Disclaimer: I do not own the real people or characters in this story. The characters belong to the WWE, and the real people own themselves. This story will contain some swearing and I guess some adult situations, but it should be pretty tame, so read at your own discretion.
A/N: Okay, so I'm just obsessed with AJ and Dolph right now, and it's coming out creatively. Anyways, Dolph did an interview last week while in Cleveland, and he said that he, Big E, and AJ were all traveling together, and had driven from Kalamazoo to Cleveland. This story is an interpretation of what could have happened on that road trip. This does lean to real life and storylines as scripted, but I just decided to use their ring names to make it easier.
Anyways, I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review if you want me to continue. And I'm an adult, I can handle brutality, so be honest! :)
"I don't think I've ever seen anyone fall asleep so fast."
AJ giggled, but tried to keep it quiet. "He must not have slept much last night."
"I guess not," Dolph said, looking in his rearview mirror at Big E, who was fast asleep in the backseat. His head was leaning against the window and he was actually snoring softly, which only made his two companions laugh even harder. "So I guess I'll be stuck driving the entire four hours."
"No, we can switch off, I'm good," AJ told him, "if you need me to take over at any point, I definitely can. I mean, I'm used to driving with a buddy."
"I usually like to drive alone so I'll probably be good," he glanced over at her to give her a brief smile before he turned his eyes back onto the road. "Not that I mind this situation right now."
"Nice save," she pursed her lips as she stared out onto the road for a moment. It was late and the roads were pretty much deserted. They'd had a late dinner after the event then had spent some time getting snacks for their trip so by the time they actually got onto the road, it was past midnight. "Why do you like to drive alone?"
"I don't know, gives me time to think, I guess," Dolph said, "and nobody is more entertaining than I am so I keep myself happy."
"Drop the cocky attitude," AJ told him, lightly punching him in the shoulder. He pretended to wince, but her small fists were probably like a pillow hitting his arm after he got pummeled every night for a living. "What do you like to think about, real answers only, please?"
He thought about it for a moment even though he knew the answer already. Maybe he was contemplating whether or not he wanted to divulge the information to the petite brunette. They'd certainly gotten closer since their storyline began together, but this would be opening himself up in a way that he hadn't before, and that was a little scary. But then, wasn't it always scary when you opened yourself up to someone?
The two of them had known about the storyline since late October, not the logistics, but that they would be paired together. It seemed inevitable, they were told, that their arguing would lead to something. It seemed a little bit on the clichéd side when they heard it. They were both long-time wrestling fans, they'd see this happen time and time again. Chris Jericho and Stephanie McMahon hating each other for years then turning business partners, Christian and Trish fighting over Chris Jericho only to reveal they were a couple, Edge and Lita on opposing sides of a tag team war only to admit they were having an affair (except that was the truth). Still, this was the story they were given, and they were both intent on making it work.
The first couple weeks of their coupling had been rocky for both. They'd played it off well enough, but it was awkward, and having not made out with that much vigor in front of the cameras, both of them looked like they were trying to eat each other's faces. They'd found their groove now, and they'd found some common ground in their real lives and it was showing on television. But television was where his thoughts were often held.
"Mostly how I can be a bigger presence in the company," he finally admitted, squinting his eyes a little as he thought out his words. "I feel like I'm on the cusp, but I'm not there yet. It's the whole glass ceiling thing."
"You want to break through, I get that," AJ nodded. "Do you…do you feel like we saddled you in any way?"
He was surprised she would ask that so bluntly. AJ had a way of being awkward, so to hear her ask him something so serious with the tone of voice she was using, he found there was yet another facet to her personality. He liked making new discoveries about her. She deserved the truth either way though, "At first, yes. I mean, you can't really blame me, right? After two years with Vickie, I was just…I thought it was my time to break out."
"I completely understand," AJ said, "when they were bouncing me around from Daniel to Punk to Kane to Punk and Daniel at the same time to Cena, I just kept thinking, what if I could just be a female wrestler?"
"So then I can ask you the same thing, do you feel saddled with me?"
"You didn't finish answering me," she retorted, sitting up in her seat straighter, but she still looked small enough to fit in his pocket. Big E felt more comfortable in the large backseat so AJ was now being dwarfed in the front seat. "You have to answer me first before I answer you."
"So what is this, 20 questions now?"
"We need to get to know each other," she told him, reaching out to him again, but not to punch him, instead to squeeze his arm. "Wow, your hoodie is so soft, I'm going to steal it once you take it off."
"You'd drown in it."
"I'd be warm," she told him, running her hand up and down it for a second. "Yeah, totally going to steal it then I'll make you wear my cardigan."
"If you want it ripped, sure," he told her. "So we need to get to know each other?"
"Uh huh," she nodded enthusiastically. "We're in this together, well, us and E, but he's the loser who fell asleep on us. So the two of us will have to find out everything about each other and we'll freak him out by how well we suddenly know each other."
"That's the only reason?" he laughed.
"Well, no, I mean, look at us, we're travel buddies now, and I'm assuming this is going to be permanent, unless you want to be a lone wolf again, do you want to be a lone wolf again?" she asked him. "All by yourself, eating by yourself, talking to yourself…"
"I want to know what it's like in your brain," he said, "but no, I like traveling with you guys, I mean, so far, one hour in, one of you is passed out in the backseat and the other is like a hyper child."
"Ouch," she told him, "I'm going to choose to move on from that, thank you very much, so come on, you did feel saddled, so what then? Has it changed? I'm not going to be too offended if you still feel saddled by us. I mean, I will probably open the door and roll out of the car at high speeds, but you won't have to feel bad."
