LDWS Week 3

Sep 27, 2011 12:55



Banner by zutarabeliever

The prompt for this week was "I could live without you but..." The required length was between 300-500 words.

Also, for the record, I DO NOT KNOW who wrote these! They are still anonymous to me! The only one I know is, well, my own, haha.

1. Author: denna5
Title:Piece
Rating:G
Warning:None
Word count: 453

He wasn’t sure he could do this anymore. He just wanted to feel whole again.

It was not a thought that usually ran through his head. He was so sure that this was better than nothing. That to have him part of the time was better than to not have him at all. That it was all right to share him with someone else. That every time he said he couldn’t do this anymore, it would be ok, that he would realize at some point that they should be together. That even if he could not have the whole of Ted , any little piece of his life was better than none.

He was just tired of the uncertainty.

So many times, Ted had called it quits on him. Said that it wasn’t good for them to be together, that their careers would be ruined if anyone knew. He would try to be a faithful husband, try to be with his wife and only her. Cody would cry, but said he understood, and try to smile when he would see them playing at happy couple. Crack a smile when really his heart was cracking into a million pieces.

Then every time when he felt like he could move on, Ted would come back. Cody would be overjoyed. He felt his heart heal and they would fall into a routine again. He would have his little piece of Ted and would try to tell himself it was enough.

Then it would happen again. Ted would start to have his doubts and after awhile Cody started to have this feeling that maybe the cracks were not filled when Ted returned.

That the piece of Ted he was given wad not enough to make him whole.

Love should be shown to the world, but with Ted it would have to be hidden because he would not allow it to be shown.

Ted was scared of the world knowing while Cody wanted everyone to see to know that they loved each other. Ted would run to a woman who he did not love but had promised forever to. Cody could not give any piece of himself to anyone but Ted but Ted was not just his and he would leave sometimes and take that piece with him. The piece of Cody did not always return with Ted.

This last time the biggest piece left with Ted and Cody knew that it would not come back and that he could not feel whole while giving himself to someone who could not give their full heart to him.

Ted would come back this time, but Cody would not. He finally knew he wanted a whole and not a piece.

~~~

2. Author: messyjessy08
Title: The Cycle
Rating: T
Warning: None
Word Count: 464

***

Cody's eyes moved towards the door, the small knock sounding shaking him from his thoughts.

"Yeah?"

The door opened hesitantly, his guest making themselves known. Clear blue eyes widened, then narrowed.

Ted held up his hands in defense, cutting off whatever sharp-tongued accusation Cody had been about to hurl at him. "I know you want nothin' to do with me right now, Cody. Just hear me out."

Cody folded his arms against his chest, stubbornly looking anywhere but at Ted. He told himself it was because he couldn't stand the sight of him without becoming nauseous, but somewhere deep in his chest, he had a feeling it was more so he wouldn't cave to the man's apology so easily.

They'd done this before. Several times. Everything would be perfect; Cody would kiss him, touch him, make love with him, and every time, like a switch had gone off, Ted would run away in revulsion, claiming he wasn't a fag, screaming for Cody to get his dirty hands off him when he attempted to soothe, promising himself aloud that they'd NEVER do that again. He'd slam the door in Cody's face, refuse to talk to him, even be seen with him, until a few days later when he'd come crawling back, begging Cody to forgive him. To let Ted show him how much he cared. It had been going on 3 years for them. Fuck, scream, repeat.

Cody was sick of the cycle.

"'M sorry for runnin' away like that, Codes. I didn't mean to say those things. You know how much I love ya', right?"

Ted moved closer, bringing his arms around him. Cody tensed, his eyes burning holes into the carpet.

"Let me make it up to ya', huh? Let me show you why you still love me."

Ted placed whisper-soft kisses against his neck and shoulder, humming in contentment. Cody could feel his resolve weakening; he forced himself to garner the strength to push Ted away.

He came up short.

Ted placed his lips against Cody's, their mouths fusing together, refusing to break apart even to breathe.

"Missed you so much," Ted sighed against his lips. "I'll never leave again. Promise."

Cody's eyes blinked open. He'd heard that promise being made before. Every time, Ted guaranteed he'd stay, that he'd never leave again. And every time he broke it.

"No. T-Ted, I..."

"Hush, baby," Ted soothed. "Let me show you."

Cody's eyelids fell shut, his legs moving backwards automatically as Ted pushed him towards the bed.

He laid back against the pillows, moaning softly at the feeling of Ted's lips on his body.

He wouldn't fight it tonight. He'd only hope Ted would keep his promise this time. That he'd stay with him forever, and Cody could finally manage to break the cycle.

