AN: Five times fics are kind of my addiction, because they're awesome. I'm not sure that I'm terribly good at writing them, but hey, at least this fic is finally slash! =) It's one in the morning and I gave up an hour of precious sleep and probably a grade point on my finals to write this one, so... ya know. I'd appreciate it if you reviewed and all. =) So, without further ado...

Five Times Randy Orton Appologized…and the One Time He Didn't

Five

Christian winning the title match had been a big deal. Yes, he'd been waiting seventeen years for the title, but there was more to it than just that. Losing Edge had been a shame for everyone: for the fans because they lost their Rated R Superstar and for the other wrestlers because Adam Copeland was a great guy and blast to tour with. So, as Jay was Adam's best friend, of course he had to get the title. It would have been fundamentally, inexcusably wrong if he hadn't. The E&C bromance was just… legendary.

Because of that, Randy felt like a dick for challenging Christian for the title on Smackdown five days after the title match.

He felt even worse when he won it. He smiled on stage, and it did feel good to have the title and the adoration, but when he saw the look in Jay's eyes… well, no one pulled off a kicked puppy look quite like Captain Charisma Christian Cage. When he ran into him later on after the show, he had to apologize. Jay just nodded, smiled, and pointed out that as it was in the script, it wasn't like Randy could have done anything about it. Because Jay challenged him to rematch, he figured it made them even, and Jay's smirk seemed to agree.

Four

It seemed like the WWE Universe was rather pissed at Randy for taking the title—and he understood that, really. He'd felt pretty bad about it himself. The rematch was a good match; it really could have gone either way, and when it ended Randy knew he was going to be sore for days after that one. He was just glad that now he was on Smackdown instead of Raw, and therefore had four more days to prepare for the next show instead of just one.

But he'd won again. He had to face those kicked puppy eyes and he tried to display just how sorry he really, truly was as they left the arena.

Three

Randy didn't actually know the outcome of the triple threat match. He watched, fascinating, understanding what it felt like for all of the fans watching and just not knowing what would happen, who would win…. He couldn't deny that he was sad when Christian lost, especially because the man had technically won before Sheamus. He'd been screaming at the ref and, though the lines were scripted, they certainly did not lack the passion of Jay's anger behind them. When the ref shouted back, "There's nothing I can do!" Randy had a feeling that he really, really meant it. They were all sorry to see Christian lose again. For the third time, Randy had to apologize for something he could not have prevented anyways.

For some reason, that didn't make him feel any less guilty for being the one still holding the title. It didn't seem to make Christian blame him any less either, even if Jay logically understood. Losing three times must've stung.

Two

Randy knew that the only chance, slim to nothing as it would have been regardless, that Christian had of getting the title back even remotely soon was if he lost to Sheamus.

He knew that. Part of him actually wanted to lose because of it, which meant that he cared more for Christian—well, and not seeing those kicked puppy eyes, in truth—than he had for anyone else in a long while.

The rest of him knew that there was no way in Hell he was losing that match, and he didn't. He saw the thinly veiled disappointment in Jay's eyes after, though, and he felt obliged to apologize once more. He gave Jay a lot of credit that not only did the other man wave of his apology, but congratulated him in return.

One

They were in some town some night after a show, a smaller town with subpar drinking establishments scattered all throughout it. Somehow they found themselves in the same one; though they'd walked in at roughly the same time, Randy made it to the only spare bar stool first. Christian was left standing discarded to the side. "Sorry," Randy said after a moment when he took everything in. He started to get up. "You can have the seat…"

Jay just waved him off with a small smile. "It's fine." Moments later a small booth in one of the corners cleared—so this bar served dinner, then, too—and Jay walked over and claimed it.

That should have been the end of it. Randy ordered his beer and he didn't mean to keep glancing over at Jay, but it was just habit at this point: his eyes always sought out the other man when he was in the room, and he didn't even know when that habit had begun. All he knew that there was something disturbingly melancholy about Jay sitting alone. Eventually he pinned it on the fact that prior to a few months ago, Adam would have been sitting there with Jay and the pair would have been laughing incessantly at lame jokes and stories. They had a way of lighting up a room and going into their own little bubble of a world at the same time; without Copeland by his side, Jay looked terribly alone.

Randy didn't mean to slide into the seat across from Jay; it just kind of happened. He blamed it on the vague buzz his previous beers had given him, but he had a feeling he wasn't drunk enough to be anywhere near compromised yet.

The conversation was awkward at first, but eventually they found topics to converse upon until the early morning. When they split up at the hotel, Randy couldn't deny the grin that seemed to have cemented permanently on his face.

Plus One

They became friends over the next few months, hanging out during and after shows. Their small rivalry was, if anything, amusing and fun for the two to act out, and it was a good test on their acting skills.

They'd spent a lot of time together, so Randy was pretty sure of himself when he decided to kiss the other man.

Looking into sparkling eyes that most definitely did not hold the kicked puppy look, Randy didn't regret his decision at all, and though Jay looked fairly shocked, he didn't even for a moment consider apologizing for the impulse. Instead, he dragged the other man in the kiss him again, smiling all the while.

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