#bonesbodysoul

A Jeff Hardy Story. (Ch. 5)

A pounding knock on the hollow, rickety door of the Hilton hotel room, number 103, is heard loud and clear on the muggy Thursday morning.

“Guys! C’mon, I forgot my room key!” The knocking continued, and a desperate Matt wailed on the other side while Jeff and Lemmy shuffled around in bed, Lemmy groaning from the rattling of the door. It felt like the whole damn room was shaking and they could already feel the headache growing. They stuffed themselves further into the crease of Jeff’s arm, gripping at the band of his basketball shorts, but their cuddles weren't convincing enough and Jeff clumsily slumped out of bed to throw the door open before jumping back in bed- coincidentally on Lemm.

“I’d really appreciate it if you guys didn't just sleep all morning. I want to introduce you to the new girl we're working with, Amy.” Matt looked down at the other two still rolling around in bed, Lemmy still halfway under Jeff and gripping onto him for dear life again. The room was actually freezing this time and they’d forgotten a sweatshirt.

(A Jeff Hardy Story. Ch.3)

July 19th, 1999- RAW IS WAR

The night was almost over. After a very entertaining show, Triple H and The Undertaker were to end it, each with a partner, Chyna and Vince, watching at ring side. Everything was going HHH’s way, as it usually does with ringside friends, and he had managed to get the dead man in a pin. The referee slid next to them in the mat, hands meeting the ground.

“ONE, TWO-“ No three is heard, as lights go out with a boom and the crowd mumbles in confusion. The jumbotron flickers on, first a bright white against the rest of the black stadium before flashing back to black, unreadable font printing onto the screen as static blanketed over the stadium and a faint voice making its way under it. Through the uneasy, unintelligible whispers and Lawler's screeching, the ring floor rattled and pounded. The noise stopped, along with the voice before the words were finally clear.

“And they can, they can say we’re crazy, and we can say, well you haven’t seen anything yet.”

Silence rung once more, the crowd stunned into silence by their confusion, before the lights were on once again on. A collective shock ran through the building as their attention went back to the ring- Chyna let out a yelp and rushed through the ropes, where The Game lay bloodied on the mat with no remnants of whoever it was besides a sledgehammer- much similar to one he had used months prior on The Rock. The sledgehammer that won him his match, and ended the fued with the other man.

AUGUST 26TH, 1999- THURSDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN

The crowd roared with life, anticipation building within every single fan like it did every night. Road Dogg and Chris Jericho, two men beloved by many in the crowds, continued their conflict, the crowd bringing the level of excitement and encouragement to the superstars they always do. As the match continued to build, and tension rose, Road Dogg managed to get Y2J in a submission hold after grabbing a hold of his ankle. Just as Jericho's hand went to tap against the floor, the lights went out.

Once again, the Jumbotron flickered bright white before the color drained and reappeared in the blurry word, the eerie noise returning, and forcing its way into everyone’s ears. As the ringside announcers reminisced on the last time they saw the bright, white letters on the jumbotron, JR recalled that last time, the words were a bit blurrier, and now they seemed to be moving.

In the midst of the darkness, stuck in fear and shock, the arena sat in horror as they listened to one of the wrestlers struggle against the unknown attacker. It sounded rougher than last time, as if they had become more bloodthirsty.

No clear words rang through the air, only demented whispers followed by airy breath and sometimes a frightening laugh. The attacked wrestlers - still, no one knew which one- cries of anguish turned quiet and it was assumed the aggressor had finally stopped. But the lights still refused to turn on, and everyone watched as the blurry words morphed clear.

KARMA, it read.

Seconds later, it was once again gone, and the lights flashed on, its brightness burning, eyes watering and squinting, trying to look for the assailant and assailed. Chris Jericho is stumbling away from the scene with a look of fear at the image of the Road Dogg lying on the mat, much a like to the former incident, yet this time, a thin rope laid next to him instead of a sledgehammer, the same rope that had been used to lock Mick Foley and Chainsaw Charlie in the dumpster a year prior. The same rope that won the match for Road Dogg and his tag-team parter.

SEPTEMBER 6TH, 1999- RAW IS WAR

“Well, starting the night with an unexpected victory folks, the Rock & Sock tag team getting the upper hand over the Big Red Giant Kane, and his equally intimidating brother, The Undertaker!” JR tells the fans, catching up those just now turning the program on.

“Oh, it was nothing but luck! I sure do hope this luck continues tonight, we’ve got Jeff Jarrett vs. Jaqueline next, and boy, I sure hope she doesn’t face the same hope as all those other women have- oh, wait a minute, what's this?” Lawler’s gross intentions were put to an end as the stadium went dark, the jumbotron flashing white then black then black before painting a jerky picture of backstage. What seemed to be a live broadcasting camera drops from black gloved hands and onto the ground next to the silhouette of s groaning mans-Jeff Jarrett, laying bloodied on the floor. Yelling from somehwere far backstage echoes through the hall with panicked, running footsteps while an acoustic guitar, held by the thinly gloved hands makes it way into the frame. For a second, they just loom over the man before the guitar is lifted, revealing their big black boots and the bottom of their long black coat, before its brought back down on the moaning man. The yelling down the hall becomes louder, and the person steps forward, raising their shiny, black boot and giving the camera a death-delivering stomp.

“What the hell was that?” King spoke as the lights turned back on and the screen turned off. Though this person in blacks actions were confusing as to why, the what was clear. The world had been speaking of Jeff Jarrett and his disgraceful use of the acoustic guitar to the two famous legends in womens wrestling, the Fabulous Moolah and Mae Young.

“I think your dreams have come true King, with the way Jarrett sounded, and hell, looked, it sure seems like he won’t be performing anytime soon. I’m quite sure this is another famous attack, from who we’ve learned goes by Karma, and if that is true I’m sure he was put in a figure four lock to go with that guitar besides him.” The world spoke of his torture to the poor women as well, putting them in one of the most famous submissions to exist.

SEPTEMBER 26TH, 1999- BACKLASH, E&C VS. THE MINISTRY OF DARKNESS

“We welcome you, to the sold-out Providence Civics Center, we welcome you, to Backlash! Hi everybody, I’m Jim Ross alongside the King, Jerry Lawler, and ladies and gentlemen, Shane Mcmahon dropped a bomb on Sunday Night Heat, the Stone Cold-Rock matchup for the WWF title will be no-holds-barred, King!” At Lawlers appreciation, JR continues. “And if Stone Cold lays his hands on referee Shane McMahon, Austin will be disqualified and lose the WWF title.”

“That’s the way it should be, I am so sick and tired of everything going Stone Cold Austin’s way. Well, tonight Stone Cold, if you’re worthy of being a champion you gotta big job in front of you, pal.” Lawler continued his hateful ramble as the two teams came out, the lights darkening with The Ministry's entrance after a very nervous looking Edge & Christian.

Both teams showed great strength in the ring, with a countless amount of flawless moves as the match progressed, and though The Ministry seemed to have an great amount of intensity, the other team of ‘The Brood’ was able to get an upper hand with a quick chair shot to Mideon thanks to the distracted referee. It didn’t seem as good of a choice as they thought it would be when Bradshaw looked them in the eyes from across the ring, shaking his head with a fearful look.

“You shouldn’t have done that.”

Edge and Christian simply laughed it off, believing the man was trying to threaten them. And then the music hit. But this time the lights didn’t go out.

“I think we’re due for another visit, JR! Or maybe they're playing tricks or something, these lights are all still on.” King commented the obvious for the people at home, and as he finished his sentence it was made clear there was no trick.

First the black boots step out in powerful strides, the long coat following behind. With black and white face paint covering the top half of their face, no pupils visible in their eyes, they made their way to the ring, chair in hand. Karma.

