004: The Greatest [OCW]

BUT THE GREATEST OF THESE IS LOVE. I've spent a lot of my time on this earth running down dreams. I never expected to be one of those people checking my phone after a workout, smiling like an idiot to find a message full of emojis on my screen. To a certain extent, I'm still not that person. This is all new to me and it scares me. Every part of my life right now is something new, something outside my comfort zone and over the course of the last year, through the rehabilitation after my injury in New Orleans, I've had oodles of time to dwell on all the things that I've done. I'm proud of my accomplishments. Don't get me wrong, I really am.

2019 marks my tenth year in this business although it wasn't consistent or steady. I've been injured, sidelined a few times. I've had to take a few steps back and while there's still a little forward progress, I find myself disappointed. I could have done better – I can't help but measure myself against my peers and find I come up short in more ways than just stature. Before I found my way into OCW, I had almost given up on things, on this silly little dream of mine to one day hold a championship. I'd given up on working for a good company, figuring that I was destined to toil away in the rec centers and high school gyms. I didn't expect to see sold-out crowds. I didn't expect to be accepted with open arms.

I never expected to find myself accepted unconditionally.

It's funny, I suppose, that we often dwell more on what we could have been, rather than what we actually are.

By the time Rayna had opted to go outside and wait for Max, the sun was shining bright. She'd been up ever since Max had snuck out to the gym for the fifth day in a row. It had been three weeks since he'd been injured at the hands of Bruce Wang and he'd been acting strange ever since. At first, she'd chalked it up to his disappointment over losing out on a chance at the Young Bloods championship. He'd told her that didn't matter, that he was happy someone as awesome as the Korean star was going to get the opportunity to shine. He didn't blame Wang for the injury – it had been an accident, a poor landing that he blamed on his body's own failings.

Rayna knew how much he'd wanted it and it had broken her heart to see him denied yet again.

Max had assured her that things happened for a reason. Young Bloods wasn't meant to be. When they'd been happy to release him rather than renegotiate for 2019, barring medical clearance, his prophetic words had rung true and she'd pretended not to see the disappointment that he'd tried to hide behind the jokes and that easy smile.

Things between them had taken an odd turn and Rayna was determined to get to the bottom of it. As she sat on the hood of his car, her hands were wrapped around a mug of coffee. Next to her was Max's favourite mug, also full. She could see him coming down the block and the moment she spotted the sun flashing off his glasses, she felt a bunch of knots in the pit of her stomach. Giving him a wave, Rayna bit down on her lower lip, worried about what she may find out.

"Hey!" Max called out. With the weather holding steady above freezing, he'd been taking advantage, doing as much cardio as possible, hoping another wrestling company was going to pick up his contract once he got cleared again. "You're up early." He bounced a few times from one foot to the other, still full of that restless energy.

"Yeah, well you left and I couldn't get back to sleep." She held out the cup. "How come you didn't wake me up?"

Max started to reach out and stopped, considering her question. "Oh, well I didn't think you wanted to come. Next time I will, I mean if you're interested. It's pretty boring." He snagged the cup and took a huge gulp, letting out a satisfied sigh – she made the best coffee.

Rayna shook her head as she took a sip from her own mug. "It's not that you didn't ask me to." The next part was so difficult to say, mostly because she always had a tough time verbalizing what was bothering her. The words were a lump in her throat.

Taking another swig, Max stalled, trying to understand where this conversation was headed. There was obviously something bothering his girl but he couldn't figure out what. "I filled the food and water before I left. And made sure he didn't have to go out to pee. I didn't want the Snuggle Monster to wake you." He frowned, pushing his glasses back up his nose as he turned slightly, trying to get the sun out of his eyes while still being able to look at her. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Did I?" Her question came out softly. "Lately things are different, Max. It's like you're avoiding me."

Max took a step back, shaking his head, clearly stupefied, "hoooooo boy. No. No way." He went to gesture with his hand, forgetting he was holding the mug of coffee until some splashed over the side and spilled all over his shoes. Stepping in closer, again, he set it down on the hood, freeing up his good hand. "Why would you… why would you think that?"

