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“Drew, please…I can explain…”
Dolph Ziggler struggled to keep up with Drew McIntyre as his tag team partner strode on ahead of him. The larger man hadn’t said a word since they’d left the battle royal, and Dolph was still uneasy.
Drew dug their keycard out from his pocket and pushed the hotel room door open, not looking back as he walked inside.
Dolph took a breath before doing the same. Their bed was still unmade from the afternoon, and the musky scent of aftershave still hung in the air.
“Now can we talk?” the blonde asked, as soon as he’d shut the door behind him.
Drew gave a disbelieving half-laugh, putting his hands on his hips. “What is there to talk about?” he replied. “We both know what happened back there.”
Dolph nodded, feeling himself burn with embarrassment. “Yeah – I messed up. I took my eyes off the ball for a split second, and we got eliminated.”
Drew’s eyes darkened almost immediately. “Eliminated from a battle royal that could’ve got us a tag title shot!”
Ziggler tensed; he’d left that part out of his explanation to protect his own ego, but hearing his partner state it so angrily brought the moment into sharp relief.
The blonde licked his lips, trying to figure out his next words. “Drew…I am so sorry about what happened tonight. I promise you that next week- “ “
"Who fucking cares about next week?!”
The Scotsman’s booming voice shocked Dolph, and seemingly the whole hotel, into silence. “What matters most in wrestling is right now. I assumed you’d know that with all your experience…”
Ziggler backed off as Drew’s hulking frame encroached on him. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that if you can’t do something as basic as staying in a battle royal, then maybe—“
McIntyre’s eyes dropped to the ground as if he was hesitating.
“Maybe I don’t need you to get where I want to be.”
Dolph’s stomach flipped. Drew’s voice was low, but he knew what he’d heard.
There was a second of indecision before he surged forward.
“Wait!”
Against his better judgement, Ziggler grabbed the Scotsman’s broad arm.
“Drew, you know you don’t mean that!”
McIntyre tugged it away with force. “Maybe you’ve forgotten this, but I do know my own mind.”
Drew walked away from Dolph with what seemed like purpose. The blonde expected him to leave the room – but to his surprise, he stayed, pacing, gaze never quite meeting his.
“I haven’t forgotten, Drew,” Dolph insisted, voice frayed with exasperation. “Nobody else could bounce back from being disrespected by the business like you did.”
He paused, giving a wry chuckle.
“Not even me.”
Dolph didn’t catch Drew’s rapid glance of confusion as he continued on.
“When you get overlooked, it’s motivation for you to better yourself. When I get overlooked, it’s an excuse to say some stuff backstage about how I won’t be ignored and that wrestling is the fifth best thing I do…before proceeding to go right back to where I started. You’d think I’d have learned after 14 years, but no – I’m still here, just below the brass ring.”
The Showoff managed a deprecating smile. As he took a step towards McIntyre, he could swear that he saw a flicker of sympathy in his eyes.
“You’re everything I want to be,” Ziggler murmured. “I know I let you down tonight, but I’ve never had this much faith in anyone before. We work – we have to work, because—“
He unfurled his fingers, eyes rising as he placed his hand gently on McIntyre’s chest.
“I need you, Drew.”
The statement was greeted by silence. Drew looked down at his partner’s hand with a furrowed brow, and then, slowly – finally - back up at his face.
With the amount of time since they’d last locked eyes, McIntyre’s stare seemed even more intimidating. Dolph froze, waiting for the Scotsman’s next move.
When that came, it was tenderer than he’d anticipated.
Drew softly lifted Ziggler’s hand, before interlacing it with his own. The Showoff was dumbstruck, to which McIntyre smirked.
“You can be an impassioned sod when you want to be.”
Ziggler smiled; this was the sharp wit he knew.
“That’s why you love me,” he replied, lightness sneaking back into his voice. “This seems like a change of heart…am I off the hook now?”
Drew raised an eyebrow, and Ziggler grinned. “Not at all,” the Scot responded in his typical deadpan tone. “But to be honest, you took far too much of the brunt back there.”
Ziggler‘s smile faded. “Wait, didn’t you say—“
“I know what I said. You did make me mad, but it wasn’t all about you. I think I was scared too.”
“Scared of what? Strowman?”
Drew ruefully shook his head. “I wish. I was scared of-“
McIntyre stopped suddenly, screwing his eyes shut and breaking Dolph’s gaze. Ziggler could feel his touch loosening and didn’t try to stop it.
“Go on, Drew,” he murmured.
The Scot took a deep breath. It was only when his eyes opened again that Dolph noticed how close to tears he was.
“I was scared of losing this opportunity, of getting pushed to the back of the line…but most of all, I was scared of losing you.”
Dolph’s eyes scanned his partner’s face. “No, no…you listen to me, Drew McIntyre.”
He cupped the man’s chin in his free hand. The movement was awkward, but neither seemed to care.
“You're gonna go on to do so many great things - but one thing you'll never do is lose me. Got it?”
Drew nodded, pulling Dolph close. He wrapped his arms around the other man’s slight shoulders, and Ziggler relaxed into the motion, resting his head on McIntyre’s chest. Their breathing was harmonised, heartbeats steady, and the world seemed to slow around them.
It was so tranquil that Dolph was almost annoyed when Drew next spoke.
“By the way, Dolph…that stuff you said about never learning anything?”
“Hm?”
“Well,” McIntyre purred, “let’s just say I can teach you a thing or two.”
Dolph looked up at him for a split second, before bursting out in laughter. “What, right now?”
Drew shrugged. “I just thought as we’ve got some extra time on our hands—“
The Scotsman was muffled by a fierce, passionate kiss. Dolph clung to his collar, and as they broke, McIntyre was dazed.
“How about you stop wasting it, then?”
Drew gave the Showoff a rare, sincere smile as he began to unbutton his shirt.
"Trust me,” he answered, “we won’t be doing any more of that.”