#the way as soon as matt has forgiven kenny he literally CANNOT BRING HIMSELF to hurt kota and can barely stand to see others do it :((((

[mitchtheficus]

A Golden Lovers Timeline

PART 22: REACHING OUT

the lovers return to japan, have an 8-man tag against Suzuki Gun [LINK - April 29, 2018], Kenny returns to his DDT-era angelic babyface blond hair, and then it’s May and time for Dontaku

the first night (May 3, 2018) Kota faces Cody again in a singles match [LINK]

I feel like every time Cody has a match with the lovers there’s the obligatory “and Cody continues to be a Weirdo about this” part and uh it’s that time again!

[ID: Cody is kind of spooning Kota against the ropes and he leans over and kisses him on the cheek before letting him go. Kota seems disgusted. End ID]

In case you were wondering, yes he is still being Like That

[ID: gif of Cody looking down at Kota and announcing delightedly “oh he can’t satisfy.” End ID]

(Cody says the lovers do definitely fuck but like badly lol)

Throughout the match there’s a desperation in the way Kota fights, and that risk-taking ultimately leads to Cody’s victory

In the post-match we find out where that desperation was coming from: he wasn’t just trying to beat Cody for himself. Kota was hoping to put an end to the bullet club feud, and he failed

[ID: two pictures of a sad, sweaty, and defeated Kota saying: “This won't do anything to end the bullet club’s feud. Since i couldn't win this, i don't have a say in it.” End ID. LINK]

Kenny faces Hangman in singles competition for the first time that same night. [LINK]

the match is great. Kenny gets a cut on the top of his head, and as the match goes on, the blood seeps down and turns more and more of his hair red

[ID: gif of Kenny with blood seeped into the blond hair on the top of his head, he’s making a fight-y face, in the background women are laughing and clapping and looking at hangman who is on the ground. End ID]

(it’s kind of a Look tbh)

Kenny wins. Hangman hasn’t reached his full potential yet, but it’s coming (just not in this story).

Kenny is so sweet with the Japanese crowd now that he’s a face, apologizing for being too groggy to speak Japanese well after his victory, asking their permission to speak a little English, and promising he’ll do it all in Japanese next time [LINK]

The next night of Dontaku (LINK - May 4th) the lovers have another multi-man tag match, this time against Cody’s faction of the BC (which NJPW has deemed includes the bucks, tho they seem uncomfortable with this booking decision)

both of them, but especially Matt, are visibly distressed at the sight of Kota being hurt

[ID: gif of the bucks while cody and hangman attack Kota. Nick is talking to Hangman and he puts his arms out like “what the hell are you doing?”, Matt is leaning away from where Kota is being attacked, like he wants to get away from it, looking distressed and uncomfortable. End ID]

And when Page angrily tags in Matt while Kota is in the ring, Matt can’t even bring himself to try to hurt him

[ID: Matt looks down at Kota with pursed lips and tries to hype himself up into being able to fight him, then he gives up and backs into the ring corner, extending his hand for a teammate to tag him out, shaking his head. End ID]

They get into the ring later to try to talk to Kenny, and Kota is like “um can we do the fight thing that we’re here to do? This is a wrestling match?” and Nick is like “wth kota we’re basically brothers now!”

[ID: two gifs of the bucks and the lovers standing in the ring. based on body language, Kota seems to be suggesting to Kenny that they just fight the bucks and get on with the match, but Kenny seems reluctant. Nick opens his arms and looks at Kota like “what the hell, man?” and backs up a step when Kota gets close. End ID]

The bullet club guys are SO CUTELY SUPPORTIVE OF KOTA 

[ID: gif of Kota kicking Cody so hard he falls down. Tanga Loa and Tama Tonga clap and cheer Kota on in the background. End ID]

that’s their guy!! i swear they like Kota more than Kenny

throughout the match there’s respect and camaraderie between the bucks and the OG BC guys and after the match, with Kenny and Cody out of the picture (off fighting each other somewhere), the rest of BC is able to reconcile

[ID: picture of kota watching from outside the ring as the BC guys all do a two sweet in the ring. End ID]

And now it’s time for my boy Kazuchika Okada to re-enter this story.

