Hello everyone! Sorry for the recent lack of updates... I've been a little sick, but also, I needed to find a way to bridge one part of the story with another.
Well, as luck would have it, I did bridge the gaps, and it came out okay, I think (I hope). It's really sad, though... Now, I need to figure out how this story will end. Yowza.
Anyway, here's a nice, long chapter... Enjoy!
"They're all looking at me weird," the Undertaker whispered to Shawn as they entered the empty arena.
HBK smiled. "They're just jealous," he whispered back as they continued down the hall. However, as they walked, it became clear to him that they guys were giving him strange looks. And they weren't all directed at the Undertaker.
The two men went towards their separate locker rooms, and Shawn Michaels became determined to find out what was going on.
"Hey, John!" he said with a smile, taking a seat next to Cena, who was just sliding into his trademark T-shirt.
The younger man blushed slightly and averted his blue eyes. "Hey Shawn. What's up?"
Now Shawn knew something was wrong. "I don't know…I was going to ask you the same thing." He paused for a moment, trying to read Cena's face, but saw nothing. "Come on, tell me… All the guys are giving me weird looks. I want to know why."
"Just you?"
"No, 'Taker too…" Shawn voice trailed off as his blue eyes widened.
'Oh my God,' he thought, feeling a surge of panic. 'Do they know that I kissed Mark? How could they? Oh no, what if Hunter finds out?!' In one rushed motion, he was off the bench and out of the RAW locker room, running full speed to the SmackDown one. He wasn't even looking as he ran, mind filled with the thought of Triple H murdering him, and gave a small cry of surprise as he ran into what felt like a wall.
The Heartbreak Kid stumbled backwards a few steps, but was caught by the arm by a strong hand.
"Shawn, you okay?" he heard Mark's voice ask.
HBK looked up slowly, seeing him already in his ring gear, and forced himself to calm down. "Hey, 'Taker," he said in a low voice. "I, uh, think I know why all the guys are giving up weird looks."
The Undertaker nodded solemnly, "I know too. Had to beat the information out of a few guys, but I finally got an answer." A small smile crossed his face. "I'm a bit relieved, actually."
Shawn's jaw dropped. "You are?!" he asked, unable to keep the shock from his voice.
"Well, sure," 'Taker said, brushing a stray stand of black hair back. "I mean, Vince has been mad at us before… This isn't anything new."
"What?"
"Vince. He's pissed that we've been coming late to some of the shows, and he's apparently been on a rampage recently, threatening to make us pay, or some shit like that."
Shawn was silent for a long moment, and then began to laugh as relief flooded through him. "Thank goodness!" Unable to contain his joy, he embraced Mark warmly around the waist, slightly startling the big man. He wondered for a moment if 'Taker had been afraid that they had been found out, but immediately scolded himself for the thought, reminding himself that there was nothing to "find out" about him and the Deadman. They were, after all, just friends.
The Undertaker gently unwrapped Shawn's arms from around his waist. "I understand," he whispered, with a small smile, which faded when he noticed some of the other guys walking down the hallway, replaced with his usual impassive expression. "Just be careful out there, Shawn," he said before turning away and walking down the hallway.
HBK nodded, understanding as well, and made his way back to the locker room. Whatever Vince's anger, it was nothing, he reasoned, compared with the thought of Hunter finding out that he…
'Stop,' he told himself, hitting himself in the head with his open palm. 'There's nothing to find out!'
Somehow, he found that hard to believe.
For the record, however, Vince's anger was nothing to be taken lightly. The Undertaker had the first match of the night, and it ended up being a Handicap Match against Big Daddy V and Mark Henry. As always, he made the slow walk to the ring, feeling no fear, eyes cold as his skin.
Shawn, meanwhile, was watching the match on a monitor in the back, wincing every time 'Taker was hit by a giant arm, or slammed with over 400 pounds of force.
