A/N: Chapter 3. It's short and late and I'm very, very sorry. This semester is trying to kill me, I swear, but the next chapter will be up sooner and it'll be longer, I promise(ish).

Zack didn't come anywhere close to relaxing until they were back in their room, where he threw himself on his bed, sprawling out and sighing.

"Welcome to the club," Kane said, something like pride in his tone.

"Thanks," Zack said, trying to suppress a blush.

Kane sat in a chair and flipped the TV on, surfing for a moment before settling on a bad SyFy original movie, one of the low budget gems they would occasionally throw out. Zack pulled himself off his bed and went to sit in the seat next to Kane, not wanting to be alone. He didn't actually watch the movie, just took comfort in Kane's presence and the fact that he had chosen him over everyone else on the roster.

John settled into his hotel room, alone. He hadn't seen Zack since getting off the plane and that worried him, but there was nothing he could say or do without exposing himself. So he curled up in his bed, pulling one of the extra pillows close and cuddling it like he would a person. The fact that Zack had moved on so quickly without him hurt him deeply, but he knew better than to be surprised. He'd known that the chances of Zack truly loving him as more than just a hero worship type crush were slim, but he couldn't have imagined him moving on to someone like Kane, it made no sense.

He wanted to call Zack out on it to pull a reason out of him, but he knew he couldn't without drawing unwanted attention; he was no good at plotting, but he knew Randy was, and figured he could ask him later, during the show. The thought didn't comfort him though and he still couldn't find any rest, so he lay holding the pillow until it was time for him to leave for the arena.

As soon as he entered the doors, he set off to find Randy, needing at least some sort of closure from Zack and knowing his friend was the only one who could help him. It didn't take long for him to find the other man, who was in his usual spot, preparing in the locker room.

"Randy, man, you've gotta help me," John said, catching the other man slightly off guard.

"What?" Randy asked, straightening up from tying up his boots.

"I'm getting Zack back, but I need your help." he said. Randy looked at him, eyebrow raised, as if questioning John's sanity.

"Come on Ran, just help distract Kane for a little while so I can go talk to Zack."

Randy shook his head in exasperation, but still agreed. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, John smiled a real smile.

Kane was doing a segment with Randy, setting up for their WrestleMania match. Zack walked through the backstage area, awaiting his turn to go out and try and explain away his injuries and why he'd healed so quickly. It felt good, walking around an arena again, rather than wheeling around in a chair, held down by casts and braces.

He began whistling 'Oh Radio', when he was suddenly grabbed and hauled out a door to the outside, where it had begun raining.

"What the fuck bro," he cursed as he was slammed into a wall. A strong, familiar hand was clamped over his mouth and he bit at it, John pulling back instantly.

"Let me go," Zack demanded, but John refused to be moved.

"Just hear me out," he pleaded, but Zack wanted nothing to do with the other man, his patience wearing thin, and anxiety rising at the prospect of missing his stage time.

"You had your chance John," Zack said as he attempted to push past the large man; "I gave you everything I had and all you did was lie, cheat, and hurt me. Let me go."

"Zack, listen," John pleaded once more, refusing to back down; "I love you, that's all I tried to do was love you. If I lied to you, well, I didn't mean to, I honestly didn't even realize I was doing. And as for cheating and hurting you, you know that wasn't my fault, that was Eve!"
"Eve didn't push me over when I could barely stand," Zack said, finally getting smart and ducking around John's arm and making a run back inside the arena. He could hear John fast behind him, but a look at the nearest clock told him that Kane's work should be done and he'd be going on in little more than ten minutes.

"I gotta go do my job," he shot over his shoulder, running off to find a change of dry clothes. He was more than relieved when he finally came across Kane, pulling his mask off and shaking his short hair out. He caught Zack's eye, and though no emotion crossed his face, Zack could tell that the older man could tell that there was something wrong, if not by Zack's wet clothes, then by the look on his face. He laid a hand on one of Zack's shoulders and led him back to the dressing room, throwing clothes at him along with a towel.

"Hurry, you've got five minutes and you're on."

Zack did as he was told, stripping quickly, towel drying, and yanking the dry clothes on, grateful for their warmth. He sprinted through the arena and made it just in time for his music to start. He grabbed a mic and walked out to the cheers of the crowd, hoping they weren't waiting for him to say something about forgiving John and Eve, or expecting to be the same person they knew when he left.

"What's up broski's?" he yelled as he walked out onto the stage. He stopped at the top of the ramp, looking out over the crowd, which was currently going crazy. It warmed his heart to see they were so happy to see him back and uninjured; he enjoyed the support for a while before continuing.

