Fic: Complicated (A.J/Christian, 3/?, PG)
Title: Complicated
Authors: Kori/And (sweetrapture82/unprettyme77, together koriandor)
Rating: PG for now
Pairing: A.J. Styles/Christian Cage
Summary: It was just a little complicated.
Feedback: very much appreciated as this is a first attempt.
Disclaimer: We lay no claims to any the characters mentioned in this story. It's merely a work of fiction.
Later that week found A.J and Jay on the road for a short set of house shows and whilst they could have roomed separately they had chosen to room together. Of course they’d just assumed that they would have two double beds but a mistake in booking resulted in them sharing a queen sized bed. To their combined, but still separate, relief they found out that the next night they would at least have two double beds but for that night… well there really wasn’t anything that they could do about it. Still, it had all started innocently enough since both men were tired from travelling and the house show. It wasn’t until around midnight that Jay found himself inadvertently woken up…. Both from the lack of a proper blanket and from his room-mate mumbling something in his sleep; it wasn’t until Jay overheard the words ‘I love you, Christ’ that he felt somewhat alarmed. Rubbing his hands over his face, the blonde man turned to his side, trying to rid himself of the thought…. If it all came down to it, he would just confront A.J about it in the morning; Jay resolving to do just that as he fell back asleep.
A.J woke up to find Jay’s side of the bed empty, the younger man looking around sleepily to see the blonde man awake and watching television. “What are you watching?”
Jay half shrugged, “Sports Centre … just catching up with it.”
A.J frowned at the way his friend was acting, “did you not sleep at all or what?”
The blonde man arched an eyebrow but still would not meet his friend’s gaze. “I slept perfectly fine, you know me… it doesn’t take me that long to fall asleep.”
“Okay…”
“Did you know that you talk in your sleep?”
A.J.’s eyes widened considerably, a guilty look on his face…. “I do not talk in my sleep.”
Jay smirked to mask his annoyance, finally directing a look towards his room-mate. “Yes actually, you do. And now I know something about you,” an eyebrow arched again, “you don’t think you really could have kept something like that from me, did you?”
A.J fidgeted nervously, “it’s … it’s really not what you think.”
“Oh really,” Jay questioned dryly and then continued as nonchalant as he could manage. “Because I’m pretty sure I heard you saying I love you…. Dude, how could you?”
The colour drained considerably from A.J.’s panic stricken face. “…”
Interpreting it differently, Jay sighed. “After everything that she put you through and you still love her?”
A.J glanced up hesitantly, releasing a breath he hadn’t realised he was holding. “Her?”
Jay blinked, an incredulous look on his face to match his tone of voice. “Yes… her. As in Christ…y?”
A look of relief flooded over A.J.’s features almost instantly, the younger man mustering a sheepish smile. “Yeah well… I can’t help that, ya know? The girls always go on about how ya can’t just stop loving someone, even if you know you shouldn’t.”
“I understand that.”
“And I’m over her really,” A.J ran his hands over his short hair, “it was just a really, really, really weird dream…”
Jay held up a hand when A.J trailed off, “I really don’t need to hear anymore about it, alright?”
A.J looked confused, “so if it’s not a big deal, why did you bring it up?”
The blonde man hesitated for a moment, “because I care about you… as a friend. And I really don’t want to see you getting all upset like last time because I don’t want to deal with it again. You do remember what happened last time, don’t you?”
A.J frowned, though it was more at the choice of words that Jay had used, “of course I remember. I’m not stupid.”
“I never said that you were, just reminding you of what happened,” Jay explained himself evenly. “So… Christy? Bad idea.”
“Definitely a bad idea,” A.J said quietly and then fell silent.
Jay nodded, though it was more to himself than anything. “…. So.”
“So,” A.J drew the word out equally slow, Jay’s words still echoing through his head.
“Breakfast?” The older man suggested as he turned off the television. “We could head down to the restaurant or something like that.”
A.J nodded, “sure that works for me.”
Jay moved from the chair he had been sitting in, “okay… I’m just going to take a shower first and then we’ll go. It shouldn’t take me too long.”
A.J arched an eyebrow, “I wanted to take a shower too… why are you taking one first?”
Jay rolled his eyes a little, “because I smell like you, that’s why…. Your aftershave or whatever the hell you’re wearing.”
The younger man looked genuinely offended, “you don’t like it?”
