You don't lose hope, love.

They all agreed to the reward of $50 to whoever can get him to smile. Taz, his own dad, was even in on the little challenge.

He thought it would be easy, considering he was his dad. He decided to go first, being confident in his abilities and to “show everyone how it’s done.”

What was something he could do to make his boy smile?

Why a dog, of course!

Taz had gone to an animal shelter, picked a random dog, and brought it to the locker room.

You remember sitting next to Hook, sewing something into his ring gear when the door busted open. “Hook, son, I got you something!”

He almost looked annoyed, closing his eyes and slowly opening them. He took his arms from behind his back and held the dog out with open arms.

You and the boys instantly dropped what they were doing and went to the animal.

“Oh my god, it’s a puppy!” You cooed while taking it in your arms. “And it’s a boy. I guess he’s a part of our team.” Ricky added with a laugh. “What’s his name?” Hobbs asked while also petting the little pup.

“Named him Handsome.”

You all froze what you were doing, including Hook, and looked at the WCW Legend. “Handsome?” You all said in sync.

“Yeah, Handsome. I chose the name because it’s Hook’s dog, his nickname is The Cold-Hearted, Handsome Devil, and it just works.”

You all stayed silent, not wanting to argue with him.

“What, would y’all rather me name him Devil?”

A chorus of “no’s” were heard followed by Taz leaving.

You then looked over at your boyfriend to see the signature frown on his face. “Baby, you haven’t smiled once. Do you not like him?” You asked with a pout.

He quickly shook his head. “‘No, I like him.” And he left it at that.

Taz was pissed that he didn’t earn the $50, but now it was Ricky and Hobbs’s turn.

They both decided to work together, since Ricky can’t do anything on his own, and also because there was a better chance of them winning if it was two of them.

They tried their chance at the gym when working out. Hook was brutally assaulting the red punching bag when he heard his name being called.

“Hook, look!”

He ignored it, thinking Ricky was probably doing something stupid.

“Hurry man, look!”

He let out a sigh while putting his gloved, hands down.

He turned in their direction only for his eyebrows to furrow and lips tighten. There stood Hobbs who had Ricky deadlifted over his head.

“Hobbs can lift like, 190lbs above his head! Isn’t that cool!”

Hook didn't look slightly impressed, knowing Hobbs could lift much more, but his expression quickly changed to worry when he saw Hobbs’s arms begin to shake.

“You should get down,” he warned.

“Why? I think this is cool. I bet I could be like a cheerleader and do some tricks!”

As he said that, he attempted to push himself up, making Hobbs lose his grip and tumble with him to the floor.

Hook winced at the sight as the thud echoed around the gym.

“Ricky, Hobbs, what the hell are you two doing! This isn’t playtime!” Taz scolded the two.

In the end, their attempt to get a reaction out of him failed and even got them in trouble.

They all pretty much gave up. There was no way they could think of to make him smile, laugh, blush, anything.

It was after the day ended and they all found themselves in their shared hotel room.

Hook was blown out from training and went for the bed, and despite being worked to death after their stunt, Ricky and Hobbs decided to stay up and sit in the small living room.

As soon as his back hit the sheets, his phone began ringing. At first, he was ready to decline the FaceTime call, but when he saw your name, he answered.

He spoke in an all familiar, sleepy voice. “Hello.”

“Oh gosh, I’m sorry, babe! I didn’t know you were getting ready to sleep. God, the time difference is killing me!”

He let out a small chuckle at your worried tone. “It’s alright.”

You knew he was being truthful, but that didn't erase the frown on your lips.

“Sorry, I just wanted to see you,” you admitted. “I put your hoodie on the chair across the bed, so every time I look at it, it reminds me of you.”

Hook tilted the phone at an angle so you couldn’t see the pink dusting his cheeks.

“Handsome’s missing you too. He’s been sleeping on your side of the bed since you left.” You said, pointing the camera at the puppy who was sleeping on his pillow.

He’ll definitely have to get you to wash it before he comes home.

Silence took over between the two of you as you watched his eyes begin to drift shut.

“Alright, m’gonna get some sleep.” He announced, breaking the comfortable silence.

“Love you.”

You barely caught that, his voice coming into a suspicious whisper.

“Say it again before you hang up,” you gushed with a smile.

“…Love you,” he repeated, loud enough for his teammates to hear.

He could feel their stares on him as you cooed at him before hanging up with an “I love you too.”

As soon as he hung up, he buried his face in his hands, trying, but miserably failing, to hide his gummy smile.

Fans loved to instigate it more on social media, making TK turn the whole rivalry into small segments or keep it up during meet & greets.

It was a massive hit, but after the little moments ended, you both still found yourself making snide comments at one another. Whether it was online or standing next to him in the catering room, it never stopped, and today was no different.

As soon as you woke up and allowed your eyes to adjust to the world, you hopped on X and made a tweet.

Ladies and gentleman, please enjoy the last entrance @The_ONLY_MJF will EVER have with his belt after

@KingXBrody wins it tonight 😉

Then there was only 4 hours before the show and you were tweeting once more.

Good luck @The_ONLY_MJF, you’re gonna need it tonight! 😘

Of course he responded to both tweets with an insult, but you hearted it, adding insult to injury.

Fans ate it up like always, getting more interested in the match and dying to see the outcome. Who would have the bragging rights!

