#no instead they went 'hey hope you're doing ok. you can join x course if you wanna deal with stress' and 'staying fit is important so

[nimbus-tatze]

.

[lookingformoondrop]

ok but Can you image the total shit show it’d be if reader somehow rizzed up BOTH Andrew and Ashley?? 😨 literally preying. Like imagine reader is not necessarily popular, but they definetly are one of the most attractive people in the class if not the most

Andrew Graves x Reader x Ashley Graves

TW: Some nasty cat fights between the Graves siblings, everyone has a potty mouth, mentions of unaliving eachother, not proofread, reader just wanted a cookie.

♥︎Notes: This was actually so fun to write. I always love writing arguments between my two favorite assholes and watching it burn from there. Enjoy this messy headcannon and sorry it took so long<3.♥︎

Someone call the police, ain't no one coming out of this alive.

First, we gotta start with how you rizzed up the siblings. Starting with Andrew,

I can already see that to get through Andrew's heart, you gotta be funny.

Yes I know that this brooding son of a bitch is dressed in only dark colors, but he values some humor and I feel like the way through his heart is that.

You were in class chatting with a classmate near Andrew's desk when the classmate brought up your history teacher. Uptight, strict, and a prick, you said, "If he berates me anymore for my red pen, his head will go so far up his ass he'll find his own bullshit."

Unexpectedly, both of you heard a snort. Searching for the source, you saw Andrew covering his mouth with his hand, horrified by the sound he had just made.

You smiled at him and brushed off the snort to the classmate, "I think we're hearing things."

That truly made his heart flutter.

He had started sitting closer to you after that. Whenever he got ready in the mornings for school, an extra step in his routine was to hope that you were coming too.

"Hey Andrew," you walked by Andrew's desk.

"Y -Y/N! Hi..." Andrew mentally cussed himself our for the stutter.

It was dumb...really dumb.

But it made Andrew smile and feel giddy when he walked home.

I feel like Andrew would be very tame when it came to his feelings for the reader.

He'd blush when you're around and check in with you to make sure you're okay. He'd be too embarrassed to actually ask you out, but he would definitely try to find excuses to hang around you.

Now, the only natural explanation for Ashley's involvement with you would be that she saw her brother with a dumbass grin one day and HAD to investigate.

So, how did you rizz up Ashley?

Well, it's simple, really,

She went to your house to get a clear look at you and saw you dancing through the window,

You were fun and disgustingly too kind.

("Idiot")

But somehow, that fun energy intrigued Ashley. You would smile at her randomly when she corssed the street. You had no idea who she was, and yet that smile irked Ashley (in a somehow pleasant way).

"Hey guys!" She cheerfully entered the classroom doorway, a spring in her step.

Andrew turned to look at the voice and immediately felt a muscle in his forehead twitch. "Great," he thought, "another one of Ashley's ploys so that she can harass any woman out of my life."

You, of course, were baffled at seeing this girl suddenly love up on you, but judging by Andrew's murderous smile towards her, you figured they were related somehow.

But instead of Ashley being an ass towards the reader, she began to cling to their arm.

This began a looooong sequence of events where it would go one of the following ways,

You'd go to a spot around town, invite one of the Graves siblings, and no matter how secluded, isolated, unknown, or illegal said spot was, the other Graves sibling would find and join you.

This definitely opens the possibility of more intense sibling fights.

I say intense, but it's more like,

"SAY HER NAME ONE MORE TIME ASHLEY AND I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"

"DO IT ANDY, DO IT, I DARE YOU. WHAT WOULD MY Y/N THINK ABOUT A MURDERER, YOU FUCKFACE!"

The fights would get so loud that the neighbors would call the police

By the time the police came to knock at the door, Ashley was pulling Andrew's hair and trying to put him in the washing machine, while Andrew was clawing at Ashley's face and trying to smack her head against said machine.

