Author's Note: After looking through the archive, I took it upon myself to add another story to the Nattie/Sheamus fandom since there's probably one or two other fics in the archive. There's some slight hints of fluff in this, moreso an experiment of just writing these two. Nonetheless, enjoy.
There always happen to be some form of temptation screaming at her each time she found herself sitting in this very room. The number one rule was to never touch the sore area while the other was to simply dare not try think of the outcome of such injuries, for nothing good would come out of the situation, however, the longer that cold ice sit on her neck, the more she was reminded of the reason he was here in the first place, bringing forth none other than a headache to accompany the dull pain that lie just above her shoulders, right where her spinal column started. The blonde's teeth clinch in agony the moment the ice pack was adjusted on her neck, a brisk chill sweeping through her body at the mere contact of ice against skin, doing nothing to settle the pain in her neck, but rather take her back to the incident that only happened only moments ago as the result of a botch, clearly done on her part.
Nattie couldn't remember the last time he was given the opportunity to work a match that didn't consist of teaming with another Superstar or Diva of some sort, yet the moment the match came to a closing she was greeted with none other than a harsh leg lariat to the back of her neck despite taking the finisher so many times before, but unlike all others she'd gone ahead and reacted to slow to the oncoming hit. A hit that shouldn't have connected, but by the way of her reacting as slow as she did, it deem to be too late to correct her mistakes in the first place, resulting in her leaving the ring with more than just a win, but also a stiff neck too.
A heavy groan dripped from her lips the moment the ice was adjusted against the sensitive area, all the while silently cursing to herself in the case of her incredibly bad timing. No damage to the spine or anything for that matter, however she couldn't feel as if the incident involving she and Alicia could've been avoided any more if it weren't for thinking she could adjust her top right before it was her cue to take that lariat to the neck. The fact Alicia was so frantic after the form of miscommunication didn't make things too far off better either, simply since the leggy Diva blamed herself for botch even though the replay on the titantron showed otherwise.
"Don't touch, Nattie," one of the EMT's insisted as he pried the young woman's hand away from the source of the dull pain she would be walking around with the next two days or so. Natalyla passed the trainer a glare that spoke volumes on just how agitated she was at the moment, he not helping the cause thinking it was okay to touch her every five minutes when all she wanted was to feel her neck; see if any swelling had occurred since her time back here in the trainer's room. Thankfully it didn't, but that still didn't make up for the fact how stupid the Canadian reacted in the account, not to mention this would most likely deter her from even more time in the ring.
"You'll be fine, but I would advise you to keep some ice on that neck for a few days. Try not to keep going with daily activities such as walking, jogging, but you don't want to agitate it further more either," his glove-clad hand patted her shoulder in hopes of lifting her spirits, however he didn't look to be fortunate for such since she still breathe of disappointment.
The older man passed her look of sympathy, all the while trying to gather the plastic gloves from his hand in a hurry to give her some time alone. He knew this was the first time in months she was scheduled in a match of her own, though she would be on the sidelines yet again, for she wouldn't be competing at the next show which happened to be for Superstars, the resident pre-show which excelled in giving the girls airtime when they actually received it. The Diva wasted no time in emotionally kicking herself in the gut once again when the mere reminder that she wouldn't be competing tomorrow night crept up at her very soul, as she would be watching one of the girls rightfully take her place while she watched from the backstage monitor. Tuesday just couldn't come quick enough for her...
"I'll give you some time alone if you need it, Nat-", the Diva had already cut the doctor off, leaving him alone to sigh at the young woman's clear distress, brown eyes watching her bolt out the room like a bat out of hell.
A strong echo alarmed the entire women's locker room, bringing forth a few glares to pass her way the moment the grey locker slammed shut, her fingers frantically tending to the zipper of her duffle bag in order to get out of the room in one piece without a few of the Divas - mainly Alicia asking of her condition and whether she would be able to compete the next night, knowing just how bad the leg lariat appeared on the monitor. Right now, the last thing she needed was any questions or even another apology from the California native, she just wanted to hurry to the parking lot, be in the comfort of her own hotel room, and a hot bathe to soothe the aching that she would only rouse if she didn't tend to the sore area in time.
Finally garnering a couple questions to want to arise from the likes of Layla El and Brie Bella after the mini scene she'd made, the Canadian woman was yet again quick on her toes, disappearing from the setting of the locker room before their questions would be brought to surface. Her feet trailed through the halls of the arena, greeting a few faces she passed along the way as she continued on her way to parking lot. The moment the glass doors of the arena burst open, the Calgary native was caught by the throat by none other than the Seattle breeze, an exceptional evening it would've been to just walk through the park to clear her mind, however it would be none of that in the case of her getting the rest she needed-or better yet trying to get the rest she needed. The woman would definitely be restless the remainder of the night, she just needed to find a way to suck it up so she could.
