When Reality Bleeds Through

By Archangel

Jay Reso knocked on the door numbered 426, hammering it with his knuckles to show his urgency. He waited only a couple seconds before the door opened to reveal Chris Irvine arching a brow at him in questioning. Jay snarled a little and held up the script to the show.

"Have you read this yet?" he asked as calmly as possible.

"Um… Actually, no. Why, what's going on?"

Jay chuckled slightly, giving his typical sarcastic smirk. "You're gonna wanna sit down for this one."

Chris frowned a bit and walked back into the room, Jay following right after to close the door behind him and insure it locked. Once inside the small hotel room Chris sat down on the edge of the bed and returned to the task of scrounging through his bag for a shirt. He glanced up at Jay again and motioned for him to go ahead and speak.

"Okay, let me just give you a brief overview of our part of the evening. After Christian gave Trish Jericho's rose last week, Jericho has returned from the hospital and learned everything that's gone on. He's furious and decides to confront Christian in a backstage vignette that doesn't show up till page seventy eight."

"That far in? Damn. Go on," he said nonchalantly.

"I'll read it to you." He cleared his throat and scanned the page to find his spot. "Backstage, Jericho and Christian in heated argument, camera picks up at crucial moment. Jericho: I can't believe you could betray me like this. You know that I love her and you're trying to steal her from me. Christian: I'm not stealing anything. She barely likes you so you can forget ever having her love you. Jericho: Why would you do this to me? I thought we were best friends. Christian: Yeah, that's exactly what we are. Just friends. That's all it'll ever be won't it?" He paused momentarily as he saw Chris look up, having a confused expression on his face. Jay nodded knowingly and continued. "Jericho: What do you mean by that? Christian: Nothing. Forget it. Just go try to reclaim your woman and forget I even exist. Jericho: No. No, I won't do that. Right now I'm still your friend. I just want to know what you're trying to do. Christian: I'm trying to win over the person that I love and it's not working at all. Jericho: You're confusing the hell out of me. Christian: Well, maybe this will help sort things out. Christian lunges at Jericho, Jericho starts to raise his fists, Christian grabs Jericho's face in both hands and kisses him."

"What!" he yelled on cue, Jay throwing up his hands as if he'd been waiting all night for that reaction.

"That's what I'm screaming! They're trying to turn me gay again!"

"And they're dragging me with you. Let me see that." Jay handed over the script and Chris scanned it, picking up where Jay had left off. "Jericho pulls away quickly, staring at Christian in shock. Christian remains silent, worried expression. Jericho touches his lips, hesitantly steps forward, kisses Christian passionately. They embrace, the heat of their kisses becoming more obvious. Christian pushes Jericho to the wall, lifting him into his arms. Jericho wraps his legs around Christian's waist! Oh my fucking God! What are they gonna do? Make us fuck on cable?"

"Nope, keep reading. It loses its juiciness in a second."

Jericho growled and looked back at the script. "Christian and Jericho are caught up in each other, neither notice Trish Stratus coming down the hall. Trish gasps in shock, Jericho and Christian looking at her, both startled. Trish stares, expression of disgust, then runs away. Jericho struggles out of Christian's hold, calling after Trish, but does not pursue. Jericho looks sad, confused. Christian puts arm around his shoulders. Christian: I'm sorry, Chris, but I love you so much. I couldn't stand the thought of losing you. Jericho nods. Jericho: I understand, but I need some time to think about this. Christian kisses Jericho's cheek. Jericho walks away."

"I'm sorry, Chris, but I love you so much," he said his line as if he truly meant it, proving once again that he was a great actor. "What total shit! That just all out fucking sucks."

"I'm surprised they didn't make you do that to me. Course, any blow job can be a good blow job if you just close your eyes," he smirked wryly.

