Hmm... This section turned out a bit longer than I had planned... The focus was mainly on Shawn, at first, but then it seemed natural to have some 'Taker interactions too... Hopefully it went well.
Also, sorry for the wait... I was home for the weekend, and kind of...sick. Bah.
Enjoy, and please review!
"What's the 'Highlight Reel?'" Cena asked aloud, seeing the schedule of matches for the night. Shawn chuckled.
"That's Jericho's interview segment. You should be honored," he said jokingly.
"That's right you should be honored," Y2J added from behind them, causing both men to turn around. "I usually don't allow…your type on my Highlight Reel, but I think it should be interesting…" He eyed the WWE Title belt hungrily. Cena took the hint and stepped forwards.
"If you want some…" he began, but Shawn stepped between the two men.
"Now, now, let's be civil about this… At least until you two get in the ring." He pushed them apart slightly, Cena giving Chris Jericho a short glare before heading off.
"Plebeian," the Ayatolla of Rock and Rolla said with a smirk before looking at Shawn. "Watch out for that one," he said softly to his life-long secret crush before strutting off.
Shawn shrugged, not really sure what a "plebeian" was, and walked into the locker room, somewhat cautiously, sighing with relief when he didn't see anyone.
"Michaels," a somewhat rough voice called, and HBK sighed.
"Spoke too soon," he mumbled, turning around and seeing Hardcore Holly standing there, a large piece of white tape over the bridge of his nose, and not looking very happy. "What happened to you?"
"Your goddamn boyfriend punched me yesterday," Bob Holly said with a slight snarl. "Where is he so I can return the favor?"
Shawn bristled for a moment, blue eyes narrowing. "First off, Bob, if you tried to hit 'Taker, he'd beat you down so fast you wouldn't know what hit you. And secondly," Shawn took a step forwards, getting in the other man's face. "I wouldn't let you lay a finger on him."
Holly smirked. "Oh, really? You?" He looked the Heartbreak Kid up and down. "And just what could you ever hope to do?"
A cocky smile crossed Shawn's lips. "Well, there's a lot I could do. Wanna try me?"
"Heh, sure, and then I'll have to deal with all of your boyfriends. No thanks, I only want 'Taker."
Shawn's smile faded, not missing the slight, stinging insult. "Just back off it, Holly. He's not here anyway."
Now the grin was on Holly's face as the Alabaman raised an eyebrow. "Oh, is he tired of you already? Guess all those big words didn't mean anything then, huh? Who are you going to move on to next, Cena?"
The moment those words left his lips, Shawn slapped him hard, causing the man to stumble back a few steps.
"Don't mess with me," the Heartbreak Kid said in a low voice, turning on his heel to leave when he felt Holly's hand grip his arm and swing him back around and into a locker.
"Son of a bitch," Holly seethed, trying to get a grip on Shawn's other arm. "Why don't I just settle your boyfriend's debt with you?" He tried to hold Shawn steady, but was caught in the jaw by a hard punch, and then another right to his already-broken nose. A loud cry escaped his lips, and a few other stars came in, seeing Holly kneeling on the ground, clutching his bleeding nose, an angry red handprint on his cheek, and Shawn, looking pissed as anyone had ever seen him.
"What the hell is this? What's going on?" William Regal, the GM of RAW asked, pushing past the other wrestlers standing around, a few cameramen following. "Were you two fighting in the locker room?! You know the rules!"
Shawn rolled his eyes. "Yeah, and I've known 'em forever, but I've never been one to follow them, now have I?"
A few of the other guys snickered at that, but Regal wasn't impressed. "If you two have something to settle, settle it in the ring. In fact…" He pulled out a small pocket planner. "You two, tonight, in that ring. One-on-one." The audience could be heard even in the back popping for that match.
Shawn looked down at Holly, who was glaring up at him. "See you in the ring," he mouthed before heading out of the room.
'Taker sat comfortably in the booth, glad for the darkness of the bar and the TV not far from the spot he had chosen.
"Is that a smile?" Batista asked with a raised eyebrow, setting down both their drinks on the table. "Because sometimes when you smile, you look scary as all hell."
"Thank you," 'Taker said with a chuckle, taking his beer and opening it easily. "What the hell is that?" he asked, pointing to Dave's drink.
"I don't know, but it's the strongest thing they have, and I wanted to try it.
