Author's Note: A pairing that I've never written, but I enjoy the dynamic! Charlotte and Sami are great individually, so together they can only be extra great.
Nice Girl
Another beatdown, courtesy of Kevin Owens - jackass extraordinaire. Charlotte normally had no issue with the man, their tactics strikingly similar when it came to in-ring competition. Yet, watching him lay kicks and punches into Sami Zayn was brutal to watch, and she imagined it was more brutal to experience firsthand. The worst part of it was that Sami was a fighter, meaning he'd just keep getting up to take more fists, more boots. It happened too often for the blonde's liking, the thought of Sami in danger causing her distress that she couldn't show, especially in front of Dana.
The clueless idiot.
"Look at him try to struggle. It's so cute how he thinks he actually has a chance."
Every time she and Dana watched one of Sami's matches backstage, it was the same old song and dance. Sami would try to be the hero, Dana would mock him as he failed, and Charlotte forced herself to hide her anger. After all, what could she really do - admit to having feelings for Sami Zayn? Not in this lifetime. Charlotte had no problem coming to terms with the fact that, yes, she did like Sami. Charlotte wasn't sure if it was even possible to maintain a relationship in this business. There were some very lucky ones - the Bellas, for starters - but they were the exception. If anyone ever found out about her feelings for Sami, it'd be a nightmare going forward. The thought of Dana spontaneously reuniting with The Club to physically break Sami made her ill. She trusted Dana, but any woman would jump at the chance to edge their way into a Women's Championship match, and that included her protege. Charlotte was convinced that Nia might be able to squash Sami if she wanted to.
More importantly than that, he was just so nice, so kindhearted. It only took one conversation with the guy to realize that him being a lovable goofball was just his personality all of the time. But Charlotte had recently finished crusading against two of the most adored and popular women on the roster. She berated the audience on multiple occasions. She yelled at her own father to leave her life, and though they later reconciled, it still made her seem heartless.
How could anyone like a person that everyone else deemed to be heartless? No. This had to be kept secret.
"See, Char. This is why losers need to stay in their place, right?"
Charlotte watched the screen in front of her, the box showing Sami limping up the ramp. Kevin had done a number on him once more.
"Dana."
"Yeah?"
"Take a hike."
"Huh?"
Charlotte had to control herself - she couldn't allow herself to get irrationally angry at Dana, lest she risk having to confess to her what she's been feeling.
"Just… go to the nearest store and grab me some carbonated water."
"But I have some water right here!"
Dana pulled a rather full bottle of water from her gym bag, causing Charlotte to groan in frustration. God, what did it take to get rid of this woman for a measly twenty minutes?
"I am a queen, Dana. I need a newly bought, sealed bottle of car-bo-nat-ed water in my hands. If I get germs, whose fault is that going to be, mine? No, yours. Then you'll have to explain to Foley why Raw's greatest superstar is out with the flu. Do you want that on your conscience?"
Even Charlotte had to admit that she was laying it on a bit thick, but Dana needed to be scared into doing things. Veiled threats and hypothetical scenarios of doom and gloom seemed to get the woman's blood pumping. Dana would be hovering about her person forever otherwise.
"N-No! I'll go right now! Sorry, it won't happen again!"
"Make sure of it. Go."
Without another word, Dana sprinted off to the parking lot. Good, Charlotte thought. Now was the perfect time to pay Sami a visit. If anything, she could at least see if he was in one piece with her own two eyes, the post-match assault from Owens leaving a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She hated how soft Sami made her - hated how emotional watching his matches made her get. She was supposed to be ruling this brand with an iron fist, but this guy that donned the same outfit a grandfather would wear to a golf tournament somehow made her throw those plans out the window.
She gave a quick peek around the hall before entering the trainer's room. It was relatively empty, the trainer having likely stepped out for a few, the only other occupant aside from herself being the man that she wanted to see. He held a bag of ice firmly on his left shoulder, his body clearly suffering from the effects of his match. Still, Charlotte nearly turned away when his eyes locked with hers.
"Charlotte? You're still here?"
"I thought I'd stay around and make sure you're not beating yourself up over your loss. Owens did that enough."
Sami chuckled, then winced immediately after. If laughing was too much for him, Charlotte could only imagine how his muscles would react in the morning.
"It's nice to know that you were preemptively prepared for my loss."
"I didn't mean it like that. It's just that, you know, you get beat up a lot."
"That tends to be Kev's MO."
"So why do you keep trying? Owens beats you up. Braun beats you up. You're going to be a puddle of nothing soon."
Charlotte hadn't meant for that to sound so pessimistic - she was way too concerned for his well-being - but it didn't bother Sami, from what she could tell. He simply shrugged his shoulders, to the best of his ability, before giving Charlotte an answer.
"Somebody has to stand up to those guys. Might as well be me."
"Can't you just let Roman do his Roman thing and take care of it?"
