#wresimagines

“I’m so happy I could put this here,” you said, “You can use it any time you want!”

He smiled, “Are you sure? ‘Cause I’ll definitely take you up on that.”

“You’re always welcome to come hang out with me, Yoots. Let’s stretch and get started.”

You hadn’t trained with Yuta before. To be honest, the idea had you quite stressed, as you’ve been trying to hide the fact your heart races anytime he’s in the same room as you. But at the same time, you always missed him whenever you two spent time apart. During the AEW shows, he had to spend all his time with the Death Riders, so you didn’t get to hangout with him as much as you would like. Sometimes after shows if he wasn’t exhausted, he would come hang out with you in your hotel room to watch a movie and you two would cuddle. You’d be surprised if he hadn’t already noticed the rapid beating of your heart whenever he holds you. Inviting him over was worth the risk though, you genuinely missed his company and the way he makes you laugh.

“What do you wanna work on today?” You asked him.

“Actually, I was thinking it would be fun if we just sparred for right now. From there we could get some ideas on things to work on, we can take a break to do that,” he said, giving you a small smile.

You smirked, “Oh, are you sure? I wouldn’t wanna hurt you.”

He chuckled, “Aww, it’s adorable that you think you could hurt me.”

“Do you wanna bet? I’ve got $20 that says I can tap you out!”

Wheeler’s jaw dropped slightly, a laugh threatening to come through, “You’re on. I’d love to see you try, sweetheart!”

Sweetheart.

The nickname made you swoon on the inside, the heat rising to your cheeks as you tried to bite back a smile. You circled up with Yuta, and as he tried to lock up with you, you faked him out and instead shot for his knee, taking him down. He let out a groan as he landed on his knees, and you figured this would be your best opportunity to go for a submission. It made most sense to go for an arm bar, since he was facing you on his knees.

Wheeler had it scouted, though, because as you reached for his arms, he was easily able to push you down so that you were laying on your back. He attempted to sit on top of you, but you moved your legs around his waist instead, a position called guard. Guard has its advantages, but using your legs for a submission was pretty limited without giving up control. You tried to shift your legs up to pull him into a triangle hold, but once you freed up a little bit of space, Yuta stood up, lifting you up with him.

You gasped for air as he slammed you down onto the mat, your back hitting the ground first. You grimaced as you felt the sting on pain run through your spine. Wheeler gasped and he let go of you, a deep frown now on his face. His eyes met yours, wide with concern.

“Are you okay?” He asked, moving his hands to your cheek. The pain in your spine didn’t linger, unlike his touch on your skin.

“Yes,” you answered, cheeks flushing at how attentive he was. His eyes were scanning yours, watching for changes in your expression. You both stood up, and he hesitated, feet planted on the ground as he stared at you.

“Sorry,” he said quietly.

You shrugged, “I’m not fragile, Yuta. I knew we were training today. So let’s train.”

“So tough!” he joked, the corners of his mouth turning up into that beautiful smile that you adored so much. You smiled back at him before motioning for him to continue. Once again you faked him out on the lock up, electing to tackle him instead.

He hit the floor with a groan, “No fair!” You immediately moved to sit on top of his rib cage, a position known as mount.

“I can’t believe you fell for that again,” you teased, reaching for one of his arms to lock into an arm bar. He intertwined his fingers together, and you tried to separate his hands but he kept tightening his grip.

“You’re a one trick pony. I’ve got your arm bars scouted,” he told you. “Also,” he paused, and you raised your eyebrows at him. He shifted his hips up, which threw you off of him. You landed on your stomach on the mat, and soon you could feel Wheeler’s body flush on top of yours.

Your face instantly felt hot, and his arm wrapped around your neck, pulling you into a chokehold. If you hadn’t landed on your stomach, you would’ve been able to move out it. His full weight was pressed on top of you, leaving you with no options. You tried to shift your hips, to see if you could create some space and maybe work with that. However, the action just made you painfully aware of the fact his hips were pressed right on your butt. Nowhere to go, you tapped out, needing him to release you while your dignity was still in tact.

Yuta let go of the hold and got off of you, but that didn’t change the fact that your entire body felt hot. He moved to sit beside you, and you couldn’t look at him, the feeling of heat still radiating off your body as arousal continued to sink in. You craved more, needing to feel him against your skin again, but he would never want that with you.

“Aw, your face is so red, did I have the hold on too tight?” He asked, one hand moving to cup your chin. His cheeks were pale as he looked at you, eyes narrowed as he likely checked for signs of pain.

“Yeah,” you lied, not wanting to admit the real reason for your flushed face.

He pressed his lips together for a moment, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t think I had it on that tight. Are you okay? Do you want to stop?”

“I’m okay, Yoots. Just give me a second and we can go back to me kicking your ass!”

He chuckled, worried frown easing up into a small smile, “Oh, you’re the one that just tapped out, sweetheart. I believe you owe me $20.”

Sweetheart. There it was again! How were you supposed to cool down if he was busy calling you pet names that shut down your entire nervous system? And he said it with a smirk too, devious smile that you made you crave him through your core.

“Best two out of three,” you specified, but also, it made you so nervous to think that it would mean having to continue being so up close and personal with the person you craved the most.

As you circled up, you knew you wouldn’t be able to get Yuta to fall for a fake out once again. Instead, you decided you would jump into a guillotine hold, your legs wrapped around his waist, left arm moving to wrap around his neck.

“Shit,” you heard him mumble, and now you could feel his breath on your neck, heavy as you started to tighten the hold.

Your heart raced again at the intimacy, the way you could clearly smell his mahogany cologne against your skin, but you needed to progress the hold in order to not lose the bet. You sank your hips down, trying to get him to lose balance and to fall with you. That wasn’t enough, so you rolled your hips against his once again, your body heating up when you realized his bulge was lined up with your heat. Oh. You were grinding on the poor guy! His beard scraped against your neck, but honestly, the bitter sensation just made you crave him more.

Yuta fell forward, and you kept your grip tight on him, trying not to give him any openings to escape. His weight was on you once again, and you were grateful that he couldn’t see how red your face was. You could still feel his breath on your neck, causing goosebumps to form. He tried to pry your grip off of him, but you kept the hold tight. Just a few more seconds until he had to tap out, you hoped. He was shifting constantly, and you knew that would wear him out.

The harsh feeling of his teeth ripping your flesh into the side of your neck made you moan out, unexpected, and far too loud to be discreet. It was like the world paused. He froze on top of you, and you immediately released your grip around his neck. How were you supposed to face him? You were so glad that his head was still buried in your neck. But did he really have to bite you like that? He slowly lifted his head up, his eyes wide as he looked at you. You could feel your shoulders tense up, and you were terrified to try to move.

“That’s what you like?” He asked, quietly, and you nodded slowly. It was too late to go back at this point.

You expected him to make some sort of comment, one to make you feel better about embarrassing yourself like this. Instead he reached a hand up to your cheek, slowly closing his eyes as he leaned in. His lips met yours, shockingly, and you could feel the tension in your shoulders start to disappear. You kissed him back, not willing to let this opportunity expire.

Wheeler Yuta was in your house, kissing you like he needed you. His lips moved against yours, fast, no intention of taking it slow.

You reached a hand up to pull his hair, causing him to let out a low groan. You could feel the arousal pooling between your thighs, and he pulled away from the kiss, eyes wide with lust. He leaned his head down, pressing a gentle kiss to the spot where he had bitten you at. You let out a needy sigh at the attention, and you could feel him start to smirk against your neck. His hands moved down to your sides, roaming your waist as he kissed your neck. A soft bite to your flesh had you moan again, Yuta pulled away again.

“So vocal for me,” he commented, moving to press a soft kiss to your lips.

“Is that what you like?” You asked him, before kissing him again.

“Yeah,” he said lowly, “I can show you some more things I like.”

You nodded eagerly at him, and wasted no time in pulling him in for another kiss. This time your hands finally wandered his body, feeling up his abs under his shirt. One of his hands moved to your legs, holding you in place so he could grind against you. You moaned against his lips at the feeling, arching your back up into him when you could feel him harden against your heat. You broke the kiss, hands starting to reach for your shirt. You stripped it off, and Yuta started to press kisses against your collarbone. You moaned softly once again, one hand moving up to tangle in his long hair.

“Do you want me?” He asked, tilting his head up so he could maintain eye contact with you.

“I need you,” you specified, trying to fulfill the throbbing need between your thighs.

As he leaned in to kiss you again, the sound of loud ringing coming from his bag filled the room. You groaned when he pulled away, practically pushing off of you. He frantically answered his phone, eyes wide before he turned his back to you.

