Sami ran a hand through his hair, his head dropping as he tried to steady his heartbeat. He'd just come from the ring where he thought Mick Foley would trade him to Smackdown because he wouldn't give him the Strowman match. He'd been begging for it for weeks and was making no progress. It had completely taken over his life, just like what happened when an opponent needed his full attention. He shirked most other aspects of his life. Sami felt a stab in his heart as he realized he hadn't called his folks in weeks, and he'd been ignoring Charlotte. He bit down on his tongue; he didn't know why he was like this.
"You've been ignoring me." Speak of the devil. He looked up and came face to face with Charlotte, standing there in her robes, looking at beautiful as the first day he saw her in the performance center. He found himself at a loss for words, not because he didn't have anything to say, but because he was taken aback with the realization that this beautiful woman was his girlfriend, though with the angry and betrayed look in her eyes, she might not be for much longer.
"Charlotte, uh, hello. How are you?"
This was apparently the wrong thing to say as she glared harder, so hard that he thought her forehead would rip at the seams. "You ignore my texts and my calls for two weeks, you avoid me backstage, and then you ask how I'm doing? That is not how a relationship works, especially not one I am in. You should be honored that I even grace you with my presence, let alone want to spend time with you. Now, I have to seek you out?"
Sami knew what she was doing. She was retreating behind the mask of the queen because she was angry, hurt, and confused. He wasn't offended or anything, it's just how Charlotte was. She was like a word search, you had to know what you were looking for to truly read and understand her. He took his hat off, letting it twist between his hands as he dipped his head, unable to talk with her standing there looking at him accusingly, the guilt bubbling up to much.
"I've been trying to get the match with Strowman and I lose track of time. I'm sorry, Charlotte. It's not a good excuse, but it's the truth."
He watched her glare lessen before intensifying again. "And you did not think to pull me into the loop of your plans? I could have helped, or maybe talked you out of this silly match."
Sami felt his anger flare again. "See!? That's why I didn't want to bring this to you! I didn't want to see the girl that I love say she didn't believe in me either!"
Charlotte blinked, looking stunned. Then she slapped him. He felt his cheek smart and knew it would be red for a long while. He let the sting calm him. Sami let the silence in the air hang for a second, expecting her to leave now, and most likely never come back. Instead her shoulders were shaking as she took deep breaths, her eyes, when Sami looked up, looked furious.
"I always believe in you Sami! You made me believe, ever since our days in NXT, you were the one who made me believe in these fairytales. I wanted to talk you out because not only do I have a vested interest in your future, but also your health. I do not want my boyfriend, my possible future husband to be drinking through a straw because he had to win a match."
Sami let the words hit him, hurting almost more than Charlotte's slap had. He sighed, sitting down, any anger he had left drained out of him. "I'm sorry… that wasn't fair to you."
Charlotte seemed to be on an angry roll, however as she continued. "And, you wanted to be traded to Smackdown if you didn't get it? You wanted to leave me?"
Sami felt his heart hurt, "Charlotte-"
"And on top of all of that, I have my boyfriend ignoring me while I'm dealing with challenger after challenger and historic match after historic match."
Now that he had been suitably humbled Sami dropped his hat, standing up and gently taking Charlotte's cheeks between his hands. "Queen, I'd like to talk to Charlotte now. I need to make some apologies."
She almost let a smile slip through, but remained passive. Sami sighed, "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. I just want to be used to my full potential. You're champion and I'm still being told I can't do it."
He saw her gaze soften a tad and knew he was making progress. "As for getting traded, I would have been sad to not see you at work everyday, but we are strong enough to make anything work. I'm yours Charlotte. You've wrecked me and I never want anyone else. So I'll make anything and everything work for us."
He thought he saw a small tear slip down her cheek, but he couldn't tell because she buried herself in his arms, squeezing tight. After a moment of holding her, his arms fitting around her perfectly like they always did, she spoke. "Never ignore me again."
"I won't. I'm sorry, I'll try to be better." He felt her nod into his shirt and just squeeze him tighter. When she finally pulled back there was no evidence of her crying, only a slight smearing of her make up that was on his shirt. She gazed up at him.
"For the record. I know you can beat him, but I'm always going to be worried about you. That's my job, the job I never thought I'd have, worrying about your health and safety. You don't see me back here when you are out there. I never feel more nervous than when you are out there. Not even for my hell in a cell match."
Sami smiled, "And even when I'm so caught up in my own head I ignore you, I still watch all your matches, cheer you on harder than anyone."
She beamed at him, a full smile, normally not seen outside of their apartment. "Good, you better. And no more ignoring me. I will help you, and I'll be scared for you sometimes, but I will be there for you and support you no matter what that's what a, girlfriend does." She tipped her head back, her calm façade sliding back on, "What a queen does."
Sami couldn't fight the smile off his face. "Well, I still believe I have some groveling to do for my queen. Would she mind if I took her out for dinner after the show tonight?"
Charlotte matched his smile. "Room 534. At midnight. Don't be late." With that, Charlotte spun, her robe hitting Sami's shin and floated off, Sami staring at her back the entire time until she disappeared around the corner.
Sami knew he'd probably still get sucked into his matches so much he might shut out the world, but Charlotte Flair would not be ignored and he knew that he needed her as much as she needed him. They would support each other, after all, castles needed a support structure and a strong foundation.
