Title: Ferris Wheels and Teddy Bears
Rating: T
Disclaimer: I don't own them. Wish I did! But, sadly, no.
Pairings: Wade Barrett / Natalya
Summary: A long road trip turns into an unforgettable adventure. (I SUCK AT TITLES AND SUMMARIES!)
A/N: So, just wrote this story. No idea what made it pop up, it just kinda... did. I don't ship these two or anything. Guess I just wanted to write a squishy!Wade Please leave comments, I love them. And cookies. I love them too.
Wade rolled his neck and groaned. They had been on the road for three and a half hours, and still hundreds of miles away from their destination. He looked in the rearview mirror to check on the guys who'd decided to come with him. Justin was passed out, his head resting on the window. Heath had his iPod turned on; the music was blasting so loud Wade could hear it. He snickered when he realized it was that plastic country crap that everyone else couldn't stand, but Heath was in love with. He knew that Heath wasn't asleep like Justin because those god-awful snores hadn't happened yet. Glancing next to him, he saw Natalya just waking up from her power nap. She yawned, and blinked her eyes rapidly. After one last stretch, she pulled her blonde and pink hair into a neat ponytail.
"Are you one of those types that likes to talk while they drive?" Natalya asked, checking her makeup in the vanity mirror.
"Eh, talking doesn't bother me. We're still a few hundred miles out from Dallas."
Natalya groaned. "Seriously? We've been driving forever! Remind me; why are we not on a plane like the sane, normal guys?"
Wade chuckled. "Don't worry, this is the last time I send Heath to get ANYthing without writing the name down clearly on paper, so he can spell it."
"Why does that matter?"
"Well, you already know that he's why it's the Corre, not the Core, right?"
"At least that's what you tell everyone," Natalya smirked, twisting around to talk to the Brit easier.
"Trust me, I wouldn't make something like that up. Anyway, he went to go buy the tickets for our flight, and got us tickets to Dulles, NOT Dallas. Even that berk should know that Washington DC isn't anywhere near Texas! I learned that in grade school." Wade rolled his eyes and chuckled.
Natalya raised an eyebrow. "Berk? What on God's green earth is that?"
"A bird. Or, if you care to speak American, a dork, idiot, dunderhead."
"Oh, like Miz!"
"Yep." In the rearview mirror, he saw Heath stick his middle finger up. He snickered. "Oy, you can't get too mad back there, Dulles!" Heath stuck out his tongue and flipped Wade off with both hands. Natalya laughed.
"Oh, where did you ever hear dunderhead? I'm gonna steal it from you."
"I heard Randy talking to his little sister, and he called her a dunderhead. I thought it was funny." Wade stretched the best he could, trying to keep the car from crashing and getting his back to pop; not as easy as it sounds.
"Want me to drive? I'm good for a while." Nattie asked, twisting a little in her own seat.
"Nah, just trying to get the kinks out. I'm stopping next place we come to."
"Well, I just saw a sign that said there was a QuikTrip on this exit." Natalya pointed to the exit ramp up ahead. Nodding, Wade pulled into the lane and drove to the gas station. After pulling up to the pump, he stepped out and stretched.
"Ugh, I hate driving. Nattie? You okay?"
"Yeah, just a bit stiff myself. Heath, did you wake up Justin? I think he's starting to drool on the window."
The redhead snickered. "No, but watch this." He jogged to Justin's door, grabbed the handle, and yanked. The door flew open, and Justin nearly face planted into the concrete. He let out a yelp that Vickie Guerrero would be proud of as he scrambled to catch himself on the sides of the car. Heath was practically on the ground he was laughing so hard, and Wade and Natalya were cracking up. Justin gave Heath the rarely seen Death Glare and stepped from the car.
"Heath… Ek gaan jou balle te skeur af wanneer ek jou vang..." Only when he was really pissed did Justin slip into Afrikaans, and that plus the look meant one thing: whatever Justin said probably didn't translate into sunshine and bunnies. Heath took a step back, and Justin lunged at him. Heath cried out, and bolted toward the other side of the gas station, Justin chasing right behind. Wade and Nattie laughed and shook their heads.
"Tell you what. I'll go keep Justin from tearing Heath in half, and you get some gas. Deal?"
"Sure. Oh, you should ask Justin what he said. It didn't sound so pleasant." Natalya laughed as she went toward the little shopping mart, where it appeared Heath had hidden between the hotdog and slurpee machines. Wade watched her walk off. Shaking his head as if to clear it, he grabbed the pump and filled up the car. He glanced into the window of the store, and saw Natalya talking to Justin. Heath was peering out over the hotdogs, and a young brunette girl looked at him like he was a bum. Wade chuckled quietly as Nattie quelled the problem. She's pretty sweet, isn't she? I wonder… Wade shook his head again and headed inside to grab some chips and a Dr. Pepper.
"Ok, guys, let's just get something to munch on and see if we can find anything for the random crap game – I don't think they'll have anything to top Cena's Elvis, but we've got to at least look." The blond looked like she was trying to calm a pit bull and coax a frightened puppy at the same time. Heath was keeping his distance and the two men were still dancing around the hotdog machine.
"This gek tries to drop me face first into the pavement, busting me up and leaving me to explain why I can't go into the ring tonight, and all of you think it's a great joke. I'm tired of him screwin' with me." Justin hissed at the red head.
"Sorry, man, I didn't think you were sleepin' that hard. Thought the car stoppin' had woke you up, I just figgered you was kinda lazin' against the window and you'd just get a bit of a start. I didn't mean no harm." Heath raised his hands in surrender. "Tell you what, I know it won't make up for it, but I'll get the snacks now, and if you don't kill me before tonight's over, I'll pick up your dinner, you know all of us were plannin' on goin' out together cause it's been a bit since the split."
Justin nodded curtly, and turned towards the fountain drinks, getting himself an iced tea. Nattie dropped her hand gently on the smaller man's shoulder.
"Hey, sorry I laughed, it was a little funny, but I don't think Heath really meant any harm."
"Just get tired of the guys messing with me. I just got people to shut up about Cena's 'he's gay' comments. I probably was a bit rough, I'm stressed, 's all. Anyway, let's just get back on the road, k?"
"Oh, not that I could ever pronounce it, but what was that death threat you used on Heath?"
Justin smirked. "Not much of a death threat really, I just told him when I got my hands on him I would rip his balls off." The South African wrestler calmly walked back out to the car, as if he had not a care in the world. Heath whimpered and covered his crotch. Nattie gawked at Justin as he left, shocked by how matter-of-fact he was about the whole thing. Wade rubbed the bridge of his nose, wishing they were at the arena. He was definitely not looking forward to the next few hours in the car. A few feet away, Natalya squealed.
"Ooh! Hey, I think I found something that could beat Cena's Elvis!" Nattie triumphantly held up a box of jellybeans. Wade walked up, curious as to what could cause such a reaction.
" 'New from the makers of Jelly Belly, it's BeanBoozled! These jellybeans look alike, but does it taste like delicious peaches… or barf? Blueberry… or toothpaste? Licorice… or skunk spray?' Oh, this is epic! We should get it, play on the way there. What do you think?"
"I say get the bloody things, and just hand them out randomly in the locker room. We've got to get going." Wade took everything to the checkout and paid as Nattie and Heath went to the car. Juggling three bottles and four bags, Wade managed to get into the passenger seat of the car. Justin was behind the wheel, and Heath and Natalya were in the back. Wade leaned the seat as far back as possible, getting an indignant "Hey!" from Slater as the seat landed on the West Virginian's legs. Nattie sniggered, and even Justin cracked a smile. With a flip of the key, Justin drove out of the gas station and back onto the highway.
Wade was stretching out right before a match. He leaned forward, bracing his hands on the ground to stretch his back and hamstrings. Standing upright, he twisted his back once, twice, three times, getting all the kinks out. Rolling his neck one last time, he looked in the mirror and saw Natalya behind him, smirking. He returned the smile, the sight of the lady making his heart race, as usual. She walked up, putting her arms loosely around his shoulders.
"Ready to kick some ass tonight, Wade?" she asked, her breath lightly tickling his ear.
"Of course," he replied, twisting to face the Canadian. "You're gonna watch me, right?"
"Duh, Wade." Nattie smiled, hugging him close. She sighed, and looked up at him. He grinned, and leaned closer to her. She whispered his name. They were mere centimeters apart, he could smell her sweet perfume, and—
"Wade? Wake up!" Something small and hard hit him in the nose. With a grunt, he opened his eyes. Natalya was leaning over his face, mere centimeters away, just like the dream. Another small object – a green jellybean – hit his face. "That was either … juicy pear or booger." Natalya said, reading the box.
He groaned. She was lucky it was her, because if one of the other guys in the car had been pelting him with booger-flavored jellybeans, he would have to explain to Vince why he needed bail money. "What on earth is so important? I was having a great dream." He could still see her smile in his mind's eye.
"Well, we were driving, and I saw a sign for an amusement park, and Heath and I started talking about how much we loved the Ferris wheels. Justin said that he'd never ridden one before, so we made him pull in. We're about to go, and we didn't want to leave you here. Justin drives like Speed Racer—" Justin laughed at this "—so we're actually almost ahead of schedule. Come on!" Nattie pulled at the sleepy Brit's arm, tugging him out of the car. Laughing, Wade got out, shutting the door. The group headed toward the door, Heath pointing out all the various rides to a wide-eyed Justin. Their earlier animosity was forgotten amidst the smells of popcorn and cotton candy, allowing Wade and Nattie to walk a bit farther back.
"Wade?" Natalya asked, spinning a piece of pink hair through her fingers.
"Yeah?"
"What were you dreaming about? I mean, you said you had a great dream… I was just, y-ya know, curious." Natalya stammered, turning the same shade as her streak.
Wade looked at her, and considered telling her the truth. He imagined in a split second telling her about how he had dreamed of holding her, hugging her, almost kissing her. He took a deep breath, and spoke.
"I dreamt I was getting ready for a match, and… and I realized I had the belt. I fought Cena, and won. So, I was dreaming about being the champion." He lied through his teeth. Swallowing, he glanced at Natalya, half hoping she bought it, half hoping she didn't.
"Oh, OK! I thought you mumbled something about a match." She smiled, briefly taking Barrett's breath away. "I'm gonna go catch up to those two. Race ya!" With a wicked grin, she took off. Wade sighed. She had bought the story. She thought that he only liked her as a friend, he saved himself from embarrassment, and she had no clue about how he felt. Everything was normal.
Then why did he feel so crappy?
Justin was gawking at a ride when Wade caught up to the group. According to the sign, there was "a possibility you may get wet". Grabbing Wade and Heath by the wrists, he drug them to the line. Natalya laughed, stepping behind them. The four wrestlers got into a little boat-like contraption. They grunted uncomfortably when the attendant tried to squish them with the lap bar. Thankfully, it wasn't able to click that extra notch, leaving them with a touch of wiggle room. Wade clutched the sides of the boat when it made a horrid scraping noise that had him convinced they were going to get ground up. Heath cracked up at Wade's whiter-than-Sheamus expression. They drifted lazily down a small stream, and Wade relaxed, scootching closer to Natalya.
