Just Let Me Go

There was no doubt in anyone's mind that Ted was getting incredibly thin over the past few months, but no one knew why. If anyone had known the dark truth to Ted's weight loss he may not have been where he was. Pale, skin and bone and practically burning alive as the virus, or whatever this may be was nearly eating him alive.

Teddy was laid out on the couch when Randy got home from the arena. The Viper saw his lover sprawled out and sighed, he would've given the rest of his career to fix whatever was slowly killing his Teddy-bear, but nobody could figure out what was going on.

"Hey baby..." Randy gently shook the sick blonde and sighed when he felt how warm the young man was "You feel up to eating anything?"

The look in Ted's eyes was as though Randy had just asked him to commit murder.

"No!" Ted snapped weakly.

"Alright, alright" Randy felt hurt by the anger in Ted's voice "You at least gotta drink some water" he insisted "Or you'll end up back in the hospital again."

"Fine," Ted muttered. "but only a little."

"Ted..." Randy dropped his voice an octave "You know you need more than a little." He went to the kitchen and filled a medium sized glass "I want you to drink all of this." He gave the glass to Ted and sat down on the couch "And I'm going to stay here until you finish it."

Ted took nothing more than a few sips before he set it down. "I don't want it," Ted muttered.

"Theodore Marvin!" Randy picked the glass back up and moved closer to a pouting Ted "Either you finish the rest of it, or so help me I will put you over my shoulder and carry you back to the hospital, is that what you want me to do?"

"I said I don't want it!" Ted snapped. "Why don't you just go find Brett huh, I know you're making him your bitch now!"

"What?" Randy was so surprised he dropped the glass, not noticing when it shattered on the hardwood floor "Teddy what are you talking about? I've never done anything with your brother, hell I've never even TOUCHED him, why would I when I've got you?"

"Please, I've seen the way you look at him," Ted said, curling up into a ball. "You use to look at me like that, when I was the new kid." Ted started to sniffle, but I'm not good enough for you anymore."

"When have you seen me look at him?" Randy slowly reached over and pulled Ted into his lap "Baby I've only had eyes for you. Talk to me..." he murmured, stroking Ted's burning forehead "Where is this coming from?"

"Randy I know your track record, you aren't exactly the world's most faithful lover," Ted muttered. "Everytime he comes over to see me you're eyeing him like he's a piece of fucking meat!"

"Teddy that's not true" Randy cradled the sick young man in his lap and kissed him gently "I may have had a rocky past when it comes to relationships, but I have NEVER cheated on you, I love you, with all my heart."

"You're just saying that because you want me to eat again," Ted muttered.

"Teddy do you have ANY idea how worried I am about you?" Randy continued to rock Ted slowly back and forth "When I came home last month and found you passed out on the floor, I thought I'd lost you!" Randy began to gently nuzzle Ted's neck "It scares me seeing you like this, you're skin and bone, if you keep this up you're going to die!"

"Good, then life'll be SO much easier for you," Te said. "You won't have to care about my pathedic self anymore."

Instead of exploding, Randy grew very quiet and he turned his head away. For a long time he didn't say anything, but then his shoulders began to shake, and the Viper turned back to reveal tears streaming down his face

"Teddy..." The Viper sounded brokenhearted "Do you have any idea what I'd DO if you died?" Secretly, he reached down and picked up one of the shards of the broken glass, holding it in his hand so Ted couldn't see...

"You'd be fine without me," Ted muttered his eyelids growing heavy as his malnutrition was wearing his body down.

"No I wouldn't" Randy murmured, slowly gliding the jagged glass across one of his wrists, "I wouldn't be fine Teddy, matter of fact, I wouldn't be very far behind you." He watched almost hypnotically as dark red blood began to drip down his arm,

Ted glanced up, eyes widening momentarily at the sight of his lover's arm. "Randy, stop that," Ted said. He reached for the glass in Randy's hand. "Don't hurt yourself over me."

"And why shouldn't I?" Randy muttered, keeping the glass out of Ted's reach "Since you seem ready to leave me alone, why shouldn't I leave also? I CANNOT live without you Theodore DiBiase, not one day, not one hour, not even one minute."

"Randy," Ted whimpered, he was starting to cry now. "Please stop please." "I love you."

That was all Randy needed to hear, he chucked the piece of glass away and quickly staunched the flow of blood with his jacket

"Teddy I love you too" He pulled the whimpering man close and kissed him gently, running his hands through his stubbly hair "And it's KILLING me to see you like this. I want to help you get better, please Teddy-bear, will you let me help you?"

"So you want me to look like a fat fucking pig?" Ted muttered.