"I don't know…" she shrugged, averting her eyes. "Things have been different and I guess I'm scared what that means. Things have changed." Finally, Rayna met his eyes. "Haven't they?"

"They…" his eyes were also downcast as he bit his lip, thinking about the last time he'd tried to ask her to make things a little more permanent and how he'd chickened out. "They don't have to. I mean, ideally, I kinda wanted them to but I don't want to put more strain on…" he hesitated, struggling to put his racing thoughts into words. "We've got a good thing, don't we? I mean… I'm happy and you're happy? I guess I shouldn't assume. Let me rephrase: are you happy?"

"Happier than I've ever been." She set her coffee to the side. "That's why I've been freaking out." Rayna swallowed hard, grateful that the words weren't stuck like a lump anymore.

"No, but that doesn't make sense. You're happy. I'm happy." Max tried to smile but it didn't quite happen, "I feel like I just ate a thousand butterflies right now. Not always, because that's the kind of anxiety that might need a prescription," he shuffled his feet and fidgeted with his hands, trying to figure out something to do rather than start throwing more coffee around. "Don't freak out. Okay? Unless there's a huge spider in my hair… then for sure, I'd like to know." He nodded quickly, "what if I told you I did wanna change something?"

"As long as you aren't leaving or breaking things off, then yes… I wanna know what's going on." The knots had loosened and taken flight. "I can handle it, as long as it isn't those things. "

Nodding, Max sang softly, "...and I would do anything for love but I won't do that." Trying to coax a smile from her, he reached out and softly touched the tip of her nose with his finger. "Boop. Actually… hold that thought. I just need to…" he glanced over at the house, "is the door unlocked?" When she stared at him blankly for a second before nodding, he turned on his heel and bolted inside, leaving her sitting there to wonder what was happening. He'd gone from strangely distant to almost manic.

Her forehead creased as she tried to wrap her mind around the whole situation. Rayna's eyes stayed on the doorway of their home. What was he up to? Could it be..? No. No, it couldn't be – that was wishful thinking at best. Sighing to herself, she finished off the coffee.

She didn't have to wait long before Max returned, looking a little sheepish as he returned to her side. He'd changed his shirt to one that looked a little less ragged – it was black with a tuxedo pattern on it and paired with those neon green Zubaz pants he'd worn to the gym, he looked like an extra from some terrible 90's movie. "Sorry. I had to grab something…" when he realized she was looking at him strangely, he forced a shaky smile. "Shirt smelled weird… f-from the gym. So... uhm... where was I? Oh. Right." Again, he booped her nose and then leaned in to kiss her gently on the lips. "I was wondering… and you don't have to answer right now…" he was already speaking as the contact broke and then he dropped to one knee in front of her. At her sharp intake of breath, he looked up, "sorry. Laces're untied. Don't wanna trip."

It took a few moments for Rayna to recover from that little shock. "Oh," it came out as a disappointed exhale, "what's going on?"

"Oh. Sorry. I kinda trailed off there, didn't I?" Max waited until she looked away and then he pulled out the little box that was shaped like Mickey Mouse's head. "Rayna... my heart... my bunny... will you…" he hesitated for a fraction of a second and then finally asked her what he'd been putting off for months, "marry me? If I ask you twice and beg you, pretty please?"

The shock came back and Rayna could feel tears prickling as her hands flew up to her cheeks. "Oh Max…" She slid off the hood of the car and got down on her knees, wrapping her arms around him. "Yes… yes… I will. Yes!" She kissed his cheek, his neck, his lips.

He tried to pretend he wasn't tearing up as he awkwardly opened it, realizing she hadn't even seen the ring, just the box. "Here. I… I'm supposed to put it on you, right? I think that's what happens next."

"I think so…." She was crying and laughing. So was he. "Max… I love you." She was caught up in the moment, placing kisses all over his face. "I love you so much."