The RubyWay Chronicles - Part 9 - Heartbeat (Part 1)

[Kevin Hardaway]

OOC: While this half really isn't that graphic in terms of content, the second part of this is definitely, so when you read this together after Allison posts her part (because spoiler alert, we are), then yes, there's a definite GRAPHIC SEXUAL CONTENT warning for this. You've been warned and all that jazzum.

Also, enjoy.

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August 19, 2016
Anaheim, California

With one day to go before their biggest match as a team, Ruby and Hardaway had arrived at a bargain price hotel only to find that their reservation had been messed up. After traveling all the way from Maryland though, Ruby was too tired and frustrated to fight with the guy at the front desk. Instead of the two rooms she’d booked, the hotel had put her and her tag partner in the same room. Normally, this wouldn’t be much of an issue, but in the two weeks since their discussion of their secret trysts last year, the two of them hadn’t spent much time together outside of training for their match against Status Quo and Next Level. They had work to do, they had title belts to defend and to win, but the revelations had left a lingering sense of awkwardness between them. Or at least, it did for Ruby. She barely even looked at him as she tried to negotiate a new deal, but there was nothing to be done. It was a summer weekend in a city that housed several big tourist attractions, so between the FGA show and the regular crowds for Disneyland and other places, the hotel was all booked up. She tried calling other places, but either they were also fully booked or they were too expensive for someone living on the combined salary of an independent wrestler and graduate student.

So, with a sigh, Ruby took the two key cards from the guy at the front desk and angrily punched the elevator button. Once inside, she pressed the button for the fourth floor and then hit “door close”, leaving her alone with her tag partner.

Ruby Tyler: Sorry about this. I know he said there are two beds but I’ll just dump my shit in the room and go camp out in the rental car. Can’t fucking believe this happened. The one night I need some actual goddamn peace and quiet, and they fuck up so that I have to put up with you yelling at the Orioles game or whatever.

Kevin Hardaway: Don’t worry about it. I’m too tired to worry about the game right now, so I’ll just watch the highlights in the morning before we start training once again. It happens.

He understands the absolute horror of a booking gone wrong with a hotel. A few years back, he got roped into staying with a bunch of people he was traveling with when he wanted to stay on his own. Obviously it was only a few months after the death of Angie, so he still wanted to be on his own and instead he was crammed into a small hotel room with a bunch of snoring and drunk asshats. So yeah, he was used to it, no problem, but watching Ruby sigh and mutter swears under her breath wasn’t helping his cause whatsoever either.

She didn’t know it, but in the midst of the both of them talking about the elephant in the room, she wasn’t the only one being awkward in front of each other. Sure, he could hide it better than anybody else could have, but he has been married. He is 100% used to it and can easily hide his emotions at the drop of a hat. Makes perfect sense when you see and hear his eccentric and wry sense of humor. As said before, it was always a mask to hide himself from the world. And it was starting to show the cracks, especially around Ruby.

As the door opened, Kevin started to wheel his suitcase once again.

Kevin Hardaway: I know you want peace and quiet, so I’ll just drop off my stuff and I’ll camp out. I know you’re used to it, but I don’t want you having to stay outside. I need to get used to that life a little more anyways, so why not sleep in the car? It’s perfect. You can stay in the room and just text me when you wake up so we can train?

Ruby Tyler: You do need to get used to it, but when we’re actually on a job, not when we both need to be in top shape for tomorrow night. Besides, I’m shorter than you are so I’ll be less cramped in the backseat.

She stopped in front of room 412 and used her key card to open the door, pushing past him so that she could get in and dump her duffel bag on one of the beds. Grabbing a blanket out of the closet, Ruby opened up her bag and started rummaging through it for the shorts and tank top she normally slept in. There was still the issue of showering and getting ready tomorrow morning, but she would cross that bridge when she got to it. If nothing else, there was always the showers at the gym - not ideal, but it saved her from possibly having to deal with Hardaway while wrapped up in only a towel. The idea of him pinning her up against a wall and ripping the towel off occurred to her, but that was not a line of thought she needed to pursue ever, but especially not now. With everything on the line tomorrow, the last thing they needed was to add more awkwardness to their situation.

