Disclaimer : I do not own any of the characters mentioned herein. This is pure fiction, written for entertainment only.

Thank you for the reviews. If anyone is interested, you may wish to check up "A Tout Le Monde" by CodyRhodesFan and "Dry" by BreakingFable.

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Chapter 21

As soon as the door closed, Cena grabbed Jeff by the waist and mashed their mouths together. Jeff protested weakly as Cena pushed him backwards, his fingers working feverishly to free buttons and belts. "J..John … we don't have time!"

He gasped as he was shoved on the bed and Cena quickly climbed on top of him. "I can't wait much longer!" he growled as he freed Jeff's legs from his pants and spread them open.

"But, John, we'll be late!" but Cena was already pushing in his cockhead. He cried out as Cena filled him.

"Sweet mother of Jesus!" Cena groaned at the tight fit. He gave Jeff a brief moment of respite before moving. Pleasurable sensations begin to sweep through Jeff as Cena pulled and thrust into his body at a fast pace. He squeezed his eyes shut, giving in to the sensations and arched to meet his thrusts eagerly. His breaths hitched each time Cena rammed into him. "Take me all the way, Jeff!" Cena rasped as he buried deeper into him with each thrust.

"Oh … God …." Jeff gasped, clawing at his back as he neared orgasm. He hollered as he came, barely registering the warmth filling him before he went limp with exhaustion.

Cena rolled off him, panting harshly. He pulled him into his arms and nuzzled him. "Love you" he murmured drowsily.

Jeff sighed contentedly as he snuggled closer to him. "Love you too," he mumbled in reply. Both men finally succumbed to their exhaustion and allowed sleep to claim them.

…..

His eyes flew open with a start. Something had wakened him up. And then, he heard the pounding at the door and Matt calling out to them.

'Oh shit! The meeting!'

"Wake up, Jeff! We have to get to the meeting!" Cena jumped off the bed and started hopping into his clothes.

Jeff sat up drowsily, rubbing his eyes. "What's wrong? Who's at the door?"

"It's your brother! You have to get dressed! We are late for the meeting!"

Jeff came to full awareness. "Shit! We're going to be in so much trouble!" As he dressed quickly, Cena went to get the door.

Matt scowled at him, hands on his hips. "What took you so long? I've been hollering outside for a good ten minutes!" His eyes took in his disheveled look and he looked past him to see Jeff zipping up his pants. "You just can't wait, can you?" he scolded. Cena gave him a sheepish look, running his fingers through his hair.

Matt let out a sigh of resignation. "Just get a move on it, everyone's waiting on you guys." He turned around to leave.

"Why didn't Vince just start without us?" Cena asked as he and Jeff hurried after him.

"He said he wanted everyone to be there. We waited but when both of you didn't show after some time, he sent me to look for you," Matt explained. He smirked as he said, "You better have a ready explanation for him. You know how he hates to be kept waiting."

As soon as they stepped into the conference room, all eyes turned to them. Snickers were heard as Vince fixed them with a glare. "It took you both long enough! I hope you have a good reason for keeping us waiting for almost half an hour!"

Jeff squirmed uncomfortably. He couldn't very well tell Vince the real reason why they were late and looked to Cena for help.

"We were tired and kinda fell asleep," Cena informed Vince sheepishly. His grin grew wider when his colleagues guffawed in the background.

Vince gave him an incredulous look. "It's early afternoon! How can you be tired?"

"They were romping in bed, that's why!" Someone shouted and it was met by loud boisterous laughter.

Jeff blushed to his roots with embarrassment. He couldn't look anyone in the eye but Cena remain unabashed. He shrugged and said, "What can I say? I just need to get me some."

Jeff wished he could disappear into thin air as full blown raucous laughter met his remark. Shaking his head in disbelief, Vince decided to drop the subject. He motioned to them to take their seats and as soon as everyone settled down, he began the meeting proper.

