Chapter 1

Power Couple

So it's true when people say that time can often fly by without you realizing it... Brad Maddox couldn't agree more with that.

A year had passed after he had entered a relationship with the WWE's biggest party animal Adam Rose and from the very beginning, the former General Manager of Raw knew that this relationship was going to be much different than all the other relationships he had in his past. Adam was the first man he ever fell in love with and he wanted him to be the only person in his love life. All those nutty fangirls who tweeted their undying love (which they would most likely abandon in a week of two after they'd lay eyes on another wrestler) to him while they were well aware of his sexuality could all drop off the edge of the Earth for all Brad cared.

Sitting backstage, Brad stared at the large TV that was attached on the wall, occasionally taking a sip of his bottle of water. Tonight there was another live show on Raw and this time, his boyfriend Adam was scheduled to have a match. He had to wrestle against Rusev, a wrestler with a higher status, the chance that the party animal would lose was high, but Brad was glad for Adam that he could have at least a match. And hell, even if he would lose... the former General Manager would be proud of him. He was putting his body at risk almost every night, that was something to be proud of for sure.

Brad watched as Adam attempted to perform his finishing move, the Party Foul, which was cut short when Rusev caught him with his own finisher, forcing the party animal to submit and tap out. The crowd emitted a mixture of cheering and booing as the bell rang five times. Rusev's theme song echoed throughout the entire arena, Brad could hear it all the way from where he was standing, it was that loud. Summer Rae, Rusev's new companion, grinned from ear to ear and clapped her hands. Lana had a far more better chemistry with the Bulgarian wrestler than Summer, if you'd ask Brad.

The former General Manager didn't feel any disappointment when he saw Adam hobbled towards the ramp in defeat. No, it was just like he predicted to feel; pride.

'Hey, Brad!'

A familiar voice made Brad look up in surprise. A blonde woman with pink streaks in her hair accompanied by a tall man with a bald head, both dressed in fancy clothing, approached the former General Manager of Raw. It were Cesaro and Natalya. Brad noticed the Canadian Diva looked and acted a lot more happier now that she was dating the Swiss, she wasn't like this at all back when she was married to Tyson. Everyone here backstage knew about the divorce, everyone knew Natalya left Tyson for Cesaro. But hell, who could actually blame her? Tyson treated his wife like dirt, it was because of him Natalya often walked through the backstage hallways with tears in her eyes. But despite everything that had happened, Brad had heard that the two broke off the relationship on good terms. Hell, they even got shared custody for their cats. Thinking about that made Brad want to chuckle and shake his head. Jesus, everything was possible these days...

'Oh hey, Nattie.' the former General Manager said. 'What's up?'

'We are doing fine, thanks!' the Canadian Diva replied. 'We have just finished moving everything into our new home, I bet the cats will love it!'

Brad saw that Cesaro curled the corners of his mouth into a smile, but it was not a mocking one or anything. The Swiss knew how precious the cats were for Natalya, the former General Manager highly doubted they would have any kids in the future; the cats were practically already their children.

Brad nodded. 'I bet they will.'

'So, how are things with you and Adam holding up?' Cesaro asked. 'Is everything okay with you guys?'

The former General Manager of Raw would never forget the day where he and his boyfriend announced their relationship on social media. The news spread like a wildfire, in less than a minute dozens of reactions poured in. Some were positive, others negative, but most of the reactions were positive. And of course it didn't last long before the WWE knew about this as well, but just like they did when Darren came out of the closet, they fully supported the men's sexuality and relationship. Their colleagues didn't see it coming, but they didn't treat them any differently nonetheless. Sometimes a negative comment would appear on Twitter, but Brad and Adam weren't bothered by that all for a long time; in fact, they even laughed about. Those people were just plain ignorant, and if they wanted to remain like that, that was fine. No mean comments would ever separate the two.

'Things are actually going pretty well, thanks for asking that.' Brad said. 'Adam took me to this fancy restaurant when we had a show in Atlanta and we had a great time!'

'We sure did, didn't we Braddy?' a familiar voice with a South-African accent asked behind him, followed by a pair of strong arms wrapping around Brad's chest, pulling him in for a playful hug.

'Ah, Adam!' Brad exclaimed in surprise. Damn, his boyfriend was a pro when it came to sneaking up on him, he knew he loved giving him a sudden hug or kiss by surprise. And even backstage, Adam couldn't help but do it.

'I've been looking for you, babe!' Adam said, giving Brad a quick kiss on his cheek. In the beginning of their relationship, Brad would often blush in surprise when Adam would do something like this public, but now that a year had passed, he had gotten used to this. 'I was worried you had already left!'

'I don't think Brad would ever leave without you, Adam.' Natalya said. 'You wouldn't have to worry about that.'

Brad chuckled. 'You did well out there, Adam. Couldn't be any more proud of you.'

'Glad to hear that.' Adam meant it when he said that; over the past months, he had gone from a mid-carter to a jobber, something every wrestler dreaded. But hell, if Brad would always be proud of him despite the fact that he was losing so many matches... then it wouldn't matter to him at all.

And as long as Braddy was on his side, nothing could break him.

Much to the party animal's relief, Brad's adorable looks had never changed during the time they were dating. He still had the same short, curly brown hair, baby blue eyes and cute tip-tilted nose; he was still the same man he fell in love with last year.

After the show had ended, the wrestlers and Divas had all traveled back to the hotel they would stay in for the night, only to leave for the next show the next day. Lying down in your bed at night was one of the very few moments of rest a wrestler could have, which was why it was possibly the only relaxing moment of the day. And right now, Adam was taking as much advantage of it as possible; this was the only moment where he could spend proper time with his boyfriend.

A year had passed and Adam's love for Brad had only grown stronger. The lovers were lying in their bed in their hotel room, enjoying this peaceful moment they had together. A relaxed smile spread across the party animal's face as he ran his fingers through his boyfriend's hair over and over again; it had a relaxing effect for both men. The former General Manager rested his head against Adam's chest, closing his eyes and letting out a soft sigh. This was absolutely wonderful, the feeling of being so close to Adam's body was indescribable.

'It's crazy, isn't it?' the Former General Manager suddenly asked.

The party animal briefly is eyes in confusion and stopped touching the former General Manager's hair. 'Huh? What's crazy?'

Brad opened his eyes and glanced up at his boyfriend. 'One year has already passed in the blink of an eye, it went by so fast... it's actually pretty crazy, if you think about it.'

'You're right about that...' It was true what Brad said. It felt like this past year had gone by with the speed of light and in all this time, they had done so much together. They had moved into their new place together, they went on romantic dates, they had traveled all over the country to perform for huge crowds in sold-out arenas and they had been making plans for the future. Would they still be with the WWE in a couple of years? That could happen, with a bit of luck. But if one of their contracts would expire or the WWE would promptly release one of them, it would be much harder to spend time together.

And that's why Brad and Adam valued all the time they had together.

'I hope many other years will follow, Braddy.' Adam said. 'Because honestly... dating you is the best thing that has ever happened to me.'

Hearing those words was enough to make Brad's chest feel like it was glowing from the inside. He scooted a bit closer to the party animal and planted a gentle kiss on his lips. No matter how many times he would kiss him, every kiss would still feel warm and loving. Adam closed his eyes and let out a soft hum of satisfaction.

Brad broke the kiss and placed his cheek back on Adam's chest, smiling from ear to ear.

'I could say the same thing, Adam.'