Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The rose is a rose,

And was always a rose.

But the theory now goes

That the apple’s a rose,

And the pear is, and so’s

The plum, I suppose.

The dear only knows

What will next prove a rose.

You, of course, are a rose –

But were always a rose.

- Robert Frost, “The Rose Family”

Bayley’s body slammed into the padded surface outside of the ring, but she painfully pondered if she fractured another part of her body. Getting dumped outside of the ring, even onto the mats, was not forgiving to bones. The referees swarmed her, as the small, scattered crowd cheered raucously and there were even some jeers from her fellow wrestlers.

She heard Bianca Belair’s voice call from inside the ring.

“Bye bye, Bayley! Thanks for coming!” she laughed. The crowd loved it, they continued cheering her on.

“You OK, Bayley?” whispered a male referee who approached.

Bayley lay on her stomach, and swung her hand in a “go away” motion. She heard the referees move away from her as more commotion erupted in the ring and others were struggling from being thrown over the top rope. She rubbed her fingers through her hair. She returned at the Royal Rumble from a long hiatus after fracturing her right hand at the Hell in a Cell PPV. But her return was quickly spoiled by the teamwork of Shotzi Blackheart and Bianca Belair: a vicious kick to the abdomen and then she was caught in the KOD, the Kiss of Death, her body trapped along Belair’s shoulders before she was easily tossed over the top rope, out of the ring and into the oblivion of defeat. Bayley placed her hands over her head, as she heard more bodies slam onto the mats nearby her. This is not what she imagined.

Beltless. Friendless. And now she wondered if another bone was broken.

“What do you think, Beth? Will she come out here? Will the Vigilante of the Women’s Division get involved at the Royal Rumble?” Corey Graves asked loudly at the commentary table.

“We’ll see! Anything’s possible at the Rumble, and this masked Vigilante has been getting involved on all brands and several women’s matches in the WWE,” remarked Beth Phoenix.

“Seems to me that she only gets involved if there is some injustice going on, so who knows what’ll happen tonight if we see her in the women’s Rumble match or another women’s division match! It’s Boss Time on the main event later this evening when the Smackdown Women’s Champion, Sasha Banks, defends her title against Carmella,” interjected Michael Cole enthusiastically.

Bayley still lay facedown, and she groaned into the gray mat.

Sasha.

They did not speak or interact since Hell in a Cell. The last words they spoke to each other were on the top of the cell, screaming threats and obscenities at each other. The hatred, the fear were all palpable at the summit of Hell.

Now silence. Silence since Sasha lunged at her furiously, and they both fell from the top of the cell and crashed into the announce table. The table shattered, and this sound was heard around the world.

“Beautiful transition from Banks!”

“Carmella’s trapped! She’s in the Bank Statement in the middle of the ring!”

“There’s no where to go!”

“She’s tapping! She’s tapping! It’s over! Sasha Banks has defeated Carmella in our main event!”

“Another successful title defense for the champion, Sasha Banks!”

The referee handed her the glittery blue belt, Sasha smiled widely as her arm was raised in victory. The crowd cheered loudly as her music boomed through the speakers. Michael Cole continued shouting himself hoarse at the announce table, proclaiming Sasha’s greatness.

As suddenly as Carmella tapped, an eery, red glow drenched the colorful ThunderDome. Some of the virtual fan screens went black or became a blinding, white and gray static. A loud, metallic hum, a high-pitched tinny sound replaced Sasha’s bass filled rap music. Sasha looked around, abruptly finding herself alone in the ring. She draped her blue belt over her shoulder as she noticed figures approaching on the entrance ramp.

Alexa Bliss, the Raw Women’s Champion, her blonde and pink hair tousled from competing earlier in the evening, stood there, flanked by Nikki Cross and the Fiend. The black WWE championship belt hung from the Fiend’s neck like a sinister necklace, he defeated Drew McIntyre in the match prior to win this prize.

Alexa’s expression was blank as they all walked slowly down the ramp. Sasha’s brain seemed to jam, a part of her mind pleaded that she should run but her heart commanded her to stay in the ring. Her ring. Because she was no coward, and these freaks with their masks, clown makeup and costumes were not going to scare the Boss, the Champion.

Again, suddenly, the lights went out after a big shuttering noise erupted. Sasha tossed her belt aside in the darkness, and stood her ground, ready for a fight. A few seconds later, the red glow lit up the ring again and Sasha discovered that she was surrounded. Alexa stood directly in front of her, while the Fiend and Nikki were also in the ring but on other ends, preventing any type of escape.

Sasha glared at Alexa. The red belt wrapped around her waist sparkled even more in this evil red lighting. Alexa’s expression was still blank.

“What do you freaks want from me?” Sasha screamed, and she took a menacing step towards Alexa.

Nikki and the Fiend moved closer, the Fiend tilted his head at Sasha and his tongue writhed out of his mask while Nikki chuckled crazily. Sasha glanced around at all three of them, panic rising in her throat. Her own courage tried to comfort her though as she stood alone, surrounded by monsters in the ring. She was truly alone. Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair were out of action, due to injury and media engagements. And Bayley was gone too. Bayley… Who was now her enemy.

The lights went out again, and the world was plunged into darkness. Sasha clenched her fists and her abdomen, waiting for them to attack her. She heard something metal collide with someone’s body, and a woman yelled out in pain. More harsh sounds, as a weapon was attacking the Fiend, his gruff yelps were muffled by his mask. Sasha whirled around, her arms up in preparation to fight.

The stadium lights were on again, but the virtual fan screens were all blank, and the audience erupted into chaotic cheers. A woman wearing a black, zip up hoodie adorned with white stars, and loose black sweatpants stood in front of Sasha. She stood like a sentinel and she faced the other three in the ring. In the woman’s hands were a black baseball bat and a black steel chair with many dents. Sasha could not see the woman’s face, since her back was turned, but Sasha knew who this was: the masked Vigilante.

Nikki was clutching her stomach on the mat while the Fiend leered at them while down on one knee. Alexa stared at Sasha and her expressionless face broke into a slight smile. The world became dark once again. The metallic humming noise in the background stopped. When the lights returned in a few seconds, Nikki, the Fiend, and Alexa were gone. Sasha stood alone in the ring with the Vigilante, her protector.

The hooded woman turned to look at Sasha. Sasha had seen her in different masks, but there was always some type of rose pattern on the masks. This time, the luchador mask was white with a large red rose on the left cheek, the only human feature were the piercing blue eyes peering out from oval shaped openings while the covered outlines of the woman’s nose and mouth could be seen through the white mask.

The Vigilante dropped her weapons and turned to walk over to the abandoned blue belt. Sasha watched nervously as the other women picked up the belt. Then, the Vigilante walked back to her and handed her the title. Sasha glanced from the title and up into the beautiful, blue eyes of her defender. She carefully accepted her belt. The other woman unzipped her black hoodie, revealing a tight, white tank top, and she reached into an inner pocket, removing a brilliant, blue rose. She held the rose out to Sasha. Sasha thought she saw the brief outline of a smile through the white mask. This Vigilante had rescued her a couple times before from angry competitors and sore losers who wanted to take things too far after she defeated them in the ring, and the encounter always ended with a rose from this mystery woman. This is the first time that the rose was a beautiful, deep blue color. Sasha grinned slightly and reached out for the rose.

In prior meetings, she had asked the Vigilante who she was and why she helped her. But the woman never responded. She never said anything. Tonight, Sasha spared her the questioning, because maybe it did not truly matter. As quickly as she arrived, after gifting her the rose, the Vigilante was exiting the ring and hopped over the barricade into the crowd.

“But seriously, who could it be?” Lana said to Sasha, beaming.

Sasha smiled shyly, twirling the blue rose between her thumb and index finger.

“We’ve talked about this for weeks,” laughed Liv Morgan, who sat in front of them in catering, “And still no leads, no clues.”

Liv’s best friend, Ruby Riott, sat next to her and looked around thoughtfully. “Well, our only clues are that this person is well built and has blue eyes.”

“She is so hot! And she smells so good! Like a bouquet of roses!” Lana giggled.

“You haven’t even seen her face! How do you know she’s hot?” teased Liv with another laugh.

Lana smiled brightly at all of them and sighed girlishly.

