I wrote this after Money in the Bank and forgot to post it, but now it's finally uploaded.
Dean could barely walk when Renee found him backstage. He was slowly walking through the mass of their coworkers, slouching and obviously exhausted, and he couldn't manage to keep his head up, despite people passing by him and patting him on the back, sympathetic words and smiles pouring all over him. He would just wince a bit every time someone touched him. Renee's heart clenched at the sight.
"Hey", she said gently when she approached him. Pale blue eyes looked at her and his lips twitched as if he was trying to smile, but he wasn't very successful at it. She hugged him before he could protest about being sweaty and gross, wrapping his arms around his neck so that she wouldn't touch the sore skin on his back. Neither could care less about all the people around them.
"I'll be your champ next time, I promise", he said in a low voice that nearly shattered her heart.
Renee kissed his cheek. "You'll always be my champ", she said, holding back tears. "But you look exhausted. Let's go to the hotel."
He had to lie on his stomach after he'd showered. It looked to her like there would be a couple of nasty bruises on his back the next day, but what got to her more was his quietness. He just lied on the bed with his eyes halfway lidded, but Renee could see that he was thinking. Hard.
Sometimes she just wished he'd stop doing so much damage to his body. She knew that he was tough, but she feared that his body would unexpectedly suffer a breaking point one day. She knew that would kill him. Wrestling was everything to him.
He closed his eyes for a second when Renee's fingers caressed his hair, getting it out of his face. She knew that he wasn't in the mood for speaking, so she didn't want to push anything, but she wanted to comfort him somehow. If his back wasn't hurting, she would've simply spooned him—or, as he preferred to call it, jetpacked him. He always found it adorable because she was so much smaller than him.
But now she had to rely on conveying the message only with her eyes and a few gentle touches here and there. He seemed to relax while she was caressing his hair, his eyes fluttering shut more and more often. His breathing deepened too, which made Renee sigh in relief. He needed to sleep now, not overthink everything.
"Can you keep doing that?" he quietly asked after a while, turning his face towards Renee. His blue eyes were looking into hers with an innocent, tired gaze. She gently smiled, nearly melting at the look he was giving her.
"Of course I can." Her thumb brushed over his cheek as she turned off the lamp on the bedside table, snuggling closer to him and pulling a sheet over their bodies. He completely relaxed into her touch when her fingers kept running through his hair. A small smile appeared on his lips after she'd gently kissed him. "I love you."
"I love you too." He threw an arm around her waist, kissing her forehead. "Thanks for always being here."
"You don't have to thank me for that." Another kiss fell on his lips. "Now sleep. You need it, love."
He just pulled her closer as an answer, burying his face in her chest. She was more than glad to comfort him that way. Nothing made her happier than knowing that he could trust her. She swore to herself that she'd stay with him no matter what a long time ago, and so far nothing made her doubt her decision. Quite the opposite.