Something New
“You look like you’re in a good mood,” came a voice from the doorway and Randy Orton looked up from magazine in his hand and grinned, “Hey John.” John Cena nodded and dropped himself into the seat beside his friend, glancing around the hotel lobby, somewhat surprised.
“It’s not like you to lobby-loiter,” the Boston-native pointed out to his friend, and the Missouri-native shrugged his shoulders, “Got bored in the room,” stormy silver-blue orbs flickered to the windows as he huffed, “And it’s hardly sunbathing weather is it?” he asked. John had to concede that point to him; the weather had taken a dramatic turn for the worst and so many of them who had been planning spending their leisure time before the next show wandering around and sight-seeing had found themselves confined inside… unless they wanted to brave getting piss-wet-through for the sake of some monuments and somewhere to eat. “Coulda come and found me,” John said, nudging Randy’s shoulder with his own. Despite a torrid on-screen rivalry they had been friends since forever.
Randy had started in the business before John, and when John had started in OVW Randy had shown him things that someone without a familial link to the business wouldn’t have known, helped him out when he struggled with something and was helped by John in return. Their friendship had been shaken by their first big on-screen feud together but they had managed to come out of it with their rapport intact… though things had been a little rocky for a while. Other vets -at the time, they themselves being considered the vets now- had told them it was something that they needed to get used to, that it would be more insulting for them to try and hold back for the sake of their friendship then giving 110%. It had been an invaluable lesson.
“Coulda,” he acknowledged with a nod of his head, sending an arrogant smirk to a bunch of women across the room that were being very unsubtle in their appreciation of himself and John even though he was fairly certain that they would think they were being so cool about it. “But then we would’ve both just been bored in the room.” He then grinned cattishly and murmured, “Unless you fancied maybe one more round for old times’ sake?” John’s cheeks flushed slightly and he swatted Randy’s arm, “Behave yourself,” he chuckled, shaking his head. “We don’t go there anymore,” he pointed out and Randy sighed, pouting. He and John had never been serious, good friends who had pretty great sex and were still capable of being friends afterwards, “You suck so bad Cena.”
“As I recall you thought I sucked so good,” John threw back and Randy snickered before sighing and then eying his friend, “You made any progress then?” John looked away and Randy rolled his eyes, “Chris sake, Cena! Move your ass why don’t you? Linger around forever and he ain’t gonna be waiting for you.” The secret-to-no-one-but-that-John-thought-he-had-kept-so-well-hidden concerned John’s crush over a younger man. He was what could be considered a rookie in the business still, though he wasn’t anywhere near the green-horn that he might have been. Scowling and embarrassed, John grumbled, “I don’t even know if he’s… an’ I don’t wanna end up getting some sexual harassment suit thrown at me do I?” Randy rolled his eyes pointedly at that.
“As if Vince’d let that happen,” Randy said but John didn’t look convinced. It’d been a long time since Randy had seen anything even remotely like this from John; he was maybe not as promiscuous as Randy but he wasn’t without his own band of admirers and quite an impressive track-record. He was much more open to relationships than Randy but they were far and few between; for all John was a big, famous guy he was quite insecure and he found himself getting hurt because he trusted too easily. It wouldn’t have been the first time Randy had stepped in, unbeknownst to John and meted out what he saw as sufficient punishment for the wrong done to his best friend. Before anything more could be said Randy’s phone went off, vibrating, in his jean pocket.
Fishing the expensive looking item out (and making it seem almost obscenely small in his large hand) Randy then pressed the ‘answer’ button and brought the phone to his ear. “Orton,” he drawled in a bored fashion. Chances were it was a colleague or one of the higher-ups, because his family didn’t send him many messages or calls during the day when they knew he was on tour and working since they didn’t want to bother him; generally they waited until in the evening when they knew they had a better chance of him answering them. The voice that sounded in his ear brought a slow smirk curling his lips. “Well, well, baby Rhodes… What can I do for you?” he noticed John perking up in the corner of his eye, undoubtedly having his interest peaked.
“You want to meet up and talk about the plans for the stable?” he repeated, more for John’s benefit than his own. “Sure, I can make time for you both-“Randy stuck his tongue out when John smirked and rolled his eyes before mouthing, prima donna bitch at him. “How about fifteen minutes? We’ll meet in the lobby and then we can talk things over.” They could hardly talk it over in one of their rooms… That would be what Randy would be more than interested in doing though when the time was right. Bidding Cody goodbye Randy ended the call and then looked at John. The other man slapped a hand over his eyes and groaned lightly, “That look… that look never means anything good,” he eyed him suspiciously, “Just what are you planning, Ortz?” he asked the other.
“Nothing,” Randy said innocently. However, that was far from the truth and they both knew that the other knew it; Randy had never been able to pull off innocent well. Reclining back in his seat, Randy allowed his mind to wander to the Tag-Team Champions. They were both still naïve, wet-behind-the-ears, but they had so much potential, untapped and probably unnoticed… It would be up to him to draw it out, to mould them into perfect wrestlers, to make them like him. Vaguely, he could picture the young boys that he’d always been so much older than back in childhood, the age barrier keeping them apart… they definitely had both done some impressive growing-up in that time. And, if he wasn’t mistaken, at least one would soon be ripe for the picking if he chose.
~::~
Snapping his phone closed Cody glanced across to Ted, “Fifteen minutes,” he reported, his stomach internally twisting into a couple of excited knots even as he worked to keep his expression schooled, “And then we’re meeting him down in the lobby.” Ted nodded his head and sighed slightly, brow furrowing as he folded the paper up, setting it aside for the moment. “What are we going to do? I mean, are we taking some kit with us in case he wants to spar or are we just talking?” the dark haired man rolled off of the bed and stretched -and Ted found his eyes wandering, unbidden, to the expanse of tanned flesh that appeared momentarily when Cody’s t-shirt rode up- before saying, “Well, he just said talking…” and had it been his imagination or had Randy made that sound…
Suggestive?
