Dark Saviour

Chapter 42 - And Faerie Tale Endings

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A/N: So we've come to the end at last, I hope you enjoyed the ride. As stated in the last chapter, I have some questions for everyone at the end of the story. I would appreciate any and all comments on what you would like to see next.

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Jeff roamed the now deserted hallways of the arena, remaining unsuccessful in his search for Undertaker. He had been searching for the Deadman for over an hour now and had yet to find any sign as to where the man went. It was like he had disappeared off the face of the earth.

Discouraged and feeling lonely, Jeff slowly made his way to the hotel they were staying at and found himself standing outside the room Rey and Shawn shared. Feeling a little silly, Jeff knocked lightly on the door.

"Who is it?" Shawn called out from the other side of the door.

"It's Jeff. I'm not bothering you, am I?" Jeff asked hesitantly. After a brief pause, he heard the lock click and was greeted by a smiling Rey.

"Of course not, sweetie. You're never a bother," Rey replied, ushering Jeff into the room.

"What are you doing here?" Shawn asked as he sat up on the couch.

"I am disturbing you guys, aren't I?" Jeff said, noting Shawn's tousled hair.

"No, your not," Rey smiled as he led Jeff to a chair opposite the couch before taking up a seat of his own. "We're just surprised to see you here."

"Why? I've spent the last couple of weeks here with you."

"Yeah," Shawn smiled. "But you weren't with us last night."

"Meaning?" Jeff asked, his brow rose in expectation.

"Meaning," Rey paused for a second before continuing, "We just thought that you'd be with Mark again."

"Who said I was with Mark last night?" Jeff wondered as he stared at Rey.

"Well, I . . ." Rey sputtered.

"Well, Rey said that it sounded like you weren't alone over the phone," Shawn answered simply. "We figured that it had to be Mark."

"Oh really?" Jeff replied as he looked at Rey expectantly. "It had to be Mark?"

Rey held his hands up in defeat. "Okay, okay. So I was hoping that you were with Mark last night."

"Why would you be hoping that?"

Rey shrugged. "What? Can't a guy hope that his two best friends, who by the way have feelings for each other, would end up together after their heart to heart talk the night before?"

"Who said it was a heart to heart talk?" Jeff asked curiously.

"Well . . . I . . . uh," Rey sputtered again.

Jeff laughed at Rey's obvious discomfort. "It's okay, Rey. I'm just messing with you."

Rey glared at Jeff, but remained silent.

"I still have to wonder," Shawn piped up. "Why aren't you with Mark now? Where is he?"

"I don't know where he is," Jeff admitted sadly. "I couldn't find him at the arena after the match."

"Did you check your room?" Rey asked, concern evident on his face and in his voice.

Jeff shook his head. "Not yet. I wanted to see you guys first."

"Oh?" Shawn asked, his own curiosity rising.

Jeff shrugged. "I was wondering what happened after I left you guys."

It was Rey's turn to shrug his shoulders. "We had some fun."

"What kind of fun?"

"Fun at the expense of the resident pothole," Shawn smiled. "I don't think he'll be back to bother anyone for some time."

"What did you do?" Jeff asked as horrific images passed through his mind.

Shawn continued to smile innocently. "Nothing really. We just made sure that he got our message and that it would be forever ingrained in the potholes memory."

"What did you do?" Jeff repeated.

"You don't want to know," Rey stated simply.

"You're scaring me," Jeff replied.

"You should listen to him. You really don't want to know. It wasn't good when we left him in the hands of Hunter, Glen and Adam," Shawn stated simply, shrugging his shoulders.

Jeff shivered involuntarily at what the man must be going through. Either one of those men alone would be scary enough, but all three . . .

It couldn't have happened to a better guy.

"Like I said, you don't want to know," Rey repeated simply.

"I will take your advice then," Jeff conceded.

"Good," Rey smiled. "So, was there something else you needed?"

"No," Jeff replied, shaking his head slowly.