Sasha snorted and shook her head at Lana. She knew why Lana was so enamored with this masked woman. A couple weeks ago, the Vigilante rescued Lana from an irate Nia Jax on Monday Night Raw. Lana also sprained her ankle so the Vigilante picked her up in her arms and carried her into the medical exam room before suddenly disappearing, as she often did.

Bayley eavesdropped on their conversation from a few tables away. She poked at her baked chicken with a fork and glanced around at the two men who sat with her. Seth Rollins and Buddy Murphy were both dejected and stone-faced, they looked in each other’s direction but did not seem to actually see at each other.

“Rough night for all of us, right?” Bayley said in a low voice.

Murphy looked down at Bayley’s plate of salad and chicken. Seth cleared his throat a bit and crossed his arms.

“If someone just listened to his Messiah then maybe we wouldn’t be in this mess,” Seth stated, looking over at the catering line and avoiding Bayley and Murphy’s gazes.

Murphy sighed, ignoring Seth. “Happy to have you back with us, Bayley.”

“Thanks dude, but tonight was embarrassing. Damn… I knew they’d gang up on me,” said Bayley, flatly.

The entire women’s division hated Bayley passionately. Bayley’s reign as the Smackdown Women’s Champion terrorized the locker room until she was vanquished by Sasha Banks at Hell in a Cell. While she was out due to injury, no one reached out to her. She did message Becky and Charlotte. Becky did not respond, likely still upset because Bayley betrayed Sasha. And Charlotte sent her very long, novel-like text messages, scolding her and lecturing her about what it means to be a dignified champion, as well as lectures on friendship and loyalty.

Bayley did not care for the crowd reaction tonight for her return, she was not wrestling for the fans anymore. There were a few cheers but mostly boos as her music played and she raced down into the ring to join the Rumble. Bayley was much more concerned about the other women in the match, and that she was truly alone and vulnerable. Tonight, she could not even sit with any of the women in catering and was instead welcomed by Seth and Murphy to their table.

Seth glanced over at Sasha’s table since there was an explosion of giggling from the women. He frowned a bit, then turned his attention to his friends at the table.

“So… who do you think is the masked Vigilante?” he asked.

Bayley stared down at her plate and spoke in a glum tone. “Who cares, dude? She didn’t help me tonight.”

“Hm, yeah, I could’ve used her help, since everyone around me is so useless,” remarked Seth venomously, he gave Murphy a sideways glance.

Murphy said nothing, opting to stare at Bayley’s plate of food.

Sasha exited the building, sauntering towards her black Audi convertible in the parking lot. The parking lot was oddly empty and the Florida air seemed a bit chilly. She wore tight, red leather pants, a white tube top, a long, sparkling chain necklace with a crescent moon pendant, and gold high heels. Her long blue hair held back in a neat pony-tail. The blue belt was wrapped around her waist, its glitter and shine matching her jewelry’s brightness.

“Sasha.”

A familiar voice called out to her before she placed a hand on the Audi door. She turned around and frowned at Alexa Bliss and Bray Wyatt. Bray smiled sweetly at her, he wore a red sweater and dark blue jeans. Alexa’s hair was still a mess, she was still clad in a black leather jacket studded with silver spikes, and a frayed black skirt. Her blue eyes were unblinking and a sinister smile was on her lips.

“What do you want?” Sasha enunciated every syllable, she was truly bewildered as to why these people were stalking her all night.

“Oh Boss!” Bray giggled excitedly, “What’s with the harsh tone? We just want to chat.”

Alexa opened her mouth to speak but Sasha interrupted her swiftly.

“Chat about what?” shot back Sasha, glaring at them both.

“The title,” Alexa said plainly, a trance-like nature to her voice.

“Which one? There are three fucking champions standing here, Bliss,” retorted Sasha, and she rested her hand on the blue belt on her waist.

Alexa smiled wider. “Yours.”

“What about mine? You’re already a champion,” Sasha said with a frown and furrowed brows.

Before the conversation could continue, moonlight seemed to shine deeper upon them. Clouds had shifted above, revealing a blinding full moon. A chilly breeze rushed through them, and deep red rose petals appeared in this breeze. When the breeze disappeared, the petals fell softly on the concrete between Sasha, Alexa and Bray. They all glanced around as the sounds of footsteps grew louder.

A surprised smile grew on Sasha’s face as she saw the Vigilante walking towards them. The masked woman was once again carrying a dented steel chair and a baseball bat.

Bray blinked in an exaggerated way and grinned. “Ah, it’s the Vigilante of the women’s division! I wondered when we’d see you again.”

The Vigilante halted nearby Sasha and turned her attention to Bray. The masked woman and the husky man stared at each other. Bray’s smile was dangerous though, flashes of the Fiend were always noted in his visage, and he seemed to peer into one’s soul.

“You can hide your face, you can refuse to speak, but I know who you are,” Bray teased in a sing-song voice.

Sasha glanced nervously at the masked woman, but the woman did not budge, her ice blue eyes remained fixed on Bray.

“You’re a coward—” Bray began.

Sasha shouted over him: “Shut the fuck up! I don’t know what the point of this is! Bliss, if you want a piece of me then just meet me in the ring, and stop creeping around with your boyfriend, the Fiend, in the parking lot!”

Sasha’s words seemed to spark something within Alexa, as if something that lay dormant had furiously awakened. Alexa gritted her teeth and charged at Sasha as Bray laughed in the background. The Vigilante stepped in the way and knocked Alexa off course with the steel chair. Alexa tumbled to the concrete, clutching at her side. Then, Alexa automatically rose to her feet to charge again, but Sasha saw the Vigilante fall to the ground next to her as another person entered the fray. Nikki Cross, who appeared from literally thin air, attacked the Vigilante with a steel chair to the back. Sasha picked up the fallen baseball bat and swung at Nikki, their weapons clanged loudly together. Sasha dodged an incoming Alexa who attempted to grab at her. Bray continued to laugh loudly in the background as if he watched a comedy movie.

Nikki screamed, a war cry into the night air, and she banged the steel chair against the ground before picking it up over her head again. The Vigilante speared Nikki into the ground before the chair could be used on Sasha. Sasha swung at Alexa with the bat, but Alexa dodged in unnatural ways, as if her body was too fluid to be restricted by movements. Sasha twirled around, to give more momentum to the bat, and she thought she hit Alexa’s arm but Alexa caught the bat with her hand and held it steady. Sasha glared at the blonde, surprised by her strength, and Alexa smiled back at her, her blue eyes still unblinking. The bat shook in Sasha’s hand in their tug of war, and this was abruptly stopped as Alexa was hit in the side by the Vigilante’s steel chair. Alexa stumbled but recovered too quickly for Sasha and the Vigilante to react, she drove a forearm into the Vigilante’s masked face. The masked woman was hit cleanly and she fell again.

Then, Nikki rejoined the fight, holding back Sasha’s arms and the bat fell down. Nikki laughed crazily as she pulled back a struggling Sasha. Sasha growled and attempted to wrench free but Nikki was surprisingly strong. Alexa slowly picked up the bat and admired it in her hands. Alexa smiled down at the bat in her hands, then she smiled at Bray. A wide grin had split Bray’s face. Sasha continued to struggle in Nikki’s maniacal grip, she shut her eyes, bracing herself for the impact of the bat.

It never came.

The bat fell to the ground as Alexa was mauled by the Vigilante. The masked woman struck Alexa in the abdomen with her knee, then held her tightly before picking her up and launching her back into the concrete in a belly-to-belly suplex. During Nikki’s bewilderment, Sasha managed to break from her grip and punched her in the face. Nikki gave a muffled groan as she put a hand over her bloody nose. Bray finally intervened, stepping in front of Alexa and Nikki with a serious look. The Vigilante knelt nearby Sasha and Sasha placed a hand on her shoulder.

“C’mon big boy, you want some too?” Sasha challenged Bray.

Bray glared at her ferociously. Sasha knew she was imagining this but it seemed like the image of his face swam in and out of focus, flashes of the Fiend’s terrible mask appeared and she blinked furiously. The world seemed to turn red around them and she gripped the Vigilante’s shoulder tightly in fear. Suddenly, she and the Vigilante were alone and Bray, Alexa, and Nikki had disappeared. Sasha looked around, the parking lot was mostly empty and she did not see them run away anywhere.