"I don't anymore, I like having you by my side," Dolph said. "I know that people have been saying you're holding me back, that I've lost momentum, but I don't want to see it that way. I mean, yeah, we haven't been doing too well lately, but I have to have trust in creative that they know what they're doing. I don't feel like I lose anything with you by my side."
"That's fair," she said, "I didn't ever feel saddled by you because I just think it's different for female wrestlers. I just wish I could be more like a Lita, you know, be with a guy, but wrestle as well, but it may be coming. I mean, I did film the match for Saturday Morning Slam, but I'd like more like that."
"You should tell them. You probably have more clout than I do, I mean, you were in the most high profile spot during the summer," he pointed out.
"You're Mr. Money in the Bank," she reminded him. "That means you have a spot, a good one. We just have to be patient, we both know with all of the returns, we were going to get pushed back, it sucks, but it is what it is."
"Yeah," he said, "I just wish it wasn't that way. I wish I was in the position where I could demand things. I'm not, but I wish I could be, I guess I think of ways that I can do that."
"You'll get there," AJ told him, "You have so much talent you can't go anywhere but up. You're not like…well, I know you're friends with him, but you're not like Zack. I think he has a little bit of novelty that doesn't sit well with the higher-ups, but you have it all."
"Thanks," he told her, turning to watch her for a moment, but she was facing the window again.
"Just the truth," she responded quietly as the car fell into silence, but it wasn't uncomfortable at all. It was actually nice.
This was the first time they were traveling together, and he feared it would be awkward and the conversation stilted, but it wasn't at all. Before E fell asleep, they were all exchanging the dirtiest jokes they knew, with Dolph obviously winning and grossing AJ out to the point where she said she wanted to put on every piece of clothing she brought with her. He knew she was funny, he'd been around her enough times to know that, but he had no idea how funny and sarcastic she could be. He'd finally found a person who could actually go toe-to-toe with him, and to find it in her was a shock, but a pleasant one.
"So do you resent any of the other wrestlers?" AJ asked out of the blue and he nearly swerved the car at the question.
"Wow, you sure do like to just go out guns blazing, don't you?" he wondered.
"Just trying to get to know you better, right?" she shrugged one shoulder, turning back to him. "I mean, I know you say all the time that you don't think John is a great wrestler and all of that, so how much of that is truth?"
"A lot," Dolph said, "and it's not that he's not a good wrestler, he's just not a great one. But you know what, he came in at the right time, he had the right image, and you can't hate a guy for that. I just have to try harder. I know that I can be that guy if they'd let me. The height thing is always going to be my biggest drawback, but I can't change it, and there have been guys, like Jericho, like HBK who have gotten there and not been the biggest guys. I'm athletic and I've got that going for me—"
"Too athletic apparently," she joked, and his lips curved up in a smile and he nodded his head.
"I'm never going to live that one down, am I?" Dolph asked.
"I'm just repeating what I've heard," she giggled as he started to laugh. "I'm sorry, but if one of my exes ever said that about me, I think I'd crawl into a hole and die."
"What can you do?" he flipped his hand over in a universal gesture of 'c'est la vie.' "And there's worse things she could say, at least with this, the legend of Dolph Ziggler grows into something more."
"Oh, the legend, huh?" she asked.
"If you want me to demonstrate right now, I can," he told her.
"With an audience," she jerked her thumb to the backseat.
"Obviously I would pull over," Dolph told her and she threw her head back and laughed. "What? You don't think I could do it?"
"No, it's just, I'm athletic too, I've got abs, I don't think I'd find you too athletic at all," she told him smugly, patting her stomach. "But just this once, we'll pretend like I believe you. How does that sound?"
"Fine, fine, fine," he told her, but he smirked and she slapped him on the arm, "Oww! Watch it, I'm tender from my match. Anyways, back to your question, it's not that I resent him, it's that I want to be that, and I'm striving for it. How about you, resent anyone?"
"Not really, I guess it goes back to getting to wrestle, I want the divas title, but…"
"You're stuck with me," he finished for her.
"I wouldn't say I'm stuck with you, I like being with you."
"You should bring it up with one of the agents," Dolph said, "say that you'd like to wrestle more. Hey, when I become World Champion, you being the Divas Champion would be perfect, we could make them see that."
"That would be pretty cool, actually. We'd be such a power couple."
"Seems like a pipe dream right now."
"We'll start winning again, I'm sure of it."
"It's just…we should be making bigger waves, you know. We should be doing so much more, and I feel like…I just feel like we've been put on the back-burner because of all the guys that came back."
"Hey," AJ was running her hand on his arm again, but this time, it wasn't to feel his hoodie. "We'll get back there, I promise you that. Once everyone leaves, they'll look right to you again. Because you've been here, you've worked your butt off, and they know you deserve it. They better know or else I'll really go crazy AJ on them."
"Thanks," he told her. "You're kind of good at knowing the right thing to say."
"See, you learned a new thing about me."
Dolph glanced at her again, and she was smiling at him, another bright one, the kind that lit up her eyes. He found his mouth turning up nearly against its will. He was starting to really like her smile. In fact, he was kind of starting to like a lot more than just her smile. He'd chalked it up to circumstances for weeks now. They had to kiss at every show, so there was bound to be some lust issues, especially when he essentially traded up from Vickie to AJ. When he kissed Vickie, it very much felt like acting, but kissing AJ…well, it was starting to get comfortable, almost too comfortable. And her touch was starting to be familiar on his skin, and her fingers were starting to find the spots on his scalp that drove him wild.
Suddenly, being in a car with her for three more hours felt like torture.