Title: To be Loved

Author: TheVampireLucinda

Synopsis: A slashfic detailing the special relationship that develops through time…whether we know about them or not.Or something like that.

Characters: Undertaker and Shawn Michaels (others later on)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my name, and I'm sure that soon I'll be sued over that too. ;) Enjoy! Comment if you so desire!

He did it. He won.

For the first time in his entire career, the Undertaker was the winner of the Royal Rumble. And it hadn't been an easy win at all. Shawn Michaels was as tenacious and determined as he remembered, even though it had been several years since they had been in the ring together. He put up a good fight, to say the least.

As the Undertaker stood up slowly, reeling slightly from the two chair shots he had taken, he noticed Shawn Michaels sitting on the ramp, looking up at him. Their eyes met, and a feeling of mutual respect passed between them. The Deadman gave the Heartbreak Kid a small nod, watching as the smaller man walked up the ramp, obviously disappointed that he hadn't won, but being gracious in a way that surprised him.

'Tough son of a bitch,' he thought, standing tall in the ring and turning to face the Wrestlemania sign that hung above him. 'I'd kill to get another shot at him.'

Shawn smiled slightly as the Superstars crowded around him, congratulating him on his amazing battle with the Undertaker.

"I guess it was pretty cool," he conceded at last, drawing a laugh from the guys who stood around, still patting him on the shoulder. "But I really wanted to win."

Brian Kendrick stepped forward, smiling. "I don't think it matters; you and the Undertaker were amazing out there. No one here wants to admit it, but you guys are the best out of all of us!"

HBK patted his former student on the head, chuckling. "Well, I could have told you that before tonight," he said, walking into the locker room to shower and go over the details of his match, as he often did. His phone rang almost immediately after he got into the locker room. It was Hunter, of course, congratulating him, and telling him how he was more worthy of the Wrestlemania spot than the Undertaker.

"Thanks buddy," Shawn said with a sincere smile. "Hey, hope you feel better soon."

"Please, Shawn. This injury can't keep me down. You know that."

The Heartbreak Kid laughed, feeling slightly better, before saying his goodbye and getting into the steaming hot shower. As the water ran over his body, easing his muscles, he found his mind wandering from the Rumble, to the Undertaker, to Hunter, and then back to the Undertaker again.

'What a tough guy,' Shawn thought, stepping out of the shower and sitting on a bench, draped in a white towel. 'He's amazing… I wish we could have some more matches together, 'cause there's no one even close to being like him here on RAW.'

As he sat, deep in thought, he became aware of a heavy silence outside. 'Everyone must be going home,' he thought, slipping into a pair of blue jeans and a black tank top. As he put on his brown vest, however, he realized with a shock that he didn't have a ride home. He and Triple H had always rode back to the hotel together, but since the Game had been injured earlier this month, Shawn had been riding with the last person to leave. But this time, judging from the silence, everyone was already gone.

"Perfect," the Heartbreak Kid muttered, stuffing his ring gear into his bag and walking out to the parking lot. From the looks of things, even the ring crew had left, making Shawn wonder just how long he had been thinking about his fight tonight. 'So close to winning,' he thought again, kicking a can and watching it skid off into the practically empty parking lot.

"Need a ride?" a deep voice asked softly from somewhere behind him. HBK turned around and saw the Undertaker standing there, still in his ring gear, hands on his hips as they often were when he had been standing still for too long or waiting for something. "Everyone's gone home already," he said, black hair swaying in the gentle breeze.

Shawn smiled. "Why thank you, Deadman," he said, taking a step towards the giant man and clapping him on the shoulder. "I don't want to infringe on your patience…but thank you. I do need a ride."

"No problem," the Undertaker said, shrugging slightly. "We're going to the same place anyway, and you look like a lost puppy out here." He smiled as Shawn blushed slightly. "If you don't mind waiting a few minutes while I take a quick shower and change, you can wait out here by my bike," he concluded, indicating a black Titan. HBK whistled.

"Nice ride," he commented. "But I think I'll go inside with you. I don't like how cold it is tonight." With that, he slung his bag over his other shoulder, motioning for the Undertaker to lead the way, and following him back into the building.

