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plot: reader congratulates Ilja on his NXT UK title win and he admits his feelings for her but reader refuses to start a relationship because she's moving to the US

trope: friends to lovers

pairings: british wrestler reader x Ilja Dragunov / reader x (platonic) Kay Lee Ray/ Alba Fyre

a.n: im literally so obsessed with him its crazy. this is set during NXT TakeOver 36 and time skips to Iljas main roster debut (recently).

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Y/N groaned in pain as she kicked out barely in time. She was facing Meiko Satomura for the NXT UK Championship during NXT TakeOver 36. This match was set just before the NXT UK Championship match, Ilja Dragunov vs Walter to break his 800+ day streak. Meiko looked at the referee in disbelief, not believing that Y/N just kicked out of two scorpion kicks and a suplex. Her distracted gave Y/N a chance to kick her in the face, and lock her into a sleeper hold. "And a sleeper hold from Y/N! Is she gonna get Meiko Satomura to tap out?!"

Y/N's eyes widened when Meiko managed to flip Y/N onto her back and she let out another pained groan. Y/N pulled herself up to her knees only for Meiko to run and perform Scorpio Rising onto Y/N pinning her to the three count to retain her title. "And still! Your NXT UK Women's Champion! Meiko Satomura!" Y/N slammed her hand down in frustration and anger, upset that she couldn't win the title but it wasn't anybodys fault except hers. A few tears ran down her face as she sat in the corner, looking at Meiko who raised her title proudly.

Y/N bit her lip and looked up to see Meiko extend her hand to Y/N. With a heavy sigh she took Meikos hand, letting Meiko held pull her up. Y/N stepped back and bowed out of respect, in which Meiko also bowed. "Congratulations," Y/N spoke, shaking Meikos hand gently before stepping out of the ring to let Meiko have her moment. Y/N got backstage, getting a round of applause from everyone in the gorilla. She smiled as she shook the hand of Triple H and then Shawn Michaels. Y/N thanked them before making her way out but Walter, who was in the gorilla for his match next, stopped her.

"You did phenomenal. Congratulations on your match." Walter said, putting a hand on her shoulder gently and offering a smile. "Thank you. It means a lot. Good luck out there," Y/N responded, shaking Walter's hand before continuing to leave the gorilla. She didn't even notice she passed Ilja before he had gently grabbed her arm to stop her. She turned to look at him and smiled, "I just wanted to say you did amazing out there. Even though you didn't win, you still put everything on the line to make the match great. I'm very proud of you." Y/N smiled at his kind words and looked up at him.

"Thank you, I can't express how much that means to me. Uh I really hope you win tonight so good luck and stay safe," Y/N said, leaning up and pressing a kiss to his cheek. Ilja nodded and blushed as he watched Y/N walk away and run over to Kay Lee who immediately grinned and embraced her best friend. "You did so good! I liked the little homage you payed to me," Kay Lee said. Y/N laughed and pulled away, "Thank you. It was a last minute thing but I just had to pay homage to the woman who got me back into wrestling." Kay Lee smiled and glanced back to see Ilja enter the gorilla, not before taking a glance back at Y/N who was looking at Kay Lee.

"Sooooo...you gonna tell Ilja how you really feel about him? Or are you still too scared?" Kay Lee teased, nudging Y/N's shoulder as they walking into the women's locker room. "Shut up. I'm not scared I just don't know if it's the right time. This was my last match in NXT UK and Ilja most likely is gonna win the championship tonight so that would mean we're gonna be in completely different continents. It wouldn't work out between us whether he likes me back or not," Y/N stated, plopping down on the couch and looking at Iljas match about to start.

"Oh come on, you don't seriously think you can't make it work?" Kay Lee asked I'm disappointment. She had shipped Ilja and Y/N the minute they had met in wXw. "Kayleigh you try dating someone who lives in the UK whilst you're moving the US. It would never work out with our schedules," Y/N shrugged. Kayleigh frowned but dropped the subject and leaned her head on Y/N's shoulder as they watch the match.

