Okay, so you want a sequel or continuation of Love My Sister's Boyfriend... let me see... no promises.
In the meantime, enjoy the next instalment of Life is Good... Mostly.
"Do you want breakfast this morning?" Alanna asked as John walked into the kitchen.
"I have an appointment with my lawyer this morning, I'll just grab something on my way over," John replied dropping onto one of the sofas in the family area.
It had been a couple of weeks since Randy had left, and John hated it. Even with their present state, John just wanted Randy around. He wanted to wake up wrapped in his arms and set about their morning routine; now he couldn't be bothered with anything. Nine times out of ten, he was still in bed when Alanna left for school and then when he did get up, he'd head straight for Hard Nock's spending hours working out before trying to work out what he could do.
When he noticed the time, he'd head home, make him presentable and then wait the arrival of Randy and Alanna. True to his word, Randy would always come in, but something had already started to change between the two of them. Neither knew what to say to the other and in the end it would always end with not much more than pleasantries.
"I've had a message from Cody, he wanted to make sure you were okay for Ted's mini party," Alanna said breaking his thoughts.
"Yeah, of course," John answered, though he could hear the own disinterest. "Your dad's coming, right?"
"He said he was," Alanna said with a smile. She was a bright girl who knew how unhappy John was, and how much he wanted Randy back. "Maybe the two of you could get some time alone and talk."
"In a house full of wrestlers? Yeah, that's going to happen," John said with a grimace. "We haven't seen half of these guys in a long time, we'll both be catching up with them, we won't be able to find time for ourselves."
"Well, let me find a way to get you two alone, and then I'll stand guard," she joked. "Anyway I have to head out to catch the bus. I'll see you tonight."
John wished he wasn't feeling so depressed. Alanna was away from her dad as much as John was more than he was, when you look back on the years she spent growing up in St Louis. He regretted always being so distant with her. It had nothing to do with her, but the situation they found themselves. He made a mental promise to spend some one on one time with her, help to improve the relationship.
He quickly sent her a message to apologise for the distance between them and promised to do something with her the next evening.
If Cody was throwing Ted a surprise party then John needed to pick up the slack around the house. Since Randy had left, John had barely touched any of the housework. John would normally have changed the sheets of the bed every few days since he was sharing with Randy. Now, with just him in the bed, there wasn't so much a need.
Before long, John had the bed sheets changed and the laundry caught up, just in time for him to get changed and ready to head to his lawyer. The last thing he wanted today, but it had to happen; his concern was simply that he was just going to be told he couldn't do anything to save his business.
They would be right of course, how many times was it made into a movie, and nine times out of ten, they found a way to come to some agreement. Somehow, though, John didn't see a way the hotel and spa would want to have a place for a body building gym. Even with it's growing clientele.
As he was leaving his phone sounded, and pulling it out he saw a message from Cody.
DON'T TAKE THIS THE WRONG WAY BUT CAN YOU PROVIDE FOOD WITHOUT GIVING EVERYONE FOOD POISONING? I'D ASK RANDY, BUT...
John sat in the front seat of his car, reading the message. He hadn't even thought about the detail. He'd forgotten all about Ted's birthday, Cody had been planning this for a long time. What was he supposed to do? Call Randy and ask him to cook; he didn't even know if Randy had remembered either. Maybe he could contact Randy and ask him for advice. Wait, was that Cody wanted, was this a way to get him and Randy talking. Of course, maybe it was just the excuse he was looking for.
NOT SURE WHAT TIME PEOPLE ARE ARRIVING BUT... HELP... I HAD NO IDEA I WAS MEANT TO PROVIDE FOOD FOR TONIGHT.
There, he'd done it, now he just had to wait for a reply. Thankfully to take his mind off one trouble, John had his other problem to fall back on. The gym. He wasn't sure when they would disappear, but it would be nice not to have problems. Or at least have Randy around to help him with the problems. Of course, he did, until he ran him out of here.
He was driving down the interstate into Tampa when his phone rang in the grip. He was confused when the number showing was 'Home'.
"Hello?"
"You wanted help with the food, I get here, and you're not here," Randy said. John couldn't tell if he was amused or upset.