“My God, I don't think this is any kind of trick, King, I think this is who’s been attacking all of these men! By the looks of it, I think this Karma person is…affiliated with The Ministry of Darkness.” JR continued as he watched E&C escape from the consequences of their actions and run into the crowd, leaving an angry Karma with The Ministry, who seems to pause for a moment.

They fit right into the group, all black clothes and a killer glare, deadly enough to put you into the ground or make you run the other way. They fit right in until they swung around and hit Mideon with the chair meant for Edge and Christian as Bradshaw begins to back up the ramp. In all of his years in this company, he’d never felt the chill that the backstage had held the past months. Never had he seen so many grown man afraid, so many cheaters unwilling to cheat.

“Well, I don’t think they're running with The Ministry.” King summed up, earning a sarcastic comment in response from JR. All comments turned into silence when the only standing wrestler turned to them, death stare stinging into their faces as they began to stalk over to the table. Grabbing the microphone from where the ring announcer had left it, they spoke.

“I do not stand for any groups, nor any single man here. I do not stand besides anything besides whats been written already, what I have to fix.” They looked into the camera as they continued to speak. “Your actions will have consequences and I will be them. Do what you wish, but know, I will be watching. Listening. I will rip you piece to piece if that’s what it takes, and I will not stop until she has told me to. I will not stop until fate comes for you- until Karma has her way.”

They let the microphone tumble from their hands, still staring down at the camera. Seconds later, their white eyes grow wide and they face up to the ceiling. The lights go off one final time, and Karma is gone with them.

look at my posting on the thirteenth on the thirteenth hour after my lil poem w thirteen 🤭 it’s my fav number and fun fact, my bday is august 13th and Jeff’s is august 31st so obviously we’re soulmates!

Lemm: I dont trust anybody but me, i won’t listen to you or anyone else!

Five seconds later: there’s a woman in my head telling me to do this and I’m listening ig (also turned into batman there for a sec)

I’m sorta trying to go by the story line of the time, just completely ignoring that the New Brood was a thing and that the Hardyz wore those lil flower pants for a bit but other than that all of this was like real matches, real dates, except for the dialogue during the Jeff Jarrett part lol

Judgement Day? Nah i only know Karma🤚 I don’t know how I got here and this definitely wasn’t what I was planning but it happened and ngl kinda luv it sooooo whatevs

(A Jeff Hardy Story. Ch.4)

WWF was great. In the six months Lemmy had been there, they had made so many friends and couldn’t be prouder of the success their boys had on the tag-team side of the roster. Most days they wandered around backstage and waited for cameras to go off, happy to have a match even if it wasn’t aired. But recently, they hadn’t even had dark matches.

Lots of new talent was slowly filling in from WCW who were already classified as great wrestlers with great careers, so they went straight to the top of the roster, immediately making it on the card every time and shoving those who were finally getting a push way to the end of the long line of superstars hoping to get their in. Plus, no matter how much Lemmy tried to fight with the executives, they refused to let them wrestle anyone but the Women’s roster which hardly got pushed on a normal basis let alone with all the WCW stuff.

But it didn’t matter. They were having a great time, and Jeff and Matt were just doing so good- they had even held the titles already! They would seem ungrateful if they said anything about it. Right?

Today, just like any other day, Lemmy sat backstage with the Hardys, waiting for the night to be over so they could go to the next city, or the next state, or wherever the hell they were going next and watch their friends perform in front of crowds of thousands, drawing even more to watch from their TV, just so the crowds could file out and the TV’s would turn off, and Lemmy was performing in front of no one- again. If they even got to.

What was the point of signing a year-long contract with a multi-million dollar media company if it refuses to share the millions or the media time?

Jeff breaks them from their hateful thoughts as he laughs at one of Matt's bad jokes. The sound echoed against the almost empty hallway, bar from the trio and E&C. Lemmy looked away from the brick and mortar they had been glaring down at as if the wall was the one that put them in this position. Christian and Adam were laughing too. They were all talking about their upcoming match at SummerSlam, four days before Jeff’s birthday.

“Enough about that, you got anything going on Lemm?” Christian spoke up, trying to bring them back into the conversation when they stopped death-staring the concrete. Lemmy’s eyebrows shot up at the sudden attention, eyes glancing around the other four.

“Oh! Uhm, no, not really. They might put me in dark matches again next week.” They looked down to the floor as they spoke, almost embarrassed about how little they had come compared to the two tag-teams besides them main eventing SummerSlam.

Jeff nudged their feet with his wrestling boots, shooting a small smile their way. Lemmy didn’t look up to see it. They just stared at his wrestling boots, the shiny white and black of the leather and their sneakers. DC’s. The big, chunky ones meant for skating. Impossible to wrestle in, and Lemmy knew so, once they had forgotten their wrestling boots back in OMEGA’s gymnasium days and had to wrestle with no shoes. But they still retained their championship, and the crowd loved Karma and their ally Willow as much as they usually did. Now here they were- no Willow, no partner, and no wrestling. They were trying so hard to not be negative about the situation, but sometimes you can’t help but feel jealousy. In Lemmy’s case, it followed with guilt.

“I don’t get why they don’t give you time on the screen, people loved your debut! I’m really sorry, it must suck not wrestling with how much you put into this.” Christian had always been good at comforting people, but it didn’t seem to be working right now. Lemmy only offered him a shrug and a shaking smile, a hand coming up to scratch the underside of their face- another one of their nervous habits Jeff was quick to catch onto.

“Well, y’know, at least I’ll get to wrestle next week.”

“Hey, how come they don’t put you on anyways? You’re a great wrestler.” Adam asked, finally gearing a bigger response from Lemm. Shaking hands moved furiously, picking, itching, anything for a distraction. A watery laugh left them, and they looked Adam in the eyes.

“I’m on the women's roster.”

Nobody had heard from Lemmy all night after their interaction with The Hardyz and E&C. Matt and Jeff searched every corner of the arena, asked every single staff member and superstar, hell even random people just walking around outside, and nothing.

Jeff had never been more worried, but Lemmy had left their bag in the locker room which consoled him a little. Nonetheless, the distraction the Hardyz faced caused them to lose their match, which sure, was frustrating, but their best friend was missing so they had bigger things to worry about.

“Has anyone seen them?” Matt asked the first staff member he saw the second he walked backstage, eyebrows crinkled with worry and his breath heavy. The man stuttered over his words before quickly giving up and shaking his head at both of the boys who rushed past him and to their locker room, E&C shortly behind them. Christian and Adam had become great friends of the trio, and were pretty worried for Lemm too.

“Guys, I think we should just take a minute and breathe. I mean you’ve known them for so long, maybe if you just sat down for a sec you could think of where they might be?” Christian, always the smartest in any group, spoke to both of the Hardyz, but his reasoning only seemed to reach Matt, who took a quick breather as his hand moved to his forehead, rubbing back and forth.

“Okay. Okay, where the hell would Lemmy be?” Matt stressed from his place on the wooden locker seat, Jeff throwing himself onto the bench as well. The room filled with silence, E&C with no answer, and Jeff too worried to even think of one. Matt quickly noticed his brother's growing anxiety and spoke up again.

“Jeff.” He only sighed, leg bouncing and hands wringing together as his eyes burned holes into the floor underneath him. “Jeff, buddy, Lemm’s gonna be okay. We’ll be able to find them faster if you’re able to help us.”

Jeff gave his brother no response, and instead his head shot up, his body following shortly as he dove for Lemmy’s duffel bag and quickly started going through that.

“Should..should you really be going through that?” Christian asked, still standing next to the bench, Adam trying to peak at whatever Jeff was doing from beside his best friend. When Jeff didn’t answer, Christian looked over to Matt and pointed his hand in Jeff's general direction with an exasperated look. As close as E&C are, they’ve always fought like the brothers they are when one of the touches the others things.

