John Cena was asleep in the chair beside his bed. Randy wasn't sure what to do with that. He'd been awake for at least a half hour but hadn't had the urge to get up just yet. He was pretty sure Cena was going to be sore when he woke up. His own head was pounding like a bad hangover and light bruises had formed, winding along his chest.

The events from the night before were a little hazy but he remembered enough. He closed his eyes and ran a hand over his shaved head, digging his fingers into his scalp as Cody and Ted's faces swam across the blackness behind his eyelids again.

Sure, Legacy couldn't have stayed together forever and he'd almost been expecting something like this from Ted. Ted hadn't been happy for a while and Randy was honestly surprised it had taken so long for the man to snap.

Randy just truly hadn't expected something like it from Cody and it wasn't until Cody had attacked him with Ted that Randy realized that.

Maybe he should have expected it. Maybe Cody had been planning it since he'd confessed his feelings and Randy hadn't given him the answer he'd wanted.

"I love you." Dark blue eyes met his, shining with that love.

"No, you don't. You don't even know me."

It was as honest as Randy could get. Nobody really knew him. Not anymore. He liked it that way. He still wasn't sure how Cody could even think he had those feelings after all the shit Randy had piled on him since they'd formed Legacy.

Randy rubbed a hand across his face. He still felt off kilter, the feelings Cody's actions had caused had not abated fully yet. Sighing, he got up and made his way to the bathroom without a glance in Cena's direction.

Xxxxxxxx

The bed was empty but John could hear the shower running in the bathroom. John had been awake for nearly ten minutes. His back was killing him from sleeping in the chair and he was still debating with himself on whether or not he should leave before Randy came back into the room.

He stood and stretched out his aching muscles, still considering his options. That curiosity from the night before came back again as he heard the water shut off in the other room. He wondered a moment who would be coming out of the bathroom. That eerily silent guy from the night before who had let John lead him out of the arena and back to his hotel room or the sociopath who had, on more than one occasion, tried to end John's career along with many other WWE superstars.

The door opened and Randy sauntered out. He was still shirtless and the jeans he wore hung so low on his hips that it was a wonder they stayed up at all. Randy glanced briefly John's way before grabbing a pair of shoes, socks, and a shirt and going to sit on the bed.

"What are you doing here?" Randy finally asked. He wasn't meeting John's gaze and his voice was flat, not cold or angry.

"I..." John frowned as he watched Randy pull the shirt over his head, covering the bruises that had formed over the night. "Said you had a concussion, that someone should stay."

"Why?" Randy did look at him then and there was a frown on his face. When John only raised an eyebrow, Randy rolled his eyes and elaborated. "Why the hell would you stay for me?"

John shrugged. "It's my conscious, dude. It makes me do all sorts of stupid things."

Randy snorted but his voice held no humor when he answered. "Right."

"Who did that to you?" John asked curiously. He was pretty sure of who it was. Whoever it was, they had wanted to hurt Randy, badly.

Randy stared off a moment. "I deserved it," he said, quietly, almost to himself. Then he shook himself, looked away again and John had the impression that he'd just let something slip he hadn't meant to.

John hesitated a moment and thought about it. He thought about how bad Randy had looked. He thought about how many people may have seen Randy and decided not to help. He thought about how late it had been when he'd found Randy. He could have been hurt worse. That head wound had looked a hell of a lot worse than it was when John had found him.

"Maybe you deserved to get your ass kicked, but whoever it was tried to seriously injure you and left you alone in an almost deserted arena. For all they knew, no one could have found you." He could have been left alone, lying in his blood all night with far worse injuries, as far as whoever had done this knew. John started towards the door.

"No one deserves that," he said before he left. "Not even you."

xxxxxxxxxxx

Usually, John didn't pay much attention to the whispers in the locker rooms. Because, honestly, sometimes he thought it was like stepping back into high school. The back stabbing, the rumors, the people glaring at you, wanting to kick your ass.

Randy's name seemed to be on the lips of nearly every person back stage this time. It wasn't so much of a surprise. Due to all the horrible, nasty things Randy had done over the past several years, Randy had been a great source of gossip.

This time, however, word had apparently gotten around about Randy taking a beating backstage. Unfortunately for John, word had also gotten around about who had found and helped Randy.

"Hey, John," Evan called when he spotted him, the usual grin on his face.

"Hey, man." John sat down on the bench in the locker room and started getting ready. Evan leaned close to him.

"So..."

"So, what?" John asked, looking up at the boy.

"Is it true?" Evan asked, a light of curiosity in his eyes.

John nearly groaned. "Is what true?" He asked, feigning ignorance even though he had already been asked the same question by a couple of the divas on his way into the arena. He hadn't given them an answer but he liked Evan. They had become pretty good friends since the boy had been drafted to RAW.

