The Gift

He had meant for it to be a wonderful surprise. Even though Mark had told him over and over that he did not do birthdays. Said that Jeff didn't need to get him a present. The man would soon learned that Jeff Hardy did not take instruction. Not when it was so blatantly obvious that Mark wouldn't ask for what he wanted. He was too busy being rough and tough to admit that he even had needs beyond the very basic. Mark styled himself to be a hard man, which was a difficult reputation to maintain. All Jeff had tried to do was offer him a moment where he didn't have to be a badass. Maybe a chance to mend some fences. Nothing wrong with that.

Jeff had adhered Mark's direct orders in some regards. Not throwing a birthday party, for instance. No decorations or acknowledgement that the day was any different from the others. Still, Jeff could not go without a cake. He'd refrained from adding candles or any indicators that it was anything other than an ordinary cake. Nothing special about them enjoying dessert after an equally ordinary dinner that Jeff had prepared himself. An ordinary, run of the mill, not special in the slightest kind of day.

Except for Jeff's present.

In truth, he had followed Mark's decree to the letter. Jeff had not bought him anything. The money he spent did not go to Mark directly. A few phone calls, a bit of leg work, and, finally, a plane ticket.

A bit of gratitude would have been nice. Jeff had put in a lot of time and effort. He thought Mark would have been happy. It wasn't every day that his estranged brother walked through his front door.

Mark rarely talked about his past. His family and where he had grown up. From his telling, one would think he had sprouted from the earth as a fully grown man. He took no trips down memory lane kept no photo albums or mementoes. As if those early years had never happened.

In an unguarded moment, Mark had told him about his brother. The fire that claimed the lives of his parents and left his younger sibling terribly scarred. Jeff sensed a great sadness in the man he had come to care for. Once the moment passed, Mark pretended as if it had never happened. Too late. Jeff had seen the wounds in his heart and promised himself to mend them.

It wasn't too hard to find Kane. Jeff had only to look for articles on the devastating fire in Mark's home town. A quick internet search soon struck gold. Once he had a name to go on, the rest fell into place. The damaged man had required a lot of therapy, both physical and mental. Having put the tragedies behind him, Kane had started up a rather successful Information Technology firm. They specialized in cleaning up client's online reputations.

Kane had not exactly jumped at the chance to be reunited with his kin. It took a lot of prodding on Jeff's part. He pushed aside any doubts the man had. Mark would love to see him, Jeff had promised. It would be a wonderful surprise.

"What the fuck is he doing here?"

Not the words Jeff had been expecting . After meeting Kane before the big reveal, he realized that the two brothers were cut from the same cloth. Both big in size and bravado. They buried their emotions and encircled their hearts with barbed wire so no one could get close. Like Mark, Jeff sensed Kane was more than the front he put up. There was intelligence in those blue eyes, along with vulnerability. He welcomed reconciliation, but only if Mark took the first step.

The step Mark took in the living room was not the sort to foster good feelings. Hands balled into fists, nostrils flaring, Mark was a bull just looking for a china shop. "Get out of my house!"

Kane shrugged his massive shoulders. "Fine." He looked down at Jeff. "Nice meeting you. Good luck with that."

Even though he was outmatched in weight and height, Jeff tried to stop him from leaving. "Wait!" Placing his hand on Kane's chest was like trying to slow a roaring locomotive with a gingerbread house. "Wait just a damn minute!" Kane paused. Head tilted slightly to the side, as if he were studying Jeff. "You've traveled too far to let it end like this."

"Not my call." He tried to side step, but Jeff cut into his path. "If your cuddle bear wants to throw me out, there's nothing I can do about it."

Jeff would be the judge of that. "Give me five minutes."

"Five minutes ain't gonna fix that." Kane shook his head. "You seem like a nice guy, Jeff, but that…" He hitched his thumb over his shoulder, pointing in his brother's direction. "That right there is just plain ugly."

Mark growled, "Have you looked in the mirror lately?"