"I've two announcements to make. First of all, I'll be making some changes to the tag team division. Currently, all the teams wrestle within its own brand. With immediate effect, some of you will be wrestling across the board. Besides providing better entertainment value and cross brand competition, you will see an improvement in our ratings as well. You may have noticed that the tag team division has been dwindling in size. The fans are growing tired of watching the same teams week after week on the shows, but with our current move, they will get to see tag teams from across the brands performing on a single show every week. This brings me to the second point. Sports entertainment is our business and I try very hard to understand what the WWE fans want and give it to them. If they want hardcore, I'll give them hardcore. If they want controversy, they'll get controversy. DX and Rated RKO are enjoying tremendous success as tag team units. The fans would either love them or hate them but they could not ignore them. They pull in the crowds and send our sales up. I would like to point out that all four members of DX and Rated RKO have won multiple championships among them. They have been very successful in the singles division. Bearing this in mind, my purpose here is to encourage all of you to venture out of your comfort zone. Pick a partner that you think will complement yourself and take on the challenge of becoming a successful tag team unit. You may be the current WWE Champion or the World Heavyweight Champion, or the Intercontinental or US Champion, or even the ECW Champion, but you can still lend your expertise and add excitement to the tag team division. Your star status as a singles competitor kicks it up a few notches and keeps the fans happy. And for this reason, I've decided to bring the Hardy Boyz back together as an entity."

His announcement was immediately met with loud applause and cheers of approval. Vince looked pleased. "I'm glad you agree with me. The Hardy Boyz has a huge fan base and I intend to capitalize on that. So, in their first united match after four long years, they will be facing none other than Rated RKO in Pittsburg next week." Gathering from the loud cheers, it looked like they were looking forward to the match. "So, Matt, Jeff, be prepared to put on a good show because the world tag team titles are on the line. I guess that's all I have to say for now. Think about what I've said and if you do have any suggestions, please feel free to come and see me. You are free to go but please, be on time for the taping for this evening's show. Thank you."

As soon as Vince took his leave, people started to go up to the brothers to personally congratulate them. Matt and Jeff were thrilled. They had been presented with a golden opportunity to become tag team champions again. What more could anyone ask for? Randy and Adam eventually came up to offer their congratulations.

"Now that it's official, I would like to congratulate both of you." Randy shook Matt's hand but bent to give Jeff a smooch on the lips. "Thanks Randy!" Jeff grinned.

Adam proffered his hand to Matt who accepted it graciously. "Congratulations, I mean it. I'm really looking forward to wrestling you guys again. It has been a while, hasn't it?" he grinned at him.

"Way too long!" Matt agreed. "I never thought Jeff and I would ever get back together again."

"Just leave it to Vince to come up with the great idea. Your fans are going to go wild when news gets out!" Adam turned next to Jeff and surprised everyone by planting a kiss on his cheek. "I'm glad for you and Matt," he said sincerely. "I need to explain myself. The quarrel between Matt and I? It's nothing personal. Just call it mind games if you will. Friends and boyfriends aside, when we step into the ring, we're opponents. Randy and I will do our utmost to defend our titles. We'll not hold back."

"Of course, we wouldn't want it any other way," Jeff assured him with a smile.

"So, Jeff, are you ready for me tonight?" Morrison asked with a smirk. He would be defending his title reign against Jeff for the third time. "You're sure John didn't wear you down too much?"

The laughter that followed attracted the attention of the newcomer that just walked in.

"Hi guys! Did I miss something?"

"Shawn! It's good to see you! How's your dad doing?" Chris enquired as the others greeted him enthusiastically.

"He's getting better. Thanks for the concern." Shawn came up to Matt and Jeff. "I just heard the good news. Congratulations!" he shook their hands.

"Thanks Shawn. Jeff and I are really excited about tagging again. We're going all out to win those titles anyway we can! Jeff is facing Morrison for the Intercontinental Championship tonight. He could very well bring in the gold before then!"

Matt had not been able to bottle up his excitement since the official announcement. They were getting the push from the higher ups and he didn't want to let the opportunity slip. He knew that Jeff was only back for a couple of months but he was almost near perfect ring shape. If Jeff could stay focused, he would be wearing gold around his waist soon enough.