"Oh, shut it. We can't just let this happen. We're not gay! Not in real life and not on the show! They tried to do this to me and Adam and we all out refused. We changed the lines completely sometimes. Like remember Edge rattling on forever about his boots being cool? When they wouldn't let us do that anymore and rewrote the material they still gave us some of the faggiest things to say. Especially me! Cake rocks the party that rocks the body? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"You like frosting sex? I dunno." Chris looked at the script and shook his head, chuckling again. "This is just so outrageously unbelievable that it's hilarious."

"You think… You think this is funny?" Jay asked in surprise, ducking down slightly to catch his eyes as he stalked towards him. "You think that this is motherfucking funny? Do you know how many people out there think that I'm really gay? They think that! They honestly believe it! I have more guys hitting on me than girls!"

"So stop wearing the frilly shirts and hip hugger jeans, why don't ya? There's nothing we can do about the script now. Tomorrow night is the show. We're stuck. It's too late. So we're gonna have to do this one scene and then talk to them to change the damn storyline again."

"That scene has me confessing my love for you! Even a storyline change can't save me after a line like that! I'm sorry, Chris, but I love you so much! I'll be ruined!"

"Oh, get over yourself! Look at Billy Gunn! He was gay! And he's fine!"

"No, he wasn't! It was a ploy! They kept hinting at them being gay, but never did it come right out and be admitted like what they're making me do."

"C'mon. There's worse things they could make you do. How about Mark Henry and the transvestite? Or Mark Henry sleeping with Moolah? How about me being forced to see that old woman naked? Ugh!" Chris stuck his tongue out and shuddered at the memory, even if Moolah had been wearing a bikini top and shorts. "There are worse things than being gay."

Jay stared at him for a moment then sighed. "You just don't get it. You don't have this problem. You go out there and the women are screaming for you. I go out there and it's the guys that scream at me. Every time I get recognized on the street it's either by gay men or by little fangirls who wanna watch me make out with Adam."

Chris frowned as Jay flopped down onto the bed next to him. "I'm sorry, Jay. I can tell you don't like it, but what else can we do? We both waited too long to read the script so we're stuck."

"I know," he groaned. He looked over at the script still in Chris's hand and pulled it away from him. "I'll see ya on set, Chris."

"Leaving?"

"Yeah. I need some sleep."

"Well, wait just a second." Jay stopped and turned back around. "Before ya go can we run over the lines real quick? Just so I can get a feel for the scene and then I'll practice by myself."

"Yeah. Yeah sure."

Jay opened the script back up to where he had marked it while Chris pulled his out of his duffle bag. Chris scanned over the lines momentarily, thinking about them carefully, and trying to put himself into the frame of mind Jericho would be in given the situation. He knew Jay would be ready to go instantly. Jay had never had trouble with the acting part of wrestling. He cleared his throat first then started, standing only a foot away from Jay.

"I can't believe you could betray me this! You know that I love her and you're trying to steal her from me!"

"I'm not stealing anything! She barely likes you so you can forget ever having her love you."

"Why would you do this to me?" he growled. "I thought we were best friends."

Jay rolled his eyes and shook his head, staring down at the floor for a moment before looking back up at him. "Yeah, that's exactly what we are. Just friends. That's all it'll ever be won't it?"

Chris arched a brow at him, shrugging slightly. "What do you mean by that?

"Nothing," he snapped. "Just forget it. Go try to reclaim your woman and forget I even exist," he said with a faint trace of sadness in his voice.

"No. No, I won't do that." He softened visibly, reaching to touch Jay's arm lightly. "Right now I'm still your friend. I just want to know what you're trying to do."

Jay sighed, his expression finally showing the sadness inside of him. "I'm trying to win over the person that I love… but it's not working at all."

"Christian, you're confusing the hell out of me," he gave a small huff.

Jay tossed his script on the bed. "Well… Maybe this will help sort things out."

