1971
Part 6: Blows to Our Strength
Rating: R for language, abuse
Genre: Humor/Angst
Pairing: Ricky Steamboat/Ric Flair , HBK/HHH
Summary: History repeats it's self in Hunter and Shawn
IMPORTANT: The story will not end in this chapter, but in the next. Theres an explaination below.
~
Ric glanced up at the dim lighting of the cafe before he started the rest of his story. It was going to take a little while to tell... "We've had our ups and downs in the past... Just like in everyone's relationships. Especially you two and your flighty cat and mouse sexcapades..."
Shawn smiled and licked Hunter's cheek. Hunter growled playfully, tugging on his leash to pull Shawn on top of his lap.
"We'd have knock out, screaming, and hair pulling fights- followed by passionate make up sex. We really were in love- more so than any other teen couple married on a spur-of-the-moment whim... Ricky always took care of me."
1975-
"Where's my cigarettes?" Ric asked as he walked out of the bathroom. "It's time for my after the shower smoke." He rummaged around in the side table drawer for his pack of Camels, growing agitated when he couldn't find them.
Ricky shook his head at his husband from the living room sofa. "Ohhh no. I read the surgeon general's warning that came out on these things-- I quit. You're quiting too."
Ric frowned as he walked over to the couch. He leaned on the back of it to leer down at Ricky. "Hah hah, Mr. Funny Guy. Ante up." He said sticking out his hand.
"Why how nice of you to take my plate back to the kitchenette for me!" Ricky exclaimed with a sweet smile as he plopped his empty dish in Ric's hand. "What a loving husband I have."
The blonde man muttered to himself as he dumped the plate in the sink. "Seriously, where's my cigs?"
"In a place where you'll never find them." Ricky sang from the couch. "I love you too much for your lungs to crap out by time you're forty. Oh, I'd have to go find someone else to marry while you're dwindling away in a hospital bed..."
Ric got down infront Ricky, clawing at his blue bell bottoms desperately. "PLEEEEASSSSSE.... Oh god I need my nicotine..."
"More than you need me?!" Ricky huffed and stood up knocking Ric off of him. "You love smoking more than me!" He walked toward the back of their small apartment to put some distance between him and Ric.
Ric crawled on hands and knees over to him, clinging to his ankle. "You're so cruel to me..."
"I'm only doing whats good for you, Ric! Look at you! It's only been oh... a half an hour since you had one and you're crawling around on the ground like a dog! ...You know it's kind of hot." Ricky started for the kitchenette again dragging Ric along with him. He pulled out a bottle of budwiser, taking a swig.
"Screw you, you demon Hawaiian!" Ric shouted up at him. "I am in no mood for sex, damn it!"
Ricky spat out the beer, coughing and gasping. He looked down at Ric in disbelief. "... Hell... Has frozen..." He took the calander off of the wall and marked it down. "May 15th, 1975... Ric Flair is in no mood for sex. A day that I never would have thought would come..."
"Oh har har." He muttered.
"This is serious, Naitch! Your love for smoking is hurting your sex drive! A simple cig is more important to you than having sex with me!"
"Oh my god..." Ric placed a hand over his mouth. "Oh my god... oH... You're right..." He whispered looking up at his husband. "You gotta help me baby!"
Ricky nodded heading over to the oven. He opened it up and pulled out Ric's cigarettes.
"So that's the place I never go..?!"
"Ric, in the two years that we've had this place together you've never touched that stove. Frankly, I perfer it that way. Who knows what horror Ric Flair can create inside an oven?"
"Would you please concentrate on this?!" Ric growled pointing toward his crotch.
"Right, right." Ricky helped up Ric and headed over to the bathroom. "This is for your own good." He warned taking the belt off of Ric's robe. The dark haired man tossed it over the shower curtain rod, tieing Ric's wrists with the ends.
"Ohh kinky..." Ric grinned as he moved his arms around. "Very nice. I like this side of you Ricky. Looks like I'm rubbing off on you."
Ricky shook his head and opened up the package of cigarettes. Ric's mouth instantly began to water at the site. "Later. This is the time to heal..." He looked to him and took a deep breath. "This is going to be very hard, for both you and me."
"Wh-What are you going to do...?"
He plucked a cigarette from the package and flushed it down the toliet.
"AHH!!!!" Ric screamed straining at the binds. "NOT MY CIGARETTES!!!"