"But you still don't want to leave," Rey stated as a matter-of-fact rather than a question.

Jeff hung his head. "Yeah, but I don't know why."

"Did something happen between you and Mark last night?" Shawn asked, the concern evident in his voice. "I mean, other than you two having some of your own fun?"

"No, everything was . . . perfect last night," Jeff said, choosing to ignore Shawn last comment as he tried not to blush. "It's just that . . ."

"What's wrong, Jeff?" Rey asked gently as he moved over to sit next to Jeff. He placed an arm around the man's shoulders. "Tell us what happened."

"Nothing bad happened," Jeff answered simply. "I guess I'm just concerned about how he'll react to me now that it's over."

"What do you mean?" Shawn asked, confused.

"We came together due to Cena's threats and, well, abuse," Jeff admitted slowly. "I guess I'm afraid that what we have, won't last in the long run without Cena in the picture."

"You have so little faith in the big guys emotions," Rey chided.

"According to him, the Deadman has no emotions," Jeff reminded them.

"True," Shawn nodded in agreement. "But Mark does. He might try to hide it, but he does and you bring them out in him."

"You really think so?" Jeff asked, looking up at Shawn, hope shining in his eyes.

"Have we ever steered you wrong before?" Rey asked, his brow rising in expectation.

"No," Jeff answered hesitantly. "But Mark isn't known for his predictability."

"True enough," Shawn nodded in agreement. "But trust us in this. Mark's not about to leave you."

"How can you be so sure?" Jeff muttered softly.

"We're sure," Rey stated, catching Jeff's muttered words. "Because we know Mark. He didn't leave Chris even though any sane person would have left years before. It's not easy being second to someone else in a relationship."

"But . . ."

"No, no buts. Let me finish," Rey replied, shaking his finger at Jeff. "It took a long time for that relationship to blossom into what it was. Mark doesn't enter into any relationship lightly."

"If Mark enters into any relationship, it's for real," Shawn added. "There's no such thing as 'one time only' for him."

"I . . ."

"I know that it may be hard to understand and difficult to believe that of someone like him, but it's true," Rey stated simply before shrugging his shoulders. "Trust me when I say that he needs and wants you as much as you need and want him."

"I highly doubt that," Jeff said, shaking his head.

"Go find him and you'll see," Shawn retorted.

"Don't doubt him until you let him have his chance," Rey smiled. "You'd be selling both of yourselves short if you did that."

"I don't know why I'm being such a chicken all of a sudden," Jeff admitted guiltily. "I know Mark wouldn't go into something like this lightly. He's stuck with me for this long . . ."

"Exactly," Rey nodded happily. "He knows what you hide in your closet."

"Just don't get scared of what you find in his," Shawn chuckled.

Jeff laughed. "Thanks guys. I'd hate to make the mistake of running away now that I've got him," he smiled. "I mean, I get to make every other guy in the business jealous now."

"And we'd have to hurt you if you let him go," Rey scolded. "You don't let a prize bull go just because you're afraid to ride."

"I knew you had a dirty mind!" Shawn exclaimed before turning back to Jeff. "Now go make that hunk of a man beg for mercy."

"Are you kicking me out?" Jeff asked in surprise.

"Of course he isn't," Rey replied, scowling at Shawn for his actions.

"Like hell I'm not!" Shawn retorted. "I want to get back to making my hunk of a man beg for mercy."

"La la la," Jeff sung loudly as he put his fingers in his ears. "I didn't hear anything."

"Shawn, behave," Rey scolded lightly.

"I have been behaving. I want to be a bad boy now," Shawn replied. "Besides, I think Jeff should stop wasting time and go find Mark. He didn't look to good after the match."

"You saw him?" Jeff exclaimed as he stood up. "Where?"

"I didn't physically see him. I watched the reply of the match. He was walking, but it looked like a soft breeze would be able to knock him over," Shawn admitted.

"I didn't realize he was that bad," Jeff replied.