Ruby Tyler: Well, guess that’s it then. I’ll text you when I’m awake so that we can train in the morning before the show. I’ve got everything I need, you’ve got a nice room all to yourself, and I’ll see you in the morning. Take it easy, cowboy.

Kevin Hardaway: Yeah...you take it easy yourself, I guess. Text me if you need anything, okay? I doubt you will, but you never know.

She nods her head, as does he as she walks out of the room and shuts the door behind her. And honestly, for a second...he just stands there. Not knowing why, really. Is he expecting her to come back in for something that she forgot or come back in to realize that sleeping in a car would be terrible or to just share a room with him. He had no idea, but a few moments passed by and the door didn’t open. So he finally got settled and unzipped his bag to pull out his sleepwear for the night. Pretty much the same as Ruby’s sleepwear in that he brought out an old t-shirt of his and a pair of shorts. They were standard cargo shorts, but he found them comfy to sleep in, so he always slept in them.

And throughout all of this and throughout her frustration at the desk clerk for getting their hotel room booking all sorts of screwed up, there was a part of him that enjoyed it. Hey, nothing wrong with getting a free room all to yourself. Sure, it wasn’t the Hilton or even a 4-star hotel, but it was passable. He’s always enjoyed the hotels he’s stayed at. Maybe except the motel in Vegas, but let’s face it...he wasn’t there to spend the night. Suddenly he misses it though.

But it doesn’t cross his mind as he throws on the television and changes, finally putting on something akin to background noise as he crawls into bed and starts peering into his phone, letting the television drone on until he just passes out. The sooner he falls asleep, the sooner he can wake up and the two of them can continue on with their awkward bickering en route to the biggest match that they can recall in quite some time.

Meanwhile, out in the car, Ruby was trying to make herself comfortable in the backseat. But it was hot even with the air conditioning on, and she didn’t want to run down the battery before the show tomorrow. Opening the window did nothing to help, and her mind kept drifting to her tag partner, alone and definitely more comfortable in the hotel room. With a frustrated sigh, Ruby slid her feet into her sneakers and climbed into the front seat, She had to get out of that parking lot, and driving usually helped her to clear her head. The rental sedan was a far cry from her precious Mustang, but it would do for now.

She didn’t really know where she was going, but she picked up the freeway and headed south. The air conditioning was blasting and she had her favorite country radio station on, and for a while, she was able to forget about the enormous amount of bullshit in her life and just enjoy the moment. It was good to be back on the West Coast - no matter where she went, Ruby remained a California girl at heart and it would always be her first love. Anaheim was a far cry from Barstow and Tujunga, but it still felt like home. When she’d moved to Maryland, she had thought it would make her life easier to deal with and that it would help her distance herself from the memories she’d left in San Diego. But then Hardaway had followed her - or rather, just started spending more time at home, since Baltimore was where his parents and daughter lived.

If recent events had done anything, it was convince her that somehow, Hardaway was inevitable for her. They’d been on a collision course since the previous year and they had yet to be able to escape one another. And maybe, just maybe, they never would. Even the radio seemed to be in on the conspiracy - when she paid attention to the lyrics of the song that was playing, something clicked for her.

“Try not to think about you but it ain’t working / Why put out a fire when it’s still burning?” Chris Young crooned, and Ruby found herself getting off the nearest exit and turning around, making her way back to the hotel and room 412. She fumbled with the key card when she got there, trying twice before she finally got the stupid thing to unlock and when she opened the door, Hardaway was standing there looking ready to confront whoever was trying to break into the room. He seemed to relax slightly when he realized it was just Ruby and he opened his mouth to say something, but Ruby crossed the room and silenced him with a hard kiss.