The blonde man grimaced, “no, no … it’s not that … it’s just…. I really want to take a shower.”
Before A.J could say another word, Jay had bolted for the bathroom; leaving the younger man even more confused and conflicted. On one hand, he was thankful that Jay hadn’t figured out what his dream was really about… because that would have been highly embarrassing. But on the other hand, now Jay seemed pretty convinced that he was still hung up on his ex-girlfriend and that couldn’t have been further from the truth. Still, he couldn’t very well barge into the bathroom and demand to have this conversation now. Shaking his head, A.J finally moved from the bed; the younger man casting a look towards the bathroom door before he grabbed his suitcase, quickly packing up his things. Tyson didn’t have a room-mate and surely the bald man wouldn’t mind if he used the shower, A.J hesitating near the door debating on if he should leave a note before deciding against it.
Jay, meanwhile, had taken his time getting the water going in the shower. “Christy…” he repeated to himself in disbelief, “I can’t believe he’s still … after everything … what do I care though?”
Shaking his head, the blonde man finally started the hot water; Jay’s thoughts still on A.J but not what had recently happened. Rather it was something that happened a few weeks ago before Victory Road. They had been hanging out the entire time, Tyson around on occasion, but for the most part it had been just him and A.J.
“That was when it started to change,” Jay freely admitted to himself as he stepped into the shower. “ … not that it would matter now, apparently.”
As his shower continued, the blonde man continued to think about how everything had changed over the past few weeks, A.J elevated from being just a friend to … well now, Jay wasn’t quite sure how he would refer to the younger man. And he still didn’t have a clue as he stepped out of the shower, wrapping one of the hotel towels around his waist before exiting the bathroom.
“There should still be plenty of hot water left,” Jay called out once he was properly in the hotel room, frowning when he received no response. “A.J?” The blonde man looked around the room in confusion, “where did he go?”
For a moment, Jay contemplated looking for his room-mate, but, that would be awkward. Partially because he was still in a towel and only a towel and partially because he really didn’t know how his friends and co-workers would react. The blonde man figured that A.J had just gone ahead without him, Jay quickly getting dressed to head downstairs himself. To his surprise, A.J was nowhere in sight, the blonde man trying not to let that bother him as he found a table.
Later that day …
It was apparent to everyone who was around them that day, A.J and Jay were both in bad moods. Though, neither man seemed overly willing to talk about it; Tyson having to suffer the most because of it. Usually things were relaxed, or at least until they had a match to prepare for, and then it got serious…. But at the house show and in the car, A.J and Jay had barely spoken a word with each other. It continued that way when they got back to the hotel, A.J already headed out somewhere on his own. Jay had been planning on staying in, but changed his mind when Robert stopped by; the two men then heading out for a much needed drink.
Jay laughed half heartedly as Robert launched into yet another story. “That’s really funny dude, I’ll have to come with you more often, for sure.”
Robert nodded enthusiastically, “you really should man. It gets dull sometimes, you know? Always seeing the same faces, night after night.”
The blonde man nodded, “yeah … especially after seeing those same faces all day backstage.”
“Exactly,” Robert agreed and then knocked back the rest of his beer, “I need another one of these … you want anything?”
“Sure… just uh get me whatever I had before.”
Once Robert was gone, Jay let out a sigh, this wasn’t exactly how he wanted to spend his night. Rubbing his temples to lessen the headache that had already formed; Jay swivelled on his seat…. The blonde man regretting he had done so when he spotted more of their co-workers.
Christy batted her lashes low, “it’s been far too long since we’ve done this, baby…” Cuddling up to A.J more, the TNA knockout cupped his face. “Far too long.”
A.J, whilst not nearly drunk as he wanted to be was drunk enough. But that was mostly because he really didn’t drink too much … “You want to get out of here already?”
A cat that ate the canary like grin spread across her face. “You read my mind … let’s continue this in my hotel room, hmm?”
“Sure,” A.J would have agreed to being tarred and feathered by that point, “let’s go.”
From the bar, Jay watched in disbelief as A.J and Christy half walked and half stumbled out of the club in their haste to exit. His headache back in full force, the blonde man turned himself around to glare the counter. Robert had since disappeared to who knew where, Jay ordering a drink whilst he waited. This day really hadn’t turned out as he had expected and from the looks of things, tomorrow wouldn’t be any better.
