Work Text:
Sheamus grinned as he picked up his phone, reading his boyfriend's sweet text message. He was in the locker room after a match, sweaty and happy, because he'd won.
JOE: Good match 🤍
SHEAMUS: Thanks! Getting changed now, will drive home after <3
JOE: 👍
JOE: Love you, see you in a bit
SHEAMUS: See you!
Their relationship was still private after a year and a half of dating. They didn't want anyone to find out, and potentially cause their professional careers any harm. Just a close circle of people knew — their parents and best friends, Drew McIntyre and Grado — and they were content keeping it that way. However, Sheamus wouldn't lie if he didn't say he would like to be out and proud with his boyfriend. Imagine being able to post a cute, domestic photo of Joe on his official Instagram account, or a video of Joe being his crazy self on his Twitter account. But he also knew Joe was a more private person, he rarely spoke about his personal life or family with the press or in interviews, for example, and Sheamus respected that, too. Privacy was underrated anyway nowadays, with social media and — in his case — also fans and fame. Publicity about Sheamus was often more detailed than about Joe, simply because he was a more open person towards people he didn't know personally, in contrast to Joe.
He got changed quickly and drove home, wanting to see his boyfriend. He unlocked the door of their home and stepped inside. He quietly took off his shoes and hung his jacket at its assigned hook. He dumped his bag on the floor, knowing well Joe would force him to pick it up and put it away later.
Joe was a creature of habit: he would always wake up at 7.15AM off-days, and 6.30AM workdays. He would go on a run first thing in the morning, but not before he'd kissed Sheamus on his forehead and brushed his teeth. Then, once he would come home, he'd shower, eat breakfast — Sheamus never understood why he didn't eat before he jogged — and brush his teeth again. By then, it would be an hour and a half later, so 8AM or 8.45AM. Sheamus adored these little habits that made Joe who he was. But because Joe Hendry was a synonym of habit, Sheamus also knew exactly where to find him: curled up on the couch underneath his favourite blanket of which he claimed that was not his favourite but simply used "for its warmth" — Joe's words, not his.
And indeed, unsurprisingly, Joe sat on the couch with his favourite blanket. He was scrolling on his phone, TV on mute playing highlights of some old match.
"One screen not enough for you?" Sheamus teased, making his presence known to Joe, who startled.
"Fuck, man, you scared me."
"I'm not that creepy," Sheamus grinned, to which Joe responded with a look saying seriously? Sheamus joined his boyfriend on the couch nonetheless, snuggling close. With a grimace, Joe pushed him away. "Ew." He scrunched up his nose in disgust, albeit affectionate disgust. "You stink. Go shower."
Sheamus placed a hand on his heart, mock-hurt. "You wound me," he said dramatically.
Joe rolled his eyes at his boyfriend's shenanigans, but a smile tugged on his lips anyway. "Yeah, yeah." He watched Sheamus leave the room with one last dramatic pout, probably — hopefully — in order to shower. Three minutes later, however, he got an Instagram notification. Slightly dreading what he'd find, he opened it and... yep. It was exactly what he had been expecting: a shirtless mirror pic of Sheamus. Post-match sweat 🥵, he had captioned it.
"Go shower!" he screamed in the general direction of the bathroom. He heard Sheamus' unapologetic laugh. "Instead of thrist trapping fans online!" he added.
"You know that's my favourite activity ever!" Sheamus called back, before the shower began to run, water heating up.
Joe eventually retreated to the bathroom as well, chatting idly with Sheamus through the shower curtain. And if he stared just a little bit when Sheamus pulled the curtain back and stepped out of the shower, water droplets rolling down his body, clinging to his skin, it was his secret.
~
The light filtered softly through the blinds. A stream of sunshine danced across Joe's muscled chest and abs. Sheamus couldn't help but watch, admiring his still sleeping boyfriend. Joe lay in bed, bedding only covering him from the waist down, snoring softly. He looked peaceful and unworried, unbothered by what anyone could ever think of him. Sheamus traced soft lines over his toned body, following the muscle, writing nonsense on his skin. He watched Joe's eyes flutter open, that soft, confused look he always had on his face when he woke up.
"It's seven-fifteen, baby. Thought maybe you wanted to run?"
Joe rubbed his eyes, wiping the sleep away. "Yeah. Thank you." He pressed a kiss to Sheamus' forehead and then stood up. Sheamus watched Joe's hips sway slightly as he moved to the bathroom. He heard the telltale sounds of a toothbrush being grabbed, toothpaste being put onto it and then the obvious brushing itself. Finally, he heard Joe rinse his toothbrush, before putting it back in the mug assigned for their toothbrushes. Joe came back into the bedroom, changing quickly into athletic wear. He grabbed his headphones, before giving Sheamus another kiss.
