A Champ's Choice
Pairing: Josh Mathews/? (surprise!), background mentions of Codiasi and Centon.
Rating: T for now, M for later.
So this is my first chaptered fic that's not in the All Rhodes universe! The cute commentator is mystified when he starts receiving gifts and letters. Who is his mystery admirer?
Set sometime in 2011 but revealing when will ruin the surprise! So I will try not to mention PPV's as that will give the game away!
Josh Mathews had just arrived at the arena. Although he mainly announced on Smackdown he had a small segment to do in Raw this week...couple of interviews with the gobbier characters - usual stuff. Probably would involve him being embarrassed in some way. Usually did.
He locked his rental and made his way into the building. He was a little early so he thought he'd get a bit of working out done. Not many knew this but he could hold his own in a ring...unlike that irritating little turd Michael Cole, Josh could actually wrestle - and didn't need a ludicrous singlet to do so. He often would train with superstars, acting as a tag partner or extra opponent when needed. He changed into some tracksuit bottoms and a sports vest and made his way to the ring.
A few of the Raw roster were already there, killing time before the show, and generally sharpening up their moves. Ted DiBiase was there, along with Maryse, plus the WWE Champion The Miz and his 'protege' (read: bitch) Alex Riley, as well as Eve Torres.
Josh silently stepped into the ring, and it wasn't until he started stretching that any of the people noticed he was there.
"Oh hey there Josh!" Ted smiled, getting to his feet, "Didn't realise you were on tonight's show?"
"Yeah, just a bit of backstage stuff, nothing too exciting," Josh said. He wished he was more confident around the superstars sometimes, especially in front of royalty like The Miz.
"You come to wrestle with us for a bit?" asked Ted, unzipping his tracksuit top.
"Sure," Josh said, "You wanna do a quick one on one?"
"How about a mixed tag?" Eve said, shutting her copy of Muscle and Fitness, "Us versus the Million Dollar couple."
Maryse smirked and did her "talk to the hand" gesture at Eve before getting to her feet. The two women stood in the corner.
"Oi! Miz!" Ted said, "You gonna stop polishing your gold for a moment and come referee for us?"
"If I must!" Mike said, getting to his feet, "Alex, you'll be OK here, right?"
"Mikey, I'm not a kid!" grinned his buddy.
"Usual rules apply," Mike drawled as he stood in the ring, "No cock or pussy grabbing, biting or hair pulling - save it for your hotel rooms. Now ring the bell."
"Ding!" Alex said from ringside.
Ted and Josh instantly got into a tie-up before the blonde whipped the brunette commentator into the rops. Josh used the momentum to leap into a dropkick, taking Ted to the mat. He dived for a cover. 1, 2...Ted kicked up.
"Tag me!" Eve said, "I say we use intergender rules!"
"No way!" Ted said.
"Scared you might get beat by a GIRL?" chuckled Mike, "Cody will never let you live that down!"
"Can it, Mizanin!" Ted flipped Mike off.
Josh took another run up and managed to bulldog Ted before slapping Eve's hand. The tanned Diva lifted Ted up and she and him began to scrap..Eve more than holding her own...elciting a whoop from Maryse and Alex when she managed to perform a scoop slam on Ted...who crawled to tag in Maryse. The two ladies scrapped for a bit before Eve tagged in Josh. The commentator had only occasionally wrestled with the ladies and was a bit unsure.
"You scared?" chuckled Maryse.
Josh shook his head and edged towards her. He managed to hip toss her to the floor before climbing the turnbuckle. This was why he often trained with Eve...she had been teaching him how to do her finisher - the moonsault.
"Go on!" she called.
Josh threw his small body backwards...it wasn't as impressive as the likes of say, Lita, and he still used his hands too much, but he got a whoop from Ted and Mike so that was OK. He landed hard on Maryse.
"Tres bon!" she purred in his ear, her accent thick.