When Andrew (and for some reason) Ashley came to school, you were startled by how banged up both of them became. Still, when you asked about it, all they did was brush you off (and stomp on each other's toes when you weren't looking).

While they did loath each other for trying to steal Y/N from one another, they never doubted the protection they felt they owed to Y/N.

Some random classmate decided to hit on you and make you verryyyy uncomfy. When you recounted the tale to Andrew, he refused to leave you alone for weeks, constantly fantasizing about bashing the guys face in.

ASHLEY ON THE OTHER HAND would absolutely demolish any shithead who tried hitting on you. "They needed to be punished!" Is the last thing she said, and the last time you ever saw that classmate.

Was it risky? Yes. Did Andrew scold her for it? Yes. Did either one of them regret it? Hell no.

Overall, the entire relationship is a complete shit show. And even if you begged them to play nice, they'd still fight over you.

"Ashley, can you help me? I can't reach that cookie jar."

Ashley sprung up from her seat. "Sure thing, N/M~" But just as Ashley was going to reach for the jar, Andrew pushed her into a pile of trash bags in the kitchen and proceeded to grab the jar for you.

"Here you go, Y/N," Andrew smiled at you while you panicked on who to check in with first.

Suddenly, from the pile of trashbags came, "Andrew, you ass!"

Fight or flight kicked in, and you immediately bolted out of their kitchen. Having remembered plenty of their fights, you decided that for today, you were perfect content with just going home. That was enough Graves for today...

"ASS-KISSER!"

"BROWN-NOSER!"

Yeah, that was plenty of Graves for today.

Thank you for the ask!<3

[larabiatasstuff]

Omg! please could you recreate the scene in kk3 where terry and daniel are in the nightclub? but instead of daniel punching someone, could terry go in there looking for you to make sure your ok, and he punches the guy instead? Then when they run out of the nightclub they share a kiss maybe? love your work x

I do my best for you anon and I hope you like it. 🖤

It was weekend and my best friend Alicia and I got ready to go out. Her boyfriend and another guy would pick us up and go with us. At eight o'clock the doorbell rang and we went outside. "Hey Y/N, you're sitting in the passengers seat and you baby join me on the backseat." her boyfriend said. I never really liked him but they got along very well. Suddenly a tall handsome guy got out of the car and opened the door for me "Oh I'm Terry by the way." he held his hand out for me. "I'm Y/N nice to meet you." we got in the car and drove to the club. Alicia and her boyfriend couldn't even get their hands off of each other for a second. Terry and I sat next to each other and talked. "Oh I have to go to the bathroom I'll be right back." I said and left. Terry was a very nice guy and incredibly hot. So when I left the restroom a random dude got in my way. "Hey beautiful, looking for some fun?" I tried to ignore him and get back to Terry but he wouldn't let me go. "What's wrong with you? Cat got your tongue? Come on baby I can show you a good time." he came closer and my back was now pressed against a wall. I tried to get him off of me but he was too strong and obviously drunk. Then he tried to kiss my neck as he suddenly got pulled away from me." Take your filthy hands from her. " it was Terry" Oh yeah? What are you gonna do about it? " without a warning Terry punched that guy directly in the face, then he turned to me"Y/N! Are you okay?" I nodded "I... I think so. Can you get me out of here? I need some air." "Of course, let's go." he put an arm around me and guided me outside to a nearby bench. I took a deep breath "Thank you Terry, really I... I thought he would..." I felt him putting his jacket around my shoulders. "Forget him, you're safe now. He had no right to treat a beautiful lady like a piece of meat." I looked up at him. "You think I'm beautiful?" he blushed a bit "Well obviously." I smiled at him "Terry could you drive me home please? I think I have enough for tonight." "It would be a pleasure." he offered me his arm and we went to the car. When we arrived we sat a few minutes in silence. "I don't know how to thank you for saving me Terry, you barely know me and still protected me from that idiot." "No thanks needed I'm just glad you're alright Y/N." I leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek,then our eyes met and before I knew it, his lips were on mine. It was a wonderful, soft and slow kiss. "Thank you for saving me Terry, have a good night." with that I opened the door and went inside.