Ricky winced as he took out another one to flush. "Sorry... You bought the big pack. This is going to take awhile..."
20 minutes later~
Ricky had gotten rid of every last one of Ric's cigarettes. He watched his husband hang from the shower bar almost lifelessly after kicking, screaming, shouting curses, and ranting like a lunatic. He rested his head against Ric's thigh and gave a quiet sigh. "Your libido thanks you."
Ric sighed and heaved his shoulders in a passive state.
"You screamed yourself hoarse, didn't you?"
He nodded glareing down at Ricky.
Ricky untied Ric, throwing his arm over his shoulder to help the taller man to the living room. "I'll get you a drink." He eased Ric onto the sofa before going to to make him some tea. A few moments later he returned with a hot cup of ginsing tea and a few of Ric's favorite cookies. "Drink this- It'll help your throat. When you finish it, you can have some cookies."
Ric downed the cup quickly, hissing softly as the liquid burned the sensitive skin of his throat.
"I know you don't like the taste, but that was hot! All to have cookies..." Ricky scolded kissing Ric's temple. "My big child of a husband... Why do need to smoke so damn much, anyway?"
Ric took a cookie off the plate and began to eat. "I grew up in the south... My mom always said that strong men smoke, and thats why my father didn't." He said softly laying his head down in Ricky's lap.
Ricky's fingers worked their way through Ric's slightly damp, long platinum hair. "Mmhmm."
"And because my father was the scum on a piece of scum, I wanted to be the man of the family. That way my mom wouldn't have to be so ashamed."
Ricky kept quiet; this was the first time he heard him ever speak a lick about his family life, and he wasn't going to stop him.
"What kind of man beats on a woman and child...? Fuck. He once chucked a soup can at her face because he wanted meat instead of canned food. S-She had a big bruise on her right eye for weeks on end. It was the worst shiner I've ever seen before- even now. She... even had these rib marks from the can under her eye where it hit hardest. I tried to help her, I really did. But every time I tried to save her from him he'd take me upstairs..."
Ricky had tears running down his face as he held in his sobs. His fingers tangled in Ric's hair a little tighter. Never had he heard of such abuse. His own parents were so good to him- it never really occured to him that anyone, especially his own husband, could have gone through such horror.
"He'd take off his belt. He'd beat me bloody. And he'd always say the same things- I was queer. I was a bad son. I was a mistake. I should have never been born. I humilated him... One day my mom had enough of it all, so she sent me to live with her sister in Las Vegas..." A few tears formed in his eyes but he blinked them away before Ricky could see them. "I haven'theard from her since."
"You're not a mistake." Ricky whispered as Ric sat up. "I don't know where I'd be if it weren't for you Ric... Probably still wandering around the streets of Las Vegas."
Ric kissed up Ricky's face. "Thanks baby. You don't know how long I kept that inside... In my family we never talked about it- Stuff like that wasn't supposed to happen to good people, ya know? If you ignore the problem then it's not there..."
"That's not true Ric. God, if you keep it in it'll eat you alive..."
"Don't you worry about me. I'm strong. I'm liberal. I'm Ric Flair, baby!"
"Ric..." Ricky smiled leaning into his shoulder. "You're such a nut ball."
2004-
"I told Ricky things about myself that I've never told anyone since." He said and ordered himself another latte from the waitress. "I really thought that Ricky and I would be together forever. If I could tell him about my life then I really loved him with all my heart."
Shawn wormed around in Hunter's lap as he tried to find a comfortable spot.
"Argh! Shawn stop moving damn it!" Hunter hissed into Shawn's neck. He was trying to pay attention to Ric's story... "I'm going to make you pay when I get you home..."
Ric gave the both of them a disturbed look. "Would the both of you knock it off?! You're attracting funny looks from people TRYING to enjoy themselves- Not watch you two enjoy yourselves."
"I can't help it..." Hunter grinned squeezing Shawn's thigh. "I can't keep my hands off of him."
"And I don't want him to take im' off me!" Shawn grinned back.
"Young love." Ric said and rolled his eyes. "But I must say, it's good to see you two back together. When you fight you make me want to rip the hair out of my head."
"Sorry Ric." They said in unison, Hunter resting his head on top of Shawn's. "We'll behave."
"Good. ...By time the early 80's had moved in, things had changed so drastcially..."
