Lights

By: PhoenixJustice

Disclaimer: The wrestlers own themselves, the gimmicks are owned by WWE/NXT. I only own this story and make no profit from this.

Pairing: Shinsuke Nakamura/Sami Zayn, mentions of past Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn.

Setting: Immediately post-Takeover: San Antonio.

Summary: He stops struggling, looking over at Shinsuke, who waits quietly and patiently. Lover? Partner? Soulmate? The literal other half to himself? How could he even begin to try and explain what Shinsuke meant, and was, to him?

Part Eight of Unmei.

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"Let me through!" He yells, trying to push aside the trainers and refs who grab onto him.

"Sami, come on!" One of the ref's says.

"I'm not here to hurt him! You don't understand!" He shouts, tears pricking at the corner of his eyes. "You don't understand! He's my-" He stops struggling, looking over at Shinsuke, who waits quietly and patiently. Lover? Partner? Soulmate? The literal other half to himself? How could he even begin to try and explain what Shinsuke meant, and was, to him? "He's my husband!"

Shinsuke looks at him with wide eyes, as do the others around them both, but his expression changes into a much softer one. The look on his face makes Sami's heart thump into overtime. They both ignore the others who leave the room, making exclamations and some with congratulations (he vaguely thought about the fact that his and Shinsuke's relationship would probably be spread to everyone by the time they left the arena but he really couldn't find it in himself to care right now.)

He comes to a halt right in front of the doctor like long seat that Shinsuke was sitting on, looking down at him. Shinsuke gestures to him with a hand and a smile, despite the pain he must be in, and just like that, Sami is on his knees in front of him, arms wrapped around him (kneeling carefully, even in the state he was in, between Shinsuke's legs so he wouldn't further hurt him) and feels the other man's arms around him in return.

"I love you." He murmurs, voice blurred with emotion, against Shinsuke's stomach and feels his arms tighten around him in return.

"I love you too. My husband." Shinsuke says warmly. His hand strokes Sami's head and he closes his eyes against the warm touch, longing filling him, as it so often did. Shinsuke knew how to make him feel better, even now, when it should be Sami that was making him feel better.

"I'm sorry." He says, arms tightening around him.

"For what?" Shinsuke asks softly, continuing to stroke his head.

"I should be comforting you, not...not letting you do this for me. I'm sorry." He kisses Shinsuke's stomach carefully, feeling the man's stomach jerk in return.

Shinsuke starts to laugh loudly. He looks up at him, breath catching at the utterly fond smile on his soulmate's face. Shinsuke's hand moves from his head to his face, cupping it.

"My heart," Shinsuke says. "Do you not see the comforting you are doing for me now? I needed you and you were here. I always need you. Your presence is my comfort."

Their lips meet, Sami's fast and desperate, Shinsuke's soft and loving. As always, it's in these moments, outside of wrestling, where he truly feels complete. Like all the hardships he had went through to get to this point were worth it. They were, because he had finally found a place where he truly belonged, found the person whom never treated him as less or treated him as secondary to anyone else. He didn't have to fight for any scrap of affection; Shinsuke gave his affection, and his love, freely.

Even without telling him everything, Shinsuke just knew what he had been through before, with Kevin. Knew how Kevin had twisted the love Sami had for him, the love they had for each other, and abandoned him. After that, that betrayal, Sami hadn't ever thought he could ever love again, much less like someone. That he could learn to trust again ('It's fine, Sami." Kevin says, a distant look in his eyes. 'Once we beat the Bucks, everything will be like it was before. We'll be...we'll be fine.')

Shinsuke had waited patiently, despite how long he had waited for Sami, and bit by bit, Sami started to feel like a human being again. And now? Now he was whole.

The kiss deepens and he hears Shinsuke make a sound of agreement against him and everything is forgotten in that moment; the pain, the worry, the sadness, all of it. It is only him and Shinsuke in that moment. Eventually the need for air pulls them both apart mutually, with Shinsuke placing his forehead against Sami's as they work to catch their breath. Shinsuke laughs softly.

"What is it?" He asks.

