Author's Note:

Heeeeeeeey, guys. Sorry for the long wait. I know I've kept you guys waiting for quite a while now, but no excuses. I'll go more into detail about WrestleMania, and my other ventures leading up to now.

But anyway, enjoy the latest chapter, folks. :-)

Love, Honor & Glory

Part VII

Chapter 6 - Out to Lunch

The next day

Village Tavern - Birmingham, AL

Hours before House Show event in Montgomery, AL

On a bright and sunny Saturday afternoon in the busy bustles of Birmingham, Alabama, one would think that they would take the time and effort to go out and explore the atmosphere, breathe in the cool and breezy air, and look around for unique buildings and skyscrapers among other sights. That would be fine and all, unless you had previous matters to get to on the forefront.

For on this beautiful looking day, two people, rather than being outside enjoying the sunshine for what little time they had before returning to their daily hectic schedules, were instead sitting at a table near a window in a little diner, discussing matters between them that ranged from casual and professional, to intimate and personal.

At the table, the two figures were an attractive young woman with flowing dark brown hair and lightly tanned skin, and a male slightly older than her but not much, the hair on his scalp cut down to a near buzz, his face wearing an almost constant stern glare, with his pale arms - as well as a majority of his body - coated and covered with a plethora of tattoos. The female was AJ Lee; the man was CM Punk, and today they were in the Village Tavern in downtown Birmingham, having a quick bite to eat while going and discussing whatever issues were on their minds, before having to venture out to their accustomed lives as performers and entertainers for the WWE, as tonight they were advertised to work a House Show in nearby Montgomery.

This meeting between two confidants came about when Punk had asked AJ out the previous night, and AJ, being the good-hearted person she was, took him up on his offer. Punk was a bit surprised that she would agree to this, but he also satisfied because now they had an opportunity to air out any grievances that they had, if any, about each other, while at the same try and come to grips with the possibility that the lingering feelings they once had for one another had not only resurfaced, but also intensified and blossomed into something that neither could anticipate happening.

As for their time together currently in the moment, they barely paid much attention to each other, choosing to instead wait on their food to be brought to them. AJ, with her glasses framed on her face, wore a simple blank lime-green t-shirt with a beige long-sleeved soft fabric coat on top of it to keep her arms warm. She was also decked out in simple blue jeans, topping it off with her trademark black and white Converse sneakers.

Punk's choice of attire featured of course his well-known and worn-out 1969 Chicago Cubs cap, a black Ramones t-shirt, and a pair of blue jeans for him as well, complete with regular fashioned gym shoes. One thing that Punk always relished was that even though he was a world famous athlete and competitor, he could occasionally enjoy not being as easily recognizable, compared to, for instance, a John Cena. His formal casual wear helped conceal his privacy even more, and that was one of his favorite perks. The same could be said for AJ as well. If you hadn't seen them on TV every week, you would think these were two casual people having a casual lunch together about their casual lives.

But these two weren't exactly casual people, and this was nowhere near a casual lunch. Sure, they wanted to just take it all in for a moment before returning to the grind, but they also had serious matters to discuss. Whether or not they would make a breakthrough, or breakdown during it, had remained to be seen.

As for now, something needed to be done to break the ice between them. There food would arrive shortly, and they barely said anything to each other aside from the welcoming hellos they greeted each other with once one spotted the other at the table they would share. What was the point of being here if they weren't going to talk about anything, especially about the certain lingering 800-lb. gorilla of a topic that was the main reason behind this get-together? Punk needed to do something to dissolve the awkward nervous tension between them, and he needed to do it fast. Luckily, he had found a way to do so.

"So... what you think about the upcoming X-Men movie?"

The mere utterance of that quickly caused AJ to snap her eyeballs away from it's sideways glance, and onto Punk with a measured look of curiosity.

"That did the trick," he thought inwardly with a seldom smirk. AJ, as everyone around her knew, was a well-known and self-professed nerd. Her love and knowledge of anything ranging from comic books to movies, video games to television helped earn her the reputation as the "Geek Goddess" of the WWE, and when it came to the subject of her beloved X-Men, AJ would all eyes and ears when talking about and breaking down the aspects of the mutant heroes.

"Well... actually, I kinda am," she slowly acknowledged. She felt a little weary as to why Punk asked her this, but if it meant actual conversation between the two, then she didn't mind it. "In fact, I'm more than excited for it. I'm really pumped!" she happily admitted. "I mean, I thought what they did with 'The Last Stand' was the complete epitome of 'suckittude', but they TOTALLY redeemed themselves with 'First Class'. Professor X and Magneto looked so cute when they were younger!" she beamed excitedly, giggling bubbly after that last admission.

