I wrote this story a while ago, during the Raw before the Hell in the Cell pay-per-view when John Cena and Randy Orton fought at the end of it.

I don't own Randy Orton, John Cena or anyone else mentioned here.

"You ever get tired of it? I mean, it's been what? Five years?" Blue eyes sparkled in amusement at the question.

"I like playing the bad guy. I'm good at it."

"Yeah, I wonder why."

"Funny."

It was just a stupid accident. Something freaky that never should have happened. Something that wouldn't have happened if the button or whatever they used to raise the cage hadn't been tripped or if the door to the cage hadn't been open.

"I am not an asshole. I'm just…honest." He knew it too. Knew that was the truth.

"That's why people think you're an asshole, man. There is such a thing as being too honest. There are some things you should probably keep to yourself. Sometimes, you are kind of an asshole."

"Okay, then why are you and I still friends?"

"Because I can take the truth." He grinned. "And because I like that you're honest. At least I know you'll never lie to me, right?"

He saw it happen. Saw Randy's feet slipping as he climbed up the cage. It moved at just the wrong moment. Randy was almost all the way up when it happened, when it moved and the grip he had with his hands slipped as well and he came down hard, bouncing off the open cage door before hitting the floor hard.

"So, wait. You mean you're…into guys and girls?"

"No," Randy rolled his eyes. "I'm into a guy."

"So you're…" He trailed off and Randy shrugged.

"I guess I sort of am. I mean, not really. I don't know. It's not like I get a hard on for every guy backstage."

"Just one of the guys." He shook his head. "Why are you telling me this?"

"I don't know. Why not?" Again, with the blunt honesty.

"So, how long ago did you know that?" A frown appeared on Randy's face as he thought about it.

"A couple of weeks." No shame or confusion or anything like that in his eyes. Apparently, Randy hadn't even thought of hiding it either. Randy had never much cared about what people thought of him. If he did, it would have bothered him more that some people thought he was an ass.

He couldn't hear the crowd. He stood frozen beside the cage, staring down at Randy's unmoving body. The medics were already out at ringside.

The world came back in a rush when they turned Randy on his back and he looked around. The crowd knew it, just like he did. This wasn't planned.

There was someone grabbing his arm. They didn't need to remind him that he was still in front of a crowd, that he wasn't supposed to break character. He couldn't have moved if wanted to.

"So, who is it?" He couldn't help but to ask it.

"That, I'm not saying."

"Why not? You were never shy before. Does this guy know?"

"I may be honest but I'm not stupid. The guys straight and if I tell him then it would be awkward and he probably wouldn't want to be paired up in a storyline with me again. I'll get over it." Randy did look skeptical about this, however.

"How do you know he's straight?"

"I just do." He saw the look in Randy's eyes, though.

"Maybe he's not. Tell me. Maybe I could help you find out." Randy snorted.

"Oh, yeah? How you going to do that, Cena?

There were several people gathered backstage by the time they got back there. He followed the stretcher with Randy strapped to it without saying anything.

He watched as they loaded him into the ambulance and it pulled away. He was vaguely aware of someone pulling him towards the parking lot and offering to give him a ride to the hospital.

"So, who is it?"

"Who is what?" Randy didn't even glance up as he took his boots off.

"You know who. Come on, man. Who are you pining over?"

"I'm not pining. And I'm not telling you."

"Why not?"

"I told you why."

"Come on, you know I wouldn't tell anybody." He followed Randy on his way out of the arena.

"Why do you want to know so bad?"

"You told me all this and then expect me not to be curious about who it is?"

"You're going to have to stay curious. How about dropping it? You're only going to make things worse."

"How? I don't get it, why wouldn't you tell me? You know I wouldn't be an ass about it and you know that I wouldn't tell anybody."

"John, man, drop it." He said it a little more forcefully this time with a glare. "I can't talk about this. Not with you."

"But…" He wasn't sure where the hurt came from at that statement and then he started to think about what Randy had said. Someone he had recently been in a storyline with, someone who he thought was straight and he refused to tell the person and wouldn't even tell…

"Oh…" He paused and must have looked shocked.

"Yeah." Randy wasn't looking him in the eye. "Happy now?"

He sat, hunched over in one of the chairs in the waiting room, staring at the floor and waiting. He still couldn't quite believe this was happening. Sure, he knew the dangers but he still never thought he'd have to watch something like this happen to Randy.