1980-
Ric walked into his new apartment with Ricky at his side. "Kickin' new place, hmm my dragon?" He asked putting his suitcase down by the door. "Lot bigger than other place too."
"Take your shoes off." Ricky scolded before Ric could get too far in. Since 1978, Ricky had gotten into his developing his Japanese roots.
"Right right..." Ric muttered kicking off his shoes and placing them with Ricky's sandles. He tossed his large pink sunglasses on the table, flopping down on the leather couch. He patted his lap for Ricky to come sit on him.
"I can't believe this place." Ricky said as he laid down on Ric. "We're really moving up in the world aren't we?"
"Yeah... How many times have we held that World Championship belt?"
"Plenty." Ricky grinned. "Oh, I'm going to be out filming tomorrow till late."
"Okay, my favorite movie star. Maybe I'll come by and we'll go grab something for lunch?"
"Mm. Sounds good to me. But... Meet me by the studio enterence. They don't like it when family members come- they say it's a distraction."
"I understand that- Because I'm one hell of the distraction, baby." Ric reached up and around to grab Ricky by the front of his jeans.
Ricky laughed arching up into the hand. "Yeah, they didn't like it when we defiled the prop closet last week."
"I can't help bein' me. I also couldn't help but steal that great hat they had in there too."
"You're lucky I love you so much."
6 months later-
Ric paced back and forth in the hallway of the hospital with a worried look on his face. He chewed on his knuckles, his pen, the arm of his sunglasses, and anything else he could bite. Ricky had been hurt in a ring accident. His back was already a mess as it was- he dodn't need another injury like this one so soon.
The doctor approached Ric about half an hour later. He placed his hand on the man's shoulder in comfort. "Ricky's going to be alright. But this last injury... I'm afraid he can't return to wrestling."
"...What? No doc, Ricky loves wrestling. You can't do this to him..." He said looking to Ricky's door. "It'll crush him!"
"One more match, and it'll crush him." The doctor warned. "You can go in and see him now."
Ric ran a hand through his fluffy hair. He schooled his face into a cheerful expression, knowing all too well that his lover was not going to be happy with this. "Hey baby!" He said going over to sit by the side of the bed.
Ricky looked up to him with a sad expression on his face. "What did the doctor say..? I can compete next week right? I've got a title shot!"
Ric blanched. He was never any good at telling people bad news... And he never wanted to tell Ricky anything horrible. He shook his head, squeezing his hand tightly.
"Okay... okay... Did he say when I could compete again?"
Ric licked his dry lips a little. Tears streamed down his face as he tried to fiercely whipe them away with his hand. "He said... You can't..."
"Ric..." He whispered disturbed by the site of seeing a man cry that he had never seen cry in all their nine years of being together.
"You can't go back to the ring, Ricky." Ric finally said as he got a hold of himself. "Ever..."
Ricky paled greatly Ric took ahold of him, and held him tightly. "No... No..."
"I'm sorry..."
"I don't want to retire so young... Ric, please... I can come back..."
"No baby, no... This is it, there is no comeback. But... What about acting? You love acting so much..." Ric ran his hands through his lover's shoulder length jet black hair gently as he tried to soothe him.
Ricky calmed down a little bit after he felt Ric's comfort. "I guess... I did get another offer from Paramount."
"See...? You can become a full time actor and bring home an oscar. I'll even build a display case for it."
"And I'll buy a new first aid kit."
"Are you saying I'm inept at home construction?" Ric asked as he raised an eyebrow.
"And cooking, cleaning, simple repairs, sewing, making coffee, remembering important dates, fixing the car, parallel parking, balancing the check book, paying the bills..."
"That's the last time I try to comfort you." Ric muttered.
"Poor baby... Ric... Would you promise to do something for me?"
"Sure baby, what is it?"
"Promise... Promise me that you'll stay with NWA... And you'll win the titles for me..."
"I promise." Ricky said firmly. "Every time I hold that belt I'll think of you."
~
"That night in the hospital..." Ric took a few more sips out of the coffee mug and finished it off. "...was the beginning of the end of our relationship. I thought we'd always be together despite Ricky's retirement." Ric smiled for a moment, then frowned before sighing. "But I was wrong..."
TBC
God damn it, I really wanted to end this story on part 6, but as I was writting it out, there was way too much information to put in one sitting. So... I promise in an honest to goodness manner, that it will end in seven.
