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"He's watching you again."
Hazel fought the urge to visibly sigh at Penelope's excited whisper.
Darby Allin: All Elite Wrestling's TNT Champion, human battering ram, and all-round "daredevil" (read: insane adrenaline junkie with no sense of self-preservation or common sense), had developed some sort of an...interest in Hazel. If that was the right word for whatever was making him stare at her whenever he thought was looking, or the way he seemed to commonly show up in areas she had just shown up in, or how he always seemed to be more drastic in the ring at shows where Hazel was backstage. Although with Darby, that last one could be a coincidence.
She didn't think it was though - especially not when you took the other behaviours into consideration. Hazel was convinced that Darby had something of a crush on her...she wasn't exactly sure how or why, because she could count all the times they had spoken on one hand, and none of those conversations had been particularly long or in-depth, but it seemed that he'd decided he liked something about her.
Now if I could just work out what that something is, that'd be great.
Unfortunately, as much as Hazel would like to dwell on what Darby found so interesting about her (she'd like to think it was her sparkling personality, but was well aware it could just be the body glitter on her arms, shoulders and cleavage) she had a match to focus on - and while Hazel wouldn't deny she could see herself being interested in Darby, she was far more interested in winning matches and climbing the ranks of the women's division over any potential romantic relationships.
A boyfriend would be great - but a title belt would be better, and right now Hazel had a match against Allie that, if she won, would put her in the number one contender's spot for Hikaru Shida's women's title, and get her a match in two weeks at Double Or Nothing. As cute as Darby was, he couldn't compete with the Women's World Championship Title, and if Hazel wanted a shot at it, she needed to focus on Allie - because she was going to be hard to beat.
Even though she hadn't wrestled all that many singles matches in AEW, Hazel wasn't going to make the mistake of underestimating Allie. She was a former champion in several promotions, including Impact and Shimmer, and she'd wrestled all over the world. She was good. She was very good. And more than that, she was smart, and sneaky, and determined to win no matter what.
But that didn't mean Hazel was intimidated. Allie was a former champion in several promotions? So was Hazel. Allie had wrestled all over the world? So had Hazel. Allie was smart, sneaky, and determined?
Hazel was even more so.
The only advantage Allie did have over Hazel, as far as Hazel could see, was her alliance with the Butcher and the Blade - and by extension, Matt Hardy's assorted bunch of mercenaries. There was almost no way at least one of them would accompany her to the ring - and even though Hazel was fairly sure they wouldn't openly touch her for fear of getting Allie disqualified, that didn't mean they wouldn't interfere with the match as much as they could.
So it came as no surprise to her, five minutes after the bell, when she hooked Allie's leg in an attempt to make a pin, that Hardy grabbed Allie's other leg and dragged Allie under the bottom rope and out of the ring.
Hazel tried not to lose her temper - it wouldn't do her any good, to get caught up in her anger and forget all the work she'd done to prepare for this match. She needed to remain clear headed and not get distracted, and she resolved to do just that...which was exactly when there was a blur or black clothing and platinum blonde hair, and suddenly Matt Hardy was on the floor, with Darby Allin on top of him, beating the shit out of him.
What the...?
Allie was freaking out, distracting herself by trying to drag Darby off of Matt, and Hazel...Hazel didn't really know what was happening, but she knew enough to know she should take advantage of Allie's distraction.
She waited for the other woman to get within arm's reach, and then grabbed her by the hair to drag her back into the ring. Allie shrieked like a banshee and clawed desperately at Hazel's hands, but Hazel didn't let go until Allie was stood on the ring apron, bent back over the top rope so Hazel could bring her forearm down across Allie's chest, before she pulled her completely over the top rope and into the ring.
After that, everything happened so quickly that there wasn't much time to think.
Hazel slung Allie towards the opposite ropes: catching her when she rebounded off them with a high-knee to the face. Allie stumbled away, clutching her nose, and as soon as her back was turned, Hazel launched herself forward: jumping up to grab Allie's shoulders and pulling her backwards, so she fell into the knees Hazel had raised to dig into her back when they both collided with the mat.
Pain flared in Hazel's back, but she ignored it, scrambling to make the pin. Bryce Remsburg, the ref, hit the canvas once...twice...and then three times, before the bell rang and then Bryce was helping her to her feet so he could raise her hand.
She'd won.
I fucking won!
And she kind of owed it to Darby's help...well, some of it, anyway. A little bit of it. He was gone from ringside when she looked for him, but that didn't deter her. She took her time in the ring basking in her win, before she headed back to Dusty position - where the champion was waiting.
