"ITVR: Chapter 79"
Insecurities.
By Jadedoll, Penumbren, & Raising Kane
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Damn, damn, damn. Once again he'd let his mouth operate without benefit of his brain, and look what he'd done now. Watching the guilt well up in those chocolate eyes made Shawn feel about two inches tall, and Dave's immediate negation of his apology didn't really help, even though he understood where Dave was coming from. "...I'm the one that should be sorry and I am... though not for looking at Hunt that way. I just can't help it." Smiling slightly at that, Shawn flicked his eyes towards their lover and was somehow not surprised to see him eyeing the coffee sitting so tantalizingly close on the end of the buffet. Hunter just didn't operate well without caffeine first thing in the morning, and at this point the adrenaline high that had probably been motivating him so far was probably wearing off. At least he'd managed to keep Steve and Dave apart... Shuddering a little at the thought of what the fallout could've been from that if it had gone any farther, Shawn turned back to Dave, noticing finally that the black eyes from the previous morning were mostly faded, if a particularly nasty shade of yellow at this point. It was an improvement, anyway... and it�was a good thing, even if it was yet another thing for him to feel bad about. Dave had only gotten hurt yesterday because�Shawn couldn't control his temper, after all.�This had better not develop into a pattern; he'd always had issues controlling his mouth, and it had always been�a problem in his relationships, whether with friends or with lovers. "...there is someone else I owe an apology to... Don�t worry. I'm not going to take a swing at him. Promise." What? Dave was going to go talk to Austin now? It wasn't Dave throwing a punch that had Shawn alarmed at that thought, it was first-hand knowledge of how well Steve didn't react to further interference if you'd already pushed his buttons. At least Shawn could go with Dave, maybe just linger in the doorway or something, to make sure things didn't get too far out of hand... "Shawn, you know I love ya man, but this is something I really need to do on my own." Damn it. Standing stock-still as he watched Dave walk across the room, Shawn was taken aback by the sheer depths of the depression he was suddenly wallowing in. Dave's ability to say that particular expression so casually, yet so meaningfully, was just something else for him to feel guilty about. They'd only been together for a day, but Shawn knew that there was more than just attraction between there---he'd meant what he'd said yesterday. If they gave it time, he could easily fall for Dave, but knowing that he hadn't yet---oh really? whispered a little voice in the back of his head that he firmly ignored---made those three little words hurt a little bit every time he heard them from Dave. Knowing how the big man felt about him was beyond words, really, but Dave had to be worried about the emotion being one-sided, even if he hadn't said anything. And he wouldn't, Shawn knew. Sighing, Shawn finally turned around and followed Hunter to the buffet, his own step noticeably more listless than normal. Standing next to his best friend as Hunter poured himself a cup of coffee and took a deep drink with a happy noise, Shawn stared at the coffee pot before looking up at Hunter with dark eyes. "Hunt..." He didn't know what to say, how to express this tangled mass of emotions he was suddenly wrapped in. All he knew was that he desperately wanted Hunter's arms around him. What he'd really like would be to have Hunter and Dave's arms around him, preferably while they were all in bed, but that wasn't about to happen anytime in the immediate future. **** As Sean came back towards their table, Jeff was surprised by the man's almost somber aura and wondered briefly if last night's fight had gone on far longer than he'd realised. Narrowing his eyes, Jeff noted the lack of bounce, reluctant expression and�calm face as the dark haired man finally took his seat at the table, although a quick smile lightened Sean's features somewhat at the end. Returning the quiet greeting, Jeff nodded slightly as he felt Mark's hand squeeze his shoulder for a moment, before his new lover moved around the table. Jeff had very little idea of Mark and Sean's relationship but given some of the words spoken... err well, shouted last night, he could imagine it wasn't particularly warm. Jeff noted absently that�his orange juice seemed to be cut with pineapple. Even knowing him only sporadically, Jeff knew Mark could be terribly stern and self-contained, his heart well and truly under wraps. This gave him that desirable, untouchable air that made Jeff's knees weak, but also seemed to dampen down the big man's lighter side and made him seem like he had no�sense of humour. It was a personality that couldn't be more different to that of Sean Waltman, a playful, laughing ball of humour and passion, desperately covering the vulnerable inner-man with a heart of gold. A man who may not have had such a thick skin as many believed. The juice probably needed the sweetness of pineapple because oranges were out of season. Having never been described as conventional himself, Jeff could appreciate Sean in a completely different way to Mark. It was so easy to believe that characters like Waltman were bullet-proof, so�easy-going and traveling along in their fun and games world's that they didn't notice when people hated them. Of course Sean would know about Mark's disapproval, just because he didn't have a fit about it, it would still bother him inside. Jeff was brushed with that same Teflon brush and hated it, even though the bed was one he'd made for himself. Yeah... sure... so people thought he didn't give a fuck because he when he was insulted he'd reply�'fuck you' with an easy smile... it still hurt. Of course pineapples were over for the year as well. Somewhat like cats, Jeff thought as he watched Mark settle down beside Sean and begin to apologise for his cold-shouldering of the past. If there is a cat hater in the house you can be sure that's the lap we want to sleep�on. Kinda masochistic when you come down to it. But at least men like he and Sean were happy most of the time, they may have weaknesses but most of these were only transient bruises to their feelings.