[one-boring-person]

hello! I've just seen your answer to my ask and I'm so glad, I will head over there to wattpad to read it! thank you! I was also wondering if your Maverick requests are opened please? if so, would you be comfortable writing something where he's with a reader the same height as him with really long legs (I'm 5ft 9/verging on 5ft 10 and I think he's portrayed to be 5ft 9). if you dont want to write it because you like to keep your work non-specific with characteristics for all readers, I completely understand! thank you so much for your time and for the lovely content you put out for us all to read ❤

I hope you're having a lovely, lovely day/evening!

My Maverick requests are indeed open, and thank you for leaving a request! I do try to keep my descriptions as vague as possible, unless they are specified by the requester, so I have no problem writing this! And thank you so much for your kind words! It makes me really happy that you like my stuff!😊💛

I'll be honest, this fic gave me a bit of a challenge, but I've done what I could with it. I hope you like it!

Need A Hand?

Pete "Maverick" Mitchell x 5'9/10!reader

Warnings: mild injury, some blood imagery

NOTE: the reader's call sign is Hornet (to clear up any confusion)

Masterlist

Maverick knew he wasn't particularly tall. He never had been, and never would be, but it had never really bothered him. Sure, it gave others something to pick up on and give him grief for, but he'd never really cared much about the snide comments. As a pilot, he often found himself glad that he didn't have to fold himself into the cockpit, like some of the other aviators, and it wasn't like he was particularly short, either. He knew people shorter than him, and it wasn't like it ever put people off him, especially not women. 

But even then, as he held Hornet's gaze, he suddenly found himself wishing he were just a little taller, just so he had a slight edge over this particular aviator. 

She had him locked in her stare, eyes right at the same level as his, expression unwavering as she regarded him, leaving him almost floundering under the intensity. Maverick never had this problem with women: he could usually stare them down, but (Y/n)? She was a different ball game. Her stare could easily rival Viper's, and it had already put Iceman and Slider in their places, so he knew full well that he wasn't getting out of this one with his reputation intact. 

Jaw clenching, he tried not to show his discomfort, but the other pilot was swift to recognise the signs, her lips quirking into a smirk. In that moment, Maverick knew he was beaten, the young man reluctantly looking away to avoid further embarrassment, though he could feel his heart beating faster to catch up to his newly flustered state, a blush dusting his cheeks. Hornet stepped away from him, going back to her seat. From across the room, (Y/n) smirked at him, turning back to her RIO as the commander stepped into the room, exchanging a couple of words with her. Maverick returned to his own seat.

"She get you, too?" Goose hissed to him, leaning in to hear what Maverick replied with.

"Yeah."

"Aw, man. That sucks." The RIO sighed, sitting back in his chair.

Maverick said nothing, choosing instead to remain quiet and observe the girl across from him. 

*

"Come on, man, don't give up on me now! We nearly have 'em!" Maverick complained, clapping Goose on the back as the RIO made his way off the pitch.

"Yeah, I know, but there's something up with my ankle." Goose grimaced, apologising before finding a bench to sit on, leaning back on it.

Sighing, Maverick gritted his teeth and went to step off court, only to be stopped when a familiar figure joined him. Instantly, Iceman and Slider on the other side of the volleyball court stopped laughing amongst themselves, suddenly curious as to what might happen. Puzzled himself, Maverick stared at the other aviator as she moved up to him, smirking at him.

"Need a hand?" (Y/n) asked him, ignoring the gazes clearly taking in her body all around her: it was too hot to play in anything but a pair of shorts and a bikini top, allowing her torso to show.

"Err, yeah, thanks." Maverick accepted, unable to keep his eyes off her beautiful legs, only tearing his gaze away when she snapped her fingers in his face, still smirking.

"My eyes are up here, handsome." Is all she said, before she grabbed the ball and served it in, catching the other two off guard.