“Oh, it’s fine, half of it’s probably his anyway.” Matt waved off, but his attention quickly returned to his brother stumbling up and towards the door. “Jeff? Jeff!”

The arena was right next to a boardwalk, covered in creaky wood, here and there a patch of new concrete and colorful sidewalk chalk of visiting children’s artwork, almost impossible to see but the moon shined brightly that night. The tides were high and the wind was strong, pushing the waves and the smell of freshwater onto the rickety benches, as old as the dead wood lifting up from under the feet of tourists in the daylight.

But there were no tourists, not this far into the night. Now, it was only Lemmy who sat with the cold metal outline of one of the wooden benches digging into their back, shaking hands holding a small blue book in one and a cigarette in the other. A sigh matching the stature of their hands leaves Lemmy.

Lemmy had found water calming for quite a while. They didn’t have to necessarily be in it, they just liked to appreciate the beauty of it. As a teenager, they had spent most of their days at the “Hardy Compound” as the boys like to call it for whatever odd reason, and late nights filled with campfires and dirt bikes always ended with someone being tossed in the mud filled pond. Or even if it was just Lemm and Jeff, they sat with their feet in the water and watched the stars, murmuring silly thoughts and questions as the frogs croaked.

Maybe that’s why Lemmy liked the water. They never did as a kid. They didn’t like much before North Carolina, except wrestling. The heat of their cigarette grew closer to their fingers and drew them from their daydreams. They took another drag before stubbing it out on the bench and placing it next to them, refusing to litter as if they hadn’t just blackened their lungs.

The crowd cheered from inside the arena.

Lemmy sighed, bitter in a way they wish they weren’t. Their neck fell back against the prickly, curved wood and their eyes fell upon the stars before closing with another sigh, wishing Jeff was there to watch the stars with them one more time. The hand that once held the cigarette grabbed the other end of the blue book, more of a journal really, trembling hands flipping scratchy pages in search for a specific page.

Lemmy pushed up from the bench and stalked towards the old pay phone, grabbing cold quarters from their jean pocket, trembling fingers pushing them into the machine with a clank and dialing the numbers in their little journal.

The phone rang for a couple times before rustling was heard on the other end along with a rough, muffled voice mumbling a questioned greeting.

“Uncle Scott?” Lemmy sounded desperate, voice raised in the way it gets before tears start pouring. The man on the other side answered quickly, clearly concerned.

“No, no, I’m okay, I promise.” They paused again, listening to the other end. A quiet, short laughter left them. “The boys are okay too, promise. I just, um, I just need your thoughts on some stuff.”

Jeff frantically pushed the arena’s metal door open, quickly being greeted by the cold breeze and the loud clanking of the door locking behind him. Still in his ring gear, the leather on his feet shined bright under the glare of the moon as they led his body to the brink of the boardwalk.

He stared down at the start of the wood and the contrasting concrete under his aching soles before he looked up to the darkened sky and let out a sigh. The stars were out- Lemmy probably was too. The stars were always theirs, the two of them. He scanned the edge of the boardwalk- with nothing but darkness in his view he spun, a silhouette outlined on a park bench now in sight, thighs to chest and chin to knees. The posture gave it away, his Lemm sat cuddled up by themselves with nothing but the blue book that had been missing from their duffel sat next to them.

“Oh, Jesus, Dallas.” Jeff cursed under his breath, already jogging his way over.

“Dallas!”

Lemmy’s head left their knees and whipped towards his voice as it quickly grew closer, rushing to their feet as he lewers in on them. Jeff's hand reaches for the back of their head, roughly pulling them to his body and causing Lemm to stumble back, Jeff moving with them.

“Oh, God, man, you scared the hell straight out of me, Dallas Austin.” His words were shakey as he held them tightly, afraid they would disappear if he even thought of letting go. Lemmy breathed in, enjoying the comfort of the washing waves and Jeff’s embrace, and the dark sky with its beautiful stars, and wrapped their arms around him, holding him just as tight as he did to them.

“Don’t ever do that again. Please.” He whispered into the harsh wind as Lemm shoved their face further into his neck.

“M’sorry. Know I shouldn’ta left like that, just had to-had to get outta there.” Their voice was muffled against his skin, growing tighter as they stuttered through an apology. Jeff loosened his grip, hands moving to gently grasp their upper arms, all of his worry obvious on his face.

‘Is this about whatever that was earlier? You wanna talk about what's goin’ on now?” His voice was gentler than it seemed like it ever could be. Lemmy’s eyelids crinkled shut, head frantically shaking. They refused to look him in the eyes and lie like that.

“I’m fine, promise. I’ve been upset ‘cause of booking, I just needed a cool down.” Not necessarily a lie, just not all of the truth.

“You sure, Lemm?” Jeff dipped his head down, now at their level as his concern grew at their refusal to look him in the eyes.

“Really, I’m fine, Jeff. It’s just a little upsetting not getting booked and I’ve just been missing home n’ Uncle Scott so I thought I'd give him a call.” Again, not the truth but also not a lie.

“Alright, I guess.” Jeff finally relented but was obviously still skeptical. He brought them back into a hug with a deep, worried breath. “Y’know, you scared all of us pretty bad. You’re important, Dallas. Don’t forget that.”

Lemmy’s eyes held a glint of something he couldn’t recognize, conflict hidden beneath their resolve.

“I know. I know, I just needed to call Uncle Scott.” Lemmy repeated their alibi but their words were shaky, hinting at the emotion lingering behind. Jeff only hums in response, pulling Lemmy closer as he shivers in the wind.

Noticing his tenseness Lemmy pushed their hands under his shirt- not that it was much, he had run out in his ring gear which had only consisted of one of the mesh shirts that night- and pressed their palms to his lower back. Their attempts to make Jeff warmer clearly didn’t work very well, he only arched away from their unknowingly cold hands and screeched their name.

“Sorry! Sorry, I thought my hands were warm, sorry, Jeffro.” Lemmy laughs, genuine happiness for the first time in much longer they would’ve liked to admit. “Maybe we should go back inside before one of us catches a cold.” They muttered into the harsh fabric of the bright yellow mesh covering his shoulder.

Before Jeff could even consider moving inside, the metal door clinkered open. Matt with E&C following shortly behind him shuffled out from it in much more comfortable clothes than what Jeff still wore, his shirt making it very easy for the duo to find Jeff and Lemm.

“You guys suck.” Neither could tell if Matt’s exclamation was sarcastic or not.

“We asked just about every single person if they’d seen either of you leave! We even asked Mankind, do you know how weird that guy is?” Adam playfully scolded the two with his usual grin.

“Hey! Mick might be a little…unusual, but he’s real nice!” Lemmy stuck up for their old friend, playfully yelling back. Matt and Jeff’s confusion was obvious, eyebrows furrowing.

“How do you know that guy, Lemm?” Jeff asked.

“Oh, uh, my dad wrestled with him for a bit in ECW. I’ve met him a couple times.” Lemmy brushed it off with a shrug.

“They were in ECW at the same time? I thought your dad left to come over to WWF just a couple months before Mick returned back to ECW.” Matt and his all-knowing wrestling knowledge questioned.

“Oh, really? I must have confused him for someone else then.” Lemmy spoke almost frantically with a nervous laughter attached. An awkward silence blanketed over the five as Lemmy looked down to their hands, picking at the already chipping nail polish Jeff had haphazardly painted on (so they could be matching). The others stared over at them, still confused.

“Um, anyways, we should probably get heading to the hotel. We brought your guys’ stuff so we wouldn’t have to go back inside.” Christian spoke up, taking Lemmy’s duffel off of his shoulder, Adam doing the same with Jeff’s. Jeff and Lemmy said their thanks while grabbing their bags. Jeff took Lemm’s from them before they had the chance to put it over their shoulder and held it with his own.

“I can carry my bag, dude.”