"That...you know, you and Orton are..." Evan wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

John stared at him, his mouth open. "What?" Okay, so that hadn't been the question he'd been asked earlier.

"Rumor is that you and Orton were doing the deed back in the locker room." Evan shrugged. "I gotta tell you man, I don't see why. I'm not judging and there's no denying Orton is hot...like, really hot...but he's such a psycho-"

"I am not doing...that with Orton," John cut him off in a shocked, but fierce, whisper. "Who the fuck told you that?"

Evan shrugged. "It's going around. So, you're not-"

"No, I'm not," John answered firmly.

Evan nodded, taking John's word for it and dropping it, just like that. It was one of the things John liked most about Evan even though it had caused the boy problems in the past. He was just too damned trusting sometimes.

Still, John couldn't help the groan at the direction the rumors had taken. He wasn't so much surprised about it. He supposed it had started with the truth and spiraled out of control until he and Randy were fucking backstage. That sort of thing had happened before.

John sighed and went back to getting ready again. He didn't so much care about rumors but he also wasn't looking forward to the questions that he was going to get asked.

When the locker room door opened again, the whispers stopped and John looked up to see Randy stalk into the room. Randy's gray eyes swept the room and briefly made contact with John's, who sighed at the look in them.

Those gray eyes had turned cold again and John could see the rage dancing in them. Seemed like Orton was back in form. Randy completely ignored the others in the room and not one of them approached Randy to ask him if the rumors were true.

John rolled his eyes. Sometimes a reputation like Randy's would probably come in handy.

Xxxxxxxx

They've been fucking with you all along

Randy was seething by the time he made it to the locker room. Not about the rumors running rampant backstage about he and Cena. He had no clue there were rumors about them. No one approached.

In fact, most of the people backstage stepped to the side to let him pass, watching him warily as he strode by.

He'd woken up the same guilty conscious he'd gone to bed with and had even entertained the idea of trying to talk to Cody. He just hadn't been able to get the memories to leave his head. Memories of the two years they'd spent as a tag team and all the things Randy had done wrong with the boy. He couldn't escape the thought that maybe he had driven Cody to turning on him. The fact that Cody had shared his bed on more than one occasion and that Randy just could not return the feelings that Cody had expressed couldn't have helped.

That was before he'd gone looking for Cody and found the boy locked in an embrace with Ted. He'd also overheard part of their conversation, the biggest part, at least. The part that revealed the two of them had been together for over six months.

A very small part of him, that tiny little part of him that wasn't the sociopath that kicked people in their heads and put in that extra step to try and end others careers, understood it. After all, it seemed that Ted was giving Cody something that Randy never could. And he had never been the best in the boyfriend department.

The majority of him, however, burned with rage and betrayal over the fact that Cody had lied to him. Over the fact that Cody had slept in his bed and told Randy that he loved him while he was fucking Ted at the same time.

It was the lies that burned. The lies that made that rage well up in. So strong that Randy could hardly see straight. He wanted...needed a release for it. The problem was, he didn't have a match scheduled for that night but he saw an opportunity later. One that would allow him that release and a way to pay Cena back for what he'd done the last time they'd been in an arena together.

Xxxxxxxxx

John scowled in anger as he crouched defensively in one corner of he ring. The handicap match he'd found himself in had already deteriorated into an all out brawl and John had barely managed the stave off the first round of attack from Batista and Swagger.

He assessed both men and figured he was screwed. The look in Batista's eyes was a familiar one and John knew the man would want him hurting for their match at Wrestlemania.

Both men were so focused on John, they didn't notice the other figure coming down the ramp and John tried to school his features from the surprise he felt, even as the crowd cheered at the sight of him.

Randy Orton was on the apron before they noticed and he reached over, grabbing a hand full of Swagger's hair, pulling him back against the ropes and landing a forearm across Swagger's chest. Swagger fell forward and Randy entered the ring.

John was so surprised at the actions that, at first, he didn't move. Batista turned, however...right into a RKO. Randy turned his attention back to Swagger after Batista was down and began taking his frustrations out on the young man, landing a few kicks to his midsection before Randy lifted him up to his feet and delivered his signature move once again, the force of it making Swagger roll...right out of the ring.

John stood slowly, eyeing Randy warily. Randy stood still a moment, eyes closed, fingers digging into his scalp. He looked like he was trying to gain control of himself and John let him.

Finally, Randy let his arms drop to his sides and he lifted his head, opened his eyes, and met John's gaze. John was surprised, once again, when a smirk formed on Randy's face and he gave John a mock salute before rolling out of the ring.

John watched him as he strolled almost casually up the ramp, the cheers of the crowd following him. What the hell just happened?