~~~

3. Author: slashburd
Title: I'm Still Waiting
Rating: T
Warnings: Mild angst only.
Word count: 491

"Did you even hear what you just said?"

"Yeah, of course I did. I said that I could live without you but..."

"But what? But you choose not to? You think I'm going to hang around and wait for you to decide what you want. In fact, no. It's more a case of who you want, right Codes?"

The tension in the air was beyond palpable and the argument, which had lasted forty minutes already, wasn't showing any signs of stopping anytime soon. One drink had led to another, ten drinks had led to shoving and pushing in the elevator. There hadn't been fists thrown or tears yet but to Teddy either seemed entirely possible. Cody was saying everything he could to lash out and be hurtful, just like the times before. He was still no more prepared to leave Layla than two years previous when he claimed to hook up with her as a good cover story.

"It's not that simple and you know it."

"Not that simple? Cody, I threw my wife out of our house with a good quarter of every cent I ever earned just to show you how serious I was. I told her to hit the road when I thought there was a shot at me and you being together. Maybe I was the stupid one, huh? I didn't want to hurt her more than I loved you but look how that turned out. All I got was my ass kicked by everyone, you included."

With a shrug of his shoulders Cody turned away and tried his hardest to pretend not to care. It pained him more than anything and certainly more than Teddy seemed to think when they fought. The last thing he wanted was to hear that cold tone in Teddy's voice but there was a fear within him that made him push the man he loved right to the limit over and over again.

Layla had come to mean a lot to him and was loved universally by his family and friends. No matter how much he shared with Teddy, no matter how much they made love and said those three special words Cody found himself unable to let go and be brave enough to risk the leap into the unknown. She was his shield from everything he hated about himself and the secret that scared him more than any other. Being without her just didn't seem like much of an option.

Teddy picked up his gear bag and turned to the door, pausing for a moment before reaching for the handle. Walking through that door might make it clear how he felt and seemed like the only thing he had left in his armoury. Saying nothing more he left the room, barely shocked that Cody had just let him walk away. All he could hope was the not now didn't mean not ever but Teddy wasn't prepared to hold his breath.

~~~

4. Author: wrestlemanix
Title: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back.
Rating: 15 (Teen)
Warnings: Allusions to adult situations.
Word Count: 500

It was always like they took two steps forward, and everything would go great… until something happened to make them take one step back.

Sometimes it was something stupid -such as one of them taping over one of the other’s shows before they had had a chance to watch it- and other times they were massive, major blow-outs that had them both screaming and shouting--- and more often than not rendered them both in tears.

Two Steps Forward

“I love you,” the words were as easy as breathing now.

Cody looked up from his games console, headset still in place and one of those ridiculously long novelty straws leading from his can of energy drink to his mouth still in place, clearly having no idea what was happening away from his virtual world but taking note of Ted the way that he always did.

Under other circumstances Ted would have teased the other mercilessly for letting his geek side show, but right then seeing Cody in his element, adorably shouting commands and insults at the screen, and to the others whom were playing with him, just brought that inexplicable warmth that was purely because of Cody and the feelings he had for him seeping from his heart to the tips of his fingers and toes, and to the very tips of his blonde hair.

Moving the mouthpiece of his head-set away, Cody used his free hand to pull Ted in and kissed him soundly on the lips. Breaking the kiss after a few moments Cody murmured, “I love you too, Teddy, more than anything else.” The moment was shattered by the small, headset carried voice of Evan Bourne -one of the players of Cody’s current tourney- whooping down the headset that that obviously didn’t count if Link was the one who was brought into the picture.

Ted promised Cody he’d buy him a new headset.

One Step Back

Never would he ever forget the look that had been on Cody’s face as he’d entered Ted’s bedroom and found him twined in the sheets with none other than Randy Orton. To have Ted cheat on him was one thing, but to have him cheat with their mutual best friend… Ted could literally see Cody breaking apart inside as he stood there in the doorway.

He didn’t say a word, just walked away, and Ted couldn’t move, couldn’t call out to him…

But, there was some ridiculously obstinate part of him that refused to consider that Cody wouldn’t come back. And, lo-and-behold, he did--- to collect his things. Ted did everything he could to make him stay, begged, pleaded, grovelled, hell, he even tried to blackmail him at one point, hoping against hope if he just tried hard enough Cody would take him back.

But, as the company buzzed with shock excitement over their new ‘star couple’, and harsh reality set in Ted found himself sitting in a pokey little pub and pouring out his sorrows.

He’d never hated John Cena before.