“Alright,” Ted acquiesced as he stood up himself, moving across to the other side of the room where he had his phone plugged into the wall, charging. “Finally,” he said, pleased when he saw that the item had finally charged up; it had been on since he had awoken that morning, at six, to get some time in at the gym before heading to see his now ex-girlfriend. “Can I borrow your laptop later?” Cody asked and Ted shrugged before nodding, then eying Cody with a slight smirk working his lips, “Are you sure you won’t break it this time?” Cody whined, puffing his bottom lip out at the blonde, “That was once! And it was your fault for startling me anyway, I wouldn’t have spilled my smoothie on it…” and how adorable was Cody when he pulled that face? He didn’t just think that. He didn’t.
“Still,” Ted said, shaking thoughts away as to how much more Cody’s lips stood out when he pouted like that, “No drinks near the laptop, and no food near the laptop.” Cody pulled a face and mumbled something along the lines of, ‘Yes master’, and Ted found himself seized with yet more inappropriate thoughts. Man, what was wrong with him? It had to be tiredness that was it. “You got everything?” Ted asked, pocketing his phone, wallet and his card-key to the room. The blonde was rather anal when it came to taking everything of importance that was realistic to take whenever he left his hotel room. He had been told far too many horror stories of what sort of things were pinched from performers and divas on occasions thanks to unsavoury staff and stalkers.
“I’ve got everything,” Cody said… and then patted down his own pockets again to be sure. Ted eyed him warily before nodding, accepting Cody’s words before going to the hotel room door and opening it. Cody took the chance to admire the ghetto-booty that Ted possessed, understated by the somewhat baggy jeans that Ted had insisted on wearing that day. If Cody had his way he’d get the blonde into something much more flattering for his assets, but that was only just a pipe-dream and he knew it. He knew that there was very little, if no chance of him ever being with Ted the way he fantasised… and whether or not the man had a girlfriend wasn’t even really the crux of the problem. The crux of the problem was that Ted was even straight at all. Not that Cody was gay for just anyone.
Ensuring the door was locked behind him Cody walked alongside Ted to the lift, pressing the button for the ground floor. There were a few people inside and as such Cody had an excuse to stand just a little bit closer to Ted than was necessary. When he did Ted merely smiled and Cody momentarily felt like sighing; he’d told himself that being with Ted as a friend was enough, but sometimes it was hard to keep thinking that when there was so much more he wanted. His thoughts of ogling Ted however, where cut short when the lift doors pinged open, revealing the very person they sought. Randy was standing there, clad in jeans and a leather jacket with some tribal patterned t-shirt, and the urge to fan-girl like an idiot struck Cody hard. He was just so fucking cool. And hot all at once.
~:~
John had since made himself scarce, claiming he was off to go and work on some stuff for a promo that he had on the upcoming show, but Randy had a feeling he was going to go and check up on the little superstar that he had an interest in. For a moment he wondered whether the two younger men would be early, overeager, or late. As it turned out they were pretty much bang on time… and he had a feeling that that was to do with the serious-faced looking blonde as opposed to the shyly smiling ravenette behind him. Randy’s eyes slipped over first Ted and then Cody; definitely not bad in terms of physique, and he had been pretty impressed with their abilities as of late. Tag Team Champs was a good place to start their careers…but with him they could become so much more than that. Casually, he waited as they approached him, “Hey,” he greeted.
“Hey,” Ted responded and Cody nodded, giving him an oddly shy but sultry look under surprisingly long eyelashes. It wasn’t hard for men to be considered twinks in comparison to him, but Rhodes was just slightly on the outside of complete twink; he had some muscle definition, though he was still admittedly a bit on the skinny side. “You been waitin’ long?” Ted drawled and Randy had to admit he wouldn’t kick this one out of his bed either. Again, more developed than that what he usually came across but… Mhm, definitely wouldn’t say no. But, time and place; they were both pretty sheltered, their daddies secretly coming in for talks to the others about what would happen to them if they so much as looked at either of their baby-boys backsides for a moment.
Not that Randy was scared of repercussions per se, but more than he knew he couldn’t fuck up right away with these two; if they went running off to Vince then his high status on the roster would only save him so far… and Sam would have a fit if he had another fine coming home for them anytime soon. “Nah,” he said, aware of the fact that DiBiase seemed to be much more reassured before him as opposed to Rhodes; he couldn’t meet his eye for too long, though that wasn’t unusual. They had worked together before… and it had taken the boy a long time to get even remotely close to having people forgetting about the fact that he had gotten hard the first time that he was on TV. Not that Randy had minded--- seeing his embarrassed face afterwards had been so worth it.
“I dunno if you fancied going to a bar or something to talk,” he shrugged nonchalantly and indicated the windows, “We could always use the rental and drive somewhere, unless you wanted to just stay in the bar here.” He looked at Cody as he spoke, and despite the fact the boy was well-tanned Randy could see the beginning of a red flush starting on his face. Before anything more could be ascertained by the action though he found himself being somewhat blocked by the blonde man. There was a small tension in Ted’s mouth and Randy arched a brow slightly at him silently. The blonde held his eyes for a moment before looking away, saying, “The bar here is fine.” For a moment Cody looked uncertain but then he nodded, “Yeah, here’s fine,” he then smiled at Randy.
Nodding, Randy led the way towards the hotel bar, “I know it’s a little early, but let me get you both a drink. Just one, I mean,” he gave his most charming smile, “It’s a point worth of celebration that we’re going to be working together. We’re going to really rock the foundation of the roster.” He smirked and despite themselves Cody and Ted found themselves smiling back at him; when Randy sounded as confident as he did it was impossible to try and refute his words. “Just one then,” Ted said again and once more Cody nodded. However, Randy could see that it wasn’t because Cody was some brainless pretty-boy (though he was pretty) but more… that he seemed to be used to deferring to Ted for things, and was happy to let the other have something more by control.
