Finishing Moves

Tyson winces as he settles onto the bench in his locker room—he's one of the few stars here who are allowed to have one. Adrian has one, being champion, and Charlotte now has her own as well. The Ascension also have one, of course, and Tyson is profoundly glad for this because it means they'll stay locked away in their room until they have to come out, and they're too frightening for him to want them anywhere but locked up in their room until it's time for them to wrestle.

He's still feeling the after-effects of Adrian's Red Arrow; their rematch was stellar, better than their first maybe. All thanks to Natalya. God, he hates that the fissure of their marriage must be worked into a storyline between them because he just wants all of this to end.

It doesn't help that the world knows they've divorcing, that it's all a matter of the papers properly going through. As for having revealed his relationship with Adrian? He hasn't, not yet, but he's sure Corey Graves will find a way to make insensitive fun of this as well.

When someone knocks on the door, he doesn't bother getting up. "It's unlocked. Come on it."

"I could've been Viktor and Konnor, you know." It's Sami, of course. "Are you doing okay?"

"I'm fine. This is just a profound amount of bullshit." Which is a nice way to put it, but he's feeling a little generous because no one will be able to beat his matches with Adrian. Ever.

Sami has become quite friendly towards him since he announced the divorce to the locker room, figuring it was better to be upfront with them so it didn't come back to bite him in the ass later on. In a business as personal as this one, it was bound to get out one way or another and he knew Natalya wouldn't deny it when people started asking her about it. He doesn't approve of trying to hide things like this—even if privacy is sometimes preferred, being upfront about things makes it so much easier when the bosses find out. Trying to hide it only makes things worse because, nine times out of ten, personal relationships rupturing are blamed on the business and it's nice if the people involved just shake their heads and say the WWE had nothing to do with it.

His fellow Canadian wrestler lowers himself down on the bench as well, gentle patting Tyson's shoulder; he no doubt knows the ache from the Red Arrow is still present. "If it helps, Nattie's pissed about it, too. I don't think Hunter's quite grasped the concept of not dragging certain personal trouble into the ring and trying to make money off of it, but you know how he can be."

Not that it makes it any better, and Sami's tone is proof of that. Tyson wishes it doesn't have to be this way, that he and Natalya can just go their separate ways and never have to be pushed on one another again, but he knows better than to believe that. What he wants, if anything, is for his current relationship to be the one that gets focus. Adrian has been nothing if not perfect to him since all of this started, taking him in the night Natalya asked him to sign the papers and never once making him feel bad about any of it. And he deserves to feel bad for betraying her trust and using her friendships with the other Divas to encourage her to go out with them, spend the night with them, if only to give him more time to spend with his highflying Geordie. He can only imagine how it feels for her to stand ringside and help Adrian retain his championship knowing that, at the end of the day, Adrian also retained her husband. Ex-husband. And she's his ex-wife. Funny how he once wished he'd met Adrian first so he didn't have to worry about hurting Natalya, and now he can't stop thinking of them as husband and wife. Real fucking knee-slapper.

"She deserves to be angry. She doesn't deserve this storyline." Tyson's hands clench into fists. "She had to help him. Why would Hunter do that to her? After what I did to her?"

"Hunter doesn't know that part yet. All he knows is that you're getting divorced. Maybe you should let him know about being with Adrian so he won't pair you two up and have Natalya in either of your corners." The suggestion is gentle; Sami obviously knows he's unstable.

He is unstable, and it hurts to admit that, but it's like all of the progress they've made apart is being dashed by this fucking storyline. After heading to Adrian's, Tyson spent the rest of the night in tears struggling to apologize to Adrian for dragging him into this, apologizing to Natalya who wasn't even there, apologizing to everyone but himself because he's unintentionally dragged so many people into this just because they have so many mutual friends. Mutual friends who are going to hate him when he tells everyone he's in a relationship with Adrian.

Tyson takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. "If I do that, he wouldn't even consider writing me into a storyline with Adrian. How fucked up can you get, you know?"

"I know." Sami squeezes his shoulder. "Believe me, I know. How're things with Adrian?"

"Fucking fantastic. Couldn't you tell by the way the match went?" Tyson asks.

Sami grins at him and for once, Tyson finds the strength to smile back. Much as he hates the way this storyline is going, his matches with Adrian have been nearly flawless and all he wants to do is have more. They've set a new standard for the top tier of NXT and they know it; it'll be up to guys like Tyler and Corey, and even Sami, to rise to that standard and then surpass it.

Another voice from the doorway sounds, and maybe Tyson should learn to lock it. "Mind if I join in and get a little time with my boyfriend, or did you want to just keep him, Sami?"

Adrian. Tyson feels a stupid goofy smile stretch across his face at the sound of the Geordie's noticeable accent and stands to wave him into the room and also get a hug. The fact he comes with Tyler Breeze attached is worth a chuckle since the two of them are such an intriguing pair in that there is some real dislike there, but it's made them like each other anyway. And pretty boy has already put himself back together for the evening, looking just as flawless and yet carelessly so as he does every day when he walks into the arena. He might be the biggest prima donna Tyson's ever met, but he's also the one who does it the best, so it all evens out.

"I thought we'd all go out to dinner to celebrate a good, solid match and maybe just to wind down after all the… Drama going on." Adrian flashes him a smile when he steps back, though he can't go far because Tyson's arms are still tight around him. "Or did the Arrow rough you up too much? There's not much I can do to soften it on the way down, unfortunately."

He can't, and that's not a problem; Justin Gabriel can't soften his four-fifty splash on the way down, either, so it's not like a corkscrewing version of that would be easier. Tyson assures him he's fine, that if they'll wait outside the door, he'll jump in the shower real quick to scrub off the sweat and grime and then they can go out somewhere. Of course, Adrian agrees, and they share a brief kiss just slightly longer than a peck before Adrian escorts himself out, taking Tyler and Sami with him, and there's no missing the looks of animosity between the latter two.

Things are almost back to normal. Almost. There's just the matter of this storyline standing in the way of things settling down, but with any luck, Tyson can get it through Hunter's mind that this needs to not happen. That if anyone is going to be in Tyson's corner, it'll be Adrian Neville, and that is that. Of course, he doubts Hunter will listen. But he also knows he has to try.

A/N: I cannot honestly convey my love for Adrian Neville and Tyson Kidd in words. Because there are no words. Just… God. Can we just… Fuck, I can't. This is, of course, the sequel to Breaking Orbit. If you read this without that, then I can't be blamed if you're not entirely sure what's going on.