It was a sunny Sunday afternoon, and WWE's Chosen One, Drew Mcintyre, was checking himself in the hand mirror in his pocket for the umpteenth time. It was an action he performed regularly, but today it was more important than usual.
He'd been invited to the wedding of his Encore stable-mate, and One Man Band, Heath Slater. He was getting married to his childhood sweetheart, Stephanie (no, not that Stephanie.)
He was standing on the grounds just outside of the church where the marriage would take place, done up in a dark blue suit, blue dress shirt, and black tie. Surrounded by many other WWE Superstars and Divas who were in the same sort of formal attire, he blended in pretty well, but inside, he stood out because of a reason only he knew…
Before he could think over those matters any more, he was interrupted by the voice of the third member of Encore, Jinder Mahal. "Drew?" he asked, tapping him on the shoulder. "Come on, the ceremony's about to start!"
He nodded, walking inside.
He and Jinder took their seats inside the church, with Jinder weirdly deciding to leave a space between the two of them.
"Wait, why aren't you-"
Before he could finish his question, Drew caught sight of a piece of paper, laid down in the extra space, reading, Reserved for the best man, Mr Stuart Bennett.
The name rang a bell somewhere in the back of Drew's mind, but he couldn't figure out where he'd heard it before…
"Ha, so you two can read!" a booming British voice came from behind. Drew turned to see fellow Briton, Wade Barrett. Oh, so he's the best man? Not too surprising…
"Shut up Barrett." Drew instructed, sighing and trying his best to inject some sarcasm into the command.
Wade muttered something under his breath, giving Drew a cold stare. He immediately noticed the pink carnation pinned to his top pocket, and sheepishly enquired about it.
"Why is it any of your business?" Wade asked, his eyebrows arched in his trademark angry expression. Even with all the mixed feelings towards him, Drew had to hold back laughter, as he was forced to look at a mismatched man with a dark, stubbly beard, wearing a charcoal grey suit, and a pink carnation accessory.
After swallowing his laughter, Drew heard some noise at the back of the church, and looked behind him. The doors had opened, and, walking in with a smile on his face, was the man of the hour, Heath.
He was wearing a grey suit, a few shades lighter than Wade's and a black tie, with a few white roseheads pinned onto his top pocket.
Drew couldn't help but stare.
At his entrance, Wade stood up, standing just beside Heath.
Heath waved at his stable-mates, and, caught up in the moment, Drew blushed whilst waving back.
"You alright, mate?" Wade asked with a sly smirk on his face. Heath chuckled beside him.
Drew nodded, coughing quietly and shuffling around. Drew had always admired Heath, and the way that, even if he was booked to lose, he came in with a huge, legitimate smile on his face.
With their recent teaming, Drew heavily suspected he'd passed some of these traits onto him. He didn't mind that at all.
But there was one thing he did mind about Heath- Wade was his best man. Wade Barrett, the guy who had openly acknowledged that he downright hated him, in public no less- over him, the guy who did everything for him, and had at last tried to be happy when he announced his marriage.
What did Wade do for him? Apart from pushing him around, shouting at him and pretty much completely distancing himself from every single member of the Nexus since his injury return, nothing.
Drew knew inside that he shouldn't have been bitter about any aspect of Heath's wedding- all in all, if he was happy, that was all that mattered.
Trying to take his mind off all the conflicting thoughts, Drew watched as the maid of honour, ring bearer, and adorable party of flower girls, made their way to the front. They were all made up of nieces and cousins, that Heath had talked about at length.
There was a brief break in the action, before a man, who had quietly entered the church through a back door, starting playing the organ, and the timeless Wedding March.
Stephanie slowly entered, holding a bouquet of white roses, exactly the same as the ones on Heath's pocket. Her dress was a light cream colour, with several bits of netting fleshing out the dress underneath. Her dark brown hair was up in a bun, and her veil covered the top half of her face.
Drew attempted to make himself believe that the woman he was seeing was a sight to behold, and that Heath was lucky to have her, but, as he saw his smile widen as she approached him, his true feelings of jealousy broke through.
Heath's hand interlocked with Stephanie's as the vicar began his speech.
"Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today in the presence of these witnesses, to join Heath Miller and Stephanie James in matrimony, which is commended to be honorable among all men; and therefore is not by any to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently, discreetly, advisedly and solemnly."
