Fandom: Wrestling(TNA)
Title: Pieces of Time
Rating: M
Genre: Drama/Romance
Summary: Two men. Three Women. Someone's bound to be left out in the cold... Kurt, AJ, Karen, Team 3D, Melony, and Autumn. Others included.
Notes: Based on a prompt from CenasNakedInMyBedWithMe–a "sneek peek" from the Binder '08. Rated M for (in CNIMBWM's words) "hot sex on a platter" and language. And Brother Ray will be referred to as "Bubba" at times because, well, it's just easier....
—
01. Wish I May
The scene was scripted. The fan's reactions were to be expected--laughter, shock, a combination of cheers and boos(mostly cheers). But in the ring, the reactions were all too real. Her reaction was all too real. She knew that. And she knew her husband knew that.
But did AJ know that?
Karen Angle fought back tears as she remembered the incident. It had been nearly a month since she and AJ's scripted vows. A month since he'd grabbed her and kissed her with more passion than she'd felt in years. It was the most she'd gotten since her husband dragged her into his so-called "profession" and deep down she knew it wasn't even real. But that didn't stop her from wanting more. It didn't stop her from thinking about it every second, or wishing that there was even a remote chance of a life for her with AJ Styles. Her marriage had been falling apart for the past several years and she'd just chosen to ignore it. If she could get out of it now, could she have the life she wanted, with the man she wanted? She hated the wrestling lifestyle that Kurt had dragged her into. She just wanted a simple life with a man she loved, with a man who loved her. Maybe even as a beautician, like she'd wanted way back when she was a teenager. When did her life turn into this?
A knock on the door brought her out of her thoughts and she looked up as her husband, Kurt Angle, pushed the door open and peeked in, "Hey, Kare. AJ and Gail are waiting--you guys are supposed to head to the ring in a few minutes."
Karen nodded, forcing a smile, "Ok, baby. Thanks." She'd gotten so good at faking, she realized with a pang of guilt. Sometimes she wondered if she tried harder, would her marriage not be so miserable? But when she thought of all the things she'd sacrificed for Kurt, all she'd given up and all she'd done, she realized it wasn't anywhere near her fault. It was all his. Kurt was to blame for pushing her into the arms of another man. Even if it was just in some stupid storyline.
A few minutes after Kurt left, Karen met up with AJ outside his dressing room. He and Gail Kim were in a mixed tag match against Devon Dudley and Angelina Love, and Karen was supposed to escort them to the ring. He smiled at her as she approached and she felt her breath catch in her throat, "Hey Karen. You ready for tonight?"
She nodded, "Yeah, I guess." She shrugged, "I'm not looking forward to the table, though." She shivered, and AJ laid an arm on her shoulder, "Don't worry--Devon's real good, ok? You won't feel a thing."
She sighed, the southern accent in his deep voice seemingly making everything better, "Alright. If you say so, AJ."
---
Kurt watched his wife prancing up to AJ and felt his blood boil. He knew their marriage was fragile, and that Karen had gone to extreme lengths to make him jealous before, but this one was definitely the most extreme. He'd seen her reaction when Styles kissed her in the ring, and it was a reaction he knew couldn't be faked. She complained about being in the wrestling business to him all day and all night, but not when she was anywhere near AJ. If she could stand near AJ and look pretty, Kurt guessed she was happy. But he wasn't having it. He had let his wife walk over him one too many times, and yet she had the nerve to blame him for all the problems in their marriage. He had to go and get ready for his blind date segment with Brother Ray, but there were certain things he needed to finalize. AJ was ultimately uninterested in Karen, but that didn't stop her, and Kurt had a plan to put her in her place. He pulled out his cell phone, checked to make sure he hadn't missed any calls and then checked his call log to get the appropriate number. The phone rang a couple times before a tired voice answered, "Hello?"
"It's me. I just wanted to check on your progress. Where are you?"