“R-right now?” You heard him ask on the phone, “It has to be right now?”

You sat up, letting out a sigh as Wheeler paced your matted room.

“I’ll be right there, I’m leaving right now!” He said quickly, and you stood up, starting to walk over to him. He hung up the phone, practically sprinting to his bag, though clearly erect through his sweatpants.

You pouted, “You're really leaving?”

“I don’t have a choice!” He snapped, causing your jaw to drop. Nothing else was said as he marched out the door, and you were left to deal with the disappointment all on your own.

You didn’t want to be mad at him, after all Wheeler Yuta was still your best friend and that had to count for something. But he hadn’t called you. He hadn’t even sent you a single text message since you last saw him. Now it was Wednesday, 3 days since he gave you the blatantly obvious mark on your neck, and you were conflicted. Angry that you hadn’t heard from him, yet, unable to get that steamy make out session out of your head.

It didn’t take that much effort to text back, you thought. You already knew Jon can be demanding, so you didn’t necessarily hold it against Yuta for having to leave. The way he snapped at you had hurt as well.

As he leaned in to kiss you again, the sound of loud ringing coming from his bag filled the room. You groaned when he pulled away, practically pushing off of you. He frantically answered his phone, eyes wide before he turned his back to you.

“R-right now?” You heard him ask on the phone, “It has to be right now?”

You sat up, letting out a sigh as Wheeler paced your matted room.

“I’ll be right there, I’m leaving right now!” He said quickly, and you stood up, starting to walk over to him. He hung up the phone, practically sprinting to his bag, though clearly erect through his sweatpants.

You pouted, “You're really leaving?”

“I don’t have a choice!” He snapped, causing your jaw to drop. Nothing else was said as he marched out the door, and you were left to deal with the disappointment all on your own.

You weren’t the one putting him in the position to leave, so him raising his voice at you was uncalled for. Your best friend usually apologized if he realized that he had an attitude, so it felt odd that he hadn’t reached out at all. You weren’t necessarily looking forward to seeing him again tonight, he usually doesn’t leave the Death Riders’ sides so you knew he wasn’t going to seek you out during the show. But you’d have to look at him, stare at the man you almost fucked a few days prior who left you in the dark. Part of you wanted to be mad at him, but honestly, you couldn’t stop craving the feeling of his lips on yours.

You could still feel his hands on your waist sometimes, lighting a fire inside your veins. You could still feel his lips on your neck every time you closed your eyes to sleep. You could still feel the way he smirked as he made you moan, the way his beard scratched against your neck. You could still smell his mahogany cologne on your skin if you closed your eyes. God, the way he kissed you with such need…

You groaned, trying to shake away those thoughts as you paced backstage. You weren’t set to have a match tonight, which puts you now at three weeks without competing. You were getting tired of not being able to prove yourself out there, after all, you trained your butt off to get here in the first place. You wanted to find somewhere private to sulk in peace, so you headed past catering over to the storage area. As you tried to find a place to sit, an arm reached for your waist and pulled you into a janitors closet.

The mahogany scent hit you, so you didn’t freak out. Instead, you looked at Yuta, who was in black jeans and a silver chain, displaying those abs of his. He was smiling wide as he looked at you, almost giddy. His hands reached to your cheeks, and he closed his eyes, leaning in to kiss you. You wanted to resist, needing answers, but the second his lips met yours, you were kissing him back. Your hands gripped his biceps, needing to hold onto something stable. His hands moved to your waist, hugging you close to him as he kissed you deeply.

You pulled away, body heating up in anger, “Wait, I’m mad at you!”

He pouted at you, “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I was hoping you could come to my hotel room tonight and I could explain everything.”

“Yuta! You’ve been ignoring me for days!”

“Not on purpose. I can explain everything tonight. It’s room 617. I am going to kiss you again and then we can talk later,” he said, one hand reaching under your chin so he could pull you forward. You melted in his touch, feeling your knees buckle. You grabbed onto him desperately, and he slowly pulled away. He mumbled that he had to go, but leaned in for one more kiss on the top of your head. You blushed as he left, unable to control your rapidly increasing heart rate.

You stayed during the show, just in case something were to change and you could potentially have a match. Unfortunately, you were unlucky tonight. As you knocked on Yuta’s hotel door, you could feel your hands start to shake. You were on a mission to ask him what you needed to know. No amount of kisses can stop you from finding out why he was ignoring you like that.

Yuta opened the door with a wide smile on his face. You hadn’t seen him happy like that since he joined the Death Riders, it was nice to see him joyful for a change. He let you in, giving you only a second before he shut the door and started to kiss you. You pushed his shoulders, trying to get him off of you.

“Wheeler, we have to talk,” you reminded him.

“I was hoping we could pick off where we left off, and then talk.”

You shook your head, “No, I called, I texted you, you haven’t responded to me in days! Last time I saw you, we almost… y’know, but you couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Did you think about me at all these past couple of days?”

“I’m sorry for leaving like that. Jon needed me and I couldn’t get out of it. If I could’ve stayed, trust me, I would’ve. I don’t have my phone. I lost it that night, I didn’t know that you reached out to me. Of course I think about you, I’ve been thinking about what would’ve happened if I hadn’t left. I’ve been thinking about if you were gonna cover the mark on your neck. I’ve been thinking about if you wanted things to stay the same or if you wanted to be mine. But I didn’t have any way of contacting you except for email, and I know you don’t check those. I’m sorry I snapped at you. I was really annoyed that I had to leave and I was stressed out about it. You didn’t deserve that.”

You heart fluttered at what he had thought about. You had wondered those same exact things. “I want to be yours so bad,” you whispered, “When did you lose your phone?”

“It’s not that I lost it, it’s more so… that I don’t have it.”

You frowned, “Why not?”

He let out a sigh, lowering his head, “I took too long answering the phone that day, and… well, Jon took it from me. They gave me this flip phone with only their phone numbers in it. They think that having all those apps and stuff is a distraction.”

“You’re kidding, right? Yuta, that’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”

He shook his head, reluctantly taking out a small phone from his back pocket, “I wouldn’t lie to you. I like you so much, I always have. I don’t want to lose out on being with you. I thought that maybe we were getting somewhere, you know? We didn’t talk about it or anything, but I just want to show you how I feel about you.”

You looked at the flip phone, and Wheeler opened up his contacts, showing only the four others in Death Riders. He reached a hand up once again, cupping your chin so you’d look at him. You leaned into him, and he quickly wrapped his arms around you.

“I’ve always liked you too, Yoots,” you admitted, “I mean, surely it was obvious.”

He shook his head, “I always hoped, but I wasn’t sure. If I thought you did, I would’ve done something a long time ago.”

You leaned up, pressing a kiss to his cheek. The action made him a smile, a warm one that made most of your worries disappear.

“Well, we could make up for lost time,” you suggested.

“I’d like that very much,” he beamed at you, pearly white teeth on display. You were sure that your expression mirrored his, after all, you were smiling so much that your cheeks had started to hurt.

Neither of you wanted to wait a second longer, pulling each other in for a deep kiss. You moaned when his tongue licked against your lips, parting your mouth open so you could feel his tongue better. He pushed you away briefly, his arms moving to your hips to lift you up. He set you down on the bed, laying you down so that he could hover on top of you.

He moved to kiss you again, but you stripped off your shirt before his lips could meet yours again. His eyes scanned you over, eager, and it made you melt on the inside. He moved his lips to your neck, giving you love bites that had you moaning for him. You reached a hand up to pull his long hair, content with the way he groaned at the movement. You could feel yourself getting wet, arousal dripping down your thighs, and you weren’t sure how much more you could wait.

“I need to feel you,” you begged, trying to wrap your legs around his waist.

Nothing was said, he simply grabbed onto you and rolled you so that you were on top of him. He was haste pulling off his own clothes, as you undressed yourself as well. You laid on top of him, cheeks flushing at the intimacy. You both let out content sighs when he entered you. He kissed you again, tongue moving with the rhythm of your hips on his.

He was so attentive, so focused on you. His arms wrapped tightly around you as you laid on top of him, your hips moving slow against his. You could feel the heat radiating off of his body, sweat starting to glisten in between your chest and his. Every movement was deep, you could feel him so deep inside you, it was if you were seeing stars. He felt it too, you could tell by the way he tried to contain his groans of pleasure. But you were loud, making sure his tip hit your g-spot with each thrust of your hips.

It was like time stopped once again, you would kiss until you two were out of breath, then you would pull away to moan against his neck. You gently bit his neck, making his grip on your hips tighten as he let out a low groan. You were blissed out, stomach tightening as he held you and fucked you slow.