He was glad that someone else had already called Randy's parents because he didn't think he could.

He felt guilt well up at the thought of the last conversation he'd had with Randy before their match and of the horrible epiphany he had gained when he saw Randy hit the floor.

"I shouldn't have told you."

"What?" He didn't meet Randy's eyes. "No, it's fine."

"Sure, it's fine. You're not freaked out and we're not in the middle of storyline that will require us to be in the ring together for the next couple of months."

"I said its fine. It's not a big deal." But he saw something in Randy's eyes and realized that maybe those were the wrong words to say.

"He's got a concussion and some bruises. Bruised ribs. He'll be fine."

He hadn't realized that he'd been holding his breath until he heard those words. For a minute, he didn't quite believe them. He had been there. He had seen what happened. He'd been so sure that Randy was seriously hurt.

He walked out of the hospital without saying anything to anyone. The guilt was almost overwhelming and he didn't know if he could face Randy right then. Not after avoiding him after Randy had told him how he felt.

He was blind, that was the only thing he could think. He hadn't seen it before but watching Randy fall had forced him to realize it. Now, he just wasn't sure what to do about it.

He watched Randy make his entrance, glancing up at Randy as he lay in the ring, waiting for his third match of the night to begin, for Randy's music to fade.

When he looked up and met Randy's gaze for the first time, he saw something there in his eyes that he rarely ever saw. Randy was nervous.

He was sure Randy hadn't been this nervous since he'd first started in the WWE and the thought that he was the one who put that look in Randy's eyes…

"I'm sorry," he said immediately when Randy answered the door. Randy stood in the doorway, surprise in his eyes but after a moment that left. Randy closed off in front of him.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, turning and going into the motel room but he did leave the door open. John stepped inside and closed the door.

"I'm sorry," he repeated. Randy turned back to him, crossed his arms.

"What do you want, John? I haven't heard from you in weeks." John winced. That was true. He'd walked out of the hospital after finding out that Randy was going to be okay and hadn't seen his friend since.

He'd been kind of messed up afterwards. It had taken him a while to straighten out his thoughts…and his feelings. The feelings that Randy's accident had brought out had floored him made him unable to think straight.

"Look, I get it," Randy said after a moment. "I shouldn't have told you about…the way I felt. You don't want to hang out anymore, that's fine. I got that when you stopped talking to me after I told you. You don't have to come over here to explain yourself."

"I should have been here," John said, deciding to bypass what Randy had just said. He needed Randy to understand. "I should have been here after the accident but I was kind of a wreck."

"Why would you be?"

"Because…because you confused the hell out me, man! You also scared the crap out of me when you fell. I was sure you were seriously hurt. And then I kept thinking about what you said, over and over again. I couldn't get it out of my head."

"Great." Randy frowned at him. "Well, I'm fine now…"

"It doesn't end there, though. I mean, I can't just forget it. I can't."

"So, you came here to tell me that you don't want to hang around me anymore? I told you, I already got that."

"That's not what I'm tryin' to say," John said forcefully, a little frustrated with himself and the look in Randy's eyes. "What I'm trying to say is that…the reason I've been so screwed up lately…I kind of feel the same way."

"Kind of?" Randy asked, raising an eyebrow. His tone was light but John saw the way that Randy's eyes darkened and knew that Randy didn't believe him. "You kind of feel the same way? What does that mean?"

"I do feel the same way, alright. Look, I know that's it sucks that it took this for me to realize it but I did."

"You should go," Randy said abruptly, turning away from him. John reached out and grabbed Randy's arm, turning Randy back to face him.

"You really think I'd mess with you about something like this? I'm not lying, I swear." Randy searched his eyes for a moment.

"You sure?" He asked, tilting his head.

"Yes," John said firmly, no doubt in his voice. Randy stepped closer to him.

"You sure this isn't just a reaction to watching me get hurt? That all these new feelings of yours are the same kind that I have and not just the brotherly kind?"

"Only one way to find out, right?" John took the next step. They were so close now.

"Yeah," Randy smiled and then closed the remaining distance. The kiss was short, Randy pulled back quickly, searching John's eyes once again.

"Definitely not the brotherly kind," John said finally. Randy laughed and then wrapped an arm around John's neck, pulling him back in.