Even though Punk didn't particularly needed to hear that last remark concerning the characters' good looks, knowing it might trigger some internal jealousy within him, he didn't exactly mind it either. As long as it got AJ involved with talking to him, he would accept it greatly. Plus, any excuse to hear the adoring sound of AJ's tittering laugh, complete with her megawatt smile, was right and justified in his mind.

What soon followed after that little blurb was AJ and Punk wanted to do all along, but couldn't quite get to, and that was just talk. And they talked about everything and anything under the season about a multitude of topics, even after their food had arrived at the table. Aside from a few paused breaks in between to enjoy their meal, their chatting lasted quite awhile, ranging from other comic fabled warriors, to the specific movies they had ever loved or hated; to even the latest and greatest in the video game industry, before finally reviewing and critiquing some of the hottest recent shows on TV. AJ knew that Punk was an avid fan of "The Walking Dead", but his revelation about another favorite of his caught her attention immensely.

"Wait, what? You watch 'Game of Thrones'?" AJ queried incredulously.

"Yep," Punk cooly replied. "Got the DVDs to prove it. I'm not so much of an hardcore fan enough that I proclaim my allegiance and loyalty to 'House Stark' or 'House Lannister' or whomever. However, I do recognize a good show when I see one, and this is it and then some. The designs are detailed, the story is remarkable, and the music is downright epic."

"Oh, my God, I know, right?" AJ interjected enthusiastically. "Especially the opening credits. Sometimes I can't help myself but just sing along with it, even though there's no words or lyrics!" she revealed to him unabashedly before giggling once more, only this time at the absurdity of that action, and how absurd it was to let Punk know about it.

At that point, she half-expected Punk to make some mean-spirited joke, chastising her for doing such a silly trivial thing, but he surprised her when instead he said, "Nah, I don't blame ya. It is pretty damn catchy. One of the best theme songs I've ever heard in my life."

AJ softly smiled in appreciation at Punk's words, becoming fully engrossed in the conversation they were having. She was simply enjoying being in his company. And maybe even more than that...

But before AJ's mind could fall into a endlessly wondering daydream about her and Punk, they continued on with their discussion.

"But you know the one thing I really love about that show? The characters. The characters are so well-written, so thought out, so complex, that it really makes you want to tune in every week," he praised tremendously. "It also helps that they have such fine terrific actors and actresses performing these roles, making whatever we feel about their specific character is genuine, and not some bored hapless nonsense. They make us love them or hate with pure intensity and emotion."

"I know what you mean," AJ replied. "I absolutely adore Tyrion, but I also think that Joffrey is the biggest dickbag in the history of dickbags." The certain choice of noun that AJ used to describe the young Baratheon certainly surprised Punk, and caused him to chuckle. Usually, she was not one to use foul language for only exceptional circumstances, but this expression of disdain was something to behold for him. If he didn't know how much disdain she had for the spoiled golden-haired boy king of Westeros, he sure as hell did now.

"I always thought he was a whiny little brat, but after what he did to poor Ned, I have had nothing but black-hearted hatred for him ever since. He is such a smug, arrogant, prima donna, awful little piss-ant that I just want to punch in the face every single time I see him," she ranted effortlessly.

"Hmm, that's weird," Punk lamented.

"Why is that?" AJ asked hesitantly, her brows slightly knotting up.

"Because by your detailed description," he explained, "I would have thought you were talking about Dolph."

That ripping quip about her ex-boyfriend wasn't supposed to be funny. It honestly wasn't. But for some unknown reason that she couldn't comprehend, the moment she heard that comment, AJ remained in a stilled silence for a brief second, before immediately sputtering into a hard wheeze, so long and so loud that Punk feared she might have thrown out her vocal cords, or worst strained her neck. But the next sound that followed soon after quelled down those concerns, even if it made their predicament look a little goofy, and quite silly.

It was laughter. AJ was laughing at this.

What started out as a quiet giggle, then transcended into a few rumbling chuckles, eventually evolving into downright hysterical laughter from AJ, as she threw her head and belly laughed with great intensity. She couldn't help it; after thinking over what she had just said prior, combined with Punk's witty sharp delivery, it such created a massive sniping burn of Dolph. So much so that it did nothing more but elicit a very humorous response from her, rib-tickling her funny bone to it's very core.

