Work Text:
Cody stumbled back behind the curtain, bruised and exhausted from the brutal match that was WrestleMania 40. There was only one thing on his mind and that was getting home and getting some rest. He was on the road almost all year and never took a moment to himself, he rarely even had time to self reflect on the accomplishments he made along the way. Winning the Royal Rumble seemed like just a lousy step towards an impossible dream. But now with nothing left to achieve, he could focus on himself, his rest, and his personal desires. As he stumbled through Gorilla he heard many people congratulating him, but they were quick to let him leave. But he did stop for someone, a girl with blue and black hair stood in the hallway with a gentle smile as she walked over to him. "Hey that was crazy work out there. Good job." She nodded and shook Cody's hand. "Ah thanks.. um sorry but who are you? I've never seen you backstage before." Lyra looked at him with a soft smile and thought how she managed to get this close to the top star. It was rare that new prospects got to attend backstage PLEs, much less a WrestleMania like this one, but with enough begging to Shawn he let her meet the superstar. "I'm from NXT, so I guess our schedules never lined up. I'm a big fan by the way."
"Oh yah cool, what's your name? I don't think I caught that."
She never said her name to be fair, and now Lyra kind of wished she did. It now made her look like a rampant fan, but Cody didn't seem to care as much, he was just trying to get to know the beautiful girl in front of him. "Lyra, I would ask what your name is but they've got it posted everywhere." She lets out a nervous laugh and felt the social anxiety setting in. Lyra had talked to boys before but none were as handsome as the one standing in front of her. His bright smile and bleached slick hair were calling her name. His body was just as gorgeous as the rest of him and it was hard to keep her eyes up. "Yah, it gets to a point. I think the bus might be a little much. But I like the name, Lyra, it's pretty." Cody looked down at her with a soft smile and tried to seem less intimidating, he could tell she was nervous. Most people that meet me end up freaking out or they get awkward, I'm really trying to prevent that here. "Oh thank you. Hey it was fun talking to you, and I know you're really tired so I won't waste your time anymore, see you around?" Lyra gently pats on his forearm and waits for a response before slowly leaving. "Yah of course. Bye Lyra." As she walked away she tried not to freak out of the sound of her name coming from him. The way he said it was so attractive, especially with that tired rasp he had.
A few months later Lyra managed to finally find her spot on the main roster, while it was still shaky, it meant she had her foot in the door. But another benefit was the chance of seeing Cody every week instead of the slim chance of catching him after a big event. Like right now she was taking advantage of the free hotel breakfast, when Cody walked in behind her and pulled open the medicine cabinet, he seemed stressed so she kept her distance but watched him as she waited on her waffles. Not like a creep of course, but she seen him pour out a few ibuprofen and swallow them right before he turned around and she had to act busy. Cody had already caught her looking at him though, and decided to say something to her. "Oh hey, it's Lyra right? From WrestleMania?" He put the bottle of pills back in the cabinet and walked to stand beside her. "Yah, that's me. How have you been doing since, I seen some of your hard matches. Pretty intense stuff." Cody shrugged it off and opened a small fridge to get a yogurt parfait. "I mean it was hard but I got through them. But hey are you on the main roster now? NXT is like miles away."
A small smile crept up on Lyra's face, it was one filled with pride in her accomplishments. "Yup, they finally gave me what I worked so hard for. But it's still a little shaky, this is my second night here. They want to set me up the IC women's title soon." Cody looked up from his bowl and smiled wide and gave her a high hive. "That's what I like to hear, you must have some real talent."
"Well I sure hope so. But the IC title is nothing compared to yours. You got THE championship belt on you." Lyra pats his shoulder and he nods. "Yah but I've been going after this thing all my life. Kind of sucky that this is my first time with it."
"Your too humble for your own good." I smile and take my food over to a table. "It's better to be humble than like some obnoxious prick like Logan Paul." He chuckles to himself. "But hey it was really nice seeing you again, but I've gotta go handle media so I'll catch up with you some other time ok? Congrats on your future title win." He smiles and gives a small wave before walking out of the kitchen with his yogurt bowl.
