Thank you to.....Mari, for putting up with me while I couldn’t concentrate on much of anything else.  Bliss for making me love Denny more and more, Missy for telling me in-depth things about my fic that I didn't even know,  everyone who has sent me feedback for convincing me that this is still interesting, and Maria, for encouraging this idea, helping me write the dialouge, making me nearly cry a time or two, coming up with all kinds of jokes for this, and letting me make fun of her about the tree.  Remember, you and me, reeking of awesomeness since '83!  :)
 
Title: Until It Sleeps 17
Disclaimer:   A joke in here comes from the DX home video.  Brownie points to anyone (besides Maria) who catches it.
 
Ow.  Ow ow ow ow.
 
"Little sore there, Marky?"  Dennis's voice walked light as he walked into the locker room.
 
"How could you tell?"  I asked, throwing my shirt at him.  He caught it, laughing.  I was still trying to work my way back into the swing of things here.  After an absence of over two months, I was still trying to work off the ring rust.
 
Dennis, still snickering, walked up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist.  His fingers brushed slightly over the zipper to my jeans, teasing at pulling it downward.  "Maybe we can get these off you and I can give you a nice massage, how's that?"
 
I opened my mouth, when I caught a flash of red out of the corner of my eye.  I turned and saw Maria standing there laughing.  "What the hell are you doing here?"  I yelled.
 
The bitch just laughed.  "One of the guys brought me back here.  Besides, what are you complaining about?  We used to take baths together when we were little."
 
I glanced down at Dennis's hands, still over my zipper, with a grin.  "Like you said...I got thick."
 
Dennis snorted from behind me.  "Don’t flatter yourself."  He moved from behind me to stand next to me.  "Hey, look, I really wanted to prove that I can cook.  You want to come to a barbecue?  I figured it would be good to make Mark socialize," he grinned, I scowled, "and it would be a safe way of letting Glenn and Bradshaw have some fun."
 
Maria smiled.  "Sure, that sounds like fun."  She waved at us.  "Well, I'm gonna find my man now.  See you later."
 
I watched as she walked away.  "God help the guy she's hooked up with."
 
***
 
Remember when I said that I liked how it was always warm in Texas?  I forget to mention the downside, that it means you can often go swimming in the middle of March.  Which is what Bradshaw was doing.  In my pool.  I wonder...if he drowns, does my insurance go up?
 
Dennis seemed to be having fun, though...standing over a grill, flipping burgers, which Ron seemed only too happy to eat up.  Another car pulled up in front of my house, and I went to the gate to see who it was.  Maria said she was gonna bring her new friend...
 
Oh God.  This is just awful.  The man she is dragging in outsizes even me.  "Denny, I think we need to buy more hot dogs."
 
Dennis looked up from where he was trying to get the grill lines just right on a burger.  "Why?  I got the biggest package at Sam's Club?"  He paused for a moment.  "and we have corn chips.  You can get a bag of corn chips this big at Sam's Club!" he said, holding his hands a good ways apart.
 
I could only roll my eyes, because Maria and....it hurts even to say it...Paul "Big Show" Wight....were walking up to me.  "Hey Mark!" said Paul.  "How you doing?"
 
"Oh, I'm fine, just fine..."   I muttered.
 
Kane walked up from behind me.  "Hi Paul, hi....oh no..."  His eyes widened.  "Paul, man, word of advice.  No matter what she tells you, no matter where she says the ball is...do not go on the roof.  Just don’t do it."
 
Kill me now.  Please.  "Childhood trauma," I mouthed to Paul, who nodded in what I guess was understanding.
 
Kane was oblivious, and when he had broken out of the memory, he turned to glare at Bradshaw, who was still floating around in the pool.  "John!"  he yelled.  "Care for some company?"
 
Bradshaw slashed at him.  "Yeah, come on it, get your feet wet.  Feet wet...pool...GET IT????"
 
Kane jumped in next to him, and for a moment, they shared a kiss.  Maria just stared in shock.  "He's gay too?"  I nodded at her. "What's with you two?  Was it something I did?  Was I the one to turn you off women?"
 
And now everyone at this damn party has gotten psychotic.  "Naw, wasn't you.  It was Dennis's hot sex body that made me go for men.  He has womanly hips though..."
 
Dennis, standing behind me, whacked me with the spatula.  "Shut up, at least I've ever fallen through the ring."
 
"Once!  It was once!!!"  I protested.
 
Gradually after that, the party wound down.  Kane and Bradshaw went home to another game of "let's get on the show COPS," and I didn't really want to know what Maria and Paul did when they got home.  As the sun set, me and Dennis sat rocking slowly on the porch swing.  Day turned into night, the stars started to come out, and we just rocked.  Occasionally, we would talk, about everything from work to food to movies, but mostly we just sat there.  Slowly, both of us started to sink down so that we ended up leaning on each other, and still, we just sat there, listening to the insects, the wind, and the nightfall.
 
The man cracked his gum at Mark. "Honey, you's too young to be out here."  The man's voice was horse and raspy.  He was thin...too thin.  Mark could tell the pick-ups hadn't been  favoring him lately.
 
Mark's fifteen-year old eyes were jaded.  "Been doing this for two years now.  The johns don’t seem to think I'm too young."
 
The man just clucked his tongue, any words cut off by a car pulling up.  Mark nodded that he would take it and sauntered up to the window.  "You looking for some fun?"
 
Dennis smiled.  "Let me take you away from this," he said quietly.  "It's in the past now, it can’t hurt you.  Come with me away from this hellhole.  Make a new start, one without the hurt.  Let the fear sleep."
 
Mark only hesitated for a moment before climbing into the car.  Once he was in, Dennis pulled him into his arms.  "It’s all over for both of us.  The pain is all gone, Mark.  It can’t hurt us anymore." 
 
I struggled to open my eyes.  Damn sappy-ass dream.  As I slowly regained consciousness, I found myself in Dennis's arms, slouched so that my head lay against his chest.  "Bad dream?" he asked drowsily.  "You grabbed me out of nowhere..."
 
I blinked.  "No, not a bad dream.  A good one, actually."  For a moment, I considered moving out of his embrace to go back to our old positions, but I didn’t.  After all...why not try a new start, let the fear sleep?