A/N:Thanks for the reviews, guys! Glad you're enjoying it!
"What time is he getting there?"
"In like 10 minutes. Asshole is never late,"
Randy smiled, leaning out of his balcony and flicking the ashes from his cigarette into the air. "I was never late when I was trying to get into those pants, either, Cena. Can't blame the man for that."
"If only that sentiment had continued once you got into them," replied John. "Are you smoking?"
Randy rolled his eyes on his end of the phone, stubbing out the cigarette and collapsing back into the chair he'd dragged out into the balcony. "What in the hell could give you that idea over the phone, John?"
"I hear you inhaling, genius. The pause you take before responding also doesn't help your case,"
Randy could hear the smirk on John's lips but felt no annoyance. Anything he could do to help John get through one more evening with Dwayne was worth it.
While he sat in a hotel room only miles away from his home, John stood in their family kitchen preparing a dinner for Dwayne. It was all so bizarre to Randy to be in St. Louis and not sleeping in his own bed and wandering in his own home but he would do it. For this, he would endure. John, however, had to endure much more.
For the past month now John and Dwayne had been attached to the hip. Their new "relationship" was the talk of WWE locker rooms and gyms. How the story hadn't leaked to the dirt sheets was amazing to him but he didn't care. It was a possibility that Randy and John had discussed. They both knew neither side of the family would believe it and it wasn't something they planned on continuing for an extended period of time so…it was all worth it until it blew over.
"The only smoking you should worry about is in my kitchen. Don't burn it down, understand?"
John laughed in his ear. "I can't burn it down by just heating up some takeout, babe." The laughter abruptly stopped after. "It feels weird being here without you. Maybe you can sneak back over after he's gone…"
"I don't know, Johnny. Last time he watched the house. How do we know he's not gonna do it again? We can't risk this. He knows I'm in St. Louis too so he's gonna be on his guard."
John sighed. "I know you're right. I just can't help it."
"I miss you just as much as you miss me, baby. This is just as hard on my end. I'm exhausted every single day and my head is spinning with all the lies," Randy sighed, as well. "I'm only holding it together because of Cody, as insane as that sounds."
"You're hanging out in clubs every night and I'm getting felt up by one of my worst enemies. I think it's a little harder on my end, Ran."
Randy rolled his eyes at the teasing tone of John's voice. "You know I would much rather be in bed with you, Cena. Hanging out at clubs pretending to be drunk and stoned isn't exactly how I want to spend my nights and you know it. Those days are no longer my idea of fun."
"I know they're not, baby. I shouldn't have said that, even as a joke. I'm just more bothered by this than I thought I would be. I've spent a huge chunk of my life with my lips and hands on parts of other people's bodies and been fine with it. Yet with Dwayne I can't seem to get over it. I can't put up the actor persona with Dwayne like I do when filming anything. I get all fidgety and stiff and I think he's noticing and that makes me even more anxious and fidgety! This is so frustrating." John's voice rose in annoyance.
"Baby, stop," calmed Randy. "I know how hard this is for you because it's just as hard for me to act the same with Cody. Your stiffness and anxiousness may work in your favor, though. If Dwayne brings it up just tell him he has to give you time. To him you're a man getting out of a marriage. Granted, he thinks it was a shitty marriage but it still was one. He can't expect you to jump in the sack with him and be ready to shack up with him after only a month! You have to keep the convo flowing between you guys. Tell him you need to go slow. Moving too fast isn't your style,"
"He doesn't think that, Randy. Remember, I did jump in the sack with him after only one night not too long ago," mumbled John.
"You made it clear to him that was a mistake! You were beyond drunk that night. He knows that shit. You have showed him you're not that man," replied Randy sternly. "You're doing everything right, Johnny. This will be all over soon, I swear. I can't take much more of this either, I promise."
"Tonight is the first big step in finishing this. I hope it really works. I need you back so bad,"
Randy smiled. "I haven't gone anywhere, baby. I'm still yours and you're still mine. By this time next month, we'll be together and Vince will have all the proof he needs of what Dwayne and Brock have done. What he does with it is up to him. We'll be out of the picture by then."
The sound of the doorbell ringing in Randy's ear made him groan, as did the loud sigh escaping John's lips.
"Looks like its show time for me."
"You'll do great, baby. Just like you always do," replied Randy. He could hear the smile on John's face when he answered.
"I love you so much, Ran." John ended the call with Randy after listening to his own declaration of love. He let the phone fall onto the countertop and hurried out of the kitchen towards the ringing doorbell.
Taking a deep breath first, John pulled the door open and smiled at Dwayne on the other side of it. "Hey, come in. Dinner's just done warming,"
"That's great. I'm starved." Dwayne leaned forward with a smile and dropped a quick kiss onto John's lips.
John blinked it surprise, a nervous laugh escaping him. "OK…"
Dwayne walked into the house confidently, heading directly for the kitchen. He ignored John's surprised mumble and set the bottle of wine he carried in his hands on the table. "Smells great in here, Johnny."