Authors: Kori/And (sweetrapture82/unprettyme77, together koriandor)
Rating: PG for now
Pairing: A.J. Styles/Christian Cage
Summary: It was just a little complicated.
Feedback: very much appreciated as this is a first attempt.
Disclaimer: We lay no claims to any the characters mentioned in this story. It's merely a work of fiction.
Later that week found A.J and Jay on the road for a short set of house shows and whilst they could have roomed separately they had chosen to room together. Of course they’d just assumed that they would have two double beds but a mistake in booking resulted in them sharing a queen sized bed. To their combined, but still separate, relief they found out that the next night they would at least have two double beds but for that night… well there really wasn’t anything that they could do about it. Still, it had all started innocently enough since both men were tired from travelling and the house show. It wasn’t until around midnight that Jay found himself inadvertently woken up…. Both from the lack of a proper blanket and from his room-mate mumbling something in his sleep; it wasn’t until Jay overheard the words ‘I love you, Christ’ that he felt somewhat alarmed. Rubbing his hands over his face, the blonde man turned to his side, trying to rid himself of the thought…. If it all came down to it, he would just confront A.J about it in the morning; Jay resolving to do just that as he fell back asleep.
A.J woke up to find Jay’s side of the bed empty, the younger man looking around sleepily to see the blonde man awake and watching television. “What are you watching?”
Jay half shrugged, “Sports Centre … just catching up with it.”
A.J frowned at the way his friend was acting, “did you not sleep at all or what?”
The blonde man arched an eyebrow but still would not meet his friend’s gaze. “I slept perfectly fine, you know me… it doesn’t take me that long to fall asleep.”
“Okay…”
“Did you know that you talk in your sleep?”
A.J.’s eyes widened considerably, a guilty look on his face…. “I do not talk in my sleep.”
Jay smirked to mask his annoyance, finally directing a look towards his room-mate. “Yes actually, you do. And now I know something about you,” an eyebrow arched again, “you don’t think you really could have kept something like that from me, did you?”
A.J fidgeted nervously, “it’s … it’s really not what you think.”
“Oh really,” Jay questioned dryly and then continued as nonchalant as he could manage. “Because I’m pretty sure I heard you saying I love you…. Dude, how could you?”
The colour drained considerably from A.J.’s panic stricken face. “…”
Interpreting it differently, Jay sighed. “After everything that she put you through and you still love her?”
A.J glanced up hesitantly, releasing a breath he hadn’t realised he was holding. “Her?”
Jay blinked, an incredulous look on his face to match his tone of voice. “Yes… her. As in Christ…y?”
A look of relief flooded over A.J.’s features almost instantly, the younger man mustering a sheepish smile. “Yeah well… I can’t help that, ya know? The girls always go on about how ya can’t just stop loving someone, even if you know you shouldn’t.”
“I understand that.”
“And I’m over her really,” A.J ran his hands over his short hair, “it was just a really, really, really weird dream…”
Jay held up a hand when A.J trailed off, “I really don’t need to hear anymore about it, alright?”
A.J looked confused, “so if it’s not a big deal, why did you bring it up?”
The blonde man hesitated for a moment, “because I care about you… as a friend. And I really don’t want to see you getting all upset like last time because I don’t want to deal with it again. You do remember what happened last time, don’t you?”
A.J frowned, though it was more at the choice of words that Jay had used, “of course I remember. I’m not stupid.”
“I never said that you were, just reminding you of what happened,” Jay explained himself evenly. “So… Christy? Bad idea.”
“Definitely a bad idea,” A.J said quietly and then fell silent.
Jay nodded, though it was more to himself than anything. “…. So.”
“So,” A.J drew the word out equally slow, Jay’s words still echoing through his head.
“Breakfast?” The older man suggested as he turned off the television. “We could head down to the restaurant or something like that.”
A.J nodded, “sure that works for me.”
Jay moved from the chair he had been sitting in, “okay… I’m just going to take a shower first and then we’ll go. It shouldn’t take me too long.”
A.J arched an eyebrow, “I wanted to take a shower too… why are you taking one first?”
Jay rolled his eyes a little, “because I smell like you, that’s why…. Your aftershave or whatever the hell you’re wearing.”
The younger man looked genuinely offended, “you don’t like it?”
