Chapter Summary:

Hitting the gym had always been one of your favorite leisure time actions. The fact that none other than Roman Reigns trained in your usual gym from time to time as well of course had nothing to do with it… However, one day Joe chats you up and thinking about the fact that your ex is still living on your expenses, knowing a guy that could kick his butt could become handy. You can tell that the Samoan is interested in you, but you are not quite sure what to think about that given that he's said to be in a serious relationship.

Notes:

Warnings: none

Pairing: Joe Anoa'i x Reader

Note: This is Part 1 of the Beyoncé SongFic Series :-)

Originally published here: post/172657533251/sweet-dreams-songfic-roman-reigns-x-reader

Beyoncé - Sweet Dreams

The song used for this SongFic was Sweet Dreams by Beyoncé. Since I'm not allowed to post the lyrics here, please look them up accordingly. :-)

It was not the first time that you had seen him around and you were quite sure that it wouldn't be the last time. And of course you knew who he was. Who didn't after all? It was no big secret around here that the wrestlers – both male and female – of the WWE would workout in your usual gym from time to time. Basically everyone was so used to it by now that they didn't even raise an eyebrow when one of them entered. Quite the contrary actually. It was a common thing to workout together with them from time to time if chances were given. However, that didn't mean that you were absolutely immune to every WWE Superstar that entered. Quite the contrary to be honest. You had to admit that none other than Roman Reigns had drawn you attention. You couldn't help but find him extremely good looking and from what you have heard about him, he seemed to be a completely down to earth and laid back guy. But although he was always friendly to you respectively all of the other gym visitors, he nevertheless stuck by himself or with his buddies primarily whenever he hit the gym. Of course, you had seen him glance over to you from time to time but you just filed that under coincidence.

"Earth to Y/N. Do you hear me?", you snapped out of your thoughts as soon as you realized that one of your best buddies was talking to you. You just hoped that he hadn't realized where your attention was wandering to. "Yeah yeah I hear you, I'm sorry", you sighed as you turned your attention back to the man in front of you. "Seriously Y/N you should really kick him out. I mean let's be honest here. He doesn't have a job nor is he bothered to find one. He lives on your money, he eats your food and so on. And it's not like he's family", your friend mentioned as you replied: "I know Y/F/N, I know. But we've dated for quite some time and when he asked for help after his new relationship ended and he lost his job, it was a point of honor to take him in and let him stay." Your friend shook his head as he replied: "And that was really kind of you. But let's be honest, Y/N. When have you broken up? Three years ago? And how long is he staying at your costs now already, scaring every guy away that you might find interesting enough to invite in?" You thought about it for a second before you sighed, answering: "Almost six months."

"That's exactly what I'm talking about. You're way too good for this world Y/N. Throw him out for good respectively issue him an ultimatum that he has to find a new place to crash within the next 3 weeks or so. Start living again for yourself and not for others." You took a sip from your water as the both of you were sitting at the bar currently, mumbling: "Yeah I know and I will. But it's not that easy." Your friend grinned at you as he answered: "If you need help throwing him out, I can definitely do that. And if you need more muscle power I'm pretty sure one of those will gladly give you a helping hand as well." While saying that he pointed his head into the direction of some WWE Superstars, who were currently working out. You had to laugh out loud as you were shaking your head, replying: "Thank you Y/F/N but I think I'm old enough to handle that myself." You could tell that your friend was overly pleased with your decision. You sat there for a couple more minutes until he got up, saying: "I'm sorry Y/N but my nightshift calls. I'll call you tomorrow okay? And don't wait too long until you throw him out." You smiled up at him, responding: "Don't worry and now hurry up. I don't want you to be late for work." With that he got up and headed for the locker rooms to change.

A short glance at the clock on the wall told you that it was rather late already but since you didn't feel like returning home to your ex boyfriend, you decided to run another round on the treadmill. You totally lost track of time, being alone with your thoughts and yourself and you probably could have continued for another couple of minutes if one of the trainers, that you knew pretty well, hadn't appeared in the door, a big smile on her face as she said: "Come on Y/N, I know that you love it here, but I have to shut the gym down for today." You smiled at her, an apologizing look on your face as you answered: "I'm sorry Susan, I completely forgot about the time. Give me ten minutes and I'll be gone."

"Just because it is you, you can have 15.", she smiled before turning around, making sure that the gym was empty. You took your towel before heading for the locker rooms yourself. You tried to decide whether you should take a shower but since you didn't have too long to get home, you decided to take one at home to avoid that Susan had to stay behind for longer than absolutely necessary just because of you.