He stood there, his mouth wide open as she ran over to kiss him, and at first...he didn’t know how to take it. He clearly wasn’t expecting this whatsoever. Surely, it crossed his mind at first for a few minutes, but then he just let things be and went back to trying to drown out whatever it was in his head. It was a long night sure, but he didn’t see this happening one bit. And for a few seconds, he just let her kiss him, his arms down on his side, unsure on how to react, but then something just crossed out of his mind. All of the awkwardness, at least for that very moment just left without any hesitation and he lifted his arms and cupped her cheeks into his hands, returning the kiss and letting go, looking at her with every bit of confusion, wonderment, and pure fucking satisfaction.

Kevin Hardaway: Wha...what the hell was that all about?

She just stood there with the same look as his was towards her.

Ruby Tyler: I’m tired of fighting this… whatever the hell it is with us. Sorry. This was dumb. I’ll go back to the car.

As she turns to leave, her head slightly down at the seemingly idiotic choice she just made, but instead, Kevin goes up to her and turns her around to face him once again.

Kevin Hardaway: No… no, you’re right. I’m tired of fighting it as well. I was stupid for bringing it up, but it’s… it’s all I think about. And it’s driving me up the wall. I can’t help it.

She looks up at him with a small smile, kind of relieved to hear that answer coming from his mouth. She kind of had a feeling that he was hiding the same feelings and emotions that she carried, but to hear it in person was quite the surprise as well. Also another surprise was what followed from her mouth.

Ruby Tyler: Then shut the fuck up and kiss me again.

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I’m just going to throw something out there that I’m sure that my unwilling partner-in-crime can either attest to or yell, kick, and scream at me for having a differing opinion than she does, but I’m just going to say it anyways and then explain myself for the reasoning, because I feel like everybody should know and most definitely Cordy, Dan, Luke, and Ricky should know. Whether or not Ruby agrees with me is another story, but she can tell me later or she can tell all of you guys later as well. I just...I see this field of talent that’s going to be standing before us. These four competitors...or two teams for that matter and you just have to think to yourself one simple little question, and that is…

...why are we even here?

Now, before you get on your high horse and proclaim that “Ohhh, well #RubyWay even say that they don’t belong in this match, so why are they in it in the first place?” let me explain MYSELF to you all, because to be quite honest, we are here for a reason and we DO belong in this match, but I’m getting ahead of myself just a scoch. I had to say that just to make sure I wasn’t losing anybody to the plot here. Because yeah, everybody believes that we don’t belong in this match, that we only got here because we hold defunct titles and are using them as a “golden ticket” to get in. Well, you’re wrong...then again, you’re also right in a way. Yeah, the WLW Tag Titles are kind of a golden ticket. But how the hell else were we going to get in? Through “heart and determination”? That’s not how we work, guys.

You see, we should be in the shoes of Cordy Stevenson and Dan Herrera. And no offense to you both...we’re proud of your accomplishments right now. You both bested me and Ruby in what many call the best match of the Dynamic Duos tournament. And you are holding the FGA Tag Team Titles, and throughout any little cuss and spiel that we’ve thrown your way, you guys are worthy to be tag team champions. There’s just one teensy little problem, guys. We should be the ones holding those belts and instead facing either you or Next Level. Honestly, it doesn’t matter who we would have faced. It might as well just be flip-flopped to where we were the ones holding the gold coming into this match.

It doesn’t matter though. Ever since me and Ruby have let bygones be bygones...for the most part...for some part...okay, maybe a little tiny bit gone, but anyway, since we put the past behind us, we’ve ran roughshod over this division here, and everywhere else that was put in forth for us. Sure, we can claim to going through a few road bumps along the way, and even towards this match (blame that piss-stain Anthony Rother though...HAH, see what I did there?) but the moral of the story turns out to be, we’ve gone through hell and back to get to this point and instead of putting us in the driver’s seat to become FGA Tag Team Champions, what happens?

We get a bye in the Dynamic Duos tournament…

...yay?!

And then we get another bye because two teams are so bad that they can’t beat the other.

Once again, I say...yay?!

Even when one of the teams are in said draw are the team that WE BEAT to get into this stupid tournament in the first place. The team that should have proven our absolute dominance to this division.