~~~

5. Author: hahathatsfunnyx
Title: Can't Wait Forever
Rating: PG
Warning: Switches from current to flashback. Lyrics at the beginning thanks to Coldplay.
Word count: 458

Tears stream down your face when you lose something you cannot replace...

The quiet of the room was deafening. He was gone and this time he wasn’t coming back. That was made perfectly clear and Ted knew that he only had himself to blame. Since that very first day when they met backstage, since that very first day when they shook hands, since that first day...

He knew he fell in love that first day and he knew that it was mutual. There was never a question that Cody loved Ted. He would have shouted it from the heavens if he was allowed, but Ted was always the opposite. The band around his finger provided a heavy reminder as to why.

--

“You’re not in love with her. You’ve admitted this. You love me. You want to be with me. Just break away, Teddy. No matter what anyone else thinks or says, you’ll have me. That’s all that matters, right? That we have each other.”

--

Surrounded by the silence, Cody’s words replayed over and over in Ted’s mind. Cody’s words that he’d heard so many times only to offer empty promises in return.

--

“One day, Cody.”

“I can’t wait forever, Teddy.”

--

Slouched back against the foot of the bed on the floor, Ted looked up at the ceiling, widening his eyes in some vain effort to keep his tears from falling. His mind raced through memories as he buried his face in his hands that within a matter of seconds were soaked from tears. Cody’s voice haunted his every thought.

--

“I just want to spend forever with you, Teddy. That’s all I want.”

--

“You’re the only thing that makes me happy. Why can’t every day be like this?”

--

“Will you ever really be mine?”

--

“How long am I supposed to wait, Teddy?”

--

“Do you know what it’s like to go home alone every week and know you’re with her?”

--

“My heart is breaking, Ted. How many times are you going to makes these promises?”

--

“I can’t do this anymore...”

--

It had only been a matter of a few minutes since Ted heard that last one, only a matter of minutes since he watched the only person he ever really loved walk away for the last time. Looking at that heavy reminder wrapped around his finger, he sighed softly, his eyes looking towards the door. Everything seemed to suddenly go in slow motion as he stood to his feet, fingers working vigorously to remove that weight from around his finger, letting it drop to the floor once it finally came off.

