#luca meme sunday | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

debbiechanclub · 2 years ago

Text

Empty Rooms

A “Take My Hand, Wreck My Plans” fic

Pairing: Kyle Fletcher x OFC (with a bit of x Jay White) Word Count: 3,321 Warnings: Drinking, language, a lotta angst

Following a long, slow end to her relationship with Jay, Nellie finds herself single in London on her birthday. But she doesn't end the night alone.

TMHWMP Timeline | Masterlist

Read it on AO3

Tag squad: @aussiearrow @statdaddy @knifepervert @sldghmmr @rusevday @missbrownstone @meteora-fc @bec0m @thatgirlforever5 @rocca09

Sunday, September 19, 2021 London, England

The Undisputed British Women’s Championship felt heavier in Nellie’s hand leaving the ring than it had entering it. Of course, it wasn’t heavier—she was weaker, her lungs on fire and her muscles taxed after a grueling twenty-minute two-out-of-three-falls match. But as spent as she was, Nellie hadn’t felt this much pride in a while. Successfully defending her title for the fifth time since winning it in July was one hell of a birthday present.

“And still.”

Kyle Fletcher greeted her with a wide smile as she returned backstage. Aussie Open’s winner-take-all match against Destination Everywhere for both the PWA Tag Team Championship and RevPro Undisputed British Tag Team Championship was next.

“That was a hell of a match, Nell,” Mark complimented.

“Thanks,” she smiled and bumped each of their fists in turn. Nellie had known Kyle and Mark for almost as long as she’d been working RevPro, but for most of that time they’d been little more than acquaintances, not to mention one-time rivals—Aussie Open had won their first RevPro tag team championship by beating Suzuki-gun back when Nellie had been dating and managing Zack.

However, when Nellie had defeated Zoe Lucas to capture the vacant RevPro Undisputed British Women’s Championship for a second time—ironically, on July Fourth—she’d decided right then and there to be a fighting champion. And that meant working more dates for RevPro, which in turn meant seeing the Aussies more and having the chance to actually get to know them; and soon enough, Nellie, Kyle, and Mark had graduated from acquaintances to friends who texted and sent each other memes and made plans for when she’d been in England next.

And she’d been there quite frequently lately.

“How many defenses is that now?” Mark asked.

Nellie hoisted the title up onto her shoulder. “Five… in three months.”

“Jesus,” he breathed.

“I think I’m in love,” Kyle added.

She grinned. “Win the RevPro tag titles and maybe we’ll talk,” she teased him—and not for the first time. That was something else that had developed between her and Kyle in recent weeks. But he’d started it.

“I’m gonna hold you to that,” he smirked.

“Will you?” Nellie parried; but then she noticed the knowing smirk on Mark’s face and became suddenly embarrassed. Trading cheeky DMs with Kyle was one thing. Flirting with him in front of people was quite another.

“Good luck!” she quickly said, and she turned and continued down the hall, her heart rate picking up again.

* * * *

An hour after her match, Nellie’s phone was still pinging with likes, comments, and retweets of the sweaty post-match photo she’d shared to her socials with a simple but intriguing caption: And still. Three months, five defenses. And I’m hunting more hardware.

It was that last line that had everyone speculating—and they’d find out what she meant soon enough. Recently, Nellie and Torrance had decided to bet on themselves and enter the upcoming Goddesses of Stardom Tag League as a team. It was a bold move, not only because they’d never tagged together before, but because they were in separate factions: Nellie in Queen’s Quest, Torrance in Cosmic Angels. But they’d both been looking to shake things up in their careers, and the tag league presented the perfect opportunity.

“We seriously need to come up with a team name,” Torrance said as she sat in the dressing room scrolling through her own social media feeds. “They’re announcing the entrants in two weeks, I think.”

“I know,” Nellie agreed, pausing to swipe mascara over her lashes. Of course they were going out; it was her birthday. “I’ve been trying to think of a play on our names, but all I’ve come up with is Team TKO and I don’t think that fits us.”

Torrance’s eyes turned pensive. “Cosmic Queens?” she finally said.

Nellie started to reject it—but she snapped her fingers. It had come to her just like that. “Cosmic Queendom.”

“Yessss, that’s it,” Torrance smiled. “Although it kinda sounds like we’re trying to join United Empire, too.”

Nellie stopped what she was doing. “Oh God, it does,” she realized. But Torrance shrugged.

