First Fight
"Where is he?" AJ asked as she rushed down the hallway. She'd had this speech in preparation since the minute her husband had sat down and told her he was going to fight in the UFC. She just hoped she wouldn't have had to use it, especially not on his first fight.
Coach Duke pointed to one of the locker rooms, standing outside with a few other fighters and team members.
She had squirmed in her seat the entire time in the crowd. She hadn't built herself up to expect him to win, but she knew it was gonna sting if he didn't. When looking up at the big screen from in the crowd, seeing how bruised and roughed up he was, her heart sank. And then he got on the mic, and he done what he done best, and his words made everything ok. His sweet words. There was a soul in there. A fighter. He was just getting started.
She crept into the locker room, looking over at him sitting on a chair that was round the wrong way, elbows leaning on the back, head down whilst Daniel and a few other coaches stood around him, no doubt telling him how proud they were of him, regardless of the outcome.
They all looked at AJ and decided the couple probably needed a moment, so they headed out, nodding to AJ on their way by as she smiled softly. What didn't hurt was that he got bet, what hurt was to see his head down. For so long he had been the happiest Phil she'd ever known. It was like he was glowing, and now… it seemed like that had all disappeared.
"Hey." AJ whispered, crouching down in front of him as he looked in her eyes. His face was sore. But what hurt the most was his pride. He never planned for the night to go the way it did. Of course he didn't. He put on a brave face and made a speech from deep down, but deep inside he was devastated. Of course he was.
Suddenly her months of preparing what to say to him if he did lose had completely left her mind and all she wanted to do was wrap her arms around him tightly and never let go. She hated seeing his face so bruised, she hated seeing him so broken.
"You ok?" He cleared his throat, trying to put on the bravest face possible.
"Just the proudest wife in the world." AJ smiled as he laughed a little.
"It's fine. You don't have to say anything to make me feel better. I lost. No point in beating around the bush." He said, straightening himself up tiredly.
"You didn't lose." She shook her head, "Maybe to all those… trolls and low lives on the internet, but not to me." She shook her head, cupping his cheeks, "You're still a winner in my eyes." She said truthfully. He was a winner in her eyes. His strength and courage to even step into the octagon inspired her, "It was never about the destination." She reminded him, "This journey… you've… you've loved every second of it. I watched you wake up every morning and rush out that door to go train." She smiled.
"I lost, April." Punk sighed, "How much longer did I need? Three years? Four?" He questioned.
"You promised you wouldn't beat yourself up about it if you didn't win." She stood up straight as he looked up at her.
"I'm not beating myself up… I just… I'm just annoyed at myself, that's all." He shrugged, "Were you alright out there?" He asked. Truth be told, on his walk to the octagon all he could think about was his wife. How much he loved her, and a part of him did think about the possibility of losing, and that it'd be ok because he could still go home with her. He thought of the day he married her, that was always his focus when fighting. Her. He just felt like he'd let her down. Like he'd put her through all of this for nothing.
"I was fine out there. I had Anthony checking up on me, and Woodley. Cerrone even walked by and asked if I was doing ok." She said, "You're right, this place is like a huge family." She nodded, referring back to something he said when they arrived earlier on in the week.
"So no one harassed you or… threw things at you-"
"No." AJ shook her head, watching as he stood up, walking off to sit on one of the benches as she followed, "You sore?" She asked him as he nodded.
"You know the first thing I thought about?" He turned to her as she nodded.
"What?" She asked.
"My wife is not gonna like this fucked up ear." He said as AJ chuckled, "Honestly… I thought I'd have to go back to the locker-room and get ready for a second fight." He said as she smiled.
"I'm not worried about your face." She said truthfully, "Standing out there… after such a tough fight… I know it wasn't easy for you. I seen it in your eyes." She said sadly, "I don't want this to stop you from continuing on this journey because… I'm having the time of my life sharing it with you." She said.
Normally she wasn't very good with words. He'd never really heard her become so emotional and intimate with her words. He felt everything she was saying and the more and more she spoke, the more he felt himself feeling that little bit better.
"I feel like I let you down." He told her truthfully. He'd mentioned a few times in some media interviews that he wanted to make her proud and do this for her, and he felt like he'd let her down big time.
"You've not let me down, Phil." She shook her head, "The only reason I'm sad is because I know how much all of this means to you." She said, "I sat out there in that crowd and I remember that man who came to me, that night, in this very building, and told me he was leaving WWE. I remember he bags under your eyes, your pale skin, your complete lack of motivation to do anything." She said, "And then I seen that man walking to the octagon, smiling, happy, feeling good." She said, "I don't just say it because it seems like the right thing to say… but I am the proudest wife in the world." She said, "The proudest."
"I wouldn't have even stepped inside that cage if I didn't have you beside me." Punk said truthfully, "And I know I won't be able to keep going unless you're still by my side."
"Well that's ok because I'm not going anywhere." She promised him, "We're gonna go back to Chicago, fix that pretty face up, and we're gonna take a vacation and we're gonna celebrate." She said.
"Celebrate what?" Punk asked deflatedly.