“Please,” he whispered, his hands tightening on you. You could feel the desperation, the way his hips bucked up, thrusting up into you. You could feel your stomach tighten up, your moaning getting louder. His breathing got heavier, and his hips started to stutter. The extra movement had you screaming as you came, him following you with a strained moan.

You laid your head on his chest, your heart racing. You could listen to his heartbeat, his sighing as he loosened his grip on your hips.

“You okay?” He asked you, moving your hair out of your face.

You blushed as you nodded, “Amazing.”

Daniel didn’t need problems. He was busy enough, wrestling many times a week, he didn’t have time to think about you, or what you were doing. And yet you stubbornly refused to leave his mind, the star of many of his daydreams and it was getting annoying. You texted him a lot, and Daniel wanted to seem more laid back, take longer to respond to you, but he often found himself replying to you almost instantly. He liked talking to you, he just didn’t understand the way it tugged on his heartstrings whenever you messaged him.

During Dynamite, Daniel tried to hide from you, tried to avoid you since he couldn’t figure out what exactly was going on in his head, and in his heart, and why he was feeling so drawn to you. But the second he saw you chatting with Rebel, Jamie, and Britt, he found himself calling you over with a smile on his face. And he internally cursed at himself, but as you approached him, his cheeks turned pink and he couldn’t even help it.

“Hey!” You greeted him with a grin, throwing your arms around his waist. Daniel’s arms came around your shoulders as you pressed your head against his chest, your way of hiding the smile on your face. Daniel could feel his heart racing when you pulled back, friendly smile still coating your face.

“It’s good to see you,” he said with a smile, instantly regretting it, wishing he could’ve kept it to himself.

You blushed, “Aww, are you finally admitting you like my company?”

Daniel rolled his eyes as you poked his side, “It could be worse.”

“Wow, well thank you for tolerating me, Death!”

“Are you going out after the show tonight?” He found himself asking. He didn’t know why did, he didn’t care, he shouldn’t care!

“Yeah! Are you?”

He played it off with a shrug, “Maybe.”

“Maybe,” you mocked his deep tone, “C’mon am I gonna have to put up with everyone all by myself?”

“Am I gonna have to put up with everyone else just to please you?”

“You’re coming tonight, Garcia. I hope I’m worth it!”

And it just slipped out, “You always are.”

At first he regretted it, seeing the shocked look on your face, but the second he saw the way your eyes lit up, his worries had faded. You grinned at him, leaning up to give him a kiss on the cheek. Daniel groaned, pretending to be annoyed by it, but you could tell he was blushing, and biting his lip to hide his smile.

“You’re secretly the sweetest, Daniel. I’ll see you later tonight, yeah?”

“Yeah,” he choked out, and you smiled at him once more before leaving to get ready for your match.

And you saw him later that night, a lot of the AEW roster was hanging out together, but you chose to stick near Daniel until eventually your social meter ran out, and you asked him if he wanted to head back to the hotel with you. You noticed the way he blushed when you said that, but you chose not to say anything about it.

Daniel was a gentleman, walking you right to your door, and you thanked him with a hug and a smile. You loved hugging him, the way his arms came around you like he didn’t want to let go. You were slowly getting Daniel to open up to you, which had been your goal since you met him. You’ve had quite the crush on him, and finally it felt like you were getting somewhere.

As you pulled away, you whispered “Goodnight” to him, taking a step back. As you turned to enter your hotel room, Daniel grabbed your arm, forcing you to face him. His other hand cupped your cheek, bringing you towards him as he leaned down to kiss you. You felt your heart race as you kissed him back, moving your hands to his sides to pull his body right against yours. You just about melted into him, the fire behind his kiss had you wanting more, and you had to ball your fists to stop yourself. He pulled away slowly, reluctantly letting go of you. You couldn’t hide the smile on your face, wide as he mirrored your expression.

Grabbing his hand, you pulled him towards you again, and he smirked as you leaned in to kiss him. Daniel kissed you back eagerly, hands moving to your hips. You wanted so much more, your hips moving against his thigh, making you whimper at the friction. Daniel groaned into the kiss, hands tightening on your hips as he helped you move on him. He let out a strained moan as he pulled away again, taking a step back, hoping you wouldn’t look down at his jeans and notice the effect you had on him.

“Goodnight,” he said with a smile, and you wondered how you were supposed to recover from that.

As Daniel walked back to his hotel room, the bliss he felt from kissing you soon faded into frustration and regret. He didn’t have time to go around kissing people, he didn’t have time to get himself wrapped up into you, but damn if you didn’t have a hold on him. He groaned as he entered his hotel room, immediately collapsing onto the bed.

“Why did I just do that?” He asked himself, mistaking the butterflies in his stomach for pain. He wanted to, he really did want to, but he needed to be focus on his career, not on you. He could feel his phone buzzing in his pocket and he sighed heavily before reaching to check it.

You: we should do that again sometime :)

Daniel smiled, his fingers reacting before the rest of his brain did, and he typed out “Nothing would make me happier” in response. As he was about to send it, he panicked, pressing on settings and promptly blocking you.

“AEW Championship would make me happier,” he said to remind himself, “Stay focused.”

When you didn’t receive a response, you assumed he just passed out early to bed, not thinking much of it. But on Thursday morning, he still hadn’t replied to you, and it was started to make you frown. Was he ignoring you? Or was he just not checking his phone? You knew he was flying home, so maybe he was preoccupied with traveling. Too nervous to double text him, you decided you’d let him reply whenever he was ready. You didn’t want to push it.

When he didn’t respond all day, you laid in your bed at night, pouting, wondering what had gone wrong. You’re honest with your feelings, and not scared of communicating, so you called him, wanting to talk about it. When the call didn’t even rang, you realized you’d been blocked.

Oh.

Your frown was deep as you opened up Twitter, only to find out that you were blocked on there too. You scoffed when you opened up Instagram, and you were blocked from his account.

What had you done wrong?

He was the one who kissed you, and judging by the way his whole face lit up afterwards, he must’ve enjoyed it. If he didn’t enjoy it, he could’ve at least told you that, instead of blocking you on everything. You’d been friends for a few months now, surely a conversation about it would’ve been enough. Maybe he didn’t like you the way you thought, but why would he bother kissing you if he didn’t?

It was hard to process, the mixed signals were driving you insane and you couldn’t stop thinking about what could’ve caused him to block you. It’s not like you were flirty with anyone else, so he couldn’t have been jealous. So why block you? If you were his friend at the very least, why would he block you on everything? Admittedly, it eats away at you. You don’t understand why Daniel suddenly had no desire to talk to you after kissing you.

Daniel misses you during the week, unable to stop thinking about kissing you, and the sweet look you gave him after he pulled away. Blocking you was supposed to give him a sense of clarity, let him focus on training and getting better in the ring, but he couldn’t get you out of his head. He wondered what you were doing, if you’d noticed that you were blocked, if you were thinking about him the way he thought of you…

He felt kind of stupid, but he didn’t unblock you, knowing he had to stay concentrated on his career. You were simply too much of a distraction. A very pretty, ridiculously tempting distraction, and he could not indulge without feeling guilty. But also, he felt really guilty for blocking you too, it wasn’t your fault that he kissed you, and it was clear that you both enjoyed it.

The next week at Dynamite, you were livid, intent on finding Daniel to yell at him. How dare he lead you on one minute and block you the next? How dare he kiss you, make you feel like you’re on the top of the world, and then drop you like you’re nothing? You scoured the halls, trying to find him, but every time you caught a glance at him, he immediately went the opposite direction. Coward.

He couldn’t avoid the fact you might’ve been waiting for him after his match. He knew you weren’t dumb, there’s only one way back to the locker room, so he convinced his dads to help him out. And there you were, waiting for him after they’d won their match, your arms crossed over your chest, a deep scowl on your face. You still looked pretty, even though you were scowling, and Daniel was annoyed at his own thoughts.

“Nothing to see here!” Matt yelled.

“Yeah, move along!” Jeff added.

And as you hopelessly tried to argue with Matt and Jeff, they physically blocked you as Daniel practically ran to the locker room to get changed. You huffed in annoyance when they still didn’t stop harassing you, and it was clear that Daniel hadn’t told them the story.

“Leave our son alone! He doesn’t need his heart broken by you!” Matt yelled at you.

“Then why did he break mine?” You snapped, unable to stop yourself from frowning, “Why would he kiss me if he wasn’t interested? Now I’m blocked and he won’t talk to me.” And they were both silent for a few seconds, and you felt you should apologize, “It’s not your problem, I’m sorry.”