Mike quickly counted a three.
"Here are your winners," Alex made a cup with his hands ariound his mouth, deepening his voice in the style of Tony Chimnel, "Mathews and Eve Torres!"
The three men and two women climbed out of the ring, pretty much all of them gulping some water before taking a quick time-out.
Ted beamed as he took a seat next to Josh.
"You really are a pretty good wrestler, dude," he drawled, "I don't udnerstand why they're pushing Cole as some kind of wrestler...he couldn't wrestle his way out a paper bag!"
"He's been on it longer, I dunno," Josh said, "I'm happy with where I am for now, at least here I don't get any heat."
Josh hadn't noticed one pair of eyes out of the little company here, which had been fixated upon him the whole time...and their owner hadn't revealed themselves at all...they had a huge crush on the cute commentator and were right now agonising over how best to approach the young brunette.
"You got a girlfriend?" asked Ted, "We don't know much about you."
"Why do you ask?" Josh asked, sipping from his water bottle.
"Just curious," Ted said, "And because I hate being apart from Cody...I'm so proud of him getting a big push but fuck do I miss him."
It was well-known across the WWE that Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes were dating..and had been since the brunette's 2007 debut in the company.
"I bet the last year's been torture for you!" Josh grinned, "Those grooming tips turned me on, fuck knows what they've been doing to you!"
"Look but don't you dare touch!" the blonde smirked.
"Teddy, Teddy," Josh said, giggling slightly, "He's like a fucking middle-school girl, it's always Teddy this, Teddy that...did you see Teddy on Raw Monday night? He never shuts up about you!"
"'E misses 'im BADLY!" catcalled Maryse from the corner, "I 'ave to listen to him talking about Cody ALL THE TIME!"
"Josh, who do you bat for?" asked Alex Riley.
Josh blushed. Why were they interested in his private life all of a sudden?
"We won't judge you, I mean, for Christ's sake we have to put up with Cena and Orton!" Eve said, lip curling.
Oh yeah...John and Randy were the ultimate power couple of the WWE. After they'd both come out to their colleagues in 2008, Cody and Ted had revealed themselves. If the two faces of the company could see each other, then it was OK.
Josh liked men. He envied the likes of Ted, Cody, John and Randy for having boyfriends at work...and such fine specimens they all were too. Josh had crushed on a few of the superstars over the time he'd been with the company, but he never thought they would ever look at him. So he often spent his time on the road looking for anonymous hook-ups, merely to sate his needs. He might appear all sweet and innocent, but he was still a man after all. And he was a good-looking boy, so he never had trouble pulling. But he wanted a boyfriend. A Mr. Right. Someone who he could cuddle up to after sex. Rather than just pulling out and and pissing off. With a bitter chuckle to himself, he remembered the looks of surprise on some of the trick's faced when he told them his true age...they just assumed he was a little teen twink...he had a young face. And he milked this...he liked to don skimpy underwear and he shaved all his body hair off frequently. He may have been close to thirty but he could still pass himself off as nineteen when he wanted.
"Awww," Eve got up and padded over, "I was only kidding, nobody cares who you sleep with here, honestly!"
"Yeah," Ted said, "Josh, we're not as evil as we are on screen y'know? Don't be scared of us! If you can get in the ring with Batista and walk away then what's the fear for?"
"I just feel a bit of a butt monkey," Josh said, "Especially when I used to drop my tray in catering everytime someone like Taker came near me."
"Bless ya!" Ted smiled good-naturedly, "So, have you...had anyone we know?"
"Teddy, don't be such a gossip whore!" called Alex.
"Oh shut it Riley, like YOU wouldn't ask him!" Ted shot back.
Alex poked his tongue out at him.
"Miz, put his muzzle back on!" Ted smirked.
"Much as I'd love to sit here chatting, we've got to get ready for my main event," drawled Mike, getting to his feet, "C'mon Riley, carry my breifcase for me."