Jay reached out to him suddenly causing Chris to pull back slightly and move to defend himself. But Jay's hands slid softly over his cheeks, cradling his face in his hands just before pressing his lips to his in a forceful kiss. Chris waited only a couple seconds before pulling away in disgust, panting slightly, staring in complete shock. Jay could only stand there blushing and wait for his reaction. Chris raised his fingers slowly to his lips as if not believing what had happened, his touch lingering when his eyes grew thoughtful. He looked back at Jay as if considering him carefully. He moved towards him again slowly, coming up to him till their chests were touching. He leaned in and kissed him tenderly, sucking his lower lip into his mouth for a second before he pulled back. Jay gave a breathy sound and pulled him into his arms, kissing him again and again. Chris gave a soft moan and let his arms encircle Jay's neck, pulling him in until Jay suddenly lifted him off the floor. He wrapped his legs around him and squeezed. Then he felt Jay let go of him with one hand and snapped his fingers a couple times. They each looked in the direction of the sound quickly, matching shocked expressions on the face. Chris struggled and tried to fight his way out of Jay's arms.

"Trish! Trish, wait!"

He started to chase after the imaginary co-worker, but stopped, staring into space as if there were a hall to look down. Jay came up to his side, draping an arm around his shoulders and giving him a squeeze.

"I'm sorry, Chris… but I love you so much. I couldn't stand the thought of losing you," he whispered.

Chris nodded, lifting a hand to Jay's on his shoulder, turning his head to his and nuzzling him just slightly. "I understand, but I need some time to think about this."

Jay nodded as well, then leaned over and lightly pecked his cheek, letting him pull out of his grasp to walk away. Chris turned around after a second and smiled at him.

"Are you sure you don't wanna do this? Because that's the best rehearsal we've ever had!"

"I noticed, but did you have to dig your heels into my back?" he grimaced and rubbed the spots where Chris had done it.

"Sorry, I was just nervous that you might drop me."

"Nah, you're light as a girl."

"A girl? I am not!"

"Why not? You're playing one," he laughed.

"What? No, I'm not!" he frowned, getting a little defensive.

"Chris, you got picked up and pushed to the wall. Your legs were around my waist. You were so taking it up the ass!" At that Chris threw one of the scripts at him. "What? It's just a scene remember? As you were so avid about pointing out."

Chris grumbled a little. "I'm not the bitch, damn it."

"Aww…" Jay walked up behind him and slid his arms around his waist, leaning his chin on his shoulder. "I wouldn't call you my bitch, baby. Just my lover."

"Oh, shut up!" Chris snapped and swatted at him, making Jay laugh and duck in cover. "That's it! You're going down!"

Jay gave a fake scream as Chris tackled him, the two of them landing roughly on the bed, each fighting to pin the other. It finally ended when Jay slammed Chris to his back and landed straddling his waist. They were both laughing so hard by then that they didn't care who had won. They calmed down slowly, the laughter fading into snickers, and they looked at each other with happy smiles. But the smiles diminished the longer they stared. The mood in the room had changed drastically when their eyes had met. Jay looked down at his best friend trapped beneath him, feeling a slight shiver run up his spine. He became aware of his arousal only a second later. His erection was pressed against Chris's thigh, painfully hard, throbbing with need, and completely unmistakable. Chris swallowed nervously and glanced down between them slightly.

"Sorry, Jay. I must've rubbed on ya the wrong way while we were wrestling," he said quietly.

"Yeah… Yeah, I guess. At least it didn't happen in the ring, right?"

"Yeah," he whispered.

"Chris…"

"I thought you needed to get some sleep?" he asked suddenly.

"No. Not this time."

Jay closed the small gap between them, kissing Chris with all the passion he had shown during their little rehearsal before. There was a now obvious reason why their practice had gone so well. Jay's feelings were true. They had been all along, but so well hidden that not even Chris himself had known. Unfortunately, the rehearsal seemed to repeat itself as Chris turned his head to the side quickly, pulling away from Jay's kiss.

"Get off of me!"

Jay instantly scrambled back, almost stumbling as he stepped away from the bed. Chris dragged the back of his arm across his mouth to wipe Jay's taste off, glaring at him as he sat back up. Jay could only stand before him, trembling with fear of what would happen to him next, and wait for the response.

"Get out," he growled.

"Chris, please, let me explain," he said quietly.

"I said get out!"