"Jeff, I've only three words for you - are you ready?" Shawn asked mischievously.

Jeff laughed as he said, "I'm ready as can be! You guys are going to see a new Intercontinental Champion tonight!"

"That's the spirit!" Matt clapped his brother on the shoulder. "But, I would advise you to lay off the hanky panky till after the match." His comment invited a new bout of laughter.

"Hey John, do me a favor and wear Hardy down for me, will you?" Morrison quipped to further laughter.

"It'll be my pleasure but I want Jeff to win tonight, so I'll wait till after the show," Cena replied with a grin.

"Good thinking, otherwise I would have to ban you from coming anywhere near Jeff!" Matt laughed.

As the banter continued, Matt caught the look of displeasure on Adam's face and was taken aback. He would have expected Randy to feel jealous but on the contrary, he was actually taking everything in stride. He contemplated Adam quietly, wondering if there was something he had missed. He didn't think it was because of the titles, they had already gotten it out of the way. For the titles to change hands, he and Jeff had to beat Rated RKO fair and square. It wasn't going to be handed to them. So, why was Adam unhappy?

"I'm going to grab a quick bite and head to the gym. Anyone wants to join me?" Chris asked. All agreed to go except for Adam. "I'll see you guys later. I need to pick up a new pair of boots," and he quickly made his escape.

Chris watched him leave with a frown on his face. Something wasn't quite right about Adam's behavior and he was bothered by it. Maybe he should talk to him? He watched Jeff leaving with Cena and Randy by his sides. "Looks like they're behaving themselves," he spoke to himself.

"Surprised, aren't you?"

He turned to see Matt waiting on him. Matt moved up to join him.

Chris quirked a smile, "You can say that again! I'm not surprised at John but Randy? He's conducting himself like a gentleman and I'm truly shocked because he's very possessive of Jeff. Any idea when Jeff's going to make his decision?"

Matt shrugged. "He hasn't said anything yet, but I can ask him after his date with John."

Chris nodded, hesitating momentarily before asking, "Have you noticed anything wrong with Adam? He looks kind of aloof these couple of days."

"I was thinking the same thing," Matt said with a frown. "I doubt it's because of our disagreement over the title match. There's something else bothering him."

A thought suddenly struck Chris. "If you don't mind me asking, did Jeff say anything to you after his date with Adam?" he asked.

Matt tried to recollect. "He was pissed at Randy and John that night. He didn't say anything until the following morning. When I asked him, he told me that he and Adam are just friends."

"That's all? Did you ask him why it's so?" Chris pressed on.

Matt shook his head. "No. I guess he just doesn't feel that way about him."

'That may be, but my guess is Adam hasn't abandoned his feelings for Jeff. He's trying to hide them but he's not doing such a great job.'

"Let's join the others for lunch. We can discuss this later," Matt suggested as he led the way out. As Chris moved to follow, he told himself that it was time to have another talk with Adam.

Hours later after the show …

As soon as Jeff stepped behind the stage, he was swept into a hug by Matt. "You did it, bro! You're the Intercontinental Champion! I'm so proud of you!"

Jeff gave him a tired grin. "Thanks Matt, it feels good to be in the winner's circle again," and patted the Intercontinental belt hanging proudly over his shoulder.

Matt relinquished him to Randy who was waiting for his turn. "Baby, you did well out there! You handed Morrison's ass to him!" He pulled him into a bear hug before planting a firm kiss on his lips. Cena tapped him politely on the shoulder. "Excuse me, my turn." Randy reluctantly stepped aside to let Cena take his place.

"How does it feel to be a champ?" Cena pulled him in for a kiss. He put everything into that kiss and finally released him, grinning proudly at him.

Jeff said breathlessly, "I feel like a million bucks!" If that was a congratulatory kiss, then he couldn't imagine how Cena was going to celebrate with him in the privacy of their room.

Morrison came up to him to shake his hand. "You best me, Jeff. Congratulations, but I'm going to challenge you for that!"

"You're welcome to do that, but I'm going to hang on to it as long as I can." Jeff grinned up at him.

