#i have spent far too much money on doordash this week but hey at least i am feeding myself. some day i will have time to buy groceries. .

[coelura]

bought little tiny bottles of prosecco on my way home (bc i deserve nice things) so now i am going to induce a cathartic cry by getting drunk off of like 1.5 standard drinks and watching red white and royal blue, and then hopefully passing out before midnight since i do in fact have one more shift before i'm free for the weekend wish me luck 👍

[nicolewoo]

Adjoining Rooms

Pairing: Joe Anaoi X Reader (Roman Reigns X Reader)

Warning: Storms involving lightening and thunder

Scenario: Joe has a bright idea that might help Y/N sleep.

As soon as I walked in the room: “I reserved your room for tonight.” Joe said nonchalantly. I was confused.

“Thanks, but why?” Joe stopped what he was doing on the computer and looked at me. “I was thinking.” He paused. “Colby saw you leave my room last week after you’d spent the night.”

“Right. And?”

“And if you’re having nightmares every night, I thought adjoining rooms might be smarter.” He stood and came to me, placing one hand on each of my arms and looking down at me. “I’ll leave my side of the adjoining room door unlocked so you can just come over if you need to.”

It was a great idea. “And nobody will be gossiping about us sleeping in the same room.”

“Right.” He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around my waist. “I hope that will work.”

I looked up into his eyes, and my knees felt weak when he looked at me with so much caring and concern. “Yeah. That will work.” I chuckled.

He leaned in to hug me. “Let’s see how it goes tonight, and if we like it, we can do it more often. At least while you’re having the nightmares. Ok?” He kissed my forehead.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I looked around the room. It was clean and nice, but it certainly wasn’t as nice as the suites Joe normally stayed in. There was a simple bed, A desk, and a dresser that doubled as a TV stand. No couch. No second room. The bathroom about ½ the size that he was used to. He’d really downgraded for me. I opened the door that linked our two rooms and knocked on his side of the door.

He must have been close to the door because he opened it after just a few seconds. “Yes?” he sang out as he came into view.

“Hey superstar. You ok slumming it with me tonight?” I teased him.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“This is quite a downgrade from your normal suites.” He knew I was just ribbing him, and he laughed.

“Yeah, I guess I can handle it for you.” We simply laughed. He was serious now, “You forget I was in your shoes not too long ago, sharing rooms and beds with Colby and John, because we didn’t have any money.” He paused and I heard a tone of nostalgia in his voice.  “Want to get food after you settle in?”

“Yeah. Of course.” I said.

I left the door between our rooms open as I settled in. We settled on the idea of DoorDash delivering dinner, and Joe found a movie to watch as we crowded around the little desk in his room to eat.

“Who are you wrestling this week?” he asked between bites.

I was almost embarrassed to answer. “Ummm. Nobody.”

He looked at me, eyebrow raised. “Nobody? You’re off this week?”

“No. Just no scheduled fights,” I answered. “I think they’re trying to figure out what to do with me.” I couldn’t help but groan internally. Creative had been dropping the ball on recent call ups; taking well established characters and trying to fit them into the current roster, often with terrible results that ended with a release from the company or a move back to NXT. “I hope they figure out something soon.” There was a hint of panic in my voice that I couldn’t cover.

He reached over the table and took my free hand. “Don’t worry. They’ll find something for you. We will all make sure of it.” He looked reassuringly at me. “Even if you’re a valet. I’ll make sure you’re on screen as much as possible.”

I questioned him, “We? I?”

He looked a little embarrassed as if he hadn’t meant to say it. “We, I…. Becky, Colby, Paul, Stephanie and me. We’ll make sure creative doesn’t bury you. I promise.” He squeezed my hand reassuringly before pulling his hand back and leaving it on the table where I could touch it if I wanted. I wanted. I really wanted, but….. Look at him, casual, just shorts and a t-shirt, his hair was a mess with frizzy tendrils framing his face, and the ends of his hair sticking out of the makeshift bun he’d put it in. Despite all of this, one smile was all it took to melt me inside. Even in his imperfection, he was perfect. He was kind, smart, funny, and drop dead gorgeous. I thanked God for bringing Joe into my life but had to admit that part of me felt angry that God would bring this unobtainable perfection into my life when I had no chance of him sharing my feelings. Why did he even talk to me? I was a mess, and he knew it, but it didn’t drive him away. If anything, he clung to my messy parts and helped hold me together. Why? I was sure this was a test from God. Testing how far I could be tempted? Possibly reminding me that I wasn’t worthy of him.