A huge maw opened up ahead of them, revealing a dark tunnel. The Canadian leaned on Wade lightly as they floated into the tunnel. It was absolutely pitch dark. The current sounded distinctly louder as they went deeper inside. Suddenly, they weren't floating, but being tugged down stream. The water turned into a roar as Nattie clutched onto Wade's arm. He heard Justin and Heath scream as the boat twisted downward, sending them hurtling toward an unknown depth. Wade screwed his eyes shut and grabbed Natalya, pulling her close to his chest. She was screaming along with the two up front.
Suddenly, the boat landed and became level. Wade cautiously opened his eyes, noting that Natalya hadn't relaxed her death grip on him, either. With a crack, the boat ascended toward what could only be another drop. Nothing could be seen, but he could hear Nattie's scared breathing right next to him. If he listened closer, he could hear Justin and Heath up front. A terrified, slightly insane laugh bubbled out of Heath. Wade relaxed a tiny amount, shifting his arm on Natalya's back while still holding her. With a few jolting bumps, they were sent down another drop, not as steep as the first, and jarred through several twists and teeth-rattling turns before crashing into a pool of water at the end. Wade howled as the frigid chlorine-scented water soaked him through. As soon as he cleared the water from his eyes, their boat slid gracefully outside. Wade couldn't help but laugh as he noticed Justin and Heath clinging to each other like scared children. Natalya pushed her wet hair out of her eyes and relaxed her hold on Wade for the first time since they entered the tunnel. Sheepishly, Wade let go, realizing he was still holding her in a tight embrace.
"That is the last time you EVER pick a ride, Justin!" Heath shouted, pushing his friend to the other side of the boat.
"I second that!" Nattie said, laughing as Wade acted like he was wringing out her hair. She playfully batted at him, giggling when he captured her wrists.
"Alright, lovebirds, that's enough." Justin snickered from the front, noticing they quickly turned pink. Wade dropped her hands, but didn't scoot away from her.
"Thank you for riding the Thundercloud, please exit to your right." The blonde attendant looked bored out of her mind. Shaking drops of water from his destroyed black hair, Wade climbed out. Once all four were free of the demented boat, they headed back into the park. Wade's pale gray shirt had turned translucent and was clinging like a second skin, leaving little to the imagination. He thought he saw Nattie looking at him out of the corner of his eye, but he dismissed it, blaming the pool water fumes playing tricks on his mind.
"Ok, where next?" Heath tapped his foot impatiently. "You won't let me pick and we gotta hurry cause even Speedy here can't make up that much time."
"Well, how about the Ferris Wheel? That should be safe and dry."
"And it's one I've never been on." Justin added.
"I'll have to take you on the Eye next time we're home. Biggest in the world." Wade said, glancing at Nattie. She nodded, trying unsuccessfully to get her black tee to unstick from her body. "You're decent, don't worry." He reassured the blonde, trying to be as discrete as possible. He noticed some hick gawking at Natalya, whistling as she fixed her ponytail. He narrowed his eyes and started toward the man.
"Leave it, Wade. He's not worth it." She grabbed his shoulder lightly, sending a death glare of her own at the redneck. He backed up slightly from the fence as he noticed just how big and just how pissed off the Brit looked. He grumbled something under his breath, before turning away. Heath noticed the incident, and walked over to the whistler. He said a few simple sentences, and the man turned away and hung his head. Slater walked back, a triumphant smirk on his face.
"What did you say?" Justin asked, heading toward the Ferris Wheel.
"Not much, I just told him that she's a lady with three very tough guys willing to protect her from pervs like him. I told him that he needed to watch who he messed with, because we were very capable of leaving him as a smashed pulp in an alley somewhere." Heath pushed his wet hair behind his ears. Natalya smiled, and gave him a hug.
"Thanks, Heath." She squeezed him tightly before letting go and standing next to Wade. He looked at her like she just announced she hated pink and Canada. "What?"
"Let me get this straight," Barrett said, his accent getting thicker, stepping in front of the blonde to keep her from following Justin and Heath, "I get the notion of walking over there, and you get all 'It's not worth it', but Heath actually does walk over there and threaten the guy, and you hug him? What the hell?"
