Nexus, Or Against Us [Closed to First]

[Alfred F Jones]

Randy laughed a little, it was true that on more than one occasion they had been approached by wrestlers who either asked them to keep it down or tried to laugh it off by complimenting their performance while simultaneously guilting them into being quieter – sadly for them, Randy had no shame whatsoever and John wasn’t exactly shy about people knowing who he was with either. Neither approach worked, which was why Cody and Ted had decided they weren’t taking the room beside them anymore – Ted had informed Randy that everytime they went at it, he and Cody always ended up doing likewise and it was wearing them both out. Randy made some flippant comment about how the youth of today weren’t able to keep up with them, to which Ted had informed him that Randy had no idea how often they got caught in the mood during the day and expected to be able to get some sleep after all that – something that Randy had no reply for.

“We just gotta hope that it’s not the Undertaker next door again,” he said, referring to a ‘Mania weekend when the man had somehow managed to embarrass them both with deadpan commentary on what he’d heard in the next room. So few people managed to do that, it was a whole new experience for them. Randy yawned slightly, in an incredibly good mood after being able to experience his lover again on top of a relatively good day for both of them, in spite of those who might have wanted to change that – but he pushed that thought away in a hurry, who needed those guys encroaching on his good humour? Not him, that was for sure. He and John exchanged loving words in low voices, enjoying the afterglow and each others company and Randy had no idea when he’d dozed off until he woke a while later, head resting o John’s chest. John himself was still sleeping, a hand on Randy’s back and a smile on his face. Randy looked up at his lover and smiled softly, there was something very endearing about the sight of the man he loved, usually so high-energy and ceaselessly working at something, actually taking the time to sleep. Randy knew they had nowhere else to be, so he had no desire to wake John. With everything going on, John could do with the rest.

He slipped from the bed soundlessly, pulling on jeans and a shirt that were rumpled, not that it mattered. He wasn’t going far, just to the coffee shop he had seen practically on the doorstep of the hotel. John would be hungry when he woke and if memory served correct, it would be open right now and Randy could do something nice, bringing his lover food and coffee for when he woke. He found the door key and his wallet, humming to himself as he headed out to the shop. There he picked up muffins and both their favourite coffees in large, tipping generously and carrying the tray back to the hotel, rather relishing the slight twinge in his backside – there were those times when he and John liked it slightly rough and John had taken damn good care of him. He was still feeling smug and sated over the whole thing…

Or he was until he walked back into the hotel and almost directly into Wade Barrett, Justin Gabriel at his side and both of them looking at Randy with odd expressions. Wade’s was coldly amused, clearly not happy but acting as if he had something over Randy. Whereas Justin seemed almost uncomfortable and angry, a far cry from his usual arrogant superiority in the presence of the Nexus leader. Randy shot them looks of venomous disgust, decided not to engage them in case he spilled his coffee and went to walk past them without a word – right up until Wade made a comment as he walked past. “Hey, Orton. Tell John the next time he decides to screw you over the furniture, think of the neighbours. There’s no telling what they can hear.” The smirk in his voice was evident. “Or how they’re using the background noise.”

Randy froze, his eyes narrowing as pure rage pumped through his veins – but as he turned slowly, Wade and Justin were making themselves scarce, leaving the hotel. Randy fought his temper, hard, using all of his control not to just run after Wade and bounce his head off a wall a few times. John wouldn’t thank him, that was for sure – and what the hell did Wade know anyway? Randy had thought they had the room downstairs, on the other hand there were a lot of the Nexus and maybe one or two of them did have the room beside theirs. He tried to push the comments to the back of his mind, genuinely wanting to relax John and keep up the good mood between them – but there was going to be payback and soon. As soon as he could, he was going to get the man alone – and wasn’t he lucky that he thought he’d be able to do just that at the next arena, when the Nexus were unexpectedly called away? And they could be, easily. Randy could make sure of it. He was tired of trying to maintain the high ground, it was his style to act and to hell with whether it made things better or worse