�See, Sean had�smiled at them.... he was bouncing back already. Shaking his head at his deeper than deep thoughts, Jeff felt he couldn't blame the�people who thought he might be high as a kite most days... his orange juice wasn't that interesting and he'd been staring at it for several minutes already. Like a ray of sun on his face, Jeff could feel Mark's eyes on him and met them without a thought. Up until last night, he'd been unable to bring himself to gaze into those lovely jade depths and now he could read the world... or at the very least he could read more of Mark in them than he'd even been able to before. "...I owe you some thanks. You... you were right, last night. So... thank you." The words were spoken in a low and deep voice, but Jeff still caught the gist of them. Yeah, he owed Sean his thanks too in a way, because although Jeff had been ready to try and jump Mark's bones last night anyway, it had been the high decibeled declarations from next door that had given him to courage to grab at Mark with both hands.�Although, how do you thank a man for arguing with his boyfriend? Rising from his chair, Jeff abandoned his pineapple-wanna-be orange juice�and took the few steps around Glen to get him to Mark's side. Despite all their talking, he and Mark still hadn't covered the public nature of their almost-relationship, so Jeff felt dropping into Mark's lap and peppering his face with kisses mightn't be the best idea at present. Instead he contented himself with a body lean against Mark's side, his hip canted into the�side of his lover's chest, while one hand roamed free across broad shoulders before stroking the black hair at the back of Mark's neck. It was probably a bit too blatant and would fuel the fires of speculation in the locker-room for days... but if Mark didn't mind, then Jeff didn't give�a rat's ass how his actions were interpreted by people who needed to be getting laid rather than wondering if he was. "I'll add my thanks to that as well Waltman, you kinda accidentally helped us to... cut through all the crap?" Seeing the shocked expression begin to morph into something more familiar, Jeff shook his head ruefully. "And yes oh Guru of Love... I have to admit it... you were right." **** Steve Austin was seriously considering going back to the arena and spending some uninterrupted quality time with the punching bag again. Looking at the series of small cuts and bruises across his knuckles though, he felt that wasn't something his body would be able to take. There was only so much punching a man could do before he had to find the source of his rage and deal with that instead. Problem was, he'd just been firmly told that finding his 'source' wasn't an option. Not because Mr. Dave 'Randy's-New-Big-Brother' Batista told him to, oh no way in hell, but because whatever the kid had said, it had been enough to send his friend through the roof and come hunting for Steve's head on a platter. In the big man's overly polite way of course. Randy musta made it pretty clear in his chat with Dave that Austin was Unwanted with a capital 'Un' and even though he'd belted himself half to death last night, the knot�in his gut tightened at the thought�and�it still fuckin' hurt. "I don't think he realised the situation." Kitten's voice came to him quietly from the wall at the edge of the beer garden he'd so briskly hauled Steve into. That the Texan had been moveable at all was due to his inability to risk further hurt to CJ, rather than a desire to walk away from the fight. Looking down at the mess his bruised hands and feet had wrought on some of the weird-ass fake plants, Steve nodded and sat down abruptly. "Yeah," because the man had been surprised at Steve's explanation. Batista had only continued to be aggressive after Austin' had gone out of his way to push Dave's buttons. An easy feat after Helmsley had arrived on the scene. Christ... the air had almost crackled between the two. "He was thinkin' I musta beat the kid up or raped 'im or somethin.'" And in that Steve found he could let go of his anger at Batista in one clean wave.�Let go of something that, given a reverse of perspective, he knew he would have been a lot less polite... if he'd even have spoken to Randy's attacker�at all. It wouldn't be the first time someone had accused him of using his fists to solve his problems, but he'd never hit a lover in his life... at least not outside the ring... and even with Randy going all fists aplenty, he wasn't planning to... ever. Steve Austin�just wasn't the kind of guy to deliberately hurt someone he loved. "He's just lookin' out fer the kid, can't blame 'im fer that." The comforting burn of Chris' presence was a balm to his wounded soul, the press of hip and shoulder to his a reminder that though he might have lost Randy, he still had something that was worth getting up in the morning for. "...Steve-o that's so sweet... you'd beat up Adam... if he bweaks my poor widdle heart?" 'They wouldn't find the body Kitten'. Steve thought, but with his mouth replied, "Oh hell yeah." Chris' bright gurgle of pleased laughter hid the arrival of a large figure looming uncertainly in the doorway. If body language could talk, and Austin had picked up a lot of dialects in his time, then the man he was looking at was a completely different one than the man he'd left in the restaurant. Hell... it looked like the big man was walking to his execution or somethin'. Maybe he was too, given the likelihood of Helmsley and Michaels attitude to picking fights with people. Thing was, those two pretty boys just didn't get people like Dave and him. They operated on a totally different level, one of charm and beauty rather than ferocity and family. Dave saw Randy as family and would'a kicked Steve's ass with a grin on his face if the kid had been hurt. Austin was totally down with that. "If you want to hit me ... I'm sorry... no real excuse for what I said... doesn't give me the right to accuse you... positive that this is all Randy's doing..." Maybe they weren't quite so alike after all. Steve wondered if he'd have the balls to walk up to someone and cop to responsibility like that. It was the measure of a man that he�could admit his mistakes and seek to repair the damage he'd done. The question was whether Steve was also that kind of man. He could feel Chris' attention move from the conversation in front of him to somewhere in the middle distance and knew his friend was looking to find his boyfriend. This didn't need to go any further and Kitten should be off doin' more of that doctoring rather than minding his sorry butt. Standing up from the wall, Austin mentally ordered CJ to stay where he was, although obedience was another matter, and walked to stand, once again, toe to toe with Dave Batista. "...you want to slug me now... or... take your turn after they get done with me?" Well that answered that. Poor bastard had no hope with the Archangels Michaels and Helmsley up his ass. Steve decided then and there to be on Batista's side whenever the man was on the outs with those two.... he'd need all the help he could get. "Nahh, I don't wanna slug ya 'Animal'," but this time Steve smiled when he said the, admittedly pretty cool, nickname. "I get where ya were comin' from, an' as I said to Kitten, I'd a spoke and done a lot worse if it were one of