"Well, you can thank the restaurant for that. I'm not much of a cook. I can barely heat things up, actually." John shrugged, a small smile on his face. He leaned on the edge of the counter, keeping it between him and Dwayne as he tried to settle his racing nerves; the usual whenever in Dwayne's presence.
Dwayne looked over at John, his eyes traveling all over the nervous man's body. It was nothing new to him. John had acted like a skittish virgin with him from the moment they'd left that restaurant a month earlier. While it was frustrating that John wasn't letting them get more intimate, he couldn't help but admire it. He'd had his share of ass before, from both sexes. It was never hard for him to get it. John was making him work for it. He was proving to him that he wasn't loose; that their one night together wasn't a reflection of who he was. It was actually kind of hot. The building up of tension between the two of them would lead to an amazing night in bed…but as hot as it was, he hoped it was sooner rather than later.
"Don't worry about the food. It's not the main reason I'm here, you know," Dwayne strode around to where John stood. He wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him forward, letting their bodies press tightly together. "You're why I'm here."
"I know, but…." John trailed off, turning his head slightly. Dwayne smiled and lowered his lips down slightly to brush over John's ear. "You're perfect just the way you are to me, Johnny. Don't ever forget that."
John let his eyes drift closed, his stomach churning as he fought to stay in Dwayne's embrace. It wouldn't calm until the older man had left, though. His attempts to pretend to be in Randy's arms never worked. Everything about Dwayne was the complete opposite of Randy. Dwayne was hard, harsh and always working some type of angle. It seemed to be something ingrained in his personality; something he would never lose. Randy, despite his own hard personality at the beginning, had softened and opened up to him. It was one of the things John loved the most about him; how he showed him his vulnerability. He didn't think it was ever something he would get from Dwayne.
"Thank you. That's nice to hear,"
Dwayne dropped another kiss to John's lips, lingering a bit longer this time. He rubbed his hand up John's back in an effort to smooth him over and relax some of his stiffness but it was to no avail. Pulling back from the kiss, he saw John's eyes clouded over with more tension than usual.
"John, what's wrong with you? You look much more distracted than usual. Do you want me to just go…?"
John quickly shook his head and reached for Dwayne's hand as it pulled away from his back. "No, no! I'm just a little upset. I was on the phone with Randy before you came in."
Dwayne rolled his eyes in annoyance and lowered his body into the chair next to where John stood. "God, just the sound of his name makes me wanna barf. Why in the world are you still having phone conversations with him?"
"Because we share a family. There are things I will always have to discuss with Randy, D. We're trying to keep this very amicable for our family's sake but it's hard. We don't get along and every conversation gets very nasty by the end and it stresses me out." John sighed and rubbed his hand up and down Dwayne's arm. "You being here does help, though."
Dwayne nodded slowly. "Good, I'm glad. I just hate that you will always be connected to him. He's an asshole, John and he will never change. Is it worth it? Are you really gonna put up with that for the rest of your life?"
John frowned, pulling his hand back slowly. "Excuse me?"
"I just don't want you stressed, John. A life with me and just me would be so much more peaceful. I would let you do whatever you wanted. We could travel the world together and just be happy…you'll never have that with Randy if you stick with him." Dwayne shrugged.
"Well, I have to stick with him for my daughter's sake, you know. For her it is all worth it." John turned to walk away but Dwayne pulled him back in by his arm.
"I didn't mean for you to walk away from her, John…"
"I've raised that little girl, you know. I may not be her biological dad but I have been there since the moment she was born. Randy and I have been together since before she was 1 year old. I am all she remembers seeing with her father. There is no difference between parents to her. I would never give her up and for her, I would put up with anything." John tugged his arm away from Dwayne's grasp and walked over to the counter nearest the stove. He began to move the food from their containers into plates, the actions causing loud bangs to fill the silence in the room.
"John, please. I'm sorry. I never meant to imply anything. It's just very frustrating for me to see you so upset when I care about you so much." Dwayne wrapped his arms around John's waist from behind, stilling his movements. "You get all tense and then can't focus on us and our time together. I don't want that for us, Johnny."
John hid his eye roll behind his closed lids. "I don't either but it is going to upset me, Dwayne. You just have to be patient and give me time to work this out with Randy. Maybe one day things will get better." He slowly turned around in Dwayne's arms and looped his arms around his neck. "I know it's difficult to deal with me and wait for me but…"
"You are worth the wait," replied Dwayne quickly.
John smiled and quickly turned back around. "OK, go grab a seat while I set out the food. All of this drama is making me hungry."
Dwayne laughed and nodded. "Me, too. Let me go wash off first."
John pointed down the hall. "You know where it is already."
Dwayne turned, walking out of the kitchen and heading for the guest bathroom. He moved through the home with ease, already comfortable in the home, casting glares over at the pictures of Randy and John on every surface. He let himself into the room and quickly washed his hands but stopped himself before leaving. Digging his hand into his pocket, he quickly tugged his phone out of his pocket and dialed Cody's number.
"What's up, man?"
