Insert disclaimer here
A Stone's Throw
Eric and Jeff drove through town, paying little attention to things like traffic, stop lights, speed limits, and stuff like that.
"What'd Edge say?" Jeff pressed him. Eric swerved hard to avoid a slow-moving sports car.
"Not much. Just that Randy saw something on TV and I guess it triggered a memory." He replied, turning the wheel hard to go around one last car and then really gun it down a deserted road.
"Slow down!" Jeff held on to the seat. "It won't do Randy any good if we get killed too!"
Eric slowed down to 120. "Sorry. My adrenaline's rushing."
At the slower speed, Jeff relaxed a little, although he felt a little used. He hoped a long shower could get the creepiness off of him.
"I'm sorry I took so long." It seemed like Eric could read Jeff's mind sometimes, which Jeff was thankful for.
"Yeah. I thought maybe you were just gonna watch your husband get his dick sucked and his brains blown in all at once."
"I had to wait for right moment. Even after I took care of the guard, I still couldn't rush right in. There will still three of them. Armed, too." Eric seemed to sense what Jeff was feeling. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."
"It's okay, dude." Jeff could still feel Blade's lips on him and while it had felt good, he still considered it cheating. He hoped Eric would forgive him as well. "I'm sorry too."
"For what?"
"For not putting up a little more resistance."
"Huh?" Eric finally stopped for a red light. He looked at Jeff, plainly confused. "Jeff, you don't need to apologize to me." He patted Jeff's thigh, a little smile appearing. "How about we make sure Randy is okay and then I'll make you forget about having that evil man's lips on you?"
Eric's hand moved a little higher, causing Jeff to gasp.
"I love you, Eric." Jeff sighed
"For what... copping a feel in the middle of traffic?" The light finally changed and Eric drove on. Their house was only a couple blocks away.
"No." Jeff look embarrassed. "For being so... understanding." He couldn't put it into words, but at that exact moment he felt more in love with Eric than he ever had.
"Me too. You'll always be my little warrior, no matter what. Now that I have you, I'm not letting you go without a fight... we're here."
"So what happened?" Eric asked
Adam was waiting in the den; Randy was nowhere to be found.
"I dunno exactly. I was in the kitchen getting us something to eat. I heard the TV and then a shout. Randy's ran upstairs, crying, and locked himself in the bathroom. I haven't been able to get him to come out." Adam replied "I didn't fuck up, did I?"
"It's cool. Lemme talk to him." Eric headed up stairs. "Oh, Edgester... on down, three to go!"
"Awesome... will I get a chance with those chumpstains?"
"Definitely... Jeff has to lay low for a bit... I think his friends think he did it." Eric ran up the stairs.
"You hungry? I'm making spaghetti."
"MMM... sketti's my fave." Jeff followed Adam.
"Randy?" Eric tapped on the door. "It's me, Eric."
"Go away." Randy yelled through the door.
"Can't do that... I need to go." He hoped that Randy wouldn't call his bull by reminding him that he had another bathroom just off the master suite.
"Fine..." Eric quickly picked the lock. Randy was curled up next to the throne, sobbing uncontrollably.
"What's wrong?" Eric sat down on the commode and patted his shoulder.
"I don't know. If I knew I could handle it!" Randy's looked up, his tear-streaked face belying the turmoil he was in.
"Randy... if I thought you could handle it, I'd tell you what you need to know, but I'm not sure if you would a: believe me or b: be able to handle it right now."
"Why wouldn't I believe you?" Randy sniffled, wiping his eyes.
"You and I aren't exactly bff's." Eric replied "As a matter of fact, you didn't speak to either me or Jeff for months after you found out that we were together."
"Sorry. You and Jeff are the first two gay people that I've known and it was hard for me to accept it. My family isn't exactly open about that sort of thing. If my Dad even knew that I had played doctor with a boy when I was younger, he'd have beaten me to within an inch of my life." Randy replied
"At least you had a Dad. Mine left when I was six." Eric sighed "And my Mom was never really around either."
"Sorry, man, I didn't know."
"It's not something I talk about a lot, bro. I just want you to know that you aren't the only one with problems and we're all here for you, but you may have to trust a couple of queers." Eric smiled
"Thanks, man." Randy had calmed considerably. Eric's psychology degree was definitely coming in handy.
"Come on downstairs and we'll talk. I smell something good." Eric left the bathroom, hoping everything was going to work out.
"...and in local news, police have identified the body of a man found earlier tonight. Andre Nicholls, known to police as "Blade", was found dead in an alley behind "Phil's", a notorious downtown bar. He had apparently been stabbed once in the back. Police are asking anyone with information to come forward, but according to a police spokesman, they are not expecting much. Nicholls was the leader of a small gang of thugs, known as the Four Aces, and speculation is that he was involved in something involving rival gang members. More news as it becomes available."
Eric smiled. "Oh, we're a rival gang, alright."
Over their impromptu dinner, the topic of that night's activities was deliberately avoided. Instead, they talked about their upcoming eight-man elimination tag match. WWE had set up a Survivor Series-type match and, to mix things up a little more, had put the four of them on one side against a team consisting of John Cena, Y2J, Shawn Michaels, and JBL.
After dinner, the liquor was broken out and serious drinking began. The food and drink seemed to make Randy forget his troubles.
"How are you two getting back to your hotels?" Eric finally asked at about two a.m. Scheduling was such that Raw and the Smackdown-ECW supershow were both being held in the area. This meant that Eric and Jeff had almost a whole week at home before they had to fly out. This also meant that there were a lot of wrestlers hanging around. Not bad if you needed someone to drink with, but otherwise, mildly awkward.
"Dunno." Edge slurred. He and Randy were both gone. Randy a little more than he.
