Wherever he was, Batista usually liked to start the day with a wholesome glass of fresh orange juice - but today, it just didn't taste the same. He'd spent most of last night tossing and turning in his hotel bed, laying awake and thinking of Randy, picturing the way the younger man had gazed at him so longingly as the lift doors had slid shut. He'd even made sure he was at the breakfast bar by 8, just in case Randy had decided on an early start; as a result, he'd barely slept at all. Now the clock was nearing 9am, and of Randy, there was still no sign.

"Batista! Where on earth did you get to last night?" A meaty hand suddenly clamped down on Batista's shoulder. Glancing round, he saw that it belonged to a freshly-showered and clean-shaven Triple H. "Me and Ric stayed up for a while in case you wanted to chat after you got back. What happened?"

"Randy got hungry, so we went and grabbed some food." As if that settled the matter, Batista opened another packet of jelly and started to spread it over a new slice of toast. "Why, did I miss something?"

"Did you miss something." Triple H repeated Batista's words and glanced at Flair, seeming to seek approval for what he was about to say. Flair nodded, and Triple H continued, "Batista – when you joined this team, you knew it wasn't going to be easy. You knew that we'd ask a lot of you – and we took you on because we thought you could meet that challenge." Completely uninvited, Triple H took a seat beside Batista and helped himself to a bread roll. "Evolution are the best, Batista, and we intend to keep it that way. That doesn't just mean showing up for matches and training – it means meeting up afterwards, thinking about every move you've made, deconstructing every match, talking about the way you do things. They don't call me the Cerebral Assassin for nothing."

Grinning, Triple H smirked at Flair, the older man patting him appreciatively on the shoulder, his face splitting into his usual vacant smile as he, too, took a seat at the table.

Although Batista seemed to join his mentors in their smug-fest, inwardly, he was seething with impatience. Where was Randy Orton? Surely he should have turned up by now? Judging by the younger man's reactions last night, he was as eager as Batista to continue the relationship. So why hadn't he come down to breakfast yet?

"Where is Randy this morning, anyway?" As if echoing Batista's thoughts, Ric Flair cut in, a frown creasing his brow. "I hoped he'd be here already. We need to pack up and move on, and there's some things I want to discuss on the way. Since we're still getting used to working as a team, we need to talk about group tactics and co-ordination."

Batista noted with interest that again, he was the one who was expected to know Randy's whereabouts. Evidently, Ric Flair had quickly picked up on the fact that Randy and Batista had bonded – but did Ric know just how well the two of them were getting along? It wasn't enough to freak Batista out, but it did make him feel a little unsettled. It seemed like Triple H and Flair suspected he wasn't telling them the whole truth about what had happened last night.

"I guess he's having a lie-in," Batista suggested, shrugging his broad shoulders. It was as good an answer as he could give. "I'll go see if I can find him. I could do with having a chat to him myself."

Triple H raised his eyebrows at this, but Batista ignored him and finished his piece of toast, wiping his mouth on a napkin and leaving it on his plate. He was more than glad to offer an excuse and leave. For some reason, he was finding his team-mates' company irritating and oppressive this morning, and he wanted to get away as quickly as possible. Maybe it was because he didn't want them to know the truth about him and Randy, at least, not yet; after all, Ric Flair had nearly flipped when he'd walked in on the two of them the other day. He gave both Triple H and Flair a curt nod, then left them to dig into the basket of breakfast rolls as he went in search of Orton.

He didn't have to look far. As soon as he left the dining room, he turned a corner and spotted Randy glued to one of the hotel's computer terminals, no doubt enjoying the free internet service provided by the hotel itself. For a moment, Batista felt slightly put out that Randy would choose to go online first thing in the morning instead of rushing to see him, but he soon thrust that thought aside. The younger man liked to keep in touch with his family; Batista already knew that from his phone conversation the other day. He was probably just checking his e-mail. It was… well… kind of cute.

"Hey! Randy!" Even though he'd tried to hide the emotion in his voice, Batista was unable to mask the happiness he felt at seeing his partner. "What are you up to, runt? Don't you know you're not supposed to look at porn on a public computer?"

Randy's cheeks flushed a deep scarlet as he glanced up at Batista, but by the grin on the smaller man's face, it was obvious that his blushes weren't mere embarrassment at Batista's joke. With a surge of relief, Batista made his way over to Randy, pleased to see that the flush of the younger wrestler's cheeks reflected his feelings.

What was strange, though, was Randy's other reaction at seeing Batista heading towards him. The younger man's gaze returned to the screen, and he clicked frantically with his mouse, as if closing down several windows; by the time Batista reached him, the only visible website was Google, and the 'Search' option was blank. Before he could ask about that, though, Randy had turned to greet him.

"Hey." Randy smiled and reached out as if to touch Batista, but pulled back as he realised he was in a public place.

"Hey." The bigger man responded with a nod, also trying to remain subtle after his initial greeting. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, I guess." Randy ran his fingers through his short hair; they were shaking slightly, possibly from the excitement of seeing Dave again. "Took me a while to get to sleep, though. I was… uh… thinking."

"Yeah?" Batista cocked his head to one side.

"Yeah. Y'know. About stuff. About us."

"And?"

"And…" Randy took a deep breath, steadying himself for the rest of what he was about to say. Even then, he practically mumbled his next few words, his cheeks turning a deeper shade of red. "And… if we had shared a room last night… then… I wouldn't have minded."

Batista opened his mouth to say something, but words failed him. What the hell was he supposed to say in reply to that? He couldn't deny that he'd been more than eager to seduce Randy; that much had been obvious. Then again, he hadn't wanted to come on too strong, to make such bold moves so soon. He'd have felt like he was coercing Randy into something he wasn't ready for yet. But to hear Randy say he wanted him… God! It sent shivers down his spine just thinking about it!

"Randy, I..." Batista finally summoned the courage to speak, wanting to reassure his partner. He was well aware that this was a new situation for both of them. "It's okay, you don't have to agree to anything if you're not ready..."

"It's okay. Look, anyway, I - uh - I gotta go pack. I'll catch you later, alright?" Randy heaved a sigh and headed in the opposite direction, leaving a bewildered Batista to stare after him as he disappeared. The older man couldn't help but grin to himself. He'd obviously left more of an impression than he'd first thought, and that gave him hope.

Now that Randy was gone, though, it only left more unanswered questions in Batista's head. Why had his companion clicked so frantically at the computer when he'd arrived unannounced? What was the younger man hiding? He knew he shouldn't be suspicious, but Batista couldn't help but wonder what secrets Randy held. After all, he was pretty damn gorgeous; it wouldn't be a surprise to learn that Randy had other admirers. The only problem was whether his partner would be responding to their advances.

Closing hishuge fingets over the mouse, Batistabrought up the history on the browser window – nothing unusual there. Hotmail, eBay, Google… the usual kinds of things he'd expect to find on a public computer. So why had Randy seemed anxious when Batista had appeared behind him? Had he been writing secret e-mails to someone, perhaps? No, it couldn't be. If Randy was seeing anyone, he would have told Batista. The younger man's affection was most definitely genuine, if his adolescent blushes were anything to go by. He wouldn't get any answers here. Shrugging, Batista walked away and returned to his room, packing his case with a pronounced pout.