"Oh god, I didn't mean for you to come round; well I did, it's your home, obviously, but... what I meant to say... thank you... but-"
"You want me to go?" Randy asked.
"NO! Never!"
"Then what?" Now John knew he sounded annoyed.
"I'm on my way to the lawyer, to see them about the development. Get some advice on what I can do, if there is anything," John explained. "And I wasn't expecting you to just show up like that. You must have left as soon as you got the message."
"Yeah well, we don't want you giving the birthday boy food poisoning; though I'm sure Cody wouldn't mind playing nursemaid," Randy said with a chuckle.
"Okay, can we change that to Doctor, just for the visual," John laughed, feeling better all of a sudden.
"Well, I'm going to get to work on some food, how long are you going to be at the lawyer?"
"Not sure, will you still be there when I get back?" John asked, the nerves creeping in at the thought he wouldn't get to see Randy.
"I would imagine so, looking at this fridge, which I'm guessing you haven't stocked recently, I'm going to need to be creative or go shopping," Randy said. "If I looked in the trash can, would I see take out packets?"
"No, we've taken it in turns to cook, Ally is getting sick of my grilling though," John said as he pulled into the parking lot of his lawyer.
"Okay, well I'll probably be here when you get back; I might send you a list of items to get at the shop on the way. I don't want to start things and then have to run out."
"Okay, listen, thanks for this, honey, I appreciate it," John said.
"Yeah, gotta get started. I'll see you in a bit," Randy said finishing the conversation abruptly.
John came out of his meeting feeling worse than ever. As he'd suspected, the truth was there wasn't a lot he could do except sign the paperwork selling the gym. His lawyer told him he could try having a meeting with them and of course, they would be there to mediate, but he didn't see it having much affect.
The only piece of advice he could do was use his status as a well known WWE superstar to bring publicity to the fact that a big time corporate company, who already had two hotels in the Tampa Bay area, was turfing companies out of the space.
On top of that, his mind had been spinning since Randy had one gone round the house to help, but also then, after finally starting to act normally with one another, ended the call suddenly.
He checked his phone for messages but didn't see anything from Randy and he felt his heart sink a little further. They only had a brief conversation and he wasn't sure what he'd said in the few moments to upset Randy. The thoughts plagued him the entire drive home, and John dreaded it when he walked in from the garage. He listened for any noise coming from the kitchen, but there was no sign that anyone was there.
John went through to Randy's favourite room and could tell that he'd been there, the smells coming from the oven were delicious and when he opened the fridge it was full of different bowls of salads. Nevertheless, it didn't explain where Randy was.
Not wishing to stay in his shirt and tie, John went upstairs, heading straight to his room. When he opened the door, he stood stock still, looking at the sexy body of his partner, Randy Orton, with simply a small towel wrapped around his waist. He could have stayed there all day looking at the Adonis, but if he got, Randy wouldn't be happy. He coughed announcing his presence, and Randy spun round, a little surprised to see him there.
"I spilt something and needed to change my clothes," Randy explained as though he wasn't meant to be there.
"You don't need to explain, besides it's a nice view," John said with a smirk.
"I still have things to do, including going to the shop," Randy said pulling on a shirt. He stormed across the room, trying to brush passed John, however John caught hold of his wrist. Randy turned and looked at him, their eyes connecting with the same desire they were both fighting.
It was Randy though who made the first move, something that John didn't expect. Pushing John against the doorframe, he captured John's lips in a searing kiss. It wasn't romantic, or even out of need, put from loneliness, and John could easily succumb to it. Randy eased the pressure but kept their lips locked. When they finally broke the kiss, John held onto Randy's hand.
"Really not complaining, but I was only going to tell you that you're not wearing pants," John said with a smile and a chuckle. "If you want to kiss me again, I won't stop you."
"John, I want to..." Randy started. "...but I need to finish this food. Which means I have to go to the shop."
"Which means you need to put some pants on," John smiled a little, trying to make light of the fact Randy had just rejected him.
"Right," Randy said going to get a pair of pants. "It's lucky I had some clothes here still."
