Last chapter of this one, guys. Hope you like it.

xxxxxxx

"I think I'm getting soft," Punk said as soon as he dropped down on John's bed. John eyed him a moment.

"Soft?" He repeated.

"Yeah, you know. I think I'm getting too nice."

John rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Don't worry. You're still the biggest asshole I know."

Punk actually grinned at that. "Thanks."

John snorted and sat down against the headboard. He didn't talk for a minute, his mind on the conversation he'd had with Randy. Punk propped himself up on his elbows and eyed John a moment.

"You're going to forgive him, aren't you?"

"What? No…" He trailed off, paused.

Punk shrugged. "I was thinking about it," he admitted.

"You were?" John asked, surprised. He raised an eyebrow. "And here I was thinking you never let go of your grudges. You're actually thinking about forgiving Ziggler?"

"Don't be ridiculous. I let go of the one I had against you," he said with a grin.

"And you're thinking of letting the one you have against Ziggler go?" He did not point out that Punk had only let go of the one he had against him after months of beating the hell out of each other.

"Maybe." Punk's eyes narrowed but the grin didn't leave. "Maybe I'll make him beg some more." He sat up and faced John. "You're going to angst about this all night, aren't you?"

"No," John answered but he didn't sound sure of himself. "Are you?"

"I don't do angst. I do anger, revenge…sarcasm." He ticked it off on his fingers, head tilted to the side. "I'm still pretty pissed off at Ziggler."

"But?"

"But I'm also pretty sure he's right. I think I do love the jackass." He said it plainly, bluntly and John had no idea why he was surprised. If there was one thing that he both liked about Punk and irritated the hell out of him was that the man was honest. If it crossed his mind, it was most likely coming out of his mouth.

Of course, he didn't understand exactly why Punk would love Ziggler. Every time he'd been around the both of them, all they'd seemed to do was insult each other or others. Then again, maybe that was understandable, considering Punk's personality.

"So, that's it?" He asked. "You're just going to let this go that easy?"

The smirk that formed on Punk's face made John want to back away from him. "Oh, no. It's not going to be that easy. Trust me."

John did trust him on that. But that left him and what he was going to do about Randy. He did believe that Randy had been sincere. He believed that Randy was sorry. And Randy had been right about that conversation Punk had overheard between Ziggler and Randy.

"You are thinking way too much," Punk said, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Maybe you don't think enough. What if Ziggler's lying?"

"I told you this wasn't going to be easy. I'm thinking of a few tests." He paused. "If it makes you feel any better, I don't think Orton's lying."

"You don't?" John's tone turned surprised.

"Nope. Orton's always been pretty transparent. He was transparent when he liked you to begin with and if the way he's been looking at you since we found out about the bet is any indication…"

"If he's so transparent, why wouldn't you have known about the bet?"

"With his feelings, ass," Punk said. "Besides, I haven't talked to the guy. I never do unless I have to."

"Right."

Xxxxxxxx

John stood nervously outside Randy's hotel room door, still debating with himself. Punk had been right. He had stayed up all night thinking about it. Thinking about what Randy had said, about what Punk had said.

The show would be starting soon but he hadn't wanted to have this talk backstage where anybody could overhear. He needed it to be private. Finally he raised his fist and knocked on the door. He only had to wait a few seconds before it opened.

"John." There was surprise in Randy's eyes when he looked John over.

"Hey. Can I come in?" John asked first. Randy nodded, immediately stepping to the side so John could walk in. He closed the door and turned to John afterwards, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"I'm assuming you thought about what I said."

"I did." He'd thought about it too much, actually.

"And?" Randy actually looked nervous. He chewed his lip while he waited on John's answer.

"And you were right. I do have….feelings for you." He paused. "And I did believe you," he admitted.

Randy's shoulders sagged with relief and he stepped closer to John. "So, does that mean…?"

"I want to…I want you but I…" He let out a frustrated breath and ran a hand over his face. "Look, if we do this, we're taking it slow again because I don't think I can handle something like that happening again."

"Okay, that's fine. Whatever you want."

John studied his expression. He could see absolute relief in Randy's eyes and sincerity there. "Good," he said and he let Randy close the distance between them.

Xxxxxxxx

Dolph was not listening. He stood backstage with Vickie and Jack and they were both talking but he'd barely paid any attention to the conversation. They'd been talking about the tag match scheduled for later for far too long and Dolph was beginning to feel a little restless.

He straightened, however, when he spotted the man walking towards them. Punk stalked straight towards them, the expression on his face unreadable. At first, he completely ignored both Jack and Vickie.

"We need to talk," he stated before he grabbed Dolph's shirt and began pulling him away. Jack and Vickie both made protests. Punk finally acknowledged them, turning a glare on Jack.

"And if you think you've gotten away with locking me
in a closet with this asshole, think again."

Dolph caught the alarmed look on Jack's face before Punk began pulling him down the hall. "What are you doing?"

Punk stopped when they reached a relatively private place and turned to him, released his shirt. He crossed his arms. "Alright, you were right," he said first, bluntly.

"I was…?" Dolph could only stare at the man.

"That I love you." He paused and glared again. "But you're still a jackass so here's how this is going to work."

Dolph's jaw dropped at this declaration. The whole situation was surreal, actually. He was quick on his feet and was rarely surprised but this? This was surprising.

"I'm not sleeping with you again for a while. You can think of this as first date territory."

"First date…?"

Punk ignored him. "So, we can start this over again." He glanced at his watch. "Actually, we can go out tonight. After the show." He tilted his head and his glare came back. "And if you're lying to me again, I will hurt you. Worse than the last time. Think you can handle that?"

"I…" Okay, Dolph hadn't been expecting this. He'd expected Punk to completely blow him off. He hadn't expected anything to come of what he'd said. Punk snapped his fingers in front of Dolph's face, gaining his attention again.

"You listening to me, Ziggler?"

"Yeah." Dolph shook himself and his brain finally started working again. "Yeah, I think I can handle it."

"Good. See you after the show." Punk walked past him then, walked away. Dolph turned and watched him go, still surprised at that outcome. One small part of him told him that that hadn't exactly been a sweet moment, that Punk had been rather gruff about it but he shushed that part of him. He wanted Punk because of his personality. If he wanted someone nice and sweet, he would have gone after John Cena.

A slow smile spread across his face. He'd just gotten what he wanted. He was definitely looking forward to later on that night.