“I don’t want you runnin’ off on me again, Lemm. Now come on, I’m tired, man.” Jeff threw the bags over his shoulder and started walking to their car. Lemmy rolled their eyes from behind him before stumbling to catch up and bumped their shoulders together, sending both of them wobbling in opposite directions. Jeff grabbed their arm closest to him and pulled Lemm back to his side. The three men watched from behind them as Lemmy cackled while they tripped over their own feet and fell straight into Jeff, his own laughter quickly adding to the mix.

“Y’know, I thought they liked each other but I didn’t know it was this bad!” Adam looked at Matt with an exasperated smile, Christian agreeing from his side with laughter.

“Oh, yeah. You’ll get used to that too. They've been like this since Lemmy got to junior year, I think.”

Finally arriving at the hotel, Jeff and Lemm- who are both very bad drivers, Lemmy out of recklessness and Jeff out of blindness- pile out of the back with everyone’s bag while Matt goes to check in with the receptionist and E&C roughhoused out beside the car. They had played a game of rock paper scissors earlier to see who had to be shoved in the back, back seat and Edge lost, like he always does.

Jeff stared up at the sky, admiring the stars with Lemmy’s hand carelessly in his, every once in a while pointing out a constellation to them with a tug to their hand. Lemmy stared down at the ground with sleepy eyes, head leaning against Jeff’s shoulder- much more comfortable now against his thin, black sweatshirt than before. As much as they loved the stars, having Jeff was enough at the moment.

“Matt booked the rooms right?” Christian asked through a yawn and a sleepy grin, gaining the two’s attention. Jeff nodded at him, confusion once again finding its way to his face. “He mentioned something about two rooms and I figured that it would be you three and us that would get roomed together ‘cause, I don’t know, that’s just how it is. I just wanted to make sure that’s what’s happening” Christian explained, Adam snickering at his rambling from besides him.

“Yeah, that’s all good. That’s what we usually do anyway.” Lemmy spoke with a smile, happy with the arrangement. “Actually, usually we only get one room and we all shove into it with a couple other guys but I guess it’s a special occasion. Or Matt just wanted his own bed for a night.” Jeff and Lemmy always shared, they’d just been doing it for so long it became weird not to. At first Lemmy got shoved into both of the boys’ beds and they switched every week, but Matt had grown sick of their endless moving and sickled them on Jeff. E&C clearly didn’t think it was as normal as they did, Adams eyebrows raising at their casualness of the subject while Jeff shoved Lemm under his arm as they spoke, the cold reaching him again.

Matt walked back to the car with two keys, throwing E&C one, who are quick to scatter to their room after a quick goodbye, the trio doing the same.

Lemmy opened the door and practically fell on one of the beds, Jeff shortly doing the same right on top of them. Matt tossed his backpack onto the other bed and announced, though probably unheard through Lemmy’s groans under Jeff, that he was going to take a shower.

“Jeffro, there’s a whole ‘nother bed, you ain’t gotta be on top of me.” Lemmy muffled into the bed under them. Jeff groaned but moved over, leaving the both of them squished on the twin bed meant for one.

“S’too cold for that, man.” He pouted over at Lemm, who only laughed at his brattyness.

“You’d think all of those North Carolinian winters would make you a little more warm blooded. C’mere, quit bein’ a baby.”

“M’not bein’ a baby, it’s cold, man!” Jeff pouted some more, but did as Lemmy said and moved back on top of them but this time with Lemmy not being suffocated. Jeff searched for their hand under the blankets, fingers locking in between fingers. His hand was as warm as they always were, but Lemmy didn’t say anything about his claims of being cold.

“Night, Jeffro. Love you, buddy.” Their free hand traveled up his back, trailing back up and down in a soothing pattern.

“Night, Lemm. Love you, too.”

Jeff fell asleep quickly, just as quickly as he always managed after a long day. Light snores left his lips from his seemingly comfortable spot, resting on their shoulder. Though Jeff slept seamlessly, Lemmy didn't at all. Instead, they thought. They thought of their career, and of The Hardyz. Of the new girl joining Matt and Jeff next week, Amy. Of WWF, and E&C. Of Karma, and Willow, and the nights in gymnasiums with no shoes. Mostly, they thought of Jeff.

They thought of what would happen when Jeff and Matt’s career continued to soar and they were left behind, far, far behind. Maybe Jeff would replace them with someone more…normal. More attractive, sweeter. Less complicated. But when Jeff took a deep breath in his sleep and the hand held in theirs grabbed just a little tighter, the future didn’t seem to matter much anymore. Lemmy watched the stars out of the window for the rest of the night.

I know this took me forever but I also have some of chapter eight done and the body of chapter nine figured out. I feel like I’ve definitely grown as a writer since the last time i wrote for bbs but idk might just be feelin stuff. Anyways, ignore the whole mick foley and stone cold not being in ECW together they were but shhhh its for the plottt. Also very tempted to start an mjf series but i have this and a Nikki sixx series already that I’m bad enough at keeping up with so i think I’ll unfortunately stick to one shots for now. Might keep my inbox closed for just a lil bit longer so i can breathe for a sec lol i hate school

So Y’know how sometimes when you write something and it comes out completely diff than what you wanted? That’s kinda what happened for Lemm’s backstory at first, so I did go back and change some things that didn’t really make sense or just things that I wanted to change loll for instance, uncle Scott is now a thing and if you dont wanna go back and reread this shit that’s ok cuz i also wouldn’t want to it shouldn’t be that different. Should i write more about Lemm’s back story? Or just give y’all like a basic run down? Get in my inbox rn and talk to me 😡 idc ab what just talkkkk to meeeeeeeeee

(A Jeff Hardy Story - Ch.1)

Lemmy didn’t have a very hard time getting along with people backstage. Unless it was the one lightsguy that was still mad at them for tripping over a wire and unplugging it right before they went live. Sorry, Jake. Most enjoyed seeing the familiar face of the teenager, who was now training to be a wrestler alongside their father as soon as they turned the legal age.

The WWE’s roster picking team had known of Lemm quite some time, only picking them up as someone to wrestle for the company when Vince started showing interest. They had sent their ‘undercover scout’s’ out around the United States and one ended up in a small town’s gymnasium in North Carolina where the self proclaimed OMEGA wrestling promotion, ran by the group of teenagers in the ring, happened to often be. After noticing one of the two hidden behind a scary mask was Stone Cold’s damn kid, the word started to spread around staffing. Tapes of these gymnasium matches, even a couple in local fairs, started to spread backstage- not only at the talent of Lemmy, but a couple of the other boys. Eventually, the news traveled up to Vince who found himself watching the tape and soon enough was demanding for that Dallas Austin kid and whoever the hell those Hardy boys- whatever in the hell there names were- to get the hell in this damn company. (his words exaclty)

When more information on the boys was found, it became known that the younger one, Jeff had been lying about his age to wrestle with his older brother, Matt, and the both of them were sent to a trainer with WWF after seeing their potential. Lemmy had been put under a similar contract, but refused to sign until it was backed down to only a year. Things happen, they didn’t want to be stuck somewhere. As soon as Jeff was of age, they would be on the roster, along with Lemmy, who unfortunately had to wait about a year longer then them thanks to being a year younger.

The Hardy's and Lemmy clearly got along, a huge connection between them from all of their time together in OMEGA as well as just being great friends through a huge part of their teen years. All of their training sessions were together all the time, the three seemed to have much more energy and will when they were together. Although Matt and Lemmy were great friends, it was clear that Jeff and Lemm were attached at the hip and it was obvious as to why.

They had the same taste in music, clothes, humor, and were both a little dumb but made up for it in creativity, passion, and their abilites in the ring. They each even had a sweet southern drawl, Lemmy’s a bit heavier from their years in Texas, but Matt’s seemed to be fading slightly somehow. If you saw one, you saw the other.