Not surprisingly, they wound up in the SmackDown locker room, and Shawn Michaels made himself comfortable on a bench while the Undertaker began to unlace his boots on the opposite side of the room.

"You were great out there tonight," HBK said, watching the other man closely for his reaction.

"Thanks. So where you." He looked up from his boots and shook his head. "When I realized that it was just us two left in the ring, I knew it would be a great fight. And it was, of course."

Shawn smiled. "Yeah, it was…" He shifted on the bench and crossed his legs. "The other guys are saying that we're the best in this business."

"Of course we are."

"That's what I said," HBK laughed, reaching into his bag and pulling out his water bottle. "We have been here the longest, after all. We had better be the best."

The Undertaker nodded, removing both of his boots, but then stopped, folding his arms.

Shawn noticed this and stopped drinking the water. "What is it?"

"Are you just going to sit there?" the Deadman asked, coloring slightly. "I need to get undressed if I want to take a shower, you know."

"And?"

"And I don't want you watching me."

HBK felt his mischievous nature rising to the forefront almost immediately. "Why not? What are you hiding in that singlet, hmm?" He raised and eyebrow.

Now the Phenom blushed and turned away. "I'm not hiding anything. I just don't want you staring at me while I'm naked." When he looked at Shawn again, he saw the grin, and it was only getting bigger. 'Damn him,' he thought, rolling his eyes and sighing. 'He's making fun of me.'

"Fine then!" he grumbled, after several minutes in which it was made clear that Shawn wasn't leaving. "Just don't say or do anything, okay?"

HBK grinned like a child who just gotten his way. "Okay. No comments here."

Very uncomfortably, the Undertaker began to pull his singlet down, first baring his strong shoulders, then his well-defined chest, but stopped at his waist. 'How should I do this?' he wondered, glancing at Shawn, who was most definitely staring. 'I don't want to turn my back to him, but I can't just stand full-frontal… Ah, dammit all, I'll get him back for this.'

Sighing again, he turned around and stripped off the rest of the singlet, quickly grabbing a towel and going into the shower.

"When I get out of the shower, your ass had better be out of here, Shawn Michaels," the Undertaker warned, hearing laughter as he turned on the hot water.

"That is really a nice bike," Shawn said as they headed out to the black Titan. The Undertaker had showered fairly quickly, and after chasing Shawn from the room, had emerged wearing blue jeans and a black sleeveless shirt. 'He looks really nice,' HBK thought absently, watching him climb on the motorcycle. 'He probably smells good too.'

"Get on," the Deadman said with a toss of his long black hair. Shawn obeyed, getting on very carefully, fitting comfortably in the seat with little trouble. "Okay, now hold on to my waist, otherwise you'll fall off."

HBK nodded and wrapped his arms around the Undertaker's middle just in time to get a good grip before they sped off into the night, definitely breaking the some traffic laws along the way. He had never ridden a motorcycle before, and the feeling was exhilarating.

"Whooooo!" he yelled into the wind, drawing a chuckle from the Undertaker. "Now I know why you love riding these things!"

In a very short time, they arrived at the hotel, thankfully in one piece. They stopped at the counter, getting their respective keys and climbing up the spiral staircase.

"Thanks again for the ride, Big Man," Shawn said, holding out his hand once they reached the top.

The Undertaker took it with a smile. "No problem. We legends gotta stick together, right?" They shook and then parted ways, as their rooms were on opposite ends of the hallway.

"Mark?" Shawn called as he stood in front of his door, turning to see if the Undertaker had heard him.

"Yes?"

"This is the first time we've had a chance to be near one another in years, and the last time we did, we were beating the hell out of one another. I feel like I'm just getting to know you. We should…hang out together sometime."

The Deadman nodded. "Sure. We have off tomorrow night… Wanna go party?"

HBK couldn't help but smile. "Okay! See you tomorrow night, then." Shawn put his keys in the door and opened it. "Oh, and Big Guy?"

"Yeah?"

"Nice ass." Shawn quickly ran into the room and locked the door, laughing first at the silence, and then at the expletives that came from the other end of the hallway.