As you were completely lost in thoughts, you didn't even realize that you were accidentally walking into the men's locker room instead of the women's. And you probably still wouldn't have realized it if you didn't crash into something or rather someone. "What the hell?", you mumbled as you heard a deep voice chuckle: "Woah easy there." It took you a moment to process everything you were seeing. You were staring at a shirtless chest that was soaking wet with water drops dripping down to a towel that set deep on a waist, covering someone's lower body. The next thing you realized was that that someone in front of you was thick and muscular, his whole body having a bronze touch. As you slowly lifted your head you noticed long black hair and a tribal tattoo over chest and arm that you would have recognized anywhere. You didn't have to think twice to realize that you had bumped into none other than Roman Reigns, and not just that… a half-naked Roman Reigns to be more precise.

As you looked up, you saw him looking down at you, an amused expression all over his face. You tried to hide your shock, hoping that you weren't blushing as you exclaimed: "What the hell are you doing in the women's locker room?" You heard him laugh out loud as he answered: "First of all, that is the men's locker room, so the question is, what are you doing here sweetheart? As for me I'm making sure that you're not landing on your beautiful butt after you had smashed right into me." It was only then that you realized that his arm surrounded your waist, his hand just inches away from your ass. He was right… When you were bumping into him, you immediately stumbled backwards and would have probably landed on your back if he hadn't proven to have such great reflexes. You tried to hide your blush as you were mumbling a quiet "sorry", escaping from his grip and taking a step back so you could get some distance between the both of you. You tensed your shoulders and turned round, saying on your way out: "I'm really sorry for that mistake. Won't happen again. Have a great evening." Before you could leave, however, his voice held you back as he wanted to know: "You're alright? You seem a little bit off."

"Yeah I'm fine. It's just been a long day and I lost concentration that is all.", you mumbled with Roman answering: "Do you have a way of getting home?" You turned round, a little smile on your face, trying to ignore the half-naked wrestler in front of you: "Yeah basically. Two healthy legs that are good to go." You heard his deep chuckle as he offered: "If you want to, I can drive you home." As promising as that might have sounded but you were not really sure that this was a good idea. You didn't even know the guy except from having his face seen on the television quite some time respectively of him sometimes working out in the same gym you did. You shook your head as you said: "Thank you for the offer, I really appreciate that. But walking won't kill me." With that you turned around and left the locker room, waving goodbye before you headed for the women's locker room, quickly closing the door after you and taking a deep breath. You would have lied if you hadn't admitted that you liked what you had just seen. But you reminded yourself that a guy like him was way out of your league. So you just grabbed your bag and changed into your normal clothes before tossing your sports gear in it, zipping it up.

As you got fully dressed, your thoughts went back to the conversation you had with your friend. He was right… Your ex was absolutely living on your expenses, not even trying to change that. And if you were honest that pissed you off quite frankly. You would need to talk to him sooner than later to have your apartment back to yourself. As you were trapped in your thoughts, you made your way to the front door, realizing that Susan was already waiting, so she could close the door behind you. As you reached the door, you stopped in your tracks as you realized that it was raining like hell outside. It may not be too far to your home, maybe 20 minutes walking distance, but with a rain like that it certainly was no fun. You slightly cursed yourself for not having accepted Roman's offer. But you just shrugged it off, as you said your goodbyes to Susan, heading out into the rain, to make your way home.

As you were walking over the parking lot, you heard a voice near you saying: "You know my offer is still valid… If you want me to take you home, you are welcome to jump in the car." Of course you didn't have to think twice to know whom the voice belonged to. You scanned the parking lot and realized that you had walked right past his car, not really realizing that it was standing there due to the heavy rain. You were turning around slowly, blinking through the heavy rain until you were able to locate his frame as he was opening the door to his car. You probably should have just kept walking but on the other hand he didn't seem like someone who would kill you and burry your body somewhere. And if you were honest to yourself, you didn't mind getting to know him respectively the real him behind his public persona. You moved closer as you wanted to know: "You're sure that this wouldn't be of any trouble for you? I don't want to be a burden or something like that." He had already came round his car, opening the passenger's door, giving you a warm smile while he answered: "Don't worry about that. If it was, I wouldn't have offered it in the first place. And now get in before you catch a nasty cold." You had to smile at his words before you got into his car, placing your bag in your lap with Roman shutting the door. You already looked like a wet poodle but with him being soaked as well, you didn't really care.

