Months Later
In the months that followed John and Randy reuniting their relationship was going extremely well. Cody had broken up with Corey and in his spare time he worked on perfecting Randy's website that he had decided would be a real thing. Randy stopped working for the multiple nursing homes and took some business classes at the local community college which he aced due to his enthusiasm and excitement about getting started. He had already mapped out, edited then re-edited a month's worth of content. After getting advice from his mom and Cody, Randy decided that when the site launched he would have a cooking video already up. He was home scrubbing the kitchen that didn't need it in preparation when the doorbell rang
"Felix?" Randy spoke
"Yes?"
"What are you doing here, babe?"
"You're shooting your video tonight and I thought you might need some help so here I am to help."
"Are you going to be in the video?"
"Yes." The tall man smiled
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. I told you that I would help in whatever way I could."
"Well you've put out a pretty good amount of money."
"It wasn't that much and even if it was it doesn't matter."
"I'm glad you're here but wasn't expecting you so I'm in the middle of cleaning the kitchen."
"Why?"
"I wanted it to be spotless. I don't need anyone thinking I cook in a dirty kitchen or am dirty in general."
"But the kitchen has always been spotless."
"You never know."
"Okay. I have a book I'm reading so I won't be in your way." Randy finished polishing the stove, refrigerator and then polished the countertops. He placed the tools he would need, bowls, utensils along with pots and pans on the counter and stove then stepped back and checked his work
"Hey." Cody spoke walking in from work
"Hey."
"I know what you're thinking but it looks good."
"What am I thinking?"
"That this setup is unnatural and people will think it's weird."
"Damn. You did know what I was thinking."
"Even with editing it's still a video for a website, not a cooking channel so you want to be prepared. You did a good job."
"I need you to look at the clothes I have set out."
"Okay." The younger man jumped back when he saw John laying across Randy's bed. "What the hell?"
"Oh, Felix is here."
"My heart would have appreciated that warning before I had the infarction." John and Randy laughed
"Sorry." Cody took a deep breath
"Where's the outfit?" Randy walked over to his closet and pulled out a pair of True Religion dark Ricky denim jeans and a gray Lacoste Henley shirt. "I like it but I'd swap out the gray shirt for a white one…just in case you sweat we don't want your pits looking all disgusting dripping in the food." John laughed again while Randy only eyed his friend. "You know what I mean."
"It was too much but I do know what you mean. Luckily I have this shirt in white."
"Are you going to wear an apron?"
"No I'm not wearing a fucking apron. Cody."
"What are you making?" John asked changing the subject
"Panko crusted halibut, couscous and sautéed green beans."
"Sounds good. I'm ready when you are."
"Wait – I really appreciate your help but you're not going to wear one of your silly shirts are you?" Cody laughed loudly as he walked from the room
"No. I will not wear one of my silly shirts."
"Thank you." Randy said rolling out his yoga mat. Silently, John put his book down and watched as the younger man manipulated his body in various poses. He was sure yoga wasn't meant to turn him on but watching his boyfriend do it did
Later
After Randy filmed his cooking video he, Cody and John watched it over on the television. They all laughed at the end at the same time they laughed on the recording
"I think I nailed it."
"I think you did. You came across as well-versed in what you were talking about, at ease and funny…you were even charming which I didn't expect." Cody laughed
"Shut up, Felix."
"All the practicing we did helped. You did nail it and all in one take with minimal to no sweating."
"Minimal to no sweating is key."
"When are you launching the site? I definitely want to help promote because I'm proud of you."
"Felix." The tall man said blushing. Cody smiled at the two. "I have to give Cody the final draft of how I want things set up and the video needs to be edited so after that I'll be ready."
"I can start the edit tonight after I finish this delicious halibut and it shouldn't take long since Mr. Perfect here did that shit in one go. My editing will just be for time reasons really."
"Try not to edit out too much though."
"I sort of have to. It took you roughly 35-40 minutes from start to finish and I know you don't want it to be that long. I won't get rid of any important things of course but the extra talking and comments need to go. You'll see it before it's posted."
"…okay."
"You don't sound sure." John commented
"I'm not but I'll have to deal."
"Yes you will." The older man hit his friend with a wooden spoon
….
RandyOrton pretty big things coming and I'm excited. "Change before you have to." – Jack Welch
When John came from the bathroom the younger man put his phone down but quickly picked it back up when his boyfriend stood at the foot of the bed rubbing a thin layer of lotion on his skin. He switched the setting to black and white then snapped a picture
"Did you just,"
"No."