[Alfred F Jones]

The door closing behind Randy as he re-entered the room was the sound that awoke John, the broad-shouldered man rolling towards the sound instinctively, though his eyes were bleary and barely open-- denoting the fact that he was barely awake. "Ortz?" he queried in a croaky tone though realised that it was probably redundant because no-one other than his lover would be entering the room. Pushing himself into a seated position John cocked his head to one side and rubbed his eyes. "You're up early." Not to say that Randy was especially lazy, but they were both men who enjoyed their lie-ins, and that was no secret. Scenting the air he grinned slightly when he noticed the coffee Randy held in his hand, the take-out bag of food also gaining his attention. "My hero," he said seriously, accepting the tray and bag as Randy stripped off again to join him back in bed. "Thanks babe, I'm starving," the slight smirk Randy gave made John's dimples appear in a grin.

It wasn't unusual for Randy to do breakfast runs if he awoke first, or indeed for John if it was the other way around, though they both seemed to make a point of not leaving bed without the other unless they absolutely had to for work or something. It was only after he'd started to properly awaken (a few swigs of coffee and half a muffin later, to be exact) that he noticed something seemed a little off with his boyfriend. "Randy, s'everythin' alright?" the younger man turned to look at him, attempting an innocent expression and John tried to search those well-known facial features of his lover's to try and find some sort of sign as to what was wrong with the other, if anything. There was a small tension tick in Randy's cheek and his eyes were a little darker than normal, but there was nothing that indicated anything overly... well, piss-off-worthy. When the other maintained that there wasn't anything wrong John had no choice but to let the matter go-- for the moment anyway, because he didn't want to cause a row over what might actually be nothing and ruin their mood.

When they finished their food and drinks they binned the rubbish and John offered Randy to shower with him, ("You get my back and I'll get yours?") and was pleased when the other seemed to lose that little tension after a while. John got the shower going, lightly and good-naturedly bitching about the time it took for hotel showers to heat up, and then stepped inside. Extending a hand to Randy when the other joined him, John then sent his boyfriend a dimpled grin. Grabbing the shower-gel they began their customary ritual of lathering one another up (this time managing to keep it relatively innocent) before they washed off and then exited the shower once more. The hotel towels barely covered their unmentionables but it wasn't as though they made too much of an effort to remain covered before one another anyway.

When they finished dressing (John reluctantly aware that he was going to end up facing Wade over the Nexus shirt thing somepoint soon) and packed their bags ready to go, John then headed down to the rental with Randy. The next arena was only a few hours drive away and that was a small blessing; a few hours drive was less exhausting than a few hours by plane, even though neither modes of transportation were without merit when it came to their constant need for travel. Randy was in the driver's seat and John had to mess about a little to adjust the seat comfortably, the pair of them not exactly choosing a small car but preferring not to be ostentatious... not unless they were in a little joking competition with say Miz and Jomo, or Cody and Ted, about who could get the fleshiest car that would garner the most attention.

After a playful fight over what music they wanted on the radio ("R'n'B is not shit, Randy, you just have no appreciation for music because you were raised on a diet of country-twnging-music!") they then settled in for the ride. Unfortunately, not even half an hour in, John felt his phone going off. Assuming that it was Vince or Creative, John pulled the phone from his pocket and opened the text-message that he was indicated. When he saw the name he frowned (he wouldn't have given Wade his number at all had Creative not added that stipulation on) but opened it regardless with a dull anticipation in his stomach. The message was short and succint -and so very British, even though it was written- but it was enough to give John a serious unhappy shot to the system. He had to meet with the Nexus as soon as he had gotten changed when they reached the arena, and Wade specifically added on that he didn't want him to be late, and-- 'I sincerely doubt you will be, seeing as how you can't have that much energy left after last night,' to which of course John was completely confused and even nervous. What the hell was that supposed to mean?