Y/N let out an excited shout, shaking Kayleigh in excitement when Ilja pinned Walter for the title. "And new!! NXT UK Champion! Ilja Dragunov!!!" Kayleigh and Y/N grinned and hugged each other, both happy for their friend. A tear of happiness fell from Y/N's eye as Ilja held up the title with tears in his own eyes. "Go! Go to him!" Kayleigh said, and Y/N turned to look at her, "Should I? Are you sure?" Kayleigh nodded, "Yes! Go!" Y/N nodded to herself before running out of the locker room and heading to the gorilla. Ilja made it back through the curtains and Y/N immediately ran and hugged him, he ignored the pain in his chest and embraced her back without hesitation.

Y/N smiled and pulled away slowly, "Congratulations! You deserve it more than anyone!" She smiled. He grinned, "Thank you Y/N. Couldn't have done it without your support." Y/N shrugged it off and he chuckled before she left him to talk with Hunter and everyone else. Y/N congratulated Walter on the amazing match before heading to catering where Kayleigh had went to talk with Dakota. "Sooooo...did you tell him?" Dakota asked as Y/N sat down at the table, taking a sip of the cold water she grabbed. "No, he just finished his match, I can't burden him with that," Y/N said, shrugging slightly.

"Hey Y/N, Ilja asked me to tell you if you can go to the medic room, he needs to talk to you," Shaun (LA Knight) said, sitting down next to her and taking a bite of Kay Lee's brownie in which she slapped his hand. "Oh okay, thanks for lettin me know," Y/N said, he nodded and snatched Kay's cookie off her plate. Y/N stood up and headed to the medical room, knocking on the door before peeking in and Ilja waved her over. Y/N stepped in and shut the door, glancing at the title that laid on the chair. As much as she was happy for him, it also meant they wouldn't see each other as much anymore.

"You wanted to see me?" Y/N asked, leaning on the wall and watching as he held a bag of ice to his very red chest from all the chops to the chest he took. Literally anyone who faced Walter needed to ice their chest considering Walter was literally known for his famous chest chops. "Yeah, I actually really wanted to tell you something important," he said, setting down the ice and Y/N gave him her full attention. "Uhm, I don't really know how to say this. But, ever since we met that night in wXw, I couldn't stop myself from falling completely in love with you. And over the years I thought I could finally push those feelings away and let you go when you started dating Jordan two years ago but I still just couldn't push those feelings away. I don't think I've ever felt this way for anyone so I'm hoping you feel the same."

When Y/N didn't say anything he let out a sigh and looked down in disappointment. "I really don't know what to say. I mean I obviously didn't realize I loved you until after me and Jordan broke up and you were the first to show up to my place and do your absolute best to cheer me up. I just, I mean I really wished you told me this sooner," Y/N mumbled. Ilja leaned forward and gently took her hand, pulling her closer to him. "I wish I did to so I could ask you to be my girlfriend sooner," Ilja said, cupping her face gently and she smiled slightly.

But then she remembered that she would be moving to the US and looked down in guilt. "What? What is it?" He asked in concern, seeing her face drained of the happiness it showed before. "I...I can't be your girlfriend, Ilja," Y/N said, and the happiness also drained from his face but also some confusion showed. "What do you mean you can't?" He gently moved her face so she looked at him and she sighed heavily. "Tonight was my last match in the NXT UK. Next week I'm announcing my departure from NXT UK and next month I'm debuting on NXT. I'm gonna be moving to the US," Y/N explained, watching all the color drain from his face which made her feel guilty.

"Well, I guess that's a really good reason for rejection," Ilja said with a small chuckle, putting on a smile but she knew it was fake. Y/N smiled softly and nodded, "How about we make a proposal?" She said, and he perked up, interested in the proposal. "I'm listening."

"When you get called up to the main roster or NXT, then we can continue this conversation about this relationship. Deal?" Y/N stuck out her pinkie and Ilja looked down at it with a raised brow, "There's no way I'm doing a pinkie promise," he said. Y/N rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Don't act so high class with me. Intertwine the goddamn pinkie Dragunov," Y/N said with raised brows. Ilja sighed and threw his head back with a dramatic groan before intertwining his pinkie with hers and she let out a small cheer. "You didn't have to but it was so funny anyways," Y/N laughed.

Ilja rolled his eyes but let out a small chuckle of amusement, "I hate you." Y/N scoffed, "A minute ago you confessed your love for me so I think otherwise." Y/N smiled and he smiled, wishing he could just kiss her already but they couldn't or they would most definitely start a relationship. He didn't want to be the reason Y/N would stay in the UK for him so he had to let her go.

