Time
The room was full. There was a camera in the corner recording everything, and Hunter and Stephanie were standing across from her, the glares in their eyes both matching and amusing all at once.
"We had a deal, Stephanie," Kenna said slowly. "I choose a Superstar to fight for me and if he wins, I get assigned the position of Director of Operations. Roman Reigns won."
"See, here's the thing— because I own this company, I get the final say in everything. And my final say is that you are not the Director of Operations. You think you can take over this company because you're my husband's darling sister, but the truth is you're just a naïve little girl who wouldn't know left from right, let alone what's best for business." Stephanie raised her chin and an arrogant smirk pulled at the corners of her mouth. "Just because you have The Shield doesn't mean you have the business, Kenna."
Kenna tilted her head to the left, hazel eyes narrowing the slightest. "You're smart, Stephanie. I'd be lying to myself if I didn't acknowledge that. My agenda here isn't against you, it's against my brother— but if you make it your personal business to get in my way, I'm going to make it my personal business to remove you from the equation."
"Leave," the older woman hissed. "Get out of my arena. We're not playing this game— not now, not ever. Get out."
Stepping forward so their noses were almost touching, Kenna smirked. "Make me."
For an intense moment, their confrontation felt extremely real. Kenna knew it wasn't… but Stephanie didn't like her as it was, and Kenna felt much the same. And it wasn't until Triple H put a hand on Kenna's shoulder to slowly push her away that she snapped from the stare.
"Don't you dare touch me," she snarled at him. "I don't care how it happens, I don't care when it happens, but it's gonna happen, and you're gonna lose absolutely everything you worked for."
Nothing more was said as Kenna turned on her heel.
Yet, she was quick to continue walking down the hall, towards where she knew The Shield would be waiting for her, because they had a lot to talk about— she had to show them that she could still be influential even without being Director of Operations, and Hunter had listened to her ideas hours before and given his seal of approval.
"Kenna Swan," a deep voice said slowly, and Kenna turned with a frown on her face, her steps slowing. "Seems to be the name on the tip of everyone's tongue at the moment."
"Just yours, currently." She fully turned now and regarded Michael Mizanin with slight disdain in her eyes. She knew him, knew of him— and she didn't want whatever it was about to happen happen. "I'm a little busy at the moment, but whatever it is you want can probably wait, alright?"
"Oh, no, didn't want to hold you up," Miz laughed. But then he pursed his lips and stepped closer. "See, I just— everyone's talking about you when they should be talking about me."
The thigh-high boots she was wearing pushed her height to such an extent that she could gaze him in the eyes without arching her neck, and silently she was thankful; it was difficult for her to be intimidating or even challenging when she was the smaller person in the situation.
"Change it, then."
Miz raised an eyebrow at her and tried to close the distance between them with one step when Kenna placed a heavy hand against his chest. "No," she said, "you stay there."
It was like his calm façade was shattered, because Miz's face twisted and he slapped her hand off him, and quiet literally shoved her backwards so hard she flew backwards into a very hard and very defined body— and she would have fallen flat on her ass had the hands not wrapped around her waist.
But Kenna didn't even care. Her eyes were lit in a fire and she was about to slap that cocky little smile off of his face before she even had her footing back. Kenna lurched forwards straight away and slammed her fist across his face, and then hissed and cussed when it hurt more than she thought it would. Her lips pursed and she spun clutching her hand to her chest, only to meet Roman's amused gaze.
"You good?"
"Never been better."
With one last glance over her shoulder, Kenna left the disgraced Superstar on his ass.
—
She had to keep reminding herself that her job here was to break Roman Reigns and The Shield, not to make them, but that seemed to be getting increasingly harder each passing moment— because here she was, telling Ambrose and Rollins that they had their rematch for the Tag Team titles the RAW after WrestleMania, and here she was telling the boys they could choose whoever they wanted to face on the grandest stage of them all.
And it was hard to remember that she was supposed to be ruining Roman when he was staring at her with that genuine curve to his mouth. Like he was proud of her, like she'd made him happy.
