I just want to thank everyone who stuck with this until the end. I really appreciate all your views and your reviews, and they kept me going. This is my first fanfic, and I never intended for it to be this long, haha. Thanks so much 3

August 2011

Bobby weaved through the crowd at the bar, looking for Mickie. He knew she was there somewhere, and he found her in a knot of people, a cigarette in her hand, a half finished drink on the bar in front of her. He tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey, Mickie, how are you?"

"Bobby! What's up honey? How are you?" she responded, a little flushed from the heat. "You look sad. Want a drink?"

"Maybe later. Could I bum a cigarette off you?"

Mickie gave him an odd look and her eyebrows raised almost to her hairline. "Seriously? This is for someone else, right?"

"No."

"I thought you didn't put anything in your body but protein shakes and berries. When did you start smoking?"

"Haven't had one since high school. I need one now, that's all. Can I bum one or not?" asked Bobby, a little impatience creeping into his voice. Mickie shrugged and pulled out her pack, eventually handing him a cigarette and a pack of matches.

"I'd give you my lighter, but people have walked away with too many of mine lately," she said. "Are you doing some kind of trick?"

"No. Thanks a lot." He gave her a small smile and then turned and walked off, back through the crowd. Mickie stared after him in disbelief, then grabbed her drink and took a long swallow. Bobby Roode smoking? What was the world coming to?

Bobby threaded his way through the crowd and walked through the back door of the bar. The bar backed onto the beach, and small packs of people were standing around, smoking, drinking, talking, or in various combinations of such. A few people did double takes when they saw the cigarette in his hand. He ignored them all. He walked down the stairs and down to the beach, looking for a quiet spot. There were a few people jumping in and out of the water and talking at the top of their lungs while the waves gently boomed around them, and a few more scattered around the sand. He didn't want to be near any of them. After a short walk he realized the quietest place would be under the bar's small boardwalk and headed there. The sand underneath the boards was gritty and full of discarded cigarette butts. He brushed them all away and sat down, folding his legs, and watched the water.

The moon hung low in the sky, almost but not quite full, and reflected off the water past the shrieking swimmers. He stared at the ocean for a while, trying to find some peace in its unending motion, but gave up and lit his cigarette with a sigh. It had been years since he'd had one, and at his first inhalation he almost coughed it right out onto the sand. The smoke was harsh in his mouth and lungs, and he rode with it, wanting to feel something different besides the frustration and pain that was constantly in his heart these days. His eyes watered and he laughed a little at himself, feeling exactly like he was back in school trying to prove himself again. Oh well, he thought, it's working on some level. He took another quick puff, and that one didn't go down much better. His lungs were protesting already. He looked down at the sand again, and when he looked back up, he saw AJ thundering down to the beach and looking around. He was wearing a tight t-shirt and knee length shorts, and Bobby briefly wondered what it would be like to throw down a towel and fuck AJ in the sand. To head off that though, he took another quick puff - it still sucked - and he inched back under the boards a little, but before he could think about getting up and weaving even farther back through the piles, AJ had already spotted him. He walked over, his hands in his pockets and the smile Bobby so loved on his face.

"I had to see this for myself. You are for real smoking! I can hardly believe it. My eyes about popped out of my head when Mickie told me."

"It's not good for you to ask about me," said Bobby.

"I didn't ask. She told me when I came up to say hi. She was telling everybody. You have to admit, it's pretty weird for you of all people to ask someone for a cigarette. It's a shocker when you eat something fried." AJ ducked his head under the boards and sat down next to Bobby. "You still upset about James and Tommy?"

"Yeah, and a whole bunch of other stuff. Everything is upsetting me. I'm just really tired. I fought myself for years, and then when I finally stopped doing that, I had to fight Bischoff and then fight my friends. I can see Bischoff, but who would have ever thought I'd be fighting with James, of all people? This shit is so...see, I don't even have a word for it."

"Bananas," said AJ. "B-A-N-A-N-A-S."

Bobby chuckled and looked at AJ. "For real?"

"Got you to laugh, didn't it?"

"Yeah." He smiled and attempted another drag on the cigarette. He coughed out smoke and AJ gently took the cigarette out of his hand. "You're turning green, Bobby. Just forget it," he said, reaching down to put the cigarette out in the sand. His hand brushed Bobby's skin and his body tensed at the contact. AJ, noticing this, took his sweet time pulling his hand back up.

"Please, stop," said Bobby. "There's so many people here. I need one night where I'm not constantly looking out for someone."

"Would it be okay if I put my arm around your shoulder? I'm pretty sure we can get away with that."

"Sure, I guess. Just no...well, whatever. Go ahead."

AJ put his arm around him, and rubbed his shoulder sympathetically. "Can't nobody complain about me comforting a friend, right?"

"They would probably find a way," sighed Bobby.