She looked down as she noticed that her protector had slumped down on the concrete. She was breathing heavily and holding the back of her head. Sasha knelt down as well, placing a hand on the woman’s back.

“Hey, are you OK?” Sasha asked nervously.

“I’ll be fine, are you alright?”

This was the first time Sasha heard the Vigilante’s voice. It was a low growl, slightly muffled by the mask.

A familiar, low growl.

“Yes, thank you. You didn’t have to do that for me.”

The Vigilante rose to her feet with Sasha’s help and then she staggered slightly as she walked away.

“Hey!” Sasha called after the woman, “Who are you?”

The Vigilante said nothing and continued to walk away, and Sasha watched her reach out for one of the nearby semi-trucks and slump against it in pain. Sasha rushed to her side, placing the other woman’s arm over her shoulders.

“C’mon, let’s go to my car and I’ll take you to a clinic or something,” Sasha whispered.

“No. Please don’t…” the masked woman’s voice was even softer now.

“Well, I’ll take you somewhere safe if you don’t want medical attention. Just… just trust me, OK?” Sasha said urgently.

She understood the woman’s need for privacy but she was confused why her identity was more crucial than acute medical care. The Vigilante nodded slightly and allowed Sasha to support her to the convertible.

In the car, the Vigilante shut her eyes and extended her neck, resting the back of her head on the car seat while Sasha pressed a button to start the engine. The convertible top started to roll down and deep, dark bass from an R&B song filled the speakers. Sasha drove on deserted roads, hoping that no one would see that the Smackdown Women’s Champion was driving away with a bleary, masked Vigilante. They finally stopped at a red light and Sasha glanced over at the woman.

“Is it your head or your neck? Where’s your pain?” Sasha asked.

The Vigilante’s eyes were still closed and she shook her head slightly in response. Sasha thought the words of Ruby, Liv and Lana were accurate tonight: the Vigilante was truly the strong, silent type. And yes, she did smell like a bouquet of fresh roses from a fancy flower shop.

Sasha parked the car in front of her music studio, she thought this may be the safest place to bring her masked hero. Her house was in the same neighborhood as Charlotte’s and several other wrestlers but the music studio was in a fairly secluded area of downtown Orlando.

Sasha continued supporting the woman, the woman’s arm still over her shoulder while Sasha held her lower back. They walked slowly into the studio. The lights were quite dim, and there were several, large black leather couches. The Vigilante sat on the edge of the couch, holding her head painfully. Sasha rushed around to some of the adjacent rooms of the studio, collecting items. She returned with a pillow, blankets, and a water bottle. Sasha set the items down on the couch, and sat down as well.

She felt a strange magnetism with this masked woman. A familiar pull. An attraction that she felt she had experienced before. The woman was resting, her back against the deep couch and her neck extended.

“Do you need any medicine? I have some Tylenol around here somewhere,” Sasha stated, watching her carefully.

The woman’s head lulled a bit on the couch and she shook her head. Sasha crept a bit closer to her on the couch, touching the woman’s arm. The woman opened her eyes and shifted her body to look at Sasha. Blue eyes peered into Sasha’s heart.

Does she know I’m lonely? Sasha wondered.

I’m a champion. I’ve been on TV series and commercials. My rap album will be out soon. I have everything.

But, yet, I have nothing.

She wished she did not talk to all of those women at catering after her match. The women who were rescued by the Vigilante of the women’s division. Who gushed over the Vigilante. Who all had crushes on this woman who now sat in the dark and quiet studio with Sasha. This woman had also rescued Sasha several times from complete disasters after matches. So, Sasha felt a little less alone because of this chivalry. Becky and Charlotte were not around. Bayley is back, but she’s now an enemy. And no one would ever really rescue Sasha like that except Bayley. But those days were over. Bayley would no longer be laying over her broken body to protect her from harm. Now, this masked woman, who she felt a deep attraction to, was her savior.

And she really could not explain why she felt like fucking this woman right here on the leather couch. It was lunacy. Her heart beat rapidly as the woman’s blue eyes seemed to drift down to look at her outfit, like an x-ray exposing her.

Sasha gulped. “I really want to repay you for all the times you’ve helped me… Would you let me?”

The Vigilante said nothing, her eyes had a tender, soft expression. Sasha continued rubbing her hero’s arm, as she pondered. Was this really about repayment? Or was she just curious about how this woman’s muscular body would feel all over her while they were both nude?

Sasha allowed her own loneliness overcome the anxiety in her heart and she straddled the woman. The woman’s eyes widened but continued to gaze at Sasha deeply.

“Let me just… take care of you tonight, in the ways you took care of me,” Sasha whispered softly as she lowered her face. She pulled the white mask up, revealing lips with a pale pink gloss. Sasha kissed her softly, briefly and then pulled away slowly, the palpitations in her chest had a disjointed rhythm and she could feel her heart throbbing in her ears. For a hard, tough, Vigilante, her lips were incredibly soft and warm. She made the kiss brief because she could not read this woman, she did not know if this was wanted or shunned.

The Vigilante appeared nervous for the first time, she blinked and looked away.

“I’m sorry—” Sasha started.

“Sasha… it’s me.”

Sasha’s eyes widened and her eyebrows raised, the voice was so familiar now. It was—

The Vigilante took down her hood and revealed lustrous, short black hair. Then she lifted the rest of the mask up and off of her face. Bayley tossed the mask aside, looking away, ashamed.

“Girl, I can go. I hit the back of my head on the concrete, but I’ll be alright. I don’t want to lead you on, I know it’s not what you expected,” Bayley explained, attempting to rise off the couch and refusing to meet Sasha’s eyes.

Sasha remained frozen, still straddling her former friend and now supposed enemy.

“I’m sorry, dude, I’m really fucking sorry. I know you don’t want to see my face again, I’ll just go, Sash,” Bayley said hurriedly in a guilty voice.

Sasha gripped her face with both of her hands, staring at her in amazement.

Sasha bit her lip and then spoke softly: “Baby… wait. I hoped… I knew….”

With Bayley’s face cupped in her hands, Sasha leaned down again and kissed her deeply. In their frenzy of kissing, Sasha grappled with Bayley’s clothing, taking down the star design hoodie and taking a break from kissing just to pull Bayley’s tank top over her head to reveal a black bra.

Bayley breathed heavily as Sasha started to remove her own clothing. The pain in the back of Bayley’s head mysteriously disappeared. The air was caught in her chest as suddenly Sasha was topless in front of her.

“Are you sure this is OK? …Is this what you want to do? We could stop if you want—”

“I’ve wanted this for years,” Sasha interrupted Bayley and continued kissing her.

Sasha’s deft fingers unclasped Bayley’s bra, allowing it to fall and she placed her hands on Bayley’s breasts, pushing her onto her back on the blanket. Bayley stared at her friend with an open mouth, not sure what to expect next. Sasha started to kiss and suck on her neck, leaving a trail of red love bites on her skin as she traveled down Bayley’s body. Bayley’s heart rose into her throat as she moaned, her mind still not believing the sight her eyes witnessed tonight.

Bayley thought it would be another night of cradling herself in pain, alone in her bed, lamenting her wounds from being the image of justice in women’s wrestling. And she would rewind in her mind the thoughts of paranoia and the betrayal she thought was justified in September. Then the thoughts of the violence of the cell would appear again, spiraling her into nightmares until she woke up in a cold sweat, alone except for a folded steel chair propped at her bedside. This would happen almost every night, and she thought the Vigilante would be her redemption. But the Vigilante became bigger than her, became a way for her to hide the face that was hated by everyone in the wrestling world. The Vigilante and Bayley were two separate women who happened to share the same body. Good and evil. But they had the same desire deep down: to protect Sasha Banks.

Sasha’s hands arrived at Bayley’s pants and she started to slowly remove them. Her lips traveled down Bayley’s hard abdomen, and stopped at a scar on her left hip. Bayley looked away in shame, the scar was a remnant from their battle in the cell. They wounded each other in their own private Hell in October. The paranoia, the betrayal, the anger, the Hell that destroyed their friendship.

Sasha looked up at Bayley and saw Bayley’s timid expression. Sasha kissed the scar to let her know that she still loved her, even if they plunged each other into the depths of Hell. With enough care and affection, all wounds heal over time.