Shida being Shida though, a fighting champion and general badass who was afraid of nothing and no-one, she nodded at Hazel approvingly: an unspoken 'congratulations' and simultaneous 'don't think this means you'll beat me like you did Allie'. Hazel nodded back respectfully, knowing it was going to be a hell of a fight against the other woman at Double or Nothing, but left their exchange as an unspoken one. Instead, she carried on through the backstage area, toward where she knew she might find the man who'd given her her assist tonight.
Just like she'd thought, he was sitting under the stairs, half-hidden in the shadows and almost invisible unless you were looking for him.
Was it an odd place to find a champion? Yes, but it was the perfect place to find Darby.
"I think I need to say thank you." she cleared her throat: "For getting rid of Matt. I don't think he was going to stop being a nuisance on his own."
Darby swallowed - and though it was hard to tell in the dimness under the stairs, it almost looked like he was blushing: "Probably not. And s'okay. He's...uh...been annoying both of us, it seems."
"I'd say I'm sorry about that, except that he got has ass kicked, and it gave me a reason to come and talk to you." Hazel smirked, finding it cute how Darby's eyes widened at her openly flirting with him: "Do you mind if I sit? Allie did a number on my knee."
"Of course!" Darby insisted quickly, jerking his bags aside so there was a clear space next to him.
It was more than cute: it was adorable.
Hazel happily - albeit gingerly with her knee - lowered herself to sit next to Darby, leaning against the wall kitty-corner to the one he was leaning against, so she could comfortably face him.
Darby only made himself more adorable in her opinion by immediately shifting to face her, and even lifting her injured leg and gently arranging it so it was elevated slightly, resting across his thigh. It was an unexpectedly caring gesture for a man who didn't seem to know how to take care of himself, let alone anyone else.
It made Hazel's heart beat a little faster in her chest.
She'd thought Darby was adorable before, but that...that was really sweet. Sweeter than she got from most guys, who saw her profession as a wrestler as some kind of sign that she didn't really want to be treated gently or carefully.
It was...something to think about. She'd dismissed the idea of seeking Darby out earlier in favour of focusing on Shida's title...but now she was starting to think that maybe the two weren't mutually exclusive.
After all, he'd helped her out tonight. And he was being really kind right now. And even without taking either of those things into account, ever since she'd come to AEW, it had been pointed out to her by Penelope, and Brandi, and Velvet, and literally anyone and everyone, that Darby seemed to have taken an interest in her. And Hazel had been...well, interested in Darby, too, in a distant kind of way. Why wouldn't she be? He was handsome, he was bold, and he wasn't an arsehole like some people on the roster. And now he'd just shown he was more than just 'not an arsehole'; he was actually capable of being quietly tender.
It made her interest in him feel a lot less distant.
"You probably won't need any help against Shida," Darby said softly, looking down at Hazel's knee in his lap, and carefully starting to massage the sore area: "She's not gonna have someone at ringside to do her dirty work."
"That's true," Hazel agreed, her voice just as low and soft as Darby's, "but that doesn't mean having someone come out to the ring with you isn't nice."
Hazel attempted to keep her tone casual, but she knew she wasn't being particularly subtle, even compared to earlier. She wasn't wired that way: never had been, and never would be.
There was no point trying to pretend to be something she wasn't, not when she was trying to start something. Good relationships didn't start with anyone involved trying to hide or change who they were.
And truth be told, Hazel wasn't really worried about Darby not liking who she was.
Something that was confirmed, judging by the way Darby's eyes had gone wide, and the cute shade of pink spreading across his cheeks. It seemed he liked Hazel's personality just fine. And it was actually embarrassing how relieved Haze was by that knowledge.
"It is nice to have someone come out with you. Like, knowing there's someone there to have your back." Darby agreed carefully, hesitating slightly, before adding: "...I could come out with you at Double Or Nothing, if you didn't have anyone else in mind?"
It was Hazel's turn to have her cheeks turn pink - but she was smiling widely as she nodded: "I'd like that."
"I'd like it too." Darby smiled back. His free hand, the one that wasn't still massaging her aching knee, catching one of hers and lacing their fingers together: "I'd like it a lot. And then maybe I could take you to dinner to celebrate?"
"You think I'm going to have something to celebrate?"
"There's no doubt in my mind."
Well how could I say no to that?
Hazel didn't even try to play coy: she let her joy show on her face - and even leaned in to kiss Darby on the cheek: "I'm not sure I can wait...maybe we should go out to celebrate tonight. I did win my match, after all."
"I like the way you think." Darby nodded, before suddenly sliding his arms under Hazel's knees and around her back, so he could lift her up into a comfortable bridal carry: "I don't want to strain your knee though - I can be patient if you don't think you're good to go out tonight."
"With you coming to my rescue twice in one night now?" Hazel chuckled: "I think I'll manage...my only struggle will be trying to work out how will I even try to resist you?"
Darby grinned cheekily: "Hopefully, you won't."
Funnily enough, Hazel was hoping the same thing.