#orangekip

He couldn’t see.

Every sound entering into his consciousness was barely more than a beat and white noise. Flashes behind his eyes, throbbing against the inside of his forehead. Everything ached.

The first thing Kip could taste was faint copper, but his brain was too busy with the lack of other senses to figure out where he was bleeding from. The noises around him became loud boos, incoherent noises made by a seemingly large sea of people around him. Kip wasn’t entirely sure if that was true, he did remember being at ringside but everything past that was a blur.

Opening his eyes he could barely see, a thick stream of tears from the pain flooding his entire vision. The lights were blurry, or had they always looked like that? It had been a while since Kip had taken a little nap like this underneath the ring lights, the view might have had changed in that time. Either way, he couldn’t tell.

A distorted voice asked if he was okay. He didn’t really know how to respond. Kip’s head was still pounding, eyes trying to focus on at least something, all words disappearing from his head as he opened his mouth, closing it again as the taste of copper became stronger.

He could feel a faint arm around his neck. His hand reached up on instinct, the phantom pain of earlier events fading fast as Kip touched his own neck. It was good to know his head was still on his own shoulders, at least.

Someone helped him to sit up, asking him the same question again. Kip could feel himself getting irritated, it was an innocent question, but the answer should have been obvious. He didn’t answer, at least not verbally, but his head made some sort of a motion, a twisted guess between a nod and a shake. He wasn’t quite sure himself, but feeling arms around his body and getting helped up from what seemed to be the floor, Kip didn’t at least resist against the help.

His feet moved on their own. Leaning against a body of what Kip hoped to be another person, he allowed himself to be directed out, back, away from the bright lights and loud sounds and what seemed to be a crowd of people. He wasn’t sure why he couldn’t remember, couldn’t place himself at the moment. It was all very frustrating, confusing, and it all made the pain in his head so much worse.

The sweet darkness of the backstage swallowed him, faster than Kip had expected. Everything was still loud, but it was tolerable, allowing him to finally breathe a little bit easier. His vision was still blurry, Kip watching the world through a foggy window he had no desire to clean. In a way, it felt freeing, not identifying any faces or bodies in his way, not knowing who was perceiving him in this sad state and who didn’t give a shit.

He felt a smile tuck on the corner of his lips. The taste of copper came back soon after, wiping it away.

Kip closed his eyes, allowing himself to be dragged to wherever he was going. He didn’t care much. The darkness and the muffled voices allowed him to think more. He was starting to slowly remember everything. But most importantly, on top of everything, he could finally place the feeling that had been pounding in his chest this entire time.

Loneliness.

He was alone. They left him. They left without him.

Did they care? Had they ever cared to begin with?

Without having answers to those questions or anyone to ask them from, Kip felt himself coming to a sudden halt. He made a sound, an annoyed groan, forcing his eyes open. The fog had lifted a little, forming a face in front of him.

He didn’t need much to recognize the pair of sunglasses and the familiar voice saying he’ll take it from there.

Kip was trusted into his arms, immediately pulled into what felt like the most comfortable, safest place he had ever been. Kip slowly melted against him, the first feeling hitting him being the denim against the skin of his arms. The breath he let out was shaky, feeling a hand brushing through his hair.

He was grounded so fast he almost wanted to scream, feeling the emotions and the memory of what had just happened at ringside rushing at him at the speed of a bullet train with no way of stopping it.

And all Kip could do was let out a quiet sob.

Cassidy checked his phone clock again, sighing a little at the footsteps coming from upstairs. He usually wasn’t this stressed out about having to be in places in time or anything, especially when it came to just going to a gathering with friends and co-workers, but something about today felt special. Maybe it was the special occasion of it being a work related holiday party, something Cassidy usually avoided at all costs, just saying he was busy or he just didn’t show up without an explanation because he just didn’t care that much.

