@awakemysoulfanfiction really got me through this one. It took longer than I want to admit but here it is.
Summary: The Wyatt Sicks are released and Dexter finds himself sulking in a bar, depression winning over everything. When Indi calls his girlfriend to pick him up, she changes his perspective.
Dexter Lumis/Reader. InDex Friendship.
“You need to come get him. I think he’s toast”
A thick Australian accent cut through the silence the second I answered the phone. I wasn’t surprised. Honestly, I’d been waiting for this call all night. It had been a day that I dreaded would come. The Wyatt Sicks weren’t booked the best. They were in a mindless feud with the MFTs that benefitted nobody. Everyone knew that but for all of them to be cut in one swoop; it devastated the fans and the five souls who gave it their all.
“How bad are we talking?” I asked, rubbing my forehead as I leaned against the kitchen counter.
“Uh… he’s not falling over but I do think he’s scared a few people”
I closed my eyes for a second. Of course he did.
His last words before leaving the house had been, Don’t worry, we’re only having a couple drinks.
This sounded like way more than a couple drinks.
“Okay,” I sighed. “I’ll be there in fifteen.”
I hung up and headed toward the bedroom.
Dexter and I had been together for two years. Two years of airports, weird schedules, bad creative, great matches, and months where we didn’t know why he showed up when they didn’t put him on tv. Somehow, we made it work.
But this one felt different.
This wasn’t a bad promo or a losing streak.
This was his career. He was released.
It didn’t take me long to change into my black jean shorts and tank top. I pulled my hair back and slipped on my sandals. I stepped into the garage, past the gym equipment cluttering the garage to my black Range Rover.
The drive to the bar was only a few minutes, enough to where Dexter could walk if he really wanted to. I wasn’t about to have him stumble home. I parked in the first available spot and walked into the dimly lit dive bar. The music was booming through the bar. It wasn’t hard to miss him. His blonde dreads were a dead give away.
“Come on Dexter. I think she’s here” Indi said, moving from next to him.
I studied the scene for a moment before walking over. Dexter sat hunched forward with his head buried in his tattooed hands, elbows pressed against the bar top. He looked absolutely pathetic but still every bit of the man I loved.
“You know this is quite dramatic?” I smiled as Indi turned around with a grin.
“See! I told you she was coming” The tall Australian woman said happily as Dexter finally turned around, his eyes softening as they landed on you. He looked devastated. The same look he had when the phone call came in but this time, it was completely broken.
“Why are you here?” His voice was only loud enough to hear over the music.
I stepped closer. “I’m taking you home.”
“Why?” He asked as my eyes moved to the ground. It was a dumb question in my opinion.
“Dexter come on” The annoyance was obvious in my voice. I wasn’t here to stay at the bar and wallow in self-pity.
“Come on, I’m heading out,” Indi announced carefully as she grabbed her purse.
Dexter waved her off without looking at her. “Go then.”
I glanced toward her apologetically.
“Just go, Indi. I’ve got him.”
She gave me a look that practically screamed good luck before heading toward the register to pay her tab.
I slid onto the stool beside him. The smell of whiskey hit me instantly.
This was more than a couple drinks.
“Are you done?” I asked as he looked over frowning.
“Babe…I… I think I’m a failure” He stammered out as the bartender walked over. I ordered myself a Diet Coke before Dexter interrupted.
“I’ll take another Jack and Coke,” Dexter muttered immediately after.
I glared at Dexter.
The bartender hesitated for half a second, debating whether he should have another but eventually nodded and walked away.
“You aren’t a failure. We knew that they were fucking with the gimmick. Monday… you guys weren’t happy at WWE World. You put on a brave face for the fans” My eyes stayed soft as he put his head in his hands again.
“But… that didn’t mean I needed to lose my job. Lose what I love” His eyes closed as I moved to hold his hand. The moment he flinched, I knew that he was anxious.
“I know you loved it there” I said softly. “But you cannot let some corporation run by people who don’t understand wrestling decide your worth.”
The bartender returned with the drinks and slid them onto the counter.
I took a sip of my Diet Coke while Dexter stared silently at the fresh glass in front of him
“This was more than a job.” His eyes stayed fixed on the bar. “I feel like we… let him down.”
Bray.
That’s what this was really about.
“Is that honestly what you think?” I asked quietly, turning toward him completely.
“How could I not?” he snapped, his voice full of pain. “We were trusted with his vision. His ideas. That notebook full of insanity he carried around everywhere.” He laughed bitterly. “And now they released all of us. So obviously it wasn’t good enough. We weren’t good enough”
“Dexter”
“He’s probably looking down right now wondering how we screwed it up so badly.”
“Stop.”
He finally looked at me, the death spiral screeching to a halt.
“I’m gonna tell you something” I said seriously, taking both of his hands in mine. “And I need you to actually listen to me before you decide to spiral again.”
He stayed quiet.
“This isn’t Hunter you are dealing with. This is a soulless corporation who chose your name off a list without knowing who the fuck you are. They do not know who Dexter Lumis or The Wyatt Sicks are” I paused as I squeezed his hands.
“This isn’t personal to them,” I continued. “This isn’t Triple H sitting in a room going, ‘Yeah, Dexter Lumis failed.’ This is a corporation cutting names off a spreadsheet because the show’s changing and executives want numbers to look better.”
Dexter stared at me without speaking.
“If Bray was still here?” I said gently. “There’s a good chance they would’ve cut him too”
That finally made him sit back a little.
He knew I was right.
“They released Bo,” I reminded him quietly. “His own brother. Nobody’s untouchable there except maybe Roman.”
“You’re… right” His voice was different now. A lot closer to the man I fell in love with.
Everything suddenly made sense. What felt so personal, was just the cherry on the sundae of bad booking, lazy creative, executives that didn’t listen, and a decision because a show was now going to be 2 hours long.
“You did nothing wrong. None of you did anything wrong” I squeezed his hand as he nodded slowly.
“And he’s proud of you. All of you. Just because you aren’t employed by TKO doesn’t mean the story ends. Does it change things? Yeah probably but now, Bo and the rest of you get to control this story”
“Bo still has the notebook” He whispered as I nodded, squeezing his hand.
“The story isn’t over then” I smiled as he looked down for a moment.
“What happens next?” He asked as I sipped the Diet Coke once again. The air was lighter, the tension now dissolving.
“Well,” I said, pulling my phone out to check the calendar, “for your career? Nothing for the next…” I pretended to count. “Eighty-nine days.”
A small laugh filled the air.
“Not that you’re counting”
“Hey, I get eighty-nine days of you at home doing absolutely nothing productive. I’m taking advantage of every second.”
“You think anybody’s gonna care in eighty-nine days?” he asked quietly.
I looked at him like he was insane.
“Dexter, there are people online threatening to cancel every subscription remotely tied to WWE because of this.”
“I guess we mattered,” he admitted softly before taking another sip of his drink.
We sat quietly for a moment before I smirked.
“You know, that bartender definitely thought you were too drunk for another drink.”
Dexter raised an eyebrow.
“Turns out you were just a depressed mess.”
“Hey,” he scoffed. “This is only my fourth drink.”
“Well,” I said as I grabbed my keys off the counter, “finish your fourth drink and then we’re going home. Somebody promised he’d organize the gym equipment in the garage this week, and getting released doesn’t magically get you out of it.”
For the first time all night, Dexter actually smiled.
