his head leaned back against the wall, just thinking.
A little while into him thinking, he hears the door open, and he opens his eyes to see Punk walk into the room. "Hi." John says. "Hi." Punk replies, then all goes silent again. Punk goes and sits on the bed, silent, so John leans his head back against the wall and again closes his eyes. Punk watches John, studies him, curious as to what he's thinking about as he watches a vast range of emotions splay across John's face. 1 minute. 3 minutes. 5 minutes. 7. 10. 15 minutes go by and Punk can't take the pained expression on John's face, and the slight tremble of his lip, and he slowly and silently stand and walks the two steps to stand in front of John, his arms wrapping around his body. John gasps in shock, caught off guard, and opens his eyes to look at Punk.
Punk stares for a moment, before leaning in and kissing John's lips, John quickly wrapping his arms lightly around Punk's neck, Punk's tongue passing his lips to meet with his, engaging in a friendly game of tug o'tongue. Punk squeezes around John's waist, kissing him harder, before trailing his hands up John's bare stomach, up to his chest. John pulls away. "Punk, maybe we—" Punk cuts him off, cringing a bit at John's voice and the thought of having the conversation he knows John's trying to start, "Don't. Don't speak, John. Don't. Not another word. I do not want to hear another goddamned word, understand?" Punk growls in a low voice. John nods. Punk's face softens and he takes a moment to look John over. "Go lay down." Punk says, and after a moment of hesitation, John goes over to the bed and lays down.
Punk just stands there, still facing the wall, and thinks things through. He knows they need to talk. He knows he needs to let John get out everything he wants to. He knows he needs to tell John about the decision he's made. He knows sex would only worsen the problems they're having right now. He doesn't want any of this on his mind anymore, though. He just wants a blank mind. He just wants to be at ease. Just for a little while. Just a little while.
He finally turns to the bed, yanking off his top-half clothing, and climbs in bed with John, hovering his body, automatically kissing at his lips. John's hands reach up to cup Punk's face as Punk kisses him, their tongues yet again at play. He pulls away and kisses John's face, down to his neck, down his body, till reaching his shorts, slowly pulling them off John's body. Once he's bare, he then strips himself down as well. "Spread your legs." Punk whispers against John's lips, and John does as told. Punk's hand crawls from where it's against John's face, down to his entrance, a finger slipping through, and John gives a little moan into the kiss. Punk's fingers him for a moment before adding a second finger. John's arms wrap tighter around Punk. A third finger sneaks its way into the mix, and before Punk knows it, John's whimpering into the kiss.
Punk smiles against John's lips at the noises he's making. He misses hearing them. Misses John coming undone for him. Misses…him. Badly.
He pulls his fingers from John's body, then pulls from the kiss to suck at his fingers, and John bites his lip as he watches. "Come on, Johnny." Punk whispers, cupping his hand in front of John's face, and John sits up a bit and spits into Punk's hand, Punk using it as make-shift lube, afraid if he gets up to get the lube, everything will somehow fall to pieces. He lines up his length with John's entrance, then slowly pushes in, inch-by-inch, teasing John. He waits till John's completely filled before leaning back down against him, John's arms wrapping tightly around his neck, and Punk's own arms holding John protectively. He begins rocking his body slowly and gently, stroking deep inside John, making John release soft moans into Punk's ear.
John does his best at not speaking, not saying a word, and he does a pretty good job at it. He only slips up a few times, letting a few 'fucks' and a few 'oh, Phillips' slip out. It's okay. Punk doesn't mind. He likes hearing his name on John's tongue.
Punk leaves soft little kisses along John's neck, though he just wants to turn John's entire neck a deep red and purple.
Punk's going insane. He's truly losing his mind. He conflicted as fuck, and nothing is making it better. Punk knew he shouldn't sleep with John. He knew it'd only cause them problems after. But he thought it'd at least take his mind off everything during. But no. Nope. With every gasp, and every moan, and with every fucking time Punk's name slips from John's lips, Punk goes a little bit more insane.
John soon starts whimpering and grinding up against him, and Punk knows he's at his end. Punk increases his speed a bit, at his end as well. Within just a few minutes and both men are at their unraveling. John lets out a loud groan and right after Punk can feel his cum splash between their bodies. Punk drops his head down against John's neck in pleasure at the constriction, and with just two or three thrusts, his cum gets buried deep inside John.
He stays just like that for a moment. Their arms wrapped tightly around each other, their bodies joined as one, his lips against John's skin. It's perfect. Everything's perfect. Everything is so perfectly perfect! …Except for…everything. Everything is wrong. Everything is broken and fallen to pieces. Everything is…over. It's over. He just can't deny it anymore. It's just flat out over.
He sighs and pulls from John's body, laying down next to him, and John rolls over onto his side to look at him, "We sho—" Punk cuts in yet again, "I told you don't talk." Punk says, and John sighs, and Punk can see the sadness and frustration on his face. So much he wants to say, yet not allowed to say anything. Why bother? There's nothing to say. It's over.
Punk wraps his arms around John, and John buries himself in the hold, Punk holding him tightly. He just wants to hold John tight in this stupid bed in this hell hotel for one last time. He'll tell John tomorrow, finalize everything. It's over. And until then, "Goodnight." Punk whispers, then kisses John's head, and John kisses against Punk's chest in reply, then both men drift to sleep.
A/N: Wow-wee! So much. Just...so much. Well, all you guys' frustration with the separation will finally be dealt with next chapter! Aren't ya excited? What do you think will happen? What do you think should happen? Oh, and yay sexy-time ;). Also, I was asked how many chapters are left and if there will be another installment. Unless I'm given an idea for another chapter, there are only 4 chapters left. And there will be one more installment, yes, but it's just a simple one-shot that will explain the aftermath of what happens at the end of this story. Please leave reviews with your thoughts/guesses/etc! Next update should come NEXT Thursday after TNA! Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading :)