Title: Surprise
Author: Kora
E-mail: KrazyKora@aol.com or WinterViolet24@aol.com
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: The following characters belong to WWE and all the people and companies who deal with all that legal stuff. I am simply using the characters for my own twisted enjoyment.
Summary: [Austin/Stacy] Stacy Keibler wasn't expecting much for Valentine's Day
Author's Notes: This is swiftly becoming one of my fave pairings
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Stacy Keibler wasn't expecting much for Valentine's Day. She knew she wasn't necessarily seeing a Casanova, so she wasn't expecting anything exceptionally spectacular. Austin wasn't…that type of man. They had had these kinds of arguments before, and when they had had one of their more bigger tiffs, he had sweetly surprised her.
But still…
She wasn't expecting much.
Hell, she wasn't really expecting anything.
She imagined he'd forgotten the whole thing, in fact. And she had no intention of reminding him. So other girls got flowers. So they got candle lit dinners - teddy bears, cards, jewelry. She didn't need any of that, right?
Not even if her friends got it, not even if they bragged to her about it would she let this bother her. She had Austin himself and that was enough…right?
She could spend the day with him, snuggle especially close at some point and if he asked why she could just shrug and say she felt like it. He wouldn't question it. If anything he'd answer with his own shrug and go about his business, not a care in the world.
But she knew deep inside he'd be secretly pleased. He wasn't the kind to say it, but she always felt his body relax more when she eased extra close to him…or tighten with intensity if he was in a certain mood. And when he was in that mood and released that intensity….whew. It was…well….whew!
Just the thought almost made her break out in a sweat, remembering warmed sheets, caressing hands and…
Okay, back to the subject at hand-
So, Valentine's Day was most likely going to be a no-go. She'd get nothing but him and she had resolved that that was enough. More likely than not they'd end up on the couch watching a movie - him entirely oblivious to what day it was.
Or, she thought with a laugh, worse. He'd remember for some odd ball reason, probably at the last minute…like a TV commercial blaring about the holiday would come on, and he'd begin to panic. He'd think she was mad at him and he'd up and run at a dash down to a CVS - buy her some chocolate, a quickly picked card and a crappy stuffed bear.
And she'd take it, giggle, and that'd be that. She'd 'let him off the hook' even though there was nothing to let him off of. She wasn't mad. She wasn't going to get mad. Because she had all ready made up her mind not to care and not to expect anything and every time a flicker of hope came up she immediately squashed it.
She was dealing with Stone Cold Steve Austin here. There was no point in getting her hopes up - she wasn't going to get anything for Valentine's day. Period.
So when the aforementioned day came and Steve showed no signs of knowing or doing anything about it, she kept resolving not to care. She kept squashing down hope after hope.
Every time he left the room and came back empty handed she shoved aside the pang of disappointment. Every time he brought something up and didn't mention what day it was, she kept her mouth shut - not breathing a word.
It wasn't until 10 PM rolled around, the day almost over, that she found herself exploding. Austin had gone out, saying he needed to pick up beer. She cleaned their apartment, silently fuming to herself.
She had resolved not to be upset, not to care - she should be happy he was spending the day with her at all. She could be alone but - dammit! As many times as she put out the flicker of hope it had still been there - despite what she said, what she thought, what she resolved - it was still there.
And he'd done nothing! NOTHING! He didn't even remember the day at all! They'd spent a good chunk of it watching TV and eating chips and guacamole dip. No commercial had blared it was Valentine's day. Nothing had tipped him off. She'd even - despite what she had resolve not to do - attempted to tip him off by giving him a copy of the paper - full of Valentine's day ads and still - nothing!
The anger was stewing in her more and more, rolling to a swift boil. She was fuming so badly she as surprised steam wasn't shooting out her ears. She was tossing about stuff in the living room - cleaning with obvious anger when she heard the front door open.
Austin gave a dry laugh, "Hey honey, you won't believe what I got here."
She gasped, bolting up right, magazines clutched in a death grip in her hands. He got her something after all! She relaxed, a smile blooming on her face as she sat down the magazines, smoothing out their covers with an apologetic hand as she bounced towards the entrance to the living room, waiting for Austin.
He entered, dragging behind him a large cooler and a pack of Budweiser. He deposited the cooler in the living room and looked at her. She looked back at him. Then at the cooler. Then at him again. A tiny squeak left her, "What?"
"The cooler, 'darlin'! Look at it! Don't you remember! This is one of 'em Sudsbuddies! I've been wanting one of these forever! Look! It comes with a chrome tower, Co2 tank, dual gauges, Sankey keg coupler, hoses, drip tray - hell, I even got it in Black Granite and they don't make that color no more! I was out gettin' the beer and saw it on sale in some dime and drop store! It was steal! Now I ain't put in the tank yet, much less the beer so it's empty at the moment but-"
"A cooler?" she asked, voice dripping with venom, arms crossed, "You got a cooler?"