“Fine with me,” she grinned. That time, Nellie decided to keep her comments to herself.

Initially, Torrance hadn’t planned on coming to London. But she’d made a spur-of-the-moment decision last week to book a last-minute flight—and it wasn’t just because she wanted to be there to support Nellie. She had other, more personal motivations; ones that involved Will Ospreay.

From Nellie’s perspective, Will had come completely out of left field. She knew that he and Torrance had gone on a few dates back in 2017—Nellie had even gone on the most awkward double date of her life with them and David Finlay—but up until about a month ago, Torrance had been involved with Robbie Eagles. Casually involved, admittedly, but involved nonetheless—and Nellie thought he was a much better match for Torrance than Will was.

But when it came down to it, Torrance seemed happy; and after everything she’d been through surrounding the contentious end of her and Ishimori’s relationship earlier that year, the last thing Nellie wanted to do was rain on her parade.

“Speaking of United Empire,” Torrance added. “Is Kyle gonna end up in more than just your DMs tonight?”

“Torr!” Nellie proclaimed; but she couldn’t help her grin. “Jesus.”

“I’m just saying; I’d support it one hundred percent. It’s your birthday and you deserve to get dicked down.”

Nellie flushed hot at Torrance’s frankness of speech; but it would be a bald-faced lie to say she hadn’t been considering doing exactly that with Kyle. He was the perfect candidate on paper for a night of no-strings-attached fun. They were friends but not close enough that it would complicate anything; she was less than two months out of a heartbreaking relationship, and he was only twenty-two—neither of them was looking for anything serious. And besides, Torrance was right: she did deserve to get dicked down.

“Well… maybe I will,” she smirked and her phone pinged again. But the notification sound was different that time; the one she’d set for text messages. She finished up her makeup and then reached for her phone—and nearly dropped it when saw the text was from Jay.

Happy birthday, Nell. And congrats on the win. Five defenses in three months is insane.

“What the fuck.”

“What?” Torrance asked, and Nellie realized she’d said that out loud.

“Jay just texted me happy birthday.”

“What?” Torrance was just as taken aback. “No.”

“Yes,” she confirmed, and she handed her phone over so Torrance could see it for herself. Her mouth dropped.

“Oh, what the fuck.”

“Now you see why I said it,” Nellie commented.

“Have you two even said two words to each other since you broke up?”

She shook her head. “No.” It worked Torrance up even more.

“And he just pops up to wish you happy birthday like nothing happened,” she said. “Honestly, I don’t even know why I’m surprised; it’s just like Jay to pull something like that.”

Now that she'd said it, Nellie wasn’t surprised, either; that was exactly how Jay had acted throughout the final three months of their relationship. After he’d won the NEVER Openweight Championship, Nellie had felt like he would put her on the backburner for days at a time until he’d suddenly remember they were together. That they needed to communicate, check-in with each other, be there for each other even while thousands of miles apart, especially while working through the uncertainty of their situation.

Except, they hadn’t worked through it. And months later, Nellie was still trying to work out why.

“You’re not thinking about texting him back, are you?” Torrance asked.

Knock! Knock-knock-knock! Knock-knock!

A rhythmic series of knocks on the dressing room door spared Nellie from having to answer, and then Will’s voice shouted through to them.

“Oi! Are you two ready?”

Torrance looked back at Nellie as she stood to answer the door. “Don’t text him back. You have better things to do tonight—like a six-foot-four Aussie.”

Nellie scoffed. But her fingers hovered over the keyboard as she looked back at the text, until she locked her phone and put it away.

* * * *

It was a challenge to find anywhere to get a drink after 11 p.m. on a Sunday in London, unless you knew where to look—and of course Will knew where to look. So, he called an Uber X and a black Range Rover arrived to take them away. On the ride, the conversation naturally turned to all their success that night and what shows they had booked next, at which point Nellie asked Kyle and Mark if they had any plans to wrestle in Japan soon, given that they were the newest members of United Empire. Kyle told her he hoped it would be sooner rather than later. And when Nellie grinned and said, “I hope so, too,” she really meant it.

But it was less than ten minutes before they reached their destination—and it really was the kind of place you needed to know about, tucked away on a side street in between much newer and taller buildings. On the outside, it looked like a typical English pub, a weathered brick-and-wood front adorned with an elegant hunter green sign hand-painted with gold lettering. But as soon as Nellie got out of the Range Rover she heard the pulse of dance music and saw the flash of strobe lights through the windows. It was unexpected, to say the least.