Part 6: Blows to Our Strength
Rating: R for language, abuse
Genre: Humor/Angst
Pairing: Ricky Steamboat/Ric Flair , HBK/HHH
Summary: History repeats it's self in Hunter and Shawn
IMPORTANT: The story will not end in this chapter, but in the next. Theres an explaination below.
~
Ric glanced up at the dim lighting of the cafe before he started the rest of his story. It was going to take a little while to tell... "We've had our ups and downs in the past... Just like in everyone's relationships. Especially you two and your flighty cat and mouse sexcapades..."
Shawn smiled and licked Hunter's cheek. Hunter growled playfully, tugging on his leash to pull Shawn on top of his lap.
"We'd have knock out, screaming, and hair pulling fights- followed by passionate make up sex. We really were in love- more so than any other teen couple married on a spur-of-the-moment whim... Ricky always took care of me."
1975-
"Where's my cigarettes?" Ric asked as he walked out of the bathroom. "It's time for my after the shower smoke." He rummaged around in the side table drawer for his pack of Camels, growing agitated when he couldn't find them.
Ricky shook his head at his husband from the living room sofa. "Ohhh no. I read the surgeon general's warning that came out on these things-- I quit. You're quiting too."
Ric frowned as he walked over to the couch. He leaned on the back of it to leer down at Ricky. "Hah hah, Mr. Funny Guy. Ante up." He said sticking out his hand.
"Why how nice of you to take my plate back to the kitchenette for me!" Ricky exclaimed with a sweet smile as he plopped his empty dish in Ric's hand. "What a loving husband I have."
The blonde man muttered to himself as he dumped the plate in the sink. "Seriously, where's my cigs?"
"In a place where you'll never find them." Ricky sang from the couch. "I love you too much for your lungs to crap out by time you're forty. Oh, I'd have to go find someone else to marry while you're dwindling away in a hospital bed..."
Ric got down infront Ricky, clawing at his blue bell bottoms desperately. "PLEEEEASSSSSE.... Oh god I need my nicotine..."
"More than you need me?!" Ricky huffed and stood up knocking Ric off of him. "You love smoking more than me!" He walked toward the back of their small apartment to put some distance between him and Ric.
Ric crawled on hands and knees over to him, clinging to his ankle. "You're so cruel to me..."
"I'm only doing whats good for you, Ric! Look at you! It's only been oh... a half an hour since you had one and you're crawling around on the ground like a dog! ...You know it's kind of hot." Ricky started for the kitchenette again dragging Ric along with him. He pulled out a bottle of budwiser, taking a swig.
"Screw you, you demon Hawaiian!" Ric shouted up at him. "I am in no mood for sex, damn it!"
Ricky spat out the beer, coughing and gasping. He looked down at Ric in disbelief. "... Hell... Has frozen..." He took the calander off of the wall and marked it down. "May 15th, 1975... Ric Flair is in no mood for sex. A day that I never would have thought would come..."
"Oh har har." He muttered.
"This is serious, Naitch! Your love for smoking is hurting your sex drive! A simple cig is more important to you than having sex with me!"
"Oh my god..." Ric placed a hand over his mouth. "Oh my god... oH... You're right..." He whispered looking up at his husband. "You gotta help me baby!"
Ricky nodded heading over to the oven. He opened it up and pulled out Ric's cigarettes.
"So that's the place I never go..?!"
"Ric, in the two years that we've had this place together you've never touched that stove. Frankly, I perfer it that way. Who knows what horror Ric Flair can create inside an oven?"
"Would you please concentrate on this?!" Ric growled pointing toward his crotch.
"Right, right." Ricky helped up Ric and headed over to the bathroom. "This is for your own good." He warned taking the belt off of Ric's robe. The dark haired man tossed it over the shower curtain rod, tieing Ric's wrists with the ends.
"Ohh kinky..." Ric grinned as he moved his arms around. "Very nice. I like this side of you Ricky. Looks like I'm rubbing off on you."
Ricky shook his head and opened up the package of cigarettes. Ric's mouth instantly began to water at the site. "Later. This is the time to heal..." He looked to him and took a deep breath. "This is going to be very hard, for both you and me."
"Wh-What are you going to do...?"
He plucked a cigarette from the package and flushed it down the toliet.
"AHH!!!!" Ric screamed straining at the binds. "NOT MY CIGARETTES!!!"