A beer each the three men settled in a side booth, being placed in something like seclusion--- something Cody and Ted were rapidly finding that they preferred. They had already been somewhat mobbed earlier in the day when they had first arrived at the hotel and they’d rather not go through that again anytime soon. It was something that they had to get used to though and they both knew it; with fame came the responsibility to give back to the fans, because without them none of them would have jobs. Those who didn’t pull their weight backstage or didn’t give something to the fans, found themselves being without work surprisingly quickly. “So…” Randy glanced at the other two, seated opposite him, looking just slightly too close to be considered entirely natural.
“What exactly have Creative told you about our storyline?” Randy asked and Cody was the one to answer him this time. “Well, not much really,” he admitted, brow furrowing. Randy grinned to himself; he still remembered those days, being kept out of the loop until the last minute, having to pull off the perfect performance with only the barest of details. It was to see whether you could cope underneath the pressure, to see whether you could handle it on your own, follow that which the company wanted… to see whether you’d learnt anything really. “Only that we’re gonna be joining you soon, after the double-cross.” Randy nodded; it had been something that had been appearing in segments and matches for a couple of weeks. “But really nothing more than that.”
“The double-cross… well, you’ve already got some experience of it, right Rhodes?” he asked and Cody grinned ruefully; everyone had been pretty shocked about the way he had turned on his first veteran partner Bob “Hardcore” Holly for Ted. Hardcore had taken it with good grace, though Cody knew that probably wouldn’t have been the case if the man hadn’t been preparing to retire before too long anyway. “But DiBiase doesn’t,” he then looked at Ted, who blinked and looked back at him. When they held their gazes for a few moments the blonde’s brow furrowed, clearly wondering what Randy was looking at. “Ted can do it,” Cody said immediately and the blonde turned to face his partner, giving the younger man a smile. “He’ll have no problem, hm?” Randy asked.
“Of course,” Cody insisted, but this time Ted placed a hand on Cody’s arm to hush him. It made his stomach jump a little that Cody was so willing to defend him, but at the same time he had to show the older man that he could stand up for himself and fight his own battles. “I can do it,” Ted repeated, feeling a little childish but not exactly being left with many avenues but to answer that way. “What we need to discuss though is how exactly we’re going to do it. I mean… we can’t just take them out right away, can we?” he asked and Randy rested his chin on his hand, regarding his companions and soon to be stable-partners. “You’re right,” the eldest of the trio acknowledged, nodding his head, “We need to… Build it up, make everyone think that it’s not happening.”
“What do you mean?” Cody asked and even Ted’s brow furrowed slightly in obvious puzzlement. Randy thought it through; Ted and Cody’s current little sort-of-stable had only been thrown together whilst they thought of something to do with the tag champs, and so it wouldn’t be a problem to get rid of the two men involved. However, like he had said, they needed to do something that would surprise people. Suddenly, something hit him and he grinned slowly; it was something that he could swing with Vince and Creative, that much he was sure. “You could both go for me,” Randy said, and the two younger men’s mouths fell open in surprise, “Huh?” they asked in tandem and Randy grinned. “If we make it look like you’re going for me, the audience won’t see it coming, will they?” he asked them.
~:~
“I suppose not,” said Ted, a smile spreading across his face. “If we make it look like we’re really pissed, then people might just assume that we’re out to prove a point. Like we’re the biggest dogs in the yard or something.” He considered a moment. “How are we going to start things off though? Why would we suddenly attack you out of nowhere and then swerve?”
Randy’s eyes went to Ted, who seemed respectful enough of him but confident, seeing Randy as an equal while being aware he was more experienced and knew how things worked better than himself. That made Randy want to smirk but he hid it. He would certainly be interested in sharing his experience in other areas with the handsome blonde but Ted struck him as a real straight arrow. He hadn’t known the man particularly well when they were younger, although their father’s being in the business meant they had met on occasion, but now he would be getting to know Ted a whole lot better - but he thought that he had a good idea of Ted’s personality already. He probably had some girl he went home to on the weekend, someone he’d been dating since he first became aware of the interesting things he could use his dick for and planned to marry someday soon. A subtle come-on would be met with blankness, while anything more obvious would send the blonde running for the hills. Still, it was fun to imagine. Maybe when he got some time alone, he would consider what it would be like to talk Ted past his initial doubt and into some bad behaviour. The Ted in his mind would be a lot less likely to flee in panic.
“Maybe Randy could, I dunno, mock us,” said Cody thoughtfully, words addressed more to Ted than to Randy, as if they were just discussing things between the two of them. “And we attack him for it.” He chuckled suddenly, seeming to like the idea and why not? Randy thought it was a good idea and could lead to a good storyline. With the tag scene being what it was, it was likely that Ted and Cody would be the shining stars of it. Even if the rumours of a DX reunion were true, and there was no guarantee that they were, they would be in a good place. They would have to look like a real threat if DX were to look good and Hunter and Shawn both would want to look like they were beating (or being beaten up by) the best.
“We could play on the idea of us all being second and third generation,” Cody continued, and Randy noticed that he talked with his hands, gesturing more as he got more involved with what he was saying. “Randy could say we’re not as good as our dads or something and that we should be more like him and be even more famous. And we could take offence and get all uptight about it and beat him up. So when we pull the double cross, everyone’ll be like, huh?”
Randy grinned, the kid had enthusiasm if nothing else and he missed that sometimes when he worked with those who’d been wrestling a long time. They were pleased with what they came up with but not nearly so excited about it and he had to hand it to the kid, Cody had a good idea for what would work and a willingness to put his ideas forward. “I think I can manage to throw a few insults your way.”