[ID: gif of Okada’s entrance. he’s wearing a huge colorful sparkly coat, a big sparkly necklace, the giant heavyweight belt around his waist. Okada bucks fall from the ceiling above him. His arms are out stretched as he looks up and then forward with a determined, confidant look. End ID]

The last time we saw Okada was nearly a year ago at Dominion 2017, where he and Kenny fought to a draw. He has held the IWGP Heavyweight title ever since that night. At Dontaku 2018, he wins his 12th consecutive title defense, breaking Tanahashi’s record for most successful IWGP Heavyweight title defenses in NJPW history

After his victory he lists off the opponents he’s faced and beaten one by one, and then he looks at the crowd

[ID: Okada, looking a little sweaty and tired after his match, looks up and out at the crowd and asks: “There is one draw, isn’t there?” End ID. LINK]

The one flaw in his perfect record. And he hasn’t forgotten that Kenny beat him during the G1, earning him a title shot that he hasn’t yet asked for.

[ID: Okada stands in the middle of the ring with his sparkly golden pants and his title around his waist and he yells into the mic: “KENNY OMEGA!” and turns to look at the entrance ramp. End ID]

And the crowd goes nuts

[ID: Kenny, blond and shirtless, walks down the entrance ramp, putting his arms out to touch the reaching hands of the fans. He keeps looking at where Okada is, his expression is wary and ready, but not excited. End ID]

Okada tells him that this time, there will be no draw, because this time there will be no time limit. Kenny asks for a 2 out of 3 falls match (a stipulation we almost never see in NJPW). Finally they will put to rest who is better.

Okada looks excited

[ID: gif of Okada looking at Kenny with a small, anticipatory smile. He says: “No time limit... two out of three falls...” End ID]

(Gedo not so much)

Kenny is kind of surprised by this turn of events.

[ID: picture of Kenny in the post-match. He’s smiling and saying: “Honestly, I’m surprised he chose me as his next challenger. Because I haven’t gone after titles in a while, and I’m with Ibushi now.” End ID. LINK]

For so long Kenny was focused on getting that title, defeating Okada, reaching new heights... but ever since reuniting with Kota, his inner life has been restructured. it’s not that he’s no longer ambitious, it’s that ambitious is no longer the only thing he is allowing himself to be.

so much of his past motivation to get titles was wrapped up in the way he was perpetually chasing Kota

“Ibushi has been there since the beginning of my career in Japan and we very quickly established a friendship with one another,” explained Omega. “For 10 years he was a friend, a rival, a partner, and yet always a distant figure I was struggling to catch.”

- SI article from March 23rd

but now, Kenny has found a bone-deep certainty and restfulness in their relationship. he’s kind of accepted that he’ll always have to struggle to keep up with Kota, that Kota may in fact always be better than him, but that doesn’t frighten him anymore.

“It’s a challenge to match his athleticism and to sync with his speed,” said Omega. “But much like a world class couple in ballroom dancing or figure skating, we almost have an empathic read on our bodies and can move in harmony. I may have already peaked as a singles wrestler, but Ibushi is more than capable of taking over as the ‘Best Bout Machine’. I’d possibly even say he’s the only one in the world capable. This time, I don’t mind taking a back seat.”

- SI article from March 23rd

he’ll repeatedly, casually tell us that regardless of actual wins and losses, Kota is better than him as a wrestler. but now that he isn’t carrying the fear of being abandoned due to his own inadequacies, now that he’s full of the certainty that he is loved for who he is as a person instead of only as a wrestler, he’s comfortable with that reality

truly he’s been enjoying just being with Kota so much that it hasn’t really occurred to him to start pursuing singles titles again. and you kind of get the sense that he doesn’t actually want to do it right now. like if he’d gotten a choice, this rematch with Okada wouldn’t be happening yet.

[ID: picture of Kenny in the post-match, he’s looking a little wishful and saying “But I can’t do anything about it, he chose me.” End ID]

the lovers take the rest of May off to rest and prepare for Dominion.

So after the disaster that was Supercard of Honor, after Kenny telling them that there “is no elite” the bucks tell everyone that they’re shutting down Being the Elite for real. Not kayfabe, for real (bc they’re wrestlers!! And they love to lie!!!) 

