Serendipity
by Ky

Disclaimer: Jeff is mine, okay? ;) I wish. okay, they ain't mine
Rating: PG...pure fluff :) ...actually a few sweary words but nothing major
Spoilers: Up to Smackdown 22/12/01 (we get Smackdown on the Saturday after it's filmed, so the date is wrong, I guess...is it filmed on a Thursday?).

Notes:

Karen here's a reply to one of your challenges! For anyone following Cloud Nine, I will finish it...sometime... :)

Also, I missed the first hour of this Smackdown but I still set it after. All I know is that Matt lost to the Taker, I have no idea if he spoke to Jeff/Lita or anyone before hand, so please allow for that!

The Challenge was:
4. a.) Another Lita/Jeff or Lita/Edge
b.) Make Matt a jerk
c.) Put Stacy Keibler through a table. Just for fun.



~x~x~x~ Lita's POV ~x~x~x~

What was she going to do? She felt guilty, she knew she had little reason to, but she felt it all the same. He'd been treating her so badly for weeks, and now *she* felt guilty? Why was it that even her own mind and feelings were against her?

Matt had been acting like a jerk. A complete jackass. He was an asshole. Sure they all meant pretty much the same thing, but it felt good just to randomly throw insults at him, even if it was just in her mind. So why was it that she had to feel so guilty? Why did the fact that he had "defended" her against the Undertaker make her feel like she should be thanking him? He'd come up to her afterwards as if expecting a round of applause, as if he expected she'd throw herself at him. What was it that made her feel guilty again?

When did it all get so complicated.

Lita walked slowly and painfully through the hotel lobby. She had been wandering around aimlessly for the last few hours, and now she was headed...well, somewhere...did that still constitute as wandering aimlessly? She didn't know, and frankly, she didn't care. She also didn't realise that she'd been walking with her head down, until, that was, it hit something rather solid, something that breathed.

"Li?"

Her breath caught in her throat as she looked up at him, struggling to see as the light penetrated her teary eyes. When had she started crying? Her vision cleared and she saw him. He was looking at her with that endearing, concerned look in his eye and suddenly she knew when it had gotten so complicated. It had gotten complicated the minute Jeff had kissed her.

"Li? What's wrong?"

"I...I don't...it doesn't matter." Was that her voice? Since when did her voice squeak? As far as she recalled she had a pretty low voice. That? Well, that had sounded like Matt had when she'd kicked him in the...

"Don't lie to me. I'm not asking you to tell me, just, please, don't lie to me." The hurt look in Jeff's eye made her instantly regret brushing him off and she reached out and touched his cheek, a small smile coming to her lips as he leaned into her, his eyelids flickering for a moment.

"Come on," he said gently as he took her hand from his cheek and tugged her in the opposite direction she had been heading. She nodded and allowed him to lead the way.


~x~x~x~ Jeff's POV ~x~x~x~


She was still looking at the ground. He wasn't sure why that bothered him so much, but it did. She used to be such a confident person, so vibrant, so...happy, that was what had made him fall in love with her in the first place. Yes, he was in love with her. It was so absurd it almost made him laugh. For so long he had refused to admit it to himself, but there it was, he was in love with his brother's girlfriend.

He glanced over at her, noting that she had wiped her eyes and he sighed softly. He hated to see her upset. He hated to see anyone upset, but he especially hated it when it was her. It hurt that she wouldn't talk to him, she always talked to him. Even if it was just to tell him that she didn't want to tell him...did that make sense? They were best friends. Even if she was only admitting that something was wrong, she knew that he was there for her, she had to, he told her often enough. But now? Well, now she was shying away from him. And it was all his fault...okay, maybe not all, if Matt hadn't been acting like such a bastard, none of this would have happened. Sure he'd still be in love with her, but at least she wouldn't know.

He wished he could blame it on the alcohol, but he'd only had one beer, therefore, not really a plausible excuse. She'd been the one to empty most of the mini bar. She had insisted it was a celebration. She'd finally gotten over Matt...if only that had been the truth. But, as amusing as it had been to watch his brother bent over double, holding his crotch, Jeff knew she was far from over Matt. And even if she was, why would she ever want him?

The wide, shocked look in her eyes, the slight blush on her cheek, the way her breath caught in her throat...he remembered every little detail. Right down to the way her stomach fluttered under his cold hand as he brushed it over her navel. But that didn't mean she wanted him, right? It could have been the alcohol...

Why had he done it? Was it the way her eyes had penetrated his as she asked him, no, almost begged him, to never leave her? Was it the way she had pulled herself into his lap and cupped his face in her hands as she made him promise? He hated to see her like that. Didn't she know without a doubt that she'd never lose him? Well, she did now. Even if the softly spoken words, "I'd never leave you, Li. I promise I'll never leave you...I love you." didn't tell her, the kiss that had followed would have. The only problem was, what if that one mistake meant that she'd left him?