Cody met his eyes for a moment, seeming genuinely thrilled that Randy had liked his idea, then glanced away quickly. It wasn’t much but it strengthened the idea that Randy had been getting since the three of them had been sat in the bar, that Cody had some kind of crush on him. That much at least he was used to, especially with the newer kids in the business, in the light of all that he had achieved; sometimes it was just confused hero-worship or admiration. And sometimes it wasn’t.
He considered the idea. There were no rumours that Cody was anything but a ladies man but he barely listened to locker room gossip anyway since much of it was about himself. But there was something about the kid that made him think Cody wasn’t a stranger to bedding men and he was rarely wrong about his instincts on who wanted him. Mostly because there were very few who didn’t. Given the way that Ted was sitting close to Cody and how protective he seemed, he might have thought that the two of them were involved in some way but those same instincts told him that wasn’t likely. He didn’t think that Ted was sleeping with Cody, no matter how protective he was, mostly because Ted projected the image of being such a good boy. Of course, he had been wrong before (although not often) and there was a slight chance that Ted was slipping it to Cody on a nightly basis. Wouldn’t he like to be a fly on the wall for that little display. And of course if that was the case, then Baby Rhodes was out of bounds. He suspected that Ted wouldn’t care even slightly about seniority if he found that his lover was being seduced by someone else, and Randy might be reckless but he wasn’t stupid, far less stupid as he had grown older and started counting the consequences.
Cody seemed a lot less naive than his blonde tag partner, but Randy made the quick decision not to go there anyway. Don’t shit where you eat was a lesson he had learned over the years and there were those who could be relied on for a little fun while on the road and those who were trouble waiting to happen. He didn’t know which of those Cody was but he didn’t need to piss Vince off any further with bad decisions. He has always enjoyed the status of one of the golden boys, the future of the business, protected with his secrets kept and the company pulling rank at his indiscretions in a way they never did for others. However he knew that might not always be the case and after the last time Vince made it very clear that he would have to start behaving himself if he wanted to keep his spot on the roster. His dark side couldn’t be hidden from the public forever when he insisted on advertising it all the time.
But the idea, once planted, is slow to go away and as Cody continued to expand on his idea, Randy found himself more focused on Cody’s pouting lips than the words coming out of them.
A quick beer becomes two, then three as the men talked among themselves and tried to come to a mutual agreement that they can take to creative - Ted and Cody would never be allowed to make choices like those alone but Randy got a lot more leeway. They decided on the fight that would see the tag champs ambush Randy - “Really throw me around and beat me down,” Randy said with a smirk, glancing at Ted rather than at Cody as he spoke. “Make me your bitch.” He hadn’t been able to resist the tease but it had been more for Cody’s benefit than Ted’s. But when the blonde looked almost uncomfortable with the phrasing and hurried the subject along to the next step of the plan, he started to wonder. Maybe Ted wasn’t as free of those sorts of thoughts as he had believed. Of course, mused Randy, he was an attractive man and he wasn’t surprised he could turn the head of even a straight guy.
The plan they intended to go to Vince with laid out (and Randy was amused to see that Ted had actually brought a notebook and pen with him, he must have been an incredibly good student… which led him to some very wicked thoughts about how he was now in the position of Ted’s teacher), Randy ordered them another drink, which might not have been the best idea but neither man complained and he had to admit, he was having fun. He didn’t want to go back to his room and watch boring daytime television, nor did he feel like drinking alone and he wasn’t sure that John would be back yet (and if he was, he was probably pining for his current crush - Randy had no idea why he didn’t just walk up to the man and say hey, wanna fuck? It had always worked for him, hell, it had talked John into his bed, so it had plenty going for it). Ted and Cody were something of a revelation anyway, young and a long way from jaded as so many of the people he worked with could get, respectful but not starstruck. And growing up with famous fathers, they had a lot of similar experiences.
“This stable’s gonna take up a lot more of your time than Priceless does,” he said when the drinks were in front of them. Ted had run his hands through his hair a couple of times but that was as closed to mussed as he got, it seemed, while Cody had loosened up more than he had been before but he wasn’t exactly drunk. A little tipsy if anything. Still, he thought he would have to make this their last until the evening, which he found rather depressing. “If you’ve got a girl waiting for you at home, better tell her to take a picture so she can remember what your face looks like.”
A strange look passed over Ted’s face and Cody glanced at him anxiously, neither action lost on Randy. Ted looked back at Randy, eyes never wavering. “Yeah, we thought that might be the case. I just finished things with my girlfriend for that exact reason.”
“And I haven’t got a steady girlfriend,” Cody chipped in hastily. Randy wondered if that was to get the attention away from Ted’s girl or because Cody wanted him to know he was available. Or maybe because Cody didn’t like thinking about Ted’s girl; Randy hadn’t missed the occasional too-long looks Cody gave to his tag partner, or their easy, seemingly unconscious touchy-feeliness. If Cody had a crush on Randy, then Randy wasn’t the only one that he wanted. Ted had appeared to be completely oblivious to all of this, to the extent that Randy wondered if Ted had even considered the lifestyle choice. Probably not; Randy was well aware that Ted had grown up in a religious, conservative household and that his father had been quite the philanderer during his younger years.
“Cool,” said Randy casually, wrapping a large hand around his drink. “We’ll have to keep up appearances y’know, single guys partying in every town…”
Ted looked completely baffled. “I thought you were married.”
Randy returned the look with a rather blank look of his own and then understanding dawned. “Well yeah, but we can still keep up appearances, right? That’s only for show.” Dammit, he’d forgotten that Ted might be a little funny about him not staying in his room and pining for Sam now that he wasn’t officially single. He hated the feeling that Ted had managed to wrong-foot him and when he glanced at Cody, it seemed clear that Cody wasn’t too impressed about the reminder either.