"Lies."
"It's for my personal collection."
"More lies but I'm flattered."
"I do have pictures of you. You look good."
"Oh." John said cutely. He continued to moisturize his skin while Randy cropped the picture so that John's head was missing but not morbidly so then he posted to Instagram
RandyOrton "If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you." – Winnie the Pooh #LoveThisMan #LuckyMe
ike_del so where on google did you find the pic of cena with his head cropped out?
Randy chose to ignore him like he should have all along
CodyRhodes …they see you trollin, they hatin
RandyOrton lol. *nicki minaj voice* you see right through me/how do you do that shit
CodyRhodes meanwhile
RandyOrton
charmedLife I don't know who that is but he looks good
RandyOrton I'm saying tho, charmedLife! Appreciate my good-looking man, okay!?
Sparkle1212 agreed charmedLife!
charmedLife lol! I'm appreciating. Mmhm
He clicked on the girls' pages and decided they seemed harmless so he tapped follow
"You alright?" John asked getting in bed and giving his boyfriend a kiss
"I'm good. You?"
"Mmhm. What are we watching tonight?"
"You have a choice between Double Indemnity or His Girl Friday." John hummed
"Hmmm…His Girl Friday." The men snuggled close, getting comfortable as the movie started
Next Day
Randy came home from a few training sessions he had at the gym to find John relaxing on the couch reading a book
"Hey babe."
"Hey." John said looking up. "How was work? What?" He asked seeing Randy shake his head
"People really try to hassle me about my pricing and I love proving them wrong every damn time. Look at this." He responded taking out his phone
"Oh my God!" The older man shouted. "He's shredded."
"Thanks to me."
"I can't believe this." He added zooming in and out on the picture
"He gave me the most shit when I gave him the breakdown of program costs."
"Well how much do you charge?"
"Depends. He was huge with health issues who needed to lose a great deal of weight. I told him that I was more than willing to work with him but I needed him to work with me as well."
"Teamwork makes the dream work."
"Felix." John smiled one of his cute smiles so Randy kissed him
"I have to leave in a few hours, babe. Don't give me the frowny face, don't you dare." The younger man stopped
"Why are you leaving?"
"Meeting for the show."
"Oh yea!" John eyed him. "It slipped my mind. How's your shoulder feeling?"
"I'm not going to lie,"
"Appreciate it."
"There's still a soreness to it so I don't think I'll be back in the ring anytime soon."
"You not being in the ring for a while doesn't bother me at all."
"Right because I have more time to spend with you." Randy nodded. "Anyway," John stressed. "I'm going to see a doctor about it to see what he says and take it from there."
"I hope it's nothing too bad."
"Yea, me too."
"What do you want to eat?" The tall man asked looking in the fridge
"Whatever you make is fine but I'll probably have to take it with me."
"I figured as much. We have Tupperware. Have you ever had zucchini bread? I feel like baking."
"Maybe. I don't remember."
"Let me go take a shower so I can get started on dinner and that bread." John smiled as the other man scampered to his room then again got comfortable with his book
Later
"Hey Ran."
"Hey Codes."
"John-boy's gone?"
"Yes."
"What's he doing?"
"He has a meeting for that show he's doing."
"Oh. That's cool. Make that money, don't let it make you."
"I love it when you quote The Players Club to me."
"But I'm saying though, how often does it apply?"
"Too often if I ask you." Cody smiled
"Did you bake? I smell sweetness in the air."
"Zucchini-pineapple muffins."
"Muffins?"
"Easier to pack up for Felix."
"You're such a good wife."
"I am."
A week later Randy and Cody finished putting the final touches on the man's website, Diary of a Hungry Yogi, and published it. He wouldn't admit it but Randy had been nervous about how it would be received and if it would work at all. He'd put a lot of work into this, he birthed it and raised it. The site was his baby. Luckily for him though, on the first day he had a few thousand hits with quite a few even signing up for the premium portion of the site. He'd done some advertising but thought it was mostly due to John's tweets. In the days leading up to the launch, John had given out the address of his boyfriends site then on launch eve he posted a picture of the sites opening page even tagging his love in the tweet
JohnCena do me a favor and check out this site: . RandyOrton put a lot of work into it and he's doing good stuff for good reasons #StillGotMyBadYogi #Babe
Cody and Randy were in the middle of filming another cooking video, this time he was making spicy chicken breasts, smashed sweet potatoes and roasted asparagus with almonds, when his phone vibrated. They both ignored it until it buzzed with a text message and rang again
"I'm going to have to edit the shit out of this so go ahead and answer it." Cody spoke
"Sorry. Babe?"
