Chapter 7

A/N: Wow. You guys are making me a very happy writer. You keep sticking with me. I say thanks to you all. Now for the bad news: my computer is being a massive pain. Thus things will be a tidge late as I have to write this out in a notebook, hopefully then type it on my pc or send it to a friend to type for me. Good news: it's going to be fixed. Also, I have a permanent Beta for my wrestling slash: Dora. Love her for she fixes this and takes it from crap to goodness.

The show: Raven beat the crap out of Father James Mitchell in a last man standing match. Left him a bloody mess. It was great. However Raven then disbanded The Gathering. I love www.theraveneffect.com for putting up his speeches. He told them thanks but they were free now. He needed to go his own way. CM Punk's response was to grab the mic and beg Raven not to do this. It was heart wrenching. Julio was confused and Raven walked away, without turning around once, and Punk just sat right down in the middle of the ring like the world was crumbling. ::whimper:: But I have 'Happy Ending' syndrome and I gave Raven a reason. Here ya go:

"He can't do this Julio!" CM Punk threw another punch at the wall in the hallway. "He was just fine this morning. In fact, everything was fine for a while. He can't have been that happy and laid back if he was planning on ending this. He couldn't be!"

Julio sighed. "I don't know Punk." It had become the only thing he could say. Punk asked question after question and raged then crumbled in this cycle that began once they left the ring. Julio still didn't have an answer. But Punk didn't seem to be looking for one from him. But some sort of response from Raven would be nice. But there was none. There was no Raven. His bags were gone from the storage room they considered theirs. Nothing at all to know why they had failed. Julio glanced at Punk and saw a single tear track. Ok, Julio huffed, enough of this crap! Raven said he didn't need them anymore, but was quite needy this morning if Julio remembered correctly and since he had been part of that body pile, he did, and now Punk was crying. This was not the best of situations and Julio was not equipped to deal with this in the middle of the arena with everyone around. He grabbed the blonde's hand and drug him off to their room, grabbed their bags and walked out the back door.

"Um, Julio?" Punk sniffed and wiped his free hand across his eyes. "Where are we going?"

"Outside Punk. Away from everybody else. And we will stay around cause Raven has to leave and some point and damnit he will talk to us!"

"What if he doesn't?" Punk whispered.

Julio stopped and looked into Punk's eyes. "He has too. I can't deal with not knowing why he rejected us. We've proven it to him time and time again how much we love him and if this is just another shot at trying to save us so help me I'll hurt him myself."

Punk bit his lip. "Do you think that's why? It's another misguided attempt to protect us? Or maybe he's jut tired of us. He doesn't care anymore." Punk's face fell.

Julio dropped his bags. "Shit Punk. If he doesn't love the two of us then he's been a damn good liar for the past few weeks. He seemed almost amazed by the fact that he could tell us he loved us, did it damn near all the time. And he didn't crawl into the bed with us with anything but love. Trust me, I've been in the bed with someone before where there was no love involved and it was never like that between any of us." He wiped at Punk's tears. "And if he is a fuck up like that, please never forget that I do love you."

"I love you too Julio." With a sudden dart Punk was in Julio's arms, trying to reaffirm his shaking heart with Julio's lips. This kiss was a needy one and each of them still felt the missing presence of their third regardless of how angry they were at him currently.

Reluctantly, Julio moved back. "Come on. If we sit on those steps adjacent to the building we can see Raven's car and not many will see us unless they look up."

Punk nodded and grabbed his things. "Lets go."

They climbed the steps halfway and Julio put the bags behind them on the next step. He leaned back into them and Punk sat just below him cradled into his body. CM Punk pulled out his headphones and leaned back, closing his eyes and pulling Julio's arms around him tighter. He was feeling a little off balance and needed Julio's help in holding it together. The song coming through the headset made him laugh bitterly. He opened his eyes and saw Julio looking at him curiously. He began to sing along, "…Would you find it in your heart, to make this go away, and let me rest in pieces…' Punk smiled sadly. "Sort of ironic when music matches life." He put the headphones back in his bag. "Screw music anyway."

"So what to you think we should do to Raven when he finally comes outside?" Julio questioned, trying to take the sorrow from Punk's eyes. "Should we bash him over the head with a club like cavemen and drag him to the car or throw rocks at him?"