~x~x~x~ Lita's POV ~x~x~x~


Was he trembling? He looked scared. Good. She never thought she'd be glad of the day that Jeff Hardy looked scared, but she was. Because if he was scared then she wasn't the only one. Did he know what a complication he had caused? Did he even realise what he had done? She had been perfectly happy to go on with her life as it was. She'd be dating Matt, Jeff would always be there for her. He'd never leave her. Not if she was his best friend, and she had been. Now? Well, now he'd spoiled everything. He'd told her he loved her, he'd kissed her in such a way that she wasn't quite sure that her toes had uncurled yet.

She looked around as they entered their room and allowed him to pull her to the balcony. She shivered slightly as the Winter chill hit her bare skin, but she was shaking anyway, so the cold made little difference. He stopped and let go of her hand and she instantly felt the loss, but instead of reaching for him as she wanted, she folded her arms, not sure if she was defending herself from the weather, Jeff, or her own thoughts and feelings.

She stared at him, waiting for him to turn to her, but still not sure if she even wanted him to. After a few moments, he did turn to her and, once again, she felt everything leave her head.

"Lita..."

"Stop." she closed her eyes. She couldn't say this if she was looking at him.

"I'm so..."

"Don't. Jeff, please don't." She opened her eyes and stared at him, allowing a few tears to fall. "I don't think I could bear it if you said you were sorry." She took a deep breath to ready herself, and then smiled sadly at him. "But you asked me not to lie, so as much as it might hurt, I guess I should expect the same. So if you're sorry...maybe I need to hear that it was a mistake."


~x~x~x~ Jeff's POV ~x~x~x~


"I wasn't about to say it was a mistake Li. I knew exactly what I was doing. I'm just sorry that I've hurt you." It was barely above a whisper, but the shock in her expression told him that she had heard. "I don't know how else I can do this...so please don't stop me." She was confused, that much was evident, but she nodded slowly.

He looked at the stars. They gave him strength, they always had. Matt had once told him, when they were younger, that no matter where he was, if he looked at the stars then he could be sure that someone was wishing on them...and as long as people were wishing, as long as people dreamed, then magic and happiness would live forever. Call him a hopeless romantic, but that gave him the strength to hope, and if nothing came of it, at least he had tried. He turned back to Lita and smiled softly before he spoke, his voice nothing more than a gentle whisper on the wind.

"You looked at me, and that's when it all began
You stared into my soul and everything became clear
and that's when I thought I could love you

You smiled at me, and my heart was alive
and all I wanted was to hold you near
and that's when I hoped I could love you

You laughed with me and took hold of my hand
Your touch made me want you and I was filled with fear
because I knew I wasn't allowed to love you

You whispered to me, and your breath touched my core
you're everything to me, you're all I hold dear
and now I know that I love you"


~x~x~x~ Lita's POV ~x~x~x~



She could hardly breathe, she knew she was crying, but she didn't care. Her hand covered her mouth, but she wasn't sure if it was to stop herself from breaking down or because she didn't trust herself to be able to construct a sentence.

He was just standing there staring at her, his eyes were an open book. He was offering her his soul and she was reading it. He had meant what he said earlier. She hadn't really doubted it, but she hadn't quite let herself believe it either. This wasn't supposed to happen. He was supposed to stay her best friend, he was supposed to stay with her.

"Please say something." He pleaded softly.

"I don't know if I can."

He smiled a little, "You just did."

She returned the smile and placed her hands at her sided, playing nervously with the waist band of her trousers. "This wasn't supposed to happen Jeff. You were my best friend and I didn't want to lose you...I still don't. You...you weren't supposed...you weren't supposed to love me back." At this she had to cover her eyes. She didn't want him to see her like this, she couldn't let him see her cry like this.

"Love, love you back?"

"You...you..." she started to pace back and forth, shaking her hands as if that would somehow stop her eyes from becoming waterfalls. "If you were my friend, I'd never lose you...I could always get you back if we had a fight. But if you loved me and something went wrong, I'd, I'd lose you forever." She stopped and stared at him, "I couldn't bare to lose you, Jeff. I'd rather...I...I just couldn't."

"You'll never lose me, Li. Never."

"You say that now, but..."

He kissed her. He was holding onto her as if he'd never let go. She liked this idea, because if he never let go of her then he'd never leave her. Maybe he was telling the truth, maybe they'd be together forever...and maybe they wouldn't...but at least she could have him for just now, even if it didn't last forever, and she was thinking *way* too much. Jeff was kissing her. And her toes were curling again.