Jay drew back as if wounded, obvious pain showing in his face. He gave a weak sob before turning and running from the room. With the tears streaming down his face and blurring his vision he didn't see Rob Szatkowski until he nearly slammed right into him. Thankfully Rob caught him before they collided.

"Jay? Holy shit, Jay, what happened? What's wrong?" he asked in concern.

"I kissed him!" he wailed before pushing himself into Rob's protective embrace.

"Oh no… Oh, Jay, I'm so sorry," he murmured.

There was no need for Jay to explain anything to Rob. He knew everything. He was one of the very few that was close to him, close enough to know every little secret he held. Rob was also one of the only ones who hadn't been phased by hearing that he was gay. He had only laughed and commented on how 'Jay' rhymed with 'gay.' He'd listened quietly when Jay had poured out his heart about Chris, mourning for a love he knew he'd never have because Chris was straight. Rob had given him the only advice he could. He'd told him to watch carefully and look for possible signs that Chris wasn't straight. If there were any to be seen then maybe a confession wouldn't be such a bad idea. Looked as if Rob had been wrong.

He stroked his hand over the soft fuzzy hair on the back of Jay's neck to comfort him, having noticed before that he liked to be petted there. It did little good to him now. Jay was so miserable that Rob could sense it, his sadness rolling over him like the waves of the ocean. He squeezed his eyes shut to keep from crying as well.

"Do you want to come back to my room?" he asked softly. "I was going to order room service and a movie. You can join me if you want, maybe talk about what happened if it'll make you feel better."

"Kill me. That'll make me feel better," he wept. "Oh God, Rob, why did I do that? Why the hell did I ruin everything?"

"Shhh… You didn't ruin it, Jay. Chris loves you. Even if he doesn't love you for anything more than a friend, he still loves you. He won't just turn his back on you." Rob pushed him back gently, looking down at him. "All you can do is wait for him to speak to you about it. There's really no point in worrying about it until that time comes. You have to wait to see what he wants out of this."

"What if he does turn his back? What if he never speaks to me again?" he whimpered.

"I promise you he won't do that. If he tries, I'll kick his ass, okay?" Jay gave a small laugh at that, but it didn't really cheer him up. "Come back to the room with me. I'll order you a chocolate sundae."

"Strawberry," he corrected.

"Okay, okay. Whatever you want you can have," he said as he started leading Jay down the hall to his room.

"I wish," he grunted.

He knocked hesitantly on the door marked 415, waiting patiently for the inhabitant to come to answer him. He was nervous. More than nervous, he was scared to death. The door opened to reveal Shawn Michaels wearing only his boxer shorts.

"Chris? What're you doing here at this time of night?"

He looked at him for a moment, opening his mouth to speak, but not able to force anything past his lips. He lowered his eyes again, frowning and just shook his head, giving a small shrug. Somehow Shawn read into it like he always did. He stepped forward slightly, touching his shoulder.

"You look like you've seen a ghost. So pale. Do you need to come in?"

Chris only nodded, crossing his arms protectively over his stomach as if he had been punched earlier. He felt like he had been beaten to a pulp. He wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole somewhere and hide for the rest of eternity. The closest thing he had to that was the dimly lit room that Shawn let him into. He stepped over to the bed without hesitation, crawling up into it and pulling the disheveled covers over him. A moment later Shawn slid in behind him, spooning up against his back.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong this time?" he asked.

Chris didn't at first, hesitating for a long moment. "He kissed me," he whispered.

"Wasn't that part of the plan?"

"No, Shawn. I mean he kissed me for real. Not part of that scene you wrote." Chris finally turned around to face him, staring at him intently. "He was infuriated about the twist in the storyline, throwing a fit about being turned gay on the show."

"Good thing he doesn't know I control your guys' storyline," Shawn chuckled.