"We got the spare room. You're both welcome to crash." Jeff was looking a little glazed as well.
"I'll take the couch." Adam quickly replied "Randy snores."
"I do not!" Randy retorted "Well, not much!"
"Not much? Why do I think I roomed with Jay instead of you?" Adam answered
"No comment." Eric snickered, finishing his beer. "I'm going to bed. I don't think Vince will be too happy if half of his main event shows up still plastered."
The party quickly broke up. While Jeff scrambled around, looking for blankets and pillows to make up the couch, Eric and Randy staggered up the stairs.
"Jeff and I are just down the hall if you need anything." He said, having to support Randy to his room.
"I'm fine, man. Don't worry."
"I'm not." Eric replied "It's just that after earlier, I wasn't sure."
"I was just stressed." Randy quickly said
The sudden attitude change shocked Eric, but he said nothing. He'd regretted not telling Randy the reason for his emotional turmoil, but when he'd suggested it to Jeff and Adam before dinner, they'd both told him no.
"No big, dude." Eric pushed the door open and dropped Randy on the bed. "You want those pajamas back?"
"I'm okay." Randy struggled out of his shoes before falling back down. "Ah, fuck it."
"Lemme help you." Eric quickly got Randy out of his shirt and socks. The bruises on his chest and back were quite shocking against his normal tan.
Eric went to help Randy out of his pants, planning to let him sleep in his skivvies. When he unsnapped his belt, Randy's eyes snapped open and he suddenly pounced on Eric.
"Don't even fuckin' touch me like that again!" He only landed one punch, but it was enough to knock Eric on his ass.
"What the hell is up with you?" Eric yelled, scrambling to get to his feet before he was assaulted again. Memories of the one time Jeff had gotten physical with him flooded back.
"Eric, I..." Randy had gone from Jekyll to Hyde in a matter of seconds and back to Jekyll even faster. "I'm sorry. I had way too much to drink."
"'Sokay. It's my fault, I guess. Good night." It didn't bother Eric what Randy had just done, rather than that Eric hadn't seen it coming.
"What happened?" Jeff was already in bed.
"Randy can sure be a belligerent drunk." Quickly, Eric stripped and climbed in beside Jeff.
Jeff looked over. "Yeah, right, Eric. Now what really happened?"
"We really should've told him." Eric stared at the ceiling.
"Not yet. We still have work to do." Jeff ruffled Eric's hair.
"I guess." Eric looked back. "Now didn't I promise you I'd make you forget about that nasty man?"
"What did you have in mind?" Jeff teased
"I'll think of something." Eric smothered Jeff's mouth with a kiss, while his fingers began a slow descent down his body.
Jeff awoke suddenly. The clock beside him said 5:17 a.m and he'd thought that he had just been having a very vivid dream until he heard it again. Footsteps and they were getting closer.
"Eric... wake up!" Jeff elbowed the sleeping man beside him.
"It's Saturday.." Eric mumbled "I don't have to go to school today."
"Eric." Jeff elbowed him harder. Eric woke up with a lurch.
"Wha?" He really didn't appreciate being aroused like this so early.
"Listen."
Eric strained. The only sound he could hear was the sound of the birds outside. "Go back to sleep. You were imagining things."
Eric rolled over and was soon fast asleep again. Jeff waited; almost convinced he'd been hearing things too, and was about ready to doze off again when their bedroom door was suddenly flung open.
Jeff screamed. Eric startled, fell out of bed, taking half the covers with him.
"What the hell...?" He stood, trying to quickly disentangle the bedclothes. "Oh, for God's sake, it's only Randy."
"Randy???" Jeff peered through splayed fingers.
"Yes." Eric clicked on the light over the bed. "See?"
"Oh." Jeff said, relieved.
"What's up?" Eric was now completely awake.
"Uh..." Randy was still in what Eric had left him to sleep, but he looked more than a little bit nervous. "You said you were here for me, right?"
"Yeah, I meant it. If there's something you want to get off your chest, we'll listen..." Jeff snored slightly. "Okay, I'll listen. Apparently, being scared makes Jeffro very sleepy."
"It's just that... I really don't want to be alone right now." Randy shuffled his feet. "Eric, I'm scared, but I don't know why!"
"Go on, tell him." The devil on his shoulder urged him. "No, you agreed not to." The angel on his other one argued.
"Climb in." Eric wasn't sure how Randy would take the offer.
Randy ambled over, kicking his pants off and jumped in. This woke Jeff up again.
"What now?"
"Shove over." Eric ordered "Randy needs to squeeze in."
"Randy?" Jeff looked over at Eric, suspiciously. "Why?"
"I'll tell you later. Now move." Eric pushed in beside him, giving Randy just enough room to slide in.
"MM." Jeff moved maybe a half inch. Eric knew that was the best he'd get at that particular moment. It was a tight fit... too tight for Eric. With Jeff draped over his right side and moving every five minutes, Eric couldn't get comfortable enough to reclaim the sleep he desperately needed. He was drifting off and on when he heard a funny kind of snoring right beside him.
Straining his neck, he looked over his shoulder at Jeff, but the noise wasn't coming from him. He was out of it, his arm clinging to a stuffed rabbit. Eric had always joked about how that could still be in one piece.
He looked back at Randy. In the moonlight shining through the blinds, he could barely make out his face. He seemed to be breathing deeply, but the occasional tightening of his chest gave him away.
Eric reached down and grasped Randy's hand in his own.
"I know what happened to you last night." He said
TO BE CONTINUED
Coming soon to a fanfic near you... will Eric tell Randy? What about Ace, Steele, and 8-Ball... one hint: someone will not be alive at the end of the next chapter... maybe!