DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. The boys belong to themselves and the characters they portray to WWE and Vince McMahon. This is a work of fiction and I claim no knowledge of the actual events that went on in real life.
NOTES: The fic takes place in December 1995 – and for the sake of the story, let's just ignore the fact that Shawn was out of action and the actual touring schedule at the time.
„So neither of us is gonna make it home for Christmas this year, huh?"
The snow outside the window was coming down even heavier now, and Shawn sighed. What a mess. He turned around to face Hunter who was sitting on the bed, a defeated expression on his face.
"I guess not."
There was no point in even trying to get a rental to make the trip by car in this kind of weather; both of them knew that. Hunter had grown up in New Hampshire, so naturally he had always loved winter. Now, however, he cursed this season and the godforsaken snowstorm that had shut down the airport.
"I'm sorry. I know you were looking forward to spending the holidays with your family."
Shawn sat down next to his friend. There was no denying that he also would have liked to see his parents, but the change of plans didn't affect him too much. He had become used to the insane schedule. This wasn't the first Christmas he'd miss since starting with the WWF – and it certainly wouldn't be the last one. Hunter, on the other hand, had just joined the company this past spring. Working the independents up North and even at WCW, it had never been much of an issue as they wrapped up early enough.
Frustrated Hunter lay back, eyes fixed on the ceiling of this shabby hotel room. This definitely wasn't how he had pictured the few days off he had before they went back on the road. Kevin always joked that nothing could kill Hunter's positive attitude. Well, he'd have a field day with this then. But the lucky bastard was on the B loop down in Florida with Kid and Scott so it was just Shawn and Hunter who were stuck just outside New York.
Shawn sensed that Hunter was feeling rather down, so he decided that for once he'd have to be the one to get him out of this funk. Hunter was better at it when it was the other way round, but he could step up, right? Lightly, he patted Hunter's thigh.
"Enough with the doom and gloom. Let's make the best out of this, okay?"
Hunter pushed himself up on his elbows and looked at Shawn. He could tell Shawn dared him to disagree and knowing Shawn's temper, he decided to humor him. "What did you have in mind?"
"First, I'll see about getting us some food. We'll just figure things out from there."
Shawn jumped up and grabbed his coat while Hunter eyed him skeptically. "You are aware that the front desk told us that pretty much everything is closed down?"
"We'll see. I'll come up with something. I'm good at that."
Hunter had already learned that arguing with Shawn was in vain once he made up his mind so he didn't even try. "Be my guest. I'm not comin' with ya, though."
"You'd only slow me down anyway." Shawn stuck his tongue out at Hunter who rolled his eyes.
"Very mature, Michaels. As always." Hunter picked up his gloves that he'd left on the nightstand when they got in and threw them at Shawn. "Here. So at least your hands won't freeze off on your crazy expedition."
Shawn easily caught them in mid-air and walked out into the cold.
An hour had already passed, and Shawn wasn't back yet. It was starting to get Hunter a little antsy. He was wondering whether he should have gone along after all. But just then the key turned and Shawn made his way inside, a smug grin on his lips. He was carrying two bags that he put down on the floor.
"Looks like you were successful."
He took off his wet coat and haphazardly threw it on the only chair in the room, along with the pair of gloves. "Well, a man on a mission never fails."
Hunter raised an eyebrow, but Shawn was already busy emptying the contents of one of the bags. "So it won't exactly be a Christmas feast, but we're not gonna starve."
A selection of chocolate bars, some packaged hot dogs and potato chips were now spread out on the sheets. And…
"Ice cream?" Hunter picked up the pint. "Are you kidding me?"
Shawn snatched it from him. "Beggars can't be choosers, man. Be grateful I'm even sharin' my loot with ya since you sent me into the night by my lonesome."
He opened the window to put the ice cream on the sill and closed it again. Not before a chilly gust of wind blew in briefly, reminding Hunter of how cold it actually was outside. "I am. Sorry."
"You'd better be." Shawn smirked. "I even found a granola bar so Mr. Healthy here won't despair." He tossed it at Hunter. "Merry Christmas!"
That got a genuine laugh out of Hunter. "You're the best!"
"I know."
Sitting cross-legged, Shawn got comfortable, before he nodded towards the other bag. "You might wanna take a peek at what else I managed to obtain in my quest."