"Hey."
"Hey." Randy said hesitantly. "What's up? We're in the middle of filming a video."
"In the middle?"
"Literally."
"I'm sorry. I wanted to let you know that I need to have surgery."
"Wait, what? Surgery?"
"Yea."
"Your shoulder is that bad?"
"Uh-huh."
"Well when are you having it?"
"January but I'm not sure on the exact date. I'll find out later today."
"Whenever it is I'll be there."
"You're a doll."
"Bye Felix. I'll call you later."
"Okay."
"Love you."
"Love you too."
"He needs surgery?"
"Yes."
"That sucks. I hate watching that fool wrestle but I don't want him to need surgery."
"Same."
"Okay. Get your head in the game. Flip that piece of chicken again then pick up from there." Randy put both chicken breast back in the pan, hoping all the juices hadn't settled, and started again. The men completed their task and while Cody went off to the office to edit, Randy went to his room to call John back
"Hey babe."
"Hey. Sorry about that. I don't want to get behind on my videos."
"No need to apologize. I understand."
"Did you find out the date?"
"The 7th…of January."
"Okay. You know I'll be there. How do you feel?"
"Like shit. This fucking sucks. I'll be out for months."
"Relax babe. It does suck but stuff like this happens…it could happen to anyone. And you're healthy so you heal pretty quickly."
"Yea but,"
"I know, Felix." John sighed loudly and exaggeratedly. "Thanks for that." Randy added making the man laugh. "All loud in my ear.
"What did you cook?" John asked ignoring the other man's smartass remark
"Spicy marinated chicken breast, asparagus with almonds and smashed sweet potatoes."
"Sounds good. What's the difference between mashed and smashed potatoes?"
"Smashed potatoes still have the skin basically."
"Oh…did you mention to properly wash the skin?"
"Yes! I did!" The younger man laughed. "I have vegetable wash but told them that they could use soap just make sure they wash vegetables and fruits. I hate when I see people in the grocery store wipe shit on their shirts then eat it. They clearly don't properly wash or else they would not do that."
"You're passionate about clean veggies and fruit."
"Shut up, Felix. It's gross."
"I agree, babe."
"Don't patronize me." He could hear John laughing. "Mmhm."
"You're terrible. I have to go." This time Randy began laughing
"I have to go too so there."
"Bye."
"Bye." Randy ended the call then went to his photos and posted the picture of his latest meal to his Instagram account
RandyOrton sneak peak of this week's healthy but filling and delicious meal. Don't forget to check it out at .
charmedLife do you eat pizza? If you do, can you make a video on pizza? Please
RandyOrton I love pizza actually but don't eat it as much as I'd like. Would you like me to make a regular crust or thin?
charmedLife just ball out and make it a regular
RandyOrton ball out? Okay!
CodyRhodes I love this. More suggestions please! I get to eat all of the stuff he cooks!
charmedLife oh. Are you the one filming CodyRhodes?
RandyOrton how are you on IG right now? I thought you were editing CodyRhodes
CodyRhodes yes charmedLife. And I'm hungry so I needed to take a break
RandyOrton come eat, fool
FitnessMom do you have any breakfast recipes? My kids hate breakfast but I don't want to give them crap
RandyOrton yes. What do they like to eat? Vegetable wise?
FitnessMom well a plus is that they do eat all types of vegetables
RandyOrton okay. When I do my update tomorrow I'll have two options up for you
FitnessMom will they be in the premium section or the entire site? I'm premium
RandyOrton then I'll tailor an entire weeks' worth of breakfast for you over in premium
FitnessMom oh wow. Thanks!
RandyOrton you're welcome
Amberlyn do you wear white shirts because you look good in them or is it a coincidence?
RandyOrton LOL! CodyRhodes suggested I wear white for the first video in case I started to sweat. It's been purely coincidental after that…but I mean if I look good then I'll stick with white
Amberlyn oh by all means. Please do
CodyRhodes you're welcome Amberlyn
RandyOrton you're going to make me blush
Felix: do I need to have a talk with Amberlyn?