His speech was exactly like all those from the movies.
He continued. "Into this holy estate these two persons present now come to be joined. If any person can show just cause why they may not be joined together, let them speak now or forever hold their peace."
At that moment, Drew would have loved nothing better than to jump up and exclaim, in his loudest voice, "I object!" Everyone would look over to him, expecting him to admit he had had one of those dramatic affairs with the bride; instead, he would profess his undying love for the groom.
If only, he thought solemnly. He pursed his lips together, forcing back all of his unsaid confessions, and letting silence pass through the room.
The vicar nodded and smiled, before looking down to the stand, quickly skimming his notes, and looking back up. "And now, a reading of The Hands Ceremony." He cleared his throat before beginning.
"Please face each other and take each other's hands, so that you may see the gift that they are to you. These are the hands of your best friend, young and strong and full of love for you, that are holding yours on your wedding day as you promise to love each other today, tomorrow and forever. These are the hands that will work alongside yours as together you build your future.
These are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish you through the years, and with the slightest touch will comfort you like no other. These are the hands that will hold you when fear or grief temporarily comes to you. These are the hands that will countless times wipe the tears from your eyes, tears of sorrow and tears of joy.
These are the hands that will tenderly hold your children, the hands that will join your family as one. These are the hands that will give you strength when you need it, support and encouragement to pursue your dreams, and comfort through difficult times.
And lastly, these are the hands that even when wrinkled and aged will still be reaching for yours, still giving you the same unspoken tenderness with just a touch."
At certain times during the reading, Drew felt like the vicar was reading the passage in a way that was done to purposely make him feel bad, to harm his already bruised ego, emphasizing certain words that, if he was in the place of Stephanie, (which he desperately wanted to be), would have described the relationship of him and Heath down to a 't'.
The vicar said a few words about the definition of marriage, something about a new life together, before the wedding vows.
"I, Heath Miller, take you, Stephanie James, to be my lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part.".
Stephanie repeated the vows back to him, and all the while, Drew was being tortured. How could he give his heart to this woman, and vice versa?
Then, whilst scanning his friend's bride up and down, he saw it. If there was one reason Heath was with this woman, that was it.
Stephanie James was pregnant, with Heath Miller's baby.
How? he thought to himself. How could he have not seen that, of all things?
He'd seen Stephanie a few times before now, but had seen nothing of her obtrusive baby bump, and heard nothing about the actual pregnancy. He'd also heard many, many cases of wrestlers having to end many of their relationships because of the constant touring, and general stress, but if the couple happened to have a child, in most cases, the couple stayed together.
So, the hope that it would be one of those short term marriages was off the cards.
As was, he soon realised, a large part of his time with Heath. When the baby was eventually born, Heath would no doubt have to take time-off.
Sighing, Drew looked up, to see that the vows had been finished, songs and readings had been sung and read, and, most saddening of all, the rings had been exchanged, all whilst he was lost in thought.
He let his mind drift for the final time as the vicar said a few closing words, before Drew forced himself to watch the event's climax.
"By the power vested in me by the State of Virginia," he announced, "I now pronounce you husband and wife. Mr Miller, you may now kiss the bride."
Cheers arose all around as the happy couple's lips locked. Drew buried his head in his hands briefly, swallowing his flow of sadness as the couple and guests walked out.
He just sat in his seat, wondering what the hell he'd just let himself be thrown out of.
He felt a silent tear run down his cheek, just before Wade's voice interrupted. "Drew, come on, slowcoach!" He laughed heartily before noticing how his friend was feeling.
"Drew?" he asked more quietly. "Are you alright mate?" The words had more a tone of care than when they had been said earlier on.
"Yeah." he replied, wiping his face. "I'm just... really happy. Happy because Heath's happy, y'know?"
Wade smiled. "Yeah, I know. Come on mate, they'll be doing the photos soon."
He got up and walked away, as Drew followed suit.
He was such a dirty liar.
A/N: Aw, bad endings suck. :'(
Anyway, hey guys. Here's my next oneshot, and it's a rare pair. I've really starting obsessing over Slatintyre since Encore formed (yes, I'm still calling them that), and wanted to try out new territory in terms of pairings, and genres of fanfiction. As always, your thoughts on my efforts are appreciated. Expect more of this pairing from me soon!
Wishing you a happy life,
Blaze xoxo