"They were on their feet, cheering for you, chanting your name over and over again. You've won their hearts, Jeff. Keep up the good work." Shawn came up from behind to shake his hand. "Better ice that back. I can see you're hurting" and he left as quickly as he came.

"He likes you!" Cena's remark sent Jeff flushing.

"And Jeff likes him too," Matt informed him.

"What!" Both Cena and Randy exclaimed with dismay.

Matt rolled his eyes, "Not in that way! Jeff idolizes him." Both men let out sighs of relief but they weren't fully convinced.

"I'm not taking any chances. You're coming with me to my dressing room until the show is over!" Randy said assertively, taking Jeff by the elbow to lead him away.

"Hold on just a second. Jeff is not going with anyone but me! I will take him to my dressing room." Cena caught Jeff by the wrist to stay him.

Jeff slumped over with exhaustion as the two men squabbled over him. His body ached all over and his back was killing him. All he wanted was to get into a hot shower and let the heat wash away the aches and pain.

"Jeff, tell him you're coming with me" … "But, it's my turn to spend the day with him!" … "I'm only taking him to the dressing room, why are you being difficult?" … "Me difficult? If anyone is being difficult, it's you!" … "You know what? I'm not going to stand here and argue with you! Come with me, Jeff!" … "Oh no you don't! He's not going anywhere with you!" … "Says who?"… "Says me!" … "Oh yeah!"… "Hell, yeah!"

Jeff groaned loudly as his brother stood by snickering at his predicament. His boyfriends looked at him with concern. "What's wrong, baby? Is it your back?" Randy asked, his brows furrowing with concern. "I can carry you if you want?" Cena offered.

Jeff gave them an exasperated look. "I'm in desperate need of a hot bath! I don't need to be protected from Shawn! I want to go back to my own dressing room to change and rest, and I'll appreciate if I can have some peace and quiet!" He let out a sigh before adding, "I'll see you all in the cafeteria in an hour's time" and left before either one could stop him.

Matt burst into laughter at their bewildered looks.

"What did I do wrong?" Cena asked with a confused look on his face. Randy looked equally befuddled … and hurt. He only wanted to protect his Jeffy pooh and never expected him to turn him away.

"Remember what I said about getting to know each other? Well, it looks like both of you need to know something about my brother – he has a mind of his own. I'll see you guys later" and left chuckling.

Cena and Randy thought over what Matt just said and then looked at each other. "We were overbearing and we overreacted." Cena looked to him for confirmation.

Randy nodded forlornly. "I think Jeff needs some personal time on his own. He doesn't have to spend all his time with either of us, you know," he said wryly.

Cena nodded solemnly. "Yeah, I wouldn't like it if my boyfriend keeps me in shackles around the clock."

"So, what do we do now?" Randy asked, looking quite lost. He understood why Jeff acted that way but his feelings were still hurt. He was contemplating going to him and apologize for his behavior but was afraid he would be turned away.

Cena studied him closely, sensing a shift in his mood. Randy had never revealed his sensitive side to anyone, well … probably only to Jeff. He supposed that Jeff's words stung somewhat but they had it coming to them. "Hey, he's hurting and tired, and we did sound like a pack of squabbling chickens," he said in a comforting gesture. "Come on, I'll buy you a drink at the cafeteria."

Randy raised an eyebrow. "The drinks are free!" he said pointedly.

Cena grinned. "So what? I can still offer to buy you a drink, can't I?"

"Well … in that case, what are we waiting for?" Randy gave him an amused look.

Cena put his arm around his shoulders and said, "Come on buddy, I'll buy you all you can drink."

-ooo-

He picked his way out from among the crowd, the hood partially concealing his face. He finally made it to his car and climbed in. Instead of driving off, the man pulled down his hood and stared into space. He wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes. Jeff Hardy was now the Intercontinental Champion! It surprised him that he had it in him and he had only been back for, like what, two months? That feeling of envy was quickly replaced by anger. He had worked hard during his stint in WWF and TNA, pulling no stops. He had sacrificed his body to the business but what did he get? A big fat nothing! He had been suspended indefinitely without pay and all because of that man whore Hardy! He punched the steering wheel, crying out in pain when it jarred his ribs. They were on the mend but it would take a while before he could wrestle again. All thanks to Hardy's friends!