~x~x~x~ The following RAW ~x~x~x~
~x~x~x~ Matt's POV ~x~x~x~


Where were they? Didn't they know they had a match? Okay, so they didn't, but still... Matt paced the dressing room, glancing vaguely over at Stacy Keibler, who was sitting in the corner touching up her make-up. Lita never did that. She was usually laughing in the corner with Jeff. Jeff. His perfect, stupid little brother. Didn't he know that women only liked him because he was so naive? So naive that they could use him, then dump him? He lived in his little fantasy world where everyone and everything had a meaning. Bullshit.

Jeff looked to the stars for everything, they were his little fountain of strength...like they used to be his. Matt sighed and sat on the bench, his head in his hands. Part of him knew that he had to be insane. He loved his brother, hell, he loved Lita as well. He'd gotten his ass kicked by the Deadman himself, surely that proved something. But that was the problem. Dreaming never got you anywhere. His dreams were always to get the gold, he thought his brother and his girlfriend would understand. They used to...but then again, the three of them used to get through tem minutes without an argument.

The arguing was his fault. He admitted that. He knew that. Just like he knew that his brother was in love with his girlfriend...just like he knew that she loved him back. Winning hadn't been his only dream. Lita had been too. She'd been everything he'd ever wanted, she'd been perfect...for his brother, so it seemed. He'd dreamed, and as long as they were in love they could live forever...

But that didn't work when she was in love with Jeff. Things change, his dreams had changed the moment the old ones had been shattered, broken beyond repair. He had known from the moment the two had met that they were meant to be. But Lita was his dream...she had been his and Jeff had taken her. Well, it was time that this ended. It was time that his brother learned...not all dreams come true.

He glanced at his watched and frowned. Their match was scheduled to start in fifteen minutes, and word backstage was that Lita and Jeff weren't even here yet. There was a knock at the door and Matt sat up as Stacy answered it.

"Your match is up in ten, and your opponents just arrived."

"Well it's about time." Stacy said, turning to him and batting her eyes. "Do you think they'll accept?" she asked brushing against him as he joined her at the door.

"Of course they will." He replied, making sure that he brushed her again, "You're forgettin', I know how insane my brother is. And Lita won't let him go out there alone. I might be hurtin', but they're both a lot worse...and they always gotta please the crowd. They'll slip up. And when they do, we strike."


~x~x~x~ Lita's POV ~x~x~x~


Matt wanted to fight them. She was still in shock. Sure, she had half expected it, but what she hadn't expected was that it would be so soon. Jeff wasn't ready, she wasn't ready, but the note Matt had left them had clinched it. This would be over. This had to be over.

Lita sighed as she looked over at Jeff. He was pulling his top over his head, revealing his chest and she blushed as she noticed a rather large mark that *hadn't* come from an injury. A few moments later he looked over at her and her smiled faded.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked, knowing the answer, but hoping for something else.

"He can say whatever the hell he likes about me, but you are not a slut and I won't let him get away with what he's been spreadin'."

Lita flinched and turned away, well aware of the rumors that had been whispered over the last five minutes since they had arrived. And no doubt that wasn't that half of it. It didn't matter that most people didn't believe them, it still hurt. She was shaken from her reverie as she felt Jeff's arms band around her waist.

"Promise me something."

"No." She shifted herself so that she was facing him, without breaking his hold on her, "I will not promise to stay out of the match." She smiled as he shook his head at the fact that she had known what he was thinking. "Besides, even if I tried, do you honestly think that Stacy Keibler would leave me alone?"

"Well..."

"Yes?" she questioned, raising her eyebrows.

"I hate it when you're right." He mock scowled at her. "Okay, just promise me you'll try to come out of this in one piece?"

"Deal...if you do the same."

"It's a deal." He leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose. "And in case our old *buddies* D-Von and Buh-Buh decide to get involved, Edge and RVD said they'd lend 's hand."

"RVD?"

"Yeah, said something about not liking the way Matt was treating you. He's got a lot of respect for you...maybe even a crush as well." Jeff teased and she smiled.

"Jealous?"

"Always." he smiled and kissed her briefly, smiling as she followed him when he pulled back. "Later. We have a match to win."


~x~x~x~ Jeff's POV ~x~x~x~


Damn but that hurt like a bitch. Jeff groaned as he felt his back continue to explode in pain. Okay so he'd missed the swanton and they'd lost the match. He didn't care, because he was staring at an Angel. Lita was still checking him over when he saw something fly over his head. Thank God for RVD and Edge.