Austin looked at her confused, "Well…yeah. I mean we can't use it tonight when we watch the game but-"
"I can't believe you!" she cried.
Austin's confusion grew, eyebrows drawing together, "What?"
She marched up to him, lips in a tight thin line, "It's VALENTINE'S DAY, you retard! I tried not to get upset, I tried not to care but - Jesus, you bought something for yourself! Steve, I even dropped hints and you didn't-"
"Stace-"
"No! Shut up! I can't believe you! You've done some low things-"
"Stace-"
"You forgot my birthday, I looked aside. You didn't rush to my aid in the ring when Miss Jackie started picking a fight with me, fine-"
"Stace-"
"But this?! I can't overlook you being so selfish as-"
"Stace, open the cooler." Austin said firmly, hands on his hips. His jaw was ticking irritably but it almost seemed…an act. Even though he tried to shield it, Stacy could see through those clear blue eyes….humor.
He was laughing about something, amused…
Now it was her turn to be confused, her throat was slightly stretched from screeching at him and her small mouth fell into a frown, brown eyes wide, startled as she blinked, whispering, "What?"
"Open. The. Cooler." He spaced out slowly.
Still frowning Stacy walked over to the cooler, kneeling down in front of it. She pried it open, the top flapping back silently. She gasped as pink, red, and white helium balloons floated up and out, rising to the ceiling.
Her hands went to her mouth, eyes watering as she saw the inside bed of the cooler was filled with red and white confetti, several objects arranged strategically about it.
There was a champagne bottle and two frosty glasses, a stuffed toy bear wearing a leather jacket and lopsided black plastic shades, a rose between its' teeth, as well as a heart-shaped box of Godiva chocolate. And in the center…oh it couldn't be…
Stacy reached out with shaking hands, withdrawing a long velvet box. Austin had moved stealthily behind her, quiet as a shadow as he flicked on the television. The local broadcast came up, an announcer droning on, "And tonight's weather, partially cloudy, high of 55. Thank you for viewing Channel 2, local broadcast, if you would like to purchase airtime, just let us know at-"
Stacy could bearly hear the man as she held the box, tears threatening to escape as she looked at Austin. He gave a cocky smile, raising one finger to his lips, "Shh, shh - look at the screen, darlin'."
Stacy directed her eyes to the TV to see the programming had changed, the screen black. White words appeared, reading 'This air space and program time purchased by Vince Kennedy McMahon.'
The words faded and Austin appeared on screen, "Am I on? Am I on?"
Once it seemed he got the recognition that he was on, he nodded, holding the microphone more tightly, "So - uh…yeah. Um," he cleared his throat, "I'm not…you know. Into this flashy stuff but…uh. This was Vince's idea - well, actually Linda's as she was the one who brought it up a while ago at one of our meetings and she was the one to paying for this with one'a Vince's checks and-"
Austin shook his head, frustrated as he squeezed the bride of his nose. It was obvious he was embarrassed but at last he relaxed, looking up again, "So - anyway…we're taping this live from the Cowboys Stadium in Texas…took a shitload'a money ta get this secured but aw hell, that's Linda using Vince's money again…anyway, I wanted to do this up right. We're taping this not live naturally, it's…"
He checked his watch, "'Bout midnight here, on February 6th and…um…this is for Stace. From me, Stone Col - um," he swallowed again, still embarrassed, "Steve Austin. Yeah….so…better get to it."
The camera directed its attention to the field. Several Cowboys cheerleaders came dancing by, they executed a few fancy moves, then lined up in a row, one behind the other holding various signs. Stacy giggled as she read them, each obviously going in order one right after the other: 'Sorry I forgot about your BD', 'Hope this makes up', 'Wasn't all my idea, but…', 'Enjoy'.
The cheerleaders parted and fireworks exploded into the sky, a band playing from somewhere and there, written on the fifty yard line were the words, 'Stacy, I love you.' Austin could be heard chuckling from off camera, "They're gonna kill us for what we did ta the field, man…"
The camera finally settled on the fireworks, the band playing as Stacy looked at Austin, tears escaping. He looked rather abashed, rubbing his neck, unable to met her eyes, "Yeah I mean…ya know…wasn't all my idea…I was all ready ta settle for a high school football field but Linda insisted...said it was no trouble and she could afford ta…and only offered 'cause she felt she owed me for kickin' Bischoff's ass so much considerin' what he tried ta do ta her and-"
He let out a breath, even more embarrassed as he realized he was babbling. "I'm not a romanitc fool sap so don't be expectin' any more showboatin' in the future 'cause like I said it wasn't really my idea, I just kinda went with it…and…I mean some of it was me, I might as well take some credit for that but…and it wasn't like I've been planning for weeks or nothin' I mean I don't want ya t-"
Austin had resumed babbling, rubbing his neck more feverishly, unaware that Stacy had gotten to her feet. She marched over and lifted his head up, wrapping her arms around his neck and planting her mouth on top of his.