As he was sitting down behind the steering wheel, starting the engine and driving the car from the parking lot, you said: "Left and the next one right, please" with him nodding in understanding before he drove onto the street. "I'm Y/N by the way.", you mentioned, having only then realized that you haven't introduced yourself before and he therefore probably didn't know your name, although you were quite sure that he would have forgotten it the next moment. He gave you a little smile as he was reaching out his hand to you, with you shaking it as he said: "The name's Joe, nice to meet you." As he was gripping the steering wheel again, he glanced over to you, wanting to know: "You're in the gym quite often, aren't you?" He didn't really want to say it out loud that you have drawn his attention in the past and that he was always happy when he saw you there, although he didn't quite have the guts to talk you up - hard to believe but contrary to the character he was portraying, the real him was rather introverted and didn't feel well among big crowds, hence why meeting new people outside of his professional life was not always an easy task to fulfill.

You chuckled slightly as you answered: "More often than I was in the past, that's for sure." He looked at you in confusion as he wanted to know why that was the case with you explaining: "Let's just say that I don't have my apartment all to myself and sometimes the company there isn't exactly what I can bear." You obviously had confused him even more hence why he was asking: "Your boyfriend annoys you?" You had to laugh as you answered: "My ex boyfriend of three years. His new flame threw him out, he lost his job and he crashed on my couch ever since. That was half an year ago and he doesn't appear as if he wants to change anything about that any time soon." You could clearly hear amusement in his voice as he said: "If you need help with throwing him out, I know a move or two." You had to laugh out loud as you replied: "Yeah I have no hard time believing that. Please turn right next, it's the fourth house on the right side." Joe did as you asked him, parking the car in front of your apartment complex just a few seconds later, right in time with the rain stopping. "Guess someone up there wanted you to tag along.", you heard him say as he pointed outside, where no drop was coming down anymore. "Seems like that.", you smiled before adding: "Thank you for giving me a ride and bringing me home almost dry. I guess I owe you something."

"Don't worry, it was my pleasure. But if you want to make up for that, I know a great movie theater nearby", he answered, giving you a little wink, causing you almost to blush. "Wait… were you just asking me out?", you wanted to know taken by surprise with Joe responding: "Ugh I guess so. Depends on what you're saying I suppose." You had no idea whether you should agree or not. Sure, he was absolutely handsome, charming and you loved his wrestling character. And of course you wanted to get to know the real him behind the public persona. But the last thing you had heard about him and his relationship status was, that he was in a serious one. And suddenly going on a date with him seemed to be less inviting. You got out of the car, gave him a smile and said: "Thank you so much for taking me home safe and sound, I really appreciate that. As for the movie theater, I'll think about it. Have a great night." And before he could say another word, you were already closing the door and headed for your house, only to vanish shortly after. Joe was torn between being absolutely confused and amused but he just shrugged it off as he was quite sure that he would see you sooner than later back in the gym. And if he was honest to himself, you giving him the cold shoulder somehow, made him want to get to know you even more.

As he was speeding off, you made your way up to your apartment, grinning like crazy. Of course you shouldn't even be thinking about possibly going on a date with him but that tiny little voice in your head kept telling you, that he wouldn't probably ask you out if he indeed was in a serious relationship still. Your mood instantly sank, however, when you opened the door to your apartment and saw the mess there. When you stepped into your living room you witnessed your ex boyfriend being kept busy in a heavy make out session with a girl you didn't even know. And it was not like you cared. You just got absolutely annoyed that he obviously had time for that but getting his ass up, searching for a job, getting his own apartment, seemed to be at the bottom of his agenda. As he heard your voice both, him and his girl, looked up. "Okay that's it, Y/Ex/N. You have lived at my expenses for way too long. You have three fucking weeks to find a place to stay and then I want you gone." He looked at you with a puzzled expression as he wanted to know: "Are you serious Y/N?"

"More than serious. I think you have utilized my good nature for more than enough", you answered, not letting him reply as you were heading straight for your room, closing and locking the door behind of you. You took a deep breath. It felt good having told him that he had to leave and by knowing that you had people who would help you, it didn't seem to be such an hard task after all. You were way too tired in order to shower or even get changed, so you just lied down on your bed, reminiscing your evening as Joe's face kept appearing in front of your eyes. Like it had done so many times before, even before you actually talked to him. Maybe you should really just agree to go on that date with him, you thought to yourself before you fell asleep.