Randy: lol – she's harmless I'm sure, plus I'm gay. She doesn't have what I need
Felix: she could purchase it
Randy: goodbye
Felix: lol
"I'll be done the video before bed so I can upload it for you and tomorrow when you add the new recipes you can just publish the video with it."
"Okay. Thank you."
"You're welcome. What are you going to do when you go down to Florida for John's surgery?"
"What do you mean?"
"Your videos?"
"Oh. If you have the time I can film a few of them and upload when necessary or I could not upload any."
"People are loving your site so I'll help you film a bunch to keep them interested."
"Thanks Codes."
"You're welcome."
"No, really, thank you for everything. You've been a huge help."
"I feel like you're hitting on me."
"Cody!"
"I know you're not but it sounded like you were." Randy just chewed his food, ignoring the man. "That's harsh."
January
Randy had been in Florida for the days prior to John's surgery and planned to stay until the man was able to somewhat use his arm. He was currently at the market picking up lobster for that nights' dinner. While he waited for the store associate to bag up the two, two pound lobsters he browsed the sauces in front of the counter
"Randy?" The tall man looked over. "Oh my God, it is you!"
"Who…do we know each other?"
"No. Sorry. I follow you on Instagram."
"Oh! Hi! What's your name?"
"Lidia."
"It's nice to meet you Lidia."
"Sir?"
"Thank you." He responded taking the bag of crustaceans. "What made you start following me?"
"Honestly?"
"I hope so."
"When you started dating John Cena I began to follow you – out of curiosity really then I just thought you were interesting…oh my God. I sound crazy." Randy laughed loudly
"I mean it's a little nutty but I'm flattered."
"How is he? If you don't mind my asking."
"Good. He's doing pretty well for someone who had surgery two weeks ago."
"That's good to hear. I'm a huge fan."
"I'll let him know. Hold on one second." He turned to the butcher on duty and asked for two filet mignon then turned back to the woman
"You're so nice. At first I thought you were really mean."
"Everyone thinks that for some reason. I have no idea why."
"Sir." He took the wrapped meat
"Thank you."
"Can we take a picture?"
"Absolutely." Lidia handed her phone over, Randy angled it just right and snapped. "Good?"
"Perfect. Thank you!"
"You're welcome. Have a good one."
"You too!" Lidia bopped away and Randy continued with his shopping until he finished and checked out. He loaded John's Mercedes and drove back to the house
"Ooh! You were grocery shopping." John said when his boyfriend walked inside
"Yea. I didn't want to wake you and thought I'd be back before you woke up."
"What'd you get?"
"Lobster, filet mignon and spinach for a salad. You said you were craving filet and I haven't had lobster in a while. There's other stuff but I won't bore you with mundane details."
"Yea, just call me when it's ready."
"Oh, I met a lovely woman named Lidia who sends her well wishes."
"Well thank you Lidia wherever you are."
"She's following me on Instagram and assume she's following you as well since she started following me because of you." John stood there wide-eyed
"Well okay then. I'll go through all my followers and see if I can find this Lidia and thank her."
"Don't be a smartass, it doesn't suit you."
"I apologize."
"Do you need anything? Why'd you get up?"
"No. I just turned to the side and noticed that you weren't in bed with me anymore. I felt abandoned."
"Oh stop. Do you need anything though?"
"Nope. Just come back to bed with me."
"Alright." John held out his hand which Randy accepted and the two men walked upstairs to the bedroom. Randy fluffed the pillows his boyfriend had been resting against then changed back into his lounge pants before laying down. "I need a vacation." He spoke as he yawned
"Is taking care of me that exhausting?"
"Yes."
"Thanks babe."
"No you're not exhausting. I think I just need one."
"We can go while I'm out…unless you want to go alone."
"Felix. Why would I mention going on a vacation and not want you to come?"
"You're a weirdo." Randy laughed
"I'm not that weird."
"You're weird enough. Where do you want to go and when?"
"I'll have to do some research and we're not going anywhere until you're able. There's no rush, babe. Your health is most important."
"Okay. Well just use the credit card when you want to book it."
"Alright." Randy picked up his iPad and began to read
"If there ever comes a day when we can't be together, keep me in your heart, I'll stay there forever." – Winnie the Pooh #UnconditionallyByMySide
The picture that accompanied the quote was of Randy's profile as he read. John had taken it the day before as in-bed reading was something they liked to do often