And I haven’t even gotten started on bringing up our “golden ticket” yet. Actually, no wait...we have multiple times. And I know what all four of you are going to tell us. No need to, because we’ve already heard it from you when we told you all that we were putting our names into the hat. And yet, have FGA gone towards any of the 14 teams that we beat in the Infinity Gauntlet to try and get confirmation that we are pretty fucking good at this tag teaming business? I haven’t heard a peep. Nothing. Yet, everybody talks about how wonderful Cordy and Dan are...and even Ricky and Luke. At least Cordy and Dan have had success here, as much shit-talking I’m running right now...what the hell are Ricky and Luke even doing here? You’re only here because of the good ol-fashioned rematch clause. Yep, I said it.

I mean, you all saw what happened the last time all 6 of us were in the ring...Luke was just standing in the corner, letting the 5 of us have our shouting match with each other. You might want to check in on him, Ricky, see if he’s not coming down with something, like giving a shit about his partner or something. Yeah, that was awful of me...I’m sorry. But I really don’t care. I’m done caring. I’ve been trying to give a crap to this business ever since I left San Diego and it’s gotten me nowhere...and how do you think Ruby feels about this as well? She has it worse than I do. Because I at least have experience here.

I know that things change and people change, that’s just the way of life. But ever since I returned to FGA and brought Ruby with me, it’s been change for the worst. Look at the people at the top of the mountain. Look at everybody holding gold in this company and tell me differently. It’s like climbing up Mount Everest and when you finally get to the top, you realize that there was an escalator on the other side the ENTIRE time. That’s the way it’s been and face it Cordy and Dan...you got on that escalator. Sure, you guys climbed a little. Then it just got the best of you. It happens to all of us. Meanwhile, Ricky and Luke just used a transporter from Star Trek to try and get to the top...only for it to malfunction and have either of them wonder why their ass is so big.

No, me and Ruby are climbing this damn mountain even if it kills us. And trust me, there’s been a hell of alot worse trying to kill us in the past and even today. This right here is a walk in the park. But it’s still a test, and regardless of what happens, if we lose, we bite our lips and try to climb it once again. But guess what? That’s not happening. Not this time. It’s about high fucking time that we get to the top for a change and join the others up there. And perhaps kick them down the pedestal for a little bit. They really deserve it. And I know I’ve run my mouth for a bit, but even after all of that, we’re all going to show the entire world that tag team wrestling is not dead around these parts. That it’s kicking alive and well. And it begins once again in Anaheim, California on Saturday, August the 20th, 2016.

With the rise of RubyWay.

Hey, if Gordon Bombay and Team USA can beat Wolf "The Dentist" Stansson and Team Iceland in this building, then anything is possible.

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August 20th, 2016
Anaheim, California

It was mid-morning when the two of them woke up and while that usually means one of them overslept before training, it didn’t really matter to them. Sure, the awkwardness of the night before reared it’s head like they were planning on happening, but not like they figured out. Sure, they didn’t know what to do or what to say, so it was probably best to just leave it for when they got back to Maryland and focus on the then and now. Most importantly, getting an early training session in before heading to the Honda Center for their biggest match to date as partners.

Both Next Level and most definitely Status Quo were not pushovers. And while they haven’t been in the ring much with Ricky Valero and Luke Jackson (although Ricky was a partner with them a few weeks back in a losing effort), they still were aware of the talent they had. And who could forget about Cordy and Dan. The semifinals of the Dynamic Duos tournament proved to be a stepping stone for all four of them, as they put on what many considered the best tag match of the year so far, and while Ruby and Kevin both lost, they knew what needed to be done to finally stop them.

And that’s what they focused on in their training session, trying to only think about hoisting up those tag team titles high in the air and prove themselves to be champions. Although during a few grapples and scuffles, the air of the night before was around them. While they were serious throughout, it felt a bit more playful in a way. They were trying out new things, they weren’t bickering as much...although, when she did raise her voice, he actually listened to her. It wasn’t so much about the night before as, well, as Kevin would put it.

Kevin Hardaway: I want to win those fucking belts.

He has such a way with words. And she agreed with him on it as they started training harder. This was the fight of their lives. And they weren’t going to go down without one hell of a fight.