Title: The Liberator
Part 18
Author: Angel Eterno
Rating: NC-17 - slash
Content: Slash, Romance, Abuse
Disclaimer: Characters don't belong to me. They belong to WWF and Titan Sports. No copyright infringement intended.
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Christian's plea was in vain - Rob got closer and closer - until he was just in range to throw a punch. It connected - hard; and Christian's face transformed from shock to anger. Anger that Rob hadn't believed him; anger at Edge for making him into the kind of person he'd obviously now become, who would just lash out and hit someone, just like he himself did to Christian. All that anger built up into the power of the blow he returned to Rob, forcing him to stagger back to avoid it - but Rob had been expecting it, had hoped it was coming and evaded its full force. Rob then pounced cat-like on Christian, both men struggling together on the floor trading blow for savage blow. Rob's superior strength easily overcame Christian and he had him pinned tightly beneath him, both men breathing heavily as Rob hissed fiercely in Christian's ear.
"So what was that you were saying, Christian, what? You don't hit people? What did you just do there then?"
Christian said nothing, just gasped for air as he struggled beneath Rob Van Dam, powerful arms pressing his shoulders hard to the ground. Rob shook Christian vehemently, his voice intense.
"Why don't you do this to Edge, you stupid motherfucker?" he demanded angrily.
Christian ceased his struggles completely to stare in confusion at Rob.
"What?" his breathing was ragged.
Rob pulled himself back onto his knees, dropping back on one hand, exhausted as he surveyed the wreck that was Christian. Tired, and with his head threatening to burst, his voice lowered as he uttered his next words, almost gently:
"If you can do this to me, you can do it to him."
"I don't understand - you hit me ..." Christian was totally perplexed: what the hell was going on here?
"I attacked you - " Rob continued, "You fought back. You didn't just stand there and take it, whimpering like a wuss ..."
Christian drew himself up to a sitting position, his eyes glued on his opponent, his expression and voice incredulous.
"You did this on purpose! You wanted me to fight you!"
Unconsciously he raked his hair back again, revealing just one new cut and one new bruise forming: nothing compared to what Edge would have done to him. He realized now Rob hadn't actually hit him hard enough to really hurt him - the cut had come from a sharp fingernail, and the bruise from the first blow to goad him into action. And reacted he certainly had - with every blow he had imagined it was Edge he was hitting, payback for all the pain and indignities he had heaped on him in the past. And now as he surveyed the cuts and bruises forming on Rob's face - he felt remorse that he should have had to suffer the releasing of all his pent-up emotions.
"Rob ..."
He gazed at his adversary: Rob's hair looked as wild as his own, having almost entirely escaped its customary ponytail. His voice was tremulous as he reached out a hand to touch Rob's face, drawing it back quickly as Rob winced at the light contact.
"Why? Why did you do this?" Christian's voice was all concern and sorrow as he gazed into Rob's eyes, the right one swelling slightly.
Rob forced out an apologetic half-smile.
"I guess I felt a little to blame for Edge attacking you that night when I was with Chris..." his voice faltered as he remembered waking from being knocked out, and thinking Christian was Chris; he'd even called him Chris.
Christian half-smiled back. "It certainly got him mad - Mr All Fuckin Night! I could never have explained that one."
Christian's smile turned bitter as his mind wandered back to that night and Edge's brutality; but now that bitterness was focused, and in the right direction. No longer did he blame RVD's big mouth, but laid the blame directly at Edge's doorstep, where it truly belonged. OK, so RVD maybe did have a big mouth, was drunk and hadn't realized what he was saying and the consequences; but at the end of the day, Edge had no right to ever attack him as viciously as he had. And what was more, if he tried it one more time - he wouldn't know what hit him! Christian's mouth turned up into a self-satisfied sneer as his newly-found self-confidence grew - in fact, he couldn't wait till the next time Edge assaulted him - he would so enjoy giving him twice as much back!
His reverie was interrupted by Rob's voice bringing him back to the present.
"I think we ought to go, I don't feel too good, Christian..."
Startled Christian looked over to where Rob was still half-sitting, noting with alarm that he'd turned a deathly white, which served to show up the discoloration of the bruises starkly on his skin. Quickly Christian jumped up and scampered over to him. Supporting his head in his arms he held him tightly against his chest, unnerved at the way his eyes were fluttering unfocusedly.
"Rob? Rob!! Rob! What is it? Are you OK?" Christian chewed his bottom lip at the stupidity of his question. He knew damn well Rob wasn't OK - Rob Van Dam was about to pass out - and maybe that wasn't a good thing ... maybe it was one of those cases where you had to keep people awake.
"Rob!!" he was unaware he was screaming now "Rob - don't leave me - please Rob, stay awake....!"
End Part 18