There wasn’t anything they did alone. Even when Lemm’s father was in town, the boys went too see him with them. Plus, it meant they got to be backstage at WWF, and how cool was that? It wasn’t often their dad was in town and the rest of the company wasn’t. Lemmy had been taking Jeff and Matt backstage to watch their father and plently of other wrestling matches at shows that were nearby, but Matt had to take up a night shift so it was just Jeff, who only worked during the days thanks to his landscaping skills. As of now, Lemmy was dragging him by his hand as they ran through the hall in search of an empty locker room with a TV to watch the matches. Sometimes they were allowed to go out in the crowd, but the arena was sold out.

"So help me God, Dallas, what'd I tell you about that goddamn running!" The rough voice of Steve Austin echoed through the cold concrete halls of the arena. The pair slowed to a quick walk as Lemmy yelled back an apology. It held just about no sorrow, Steve loved that kid too much to even think about doing anything but scoffing and shaking his head.

“Who’s out tonight?” Jeff asked from their side. Lemm shrugged.

“Don’t know. Like it bein’ a suprise, but dad’s got HBK for the main event, thats all I know.” When they had first moved to North Carolina all the boys ever did was make fun of their silly talk. Always said they were straight from a bad western movie, but that just what you get when you spend your important years in your heavily southern grandparents home. Spend enough time out on that damn far with your grandpa, you start to sound like him. Thankfully, they were used to it by now. Also thankfully, it had started to fade a bit as they grew older to match their North Carolinian accents instead.

Lemmy tugged Jeff into a dingy locker room and began their search for the remote, hearing the ampitheatre shake with anticipation as the first theme song of the night hit. No matter how many times they ended up backstage, they would never get used to the feeling of the crowd’s joy.

After watching a few matches in the empty locker room, of which stunk of mothballs and a forever remaining stench of B.O., the two were off once again. They decided to walk this time so it took a little bit more time to get back to the gorilla.

"Hey, Shawn!" Lemmy yelled from halfway down the hall, gaining lots of unwanted attention along with Shawn's.

"What's goin' on kid, lookin' for Steve?" The man looked over at her, a childlike grin planted on his face as they jogged over to him with Jeff short on their tail.

Again, a lot people enjoyed having Lemmy backstage but one of the first people they were able to befriend was HBK. Vince had taken a liking to the young kid the second they entered the backstage of one of they many WWF arenas and thought it would be funny to get them to do commentary for a few matches. A few matches turned into one after they called Shawn a pussy. (Their father thought it was hilarious but had to explain to Shawn that Lemmy didn't actually think that, they just really liked the Undertaker.)

There were pictures from the night somewhere, before the crowd funneled in and Shawn was already in his gear, him smiling down at a tiny figure as they both did his silly flexing pose in the middle of the ring. There was another of Taker fooling around with them, eyes rolled back with a malicious grin but the kid hanging upside down in manical laughter, held up by their feet.

"Nah, lookin' for you. Just wanted to say you looked real cool kickin' my dad's ass." The explanation coughed up a laugh from Shawn and a few others as brought them into a short side hug. "Would you mind letting him know that me n’ Jeff are gonna head on home, though? I'm gonna sleep over at his so then we can all just head to training together.” Quick to try and deter from what they wanted, Lemmy started bombarding Shawn with questions about the nearest payphone and how they had to tell their uncle, whom they lived with, that they wouldn’t be home, only to be interrupted.

"Just cause I like you doesn't mean I'll lie for you, Lem."

"Oh, come on! We just wanted an ice cream, it won't take long! I'll buy you one if that's what it takes." While Lemmy tried to bribe him, Jeff groaned. Shawn grinned at the two of them, understanding how they felt but also understanding that he had to be atleast a little bit of an adult in the situation.

"You two have training bright and early, and if I tell Steve you're going home, it won't be a lie. I don't care who's house you go to as long as you get there in the next hour."

Finally giving up on convincing the man, Lemmy backs up and grabs Jeff by the arm again and they went on their way. As they continued to walk towards the door in defeat, Lemmy shouted over their shoulder at Shawn, "I take it back! You looked terrible kickin’ my dad's ass!" Just in time for Steve Austin to walk back from the locker room after getting ready for a segment.

"The hell're they talkin' about?" He watches them run off again, with nothing but a scoff and a shake of the head. Really, he couldn’t help it.

"Who knows, man. Lemm seems to get along with those Hardy’s pretty good though, huh?” They both watched as Lemmy and Jeff made their way down the hall, quite literally attached at the hip, with each an arm around the others shoulder and feet swaying as the tried to keep in pace with one another, loud laughter echoing each time one of them stumbles, seemingly over their icecream escapades.

“Yeah. Yeah, ‘specially that Jeff kid, he’s real good to ‘em from what i’ve seen. They’re good kids. Glad Lemm’s finally got someone their age.”

Jeff and Lemmy successfully ended up at ‘The Hardy Compound’ as the boys called it, in under twenty minutes. After stopping through the McDonald's drive-through for a flurry, of course. Matt had just gotten back from work so they bought him one too, which he was thankful for, but it ended up melting on the coffee table of their living room with the other cheap Oreo creations. The three fell into a deep sleep in the middle of some poorly made thriller, the only thing worth watching on cable channels so late.

Lemmy slept dreamlessly and woke up to find Matt gone but could hear him mumbling into his phone in the kitchen. Seemed to be a friend- Shannon, maybe. He was in OMEGA too. They could hear the lawn mower going outside too, and assumed it was the boys’ father. Jeff started groaning in his sleep and turning over in an attempt to find more warmth- when Lemm got up the blanket had knocked off him. His eyes slowly opened with a groan and a stretch that made his lower stomach peak out from his tank top. Hearing an airy laugh he quickly looked over to find Lemmy looking down at him.

”Mornin’ Jeffro.” They gave his chest a clumsy pat with a yawn.

"Mornin', Lemm. Sleep good?" The sleep through both of their voices was heavy.

"Always do over here." A small silence cast over the room before Lemmy let out a sigh and toppled over on top of Jeff's chest. "Man, I don't wanna go to training." Jeff's hand moved to rub up and down their arm as they complained through their groans.

"I know, Lemms, you never do. C'mon, get up, we gotta go." He was given nothing but more groans as they moved to face away from him. Not that it created much of a distance, they were still on him. Jeff continued his coaxing and sweet words, finally managing to get Lemm off the couch and into different clothes of his - they had stolen Matt's shirt after spilling half of their McFlurry everywhere while trying to get Jeff in a headlock and eat it at the same time.

Matt quickly finished his phonecall and the three got ready- heading over to the small gym the WWE had staked out for training superstars as well as the usual roster when they were in the area. The trio dragged their way through the work-out portion, wanting nothing more than to skip straight to the ring work.

They weren't even halfway done with training and all three of them were already sweating their asses off, which meant it was a really bad day. Maybe the icecream wasn’t a good idea. There were also actual superstars at the gym considering they were in town for a couple more days so they couldn't mess around as much as usual. The boys would debut in not very long, finally getting away from being jobbers, valets, and every other thing Vince could think of, and it seemed like the days couldn't go by any slower. They were getting more hours added to training to make sure they were ready, which definitely didn't help.

A hand playfully shoved Lemmy's head making them stumble around the makeshift ring and causing them to quickly turn around to find the culprit. They were met with both the boys standing in one of the corners, leaning on the ropes. Matt was tipping his head towards his younger brother who was looking away and scratching the back of his neck.

"Real smooth, Jeff." The sarcasm in Lemmy's voice was overflowing.

"What? I didn't do anything, it was Matt!" His voice was raised in pitch, which gave him away even more. Matt shoved Jeff through the ropes and towards Lemmy, annoyed that he was being blamed. The two never fought seriously, but the sibling rivalry never stopped. "Lemm, it wasn't me, you know I'd never try to hurt you!"