The blonde man grimaced, “no, no … it’s not that … it’s just…. I really want to take a shower.”
Before A.J could say another word, Jay had bolted for the bathroom; leaving the younger man even more confused and conflicted. On one hand, he was thankful that Jay hadn’t figured out what his dream was really about… because that would have been highly embarrassing. But on the other hand, now Jay seemed pretty convinced that he was still hung up on his ex-girlfriend and that couldn’t have been further from the truth. Still, he couldn’t very well barge into the bathroom and demand to have this conversation now. Shaking his head, A.J finally moved from the bed; the younger man casting a look towards the bathroom door before he grabbed his suitcase, quickly packing up his things. Tyson didn’t have a room-mate and surely the bald man wouldn’t mind if he used the shower, A.J hesitating near the door debating on if he should leave a note before deciding against it.
Jay, meanwhile, had taken his time getting the water going in the shower. “Christy…” he repeated to himself in disbelief, “I can’t believe he’s still … after everything … what do I care though?”
Shaking his head, the blonde man finally started the hot water; Jay’s thoughts still on A.J but not what had recently happened. Rather it was something that happened a few weeks ago before Victory Road. They had been hanging out the entire time, Tyson around on occasion, but for the most part it had been just him and A.J.
“That was when it started to change,” Jay freely admitted to himself as he stepped into the shower. “ … not that it would matter now, apparently.”
As his shower continued, the blonde man continued to think about how everything had changed over the past few weeks, A.J elevated from being just a friend to … well now, Jay wasn’t quite sure how he would refer to the younger man. And he still didn’t have a clue as he stepped out of the shower, wrapping one of the hotel towels around his waist before exiting the bathroom.
“There should still be plenty of hot water left,” Jay called out once he was properly in the hotel room, frowning when he received no response. “A.J?” The blonde man looked around the room in confusion, “where did he go?”
For a moment, Jay contemplated looking for his room-mate, but, that would be awkward. Partially because he was still in a towel and only a towel and partially because he really didn’t know how his friends and co-workers would react. The blonde man figured that A.J had just gone ahead without him, Jay quickly getting dressed to head downstairs himself. To his surprise, A.J was nowhere in sight, the blonde man trying not to let that bother him as he found a table.
Later that day …
It was apparent to everyone who was around them that day, A.J and Jay were both in bad moods. Though, neither man seemed overly willing to talk about it; Tyson having to suffer the most because of it. Usually things were relaxed, or at least until they had a match to prepare for, and then it got serious…. But at the house show and in the car, A.J and Jay had barely spoken a word with each other. It continued that way when they got back to the hotel, A.J already headed out somewhere on his own. Jay had been planning on staying in, but changed his mind when Robert stopped by; the two men then heading out for a much needed drink.
Jay laughed half heartedly as Robert launched into yet another story. “That’s really funny dude, I’ll have to come with you more often, for sure.”
Robert nodded enthusiastically, “you really should man. It gets dull sometimes, you know? Always seeing the same faces, night after night.”
The blonde man nodded, “yeah … especially after seeing those same faces all day backstage.”
“Exactly,” Robert agreed and then knocked back the rest of his beer, “I need another one of these … you want anything?”
“Sure… just uh get me whatever I had before.”
Once Robert was gone, Jay let out a sigh, this wasn’t exactly how he wanted to spend his night. Rubbing his temples to lessen the headache that had already formed; Jay swivelled on his seat…. The blonde man regretting he had done so when he spotted more of their co-workers.
Christy batted her lashes low, “it’s been far too long since we’ve done this, baby…” Cuddling up to A.J more, the TNA knockout cupped his face. “Far too long.”
A.J, whilst not nearly drunk as he wanted to be was drunk enough. But that was mostly because he really didn’t drink too much … “You want to get out of here already?”
A cat that ate the canary like grin spread across her face. “You read my mind … let’s continue this in my hotel room, hmm?”
“Sure,” A.J would have agreed to being tarred and feathered by that point, “let’s go.”
From the bar, Jay watched in disbelief as A.J and Christy half walked and half stumbled out of the club in their haste to exit. His headache back in full force, the blonde man turned himself around to glare the counter. Robert had since disappeared to who knew where, Jay ordering a drink whilst he waited. This day really hadn’t turned out as he had expected and from the looks of things, tomorrow wouldn’t be any better.