Curiosity got the better of him so Hunter did as Shawn asked – and couldn't help but shake his head. Inside was a small plastic Christmas tree with fairy lights. When Hunter looked up, Shawn beamed at him all proud.
"I talked the shop owner into selling it to me. It's not much, but I thought you might like it. Brings some Christmas cheer into this glum place.
Hunter smiled. "You sure are something else."
He set it up on the desk and plugged it in. Tacky it was, yes, but it did indeed make the room feel a little more festive.
"Now come on over and sit down with me. Or I'll have Christmas dinner by myself."
Hunter joined Shawn on the bed and opened the pack of cold hot dogs, while Shawn was munching on some of the potato chips. Suddenly Shawn remembered something and fetched one more item from the bag. "Oh, I almost forgot. I also bought some wine. I know you usually don't drink, but I was hoping with this being Christmas Eve and all, you'd make an exception." Shawn took a gulp straight from the bottle and grimaced. "This stuff is awful."
He handed it over to Hunter who only drank a sip, but started coughing immediately. "God, you're right."
The two of them burst out laughing.
Once they calmed down again, they ate quietly for a moment. Shawn was the first one to break the silence. "What's Christmas like with your folks?"
Hunter put down the chocolate bar he was nibbling on. "This is probably gonna sound like a Hallmark commercial… The whole family gets together on Christmas Day at my parents'. Mom cooks dinner and Lynn, my sister, helps her with last minute preparations. Her husband usually picks up my grandparents while Dad and I watch their baby boy. Oh, and Mom makes us all wear ugly Christmas sweaters. That I could do without, mind you." He chuckled. "After dinner, we exchange gifts, and, depending on how much eggnog my brother-in-law and Dad had by then, they start belting out Christmas carols." A serene expression crossed Hunter's face. "To be honest, to me, it's always as close to perfect as I can imagine."
"That sounds nice." Shawn's gaze wandered towards the window. The flickering lights of their small tree reflected on the glass and beyond that the falling snowflakes made the night seem a little less dark.
"What about you?" Hunter's voice drew Shawn from his reverie.
Absent-mindedly he played with one of the now empty wrappers. "Well, it's… good. Mostly. The Colonel still likes it to be all traditional, with the whole family. So we all go to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve together. The next day it's dinner with everyone. We don't do presents anymore - except for the kids, obviously – but Mom never fails to sneak in a little something for me and my sister Shari. You met her briefly at the last house show in San Antonio, remember?" Hunter nodded. "Anyway, I haven't been home much for the holidays these past few years, so my brothers are often in a huff about that. But it's alright. It's just how they are."
Hunter watched Shawn carefully. "You don't mind too much that you are stuck here tonight, do you?"
Shawn smiled sadly, "To be perfectly honest? No, I don't. Don't get me wrong, I love 'em. And I miss them. But I can do without the drama, you know?"
Neither of them said something for a while, each man lost in his own thoughts. Suddenly they heard some commotion in the hallway. A guy was drunkenly singing "Jingle Bells" while someone else was trying to hush him.
"Did your dad come all the way to pick you up, Hunter?" Shawn couldn't hide a laugh.
Hunter punched him in the arm. "Very funny."
"You know, after this dreadful assault from you, I think only ice cream can make me feel better." When Shawn got up to get the pint of vanilla, from the corner of his eye he noticed a pillow sailing his way. It missed by a great distance. "It's a good thing your aim is so horrible. Otherwise I'd have to retaliate."
"Bite me." Hunter was grinning, though. "You'd better have two spoons for that peace offering."
"It is indeed your lucky day."
They spent the rest of the night talking, and for once not about the business. They may have been travelling together for the past few months, but none of them had quite realized how little they knew about each other outside of work. Hunter told Shawn some more about his family and leaving the girl everyone was convinced he'd marry behind for his dream to make it big. Despite that, deep down he was still the kid that hoped to one day also find what his parents shared. He truly believed that in the end that was what it came down to, no matter how much being a professional wrestler meant to him. Shawn admitted that with one failed marriage under his belt already, he was a little wearier, but you never knew, God worked in mysterious ways, right? He explained what it had been like to grow up in a military family and how hard it had been to make friends when you weren't around for long anyway. Even though they had eventually settled down in San Antonio, he confessed that even now he found it difficult to put down roots. Which was probably another reason this lifestyle they were leading suited him just fine.
