Heath sighs. It'd been a long week, made even more annoying by Wade's absence due to his injury. Slater Gator isn't making much progress, because Titus O'Neil refuses to seriously consider a tag team with him for some reason, and all in all, Heath doesn't have much hope for his chances in the battle royal this coming PPV. As soon as the plane he's on lands in Florida, he walks through the airport while checking his phone and swallows upon finding Wade's latest tweet on his timeline.

WadeBarrett

I'll be heading to #WWEBattleground to present the new IC-Champ with his title. My money's on HeathSlaterOMRB. #BringBackTheCorre

Heath hisses out a shocked breath, rereading it and digesting the hashtag at the end. The Corre... something that had been trouble almost from the moment he and Justin had gone to Wade and convinced him to allign once more with them when the Nexus just became too toxic for them. But, as awful as the Corre had ended up being, it had led to Wade accepting his relationship with Heath for what it was instead of things between them falling apart as their careers went in different directions. Without the Corre, Heath doubts they'd be sharing an apartment, sharing their lives, like they are right now.

The mere fact that Wade believes in him enough to tweet something so very public... He has to sit down for a minute and fight the emotions flooding through him, hoping that no fan will be around with an all-too eager camera and inclination to take a picture of a man when he's about to breakdown crying in the middle of an airport. He shudders and sucks in one deep breath after another before the itchy feeling behind his eyes disappears, taking the tears with it.

Finally getting up, he makes his way to his waiting car and sinks into the driver's seat, sighing softly. "Home sweet home," he murmurs, driving towards the apartment. He's so tired that he almost forgets it's his birthday until he arrives home and, sidestepping Boodah's cold nose and skittering toes against the wood floor, heads into the kitchen to sit down and play with his dog after getting a bottle of water... where he finds a small strawberry cake waiting, Happy Birthday Heath scrawled on it in sensitive looking loops.

He gapes at it for a minute before shutting the door, kneeling down by Boodah. "Where's Wade, huh, boy?" The dog leans back on his haunches for a moment before trotting hurriedly to the bedroom, looking back a time or two to make sure Heath's following. By the time he gets inside, Boodah is laying next to the bed, Heath pausing to watch Wade sleep, enjoying the sound of his steady breathing.

Heath ducks back out and gets the cake, regretfully nudging Boodah out of the room before he shuts the door on him and approaches the bed, carefully setting the cake on the bedside table. "Hey, Brit," he whispers, kneeling next to Wade. Wade stirs but only fully awakens when Heath kisses him, smirking when Wade groans against his lips. "Thank you for the cake," he offers. "At least Boodah didn't eat half of it this year."

"Happy birthday, ginger," Wade murmurs sleepily, wrapping his good arm around Heath's waist and drawing him closer.

"It is now." Heath plucks a small piece of cake up and holds it to Wade's lips, grinning as he bites into it with a soft moan. "Taste good?"

"Of course it does, I have exceptional taste."

"I know you do," Heath whispers, leaning in and kissing him again, tasting the sweet frosting on his lips. "So your money is on me, huh?"

"Always," he sighs.

"The Corre?" Heath prods, teasing Wade with another small square of cake.

"Just wanted to make you smile," Wade shrugs.

Heath hums, eating the cake himself before leaning over to get another piece of the dessert, this time giving it to Wade when he catches the glare on his former leader's face. He chuckles and kisses him softly, sighing. "Well, it worked," he admits. "I know bein' in the Corre was kinda rough for both of us, but it brought along some good things, yeah?"

"Yeah," Wade agrees after a moment. "Very good things." He rubs a hand up Heath's arm as he finishes off the last of the small cake. "Glad you're done with that, it sounds like that silly mutt of yours is trying to claw through the door again."

"Oh, he's fine," Heath sighs, smirking down at Wade before he gets up to let Boodah back in. Sprawling out next to Wade once more, he snuggles closer and kisses the side of Wade's mouth. "Thanks again, Brit."

"You're welcome." There's a pause. "Your dog is licking my fingers."

"Boodah! Stop eating the frostin', you goofy dog," Heath scolds, unable to stop grinning despite his tone as Wade chuckles at the two ridiculous creatures who'd taken up residence in his life. Questionable start, he thinks, settling back down against Wade once Boodah calms, but still a damn good birthday all in all.