A Criminal Mind
Tom yawned loudly, his jaw popping
"Uhmmmm." He moaned, rolling over, reaching for Evan, but his side of the bed was empty, except for Lizard. "Oh yeah, he left this morning."
Evan hated drama. Once Tom had spilled the entire story to him, Evan decided he'd rather be anywhere else but there. This saddened Tom, but he understood. If Jeff wasn't blood, Tom doubted he want to be there either.
"I guess it's breakfast for three." Tom petted Lizard before rolling himself out of bed.
In the hall, he passed by the guest room where his two brothers had been sharing quarters. Jeff had gotten over Jack's attack relatively quickly, but neither Matt nor Tom were willing to let their little brother out of their sight for very long.
Work was also out of the question. Vince was reluctant to continually redraft rosters every time one of the brothers had a personal problem, so he made it quite clear that all three of them would be returning to their OWN brands when they did come back. This point was driven home quite forcefully when Vince said "If you don't like it, go to TNA!" or words to that effect.
In the kitchen, there was an envelope on the kitchen table, addressed to Tom in Evan's handwriting.
"He finally chipping in for the groceries?" Tom asked
There were two things inside. One was indeed a cheque, the other was a letter. It was this that grabbed Tom's attention.
"Dear Tom, by the time you receive this, I will hopefully be back on the road because there is no way that I could say this to you in person. I have been giving this a lot of thought and I have come to the realization that I can't go on being second string to what's going on with Jeff. I thought I would be okay with this, but knowing what little time we have together anyway doesn't help. That said, you're a great friend, an excellent lover, and an awesome tag-team partner, but until Jeff doesn't need you twenty-four seven, I think it would be best if we just remained partners in the ring, not out, assuming you'd still want to when you return.
Enclosed is a cheque for my share of the bills while I was staying here. If it's not enough, let me know. Evan."
That was it. No 'love', no 'sincerely', just 'Evan'.
Tom leaned against a counter, letting Evan's harsh words wash over him.
"Well, I guess it just wasn't meant to be." Tom sighed "Now what was I doing? Oh yeah, breakfast."
Somewhat mechanically, Tom went about the ritual of making breakfast. He craved pancakes this morning and by God, pancakes was what he was going to make. They sure smelled good, regardless.
"Mmm... pancakes." Tom inhaled the mouth-watering aroma deeply. "Must have pancakes."
"Must have pancakes too." Tom whirled at the echo. Jeff was standing behind him, Bunny in hand, looking like he'd stayed awake too damn long the night before.
"Morning, Jeffers... you want?" Tom asked
"Mm-hmm." Jeff grabbed a plate and stood beside Tommy, anticipating food.
"It's gonna be a few minutes. Did you take your meds?" Tom asked. Jeff's habit of forgetting things like his medication, his wallet, his pants was well-known by all.
"Yup." Jeff replied
"How about you set the table instead of standing here watching me?" Tom demanded
"Okay." With much clatter, Jeff put plates, silverware, and glasses on the table. To Tom's chagrin, Jeff set four places.
"Uh, bro, Evan won't be joining us." Tom swallowed hard.
"Oh." Jeff cleared away the extra serving pieces. "He already left."
"Yup." The conversation's topic needed to be changed and fast or Tom was going to snap. Mercifully, Evan's letter was securely in Tom's back pocket before Jeff could read it. No matter how many times he was told not to, Jeff's annoying habit of reading anything that wasn't bolted down kept showing up at the worst times.
"I smell pancakes." The middle Hardy clomped down the stairs, pulling a t-shirt on as he did.
"Sit. Pancakes ready soon." Tom almost punched himself when he heard how he sounded. "God, you're starting to talk like Jeff." His conscience berated him.
"Just three?" Matt asked
Tom but his lip hard enough to break skin so that he wouldn't tear into Matt either. "Just tell them, get it off your chest, then you won't get so angry every time some little thing comes up!"
"Damn conscience, always being right." Tom mumbled
"Five minutes until breaky." Tom called, leaning on the half-wall separating the kitchen and dining room. "But I need words with both of you."
"'sup bro?" Matt asked, looking mildly concerned
"Evan and I broke up." Tom answered
Jeff dropped the fork he'd been playing with. Matt looked shocked. Bunny didn't seem to care much one way or the other.
