Work Text:
The trainer sighed, pushing back from the table where a young blond man sat, his head in his hands.
“I’m sorry, Nathan. There’s just no possible way I can clear you to compete tonight.”
“No… No. You don’t understand, I have to compete, or we forfeit the titles. We… please!” The man pleaded into his hands, refusing to look up. There were too many people in the room he didn’t want seeing him cry–the trainer, Ava, the camera… and Axiom. Letting them see him cry felt like admitting a weakness.
It wasn’t even that he had meant to get injured–and it wasn’t that serious, regardless of what the trainer or anyone else had to say. He had been training earlier, getting a few extra reps in before he and Axiom’s big tag title defense against the Street Profits tonight, when his foot had rolled the wrong way. One thing led to another, and he had called Axiom through choked back tears, trying to downplay just how bad his ankle was killing him.
Now he wished that he’d just shut up. Wrapped his foot and wrestled through it.
Ugh.
“Nathan, if he says that he can’t clear you, nobody can, in good conscience, let you go out there and wrestle.” Ava’s voice was matter of fact, and though Nathan usually respected her decisions, this one drove him fucking insane. “I’ll tell you what, though. You and Axiom have been reliable enough, and I’d hate to see you lose the titles for something out of your control.”
“You’ll call the match off?” Nathan’s head flew up, his eyes shining–though if it was with excitement or tears, nobody could tell. “Wait until I can compete?”
“Uh… not exactly. We promised the NXT fans a tag team title match tonight, and they’re going to get that match one way or another.”
Nathan’s shoulders dropped. “But… Axiom can’t defend the titles alone. That’s not… fair to him.”
“And he won’t be defending the titles alone, Nathan.” Ava turned her attention to Axiom, shutting Nathan out of the conversation. “You can pick a partner–anyone in the locker room–to defend your titles with tonight. Just make sure to let me know who you pick before the match starts.”
She left no room for argument, nodding at the cameraman and the trainer before walking out of the room, other matters on her mind.
Nathan’s jaw dropped ever so slightly, his eyes stinging. He blinked rapidly before glancing over at Axiom, trying to gauge his reaction. The pink mask pulled over his face made it difficult to tell, really, what he thought, but the way his hand was rubbing his chin and his arms were crossed… he couldn’t seriously be considering…?
“What a load of bull, right Ax?” Nathan chuckled nervously. “Replacing me… hah. You would never.”
“Nathan, amigo, the Street Profits are one of the best tag teams in the business. I can’t go out there myself and risk losing our titles.” Axiom ran his hand over his masked face. “I’m not replacing you, but I have to have a partner.”
What?
No way he was hearing him right.
“Oh. Um.” Nathan swallowed hard, blinking. In an attempt to look literally anywhere but Axiom, he focused on his bare foot, wrapped in protective white medical tape. The throbbing felt lightyears away now. “Who… who do you have in mind?”
“I was going to try to ask Je’Von Evans. Or Dante Chen, if I can find him.”
It made sense, of course it made sense. They’d teamed with Je’Von before, and he meshed with their styles well. He was just as fast as them (or maybe even faster, though Nathan refused to admit that anyone was faster than him), excelled at high flying, and was a positive energy magnet. If he agreed, the titles would stay exactly where they were.
To anyone else, this would be a good thing. But this wasn’t anyone else–this was Nathan Frazer.
Something gnawed at him. Like a nasty beast trying to pry through the bars of his ribcage.
“Um… yeah. That… yeah. Solid choices for sure, amigo.” He sounded less than enthused, Axiom caught that much immediately.
But even as good at reading Nathan as Axiom was, he missed some things sometimes.
He turned to Nathan, still sitting on the trainer’s table, and placed his hands on his shoulders gently.
“I’m sorry you can’t compete tonight, Nate. I really am. I know how much this match meant to you.” He filled in the space between them, wrapping the blond into a hug. “We’ll get to face the Profits again, and you’ll be able to do it then. I promise.”
He pressed his face to Nathan’s forehead, mimicking a kiss, before breaking away from the younger and inching to the door.
“I have to go find Je’Von. Don’t get too down on yourself, please.”
The door slammed shut behind him, leaving Nathan with nothing but the buzz of the LEDs overhead to calm his rising anxiety.
