Angel Dust

A/N: Originally, I was planning on posting another chapter here. But since Vera and I just saw Batista yesterday at a signing, and I'm now staring at a beautiful photo of him in my favorite pink shirt, standing close enough to touch, I couldn't write anything but him! As a side note that has nothing to do with this story - his skin is so freakin' smooth - he definitely moisturizes! Anyway, I don't own him, because if I did, he would be here with me right now, wearing that damn shirt. Enjoy!

He was a jealous man by nature and he always had been. Courtney knew it, and she had never said much about his tendency to freak out when she entertained the attention of another man. Well, almost never.

"Where have you been?" Dave asked, his eyes trained on the television as he nursed a beer bottle in one hand and surfed channels with the remote in his other.

Courtney laid her bags on the entry table and moved to the couch, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing his earlobe. "You're home early," she purred, resting her chin on his shoulder to study the documentary he had stopped on.

Dave's shoulders rose and fell with a slight chuckle. "It's eleven thirty, Courtney," he reminded her.

She knew she was in trouble. He never called her by her given name unless he was pissed. Kicking off her pumps, she moved to his side on the couch and sat, her shoulder brushing his as began to rub his thigh.

"I kinda lost track of the time," she admitted quietly, leaning her head on his bicep. "This is what I get for agreeing to work with a rookie," she added with a slight chuckle.

His body tensed, and he did his best to not say anything. She would tell him he was being silly, and maybe he was. But the idea of her spending long hours in a dark office with a young upstart made his blood boil, and he wasn't about to deny that.

"This kid know you're married?" he asked pointedly.

Retracting her arm, Courtney hardened her gaze. "David," she started, her tone low and warning.

"What?" he turned a look of mock innocence to her and then rolled his eyes.

Standing, she began to unbutton her dress shirt. "I'm too tired for this stupid, bull shit argument," she stated, walking toward the bedroom.

By the time she had changed into her nightgown, he was leaning against the doorframe, hands stuffed in the pockets of his well-worn jeans. "I don't think you realize how beautiful you are, Princess," he finally spoke, his voice low and soothing.

With a small smile, Courtney climbed into the bed and drew her knees to her chest. "Don't start with me, Mr. Sexiest Man Alive. There are millions of women waiting for our marriage to fail," she reminded him. "But you don't see me acting like a jealous fool when you work late with one of them, do you?"

Shedding his shirt and pants, Dave slid into the bed and pulled his wife into his arms. "No, but that's because you know I don't want any of them. You know you're the axis that my world tilts on," he whispered before kissing the top of her head.

Courtney ran her fingers over his chest softly, pressing a kiss to his smooth, soft skin. "David," she replied, twisting in his arms until she was staring into his eyes. "What's the one thing you love most about me?"

He licked his lips and let his hands trail down her back, until they rested on the curve of her ass. "Besides that?" She rolled her eyes and playfully smacked him. "You know I love your tenacity," he answered.

Nodding, she kissed his chest and then met his gaze again. "Nothing deters me when I want something, right?" He nodded and smiled wider. "And all I want, Lover, is you."

Somehow, she always managed to calm his fears for the moment. But they both knew that his jealous streak was never far from the surface. It wasn't that he didn't trust his wife - she loved him, and he was confident in that. But he also knew, though he rarely admitted it, that he put her through hell at times. And in the back of his mind, those were the moments that he knew could drive her into the arms of another man at any unguarded second.

Knocking on the door of Eddie's room, he tried to soothe the anger that was simmering below the surface after watching Courtney's little outing the night before. He had no reason to worry - nothing bad had happened between his wife and that punk, Nitro. But he still didn't like it.

"Wow," Eddie smiled as he opened the door for his friend. "You stepped away from Tele-Courtney?"

As he stepped inside, Dave smiled to himself. Eddies room was a warm, inviting reminder of the house he had once shared with his family outside of Los Angeles. "Man, this couch is hideous," he laughed as he plopped onto the over-stuffed sofa with huge pink flowers.

Eddie nodded as he handed Dave a drink and then plopped down beside him. "I know," he sighed, shaking his head. "But Vickie just had to have it." Turning, he grinned and raised his glass for a toast with his friend. "Anything to make the wife happy, you know?"

He knew. If anyone understood bending over backwards to make his woman happy, he understood. The rubber duck motif of his and Courtney's bathroom attested to that fact and then some. "I hear ya," he agreed, watching Eddie's platform as the image of his youngest daughter played out on the screen.

"So, Trish said there was a little mishap during the big Girls Night Out last night," Eddie spoke, looking at Dave as though he couldn't be sure if his friend was going to explode in a fit of rage or not. "And please don't hit me - I'm just making conversation."