A few rounds went by, during which (Y/n) proved herself a formidable ally, winning game after game, easily showing Iceman and Slider up. In this time, Maverick finally realised something, promising to himself that he would go ahead with the realisation he had. His fellow pilot had often made it clear what her thoughts were about what he intended on asking of her, but he thought he'd try anyway - there was no harm in trying, right?

Just as he thought this, a particularly well-aimed spike hit him clear in the face, knocking him backwards. A grunt escaped him, pain exploding out over his face as he went down, tears springing to his eyes from the impact. Groaning, he lay still for a moment, reaching up to probe at his sore nose, annoyed to find blood staining his fingertips when he pulled them away again. A few laughs sounded from around him, the watching aviators and spectators mocking him for his lack of attention, drawing a deep blush to his cheeks as he sat upright again.

(Y/n) was over in a second.

"Hey, are you ok? That looked like it hurt." She asked him, kneeling beside him with worry written on her face.

"Yeah, it did, but I'll live." Maverick responded, hesitantly swiping away some of the blood from his nose, a wince crossing his features as a pang followed the action.

"I'm glad." She smiled tightly, glancing at their opponents, "Those assholes."

"They're always assholes." 

"I know, but that was out of order."

She helped him up, signalling to the others that the match was over, walking off with him in the direction of the nearby bench, away from the pitch itself. Sitting him down on it, she quickly went and got her shirt and bag, pulling out a clean tissue as she did. Upon reaching him again, she started cleaning him up, dabbing at the blood now coating his chin.

"Thanks for this, (Y/n)." Maverick smiled up at her, appreciating the gesture.

"No need to thank me, handsome. Just keeping your looks in order." She chuckled, winking to show she accepted his thanks.

"How generous of you." He quipped back, grinning at her.

"Oh, I'm always the Samaritan."

Laughing slightly, the two of them remained quiet for a moment longer, before Maverick finally worked up the courage to ask his question.

"Err, can I ask you something?" 

"Hm? Yeah, sure. As long as it's not "have you always been this tall" because the answer is yes." She rolled her eyes playfully.

"No, no, it's not that, though I did wonder." Maverick reassured her, laughing when she lightly punched him in the arm, "No, it was something else…"

"Ok. What?"

"I was just wondering if you'd, err, want to go on a date with me?" He rushed the end of the sentence, totally nervous for her reaction.

For a moment, she froze and said nothing, staring at him in shock. Panicked now, he tried to cover himself up.

"Shit, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked, I'm sorry. Ignore that I said that-" Her finger on his lips cut him off.

"I'd love to, though it's taken you long enough to ask." (Y/n) smirked at him.

"Really?"

"Of course."

[qvid-pro-qvo]

uhm can we get a hotch x reader with prompts 1 and 5 from the dialogue prompts list? whatever you want, gender neutral🥺 ily and your writings, if you're not ok with this request it's ok :)

aaron hotchner x gender neutral reader.

word count: 2019

rating: teen, for someone you love meaning more than anything else in the world, in moments just like these (tw: hospital scenes, car crashes, canon-typical violence. hurt/comfort). 

-

Aaron finds himself pushing through glass double doors, rushing to the desk of the emergency room. It’s his nightmare come to life, his job as unit chief colliding with personal circumstances. It’s a horror and a nightmare, and when he makes it to the nurse who’s working, he speeds through his credentials to get him through the door.

But they don’t get him through the door. Nothing gets him through the door, and when JJ and Dave come in behind him, it’s to see his face crumple.

He should’ve been there, he should’ve seen it coming. The stop sign the two of you blew, chasing a suspect, the collision with a car who didn’t hear the sirens. He should’ve known, should’ve come sooner so he could be there for the both of you. But instead, what he got was a firm no from the nurse.

“You’re not next of kin. Until I get clearance, I can’t let anyone back there who is not directly related.”