A surprised murmur escaped him as she drew him as close as humanly possible, her tear-stained wet cheeks rubbing off on his. Austin's strong arms came up around her waist as he crushed her to him, his mouth taking possession of hers.
Her fingers clutched at the simple black cotton of his shirt as she wriggled closer to him. Even though she had done this before - even though she knew in the future she would do it again - she found she still loved the feel of his body against hers, loved the scent of him, the taste of him...
She let him explore her mouth, but made sure to explore his in return, her kisses matching his with a rapacious hunger. The feel of those hands - his hands - so tender and sensitive on her body was almost too much for her as he let them drifted down her back, pressing gently a moment only to slope over her hips, lifting her into the curve of his arousal.
Everything else receded but this. The world itself spun away, leaving just the two of them and this moment and this kiss. Then he peeled her away, cool breeze replacing his warm touch as he leaned his forehead against hers, "You still haven't opened that box."
Stacy seemed to realize that in her haste to kiss him, she had forgotten the long thin velvet box that had been the centerpiece in the bed of the cooler. As much as she didn't want to draw away form him, the box called to her. She'd been too overwhelmed with all he'd offered her before to even think of it…
It wasn't until he laughed that she realized she'd spoken most of those thoughts aloud, "Well you're a bit more calmed down now. Why don'tcha open it."
He kissed the tip of her nose, causing her eyes to sparkle. He never did anything like that. Something cute and couplish. She almost wanted to ask him to do it again but was too tempted by the mystery of the box to ask. She drew away form his arms and picked up the box, cracking it open. Another gasp left her as she looked inside to see bedded on rich red velvet a white gold horseshoe pendant.
She drew it out, breathless as Austin said, "Diamonds are a girl's best friend. 'least that's what they tell me. Jeweler smart ass guy said it has 'diamond and pink sapphires accents in a channel setting' and then received a black eye after he asked me, same snooty voice mind ya, 'are ya sure ya can afford it, sir'? An' I was like, 'well, ya see me standin' in a jewelry store, jackass, what do you think?' Think I enter some place with no intention of buying shit? Think I'da asked ya a question 'bout th' damn necklace if it wasn't my intention of buyin' it…thinkin' I was some window shoppper…" Austin grumbled with memory but seeing how happy Stacy was by the pendant he let it slide and gently took the jewelry from her.
She lifted her hair, and he stood behind her, placing it around her neck, fixing the clasp as he murmured against her ear, southern accent especially deep as he drew her close to him, "It got you a horseshoe 'cause you're my lady luck…that and I thought it'd look good around that lil' neck o' yours."
Stacy touched a hand to the horseshoe then turned in Austin's embrace, cupping his face, "It's beautiful. Thank you…this was the most…amazing…phenomenal Valentine's day I've ever had…I love you so much."
Austin looked deep in those sugar brown eyes and for a split second he looked as if he would melt, a goofy smile playing about his face. But just as quickly he realized how ridiculous he looked and shook his head, shaking off any possible silliness and trying to reinstate his cool exterior. Not wanting in any way to damage the image he projected with such perfection, "Yeah…well…love you too."
Stacy laughed and pulled away form him, heading to the bedroom. Austin wasn't sure where she was going off to but he was eager to clean out his cooler - he couldn't wait to play with it tomorrow!
Still, he called after her as he began pulling things out of the cooler, " 's funny how you thought I'd forgotten Valentine's Day. You should have seen yerself today. All huffin' and puffin' 'bout and droppin' Valentine's Day ads on my lap. 'S pretty funny…bet I surprised ya good, huh? Knowin' all along, 'memberin' and all…an' going through this trouble…though I had 'bout everybody on the RAW roster helpin' me out with ideas and reminders an' plannin' -" this latter half he muttered under his breath, hoping she wouldn't hear.
The cooler was almost cleaned out when another laugh left him, "Ya know, I got this cooler for me for Valentine's Day, friggin' you wouldn't think of somethin'…"
"Oh, I thought of something." Stacy finally answered from the bedroom, "Bought it for you for Valentine's Day a while ago."
"Yeah?" Austin returned, one eyebrow raised, "What could that be? Bet it can't top mine."
"Ohhhhh, I think it can," Stacy returned, voice sultry and closer as she stepped into viewing, positioning herself in the bedroom's doorway.
Austin turned and lifted his head, gaze landing on her. He swallowed slowly, eyes widening at the sight before him. Stacy's long, honey blonde hair was brushed about her in cascading waves, playing about her bare tan shoulders. She wore a light pink, slightly sheer babydoll trimmed in lace.
The blood in Austin's body immediately rushed to one area and all thoughts of the cooler and anything else was abandoned as he got to his feet and slowly lumbered towards Stacy, "Okay. You win. Your present's better."
Stacy laughed, the sound like twinkling bells as she beckoned him with one crooked finger, backing slowly into the bedroom. Austin growled low in his throat and followed after her, thinking to himself that this was without a doubt the most, amazing, phenomenal Valentine's day he'd ever had too.