The next time Lyra would see the man of her dreams would be the next week at a company New Years Eve dinner, Lyra and Cody didn't have a date and wasn't sure what to do about that. But instead of Cody asking Lyra to go with him as a friend he was scared she would assume the worst of him and he inevitability decided that he would ride solo to the party and try to catch up with Randy or Roman while he was there. Lyra decided to get ready with Becky and ride with her and Seth there, so after hours of putting on makeup and pulling on a tight silver dress with small straps and came down to a bit below her knee with a small slit over her thigh and put her hair up in a slick back bun. She put on small earrings and some light makeup and eyeshadow. Cody went with a navy blue three piece suit and his gold watch and then both made their way to the dinner.
"So who's gonna be ya kiss tonight?" Becky said looking back at Lyra from the front seat. A small blush flushed over Lyra and she looked down at her hands and shrugged. "I don't have anybody to be kissin on, so don't even try asking." She tried to play it off but Becky could tell she was hiding her secret admiration. "Oh come on tell me already, it's so obvious that you want to be kissin on someone anyways. Don't lie to me." Becky slaps the middle console of the car, eagerly awaiting an answer. "It's complicated, I hardly talk to him, he's so busy all the time. But I'd say that we're friends. But I'm not even sure if he'll be there."
"Is he from NXT?"
"Uh.. no. He's been on the main roster for a few years. He's a bit older than me." Becky rolls her eyes and gives an annoyed look, "Just tell me who the lucky man is already, stop dropping these mysterious clues."
Lyra takes a moment to think if she should really tell Becky, considering that Seth is right beside her it's really risky. Seth is one of Cody's closer acquaintances, not friends but they work closely together. Well they may be friends, I don't know.. "Go on already!" Becky says eagerly. "Eh.. it's Cody..." She braces for impact and Becky's jaw drops. "He's 40! That's a lot more than just a bit older. Not to mention he's the face of this company. Are you sure he likes you too?"
Seth laughs and cuts in, "Not true, I'm the top guy of WWE, I don't need a belt to prove that."
Becky ignores him and watches me for an answer. "Oh I think we've made it, I'll talk later!" The car parks and Lyra manages to hop out and make her way into the dining hall. It was lavish and extravagant with decorations and a huge chandelier was over a ballroom style dance floor. She looked around at all the people and made her way to an older man carrying a tray of wine glasses and took one as she explored the lavish hall.
Cody spotted her through the crowd of people and she looked stunning in the dress. It was hard to focus on the conversations he was having with Roman and Paul when she stepped through the huge glass doors. His throat felt dry and his hands grew sweaty, he had only seen her a few times but everytime he seen her his feelings seemed to grow more intense, he wasn't sure if it was his loneliness or the pure beauty of the woman that made him feel the way he did. But he wasn't sure what to do with himself. He was good at disguising his nervousness which he was so grateful for as she slowly walked up to him. Roman gave him a nod and a smile as he stepped back and left the two to fend for themselves. "There you are." She said softly and stepped a bit closer, just close enough for Cody to pick up on the soft perfume she wore. "It's good to see you again, you are doing amazing things on RAW by the way." He smiled and she looked over his shoulder trying to distract herself from the way he looked in his suit. "Thank you. It means a lot to hear those words from you."
"Of course, you look nice by the way." Cody nods at the lavish outfit Lyra had on and she blushed at the words Cody regretted letting slip. "Thank you, I'd say you look pretty handsome yourself." She pats the shoulder of his suit and takes a step back. "Yah? I-"
All of a sudden a loud Irish accent yells for Lyra and she shuts her eyes ready for the humiliation ritual Becky was about to perform upon her. "That's where you went huh? Me and Seth have been looking for you for a while now." Becky comes up behind Lyra and puts a soft hand over her shoulder. "I wasn't even gone for that lonnnggg." she complains and Becky just shakes her head. "Whatever you say, oh hey Cody! I didn't know you and Lyra were a thing." Lyra gasps and looks back at her best friend in horror. Cody smiles and looks at Becky in confusion. "Ohhhh.. ya'll AREN'T dating? Why? Ya'll. would be so cute together." She smiles and gestures between the two. "I'll think about it?" Cody says confused. "Yah..ok, well I gotta go you guys go back to whatever you two talk about." Becky pats Lyra's shoulder and Seth shakes Cody's hand as they walk away. She turns back to face Cody and he can't stop smiling. "Is she like a wing woman or.."