"Wade, I knew you were going to hurt him. Don't even!" she said as he tried to protest. "You had that look, I knew what you were gonna do. Heath just talked to him. Besides, you don't know anything about him! What if he had a knife? Or a gun? What if you got hurt?"
"I wouldn't care! If he was the freaking love child of Bruce Willis and Chuck Norris, I'd still take him on!" He drug his hand through his hair, praying that she would understand.
"So, you're mad because I wouldn't let you act like Superman?" she asked, offended.
"No! Natalya…" He took a deep breath. "It's… I…"
"What, Wade?" She looked pretty hacked off.
"I… I care about you, okay? A lot. I have for a while now." His shoulders sagged as he revealed his secret. "You're beautiful, funny, smart… I was trying to protect you, and I felt like you didn't care because you let Heath do it and… I-I just… Yeah, I would have probably hurt that guy because he treated you like some Playboy calendar or something, and you're not, you're so much more…" His voice trailed off, eyes closing as he waited for the laugh, the sound of her revulsion, the smack, something.
What he didn't expect, though, was the warm hand coming to rest on his shoulder. "Wade? Is that… true?" She asked quietly. He opened his eyes and stared into her deep brown ones.
"Yes." He replied, and he meant it with every ounce of his being. She smiled warmly and wrapped her arms around him, sighing as he returned the hug.
"You know how many times I've dreamed of you saying that?" she asked, voice muffled slightly by his wet shirt.
"Probably less than I have." He smirked. "Did you ever think it would have happened in a random amusement park on the way to Dallas? Thank God Slater can't spell and Justin's never ridden a Ferris Wheel."
Natalya laughed. "Speaking of those two… Where are they?" She reluctantly broke the embrace to look for the two men. She jumped when she realized they were a few feet away.
"About dang time y'all got together!" Heath crowed from a bench. Nattie buried her head in Wade's chest as he gave a rumbling chuckle. "C'mon! Are we gonna go ride a Ferris Wheel or what?"
"Nah, they want to go through the Tunnel of Loooove." Justin snickered, before running off in the direction of the Wheel with Wade chasing him, yelling something about payment. Nattie and Heath laughed before following them, just to make sure Justin didn't get a swirlie or his head shaved or something.
They all met up in line, Justin bouncing excitedly. Unfortunately, there were a few people ahead of them, so they needed to wait longer. Justin tried to teach Heath a few words in Afrikaans to pass the time (apparently 'Jy ruik soos ou kaas' means 'You smell like old cheese') and Wade was content just holding Nattie. When it was their turn, Heath and Justin got on one side, Wade and Natalya on the other. The ride began, and they cycled toward the top. Every time they got to the top, Heath and Justin screamed 'Jy ruik soos ou kaas' as loud as possible. They got some really weird looks. Nattie laughed, and pointed out the side window. "Hey, I can see our car!" They cycled through another few times, before the ride stopped and they left the little box.
"Wait, that was it?" Justin asked, looking back at the giant wheel.
"Yes, Mr. Adrenaline Junkie, the ride goes in circles. It's not fast, it's not death defying, it's fun." Nattie laughed, rolling her eyes at Justin's lack of enthusiasm.
"It didn't even go fast." Justin pouted. Heath slung an arm over his friend's shoulder.
"Aww, don't pout. I'll go with you on the Screaming Falcon really quick. We've got time." Heath pointed at the huge roller coaster that just sent a bunch of people in a fast loop-de-loop before a drop. Justin nodded so fast his head was a blur. Laughing, they walked toward the ride. Heath turned around. "Are you two coming?"
"Nah," Wade said, " We're gonna try some skill games."
"Or the Tunnel of Loooooove!" Justin teased again. Nattie laughed.
"Oh, would you two just go be daredevils already?" She shooed them toward the ride.
With an exaggerated sigh, she turned back to Wade.