my friends been messed with." Luckily for the fake fauna, Austin was such a man. "An' I spoke outta turn too, implyin' your new set-up is somethin' shallow. That ain't it, I can tell. Hell my friend, the whole frickin' room can tell ya three are on the same page. So I'll take my share a that blame and say we call it even?" The surprise on the other man's face as Steve held out his hand to be shaken put paid to the last of Austin's frustration and anger. Maybe he should'a decked the guy just to conform to stereotype. And because he was a pathetic, needy, sad old fool, he just had to ask. "Ya talked to the kid? He in a bad way or somethin'?" **** Hunter poured himself a cup of java that was certainly larger than his normal dose, but screw it, he was 'the Man', he could have a bucket of coffee if he wanted and no one except Vince could tell him off for it. Keeping his body between his lovers and what he was doing, Hunter snuck a deep gulp before refilling the cup and looking over the food on display. He wasn't listening to the conversation just behind his back either... no, not at all. "I made assumptions based on what Randy said... and didn't say..." As soon as they all sat down, Hunter was going to ask for chapter and verse on what, exactly, the young man had said. It must have pretty extreme to get Dave to react in such a way, considering the two had been at odds recently over everything from travel timetables to where they put their bags in the locker room. To give him credit, Hunter knew the problem was entirely of Randy's making as Dave had repeatedly tried to make amends until even his lover's almost eternal patience had reached its limit. Hunt heaved�a mental sigh as he decided that the situation with Randy was actually his to deal with. He was the man's 'sponsor' for want of a better term, and if Randy really was causing a mass of emotional mayhem backstage, then it was Hunt's job to bring him into line. He couldn't shrug this off to Ric anymore and pretend the kid was just all show. The confrontation between Austin and Dave proved that. Looked like Vince wouldn't be the only one glaring at Hunter for the next few weeks, Randy could be�a complete prick when he was read the riot act, by Hunt in particular. Looking back over his shoulder, he saw Dave move towards the patio where CJ had taken Austin and tried not to tense up. He and Steve had known each other for years and the Texan was as straight as they come when a man's pride was on the line. If Dave didn't push more buttons, then Austin would forgive and forget and given what he could see of his lover's broad, sexy back, David was being as aggressive as a canary. "Hunt..." It was a voice that spoke directly to a part of him that had been lost ten years ago, a part that his lover owned and Hunter could never take back. Never wanted back. It could call to him at four a.m. and Hunt would be out the door before his name was even finished. Setting his coffee cup down, Hunter drew Shawn into an embrace and tucked his beloved's head against his jaw. The simple need in that roughened voice, the guilt and worry had shot straight to Hunt's heart and he reacted the only way that he knew how. Hold Shawn and take that pain away. Drawing wide circles with his hand across Shawn's lower back... a font of agony for them both at one time... Hunter lowered his eyelids so that their fascinated audience couldn't see the emotion in his gaze and dropped his lips to Shawn's ear. "Whatever it is... it's okay Darling." And it would be, Hunter would make sure of that. "Dave's fine, see." Hunter turned them so that Shawn could look across his chest at the figures beyond the window. "Steve can be a grumpy bastard but you know better than anyone his ability to get over it. Watch... Dave's saying 'sorry Dude but I thought you smacked Randy around and I had to kill you for that.' " Indeed, his dark lover did seem to be making his explanations, although with likely a far better vocabulary than Hunter was giving him credit for. "Steve's saying 'Man, you are sooo totally wrong Dude, I never touched him,'" okay, so he borrowed a bit from Copeland and Reso there, but he could feel the tension draining from the man in his arms, so he deemed it a successful strategy. "Dave's replying 'I can see that Randy actually smacked you around Steven. Do you want me to beat him up for you? Or do you like being his�lil' bitch?" Shawn was trembling slightly against Hunt's shirt and he hoped it was from wonder at his creativity rather than laughter at his bad impersonations. "Here we go, Steven's going to offer his hand in a second.... there... and Dave will pull him into a loving and, totally platonic don't worry Darling... manly hug. Oh. Okay... no hug then. But no further violence so all is good. See... everything's fine. I'm always right Shawn, you know that." It was a brash statement that neither of them would believe for a second, but if it got the corners of Shawn's lips to curl, then it was worth the sacrifice of his ego. Dropping one arm from the other blond so that they could turn back to the buffet and freak Vince's spies out a bit less, Hunter kept his lover tucked into his side and examined the refreshed offerings "I'm being good and having the eggs, " it was the most banal of chatter, but it would hopefully take away the last of the tension. "As your Lord and Master I say you may have something with sugar because you're getting skinny." A gentle poke in the ribs. It wasn't true, Shawn was perfectly proportioned and in as good a shape as ever, but given Hunter's bulk, teasing Shawn for not eating enough was his right as best friend. Just because they were sleeping together didn't mean he was going to stop. **** CJ managed to not jump to his feet and tell Batista to go fuck himself with a golf club, but only by the skin of his teeth. It was rude, filthy and completely not his business, but right now Steve was hurting and Chris wanted to keep anyone that would pour lemon juice on the wounds at a definite distance. Also, if the big man was still angry then perhaps it was better he be angry at Chris for something that actually was said rather than at Austin for something that had never happened. "If you want to hit me, I wouldn't blame you." He was lucky, in a way, that he'd held his tongue, considering Dave's words and actions the moment he passed through the doorway. CJ was even worse at apologies than Jay was at driving.