"I have no clue, she's been trying to set me up with someone for a while."
"Oh same, Roman will not stop trying to get me back in the dating scene for years."
Lyra smiles at the realization that her man is single. "You're single? How? You're like the face of the company, every girl wants you."
He just shakes his head, "I don't know.. but I've been a little more open to it lately." He grins and turns to see his best friend, Roman coming back up to him with a drink and he gives Lyra a nod goodbye and follows Roman away. Oh when Lyra gets her hands on Becky it would not be a pretty sight.
Roman looked over at Cody and tried not to laugh. "So this whole time you've been lying about having a date to this dinner? Are you ashamed of her or what?" Cody tries to hide his feelings but Roman always sees right through him. "I should've known when you were ranting about how good Lyra was in ring. You are so predictable dawg." Cody rolls his eyes and picks up a glass of whiskey from the bar in the back of the ballroom. "Well you know what you have to do right?" Roman keeps pushing him. "What?"
"You gotta dance with her, and maybe if she sees something in you, you could have a kiss at midnight..." He pokes at Cody's shoulder clearly messing with him. "It's not some middle school crush ok? I'm not an idiot."
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take man."
"How wise of you."
Cody manages to get away from Roman, but only to be found confronting one of his admirers. The woman was attractive but not someone he ever wanted to be near. Because behind the gorgeous looks, was a bitter and hateful person. She came up to him and put her hands on his chest and looked up at with a sly grin. "I've missed you Cody. Where have you been? I got moved down to NXT but they still let me come to these dumb parties." She nods and brushes her red hair back. "Cool." He says sarcastically and looks around for some sort of escape but only to lock eyes with the girl he really wants to talk to and she looks livid. "We'll talk later."
"Ok baby see you at midnight." She grazes her hand over his chest and arm and strolls away as the click of her heels echoes through the room.
He finds himself sitting by Roman and his wife, feeling like a third wheel. But as the music begins to grow louder and couples find each other on the dance floor, but Cody and Lyra are at half empty tables hoping the other would move. When Roman finally gets up to go with his wife, and Seth and Becky leave Lyra's side they end up alone staring at each other again. This time neither of them look away, and Cody finally makes his move after a painful amount of yearning. He clears his throat and stands up slowly as he pushes in his chair and makes his way over to the beautiful woman across from him. The clock grew closer to midnight, and this was his only chance. He stood in front of her table and she smiled as she looked up at him. "I um.. I kind of want to dance but I don't want to do it alone." He nods nervously and extends his hand to Lyra. "You want to dance with me?" She blushes and takes his offer as he helps her up. She stands in front of him and doesn't drop his hand. His hand seems to burn against hers in a beautiful sensation that makes her want to hold on forever. "I would love to." He nods and squeezes her hand gently. He leads her through the crowd of people and into the middle of the room under the jaw-dropping chandelier. They look up at the twinkling lights and back at each other and he takes a step closer to her and puts one hand on her hip and holds her hand with the other.
"This is my first time ballroom dancing. So don't judge me please." Lyra grins as Cody slowly guides her through the steps, the song was majestic, it was called, "This Love." It was slow but described love in such a way I could never comprehend or try to explain with words of my own. "I love this." The words slip from my mouth and he looks down at me softly, like he's admiring my every step. "What about it?" I shrug and he times the movements to certain lyrics, like when the singer says, "This love came back to me." He would step back and then pull me back to him. He moved so gracefully and it made me feel something for him, it felt dangerous and more intense than ever before. "You, the room, that absurdly huge chandelier, the song, everything, it's beautiful."
The song sadly had to end but when it did the countdown for the new year began, and Blinding Lights plays over the speakers as people chant the countdown. I keep my eyes on Cody and he parts his lips about to say something and stops.
10.. 9....
"What is it?" She holds onto her forearms as he looks down at her. She worries that she did. something wrong and ruined the moment but Cody is building up the courage to ask to kiss her at the countdown.
8.......7.....
"Nothing." He murmurs and tries to find his words, he's making a fool of himself, but the hurt in her eyes says it all. She nods and turns away from him. She wipes her eyes and takes a step back.
