Chapter Two
~[Chris]~

"For Shelly? Okay, then." Chris smiled at the excited girl in front of him. He signed the picture---of Moongoose, he was pleased to note---before handing it back. "There you go. You're welcome."

He sighed inwardly as he glanced at the long line stretching out to the side of the table. /I hate these things. They take forever, and it's always so crowded.../ And Shawn's hand creeping along his thigh during the opening speeches hadn't helped. But the next pay-per-view was less than a week away, and house show numbers were down, so Vince wanted a big promotional splash. So here they were.

/At least he sent Shawn. And Kevin and Hunter./ He smiled briefly at his lover, sitting at his side, before signing the next photo. /That makes up for Goldberg,/ he thought sourly, casting a disgruntled glance down the table at the other man, who was trying to act like he actually had a personality. He was half the length of the table away from Hunter, Chris noted for the first time. /Vince probably didn't want to risk them getting into a fight this close to the pay-per-view. Good thing... the way Goldberg's been acting lately, I think Hunt and Kevin are both ready to take his head off./

He frowned faintly in thought as he signed the next few pictures. /Odd. He hasn't done anything to them, just glared at me and said some nasty things. I wonder if they're getting all pissed at him for that. If they are, it's sweet but not necessary. He wouldn't dare try anything here. He knows it'd get his ass fired in a heartbeat if he did./ He glanced involuntarily back down at Goldberg, and felt a chill as he saw Goldberg staring at him, an odd light in his eyes. Some of the things Goldberg had said to him over the past few weeks came back to him, and he resolved not to get caught in any dark corners by the man. /Not that I couldn't handle him, but no use taking chances.../

He continued smiling and chatting for several more fans in line, trying not to look too often at Shawn. /We've already had one warning about being too public. At least Vince doesn't want us to hide it; we just have to be careful not to get caught doing anything today./ A sidelong look at his boss, and the watchful look he was giving them, and Chris had to hide a sudden snicker as he remembered their encounter earlier that week during a house show, after he and Shawn had had a match against each other.

They'd barely gotten backstage and down a side hall before Shawn turned on him, lust nearly making his eyes glow.

"Shawn, we shouldn't..." His words were cut off by the bruising kiss Shawn gave him as he pressed him hard into the wall, one leg between his. Chris shivered as he felt Shawn's erection rub against him, and gave into the kiss, moaning as Shawn cupped his ass and pulled them even closer together.

"I think we should. And by the feel of it, so do you, boy," Shawn growled into his ear before biting it, drawing a yelp from Chris. The swipe of his hot tongue to soothe it drew out a groan, and Chris's head fell back against the wall as Shawn began biting and licking his way down Chris's throat.

He lingered at the junction of throat and shoulder, and Chris couldn't stop either the soft, broken noise that escaped him or the press of his hips against his lover's. As Shawn nibbled at the sensitive skin of Chris's collarbone, his free hand wandered down to the waistband of Chris's tights, slipping inside.

"Shawn...!" Chris's hips bucked as Shawn's fingers trailed across his shaft.

"Something you wanted, boy?" Shawn hissed. Chris nodded, beyond caring that they were in a public place. He just wanted Shawn's mouth on him, _now_. As he raised his head to tell Shawn that, a noise made them aware that they weren't alone.

A throat being cleared.

/Oh, god, _please_ let me be wrong about that voice,/ Chris pleaded silently as he flushed bright red, knowing that they'd been caught. Shawn, however, nonchalantly turned his head---without moving his hand, Chris realized---and smiled lazily at the man who was staring at them.

"Oh, hi, Vince," he drawled, his accent thick and his voice gravelly.

Chris's eyes closed in embarrassment. /Oh my god. Vince. I was right. It's Vince. He's going to fire us for this. No, he'll kick our asses and _then_ he'll fire us. Oh god oh god oh god.../

"Damn it, Shawn! You, of all people, should know better," Vince growled. Chris forced his eyes open again at the tone of Vince's voice. It'd hadn't been angry, like he'd been expecting; it had been... exasperated? Resigned?

Shawn just shrugged, not releasing his grip on Chris's ass.

Vince sighed. "How many times did I have to warn you and Hunter?"

Shawn grinned at that and shrugged. "Not as often as you had to warn Kevin and Scott, that's for sure." Chris tried and mostly succeeded in muffling a snort of laughter at that, but got a glare from Vince anyway.

"Look, guys... Your private lives are your own, but at least _try_ not to make it public, okay?" Vince's tone softened. "It's an open secret that half of you aren't straight, but I don't want to see any pictures of you on tomorrow's tabloids. The company could probably handle a revelation like that, but I don't know if you could. Most of the world's not very accepting of gay relationships, you know." The concern in his voice surprised Chris, but Shawn spoke before he could.