�They'd be all tripping over themselves saying 'sorry' at this rate and the last thing he wanted to do was muddy the waters with his very own little hissy-fit. No, this time Chris Jericho was going to keep his mouth firmly shut, something against his very nature, and watch as two grown-ups settled their differences the�mature way. "Adam seemed positive that this is all Randy's doing, so..." Well, go Team Austin. CJ smiled as he realised that his lover had been the one to set the record straight with Batista and the other two. A surge of pride ran through him at Adam's actions on Steve's behalf. The two men barely knew each other and were really only starting to feel their way into a friendship because of him. It was flattering to know that he'd chosen, or been chosen by, a man who would want to defend someone like Austin just because it was the right thing to do. The rush of hormones at this thought temporarily blinded Chris' psyche and he looked away from the Clash of the Titans to find his noble, heroic, sexy, interfering�lover. Who was collapsed in a chair, white as a sheet with Benoit hovering over him like a nanny�crossed with a Rottweiler. "I'll take my share a that blame and say we call it even?" "Good, good, fine, fine. You're both hot-heads but it's okay because you both have the same cool-down period as well." Chris muttered under his breath as he got up and moved smoothly past the two former combatants. He'd make sure Steve wasn't alone for the next few days, even if he had to dob the man into Trish to do it, but right now his attention was completely caught by 'not-really-kinda-high should-be-in-bed' Adam Copeland. Raising an eyebrow at the other Chris and circling around so he stood in front of his lover, CJ noted the less phased-out look in the bottomless green eyes and the slow returning colour to the high cheekbones. He wasn't going to become a nagging fishwife in the first forty-eight hours of their relationship. He wasn't. So he sat nonchalantly on the table behind Adam's chair and grinned salaciously. "You look very alluring there, Babe. That deathly white just sets off the traces of blood on your hairline like no-body's business." His sharp comments were contradicted by his hands, gently pulling Adam's between his dangling knees, rubbing small circles into�the back of the�long neck�and�curling his torso over his lover from behind. Draping his arms over�Adam's shoulders, Chris�rested his chin on the honey-blond head, closed his eyes and spoke to Benoit. "Chris? Do you find it just as hard to keep your Latin Lover in one place when he's hurt?" **** "That's what I'm hoping to do, Glen. If he lets me, anyway." And that was the question wasn't it? Sean was bound to be suspicious of a turn-about in Mark's attitude towards him, especially without the knowledge of the added assistance that they had unknowingly provided the night before. Hopefully his lover would hold his tongue and not run for the hills before Mark had a chance to convince him that he sincere. When his lover finally came back to the table, Glen was even more worried when he got a look at the plate of food he set on the table. Sean's greeting was so subdued that Glen was starting to think maybe he was sick or something after all. Mark certainly had his work cut out for him. The last time he'd seen Sean act like this had been when he'd come home from a trip to Kevin's with the news that Scott had moved his things out of the house. He'd moped around the house for almost two weeks before bouncing back to his normal attitude and it had driven Glen almost insane to see him like that. But he couldn't help then and he felt just as helpless now. He crossed his fingers as Mark moved closer, hoping that Mark's talk with Sean would restore the bubbles to his somber mood. He noted the way Sean stiffened and then sighed quietly. It was entirely possible that he'd have to sit on Sean to get him to listen to Mark... but he hoped not. "I want to apologise to you. Not just for last night, although I did overreact, but for... well, for being an asshole to you for years, now." Glen was pretty sure that his face was a mirror of Sean's... shock being abundantly clear in both their expressions. Leave it to Mark to put it in quite that way. He'd been fully aware of Sean poking at Mark over the time that he and Sean had been together and Mark's snapping at him in return. Until last night, he'd never realized himself the extent of how Sean had interpreted Mark's actions. Sean had never commented on it, continuing on in his bouncy manner no matter how much Mark had snarled. It had become apparent though with Sean's comment last night that Sean had taken note of it and come to what was to him an obvious conclusion. He'd been just as blind as Mark had of the effects and hadn't given a thought to trying to ease things between the two men. Wasn't he just as much at fault here? "... I don't hate you, Sean... I'm sorry I've been nothing but a jerk to you... I'd like to get to know you, and I'd like us to be friends." Whoa. He hadn't been expecting Mark to go that far in all honesty. He wasn't at all sure how this was going to work out, because he just knew that if Sean got to the point of considering Mark as his friend, instead of as just Glen's friend, he'd probably end up pushing even more of Mark's buttons. Sean was notorious for sticking his nose into his friends lives, as he had tried to do last night with the Hunter/Shawn/Dave situation. Glen wondered if Mark had any clue at all what he'd just let himself in for... if not, then he'd probably find out, very soon. "Besides that, I owe you some thanks. You... you were right, last night. So... thank you." Glen smothered a grin waiting for the smart-ass comment that he just knew was going to jump out of Sean's mouth. It turned to a frown, when Sean sat there still regarding Mark with a wary air. Then he was distracted momentarily by Jeff's approach and the obvious signs of the new change in his and Mark's relationship. No missing those signals. He wondered how many others in the room had noticed. "...Add my thanks to that as well... accidentally helped us to... cut through all the crap..." Sean certainly had and his eyes had grown even wider if possible though he was still suspiciously silent. "And yes oh Guru of Love... I have to admit it... you were right." Glen leaned back in his chair and smothered a groan. He'd seen the light flash in Sean's eyes and he knew... just knew... that Sean was going to be impossible to live with for the next week... at least. Both men having told him he was right... he'd be crowing about that for months. ---- Mark's presence was one of those that you just couldn't ignore. Even if you couldn't see him, you could feel the aura surrounding the man. Despite the fact that he was studiously poking at his mashed potatoes, he could feel it when Mark moved in his direction. Aw, hell... here it comes. Sean sighed quietly, stiffening in his seat as he waited for the ax to fall. He could already hear the lecture in his head... it would most likely involve a strong hint that he mind his own business and would end with Mark calling him kid. Only it wouldn't be an endearment as it was with his friends. Mark had implied more than once that Sean