6......5..... "I understand, I'm sorry, Bye Cody I'm leaving but tonight was nice though thanks." She nods. Do something! Cody screams internally, and finally he steps forward and catches her hand and pulls her back to him. He looks down at her as the clock runs out and he manages to choke out the 4 simple words she had been desperately hoping for.
4......3.....
"Can I kiss you?" He asks watching me carefully as if his life depends on Lyra's answer. She holds onto him tightly and steps closer and looks up at his anxious smile.
2...... Instead of answering she only nodded because of her lack of words. She didn't know what to do with herself, she had kissed guys before but she hadn't been with a man like Cody before and it terrified her.
"HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!" Everyone cheered but Cody and Lyra didn't seem to hear any of them, they were only focused on each other and the beautiful moment between them. So as time moved in slow motion and the last second ticked away Cody leaned down and gently kissed her, and took her in a tight embrace. When the moment died out and they broke apart, Cody looked at Lyra like she was all he ever needed, and Lyra only could think of the gentle love he showed her in that small kiss.
But when everything felt right, eventually the party ended and Lyra had to leave and go back to reality. She was terrified to see Cody again and avoided him at any chance she got. It wrecked her, she cried anytime she thought of the way he looked at her and held her, and the kiss felt like it was an era past. They grew apart and only spoke in small exchanges in the hallway that ended with a simple wave and awkward. smile. Becky was tired of hearing Lyra cry, and Roman was tired of seeing Cody sulking so the two friends came up with the perfect plan to get the two lovebirds back together and it involved the upcoming holiday, so after a month and a half of weird eye contact and yearning for each other they found themselves in the break room alone. Which was strange because it was usually always full. And Lyra spotted a large bouquet of flowers in her favorite colors, blue and white, on the table with her name written on the tag. They were from Cody. He stood far away from her and watched nervously. Not a word was said as Lyra sat on the couch poking through the flowers examining every beautiful bloom. Cody swallowed nervously and put his hands in the pockets of his grey suit pants. After a painful moment of silence Lyra looked up at him and smiled.
"How did you know my favorite color?"
Cody found out from Roman, not to mention that Roman convinced Cody that Lyra wouldn't kick his ass if he bought her flowers, and then went and found out the exact flowers and colors she liked and sent Cody to buy the expensive arrangement. There was also an apology letter in the middle but Lyra had set that to the side, she was ashamed to read it in-front of him. Now the only reason the break room was empty was simple, Becky and Roman kicked everyone else out and put maintenance signs on the doors. Only Cody and Lyra managed to find their way inside. "Becky told me, I asked her if it would be a good idea." He crossed the room slowly and stood across from her. "Can you read the letter, I'm too nervous to say all that myself." He nods in the direction of the teal envelope. She doesn't reply but instead takes the letter and unfolds it and her eyes flick across the words and tears start to form in her eyes and she sets everything down and nearly launches herself into his arms.
"I missed you so much." She weeps into his shoulder. "I didn't know what to do, I'm sorry." He murmurs and rubs her back lightly in reassurance. "It just seemed like you regretted ever kissing me and I thought you didn't want me anymore. I felt so ashamed and guilty anytime I saw you. I just felt like I was needy and desperate because I only knew you for a few months, but I couldn't figure out why I liked you so much so I was just a mess this whole time, all I wanted was to talk to you. I'm probably ruining your super nice suit aren't I? Ugh I'm such a wreck!" She cried and wished she didn't but she couldn't stop. "Who cares about this dumb suit anyways." He smiles and squeezes her gently. "And I would never regret kissing such a beautiful woman like you." Lyra laughed and held onto him until her tears dried and stepped back to look at him again. "I.. I think I love you." He mumbles and Lyra's heart beats against her chest and she nods. "I love you too. I know it's soon, but that's the only word I have to describe what I feel." And with that she steps forward and kisses him. He lifts her up in the air and spins her around as they kiss and laugh against each other, they were filled with love and joy for each other that they didn't notice Becky and Roman, the best wingmen on the planet, stepping into the room. "I knew they'd find each other again." Roman looks at Becky with a grin. "Yah they really are meant for each other."