Baby you're no good

'Cause they warned me 'bout your type girl

I've been ducking left and right

Baby you're no good

Think I fell for you, I fell for you, I fell for you

- The Weeknd, “Acquainted”

Chapter Text

She woke slowly, naturally, although there were pings from her smartphone in the background. The electronic notifications signaling that there were unread text messages on her phone did not seem to jar her awake this morning, because she felt like she was still in a dream. Sasha’s foot slid out from the blanket and her bare skin experienced the icy air of the dark music studio. She shifted quickly, adjusting back into the warmth of the blanket and moving closer, if that was even possible given their proximity while sleeping together on the leather couch, to the scorching hot body of her friend.

“Good morning, Boss,” Bayley whispered sleepily. Her arm was around Sasha’s shoulders while Sasha’s arm was wrapped around her abdomen. Their legs somewhat intertwined.

“Morning, Bay,” Sasha responded, snuggling closer to Bayley’s body, “It’s so cold in here, I should’ve changed the temp before we went to sleep.”

Bayley rubbed Sasha’s well defined arm and pulled her closer, then kissed her forehead. Sasha grinned, looking into Bayley’s eyes. Sometime in the evening, Bayley had removed the blue contact lenses of the Vigilante and now her eyes were once again the warm brown hue that Sasha adored deeply.

“No worries. Sorry, I shouldn’t have stayed, I could go—”

Bayley’s voice was interrupted by a harsh knocking on the door of the studio. Bayley and Sasha exchanged worried looks. Sasha turned over to reach for her phone. She looked briefly at the notifications but did not open the messages, instead she sighed heavily and set her phone back down on the coffee table. Quick, loud knocks were heard again.

“I can put some clothes on and go see who that is,” offered Bayley, attempting to get up.

Sasha embraced her, holding her from pushing the warm covers aside. “I know who it is, I’ll go.”

“Who is it?” Bayley asked quietly, keeping a polite curiosity on her face. She knew this question may be awkward, and she and Sasha were separated for a long time, so she was no longer privy to Sasha’s personal life.

Sasha smiled grimly. “My manager.”

Before any more words could be exchanged, Sasha gracefully, and swiftly rose from the couch and off of Bayley.

Bayley watched Sasha’s nude body in amazement as she disappeared into the bathroom. Bayley’s mind was still processing the events of last night, still in disbelief that she slept with Sasha Banks. As best friends, sometimes they shared a bed and cuddled, but they were always clothed and there was generally nothing sexual about this closeness. Last night was a release of pent up emotions and carnal desires. Bayley knew that this was likely a one night stand and she should have left before morning arrived; Sasha is the champion and she is a star — so she was probably in these scenarios often, and Bayley was just the flavor of the night.

Soon, Sasha emerged with a bright pink robe and she was hastily wrapping it around herself as she raced across the room to the door. The knocking continued.

“Alright, cool down!” said Sasha as she opened the door. Sasha strategically blocked the studio from view as she shut the door behind her to stand in the chilly hallway of the building.

Her manager took her glasses off and rubbed her temples. “Boss, what is going on?!”

Sasha’s manager, Melissa Mack, was a petite woman with short, brown-blonde hair in a ponytail, stern hazel eyes, and an energetic demeanor. She wore a navy blazer, white blouse, and matching navy pencil skirt. Her high heels were her trademark black heels with red bottoms, designer Louboutins. Sasha felt severely underdressed in her slippers and bathrobe, and her long blue hair was a bit messy.

“What’s up, Mel?” Sasha asked, crossing her arms because of the cold air.

“You missed the photoshoot! The photographer called me a million times and I texted you, probably a million more times,” Mel explained, exasperation in her tone.

“I forgot, OK?! I’m human! And I was busy,” protested Sasha.

Mel had a suspicious twinkle in her eyes. “With what, exactly? This really isn’t like you at all.”

“I need to finish the last few songs of this album, and I’m busy with defending my championship,” Sasha stated matter-of-factly. She was not in the mood to be patronized by Mel Mack.

“OK Boss, but let me know in advance the next time you can’t attend something I set up for you,” sighed Mel, “And did you stay up all night recording? You wrestled at the PPV last night, you usually go to bed early after those events.”

Sasha frowned and shifted nervously. She hoped the recording equipment was actually shut off in the studio last night, and not recording the love songs she made with Bayley.

“Well, no, but I was up late working on my music,” Sasha retorted with a huff.

“Maybe you could play a sample for me…” suggested Mel with a grin.

Sasha shifted her weight from her left foot to her right foot, and fidgeted nervously. “Um… it’s not the finished product yet, still working on things—”

“C’mon, let’s go inside and you can play a little sample, right?”

Sasha moved in front of the door handle again, arms still crossed as she thought frantically. In the past few months, she had complained about Bayley’s treachery to Mel, and Mel often described her former best friend as “excess baggage” that she should be happy to be rid of. Mel’s job was to help Sasha become a mega star, a mainstream success — so Mel would be highly disappointed to find “excess baggage” laying naked, under blankets on a couch in her recording studio.

“Mel, I really can’t right now… I’m gonna sleep a bit more—”

“Alright, then can I use your bathroom before I leave? I drank too much coffee and I have to run off to another meeting.”

Sasha coughed a bit. “Uh… it’s broken.”

“The cleaners were in the studio yesterday afternoon and they said everything was in good order, why didn’t you tell me there was a problem? We could get it fixed right away,” Mel said, giving Sasha a puzzled look.

Sasha laughed nervously. “I really need to go, Mel. Sorry about this morning and I’ll call you later when I’m feeling better!”

“You sure you’re OK?” Mel asked sternly, her eyes watched Sasha’s expression carefully.

“I’m fine,” Sasha’s voice came out more like a squeak.

Bayley had dozed back to sleep during Sasha’s absence. At first, anxiety welled in her chest as she waited; she was unsure of what to expect. Then, the aches and pains of last night became more prominent: from her embarrassingly fast exit from the Royal Rumble, to fighting with Alexa and her clowns twice, and Sasha’s lustful aggression on the leather couch. Bayley shut her eyes, hoping to shut out the pain and fell back into a light slumber.

She woke when she felt Sasha’s hand on her forehead, and then caressing her scalp. Sasha suddenly removed her bathrobe again, and Bayley smiled but her heart skipped a beat and her throat became dry with anticipation when she witnessed Sasha’s nude body. Bayley lifted up the blankets, to allow Sasha to join her in cuddling again and to warmly protect her from the cold air of the studio. Sasha lay next to her and they embraced tightly. Sasha giggled as her fingers rubbed along the love bites on Bayley’s neck and chest.

“I’m sorry, I got carried away last night,” Sasha said, still chuckling and admiring her work on her friend’s body.

“What? Oh.”

Bayley looked down and noticed a small trail of hickeys down her chest, abdomen, and ending at her hip. Various feelings mingled within her, and some of them were unpleasant. She remembered the large bruises that Sasha inflicted upon her back and arms at Clash of Champions and Hell in a Cell with a kendo stick. The bruises that Sasha kissed onto her body last night had a different meaning but Bayley wondered how often Sasha, the big star and the Legit Boss, did this to others. And it was not any of her business, but that thought hurt as well.

If this is a one night stand… why did she mark me as her property?

“Um, everything go OK with your manager?” Bayley asked hesitantly.

Sasha breathed heavily and rolled her eyes. “Yeah. Snoop hired her for me, he said she’s the real deal. She’s been helpful but she’s like a damn hawk.”

Sasha reached over to the coffee table, and she turned back to her with the white luchador mask in hand. Sasha grinned and held the mask close to Bayley’s face. Bayley smiled sheepishly and looked away, embarrassed.

“I wondered for a while about this… and I wasn’t sure but I thought it could be you. I felt your energy. The Vigilante of the women’s division, huh?”

“Did Michael Cole give me that nickname?” Bayley laughed.

“I think he did,” giggled Sasha, “So, why’d you do it? I heard you weren’t medically cleared until last night but you were running around in the mask for weeks.”

Bayley could not meet Sasha’s eyes, and her tone was sad: “Do I need a reason to help people?”

“If the doctors didn’t clear you yet, you could’ve made your injuries worse. And is it worth it to help random people?” Sasha asked quietly.

“Well… it was to me… after everything I did,” sighed Bayley, her hand drifted down Sasha’s spine and she absentmindedly massaged her friend’s smooth skin.