"What happened?" Matt asked
"I'm not gonna get into it, because it's no one's business but mine and Evan's. Let's just say shit happens." Tom returned to his cooking, a little heavier in the heart, but lighter in the shoulders.
Jeff looked at Matt, mouthing "It's my fault."
Matt shook his head. "Don't even think that, Jeffro."
Jeff stared at his plate, dejectedly tapping his fork against it.
"Jeff, it isn't your fault, if that's what you're thinking." Tom said, bringing in a plate piled high with fluffy pancakes. Just to prove his point, he kissed Jeff on the top of the head before he sat down.
"How did you know?"
"Jeff, you are one of the easiest people on the planet to read. I guess it just wasn't meant for us to be together. It'll be fun when I go back to work." Tom answered
"Back to work?" Jeff gulped nervously. Apparently that thought hadn't crept into his mind yet.
"That was something else I wanted to talk to you two about, but since I have to go back to ECW, no ifs and's or but's about it, I think I'll postpone that discussion until later." Tom said "Evan is over me, but it's gonna take a while for me to get over Evan."
But get over he did. It took a lot of sleepless nights, cuddles with Lizard (and Bunny when Jeff wasn't around... don't tell him!), but Tom rejoined ECW, just in time to get thrown into another storyline, this time with Captain Charisma himself.
His dealings with Jay had been few and far between, other than his involvement with the late John Morrison. It appeared that Jay hadn't quite shelved his own angst over it when Tom first met up with him to discuss whatever it was they were supposed to be doing. Just having dropped the title to Tommy Dreamer, the other Tom figured it was the start of a push to get back in the title picture.
Down the corridor he strolled, once more feeling like a kid on his first day of school, hoping that he wouldn't have to answer a lot of repetitive questions about Jeff, his time off, or the news flash that he'd killed a man. Two murders under his belt, and he wasn't even forty! What a life, eh?
Sprawled out in catering, a book in one hand, a sub in the other, Jay looked really deep in whatever it was he was reading, even if it happened to be a copy of "How to talk to Girls".
"I guess you heard we're working together tonight?" Tom debated whether he should bother disturbing Jay or not.
"Somethin' like that." Jay didn't even look up.
"Just checkin'. Well, at least I don't lisp."
"Nothin' against you, but I'd rather get tonight over with and then move on." Still staring at his book, Jay refused to make even the tiniest bit of eye contact with Tom.
"Jay, that was six fuckin' months ago. Why the hell are you still killing yourself over that?" Hopefully Tom's assumption was correct and Jay still felt guilty for breaking up Jeff and John.
"Unless you cut his brake lines, there is nothing for you to be ashamed about." Tom added
"How do you know I didn't?" Jay retorted
"Because you don't have it in you." Tom answered "Believe me, I know."
"Yeah, I heard." Jay answered. Tom's talk hadn't cheered him up, that was for sure.
"Fine, then. Let's get our match together, get through it, and then go our separate ways." Tom grabbed a chair. "Though I don't know why I'm taking the brunt of this guilt trip."
"Yes you do." Jay said, finally tearing his eyes from his book to stare at Tom. The look was similar to Matt's death stare. Creepy.
Closing his own eyes, Tom mentally replayed the incidents following Morrison's death. Something wasn't right in Jay's mind, but Tom couldn't figure it out immediately. Until he realized that he already knew the answer.
"Are you ticked off because I was the only one who didn't apologize?"
"You finally figured it out." Jay smiled condescendingly. "It's about fuckin' time. Do you know how much shit I went through over this? Once it got out that I was 'involved' with Morrison the day before he died, everyone around here treated me like a murderer!"
"Jay, I guess I wasn't paying much attention... I had other things to worry about."
"And I didn't? For fuck's sakes, man, even Jeff made good with me. He knew that I was an innocent bystander, regardless of what the papers were saying. But you? You've said three words to me since..."
"So why the hell didn't you come to me sooner, rather than let this thing fester?" Tom demanded. So what if Jay had problems, the mature thing would've been to confront Tom right away rather than let it grow, which is what he did.
"Because you were too busy protecting your little brother, that's why!" Jay tossed his book and his half-eaten sandwich aside and finally faced Tom. "Since day one with this company, it's always been about family to you... always there for Matt and Jeff... well, they weren't the only ones who needed some support back then. I guess you were just too self-centered to see it!"
Tom stared at his shoes. Jay's words had made him feel about two feet tall.