He was lucky that the other two superstars had enough respect for himself and Lita that they wanted to help them out. In fact, over the last week or so, he could actually say that he and Edge were fast on the way to becomin' friends again. Pulling himself to his feet, much to Lita's dismay, Jeff surveyed the scene. D-Von was writhing in pain thanks to a five star frog splash...unfortunately so was RVD. That man really needed to think of landing differently, he caused himself more pain than he did his opponents. Not that Jeff was really one to talk on that account.

He glanced to the outside of the ring where Edge was taking it to Matt...and that left Buh-Buh Ray. Where was...oh, there. Jeff's head hit the mat. Obviously the other Dudley had been behind him. Rolling onto his back Jeff smiled when he realised that Lita had already taken care of the Dudley, who had been given some of the same medicine Lita had prescribed Matt a few days ago.

Jeff saw a flash of blonde as Lita hit the mat. Stacy, how could he forget Stacy? He pulled himself up and walked towards the leggy blonde smirking a little when he realised that she didn't know he was there...yet. The woman backed up until she hit him. She turned around and stared up at him...she was smiling. Jeff still had all three of his opponents in his vision as well as his allies, therefore, Stacy obviously just assumed that he was too "nice" to hurt her.

She was right.

However, Lita was always ready to give Stacy a beating. And Lita just happened to be standing behind her. Before the woman knew what was happening, Jeff had picked her up and Lita had thrown her over the top rope and into a table.

"Nice of the Dudley's to set that up for us." Lita smirked.

Jeff smiled at her and pulled her towards him. "It's later." he whispered before kissing her, ignoring the screaming from the fans.


~x~x~x~ Lita's POV ~x~x~x~



She had to be blushing. She had been embarrassed when Matt had kissed her in front of a live audience, but this was different...this was Jeff. She hated that she had moved from one brother to the next, but she knew it had been Jeff all along, and only wished she'd done things differently.

Matt had a microphone, but she was ignoring him. She could hear the insults but she was more concerned with keeping Jeff from running up the ramp and ripping his brother's head off. However, Jeff seemed rather calm...too calm. She watched as he took the mic RVD was handing to him and waited for Matt's silence, waited for Jeff to speak.

"Matt. You're my brother, and I love you. But you're also a jerk." Jeff waited for the fans to quieten down before proceeding. "You were so concerned with yourself and what you wanted, that you never stopped to think about anything else. I knew how important your dreams were Matt. But I also knew they were only important to you because they were my dreams. But you had to get there first. You always had to take what I wanted, or at least share it.

I wanted WWF gold, so you had to get it too. I wanted Lita...well, we all know what happened there. Well, I'm fed up with it. You can't take my dreams away from me Matt. I still want gold, I just want to enjoy myself along the way. I want these people to enjoy it. And if that means it takes a little longer to get there, then that's a risk I'm willing to take. That's the difference between us, Matt. I'm willing to take risks and that's why you won't be getting there first. Not anymore."

Matt sneered, "You forget, I've been there already." he said eyeing Lita.

She grabbed Jeff's mic and placed a hand on his chest to calm him, "You're wrong Matt. Yeah, we dated, and yeah, I do love you...I guess I was just never *in* love with you...and that bothers you. Because you knew that, probably before I did. But you were just so determined to possess me that you lost me. I'm not something for you to own, and I won't be treated like crap anymore. This is finished. All of it. Not just us, but this whole mess. It's over, Matt, give up on Jeff's dreams and go find your own."

She threw the mic on the floor and turned to face Jeff as her, no *their* music played in the background. "I know I never said it back to you, Jeff, so I'll say it now. I'm ready to say it now. I love you."

He smiled at her, "I know, and I love you, too."

He leaned in to kiss her and she frowned, "And I thought you were a gentleman."

"What?" He asked, confused.

"You handed me Stacy so that I could put her through a table. I thought you were a gentleman." She refused to smile.

"Would you believe me if I said it was an accident?" He asked, his expression so innocent, despite the laughter in his eyes. Lita had to laugh.

"You don't believe in accidents, Jeff. You believe that everything happens for a reason, and since I've met you, so do I."

"It's in the stars." He whispered and leaned in for another kiss.


~x~x~x~x~x~

THE END

The poem is also by me, I know it's a bit...well, crap! But I haven't written any poetry for a long time, so I hope it did okay!

I might have to have a go at your one or two of your other challenges, Karen, as I'm trying to get myself back into writing. I have about 12 unfinished fics and I need to get back into the swing of things!

Karen, (or anyone for that matter) I haven't given you any feedback but I'm following ALL your fics and I DO intend to give you feedback soon, I promise! But, Karen, I have to tell you that "What I Really Am" was my favourite, closely followed by "All The King's Horses"! Anyway, like I said, I WILL give feedback...at some point in the future!

It's now 2:55am and I need to post this and get to bed since I'm getting up at 7am...shit!

Ky
~x~