And the champ and his lackey left the room.
"Someone forgot to tell him there's nobody watching," Eve said, wandering back to where her sports bag was, "I'm gonna go get ready and then grab a coffee...Maryse, join me, we need to go over our match tonight."
"Sure," the French girl got to her feet and followed Eve out the ring, leaving just Josh with Ted.
"Gay or bi?" asked Ted after a while.
"Gay," Josh said.
"Thought so," Ted replied.
"Am I that obvious?" Josh blushed.
"Yeah, hun, you are!" Ted drawled, "Not that it's a bad thing...hell seeing as it's me and you, I don't mind saying that I'm FUCKING frustrated...they need to give Coddles a spot on Raw soon or his DASHING ass won't know what's hit it!"
Wow...you come out to a few colleagues and five minutes later you know who takes who in the ass? Josh had a feeling this won't be the last time.
"D'you know," he grinned, feeling more relaxed than he had been so far, "I suspected Cody bottomed."
"Takes it like a champ!" Ted grinned.
"Teddy! Too much information!" moaned Josh, "I've only been out for five minutes!"
"So, Josh, tell me," Ted said, relaxing, "What's your preference? No, let me guess...you bottom."
"Versatile, actually!" smirked Josh.
Ted raised his eyebrows.
"This is awesome!" he said, "I get to embrace my inner fruit!"
"Ted, you wear purple sparkly trunks, you already are fucking gay as!" smirked Josh.
It was funny, telling this handful of superstars he was gay, and now just being here with Ted had done wonders for his confidence.
They made their way backstage to get changed. When Josh had showered and pulled on his suit for tonight's show, he made his way to the locker room. Inside was John Cena. Josh nervously smiled at the face of the WWE before opening his locker. A small package fell out. Huh? He'd not been here long and who would know this was his? Mind you, a fair few had been in here when he'd put his street clothes inside. After he'd stuffed his bag inside, he made to pick up the package. It was small but a little heavy...Josh had a feeling he knew what it was. He ripped the brown paper off.
It was a bottle of his favourite Paul Smith aftershave...not many knew he liked this scent!
"What's eatin' you, Mathews?" asked John, that big dimpled smile on his face.
"Oh nothing," Josh shook his head, "Did you see anyone in here before I came in? Just got given this in my locker?"
"Nice cologne," John said, sniffing it, "Nope, can't say I have! Is that a note?"
"What?"
"On the floor!"
Josh turned and spotted a bit of paper. He picked it up.
Wanted you to have this for a while, knew you liked it. Really enjoyed the little match earlier too. You look really hot in the ring.
Don't worry about coming out, baby, you never know who likes you, y'know?
A friend.
Josh's eyes widened. A prank. Well at least he knew it was one of five - Miz, Riley, DiBiase, Maryse or Eve.
"Oh..hello!" John drawled, "Looks like someone's got the hots for you., pretty boy!"
"Cena, you're sucha goofball!" groaned Josh, "It's a prank..bet you."
"That cologne isn't cheap," remarked John, "Don't write it off yet!"
"Notes? Gifts? Cena, this is the kinda thing we used to do in high school to prank the losers!" Josh said, slamming his locker shut.
The announcer stormed out of the locker room. John knew the handwriting as well...the stupid idiot hadn't exactly been subtle in telling Josh of his feelings (yes, this admirer was real, and was a guy) and had quite possibly fucked up.
A pair of blue eyes had been watching from the distance...and had filled up with tears when Josh wrote it off as a prank.
Maybe he'll put more thought into it next time.
As you can see, not much action for now but slipping the threads in place. And I do like the idea of Josh being an on-the-sly wrestler! I suppose it is obvious who the admirer is but I'm not going to reveal him yet. This is literally just a small project to keep me going until I start working on Part III of the All Rhodes universe. This obviously is a Tom-free world!
Who do you think fancies Josh?
Always love a review :) x