– ♡ –
If the partnership had just ended that night, Nathan would have been fine.
He had never considered himself to be of the jealous type before, and even now, he still didn’t want to admit that it was jealousy ripping itself through his body. But seeing Je’Von hold his title above his head, while holding his Axiom’s hand in victory… seeing Axiom gush about how good of a partner Je’Von was in their backstage interview… It wasn’t fair.
He didn’t even have anything against Je’Von, not really. He knew who he was really upset with–Ava, for not postponing the match. Axiom, for not fighting for Nathan. And if he were being really honest? Himself, for getting the stupid injury in the first place.
A few weeks post injury, the knife to the gut felt even worse than the initial team-up. NXT in St. Louis, with Nathan and Axiom scheduled to defend their titles against A-Town Down Under. Je’Von was scheduled to main event against Randy Orton–a feat even Nathan couldn’t scoff at.
He was happy for the kid, he really was. If he got a chance to face AJ Styles, he would be through the roof, so for Je’Von to get to face his hero so early on in his career was something Nathan had to applaud.
He just wished that Axiom would stop talking about the damn match for five seconds. Even when Randy pulled the pair aside just before their own match, asking for advice on Je’Von, and Axiom started gushing about how good of a wrestler he was, how energetic he was, and how he was the “fastest person on NXT.”
The last was a point that shouldn’t have hurt Nathan. It wasn’t a personal insult, nor was it to discredit him, but for some reason, hearing it out of Axiom’s mouth… hurt, just a bit. He didn’t see his own tag partner… ugh.
“I mean, I wouldn’t say the fastest person,” Nathan chuckled, and Axiom slapped his chest.
“Not in front of Randy Orton.” Axiom hissed, and that was the end of it–another fight shoved just beneath the surface for another time, when everything had finally become enough for the two of them.
If Axiom hadn’t gone out of his way to throw a congratulations, a “you did so good”, all of the praise he could, to Je’Von, Nathan wouldn’t have cared. Not at all.
And about two weeks later, back in Florida, if Axiom hadn’t been talking about how impressive Je’Von was, just minutes before, Nathan wouldn’t have lashed out.
He wouldn’t have gone off to Je’Von’s face, talking about how he needed to slow down and be patient and stop trying so hard. He knew it wasn’t fair to the kid; he hadn’t done a single thing wrong, but Nathan was so tired.
So tired of hearing Je’Von’s name in Axiom’s mouth.
So tired of Axiom gushing about how good of a wrestler Je’Von was.
And God was he so tired of being second best in Axiom’s life.
Axiom placed a hand on Nathan’s chest, trying to stop the situation from escalating further. He could see it in Je’Von’s eyes, the anger bubbling to the surface. Nathan was about to get hurt if he didn’t stop, Axiom knew that much.
“Nathan, come on. Je’Von is my friend-”
Axiom was very good at predicting things. That was no secret at all. He was a genius. Mathematical equations told him exactly where to jump from, exactly where to kick. They taught him how to predict anything and everything before it happened, because there was always an explanation for everything.
But even he couldn’t predict the way Nathan snapped on him, how fast the younger spun around. He had no explanation for the burning anger in his eyes–anger reserved completely for Axiom.
“And why do you need friends that aren’t me, hm? Am I not good enough any more?” Nathan spat–it seemed that nothing was going to be a secret at this rate. Why not let it all out now? Axiom took a step back, his hand dropping to his side.
He turned his attention back to Je’Von, another venomous quip resting on the tip of his tongue. Something about how he was a fraud and a poser, how this would be the peak of his career. It never left his mouth, though.
A firm slap from Je’Von made sure of that.
Nathan’s cheek stung, and he lunged before he could think about it, screaming a string of curses at the younger boy being held back by Cedric. Axiom had wrapped his own arm’s around Nathan’s torso, pulling him backwards, away from Je’Von and Cedric, away from his own anger.
As soon as they rounded the nearest corner, Axiom let go of him, and Nathan deflated, falling back against the smooth brick of the wall. He slid to the floor, dropping his head in his hands, his mind racing.
He hadn’t held back with Je’Von.
He lashed out at Axiom.
And his jaw still hurt.
