Sputnik Music Forums - If You're 555, We're 666 (the R&M Slipknot Community Thread's Race to 66,666 Posts)

Triple H was a portrait in healthy living infamous for putting nothing harmful into his body. Jeff was well known for his explorations into anything that may rob him of reality if only for a moment or two. In the end it was one of these moments that brought them together. Paul was heading back to his room after a late night workout as he spotted Jeff weaving his way through the lobby. Normally that's where Paul's attention would have ended except for tonight he noticed a pair of men following the smaller man. The pair could only be described as undesirable even for Jeff whose taste in men seemed to run to the extremes like most everything else in his life.

Making a life altering decision Paul stepped out from behind the plant next to the elevator he had been waiting on letting his presence be known. "Hey baby," he called to Jeff making the younger Carolinian pause and turn looking behind him for the first time. Paul easily read the confusion on Jeff's face as he spotted the pair following him and in quick strides Paul's long legs carried him to his co-worker where he draped an arm around his shoulders. "You want something?" The Game asked growling in only that way he can easily scaring a man out of his wits. The two fiends stopped immediately and turning ran back the way they had come. "You should be more careful Hardy," Paul said and would have turned leaving Jeff to his own devices if the man's face hadn't fallen just then making him look like a child whose Birthday had just been ruined.

"I was jus' tryin to have fun."

Nodding carefully Paul couldn't help but smile suddenly reminded of his longtime friend Sean Waltman. "Yeah, I know. I wasn't tryin' to scold you or anything. I just would hate to see guys like that get their hands on you."

The light that brightened Jeff's face at the words seemed to be worth it and Paul found himself enchanted momentarily. He believed to this day it was that momentary spell that caused him to speak his next words. "You wanna come up and hang out for awhile?"

In the darkness of his hotel room Paul smiled thinking about that evening and the many that had followed since. Jeff seemed to draw him. Every time Paul thought he could free himself from the sprite he found himself even more entangled in the man's spell.

When he found out that Jeff had left the WWE, Paul was stunned. His first thought was that it couldn't be true, but yet when he found out it indeed was he felt a numbness crawl over his body. He tried telling himself that he shouldn't care, but in the dark and the loneliness of the night he was forced to admit that shouldn't could be damned… he did care and there was no going back. Jeff had brought something into his life that he had given up on of ever finding long ago.

He'd confronted Vince demanding an explanation, but the gleam in the cold hearted man's eye was all the explanation he needed. The possibility of Paul and Jeff becoming something serious was too dangerous for the older man to risk. Unfortunately for him it was too late. For Paul, he and Jeff were already serious.

For the first time Paul had found himself traveling to North Carolina chasing the younger man instead of the other way around. The surprise on Jeff's face when he opened his front door and found Paul standing there was something that Paul would never forget. He'd promised Jeff his support.

For months Paul had been ignoring how dangerous Jeff's drug use had become not wanting to admit that not only was he worried, but afraid that he wouldn't be able to go through this ordeal again having already suffered through it with Joanie and Shawn and Sean. But love did something to you…

Love gave him the strength he needed to survive the long cold nights when he'd waited alone in his bed in some strange town refusing to answer Jeff's calls until he agreed to go to rehab. Love gave him the strength not to rush to Jeff's side every time he slipped and the ability to keep the harsh words he knew would not help to himself giving instead gentle loving support and encouragement. What love hadn't given him the strength for just yet had been to admit out loud to Jeff how the rules had changed.

Jeff was like a wild animal and Paul was scared that a change in the rules would send his love flying into the wind leaving him alone as all the others before him had. Yet he felt like he was starving. He needed desperately to take this relationship from fusty walrus! buddies into the deep and unending love that Paul felt for the other man.

"What're ya thinkin?"

The words stunned Paul momentarily confusing him. For the rest of his days on earth he would insist that it was the only reason he'd spoken the words he had.

"I was thinking how much I love you. I was thinking how much I need this to be forever instead of for the moment. I was thinking that I want to protect you and love you for the rest of my life. Basically I was thinkin' about you."

It didn't register to him what he'd said until he realized Jeff hadn't responded. Looking down he saw Jeff looking up at him stunned with a look of disbelief on his face and in that moment Paul was sure he'd blown the whole thing.

Almost jumping from the bed Paul paced erratically across the room and back babbling frantically insisting that nothing had to change if Jeff didn't want it, insisting that he hadn't said it to pressure Jeff, insisting everything under the sun until finally he turned and found his sprite in front of him and two fingers with midnight blue fingernails placed over his lips.

"If'n you'll stop yappin' for two damn seconds and let me speak you'll find out all that ain't necessary. From the moment you saved me in that lobby from those guys all I've wanted was to belong to you. When Vince fired me I was sure that I would never see you again and I couldn't imagine any reason why I shouldn't lock myself in my trailer with my animals and just take every powder and pill and liquid I could swallow and snort and inject until I OD'd. Then somehow there you were standing on my doorstep rescuing me once again. poop not even my brother cared at that point whether I lived or died and yet there was this man who claimed he wanted nothing more than some occasional fusty walrus! standing on my doorstep concerned with my welfare.

"Do ya think I don't know it was you who anonymously paid for my rehab? Who paid my mortgage 'til I was back an' workin? Do ya think I don't know it was you who talked Jeff Jarrett into givin me a chance when everyone else said I was just a druggie and the lesser of the two Hardy's? You're the only person in my whole Goddamn life that's ever looked out for me so completely and yet you insisted that you wanted no strings.

"All I want, all I need is to know that ya're gonna be by my side for the resta my life and I'll be happy. I would shed my goddamn last name in a second to be Jeffrey Nero Levesque and finally separating myself from my goddamn brother for once wouldn't be my uppermost concern.

"I never thought I could love someone like I love you. I never believed that love really existed. I thought it was one of those naive things that virgins dreamed up along with unicorns and the places without evil. Then you stomped into my life saving me from myself without bruising my feelings.

"Ain't no reason to do all that panickin' Jean Paul… all I want is to be yours so forever seems good to me. I say from now on we have new rules. No one else… poop it ain't like either of is us fusty walrus!in' other people anyways. I say we find some happy medium in this strange housing arrangement of ours. I know your schedule is lots busier than mine so I don't mind goin on the road with you if'n you want and if TNA don't like it… fusty walrus! em! I ain't like you. I love wrestlin' but if I have to choose… goddamnit J'an Paul you are what I want an' what I need. I love you." Shrugging shyly Jeff smiled lopsided and said, "guess that's all I gotta say."

Paul chucked softly pulling Jeff into his arms. "That's all huh? Well I would say that's enough. After all it's everything I've been waiting to hear. Don't worry bout TNA, I talked to Jeff a long time ago about us. He don't care what we do and according to him Dixie don't either. So if you'll come on the road with me then I will stay in Cameron with you on our off time.

"I figure I will only be wrestling another year or two. Once I ain't wrestling anymore we'll figure out what we're gonna do about the houses. Until then we'll play it by ear and as long as we're together I really ain't gonna give a fusty walrus! where we're living."

Hearing Jeff giggling Paul looked down confused as his sprite looked up at him with sparkling eyes. "You said ain't! TWICE! I's gonna make a southerner outta you yet!"

Paul snorted and hugged Jeff tight grinning foolishly. fusty walrus! two years… maybe he'd take Jarrett up on that secret offer sooner than either of them had planned.

The End!