And then May 6th they start it up again. And we see, over the course of several weeks, the bucks’ tentative reaching out to Kenny

the bucks have sent Kenny a package

[ID: Picture from BTE of the package. It has “URGENT! URGENT!” hand written on it and one of the bucks’ merch stickers. End ID. LINK]

[ID: picture from BTE of Matt looking down at the floor a little sadly. Nick says: “thing he opened it yet?” Matt says: “I think if he would’ve opened what we sent, I think he would’ve called us by now.” End ID. LINK]

Kenny starts carrying the package everywhere he goes, caught between his desire to open it and reunite with the bucks, and the desire to hang on to his anger

Kota is firmly on Team Open The Damn Package Already and gives him a little talk about the importance and power of forgiveness

[ID: four gifs of Kenny and Kota in Kota’s personal practice gym Kota says: “Kenny, after everything we went through, I forgave you and you forgave me, right?” Kenny says “Well yeah, that’s true.” And Kota gestures emphatically at the box and goes “So...” Kenny picks it up and looks at it. End ID. LINK]

A few days later (may 21st) Matt texts Kenny asking about the box [LINK] Kenny types out an apology for the delay, telling Matt he’ll open it and call him when he gets home, ending it with “I miss you guys…”

But he doesn’t send it. Matt even sees him typing :((((

[ID: picture of Matt’s phone with the message app open. Matt’s text reads “Hey have you opened the box I sent? It related to what we talked about in room 710. Please call me when you do.” and there are the three dots indicating that Kenny is typing. End ID. LINK]

He texts back later and tells Matt that he’ll contact him “after Dominion”

[ID: picture of Nick and Matt in the car. The angle is off because they “don’t know they’re filming.” Nick says: “After dominion huh? So he doesn’t want us ringside obviously? I mean to be fair the last time we went to the ring…” End ID. LINK]

It’ll be the first Okada match that the bucks won’t be at ringside for

[ID: four gifs from Kenny’s first Okada match at WK11. in the first the bucks hug Kenny before his entrance, telling him good luck and that he’ll kill it and that they love him. In the second Kenny has just done his golden triangle moonsault over the guardrail and Matt grabs him and presses their foreheads together asking if Kenny is okay, telling him he’s crazy and that he can win. Nick is there too telling Kenny he loves him. In the third Kenny has lost and is down on all fours outside the ring. the bucks are beside him looking grim and pressing ice to his back. In the last Kenny walks down a hallway and says: “bucks, you with me?” Nick answers: “yep.” Kenny: “oh thank god.” Nick: “Always with you.” End ID.]

[ID: three gifs from the second Okada match at Dominion 2017. in the first the bucks flank Kenny on either side during his entrance. in the second, the bucks stop Kenny and the rest of the BC from interfering in the match while Cody and Tama yell “LOOK AT HIM!” and Nick yells back “HES GOT THIS!” In the last, the bucks help Kenny walk out after his loss. End ID]

[ID: one gif from the third Okada match during the G1. Nick has Kenny in his lap and he yells and fist pumps the air, celebrating Kenny’s victory before reaching down to hold Kenny to him. End ID]

But you can tell that Kenny’s anger and hurt feelings are melting in the face of the bucks’ gentle, earnest persistence, helped along by Kota’s prodding. Kenny sends a vlog for the BTE show, his first in a while. it’s a little promo for Okada

the bucks continue dutifully plugging and promoting Kenny’s dominion match along with their own (their first shot at heavyweight tag team titles) and they say they’ll be there for him in the back, offering their support if he wants it

[ID: two pictures of the bucks in a car. Matt says: “Kenny and Okada Part Four. We were there for all three.” Nick says: “Yeah, it’s hard for us because we’ll probably not be there ringside.” Matt says: “But here’s the thing, we offer our support to Kenny, and we’ll be in the back. And he can have our support, you know, if he wants it.” Nick: “Yeah.” Matt: “But we’ll be watching.” LINK]

And at the end of the last BTE ep before dominion we see Kenny reflecting on the Elite’s time together, their love for each other, their importance to him. And finally, he opens the package.

[ID: picture of Kenny opening the package. The viewer can’t see what’s inside. End ID. LINK]

[ALL PARTS] [PART 23]