Raven pulled at his hair in frustration. He had all the time in his hands and all he could think about was vengeance. But, he wasn't allowed anywhere near Jeff, all because of that stupid protection order! If he was caught, he would be arrested and put behind bars. He knew that Jarrett would not bail him out if he violated the order, and would most probably fire him without a second thought. In spite of the risks, he just couldn't bring himself to stay away. He had bought a ticket and attended the show, but not without some disguise. He had darkened his skin tone with a quick dry tanning lotion, pulled on a hood and pair of shades and prayed he wouldn't be caught. It worked, seeing the crowd was big and security didn't have time to examine everyone closely.

When Jeff stepped out from behind the stage, the fans had shown their support for him by cheering wildly for him. He knew that feeling, to be rejoiced and adulated by legions of fans. He was a multiple champion in his hey days, being a two-time ECW World Heavyweight Champion, a four-time ECW World Tag Team Champion, a WCW Light Heavyweight Champion, a WCW US Heavyweight Champion, a WCW Tag Team Champion and a 26-time WWF/WWE Hardcore Champion. His glory days were over and he couldn't help feeling envious of Jeff as he watched him making his way to the ring to the applause and cheers of his adoring fans. He had trained his eyes on Jeff throughout the match and noted he had a renewed sense of confidence about him. Jeff wasn't the confident man he was now.

When he first met him, he was gullible to a tee and much too trusting, so much so that it was easy to get him to do anything he wanted. A shared interest in the arts was all it took and Jeff came to him like a moth to a flame. The boy was eager for his friendship and they hung out together. They started rooming together but their friendship was strictly platonic. And then things started to change. Reality hit Raven hard when his ring appearances were cut to a minimal to allow new talents to take the stage. He found himself pushed into obscurity. Depressed, he took to drugs. He saw the vitality and potential in Jeff and it only reminded him of what he had been reduced to. In a fit of career jealousy, he wanted him to fall and he did the most unthinkable thing; he doped Jeff and in his own state of drug-induced delirium, raped him. When he came to, he realized the heinous deed he had committed and fearing that Jeff would report him, lied through his teeth and told him he loved him. Jeff was gullible to believe him and forgave him. In his own perception of what love was, he submitted to his every whim and fancies. He did whatever he was told to do, even trying the drugs he fed him. Soon enough, he fell into the black bottomless pit and grew dependent on them.

Raven finally decided he was done with the company and left after his tenure ended. With his absence, Jeff's dependence on the drugs grew to help him overcome the loneliness and helplessness, and it was his undoing. He was caught and told to go for rehab or be released. He chose the latter and went to stay with Raven. Away from home, with no one to shield or protect him, Jeff was a convenient outlet for him. Raven lashed at him for all the wrongs visited on him and his increased drug usage altered his personality. He grew extremely violent. A slap progressed to hits and before long, he was abusing Jeff every day and yet, it wasn't enough. He got his friends involved in the abuse as well. It escalated to rapes and torture and finally, Jeff came to his senses. He realized Raven never loved him. He was just a vessel for him to vent his fury at everything that had gone wrong. He escaped his clutches and ran back home, to the safety of his brother. And now, he had become the Intercontinental Champion and he, Raven, was still treated like a piece of garbage!

He didn't want to wait till he was fully recovered to have his vengeance. It would take far too long and he wasn't a patient man. If he could get into the arena without being spotted, he was sure he could get close to Jeff without being seen. The problem was getting him alone. Raven decided then to follow the WWE tour and wait for his opportunity. The moment he got Jeff alone … he let out a low psychotic laugh. He couldn't wait till he had Jeff in his clutches again. He would take pleasure in making him cry, making him scream and make him beg for mercy. Did he really think that a protection order would stop him? What Raven wants, Raven gets and he had every intention to pay him and his friends back for what they did to him. He started the car and as he drove off, his mind was already planning on his next move.

-ooo-

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