"Jeff will you listen to me?" Mark followed the younger man down the corridor towards their locker room, wincing as he watched Jeff limp and hold his stomach with each step. "Jeff, I'm sorry."

Ignoring him, Jeff continued, every bone in his body aching and sore. He couldn't believe that his own lover would do that to him, would punish him like that, and right now he was too angry to speak. He knew that if he did, he'd say something that he'd later regret.

When he got to the locker room Jeff sat down and rested his head against the cold wall, the chill providing a small relief. He momentarily closed his eyes, but when those green orbs were revealed again the first sight they took in was the red headed man, knelt in front of Jeff, penitence on his face.

"Babe, listen to me." It wasn't so much of a plea as an order. Too weary to argue, the younger Hardy complied, nodding for his lover to continue. "I didn't want to do that, but Vince said I had to. I'm sorry, really I am. Did I hurt you?"

"What do you fucking think?" Jeff's anger got the better of him. "Fucking hell Mark, do you always do what Vince tells you?"

"I didn't have any choice Jeff. I promise that if I could have avoided doing that to you I would have." Mark lifted his hand to touch Jeff's cheek, but the blue haired man slapped it away.

"Bollocks. You're always talking about respect, how you don't think you got it, when you know full well you rule the fucking locker room." Jeff's eyes flared with sparks of fury. "You could have gotten out of the match if you'd wanted. Hell, if I didn't know better I'd say you seriously enjoyed beating me."

"You know I didn't." Mark's face fell in shame. "Don't swear and cuss like that Jeff, you're too beautiful to say such ugly words, I keep telling you that."

"Yeah but I'm not beautiful now, you've seen to that. I'm battered and bruised and you did that to me. How am I supposed to trust you Mark?" Jeff might have been angry but he still heeded Mark's warning about his language.

"It was just a match Jeff, you know that I'd never hurt you like that otherwise."

"Yeah but for you it wasn't. It wasn't just a match. You enjoyed beating me, you enjoyed it Mark." Jeff's voice faded away and he put his head in his hands, obscuring his lover's view of the tears that were just beginning to fall.

"I didn't enjoy it! How the fuck can you say that Jeff?"

"You didn't stop, did you?" Jeff's voice was muffled through his hands. "I couldn't take any more and you still didn't stop. It hurt so much Mark, and you kept on hurting me." The tears and words were overtaken by sobs and Jeff let go of his emotions, crying bitterly into his hands.

"Oh Jeff." Mark pulled him close, Jeff too exhausted to even struggle against him. "Baby, listen to me. I'm sorry, I never meant to push you further than you were capable of. If I'd have known that you were in pain I would have stopped the match, no question. I didn't enjoy hurting you, honestly I didn't. I just heard the fans cheering for you and I was so proud of you, so proud baby. I guess I got a little carried away but I swear on my life that I will never do that again."

Jeff looked up at the redhead, still unsure. "Promise? You'll never make me feel like this again?"

"Never. Physically or mentally." Mark caressed his cheek, flinching himself when he saw the beginning of a bruise marring that young man's fragile features. "Jeff, you don't have to be scared of me. What I've done is wrong, and I'll make it up to you, I promise I will. This won't happen again. But promise me you'll talk to me. Let me know if I overwhelm you, go too far, do too much. I need to know so I don't hurt you again."

Slowly Jeff nodded. "I do love you Mark," he affirmed. "I'm sorry for getting angry. It just hurts so much, I'd hate to be scared of you like I was scared of him."

"I'll never be like him baby. Never ever." On the surface they were loving brothers, but no one had realised the physical and mental abuse Matt had exerted over his younger brother in an effort to control him. It had taken months for Mark to discover why the younger man was so reserved, shy, almost scared to talk to people, then months more to give that young man the confidence to escape his brother's control and become himself. Mark hated himself for behaving in such a way that Jeff could even compare him to his brother. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Just take me back to the hotel. Make me better."

Mark scooped Jeff up in his arms. He could take Jeff back to the hotel now, tend to his bruises, but make him better? He knew that because of his actions tonight, it would be a long time until he could say that he'd done that.

Read story #2 in the trilogy Something Blinded