"Well, he was hit by Mr. Sledgy," Shawn stated simply.

"What?" Rey and Jeff asked simultaneously.

"Hunter's trusty sledgehammer, Mr. Sledgy," Shawn explained.

Rey and Jeff exchanged looks.

"I didn't realize Hunter had named it," Rey replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"Neither did I," Jeff admitted, trying hard not to laugh.

Shawn shook his head. "Either way, you should go find him and make sure he's alright."

"Maybe we should all go," Rey replied, his concern for the bigger man evident.

"I doubt that he'd like us to witness Jeff making him feel better," Shawn smiled mischievously.

"Oh, Shawn," Rey said, shaking his head.

"I think I'll leave you two to your own business then," Jeff replied as he backed away from the other two men. "Thanks again for everything."

"No problem," Shawn smiled as he wrapped his arms around Rey's waist. "Now go get your faerie tale ending."

"If you need me, just give me a call," Rey called out as Jeff left the room.

"Only if it is an emergency," Shawn added as Jeff closed the door.

Jeff shivered involuntarily as he walked down the hall and into the elevator. Though he loved those two as extended members of his family, he really didn't want his suspicions that he had been interrupting a private moment confirmed.

"There are just some things you don't want to know or see."

Shaking his head to dispel the images in his head, Jeff got off the elevator and walked down the new hallway to the room he had shared with Taker the night before. Placing his hand slowly on the handle, Jeff wondered what he would find on the other side. Would he find the man he loved waiting for him, or would he only find an empty room? Jeff hated the idea of finding an empty room. That would mean one of two things, either Mark left him again or he was unconscious in a ditch somewhere. Neither of which appealed to Jeff, though the former was far more pleasing then the latter. At least the former meant that Taker was okay.

Taking a deep breath, Jeff opened the door slowly, tempted to close his eyes to keep him from seeing something he wouldn't like. As he stepped into the room, Jeff's heart dropped, as he found no Deadman sitting on the couch, or anywhere else in the room, waiting to great him. Though he had known that it was a possibility, he still hadn't been expecting it. As Jeff sat his bag down on the floor, however, he was met by the most wonderful sound.

"Jeff?"

Jeff smiled at the low rumble of Undertaker's voice as it drifted out from the bedroom. Trying not to show off his eagerness by running, Jeff walked slowly to the door that closed off the bedroom from the rest of the hotel room. Jeff's smile grew as he saw the Phenom stretched out on the bed, his arms resting comfortably behind his head. Jeff looked him up and down, appreciating the view of his bare chest and long legs. Undertaker smiled at the smaller man as he saw relief and joy brighten his eyes.

"Don't look so disappointed," Taker teased lightly.

"Now why would I be disappointed?" Jeff asked as he crawled up the bed to snuggled next to Undertaker.

"Well," Taker paused as he wrapped an arm around Jeff's smaller frame as he brought the man closer to him. "You could have been expecting someone else to be here instead or you could have been expecting me to bail out after the match."

Jeff shook his head. "Now why would you think that?"

Taker shrugged. "Because you found someone younger, more attractive?"

Jeff laughed. "There's no one more attractive then you."

"But you don't deny that there are younger people out there."

"If I denied that, I would be saying that I'm not around," Jeff replied as he slapped Taker lightly on his bare chest.

Jeff's brow furrowed slight as he felt Taker's muscles tighten and heard his slight intake of breath after the playful slap. It was then that Jeff remembered the blows Undertaker had taken from the sledgehammer. Sitting up quickly, Jeff looked over the Deadman with new eyes as he saw all the bruises, cuts and other red marks that marred his skin.

"I'm so sorry," Jeff whispered as he lightly ran his fingers over a particularly dark bruise just below Taker's throat and down to a nasty bruise on the left side of his chest. Jeff's own throat constricted tightly as he realized how close the Deadman had come to living up to his title.

Undertaker shrugged. "I've been through worse."