“Why does this seem like exactly the kind of place you’d know about?” Torrance said to Will.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” he returned, and he took her hand and led them all inside.

The pub was cramped as it was, and it was packed wall-to-wall with people—at the bar, on the dancefloor, crowded around tables in the back. It was a dive for sure, and the atmosphere instantly transported Nellie back three years, to when nearly every trip to England had seen nights out with Riley to places just like this, and they would have drinks and Nellie would act coy even though she knew she’d fall into bed with him again.

And when Kyle put his hand on the small of her back, it felt like history might repeat itself with someone new.

“You want a drink?”

He’d leaned in to be heard above the music, and the ghost of his lips against her ear sent a pleasant tingle up Nellie’s spine. She nodded. “Yeah.”

She wasn’t sure if his hand found hers or the other way around, but their fingers intertwined, and he led her through the crowd to the bar. When they arrived, he guided her in front of him, his hand on her hip, her body tucked against his side.

“Shots?” he asked.

Nellie unintentionally leaned her head back against him as she laughed. “You would suggest shots.”

“Well, yeah!” Kyle returned. “It’s your birthday! I want you to enjoy it.” He squeezed her hip. It made more than just Nellie’s spine tingle that time.

He ordered a round of shots for the group, and they toasted to Nellie’s birthday and United Empire—“And Torr and Nell, consider this your unofficial initiation,” Will had said—and then they ordered more drinks and made their way to a booth in a less-crowded area on the second floor (Will's handiwork, of course). But Will didn’t stay long himself; Torrance pulled him away to the dancefloor, and once Mark realized he’d be third wheeling it, he disappeared, too, and Nellie and Kyle were left alone. They sat close, his arm resting behind her on the booth, their knees touching under the table. Nellie propped her chin up by her elbow and turned to look at him. He grinned.

“Do you know how fucking hot you are?”

Nellie couldn’t help it—she laughed. It was exactly the sort of compliment she’d expect from a twenty-two-year-old at a bar. But that didn’t make it any less flattering.

“I’m serious,” Kyle added, and he started ticking off her praises on his fingers. “You’re a bad-ass wrestler, you’re smart, you’re funny, and to top it all off you’re a fucking smokeshow. It’s not fair, actually.”

Nellie bit back a grin as she stirred her drink. “I’m also twenty-nine.”

Kyle’s brow furrowed. “And?” He was clearly confused as to why she’d mention that. “What does that matter?”

“Are you into older women?”

Their seven-year age difference was something that had been lurking in the back of Nellie’s mind from the day she and Kyle had started their flirtation. Not because it mattered—it didn’t, not if they were two consenting adults just getting their rocks off for a night—but just because it was there. Fact. And Nellie had never been with someone that much younger than her.

But it seemed to be a complete non-issue to Kyle. “Older women?” He laughed. “No—I’m into you. And I don’t think of you as an ‘older woman.’”

Nellie grinned again. “Oh, so you’re into me, huh?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I thought that was kind of obvious with all the flirting and compliments, but I can be more obvious if you need me to.”

“Oh, yeah? What’s more obvi…”

She trailed off as he pulled her into him and kissed her. And while Nellie had half-expected him to do it, she hadn’t at all expected her physical response to it. Kyle’s lips were soft, and so was the kiss, slow and sensual, one arm wrapped around her shoulders to draw her close, his other hand cradling the side of her face, his fingers reaching back into her hair. It was a purposeful kiss; attentive. Nellie hadn’t felt so coveted in months.

He broke away, nipping at her bottom lip just so. When Nellie opened her eyes, Kyle was smirking at her.

“Mommy? Sorry. Mom—”

She shoved him away. “Oh, fuck off.”

“I’m sorry, it was right there!” he laughed. “But is that a bit more obvious?”

Nellie smirked. “Obviously,” she returned. And then, like an intrusive thought, she remembered Jay’s text, still sitting left on read on her phone.

* * * *

Thanks. I’ve been trying to keep busy.

Nellie sent the text as they all walked out of the pub, when no one was paying attention. It was after 1 a.m., and alcohol had weakened her resolve. Between Kyle’s lips, his smile, the way he touched her, and the ghost of Jay still haunting the empty rooms in her heart, Nellie’s head was a mess.

“Nell! You coming?”

She looked up at the sound of Kyle’s voice and realized she’d fallen behind. She pushed her phone into her back pocket and hurried to catch up, looping her arm through his and falling in step next to him.