"I know, Vince. And I appreciate the concern. We'll tone it down in public, I promise." He sounded sincere, and Vince nodded, apparently mollified. He started to say something, then shook his head and walked away... but Chris caught the barest hint of an indulgent smile as he turned away from them.

"Not expecting that?" Shawn asked, studying him. He shook his head, and Shawn's lips quirked. "I'm not surprised. Vince does care about his people, regardless of his hardass reputation. He just doesn't show it often. And... he and I have always been pretty close." He paused and added more softly, "He's always been like a second father to me." Chris blinked at him, and he shrugged. "He's been there when I needed him, and he's offered good advice, a shoulder to cry on, and a boot in the ass when I needed it. He's a lot better man than a lot of people like to think."

Chris nodded slowly, mulling over this new insight into his boss, when Shawn pinned him against the wall again.

"Shawn!" His protest was half-hearted at best, but he cast a wary glance down the hall. Shawn chuckled.

"C'mon, Chris... he knows better than to turn around and come right back. If he caught us again, he might actually have to _do_ something about it... and he won't." Chris frowned at him, but Shawn shook his head. "Why do you think me and Hunter got so many warnings? He kept threatening to fine us or suspend us... but he knew that if he suspended us, we'd just spend the time together anyway." Before Chris could answer, Shawn squeezed his ass.

"Now... where were we?"

Chris was startled out of his reverie by a puzzled voice.

"Mister Jericho? Umm... Mister Jericho?" He blinked, and realized that a boy was standing in front of him, looking intimidated. He shook himself a little and apologized, signing the picture with an especially long dedication to make up for his distraction. He caught Shawn's amusement from the corner of his eye, but bit his tongue rather than say what he was thinking. He'd promised Vince that he'd behave today, after all... /I'm starting to look forward to those photo ops. Geez./

He had to bit back a yawn as another pretty young blonde stepped up with a perky smile and offered him a facefull of cleavage as she bent forward. /Pretty, but not the blond I'm interested in./

He was just asking her name when he felt a soft touch on his knee. He jumped a little, then realized that it was Shawn's hand. /Not again.../ A quick glance to the side showed his lover animatedly chatting up a friendly brunette... while his left hand was out of sight under the table. He didn't even glance at Chris, but Chris could see the smirk on his face. He rolled his eyes as the blonde walked away smiling. /Great. Now I get to amuse him while he's bored./

He signed several more pictures, mostly managing to ignore the fingers that were gently squeezing his knee... until they started to creep up the inside of his thigh. He slitted his eyes and glared sideways at Shawn, who met his gaze long enough to wink at him. Gritting his teeth, he turned his attention back to the not-so-patiently waiting fans.

He was engrossed in the nearly rote actions of the autograph line, asking the next person's name, when Shawn's fingers cupped him through the fabric of his slacks, squeezing his balls. He choked back a gasp, managing to make it sound like he was clearing his throat. He squirmed in his seat as he signed the photo, those fingers squeezing and rolling his balls the entire time. He slitted another glare at his lover as he tried to squirm away from those clever fingers, but was soundly ignored. He forced himself to relax again, and had just succeeded in doing so when Shawn _squeezed_. He squeaked, jumping in his chair, and openly glared at Shawn, who had pulled his hand away.

All he got in return was an amused look and a raised eyebrow. Chris nearly blushed as he realized that everyone was staring at him, with expressions varying from concerned to knowing... and one glare. Vince just looked resigned. He cleared his throat and muttered a lame excuse about a muscle cramp. Most of the people seemed to accept that at face value, and he thanked whatever lucky star was looking out for him that day. /I do _not_ need Vince coming down on me, especially after I promised that I'd behave today./ Rubbing his leg to play up his excuse, he leaned down, kicking Shawn under the table as he did. Shawn jumped a little, and Chris sat back up, feeling somewhat vindicated.

"You okay?" Kevin asked softly from his other side, glancing over. Chris nodded, trying to look as though nothing were going on, and Kevin raised an eyebrow at him before glancing down at his crotch and smirking. Chris couldn't help the faintly embarrassed look that swept across his face, and Kevin grinned. He winked at Shawn over Chris's head, which earned him an irritated glare from Chris.

Snaking a hand under the table, Chris tried to surreptitiously adjust himself, biting his lip as his hand pressed against his now-sensitized flesh. /Damnit, anyway... I'll probably be walking around with a hard-on for the rest of the day, now./ He let out an irritated sigh, then straightened back up in his chair and apologized to the young woman who'd been waiting for him.

As he signed her picture, he was a little taken aback by the slight smile on her face as she looked from him to Shawn.

"You're cute together," she told him quietly, giggling a bit at the blush that he couldn't stop. /Damn. Am I wearing a sign and haven't realized it yet?/ Chris wondered, watching her walk away.

Read chapter 3 of 4 of Taking it Slow: Public Lessons