"I doubt that," Jeff smiled glumly. "I doubt that you've had many matches where you got hit, literally, with a sledgehammer."

Undertaker shrugged lightly. "I've been hit with a sledgehammer before, although it was usually by accident."

Jeff's smile faded slightly as he looked at the cut under Taker's right eye from where Cena's boot had made contact with his face. "Guess it could have been worse," he muttered softly.

"Yeah, it could have been worse," Undertaker chuckled softly as he made the smaller man lie down beside him.

Jeff smiled weakly. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For putting yourself in harms way. For protecting me."

Undertaker smiled. "Don't worry about it."

"But I do," Jeff retorted as he sat up again so that he could look the Deadman in the eyes. "You didn't have to do what you did tonight."

"No, I didn't," Taker admitted. "But I wouldn't have changed anything that's happened within the past two days for anything in the world."

"Really?"

"Really," Undertaker smiled as he pulled Jeff toward him again. Jeff sighed contentedly as he rested his head against Taker's massive chest, just below his jaw.

"I was wondering about something," Jeff said after a brief pause.

"What's up?" Taker asked as he idly ran his fingers through the younger man's hair.

Jeff bit his lip, unsure if he wanted to break the peaceful atmosphere that had been created. However, his curiosity got the better of him. "Why did you leave the ring so quickly tonight?"

"Hmm?"

"After the match, you didn't hang around."

"Oh, that," Undertaker sighed as he closed his eyes.

"Why?" Jeff asked as he shifted his position slightly so that he could look up at the Deadman.

Undertaker paused as if in thought. He didn't really know why he had left when he did. The entire moment after the bell rang at the end was a complete blur. He could vaguely remember raising Jeff's arm in victory and then . . . nothing. Absolutely nothing came to mind.

"I don't know," Taker shrugged finally.

"How could you not know?" Jeff asked.

Undertaker's gaze drifted off as he ran his hand over Jeff's arm, watching as a chill ran across the soft flesh. "You don't know how much energy it took to get up after that last hit with the sledgehammer," he sighed.

"I will admit it did look painful," Jeff agreed as he snuggled closer to the Deadman, trying to avoid making contact with the tender spots.

"I called upon every last ounce of strength and power I had left when I saw him coming at you with the chair."

"What kind of power?" Jeff asked timidly.

"Anger, love," Undertaker shrugged. "I really don't know."

"How could you not know?" Jeff asked as he rose to rest on his arm as he stared directly into the Deadman's eyes.

Again, Taker shrugged. "All I know is that it took everything I had for me to get up again. Where that strength and power came from, I'm not entirely sure."

"Did you," Jeff paused. "Did you contact the dark side again?"

"The what?" Undertaker asked, confused.

Jeff looked away sheepishly. "I . . . when I've talked to Rey and Glen about you, they kept talking about your 'dark' days."

"Oh, have they now?" Taker asked, his brow rose slightly in amusement. "And what do they say about those days?"

"That what the WWE universe saw was not all staged," Jeff answered slowly. "And that Chris was the only one who was able to pull you out of it."

"I see," Undertaker replied, his eyes down cast.

"What's wrong?" Jeff asked, concern over the Phenom's sudden change in attitude evident.

Undertaker closed his eyes as though trying to shut out the horrors of that time. "That wasn't a good time."

"So I've gathered."

"But you don't know the half of it."

"What do you mean?" Jeff asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.

Taker shook his head. "I thought Rey and Shawn told you about it?"

"Actually, it was Glen who told me about most of it."

"What?"

"Rey and Shawn told me more about your relationship with Chris, but Glen told me more about your dark days," Jeff explained.

"Why would he talk to you about that?"

Jeff grimaced slightly, unsure how much he should divulge. "We weren't initially talking about you."

"What were you talking about?"

"Evil rubber chickens."

"What?"

"Honestly, we were talking about evil rubber chickens," Jeff replied. "Shawn's evil rubber chicken, Bob, to be specific."

