Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author Note: This is sort of low-grade Kyle/Bobby and Kyle/Bobby/Adam.
BETTER THAN TWO
Bobby wasn't stupid. Right at the beginning of reDRagon, Bobby had known that although Kyle claimed Adam was his past and that Adam didn't matter, Kyle was wrong. Some people never left you.
Now Bobby was an observant guy. He prided himself on knowing exactly what was going on. So he kept an eye on Adam Cole and his rise in ROH and everywhere else too. He could see how pleased Adam was with himself, how completely confident and reveling he was. The smirk he always wore suited him, most things did – he was the prettiest guy in the locker room and he knew it. There was nothing wrong in Adam's world. If he still thought about Kyle as anything other than a stepping stone, he gave absolutely no sign.
Bobby also kept an eye on Kyle. He always had. Kyle probably thought he never gave anything away, which was adorable, but when Adam won the ROH World Title, Bobby could see how pleased Kyle was. It was all in the tells that Kyle didn't realize he had. Bobby knew them though; he knew Kyle. Some time after that, Adam and Kyle started talking again, of course, nothing major, they became cordial backstage, they got a drink sometimes, they texted. Some bonds were never made to be permanently broken. Bobby had always known that.
And he didn't mind. Kyle had always cared more than he should, that was what he had Bobby for – to keep him away from the edge. It was why although Adam seemed actually sincere and Kyle was clearly happy despite the acrimony that'd bloodily torn Future Shock apart, Bobby was keeping a weather eye on Adam. He could see that Kyle didn't believe the renewed friendship wasn't just a means to an end. Adam Cole had never liked being alone though and Bobby wanted to be sure that Kyle wasn't just filling space, that he wasn't another stepping stone in waiting for Adam. Kyle was worth more than that.
So when Kyle went to the bathroom one night, Bobby swiped his phone to check something. Yep, according to tonight's string of messages, Adam was only downstairs. Bobby turned the phone's language setting to Turkish and tossed it at Kyle when he re-entered the room.
"You want anything?"
"Orange Hostess cakes, Watermelon Bazooka gum, and if they have those low-fat shakes everyone keeps talking about," Kyle rattled off without hesitation.
Bobby gripped fond fingers in at Kyle's waist. This fucking guy. No wonder Adam was talking to him again.
After picking up Kyle's order and some stuff for himself at the kind of late-night stores that wrestlers lived off of, Bobby headed straight back to the hotel, to its bar. Amongst the low lights and overly-familiar decor, Adam sat alone, dressed in gym clothes with his hair haphazardly bundled back. There was a tall glass of water at his elbow; he was concentrating on his phone. Sticking himself behind a work party, Bobby observed a pinch across Adam's brow that Kyle wouldn't be happy about and dark circles under his eyes. Bobby could admit that the sight tugged at him. Spending so much time observing Adam and seeing how much he meant to Kyle had apparently done that. And Adam had started nodding at Bobby backstage and talking to him now and then and he was so very pretty.
Adam Cole never looked any less than in control and confident. Right now, he didn't look either of those things. And he was alone. Completely unheard of.
Bobby bought a drink and sat down next to Adam without asking first. Adam glanced up, the pinch across his brow deepening as he looked at Bobby. That felt good.
"You're talking to him a lot," Bobby nodded towards Adam's phone, sure that he didn't have to name names.
Adam grabbed his glass of water, his eyebrows spiking as he regarded Bobby. "He's talking too. And listening."
Adam drank and Bobby watched him, maybe admiring the movement of Adam's throat. Adam had probably counted on that but he rarely said so little so it had to mean something. Kyle talked and listened. Things that the Kingdom probably weren't doing. They didn't strike Bobby as big listeners, unless it was to the sound of their own voices. Adam was the same but maybe they hadn't been giving him the attention he felt he deserved? Maybe Adam deserved some attention; he was a former ROH World Champion. He'd once been a good friend to Kyle and seemed to be starting on that again. He could deserve more than he was getting.
Adam's look towards Bobby was a challenge, Bobby always appreciated those.
"He's a good listener."
Adam's expression became fond; it was a different kind of pretty to the arrogance he frequently wore, "Right?"
As Adam dipped his gaze to fiddle with his phone again, Bobby watched him thoughtfully. Adam spoke without looking up.
"So what's the warning going to be? I always liked a traffic accident, it can always be no one's fault. Painful too."
Adam sounded nostalgic and like he was smiling. Bobby smiled slightly in response. So maybe Adam had played this scene before, from Bobby's position? Bobby could see it. Kyle brought that out in people.
"I was gonna snitch to Maria," Bobby said, just to see Adam's reaction.
Adam snorted and a smile that wasn't a smirk appeared. Bobby enjoyed the view. The tension between them wasn't frosty; it was the opposite honestly. Adam's gaze swept him shamelessly, a bit of that expected smirk coming out now. Bobby smirked back. It could be an Adam plan but the stress he'd seen pinching Adam's skin and the dark circles under his eyes weren't. Bobby had been observing him long enough to know that. Adam was frustrated with the Kingdom, clearly yearning for better company now. He was still an asshole, always had been and always would be. Bobby always would be as well, so he could appreciate that. Lately there'd been glimmers of something else in Adam too though. He'd been showing respect for his opponents, he cared about someone else, about Kyle.
Bobby drained his glass. His phone beeped, it was a message from Kyle.
You ever going to bring Adam up here?
Bobby shot a look towards Adam, Adam shook his head. They were almost certainly the two people who knew Kyle best, they knew how to communicate him without words. So Kyle had known Bobby's plan for the evening. It was Bobby's expression that went fond now.
He got to his feet, "C'mon."
Adam looked at him for half a second, then he got to his feet too. As they set off towards the lobby, Adam grinned a little like sharing a joke, or getting one over on Bobby, or both.
"Did you just get orange or is there red velvet in the Hostess box too?"
Of course Adam knew Kyle's order. He probably knew that Kyle liked Bazooka gum best because it had puzzle wrappers and that Kyle was always trying to find low-fat versions of his favorite milkshakes that tasted just as good. He'd never bothered trying to find low-fat cakes though; he claimed he had things balanced right. How good he looked and how well he moved in the ring supported that. Adam's expression said that he thought so too.
As they stepped into an empty elevator car, Bobby opened the Hostess box and handed Adam a red velvet cupcake. Their hands met, the elevator doors closed.
-the end