John couldn't understand why it was that when Randy and he talked, things got awkward. They'd lived together for years, had been friends for as many years before that, yet somewhere in the last two weeks, he and Randy had grown distant, as though they had nothing in common. He couldn't understand it. He just wished he could get things to improve. Maybe the party tonight would help to make amends. He just needed to make sure he got some time alone.
"...take them out when the timer goes off," Randy said interrupting John's thoughts. "Do we need anything else for tonight?"
"Huh? Oh, no, we have plenty of drinks," John said coming back to the present. He followed Randy along the corridor but Randy seemed to be on a mission and was down the stairs before John even reached the top. When he heard the door go he slumped down on the top step and held his head in hands.
"Hey, John, where you at?" Cody yelled as he walked in the room.
"Right here," John said, feeling as tired as he sounded.
"What's the matter?" Cody asked. "Wait I smell food; did you try cooking?"
"Try having a little faith in me. Randy was here and he's cooked. You must have seen him, he would have been pulling out when you arrived," John explained.
"Thank god, are you two back together yet?"
"No."
"Jeez, why not? What are going to tell everyone tonight?"
"You know what, I don't care. I agreed to this before anything happened. Frankly if it weren't Ted's birthday, I would be making myself scarce tonight."
"Well, when Randy gets back here tonight, you two better get your stories straight if you're going to put a show, that or be prepared for lots of sympathy comments," Cody said. "So I told everyone to get here for seven, and figured Ted and I would get here about half hour after that."
"Cody, you can change topics in an instant. And you should know how awkward tonight will be, we can't fake it for everyone. We can barely talk to one another without it becoming uncomfortable."
"Well, you'll have to try, tonight is about Ted, not you and Randy," Cody snapped.
"You know, you were a lot more considerate last time I saw you. If you're that concerned, you can always go elsewhere for this party," John snapped in return. He got on his feet and headed back to the bedroom, stripped down to his boxers and pulled on a t-shirt and cargo shorts.
He felt like going down to Hard Nocks but the truth was, with the situation over the potential loss of business, it would only depress him even more. Ideally, he'd like to stay upstairs for the rest of the day, but Randy needed him to look out for the food.
He went downstairs finding Cody still waiting around. Ignoring him, he went into the laundry room, putting Randy's dirty clothes in for a wash. He wanted Randy to have the option of taking the clothes with him, though he hoped he'd keep them here.
Coming back into the kitchen, he grabbed a drink and a bag of chips and then sat in front of the television, flicking through the channels.
"So are you going to ignore me for the rest of the day?"
"Nope," John said. "Just while you're being an inconsiderate bastard."
"Fine, okay, I'm sorry for being inconsiderate of your feelings," Cody apologised. "I just thought you two would have sorted things out by now and I don't want you to have another blazing row in front of everyone."
"Just go," John said as the timer sounded on the oven. "Everything will be okay. And I'll let Randy know if we feel like arguing, then we have to find somewhere to hide away. At least, I'll try to tell to him without starting an argument."
John listened to Cody ramble on before the younger man left the house. Why Ted and Cody couldn't see how much they cared for each other, John couldn't tell. It was crazy. He and Randy had known how they felt for a long time, they may not have acted on it for obvious reasons, but they admitted how they felt. Ted and Cody seemed oblivious.
With Cody gone and the food out the oven, John didn't feel up to anything else and was about to disappear upstairs when the door opened.
"Hey," John said at a loss for words at seeing Randy again. "I was just, um."
Randy nodded his head as John pointed up the stairs. John was about four steps up when Randy called him.
"Why are things this difficult between us?"
"I don't know," John said wishing Randy hadn't picked now to have a heart to heart. He continued walking upstairs, leaving Randy standing in the hallway. Go back to that morning and John would have jumped at the chance to try to talk things through, but right now, John just wanted to keep to himself.
He shut himself off, and resumed the channel hopping he'd done when Cody was there. There wasn't anything on that he wanted to watch, and it didn't bother him, he just kept flicking between the channels to give him something to do.
The house was swarming with wrestlers both new and old, but Randy was on the lookout for just one, and his name was John Cena. He didn't know why he was looking downstairs, John hadn't come out of the bedroom since he'd got back earlier today.