Just for now.

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It was exactly over a year later. Y/N was NXT Women's Champion, winning the title from Mandy Rose at NXT: Stand & Deliver. She had currently unified the NXT and NXT UK titles at Worlds Collide, having a phenomenal match with Meiko Satomura and pinning the Champion, which she was heavily praised for as it was very rare for someone to pin the woman. (Blair wasn't in the match) Y/N was told she would be fueding with her long time friend Alba Fyre FKA Kay Lee Ray. This set up Y/N vs Alba at Halloween Havoc for the title.

Y/N rolled her shoulders as she walked out of Shawn Michaels office. He was discussing how he was giving her full permission to say what she wanted on the mic. Before Triple H recently took charge of the company, Y/N was given written scripts that she had to go off of and now she had full permission to say what she liked. Kayleigh walked over to her and put her arm around her shoulder, "So, after our segment I want you to meet an old friend who came to visit. Or well...stay," Kayleigh said with a smirk and Y/N squinted her eyes at Kayleigh in suspicion.

They entered the gorilla so Y/N didn't have much time to respond before her music hit and she walked out. Y/N wore a black AC/DC shirt that tucked into her black jeans with some combat boots and her hair up in a ponytail. Y/N stepped in the ring and got handed a mic, then a chair, that she set up and sat down on. She waited for the crowd to quiet down before she spoke, "So, last week an old friend of mine challenged me for my title, and attacked Toxic Attraction in the process. Which I don't really care about because it's Toxic Attraction. But I do care about the fact that Alba Fyre thinks she has the right to challenge me when she didn't even earn it."

"But, I thought hell maybe it's a good idea. I mean I'm tired of fighting Mandy Rose and beating her each time! Are you tired of that as well?" Y/N asked the crowd in which they all responded with a 'Yeah!' to her question. "Exactly. Like come on, give me someone else to beat. My left pinkie finger has more talent in it than Mandy Rose does in her entire body. See, now a person like that shouldn't even be focusing on my title. She should be focusing on actually learning how to wrestle because let me tell ya something. Mandy Rose is probably one of my worst opponents ever. I've had better matches with rookies than I've ever had with Mandy Rose."

"So, enough about Mandy because the more I talk about her, the more her ego rises. I'd rather talk about Alba Fyre. See, Alba Fyre and I, we go back all the way to when she had her first match in ICW. Now when we met, I wasn't even wrestling anymore, I had quit, and she was the one to push me to wrestle again and I couldn't be more appreciative for that. But that was years ago, and I'm a new person. And the only thing I appreciate is this title, not friendships. But, but, I couldn't help but notice that Alba Fyre thinks that our past friendship would get her a title opportunity. I really don't appreciate that thought."

"Friendship doesn't get you anything. No because when we were friends, she got everything I wanted. I was stuck under her shadow. I wasn't able to shine on my own. And I'm sure she remembers every second of that. I'm also sure she remembers NXT UK TakeOver, when she almost ended my career all for a bloody title. And I still forgave her." Y/N took a breath, bit her lip as a grin appeared on her lips. But before she could continue, Alba's music hit and she made her way out, wielding her bat as usual but she was sure she didn't need it. "Y/N, Y/N, Y/N, why are you so obsessed with the past?"

"I've changed my ways, I've apologized for my actions in the past and I've moved on. Why can't you? You can't even respect the past opportunites you were given so why cant you just move on?" Alba asked, stepping into the ring which made Y/N stand up and back up slightly. "You're seriously gonna ask me that? God you are so full of yourself. You're gonna tell me to forget about the past yet the minute you arrived in NXT, you wanted everyone's respect when you did nothing to earn it. You wanted everybody to know that you were one of the greatest NXT UK Women's Champions. No, you don't just demand respect, you earn it. And you would know exactly what that means because you were the one to tell me that."

"I am so sick of handing out opportunities to everyone. First it was Raquel, then it was Iyo, then it was Cora, then it was Dakota, then it was Mandy and now it's you. You don't just get an opportunity just because you change up your persona and think you're better than me. If you want a title opportunity so bad, then do something to prove you deserve it. You know what? How about, Alba Fyre versus Gigi Dolin next week? Winner, gets to face me for the NXT Women's Championship at Halloween Havoc. Oh and darling, if you lose, then you will never get to challenge me for this title again," Y/N said.