How was she supposed to do anything when he looked at her like that?
"But let me get this straight— how are you even able to pull strings when they won't give you any power?" Seth asked her cautiously.
"I'll make them listen," Kenna thought out loud, and again she'd opened her mouth without really thinking about it. "I'll make it hard for them to say no to me, I'll make it even harder for them to not use me."
Seth was still frowning at her. "But how does that help you get back at your brother?"
"Because I'll have done in one month what he's done in three years, and I'll have done it better. When the Board of Directors realise which Helmsley sibling is the better one, they'll have no further use for him." She paused and glanced back over at Roman for the slightest second, and then turned back to Seth. "He thought he could control The Shield and he was wrong— he hindered you. I can give you so much more than he ever did, but all you gotta do is turn your back on him completely, and he won't go near you with a ten foot pole, he won't be stupid enough, and if he is? You can show him just how much you appreciate all he's done for you."
In the corner of the locker room, Dean snorted. His head was resting back against the wall and his eyes were closed, but he was listening to every word she'd just said. "Who needs the Cerebral Assassin when you've got the Cerebral Assassin's lil' sis?"
And she agreed with him. "You can play The Game all you want, but when it comes to me? I'm the one who plays it best."
His eyebrows raised then, and Kenna stared for a moment before she realised that it was his way of agreeing with her, and then her eyes were back on Seth— who seemed more then happy to accept that response.
When she glanced over at Roman, he shot her another smile.
And was this what it was supposed to be like? Where she was the bad guy and he was the good guy, where she gave him everything and then ripped it away like it was nothing? And then she had to wonder why she cared so much. She wasn't a good person. So why did she care?
She needed to get out of there before she had a panic attack.
Standing abruptly, Kenna excused herself from the room and walked as quickly as she could through the maze of the arena, begging for outside air and breathing in relief when she was suddenly out in the cool of the night.
"Fuckin' stupid," she murmured to herself, because this was stupid. What she was doing was stupid and wrong in more ways than one, but she had too much pride in her body to leave a job unfinished. She would stay and she would do what Hunter had asked her to do, and then she would go back to wrestling in the smaller circuits— because that was what she enjoyed most. And at least then, she figured, she wouldn't have any boundaries or expectations to be measured against.
But she had to think.
WrestleMania was in three weeks and undoubtably, The Shield would choose to go against Kane and the New Age Outlaws— there was no denying that, not with what Kane had planned for them next week (Kenna had conveniently left this little bit of information out). Then Rollins and Ambrose would fight for the Tag Titles, hopefully win, and be thrown right into another feud in time for Extreme Rules and Payback.
She had three specials to break them.
And there was no way she was leaving without getting hurt in the process.
Kenna visibly jumped when a warm jacket was slid around her shoulders, and then she was glancing at Stephanie with a frown. But she didn't speak.
"It's cold out here," the older woman offered, and Kenna slowly nodded her head. "Hunter would kill me if he knew I let you get sick."
"But he seems okay with you splitting my lip," she fired back easily.
Stephanie actually had the audacity to look ashamed. "I have to admit— that probably wasn't my smartest moment."
"Not at all."
"But, now that we're both out here, it give me the opportunity to apologise." Stephanie turned so that she was fully facing Kenna, and her eyes shone with some twisted kind of sincerity. "I'm sorry, Kenna. It was unprofessional and uncalled for and it won't happen again without your permission— and if it does, you can slap me right back."
Kenna couldn't help her snort. "Damn right I will."
The two woman settled into a sort of queazy silence, almost like Stephanie wanted to say something but didn't know how to. So Kenna did it for her.
"I came here because Hunter asked me to. My words are words, I'm playing a character on a television screen and that character will stay there." She paused and gazed over her shoulder at the arena exit. "Please, Stephanie— I know you don't like me, but don't make this harder than it has to be. I'll be gone before you know it."
"Or you could stay."
And— what?!
Stephanie even looked serious, but Kenna couldn't ever believe that. "I'm not staying. With what I'm about to do— staying is the last thing on my mind."