"You. Your success. Your journey." She said, "Just because you lost doesn't mean it's all over. I never thought I'd be encouraging you to get back on the horse for another fight, but I know how much you want this… it's only the beginning, baby." She told him, placing her hand on his thigh comfortingly as he smiled.
How did he get so lucky? She was all he ever needed in his life. She was truly amazing.
"I love you so much." Punk said.
"I love you too." AJ said, wrapping her arms around him and hugging into him as they sat in the empty locker-room embracing one another.
After the night had come to the end, Punk finally got to shut himself off from the world for good, and got back to his hotel room with his wife where their dog, Larry, was fast asleep in his little travel dog bed which made Punk smile.
His body seemed to be getting more stiff as the hours progressed. The night had been long. The week had been long. Tonight had been especially hard, having all different fighters come up to him with their commiserations but congrats on stepping inside the octagon for the first time. It was hard. He obviously wanted to be the one that won, but he was never a man to regret anything. All this was gonna do was make him stand back up even taller.
"We can just pack everything up in the morning." AJ said, watching as Punk already collapsed on the bed. His spirits had gone up from her perspective. Perhaps her chat with him gave him a little boost, or maybe he just realised on his own that this was not the end of the world.
It took him all the effort in the world to get his clothes off and stripped down into his boxers, but he eventually did and got into the soft, warm bed. Here, he knew he could just close his eyes, hold his wife and everything would be ok.
He was a little more positive than what he was after the fight. After the fight he was just gutted, devastated, angry with himself, annoyed with himself… like two years of training had meant nothing. But after his wife… of course his beautiful wife, spoke to him and wrapped her arms around him, he didn't feel so bad after all.
"That thing you said… about marrying me… being the greatest thing you've ever done." She edged into the bed as he turned his head to face her.
"What? You gonna ask if I meant it?" He asked her a she nodded, "Of course I did." He said.
"It was nice." AJ smiled, curling into him, "Hearing you talk put me at ease. You were so strong." She said.
"Not strong enough to win." Punk sighed. Of course it was still eating at him. He knew it would for a few weeks, but he had accepted that what happened, happened, now he just had to look upwards and onwards.
"I wasn't thinking much of the wedding day though… more the wedding night." He nodded, lying on his back with a smile as she chuckled.
"Of course you were." AJ nodded, "It was a nice night, don't get me wrong."
"Nice? It was amazing." Punk said, "You know I love you so much, right? You being here… supporting me, especially with the outcome. It means everything."
"It was never about the outcome." She reminded him, "I loved you before you were a UFC fight, and I'm gonna keep loving you." She said as he smiled. She was his precious little angel. Making every sad, cold, angry feeling inside him disappear. Maybe the reason that he'd been so happy throughout all this wasn't because of the fighting, but because he came home every night and got into bed beside her. That was his favourite part of the day. Not training. Not sparring or striking or jiu jitsu. Coming home and seeing her. That was his favourite thing in the whole world.
"I'm looking forward to this vacation." He admitted with a relaxed sigh. He owed it to her and himself. Whether he won or lost tonight, they were always gonna go on a vacation. Get out of the world for a few weeks where it could just be them. Drive around. Enjoy themselves with no distractions.
"Me too." AJ smiled, "You can rest up. Although, the swelling in your face has went down a lot." She curled onto her side, noticing his face had gone down in swelling. He had a few stitches under his eye and eyebrow, but apart from that, he wasn't looking all terrible.
"This was your worst nightmare, wasn't it?" He smiled a little to her.
"No. Well… not that I enjoyed any part of seeing that little… man-child hurt you. But I'm just glad your face isn't completely rearranged. Everything is still where it's meant to be." She smiled, curling in closer to him, "Your lips." She whispered, pressing her lips against his softly and pulling back, "Right where I need them."
"Oh, yeah?" Punk smiled as she nodded. For a man who'd just got bet in his first UFC fight, he sure didn't have much else to complain about. He had a sweet life, with or without the UFC. But it was a dream, and a goal, and he always emphasised how important it was to go after your goals and your dreams.
He knew he'd be back in the octagon. Better than ever. He'd get back to work once he'd rested and enjoyed some time off with his wife, and he'd do it all over again, hopefully just with a better outcome.
"What are you doing?" Punk smiled a little as he felt her kissing in at his neck, rolling on top of of him, making sure she wasn't hurting his body, but to her, it looked like he didn't mind.
"I'm doing what I told you I'd do the night of your fight." She said.
"I thought that was only if I won." Punk said.
"Of course not." AJ smirked, "No way." She whispered, leaning down and pressing her lips back against his as he ran his hands up and down her arms comfortingly.
She was the best thing to ever happen to him. That was why he always spoke about her and mentioned her in every interview he done. He felt like he owed this happiness he'd had to her. With her… he knew he could bounce back from anything and come back stronger than ever.
A/N: Just thought I'd make a little something to cheer myself up! Of course I'm so devastated that Punk lost. More so devastated for him. But he's a tough son of a bitch and he'll be back, I truly believe it. For now he's just gonna have to go back to his fine ass house in Chicago with his fine ass wife and enjoy some time off! I'm so proud of him.