15 March 2004
Title: Only Human (1/1) Rating: M (for mature themes and swear words) Summary: Chris confronts Trish after the match at WrestleMania XX. Type of fic: Vignette Disclaimer: All known entities are not mine. Most, if not all, will probably belong to Vince McMahon, WWE, and whoever else has rights to them. Distribution: FF.net and Random Thoughts and Tarnished Silver (if she wants it!) Author's notes: How gorgeous was Trish at WMXX? And Christian! And how gorgeous a couple do they make? Seriously! I think this may be the start of a new obsession...*sappy sigh*
***
Only Human
She stared up at him, loving the way his face was creased into concentrated concern as he checked her for bruises. She reached up, taking his hand in hers and pulling it away from her face.
She smiled at him. 'I'm fine. I didn't hit my head.'
He grinned. 'Still as pretty as ever.'
She rolled her eyes. 'Come on, it's time for you to take-' She was sharply interrupted by the slamming of the door against the concrete walls. Someone had kicked the door in.
Heart thumping hard, Trish whirled to face an understandably angry Chris Jericho. She held her ground, keeping her head up as she readied for whatever it was he had in store for her.
'Whore.'
A slur she had heard so often that it had lost all meaning. But his tone, the look in his eyes...
'Hey, Chris,' Christian greeted warily.
'Leave, you miserable excuse for-'
'Fuck you, Chris,' she interrupted, too weary to fully express her anger. Trish had never used coarse language in front of him before. By the look on his face she had a feeling that Chris didn't think it possible she actually knew such words.
It infuriated her.
'I think I'll go have that shower,' Christian said.
Trish felt his fingers brush gently against her bare back, appreciating his subtle show of support. But letting her fight her own battle.
'With him, how could you...?'
She stared at him. 'His name is Christian.'
A look of disgust crossed Chris's face. 'I never thought you would ever-'
'Ever what, Chris? Stoop so low? In case you'd forgotten, you were just like him when I fell for you.'
Chris grew rigid, his face becoming a mask. 'I thought...you made me believe that you cared about me.'
Trish softened. She never wanted to hurt him. 'I did care for you, Chris. And I still do. But not in the way you want. Not anymore.'
She frowned, unsure of what she could say for him to comprehend. 'My past is who I am, Chris. I've done things I'm not proud of, but the reality is, they'll always be a part of me. Do you know what the difference is between you and Christian?'
'He treats you like shit,' he shot back bitterly.
'No. He says, "I know about that all that, and I understand and it doesn't matter to me". You say, "I know about all that, but let's pretend it never happened and forget about all of it". I can never pretend, or forget, about where I've come from, Chris.'
'I never realised you liked it rough and hard.'
She clenched her fists, breathing out evenly to keep from reacting strongly. 'He treats me like I'm a person and not some delicate flower made of glass. Do you know that whenever you bump into me, you act as if I had almost shattered?'
'So he hurts you and hits you and he becomes the man of your dreams?'
'You don't... I'm not fragile, damnit! Christian, he understands that when I'm in that ring, I get hurt. Everyone gets hurt. When I'm in that ring, I don't want to be protected or saved. I want to be able to do what I love, and part of that is getting physical. If I get hurt, then so be it. And when I return to the back, he treats me like he would any other wrestler.'
'And I don't?'
'You make me feel like I'm a baby who can't look after herself, Chris. For all my life that's how I've been treated and I'm tired of it.'
'Oh, so I can't worry about you and your safety, is that what you're saying?'
'No! You still don't get it, do you? It's about me feeling like I can be myself, whatever that may be.'
Chris stared hard at her. 'You two deserve each other.'
She sighed as she watched him stalk away. She knew it was never going to be easy explaining it to him. No matter what she did, how she approached him, it would hurt. Turning her back on him, the way she did, was the last thing she had wanted to do. As she had walked down into that ring, a part of her had continued hoping and wishing that Chris would suddenly grasp what it was that she – and Christian – had been trying to tell him for so long.
But Trish had seen it in his eyes – he didn't want to know. Chris was too set on being her knight in shining armour. He didn't understand that she was not a damsel in distress.
And so she had done it. In the worst way imaginable. The only way that Chris would finally realise that she was not whom he wanted her to be. That, like everyone else, she had her imperfections and her vices and her bad habits. That she had many layers, many sides. A darker side.
