WWE: Shiniest Style (Tegan Nox/OC)

The Holidays Draw Near

(December 20, 2019)

Following that night of love and lust, Xander was the first to rise up with the sun. Pulling the bed sheets over Steffanie's slumbering, bare form, he slipped on a pair of black sweats and a sleeveless red shirt. Grabbing his phone and pocketing it, he went downstairs and saw Blue looking up to him while sitting down, her tail wagging in anticipation. He managed a smile.

"In case you heard what was going on last night, Blue, sorry about that." He knelt down and patted the little Pibble mix on the head before moving to the kitchen to wash his hands and start the day. After doing the former, he felt his phone buzz. Sighing, Xander reached into it to accept a video call.

"Hey, buddy. Was I interrupting something?" Austin asked from the other side. In the background behind him was Britt having breakfast. She looked up and waved at Xander.

"Morning, Austin. Morning, Britt." Xander barely managed to wave at the camera before dropping his free hand down, still in a daze from both a deep sleep and who-knows-how-many minutes of third base with Steffanie.

"Haven't seen you in a while, Xander! How are you?" Britt asked from behind Austin.

"Good, and I was just about to feed Blue and make breakfast until your boy called." Xander said as he started looking through the pantry until he found a can of dog food. Setting his phone at the edge of the kitchen counter while letting it lean against the wall, he emptied the can into Blue's bowl. He set it down gently and let Blue eat.

After chuckling from that last bit, the Panama native continued.

"Alright, so I called because of a potential UpUpDownDown plan." Austin explained as his old tag partner washed his hands and looked through the pantry again for potential breakfast items.

"Shouldn't Breeze or Creed be the ones to call about that?" Xander asked, pulling out a box of Betty Crocker pancake mix.

"Well, people liked the Left 4 Dead 2 videos quite a lot so I was thinking about trying custom campaigns to keep the train going." Austin explained as he also had breakfast beside Britt.

"Really? We haven't released 'The Parish' playthrough yet." The Filipino wondered as he looked at the instructions behind the box.

"Well, Britt ain't the only one with a meme right now." Austin explained. "Johnny Gaming's scream in the swamp was the ultimate highlight, and so was our crazy headbanging in the concert."

"I guess we could do that." Xander shrugged while looking through the ingredients. "Are Breeze and Johnny in on it?"

"Breeze still has some other plans with Creed going, but Johnny's willing. As for who we can ask to guarantee filling the four character slots, I'm thinking either Steff, Candice, or Jessamyn. Speaking of Steff, where is she?"

"Still in bed." Xander replied as he prepared a large bowl, a whisk, oil, and milk.

"Also, are you sweaty?" Britt asked, peering over from the side. Xander's simple reply was a shrug. Then, something clicked in the minds of the NXT Champion and AEW's resident dentist.

"Oh, shit...OH, FUCKING SHIT you guys did it!" Austin shouted, eyes widened. Beside him, Britt gasped out loud.

"And what does my sex life have to do with a zombie game?" Xander asked, nonchalant despite the laughter from the other side of the call.

"You know what, we can talk about zombies later. See you!" Austin said as he and Britt waved at him. Making a quick goodbye gesture one more time, Xander ended the call and put his phone back in his pockets.

(Later...)

Yawning loudly, wearing a British Strong Style shirt with jean shorts, Steffanie reached the bottom of the stairs before catching a pleasant scent. She noticed Xander in the kitchen area while plates of pancakes and bacon graced the dining table.

"I was wondering what smells good." She rubbed her head as she went to the kitchen/dining area.

"Eggs are almost done, Steff." Xander told her as she went for the sink to wash her hands.

"Was last night too hot for you?" She smiled at him.

"Well, Austin and Britt video-called me a while ago and noticed my post-coital glow, so maybe." He shrugged as the sound and smell of sizzling eggs dominated their senses.

"On the bright side, I was able to think of the Christmas brunch much better than compared to last night. Thanks, Steff."

"You're welcome, Xander."

They grinned and kissed one another as Steffanie washed her hands while Xander finished the eggs and put them down on the nearby plate.

"And...that's breakfast." He announced as he put the plate on the table and grabbed his knife and fork.

The two continued to talk about their plans for Christmas as they continued to eat breakfast, with little Blue napping under the table.

_________

(Later...)

Unlike the previous times where they'd workout together, Austin and Xander weren't as talkative, but the Panama native gave his friend a shit eating grin when he and Steffanie arrived at the Performance Center. The glare Xander gave Austin after was enough to shut him up for at least ten minutes since the start of their usual routine.

"Anyway, I think we should talk about Left 4 Dead 2 now." Austin pointed out after some pull ups while Xander took a sip from his water jug.

"We better be." He told him.

"Jessamyn was eager to fill the fourth slot. Her idea was to start with a Lord of the Rings-themed survival map." Austin explained as Xander got ready to do pull ups.

"Sounds good." The Filipino answered before beginning his pull ups. "Can't wait...to try it."

After a few minutes of pull ups, Austin finally spoke up.

"...Okay, in all seriousness, you are officially a man, Xander." 

Xander dropped down from the bar to give his friend a look of confusion.

"Why are we talking about this?" He asked.

"Dude, remember when we were Team Shock Style in Ring of Honor? I was a chick magnet, and you were..."

"The only sane person trying to keep your ass in check." Xander answered.

"Yeah, and you'd have crushes on these specific women but you never had the courage to say anything, and from what I heard, it was the same in Japan, except the Chaos guys introduced you to some pretty Japanese idols." Austin added. "But, now? It's a whole different story. You finally sealed the deal with someone you had a crush on for years, and that's a big step up from the shy guy I tagged with in ROH."

"I'd like to see everyone who shit on me in school look at me now." Xander smirked.

"Either they forgot about you or they remember and are looking on in disbelief." Austin patted his shoulder. "What matters is you made it, and you gotta keep going alongside her."

Xander peered over to the other side of the Performance Center, where he saw Steffanie chatting with Cheree and Demi.

"Yeah, I will." He said with an assuring smile.