While AJ continued to just laugh and laugh, Punk felt something come over himself as well. Maybe it was because of how what he just said was actually funny, or maybe because of AJ's adorably infectious behavior, but soon enough, Punk himself was spouting out a few snickers of his own. If the sight of two people sitting at a table, randomly beginning to laugh out of nowhere looked awkward enough, what came next only intensified said awkwardness.

In the midst of her own merriment, and quite frankly not under her own control, a quick but easily recognizable snort left AJ's nose and mouth, forcing her to immediately bring her hands up to her face, covering the area while gasping in shock. She had hoped Punk did not notice, but it was too late, and the damage had been done. And the look on Punk's face as he reacted was one of bewildered amusement. But after only a few moments of a silent and nervous pause, the tension was broken, and AJ and Punk's laughter increased tenfold, harder and louder than before.

From the way Punk had to slam his fist on the table while covering his face, to the way AJ was holding her sides together with actual tears in her eyes, you would have thought these two had seen a stand-up comedian perform the most gut-busting joke they had ever heard in their lives.

Alas, it was merely two people that shared common interests, and common twerks reacting in their own common way.

Finally, after a few moments, Punk and AJ calmed down, the last of their laugh attack fading out and leaving their bodies, coughing and clearing out unwanted mucus from their throats as they breathed in needed gulps of air. "That may be the hardest I've laughed in ages. God, I needed that, especially after going through all that BS with Dolph," AJ stated, taking her glasses off momentarily to wipe the tears from her eyes.

"Glad to be of comedic service to you," Punk boasted slyly.

"Sure, Punk, whatever you say," AJ volleyed back while rolling her eyes.

Their laughing fit now over, the talks returned to more serious matters, the main conflict being what to do about the status of their re-emerging relationship, which was at the moment in limbo.

"What happened to us, Punk?" AJ sighed out. "I mean, there was something building between us, something so special, and then before we realized what we had, or how we could have done something to progress it, it was gone. Then it was replaced by something bitter and ugly, so much so that we couldn't even stand the sight of each other."

"What happened?" Punk echoed, wanting to give his take. "What happened was that when you became General Manager, you became power hungry, incensed, and got too personally involved in things. Not to mention, you had a tendency to be unfair."

"Whoa, whoa, cool it there, Jethro," AJ fired back. "Let's not forget that before I became General Manager, you decided that after you were done decimating Daniel, you put me in the rearview mirror, caring more about your stupid belt than you did about me."

"It's not a belt, it's a title," he reminded, interrupting her.

"Did I say you could you could speak, yet?" she asked, very annoyed.

"No."

"Well, then shut up and wait for me to finish, then!" she exclaimed tartly.

Punk really wanted to spout off something fierce to AJ right then and there, but out of respect he put the leash on his rabid tongue, for now at least.

"Now, where were we? Ah, yes! I remember. After Money in the Bank last year, you made clear that you cared about more your belt," she emphasized this time, doing it purposely to spite him before continuing on with, "than you did about me. And the night I was named GM, that was also the same night you turned your back on everyone... including me."

Punk wanted to refute those claims and shoot them down immediately, but deep down inside, he knew AJ was telling the truth. In his quest to gain respect from everyone, he lost the very same respect that many others back in the locker room had for him. And with some of the actions he had pulled out there in recent months, it was hard not to see why.

But that wasn't all AJ had to say.

"You know... there were times a few months ago, when I was at my lowest, when I lost my job as General Manager, I need soothing. I needed comfort. And someone did provide it for me."

Punk felt his jaws tighten, and a jealous scowl appeared on his face. He knew full well who AJ was talking about, and was prepared to suffer through her intricately describing the details of how it went, and wax on poetically of how the leader of the Cenation became the perfect shoulder to cry on.

"But the person who comforted me... wasn't the one I wanted."

What was that? What did she just say?

Punk thought his mind was playing tricks on him, because he couldn't believe what he had just heard. If Cena wasn't the one, then who in the hell was it?

"I so wanted it to be you, Punk," AJ revealed in a hushed tone. "You were the one who said you cared too much about me to not lie to me, and though I didn't respond to that positively, deep down... I appreciated it. I took it to heart. And I thought maybe... just maybe... when the day came that I was in deep water, and I needed someone to be in my corner, I thought it'd be you, Punk."