“Room 354. Don’t tell him I told you,” Jeff said. And now you at least had a hotel room. You thanked him, while Matt started to argue with him.

When you got back to the hotel, you weren’t even on the same floor as Daniel. At first, it sunk in, he wanted nothing to do with you anymore, so you just needed to leave him alone. But dammit, you couldn’t get the whole situation out of your mind, and you were so much more hurt than you wanted to admit. You were really falling for Daniel, so for him to just… cut you out like that? So unfair.

Daniel heard the knocks on his door, and he just assumed it was Matt or Jeff, so he forced a smile as he opened the door. His jaw dropped when he saw you in front of him, dried tear-stains down your cheeks. His heart broke to see you so upset, and he just wanted to fight the jerk who hurt you, but he knew he was the one who was guilty.

“Just tell me what I did wrong so I can fix it,” you choked out. Hours ago, you were almost willing to fight him, yell at him, call him a jerk, but honestly? You just missed him. You missed him and his company so much and it was killing you.

“Come in,” he said softly, stepping aside so you could enter his hotel room.

“You know, if kissing me was so terrible for you, you could’ve just said that? Instead of blocking me on everything? If you just wanted to be friends I’d understand. All you had to do was say that. And yeah, maybe I’d be a little hurt, but it’s still better than completely cutting me out, and running away from me. What did I do that was so terrible for you?”

Daniel sighed, tilting his head down, “You’re gonna think I’m an idiot.”

“I already do think that.”

“Kay, well, you’re gonna think I’m even more of an idiot. You didn’t do anything wrong, and kissing you was definitely not terrible for me. I panicked, alright? I need to focus on my career, and I can’t do that when you smile at me like that, when you’re hugging me at shows, when you look that damn pretty even when you’re crying… I promised myself I wouldn’t have any distractions. I really like you, a lot, and it scares me. I know I shouldn’t have kissed you, and I’m sorry, I just… I don’t understand the things you’re doing to my heart.”

You looked down, “I wouldn’t be a distraction to you. Look, we both want the same things, right? To be at the top of AEW, to work our asses off and win titles. So, if you really do have feelings for me, why wouldn’t we work together on it? I take my work seriously, Daniel, but that doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to be happy either. Hell, we could train together, I don’t want to be in your way. But if that’s how you feel, then I get it. But that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.”

“I can’t just be friends with you,” he said, making your frown deepen, “Not when I can’t stop thinking about grabbing you and kissing you. I’m really sorry I hurt your feelings, I was scared because I realized how I really felt about you, and I shouldn’t have blocked you like that. I probably don’t deserve another chance, but, I like the idea of us working together towards our goals, and I want to be able to take you out on dates and kiss you and hold you… so, could I please have another chance?”

You couldn’t hide the smile, “You are so lucky you’re so cute, Death. One more chance.”

Maybe you knew Yuta would be feeling a certain way about it if he knew, but why should you care? Yuta wasn’t your boyfriend anymore. He hadn’t spoken to you in months, he barely even looked in your direction anymore. It broke your heart, the first time he ignored you, but months had passed now and he couldn’t expect you to keep waiting around for him.

As you walked down the hallway, you could hear your heart beating rapidly, fear sinking into your stomach. The betrayal of Bryan Danielson a few weeks ago was violent, and you knew Yuta wouldn’t be okay right now. With Bryan set to face Moxley for Wrestledream tonight, you knew Yuta was conflicted.

“Wheeler?” You called out, letting out a sigh of relief when you finally saw your boyfriend sitting on top of some storage crates. You stepped closer, “Are you okay?” He hadn’t spoken to you in a couple of weeks, which was extremely unlike him.

“No! I’m not okay!” He snapped at you, and you’d never heard him raise his voice at you before.

You frowned, reaching out for his shoulder, “It’s gonna be okay. I’m here for you, Yoots. We’ll be alright.”

He pushed your hand off, “Just stop! I don’t want you here!“

“I know you’re upset about Bryan, but-”

“You don’t know anything! I can’t do this anymore. We’re done.”

Your eyes watered, “What? That’s it?”

“Yeah, that’s it,” he said, getting up and walking away from you.

“What’s up shawty?” You heard the deep voice behind you, and you turned around to smile at Daniel.

“What’s up Garcia?” You replied, “That TNT title is looking real nice on you! Really compliments your eyes.”

You didn’t mean to flirt, but sometimes you couldn’t help it. Daniel was very cute, the way his cheeks turned pink whenever you complimented him. He always leaned into to you when you spoke, something that Yuta had always done as well since you were more so on the quiet side. Maybe it was nice to hold the attention of a different brown-eyed, technical wrestler since Yuta didn’t speak to you anymore, but there was nothing illegal about hanging out with Daniel.

Daniel grinned, “You know, I can think of something that would look really nice on you too.”

“What would that be?” You asked, but you knew where this was heading, and it made the butterflies in your stomach churn.

“Me,” he smirked, and your cheeks heated up at his words.

You admittedly hadn’t thought of anyone in that way since you and Yuta broke up. It was hard to, you tended to be very private and you wanted to get to know someone really well before sexual intimacy happened. With Yuta, you waited until you were in love. You still remember the way he smiled at you when you told him you loved him for the first time. He immediately said it back, and you couldn’t keep your hands off of each other until you were alone. You had been at a Dynamite when you said it, and the second you got to your hotel room he was kissing you with so much need and you finally got to enjoy and explore each other in that way.

You stepped back, biting your lip to hide the smile that wanted to come out, “Very bold of you to say, Garcia.”

Daniel smirked, “I can be bold. I can also be a very tender lover. How about you stop by my hotel room tonight?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” you replied, heat rushing to your cheeks in a way that felt uncomfortable. You had to look away from Daniel, trying to avoid picturing him on top of you. But it wasn’t a comforting thought, it just made you miss Yuta more. Sometimes when you closed your eyes you could still feel Yuta’s arms wrapped around you, they used to clasp around your waist every night as you fell asleep together. Sometimes you could still feel the way he kissed you, soft lips driven by need, desire, and love. It made you sick to your stomach, how could you even think about attempting to have that with Daniel?

“How much longer are you gonna play hard to get?” He asked, making your eyes widen, “You and Yuta broke up months ago, what’s the hold up?”

You found yourself stepping back again, “I- I don’t know.”

“Best way to get over him is to get under somebody else,” he said, stepping in and cupping your chin with his hand.

This was too much, he was way too forward now. How could he even suggest sharing yourself with him the same way you had shared yourself with Yuta? With Yuta it was romantic; a show of love, affection, and desire. Daniel was very cute, but you couldn’t just give yourself to him like that! Besides, there was no spark, no electricity when Daniel touched you. With Yuta it always felt like your veins were heating up.

“I don’t think I’m wired that way, Garcia.”

Daniel scowled, “So what’s the point of flirting with me then? Did you really think I wanted a silly little relationship with you?”

His hand was still on your chin, and you tried to take a step back to get out of his grip, but his spare hand reached for your arm to keep you in place.

“I don’t know what I thought, but now I don’t want anything with you,” you said definitively. “Let go of me.”

Daniel’s hand tightened on your arm, the harsh sensation causing you to wince in pain. You tried to push him off, but was he was stronger than you.

“Hey!”

You turned your head, mouth opening in shock as you watched Yuta run down the hallway, death glare on his face. Daniel let go of you, and soon Yuta had Daniel pinned against the wall. You’d never seen Yuta so angry before, face red hot, jaw clenched as he threatened Daniel.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing? Touching them like that?” Yuta asked, shoving Daniel into the wall.

“Hey, I wasn’t doing anything they didn’t want me to do!” Daniel defended, smirking at Yuta.

“That’s a lie, I told you to let go of me!”

You gasped as Yuta punched Daniel in the face, causing the slightly shorter man to glare at you.

“This prude isn’t worth it,” Daniel grumbled, holding onto his cheek as he started to walk away. You looked over at Yuta, surprised he’d come to your defense.

Yuta turned around, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked you up and down, “What the hell were you thinking?”

“What? I didn’t do anything with him! All we did was flirt until he started being pushy about it.”

Yuta stepped in, jaw still clenched, and you’d never seen his anger directed at you. The proximity made you melt, you could take in his scent for the first time in months. He hadn’t changed his cologne, still the mahogany scent that you’d loved so much. You could see the hurt in his deep brown eyes, the way it didn’t match the anger in the rest of his face.

“You knew how I felt about Garcia and you flirted with him anyways!” He snapped.

Your jaw dropped, “Yuta, you left me! You can’t have any input on who I flirt with!”

“So you go after the person I hate the most? Like I meant nothing to you?”

