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Part Three

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"I still don't like him you know."

"I know," Lita said with a smile. She licked the ice cream running down the side of her cone, wrinkling her nose when she realised she had successfully coated the tip in ice cream.

Edge chuckled and reached out to wipe it away. "Sometimes I think we should get you a bib."

"Funny," she said, mock-glaring at him. "Sometimes I think we should lock you in a play pen."

Edge frowned. "Does a steel cage count, 'cause they're not so much fun and that fact that you want to put me in one is a little hurtful."

"I could hurt you more, if you really wanted." She grinned and he laughed.

"Why are you eating ice cream, anyway? It's freezing!"

"Which means it'll take longer to melt and I actually get to eat it when it's still ice cream and not ice dribble."

"Ice dribble?"

"You suck."

"Quite well, actually, you kn-ouch!"

"You deserved that."

He smiled. "Yeah, but it was worth it for that look."

They fell into a companionable silence, watching the three skaters on the pond they were approaching. The air was almost silent, carrying only the laughter the wind brought their way.

"This is nice," she said after a few moments. "I'm glad we came."

"Yeah."

"You don't have to say it like that, Edge. Jeff needed to get away and…well, so did I. We needed to go somewhere different, somewhere Matt's betrayal wouldn't follow us."

"I guess I just don't understand why you trust him of all people."

She sighed. "I know you don't."

"Jeff said there's more to it than I know. Stuff you only told him recently."

She nodded, but remained silent.

"Okay," he said after a few moments. "I trust you, Li, and that's enough. I'm sorry. I won't keep asking, but you know I'm always here."

"He said he loved me," she blurted out.

"What?"

She closed her eyes. "I didn't mean to blurt it out like that," she said, so quietly that he wasn't sure she'd spoken at all.

"And I didn't mean to push, but, since you're talking, you want to explain that?"

Lita walked to the small bench at the side of the pond, her gaze flitting from Stacy, as the blonde tried not to fall over, to Jeff and Chris, who were skating around at insane speeds. They both waved, Chris a little tentatively, and she raised her hand briefly. Not looking away from them, she continued.

"It was before Chris won the belt, before all this happened, but not before I realised things weren't going as well with Matt as they had been." She took a deep breath. "I was upset and Jeff and Chris decided it'd be a good idea to get me drunk and play silly games and watch cartoons; just like we all used to do before, well, before things started to get awkward.

"We were just messing about when Matt came in. Jeff and I were wrestling and Chris was playing referee and Matt just burst into the room and accused Jeff and I of… Well, things got heated and Matt stormed off. I told Jeff to let him calm down, but Jeff wouldn't listen and he went after him. I was…well, more angry than upset, to be honest and Chris, he was just trying to help lighten the mood. So we kept watching cartoons and we talked and…we got even more drunk, more drunk than I've ever been. I guess…I guess he thought I wouldn't remember, or he was so drunk he didn't care, but…"

"He told you."

She looked at him then, mouth open slightly in shock. "You knew?"

Edge grimaced. "There were very few people who didn't, sweetie, including Matt. Why do you think he was always so…attentive in front of Chris? I guess I never made the connection," he continued, frowning. "God, I can't believe I was so blind." He looked up at the ice, watching Chris as the Canadian chased Jeff around. "That's when it all started. I was so wrapped up in everything else I never even thought about it. But it makes sense."

"I'm glad it makes sense to someone," she muttered.

"I'm sorry."

"I can't believe you didn't say anything to me."

"He was my friend, Li, even if we rarely showed it. I wasn't about to break that trust. Besides…would it have made a difference?"

"I-I don't know."

"You did love, Matt." She nodded and he let out a breath, closing his eyes as he realised something. "But you felt something for Chris, too, didn't you?"

"I thought he was just drunk, you know? And then when he was finally getting me to realise that he might be telling the truth, Stace phoned before I could say anything. I don't know what I would have said, if I would have left Matt before all this happened, but…I didn't even get the chance to think about it. I ran off to help Stace when Ash was in the hospital and I never got another chance to talk to Chris. So I didn't think about it. Didn't analyse it."

"Didn't want to," Edge finished and she met his gaze, wide-eyed. "Sweetie, it's barely been three weeks since you and Matt broke up, don't rush it. Think about it properly. Take your time."

Lita shook her head. "What does it matter now, anyway, it was a long time ago and I doubt he still feels the same way." Edge snorted. "What?"

"God, you're just as clueless now as you were then. Why do you think I've been so anxious about his sudden reappearance in your life? I might not have been his friend for a while now, but I can still see right through him where you're concerned. He loved you, Li, and he still does. I was worried he might use that to try and break your heart worse than Matt ever could."

"And now?"

He glanced at the ice, watching the skaters for a few moments. "Now I'm worried you might break his."

"I don't think I'll get the chance to, but you know I wouldn't."

Edge sighed as she stood up, rushing to catch Stacy before the leggy blonde toppled over in her rush to join them.

"You already have, Lita. More than once."

He looked at Chris to find that the other man was already staring at him. For a moment it was as if no time had passed since they had last talked as friends. Silent understanding passed between them and Edge smiled sadly. He wouldn't stand in the way. He just hoped Chris knew what he was doing, because he had a bad feeling that someone might get hurt. He hoped he was wrong, because things were finally beginning to go right for them all. Matt wasn't about to forget the beatings Edge had been dishing out on a weekly basis any time soon and Jeff and Lita were both beginning to get on with their lives.

He just wondered how well Chris was going to fit into Lita's. Either way, things were about to get very interesting.

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End of Part Three

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