Ricky winced as he took out another one to flush. "Sorry... You bought the big pack. This is going to take awhile..."
20 minutes later~
Ricky had gotten rid of every last one of Ric's cigarettes. He watched his husband hang from the shower bar almost lifelessly after kicking, screaming, shouting curses, and ranting like a lunatic. He rested his head against Ric's thigh and gave a quiet sigh. "Your libido thanks you."
Ric sighed and heaved his shoulders in a passive state.
"You screamed yourself hoarse, didn't you?"
He nodded glareing down at Ricky.
Ricky untied Ric, throwing his arm over his shoulder to help the taller man to the living room. "I'll get you a drink." He eased Ric onto the sofa before going to to make him some tea. A few moments later he returned with a hot cup of ginsing tea and a few of Ric's favorite cookies. "Drink this- It'll help your throat. When you finish it, you can have some cookies."
Ric downed the cup quickly, hissing softly as the liquid burned the sensitive skin of his throat.
"I know you don't like the taste, but that was hot! All to have cookies..." Ricky scolded kissing Ric's temple. "My big child of a husband... Why do need to smoke so damn much, anyway?"
Ric took a cookie off the plate and began to eat. "I grew up in the south... My mom always said that strong men smoke, and thats why my father didn't." He said softly laying his head down in Ricky's lap.
Ricky's fingers worked their way through Ric's slightly damp, long platinum hair. "Mmhmm."
"And because my father was the scum on a piece of scum, I wanted to be the man of the family. That way my mom wouldn't have to be so ashamed."
Ricky kept quiet; this was the first time he heard him ever speak a lick about his family life, and he wasn't going to stop him.
"What kind of man beats on a woman and child...? Fuck. He once chucked a soup can at her face because he wanted meat instead of canned food. S-She had a big bruise on her right eye for weeks on end. It was the worst shiner I've ever seen before- even now. She... even had these rib marks from the can under her eye where it hit hardest. I tried to help her, I really did. But every time I tried to save her from him he'd take me upstairs..."
Ricky had tears running down his face as he held in his sobs. His fingers tangled in Ric's hair a little tighter. Never had he heard of such abuse. His own parents were so good to him- it never really occured to him that anyone, especially his own husband, could have gone through such horror.
"He'd take off his belt. He'd beat me bloody. And he'd always say the same things- I was queer. I was a bad son. I was a mistake. I should have never been born. I humilated him... One day my mom had enough of it all, so she sent me to live with her sister in Las Vegas..." A few tears formed in his eyes but he blinked them away before Ricky could see them. "I haven'theard from her since."
"You're not a mistake." Ricky whispered as Ric sat up. "I don't know where I'd be if it weren't for you Ric... Probably still wandering around the streets of Las Vegas."
Ric kissed up Ricky's face. "Thanks baby. You don't know how long I kept that inside... In my family we never talked about it- Stuff like that wasn't supposed to happen to good people, ya know? If you ignore the problem then it's not there..."
"That's not true Ric. God, if you keep it in it'll eat you alive..."
"Don't you worry about me. I'm strong. I'm liberal. I'm Ric Flair, baby!"
"Ric..." Ricky smiled leaning into his shoulder. "You're such a nut ball."
2004-
"I told Ricky things about myself that I've never told anyone since." He said and ordered himself another latte from the waitress. "I really thought that Ricky and I would be together forever. If I could tell him about my life then I really loved him with all my heart."
Shawn wormed around in Hunter's lap as he tried to find a comfortable spot.
"Argh! Shawn stop moving damn it!" Hunter hissed into Shawn's neck. He was trying to pay attention to Ric's story... "I'm going to make you pay when I get you home..."
Ric gave the both of them a disturbed look. "Would the both of you knock it off?! You're attracting funny looks from people TRYING to enjoy themselves- Not watch you two enjoy yourselves."
"I can't help it..." Hunter grinned squeezing Shawn's thigh. "I can't keep my hands off of him."
"And I don't want him to take im' off me!" Shawn grinned back.
"Young love." Ric said and rolled his eyes. "But I must say, it's good to see you two back together. When you fight you make me want to rip the hair out of my head."
"Sorry Ric." They said in unison, Hunter resting his head on top of Shawn's. "We'll behave."
"Good. ...By time the early 80's had moved in, things had changed so drastcially..."