"Jay... I'm sorry?" Tom apologized, though it sounded more like a question.
"You should be." Jay answered "But that doesn't make up for the lost time."
"If you really wanna take it out on me, we can make it an extreme rules match tonight. You can do whatever the hell you want out there, if it'll make you feel better." Tom volunteered
"I don't want to fuckin' hurt you, Hardy. I just want you to understand." His tone softened, and it looked like Jay had finally calmed down.
"I do. Thanks." Tom sighed "Is this where we kiss and make up?"
"Yeah, right. I don't go that way any more. Don't you got someone?" Jay answered
"Nope. Evan and I are finished. I guess my self-centeredness drove him away too." Tom smirked
"Don't get the wrong idea about what I said. It's not a bad thing to care that much, but when you start forgetting about everyone else, then it's a real relationship-breaker."
"Dammit, Jay, why can't I do anything right?" Tom sat down on a crate, not minding the splinters in his ass. "I drove Evan away because I was too stupid to see what I had. That's probably why Jeff and I fell apart as well...?" Why else would Jeff had left him for a game-show contestant in the first place?
"I can't speak for what happened between you and Jeff, but Evan doesn't seem to be the same since the split." Jay answered
"He's probably happier."
"I don't think so." Jay replied "Maybe if you talked to him, you'd know."
"I can't deal with Evan right now. You've been through break-ups, you know how it is." Tom sighed
"You're gonna hafta at some point." Jay said "You're on the same brand."
"You know it." Tom rolled his eyes when he heard how Ryder-ish he sounded.
"Your life... your decisions... your relationships." Jay said "I'm just an observer."
"But right now, I wish you were like Al in Quantum Leap. I wish you'd tell me what I need to do."
"It's easy, man. If you want him back, go for it. Hell, I'll even let you air it on 'The Peep Show'." Jay volunteered. "Evan's already scheduled. He's supposedly airing this big thing about how he's not being respected by the locker room and how he wants title shots."
"What's the catch?" The offer sounded too good to be true, and that usually meant it was. At least that was Tom's experience.
"No catch." Jay smiled "If this works out, you'll owe me one at some point." Jay smiled and went into the locker room.
"Owe you one? Great!" Tom groaned. Jay's way of cashing favors was well-gossiped about, or so Tom had heard, It could range from anything from dinner to a full-body massage, to washing and waxing his Escalade.
Tom paced in front of his locker while he waited for his time. The match wasn't until the end of the show, so he didn't bother getting into his tights just yet.
"Hey, Tommy. You got some fans in the front row." Katie Lea Burchill handed him an envelope when she returned from watching her brother Paul finally get a win, even if it was against some unknown.
"Thank-you." Tom responded in his own clipped accent. He had this bad habit of affecting the accent of whomever he was speaking to. Katie Lea and Paul didn't mind, in fact they seemed to think it was cute, but it had caused a problem with Finlay.
"I heard about you and Evan." She said "If you want to talk to someone, I'm here." She patted his hand.
"I got in under control. Don't worry. It will make things interesting around here, but I'm not like Jeff... I can handle it." Tom replied
"I'm sure you can." She smiled.
"Are you hitting on my sister?" Paul demanded
Tom wondered just where Paul was coming from. The locker room knew that Tom was now officially 'out', at least as far as the boys in the back were concerned, and after tonight, the entire wrestling world would know. It wasn't until he saw the cameras that it clicked. Damn Tiffany and her do-it-on-the-fly attitude.
"Paul, why would I do that?" Tom asked
"You better not be. You know what I do to people who do that?" Paul replied
"Yeah. You lose matches to them. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some in-ring business to deal with." Tom walked away, leaving Paul glaring at his back.
"I guess that's who I am wrestling next week." Tom mumbled, waiting at the gorilla position for his time. While he waited, he watched the Peep Show with interest. Evan was trying to make his turn, but Jay kept dragging the interview back to Evan's relationship with Tom. As he watched, he remembered the 'fan' letter Katie Lea had given him. Tearing it open with interest, his eyes widened.
"Good luck, Tommy... we'll be watching. M and J."
"What?" Tom watched the monitors a little more closely now. Katie Lea said that it had been given to her while she was at ringside. Did that mean that his brothers were at the show?
In the ring, Christian was about to make the swing to bring Tom out.
"Now, Evan, does that mean that your tag-team partnership with Tom Hardy is now over? You made quite a good team!"