“But Bayley, is that the way to fix things? All of us have been appreciative of the Vigilante, and I can speak for the locker room when I say that, but you don’t have to kill yourself for our sake,” Sasha said in a serious tone.

Bayley first appeared as the Vigilante on the Survivor Series PPV. Kairi Sane returned for one night only to cheer on Io Shirai and Asuka at ringside while they challenged Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax for the tag team championship. The match ended in disqualification, and Nia decided to take things too far by attacking Kairi — and the lights were shut off suddenly, but when the arena lights came back on, the Vigilante was in the ring. She rescued Kairi from Nia, and gifted Kairi with a red rose. Kairi, Io, and Asuka all exchanged confused looks while the announce team was shouting shrilly about this new, mystery woman who they assumed to be a member of Retribution. After all that had transpired, Bayley knew that the first person she should save was Kairi.

Kairi. Who Bayley had destroyed in the background while Asuka and Sasha fought for the red belt on Raw. Bayley thought this was the way to reveal her love for Sasha, to distract Asuka by harming Kairi, to eventually crown 2 Beltz Banks by using acts of violence. But this was merely a distortion of love. It was wrong. And Bayley did not realize it until her affections were never returned, and her paranoia convinced her that Sasha never loved her.

She could hide her shame behind the luchador mask. She could atone for her sins as a faceless hero, because she felt that everyone deserved more than just “Bayley.” And she started to wonder if her true self was not good enough because they would never trust her. If she was not wearing a mask, Io and Asuka would have pummeled her for approaching Kairi. But instead, they all praised her excitedly in their post-match interview while Kairi played a song on a recorder for her masked crusader.

Bayley mused in the silence after Sasha’s question, not sure what to answer. Sasha spoke again to fill the cold void of the room.

“And everyone on social media thinks the Vigilante is Becky Lynch,” chuckled Sasha as she thought about the various posts she saw online and the fan theories on the Vigilante.

Bayley laughed heartily. “Yeah, she’s flying back and forth from LA to be the fist of justice in the WWE.”

“Don’t underestimate The Man,” joked Sasha before she gave Bayley another serious look, “But is that how you see yourself? The ‘fist of justice’? You broke your hand, and there are bruises and scars on your body from helping everyone. I worry about you, Bay.”

Bayley’s heart twinged painfully. She fractured a bone in her right hand when she repeatedly punched the ring posts at Hell in a Cell, and she missed Sasha’s face in her fury. Their pillow talk was eventually going to drift into the winding path of their last encounter in the cell, since that was the last time they spoke. She regained her composure enough to look into Sasha’s beautiful brown eyes.

“Don’t worry. You’re the Champ, you’ve got enough on your plate. And I should leave you alone, thank you for letting me stay with you,” Bayley said in a quiet voice, and then she hugged Sasha again.

Sasha clutched Bayley’s face between her hands and kissed her abruptly. The alluring warmth of their bodies and the closeness was enough to spark a repeat of the night before. When Sasha pulled away, she continued to stare into Bayley’s eyes… the eyes that she had stared into several times before in the weeks before this day, the eyes that were blue instead of brown, the eyes of her hero.

And she thought back to last night in the ring, in the parking lot.

No one would ever rescue her like that except Bayley.

A part of her knew.

No one could protect her except Bayley.

“Thank you for being there for me,” Sasha whispered.

Bayley smiled at her, perfect dimples on full display. Dimples that Sasha missed so dearly.

Sasha continued on, loudly, in a more excited tone: “Well! Let’s go out and get breakfast!”

Generally, Bayley spent most days in solitude. She would get a rare text message from Seth or Murphy, but otherwise she had no friends. In the morning, she would always be drinking coffee while reading a book, alone. This morning was drastically different, chaotic and surprising.

Bayley sat in the passenger seat of Sasha’s Audi R8 convertible, the shiny black car had metallic blue trim and the interior seats were an ultra soft, black leather. The two-seater car was still quite spacious and Bayley was impressed with the technology in the car. Bayley was in a disguise that Sasha picked out for her: a Legit Boss zip up sweater with a hood to cover her hair, a black bandana around her neck to conceal the love marks, black RayBan aviator sunglasses, a black Boss Time tank top, black pants, and black skate shoes. Bayley did not protest, although this outfit made her look like a complete “Sasha mark,” and she knew that the public did not need to discover that she and Sasha were together again. Sasha also wore a more casual outfit this morning: a purple tank top, a short, gold chain necklace with a small, crescent moon pendant, tight gray yoga pants, white Jordan basketball shoes. Sasha also wore dark sunglasses. She flashed a bright smile over at Bayley as she finally put the car in park in front of a Japanese bakery.

“Trust me, we’ll be good here. It’s almost lunch time and this place doesn’t get busy again until the afternoon,” explained Sasha, before she took a sip from her protein shake. They sat facing each other, at a booth in a corner. They were the only customers in the bakery. Between them, the waiter had placed a bright purple, taro sponge cake with two spoons on the plate.

Bayley also sipped her protein shake from a straw and looked down curiously at the cake. She decided to keep her sunglasses on indoors in case the staff recognized her. She and Sasha had visited many businesses together as friends and as champions but this was a bakery she had never been to before. They were alone in the bakery and the staff seemed really busy with preparing delivery items and re-stocking pastries in the glass cases.

“It’s good, you should have a bite. I know this isn’t part of our diet plan as wrestlers but we can have a few bites, right?” Sasha said, flashing her dazzling smile again that seemed to light up the entire bakery. The sun was flooding into the premises but it was dim in comparison to Sasha’s smile. At her suggestion, Bayley scooped up some of the cake with a spoon and bit into the purple cake. It was light, airy, and flavorful.

“Oh my God! SASHA!!”

Sasha and Bayley sat in a booth deep within the bakery and off to the side but Sasha did see three, diverse teenagers pacing around on the outside. Bayley’s back was turned, so it was Sasha who watched them since she faced the entrance of the bakery. One of the teens, a girl with long black hair, brown eyes, and she wore a Bayley “Ding Dong” shirt, opened the bakery door to shout at Sasha.

Sasha smiled automatically at the fans and she motioned with her head slightly at Bayley. Bayley quickly brought the black bandana up to cover her nose and mouth. They both stood up to greet the three fans who entered the bakery. Sasha was surprised that the girl with the Bayley shirt was almost as tall as her, while a much taller boy, with a stocky build and wavy brown hair, towered over her and Bayley. He wore the shirt that had a portrait of Sasha’s face and all of her nicknames displayed on the font. The third girl who stood among them was also tall, but not as tall as the boy, she had long, wavy dark hair and green eyes; she was clad in a Golden Role Models shirt. These kids appeared to be ready to go to a work out or something of that nature, since they all had wrestling merchandise shirts but athletic shorts and sneakers.

“Hey guys! What are your names?” Sasha asked brightly while Bayley stood awkwardly beside her.

They all introduced themselves, practically shouting in excitement from meeting Sasha Banks.

“And this is my bodyguard, she doesn’t really say much so don’t mind her shyness,” Sasha said, waving a hand over at Bayley.

Dalis, the teen who wore the Bayley shirt looked curiously over at Bayley’s stoic figure and the black bandana. “Wow Boss, you have bodyguards? And she looks like a thug too… Boss ’N’ Thug—”

“I’m gonna have bodyguards too when I’m the WWE champ one day!” shouted Alberto.

“Well, we’re not training to be wrestlers just to have bodyguards, we’re supposed to get all the gold too,” piped in Esmerelda, the third girl who appropriately wore the Golden Role Models merchandise.

“You’re training to be wrestlers? That’s beautiful. You guys stay safe, drink water and train hard. You’ll be Bosses just like me one day,” stated Sasha, smiling around at all of the teenagers.

Bayley nodded in approval.

“C’mon, let’s get a photo together,” Sasha said excitedly, “Bay— Bodyguard, take her phone and get a pic of us.”

The teenagers did not ignore the mishap that slipped from Sasha’s mouth and they all looked at each other while Dalis gave her phone to Bayley. Sasha rounded them up around her, positioning everyone while she hoped that they did not know the true identity of her Bodyguard from that mistake. Everyone smiled widely as Bayley took several snaps with the camera phone before giving the teen her phone back.