Undertaker's brow furrowed in confusion. "He was talking to you about an evil rubber chicken."

"Yeah," Jeff nodded, biting his lip. "Glen had this idea that the darkness that held you during those days had manifested themselves inside the rubber chicken."

"Oh, brother."

"I thought that everything that had happened during that time was a gimmick. Glen told me it wasn't."

"What did he tell you, exactly?" Undertaker asked apprehensively.

"He told me that you weren't the same person then. He said that your were more distant, more cold."

Undertaker nodded, not willing to meet Jeff's gaze. "I was a monster."

"You're not a monster," Jeff chided softly. "Glen also said that there was only one person who was able to break through whatever barrier you had resurrected around yourself," he continued as he ran his hand along Taker's jaw, feeling the roughness of the stubble against his palm.

"And who was that?"

"You know who that was," Jeff said, feeling a slight jab of jealousy. "Chris was able to reach you when no one else could."

"I don't know how he managed it," Taker admitted sheepishly.

"You want to know what else Glen told me?"

"What?" Undertaker asked.

"That the only person who could rival what you and Chris had is . . . is me."

Taker smiled as he cupped Jeff's cheek in his hand. "For the first time in his life, I think Glen is right."

Jeff smiled as his heart did a somersault over Undertaker's admission. He knew how hard it must have been for the Deadman to admit that. As he shifted slightly so that he could rest his head against Taker's chest again, Jeff closed his eyes so that he could listen to Taker's heartbeat and feel the steady rise and fall of his chest as he breathed.

"Do you think Cena's gone for good?" Jeff asked finally, breaking the peaceful silence.

Jeff felt Taker sigh as his arms moved to encircle him, as if to protect him from the very idea of Cena alone. "I wish I could say that he was gone for good, but the WWE universe loves him for some reason."

Jeff chuckled, enjoying how Taker was trying to protect him from the truth they both didn't want to face. "That's not what I meant."

"Oh?" Undertaker replied innocently as he looked down at the man in his arms. "What did you mean then?"

"I meant, do you think he'll be out of my personal life for good."

Undertaker nodded, hoping he was speaking the truth. "He'd be a fool to try and get to you again. Hell, he'd be a fool to go after anyone when he comes back."

"Why?"

Taker shook his head. "He has very few friends left in the business now and anyone who is still his friend is either as disturbed as he is or doesn't know what he has done yet."

"So, everyone knows what he's done to me."

Undertaker stiffened slightly at the sadness in Jeff's voice. "They do to an extent," he replied softly.

"What do you mean?" Jeff asked, confused.

"They know that he was attacking you for no reason," Undertaker replied cautiously. "Only a select few know exactly how he attacked you and even fewer know the extent to which those attacks went."

"What?"

Undertaker sighed. "Shawn, Rey and anyone else you've told know that he raped you, no one else knows that he did that."

"Oh."

Taker sighed as he ran his fingers lightly through the smaller man's hair. "And only I know how far he went when he raped you."

Jeff's brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Well, unless you told someone, no one knows exactly how I found you that night when I brought you to the hospital. No one knows the details of what you have told me."

Jeff smiled as he lightly ran his fingers over Taker's chest. "Thank you."

"I would never tell anyone what you've told me. It's not my place to tell your secrets."

"Even if they're harmful to me?"

"If they're harmful to you, I will always help you solve them. If you don't want anyone else to know, then no one else needs to know," Undertaker explained. "I think we can take care of any problems that come your way . . . together."

"Thank you," Jeff sighed contentedly as he began to drift off to sleep. The last thing he heard was Taker's voice, whispering to him that he loved him before the darkness pulled him down into the first peaceful sleep he had in years.

Jeff woke up later to find himself sprawled out in an empty bed, daylight streaming in through a crack in the curtains. Jeff rolled over rubbing his face against the pillow Taker had used the night before. He sighed as the rich, masculine scent of the Deadman soothed his aching muscles. Though Jeff tended to hate the mornings after any gruesome fight, he found that today, he honestly didn't mind it. Knowing that he had spent the night with the most wonderful person sleeping next to him somehow made it all better.