She was only human after all.
Title: Only Human (1/1) Rating: M (for mature themes and swear words) Summary: Chris confronts Trish after the match at WrestleMania XX. Type of fic: Vignette Disclaimer: All known entities are not mine. Most, if not all, will probably belong to Vince McMahon, WWE, and whoever else has rights to them. Distribution: FF.net and Random Thoughts and Tarnished Silver (if she wants it!) Author's notes: How gorgeous was Trish at WMXX? And Christian! And how gorgeous a couple do they make? Seriously! I think this may be the start of a new obsession...*sappy sigh*
***
Only Human
She stared up at him, loving the way his face was creased into concentrated concern as he checked her for bruises. She reached up, taking his hand in hers and pulling it away from her face.
She smiled at him. 'I'm fine. I didn't hit my head.'
He grinned. 'Still as pretty as ever.'
She rolled her eyes. 'Come on, it's time for you to take-' She was sharply interrupted by the slamming of the door against the concrete walls. Someone had kicked the door in.
Heart thumping hard, Trish whirled to face an understandably angry Chris Jericho. She held her ground, keeping her head up as she readied for whatever it was he had in store for her.
'Whore.'
A slur she had heard so often that it had lost all meaning. But his tone, the look in his eyes...
'Hey, Chris,' Christian greeted warily.
'Leave, you miserable excuse for-'
'Fuck you, Chris,' she interrupted, too weary to fully express her anger. Trish had never used coarse language in front of him before. By the look on his face she had a feeling that Chris didn't think it possible she actually knew such words.
It infuriated her.
'I think I'll go have that shower,' Christian said.
Trish felt his fingers brush gently against her bare back, appreciating his subtle show of support. But letting her fight her own battle.
'With him, how could you...?'
She stared at him. 'His name is Christian.'
A look of disgust crossed Chris's face. 'I never thought you would ever-'
'Ever what, Chris? Stoop so low? In case you'd forgotten, you were just like him when I fell for you.'
Chris grew rigid, his face becoming a mask. 'I thought...you made me believe that you cared about me.'
Trish softened. She never wanted to hurt him. 'I did care for you, Chris. And I still do. But not in the way you want. Not anymore.'
She frowned, unsure of what she could say for him to comprehend. 'My past is who I am, Chris. I've done things I'm not proud of, but the reality is, they'll always be a part of me. Do you know what the difference is between you and Christian?'
'He treats you like shit,' he shot back bitterly.
'No. He says, "I know about that all that, and I understand and it doesn't matter to me". You say, "I know about all that, but let's pretend it never happened and forget about all of it". I can never pretend, or forget, about where I've come from, Chris.'
'I never realised you liked it rough and hard.'
She clenched her fists, breathing out evenly to keep from reacting strongly. 'He treats me like I'm a person and not some delicate flower made of glass. Do you know that whenever you bump into me, you act as if I had almost shattered?'
'So he hurts you and hits you and he becomes the man of your dreams?'
'You don't... I'm not fragile, damnit! Christian, he understands that when I'm in that ring, I get hurt. Everyone gets hurt. When I'm in that ring, I don't want to be protected or saved. I want to be able to do what I love, and part of that is getting physical. If I get hurt, then so be it. And when I return to the back, he treats me like he would any other wrestler.'
'And I don't?'
'You make me feel like I'm a baby who can't look after herself, Chris. For all my life that's how I've been treated and I'm tired of it.'
'Oh, so I can't worry about you and your safety, is that what you're saying?'
'No! You still don't get it, do you? It's about me feeling like I can be myself, whatever that may be.'
Chris stared hard at her. 'You two deserve each other.'
She sighed as she watched him stalk away. She knew it was never going to be easy explaining it to him. No matter what she did, how she approached him, it would hurt. Turning her back on him, the way she did, was the last thing she had wanted to do. As she had walked down into that ring, a part of her had continued hoping and wishing that Chris would suddenly grasp what it was that she – and Christian – had been trying to tell him for so long.
But Trish had seen it in his eyes – he didn't want to know. Chris was too set on being her knight in shining armour. He didn't understand that she was not a damsel in distress.
And so she had done it. In the worst way imaginable. The only way that Chris would finally realise that she was not whom he wanted her to be. That, like everyone else, she had her imperfections and her vices and her bad habits. That she had many layers, many sides. A darker side.
She was only human after all.