Never mind that the team is your family. Never mind that you’ve been in Aaron’s life for what should be lifetimes. Never mind that the last time he saw you, it was to kiss your cheek, tell you goodbye, only for the chase to start…

“Those are two of my agents back there,” he bites out, and the words are a little strangled, even as he tries to keep his composure. “Those are two – two of my agents, and I need to see them. Please.”

A lesser person would be terrified by the fire in Aaron’s eyes. But the nurse does not back down. The sympathy in her gaze is clear, but she simply lifts her chin, meets those eyes with ease. “I’m sorry, sir. Someone will be out to discuss the situation shortly, and talk about procedure. Until then, if or when I get the word that visitors can come in, I’ll let you know.”

Emily and Reid come through a few minutes later, and Aaron looks up to watch them push to the same front desk. Their shoulders drop, just like his did, and when they turn it’s to see Dave and JJ beside their unit chief, the three of them… waiting.

“Anything?” Emily asks, and Aaron shakes his head, dropping his chin, elbows on his knees. All of the possible outcomes are filtering through his mind, from worst-case to best, and then back down to worst. Best, unscathed. Unharmed. Worst, unspeakable. Unnamed. Because he knows the truth can only fall somewhere in the middle, he forces the extremes through his head, if only to have something to occupy his thoughts.

“You’re driving yourself crazy, Aaron,” Dave whispers to him, when the others move to get food. It’s been two hours since the crash, two hours without a peep of news. “You have to focus on the positive. The first responders got there, to the both of them. They’re here, and they’re getting treated by capable hands.”

“Two hours, Dave,” Aaron returns, not meeting his friend’s eyes, blinking up at the sight of another set of double doors barring the path to you and Morgan. “We both know that it’s not that simple.”

Soon, the team returns, and the waiting seems to start all over again. Pacing takes up the time between no news and any information they can gather, listening, watching, and needling for anything about their loved ones. And each time those double doors swing open, a beep signaling the passage of someone who could give them answers, another name is called, another family pulled in to discuss the future of those they care about.

Aaron and his team have to wait.

Make calls to Jack and Jess.

And wait.

Calls to the precinct, to the sheriff, to the Bureau, to Strauss.

And wait.

It hits five hours when their messenger comes through. A world-weary physician, who blinks down at the chart and calls out your last name. Aaron stands, suddenly, and the movement makes him dizzy, but he ignores his body just to stride forward with the rest of his team, who gather around the doctor with the same pleading eyes, begging for good news.

“For Morgan, too?” he asks, and Aaron sees Dave nod beside him, sees JJ’s hands clasp together in front of her. “All right. My name is Dr. Roberts, I’ve been in to see both of them. We ran some cursory tests – CT scans, a couple of x-rays, and a full physical exam.”

“And what’d you find?” Emily pushes, and Aaron glances to her to see her thumb held up to her mouth, biting at her nails lightly.

“Well, they got lucky. The hit came to the back half of the SUV, which means that Morgan sustained minimal injuries and abrasions. A concussion, due to the impact, but that’s to be expected.”

There’s a sigh of relief from the team, but the waiting isn’t done yet. Need another cursory glance over the chart, the man before the team hums, and Aaron finds his patience wearing thin. “Doctor,” he urges, and when their eyes meet the battle of wills commences again. “The… the other agent. Please.”

This time Aaron wins out.

“Broken leg,” Dr. Roberts responds, sighing. “Sedation has been helping with the pain, but it’s fractured enough that we’ll need to put in some pins. As soon as the on-call trauma surgeon gets here, we’ll be in the operating room.”

“Can we see them?” Reid asks. “Both of them?” His voice is hopeful, and Aaron can’t help the way his hand lifts to rest on the younger agent’s shoulder when the doctor says yes. He can feel the tension leave him at the affirmation that they’ll be able to finally get back there, find you and Morgan, take care of you.

Together the BAU gathers their things to make their way through. When they make it to the door, ready to get led back, Dr. Roberts holds up a hand to stop them.