His voice softened as he asked you, and immediately you could feel that guilty feeling in your stomach start to churn all over again. You looked away, knowing you’d get lost in his brown eyes all over again if you didn’t.

“That wasn’t my intention,” you said quietly, “I wasn’t trying to hurt you. I guess I just needed to feel like someone still wanted me.”

He let out a frustrated groan, “If you were trying to make me jealous, then congratulations. I hope you’re happy.”

Your jaw dropped once again, and he started to walk away. Desperately, you grabbed his arm, trying to pull him towards you. Yuta looked back at you, a deep frown on his lips and eyes narrowed at you.

“I wasn’t trying to make you jealous,” you said, “I haven’t been the same since you left me. I know I should be more confident in myself, but I’m not. I’ve been miserable since we broke up and I miss you. I miss being in the arms of someone I love so much, maybe I was trying to recreate that.”

Yuta frowned at you, “And you wanted to have that with Garcia? You hate me that much?”

“I couldn’t hate you if I tried! And trust me, I’ve tried! Clearly you don’t want to have that with me anymore, or you wouldn’t have dumped me.”

“You don’t know that,” he sighed, “I can’t be a good boyfriend to you while I’m in the Death Riders. I can’t give you the attention you want or deserve. Of course I still want to be with you, I wanted to rip Garcia’s throat off for even looking at you! I’m still in love with you, there’s just nothing I can do about it.”

You could feel your eyes water, the breakup had been so abrupt that Yuta had never really explained why the relationship had to end before. You thought about beating up Jon Moxley for taking Yuta from you, but you knew Marina Shafir would probably hospitalize you in return. You tried to discreetly wipe away your tears, but of course Yuta being so attentive to you, leaned in and wiped away your tears for you.

“I still love you too,” you whispered, “And I wish that meant something to you.”

“It does,” he said, leaning in to kiss your cheek, “I just can’t do anything about it.”

Your eyes watered all over again, “This sucks.”

“Yeah I know, I suck.”

You frowned at his words, the way he looked down in shame. You leaned up, grabbing Yuta’s hands to bring him closer to you. You got up on your tippy toes, pressing a kiss to his lips. He kissed you back, hands moving to your waist, and you could feel your heart start to race all over again.

“I’ll wait for you,” you whispered as you pulled away, “Come find me when you’re done hanging out with Mox.”

“Hey, wanna get something to eat after the show?” Daniel had asked you, right before your match.

“Oh, sorry, I already made plans with Dante, but you could come with us, we were just-”

He groaned, “Do you really think I want to third wheel for you and your boyfriend?”

“Who said he was my boyfriend? Why won’t you give him a chance? You know, I really think you two would get along well,” you said.

“No one had to tell me, it’s completely obvious. Whatever, I have to get ready for my match.”

You sighed, grabbing his arm, “Daniel, what’s-”

“I’m busy! Cry about it to your boyfriend,” he yanked his arm out of your grip, glaring at you. You said nothing as he walked away, but you could feel your mood drop, right before you were called for your match.

You weren’t focused during the match. Maybe if you hadn’t been distracted, you wouldn’t have completely missed your opponent, landing outside on the barricade harshly. You groaned in pain, struggling to get up, the pain in your leg was almost unbearable. The match was called off, and you had to limp backstage. You tried to hold back the groans of pain, forcing yourself to bite down on your lip to quiet down.

The first person you saw backstage was Daniel, his brown eyes wide with concern. You could see Dante behind him, reaching out for you. Daniel stepped forward, wrapping an arm around your shoulders. You pushed him off of you, choosing to let Dante help you instead.

“Thought you were busy?” You stubbornly asked Daniel, as Dante pulled you into his arms. As you passed Daniel, you could see the deep frown on his face, sad brown eyes watching Dante help you.

“What was that about?” Dante asked you, once he got you to medical.

You sighed, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“You always want to talk about Daniel,” he teased.

“Would you shut up?” You blushed, happy he could take your mind off of the pain, even for just a second.

You were happy Dante stayed with you while you got your leg examined, but part of you wished you would’ve just let Daniel help you instead. Your feelings for Daniel weren’t a secret to Dante, especially since he was the only person who knew about your feelings.

You wanted to cry when you were told you had to take two months off of wrestling until your leg healed. But your friendship with Dante was still so new, you didn’t want to freak him out by being so emotional, you just tried to hold it back.

“Do you want me to get Daniel?” He offered, “He was really worried about you.”

“He hates me right now,” you frowned, unable to stop picturing the broken look on his face when you pushed him away.

Dante rolled his eyes, “You both are so dumb.”

“Thank you, Dante. That’s really so kind of you!”

“I’m gonna go find him.”

You tried to protest, but he didn’t care, leaving to go find Daniel. You weren’t even sure if you wanted to see him, still annoyed with how he had brushed you off earlier. Even if you were dating Dante, why would he care? Surely your friend would want to see you happy, right?

When Dante came back into the room, he pouted at you, “He’s not coming.”

“Oh,” you whispered, feeling your frown deepen, and you could see the pity in Dante’s eyes, “It’s fine, really. You don’t need to look at me like that.”

“Are you sure? I could ask him again, maybe he’s just-”

“Just stop, please. I told you he hates me right now.”

Dante sighed, “He does not! He’s just upset. He asked me about you, so trust me, he cares a lot.”

“Whatever,” you mumbled.

You had to limp everywhere on crutches, and it was rather annoying for you. You had to limp your way through the airport just so you could get home the next day, and all it did was drag your mood down. You weren’t scheduled to make any appearances for at least two months now, and the time off was going to suck for you.

Daniel had tried calling you after you landed home. You didn’t answer, you didn’t even let it ring for too long either. You almost instantly declined, and you knew that must’ve hurt Daniel, but he didn’t even bother to see you yesterday when Dante tried to get him. You wished you didn’t feel so hung up about that, but it stung you.

Two days later, you felt a little guilty for not picking up his call, so you decided you’d call him this time. You needed to patch things up. All you could do was listen to it ring, frowning when it finally went to voicemail. Deciding to call him again, your eyes watered when the call immediately ended, meaning he declined your call. He definitely hates you now.

Daniel called you the next day, and out of sheer stubbornness, you blocked his number. You were still pissed that he ignored your calls the day before, you just weren’t in the mood. You couldn’t keep this routine up, the missed calls and ignoring each other. It hurt you more than you wanted to admit.

You unblocked his number the day after that, but you weren’t brave enough to call him. Daniel didn’t try calling again after that. You debated with yourself about calling him, but you didn’t think he would pick up.

Finally on Tuesday, you were fed up. You needed to talk to him, you’ve never gone almost a week without speaking to him. Maybe it would be a little over the top, but you had to go see him. Looking up the flights to New York, you quickly bought yourself a plane ticket, despite the fact you only had an hour to get there and find the gate. Daniel was worth the rush. You didn’t even take any belongings with you, just your ID, and you immediately called for an Uber to take you to the airport.

You don’t know what you expected.

Clearly you hadn’t thought it through, because once you had finally gone through airport security, you had to go all the way to the gate, which was very inconveniently at the back of the giant airport. And your flight had already started boarding. Trying to get through, you weren’t as quick as you liked, the crutches and the injured leg holding you back. You cringed through the pain, desperately trying to get there as fast as you could, but once you finally arrived at the gate, you wanted to scream when you saw the flight had already departed. You groaned at the pain in your leg, you’d agitated your injury for absolutely nothing. It would’ve been worth it if you just got onto the plane, but now you just felt defeated.

You sat down on one of the chairs at the gate, too lazy and too tired to stop yourself from crying. Now you felt miserable. You missed your chance. Daniel had to be at Dynamite tomorrow, and you didn’t want to be there, it’d be too painful of a reminder of all the things you couldn’t do for two months.

“Hey?” His voice was too familiar, and you felt your jaw drop as you looked at your best friend.

“Danny, what the fuck are you doing here?” You asked him, trying to discreetly wipe away your tears, but Daniel had already seen them. He sat down beside you, eyes drifting to your injured leg.

“I really needed to see you,” he said, his cheeks heating up, “What about you? Why are you crying in the middle of the airport?”

“I missed my flight to Buffalo. I had to go and at least try to talk to you. I’m sorry I was so stubborn, I overreacted and I wish I could just take it back, I shouldn’t have pushed you away like that.”

He grinned, “Well, I’m kind of happy you missed it. Otherwise I’d probably be sitting outside your apartment all night.”

“What the hell is wrong with us?” You asked, letting out a sigh, “I miss you, dummy.”