"I gotta say, while I am glad that you've been keeping me company lately, your 'pep talks' need some work."
Charlotte scoffed, before walking over to Sami, sitting beside him in an unoccupied chair. She swatted away Sami's hand that was steadily holding the ice in place, replacing it with her own. Sami seemed surprised by this action, but made no move to stop it.
"Where's Dana?"
Charlotte rolled her eyes. Why on earth was Sami asking about Dana? He was having his wounds attended to by her, the Women's Champion! She had half a mind to toss Sami onto the ground herself!
"That idiot? I sent her to run some errands."
"That seems kinda harsh."
"Yeah well, I wasn't going to let her come with me. She basically cheered for Owens to destroy you."
"Okay, now I feel a smidge less bad for her. I still think you should lighten up."
Charlotte struggled to catch any of what was just said to her, her focus primarily on icing Sami's arm. She hadn't noticed it before, but despite his smaller stature compared to the rest of the male roster, Sami was pretty muscular. She gently trailed a thumb over his bicep. It felt right and... Ugh, what was she doing? She was acting like a lovesick teenager. She needed to calm down. Fortunately, Sami paid this action little heed, allowing her ample time to process what he'd said.
"Lighten up. Seriously?"
"What?"
"Do you know how many of these women I have to deal with? They're always getting in my way, acting like they're better than me."
"Don't you think - and I'm saying this as politely as possible - all of that could be attributed to you being kinda nasty to them?"
"They need to know their place."
"I think you'd have more friends and less enemies if you toned it down on the whole 'royalty' business."
She felt Sami fidget beneath her fingertips. She hated how nice Sami was - hated that she loved it - and couldn't fathom how he was able to maintain such an upbeat attitude about everything. If she wasn't the best, she was the worst, and she wasn't going to let anyone think that they were better than her. It was strange that Sami, and everyone else, didn't share the same mindset. Why did he try so hard then, if not to cement himself as the absolute best? Why wasn't he willing to put other people in their place, like she was?
Charlotte knew, though. It was just in Sami's nature. He wanted to be the best, but he wanted to do it in the way that allowed him to retain his kindhearted nature. This is why, Charlotte accepted, they would never work together. Sami was always incredible that way, in the way that she could never be.
"I can't be a goody-goody."
"Why not?"
"Because then I'd have to be lame like you."
That earned her another chuckle from Sami. Her hand was freezing, but this was probably the closest she'd ever get to him. If only she was as confident about this as she was her athleticism, and everything else.
"Besides, you're the only person that I really tolerate. You're not judgmental."
"That's good, because I really enjoy these talks. Seeing you had been the one good part of my night lately. So, thanks."
Though Sami likely did it on impulse, the way he just suddenly placed his hand over hers made Charlotte's spine tingle. She stared at him nervously, fighting every urge in her body that told her to throw herself at him. She fought the urge to latch her arms around his neck, and pull him closer. She fought the urge to crash her lips into his, closing what little space separated them.
She didn't fight hard enough.
Before Sami knew what hit him, Charlotte's lips were meeting his. He barely had time to think, barely had time to wonder, before he returned the kiss, the act causing Charlotte to smile widely. Then, without warning, Charlotte shoved him back, a look of panic on her face, before bolting away from him altogether.
"No no no no, this can't happen."
"Um, did I... did I do something wrong there? I mean, I know I'm not the best kisser-"
"No. I-It wasn't the kiss. We're just too different. Ugh, why do you have to be so nice?"
"Sorry? I think."
Charlotte sighed. There was no way Sami would understand her feelings of apprehension. Heck, she wasn't even sure if she understood her own feelings.
"We're too different. You're this lovable, nice guy, and I'm the WWE's evil queen. That's how most people see us. It can't work. I'm not a 'nice' girl."
Charlotte didn't want to look in his direction - she could only picture the look on his face, or rather didn't want to picture it - but was fully aware of his person approaching hers. Awkwardly, in that typical Sami Zayn fashion that she adored, he wrapped his arms around her waist, before locking lips with her again. Much like the last, Charlotte smiled widely between their motions. This time, however, the smile didn't fade when when they broke apart.
"I think you're nice too."
"Hah. Liar."
"I'm being honest! Other people might not think so, but you've always been caring to me. You've had every opportunity to ditch me, but you stood here and iced my arm for me. No one else comes to check on me after my matches just to make sure I can walk properly. I get to see the Charlotte that nobody else sees - the sweet Charlotte - and that's all that matters to me. And well, it helps that you're easy on the eyes too."
Charlotte wasn't going to cry, but to say that she wasn't over the moon with happiness would be an understatement. Charlotte wasn't a 'nice' girl, but she always cared about Sami more than she did most others, and that was enough for him.
"So, does this make you a king now?"
"Yikes. I don't know - I don't think I have it in me to rule."
"You're right. You're way too nice for that."
End