Alba smirked and stuck out her hand to the agreement. Y/N looked down at it before shaking her head and walking past Alba, shoulder checking her in the process. As Y/N walked to the curtains, the crowd suddenly grew louder and that's when she turned to notice Toxic Attraction had attacked Alba from behind. Y/N immediately ran back to the ring, sliding in and tackling Mandy off of Alba. Y/N threw her out of the ring and ran into the ropes, coming back and spearing Jacy into the mat as Alba hit Gigi with her bet. Y/N clenched her jaw and picked the mic on the mat, pulling her title onto her shoulder she glared down at Toxic.

"Oh now you done pissed me off. That match I just announced is now gonna be pushed back another week because next week I'm teaming up with Alba Fyre one last time and we're gonna kick your asses!" Y/N tossed the mic and glared down at Toxic Attraction. Alba looked at Y/N and they both looked around at the crowd who chanted for them to hug it out. Y/N stuck out her hand instead and Alba took it, but pulled Y/N into a hug which made the crowd cheer and Toxic Attraction completely shocked by the reunited alliance. Y/N smiled and hugged her old friend back, but then pulled away and grabbed her title, raising it and Alba shook her head with a chuckle.

Once they got backstage, they were obviously praised for the amazing segment before Kayleigh led Y/N to their locker room. "Why is this such a big deal that you need to cover my eyes?" Y/N asked in annoyance and Kayleigh rolled her eyes as she opened the door and led Y/N inside. Kayleigh smiled at Ilja who stood there, had been waiting for them to arrive. "Okay, keep them closed and open them when you hear the door shut," Kayleigh said. Y/N nodded and Kayleigh removed her hands and quickly left the room, giving Ilja and smile before she shut the door.

Y/N grumbled under her breath, annoyed that Kayleigh left the room. Then she let out a sigh before opening her eyes, being faced with Ilja who smiled shyly at her. "Oh my god! What are you doin here?!" Y/N ran and jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist and he supported her weight by holding onto her waist. "They finally called you up? It was rumored you were being released," Y/N said, remembering how upset she was when she heard that rumor going around. "I'm debuting tonight actually. I'm gonna be facing Bron Breakker and Jordan at Halloween Havoc," Ilja said.

Y/N grinned and jumped back down so he wouldn't have to keep holding her. "That's so amazing. I'm so happy for you," she said, having her hands on his biceps. "I'm supposed to go out there soon but I really wanted to see you first," Ilja said. Y/N smiled and looked down awkwardly, "Soon...are you gonna be staying here long or are you gonna be called up again?" Y/N asked out of curiosity but also because she needed to know so she could tell him something she also found out. "I think I'm gonna be here for a bit if they book me to win the title. Why?"

"Because I'm being called up to Smackdown after Halloween Havoc. They want me in the title picture I guess," Y/N explained. Y/N couldn't see any disappointment on his face like she thought she would, but instead he looked genuinely proud of her. It was always her dream to be called up. "That's amazing, I'm really happy for you. You deserve it more than anyone," Ilja said, with a proud smile. Y/N blushed and looked down before glancing back up at him, "Do you remember the proposal we made?" Ilja chuckled and nodded, "Yes, how could I forget? You made me pinkie promise."

Y/N chuckled and bit her lip nervously, "Do you wanna...ya know..be my boyfriend?" Ilja didn't even respond before he pressed his lips against hers, not even being able to hold back anymore. Y/N didn't waste a second before kissing him back with the same amount of passion. Pulling away for breath Y/N cupped his face, "I take that as a yes?" She laughed. Ilja chuckled and nodded, pulling her in for another kiss.

His post of the two kissing with her face not shown went viral the minute it was posted, captioned with 'finally got the girl ❤'. It didn't take long for everyone to figure out it was Y/N, especially seeing the haircut and dyed hair. Everyone was happy for them and Y/N could not be more happy to finally be with Ilja.

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A.N: he's my bae sns

not proofread obviously bc I'm too lazy to read it over

requests are open!

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