Even though he pulled with all his might, Kane managed to drag Jeff a few feet as he stalked towards what could only be a violent confrontation. "You got something to say to me, dipshit?" Kane matched his sibling growl for growl. "If so, say it to my face."

"Your face is the problem. Or haven't you noticed?"

"Stop it!" Jeff flung himself between the two behemoths before fists could start flying. "Stop fighting! This is supposed to be a happy moment! Why the fuck aren't you happy?" Jeff gulped air like a drowning man, struggling to maintain control of the situation. "I went to a lot of trouble to make this reunion happen. The least the two of you could do is talk over your differences instead of butting heads like a pair of contesting stags."

Mark took a few steps back, still seething. "What do you want to say? Thank you, Kane, for setting our house on fire. Thank you, Kane, for getting our parents killed. Thank you, Kane, for ruining my life."

"Your life?" Kane bellowed loud enough to wake the devil. "Tell me, Mark. Which one of us got to walk away unscathed? My face is only the tip of the deformed iceberg. You have a man that probably loves you more than you deserve and yet you still try to put on this pity party. Well boo-fucking-hoo for you, Mark."

While Jeff had encouraged talking over busting noses and splitting lips, the conversation was not heading in the healing direction he hoped for. "We've all made mistakes. Done things we wish we could take back. That's what life is. A series of fuck ups and recoveries. The past can't be changed, but the future isn't set in stone." He set pleading eyes on Mark. "Don't spend the rest of your life angry. You don't have to like each other. But he's your brother, Mark. He's blood. You've got to at least try."

Mark refused to look at Jeff or his brother. He kept his eyes on the doorway beyond them. "If he won't go and you won't let him leave, then I'm out of here. I don't need either of you."

Too beaten down and heartbroken to stop him, Jeff could only watch as he walked out the door. In typical Mark fashion, he slammed it shut. A lump formed in his throat as he heard the engine of a motorcycle roar into life. Mark was gone.

"Sorry, Jeff." Kane patted his shoulder, a simple gesture of comfort. "But Mark and I aren't the loving type. We don't know how and are too old to learn."

Jeff willed his knees to hold strong. He would not fall apart or give up that easily. "Too stubborn, you mean." He did not expect Kane to laugh.

"That, too, probably." He sighed and shook his head. "I'm gonna catch the first flight out in the morning. It really was nice to meet you, Jeff. If my asshole of a brother ever manages to get his act together, he'll be lucky to have you in his corner."

Assuming Mark would want him there at all. Jeff could not let Kane leave under such horrible circumstances. He didn't deserve to have his evening completely ruined. "Wait a minute. Don't leave yet."

He excused himself to the kitchen to make a quick phone call. Jeff had the number on speed dial. "Chris, it's me. Don't talk, just listen. You remember me telling you about my plan to surprise Mark with his brother?"

"Blew up in your face, didn't it?"

"Not why I'm calling."

Chris chuckled. "You owe me twenty bucks, man."

"Put it on my tab." A pounding headache bloomed behind Jeff's eyes. "Listen, I need a favor. Can you take Kane out tonight? Show him around. Bar hop or whatever. I don't want his visit to be a total waste."

"Did it ever occur to you, Jeffrey, that I might have plans?"

"Cancel the pizza, save the porn for another night, and get your pretty ass over here."

"Since you asked so nicely," grumbled Chris. "What's this guy like?"

How could Jeff describe Kane in a way to entice his friend to do his bidding? "You know Mark, right?"

"More than I would like."

"Kane's the opposite of that."

There was a moment of silence on the line. "Give me twenty minutes."

"Thanks," Jeff sighed. He disconnected the call.

That was one obstacle taken care of. The other would prove more difficult to deal with. Unlike Kane, Mark wore his scars on the inside. Painful and raw, Mark would not let them be soothed by anyone. He was intent on spending the rest of his life in agony. Jeff loved him too much to let that happen.