"You tried to suplex me yesterday! Come on, fight me, stop being a pussy."

"Oh, we're gonna talk about yesterday? You remember what you did yesterda-" Before he could finish, Lemmy knocked the air out of him with a spear.

"What was that? What'd I do yesterday, tough guy?" Lemmy knew how to egg him on, and used it to their strategy. It proved to work when he scrambled to his feet. The pair moved against each other in a circle. Eventually, Jeff got fed up with Lemmy’s running mouth and tried to grab at them. Instead of that actually happening, the pair locked up. Jeff sent a swift kick to Lemmy's knee, sending them to the ground with a grunt.

"That's what happens when you run your mouth, Lemm. Maybe you should start learning to shut it once in a while." Jeff said with a smug smile from above her, hands smuggly locked on his hips. Hearing a laugh coming from over where Matt was, that definitely wasn’t Matt, Jeff looked over to see Adam and William, who often went by Jay, standing next to his older brother. Lemmy quickly used his distraction and sent them both to the ring floor with a very quick belly-to-belly suplex.

"If that's what happens when I run my mouth, then I think I'll keep doing it, Jeff."

After years of waiting, and getting beat to hell and back just about almost every Monday, Thursday, and Sunday, Matt and Jeff were finally debuting as actual wrestlers. So long jobbing! As happy as Lemmy was for them, they couldn't help but be jealous, having a year more to wait, but who wouldn't be?

They were driving to the stadium Monday Night Raw would be hosted in, thankfully only a state away from where Heat had been, so the drive wasn’t far from their last jobbing shift. With the two boys in the front and Lemmy crammed in the back with all of their luggage, they quickly settled into a comfortable silence as Matt seemed to contemplate his existence in the driver's seat.

"...You ok over there, bud?" Lemmy broke the silence from the backseat, noticing Matt's uneasiness.

"What? Oh, yeah, sorry. I'm just nervous and overthinking everything." He laughed nervously as his hands rang against the steering wheel.

"Yeah, I get that. I promise, though, nothing will go wrong, and I'll be watching backstage anyway, so if something happens, I can just run out there and power bomb a few people, no big deal." Before Matt could even think of responding the car went over a huge pothole, and Jeff's head slammed against the window. The poor boy woke up with a loud groan and grabbed at the side of his head, the sounds of Matt and Lemmy laughing at him filling the car.

"Shut up, that hurt, man!" His attitude only made them laugh more. Jeff let out another groan, this time in embarrassment. “You guys are mean." He muttered under their breath and moved to put his head on the console instead of the window.

"Oh, poor baby, all we do is bully you, huh?" Their hand moved up to push the hair out of Jeff's face as they continued berating him, tone condescending but soft in a way that made it seem not too mean. He tangled their fingers together over his cheek as he grumbled.

Thankfully, besides Jeff's sore forehead they arrived at the arena safely and in one piece. They were even on time, which wasn’t something that happened often unless Matt drove, he did most of the time. Jeff was insanely blind and refused to wear glasses, and Lemm was (very) just a little reckless on the road.

"Hey, Lemm! What're you doin' here?" A feminine voice broke Lemmy out of their thoughts as they waited for the Hardys outside of the men’s locker room.

"Nothing much, it's the guys' first match on the roster so I came along. Just waitin’ for them and we'll prolly go to catering or something. What's goin' on with you, Chyna?" They asked back, happy to see the women. Chyna had been one of the women figures that was actually positive in their life, along with their grandmother and just about the rest of the women's roster.

There were pictures hidden away of Lemmy and Chyna too, both with Chyna kneeling down to their toddler-sized level, but one of them talking sweetly and another a soft, warming hug. Billy Gunn was in them too, right next to Chyna.

"Oh, nothing new, I love it though. Tell those boys of yours I said good luck for me, alright?" Lemmy let out a hum and a nod, their grin growing. God, Chyna was just the sweetest. None of those guys in the ‘new DX’ deserved her. Except Billy, he was great. "I gotta get going, I was looking for Shawn, you seen him?"

"Yeah, I was just talking to him, he went over to see Hunter I think." They pointed down the hallway in the direction the two had run off in.

”Alright, thanks! See you later, gorgeous!”

"Yeah, see you!" With no one else to talk to, Lemmy leaned back against the wall and waited, now with a loving smile. Chyna kinda had that effect on everyone. It didn't take too long for the door to open revealing the brothers in their ring attire.

"Well look at you two! Man, all the ladies are gonna love you, huh?" A small blush crawled up Jeff's face when Lemmy gave a tug at his belt loop, making him stumble over in their direction, their shoulders grazing as he leaned against the wall next to them. Matt gave out a laugh before speaking up.

"Adam said he would be over by the guerilla, I'm gonna go say hi real quick. Wanna come?" Matt had been complaining about being hungry since they left. He’d been too busy trying to figure out the way to the stadium to eat something. Jeff was too busy grumbling about being tired to help, and Lemmy was terrible with directions. Poor Matt, stuck with two delinquents.

"Nah, I'm gonna stay behind and try to get the sleep out of my system. Say hi for me though." They all got along super well with most of the tag-team roster that they had worked with, especially E&C, but sometimes Jeff just wanted a moment to himself. Or a moment with Lemm, they were comfortable enough together that it felt the same.

"I'll stay with you then, do some warmups or somethin'." Lemm spoke up, bumping their arm into Jeff’s.

"Alright, I'll leave you to it then, I guess. See you in a bit." Matt turned the corner, leaving the two by themselves, probably praying that they would be at the guerrilla on time. A moment of silence cast over them. That was something that seemed to happen a lot, yet it was never in a bad way, they were simply enjoying each other's presence.

"You excited?" Jeff's head whipped down to Lemmy at the sudden words. His eyebrows raised as he nodded his head, looking away again. Sometime in the quiet Lemms head had made its way to his shoulder.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm real excited. Nervous as hell, but we'll be fine out there. We’ll do good.” His response brought a smile to their lips. “Real glad you came with us, Lemm.”

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, man. Y'know how much I love you. I mean, I love matt more but.." Jeff's offended look made them burst into laughter. Making them laugh had always been something Jeff loved, hearing Lemmy's loud cackle always brightened his day. Hell, his week, his month.

"Hey!" Jeff gave their shoulder a playful push before pulling them into a semi-rough hug. Soon enough the two returned back to silence as they remained hugging, now swaying back and forth. Lemm rubbed his back as they did so, something they always did as the two hugged. Feeling his warmth under their fingers brought them comfort.

"Love you too, Dal. So much." It wasn't common for anybody to use Dallas' first name, but they loved hearing it from Jeff. The way it rounded off his tongue was perfect in his accent. The two separated after a while and continued their hushed conversation, still shoulder-to-shoulder.

“How’s your head feeling?” They asked, through a yawn. It had been a long, early drive. ”Can’t have you with a concussion already.”

Jeff scoffed, gently bumping into their shoulder again as they pushed his hair back with one swift movement. When he jumps just a little at their touch, they pull their hand back and give it a playful kiss before softly placing it back on his temple.

“Better?” Jeff only hums through a huffed laugh, used to their antics. They look over at him in his laughter, eyes gleaming. If Lemmy couldn’t wrestle, they’d want to make Jeff laugh for their career. It was their favorite thing to do.

"Hey, I meant it when I said everyone's gonna be swooning over you. You look nice. Real nice." Lemmy's words made Jeff blush even more than earlier. They laughed at the boy's reaction, making him turn away. "Oh, don't get all shy on me now!”

”Stop making fun of me, man!” He laughed, dropping his head back.

"In what world am I making fun of you? I just said I loved you and that you're hot! C'mon man, let's warm up before you lose the rest of your brain."