should 'act his age.' When Mark took a seat instead of using his looming height to tower over him, Sean flashed a quick look at him from under his lashes without moving his head. Oh shit. So it was going to be an eye level 'glare of doom'? He must have really pissed the guy off this time. "Look, Sean... I wanted to talk to you." Whoa. Hold the presses. Where was the growling? "I want to apologise to you. Not just for last night... but for... well, for being an asshole to you for years, now." Sean's head snapped up as he looked for a sign of 'ha, gotcha!' on Mark's face. This had to be a joke, right? Where was the real Mark Calaway and who was this impostor that the kidnappers had found to replace him with? He might have stopped Mark right there, but quite honestly, he was too surprised to say anything. The ceiling could have started falling down around them, and he'd still be sitting there looking at Mark with what had to be an extreme look of shock on his face. "You may be hyperactive, bouncy, and annoying as all hell..." Now that sounded just like the beginning of a Mark Calaway lecture... this guy was good. "...but I know there's more to you than that... the way you look at Glen... how protective you are of your friends... I really don't know you very well, and that's a damned shame..." Ehhh... wrong answer! Had the look alright, but the tone was all wrong. He flashed a quick look at Jeff, who was absorbed with studying a glass of juice, most likely trying to guess the possible fruit combination. Okay... he got it now. Jeff had hired this guy to teach him a lesson. It was just a freak coincidence of nature that he'd found a guy that so closely resembled the real thing. "...if you were as shallow as you try to make yourself look, he would've dropped you on your ass years ago." That was the thing that killed him the most. No one could possibly be as shallow as he tried to make himself look. They wouldn't make it past legal drinking age before someone decided to push them off a roof for being such a flighty half-baked idiot. But not too many people bothered to look past the exterior. First impressions were lasting ones. As soon as people saw him they immediately assumed he was cute and bouncy and brainless. So that was what Sean gave them. "...I don't hate you, Sean... I've been nothing but a jerk to you... I'd like to get to know you, and I'd like us to be friends." Riiiiiiight... and Sean was the Dalai Lama. This was the punch line... right? He could get all awed that Mark actually wanted to get to know the real him and then next week or next month, he'd be on the receiving end of the Undertaker's patented 'I Own Your Soul, Boy' glare and he'd end up finding a nice closet to go pout in for an hour or two. Just like always. And why had he used that particular word... hate? It was too coincidental. He almost turned to look at his lover. If he didn't know better, he'd think that Glen had spilled about their fight last night, but Glen would never do that. So how... ? "Besides that, I owe you some thanks. You... you were right, last night. So... thank you." There! See! He was right. This couldn't possibly be the real Mark. The guy would never, ever in a million years thank him for anything, let alone interfering in his love life. He was much more likely to tell Sean, in a nice growl of course, to go play in traffic until he came to fetch him. He didn't say anything right away. He was still trying to come up with a suitable way to bust open the prank. He could jump in the guy's lap and just say... the jig is up, but Glen might get a little tetchy if he took that course. While he was considering other options, Jeff sidled up beside the Undertaker wanna-be and started fawning over the guy. Exactly... Mark was not a touchy-feely demonstrate your true feelings in public kind of guy. There was no way that this guy was the real thing. It just wasn't possible. "I'll add my thanks to that as well Waltman, you kinda accidentally helped us to... cut through all the crap?" Uh huh. Hardy was going to thank him after he'd been itching to gag Sean last night and shove him down an elevator shaft just to shut him up? Maybe it was the real Mark after all... in some psycho alternate universe in a galaxy far, far away... "And yes oh Guru of Love... I have to admit it... you were right." He snorted. He just couldn't help it. Of course he'd been right. Luckily for his bodily health he managed not to open up his mouth and blurt that out. The tension between the two had been rolling off them in waves and with all that unusual touching that Mark had been doing, not that it had been the blatant touch-feely kind, it had been obvious even to him. He had to say something. Jeff and Mark were both looking at him... waiting. And he knew Glen was watching him as well. Okay then. First things first. "You're welcome... I guess, but I didn't do anything but point out the obvious. I'm kind of surprised that you told Mark about it, though," he said slanting a look at Jeff, a slight tinge of pink flushing his cheeks. "And I won't hold you to that friends thing Mark. I appreciate the sentiment, really, but we both know that it won't work. One of these days, you'll come hobbling into an arena because of your�knee or your hip and I'll say something without thinking about it. Something�like... 'So it must have been Jeff's turn to be on top last night'... and you'll want to kill me just like you always do." He raised a brow at the dark-haired man waiting for him to deny that he'd react that way, but before Mark could say anything he added in the kicker. "And everyone knows that I annoy my friends more than anyone else, so if you'd like to rescind the offer... I won't take it personally. We can stick with you growling at me and me vacating the room before I lose my head. Do you really want to put up with me sticking my nose even further into your business than I already have?" **** "Nahh, I don't wanna slug ya 'Animal'. I get where ya were comin' from... I'd a spoke and done a lot worse if it were one of my friends been messed with." Somehow Dave didn't doubt that. Since Steve was smiling when he used Dave's nickname this time around, Dave didn't take offense. He was, in fact, stunned that he wasn't sitting on his ass holding his jaw at the moment. It just pointed out that he really had misjudged the man and he was still stinging with regret over having done so. He was also trying to face the scary realization that he and Steve might be an awful lot alike. "An' I spoke outta turn too... Hell my friend, the whole frickin' room can tell ya three are on the same page. So I'll take my share a that blame and say we call it even?" While he appreciated the apology, he didn't bother correcting Austin's misconception. There was nothing shallow about their relationship, but he wouldn't necessarily say that