"Yeah, but I don't think he meant it. We rehearsed the scene, the whole thing, and it was perfect. It was so perfect it felt like it was real. Then we went back to normal friends again." He smirked a little, giving a small laugh. "We started to play wrestle after he pointed out I was going to be the bitch of the on-show relationship. He pinned me on the bed, both of us laughing, but then it changed. It was like something out of a movie. We looked at each other and stopped laughing, our smiles fading instantly, then he kissed me. He really kissed me."

"I thought that's what you wanted, Chris? You begged me to make the story for you so you could have him."

"Not like this. Not for real, Shawn."

Shawn sighed and propped himself up on his elbow to see Chris more clearly, looking down at him skeptically. "Why not? Isn't a real relationship better than a scripted one?"

"Yes, but… I dunno. He scared me so badly when he did that. Oh God, Shawn, I completely fucked it up. I did something horrible."

"What'd he do?"

"He screamed for me to get off of him. After I did he wiped his mouth like I had some sort of disease and told me to get out. I tried to ask him to let me explain, but he only yelled for me to get out."

Rob frowned sadly, watching Jay devour his second bowl of strawberry ice cream. The poor guy always ate like this when he got depressed, which was why he sometimes had a difficult time staying in shape. Rob sighed and shook his head. He could see now why Jay had been so terribly upset. It really did sound like he had ruined things between he and Chris. At least Rob would think so after hearing how Chris reacted to being kissed outside of scene rehearsal. Still, he always looked on the bright side of things.

"I'm not sure exactly what to say to you, Jay. I still think that Chris will still be your friend at least. If he doesn't want to be anything more than that there's nothing you can really do."

"That's not what hurts the most, Rob. I know I can't force him to love me. But he reacted so… He looked like he was going to puke." He pressed his lips tight together, obviously trying not to start crying again. "He wiped his mouth like I'd just shit on him or something. So I know already that there's no way he'll ever feel the same way for me. That hurts. That really fucking hurts. I always thought that I had at least some remote chance. That even if he was straight there was a small possibility he could love me for me, even if I am a guy. Ya know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I get it. You thought your connection was strong enough that gender wouldn't matter."

"Exactly! I thought we were closer than that!" he said, his voice cracking again. "He's my best friend. I wish he was my lover, but without that he's still my very best friend. In some ways he's even closer to me than Adam. I just don't understand how one kiss could make him act like he did."

"You made a mistake. Simple as that."

"But it was a huge one! I mean, c'mon. I do so many things with him that normal friends don't do. We're always hugging each other. We've even been caught holding hands in public. When we share a hotel room we get only one bed and we sleep curled up in each other's arms! I've never really tried to hide my feelings for him. So why the hell did I act like he had the plague?"

"I don't know, Chris. All I can say is that you panicked. I mean, if it had been anyone else that's how you would've reacted anyway. You're not gay except for when it comes to Jay."

"That in itself is confusing. Why should I like only one guy? I'm repulsed by all the others in the world. Why him?"

"You were friends for a long time before you developed these feelings, Chris." Shawn reached over and petted his hair, trying to help him calm down. "You became attracted to his personality before his body. That's actually a wonderful thing because it shows your love for him to be true and honest. Pure, if you will."

"Our religion frowns on homosexuality," he said and gave him a certain look.

"It does, Chris. I won't lie to you that I don't really approve of it myself. But you're a close friend of mine and I know what's going on. I know that you aren't gay. I know that you didn't go out and intentionally fall in love with Jay. It simply happened. Even if Christianity frowns on homosexuality, it still exists, and all people no matter what their religion can be that way. There was a time in my life when I was pretty sure I was. I was really young back then, though, and those kind of feelings faded."

"So basically you think… What do you think of it?" he asked in confusion.

"I think that it's natural and it's simply meant to be. If a man loves a woman, that's who he was meant to love, and it goes the same for men loving men and women loving women. I won't say that religion is completely wrong about it being a sin, because honestly I have no idea whether it is or not, but I think that if even honest and good priests can fall in love with men, then God probably doesn't think that badly of it. He probably just isn't gay Himself."

Chris gave a wry smirk, still kinda confused about the explanation. "Right. So, Mister Advice, what the hell do I do now?"