The guys had decided they wanted a late-night snack, and of course Will knew of a 24-hour bagel shop a short walk away. The guys went up to the counter to order while Nellie and Torrance stood against the wall, out of the way. It took all but a few seconds for Torrance to ask exactly what Nellie knew she would.

“So… will Kyle be giving you a birthday present?”

Of course Nellie had told Torrance that Kyle had kissed her back at the pub, and she was almost certain Torrance had gone and told Will. She stole a furtive glance at the guys out of the corner of her eye. She couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but by the way Will nudged Kyle and the grin on Kyle’s face, she had some idea.

“I don’t know.”

Torrance frowned when she heard that. “Why not?” she asked—and as if in answer, Nellie’s phone buzzed in her back pocket. She pulled it out without thinking about it—again: alcohol—and saw that Jay had responded.

Well it looks good on you.

Her head spun. Torrance noticed—and she already knew. She came around Nellie’s side and looked at her phone. Her lips parted in disappointment.

“You texted him back? Nell.”

“I know, but I don’t need a lecture about it right now, okay?” Nellie returned. She was tired, and a bit drunk, and a lot confused. And thankfully, Torrance was the kind of friend who could recognize that.

“Okay, but don’t reply to that one,” she urged.

“Everything alright over here?” Will walked over and handed a blondie wrapped in cellophane to Torrance. He nudged his chin at Nellie. “You look a million miles away, Nell.”

“Oh,” she quickly shook her head. “No, I’m fine. I think the night’s just catching up to me.”

“I’m sure Kyle could sort it out for you,” he commented, and her face burned. She barely had a moment to recover before Kyle and Mark joined them, bagel sandwiches in hand. Kyle took a big bite out of his and hummed in satisfaction.

“This hits the spot, for sure,” he said. He offered the bagel to Nellie. “Want a bite?”

She eyed it; it did look good. So, she grabbed Kyle’s hand and took a bite.

“Jeez, taking my food already!” he proclaimed.

“You offered!” Nellie returned through a mouth full of food. Kyle just grinned and winked at her.

“Well, shall we?” Will said then. “I’ll call the Uber.”

* * * *

When Kyle had leaned into Nellie’s ear in the backseat of the Uber and quietly asked if she wanted him to come back to her hotel room, she’d looked up at him and nodded yes. But she didn’t know if she’d hook up with him. She still didn’t know as they walked through the door, or as she changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt, or even as they cuddled up together on the bed, atop the covers. They didn’t turn on the TV or look at their phones; and even though Nellie still wasn’t sure, she did notice that the silence wasn’t awkward or uncomfortable. It didn’t feel like she’d made a mistake inviting Kyle back to her hotel room. It was nice just having his company.

“I want you to know I don’t expect anything to happen tonight,” he eventually said. “I know it hasn’t been that long since you and Jay broke up.”

Something ached deep inside Nellie’s chest. She did her best to ignore it. “How long do you think it’s been?”

It was a genuine question. She and Jay had kept their relationship out of the public eye even when they’d been at their happiest, and they’d handled their break-up just as privately. But there had been clues. Ones that Nellie assumed Kyle had picked up on.

“About a month, I guess?” he answered. “At least, that’s about how long ago I started to notice you sharing certain songs to your Instagram stories and posting thirst trap photos.”

A corner of Nellie’s mouth quirked up. “Oh, so you noticed the photos?”

“Of course I noticed the photos, are you joking? Those photos could make a blind man see again.”

She laughed out loud that time. “Well, I’m glad you noticed,” she said, and she saw him smirk out of the corner of her eye.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” she nodded, her voice small but genuine. “It feels like it’s been a while since I’ve been noticed like that.”

Kyle’s eyebrows arched. “Did Jay go blind?”

“It sort of feels that way,” she said, and she started to withdraw again, into those empty rooms.

But she pulled herself out and looked up at Kyle. “But it’s his loss.”

Kyle smiled at her, warm and wide, just like he had when she’d returned backstage from winning her match. Just like he had been all night. “It’s absolutely his loss,” he said, and Nellie pulled his lips against hers, getting lost in the feel of him.

#kyle fletcher fanfiction #kyle fletcher fic #kyle fletcher fanfic #jay white fanfiction #jay white fanfic #jay white fic #aussie open fanfiction #will ospreay fanfiction #njpw fanfiction #stardom fanfiction

44 notes · View notes