"I'll see you in forty-five minutes," he promised before heading out the door, his sneakers in one hand, his phone in the other. His headphones were around his neck. Sheamus heard the front door shut and stayed in bed for a little longer.
~
It was a little past eight when Joe returned, hair messy, sweat drops visible on his slightly flushed skin. Sheamus swallowed and appreciated the view. Joe smirked knowingly and said: "So, shower."
"I've already showered," Sheamus objected.
"So you'd rather not shower again than shower with your handsome and hot boyfriend?" Joe responded, a teasing lilt in his voice.
"Yeah, that's correct, a stór."
"A stór, that means, uh... my treasure?"
Sheamus nodded and repeated: "I won't shower. Have fun with yourself."
Joe rolled his eyes at Sheamus. When Joe walked away, Sheamus snapped a quick picture. Joe heard the flutter of the camera and whipped around.
"Did you just photograph me, Farrelly?"
"Going to last names, huh?" Sheamus shot back.
"I will use your mother's name," Joe said without hesitation. Sheamus raised his eyebrows. "Shower," he mouthed. Joe shot him his deadliest glare — if looks could kill, Joe would be a murderer now.
~
Three months later, and you could cut the tension with a dull butterknife.
"I can't do that! You know I can't," Joe spit out.
"You absolutely can, you just don't want to," Sheamus fired back, his voice calm.
"No, you're right I don't want to ruin my whole career. I worked towards this for decades, Sheamus, you do not get it!"
"I'm literally you, but ten years older."
And that was definitely the wrong thing to say, because Joe snapped, his last restraint gone. "You don't have the fucking right to say that, Sheamus." He was still visibly angry, but his tone had gone cold and low, dangerously so. "You have no clue what I went through in order to achieve this life."
"That's because you never open up to me. I'm your boyfriend, you're supposed to tell me stuff!"
"Oh, so now I'm supposed to say stuff?"
"Yes!" Sheamus exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air. "My God, yes. We're supposed to be a fucking team, Joe."
"Then you should support me no matter what, unconditionally. Do you?" Joe narrowed his eyes at Sheamus.
"What the fuck kind of question is that!" Sheamus looked indignant, offended and even hurt. Rightfully so, Joe thought bitterly.
"Answer it," he bristled. "Or are you too afraid?"
Sheamus stepped closer, a threatening presence. "No."
"Then fucking give me an answer," Joe ordered.
"No." Sheamus crossed his arms. That was the last straw for Joe. He saw red and pushed Sheamus with both his hands. Sheamus stumbled back, taken aback by the sudden burst of violence of Joe. He wasn't a small guy, but Joe wasn't petit either. They were both wrestlers, for fuck's sake.
"What the fuck are you doing?" Sheamus demanded, uncrossing his arms, preparing to fight.
"You won't give me a damn answer. How hard is it to say 'yes, I unconditionally support you' or 'no, I don't unconditionally support you'?"
"This isn't black and white, and you know that!"
"I feel like you're just avoiding saying 'no', because right now, it damn looks a lot like you don't." A low blow, Joe knew, but what else was he supposed to say?
"Don't put words in my mouth, Joe, fucking don't."
"Well, you do avoid the question."
"This is all over a photo. Let me just post it."
"No."
"I'm tired of hiding, Joe." All anger, all protest left Sheamus' voice. "It's nearly two years. And all because you're fearing for your career. Well, guess what, newsflash, my career is at stake as well."
"Then the choice should be even clearer: do not post it. Would you really rather ruin our whole careers, which we spent years working for, by the way, receive hate comments, homophobic comments, all that, just so you can be out?"
"Just so we can be out," Sheamus corrected.
"Have you even thought about what I want?"
Sheamus faltered. "Do you... do you not want to come out, then? I thought you wanted to." But it came out unsure, a bit hesitating, more like a question than anything else.
And oh, he supposed he hadn't really thought about that — neither of them had; Sheamus about the fact Joe might rather stay in the closet, and Joe about what he really wanted, deep down.
~
Joe,
I'm sorry. I guess I should start with that. I'm sincere, I mean it. You don't have to forgive me (yet), but please just know that I really feel bad about our fight. I went too far and said things I shouldn't have said. I used your insecurities in ways I never should have done. I respect your career, and I know how much it cost you, Joe, I promise. I also promise I don't want to take your career away from you. I know it's one of the things, if not the one thing, you love doing most. But I also want you to know that I've thought about this a lot. I've spent hours and hours and hours imagining how our future would look like; all the possible outcomes, from worst-case scenario to the best one. I know the shit we could possibly unleash, and I also know how I'd feel about being out. For me, the freedom, the truth, is the most important thing. But then again, I'm ten years older, I've achieved most of what I wanted to achieve, and I know that isn't the same for you, love. Just think about it, please.