"Wait until tomorrow during the show and see how he acts around you. Given, of course, he'll be awkward and nervous, but if he at least tries to be civil and friendly, then it's a good sign."

"I dunno, Rob. He may do that simply because it's his job to be my friend."

"It's his job to be your friend on camera. When the red light isn't on he doesn't have to even speak to you if he doesn't want to. You just have to wait and see what happens."

Jay sniffled after having another bout of crying a moment prior, snuggling against Rob's chest all the more. He was so grateful to have Rob. He was the only one who was honest and open with him about everything and he never confused Jay's affections for anything more than friendship. He could practically read his mind sometimes and feel what he felt. Rob was like that, though; very in tune with his world and everyone in it. It seemed to help a great deal in moments such as these when he was curled up in the martial artist's arms, cuddling him and lightly kissing his shoulder and neck now and then. Anyone else would've thought that they were lovers, but Rob knew better. He knew Jay was simply a very affectionate person. Even a kiss on the lips meant no more than a pat on the back sometimes when it was coming from Jay. It was that deep level of understanding that sometimes made them wonder about going that further step. It never would happen, though. Jay didn't love Rob in that way, and Rob was not the type to feel like that for any man. Though, his friendship with Jay had made him question himself a few times.

"Rob, thank you," he whispered out of nowhere.

"You don't have to. You know that."

"I wish you'd let me some time."

"You'd be cheating on Chris if you did," he chuckled a little.

Jay smiled and looked up at him, catching his golden stare before leaning in and softly kissing him. Rob returned the affection without hesitation, having kissed him many, many times before. It was an odd relationship that they shared. Almost lovers, but not anywhere near enough. Yet so much more than just friends. Jay still felt that it had to be because of Rob's training and his religious beliefs. He was a Taoist, and being one with his environment was key. He had tried to teach Jay his ways once before, but it was all too deep for him to comprehend. He understood enough to know that it bordered on the edge of magic in his eyes. It amazed him when Rob would correctly guess what he was thinking about or how he was feeling. Jay smiled a little at his 'almost lover' and rubbed his nose against his.

"I'm so thankful for you. Without you I worry that I'd do something drastically stupid." His smile faded. "Something fatal."

"I believe you. I've seen you like that before."

"You saved me from the knife, though. Hell, you threw the damn thing out the window. A 120 dollar knife!"

"Your life is worth more than 120 dollars."

"Hmph. So you say." He looked at him thoughtfully. "Do you really think it'll turn out okay?"

"I do. I really do."

Chris looked up as he heard a familiar set of footsteps coming towards him. He cursed himself silently, realizing he was so close to Jay that he could even recognize his gait by hearing it. Jay looked up at him as he drew closer, quickly looking back down at his feet, keeping his distance as they waited for the crew to get set up. Chris frowned. He knew Jay wouldn't approach him. Why would he want to after what he'd done to him? Chris cleared his throat and walked over to him, leaning close enough to his ear to speak very quietly.

"Jay, I'm sorry I upset you yesterday. I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's okay. I should've known you wouldn't punch me or anything," he muttered back, daring to look him in the eye. "Chris, I'm sorry, too. I should've never done that. I knew you weren't that way and I should've never done it."

"No, Jay, don't apologize. You were just being honest with me."

"I should've said it instead of acting on it, though. I'm really sorry. I must've humiliated you."

"Jay, will you shut up and let me—"

"Okay guys we're ready. We have one minute till cue."

"Did you memorize your lines?" Jay asked.

"Yeah. Never mind that. I need to tell you—"

"Up to mark, you two!"

"Ugh, God damn it," Chris muttered.

"What is it?" Jay asked.

"I need to tell you something important."

"Can't it wait?"

"I'd rather it didn't."