“It’s not like you to lobby-loiter,” the Boston-native pointed out to his friend, and the Missouri-native shrugged his shoulders, “Got bored in the room,” stormy silver-blue orbs flickered to the windows as he huffed, “And it’s hardly sunbathing weather is it?” he asked. John had to concede that point to him; the weather had taken a dramatic turn for the worst and so many of them who had been planning spending their leisure time before the next show wandering around and sight-seeing had found themselves confined inside… unless they wanted to brave getting piss-wet-through for the sake of some monuments and somewhere to eat. “Coulda come and found me,” John said, nudging Randy’s shoulder with his own. Despite a torrid on-screen rivalry they had been friends since forever.
Randy had started in the business before John, and when John had started in OVW Randy had shown him things that someone without a familial link to the business wouldn’t have known, helped him out when he struggled with something and was helped by John in return. Their friendship had been shaken by their first big on-screen feud together but they had managed to come out of it with their rapport intact… though things had been a little rocky for a while. Other vets -at the time, they themselves being considered the vets now- had told them it was something that they needed to get used to, that it would be more insulting for them to try and hold back for the sake of their friendship then giving 110%. It had been an invaluable lesson.
“Coulda,” he acknowledged with a nod of his head, sending an arrogant smirk to a bunch of women across the room that were being very unsubtle in their appreciation of himself and John even though he was fairly certain that they would think they were being so cool about it. “But then we would’ve both just been bored in the room.” He then grinned cattishly and murmured, “Unless you fancied maybe one more round for old times’ sake?” John’s cheeks flushed slightly and he swatted Randy’s arm, “Behave yourself,” he chuckled, shaking his head. “We don’t go there anymore,” he pointed out and Randy sighed, pouting. He and John had never been serious, good friends who had pretty great sex and were still capable of being friends afterwards, “You suck so bad Cena.”
“As I recall you thought I sucked so good,” John threw back and Randy snickered before sighing and then eying his friend, “You made any progress then?” John looked away and Randy rolled his eyes, “Chris sake, Cena! Move your ass why don’t you? Linger around forever and he ain’t gonna be waiting for you.” The secret-to-no-one-but-that-John-thought-he-had-kept-so-well-hidden concerned John’s crush over a younger man. He was what could be considered a rookie in the business still, though he wasn’t anywhere near the green-horn that he might have been. Scowling and embarrassed, John grumbled, “I don’t even know if he’s… an’ I don’t wanna end up getting some sexual harassment suit thrown at me do I?” Randy rolled his eyes pointedly at that.
“As if Vince’d let that happen,” Randy said but John didn’t look convinced. It’d been a long time since Randy had seen anything even remotely like this from John; he was maybe not as promiscuous as Randy but he wasn’t without his own band of admirers and quite an impressive track-record. He was much more open to relationships than Randy but they were far and few between; for all John was a big, famous guy he was quite insecure and he found himself getting hurt because he trusted too easily. It wouldn’t have been the first time Randy had stepped in, unbeknownst to John and meted out what he saw as sufficient punishment for the wrong done to his best friend. Before anything more could be said Randy’s phone went off, vibrating, in his jean pocket.
Fishing the expensive looking item out (and making it seem almost obscenely small in his large hand) Randy then pressed the ‘answer’ button and brought the phone to his ear. “Orton,” he drawled in a bored fashion. Chances were it was a colleague or one of the higher-ups, because his family didn’t send him many messages or calls during the day when they knew he was on tour and working since they didn’t want to bother him; generally they waited until in the evening when they knew they had a better chance of him answering them. The voice that sounded in his ear brought a slow smirk curling his lips. “Well, well, baby Rhodes… What can I do for you?” he noticed John perking up in the corner of his eye, undoubtedly having his interest peaked.
“You want to meet up and talk about the plans for the stable?” he repeated, more for John’s benefit than his own. “Sure, I can make time for you both-“Randy stuck his tongue out when John smirked and rolled his eyes before mouthing, prima donna bitch at him. “How about fifteen minutes? We’ll meet in the lobby and then we can talk things over.” They could hardly talk it over in one of their rooms… That would be what Randy would be more than interested in doing though when the time was right. Bidding Cody goodbye Randy ended the call and then looked at John. The other man slapped a hand over his eyes and groaned lightly, “That look… that look never means anything good,” he eyed him suspiciously, “Just what are you planning, Ortz?” he asked the other.
“Nothing,” Randy said innocently. However, that was far from the truth and they both knew that the other knew it; Randy had never been able to pull off innocent well. Reclining back in his seat, Randy allowed his mind to wander to the Tag-Team Champions. They were both still naïve, wet-behind-the-ears, but they had so much potential, untapped and probably unnoticed… It would be up to him to draw it out, to mould them into perfect wrestlers, to make them like him. Vaguely, he could picture the young boys that he’d always been so much older than back in childhood, the age barrier keeping them apart… they definitely had both done some impressive growing-up in that time. And, if he wasn’t mistaken, at least one would soon be ripe for the picking if he chose.
~::~
Snapping his phone closed Cody glanced across to Ted, “Fifteen minutes,” he reported, his stomach internally twisting into a couple of excited knots even as he worked to keep his expression schooled, “And then we’re meeting him down in the lobby.” Ted nodded his head and sighed slightly, brow furrowing as he folded the paper up, setting it aside for the moment. “What are we going to do? I mean, are we taking some kit with us in case he wants to spar or are we just talking?” the dark haired man rolled off of the bed and stretched -and Ted found his eyes wandering, unbidden, to the expanse of tanned flesh that appeared momentarily when Cody’s t-shirt rode up- before saying, “Well, he just said talking…” and had it been his imagination or had Randy made that sound…
Suggestive?