Yours,
Sheamus
~
Dear Sheamus,
I love you. I love you more than my career (you know that). I would go to hell and back for you. I said stupid shit, and I apologise. I shouldn't have said that. And I do want to try, I'm just... afraid, I guess. Afraid of what I could lose. But then, what would I gain? I value the truth, you know that, and what we do not is not necessarily lying, but it isn't the full truth, either. My mom always taught me to do what I wanted best, not what others wanted. Rationally, my brain's telling me: don't! You'll fuck up everything you worked for! You'll get hate! It will get dark again. But my heart tells me to be with you, love you. And while I already do that now, in private, I've thought about being able to just kiss you in public, to not wonder each time "fuck, can we do that or...". I love you to the moon and back. I trust you immensely. So, yes. Yes to everything. I'll come out with you, even if that means risking my career. Because what's more important: love or money? (And we have plenty of that.) I'm here for forever.
Love,
Joe
~
"I'm sorry for shoving you, Sheamus," Joe muttered into Sheamus' neck. He found it hard to apologise, he wasn't sure why, but he would do a lot, if not everything, for Sheamus.
"'S okay. I mean, I was definitely hurt, but I understand where your anger came from." He rubbed soothing circles on Joe's back, up and down, and again. Joe practically melted under his touch, his body going limp in Sheamus' arms. He felt safe there, and it showed. Sheamus chuckled lowly and kissed Joe's ear. After a while — Joe wasn't exactly sure how long, he must have fallen asleep at some point — Sheamus moved to grab his phone. He unlocked it and scrolled through his gallery, before clicking on one specific photo.
"We could post this one," he said lightheartedly. No should, no must, just a possibly. Joe opened his eyes and smiled when he remembered where the picture was taken: it was one of him, walking away from the camera in his sport clothing, clearly just have worked out. It was the one from three months ago, after his run, when Sheamus had called him a stór just moments ago. It was a soft and real picture. It captured their feeling of safety and trust around each other. In other words, it was perfect.
"Yeah, that's a good one," Joe agreed. "Alongside other pictures, though," he added with a laugh.
"Obviously. Wouldn't want you to be in the spotlight," Sheamus laughed. "Not when I'm right here."
"Yeah, yeah, very humble of you."
"Of course, you know me."
~
They ended up selecting a series of photographs, showing their journey. There were domestic ones, funny ones, and some cute pictures. One was a little sadder, too. It showed Sheamus laying in a bed, hospital gown on, some hospital equipment visible in the background. Joe sat next to him, holding his hand. Sheamus appeared to be asleep, and the photographer had caught Joe in action while he was stroking a strand of hair from Sheamus' forehead with his free hand.
@wwesheamus and @joehendry
Famous people keep secrets all the time, and we figured the time was right to share one with you. It's been nearly two years since we started dating. Ever since then, we've been happy and content — apart from one thing: the secrecy. It was very difficult to keep our love for each other a secret all this time, because believe us, when you've found someone you want to spend your whole life with, you want to shout it from the roofs. Sadly, we felt forced to keep our relationship private, but we could share memories with our families and friends, and now, also with you. We love you and each other. See you soon! ❤️ Sheamus and Joe
Liked by @dmcintyrewwe, @gradowrestling, and 14839 others
@sayhisname_heappears
WHAT
>>> @mika0931
Definitely not expecting THIS, yes!
@bangerbangerbanger33
this was not on my bingo card for 2026 holy shit
@010488jsh
OH MY GOD??
@burgerafterburgerafterburger_
claim your T-shirt of joemus happening in the big 2026!!!
>>> @mohawksheamus2015
We picking Joemus as ship name?
>>>>>> @burgerafterburgerafterburger_
yeah, or is hendmus better?
>>>>>>>>> @mohawksheamus2015
😭😭😭 Joemus is definitely better then yeah
@dmcintyrewwe
Proud of you guys!! 🩶
@gradowrestling
Congratulations on your relationship! Looking forward to making more memories! 💙
@malestr1pp3rk3nny
It's Adam and EVE!!
>>> @010488jsh
be for fucking real
>>> @mohawksheamus2015
It's the fucking 21st century!
>>>>>> @malestr1pp3rk3nny
That's why I should be able to say Adam and Eve. I'm sure Joe and Sheamus have been abused
>>>>>>>>> @mohawksheamus2015
Smh 🤦 I feel bad for your mom, having given birth to you