"Are you in St. Louis yet?" asked Dwayne gruffly, his voice low.
"I will be tomorrow, D. I do have another life, you know," replied Cody in annoyance.
"Your life right now only consists of getting Randy to leave John the fuck alone! Do you understand that? I'm in John's house right now and he can't even focus on me because you are not doing your job. Randy called him and fucked everything up. Completely fucked with John's head!" Dwayne fought to keep his voice low but couldn't help the anger coursing through him.
"D, you do realize they're gonna talk right? They have shit to split up and a kid to think of and families who are hella confused and…"
"Oh shut up," interrupted Dwayne. "I need John to fucking forget about every part of his life with Randy! You need to do your fucking job."
"What more do you want from me, man? I'm with Randy almost every night I'm not with Ted. He's getting drunk and high every night with me! What more can I do?"
Dwayne sighed loudly, his fist clenched as he paced the bathroom. "It's the kid; the fucking kid. We need to get her out of the picture now."
"Excuse me?" asked Cody, the shock evident in his voice.
"John will never fully invest in me and our relationship while this child is in the way,"
"She's his child," interrupted Cody.
"She can still be his child. She just needs to take a step back and start spending a little more time with her mother and other father. You need to make it happen. Get Randy more invested in his child, Cody. Hell, you invest in her and become a more loving boyfriend. You could be her new daddy and make her forget all about John," Dwayne laughed softly.
"D, please. Stop. I don't feel comfortable talking about this little girl like that. You just need to be patient and just wait for John to come to you."
Dwayne sighed, his smile gone. "Whatever. Just keep Randy fucking occupied. Erase John from his mind, got it?" He ended the call and slid the phone back in his pocket before exiting the room.
Back in Randy's hotel room, Cody took a deep breath before looking up and meeting Randy's eyes. As expected, they were blazing, full of fury at the words he'd overheard Dwayne say.
"I'm going to fucking kill him. He had the nerve to mention my daughter? He's fucking dead where he stands."
Cody lifted his hand up. "I know it's hard, Ran, but calm down. You have to know he's just talking out of his ass. He can't hurt Ally. He would never physically hurt a child. He has a daughter."
"I don't give a shit whether he's talking out his ass or not! You don't mention my child. This shit is over," Randy turned and walked over to the door, Cody on his heels. The younger man grabbed his arm before he could extend it and open the hotel room door. "Don't, Ran! What are you doing?"
"I'm going to my house and I'm going to tell Dwayne this shit is over before I kick his ass. I'm getting him the hell away from my husband and out of our lives. This shit was over when he bought Alanna into it."
"Randy, no! It's working! We just got him on tape saying a whole bunch of shit. This is what we want. We need to prove to Vince how much of an asshole Dwayne really is. He thinks he's a saint that walks on water! This is the only way Dwayne's gonna learn, too, because Vince's opinion is the only one that matters! We need to let this play out!" Cody shook Randy's arm, desperately trying to get him to see.
"Cody…"
"Randy, please," Cody sighed. "We need to do this. I want this so badly and I know you and John do."
"I do but not at the expense of my daughter," replied Randy with a frown.
"I thought you were willing to do whatever it takes to show Vince what kind of men Dwayne and Brock are?" asked Cody. "Don't let this stop that!"
"You do realize this whole 'tape what Dwayne and Brock say' plan is going to incriminate you too, right? There's already a lot of shit about you on what we got. Vince is gonna be pretty pissed off when he finds out how you played Stephanie to get rid of Ted." Randy looked over at Cody with a raised eyebrow.
"I don't care anymore, Ran. My biggest concern is getting Ted back what he lost. If Dwayne and Brock go down, great. If this doesn't work, oh well. I want to help Ted more than anything. I want him to get his job back and start building his life up again. I don't care about myself anymore." Cody sighed. "But believe it or not I do care about you. I want you and John to get what you want too and I know that it's Dwayne and Brock's heads."
Randy sighed. He could feel his anger begin to dissipate as Cody's words rang in his head. He did want to go through with this. He wanted to hear Dwayne say the worst things that he could think of. He wanted to hear the same from Brock. He wanted the men to be the ones to rat themselves out to the one person they had to uphold an image for; Vince.
It had become clear to Randy and John that he was the only man who could help them get their ultimate revenge. Vince's opinion of them was the only one that mattered to Dwayne and Brock. He had built their careers and continued to support them over the years because of his faith in them; faith that they were good, family men keeping their noses out of trouble and succeeding. Telling Vince he was wrong wouldn't work; hell, John had tried it to get out of his match with Dwayne. However, listening to the voices of the men themselves telling him how wrong he was would, though.
"I'll try to find a way to keep you out of it, Cody but some part of the tape may…"
"Randy, its OK," interrupted Cody. "I really am OK with it. I deserve whatever I get from all of this. My helping in this shouldn't absolve me of the wrong I did. I fucked up. I deserve what I get."
Randy nodded slowly, backing away from the hotel room door and walking around where Cody stood. "Fine. I'll let this play out."
A/N: Review, please!
