Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, and am not making any profit from these. All ideas represented are mine, as are any spelling or grammar mistakes. Takes place after the April 26th taping.
The arena was nearly silent now, the echoing din of the mass exodus of fans once Sacrifice had ended finally fading. Mike Bennett and his wife could be heard gloating and celebrating through the thin walls, until eventually even that faded. Head cradled in his hands Ethan wearily climbed to his feet, dully stripping off his wrestling trunks and stepping under the hot spray of water, washing the sweat and grime from his match off on autopilot. His mind was stuck on the moment Bennett had his shoulders pinned to the matt, replaying the dull thump of the referee counting to three, the stunned silence of the crowd when he'd failed to kick out, and the sickening lurch of failure.
The water was freezing by the time he climbed out, skin wrinkled and shivering in the cold air. Halfway through buttoning up his shirt Ethan gave up the struggle, sinking down on the couch with a groan, his emotions were all over the place, swinging wildly from depression to anger then back to depression. After thirty months he'd grown to believe his own hype, believed firmly that he'd never be pinned, and certainly believed Bennett wouldn't be the one to do it. The crash down to reality was both incredibly painful and disorientating.
The locker room door opened slowly, a slim figure slipping inside quickly and quietly. Ethan, hands pressed to his burning eyes remained unaware of the company until the person was standing in front of him. It was only the smell of a distantly familiar scent that grabbed his attention, looking up he met the calm blue gaze of Rockstar Spud. Time froze for a beat before with a growl he surged to his feet, pushing Spud into a wall, fist raised before he even registered the smaller man's protest.
"Bloody hell Ethan," hands pressed against Ethan's chest Spud kept his posture as non-threatening as possible, which was difficult with Ethan pressing harshly on the shoulder Jeff had injured. "Calm down mate, I'm not here to fight with you."
"Then why are you here?" Ethan eased his hold as Spud remained quiescent in his grip, not trusting the other man enough to release him entirely. God knows this incarnation of his ex-best friend was capable of stabbing him in the back in a split second. "Reby let you off your leash for once?"
Spud glared and dug his fingers a little harder into Ethan's bare skin, "no one has me on a leash," pulling his anger back under control he breathed in deeply, calming down. "Reby has left to go back home to Matt, I'm here strictly on my own."
"Want to gloat do you?" Hissing Ethan ignored Spud's grimace of pain as he pushed him further into the wall. "Poor EC3 finally getting what he deserves, pinned by Mike Bennett in the middle of the ring, streak shattered."
Grunting Spud petted Ethan's chest soothingly, trying to calm the bigger man. The last time he'd seen Ethan this unhinged had been right after Dixie went through a table and he found himself doubting his plan to visit. Still the look on Ethan's face after he'd lost that match had torn at the small remaining threads of his love for this man. Waiting until the trembling muscles under his fingers stilled he held Ethan's anguished brown eyes, "I'm not here to gloat Ethan. I know you'll find this hard to believe but I'm sorry you lost, I didn't want to see you get pinned like that."
Swallowing Ethan dropped the arm holding Spud pinned to the wall, he wanted to scoff at the smaller man's words but he could see and feel his sincerity. That Spud, a man who used to be his best friend, who had been more loyal than the majority of his family and who he had treated poorly for so long was the only one to express genuine regret broke through the haze of self-pity.
It was a rare site to see Ethan Carter at a loss for words and Spud was saddened that a simple expression of sympathy was the cause, it really drove home how alone the other man was. While Ethan might deserve to suffer the consequences of his foul behavior, it was still difficult to completely turn off his feelings for the other man. Against his better judgment he pulled Ethan into a hug, letting out a startled squeak when the bigger man wrapped strong arms around his waist and half pulled him off his feet.
Unable to resist Spud's silent gesture of comfort Ethan buried his face against the smaller man's neck, breathing deeply of the familiar warm scent as he blinked back tears. Fighting to regain control he could feel Spud weave firm fingers through his hair and whisper soothing words of comfort in his ear. Desperately tightening his grip he wanted to believe Spud still cared for him, wanted to believe there was still one person in the world he could count on, that despite his past and Bennett's words he wasn't completely alone. Slowly the knot of anger and sorrow from his first pinfall loss eased to bearable levels and he could pull back, reluctantly letting the moment of peacefulness go.
"It'll be okay," sliding a hand along Ethan's jaw Spud stood on tiptoes in order to press a lingering kiss against the corner of his mouth. In the face of Ethan's pain and vulnerability he couldn't ignore his own desire to reassure, "you're still the ass-kicking machine and I know you'll make Bennett pay." Stepping back he met Ethan's teary eyes with a shy, tender smile, "and while I may not like you very much right now Ethan, I'll always love you."
Laughing, Ethan wiped the moisture from his eyes, warmed and delighted by Spud's words he pulled the smaller man back into hug. Gratitude wasn't an emotion he was used to dealing with, but without a doubt that's what he felt. Gratitude to Spud for being brave enough to seek him out, brave enough to risk offering his enemy comfort and brave enough to be so honest with his feelings. "Thank you," tugging on a soft lock of Spud's hair he smiled softly, "you never cease to surprise me Spud."
"Yeah well," Raising his eyebrows Spud smirked, "I am amazing like that. Now," briskly clapping his hands he moved away from Ethan's tempting presence, breaking the intimate moment, "what do you say we get out of here and drown our sorrows in a couple pints? For old times sake."
"I say that sounds like a great plan," buttoning his shirt Ethan bustled around the room, picking up his discarding items and stuffing them all into his duffle bag. The cloud of loneliness and despair he'd been suffering under was dissipating under the warmth of Spud's affection. Perhaps the awful first pinfall loss in his professional wrestling career could end in a successful attempt at regaining a failed and missed relationship in his personal life. Right now that was a trade-off he would willing make.