“Alright,” Ted acquiesced as he stood up himself, moving across to the other side of the room where he had his phone plugged into the wall, charging. “Finally,” he said, pleased when he saw that the item had finally charged up; it had been on since he had awoken that morning, at six, to get some time in at the gym before heading to see his now ex-girlfriend. “Can I borrow your laptop later?” Cody asked and Ted shrugged before nodding, then eying Cody with a slight smirk working his lips, “Are you sure you won’t break it this time?” Cody whined, puffing his bottom lip out at the blonde, “That was once! And it was your fault for startling me anyway, I wouldn’t have spilled my smoothie on it…” and how adorable was Cody when he pulled that face? He didn’t just think that. He didn’t.
“Still,” Ted said, shaking thoughts away as to how much more Cody’s lips stood out when he pouted like that, “No drinks near the laptop, and no food near the laptop.” Cody pulled a face and mumbled something along the lines of, ‘Yes master’, and Ted found himself seized with yet more inappropriate thoughts. Man, what was wrong with him? It had to be tiredness that was it. “You got everything?” Ted asked, pocketing his phone, wallet and his card-key to the room. The blonde was rather anal when it came to taking everything of importance that was realistic to take whenever he left his hotel room. He had been told far too many horror stories of what sort of things were pinched from performers and divas on occasions thanks to unsavoury staff and stalkers.
“I’ve got everything,” Cody said… and then patted down his own pockets again to be sure. Ted eyed him warily before nodding, accepting Cody’s words before going to the hotel room door and opening it. Cody took the chance to admire the ghetto-booty that Ted possessed, understated by the somewhat baggy jeans that Ted had insisted on wearing that day. If Cody had his way he’d get the blonde into something much more flattering for his assets, but that was only just a pipe-dream and he knew it. He knew that there was very little, if no chance of him ever being with Ted the way he fantasised… and whether or not the man had a girlfriend wasn’t even really the crux of the problem. The crux of the problem was that Ted was even straight at all. Not that Cody was gay for just anyone.
Ensuring the door was locked behind him Cody walked alongside Ted to the lift, pressing the button for the ground floor. There were a few people inside and as such Cody had an excuse to stand just a little bit closer to Ted than was necessary. When he did Ted merely smiled and Cody momentarily felt like sighing; he’d told himself that being with Ted as a friend was enough, but sometimes it was hard to keep thinking that when there was so much more he wanted. His thoughts of ogling Ted however, where cut short when the lift doors pinged open, revealing the very person they sought. Randy was standing there, clad in jeans and a leather jacket with some tribal patterned t-shirt, and the urge to fan-girl like an idiot struck Cody hard. He was just so fucking cool. And hot all at once.
~:~
John had since made himself scarce, claiming he was off to go and work on some stuff for a promo that he had on the upcoming show, but Randy had a feeling he was going to go and check up on the little superstar that he had an interest in. For a moment he wondered whether the two younger men would be early, overeager, or late. As it turned out they were pretty much bang on time… and he had a feeling that that was to do with the serious-faced looking blonde as opposed to the shyly smiling ravenette behind him. Randy’s eyes slipped over first Ted and then Cody; definitely not bad in terms of physique, and he had been pretty impressed with their abilities as of late. Tag Team Champs was a good place to start their careers…but with him they could become so much more than that. Casually, he waited as they approached him, “Hey,” he greeted.
“Hey,” Ted responded and Cody nodded, giving him an oddly shy but sultry look under surprisingly long eyelashes. It wasn’t hard for men to be considered twinks in comparison to him, but Rhodes was just slightly on the outside of complete twink; he had some muscle definition, though he was still admittedly a bit on the skinny side. “You been waitin’ long?” Ted drawled and Randy had to admit he wouldn’t kick this one out of his bed either. Again, more developed than that what he usually came across but… Mhm, definitely wouldn’t say no. But, time and place; they were both pretty sheltered, their daddies secretly coming in for talks to the others about what would happen to them if they so much as looked at either of their baby-boys backsides for a moment.
Not that Randy was scared of repercussions per se, but more than he knew he couldn’t fuck up right away with these two; if they went running off to Vince then his high status on the roster would only save him so far… and Sam would have a fit if he had another fine coming home for them anytime soon. “Nah,” he said, aware of the fact that DiBiase seemed to be much more reassured before him as opposed to Rhodes; he couldn’t meet his eye for too long, though that wasn’t unusual. They had worked together before… and it had taken the boy a long time to get even remotely close to having people forgetting about the fact that he had gotten hard the first time that he was on TV. Not that Randy had minded--- seeing his embarrassed face afterwards had been so worth it.
“I dunno if you fancied going to a bar or something to talk,” he shrugged nonchalantly and indicated the windows, “We could always use the rental and drive somewhere, unless you wanted to just stay in the bar here.” He looked at Cody as he spoke, and despite the fact the boy was well-tanned Randy could see the beginning of a red flush starting on his face. Before anything more could be ascertained by the action though he found himself being somewhat blocked by the blonde man. There was a small tension in Ted’s mouth and Randy arched a brow slightly at him silently. The blonde held his eyes for a moment before looking away, saying, “The bar here is fine.” For a moment Cody looked uncertain but then he nodded, “Yeah, here’s fine,” he then smiled at Randy.
Nodding, Randy led the way towards the hotel bar, “I know it’s a little early, but let me get you both a drink. Just one, I mean,” he gave his most charming smile, “It’s a point worth of celebration that we’re going to be working together. We’re going to really rock the foundation of the roster.” He smirked and despite themselves Cody and Ted found themselves smiling back at him; when Randy sounded as confident as he did it was impossible to try and refute his words. “Just one then,” Ted said again and once more Cody nodded. However, Randy could see that it wasn’t because Cody was some brainless pretty-boy (though he was pretty) but more… that he seemed to be used to deferring to Ted for things, and was happy to let the other have something more by control.