they were all on the same page... not just yet... maybe never. He was not going to reveal that little bit of insecurity to Steve Austin of all people though. As for Steve taking a share of the blame, Dave thought that was more than generous of the man since he wouldn�t have had any reason to get snarky if Dave hadn't gone at him with both guns blazing. When Steve actually held out his hand, Dave stared at him in surprise for a moment. The emotion was broken when he heard the faintly muttered words of the blond skirting his way around them to head back through the patio doors. "Good, good, fine, fine. You're both hot-heads but it's okay because you both have the same cool-down period as well." Chris having confirmed that he and Austin were alike startled a smile out of him. Turning his attention back to the man in front of him, Dave shook the offered hand. He was about to follow Chris out of the room and head back to face the lecture that he was sure would be top on Hunter and Shawn's list, when he heard Austin's question. "Ya talked to the kid? He in a bad way or somethin'?" Dave grimaced and tried to decide how exactly to explain why he'd made the assumptions that he had. He wasn't at all sure that Austin was going to understand his interpretation of the way Randy had replied to him. Settling his weight against the edge of a table, he looked up at the bald man, noting the concern etched on the man's face. How could he have ever thought... ? "This may not make sense to you... how I came to the conclusions that I did, but it has a lot to do with the way Randy is now compared to the way that he used to be. Before we got brought up, we were friends. Maybe not the best, but I like to think we could have been... if Randy hadn't... changed so radically after he started here. He's always worked hard, but he was so... sweet and considerate back then. Willing to help anyone." Dave noted the look on Austin's face and smirked. "Hard to imagine, I know. After I got called up, he made it perfectly clear that he didn't have a bit of time to spare me. I tried... really I did, but it didn't matter. The only one Randy had time for was himself... it was all about what a person could do for him. If you couldn't help his career or bend over to kiss his ass... you might as well leave him alone, or risk suffering frostbite. So I stopped trying." Shifting his weight slightly he rubbed the back of his neck while he considered how much to tell Austin of what exactly Randy had said. Despite the fact that Randy had said he told Steve that they were a fucking joke, he wasn't sure that Randy had phrased it in quite that way. Then again, knowing Randy, he probably had. "We've been at loggerheads lately... awful. You name it, we disagree on it. I called him because I needed to set up a time to go through Monday's match, but for some reason... I expected to see him with you in the restaurant. When you came up to him last night, the... tension between you two... I think all three of us expected to see you two together today, to be honest. And I thought then that it would be good for him... that you would be good for him." He saw the surprise on Austin's face. He didn't blame the man after the way he'd acted earlier. "So when he wasn't sitting there beside you, I just had this feeling that I should make the call right then. So I did. He sounded... flat. Said he had some stuff to work out... that he was heading home and didn't want to hear anything about the business until Saturday. This is where I started making assumptions, I guess... Randy lives and breathes this business just like Cowboy Bob. For him to not want to hear anything about it for four days... something huge had to have happened... and the way he hesitated over the word stuff, it was hedging at it's best." Dave slipped his hands in his pockets as he looked Austin in the eye. Hopefully his explanation wouldn't garner the punch that he'd avoided earlier. "So I asked him if things were okay with him and I dropped your name because as far as I knew, you were the last one he'd had contact with. Why? Your guess is as good as mine. I didn't honestly expect anything except some snarky reply, but instead he dropped his attitude and told me that everything was not okay with him, but he was dealing with it." Dave hesitated again, debating the wisdom of what he was about to say. "He said that he'd told you that you and him were a joke," he wasn't quite that brave after all, "and that this morning had made him see that. Since Adam said you haven't seen Randy since last night, I don't know what he meant by that, but without that knowledge, I just assumed that you had done something. Something that he was running away from... and that's just not like him Steve. The kid's... broken. That's the only way I can put it. I can't really explain how I got from there to... what I said to you, but if you'd heard him Steve..." "I tried to get him to talk to me, but he blew it off and hung up. I headed back into the restaurant and you know the rest. I really am sorry. I just... I felt for the kid that I used to know and couldn't stand the thought that you might have been behind him scampering home with his tail between his legs. I guess I should have remembered that he's not that person anymore. It's probably not even really anything to do with you. Maybe Vince is finally going to pull his title off him and he's just taking his snit out on everyone." Dave stood up and put a hand on Austin's shoulder, unsure of what the man might be thinking. He hadn't ended up getting slugged so he was getting out while the getting was good. "I'm going to go eat and attend to my lecture like a good little boy," he said with a rueful grin. "We're not quite all on the same page, but two out of three ain't bad, right?" He really hadn't meant to say that and he was definitely going to invest in that gag. Maybe Vince would want to use it as part of his gimmick. It wasn't like he needed to really speak much anyway. And could he get any more pathetic? "Have a good week... Steve." With that, he beat a quick retreat back through the French doors. Spotting Hunter and Shawn... Hunter with his ever-present cup of coffee near to hand... Dave headed towards the buffet. "That stuff'll kill ya," he mumbled quietly as he passed them. "Look, Dad, no new bruises," was his next brilliant comment and he couldn't quite look Shawn in the eye when he said it. Wandering down past the food spread out on the buffet, he picked up a plate though he really didn't have much of an appetite. With all the fights breaking out lately, maybe he should invest in protective padding. Nah. It wouldn't have prevented his injury in any case... he was not wearing one of those nose protectors... no way in hell. **** "Just dizzy?" He managed a nod... slowly. Maybe if he'd claimed to be dying instead, he could