"Would you like to come try the dart game with me?" Wade asked, rubbing at his ear. His face heated up when she smiled at his awkwardness.
"I would love to." She replied, snaking an arm through his.
Five dollars and three misses later, Wade pointed at the soft pink teddy bear hanging with the tag LARGE printed on it. The attendant pulled it down, took off the tag, and passed it to him. With a "Thanks" and a nod, he gave it to Natalya, who literally squealed. She hugged it before standing on her toes to give Wade a kiss on the cheek. He turned about as pink as the bear and grinned before walking with her to the Screaming Falcon to get Heath and Justin. They spotted the two guys weaving toward the skill games. Justin's hair was sticking straight up, and Heath had a slight afro.
"That… was…" Justin began.
"AWESOME." Heath laughed. "Aww, cute bear!" He poked the pink animal. "I wonder who got that for you?" He wiggled his eyebrows at Wade, who playfully pushed him. Laughing, they almost got into a fake match, until Justin pulled out his phone.
"Aw, crap! We gotta go! We have an hour to get there!" The four Superstars headed for the exit and got in the car. Heath drove, Justin clambered into the passenger seat, allowing Nattie and Wade to have the back. Wade sat behind Justin, and Natalya climbed in. With a grin, she buckled the bear into the seat behind Heath, leaving the middle for her. She squeezed next to Wade and leaned on his shoulder.
"Safety first!" She chirped, smiling as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Soon, the rumbling engine and warmth of each other lulled them into a peaceful sleep.
Wade woke abruptly as the engine cut off. They all climbed out and stretched, Wade grabbing Nattie's bag, and the headed inside the arena. John Cena was near the entrance, munching a bowl of Cocoa Pebbles. Heath raised an eyebrow.
"They ran out of Fruity Pebbles, so I took the next best thing. Umm…" John looked at the disheveled Superstars. "Anyone care to explain why Justin's got Jericho's hairstyle, Heath's got a 'fro, Nattie's got the biggest bear I've ever seen, and Wade's perfect hair is just f'ed up?"
Heath laughed. "Long, long story."
"OK, then gimmie the highlights.
"Well, I can't spell –"
"Already knew that."
"Shut up, John. Anyway, I can't spell, Justin's a heavy sleeper, I got chased between a hotdog and slurpee machine, Nattie got puke-flavored jelly beans, Wade had a dream, we went to an amusement park, rode a Water Slide O' Death, threatened some perv, these two got together and played a game, and I rode the COOLEST roller coaster ever. That's about it."
John looked at them, blinking. "Remind me to never travel with you guys, k?" Shaking his head, the Pebble eater strolled off. Wade dropped his bag and laughed. Justin and Heath went to the Corre locker room, and Nattie set down her bear. Wade smiled and leaned toward the Diva. It was a lot like his dream, but instead of ring attire, they wore chlorine-scented shirts, and instead of while he was asleep, this was real. They were centimeters apart, and—
"Oy! Wade! C'mere!" Heath yelled from down the hallway. Natalya groaned, and Wade sent a glare toward Slater.
"Hold on!" he bellowed, rolling his eyes. Natalya laughed, stood up, and kissed him. As they broke apart, he smiled. He picked up his stuff and hugged Natalya one last time before heading to his locker room. He glanced back one more time at the Canadian, noticing she had pulled out her phone and was typing furiously. He entered the locker room as his phone beeped. New text message. It was from Nattie.
Hey, go check out your twitter! :)
Puzzled, Wade logged into Twitter and pulled up Nattie's page.
NatbyNature Posted 30 sec ago via BlackBerry
Just had the most AMAZING trip ever. Love ya WadeBarrett! :)
Wade grinned and favorite-ed the tweet. Still smiling, he hugged Heath. "Thank you."
"Uh, you're welcome. What was that for?" Heath looked at the Brit, confused.
"For sucking at spelling."
Please Review! :)