You arrived backstage with 15 minutes to spare to help some girls get ready before Max’s match. When it hit the 5 minute mark, you quickly made way to the gorilla where he stood.

He looked deep in thought, staring down at his boots while mumbling something to himself. When he finally looked up and caught your eyes, you saw his expression change. What was once stress was now smug, his signature smirk coming to his lips.

It was crazy to see how fast you could get a reaction out of him with just your appearance.

“You’re looking at the future retaining Champ.” He spoke with confidence in his voice. You rolled your eyes while crossing your arms over your chest. “Yeah, right!” You chuckled.

You two continued to stare at each other, almost as if you were trying to remember every single detail of this moment.

It was such an important match for Max, not only to prove to the fans why he was the champion, but to also prove it to you, which added onto the pressure.

The sound of his music playing broke the staring contest.

“Well, good luck,” you wished with a cheery tone. You didn’t get a verbal answer, but you did get one from his middle finger as it extended up.

You couldn’t help the laugh that passed your lips as he walked through the curtains, the cheers almost blowing your ear drums.

The match was a 5 star classic, Brody really showing why he was put in the position to fight the champion and Max showing why he was one.

It ended with a Heat Seeker from Max before pinning the tattooed man for the 3 count.

It didn’t sound too crazy, but when Brody hit Max with a steel chair and blood started to leak from his forehead, you did grow a little worried.

By the time he was backstage, the blood was dripping past his eye and down his cheek.

You watched from the background as TK and other people stood by him to take pictures, the blood making you feel more uneasy.

Once he finally made it past everyone, he was ready to rub the retainment in your face, but then he saw your concerned expression.

“Follow me,” he whispered as he passed you. You shamelessly did, following him until you reached his locker room.

“You’re bleeding.” Was the first thing you said.

“It’s just a scratch.” He carelessly dismissed it as if he wasn’t bleeding from his forehead.

Your worried expression didn't falter, a scoff coming from him. “Seriously, it’s not that deep. Don’t tell me you're getting all soft on me now.” He teased, but stopped when he saw you weren’t laughing.

“Fine,” he groaned out. “You can patch me up, or whatever, if it makes you feel better.”

It in fact did as you pushed him towards the bathroom and sat on the counter. He grumpily stood in between your legs, mumbling about “how stupid this was” and “how he didn’t need to be patched.”

“Oh hush, we both know damn well you don’t want an infection for not cleaning and covering this nasty cut.”

He relaxed in your touch, despite the occasional stings from hydrogen peroxide and rubbing at the injured spot. It was the most calm he’s felt since yesterday.

You pulled away, admiring your work. “I don’t think you’ll need stitches, just a band-aid.” You grabbed one and placed it directly on the cut.

“And done! Don’t you feel so much better?”

His face scrunched up at your question. “No, it still stings.”

Without thinking, you leaned forward and gently kissed the bandage. “How about now?” You whispered.

Instead of a cocky looking Max you saw an embarrassed one, his face deepening into a shade of pink. Yours soon matched once you noticed what you had done.

You opened your mouth to explain yourself, but a knock on the door stopped you.

“MJF, it’s Renee! I just need to interview you real quick if you don’t mind!”

It was getting to a point where people like R-Truth were getting annoyed. It made him come backstage every week and crack a joke, but still, everyone but the one person he wanted to laughed.

It didn’t just stop at R-Truth, but also Sami. Sami attempted to get him to break out of his shell at a karaoke bar the team decided to visit after a show. 

The ginger stood on the stage with a cheap microphone in hand while swaying side to side at the opening of the music. “Oh this is a duo song? Solo, come up here and sing as the girl!”

Sami noticed the death glare he was sending his way, he cleared his throat. “Okay fine, I’ll be the girl and you can be the guy?”

Still, Solo didn't react.

Then there were his two brothers who tried to get him to party as well.

After a big win to get a chance at the tag titles, they celebrated with a dance. Fans danced along with them and hyped them up making the twins even more excited.

“Yo Uce, dance with us!”

The two continued their dancing, but Solo didn’t even budge. He only stood there with his arms crossed, standing on guard.

Even when Jey wrapped his arm around his shoulders and jumped up and down to force him to move, Solo stood there with no reaction, showing he was being moved against his own will.

And then there’s you.

It didn’t take much to get a reaction out of him when it came to you, and everyone quickly found that out when The Judgement Day slithered into the ring and attacked you all.

You were the only one in the ring as Rhea backed you  into one of the turnbuckles, continuously creeping towards you with a kendo stick.

Before any harm was done, Solo slid in the ring and shielded you, blocking you from the sight of Rhea.

The two continued to stare each other down as Jimmy and Jey took the opportunity to drag you out the ring. Solo soon exited, continuing his stare down with the people inside the ring.

You instantly jumped on Solo as soon as you were backstage, and on instinct he caught you, his arms wrapping protectively around your waist to hold you up.

“Thank you, Solo! Thank you for saving me!”

You then did the unthinkable and pecked his cheek. 

“You’re my knight and shining armor!”

You let go of him, to which he had a little delay of doing the same, and began walking down the hall.

Good thing you left or you would’ve seen the small smile that came to his lips and how red his face had gotten.

“Really Uce?” Jimmy spoke up.

“A kiss?” Jey finished.