"Come on, Deadman," he muttered as the Undertaker was placed in a modified, two-man torture rack. It broke Shawn's heart to see the grimace of pain on Mark's face, and it took all of his willpower to not run out there. But he knew that he wouldn't help much against those two giants, and even worse…what if Hunter was watching?
His attention was drawn to the screen again as he heard a loud crash, and saw Big Daddy V laying on his back in the middle of the ring. Mark Henry was next, and the Undertaker's gloved hand slapped around his neck before he lifted him high for a chokeslam and threw him violently down again.
Shawn clapped vigorously, counting along with the stunned ref. "One…Two…Three! Yes! Yes!" Immediately, he made his way to the entrance ramp, to congratulate his friend on the hard earned victory. As the Undertaker made his way through the curtain, however, Shawn noticed that he was limping.
"Mark?" he asked when the were away from the others, placing his hand against the Deadman's arm. "Are you okay?"
The Undertaker nodded. "No problem. I always hurt after a match… Damn fat asses are hard to lift, though."
HBK laughed, and patted his companion on the back. "Well, you rest up, 'Taker. Sit back, relax, and watch the Showstopper live up to his name." He posed dramatically. "After I win my match, we can go out for ice cream to celebrate."
"You and your ice cream," Mark said with a laugh, watching Shawn walk to the ramp as his music hit. He couldn't help but smile as he watched the Heartbreak Kid skip, jump and dance his way into the ring, as though he had all the energy in the world and sought to give it back tenfold.
However, his smile faded the moment he heard the music of Shawn's opponent:
The Great Khali.
"Vince, that bastard!" he growled, re-wrapping his gloves quickly and storming to the entrance ramp. To his surprise, however, he felt a warm hand on his arm, stopping him.
"What?!" he snapped, turning around angrily, surprised to see his younger brother there, gripping his bicep. "Kane…what is it?" he asked a bit more calmly.
"What do you think you're doing?" the Big Red Machine asked with a smile. "You just had a match…Shouldn't you be icing your knee or something?"
"Fuck off," 'Taker said with a snarl, and pulled his arm loose. But Kane wouldn't let him go so easily.
"You're going to help Shawn, aren't you?" he asked softly, and saw his big brother's eyes soften slightly. "Even though you're hurting, you're going to help him." The two brothers looked at the back monitor and saw Shawn turn a chokehold into a big DDT, which only, unfortunately, got a two count. The Undertaker looked back at his younger brother.
"I'd do the same for you."
Kane smiled. "Oh, I know, Brother. I know." He released Mark's arm, and gave him an even look. "You love him, don't you? Even if he doesn't love you back, you'd love him."
Mark said nothing, but lowered his green eyes. Glen saw him bite his lower lip slightly—something he hadn't seen him do since Paul Bearer had been kidnapped. Kane smiled brightly.
"Why the hell are you still standing here?! Go help Shawn!" he said with a light shove. "He's getting his ass kicked, in case you haven't noticed!"
The Phenom nodded quickly before heading to the entrance, closing his eyes, and standing very still.
When he opened then again, they were completely white.
Triple H watched on from his chair in hospital, feeling his heart stop when Khali's music hit.
"Shawn…" he whispered, literally sitting on the edge of his seat.
A young nurse walked into the room, then, and saw the expression on his face. "Sir, you shouldn't over exert yourself."
Hunter scowled at her and turned back to the screen just in time to see Shawn duck out of the ring, Khali's foot missing him by centimeters. He jumped out of his chair, then, grimacing as pain shot through his semi-healed muscle, forcing him back into the seat.
"He's going to get hurt, unless someone stops this. I know it…"
The nurse smiled and walked over to the huge, obviously worried man. She was surprised at how much concern filled his brown eyes, and she deduced that it was because of the golden haired man on the screen.
"You love him?" Triple H heard her ask from his side.
"With all my—" He felt a sudden prick in his muscular arm and turned around. The nurse had given him sedative.