“A couple at a time. We’ll be going into surgery in around 45 minutes to an hour,” the doctor informs you. He looks at the group expectantly, numbered five. “Can’t have all of you in a room at once. Let’s say half in each room at a time.”

The team looks around at each other. In that moment, being the unit chief doesn’t matter nearly as much as being a part of the BAU, being folded into the tight-knit group, the unbreakable family ties. Aaron thinks about you, alone, and finds his jaw clenching.

“We’ll switch off,” he tells the group. “And when they take… when the surgery starts… we’ll take turns with Morgan until he gets discharged.”

Dave’s hand comes to rest on his shoulder. The tension leaks from him, and he sighs.  

“We’re still on a case. Those of us who aren’t waiting once the surgery starts need to keep on it.”

“Hotch –” Emily tries to argue, but with a firm look she nods.

“We can’t drop the ball on this. Morgan’ll tell us as much when we get in there,” JJ agrees, and Aaron looks to her with a tight smile.

“Dave, Emily, and JJ will go to Morgan.” That’s his final call. Their eyes fall on him, and he looks to Reid, who nods at the implication. “I need to make a call to Strauss, and then I’ll be in there to join you.”

-

When Aaron settles into the space next to your bed, he reaches for your hand immediately. Grimaces at how cold it feels, and finds himself holding it in both of his palms, just rubbing to bring blood, life, feeling back into it. Your eyes stay stubbornly closed, and though he knows the surgery went successfully, there’s a stillness that leaves him feeling… unnerved. You’re not meant to be still. You’re meant to be tapping your fingers against the sheets, pushing your hand through your hair, leaning close to him.

All he can see now is the rise and fall of your chest. The stiffness of your left leg, wrapped up and casted.

He squeezes your fingers again.

He doesn’t know what urges him to start speaking. But he does. Starts talking, and can’t find himself stopping. Reid isn’t there, the rest of the team is with Morgan settling your discharge information as well as his own. It’s just you and Aaron, and he sighs with his thumb pressed between the furrow of his brows.

He kisses your knuckles, and murmurs against them. It’s in time with the rhythm of your heartbeat, some sentences. Like your breathing is the bassline to his life. Maybe it is. And if it isn’t, maybe it should be.

“All this tells me is that I should marry you,” he says. “Not letting me in on a – on a technicality.” You don’t answer, you’re still asleep, but he can see you chuckle with it. “And you see, this is the part where you tell me you’re proud of me. I didn’t lash out at the nurse, or Dave, I just. Waited. Trusted in you to be there for me.”

The beeping continues. Steady. Strong.

“Morgan is okay. Don’t worry. Just a couple of cuts, some bruises. A concussion.”

He shakes his head. “He blames himself. He was driving after all. But I told him, I had to tell him, that it wasn’t his fault. He didn’t believe me, or anyone else, but. We’ll work on it. And once you’re awake, you can tell him, too.”

Your eyes blink open, but Aaron doesn’t notice at first. His eyes are still focused on your fingertips.

“It scares me, knowing that this is our life. That this will always be our life. But I wouldn’t trade it, for anything.”

“Neither would I,” you hum out.

When he glances up to see you awake, it’s with a smile on your face.

“Hey, handsome,” you murmur. Your voice is weak, but light, gentle, and he can’t help but shake his head with a chuckle. “Wasn’t expecting you when I woke up, too.”

“What do you mean?”

But you’re already drifting again, your thoughts running through your head and coming to the surface without much push. It’s the anesthesia, of course. You start shaking your head when you realize that one of your legs is stationary. Unmoving. “What happened?”

“Car accident. Your leg broke,” he tells you, and your frown is deep, lines around it emphasizing your displeasure.

“Well. I guess I’m on… bedrest, then. That’s… shitty.”

He laughs, despite himself, despite how much it aches to know that this happened at all, because of you. He smiles, and kisses your knuckles again, and leans close to kiss your forehead, because of all that he feels for you.

