I've Got You
A/N: I need a piece to get me through the wait until Dean Ambrose comes back. Just a random "What if?" piece because as much as I love Drew McIntyre, who's finally getting a chance to shine in WWE, him costing Seth the title pissed off my inner fangirl. I understand why he did, but a match as awesome as the one Seth and Dolph put on? It deserved a definite ending. Anyway, here's a short one-shot. Enjoy!
Seth was exhausted. It was Extreme Rules 2018, the opening match of the show for the Intercontinental Title. It was an extreme rules match, and he was pretty sure the bruises he was sporting could testify to that. The last twenty-five minutes had been a mix of technical wrestling, risky, top rope maneuvers, and who could do more out of the heel playbook. Seth didn't like playing dirty, too many bad memories, but he didn't really have a choice with the way Ziggler was fighting. Chokeholds, exposed turnbuckles, a low blow, raking the eyes, the list goes on.
Currently, they were both down, having both gone through the announce table. Seth had, shakily, climbed a particularly tall ladder, taken a deep breath, and leapt. A Phoenix Splash from fifteen feet up sent him crashing down onto Ziggler and through the announce table. His head rang, his ribs ached, and the crowd was screaming like crazy. Mustering up as much strength as he could, he managed to get a barely conscious Ziggler into the ring, collapsing onto him for the cover. 1! 2! 3-No! Ziggler barely gets his shoulder up for a near fall. Seth rolled off of him and tried to catch his breath.
At first, the match had been fairly even matched when it was just them wrestling, but the McIntyre had to toss Ziggler a chair, and Seth did not enjoy the chair shots to the back. After five shots to the back, standing Seth up, and hitting a Zig-Zag, Seth had been almost too dazed to kick out, but before he could, Ziggler pulled him up off the canvas at a one count. He toyed with him, yelled in his face how turnabout's fair play, how he didn't have what it took to be a worthy Intercontinental Champion. He stood him up again for a superkick and landed it with a sickening thud. Seth swore he could see stars in his vision, but he wasn't ready to give up yet. He'd been about to kick out of the cover when Ziggler pulled him up again right after the two count with a maniacal laugh.
Ziggler held him up roughly by his hair before throwing his face into the mat and laying across the top rope in the opposite corner, hands behind his head. The crowd made their displeasure known with a chorus of boos, then proceeded to cheer Seth on, chanting his name. Ziggler took another minute to lie there as Seth stirred, hands finding purchase on the bottom rope, before hopping down and going over to McIntyre, asking his partner to help him organize an array of weapons. They pulled out a ladder, steel chairs, kendo sticks, a fire extinguisher, baking trays, and a table. Seth rolled under the bottom rope, flopping to the floor. His hand scrabbled under the ring, looking for something, anything, to give him the edge. His hand closed around the first thing it touched and, without looking at it, Seth crawled back into the ring, getting unsteadily to his feet, hiding the weapon from Ziggler's sight.
Ziggler had a kendo stick, raising it over his head now that he was back in the ring, preparing to strike when Seth lashed out suddenly, catching him in the face. Ziggler went stumbling into the corner with a cry of pain, dropping the kendo stick and clutching his face. Seth looked down at his hand, seeing a battered pair of nunchucks. Scratched into the surface were two initials that brought a smile to Seth's face. Expertly whipping the nunchucks around, Seth scored several hits on McIntyre, who had attempted climbing into the ring to even out the fight, and another few on Ziggler, sending him to the mat. Running out of options, he made it to the top rope and wasting no time nailing a Frog Splash. He didn't think that would cut it though and, grabbing the ladder at ringside, dragged it around to the announce table, where he threw a winded Ziggler.
Now, he attempted another cover, getting a two count when the ref was suddenly being pulled out of the ring by McIntyre. The ref never quite made it all the way out of the ring as a blur of denim tackled McIntyre from the side. The crowd were losing their minds at the surprise arrival, and Seth had a sneaking suspicion of who it was. The ref scrambled back into the ring, backing away from the scuffle, focusing on the match again. Seth got to his feet, leaning on the ropes as he waited for Ziggler to stir. When Ziggler was in position, he ran and slammed his foot down on his skull in a vengeance with a wicked Curbstomp. He dropped into a cover, hooking both legs.
1! 2! 3! Ding ding ding!
Seth let out a relieved laugh when the bell rang, and watched with satisfaction as McIntyre went sailing into the barricade. The ref retrieved the title while another pair of arms wrapped themselves around him, helping them to his feet.
"Here is your winner, and the NEW Intercontinental Champion, Seth Rollins!" Seth positioned his reacquired title over his shoulder as the ref held up one hand and a grinning Dean Ambrose held up the other. Seth locked eyes with him, and when the ref dropped his hand, fell into his boyfriend's embrace. Dean threw one of his arms around Seth and helped him out of the ring, holding onto him as they walked up the entrance ramp together.
"I've got you," Dean reassured him over the roar of the crowd. "So proud of you, Seth." Seth stopped them at the top of the ramp, turning to the crowd to hold his title up in triumph for a moment. He chuckled weakly as the chants and cheers started again. He fell into Dean again, resting their foreheads together, soaking in the moment.
"I'm so glad to have you back," he told him.
"Good to be back," Dean replied. "Now let's go celebrate, champ."
A/N: Not a lot of dialogue, surprisingly. *shrugs* Have another midnight rambling. :)