His voice broke me out of my thoughts. “Hey.” I looked up at him. “You’re going to be a big star. I’ll make sure of that.” His smile reassured me.

“Joe, don’t do anything that will risk your career. Not for me.” I said, and he just grabbed my hand again.

“Don’t worry about me.” I looked down now. “Seriously. You deserve to get pushed, and we will make sure it happens. I’m not going to let you fall through creative’s cracks.”

I looked up at him again. He had known exactly what I was worried about. Of course he did. He was perfect. “But what if….”

He squeezed my had. “No ‘what ifs’. You’re going to be a huge star. You’ve got so many people pulling for you. I heard Paul Heyman talking about how good you are just the other day. He said he had a plan for you that he was going to pitch to Vince. Stop worrying and let us handle this. All you need to think about is keeping yourself happy and healthy.” He rubbed his thumb reassuringly over my knuckles.

A flash of lighting lit up the window, and I looked out to see the approaching storm as Thunder rattled the whole room. I yipped and jolted in my chair.

“You ok?” Joe was chuckling, but the look in his eyes displayed true concern. I nodded yes as I tried to relax again. “Let’s watch some TV. It will help calm you before bed.” Joe stood up and took my hand, pulling me up to my feet. We cleared the table, tossing the leftovers in the tiny trash can before he sat against the headboard of the bed and patted the area next to him. “Come on.”

I eyed him sitting on the bed. I was tired and didn’t want to sit up. I wanted to lay down. I wanted to lay down with him. Instead of sitting next to him, I laid crooked on the bed and nestled my head in his lap. He chuckled a bit as he brushed an errant hair off my face. “Harry Potter ok?” he asked as he flipped through the channels.

“Yeah,” I agreed. “I like Harry Potter.” I was cold, and I wasn’t going to be able to get relaxed. I popped up and pulled the bedding down before laying my head back down on his lap and pulling the blankets over me. We stayed there for a long while, watching the TV.

Joe got up once to use the restroom, and when he came back, he saw that I was ½ asleep. I heard him laugh quietly. “What?” I craned my neck to see him.

“Make yourself at home.” He said ironically.

“If you insist.” I teased.

Joe pulled the blankets the rest of the way down and took off his shirt before climbing under the bedding and pulling me in until my head was cradled on his shoulder. We laid quietly, watching, nodding off. “I should go to my bed.” I said groggily.

Joe tightened his grip on me. “Not yet.” He kissed my forehead. “Stay until the storm is over.”

I moaned my affirmation.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I had slept. I had slept well, all night, only waking up when the loudest of thunder shook the hotel and falling back to sleep instantly. I had felt safe despite my recent nightmares, despite the storm, despite everything. I felt safe and I slept.

I was laying on my side, and Joe was curled around me, spooning me. He groaned as his phone’s alarm continued to beep. He reached out to grab it and turned the beeping off. He turned back to me and wrapped his arm back around me. We didn’t talk for a few minutes, each of us trying to shake off sleep.

I ran my fingers over his forearm, and he kissed the top of my head. “Hey,” His voice was gruff with sleep.

“Hey.” I answered. I turned until I was facing him.

He smiled at me, “How did you sleep? Storm keep you up? Nightmares?”

I grinned back at him. “Actually, I slept like a log. The thunder woke me a couple of times, but I fell right back to sleep. That was the best night of sleep I’ve had in months.” I sighed in relief.

He didn’t answer right away. He just ran his hand over my hair. “Good.” He kissed my forehead. “I slept well too.”

 @mindofasagittaruis​ @lclb13​ @reigns-5sos​