Maybe, he thought to himself as he rushed out of the room, maybe it’s not too late...

~~~

6. Author: eric_idle_rules
Title: Right
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Language
Word count: 500

“Hey, Cody.”

“’Hey, Cody’? That’s all you have to say? I haven’t talked to you in days and all you have to say to me is, ‘Hey, Cody’?” he asked bitterly.

“I was with my family,” was all he said, as though that was enough reason for Cody to welcome him back with open arms.

It used to be. But now? “Oh, well, ok then, la-de-friggin-da.”

“I don’t want my wife finding-”

“Of course not, of course you don’t want your wife finding out about us. It’s always about your goddamn wife. You know what? I’m sick of hearing about her!” Cody shouted.

“I can’t leave her! I love her!”

“Well, naturally, doesn’t every man who loves his wife go behind her back to start fucking another man? That’s what I thought," Cody huffed.

“You know this isn’t just fucking. I love you, Cody.”

“Like hell you do. That’s why you ignore me all the time, right? That’s why you go back to your wife whenever we have off time. That’s true love right there. You know, I am a human, too. I have feelings, and if you gave two shits, hell, if you even gave a single shit about me you’d stop treating me like this!” Cody was fuming, at his breaking point.

“But I can’t just-”

“Leave her? I hear that every fucking time. So go on. Go back to her. Because this is the last time that I’m ever hearing that from you.”

“Codes-”

“Don’t you dare try that on me. If you love me so much, why don’t you go home and tell her that you’ve been fucking a man for the past three years?” When the other man said nothing, Cody went on, “We’re done. Done.” And with that, Cody left. He couldn’t take it in there anymore. He found himself reaching into his pocket for his phone. When he pulled it out, he dialed in the familiar number.

“Hello?” came the voice on the other end, picking up as soon as he saw Cody’s name come across the screen.

“Teddy? I… where are you staying tonight? I really need to talk to you.”

In just minutes, Cody was ushered into his best friend’s hotel room, anger ebbing away, replaced with a calm that settled over him whenever Ted was around. “I broke things off with Randy,” he whispered to Ted after minutes of silence as he sat on the couch in Ted’s suite.

Ted moved in closer to Cody, wrapping his arm around his shoulder. “I knew something was wrong when you called.”

Cody found himself doing a lot of thinking in those several minutes of silence. And then at Ted’s words, he thought some more. “You know, Randy’s not even an eighth of the man you are,” he told Ted.

“He doesn’t deserve you,” Ted replied.

And when Cody found himself kissing Ted, the blonde was shocked at first but found himself responding in turn. Suddenly, the world felt right.

~~~

7. Author: homo_pink
Title: It's Time
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Word Count: 499

Been a long time coming, he knows that. But still it doesn't stop the way his insides flutter or the way he's blistering a section the size of Rhode Island on the inside of his mouth. The clammy hands, he could do without and the edge of the mattress he's been perched on for the last two hours has formed a near permanent dip from his weight. And the weight of his thoughts.

He's gone over it in his head a hundred times, mentally changing pieces around, coming up with better words. Little corrections, but the overall message is the same. It's time.

It's only been fifteen minutes since they got off the phone but the knock at the door still makes him give a little start, smoothing down the front of his shirt as he walks over. He takes a deep breath, pulls the door open and....

And forgets every word of the speech he'd practiced and maybe even his last name.

He's just... he's so pretty. It never gets old.

He takes in the moment, so high on the feeling of finally, that he only distantly hears Cody mumbling something about "I'm glad you called me over here, there's something I need to tell you, too."

Cody scratches absently at the back of his neck and won't look at Ted for more than two seconds and Ted knows this is the time for him to say what he has to say, but he can't stop staring. Those eyes, that mouth, the perfect body still in gym clothes. Easily accessible gym clothes...

"March fifteenth," Cody says, like that's supposed to mean anything at all to Ted's overly stimulated brain. "Save the date." Ted's still smiling at him dumbly, wondering if it's rude to kiss someone while they're talking. "We're uh, we've decided to get married."

Ted's mind hasn't caught up and he hears himself asking "Who?"

Cody's wringing his hands together before he shifts himself into his full stature. "Layla and I."