Before Alberto, Dalis, and Esmerelda left the bakery to go to their wrestling school, Sasha gave all of them hugs and well wishes. Sasha and Bayley decided to leave the bakery, protein shakes in hand, before any more fans could recognize them and discover their secret. They drove over to a nearby park, and walked together among beautiful trees and flowers. The park was mostly devoid of inhabitants other than a few older people with dogs.

“I’m going to Raw tonight, Charlotte said she has a surprise for me,” Sasha said, her voice muffled a bit as the wind picked up around them.

Bayley looked at her, her bandana was around her neck again and more of her face was in view. “I haven’t talked to Char in forever. What do you think it is?”

“She’s still out with an injury, or at least I thought she wasn’t cleared yet. We’re going to be on Raw Talk together after the show, hopefully she tells me something before surprising me in front of the world on TV.”

“The Smackdown Women’s Champion on Raw Talk? Hm… they’ve never invited me before, you’re famous, Sash,” Bayley said with a smile.

Sasha grinned at her friend but her joy faded rather quickly as she thought more about why she could be invited to Raw. Maybe this was not about Charlotte’s surprise, maybe this had something to do with…

“So Bay, what do you think about all that shit with Alexa and Bray last night?”

Bayley stopped sipping from her straw and looked into the distance thoughtfully. “Dude, who knows? They’re crazy. Did they tell you what they wanted?”

“Bliss mentioned my blue belt but nothing else. If she’s thinking about becoming a double champion, she’s really lost her fucking mind,” Sasha quipped angrily.

“She’s already Raw’s champion and the Fiend is the WWE champion, so I don’t get it. But, I also don’t get why they’re together and why Nikki is playing along in their little game,” sighed Bayley.

“You’re right, who the fuck knows? Whatever they’re doing, they’d better stay out of my business,” said Sasha in a low hiss. It was infuriating to think of Alexa and Bray confronting her in the ring and in the parking lot.

There was a lengthy pause in the conversation as they thought more about this predicament. Then—

“I’ll protect you. I know I’ve made mistakes and I’m really sorry, Sasha, but I’m here for you and I’ll protect you,” Bayley declared, stopping briefly to look seriously at her friend.

Sasha halted as well.

This all did not feel real. The pretty park foliage, the birds chirping happily in the distance, the pleasant breeze sifting through them. Bayley and Sasha together again. As friends? Or some deviation of friends…

Bayley took off her sunglasses, she gazed at Sasha with blue eyes again, she had put the contact lenses back in before they left the studio. “I know what you’re thinking… you don’t have to trust me, I don’t blame you. But I’ll be there for you, in the mask. I know everyone in the locker room hates me but I’ll wear the mask for you.”

The sorrow in Bayley’s tone shook Sasha’s heart. The pleading and desperation in Bayley’s voice, revealed that she would consider existing in Sasha’s life in the shadows, whenever Sasha needed her assistance. Bayley talked about righting her prior wrongs earlier this morning, and Sasha wondered if this was more about Bayley’s quest for redemption than actually being her friend again. And were they friends after last night? What they did on the couch for most of the night was not “friendly.” Sasha was at a loss for words, a loss of what to decide at this very moment. She could open her legs for Bayley but could she open her heart?

“You don’t have to do that for me, Bay—”

“But I do. Baby, you know I do… after everything you’ve done for me and the mistakes I made,” pleaded Bayley, her voice tremulous with emotion and she hastily looked away from Sasha’s concerned visage.

Sasha mused on the first night she met the Vigilante. A few months ago, on the Friday Night Smackdown event after the Survivor Series PPV, Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez viciously attacked her after a match, and her tag partner, Carmella, mysteriously disappeared. Sasha was trapped in a corner of the ring, shielding her head from the sharp stomps from Dakota and Raquel. She felt hopeless and she called out to the only name she could think of in that moment…

“Bayley!”

But it was not Bayley who saved her after the lights went off and on, it was the Vigilante in a black luchador mask with a red rose design, the usual black zip up hoodie and loose sweatpants.  Armed with a black baseball bat reminiscent of wrestling’s original vigilante, Sting, and a black steel chair.

“Why? I called for you a few months ago on Smackdown, and you saved me… Why?” Sasha whispered, struggling to keep her voice steady. Maybe she already knew the answer. Maybe Bayley was trying to solve the issues of the past, because Sasha called for Bayley’s help at Summerslam when she fought valiantly in the Asuka Lock and Bayley was absent. Sasha lost everything that night: she lost the match, she lost the red belt, she lost her title as a double champion, she lost her trust in Bayley.

And the past few months of her encounters with the Vigilante / Bayley may not change everything.

And maybe the lovemaking last night made her feel less alone but it may not change anything.

But maybe…

Bayley smiled bravely at Sasha as tears streamed down her face. “You can call for me and I’d always come. Always. I’m your bodyguard, remember?”

Chapter Text

Sasha Banks was extremely preoccupied. She sat on a plush loveseat in her private locker room in the Amway Center, a sparkling water bubbled in a glass on the table in front of her. The giant TV on the wall displayed Raw’s opening segment featuring the former champion, Drew McIntyre. She watched her friends around her: Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch chatted excitedly, but her mind was too busy to hear their words. When they glanced at her or referenced her, she nodded and plastered a smile to her face, hoping this would hide her inattention. Becky was actually the surprise that Charlotte promised her, she was visiting them from filming a new movie in Los Angeles. Sasha had not seen her in weeks. Sasha wished to be present, to be in the moment with her friends and fellow Horsewomen, but she failed.

“Champ, did ya hear what I said?” Becky said loudly, snapping her fingers in the air playfully.

Sasha was staring at the TV absently and suddenly pulled her attention to Becky’s smiling face on an adjacent couch. “What’s up?”

Becky chuckled, setting her glass of sparkling water down on the table. “I asked you what you thought your friends, Bliss and the Fiend would be doing tonight.”

“Yeah, you might need to go out there and help Drew,” said Charlotte, motioning her head towards the TV.

Sasha’s lips lifted slightly into a smile. “Who knows. I’m still confused why they appeared in the ring last night. And no, Drew’s a big boy, he can get his title back himself. I have my own title to protect.”

“You OK, Champ?” asked Becky, in a more serious tone.

Sasha forced a laugh. “Of course! Why would you ask that?”

“You just seem… I dunno, like somethin’s off with ya,” Becky said, peering at Sasha closely above the rim of her glass that she had picked up again.

“I’m good, really. Are you good?” Sasha responded quickly, deflecting the questioning back to Becky.

“Splendid,” Becky said cheerfully after taking a long sip from the sparkling water.

“Splendid?!” repeated Charlotte with a giggle, “Well, how often do we all get to hang out? Becks, stop giving Sasha a hard time and let’s just enjoy Raw tonight.”

“As you wish, my Queen,” Becky held up her glass to her girlfriend, Charlotte, at this declaration and Charlotte smiled at her adoringly.

They continued chatting about the possible events of tonight while Sasha escaped back into her thoughts. She was not afraid. She was never afraid. But, she was on Raw, the domain of the Fiend and Alexa Bliss. And they sought her last night, twice, and Alexa stared at the blue belt with such fire and lust. Nothing ever made sense when they were involved. At first, she remembered that Nikki Cross protested their union, she asked Alexa to “Let her in” instead of allowing the Fiend to consume her friend’s heart, but things changed. Now, Nikki had reverted to her twisted persona, who reveled in carnage wherever she ventured, who was another soul added to the cryptic cause of Alexa and the Fiend. Sasha did not understand it, and she also did not understand why they targeted her.

And then there was Bayley.

Bayley.

Who was always on her mind. Even after the destruction of their friendship at Hell in a Cell in October, she always thought of her. Bayley was now the enemy of the women’s locker room, and Becky and Charlotte never dared to speak her name in front of Sasha. Bayley, who was confined to a mask and thought this would help her atone for her crimes against others. Sasha was always a ruthless person with a streak of selfishness because that was the meaning of the Boss, but she sacrificed for Bayley’s success this year. She chose Bayley over and over. Bayley was more important than gold but Sasha had to be the one to take this gold away from her best friend, because it eroded Bayley’s kind and gentle nature. And Sasha knew that that was not the whole story though, because she acknowledged that she had something to do with the evil she witnessed within Bayley. But, she wondered, would the Vigilante be Bayley’s salvation?

