DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to WWFE
DISTRIBUTION: Smoochy Dreams site, otherwise ask first
NOTES: This is a sequel of sorts to Apologies
Stephanie McMahon cringed as she watched the replay of the tape, wishing there was some way that she could go back in time and tell them not to do that spot... It had to hurt like hell.
“You okay?”
The pretty brunette turned at the sound of her friend’s voice, smiling at the redhead who approached. “*I’m* fine. It’s Chris I’m worried about... Rhyno gored him through the damn set...”
“And probably hurt himself as well as Chris,” Lita said wryly, shaking her head, then wincing as the spot was shown again. “Oh, yeah... That had to hurt.”
Steph nodded, then sighed, turning to the other woman, a frown on her face as a thought came to her. “You didn’t have to be here for taping tonight... What are you-?”
“I’m here to make sure Edge makes it back to the hotel safe and sound,” Lita said in reply, making a bit of a face.
“Oh, yeah... He took the con-chair-to tonight... That had to suck.”
“So I’ve been told,” the pretty redhead stated, wrinkling up her nose. The good news was that the hit had been timed well and Edge was okay, but the clanging of the two chairs smashing into each other like they had a tendency to do during the move was hell on the eardrums and could have a person’s ears ringing for quite awhile afterwards. “SummerSlam will make up for it, though.”
“For both of them, I suppose,” Steph said with a shake of her head. “Chris and Edge... I think they’re going to have Chris kiss me again.”
Lita laughed. “Well, that should be fun. The crowd will love it.”
“Oh yeah, just like they did at King of the Ring in 2000... You know, I really hated having to act like I was happy about what Rhyno did to him tonight... It’s tough, you know?” she asked, and the other woman gave her a knowing look.
“Of course I know. I mean, think of what story line has had me doing to Edge... or vice versa,” she said, running through some of the things in her head. Granted, they hadn’t been dating yet at the time, but they were pretty damn close to it back the year before when Edge and Christian had had to cost her the woman’s title... Not to mention all the times he had speared her, or the times she had taken him down... “Oh, yeah, I know.”
“I suppose you do,” Stephanie said ruefully. “It’s an interesting life we lead...”
“That’s for damn sure,” Lita replied with a snort, then smiled slightly as she caught sight of Edge exiting the locker room, his bag slung over his shoulder. Her smile turned into a sympathetic look when she saw him rubbing at the side of his head. “Poor baby...”
“You go take care of him,” Stephanie told her friend, nudging the redhead in Edge’s direction, and Lita nodded.
“Exactly what I plan to do, since he took such good care of me after Steve stunned me... And I was milking it for all it was worth. Edge really is hurting,” she said with a sigh before starting to go on her way, stopping and turning to look at Stephanie before she got more than a few feet away. “What are you planning to do about Jericho?”
Stephanie smiled a little, shrugged slightly. “I, uh... I plan to return a favor,” she said after a moment, and the other woman merely lifted her eyebrows before going on her way, heading towards her boyfriend.
The brunette watched as Lita went over to Edge, wrapping her arms around the tall blonde man from behind, smiling as Edge turned around, leaning down to kiss the redhead. They really were so good together... Given the way they acted in the ring, no one would ever know it, but just seeing them right now... Well, it was obvious to Stephanie that Edge and Lita really did love each other.
Sighing, the brunette shook her head and checked her watch, then bit her lip. She needed to get out of there... She didn’t have much time.
~~*~~*~~*~~*~~
Chris Jericho entered his hotel room slowly, painfully, holding his arm across his ribs. He’d tried to brush off everyone’s concern about his condition, telling them all that he was perfectly fine, but truth be told, it had hurt like hell. Sighing, Jericho made a move to toss his bag on his bed, freezing when he saw all the candles. The lit candles.
“What in the hell-”
“Aromatherapy,” came Stephanie’s quiet voice from the corner, and he whirled around to find her standing in the shadows in the corner, wincing at the pain caused by the sharp movement. “They’re for relaxation. I thought you might need them...”
“I’m perfectly relaxed, except for the fact that you just about gave me a heart attack.”
“Then you know how I felt after RAW when you showed up in my room,” the brunette stated as she stepped closer to him, running her hands carefully over his T-shirt covered abdomen. “How bad are you hurting?”
“I’m fine, Steph-”
“I saw you wincing, Chris... You were wincing when you came in, and you winced when you turned around to see me,” she said calmly as she pulled his bag off his shoulder and dropped it on the floor since he hadn’t done anything with it after she’d surprised him. “Maybe you can hide it from everyone else, but not from me. Now take off your shirt and lay down.”
“What?” he asked, his eyes widening, and Stephanie smiled at him.
“You heard me,” she said as she reached behind him to the table by the bed, lifting up what she retrieved to show him the cream. “It’s supposed to help get rid of the soreness, so I thought it was worth a try.”
“Stephanie, you don’t have to...”
“I want to,” she told him before reaching for the bottom of his shirt and beginning to pull it up and over his head, Jericho giving in and helping her, wincing when the motion pulled at his sore muscles. Stephanie looked at him in the darkness, swallowing hard at the sight of the candlelight dancing off of his bare skin... After a moment, she shook herself out of her reverie, then gently pushed him towards the bed. “Lay down on your stomach first... I figure your back has to hurt, too, from smashing into the set like you did.”
Chris watched her for a moment, then nodded, kicking off his shoes before complying to her instructions, lying face down on the bed, then jumping a little when Stephanie’s soft hands began moving over his skin, the sweet-smelling lotion on her hands and the aroma from the candles helping him to relax as much as the motion of her hands soothed his sore muscles.
It felt way too good to be touching him. As her hands moved over his skin, that was just about all she could think. His skin was softer than it looked, so smooth... It was going to be hell to put this lotion on his chest and abdomen without doing anything else...
“Turn over, Chris,” she said quietly, and he rolled over, his hip nudging hers as he settled in, her fingers coming to rest on his abdomen, and she jumped a little as his hands came down to still hers. She looked up to find him staring at her, and he smiled at her.
“I’m not sure I can take much more of this,” he told her. “Not without doing this...”
Stephanie went down easily as he pulled her down to him, pressing his lips against hers, his hands coming up to tangle in her long brown hair. Damn, it always felt good to kiss him... But now wasn’t the time. Shaking her head a little, she pulled away, looking down at him, her hand smoothing down his side as she gave him a regretful look. “Chris, your ribs... I don’t want to hurt you,” she began, but he shook his head, pulling her back down to him once more, his hands running up and down her back as he smiled at her.
“Well, you know, the funny thing is, suddenly, I’m not feeling any pain...”
“You will in the morning,” she told him, and Chris gave her a purposely lecherous grin before tugging her down fully on top of him.
“Is that a promise?”
The End
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