Sunburn

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Date: October 25th, 2017
Cameras: OFF

“Ugh, what a long day…”

Adrien Cochrane stretches his arms a bit as he twists the key in his car to disable the engine. He takes a quick glance at his watch on his left wrist to see that it’s nearly six o’clock in the evening. He tilts his neck a bit until he hears a few cracks before opening the door to his car, grabbing his duffle bag with his gym clothes inside, that was seated next to him in the passenger seat.

Adrien: “At least it looks like Stacy is home.”

Adrien twists the doorknob and as soon as the door creaks open, the aforementioned Stacy Sterling makes her presence known.

Stacy: “Babe? Is that you?”

Stacy rounds the corner from the kitchen and spots her love with his gym bag in his hand. Stacy’s eyebrows furrow as she approaches and gently takes the gym bag out of his hand.

Stacy: “You look exhausted, Ade. You’re still pushing yourself.”

Stacy sits the bag down and takes Adrien by the hand, leading him into the kitchen. On the kitchen table was a stack of papers, but they weren’t Stacy’s concern at the moment. Instead, she helps him sit down and then pulls up a chair and places it directly across from Adrien.

Stacy: “Okay, we’re not leaving this kitchen until you tell me what’s going on. I know you have a ton of big matches coming up, but you’ve been pushing yourself beyond exhaustion and I’m worried.”

Adrien raises an eyebrow at Stacy’s question.

Adrien: “It’s different now. I’m not just fighting for me or for some ideals of mine. I’m fighting for three other people who are looking to me as some sort of leader. I’ve got a World Title opportunity coming this upcoming pay per view. And now I’ve got a match against Coda, who is probably one of the most talented people on this entire roster and a member of the stable we are at war with.”

Adrien looks up to see if his response was sufficient for Stacy.

Adrien: “Plus, I gotta make you proud, right?”

Stacy: “You always make me proud. Especially with how much you do in this community, Ade, you give all of yourself to your fans, friends, to the community, and of course to me, but I’m still worried.”

The blonde with the bright blue eyes scoots her chair closer and takes one of Adrien’s hands in both of hers and squeezes.

Stacy: “I was just like you a few months ago. I was going one hundred and fifty percent all of the time, and I loved it. I was fighting for more than championships, or myself, I was being the hero that I felt everyone needed. I wouldn’t trade it for the world, but then we both know what happened. As soon as I reached the biggest moment of my career, my body gave out on me, and I was supposed to be ready to return by now, but instead, my body is still betraying me. Is it because I went too fast, without slowing down to truly enjoy things?”

Her eyes show concern as she turns around and grabs a stack of papers off of the table. She begins flipping through them, each paper with a different wrestling company logo at the top.

Stacy: “These are all of the contracts that I have been offered, and I’ve wanted to sign them, but I know I’m not ready. I know I need more time at home, with you, and when I come back, it needs to feel right. You fighting the world to save people? It feels right, but I barely see you. That doesn’t feel right.”

Adrien: “I know the benefit show took me out of the state for a few days. But there’s good news. I’m getting everything at my home gym replaced and revamped so that I can do more of my training up here. The show after this one is in New Orleans so I won’t have to go out of town for that show. I’ll be home a lot more often these upcoming weeks.”

Adrien then addresses the next topic, looking in the direction of the contracts Stacy brought up moments ago.

Adrien: “Eddie got you all of those?”

Her eyes stayed glued to the contracts as she flips through them, one by one.

Stacy: “Every single one.”

With a deep breath, Stacy places both palms on the stack of papers that rest on her lap.

Stacy: “I told Eddie I was ready. I even told the world I was ready, but in my heart, I know I’m not. I see what you do, what The Guardians do, and I know if I put myself back out there right now, that I’m just going to get hurt again. What kind of hero would that be?”

Stacy scoops the papers up and places them on the table behind her again.

Stacy: “But this isn’t about me, I just know how hard I worked myself, and while I miss it, all of this time off has given me the chance to think about everything and I know when I return, it has to feel right. You’re the hardest working man in NGW, and while I’m extremely proud of you, I worry. But I guess that’s my job, to worry about the hero.”

A smile finally creeps over her face, it was true. Adrien was her hero, but he was the hero of so many people around the world.

Adrien: “I’ve been wrestling for getting close to thirteen years now. I know where my limit is. I’ve gotten injured in the past, sure. Eddie can tell you about the time I woke up in a hospital with a concussion and broken ribs and was still telling them I was ready to fight the next show. I know that you’re looking at me and you see someone who just turned thirty-one and you might be worried about how hard I’m pushing myself to face off against a twenty-two-year-old title holder. But how hard I work is part of how I do what I do. The fact that you can’t even keep me down is what makes me the Dropkick King. I’m in the prime of my career. We are in the middle of my peak years. I know what my hard work will bring and what it can do.”