“Why am I the dummy? You’re the one who missed your flight!” He joked, “I really missed you too. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have been such an ass. I guess… I got jealous of Dante and I do want you to be happy, I really do! But selfishly, I just don’t want to see you with anyone else.”

You frowned, “But why were you jealous in the first place? Danny, you’re still my best friend-”

“Because I thought that maybe you liked him, and you’d probably start dating and I’d be the loser who missed his chance.”

“Missed your chance for what?”

“This.”

His hand cupped your chin, and you felt your heart race when he leaned in to kiss you. You closed your eyes, pulling him even closer when you kissed him back. Daniel was quick to wrap his arms around you, holding you closer. When he pulled away, you blushed, unable to hide the smile on your face.

The action made you frown, you’d understood firsthand how affectionate Yuta was. Any time you two were alone, his arms were wrapped around you, or if you were laying down he’d pull you on top of him. It got to the point where neither of you could fall asleep if not tangled in each others arms. Considering that the both of you toured with AEW so much, you were happy to share hotel rooms with him. If you weren’t on the road, one of you would stay the night in the other’s apartment. You still wondered if he missed your affection. You often toggled between feelings of missing him and feelings of anger.

The lack of closure hurt the most. Feelings change, people change, and sometimes people just drift apart. That wasn’t the case with you and Wheeler, so it was upsetting. You hadn’t even officially broken up. When the betrayal of Bryan Danielson happened, Yuta wasn’t in a good place mentally. You tried to be there for him, you knew it couldn’t have been easy for him to see his mentor get strangled, but he never even spoke to you. He hadn’t said a single word to you since he joined the Death Riders six months ago.

You had tried to talk to him every time you saw him at AEW shows for the first few weeks, but he would always look away from you, jaw clenched, and walk past you like you didn’t exist. You gave up on trying after a month of him not speaking to you. There was only so much you could do and clearly he was intent on leaving you behind. Admittedly, you had cried a good amount of tears over the situation, knowing he was hurting but that he didn’t want you to be there for him. Sometimes you would catch him looking at you at shows, but he never once sought you out.

“Aw, Claudio is so evil,” Penelope laughed, causing you to look back at the screen. “Yuta looks like he could use a hug!”

You watched as Yuta put on a fake smile, “Yeah.”

It seemed like Wheeler’s ankle had been hurting during the match, and you sat silently, debating on whether or not you should check on him. He didn’t care about you anymore, so why should you bother? If you were the one who injured themself, would he spend time checking on you? No, maybe he wouldn’t.

As you were starting to leave the venue, you watched as Jon, Claudio, Marina, and Pac all got into their vehicle. They didn’t even wait for Wheeler, and your heart sank at the idea of him waiting for one of them to check on him and see how he’s doing. You thought back to Yuta’s outstretched arms, rejected for a hug from his mentor, and you couldn’t just leave it alone. It’s not like you just stopped loving him.

You let out a sigh, hands balled into fists as you walked into the doctor’s room. Yuta quickly looked up at you, eyes wide, like he was expecting someone. It clearly wasn’t you who he expected, considering the way his mouth opened and eyebrows raised as he looked you over. The doctor had already left, and you couldn’t place the last time you’d been alone with Wheeler.

“Hey,” you choked out, the words barely leaving your lips, “The rest of your Death Riders left.” He frowned, disappointment evident in the way his eyes drifted down to the floor. He still didn’t say anything, and you could feel the familiar strain in your heart. He seemed exhausted, sweat coating the top of his long hair, his chest, eyes red as if he hadn’t slept. “How’s your ankle?”

He glanced back at you, “It’s fine.”

You hadn’t heard his voice, at least not directed at you, in months and it somehow didn’t sound the same. It was deeper, quieter than you remembered. You couldn’t tell if he was annoyed by your presence or not. Maybe he just didn’t care that you came to see him, and you should get out of there before you embarrass yourself. You didn’t dare to enter the room, just standing in the doorway out of pure discomfort.

“You, um- you look like you could use a hug.”

His mouth parted slightly at your words and you honestly wanted to take it back, but surprisingly, he motioned for you to come closer. He moved, sitting so he was on the edge of the doctors bed. He outstretched his arms, eyes softening as you walked over to him. You stood in between his legs, wrapping your arms around his shoulders. His hands moved to your back, pulling you closer to him.

You could feel your eyes widen as he nuzzled his head into the crook of your neck, a soft exhale exiting his mouth. You could feel his shoulders drop, relaxing in your arms, and you leaned your head on top of his. You could feel your heartbeat quickening, the tight grip he had on your upper back had you nervous. You closed your eyes, slowly starting to relax in the arms that once felt safe for you.

You took in his scent, it still being the mahogany cologne that you had grown accustomed to. His beard scratched against your neck, like it always had whenever he cuddled with you. You thought about the last time you remember holding him, you took it for granted because you didn’t think it would be the last time. It was the night before All Out, in your apartment, and you wished you would’ve savored it more.

When you were dating Wheeler, he was pretty much always hugging you or holding you in some capacity. Even during sexual intimacy, he liked to hug you and kiss you as you moved your hips on each other. Being in his arms made you feel safe. As you thought about all the times he walked past you, as if you were invisible to him, you suddenly felt sick to your stomach. You tried to pull away, but his arms simply tightened around you.

“Stay,” he begged, voice barely above a whisper, “Please hold me a little longer.”

Your eyes watered at the desperation in his voice, and you couldn’t bring yourself to deny his request. You could feel his heart beat, most likely still rapid from exerting himself during the match. As much as you hoped that maybe it was because he missed you, you didn’t want to delude yourself. He had every opportunity to come talk to you and he still hadn’t.

Clearly he needed the affection, since he didn’t dare let go of you. You’re not sure how much time had passed, but with each passing second, you were starting to relax more into his touch. You missed it so much, the way he held you after a long day. The way he used to kiss your neck, the way he used to whisper how much he loves you before he fell asleep. You wondered if he had held anyone else since you last spoke.

You missed how attentive he was to you. He’d always lean down so he could listen to you better, since your voice was on the quiet side. Every Monday morning you two would wake up together and make those cheesy pancakes with the sprinkles. Yuta didn’t even like those, but you thought they were fun to make so it became a weekly tradition. You wondered if he just loved the idea of holding someone, the affection, rather than loving you for who you were. Maybe that’s why he threw you away the second things got difficult.

You pulled away, trying to get away before the tears could start to fall and he could see you upset. You didn’t have such luck however, since Wheeler refused to let go of you. The most you could do was take a step back, and now it was too late. He moved one hand around your waist, the other hand reaching up to cup your cheek. His dark brown eyes were shining as he looked at you, and he frowned as he wiped away your tears with his thumb.

“What’s wrong?” He asked you, voice still barely louder than a whisper.

“You really messed me up, Yoots,” you admitted, looking down to avoid his eye contact. A kiss to your cheek stunned you, making you look at him with wide eyes.

“I’m really sorry,” he said.

You shrugged, “Oh, I’m sure you are.”

“I really am,” he said, cupping your chin so you’d be closer to him, “I miss you so much, you have no idea!”

“You don’t miss me, Wheeler. You miss having someone to show affection to.”

He scowled, as if he was offended by the idea, “That’s what you think?”

“Well why else would you have spent the last six months ignoring me?” You argued, “You didn’t think I was worth keeping around. You didn’t love me the same way that I love you. I still fucking cheer for you, did you know that? Every time you have a match, I always root for you. Every time the Death Riders punishes you or lets you get beat up, my heart breaks for you. All these months and I can’t bring myself to even look at anyone else because I’m still in love with you. I’m a fucking fool!”

He shook his head, “You’re not the fool, I am. I messed everything up because I didn’t think I deserved to have anything good in my life after what happened with Bryan. I didn’t stop to think about how it affected you, and I’ve been avoiding you to punish myself. I miss you so much, I miss Monday mornings with you. I still make those sprinkle pancakes every Monday, even though I can’t seem to not burn them like you can. I still have your fluffy pink blanket, I actually can’t fall asleep without it. I bring it with me when I travel. It doesn’t smell like you anymore, but it’s better than having nothing of yours. I’m still in love with you.”

You could feel your eyes water once again, and he carefully wiped your tears away with his thumb again. You sighed into his touch, leaning in a little, and he closed the distance with a soft kiss. You hesitated, wanting to kiss back, but too much damage had been done at this point. You stepped back, creating some distance.

“You didn’t need to break us up, Yuta, I just wanted to be there for you. I could’ve helped you through it all instead of us just stewing in our own misery.”

He nodded, his head lowered in shame, “I get that. Maybe when this is all over, we could go back to how things were.”