"I just landed at Orlando International. The driver's loading up my luggage. Thank you for the limo, by the way. Nice touch."
"Only the best. Wait until you see the apartment."
"I told you a hotel would be fine."
"There's no telling how long you'll be here, you know. Just get settled and I'll call you later so we can go over everything."
"Kurt, are you sure you know what you're doing? What we're getting into?"
Kurt let out a sigh, "Honestly, no. But thank you for agreeing, nonetheless."
—
AJ couldn't help but roll his eyes at the sound of Karen's whining coming from behind the door to the medical room. Devon had put her through the table, just like it was planned, and AJ always gave Devon props for being careful, and he had been especially careful with Karen. Devon's hands and arms had protected most of her backside, and her head hadn't even touched the table or the mat, yet she was complaining to the medical crew of the "worst headache" of her life. AJ ran his fingers through his hair and looked up just as Kurt approached, "Hey, man."
"Hey Styles." Kurt made a face and pointed to the door, "Karen ok? I saw the match. Everything went down fine."
AJ nodded, "Yeah, she's fine. No offense, Kurt, but you and I both know your wife's flair for the dramatic."
Kurt allowed a small smile to cross his lips as he shrugged and nodded in agreement, "You don't even know the half of it, Styles."
AJ let out a small laugh, shaking his head, "I bet. Hey man, I got it here. Your segments up next. I hear from a reliable source that your 'blind date' is a looker tonight."
"Really?" Kurt frowned, "They keep me out of that loop. Personally, I'd like to pick my own blind dates but..."
"Tonight, people are talkin' a lot more than usual, Kurt. There's a rumor going around, too. I don't know how much truth there is to it, though." AJ held up his hands, and Kurt pressed him on, "What kinda rumor, Styles?"
AJ shrugged, "That it's someone everybody will recognize."
—
Kurt paced the gorilla area, nervously tapping the empty bottle of water on the palm of his hand before tossing it on the ground and rubbing his head. AJ's mention of rumors had started his mind reeling, when there very well could be nothing to any of it. He'd talked to Bubba earlier, and he hadn't mentioned anything weird, so there was a good chance it all just a rumor, like Styles had said. When Kurt heard his music hit, he took a deep breath, swallowed, and headed out to the ring. He did his usual bit, and then Brother Ray came out, microphone in hand as he jumped in the ring. "Alright, Kurt, alright, everybody listen up!" Bubba gave Kurt a look that seemed like it was a warning, "Tonight, my friend, you're got yourself a goddess, or so I've heard. Granted, I haven't actually seen her..." Again, that look, and Kurt gave him a nod to confirm that he understood. "What do you mean you haven't seen her?" Kurt improvised, and Bubba held up his hand, "Whoa, calm down, Angle. Devon picked her out earlier and he wanted it to be a surprise, for everybody." Bubba was improvising as well, and was trying to get along with the segment as quickly as possible. "Now Kurt, I give to you, for your viewing pleasure--and any other pleasure you may choose--your date for tonight!"
Bubba spun around and pointed to the ramp, and the music hit. Only it wasn't the cheesy porno music that usually accompanied the women. It was a song that seemed so familiar to Kurt, yet he couldn't quite place it in his mind. Until he saw her come out of the tunnel. A microphone in hand, her long legs astride as she stopped in the middle of the ramp to acknowledge the fans, who recognized her as well and were now going crazy. Once her eyes landed on him, their gazes locked immediently, never straying as she continued down the ring and walked up the steel steps and entered the TNA ring. Bubba stared at her with wide eyes, and Kurt's mind was reeling. She stepped up to him, flipping her shoulder-length red hair before bringing the mic up to her lips, "Hey, Kurt. How have you been?"
Kurt managed to sweep his gaze over the crowd for a moment before returning his gaze to her blue-grey eyes, still as stunning as he remembered from their days in the WWE, "Fine, sweetheart." He cleared his throat, "How have you been, Melony?"