1980-
Ric walked into his new apartment with Ricky at his side. "Kickin' new place, hmm my dragon?" He asked putting his suitcase down by the door. "Lot bigger than other place too."
"Take your shoes off." Ricky scolded before Ric could get too far in. Since 1978, Ricky had gotten into his developing his Japanese roots.
"Right right..." Ric muttered kicking off his shoes and placing them with Ricky's sandles. He tossed his large pink sunglasses on the table, flopping down on the leather couch. He patted his lap for Ricky to come sit on him.
"I can't believe this place." Ricky said as he laid down on Ric. "We're really moving up in the world aren't we?"
"Yeah... How many times have we held that World Championship belt?"
"Plenty." Ricky grinned. "Oh, I'm going to be out filming tomorrow till late."
"Okay, my favorite movie star. Maybe I'll come by and we'll go grab something for lunch?"
"Mm. Sounds good to me. But... Meet me by the studio enterence. They don't like it when family members come- they say it's a distraction."
"I understand that- Because I'm one hell of the distraction, baby." Ric reached up and around to grab Ricky by the front of his jeans.
Ricky laughed arching up into the hand. "Yeah, they didn't like it when we defiled the prop closet last week."
"I can't help bein' me. I also couldn't help but steal that great hat they had in there too."
"You're lucky I love you so much."
6 months later-
Ric paced back and forth in the hallway of the hospital with a worried look on his face. He chewed on his knuckles, his pen, the arm of his sunglasses, and anything else he could bite. Ricky had been hurt in a ring accident. His back was already a mess as it was- he dodn't need another injury like this one so soon.
The doctor approached Ric about half an hour later. He placed his hand on the man's shoulder in comfort. "Ricky's going to be alright. But this last injury... I'm afraid he can't return to wrestling."
"...What? No doc, Ricky loves wrestling. You can't do this to him..." He said looking to Ricky's door. "It'll crush him!"
"One more match, and it'll crush him." The doctor warned. "You can go in and see him now."
Ric ran a hand through his fluffy hair. He schooled his face into a cheerful expression, knowing all too well that his lover was not going to be happy with this. "Hey baby!" He said going over to sit by the side of the bed.
Ricky looked up to him with a sad expression on his face. "What did the doctor say..? I can compete next week right? I've got a title shot!"
Ric blanched. He was never any good at telling people bad news... And he never wanted to tell Ricky anything horrible. He shook his head, squeezing his hand tightly.
"Okay... okay... Did he say when I could compete again?"
Ric licked his dry lips a little. Tears streamed down his face as he tried to fiercely whipe them away with his hand. "He said... You can't..."
"Ric..." He whispered disturbed by the site of seeing a man cry that he had never seen cry in all their nine years of being together.
"You can't go back to the ring, Ricky." Ric finally said as he got a hold of himself. "Ever..."
Ricky paled greatly Ric took ahold of him, and held him tightly. "No... No..."
"I'm sorry..."
"I don't want to retire so young... Ric, please... I can come back..."
"No baby, no... This is it, there is no comeback. But... What about acting? You love acting so much..." Ric ran his hands through his lover's shoulder length jet black hair gently as he tried to soothe him.
Ricky calmed down a little bit after he felt Ric's comfort. "I guess... I did get another offer from Paramount."
"See...? You can become a full time actor and bring home an oscar. I'll even build a display case for it."
"And I'll buy a new first aid kit."
"Are you saying I'm inept at home construction?" Ric asked as he raised an eyebrow.
"And cooking, cleaning, simple repairs, sewing, making coffee, remembering important dates, fixing the car, parallel parking, balancing the check book, paying the bills..."
"That's the last time I try to comfort you." Ric muttered.
"Poor baby... Ric... Would you promise to do something for me?"
"Sure baby, what is it?"
"Promise... Promise me that you'll stay with NWA... And you'll win the titles for me..."
"I promise." Ricky said firmly. "Every time I hold that belt I'll think of you."
~
"That night in the hospital..." Ric took a few more sips out of the coffee mug and finished it off. "...was the beginning of the end of our relationship. I thought we'd always be together despite Ricky's retirement." Ric smiled for a moment, then frowned before sighing. "But I was wrong..."
TBC
God damn it, I really wanted to end this story on part 6, but as I was writting it out, there was way too much information to put in one sitting. So... I promise in an honest to goodness manner, that it will end in seven.