(A Jeff Hardy story. Ch.2)

A dislocated knee.

One single injury from one single match and Lemmy's wrestling career was pushed to the side. It had happened so suddenly, the entire mood of the whole stadium changing so fast as the EMTs rushed out to help them, the Hardys and Steve Austin following shortly after. It had only been a small match meant to be around eight minutes tops, but more likely around five to make Luna look better like every other jobbing match. But instead, Luna had gotten a little too rough and thrown Lemm out of the ring at just the right angle, causing their left leg to bounce right into the metal ring steps. Unfortunately, because Vince is an asshole, he wouldn’t let their dad ride in the ambulance with them because he had a match in thirty minutes, so Jeff quickly hopped in before Matt could even think to do so, refusing to have Lemmy go by themselves. Not that Lemmy would’ve known anyways, they had blacked out the second their head bounced off the floor.

A bright light in Lemmy’s eye forced them into consciousness with a groan. They moved to put their hand up, trying to block the ringing sound in their ear but instead, Jeff grabbed it and held it in his own.

“What the hell’s going on?” Lemmy tried to look around as they croaked out the words, only able to see the bright, white metal of the painted ambulance ceiling.

“You got hurt Lemm, you’re in the ambulance. C’mon their tryna ask you stuff, gotta try to listen, alright?” Lemm only groaned again and tried to cover their ears again but finally responded to the EMT’s questions when Jeff only held their hand tighter.

“What’s happening? I can’t fucking feel anything Jeff, what’s going on?” Their voice tightened, eyes going glossy while they tried to find some sort of relief in Jeff’s presence.

“You’re alright, sweetheart. Hurt your leg, you’re gonna be alright, I’m right here. I’ve got you.” His hand that wasn’t holding theirs went up to hold their face. Jeff brushed the hair out of Lemmy’s face, just like they had done to him in their car rides, and plane rides, and waking up next to him and Matt on the couch of the Hardy house, and every other day since 1992.

“They're not gonna let me wrestle, are they?” The tears in Lemmy's eyes started pouring, a small sob leaving their mouth.

“Don’t worry about anything like that Lemm, you’re hurt.” Lemmy only started crying more. Jeff’s lips met their forehead in an attempt to give some sort of comfort along with the nonstop praises.

“They're not gonna let me wrestle, Jeff.” Lemmy started shaking their head under his hand. “What-what am I supposed to do? They won’t- they're not gonna…Jeff..” As more sobs continued bubbling out of Lemmy's throat, Jeff gave up on trying to stop it and used the hand that had been used to brush their hair back to rub their cheek with his thumb, trying to let Lemmy know he was there.

Lemmy sat in the hospital bed staring blankly at the tv, the sound of Jeopardy filing the small room. They tried to watch what was left of Smackdown but Jeff- who had left, hoping to find a Dr.Pepper to try and make Lemmy feel better- thought it would just make them feel worse, so Jeopardy it was. The heavy metal door quickly swung open revealing their father who had clearly left the stadium right after his match.

“Hey, dad.” A sad smile set of their face as they looked up at their father with puffy eyes.

“Hey, baby.” He took a seat in the chair Jeff left unhabited. Before Lemmy was called Lemmy, Steve always just called them baby. They were, in fact, his baby and seeing them all saddened and stuck in a hospital bed made him think back to those times. Back to when Lemmy was baby, and their dad was home, together and young with their mom, living on Steves’ parents farm, with no where else to go. He wouldn’t dare tell them that though, they had enough on their plate and he couldn’t bare to make them cry, so instead he settled for just baby.

“They figure out what happened yet?”

“My kneecap popped out of place and moved a bunch of bones out of there places too. I guess a vein or something popped too, so its worse than what it normally is. It’s still out of place I guess, they just pumped me full of pain killers.” They shrugged, exhausted.

“Christ…should’ve known something was gonna happen to your knees with all the shit mine do. God, I’m sorry kid, I should’ve been paying attention.” His hand went up to his forehead as he spoke, quickly blaming himself.

“No! No, it’s not your fault. My knees have been hurting for a while, but so has every other part of my body, If anyone should’ve been paying attention it’s me. Plus you're always on the road and I barely see Uncle Scott 'cause I'm always at Matt and Jeffs, let alone you.” Silence picks up in the room for a bit, before they go in to a normal conversation, as if nothing was wrong. The two had missed each other deeply, and the chance to catch up was nice even under the circumstances.

The door opened again, and Jeff with a Dr.Pepper in hand entered the room. He gave a quick smile and raised a hand in Steve's direction, handing Lemmy the bottle before sitting in the chair on the other side of Lemmy.

“Thanks, Jeffro. Hey, I think the doctors supposed to come back and tell me when i’m supposed to have surgery cause they hadn’t really figured that out yet. It could take awhile though, so like, you can go, man, it’s fine.” Lemmy hated having other people wait around and pause their life just for them.

“I’m not going anywhere Lem, I’ve been here too long to give up now.” Jeff and Lemmy smiled at each other, Lemmy whispering a thank you. Steve stood up with a sigh.

“Well, I’m supposed to go let management know what happened so they can figure out whats going on. I’ll stop by later, you call if something happens, alright?”

“I will. See you, dad.”

“I’ll see you, baby.” He ruffled Lemmys hair as they spoke before making his way to the door.

“So, um, thanks for riding in the ambulance with me. Sorry about all of uh, that.” Lemmy fiddled with the thin bed sheet, embarrasment creeping through them with a nervous laugh. Jeff scooted farther up in his chair, grabbing their hand to get their attention.

“Dallas. You don’t have anything to be sorry about, you had no clue what was going on and found out the one thing you’ve been working for your entire life is being pushed back. It’s fine to be sad about that.”

“Ok, well I get being sad about it, but I had a complete meltdown and cried all over you.”

“And I let you because I care about you n’ I love you. Stop being sorry and let people do nice things for you once in a while, alright?”

“…Fine, I guess.” Lemmy let out an exagurated sigh and an eye roll. Jeff softy hit their shoulder. Once again, the door opened. This time it was finally the doctor.

“Alright, I’ve been told that the nurse who was supposed to keep you notified on your situation had to help with something in the ER. So here I am. You were supposed to be in surgery two hours ago but we have a limited amount of surgens. Fortunately, one of them just left surgery and will be able to perform surgery on you immediately. If that isn’t something you’re ok with, you would have to wait until tommorow.”

“Oh..um, okay. Would I get to go home tonight if I went into surgery right now?”

“Yes, as long as you would have someone to drive you home and look after you for the night.” Lemmy put their hands up to their face with a loud sigh and rubbed their eyes before looking over at Jeff.

“Would you, um..would that be ok with you?”

“Of course it would be. You do what you’re comfortable with, I’m gonna be here no matter what. Matt’s got the car here anyways, he can hitch a ride with Adam, maybe.” Matt, as well as E&C had come to visit earlier on but they were pretty loopy from whatever pain meds they’d been put on in three ambulance.

“Um, okay. Yeah, right now is fine.” Lemmy let the doctor know with a nod.

“Alright, I’ll let them know. A nurse should come in and give an IV soon.” The doctor quickly left, leaving Jeff and Lemmy alone again. The pair sat in silence, the voice of the Jepeorady host invading the quietness.

“Well, I guess I’m going into surgery now. Should tell my dad- and Uncle Scott too,actually.” Lemmy looked over to Jeff, anxiety clear in their eyes. Jeff grabbed their hand for what seemed to be the umpteenth time.

“Don’t worry I ‘bout that, I’ll call ‘em. You’re gonna be alright, I promise. You’re gonna have surgery, and then you’re gonna go home with me and we’re gonna lay in bed all day and watch movies n’ play GTA. You don’t have anything to worry about, everything's gonna be fine.” Lemmy let out another sigh at Jeffs words, this time some anxiety leaving their body. They scooted down a little in the bed, moving their torso forwards to lean onto Jeff. Jeff’s hand left Lemmy’s as his arms moved to hold them, rubbing up and down. His head moved to sit on top of her chin.