Cochrane looks up to see if that has given Stacy any comfort whatsoever for the concerns she has expressed. Her nod confirmed that his explanation had put her mind at ease, even if only a little bit.

Stacy: “I trust you. If you tell me your body is fine, and you’re okay to do this, then I’ll stop questioning you. I just want to make sure you continue coming home to me with a smile on your face, ready for all the hugs that I can smother you with. Speaking of…”

Stacy leaps from her chair, landing in the lap of her hero. She wraps both arms around him and places quick kisses all over his face.

Stacy: “There. Now you know I’m feeling better about it.”

The grin on her face spreads wider and wider and as Adrien went to say something, Stacy kissed his lips again before laughing.

Stacy: “Okay, I’m done being silly Stacy now.”

Adrien: “Are you sure about that? I love Silly Stacy! That goofy side of you is part of the reason I wanted to be with you!”

Now Adrien is the one with the big grin on his face, each corner of his mouth close to the corresponding ear.

Adrien: “And I hope you know that each time I put in all this work, I’m not just trying to chase people like Coda, Matthew Shields, Kayla Richards, or even people like Johnny Maverick. There’s only one person I’m chasing. And you know who that is, right?”

Stacy: “If I guess correctly, what prize do I get?”

Adrien chuckles a little bit.

Adrien: “I’ll smother you with hugs and kisses like you did just now for me.”

Adrien hopes Stacy has been paying attention to Adrien’s motto about why his work ethic is what it is.

Stacy: “This one is easy. It’s almost not even fair and feels like a cheat code to free kisses.”

Stacy crinkles her nose as she smirks, her tongue sliding between her teeth playfully.

Stacy: “In order to be better than you were yesterday, you chase yourself, your own shadow. You want to take an extra step forward, setting the bar even higher for each day. It gives you something to work for. Come on, that was an easy one!”

Adrien: “You said it better than I ever could. I guess I have to give you that prize then.”

Adrien lifts Stacy in the air and spins her around for a moment in a tight hug. When he sets her down, he plants a big kiss on her forehead.

Adrien: “Congratulations, I hope that prize met your expectations.”

Stacy: “It exceeded my expectations, and it was even better than the hug and kisses you gave me yesterday, so I guess you’re truly a better man with each passing day.”

Her words put a smile on Adrien’s face as she took his hand.

Stacy: “Now I want to go watch some superheroes. BUT!”

She stops abruptly and puts a hand up against his chest.

Stacy: “No Guardians now. We have to leave work away from home, besides, I’ve seen all of your matches like three times over.”

She was teasing, she could never get tired of watching him wrestle, but it wouldn’t be Stacy if she weren’t teasing him.

Adrien: “Fine. I won’t talk about work for the rest of the night. That is my gift to you, my hashtag woman crush Wednesday. Is that how you do that offline?”

Stacy: “I think you got it right, but I’m topping it because guess what?”

Adrien: “You’re going to… probably incorrect but throw confetti in the air and say that you think I’m the greatest?”

Adrien’s face has a completely bewildered expression.

Stacy: “Wrong!”

Sterling’s laugh was wild as she continued pulling Adrien towards the stairs of the home they share.

Stacy: “I picked up these AMAZING pumpkin scented candles, so we get to Netflix, pumpkin, and chillax!”

Adrien: “Sounds like a plan. Which one of us is cooking dinner tonight?”

Stacy points at a pot that is already on the cooktop on the kitchen island.

Adrien: “Ah. My apologies. I guess I’ll take a quick shower and see what we can find for us to watch for the evening.”

Stacy: “We’re definitely watching Hocus Pocus, but SURE...I’ll let you pick something after.”

Stacy lets go of Adrien’s hand, knowing the food would have to cook for a bit longer, and darts up the stairs, a call back from the first day Stacy stepped into his home ten months ago. Adrien gives a goofy grin as he rolls his eyes.

Adrien: “I guess I have to chase her again.”

He chuckles once more before pursuing his girlfriend up the stairs.

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We kicked off our flipflops and swung from the rooftops again

It's awkward but I'll confess she's all I can think about

And it's funny how I recall what she can't remember now

But when her smile came back and I didn't feel half as horrible

She gave me a heart attack just because she looked so adorable

We both put our sunblock on, played on the beach and vowed that we'd live and we'd learn

Yeah, but she got a tan, and I got a sunburn