have avoided the lecture... ... Nah. He had a feeling that he could be gasping for his last few breaths and Benny would still lecture him... after he'd hollered for a doctor or something. "Too much playing around and not enough taking care of yourself..." If he hadn't been still trying to convince his stomach that the world was not really spinning, he would have protested. It had nothing at all to do with playing around. Even if he were sitting perfectly still and propped up in bed, he'd still have suffered the dizziness from turning his head too quickly. It was another reason he hated taking anything at all with codeine. A doctor had prescribed codeine-laced cough syrup for him one time and he'd refused to take it. He'd rather have hacked up a lung than dealt with the side effects. "I'm surprised CJ even let you down here this morning..." Ha! As if... CJ was his boyfriend... not his keeper. He would have had to sit on him to keep him in one place and he just might have to during the four days ahead. Of course there was only a short list of places that Chris could sit without hurting him so that evened up the odds of it not happening... then again... maybe... "Between your normal attitude and the drugs, it's a wonder that you didn't get yourself knocked out by half the Clique already." Well... he had to admit, he'd found that pretty amazing as well. He'd thought for a moment that either Scott or Shawn would have been happy to knock him on his ass at the very least. And considering the huge faux pas that he'd made, he was damn lucky not to have had it happen. Still... knowing that Nash had a hair fetish was almost worth it. Not that he'd ever tell anyone about it... 'cept maybe Chris. Chris was smart enough that he wouldn't divulge it to anyone either. His lover, despite his antics, had an appreciation for living. "Keep this up, and there's no way you'll be getting anywhere near a ring Sunday... no matter how good your acting skills are." Despite the argument from his stomach that the world was indeed spinning and Adam wasn't going to convince it otherwise, he really had to object. Since he wouldn't be taking the medicine again after their flight home, it would be a non-issue. A little rib pain was not going to keep him out of the ring on Sunday and he would make sure of it. "It's the medication, Benny, my love." He'd tossed that in there just to annoy his partner. Swallowing harshly he forced down the lingering nausea. "If I don't take it before the match on Sunday, I'll be just fine. Glen's a pro and I'll even give partial credit to Conway and Grenier. Taking a choke slam will require little to no effort on my part. So..." He stuck his tongue out, once again just to annoy Benoit. "Now if I promise to go home and rest like a good little boy, can we please not say anything to CJ about this?" Yeah, right... like that was going to happen. Benny was so going to rat him out. He could feel it. And speaking of CJ... despite him not wanting his lover to find out about this little incident, he was kind of wondering how he was faring with Steve-O. If he got hit by a flying ficus plant, Adam and Austin were so going to have words... though he'd be the first to admit that was all that he and Austin would be having right now. Partially because he wasn't sure he could take it to Steve even when he was 100 percent and partially because he knew if he got into a fight with Austin, regardless of the reason, Chris would be one unhappy camper. He wasn't about to do anything to purposefully upset his sweetheart, not if he could help it. He was finally winning the war with his stomach, thank god. The sensation of someone watching him and the look on Benoit's face were all the warning he had. He tried to smile. Chris just wasn't buying it though. "You look very alluring there, Babe. That deathly white just sets off the traces of blood on your hairline like no-body's business." Great. He'd hoped the cap had covered most of it. Obviously not. And he imagined that he probably looked like something someone had scraped off the road. Nice to have it confirmed for him though, in Chris' own charming way. The massage on his neck took any sting out of the comments and he sighed quietly, relaxing into Chris' touch... for all of about a minute. "Chris? Do you find it just as hard to keep your Latin Lover in one place when he's hurt?" Adam couldn't help himself. He snorted loudly. "Not likely. He just glares him into submission. Gives him that Rabid Wolverine look. Kind of like the one on his face right now. And if that didn't work, he'd just sit on him." "We're going to have to head to the airport soon... right?" He really hoped so. He wasn't about to say it out loud, but he was already feeling tired and the flight wasn't going to help. Well... unless they ended up carrying out the proposed tease that Chris had tossed at him earlier. That'd perk him right up. But most of all... he just wanted to be home, with Chris. **** "He just glares him into submission... if that didn't work, he'd just sit on him." Chris couldn't help but grin at Adam's comments, their friend did indeed sport his famous 'you are dead you just don't know it yet' glare. Of course, that expression really wasn't far from Chris' normal slight frown/worry so only the traces of anger, this time directed at his stunning partner, demonstrated the difference. CJ somehow doubted that anything, glare or not, could keep Eddie Guerrero in line when the Crazy Latino wanted to do something. In fact the glares probably made Eddie more determined to do his own thing... just to prove them all wrong. "Don't think the sitting idea would work on you, Babe," CJ leaned down to murmur into the delicate curve of ear just under the band of his lover's hat. "I'd like to think that you couldn't help but move when I'm sitting on you." He added just the right amount of heat to the word to push the sentence from innocent into smutty. "We're going to have to head to the airport soon... right?" The tired voice as much as the words pulled Chris out of his teasing humour. Really, Adam hadn't done that much this morning, in the restaurant at least, but his lover's injuries were taking their toll and if the drugs were going to cause this dizziness and erratic moods, then CJ wanted Adam out of there as soon as possible. Still, he brought forward his inner nagging fishwife for a moment. "Very soon Babe. I'll make sure our car's ready and sort out Tyson,�but you have to promise to eat something more than chocolate cake for lunch." With that CJ pulled Adam gently from the seat and back towards their previous table. Austin still hadn't returned from outside, but the bald man seemed to be lost in thought so�he wasn't too worried. Saying thank you to Chris as he gave them one last concerned look-over before heading back to Eddie, CJ smiled a belated greeting