The Undertaker frowned slightly. "Don't go getting wasted on me, Dave. I'm not carrying your ass out of here…"
"No, no, I just wanted to see what it would be like to watch RAW kinda tipsy." He smiled at the slightly surprised look on Mark's face. "Oh, come on, I know you want to watch it…to see Shawn," he teased.
The Deadman blushed slightly, raising his drink to his lips to hide it, and took a long swallow. "Sure," he mumbled, making sure to pretend to be disinterested. When he looked down again, Batista was handing him another beer, which he accepted with a nod.
"Do you…mind me asking a question?" Batista asked hesitantly after a minute.
"Depends."
The Animal closed his eyes, wondering how to phrase the question in a way that wouldn't get him killed. "If you don't mind me asking… How did you… Get Shawn to break up with Hunter?" He opened his eyes, and saw a blank look on the Undertaker's face. "I-I was just wondering…because he and I used to be close back in the day…"
"Of course," 'Taker answered softly, green eyes blinking finally. "You want to know how I got Shawn to break up with Hunter?"
"Yeah. Everyone thought those two were inseparable…"
"I didn't."
Batista blinked. "What?"
"I didn't make Shawn break up with Hemsley… He didn't break up with him."
Now the Animal's eyes widened, and he stared at the man across the table from him. "Oh," was all he said, but his mind was going a mile a minute.
After a few moments of silence, 'Taker sighed slightly. "Dave," he said in a low voice. "You were in Evolution with him for a while… Did he ever talk about his past with Shawn?"
Batista was slightly surprised by the question, and had to take a deep drink of whatever-it-was before answering. "Well…sort of. But he and Shawn weren't exactly on the friendliest terms at the time…" He chuckled. "Yeah, he always talked about Shawn, and it was obvious that he was still completely and helplessly in love with the man."
Mark nodded, taking another long drink. "Understandably. But did he say anything specific?"
"Well…in his not-so-finest moments at various bars, he often told me, Ric and Randy about all the shit he and Shawn had to put up with from the other guys, and how they put up with it together, and how all that was worth nothing now because he loved Shawn so much now that he hated him." Batista sipped at his drink, feeling slightly dizzy. "I'm sure you can imagine how hard it was for them at first."
"Dammit," 'Taker said softly, shaking his head. He didn't have to imagine how hard it was--he had seen it with his own eyes. But, at the time, what business was it of his? And he hadn't done a thing to intervene.
"Dammit," he repeated, feeling guilt now along with his anger, and maybe even a little jealously.
"What?"
"I should be with Shawn." He put both hands down flat on the table suddenly before standing up. "I'm getting whatever you got," he said to Batista with a sigh. "I think I need it now." He looked at his watch. RAW wasn't starting for another hour.
Dave watched the taller man walk over to the bar, unable to keep himself from staring for a moment. He shook himself and took a long sip of his drink, loving the buzz it gave him, thinking about Ric's words and really glad that the bar was so damn dark, especially when 'Taker returned.
"Did you find out what this is?" he asked, pointing to his drink. The Deadman produced what was apparently a whole bottle of the concoction, but shook his head.
"Nope. The damn bottle's written in… God, it looks like Russian, or something." He pulled the cork out and poured himself a glass, mind very much on Shawn.
'Am I making his life miserable?' he wondered, lifting the glass to his lips. 'He and Triple H have been together so long… When he comes back…'
Batista, meanwhile, was staring at the man, dazzled by the expressiveness of those bright green eyes in the stoic face. For a moment they would seem to glow, and in the next moment they'd cloud over and almost darken. Dave couldn't fathom what thoughts were producing such emotion, but he couldn't tear his gaze away from the sight.
'Damn, his eyes are…beautiful,' the Animal thought absently, draining his own glass. 'And when was the last time I called a guy beautiful?'
Both men sat in silence for several minutes, still drinking, Mark's mind on Shawn, Dave's mind on Mark, until Batista looked down at his watch.
"Oh, RAW should be starting soon," he slurred, looking down and surprised to see that the bottle was half empty. Or half full.
'Taker nodded, only mildly affected by the strong drink, and stood up, flicking on the TV.
Remember how during the Royal Rumble this year Hardcore Holly broke Shawn's nose? Well, this is my Shawn Muse getting some payback.
Review?