"Okay, guys, prepare to start screaming in five, four, three, two…"

Chris took a breath, using his frustration over not being able to talk to Jay to set himself into an angry mood. The red light came on and he began, laying into his friend through the scripted argument. It all went perfectly, even better than their previous rehearsal, if that was possible. Chris knew why, though. It was simple for Jay to play the part of the jilted lover because he really was. Who knew how long he'd been trying to tell Chris the truth. Too bad Jay had absolutely no idea that this whole storyline had been his idea. If he knew that then maybe he'd understand a little better. Finally the kissing scene came. Just what Chris had been waiting for.

"Christian, you're confusing the hell out of me."

Then he hesitated. Jay, who was an excellent actor and had memorized his lines perfectly, didn't say his line when he was supposed to. In fact he looked like he had completely forgotten it. Chris tried to cover it up quickly.

"Please, explain it to me, Christian. Make me understand what the heck is going between us." He paused for a short moment, seeing Jay still wasn't okay. "This is killing me. Christian…" He reached out to him, gently touching is cheek, then whispered, "I don't wanna lose you."

Chris could see the tears well up in those blue green eyes. Jay bit his lip for a second before shaking his head, emotion coming over him.

"I don't want to lose you either, Chris. I'm so sorry for what I did to you. I know I was… I just love you so much!"

Chris instantly pulled him into his arms, holding him tightly as he started to sob. Around them the crew were looking at one another in confusion, wondering what they were doing to the scene. They had no choice but to keep rolling, though. Chris thought quickly about what to do. Their real life problems had come into the scene so he was going to use it to his advantage. He pushed Jay back gently, cupping his cheek again.

"You love me, Christian? Do you mean that how I think you do?"

"I do, Chris. I've loved you from the very beginning. All this long time…" He slid his hands up over Chris's chest to take hold of his shoulders, his fingers toying with his blond curls. "I just couldn't tell you. You know why. No one on this damn show would've accepted me if they knew I was gay. And there was no way I was going to risk dragging your career down with mine if something like that happened." He looked up at him finally, tears rolling down his cheeks as they had the night before. "And I know you don't feel the same way. I can't stand hiding it anymore, though. I love you, but I just want to be your friend, Chris. I know we can never be anything more than that."

"Well," he said softly, giving him a little smile, "I dunno. I think you're kinda cute."

Jay arched a brow at him, blinking with confusion. He obviously was trying to figure out if this was real or just part of the newly revised scene.

"Chris…?" he barely whispered.

"Shhh. Don't talk anymore. Talk is so cheap. Show me what you feel, Christian. Stop telling me and show me."

Chris saw the realization in Jay's eyes, the bright flash that lit up his face. He smiled, reaching up to cup his face in both hands and leaned in, kissing him tenderly. Chris didn't dare pull away from him again. Instead he wrapped his arms around him tightly, kissing him back with joyful passion, almost laughing through it. Jay seemed to be feeling the same way as he actually did stop to smile and giggle a little. Chris pushed him back against the wall behind them, slipping his hands underneath the soft green shirt Jay wore to lightly tickle his sides. He squirmed and laughed, provoking Chris to kiss his cheek and then nibble on his throat.

"You're so pretty," he murmured.

He caught Jay's lips again, this time slipping his tongue past to deepen their passion. Jay seemed to remember what the scene was supposed to be at that moment because he turned them around swiftly. His arms slipped underneath Chris and lifted him easily, pulling his legs around his waist. Chris moaned in his throat when he felt Jay's erection rub against his own, Jay giving a similar sound a second later. He ground their hips together, causing Chris to break the kiss as he gave a louder cry.

"God, you're so hot like that," Jay growled and gave him a fierce pressing kiss.

"This is all your fault," he muttered between kisses. "You just had to hug me all the time, constantly touching me, grabbing my ass." Jay bit at his throat since Chris wouldn't shut up and pushed against him again. "Oh God Jay," he hissed.

"Oh my God!"

The two of them looked up at the voice, seeing Trish standing a few feet away, staring at them. That's when they remembered what was going on. They had just been making out and nearly having sex in front of the camera. Jay was the first to start laughing, playing it off as he was laughing at Trish. Chris couldn't help but laugh, too, grinning from ear to ear as Trish continued to stare in total shock at them.