Morning wasn't too far off when they ended up falling asleep to a rerun of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" playing on TV.
A shrill ringing was what woke them up at 8 am. It took Hunter a bit until he realized that it was the phone on his side of the bed, and for an instant he was actually tempted to just ignore it. Some mumbling and a kick to his shin had him reconsider.
"Make it stop!" Shawn's head was hidden under the pillow.
Still drowsy with sleep, Hunter grabbed the handset and answered.
Shawn only got the tail end of the conversation and was less than pleased when his blanket was pulled away. "Hey!"
However, Hunter was unimpressed. He'd had to get Shawn's ass out of bed way too often this year to even still raise an eyebrow. If there was one thing Shawn absolutely wasn't, it was a morning person.
"Get up, Sleeping Beauty. We're going home!"
Now that did get Shawn's attention. "What did y'say?"
Hunter's smile couldn't have been bigger. "The office just called. JFK opened up again and they got everyone on flights home. Vince's secretary said he wishes us a merry Christmas."
Shawn immediately sat up straight in bed and couldn't help but be excited, too. "Well, the old man does have a soft spot for us folks low on the totem pole after all, doesn't he? It's a Christmas miracle!"
"I don't care what it is, if we don't hurry up, we'll have to hitchhike on Santa's sleigh. Our flights are leaving around noon." He was already closing the door to the bathroom, toothbrush in hand.
Even with good news like this, Shawn was convinced it was illegal to be this awake so early. Checking the clock, he decided to forego his morning routine and simply put his hair into a messy ponytail. He slipped into his jeans and yesterday's shirt and went to grab some coffee instead.
Hunter was just putting the last few items into his suitcase, when he heard Shawn enter.
"There you are. I thought you ditched me."
Shawn chuckled. "Nah, wouldn't want to. I grabbed us a quick breakfast. Being in charge of the food supply seems to be my thing on this trip." He handed Hunter a hot cup of coffee and a bagel.
Hunter leaned against the wall and took a sip. "And I hope I managed to find all of your stuff in the meantime." He nodded towards Shawn's suitcase that was neatly placed next to his.
"Looks like we are ready to go then, huh?"
"Yeah."
Silence settled between them, until Hunter put down his cup. "Before we leave… You know, I was really upset about not being able to go home last night… But you went out of your way to cheer me up. I wanted to say thank you for that."
"Hunner… That was nothing."
Hunter put his hand on Shawn's shoulder. "It was. You're a great friend, Shawn. And you honestly don't give yourself enough credit."
He held his gaze for a moment until Shawn acknowledged what he'd said with a nod and looked away. Shawn's eyes fell on the little plastic tree. "What are we gonna do with that?"
"The tree?"
Shawn went over to the desk to unplug it and then held it out to Hunter. "Here, take it home with you. It might help you rethink your very questionable choice in friends."
Hunter carefully put it into his gym bag. "Or it's goin' to remind me of a very fun evening." He picked up his gloves that Shawn had left on the chair the previous night. "And since we are now exchanging makeshift presents, take these."
"It ain't that cold in Texas, Hunter."
He winked at Shawn, "You never know when and where you might have to go on another food run for me, do ya?"
"In that case…" Shawn took a bow. "Well, thank you, Mr. Helmsley."
Hunter rolled his eyes. "Maybe you are right, questionable choice in friends and all…"
Shawn slung his arm around Hunter's shoulder. "You'll see. You'll light up that cheesy tree tonight when you're home and you're gonna miss your buddy."
"You know what? Only God knows why but I just might." He put on his coat and threw Shawn's over to him. "But if we don't leave now, we will never find out as we are still gonna be stranded here."
"Gee, now he's in a hurry again." Shawn grinned. "Let's get goin' then. Our carriage awaits, I am certain."
"And just for you I had the stable boy harness donkeys to the front of it."
They continued bickering in jest all the way to the airport, telling each other how glad they were to finally get a break from one another for a couple of days.
And yet they were both looking forward to seeing each other again after the holidays. Because that was what friendship was all about, wasn't it?