When the words register to him, he's too stunned to move and not a single sound will come out. The speech dissolves quietly, all at once understanding he can't say it now. Not after this. He can't mention how he's been sleeping in the guest room or the papers he had his lawyer draw up. Instead, he offers out a congratulatory hand, blinks back anything threatening to fall from his eyes and says something lame about hoping he's a contender for the 'best man' role.

Cody doesn't take his hand, but embraces Ted and for a split second, there's a strange moment that Ted thinks Cody's waiting for him to do or say something else, but when he doesn't, he hears Cody whisper into the side of his neck "You're always gonna be my best man."

Luckily for him, the sound of a breaking heart is silent and if he feels like its been run over, beaten and cut apart, well that's nobody's business but his.

~~~

8. Author: future_ex
Title: Without You
Rating: R
Warning: Suggestive Themes
Word count: 498

~~~

“I can live without you, but…”

Bemused blue eyes look back at Cody and he forces himself to finish. “I can live without you, but I can’t live without Ted.”

Randy tilts his head, watches Cody without comment, jeans slung low, shirt absent. Cody wishes that Randy wasn’t quite so - well, fuckable. That he didn’t react to that.

It started as harmless fantasy, nothing more; everyone had stray thoughts of handsome men who weren’t their lover… right? But it somehow progressed to flirting, a one-night mistake, a fully blown affair and now Cody hates himself, is wracked with guilt and sorrow every time he looks into Ted’s eyes, sees the absolute love and trust there. That is why he has to stop this, now.

He is in love with Ted. They MAKE love. They spend hours lost in emotion, every touch, kiss, caress, satisfying every sense, leading them to mutual, explosive orgasm. It is never anything less than perfect.

But sometimes, Cody just wants to fuck.

Sometimes he wants it fast, hard, a race against time, pressed against the wall still mostly dressed. Sometimes he wants to fall to his knees to satisfy his ego and his lover. Sometimes he wants it dirty, nasty, skin marked, no holding back as he adjusts to someone inside him, being used, his own pleasure less important than his partners.

Ted always thinks more of Cody’s enjoyment, unselfish, giving and gentle.

Randy is nasty in ways Ted could never be and Cody wouldn’t want him to be, because it is not Ted. Ted would indulge him if he asked… but he is addicted to Randy, a junkie for what Randy supplies.

The cycle stops here. This is the end and no matter what, Cody will not let himself be tempted. He will be strong for Ted, who does not suspect a thing.

His gaze doesn’t falter, trying to make himself clear, for his own sake as well as Randy’s. “I can live without you, but I can’t live without him.”

Randy nods, either not seeing or not caring about Cody’s anguish. Randy likes them both, the reason he keeps his mouth shut about this, but he thinks of his own desires first. He will never voluntarily tell Ted but would not lie if Ted asked and he does not lie to Cody now.

“You won’t stay away from me,” he says confidently, stating simple fact. There is that familiar undertone of arrogance, but Cody doubts Randy even knows it is there. “You’ll play happy couples a while, then one day you’ll wake up and find that it isn’t enough, you need that sideslip, then you’ll come looking for me.”

“No!”

“I hope it doesn’t. But it will… and I’ll be waiting.”

Cody turns, departs without another word, wishing he has the words to leave Randy in no doubt that this is the end forever. But he doesn’t have the words, or the will. Because deep inside, he is scared Randy is right.

~~~

This week there will be 1 person eliminated.

Voting will stay open til Friday 12 midnight EST!

You all have 1 vote for most favorite and 1 vote for least favorite drabbles. Participants are encouraged to vote, but you may NOT vote for yourselves!

The winner isn't decided by whoever gets the most most fav votes. Each most fav vote gets +1. Each least fav gets -1. Once those are tallied, a winner will be determined. If there's a tie, there will be a tie breaker so that there is one winner and one person eliminated.

When you vote, please fill out the poll, stating the NUMBER and the TITLE of the drabbles.

Poll LDWS Week 3

ldws: week 3, ldws, ldws: voting, ldws: round 1

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