I'd like to say that, yes, Jericho will be one of the bad guys in this fic. This is character based, after all, and Chris has been doing a great job of playing the bad guy since he came back to the WWE. I love it, personally. Jericho's been one of my favorite wrestlers since his debut in WWF and I can't wait for his and Punk's match at Wrestlemania. I still think it's going to be the best match of the night.
By the time Punk made it back to the hotel, the physical pain had definitely made itself known. His mind, however, was still back in the locker room, still back on that conversation with Chris. Compared to the other one's they'd had over the last several months, it had been relatively tame. At least it hadn't degenerated into name calling and yelling.
He really hoped Chris had gotten what he needed to say out of his system but even if he hadn't, Punk doubted he would be answering anymore calls from him. He and Chris had played Hell on each other's lives enough already.
He knocked on John's door when he reached it, hoping that John was still up. Punk was usually awake long after most people had gone to sleep but it wasn't that late yet. He let out a relieved breath when the door opened after only a few moments.
"Hey." John grinned at him, bright and happy.
"Hey."
"So, should I say congratulations or ask you if you're alright?" John looked him over, most likely checking for obvious injuries. He had none but every muscle and joint in his body had begun to ache and he knew that if he managed to get any sleep that night that he'd wake up stiff and in pain.
"Say congratulations and ask me that in the morning." He went past John and dropped face first on John's bed. His head was killing him from when Miz had dropped him on that chair. His right arm was already hard to move from when Del Rio had tangled it in another chair for his submission. His back and ribs ached fiercely from going through a table and from the chair shots from Del Rio. His whole body hurt, really.
John had sat down beside him and, after only a moment's hesitation, Punk reached for him and pulled him down as well. After only a little encouragement from Punk, John moved close to him and wrapped one arm around him.
Punk lay still for a while, unwilling to move, at least for the moment. He'd probably be up early to try and work out some of the aches he'd acquired but for the time being, he settled closer to John.
The last few weeks with John, even if they weren't together, had been different from what he was normally used to. John was so easy going. He wasn't a push over but he had to be one of the nicest guys Punk knew.
His previous relationship with Chris had been filled with explosive fights. They used to fight about the dumbest shit, too and by the end anything, no matter how small it was, could turn into a fight.
With a sigh, he wrapped his arm around John as well. He was sure he wouldn't be sleeping. The physical pain added to the phone call from Chris would most likely keep him up but he was comfortable where he was and even if he couldn't sleep, he could at least relax next to John.
Xxxxxxxx
"Come on, time to wake up."
John groaned at the sound of the voice but he did crack his eyes open. He glanced first at the clock on the table beside him, which read six o'clock before he grabbed Punk's hand to keep him from poking him again.
"What are you doing up?"
"Waking you up. I think you mumbled something about that last night before you fell asleep."
John had fallen asleep rather easily last night, with Punk next to him. It was the second time Punk had pulled him down into bed with him, only this time Punk had been incoherent from being sick.
John looked him over. He seemed wide awake and was already dressed in his work out outfit. "Did you sleep at all?"
"If we're going to be friends, you should probably know that I never sleep."
John rolled his eyes. "Yeah, figured that out. How are you not hurting?"
"I am. I'm one giant bruise which is why I really need to go work that out before I have to deal with media shit." He paused. "So, I'm going to go run and you're going to get up. Then, we're going to have breakfast."
"So demanding," John grumbled but he did stand, stretching a bit.
"You better be up when I get back," Punk called on his way out. John only shook his head. He was usually a morning person but he wasn't used to being close to someone who was up before him.
He headed into the bathroom anyway. Punk would be leaving to do a few interviews in a couple of hours and John did want to spend as much time with the man as he could before RAW that night.
Maybe there was a shift happening. He certainly felt like he and Punk were growing closer and the past couple of weeks had only strengthened his growing feelings for Punk. He was just hoping that was working both ways.
Xxxxxxxx
"So, are we going to ignore what happened last night again?" John asked boldly when they were both back in his room. He'd ordered something and they'd decided to eat there.
"No," Punk said, looking up from his food. "I didn't really plan on being in your bed."
"Then why were you?"
"Honestly? That ex I was telling you about? He called after my match last night and I just wanted…" He trailed off, paused. "I wanted to see you," he admitted finally.
"Shouldn't that be a good thing?" John asked with a raised eyebrow. He could only see it as one anyway.
"What? That he can still affect me like that?"
"No, that you came straight to me."
Punk seemed to consider this a moment. "Maybe," he answered, staring off into space. He shook himself after a minute and stood.
"I really need to go. Got interviews," he said unenthusiastically.
"Alright," John said, mildly disappointed. "Try and be nice."
Punk grinned. "I'll try."
Xxxxxxxx
"So?" Punk stepped in front of John after making it backstage again. He'd opened the show with Ryder and Bryan and was scheduled for a tag match with the two men for later that night.
"It's great, man." John grinned at him. "You know I think Zack deserves it. You do too."
Punk sat down next to him just as John was getting up. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to handle this business with Kane."
"How?" Punk studied him a moment. "You're going to call him out, aren't you?"
"Yes, I am actually."
"Alright." He couldn't really argue against that plan. He'd probably do the same. "Be careful."
Xxxxxxxxx
John came through the curtain alone. He'd had to assure the referee that he was fine several times to get the man to leave but he leaned against the wall as soon as he made it backstage and closed his eyes, still feeling a little dizzy.
"You alright?"
John cracked his eyes open and tried to smile. "I'm fine," he said.
"Sure about that?" Punk asked, stepping closer until he was almost in John's personal space.
"I'm sure." But he could hear the frustration in his own voice. Kane had gotten the better of him two weeks in a row.
"Sure." Punk sounded skeptical. John reached for him, pulled Punk against him.
"I feel much better now," John stated, resting his forehead against Punk's shoulder. Punk huffed out a laugh and pulled him away from the wall.
"Come on."
They started down the hallway, completely unaware of the eyes on them as they walked away.