"Sorry, Trish, but you're just not worth the drama anymore. I'm sticking with what I know!" he said as he laughed.

"So can you give us our privacy please?" Jay added with a vicious smirk.

Trish was obviously taken aback by the change in the scene, but had enough sense to just back away and then turn and run off like planned. Chris threw back his head and laughed, wriggling in Jay's hold.

"Will you put me down now? I can't feel my feet!"

Jay laughed and let him drop down, but kept him pressed to the wall, nuzzling his cheek tenderly and twirling a lock of hair around his finger. Chris smirked and purred at him, surely loud enough to be heard on camera. Jay just chuckled and shook his head slightly.

"What a twist of events. I got a lot more than I thought I would."

"You should've spoken up a long time ago, Christian."

He smiled. "I love you, Chris Jericho."

"I love you, too, Christian Cage."

"Hey, you remember my last name!"

"Well duh! Why wouldn't I?"

"And cut!" The two of them blinked and looked over at the crew, quickly separating. "By the way, good job on messing up the scene, Chris."

"Huh?"

"You called him Jay, loud and clear." Chris arched a brow and looked at Jay in questioning. Jay grimaced and nodded in agreement. "And what was up with changing the whole scene?"

"Oh sorry, that was my fault," Jay spoke up. "I forgot what the hell I was doing. And this whole kissing scene had me so nervous I couldn't think straight." He paused when Chris snorted. "No pun intended! Great save, by the way."

"I tried my hardest. Next option would've been for me to take your lines."

"Alright, well, let's get ready and get out of here. I'm hungry."

Chris nodded and followed Jay off down the hall without another word. Only a few steps later Chris slowly slipped his hand into Jay's and squeezed, getting Jay to look at him. He smiled and winked. He knew that Jay had been wondering about the realism of that scene. Jay stopped suddenly, forcing him to halt as well.

"Was it real? All of it? I need to know without a single doubt if that was real."

"Calm down, baby," he said soothingly, stepping up to him and kissing his lips tenderly. The expression that came across Jay's face at that moment was so breathtaking that Chris couldn't look away for anything. "It was all real. Every single last word and kiss and movement."

"Oh Chris…" he whispered, his eyes tearing up yet again.

"Damn you cry over everything don't you?" he joked.

"When it comes to you, yes! I just can't believe this is really happening."

"You don't believe me, Jay?"

"No, it's not that. I just—"

"Hey, everyone!" Chris yelled to the others that were standing around, getting nearly every person to look at him. "I have an announcement that you're all going to boo at me for! Jay and I are in love! Now go ahead and boo!"

They did get booed at, but some of the people who were their friends cheered for them. Chris grinned and looked over at Jay, who was blushing like no tomorrow. And as if that wasn't enough Chris grabbed him, swinging him around to let him fall into his arms, holding him up. He kissed him sweetly, quickly so not to sicken too many people, and then just as quickly set him back on his feet. Jay blinked in surprise.

"Holy shit, you really mean it!"

"Tolja!"

"Can you hold that thought?"

"Um, sure?"

Jay smiled and ran off, yelling at Rob who was standing not to far away. Chris watched as Jay practically jumped into the poor guy's arms, obviously telling him all about what had happened a little while ago, which Rob reacted to with equal excitement. Chris sighed with contentment. Then a hand touched his shoulder.

"Things worked out?" Shawn asked.

"Perfectly."

"Good. Now just remember to play safe, okay?" he grinned and winked at him.

"Oh man, don't lecture me about safe sex with him. I'm still kinda terrified of the thought."

"You'll like it, don't worry," he said nonchalantly as he walked off.

"Hey wait! How would you know, Shawn?"

The End

Legalities: Chris Jericho is copyright to himself. Christian Cage is copyright to TNA Wrestling. Shawn Michaels, Rob Van Dam, and any other mentioned characters are property of World Wrestling Entertainment. I claim no knowledge of each of the characters sexual preferences or lives. This is a story of fiction, none of these events are real. I received absolutely no profit from this story.