Maybe he shouldn't have kissed him earlier, maybe he wasn't ready for it. All John had said was some off handed comment; it didn't mean he wanted Randy to jump his bones. Then, hadn't he given John the brush off earlier when he'd ended the phone call, all because John called him 'honey'. That was stupid, he always called him that, and it was a natural thing to do.
"Are you going to start ragging on me, and telling me I have to go to bed at some ridiculous hour?" Alanna asked leaning against the kitchen counter where Randy stood.
"Let's just see how it goes, there's no point sending you to bed if this lot are still here," Randy said with a smirk at his daughter. "Can I ask you something? How's John been?"
"Downbeat, missing you, busy at the gym," Alanna answered reeling off a list of concerns. "He said we could do something tomorrow after school; guess he's feeling guilty for moping."
Randy looked at his watch, Cody would be arriving with Ted any minute so he couldn't excuse himself just yet, but as soon as the birthday boy was in and making the rounds, Randy was going to find John and drag him down to the party.
His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out to find a cryptic message, which he guessed was Cody's covert way of telling him they were arriving. They switched the lights off and everyone hid except Randy. When the doorbell rang, he went to the door and let them in.
It would have worked a little better if John was the one answering the door since Randy wasn't actually living there at the moment, but he managed to find the excuse they needed.
"Come on through, we're eating outside tonight," Randy said as walked in ahead of him.
As Ted walked in the lights flicked on and everyone shouted their surprise. As Ted gave out thanks, naturally to Cody first, Randy spotted John in the doorway to the veranda. After receiving a thankful hug from Ted, Randy stepped back into the hallway and made his way to the staircase. With any luck, he'd make it up to the bedroom before John returned, knowing full well what John was planning.
He took a seat on his usual side of the bed, with his back to the headboard and waited. Sure enough, a few moments later, John snuck back up the outside staircase and entered the bedroom.
"I'm concerned about you," Randy said as John stood looking at him. "You've been up here all afternoon. I thought for sure this would be our chance to have a chat. Make amends. I've had enough of being alone."
"Then you're sending out the wrong signals, actually it's more like mixed signals. Rather than reply to a message you turn up at the house, then when we're talking on the phone you damn near cut me off," John ranted. "Then I get back and you're naked, bar a towel, in the bedroom, I make a flattering comment and you kiss me, then you run out on me."
"Okay, so I'm not perfect, I'm working on things at this end as well. Today was the first time you've contacted me since I left. The only reason we've had any contact is because I promised to come in when I drop Alanna home," Randy argued, not liking where the conversation was going. "You call me 'honey' while we're talking on the phone and it threw me, I haven't been called that in a while. I shouldn't have kissed you, granted, but it felt amazing. I would've let it go further. I honestly don't know why I bailed."
Randy got up from the bed and walked over to John, he wanted to hold the man in his arms, but when he got close, John stepped away from his touch.
"Sex won't solve it, it'll just mask it, and as I much as I would love to have one night where I could forget at least one of my problems, in the long run I think it's better if we don't. I can't take the pain in the morning when we say goodbye or have an argument."
Randy was the one to step back this time, hurt by the words that John spoke. All he wanted to do was comfort the man, but he couldn't even do that right. He went to the door but stopped before opening it, "I was only going to hold you," he whispered before leaving the room.
He wasn't ready to head back down to the party, so he ducked into the spare room, closed the door and slid down to the floor. Maybe John was right, maybe they were beyond repair. He took some time to steel his emotions before going downstairs. Alanna was talking with Big Show, and Ted and Cody were across the room. Ted was busy in conversation, but Cody spotted him. Randy signalled to say he was going and straight away Cody was on his way over to him.
"You can't go, what about Ted's party?" Cody asked.
"I'm not in the mood to be sociable," Randy tried to explain. "Listen, give my apologies to Ted. I'm heading out to the car and going. I don't want to upset Alanna, can you let her know I've gone and I'll pick her up from school tomorrow. And don't let her stay up passed eleven."
"Where's John?"
"Upstairs," he said turning on his heel and heading out.
A/N: Hope you all enjoyed, please review:)