“Yeah, maybe,” you whispered back.

“You know, you were right. I really did need a hug,” he said, giving you the tiniest of smiles, “Thank you for that.”

You couldn’t stomach another round of holidays with your family, at least not alone. Every year you got pestered on why you didn’t have a partner, why you didn’t have someone to come home to, and it made you sick. But they relied on you to come back every year, you couldn’t say no. Besides, it gave you an excuse to spend your holidays with Wheeler anyways. And he was sympathetic to your situation, immediately giving you a smile and agreeing to come home with you for the holidays.

“How did we meet?” Wheeler asked you, as you were anxiously driving to your parents house.

“You don’t remember?”

He chuckled, “Of course I do, but what are we telling your parents? How did we get together?”

And you wished you had thought it out better, because now your face was paling.

“Shit.”

“You really didn’t think this through, did you?”

“I- well, not really? I mean… let’s just say we’ve been together for a year or whatever.”

“Where’s your ring?”

You froze again, “What?”

“You told them over the phone that we’re engaged, so did you bring a ring?”

“Oh my God, I don’t have a ring! What are we going to do?”

Wheeler reached for his backpack, taking out a small pouch, “I knew you’d forget, so I stopped at a pawn shop. I’ve got us covered.”

“Us? You’re gonna wear a ring too?”

“How else will people know I’m devoted to spending the rest of my life with you?”

You both laughed, you knew he was joking, but you couldn’t stop how red that comment had made you. It was nice to think about, him being with you, being devoted to you in that way. You were just friends and it had to stay that way. If you wanted to keep Wheeler in your life, you had to just be his friend.

“I really appreciate you helping me, Yoots. I’ve been so tired of their ranting, I just can’t handle another holiday alone.”

“It’s fine, dude.”

As you arrived at your parent’s house, you felt your stomach start to churn, “I don’t think I can do this.”

Wheeler set his hand over yours, “It’ll be okay, Bestie we’ve got this!”

And then he carefully set a gorgeous ring on your finger, and it almost broke your heart a little. Just a little bit. That’ll always be all he calls you, his best friend, his “bestie”. He started saying it as a joke, and now unfortunately, it was in his vocabulary. A painful reminder of how you’d never be more than friends.

“Wait, how did we get together?” You asked worriedly.

“We started as friends and accidentally fell madly in love?” He suggested. As if you would have to “lie” about that.

And if this was the movies, he would be madly in love with you, and he wouldn’t have to pretend. But it wasn’t. The reality was, he was just doing you a favor.

“Yeah, that’s fine,” you mumbled, watching as Wheeler put a silver ring onto his finger.

The first night was tough, your family members throwing question after question at you both, but Wheeler remained composed the entire time, answering every question that you were too caught off guard to answer. When you thought it was over, you realized that you had another problem for the night.

Your other relatives were in all the spare rooms, so Wheeler had to spend the night with you in your old bedroom.

“So this is where you grew up?” He asked, a teasing smile on his face.

“I’m really sorry about how many questions everyone is asking you, I know it must be really awkward, or invasive, and it’s probably a lot more than you signed up for,” you apologized.

“It’s alright,” he smiled at you, “I am marrying into this family, so of course they want to get to know me.”

You felt your cheeks heat up, “Yeah, right.” Silence followed, and you realized that he was looking at the bed behind you. You felt your heart race, worried that you wouldn’t be able to hide your feelings if you had to share a bed with him. You didn’t trust yourself not to pull him close and lay your head on his chest, it was all you wanted.

“Hey, I can sleep on the floor, it’s not a problem.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” you said, before you could stop yourself, “We can share.”

“Are you sure?”

The only thing you were sure about, was that your face was as red as a tomato, “Yeah, I’m sure.”

You couldn’t fall asleep that night. The nerves were eating you alive, the fact he was so, so very close to you… you could feel how warm his body was, but you wouldn’t allow yourself to cuddle into him, no matter how much you wanted to.

And then it just… happened.

His arms reached around your waist, pulling you tight against his body. He was snoring, clearly unaware of his actions, and it was like you’d forgotten how to breathe. Exhaustion took over, and you drifted to sleep, your back against his chest. It was everything you wanted.

When you woke up, Wheeler was still holding you tight, and it broke your heart. You knew he’d wake up, flinch away, and it would be like it never happened. You wished you could fall asleep like that every night, wake up every morning with Wheeler Yuta by your side. Now you can hear him yawn, and you knew it was ending soon.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” He apologized, letting go of you.

You tried to smile, “It’s fine!”

Thankfully, during the day Wheeler was whisked away to play football with your cousins, and you were stuck in the kitchen, helping with the family dinner. You weren’t sure you could be around him without getting flustered now, your feelings for him were going to be entirely too obvious now. But unfortunately, your family was still insistent on getting as much information on your relationship as possible. But with Yuta outside, you could finally talk about your feelings about him to someone.

“Does he make you happy?”

“Yeah, he really does,” you smiled, and you didn’t have to lie about that.

“What do you love the most about him?”

You couldn’t stop blushing, “Everything. He’s so sweet, and so humble about it, like he doesn’t realize how amazing he is, and I just want to grab him and tell him how perfect he is! He really cares about me, he’s always there for me whenever I need help, or anything at all. He’s so funny, he always tries to cheer me up whenever I’m upset. He’s the first person I run to whenever I get good news, he listens and he’s so attentive to me, I just- I can’t imagine spending my life with anyone else. And… whenever I see him smile at me, I just know everything is gonna work out. He’s the one I want by my side when all my dreams come true.”

And when everyone around you ‘aww’d’ at you, you felt your face burn up, but it was good to get that off of your chest for once.

Nothing could compare to the embarrassment you felt, when Wheeler’s arms came around you behind, and you wanted to pass out right then and there. How much of that did he hear? Your heart couldn’t stop racing, and you just wanted to run out of there.

“Is it alright if I steal them away for a few minutes?” He asked, and you hoped your mother would say no, and you wouldn’t have to be alone with him after what you had just said. But your mother smiled, and now Wheeler was walking you back to your room, arm tight around your waist.

You wanted to disappear, just ran away, but now you were alone with him. And you knew the truth couldn’t be kept in anymore.

“How much of that did you hear?” You asked, keeping your head down.

“All of it,” he said, and his hand reached up to your cheek, making you look up at him. “Did you mean what you said?”

You couldn’t lie, not now, not when you were looking into those brown eyes you loved so very much, “Yes.”

He smiled, brighter than you’ve ever seen, “I was hoping you’d say that.” Then he leaned in, pressing his lips to yours, and your knees buckled as you kissed him back. He held onto your waist, keeping you steady. When he pulled away, you could see the spark in his eyes, and you knew you mirrored the happiness he was radiating. “You’re the one I want by my side when all my dreams come true. And I’m gonna do whatever it takes to make sure all of your dreams come true. You’re the one I want to spend my life with. I love you so much, I don’t ever want to have to hide my feelings for you ever again.”

Wheeler smiled at you, “Hey, it’s not supposed to snow until tomorrow morning. We’re still good!”

You scrunched your eyebrows, “Oh shit, I gotta wake up extra early tomorrow and get groceries before I’m snowed in. I’m pretty sure I have next to nothing in my fridge.”

“We could get you some right now if any stores are still open?”

You thought about it for second, “We can’t, the only 24 hour store is undergoing construction. Thank you, though.”

“Okay, here, I’ll walk you to your door.”

You liked that about him, as much he tried to be a gremlin on TV, he was always such a gentleman to you. He ran out of the car first, before you could even unbuckle your seatbelt and he opened the door for you. You grinned as you thanked him, and he smiled back warmly at you.

Wheeler helped you with your bags, something he always did whenever you carpooled with him. The cold air hit you, and you longed for the feeling of being inside the stuffy car all over again. You tried to hide the fact you were shivering, you knew Wheeler would probably give you the jacket off of his back if he noticed.

He set your bags down by your door, as always, but his usual smile was missing. He seemed nervous, biting his lip as you stepped onto your doorstep. It was habit, every time he would bring your bags to your door, you’d stand on your doorstep to be a few inches taller and pull him in for a hug. You realized long ago you could rest your head on his neck this way, rather than his shoulder or chest.

You thanked him once again, before pulling him in for the hug goodbye. But Wheeler’s hands didn’t move to your back like they usually did. Instead, one arm wrapped around your waist, and one hand cupped your cheek. He stepped closer, removing any distance between you two. You froze when his lips met yours, a soft and sweet kiss that made your heart start to race.