"And to think I was the only one who enjoyed walking in the dark..."
A familiar Irish accent filled the air, causing the blonde to shoot her attention towards the approaching frame, her neck giving off the dull pain as it did when she first botched tonight in that very arena. The blonde's features contort in a bold sense of frustration, teeth clinching in such agony through the everlasting struggle to not yell out in frustration even though her mind was banking for it to happen. Instead of sounding off like she initially wanted to, nevermind the fact that she knew the figure standing before her, the native of Calgary's hazel eyes narrowed to the older man who seemed to have been more shaken up than she was over the current instance, his blue eyes filling in immediate worry the second it came to his attention the woman wasn't in any playful mood, but rather she was pissed off.
The Irishman's pink lips formed together to conjure up some kind of sentence to keep the irritated woman from biting his head off, although his efforts came too late because the venom behind her words found their way through the parking lot.
Natalya brushed her blonde strands from her face, the irritation in full force, "So you think it's funny to sneak up on people, don't you? Had a few minutes to yourself after your little squash match and thought it would be cool to just creep up on someone in a parking lot, right?" The Dubliner's lips coiled together to form a sincere apology, his mouth shutting at the mere sound of Natalya's going over his, "Save it, Stephen. I've heard enough apologies for the night, I don't need any more." Her feet stamped against the pavement with authority, never taking her eyes off the former world champion, for he seemed to have struck a nerve with his bad timing. Not even a minute later, the pasty man was following her lead across the parking lot, hoping he could make such amends before she sped off to God knows where with that attitude.
"Nattie, wait!" His legs stopped just in time, furthermore irritating the younger woman the longer he kept her away from leaving just yet. At this point, the Irish's natives words meant not a thing because she happened to be more focused on the incredibly sore neck she would be dealing with the next few days or so while another Diva filled her spot for tomorrow's taping in Portland. Her full lips clinched together in annoyance, having had enough of his second attempt to make peace, though his pleading eyes were the only thing keeping her at this very state.
Natalya was practially in the driver's seat both figuratively and literally, as it seemed she had the Irishman right in the palm of her hand when it came down to his emotions since he wasn't the type to leave things messy. He just wanted to settle things with the young woman instead of her shooing him off, but it looked to be as if she wasn't aiming for any sorts of reconciliation after the older man nearly scared the hell out of her, and who could blame her? At this point, she would be more than content if the Irishman just finally went about his own business, keep his mouth shut as far as her whereabouts incase a Diva asked of them, and most importantly, forget that he ever saw her out here.
The Canadian Diva's hazel eyes studied the pasty man's, "I see you're just going to hound me until I talk to you, right? Just go back inside, Stephen, you obviously have nothing better to do than joke around when people aren't in the mood. I've had hell of an evening and you're really not helping by just standing there, thinking you can make up with me or something."
"I can try...," his large frame slipped through the door of the tiny Nissan Altima, attention focused solely on her. The Dubliner's pink lips formed into a sympatheic smile through the form of a kind gesture, though Nattie wasn't grasping for any of that. The blonde was shocked to say the least by Stephen's boldness, his actions surprisingly not provoking her as they did the first time when he simply snuck up on her to be the constant goofball that he was known to be backstage. "Talk to me, I'm all ears."
His accent brought a half-smile to her face whether she admitted to it or not, his subtle voice bringing a feeling a guarantee to creep up at her when she thought he wouldn't do much of anything to bring some content to her incredibly poor evening, however he was doing that and more.
The ginger's body heat radiated off her own form, letting a light sigh of relief to escape her lips the moment she realized the little that he was doing was starting to become the remedy she needed to put away one of the minutes bad nights she had in her career to bed. It's funny how a couple words, a tug at the lips, and a warm presence could pull one from their most rotten of moods, and that's clearly what Stephen did in the matter of just a few minutes without anything done on her end besides a simple correspondence to his act of consideration for well-being. Her neck still hurt like the dickens, she was still rather disappointed that she would no longer be scheduled for tomorrow's live event, however the pasty fellow sitting in the passenger's seat made the circumstance not as difficult as it was to deal with in the first place. He would listen to her story, cheer her up over a cup of coffee, and like she always did, she would eventually take the bad with pride and hope to turn it into good.