Parallels

"Oh, yeah. Let's go check out the pipe. That sounds like a good idea." Punk gaze was focused on the screen in front of him and he rolled his eyes at what was going on.

Dolph grinned. "Why do you watch this if you're just going to mock it?"

"I watch this shit so I can mock it," Punk answered. He was sitting sideways on the couch, back against the arm rest as they watched the horror movie. Dolph was slouched down at the other end.

"I'm changing it," Dolph warned him, flipping through the channels without waiting for an answer. They had gone out earlier to grab something to eat and Dolph had had fun doing so. Somehow, they'd ended up back at his hotel room, even though they hadn't ended up doing anything but watch TV so far.

Dolph grinned when he found TNA Impact on and Punk groaned. "There is no way I'm sitting through this."

"Oh, come on. You used to work for them, didn't you?"

Punk scowled. "Turn it," he said, kicking Dolph lightly with the foot that was resting near Dolph's thigh.

"No."

"Ziggler…" There was a warning in Punk's voice that only made Dolph's grin widen.

"Nope."

Punk lunged for him then and Dolph held the remote away, keeping Punk back with his free hand. "Alright! I'll change it under one condition."

"What would that be?" Punk asked warily.

"You call me by my first name," Dolph stated firmly.

"You want me to call you Dolph?" Punk made a face at that.

"Or you could call me Nick," Dolph offered with a shrug. Punk stilled at the suggestion and his eyes narrowed.

"I guess I can call you Dolph." Punk leaned back into his original sitting position.

"What's wrong with using my real name?" Dolph asked, even as he knew the answer. Punk had been wrestling for years, he'd grown up watching the old school stuff and Dolph knew how he felt about that kind of stuff. It was the same way most of the older wrestlers felt about it.

"Thought you were going to change the channel," Punk said, gesturing towards the TV. "And we definitely aren't close enough for that."

Dolph sighed but gave up on the request. It was a personal thing, he knew and Punk wouldn't allow anyone to call him by his first name unless they were close on a personal level. He shook himself. He probably shouldn't be getting that personal anyway.

Xxxxxxxxxx

"Oh, come on! Really?"

Randy watched John in amusement as he yelled at the television screen. They'd been flipping through the channels, talking idly before he'd stopped on some horror movie.

"So, I take it you don't like horror movies, huh?" Randy asked with a small smile.

"They're alright. The newer ones are just so cheesy. All gore, no scare," John said with a shrug.

"Yeah." Randy settled back in his seat. "I used to have a major crush on that dude form the Evil Dead movies," he admitted with a bit of a sheepish glance.

"Really?" John asked, highly amused. "How long have you known you were into guys?"

"A while. Actually, my mom figured it out before I did."

"And your parents were okay with it?" John questioned.

"Yeah, pretty much. Yours?"

John grinned. "Yeah. My parents are great. So are my brothers, actually."

"Good."

"Yeah." John settled even further into the couch and sighed. "I prefer comedies, actually."

"That doesn't surprise me," Randy responded dryly. "Let me guess, stupid comedies? Dude, Where's My Car?" He affected his best stoner voice.

John mock glared at him. "I'll have you know that I like very sophisticated comedies….like Dumb and Dumber."

Randy chuckled. "Good to know."

Xxxxxxxxxx

"The Cubs, really?" Dolph questioned, throwing the weathered hat at Punk, who caught it with a glare.

"I'm from Chicago, asshole," Punk answered, putting the hat back on his head. "Of course, the Cubs."

Dolph wrinkled his nose. "I kind of feel sorry for you now."

"Why? They are going to the World Series in 2015. The prophesy will come true," Punk stated vehemently.

"What prophesy?" Dolph asked incredulously, eyes widening.

"Don't tell me you've never seen Back to the Future?"

"Of course I have," Dolph said with a roll of his eyes. "That doesn't mean it's going to happen."

"Stop killing my dreams here. It will happen," Punk said firmly, with a grin.

Dolph laughed in response and reached over to pull Punk's cap down over his eyes. "Sure it will."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

"Fuck, John. I kind of hate rap music," Randy said, grabbing the remote to turn it off of MTV. He hadn't even thought they played music on that channel anymore.

"Really? I don't know if I can like you for that," John said, with a mock serious face.

Randy snorted. "Right. You're going to ditch me because I don't like rap."

"Maybe," John said. "What kind of music do you like?"

Randy shrugged. "I like lots of old rock, actually."

"Don't tell me you're one of those hipsters that like to complain about anything that's new just because it's new?" John asked with some amusement.

"Of course not. I like to complain because it sucks," Randy answered with a smirk.

John only laughed in response.

Xxxxxxxxxx

John woke up slowly, aware first of the awkward position he was in and of the warm body pressed against him. He lifted his head immediately from where it had been resting against Randy's shoulder and stared at the other man.

He didn't remember falling asleep. He remembered talking to Randy late into the night, however. He hadn't planned on staying in Randy's hotel room for so long but he'd been having fun. When he wasn't kicking people in the head, Randy was actually a pretty great guy to hang out with.

And, despite the awkward position, he'd slept pretty well against Randy. He did not want to analyze that but it was hard not to acknowledge the facts. The fact that his crush on Randy might be growing. The fact that he did like being near Randy. The fact that he had slept well next to Randy.

Xxxxxxxxx

Punk woke up with a jerk and a groan. He lay still for a few minutes, attempted to calm down. He had no idea what he'd been dreaming about but nightmares weren't uncommon when he did manage to sleep. And, he realized, when he opened his eyes and spotted the clock on the wall, he had managed a few hours.

He was curled up on his side on the couch, his head resting against something warm, only realized that it was Dolph's thigh when he pushed himself up into a sitting position. He didn't remember moving into that position, must have done it after falling asleep.

He and Ziggler had stayed up pretty late talking and Punk did like the guy even more afterwards. It was a problem, he guessed. He hadn't planned on something like this happening. He hadn't even planned on having Dolph in his hotel room the night before.

But he also couldn't ignore the fact that he did like Dolph and that he had managed to get some sleep next to Dolph.

Xxxxxxxxx

Heard CM Punk talking about the "prophesy of Back to the Future 2" during an interview once and thought it was pretty funny…