"It's nice to be back! I can't stand to sit around doing nothing, wrestling for you guys is my life. But the WWE doesn't want to acknowledge that; you see, for the last few weeks, they've been making it look like Kane has been doing everything in his power to injure me, and the doctors told me he had succeeded, but apparently, they lied," this received unanimous boos from the crowd, which made Zack smile.

"It goes like this, Kane visited me in the hospital. He showed me that I had never been injured. He showed me the true face of the WWE, and he took me under his wing. Do not expect to see the same Zack Ryder you knew." He left it there to what must've been the first unanimous silence in WWE history. The crowd stared at him, as if not knowing exactly what their reaction should be. He turned around and went backstage again, allowing his news to sink in. The stunned silence lasted a few more seconds before a combination of cheers and boos erupted from the crowd; it didn't surprise Zack though, he knew what he was doing, and he knew that he'd be booed. He was, however, surprised at the smattering of cheers he could hear as he returned backstage.

Kane was there waiting for him and he clapped him on the shoulder, and even though he didn't say anything, Zack knew he'd done good. He did not let go as he led his protege to his dressing room, once the door was closed, Kane's demeanor changed completely. A large smile crept across his face as he secured their haven.

"You did well," Kane complimented the younger man.

"You think so?" Zack asked, though he knew it was true. Kane knew he didn't need to answer, he just sat in a chair, leaned back and closed his eyes, leaving Zack alone with his thoughts. As much as he tried to steer them away from Cena, they somehow kept returning. He realized, in that moment, that he truly did hate Cena. That all those nights he spent feeling 'love' for the other man had merely been nights of hero worship, of Zack needing to believe that heroes existed and that there would be one that could save him from his darker thoughts. But in the end, even his hero abandoned him, and now it only seemed right that he should give the villain a chance; so far, the villain's side was the better one. He'd been taught his entire childhood that thinking that way was wrong, but now he was an adult, he'd seen his fair share of the world, and knew enough about human nature to know that sometimes, the bad guys were the ones who were in the right, and this was one of those times.

Zack's phone buzzed in his pocket and he knew who it was. This was the tenth time in two days his dad had attempted to get a hold of him, and Zack finally broke down.

"Hello?" he answered, trying to sound innocent.

"Zack, son, where have you been?" his dad asked, sounding frazzled and worried.

"Sorry dad, I've been busy. Spent the day on the plane and then had to prepare for the show," Zack said, as sincerely as he could.

"And last night?" his dad asked, his stern 'father' voice firmly in place.

"Fell asleep early and my phone's battery was dead, I didn't even get to charge it until we got to the arena," Zack whined, sounding every bit like a child being scolded.

"Alright, alright," his dad said, sighing; "I just wanted to check in, make sure everything was okay after…anyway, I saw you on the show tonight and you seem okay. You are, aren't you? That wasn't just an act?"

"Yeah dad, I'm fine. I wasn't acting."

"So it's you and that Kane guy now then?" his dad asked, sounding nervous.

"Yeah, but don't worry about that. It's a good thing, I promise."

"Alright, I'll believe you. Just, don't do anything you'll regret later. I love you son," his dad said, sounding skeptic.

"Love you too dad," Zack replied before hastily hanging up.

A low rumble of laughter came from across the room and Zack turned to see Kane, sitting in his seat, laughing quietly to himself.

"You're lucky; you have a father who cares about you. Don't let him down," the older man advised.

"I won't," Zack promised; "I think he's just nervous because of the way you come off on TV. He'll come around, it's not like he has much of a choice anyway."
"No, I guess he doesn't," Kane said, laughing once more.

All was quiet as Zack's mind raced, trying to find something to fill the silence.

"Kane?" he finally asked, hoping a question wasn't out of turn at the moment.

"Mmhmm?"

"If you have me, and the Undertaker has Punk, does Vince have anyone?"

Kane looked at him for a moment, face unreadable, before he finally answered.

"Yes, he has taken Alberto del Rio as his own."

"Del Rio? Huh, strange. Not who I would have guessed," Zack mused.

"No, but from what I know, their relationship is quite physical."

"What?" Zack asked, interest suddenly piqued, wondering if Kane meant what he thought he meant.

"Let's just say, contrary to popular belief, Señor del Rio did not obtain his injuries in the ring," Kane replied with a playful wink, confirming Zack's suspicions.

So it was possible, he could have that kind of relationship with Kane. That was, if Kane would have him of course. He should have seen it before, when Punk was resting Taker's lap, but at the time, it had meant nothing to him, and now it meant everything. It meant Zack had a chance to be happy like he used to be; happier even.