Shinsuke smiles a secret little smile. "I suppose we will need to get rings and paperwork now since you proposed to me. But," he teases. "could you not have picked a better place to do so?"

Sami flushes, before teasing him back. "Well, at least we'll never look at the trainers room the same way again."

Shinsuke laughs.

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"Are you sure you're okay?" He asks his partner, with a bit of worry in his tone.

Shinsuke nods. "I am fine for now."

Indeed he did look fine; he was even walking on his own two feet, holding hands with Sami the whole way out of their and back to their hotel room. He continues to look fine, even when they get inside, starting to shed his red jacket, his shirt, sitting on the bed to toss his boots to the floor. Sami stares at him. How was he alright? He had felt it, a shadow of it anyhow, of the pain Shinsuke felt when hurting his knee during the match with Roode. He knew, even by just looking at his lover's face then, that the pain was real and had to be excruciating.

But now he sat here seemingly without a care in the world, perfectly fine.

He looks down at him, hands on his hips. "How are you fine, exactly?"

Shinsuke looks up at him, brow raised. "Hmm?"

"It's just, you were," He gestures at Shinsuke's legs with a hand. "You know. And Roode didn't help matters either with the submission after."

Shinsuke smiles. "Oh I see. I am sure I will feel it tomorrow. But for now..." He shrugs a bit, hands out. He looks at Sami. "I am okay, thanks to you."

"Me?" He asks, confused. "What did I do?"

Shinsuke stands, moving to cup Sami's face in his hands with care, as if he is a priceless treasure.

"You have accepted me completely now, with your whole heart and soul. When you called me your husband, it came from your heart. Things like they..." Shinsuke pauses, obviously trying to find the right words to say. "They can do special things, between those who are bonded. You gave me your...power, I suppose you could say. It is numbing the pain for me now. It will fade in a few hours, but for now I am in no pain." He leans forward to kiss Sami tenderly. "For now, I am, as I will always be, all yours."

He was a bit stunned, to say the least. He had no idea that things like that could happen, but then again he was just learning the little and big nuances when it came to soulmates and what that entailed. No one he knew, save for perhaps Bray, knew as much when it came to soulmates than Shinsuke so he knew he could trust his word on it.

He stays close when they finally pull apart again.

"I felt your pain." He murmurs. "Or at least a shadow of it. I've never felt that before."

"For good reason." Shinsuke says. "I have always kept you from feeling it. This time I...the pain was too great, so I could not, which I am sorry for."

"You can do that?" Shinsuke nods. "I had no idea. I would have-"

Shinsuke stops him with a hand, shaking his head. "You didn't know and even if you had, I would not expect you to know how to do it."

"That doesn't matter." He insists. "I don't care how much it would take to do; I would do it for you in a heartbeat. To keep you from feeling pain or sadness or..." He swallows hard. "I want to be your equal, your partner, in all things."

Shinsuke frowns. "I have insulted you. I apologize, Sami. I meant no disrespect. Because you already are my equal. You always have been, since before we even met. I have waited my entire life for you. And you did not meet my expectations. You exceeded them. I am just so used to having to do things on my own," He strokes Sami's face. "I am still getting used to having you here, with me, that I do not always think as clearly as I should. You make me happier than I could have even imagined I could be."

Sami flushes. Shinsuke was always so elequent with his words, that it often left him flustered. He just said things so easily, without blinking an eye, and never made Sami feel weak or lesser than or not enough, like Sami had felt once upon a long time ago with Kevin, and he was still getting used to that fact, to be treated like a true equal.

"So, husband," Shinsuke says, slyly. "What now?"

He looks at Shinsuke there, all happy and smiling and full of love for Sami that Sami thinks he could burst with the love he feels for him in return. Shinsuke was the light of his life.

"Well..." He drawls, in a teasing tone. "You said you're good until tomorrow, right?"

Shinsuke nods.

Sami grins. "I can think of something we can do for a few hours."

He pushes him onto the bed, kissing him hard, and proceeds to do just that.

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I hope you enjoyed this!

Let me know what you thought!

-PhoenixJustice