Punk mused for a moment. "How about we swoop down like badass superheroes and make the villain confess his dastardly deeds with our terrifying glares?"

Julio laughed. "I hate to tell you this love, but terrifying glares aren't exactly something that would make Raven confess. He'd just give one back to us."

"Okay, true." Punk snickered. "What if you just sighed heavily and I gave him the puppy dog look?"

The dark-headed man pulled his companion into a tight hug. "Those are the looks that get us tackled into the mattress, if I recall correctly."

Punk sighed. "Well, I was kinda hoping it would jog his memory. Apparently he took a massive blow to the brain in that match with Mitchell." Punk smirked. "Die Mitchell Die. That reminds me, the paint didn't stay on very long did it?"

"No, longer on Raven than me, but I'm not used to having any. You got a little carried away with the finger-paints this time." Julio sighed,

"Yeah, but Sting's paint stays on so long. I wonder what he uses?" Punk sat silently for a few minutes, allowing Julio a chance to not think at all. "Hey, Julio?" He sat up a bit later. "There's Raven."

Julio moved quickly and pulled Punk up with him. "Lets go talk to him." But before Punk could move, Julio pulled him in for a soft kiss, one to resolve their stance against Raven. They would have a reason.

Raven was standing beside the SUV, not going anywhere when they caught up with him. "Raven!" Julio called.

"Shit! Where have you guys been?" Raven dropped his bags and hugged each of them in turn. "I looked everywhere for you two and you were gone. Honestly I thought the New Church had somehow grabbed the both of you."

Julio's planned attacked spluttered from him. "What? Huh? Raven what the hell are you talking about?"

CM Punk stepped between the two of them indignantly. "More importantly than that, Raven, you can't break up The Gathering. I'm begging you again Raven, don't do this."

Raven rolled his eyes. "No. Punk, I already told you. There is no more Gathering. You are both free to go do what you want."

"Damn Raven, we don't want to leave you." Julio threw down his bag and grabbed the older man by the shoulders. "I refuse to let you play savior again by sending us away."

"Sending you away?" Raven blinked. "I never… oh." Comprehension visibly hit. "Oh hell no guys." He laughed. "I am not sending you away from me. I'll never do that. I intend to keep the both of you as long as I can."

Julio loosened his grip, "But Raven you,"

"No, no." Raven took a step back and opened the back of the SUV and threw his bags in. "I was thinking about it today and I only wanted to end the Gathering so you didn't have to seem to follow me. I think you should be able to do your own thing. Come save me if you feel like it, but don't if you have something on the plate. I just didn't want to feel like I had any power over what you did. Hell, I went and got Erik to add you two into the tag team battle for the number one contenders for next week." He paused. "That is, unless you two don't want to do that?" He grabbed Punk and Julio's bags and tossed them inside as well. "I thought you two were just being stupid in the ring." He looked over his shoulder and saw them both frozen in place. "What?" He gave a worried grin. "Guys?

Punk's voice shook, but he responded. "Raven, we thought you were sending us away … for good."

Raven's face paled. "Oh no. You two have been out here all this time thinking I was turning you away from 'us'? No, hell no. Never." He stepped close to Punk and peered at his face in the darkness. "Shit, I made you cry. I should be shot." He pressed his lips to where the tears had made their tracks. "I will never leave you like that." Then he walked to Julio. "To you I make the same promise." But before he could act, Julio grabbed him and pushed his desperation and relief into a dominating kiss, one that forced Raven to remember other such kisses made in other places. He needed oxygen.

"Uh guys?" Punk called them both back to the present. "Its cold out here. Can we leave now?"

"Yeah," Raven said dazed. "And remind me tomorrow to find a partner for my tag match will you?"

Julio watched amazed as he walked off. "Did he just say he was in a tag match without a partner?"

"Yep."

"And he also mentioned signing a match for us already?" Julio asked the blonde.

"Did that too."

The darker man snorted, "I'm going to kill him."

Punk grabbed his arm. "Julio, you can't kill him now."

"Why not?"

There was a decidedly evil smirk. "Cause we haven't had our wicked way with him yet."

"Good point."

A/N: Lyrics Punk is singing is Rest In Pieces by Saliva