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TAPED UP HEARTS

It started with wrist tape. Sami had run out and it wasn't long until his match. He could wrestle without but he'd really be feeling it later. He grimaced; thinking about wrist sprain after a match in Japan. He couldn't find any white tape in the brand he liked either. Everyone was out or not passing any on to him. People like Adrian sneered at him for even looking at them. There was a pang deep in Sami's chest but he couldn't not ask and honestly he couldn't look away. It didn't matter because Adrian had already stormed off.

Adrian had changed. Kevin kept changing. Sami sighed and sat down, running fingers through his hair. He needed a haircut and...and there was now tape in his bag. He could see it, peeking out of an open side pocket, deliberately placed to be seen. Slowly, Sami reached down and hooked the roll out. It was unused, freshly bought apparently, and in his bag.

Sami stared. He never kept tape in the side pocket.

Sami sighed with relief when he pulled into the gas station. He'd been riding with American Alpha since moving brands because they hung out together at the gym and at a lot of diners and he and Chad liked talking ice hockey. But Jason and Chad were quiet tonight and Chad was looking tense about something. Chad was never this quiet and Jason was staring at him like…well, it was a look Sami recognized.

He tried not to shiver too much. He was getting way too much déjà-vu.

He pumped gas as quick as he could and then headed in to pay up and grab something for the road. Catering had been great as always at the show but that'd been hours ago and now Sami was hungry, specifically for comfort food. He thought wistful of tabouleh the way his mom made it and grilled halloumi and...and then turned to the shelves ruefully.

Of course they were right out of Baby Ruths. Sami touched a finger to the lip of the empty cardboard box and moved on. He thought about journeys when he'd picked up Reeses for Cass and Sour Patches for Enzo, who'd always complained about the colors he'd gotten and Cass had almost always swapped some of his candy for Enzo's and they'd argued all the way but Sami had never turned up the radio to drown them out.

He'd always enjoyed how much Adrian had liked trying out different Hershey flavors; how expressive it'd made his mouth. Did he still...?

Sami was suddenly aware of how dry his mouth and throat felt; wow, how long had he been standing here? He cleared his throat, ignoring the fast beat of his heart, and picked up some Hersheys and Dr Pepper for Jason and Chad. When he looked out into the forecourt, he could just see the backseat of the car; their heads were canting close and Jason was holding his headphones in one hand, all bunched up.

Sami looked away, just in time to see the gas station door open and close. Huh, he hadn't even noticed anyone else was there. When he looked down at the snacks again with a gusty sigh, his eye caught sight of two Baby Ruths, right there in the cardboard box, where there hadn't been any before. A couple of cars were now leaving the gas station but he couldn't make out who was driving.

The Baby Ruths had tasted good. Well, one of them had. Sami was saving the other, like it mattered somehow. He had Corbin gunning for him and he should have been able to focus on that, on proving everyone who still doubted him wrong. He tried not to think about how he and Kevin were sharing the same brand again, about whether it was better or worse than being separated, but sometimes he couldn't help it.

All too often, he went to sleep with a really bad stomach ache.

It should have made him feel better, the unexpected and inexplicable gifts. There wasn't just free wrist tape and unexpected chocolate; there was a copy of the match listings when Sami couldn't get near the one tacked up on the wall, his copy of …And Out Come The Wolves by Rancid that he thought he'd lost a month back (he'd recognize the sticker on the CD spine anywhere, he remembered crumbling both corners), a thick dark green towel when the one he'd been carrying around started to really give up.

It did make Sami feel good – someone was thinking about him, really putting thought into what he needed. It didn't feel frivolous. But every time Sami started collecting wins in the ring, he got cut down and it felt like he was starting all over again, again. That took his attention. The fans still cheered, no one was booing him. And yet…

He had friends; he had people he could call and talk to. He had scars too and Kevin had said that Sami never learned.

He missed…

Someone was in the locker room doorway. Sami had been sitting there a while, in fact everyone else had left. When he turned to look, Adrian stared back. His hair was all tied back and he was wearing his glasses and a polo shirt with jeans. He could have been walking into the NXT locker room, only the Cruiserweight title was draped over his shoulder and his eyes were hard.

There was that pang again.

Adrian didn't say anything; he just stared. Sami didn't look away because he'd asked Adrian before what had happened, why he'd changed. The answer had been really familiar – Adrian had decided to do whatever was necessary to get the success and gold he deserved. He'd waited long enough.

Sami had won gold off of Adrian down in NXT. They'd celebrated Sami's title win together in hospital after Kevin had ruined Sami's night. Adrian had gotten chocolate out of a vending machine and really bad soda and he'd sat on Sami's bed and had joked about his feet not reaching the floor. He might have kissed Sami, tasting of peanuts and caramel, but Sami had been on heavy painkillers and he still didn't know which memories to trust. It was something else that bothered him and his stomach late at night.

He wanted to know if Adrian did really taste like that.

There was something in Adrian's gaze. Sami thought about two heads close together and too much quiet.

There was a crinkle and a candy bar landed in his lap. He didn't need to look down. He watched as Adrian left.

The next time they shared a show, Sami made sure that Hersheys kisses (Hugs and a lot of Cherry Cordial) were placed in Adrian's bag. He made sure that Adrian saw him.

-the end