A beer each the three men settled in a side booth, being placed in something like seclusion--- something Cody and Ted were rapidly finding that they preferred. They had already been somewhat mobbed earlier in the day when they had first arrived at the hotel and they’d rather not go through that again anytime soon. It was something that they had to get used to though and they both knew it; with fame came the responsibility to give back to the fans, because without them none of them would have jobs. Those who didn’t pull their weight backstage or didn’t give something to the fans, found themselves being without work surprisingly quickly. “So…” Randy glanced at the other two, seated opposite him, looking just slightly too close to be considered entirely natural.
“What exactly have Creative told you about our storyline?” Randy asked and Cody was the one to answer him this time. “Well, not much really,” he admitted, brow furrowing. Randy grinned to himself; he still remembered those days, being kept out of the loop until the last minute, having to pull off the perfect performance with only the barest of details. It was to see whether you could cope underneath the pressure, to see whether you could handle it on your own, follow that which the company wanted… to see whether you’d learnt anything really. “Only that we’re gonna be joining you soon, after the double-cross.” Randy nodded; it had been something that had been appearing in segments and matches for a couple of weeks. “But really nothing more than that.”
“The double-cross… well, you’ve already got some experience of it, right Rhodes?” he asked and Cody grinned ruefully; everyone had been pretty shocked about the way he had turned on his first veteran partner Bob “Hardcore” Holly for Ted. Hardcore had taken it with good grace, though Cody knew that probably wouldn’t have been the case if the man hadn’t been preparing to retire before too long anyway. “But DiBiase doesn’t,” he then looked at Ted, who blinked and looked back at him. When they held their gazes for a few moments the blonde’s brow furrowed, clearly wondering what Randy was looking at. “Ted can do it,” Cody said immediately and the blonde turned to face his partner, giving the younger man a smile. “He’ll have no problem, hm?” Randy asked.
“Of course,” Cody insisted, but this time Ted placed a hand on Cody’s arm to hush him. It made his stomach jump a little that Cody was so willing to defend him, but at the same time he had to show the older man that he could stand up for himself and fight his own battles. “I can do it,” Ted repeated, feeling a little childish but not exactly being left with many avenues but to answer that way. “What we need to discuss though is how exactly we’re going to do it. I mean… we can’t just take them out right away, can we?” he asked and Randy rested his chin on his hand, regarding his companions and soon to be stable-partners. “You’re right,” the eldest of the trio acknowledged, nodding his head, “We need to… Build it up, make everyone think that it’s not happening.”
“What do you mean?” Cody asked and even Ted’s brow furrowed slightly in obvious puzzlement. Randy thought it through; Ted and Cody’s current little sort-of-stable had only been thrown together whilst they thought of something to do with the tag champs, and so it wouldn’t be a problem to get rid of the two men involved. However, like he had said, they needed to do something that would surprise people. Suddenly, something hit him and he grinned slowly; it was something that he could swing with Vince and Creative, that much he was sure. “You could both go for me,” Randy said, and the two younger men’s mouths fell open in surprise, “Huh?” they asked in tandem and Randy grinned. “If we make it look like you’re going for me, the audience won’t see it coming, will they?” he asked them.
~:~
“I suppose not,” said Ted, a smile spreading across his face. “If we make it look like we’re really pissed, then people might just assume that we’re out to prove a point. Like we’re the biggest dogs in the yard or something.” He considered a moment. “How are we going to start things off though? Why would we suddenly attack you out of nowhere and then swerve?”
Randy’s eyes went to Ted, who seemed respectful enough of him but confident, seeing Randy as an equal while being aware he was more experienced and knew how things worked better than himself. That made Randy want to smirk but he hid it. He would certainly be interested in sharing his experience in other areas with the handsome blonde but Ted struck him as a real straight arrow. He hadn’t known the man particularly well when they were younger, although their father’s being in the business meant they had met on occasion, but now he would be getting to know Ted a whole lot better - but he thought that he had a good idea of Ted’s personality already. He probably had some girl he went home to on the weekend, someone he’d been dating since he first became aware of the interesting things he could use his dick for and planned to marry someday soon. A subtle come-on would be met with blankness, while anything more obvious would send the blonde running for the hills. Still, it was fun to imagine. Maybe when he got some time alone, he would consider what it would be like to talk Ted past his initial doubt and into some bad behaviour. The Ted in his mind would be a lot less likely to flee in panic.
“Maybe Randy could, I dunno, mock us,” said Cody thoughtfully, words addressed more to Ted than to Randy, as if they were just discussing things between the two of them. “And we attack him for it.” He chuckled suddenly, seeming to like the idea and why not? Randy thought it was a good idea and could lead to a good storyline. With the tag scene being what it was, it was likely that Ted and Cody would be the shining stars of it. Even if the rumours of a DX reunion were true, and there was no guarantee that they were, they would be in a good place. They would have to look like a real threat if DX were to look good and Hunter and Shawn both would want to look like they were beating (or being beaten up by) the best.
“We could play on the idea of us all being second and third generation,” Cody continued, and Randy noticed that he talked with his hands, gesturing more as he got more involved with what he was saying. “Randy could say we’re not as good as our dads or something and that we should be more like him and be even more famous. And we could take offence and get all uptight about it and beat him up. So when we pull the double cross, everyone’ll be like, huh?”
Randy grinned, the kid had enthusiasm if nothing else and he missed that sometimes when he worked with those who’d been wrestling a long time. They were pleased with what they came up with but not nearly so excited about it and he had to hand it to the kid, Cody had a good idea for what would work and a willingness to put his ideas forward. “I think I can manage to throw a few insults your way.”