Is this really the way?

It was heartbreaking. Bayley chose something different than what was expected of her, she deserted the path that destroyed her. Destroyed her friendship with Sasha. Destroyed her relationships with everyone in their world. The path that left her with nothing. And Sasha knew she was trying, truly trying to be a good person. But Sasha was hesitant, she was wary if she could trust Bayley. Even after last night and this morning, Sasha did not know if mercy existed in her heart for Bayley.

Yet.

“Shut up!”

Nia Jax rolled her eyes at the boos of the physical and digital crowd around her. She was clad in black and purple ring gear. She glanced over at the female referee that she brought to the ring with her, and the referee appeared as if she wanted to be anywhere except sharing the ring with Nia. Nia sighed and brought the microphone back to her lips.

“Are you gonna finally let me talk? You’re probably wondering why I’m out here with a ref. Well, I have a major problem with someone who keeps getting into my business.”

The crowd booed loudly again and Nia paused, annoyed.

“Oh, shut up! Like I was saying, I have a problem with a masked moron running around turning light switches on and off, and then attacking me with weapons. This so-called, ‘Vigilante.’ You’ve never had an actual match, so I’m giving you an opportunity. If you’re really what all these people say you are, why don’t you come out here, with no weapons, and fight me, Hero!”

Nia threw her mic down to the mat to punctuate her statement. Sarcasm had dripped in her voice when she said the word “hero.” She stared determinedly at the entrance ramp which was lit up with the typical red lights of Raw. Nothing happened. The crowd murmured. The commentators asked each other if the Vigilante would actually appear. Nia rolled her eyes again. It felt like she stood there for hours.

Then, a chill seemed to appear in the air. Nia felt as if invisible snow was drifting into the ring, her skin crawled with goosebumps, but she ignored this and continued to glare at the entrance ramp. Her heart stopped when the lights were suddenly cut out, and everything was pitch black.

“What?!”

Nia looked around and could see nothing in this darkness. It was as if her eyes could no longer see. The arena fell silent.

The lights came back on, and the colorful world of the Thunderdome reappeared. The crowd boomed loudly and the commentators started shouting. Nia and the referee whirled around.

The Vigilante was in the ring. She wore a red luchador mask with a white rose design, blue eyes fixed on Nia from the openings of the mask, but the red mask covered her nose and mouth completely. She also wore a white zip up hoodie, loose white pants, and red skate shoes. The Vigilante slowly zipped down her hoodie, revealing two pieces of tape on each side of her neck; and she was shirtless: showing off a black sports bra, and a well defined abdomen that had an interesting line of small, purple bruises. Nia licked her lips slightly at this display but she regained her focus when the referee called for the bell to ring.

“Here we go!! The Vigilante’s first scheduled match in WWE is happening right now on Monday Night Raw!” bellowed Samoa Joe at the announce table.

The Vigilante ran towards Nia and ducked under Nia’s attempt at a clothesline. She raced to the other end of the ring, swiftly turning and bouncing off the ropes. Nia tried another clothesline but again was too slow as the Vigilante ducked again. When Nia turned around for a second time, she fell backwards and off her feet as the Vigilante had leaped up and thrown her entire weight into a shoulder tackle. The crowd cheered, and the virtual fans were clapping in their display screens.

Nia slowly got up from the mat, dazed from the speed of her opponent. She fell back to her knees as the Vigilante hit her with a basement dropkick that targeted her right knee. Before she could attempt any further movements, she was driven face first into the mat.

“Was that— the Natural Selection?” she heard one of the commentators call loudly.

Suddenly, her left arm was being wrenched up, viciously and painfully.

“The Disarm-her!”

Nia heard several people shout about Becky Lynch’s submission maneuver, as she struggled in the hold. She squirmed on either side, cursing from the pain in her shoulder, but the other woman’s weight was set firmly on her upper back and had a vice grip on her arm. Nia smashed her hand against the mat several times when the pain became unbearable, she submitted to the mystery woman.

The bell rang and Nia’s arm was finally released, and she lay facedown. The Vigilante looked around at the commentators and the crowd, everyone was clapping and cheering. The referee raised her arm in victory.

We’re really glad that you’re our friend.

And this is a friendship that will never ever end!

Bray Wyatt smiled serenely at the puppets and friends all around him in the Firefly Funhouse. The WWE championship belt and the Raw Women’s championship belt were displayed on two shelves nearby him. He wore his usual red sweater, and there was delight in his blue eyes.

“Aw, poor Drew! I would be sad too if I lost my favorite toy!”

The puppets, Nikki and Alexa laughed on cue after his statement. He smiled around at everyone again and clapped his hands together.

“But I’ll tell you what, Drew! You can have your rematch! IF, you promise to hang out with my friend, Alexa, next week on a Moment of Bliss!” he declared, as if inviting Drew to a fun children’s birthday party.

“Yes! That sounds like so much fun! I’d be happy to have you around Drew, and maybe you can tell Nikki and I what your favorite coffee is,” Alexa said cheerfully while Nikki giggled.

“You know what else is fun?” questioned Nikki, smiling at Bray and Alexa, “Last night at the Rumble, hanging out with the Smackdown Women’s Champ, Sasha Banks, is always so much fun!”

Alexa and Bray smiled but their smiles appeared rather hollow.

“And, it would have been more fun if uninvited guests just left us all alone, right?” Bray said, his smile fading a bit as he addressed Alexa and Nikki.

“Ah, yes. But I love roses, don’t you?” Alexa asked him sweetly. Her red eyes glinted.

“Well, some roses just have too many thorns. Thorns that really hurt,” explained Bray dramatically as everyone listened attentively, “Sometimes, roses can be ugly too. And it doesn’t matter how they’re decorated, they’re still ugly on the inside.”

Nikki and Alexa turned to the camera, the grins on their faces were sinister. Bray stopped smiling and suddenly looked very seriously into the camera as well, his hands gripped the table in front of him.

His cheerfulness and sing-song voice had evaporated. He spoke in a deep tone laced with hatred and prophecy.

“Roses are red. Violets are blue. You can hide behind a mask, but she will never love you.”

“Welcome to Raw Talk! I’m here with my co-host R-Truth and our first guests are three out of the Four Horsewomen: Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and the Smackdown Women’s Champion, Sasha Banks,” proclaimed Charly Caruso.

“There are only Three Horsewomen, not sure who else you’re referrin’ to,” Becky said shortly as she sat down. She wore a black leather jacket, a white shirt, and dark jeans. Charlotte and Sasha flanked her. Charlotte wore a hot pink blazer, a matching pink skirt, and white blouse. While Sasha wore a dark sleeveless top with yellow crescent moon designs, black leather pants, and she placed the glimmering blue belt in front of her on the glass table.

“I think she means that Asuka’s missing from our group, sweetie,” Charlotte said, flashing a smile at everyone around her.

Becky smirked at her girlfriend, nodding in acknowledgement.

“Hey Man! So what’s up?” R-Truth shouted, his own 24/7 championship belt was placed over his shoulder.

“It’s good to be back on Raw. Haven’t been here for months and this place is already crumbling without The Man. Sasha’s holding court over in Smackdown but Raw is a lawless land,” remarked Becky, shaking her head in disappointment.

“But we have a masked superhero holding it down here!” R-Truth said brightly, and he tapped the belt on his shoulder. Earlier in the evening, after the match with Nia Jax, R-Truth was being chased in the hallways backstage by Akira Tozawa and a group of ninjas. The Vigilante intervened to save R-Truth and his championship from the ninjas.

“The Vigilante of the women’s division, eh? This place needs more security, honestly! How is it that Nia Jax is able to challenge hoodlums off the street and fight them in our ring? And she chose to steal the moves of The Queen and The Man tonight, freakin’ ridiculous! She should step in the ring with me and I’ll show her how to do a real Disarm-her,” said Becky seriously. She drummed her fingers on the table, and this signaled to Charlotte and Sasha that The Man was extremely irritated.

“So, you’re saying you’re not the Vigilante,” Charly stated, looking at Becky.

“Yeah, everyone on Twitter said The Man is the Vigilante,” said R-Truth, as if he was quoting a scientific journal, nodding with Charly.

“Excuse me?” Charlotte interjected, placing a hand on Becky’s wrist before she could speak.