As Jeff stretched out his sore muscles, he could here the water running in the bathroom. An image of Undertaker, water cascading down his body, his muscles twitching slightly as he lathered his bare skin with soap came unbidden to Jeff's mind, making the smaller man's mouth water for a taste of the Deadman. Smiling mischievously, he crept slowly out of bed and tiptoed to the bathroom door. Jeff's smile widened when he found the door unlocked and slightly ajar.

Jeff slipped through the door carefully so as not to announce his presence just yet. Quickly stripping off his clothes, Jeff slipped into the shower behind Taker. Taking a quick moment to appreciate the Deadman's backside, Jeff moved forward and wrapped his arms around Taker's waist. He smiled as he felt Undertaker jump slightly in surprise.

What Jeff didn't know was that Taker nearly bit his tongue in an effort to stop himself from cursing. Unfortunately he couldn't stop himself from jumping slightly at the sudden contact. He knew that Jeff could be quiet when he wanted to, but he was beginning to seriously think of putting a bell around Jeff's neck to announce his presence.

"I didn't mean to wake you," Undertaker said softly as he placed his hands on top of Jeff's arms.

Jeff rubbed his cheek against Taker's back, causing chills to spread down each man's spine. "You didn't wake me," he replied as he placed a light kiss on Taker's shoulder before the bigger man turned in his arms to face him.

"Then you should know that I'm almost finished in here. You'll be able to have it all to yourself shortly."

Jeff blushed slightly. "What if I don't want to be alone?"

"I think I can fix that," Taker smiled as he lifted Jeff's face up toward his so that he could capture the smaller man's lips.

Jeff groaned as he returned the Deadman's kiss. He honestly couldn't think of anything better then being in this mans arms and receiving his kisses.

Damn this man can kiss, Jeff thought to himself before he broke away and laid his head on Undertaker's chest.

"Don't ever leave me again," Jeff muttered softly.

"I'm sorry?"

"Hmm?" Jeff asked sleepily.

"I didn't hear what you said," Taker replied.

"Oh," Jeff blushed again. "I . . . I only asked that you don't leave me again."

Undertaker brushed back Jeff's now damp hair so that he could see the Rainbow Haired Warrior's face clearly. "I promise, on everything that I am, have been and will be. I will never leave you again unless you wish me gone forever."

Jeff smiled at that. "I will never want you gone forever."

"Good. Beause I really have no intention of leaving even for a second."

Jeff laughed. "Oh, my knight in black, shiny, armor."

Undertaker smiled before he kissed his Rainbow Haired Warrior. Yes, his Rainbow Haired Warrior. He liked the sound of that. There was only one question left for the Deadman.

Did he save Jeff or did Jeff save him?

...

A/N: And there it is, a little something spicy to end the story with. I hope you all enjoyed the random experience that is Dark Saviour.

As promised, I have some questions for my fans. I currently have some other story idea's in mind, but I am unsure what I should do about them. Thus I am asking everyone for their opinions and possible other story ideas

-One story I have in mind is a continuation of this story. In essence, this story would not be entirely ending. Rather it would be continued under a different title. I'm thinking of doing this because I'm not entirely ready to say good-bye to Jeff and Undertaker though I think 42 chapters is enough for part 1. Another reason is because I've heard too many songs that have given me ideas for other stories surrounding this couple that I've decided to put them together to create one whole story instead of multiple one-shots.

-Another idea I have relates to Tangled Up in You. I've been wondering what would have happened if Chris had survived and everything that happened to Jeff still occurred. Would anyone be interested in finding out?

I look forward to hearing what everyone thinks. I am also open to suggestions you have on other stories.

Thank you everyone for being so loyal and for reading the creation of a deranged mind.

P.S. Watch out for Bob and Fred, they will appear in their own story in the future. You have been warned.