One-shot: Find Me


Brief Description: She needed his comfort, his love, and his tenderness. He needed her scent, her laughter, and her happiness. A one-shot dedicated to two individuals meant for each other.


Author's Note: I thought of this cute little idea for a one-shot and I wrote it in about ten to fifteen minutes, so I hope y'all enjoy this one! By the way, the one-shot and title is based off of the song 'Find Me' by Boyce Avenue. It's a great song for everyone to listen and appreciate.


'Twas a cold winter night, just days after New Year's, and all was still and calm. It was long past midnight, but one man was still awake, lounging by the fireplace with a mug of steaming eggnog in between his shivering hands. The flames by the fireplace caused a similar effect in his piercing green eyes, as he watched them devour that thick log of firewood.

Wade Barrett had been sitting there for what felt like hours, but he wasn't there to simply pass time. The flames of orange and purple reminded him of a passion, a passion that he felt inside of him for the longest time. It was a passion that only he could feel for something that he couldn't have.

It was a passion for a woman.

It wasn't just any passion, though. This passion was what he felt for this particular woman, the woman he so desired for years. He couldn't have her; the fact that he couldn't have her left him scorned, but wanting her even more. For the entire three years she'd been married to another man, Wade's desire for her fueled to the point of an inferno.

He'd first fallen for her when a friend of his introduced them to each other at a Halloween party. He remembered that very day how they instantly clicked and spent the entire night doing nothing but hanging out with each other. He remembered when someone had snuck a box filled with vodka and spiked the drinks, but he wasn't high on alcohol. He was high on his newest friend.

They remained close in the next couple of years, but when she happily announced her engagement to a lawyer she'd met at a bar, his heart ripped into two. And when the wedding bells rang, he wished he'd confessed his true feelings for her before she was no longer within his reach. He thought he'd completely lost her until recently, just three months ago.

He'd tried contacting her over and over again, whether via phone, email, or Facebook. It got to the point where her husband had actually called him back using her phone and ordered him to stay away from her. That was when Wade sensed something was wrong with her, but the problem was he didn't know what was really going on. However, he did have a slight idea via her occasional chances of secretly texting him.

The last time she'd managed to contact him was three months ago, when she was able to borrow a friend's phone while her husband was away and text him. All he knew from her short messages were that her husband abused her and often disappeared unexpectedly. She wanted to come visit him but feared her husband would find out and slap a restraining order on him. Wade wished there was something he could do. As much as he wanted to personally find her husband and beat the snot out of him, he knew it wasn't going to do him justice, especially since the man was one of the top lawyers in the United Kingdom and could easily send him to jail.

Wade was just reflecting on the many ways to murder that loser of a husband when the doorbell rang. He was shocked to find Riadne Waller, the woman he'd been dreaming about for years, standing at his doorstep with a small suitcase in one hand and the other clutching her coat tightly. Everything except her stunning blue eyes were hidden underneath layers of winter clothing. He hurriedly ushered her in, but still he could not believe she'd managed to find him.

"Riadne…how did you find me?" inquired Wade, as he prepared her a mug of eggnog and gave her his fleece blanket to get warm.

"I guessed you still lived in the same apartment from when we graduated from university," replied Riadne. When she'd gotten warm, she removed her mittens, scarf, and pea coat. Wade nearly died of shock when he saw the purplish bruises around her neck and the red marks on her arms.

"Riadne…" her name fell from his lips, "did he…"

"Yes, he did," said Riadne, trembling. She unsuccessfully tried to hold back a sob, but Wade wanted nothing more at that moment to find that douchebag of a husband and kill him. The man didn't deserve to breathe oxygen if he dared to hurt his Riadne.

"Does it hurt, love?" he asked in a worried whisper.

"No, I'm quite used to them," she admitted. Wade's eyes shot wide open.

"You mean…"

"Yes, Wade. When I said he abused me, I didn't mean just verbally." Riadne had burst into tears, throwing herself into Wade's arms.

"That bastard…I swear I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!" roared Wade angrily. Fuck the law, fuck the authorities; he didn't give a damn if he was going to murder one of the most respected lawyers in the United Kingdom.

"Wade, calm down," Riadne reached out to touch his cheek. Wade instantly calmed at the touch of her smooth skin against his cheek. His eyes softened as he looked into Riadne's.

"I swear, love, I will find him and kill him for everything he's done to you," Wade tried to control himself, he really did. Anyone who dared to lay a finger on Riadne would have to face him first. And he was angry with himself for not being there for Riadne when she needed him the most, "I wish I'd been there for you. I wish I'd protected you, comforted you, held you in my arms when you needed me the most…"

"Wade," she whispered, looking up at him with doe eyes, "you've done everything that you just said you wished you'd done."

"But I didn't talk to you—" Riadne pressed a finger to Wade's lips, silencing him.

"No, you remembered me," said Riadne, "you remembered us."

"As friends?" inquired Wade.

"No," corrected Riadne, "more than just friends. It's always been that way, hasn't it?"

Wade's breath stopped. Was Riadne suggesting that she'd felt the same way about him all this time? All this time when they had been friends from the very start?

"Riadne…"

"Wade, I wish I'd told you this years ago, but I've always wanted us to be more than just friends," confessed Riadne, "with every day we spent together I dreamed that we would fall in love and become a couple. I dreamed of the day we would get married and live a life together. I dreamed of the day you said you liked me back too, but I was scared."

"Scared of what?" asked Wade, stunned at Riadne's confession, but inside he was cheering like a schoolboy.

"I was scared that you would reject me and end our friendship," admitted Riadne, "so I tried to talk myself out of us by marrying another man, to tell myself that you didn't love me the way I love you, but I guess that didn't work."

"Riadne," Wade had to tell her. She had basically poured out her feelings to him and she wanted him to do the same. She had told him she loved him. He had to do the same. He'd been waiting to do the same for years. "I should have told you this years ago too…I love you."

The tears had come back. But this time, Riadne's tears were not of sadness, but rather, of happiness.

"R-r-really?" she gasped.

"I remember when you first walked into the classroom that day; you simply took my breath away," began Wade, "I remember that one night we attended the Joss Stone concert and we almost kissed by your doorstep. Since the day I first met you, Riadne, I've been crazy about you. I'd thought about you every day, and like you, I did dream of the day we'd fall in love and finally be together as a couple. When you announced your engagement I truly thought you'd moved on and didn't feel the same way about me; I didn't attend the wedding because I couldn't bear to see you exchanging vows with another man. I wanted to help you when you needed me, Riadne. I wanted to do everything in my power to help you get away from your nightmare of a husband. And now that you're here and you've finally left him, I want to be the one who will treat you like a queen, love you and cherish you, to hold your hand as you give birth to our children. I love you, Riadne. I've loved you all this time."

"I guess we both hadn't realized it till now," Riadne giggled softly, as she snuggled up next to Wade on the couch. Her lips were met with a spellbinding kiss, and it didn't take long before they took it to the next level, all in the warmth and comfort of his home on a cold winter's night.