“Yes, my love. I would say so.”

“If I fell asleep again… would you be shirtless again?”

He blinks, shaking his head. Your filter is truly gone as you continue to rouse, and he smirks as you hum and do your best to move.

“Shirtless?” he dares to ask, and you nod.

“In my dream.” There’s a pleasant smile on your face, like you’re remembering something good. Something great. He laughs again. “We were in the office, and everyone forgot their shirts, and… and I asked you… ‘what – what are you doing with your shirt off?’”

Aaron can’t help his snort, shaking his head and bringing your hand up to his lips. You’re starting to doze off again, and so he pushes a little more, to let you go over the edge into dreamworld again.

“And?”

“And you told me that it was to impress me… and… convince me to stay in the BAU.”

Your words are starting to slur again, and he lets your hand rest against your body, still holding it, loose in his grip.

“Did it work?”

You hum, and your eyes flutter closed. “Honey… I’m not goin’ anywhere.” Your breathing starts to even out again, but that smile remains, and he leans forward to press a kiss to your forehead.

“Rest well, my love. I’ll be here.”

“Shirt on?”

“Unfortunately. Now, rest.”  

[pod95]

Pairing: Finn Balor X OFC (Ciara)

Word Count: 1310

Warnings: Mature to explicit as the story goes on.

Description: After moving to the USA from England to start her career as an NXT superstar, Ciara gets to meet her long time crush, NXT champion Finn Balor. It's clear the pair have chemistry, but when tensions start to rise, will they find they want more than a no strings attached relationship?

So this is the first piece of fanfic I have written literally ever. I will be posting them here periodically, but I already have 6 chapters out on my Wattpad, AO3 and FanFiction pages.

This series will involve romance, drama and (although it will take a little while) some smutt too. Hope you enjoy it! 😊

Chapter 4: Up Close and Personal

I awoke startled to the sound of my roommate banging on my door. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes I checked the time on my phone, 9:36. Shit! I'd slept through both of my alarms and needed to be at the Performance Center by 10 for my first day. I opened my bedroom door and a panicked Alex was standing on the other side.

"You're gonna be late! Quick, take a shower and I'll drop you off on my way to work." She handed me some towels as I gave her a thankful look before rushing into the bathroom to get ready.

I don't normally sleep in but I didn't get back from the party until late and I definitely went overboard with the alcohol. Fergal and I talked way into the night before sharing a taxi back to our respective homes. Nothing happened obviously, despite my drunken attempts to flirt with him. I cringed at the thought of my clumsy pickup lines and awkward attempts at being alluring. I would have to be very careful around Fergal from now on, after all this was the second time in as many days I was trying to wash away my shame with water and shampoo.

I was washed, dressed and in the car in record time, arriving at the Performance Center a little after 10. Not too bad considering how late I woke up.

"Ciara! Follow me," Paul greeted me as I entered the lobby, "so like I said before, you debut in 3 weeks. You'll be entering into a feud between Tegan and Dakota as Tegans tag partner. Obviously you're very experienced in the ring but here in NXT we have our own rules, own way of doing things so you'll be working with some of our trainers today just to help you adapt."

He led me to a ring, where I was taught the basics of wrestling for the WWE.  There were so many rules, some of which didn't even make sense. Obviously certain moves were banned, no blading, no head shots, all the usuals. But then there was a lot of differences too. Matches often have "agents" that help to set up a match, if you wanted to use certain weapons you need written approval, and don't even get me started on the list of banned words. I was starting to become worried that I was out of my depth here.

After going through the rules and doing some initial training, I was introduced to Steffanie (Tegan Nox), Cheree (Dakota Kai) and Victoria (Raquel Gonzalez)

"Oh hey you're working with us right?" Steffanie asked, extending a friendly hand.

