Notes: Here's another one-shot I created back in April. It's little bit short, but hope you enjoy it regardless. Think of this as a pseudo sequel to New Looks, Same Partner.

Warnings: mentions of kayfabe breaking

Elias could only groan in frustration as he leaned his head back to stare up at the ceiling. Thanks to the cool breeze coming from a ceiling fan, he was once again woken up by the way the stubble on his face gave off an uncomfortable itching sensation.

It wasn't the first time this had happened sadly. And he doubted it would be the last. He groaned again before turning onto his side.

Thanks to the erratic orders he had received from Vince McMahon, he had been forced to go through a complete overhaul in his appearance. His preferred attire of bandannas, jeans and an undershirt had been tossed away for a generic yet colorful pair of trunks and wristbands. His hair, which used to be long enough to reach down past his shoulders, now only reached towards the neck, and it was swept back in such a way that it almost looked as though it had been through a large gust of wind.

All of that stuff, Elias could deal with easily.

What he couldn't deal with so easily was the fact that that alone wasn't enough to please the higher management. To his confusion, he had been informed by someone from the creative department that he reminded Vince of an old employee he used to have connections to, from several, several years ago; specifically, Randy Savage. And needless to say, he didn't approve of it. Elias was already more than aware of the similarities he had to the Macho Man, thanks to the wonderful invention that was social media, but it had been the first time that anybody from backstage had actually commented on his looks, let alone his boss.

So then came the bizarre request of getting rid of his facial hair. It really only came down to two choices; shave and keep the job, but at the risk of being forced to perform stupid interactions for unsuspecting fans, or deny the request and be at risk for being dismissed from the company as a whole. So after several weeks of arguing and struggling with the decision, he finally bit the bullet and went for it, reluctantly shearing away one of the few characteristics that he was actually more than comfortable with having. A pair of sharp scissors, an electric razor, and a few hours of work were all it took.

And just like that, his identity might as well have been completely stripped away from him. For each time he had caught sight of himself in a mirror, it didn't even seem to be the same person that was shown in the reflection. The only upside to all of this was the fact that due to his lengthy absence from the ring, he hadn't been forced to face what fans he had left. At least not yet...

But then came April 4th. The night after Wrestlemania.

Of all the times he could've been brought back, the higher management just had to decide to place him on the particular night where the fans would potentially be the most aggressive. He really wasn't all that surprised to see that he had come across as pretty much unrecognizable to some of them, because he wasn't even allowed to go by his own name anymore, instead being forced to work under the very creative alias of 'Ezekiel'. And after an embarrassing confrontation with Kevin Owens that certainly contained plenty of boos, jeers, and mentions of his given name, he had immediately packed up and hightailed it out of the arena.

He had never felt so humiliated in his career like this before, not since his early days in NXT.

Snapping out of his thoughts, he began to shiver. Unable to stand the coolness of the room from the ceiling fan's blades any longer, he tried to pull the sheets over himself. However, something tightening on his arm prevented him from successfully doing so. He looked down at the sleeping man beside him before allowing a small smile to reach his face.

At least you haven't shunned me away just yet.

Despite being significantly shorter than what it used to be, Elias began to subconsciously rake his fingers through Jeff's hair. After witnessing the aftermath of the disastrous makeover, the enigma had basically resorted to changing up his own appearance, all just to make him feel better about his predicament. Elias couldn't help but chuckle at the memory. The events that had happened afterwards most certainly contained fond memories that they would both want to cherish for quite a while. However, the chuckling immediately stopped once he felt his arm being let go.

Jeff had stirred out of his slumber and was now looking up at him. Even in the darkness of the room, those eyes were still so easy to read. And right now, they were all but shimmering with concern.

"I'd thought you'd be asleep by now." He commented before brushing the hair out of his eyes. "Is everything ok?"

"I'm fine," Elias replied dismissively before turning on his side to face him. "Just a lot on my mind right now."

"You want to talk about it?"

Elias considered for a moment before shaking his head and reluctantly burying his face into the crook of his partner's neck. "Not really."

Thankfully, Jeff didn't push on the matter, and instead began to wrap his arm around the former drifter. With a well timed tug of the wrist however, he was now resting against his chest. He also received the opportunity to bury his fingers into his tag partner's cropped hair, now taking his turn to card through it. Elias gratefully accepted the gesture, allowing the soothing warmth to seep deep into his bones.

"Just go back to sleep," Jeff murmured before giving a few soft kisses on the collarbone, and soon rested his head again, the sound of a heartbeat filling his ears. "You know I'm not going anywhere."

Feeling exhaustion beginning to settle into his eyes, Elias complied with the gentle request. But before he could drift off, he then heard his partner say something that at the very least brought a humored smile to his face.

"And don't worry. It'll grow back."