"Dammit, now I'm going to miss…Shawn's…I…" Hunter tried to fight the heavy sleep that he knew would take him in a matter of seconds and focused on the lithe figure on the screen, who had just been tossed into the ring like a rag doll.
"Someone help him dammit!" he said angrily before falling into unconsciousness and an uneasy sleep.
Shawn ducked another wild punch from Khali, certain that if it had connected, he would have been knocked out cold. Desperately, he chopped away at the giant's chest, but as always, it only did a little damage. He kicked at Khali's knees, trying to bring him down, but it was all he could do to avoid those gigantic hands and feet.
HBK attempted to knock Khali down by using the ropes for momentum, but it was like hitting a wall, and the only one falling was him.
"Ouch," he groaned, sitting up slowly and then feeling Khali's large hands wrap tightly around his head. Immediately, he felt the pressure increase, and even though Khali had pulled him into a standing position, he was sinking down to his knees again. The world began to swirl with color for a moment, and then it seemed as though everything was going black…
'Wait,' Shawn thought through the haze of his pain. 'Everything is black!' A second later, he heard a familiar BONG, and felt Khali release him. He rolled onto his back and saw four lightning bolts strike the four turnbuckles. The lights came on all at once, and Shawn gasped—there was the Undertaker, standing between him and Khali, green eyes burning with anger.
Khali was stunned for a long moment, and couldn't even defend himself when the Deadman began to rain down a barrage of blows on his head and body. With a growl, he lifted Khali with one arm, chokeslamming him had before kicking him out the ring through the bottom ropes.
Shawn, by the time, was standing, leaning against the ropes, blue eyes wide. The last thing he had expected was for the Undertaker to save him…but was he actually saving him? HBK squinted to see the Deadman's face better, and felt a flash of fear when he saw only the whites of his eyes. The Phenom took a step towards him, and Shawn backed into a corner, sliding down until he was sitting against the turnbuckle.
"Deadman?" he asked, hoping for some sort of response. The green eyes, unfortunately, still seemed empty, as if he was staring past him completely. "Undertaker?"
The Phenom towered over Shawn, and in one motion reached down, grabbed the Heartbreak Kid's hand, and pulled him to his feet. The audience, who had fallen silent, began to cheer.
"You alright Shawn?" the Undertaker asked quietly, never blinking.
"Y-yes…Thanks to you," Shawn answered, trying to slow his racing heart. He shook the Undertaker's hand before pulling free quickly and sliding under the bottom rope and out of the ring, running to the back.
"He protected me…" Shawn whispered aloud as he paced around the locker room. "He actually came out to save me!" The door opened slowly, and the Undertaker walked in, shaking his head, not seeing Shawn at first.
"Thanks, Mark," the Heartbreak Kid said with a small smile. "You…saved my butt out there."
Mark nodded, and then smiled slightly. "I couldn't just let that oaf beat up on a friend, now could I?" He slipped out of his trench coat and hat, placing them on a nearby chair. The moment he turned around again, however, he felt himself in Shawn's warm embrace for the second time that day.
"You're an angel," Shawn whispered, heading resting against the larger man's chest. "A terrifying, beautiful, dark angel."
"Thanks, I think," Mark answered with a laugh. He fondly touched the golden waterfall of Shawn's hair. "Beautiful angel of light." HBK's blue eyes fastened on him, and he felt a light blush creeping across his face. "What?" he asked defensively.
"Did you just call me beautiful?"
The Undertaker blushed even more. "Well…you called me beautiful first." He looked away, but felt Shawn's hand on his cheek.
"And I meant it," HBK said sincerely. He pulled away gently from Mark, lightly touching a stray strand of his reddish black hair. "See you at the car," he said as he began to walk back to the RAW locker room.
Mark watched him go, and shook his head as he had before. 'I've gone insane,' he told himself. 'Fucking insane…'
Love makes you insane. Comments? Next update soon!