She stopped herself briefly before continuing, pausing a moment to help gather herself. She was not going to be some crybaby little girl; she would deal with this head on.

"And when you didn't, I gotta admit, it hurt me. It hurt me real bad. But I didn't hold a grudge, because maybe, and this is probably a testitude to how foolish and gullible I am, but maybe if you were the one that was in a bad spot, and didn't have a hand to grab onto, to pull you out from the abyss of it all... I would make sure that the hand you grabbed would be mine."

Punk was left silent by this admission from AJ, his stoic expression now tendered as a result of her words. He never knew how she felt this way before, or more correctly, how she still felt now. He could have attempted to try and think of what to say to try and respond to that confession, but he knew that whatever he might say would not even compare to what AJ had said. That's why in that moment, rather talking, he let his actions do the talking for him this time around.

In a moment that could be described as tender, a word that Punk would never liked to be associated with, he reached his arm out, and without saying a word, touched AJ's hand, covering her tanned small one with his bigger, tattooed one. AJ, obviously surprised by this course of action, initially wanted to snatch her hand back, but instead, she let it subside, because deep down, a part of her let it be because she missed that sense of touch from him on her so much, she welcomed it gratefully.

Looking up from the table, AJ found herself staring into Punk's mossy green eyes, with him looking right back at her soulful brown ones, as they stood still, in time almost, and gazed not just at each other's eyes, but into each other's very soul. They were oblivious to everyone else's presence in the restaurant. As far as they were concerned, they were the only two people in the world at that moment.

Then, as if they almost knew exactly what they were both doing at the same, they simultaneously began to lean their heads forward, turning them at an angle, with their eyes slowly closing. As they inched closer and closer, AJ could feel her heart begin to beat rapidly. She didn't know she was going to handle this, but she didn't care. She wanted this; she craved this, and now, she almost literally taste it as Punk's lips were dangerously to making contact with hers.

And when the moment finally came that Punk and AJ's mouths would crash together, engaging in a warm, soft and loving kiss...

...it didn't.

Because for some reason, a reason that could not be explained, Punk abruptly stopped as his lips were mere centimeters away from AJ's, and slowly leaned back into his seat.

AJ, her eyes still closed, and her mouth still in a pouting motion ready for the kiss, could not understand what was going on, before she opened her eyes, witnessing Punk back in his grounded spot, and shattering her ever optimistic fantasy, bringing her crashing back to reality.

"What's wrong?" AJ asked, her confused face summing up her present feelings perfectly. Punk shifted his eyes around nervously, thinking of something to say.

"I... I... I gotta... go pick something something up for Paul!" he stated suddenly, as AJ's expression switched from confused to downright skeptical. "Yeah, yeah, that was it! He wanted something from a novelty store somewhere, but I forgot what. You know what? I should probably leave now, try to remember what he wanted, and go out and get before the House Show starts," he lied shamelessly.

Suddenly grabbing in to his side pocket, Punk pulled out his wallet, took out a couple of $20 bills, and then proceeded to place them down on the table. "There, that should cover for everything we got here today."

A few seconds later, he pulled out another bill, this one a ten, and placed it right in front of AJ.

"Here, be sure to remember to give this to the waitress as a tip, OK? I'm sure she would love it."

Trying to think of what else to say, and fast before AJ could even said a word, Punk quickly got got up from his seat, and rapidly uttered, "Well, gotta go. Perhaps we can do something like this again sometime, yeah? Yeah, OK. Welp, gotta run. See you around, AJ," before walking rather swiftly towards the front door, and out of the restaurant.

AJ didn't know what to feel. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that what Punk just said was a complete and total lie. After contemplating what emotion to feel, she eventually settled on saddened, because she wished he would just express so much of what he was feeling about not being over her the way she had been for him, instead of backing off from it and curdling into a self-wrapped cocoon, a personal bubble of insecurity. There were signs with the hand touch, but other than that, nothing

With nothing else to do, AJ went back to finish eating her meal, and when she was done, she made sure everything was paid for with the money Punk left for her, tipped the waitress, thanked for the food, and got up and walked away herself, existing the Village Tavern.

As she left, and went to her car preparing to venture to the arena to get herself ready for the House Show, a small slowly traveled down AJ's cheek, perfectly summing up how discouraged and disappointed she was that this little endeavour ended on an extremely sour note.

Author's Note:

Yeeeeah... I'm sure you guys hate me now after that, lol.

Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, fav'd and followed this story from the get-go, especially my besties Jean-TheGuardian, RonRon10, and RunninOnCrazy. It means a lot. BTW, check those authors I've mentioned stuff out here on FF, their shit is DOPE!

But anyway, here's what I've done since I was last in contact with you guys (WARNING: THIS IS LENGTHY)

Even though my Michigan Wolverines didn't win the National Championship, I'm still proud of my boys for one hell of a season. Thanks for the memories guys, good luck to Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway, Jr. in the NBA, and #GoBlue! Now onto Tigers and Red Wings, lol.

WHAT I FELT ABOUT WRESTLEMANIA:

The Shield remains strong, I like that.

Biggest surprise of the night was Mark Henry going over Ryback. Happy for Mark, and Ryback's actions after the match set in motion his heel turn, I think.

Fandango kept up with Jericho, which was nice to see, and he got the win. Good for him.

Punk and Taker stole the fucking show. PERIOD. That was MOTN, and a MOTY candidate if I ever saw one. Blew HHH/Brock and Rock/Cena out the goddamn ocean. Punk also hurt his leg bad during the match, so him taking time off could not come at a more perfect time. Enjoy your time off, Punk. Chill back, relax, go to UFC shows and baseball games with Amy, heal up and recharge, and you'll be better than ever when you return. #BestInTheWorld

The Bellas got cut from the card, lol.

HHH/Brock may have been the worst match of the night, other than Ryback/Henry. Seriously. It was fucking BORING. It went on 5-10 minutes way too long, thanks to Hunter using the Kimura 50 fucking million times, and no blood. I may sound like an Attitude Era mark, but with a match this personal, and with the stakes so high, no color in this was very disappointing.

As for "Twice In A Lifetime", I'm not mad that Cena won, it's HOW he did it. A simple, clean pin in the middle of the ring? That really shows your desperation on wanting to get redemption there, John. *rolls eyes*

It was basically the same match as last year, with about 20 million counter reversals of the same move. The crowd wasn't into it for about 10 minutes, and were even chanting "BORING" at one point. They also booed the handshake/respect thing at the end.

And let me say this: The Rock did the right thing in putting Cena over, no issue with that. The problem I have is that it happened the way many fans feared would happened. There was no freshness, very little unpredictability, and the end result was something Cena haters (both partial and extreme) hate: His big goofy no-selling smile as he holds the title high and pyro goes off. I would have thought he would hit Rock with the belt after the hug, but alas, I was wrong.

I just wanted something DIFFERENT this year, that was all.

PS: That dirt sheet report about Rock walking out on the company was bullshit, as Rock was injured, like legit injured, tweeted constantly about his injury, and shot down those reports in an interview with Paul Rosenberg. Look it on up YouTube.

Now, as for my favorite Crazy Chick AJ, I could complain about her not wrestling on this particular card, but it would be pointless.

Even though I am a self-admitted AJ mark, homerism and fan bias has it's limits. It would not make AJ look right if she was all boo-hoo about not wrestling on Mania, considering the year she had in 2012. She was the GENERAL MANAGER OF RAW for Christ's sake.

So yeah, while it would have been great to see her wrestle at WM, especially considering the fact that it's in her hometown, I think AJ is extremely grateful and satisfied that she even made the show at all, and even though I dislike that mindset that some superstars have (happy just to make on TV, but not enough drive to take it to the next level and be world champ or whatevs), in this case, I will make an exception, because while AJ got her spot, and rightfully so, guys like Cody, Sandow, and Cesaro, who was the fucking US Champion and had held it since SUMMERSLAM, didn't. I feel more bad for those guys than I would for AJ.

Again, AJ not wrestling on the card this year is not the end of the world. She has all the time to keep improving her skills, moveset, build even more towards her character over the next year, so that by the time WrestleMania XXX rolls around, or maybe even sooner, when AJ becomes Divas Champion, that moment will be all the more special. It would feel incredibly rushed if they did it now. Also, she needs to be a babyface to make the moment more satisfying to complete her underdog story.

Now again, this all depends on whether or not WWE will even give a flying fuck about the Divas division to spend that time building up someone (whether it be Kaitlyn or whomever) to be that perfect counterpart to AJ, that Trish to her Lita.

Lastly, congrats to Dolph Ziggler for cashing in and becoming World Champion. It's about goddamn time.

And that's my 2 cents. Sorry for the long ass read folks, lol.

Catch ya next time for the next chapter, which hopefully won't take as long as this one did! :-)

#PunkleeNation