"Yeah! I'm Ciara! Looking forward to working with you all." I introduced myself to the girls and got to know them a little better before getting to work on our tag match

We'd been working for a couple of hours and had some good spots perfected. It was just the finish left to go, where I would hit my finishing move ( a Canadian Destroyer I called the "Natural 20") on Dakota and make the pin.

After practicing it a couple of times, I began to feel like someone was watching me. Glancing around the room, I spotted Fergal, leaning casually against a wall and observing our practicing.

Thankfully for my heart he wasn't shirtless today, in fact he wore a baggy hoodie which concealed his physique like a well hidden secret. I gave him a small smile and turned back to the girls.

"If I might offer some advice..." Fergal interrupted.

"Please." I gestured for him to join us in the ring.

He climbed up onto the apron and jumped over the top rope, clearly showing off.

"Your finisher is a Canadian Destroyer right? It's a good move-"

"Thanks!"

"-But, it's a little overplayed. In WWE alone there's Sin Cara, Adam Cole, Rey Mysterio and Chelsea Green who use it. If you wanna stand out, I'd switch it up a little."

I didn't know how to respond. He was right of course, but I'd always had the same finisher. I didn't want to change it.

"I've always had the same finisher, it means a lot to me. I don't wanna do a different one."

"I'm not saying to do a different one. I'm saying to tweak it a little."

After thinking it over for a few moments, I still didn't have any idea what Fergal was getting at.

"How?" I yielded, knowing that it would result in a cocky smile.

"Have you ever seen anyone do a springboard Canadian destroyer," he smirked.

"I haven't.."

"There's a reason for that. Its not done that often."

He took his hoodie off and threw it into the corner of the ring, revealing a tight vest which hugged his torso.

"Jump at me," Fergal instructed, taking me by surprise slightly. Physical contact with people who are practically strangers wasn't unusual in our line of work, but I still felt nervous at the thought of being that close to him. I did as he told me.

Taking a slight running start, I jumped at Fergal, his strong arms catching me beneath my thighs. As he held me there, explaining the next part of the move to me, two things crossed my mind. The first was that this man was even stronger than I realised. He was holding my full body weight with only his forearms and not even breaking a sweat. The second thought was how close his face was to my chest.

"Right, now I'm gonna bounce your back off the top rope, kinda like a rope assisted powerbomb, only on the rebound, jump over my shoulder into the Canadian Destroyer. OK?"

He spun me around and bounced me off the top rope, but I didn't quite have enough momentum and ended up bashing my chin on his shoulder blade.

"Ahh!" Fergal put me down gently before inspecting my chin.

"Are you OK? Can you move your jaw?" he asked, genuinely concerned.

"I'm fine, don't think it's injured at all, just hurt a bit."

Relieved, he backed off a little, seeming a little guilty that his suggestion had hurt me.

"Shall we try again?" I smiled at him, hoping to reassure him that I was fine and he had nothing to feel bad about.

"OK, but this time you need to really just dive over my shoulder OK? It'll be easier with the girls cause they're smaller."

We went again, and this time I used my full body weight to push myself back off the top rope, Diving elegantly over his shoulder and completing the move. It was a little clunky due to never having done it before, but after a few more attempts, I was able to do it perfectly.

After we'd finished practicing, I collapsed in the ring exhausted. Fergal handed me a bottle of water before sitting cross-legged next to me.

"Good job today. You worked really hard."

"Things are a lot different here in the big leagues huh?" I commented, sitting up and taking a much needed sip of the water. Fergal chuckled.

"You'll get used to it. I can see why Paul likes you."

It was only upon hearing this that something occurred to me.

"Wait, you were here to train too right? Damn, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to talk up all your ti-"

"Dont even worry about it. I came here today to keep an eye on the newbies, " he smiled, reassuringly.

"I know but you could have been helping the others and instead you were stuck with m-"

"Are you hungry?" Fergal interrupted "I'm starving. Come on, I'll treat us to dinner," he stood up, helping me to my feet and leading me out of the training room before I had a chance to refuse, not that I would have done.