Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Author Note: Set back in 2014 after Drew McIntyre was released from his WWE contract.

HALF EMPTY, ALL FULL

His flight was delayed. Of course it was. Drew McIntyre took a seat in the airport bar and ordered himself a whiskey. It wasn't a brand he liked but he drank it anyway because it would burn all the way down which was exactly what he wanted. He concentrated on that feeling, it was better than focusing other things.

There was a rustling noise as a slim tanned figure hopped up onto the barstool next to him, asking for a white wine spritzer. Something about the way she moved registered with Drew but he didn't give her his full attention. He was much more interested in the bottom of his whiskey glass.

"You used to talk a lot more than this."

The soft, teasing and very familiar voice cut through Drew's depressive thoughts. Finally he glanced up and set eyes on Kelly Kelly. He felt a jolt through his system, like a klaxon sounding through dense fog. He blinked hard but Kelly was still there, wearing a tight white skirt and strappy black top, her hair looking particularly blonde against her very tanned skin. She looked like a vision, maybe she was.

A glass was put down in front of Kelly. She thanked the barman and gladly lifted her spritzer. Her fingernails were manicured and she wore a silver charm bracelet around her right wrist. Drew blinked again but everything remained the same – he'd still lost his job, Kelly Kelly was still there, sat next to him.

Her smile was almost gentle "You used to wear suits too."

Drew shook his head and gestured for another whiskey. He hadn't worn a suit in a while. Since joining the Three Man Band, he'd lived in expensive jeans and not much else. Even after the band's unexpected and enforced split, he hadn't yet rediscovered his love of layered tailoring. For this particular flight he was dressed in faded black jeans, a comfortable band t-shirt and one of his many leather jackets. A bandanna was tucked into his back pocket and a jumble of leather and rubber bracelets circled his wrists. He didn't look much like the guy that Kelly had known back in 2011, he didn't feel much like that guy either. A lot of his anger had been singed out of him.

He wondered if Kelly would believe him this time. He wondered if he even cared.

There was movement across the bartop; Kelly's hand was reaching towards him, settling down close to his refilled glass. For a moment, Drew's thoughts refracted and he was back in a WWE arena hallway, telling Kelly what she meant to him before her face pursed with anger because she hated what she perceived as his overly aggressive nature. Drew had always had a quick temper and fast fists, he could admit that, but to survive in the wrestling business extreme aggression was called for. Was there such a thing as being too aggressive in the wrestling industry? Kelly had obviously thought so.

Drew had really cared about her and he hadn't been afraid to say that, but it hadn't been enough for Kelly. Everything had dissolved after that and things hadn't started making sense again until he'd begun hanging out with Heath and Jindar.

He'd made the decision not to think about Kelly after that. And now here she was, sat beside him as his mood sank low. Strangely, despite his obvious grim composure, she hadn't immediately left. Drew shook his head.

"I used to do a lot of things," he said at last, the first words he'd spoken to her since she'd sat down.

He could sense her smile, that big sunshiny expression that he'd always felt drawn to. Even now he edged a glance up at her, unable to resist the gravitational pull of her face. She was still beautiful. Some things never changed, but a lot did.

He couldn't look away now. Of course he couldn't.

"How's your neck?" he asked after a pause.

Kelly shrugged a shoulder. She seemed remarkably carefree, unbothered by her lack of a WWE salary. Maybe the modelling gigs she was doing now paid enough to keep her more than comfortable. Not everybody had that luxury though. Something sour lanced through Drew's stomach and he fought back a grimace.

"Better, thanks. I don't miss the wear and tear, you know?"

He gestured upwards with his glass because of course he knew. He'd been wrestling since he was a teenager, he hadn't known many days without a niggling ache or pain. He had time to heal now, thanks to the ninety day no-compete clause the WWE embroidered into every one of their talent contracts. So when he was eventually able wrestle his first post-WWE match, he'd be in a better place physically. A tiny piece of light in the overwhelming darkness of his future endeavours.