They sat together for a space of minutes, neither talking, just looking out at the dark water. A couple of people were chicken fighting now, laughing amidst the waves. Bobby envied them. He fiddled with the stubbed out cigarette, rubbing his finger across the slightly darkened filter, wishing he had a beer now to wash the taste out of his mouth. He said as much to AJ, and AJ's face brightened with an idea. He stood up and walked out onto the open beach, then reached up and tapped someone standing on the boardwalk.

"Kaz," AJ said. "HEY KAZ! KAZ!"

Kazarian looked down at AJ in shock. "The fuck are you doing?" he yelled.

"I need a favor, okay?" AJ yelled back. "Can you get me a beer and a soda?"

"You have beer and soda money?"

AJ reached in his pocket and pulled out a twenty. "Get me a coke and a Yuengling, okay? And don't keep my change!"

"Fine, tightass. I'll be back in five." Kaz took the money and disappeared. AJ came back under the walk with a smile on his face and sat back down.

"Thanks for that," Bobby said.

"You're welcome."

They didn't say much until Kaz came back and yelled down, "I got your drinks!" AJ went back out, got them, and handed the beer to Bobby, who gulped some down right away.

"I thought about telling him to get you a Molson, but I didn't want him to know I was down here with you."

"That's fine. The Molson's down here isn't good anyway and the Yuengling is actually decent. I don't know what it is about America, but you guys fuck up Molson something terrible."

"Maybe it's something in the air. Maybe it's a sign you should stop drinking imported beer."

"Says the guy who had a Corona and a half at the hockey game."

"I only drank that because I was nervous. You know I don't drink unless I'm stressed. I had butterflies in my stomach all day that day."

"Me too."

"Awww. That's why you drank four, then."

"Yeah," Bobby said, a blush staining his cheeks.

"You're so cute," said AJ, rubbing his shoulder again.

Bobby turned his head to try to stop blushing, but he couldn't help himself. AJ smiled but didn't say anything, just kept running his fingers over Bobby's collarbone. Bobby cleared his throat dramatically and took another swallow of beer. "So, umm, anyway...I was thinking that, you know, with everything going on-"

"We're not breaking up, so save your breath if you were headed that way."

"Not even with all the suits watching your every move? It's never crossed your mind?"

"Sure, it has," AJ said, taking a sip of his soda. "It's crossed my mind plenty of times. I mean, look at where we're at. Under a bridge talking like two trolls in a story because we can't talk in a bar. It is kind of frustrating, you know. But then, I look at you sometimes, and it's like my whole heart fills back up and I can't hardly stand to be away from you. So no. I'm in it to win it, now."

Bobby reached over and squeezed AJ's knee.

"Watch it, now. Don't get me started. We ain't got a towel."

Bobby laughed and drank more beer. AJ smiled at him again. "Besides, they won't always be looking. On top of that, I saw Tommy today, and he didn't even give me the stank eye."

"Was he nice to you?"

"Course not. He didn't say anything to me, but he didn't eyeball me like I was something stuck to his shoe, either. I guess that's progress."

"Small as it may be."

"James says hi, by the way."

Bobby grunted noncommittally.

AJ took another swallow of soda. "Look, as long as he's keeping Tommy and his jealous ass away, that's something. He told me you called him Redneck Yoda. I thought that was hilarious."

"It kind of suits him, doesn't it?"

"It sure does. He means well."

"Whatever."

"He's sorry, for what it's worth. Maybe down the road y'all can talk about it. But all right, I'll leave that alone. Anyway," AJ said, standing up, "I have something to show you."

"Oh?"

"Can't show you out here. We need to go behind the steps."

Bobby got a little excited, but he played it off. "Do you know what kind of shit is back there? Used condoms and crack pipes, AJ. There's probably a dead hooker back there for all we know."

"You got flip flops on, you'll be alright. Just step over the hooker, okay? She ain't hurting nobody. Come on." AJ tugged at Bobby's shirt. They walked back into the darkness past the piles, over a bunch of empty plastic cups and, of course, a forest of discarded condoms. After a bit, AJ stopped.

"Right here?" Bobby asked. They were almost directly under the bar; the voices from the boardwalk were a loud roar.

"Right here," said AJ, and stepped into Bobby. Their lips met. Bobby circled AJ with his arms and pulled him close, the heat from their bodies mingling. He tasted the lingering sweetness of the soda on AJ's lips. AJ's hands slid down Bobby's sides and under his shirt just a little bit, stroking the soft skin underneath, his touch electric. The kiss went on and on, their tongues meeting and clinging to each other, Bobby sliding one hand into AJ's hair and the other down his back. At long last, they broke apart, both of them breathing heavily.

"Now how could I ever say no to that?" teased AJ.

"That was a great way of making me see your point. Let's get back before someone notices."

"Killjoy."

"Oh, don't worry. I'll get you back for this later tonight."

"Is that a promise?"

"It definitely is."

They kissed one final time before walking out into the moonlight. They strolled slowly down the beach towards the bar, and as Bobby looked back towards the people still playing at the shore, he no longer felt envy. Instead, he felt nothing but peace.