Fuck.
Triple whammy.
“Do you want to explain why you went picking a fight with Je’Von? I thought you two were cool!” Axiom’s voice was eerily calm, certainly too calm for everything that had just went down. It made Nathan uneasy. “Seriously, Nathan. I can’t believe you!”
Nathan looked up, his mouth open. “You can’t believe me? You can’t believe me?” He chuckled. “You’ve been pushing me to the side for Je’Von since you two teamed up last month, but somehow you can’t believe me?”
This time, Axiom’s voice was laced with anger. “Pushing you to the side? Having a friend is pushing you to the side now?”
“You defended our titles with him, and now you can’t stop fucking bringing him up every five seconds! I’d say that’s pushing me to the side, amigo!”
“Don’t call me that. You aren’t acting like a friend at all right now, Nathan.”
“Right, and I suppose you are?”
“Yes! I am!” Axiom threw his hands up, exasperated. “All I ever do is support you, Nathan. Even when I think you’re being a complete dumbass, I support you, because that’s what friends do! That’s what a good partner does! And I befriended a kid who was willing to help me keep our tag titles, because you somehow managed to get hurt right before the match, and somehow, I’m the bad friend in your mind!”
“If you supported me, you wouldn’t be replacing me!” Nathan was fully shouting, though he wasn’t sure when he had started. His head hurt, actually. Everything hurt. Everything ached. His heart felt like it was beating against his chest, trying to break free. His brain throbbed against its fleshy prison, begging for a break.
He had never been this jealous before–of course Axiom was allowed to have other friends, other people he looked after and cared about and loved. He was allowed to praise other wrestlers. Call out talent when he saw it.
When did it get this bad?
Nathan wiped his hand across his face, surprised when it came back wet. He didn’t know when he had started crying. He didn’t even realize that the hallway had fallen completely silent. Axiom hadn’t moved, just staring at Nathan. Taking him in, taking it all in.
It took a moment for him to finally speak.
“I love you, Nathan, and you know that. And I recognize that you have your insecurities–and I promise you I will never stop reassuring you at every turn.” He paused, crossing his arms. His stance reminded Nathan of a schoolteacher, reprimanding a child they were disappointed in. “But there is no amount of insecurity in the world that will ever excuse you ripping into Je’Von the way you just did.”
“And what was I supposed to say to him exactly? That I think he’s the best thing to walk God’s green Earth like you do? I told the kid the truth, even if I wasn’t exactly nice about it.” His tone wasn’t mean anymore, though. Axiom could tell he didn’t even believe what he was saying, but he was standing by his shitty point nonetheless.
He sighed, and Nathan saw his jaw clench from under his mask.
“Sometimes, Nathan, I look at you, and I don’t recognize the man looking back.” His tone was calm, far too matter-of-fact for a statement that left Nathan’s entire world lopsided. “For once, I’m going to be making a decision for us, and I’m going to go offer Je’Von and Cedric a tag title match. It’s the least I can do after whatever the hell that was.”
“Amigo, I-”
“I just hope you regain your common sense sometime in the next week, because I want the Nathan Frazer I fell in love with by my side. Not… whoever this is.”
Nothing else needed to be said, not that Nathan could get in another word. Axiom had already stormed off in search of Cedric and Je’Von.
Nathan knew he was right. He knew he wasn’t at all himself. He wasn’t being the Nathan that helped form Fraxiom. The Nathan that won the tag titles with his best friend. The Nathan that fought through every up and down to ensure that he and Axiom would stay okay.
He wanted him and Axiom to be okay.
But he didn’t at all know where to start, because they were well beyond apologies. Even if they retained the titles next week, Nathan knew that wouldn’t be enough to fix things. He wasn’t sure what to do, but he had to try something. He couldn’t lose his Axiom.
Before he left the arena, he stopped by Je’Von’s locker, a piece of paper in his grip. He uncapped the sharpie in his other hand, the cap resting between his teeth as he scrawled a messy “I’m sorry” onto the paper. He left his signature at the bottom and stuck it to the back of Je’Von’s locker with a gold star sticker. He still wasn’t the greatest at apologies, but this would do.
It was a start, anyway, and that’s all Nathan needed. A start.
– ♡ –