Cody met his eyes for a moment, seeming genuinely thrilled that Randy had liked his idea, then glanced away quickly. It wasn’t much but it strengthened the idea that Randy had been getting since the three of them had been sat in the bar, that Cody had some kind of crush on him. That much at least he was used to, especially with the newer kids in the business, in the light of all that he had achieved; sometimes it was just confused hero-worship or admiration. And sometimes it wasn’t.
He considered the idea. There were no rumours that Cody was anything but a ladies man but he barely listened to locker room gossip anyway since much of it was about himself. But there was something about the kid that made him think Cody wasn’t a stranger to bedding men and he was rarely wrong about his instincts on who wanted him. Mostly because there were very few who didn’t. Given the way that Ted was sitting close to Cody and how protective he seemed, he might have thought that the two of them were involved in some way but those same instincts told him that wasn’t likely. He didn’t think that Ted was sleeping with Cody, no matter how protective he was, mostly because Ted projected the image of being such a good boy. Of course, he had been wrong before (although not often) and there was a slight chance that Ted was slipping it to Cody on a nightly basis. Wouldn’t he like to be a fly on the wall for that little display. And of course if that was the case, then Baby Rhodes was out of bounds. He suspected that Ted wouldn’t care even slightly about seniority if he found that his lover was being seduced by someone else, and Randy might be reckless but he wasn’t stupid, far less stupid as he had grown older and started counting the consequences.
Cody seemed a lot less naive than his blonde tag partner, but Randy made the quick decision not to go there anyway. Don’t shit where you eat was a lesson he had learned over the years and there were those who could be relied on for a little fun while on the road and those who were trouble waiting to happen. He didn’t know which of those Cody was but he didn’t need to piss Vince off any further with bad decisions. He has always enjoyed the status of one of the golden boys, the future of the business, protected with his secrets kept and the company pulling rank at his indiscretions in a way they never did for others. However he knew that might not always be the case and after the last time Vince made it very clear that he would have to start behaving himself if he wanted to keep his spot on the roster. His dark side couldn’t be hidden from the public forever when he insisted on advertising it all the time.
But the idea, once planted, is slow to go away and as Cody continued to expand on his idea, Randy found himself more focused on Cody’s pouting lips than the words coming out of them.
A quick beer becomes two, then three as the men talked among themselves and tried to come to a mutual agreement that they can take to creative - Ted and Cody would never be allowed to make choices like those alone but Randy got a lot more leeway. They decided on the fight that would see the tag champs ambush Randy - “Really throw me around and beat me down,” Randy said with a smirk, glancing at Ted rather than at Cody as he spoke. “Make me your bitch.” He hadn’t been able to resist the tease but it had been more for Cody’s benefit than Ted’s. But when the blonde looked almost uncomfortable with the phrasing and hurried the subject along to the next step of the plan, he started to wonder. Maybe Ted wasn’t as free of those sorts of thoughts as he had believed. Of course, mused Randy, he was an attractive man and he wasn’t surprised he could turn the head of even a straight guy.
The plan they intended to go to Vince with laid out (and Randy was amused to see that Ted had actually brought a notebook and pen with him, he must have been an incredibly good student… which led him to some very wicked thoughts about how he was now in the position of Ted’s teacher), Randy ordered them another drink, which might not have been the best idea but neither man complained and he had to admit, he was having fun. He didn’t want to go back to his room and watch boring daytime television, nor did he feel like drinking alone and he wasn’t sure that John would be back yet (and if he was, he was probably pining for his current crush - Randy had no idea why he didn’t just walk up to the man and say hey, wanna fuck? It had always worked for him, hell, it had talked John into his bed, so it had plenty going for it). Ted and Cody were something of a revelation anyway, young and a long way from jaded as so many of the people he worked with could get, respectful but not starstruck. And growing up with famous fathers, they had a lot of similar experiences.
“This stable’s gonna take up a lot more of your time than Priceless does,” he said when the drinks were in front of them. Ted had run his hands through his hair a couple of times but that was as closed to mussed as he got, it seemed, while Cody had loosened up more than he had been before but he wasn’t exactly drunk. A little tipsy if anything. Still, he thought he would have to make this their last until the evening, which he found rather depressing. “If you’ve got a girl waiting for you at home, better tell her to take a picture so she can remember what your face looks like.”
A strange look passed over Ted’s face and Cody glanced at him anxiously, neither action lost on Randy. Ted looked back at Randy, eyes never wavering. “Yeah, we thought that might be the case. I just finished things with my girlfriend for that exact reason.”
“And I haven’t got a steady girlfriend,” Cody chipped in hastily. Randy wondered if that was to get the attention away from Ted’s girl or because Cody wanted him to know he was available. Or maybe because Cody didn’t like thinking about Ted’s girl; Randy hadn’t missed the occasional too-long looks Cody gave to his tag partner, or their easy, seemingly unconscious touchy-feeliness. If Cody had a crush on Randy, then Randy wasn’t the only one that he wanted. Ted had appeared to be completely oblivious to all of this, to the extent that Randy wondered if Ted had even considered the lifestyle choice. Probably not; Randy was well aware that Ted had grown up in a religious, conservative household and that his father had been quite the philanderer during his younger years.
“Cool,” said Randy casually, wrapping a large hand around his drink. “We’ll have to keep up appearances y’know, single guys partying in every town…”
Ted looked completely baffled. “I thought you were married.”
Randy returned the look with a rather blank look of his own and then understanding dawned. “Well yeah, but we can still keep up appearances, right? That’s only for show.” Dammit, he’d forgotten that Ted might be a little funny about him not staying in his room and pining for Sam now that he wasn’t officially single. He hated the feeling that Ted had managed to wrong-foot him and when he glanced at Cody, it seemed clear that Cody wasn’t too impressed about the reminder either.