"You're breaking a faction, Kenna, not killing someone."
"I'm going to be public enemy number one."
"You're going to be recognised as the most cunning, ruthless and dangerous female working at WWE— apart from me, of course, but even I wouldn't do something like this."
And there it was again, the constant reminder that she was definitely going to far and had not even enough honour in her bones to stop it. "I'm going to be known as a lot of things, Steph, and all they're going to call me is a heartless bitch. Doesn't matter how I try and redeem myself, I'm always gonna be the bad guy."
"That's what we are, that is exactly what the Authority is," Stephanie affirmed, "We do what's best for business, and right now, taking care of The Shield is best for business."
In some regards, Stephanie was right. The Authority— rather, the people who ran The Authority; her step-brother and sister-in-law —were heartless and without remorse. And maybe Stephanie appreciated having someone just like her hanging around on a more permanent basis. Maybe Stephanie had realised that Kenna was smarter than she looked, older than her age.
But there was a nagging thought in the back of her head that hadn't left her alone since they'd started using that line on her. "Taking care of The Shield is best for you and Hunter," Kenna voiced slowly.
"Honey, let me fill you in on a little secret— Hunter and I? We are best for business."
"Kenna?"
It was a new voice, and Kenna's heart started to thump wildly in her chest as she glanced over her shoulder. Roman Reigns was walking towards them and his eyes were narrowed, his footsteps becoming slower and more hesitant.
He spoke again, and Stephanie turned to face him finally. "Everything okay here?"
"I'm just informing Miss Swan that she has her first wrestling match next week on RAW against Alicia Fox," the older woman spoke easily, and Kenna almost turned to look at her— almost, because in this moment, she might have been a genius. "Lovely to see you again, Kenna."
And then Stephanie McMahon was stalking away from them like she'd just been given the world in a wrapped box.
For a long moment, Reigns and Kenna stood there in the silence and let it surround them completely. She didn't know how much he'd seen or how much he'd heard, or whether he'd not seen or heard anything at all.
"Isn't that Triple H's jacket?"
She was making too many mistakes tonight. "Stole it," she murmured quietly, "it's cool out here."
Reigns slung an arm around her shoulder, and said, "We'll go inside then—"
"No."
His arm slowly dropped from her body and for a long moment Kenna was content to just stand there and let the cold numb her mind.
Yet, she couldn't. So Kenna turned and threw her arms around Reigns' neck, pushed her mouth hard against his, pressed her body flat against him, and then kissed him like she was trying to forget absolutely everything that she was supposed to be doing here. It was hard and imperfect and the way Reigns was clutching her against him had her entire body throbbing in the right kind of way.
His large hands were grabbing at her hips and she hissed when he found a particularly raw spot from their efforts this morning, but he didn't release and instead drank the moan from her lips like it was wine.
Yet, then he was pulling away.
"Kenna—"
She cut him off before he could even begin. "My head is doing some crazy things right now, big guy, so I'd appreciate it if you'd just help me not think."
His stormy grey eyes peered down at her for just a moment before he gripped her face between his large hands and thrust his tongue into her mouth, and then she couldn't think anything else except fuck, because his leg had pushed between hers, rubbing against the meeting of her thighs.
"I can't do this out here," she rushed against his mouth, and without words he agreed with her and started manoeuvring them towards the backdoor of the arena.
She wondered silently when he became Reigns and not Roman.
chapter title named after Time by Gustavo Bertoni
thankyou so much to Raquel the writer and quinzel harley (yes, i see what you did there you sneaky fuck ;) got the 'choose a champion' idea from that!) for their reviews, as feedback leaves me happy and wanting to write more (alas, this finished chapter).
mostly Kenna realises how much of a shitty situation she's put herself into, so next chapter we get to see her have another talk with Triple H, and a surprise guest appearance of a childhood hero (who knows more than he lets on). Kenna's in some deep shit now... let me know what you think, where I can improve, etc etc, anything is greatly appreciated!
much love x