Something about Kelly's phrasing stuck with him though and he arched an eyebrow her way. "There are some things you miss though."

Kelly's smile softened and she drew patterns on the bartop with her fingertips. Drew wondered what memories were now skating in her mind's eye. They had to be good if they were causing that expression.

"I miss the fans and performing in front of them. And I made a lot of good friends, I miss them too."

Understandable. "You can still perform in front of fans, you know."

Kelly's smile widened again. "I know. I'm on my way back from an auto-show, the fans always turn out."

That wasn't exactly what Drew meant, but if she wanted to make a living out of conventions and appearances fuelled by her WWE fame, then that was her prerogative. It was how a lot of ex-WWE employees made a living. Drew wouldn't be able to just do that though, wrestling had been in his blood for far too long. He'd already received phone calls and email enquiries about his availability. Somewhere beyond the funk he was currently in, there was hope. He'd get there eventually, he just needed time.

There was a light touch at his elbow; Kelly's hand was resting there like she was asking permission. Her touch felt the same, that shouldn't have surprised him but it did. He stared at her hand and wet his lips. She didn't move away.

"I'm sorry," she said simply.

She didn't look pitying, she just looked like she understood. She might have left the WWE on her terms but somehow she still looked like she got it. Maybe she did. Drew had had to say goodbye to his best friends, Heath was staying put though hadn't looked happy about losing his fellow band members and Jindar had left the country for a while, saying he'd be in touch. They still had an album to make together and good times to enjoy. They weren't on the road as a group anymore but that didn't mean their friendship was going to die too. Drew and Jindar both needed a little time, to deal with the shock and pain of losing their jobs and maybe deal with some resentment too because Heath was still a company man and they weren't. They'd deal with it though, the Three Man Band could get through anything.

Kelly finished her drink. Drew drained his glass and didn't ask for a refill.

There was a thoughtful pause and then Kelly hopped down from her barstool. Here it was, she was going to leave, again. She'd always walked away from him. What did it matter now anyway?

It shouldn't matter, not after everything Drew had been through. But Kelly had always stirred up hear in him and still did even now. His feelings for her had always been powerful, more powerful than his temper. He'd always thought that had been obvious. And he'd been willing to try for her, to try to keep calm and not have arguments by using his fists. But that hadn't counted for anything in Kelly's eyes. Drew's knuckles whitened, maybe not all his anger had been singed away after all.

"Let's have dinner."

Kelly sounded like she'd made a decision. Drew looked at her in total surprise but she was still there, not a tormenting unbelievable vision. She was smiling like she was amused, a large handbag hooked over her slim shoulder, a phone clenched in her left hand. She wanted to have dinner with him.

"Really."

Drew knew that he sounded disbelieving and Kelly's smile slipped a tiny bit, cracking at the corners. Now she knew how he'd felt whenever she'd turned him down. But she didn't walk away, not this time. Drew tilted his head. There was something different going on here. Something inside of his chest hooked hard in response.

Kelly's smile firmed up again, determined and renewed. "I want to hear about your band."

Drew's expression sharpened into a smirk. "Looking to score some free tickets, are you?"

Kelly laughed. "Maybe..."

Drew looked at her intently, she seemed happy with where life had taken her. He was looking forward to reaching that state again himself. He glanced around to check the airport information boards – his flight was still heavily delayed. He looked back at Kelly, she was the only thing that'd recently managed to cut through his post-firing fog. She burned even more powerfully than the whiskey did. And he'd just glimpsed how she was a little broken at the edges. She hadn't walked away from him either, not this time.

He couldn't get away from that. He couldn't. That meant something, that mattered, more than anything else had lately. As did the look on her face, he wanted to see more of that and the cracks underneath. Life had apparently moulded and fragmented them both, it seemed like now was the time to compare fractures.

He had nowhere else to be, not for a while anyway. Kelly looked pleased, like she saw something in his expression that she liked. He knew the feeling, he couldn't deny that.

On the bartop, two glasses were left side by side. Elsewhere, things started burning.

-the end