So maybe it was because this year was the first time in a long time he was going to participate in something like this… Or more likely, it was because this was the first year he was doing something like this with Kip. Together. As a couple. In front of everyone else.

Their relationship wasn’t a secret or anything, but the holidays felt like it was putting a new kind of twist in it somehow. Getting festive, decorating the house, getting gifts, talking about visiting family and seeing relatives… It was slowly bleeding over to their work life as well, Kip regularly asking him if they were giving gifts to others this year or showing up to holiday parties together.

Like tonight.

Finally the steps approaching him down the stairs snapped Cassidy out of his thoughts, eyes shooting up the stairs towards the sound. A little smile tucked at the corner of his lips as he watched Kip brush his hands through his hair, tying up the high half bun he had gotten accustomed to in the recent weeks, as he made his way down the stairs.

Cassidy chuckled at him a little bit, Kip tilting his head curiously before leaning closer to peck a little kiss on his lips as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

“What?”

“I thought I told you we were supposed to wear ugly Christmas sweaters.”

Kip raised a brow, looking down at himself, clearly confused as he brushed his now free hands over the Star Wars themed sweater he was wearing. As he looked back up after a while, Cassidy was clearly smiling at him, leaning closer to wrap his arms around Kip’s neck, twirling a free coil of his silver hair around his finger.

“But it’s the right kind of sweater, right?”

Cassidy chuckled softly, leaning in for a quick, sweet kiss.

“It is,” he finally stated, watching a quick look of relief washing over Kip’s face. “It’s just a shame you make everything look so damn good I don’t know if that’s going to count exactly.”

Kip’s expression finally softened as he registered the words in his mind, a quiet chuckle leaving his lips as well before Cassidy leaned in for another kiss. He pulled away with a little smile, giving Kip one more glance over before he finally nodded his head.

As soon as Cassidy closed the locker room door behind him, he could feel a hand reaching out for him. Considering all his team mates had been in the ring or at ringside with him tonight, it didn’t take long for his mind to put the pieces together as the fingertips softly brushed against his arm, trailing down to his hand to grab up, pulling him closer for a soft kiss.

“You looked amazing out there,” Kip mumbled against his lips, Cassidy letting out a soft laugh. His hand quickly brushed through Kip’s hair, making him break the kiss as he pulled away a little, bright eyes observing Cassidy carefully. “Congrats on winning. ...Again.”

Cassidy leaned in to give him another peck, humming into the kiss a little bit. “Missed you though. I wish you could be out there with me.”

“It is what it is,” Kip just shrugged it off, clearly not wanting to draw the attention to him in the moment. Instead, Cassidy could feel those familiar, yet curious hands carefully traveling up his arms, cupping his cheeks for a brief moment as Kip pulled him closer for a deeper kiss before slipping the arms around his neck. Cassidy didn’t resist, just smiled at him as he let Kip take the lead. It was an unusual change of pace, but not an unwelcomed one for sure.

Kip’s fingertips crawled up his neck, sending soft shivers down Cassidy’s spine. He could feel Kip’s fingers spinning coils of his hair around them, before he chuckled quietly to break the kiss for a moment.

“Your hair is getting long.” Kip smiled at him, brushing a quick hand through it before returning it to Cassidy’s neck. “I like it.”

Before Cassidy could reply, he felt a soft tug of his hair, watching as Kip’s observant eyes widened at him a little at the soft but clear whimper Cassidy let out. The soft smile was back on Kip’s lips fast though, and yet he repeated the gesture, Cassidy biting his lower lip to prevent another unwanted sound slipping out of him.

“Well then. I think I know why that is.”

Kip was clearly teasing him, absolutely knowing what he was doing. The faint blush dusting Cassidy’s cheeks was probably a dead giveaway on how much he had enjoyed that particular touch too. But almost too fast Kip’s hands left his skin, him leaning in for another quick kiss as he smiled at Cassidy, watching a slightly more annoyed look cross his face at the sudden loss of the soft affection.