Before you could react, Wheeler pulled away, a much more confident smile on his lips, “Sweet dreams.” He turned around and walked away, and you could barely process what had just happened. Wheeler Yuta just kissed you, like it was no big deal. You could feel your heart race increase as he kept walking back to his car.

“Yuta!” You finally yelled out, “Come back here!”

But he didn’t hear you. And by the time you thought about running after him, he was already pulling his car out of the apartment parking lot. You could still feel your heart racing as you forced yourself to open your apartment door and haul your bags inside. He really just kissed you… out of nowhere!

As you finally laid down to sleep, all you could do was think about Wheeler’s lips on yours every time you closed your eyes. You felt a fluttering sensation in your stomach, your heart racing as you tried to sleep. Why would he just leave like that? Had he always had feelings for you? Did he just kiss you on a whim?

You also thought about the little things he did. All of the times that he gave his jacket when you were cold. You even had some of his hoodies in your closet, as well as a pair of sweatpants he lent you once when your pants tore while training. You never realized that maybe he was looking at you with heart eyes, and not just as a friend. He always found you the moment AEW shows ended, ready to rid himself of the Death Riders and spend time with you.

You never stopped to think about whether or not you had feelings for Wheeler. He’s been nothing but kind and caring to you, and admittedly, he is extremely attractive. He’s tall, tan, and sure maybe he could use a haircut, but somehow the overgrown hair still suits him. He’s so attentive, focusing on the words you say, and always remembers little things you’ve told him about that weren’t worth remembering. One time you mentioned that you loved One Tree Hill, and a month later he jokingly called you “Haley James” when you were singing in the car.

You should’ve kissed him back. You thought of how safe you feel in his arms, every time he drops you off and hugs you close. The smell of his mahogany cologne brought you sense of safety and care. You just wanted to be held in his arms instead of overthinking this. He barely gave you the chance to react, and it was killing you. You would’ve kissed him back if you had enough time to realize. You replayed the moment over and over, and you couldn’t sleep, wanting nothing more than for him to hold you like that and kiss you again.

The snow storm came earlier than expected. By the time it was three in the morning, you were still awake and you had no chance of getting groceries for the week. It was expected that the snow would last a few days, so you were panicking. What the hell were you supposed to do? The idea of getting any sleep for the night left you around five in the morning, and you partly debated walking the one mile difference to Wheeler’s apartment.

You needed answers from him. Had he felt this way for long? Was it just on a whim? And you just wanted to kiss him some more, craving the soft feeling of his lips and his firm hands against your body. Why couldn’t you have reacted sooner and kissed him back? Maybe then you’d be able to get some peace and some sleep.

You finally got some sleep around six in the morning, but it was rather short-lived. Maybe if you had kissed Wheeler back, you’d be in his arms and your worries would be long gone. Around eight in the morning, you started to check your kitchen, realizing that you only had two mere cans of soup and some bread to get you through this blizzard. Maybe you could trek the mile and a half to the grocery store, but there was no guarantee that it was even open now.

You checked online, seeing if there was any store delivering groceries, but then you thought about the delivery driver trying to navigate through this storm and realized you didn’t want to put anyone in that position. It felt selfish, somehow. There was another issue with this snowstorm. It was halting you from resolving this entire kiss situation with Yuta.

A knock on your door startled you, and you froze for a second before heading over to your door. You opened the door, jaw dropping when you saw Wheeler Yuta standing in front of you, practically soaking wet from the snow, tote bag in hand.

“Oh my God are you okay?” You asked, ushering him inside. He clearly walked all the way over here. He was shivering, his snow jacket and pants drenched. You shut the door quickly, not wanting to let the cold air in, and you quickly moved in front of Wheeler. Your heart started racing again as you looked at him, but you tried to ignore it, seeing how much he was shaking. You reached up, touching his cheeks, the chill immediately making you shudder.

“I’m just a little cold,” he said.

“Honey, you’re freezing,” you pouted at him, “Take off those wet clothes. I’ll get you a change of clothes, some blankets, and some tea. Oh my God, Wheeler, you’re gonna catch a cold!” You immediately started sprinting to your bedroom, trying to find the sweatpants that he once let you borrow. You rummaged through your closet, finding the black sweatpants and one of his hoodies that he lent you.

Your stomach fluttered once again, unable to stop yourself from smiling at the fact Wheeler actually showed up at your door. You ran back to your living room, seeing Wheeler wrapped up into one of your blankets, sitting on your couch. You briefly glanced over at the pile of clothes that now sat by your apartment door, trying not to think too hard about the fact he was in your apartment, not wearing pants.

“Here, I brought your sweatpants,” you told him, standing in front of him. His face was still pale, and he quickly took the clothes out of your hands, “I’ll go grab you a heated blanket while you change.” You reached your hand up to his cheek again, this time it didn’t make you flinch or shudder. “Getting better,” you whispered.

“Thanks to you,” he whispered back, giving you a warm smile. You felt your cheeks heat up, and you fought the urge to grab him and kiss him right then and there. You grabbed the wet clothes off of the floor, quickly setting them in the dryer. As you got up to grab the heated blanket out of your closet, you tried to ignore the way your heart kept beating as if it were trying to run out of your chest.

You had a million questions for Wheeler, but you didn’t want to bombard him until after you could warm him up. He came all this way and froze his ass off just to see you. You wondered if he had the same worrisome night that you had. Did he regret kissing you? Did he want to do it again?

When you returned to your living room, Wheeler had already finished changing and you held the blanket out for him, motioning for him to come into your arms. He chuckled, reaching to give you a hug anyways, and you threw the blanket around him carefully. You carefully rubbed his shoulders, trying to activate some more heat to his body.

“There we go,” you grinned at him, “You know, I’m really happy to see you.”

“Yeah?” He asked, lips turning up into a warm smile.

“I think you’re crazy for braving this storm on your feet, but we’ll talk more once you’ve had some tea in your system.”

Wheeler pouted, “Hey, I had a good reason to come here.” The pouting just drew your attention back to his lips, and you just wanted to close your eyes and feel his lips against yours again.

“What’s so important that you had to risk catching a pneumonia for?”

“I couldn’t sleep,” he said, and a flicker of hope started to course through your veins.

“Why not?” You asked, needing to hear him say it. You needed to hear that he couldn’t stand not being with you, that he wanted to keep kissing you, that you meant everything to him.

His cheeks turned pink, “Well, I was up late last night. I was busy thinking about something. But then I heard the blizzard, and I got really worried about you.” You really hoped that you were the ‘something’. He pointed to the tote bag that he brought in, which rested next to the couch, “You said you didn’t have enough food to get through the storm. I brought you some non-perishables.”

Your jaw dropped, “Wait are you serious? Aw, Yuta, that’s so sweet of you!”

You wrapped you arms around him tightly, pressing your head against his chest. His arms didn’t come around your body though, still buried in various blankets.

“I felt horrible thinking that you’d be so hungry and miserable during the storm.”

“Oh my God, you are the sweetest person I’ve ever met in my life. I know you hate when I say that, I know you want people to think you’re a gremlin, but you’re the most thoughtful person I’ve ever met.”

Wheeler’s hands met your hips, and he pushed you back slightly so you would look at him. His cheeks were slightly pink, his brown eyes shining as he looked at you. You could feel the heat rush to your cheeks, and suddenly you felt nervous.

“You know, you’re the only person who thinks that,” he said, but then he frowned as he kept his eyes on yours, “Your eyes are all red, are you alright?”

“Oh, I couldn’t sleep last night either,” you admitted, looking down at the strings of his hoodie instead.

His hand cupped your chin, tilting your head up so your eyes would meet his again, “Why’s that?”

“Because I was thinking about something too,” you paused, and your mind went back to the drink you had promised, “Oh, I forgot about your tea.” You stepped back, shifting your body towards the kitchen.

Before you could even move away, Wheeler’s arm reached out and grabbed your waist, halting you from leaving. Your cheeks flushed all over again, and he simply pulled you closer and removed the distance between you.

“Will you finally hold still?” He asked, and before you could respond, his lips met yours again. You could feel your body freeze once again, but by the time you could react, he had already pulled away. He had started to let go of you, a small frown on his lips, but your heart raced at the thought of him not knowing how you felt.

“Don’t walk away again,” you whispered, your hands moving to his blankets to pull him forward. You kissed him again, this time you could feel your body relax against his. He kissed back, lips soft against yours. His hands moved to your hips, holding on to you tightly, as if to make sure you weren’t going to disappear. You pulled away, needing a gasp of air.

Wheeler ran a hand through his hair, “Why didn’t you just kiss me like that last night?”

“You surprised me,” you admitted, “I needed more time to process what was happening. I yelled for you to come back, but it was too late.”