"We were good, no great partners, but I need to go off on my own if I am going to make a name for myself in ECW!" Evan answered
"How about outside the ring? There are rumors going around that you two were an item." Christian stuck the mic in Evan's face, who suddenly forgot what he was going to say.
"I don't know what you've heard, but there was nothing going on. I'm not gay." Evan retorted
Tom's music sting hit and he came out (ooh, bad choice of words) to an ovation. He was more interested in seeing if Matt and Jeff were at the show than the crowd response. Down the ramp, he came, halfheartedly glad-handing the ringside spectators, then he saw them. Front row left ringside. The problem was how to at least say hi to them. Since his return, Matty had taken over looking after Jeff, and they were both close to returning as well, or so he'd been told.
"Oh well." Tom decided to slap hands around the ring. It was a longer entrance than usual, but what the hell, right?
"I guess the other Hardys came out to support Tom on his first night back." Matthews guessed, watching Tom stop and hug both brothers before continuing around the ring.
"It would seem that way. The Hardy family has had it's share of tragedies over the past year. It's nice to see that they're moving forward." Matt Striker replied
Tom stepped inside the ring and stared at Evan. Christian immediately gave him props.
"Welcome back to ECW, Hardy."
"Thanks, man. It's been a long road, but The Future is Now!" Until he was able to come up with a better gimmick, "The Future" was still on the books.
"Why are you out here? This is my time!" Evan shouted
Tom gave Christian a "can you believe this guy" look.
"No, Evan, this is my time. My time to set the record straight." (damn, wrong word again) Tom stared out at the crowd, thankful that this wasn't the deep south. "Since I've been in the WWE, I have dealt with trying to please everyone else around me. The Chairman, the Board of Directors, the guys in the locker room, and the fans. Screw it, it's time for me to be true to myself."
"Just what are you saying?" Christian asked. Evan looked deathly pale.
"I, Tom Hardy," he took a deep breath, steadying his nerves. "am gay. I finally decided what better way to get this out in the open than to confront my ex-boyfriend right here tonight!" He'd suddenly decided that he was gonna go for it. Forget about Evan, Tom was going to make things right with one person tonight, even if it meant a public flogging.
"You liar!" Evan shouted.
"Shut the hell up, Evan! If you hadn't been so determined to keep our relationship a secret, I would be embarrassing you like this." Tom stared right at Evan's face, even ignoring Christian.
Evan swallowed loudly. He hoped his Mom wasn't watching this. Boy would there be questions next Christmas.
"I don't know what you've been drinking, but there was nothing between us. Nothing! We were tag team partners. That. Was. All."
"Yeah, we tag-teamed alright." This comment brought laughter from the crowd, all of whom started to believe that this was legit. Tom had that power to make people believe what he was saying was the truth, regardless of whether he was in character or not. "But that's fine if you don't want to admit what we had. I don't care... I've gotten over you. There's someone much more important to me in my life, and tonight I want to let him know just how I feel."
"Who?" Christian asked
"I wasn't gonna do it like this, but since he's here... Jeff, would you come into the ring please?"
Jeff entered the ring to cheers. Tom took Jeff's hand in his and gently rubbed it. "This may be the hardest thing a person has to admit to, and I know that it'll be hard for most people to accept, but Jeff, I love you more than anything else on this planet. I've hidden my true feelings from you for so long. I tried to pretend that it didn't matter when you were with someone else, but you know how that went."
"Right here, in front of these witnesses, I want to make my intentions clear. All I can offer you is what's in my heart, and my head. You know what we have is special and I want to make it official. Jeffrey Nero Hardy," Tom got down on his knee. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you be my life-partner?"
The arena was silent. This was a first... Tom had broken three taboos in the span of five minutes. He'd admitted to being gay, being in love with his brother, and actually proposing to him in front of millions of people. He was either very brave or very stupid.
Jeff was stunned. Through all the trials, all the ups and downs, he'd always known that this was what he'd wanted. But to actually say 'yes' in front of everyone was something completely different.
"Tommy, I don't know what to say." Jeff stuttered
"Say yes. Make me the happiest man in the whole world." Tom answered "Tell the rest of the world that love conquers everything."
Jeff sighed, staring at his feet. When he finally looked up, his eyes were wet. He nodded. "Yes."
TBC
For those of you who wanted answers, you got 'em! But, will everyone be so supportive?