to Trish and Molly then filled a plate with food for Adam. He doubted his blond, scowling lover would eat all the pasta and salad he'd loaded up for him, but even if he picked at it then Chris would be happy. Five minutes later, he returned to the table to find the girls chatting avidly with Jay about a new movie due out while Tyson repeatedly looked at his watch. Chris couldn't tell if Adam had eaten�anything or not, he'd put too much on the plate after all, but he knew it was the best he was likely to get for the time being. Taking advantage of a lull in the chatter between Molly and Jay, Chris interrupted. "Shall we? I'd like to get the Wounded One into a bed in the next few hours..." Seeing the simultaneous smirks begin to rise on Trish and Reso's faces, CJ reviewed his last statement and grinned amicably at them. "...yeah, and I might even let him get some sleep too." **** Allowing Hunter to draw him close, Shawn willingly took the comfort that his friend was offering, wrapping his own arms around Hunter's waist as he breathed in the familiar scent of the large body. The gentle caress on his lower back drew his tension out of him and his eyes closed briefly, shutting out the sight of the prying eyes around them. Hunter made him feel better, made him feel safe, loved... and the hell with the rest of the world. The only thing that would make the moment better would be Dave's presence as well, but this really wasn't the time or place for that sort of display. "Whatever it is... it's okay Darling." It would be, Shawn knew. He knew he was overreacting, letting his old insecurities overrule his newfound and still-fragile happiness, but he couldn't seem to stop himself. Maybe someday, he'd be confident enough in this relationship to overcome the old fears, but the second day into it was too soon for that kind of expectation. For now, he'd settle for having Hunter soothe the fears away, just like he had so many times before. Shivering a little as Hunter's breath blew across his ear, he thought wryly, well, maybe not just like before. "...you know better than anyone his ability to get over it." Indeed he did. There were still occasional aches in the side of his jaw that cropped up in bad weather, thanks to a hastily-thrown punch from the man in question, in response to Shawn's own button-pushing. That had led to his own fist flying, and then into a brawl that had only lasted minutes before they'd been pulled apart. Not even ten minutes later they'd looked at each and had burst into simultaneous apologies before stopping again. Shawn's relationship with Steve had been interesting, and although he wouldn't necessarily say that they were good friends, he knew that if he ever needed a strong shoulder to back up an even stronger punch, Austin would be more than willing to volunteer for the job. "...Dave's saying�'sorry Dude but I thought you smacked Randy around.... " And wouldn't that be just like Dave? Not in those particular words, of course... Hunter was taking interesting liberties with their lover's normally more refined speech patterns. "Steve's saying 'Man, you are sooo totally wrong Dude, I never touched him.'" Biting his lip, Shawn turned his face farther into Hunter's chest, trying not to laugh out loud. If Hunt kept this up, he wouldn't be successful for much longer... which was probably the point. "...'Or do you like being his�lil' bitch?'" God, he could just picture that... His silent laughter set his body to trembling, no matter how hard he tried to hold it back. Hunter had always been good at this, at cheering him out of his dark moods. Even during the dark days after his back surgery, when Hunt had been possibly even more upset about the results than he had been, Hunter had always managed to get a smile on his face, however weak, on the days when he just wanted to crawl into bed and die. "See... everything's fine. I'm always right Shawn, you know that." Snorting out loud at that statement, Shawn lifted his head to meet the warm hazel ones looking down at him, his lips curling even as he shook his head. If he had a nickel for every time that Hunter had so confidently declared that he was right... Glancing over Hunt's shoulder, Shawn saw that this time, it looked as though the big goof holding him was right this time... thank God. Exhaling deeply as Dave and Austin separated, apparently on good terms, he allowed Hunter to maneuver them around to the buffet, glad somewhere deep inside that his lover had kept him close... even if it would come back to haunt him later with gentle jokes about his size. "As your Lord and Master I say you may have something with sugar because you're getting skinny." His eyebrows raising, Shawn tilted his head back and gave Hunter a look, both disbelieving and hotly inviting; the commanding tone was obviously to get a rise out of him, and it had, but at the same time, if they hadn't been in public, Shawn would have dared Hunter to follow through on the promise lurking in that statement. The arrival of their lover prevented him from answering verbally, but he promised himself to remember the moment for later. "Look, Dad, no new bruises." Although that reluctance of Dave's to even look directly at him brought a pang along with it, and Shawn turned a little, losing his smile. Why couldn't he just control his mouth? If he was better at thinking before he spoke, they could have avoided this entire moment... Rather than pursue that line of thought, he picked up his own plate and piled food on it, only realising as he did that he was ravenously hungry. They had used up quite a lot of calories last night, after all... Smirking slightly at the thought, he cast another look up at the blond beside him as he added the finishing touch to his breakfast-slash-lunch... a slice of moist chocolate cake with a scoop of ice cream on top. Walking beside Hunter as the three of them returned to the table---coffee firmly in hand for two of them---Shawn placed himself in the middle, taking a bite of his chicken before lowering his fork again and looking at Dave. Placing a hand on Dave's shoulder, Shawn waited until the big man looked at him before saying softly, "I'm sorry, Dave. I've never been good at thinking before speaking, but I didn't mean to make you feel worse. Whatever happened, I know you felt you were in the right." Stopping, Shawn wanted nothing more than to kiss the lips so close to his, to reinforce his apology with a loving touch, but remembered in time that they were in a public restaurant and that Hunter had promised they'd restrain themselves. Not that he had made any such promise, but he had no wish for Hunt to get in even deeper water with his father-in-law than he already was. Instead, he settled for a gentle caress to the back of Dave's neck and a smile that hopefully reflected his intent. **** to be continued... |