Work Text:
I’m Worried About You
A/N: Kenny, breathe. Please. Please don’t go insane. This is in response to the Sept. 9th “What’s Wrong With Kenny?” BTE episode. I’m going to finally contribute to the wealth of Golden Lovers fics on the site, and while I’m still working on another one that I’d planned to post first, I’m kind of in my feels today; I thought I’d post this one instead. Enjoy!
The minute he’d finished the video, Kota called Kenny. Though he couldn’t understand much of what was being said, Kota always tried to stay up to date with Being the Elite. Sometimes, Kenny would summarize each scene for him, and some he would give full translations of. Kota didn’t need translations to know that something was wrong with Kenny. His hair was streaked with grey and—did he see red in the back?! His mind instantly flashed back to Okada’s Balloon Maker phase, and his stomach twisted into knots. Kenny was also in what looked to be a slightly rumpled, but very expensive suit, sunglasses askew as he hysterically claimed, “I love you people!” He seemed torn between laughing and sobbing, somehow managing a subtle sort of combination of the two.
He sat atop his bed at his apartment, phone in hand, sun shining through the window. Kota didn’t bother checking the time, simply hitting Kenny’s number as fast as he could, phone flying up to his ear as he waited. Kenny picked up before the third ring.
“Ibu-tan?” he asked, confusion and relief evident in his voice.
“Are you okay?” Kota knew that he very clearly was not, but needed to know where Kenny’s mind was at.
“I—Yeah, I’m fine. A little, you know, banged up from All Out. But I’m good.”
“Kenny,” Kota began, voice serious and concerned, “I saw the episode.” There was silence over the line for a few moments, the only sound audible over the line being Kenny’s slightly quickened breathing.
“It was… It was just a bit, for the show. Gotta keep it interesting, you know? Is Kenny bringing back The Cleaner? Is Kenny going off the rails? I… I played up the loss, that’s all.” Kota heard the slight tremble in Kenny’s voice as he answered, not fooled for a second.
“Kenny,” he began again, though he didn’t quite know how to say what he was feeling. I know Moxley’s in your head. I don’t want you to go down that path again. I wish I could be there for you. “I’m worried about you,” he settled on, which apparently wasn’t the right thing to say.
“Worried? I’m fine. I am one-hundred percent, completely, totally, absolutely fine. I lost. Yeah, big deal. What’s new? I get my head in the game to face one of the toughest SOB’s I’ve ever seen step foot in the ring, only for someone to pull the rug out from under me like it’s April Fool’s. I go out there and embarrass myself by passing out because I can’t keep my head in the fucking game long enough to win a stupid match against some arrogant prick. But you know what? I don’t care. I don’t care that I’ve lost. Why should I? Everyone thinks I’ve gone down the rabbit hole. Crazy people don’t care, right? Crazy people are just that: crazy. So, no, don’t be worried, Ibu-tan. I’m right as rain. I’m fan-fucking-tastic.”
Kota sighed, not knowing how to respond, not knowing if he should. He tried another approach. “How’s the first show looking so far?” Kenny’s mood seemed to lift at that, and he immediately launched into the details of the matches currently on the card, as well as some of the ideas he had for a few backstage segments and a huge surprise he was hoping to get approved by Tony Khan. Kota felt some of his worry subside as conversation shifted to more casual topics, but he couldn’t help the uneasiness he was feeling.
“Oh, do they have you working any of the Road to Destruction shows this week?”
“Not this week. They’re letting me rest a little longer before my match with Kenta.”
“How’s the ankle holding up?” Kota carefully and slowly flexed his foot, feeling a slight ache as he did so.
“Fine, I guess.” Kenny didn’t seem convinced.
“Kota…”
“It’s not as fine as it could be,” he amended, “But I’ll manage.” Kenny hummed, satisfied with the answer.
“Just remember to take care of yourself, okay? You’ll wanna be as close to one-hundred percent as possible when you put that contract on the line.”
“I will if you will,” Kota responded. Kenny scoffed playfully.
“Of course I will! I’ve gotta help tear the house down in a little less than a month. I don’t plan on being at anything less than my best.” He sighed over the line, voice softening. “We said we were gonna change the world, and the TNT debut could be the thing that makes or breaks that dream. I… I wish you could be here to see it, to be a part of it.”
“Me too,” Kota whispered, imagining the sight of he, Kenny, and the rest of the AEW roster standing tall in the beginning of a new era for wrestling. How might things be different, had he gone with Kenny to America? How might things be different if Kenny had asked him to go? Would he have said yes? Would he have been able to stop this downward spiral before it could even begin? Kenny seemed to know where his thoughts were going, reassuring him.
“But you’ve got shows to main event, opponents to destroy, and a title to win. You’ve got a whole company to lead! Send Kenta crawling back to Bullet Club for me.” Kota couldn’t help the smile that came to his face at that.
“I will,” he promised. “I love you,” he told him, voice soft and full of affection. He heard Kenny’s breath hitch, could imagine the blush that spread across his cheeks, the warmth in his eyes, the goofy smile on his face, every time he told him that when it was just the two of them.
“I love you too,” Kenny replied, just as soft, just as meaningful. He hung up shortly after, and Kota laid his phone off to the side, flopping down on his back, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. It was clear that Kenny wasn’t taking his loss to PAC very well, and that Moxley was still in his head, but… He needed to stay positive. Maybe Kenny just needed time to let everything sink in and process. Maybe he just needed to get everything off his chest and out in the open. Maybe he’d be okay next week, after he got back into the usual swing of things.
Kota had a hard time falling asleep as his thoughts continued going a mile a minute. He still couldn’t help but feel that this was only the beginning of something terrible. His last troubling thought before he finally fell into a fitful sleep was, Or maybe… Maybe he just really isn’t okay.
Closing A/N: I might make this multi-chaptered, or maybe it’ll be a series? I’m in no position to start yet another series of fics when I’ve got a bunch of WIP’s to work on, but I do want to write something about Kenny’s slow descent into madness. BTE is giving me too many ideas. Also, TEN DAYS, PEOPLE. Ten. More. Days. I can’t wait!!!