Dave smiled slightly. "It was touch and go for a minute, but Trish got her out of there before anything irreversible happened," he shrugged before taking a drink. "She's good - Trish is," he admitted with a bit of resignation.

Eddie took a moment to collect his thoughts. If he didn't say things in just the right way, Dave had a tendency to turn a very unbecoming shade of red. And there would be yelling. Lots and lots of yelling. "So, can I ask you something?"

"Why does it bother me that Courtney talked to some guy last night?" Dave asked before Eddie could. Eddie just nodded. "Because, man, that kid is so. . . I don't know," he sighed, his shoulders sagging. "He's not her type. He's the kind of guy who looks for a woman like Courtney. He preys on women like her," he sighed.

"He's a predator?" Eddie asked in disbelief. Trish had said that this Nitro kid seemed nice enough, and that she had almost felt bad dragging Courtney away at the gallery. If it hadn't been for fear of Dave's heated glares and angry hissing, she would have left them alone to see what developed.

Dave leaned back on the couch and ran a hand over his face. "Not literally, dumbass," he teased, looking over at Eddie, who was laughing again. He was always laughing. "I just mean he knows that Courtney is so far out of his fucking league. He knows they could never have anything real. But he doesn't mind being the guy she slums with, if it'll pay his rent and give him some stories to tell his slacker friends."

"And you know that how?" Eddie asked.

"I know his type."

Though Eddie loved Dave, there were times when he wanted to smack the man in the back of the head with a shoe. He refrained from making drug jokes, but at times he really did wonder if Dave had taken one too many hits from a pipe. "Never hurts to have friends, ya know," he reminded.

But Dave didn't want to hear that. "If I thought he just wanted to be her friend, I wouldn't have a problem with that," he started.

But before he could finish, Eddie burst into another round of laughter. Calming himself, he cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, man, but that's funny." His eyes squinted as he turned his attention to the ballet recital on his platform. She was getting so big, his little Kaylie.

"Alright, so I'm an elitist. But that jackass is not good enough for my Princess," he huffed like a child. "What kind of name is Nitro anyway?"

Setting his drink on the table, Eddie leaned back and crossed his arms behind his head. "She's a big girl, Dave. Man, she can figure out what's good enough for her on her own," he advised. "Took me a long time to realize it, too, but we didn't marry stupid women, David. Vickie did just fine. And I'm sure Courtney will, too," he assured.

Though Dave knew his friend was right, he still felt the hairs on the back of his neck bristle slightly. Of course Courtney was an intelligent woman. But that didn't mean that she couldn't use a little guidance. "Look, it's not that I don't want her to be happy - I do want that. That's all I want. I just don't think she needs this Nitro yahoo to do it. She has Randy. And now she has Trish. What else does she need?"

Eddie shrugged. "Something of her own?" he suggested. Dave didn't look pleased with the answer. "Well, Homes, come on," Eddie defended. "Maybe she needs to find someone who didn't, or doesn't, know you. Think about it, man. For the last five years, she's done everything for and with you," he shook his head sadly. "There was nothing she wouldn't do to please you, and you know it."

Dave smiled at that. It was true. Courtney was firey, and sometimes she was stubborn. But she was always willing to drop everything for him. "And I wasn't always that guy for her," Dave admitted before he realized what he was saying.

And, as if a light bulb had gone on, Eddie stood and smiled knowingly. "Absolution is a beautiful thing, man," he nodded, walking to the sink to dispose of his drink. Returning, he shook his head again. "But you can't find it by being a selfish, manipulative bastard."

Standing, Dave finished his drink and walked toward the door. "But we both know that's just who I am, right?" he asked as he exited the room.

It wasn't that Eddie was wrong. Actually, Dave knew he was absolutely right. He hadn't been everything Courtney needed when he was alive. He had neglected her on so many occasions, choosing his parties and substances over the woman that he loved. He had provided everything she could have possibly wanted materially and financially. He met every one of her physical needs, and then some. But her emotional and mental state of being had suffered at his hands.

The world had always seen him as a strong man - because of his physique and his Alpha male personality. But strength was his facade, and he had always known that his wife deserved someone who possessed the trait in reality, someone who was still strong after he stripped out of the power suit and hung up the phone.

Courtney deserved a man who was willing and able to provide for her like he had - someone who would understand her hunger for success, and also her desire for a safe haven at the end of the day. They had worked as a couple because she needed someone like him, someone with the ability to understand her world, her stresses and pressures. She needed someone who fit into her high-society world, and then helped her create an escape from it.

She deserved Randy. And he didn't care what anybody said, he was going to make sure his Princess found her happily-ever-after with the Choir Boy.