“Thank you, Jeffro.” Lemmy whispered into his shoulder.

“Of course, Dal.” Jeff whispered back.

“For Dallas Austin?” A nurse yelled into the hospital waiting room. Jeff quickly jumps from his seat, back aching from sitting too long. He walks to the woman and began following her as she started to walk him to Lemmy’s room.

“Dallas is all set to go home. Will you be the one staying with her?” After earning a nod, she began to speak again. “Well, that's good. Do you happen to be Jeff?” He gives a confused nod in response. The nurse nods her head, satisfied with herself. “Figured. Poor kid’s been asking for ya’ since they opened their eyes.”

“Really? They doin’ alright?” The nurse let out a giggle, not at his concern but the reminder of Lemmy’s behavior.

“Oh, they're doin’ just fine. I gotta say though, they’re pretty out of it. I think it could be from the pain meds earlier, and now, all this new stuff in their system.” She pushed the flimsy door aside after a quick knock, revealing a fuzzy-eyed Lemm talking to the nurse fixing some kind of equipment next to them. Their attention was moved to the creaky door, a dopey smile pasted onto Lemmy's face greeting Jeff.

Lemmy's hand reached out to him as he drew in closer, mumbling for him. They reached under his shirt and wrapped their arm around his waist before he could take it into his hand. Giggles spilled from his chest, a blush rising up his neck to match while attempting to push Lemmy's head away from the spot they had claimed on his stomach.

“Lemm…” His voice was sympathetic, and maybe a little teasingly, understanding that Lemmy was searching for comfort in him but also knowing they would feel a lot better out of the hospital. Lemmy did nothing but smile into his skin, making no effort in moving.

“Missed ya’. All them pretty ladies kept on tellin’ me you were gonna be here real soon but it didn’t feel like real soon. Felt like forever.” Jesus Christ, maybe the Texan accent wasn’t fading.

”Yeah?” He was definitely teasing them.

“Yeah.” And they definitely couldn’t tell. Their silence returned like it always seemed to do, each enjoying the happiness that coated the both of them in bliss, even if it came from Lemms wonky state. Lemmy's free hand latched behind Jeff's back with the other while Jeff's own moved to settle on their neck.

“You should get a belly button piercing.”

“What?” Jeff's giggles returned at Lemmy's absurd request.

“It’d make you even prettier and you always got your stomach out in them little mesh shirts anyways. Give everyone somethin’ ta look at.” They explained as if it were completely reasonable. because it is.

“I think we should get you home before you decide on some other body modifications, man,” Jeff joked, but he couldn't help but feel a rush of warmth at Lemmy's compliment. His hand moved from their neck and gave their hair a little ruffle, feeling their fingers tighten on his back in response.

“Which home?” The Hardy Compound was basically their second house at this point, it had been for a long time. For the entirety of high school, they’d go straight to the Compound after school to practice with the rest of OMEGA (most of the time Lemm was the only one who showed up besides the brothers). He shrugged, asking them their preference. “Hmm…yours. Gotta call Uncle Scott, though.”

”I will, Dal. Let's just get you good to go, and I will.” They finally loosened their arms around his back, letting him step back and grab (his) the duffel bag Matt had thrown in the car.

Jeff helped Lemmy get out of the hospital gown and dressed into an old Pearl Jam shirt and a pair of sweatpants, before grabbing them a bottle of Gatorade with some stomichable food and helping them get comfortable in the car. Unfortunately, it was a long drive and Jeff still had no glasses. Fortunately, though, E&C had instantly agreed to let Matt tag along with them to their hotel, which was about half of the drive. Jeff and Lemm would pick him up and force him to drive the rest of the way.

Lemm mostly slept everything off for the ride to Matt, waking up to Jeff talking quietly in the driver's seat, his window rolled down for the three men outside of the car.

“Hey, guys.” They mumbled, through a yawn. Lemm received warm welcomes from the blonde boys, and Matt immediately walking as fast as he can to the other side of the car.

“You feelin’ okay? How’s your leg?” He opened the door, dipping down to pull them into the gentlest, heartwarming hug ever.

“Much better. Thanks, Matty.” They eased with a small laugh as he pulled away, leaning against the opened door frame.

“Good. Let's go home, yeah?” He patted their shoulder, before closing the door and kicking Jeff into the back seat. With Matt driving, they made it much farther, much faster. Lemmy found themselves in and out of sleep as the car rumbled up the Compound’s drive-way and as Jeff helped them inside, Matt grabbing the luggage.

They settled in on the couch together, Lemm’s foot propped up on a stool as they watched some new action movie that had come out a couple weeks ago. Matt was catching everybody up over the phone, like the best person in the whole world he was.

They seemed to end up like this a lot- the TV in the background as they enjoyed each other's company, the comfortable presence of Matt somewhere not too far away to give anxiety, but just far enough to get them privacy.

"Thanks for being here, Jeffro." They spoke through a piece of pizza, their first food besides meds and goldfish of the day.

"Always, Lemm," Jeff replied, pressing a kiss to their temple.

Months had passed, yet still not enough. Physically therapy was tiring and left Lemmy aching yet in the best ways, knowing that every session improved their knee and their ability to wrestle once again. The uncomfortable cast turned into a slightly more bearable brace as time went by, slowly becoming slimmer and slimmer as pieces were taken off. Though they still weren’t all the way recovered, they had gotten to the point where it was time to start discussing their future in WWF.

Lemmy walked into the conference room, their, now quite small, brace clicking with every step. They tried to keep their head held high, despite the nerves that were starting to creep in. Vince and many others, including the creative team, were sitting around the large table, quietly conversing as they waited for Lemmy.

“Sorry about the wait, still a little slow with this thing.” Lemmy pointed down to the clanking brace as they spoke, moving over to the only open seat.

“No worries, Dallas. Let's get right to the point, yes? This is the company's very own creative team, I’m sure you've met a few of them. I’ll let them take over for a few while I get all sorted out.” Lemmy nodded and moved their focus over to the group of creatives at the table, interested in hearing their ideas, hoping to hear one in particular.

“Well,” An older man, at least in his late 50s, spoke up first. “We know that the fans already love Stone Cold, so we were thinking of doing some sort of story line to bring you into the WWF universe as his unassuming kid, and maybe have another wrestler flirt with you so that Steve gets mad at him and starts a whole thing. That way, fans would already know your gimmick and be more interested in the character.” Noticing the uneasy look on Lemms face, Vince spoke up.

“And of course, after that story, we can always pull you away from the Stone Cold gimmick. It will simply be a way to introduce you to the fans.”

”No.”

”…No?”

“No. I’m not going to just be Stone Cold's kid. I love my dad, and I love Stone Cold but that’s not who I am or how I even wrestle. N’ I’m certainly not gonna to stand back and let you make me into another nice body for fans to fawn over. I wrestle. I have worked to wrestle, I have the body to wrestle, I am going to wrestle and I’m going to do it my way, not my fathers.”

“You think you’re going to get whatever you want because your father works for me?” Vince was clearly angered at Lemmy putting up a fight, and even angrier at the way they were talking to him.

“I understand that I am here partly because of who my father is, but I don’t want to profit off of him. I’m also here because of my talent, that I built myself, on a goddamn trampoline in my best friends’ backyard. They’re here for the same reason. I want the fans to choose if they like me based on my gimmick and style, not my father's.” Vince leaned back further into his chair at their worlds, crossing his arms with a huff.

“And how exactly do you plan on doing this?”

“It's my dream to wrestle, do you really think I haven’t thought about this? I know exactly what I want to do. Actually, I’ve been doing it for years.”