“Well, there are speculations on social media—”

“Whoa, whoa, stop right there,” Charlotte said, interrupting Charly, “Becky has more important things to do then run around in a mask, fighting Nia Jax and other random people on the different brands. Becky is filming a movie, I’m recovering well from my injury, and Sasha is a fighting champion. Don’t you have real things to talk about with us here instead of this Vigilante?”

“Then who do you think it is?” R-Truth asked innocently.

Charlotte stared at him with her mouth open, in shock and annoyance.

Sasha sighed, and everyone turned to her since she was oddly silent throughout the whole interview. “Truth, Charly, c’mon, does it matter? The real issue is that Alexa Bliss confronted me last night after I beat Carmella at the main event of the Rumble. I mean, that’s what we should really be talking about, why would she do that?”

“And this is the first time we’ve ever invited the Smackdown Women’s Champion to Raw Talk, and I’m glad you brought this up, because it’s something we definitely wanted to address with you. They mentioned you briefly in the Firefly Funhouse, what are your thoughts on that?” asked Charly.

“I don’t really care for their puppets and mugs of coffee. I don’t run from a fight. If they want some, I’m not hard to find. Like you saw last night, the Boss stood tall at the main event,” declared Sasha, holding up a hand with perfectly manicured nails.

“Yes, and the Vigilante was there too,” Charly stated in a quiet voice, as the other women at the table glared at her.

“Yeah, she tried to steal the show from the Champ but failed. Sasha’s title defenses have all been wonderful, so masked hoodlums could never steal the spotlight from the Boss,” said Becky defiantly, anger etched in her tone at the repeated mention of the masked crusader.

“So Sasha, you’ve had several interactions with this masked woman, could you tell us anything more about her?” Charly posed this question uncertainly, likely fearing the wrath of the Horsewomen around her.

Sasha did not look at Charly. She stared beyond the camera crew, into a distant space in her mind. A place that she frequently visited in the past 24 hours. She fantasized, strongly wishing she could rewind time.

Her glittery, light blue nails dug into soft, supple skin. They had switched positions frequently, not out of boredom, but for the desire of exploration. Gentle hands firmly grasped onto her lower back, her hips. The room was cold, dark but the heat from Bayley’s lips sparked lustful flames within her. Their emotions, desires, the feelings they had long repressed for each other were stirred within a pressure cooker and exploded with each climax. Addicting. Intoxicating. It was as if she had a deep thirst for cool water but could not drink her fill. Insatiable. Uncontrollable.

She straddled Bayley again, while Bayley’s hand reached downward and her lips gently clamped down on one of Sasha’s breasts. Bayley’s fingers had control of her, and she could do nothing but slide her hands around Bayley’s undercut and grip onto dark hair. This was a bumpy ride. She lost count of how many times she screamed:

“Papi!”

Sasha’s musings were brought back down to earth at Charlotte’s derisive tone. She was startled briefly and looked quickly at Charlotte, while Becky watched Sasha with a raised eyebrow.

“What kind of question is that? And Becky’s right, this place needs better security instead of allowing masked crazies to run around and wreak havoc on the Superstars. This whole interview was a complete waste of time. The Boss doesn’t come to Raw very often. And The Queen and The Man certainly don’t come around at all most of the time. But here we are, dealing with this crap.”

They all left the building together, and they were mostly silent other than Charlotte’s occasional quips of anger over what happened on Raw Talk with Charly and R-Truth. They had cut the interview short, or more like, Charlotte decided to end the interview.

“You wanna hang out at our place for a bit, Sash?” asked Becky.

“I don’t wanna be a third wheel, you kids have fun together,” laughed Sasha.

“We were trying to surprise you this morning when Becky arrived in Orlando, but you weren’t at home,” Charlotte said.

Sasha gulped and looked away. “I’ve just been busy—”

“Are ya sure everything’s OK, Boss?” Becky interrupted, they all stopped in the parking lot nearby their cars.

Sasha forced a wide smile. “I’m good. Really. Just thinking about tonight, you know…”

Becky clapped her shoulder. “Ah, Boss, don’t let Alexa Bliss and her little puppets get ya down. If she wants a piece of you, just challenge her on Smackdown. But she really should be worried about what’s going on at Raw, she’s letting that place go to shit.”

“Sasha,” Charlotte looked at her very solemnly, “I know it looks like that Vigilante woman has helped you, but be careful. We don’t know who that is, and we don’t know what she wants. I just hope that she doesn’t appear at the end of any more of your matches.”

Sasha sighed, and gazed at the concerned faces of her friends.

Bayley exited the shower and got dressed, she was drying her hair with a towel as she heard a notification on her phone. She escaped from the ThunderDome after a minor scuffle with some ninjas, she grinned when she thought of R-Truth’s amazement and appreciation after she fended off the ninjas. She decided to go home and shower instead of using the women’s locker room, she was not supposed to be on Raw and she wanted to avoid arguments from women who still despised her. She picked up her phone.

It was a text message notification from “Mamacita.”

Bayley’s heart hammered in her chest as her thumb fell on the digital display. She assumed that Sasha returned to ignoring her after their time together, because after their trip to the park earlier, she did not contact Bayley. Bayley saw her on Raw Talk tonight, and saw the uneasiness on her face when the Vigilante was discussed.

She breathed deeply and opened the message.

“I need your help. At the studio.”

Bayley shoved the phone into her pocket and grabbed her luchador mask from the nightstand.

She pulled her black hood down a little more over her face as she passed by a couple holding hands on the street. She wore a plain black zip up hoodie, thin black sweatpants, and the red skate shoes she wore in her match earlier. She had one hand in her hoodie pocket, anxiously rubbing the slippery material of the red mask between her fingers. Her only friends, the chair and the baseball bat, were not with her since she could not walk the streets of downtown Orlando with weapons. She walked right by Sasha’s office building, instead running into a side alley way. She looked up into the horizon behind the buildings, a large digital billboard display for Smackdown illuminated the night. The figures of Roman Reigns and Sasha Banks loomed large, their championship belts, blue, with the jeweled W, were prominent. Bayley’s stomach lurched a bit when she saw the digital Sasha peering down on her, she hoped dearly that her friend was alright and that she was not too late in arriving. Her heart skipped a beat as something dark scurried in front of her, and she instinctively hid behind a few abandoned boxes. It was just a cat, but this did not relax her. She pressed on in the alley way.

Last year, she frequently visited Sasha’s music studio when they were still best friends. Sometimes she would fall asleep in the bedroom, laying next to Sasha, when they stayed up too late, drinking and listening to samples for the new album. Their laughter filled the studio until sunrise. Now, Sasha probably had other friends that she did this with, people she probably would not discuss with Bayley. And Bayley knew it was none of her business, but those fleeting thoughts still stung like angry bees encircling things that they presumed were flowers.

She arrived at the familiar back door. She looked around the dumpster area, slightly confused that things were too silent and peaceful. Sasha’s message sounded emergent, and Bayley thought someone or something would have interrupted her journey into the studio by now. Bayley sighed as she turned the door knob, it was unlocked. She stepped into the drafty, gray hallway, the light above her flickered and the hallway was deserted. She removed the mask from her pocket and stared at it.

She saw the Firefly Funhouse segment tonight while watching a TV screen from a shadowy portion of a hallway. Bray Wyatt’s voice echoed in her head throughout the night.

“You can hide behind a mask, but she will never love you.”

She was afraid. Wearing the mask never completely erased her fears. But like the steel chair, when she betrayed Sasha and brutally attacked her in September, the mask was her security blanket. This is what she had to be now. Because Bayley wasn’t good enough. Bayley failed. Bayley turned her back on Sasha Banks, and likely would never be close to her again.

But last night…

Bayley shook her head slightly at the thought. No. Sasha was repaying the Vigilante. Or, as she had mused on previously, Sasha just needed someone to warm her bed after a night of wrestling, because she’s the Boss and she gets what she wants.

Bayley pulled down her hood, and placed the red mask with a white rose design over her face.

The Vigilante placed her hood back over head, covering the bits of black hair that were poking out in the back of mask close to her neck. She swiftly sauntered down the hallway, her blue eyes acutely aware of her surroundings. Aware of anything out of the ordinary, because it felt as if the Fiend, Alexa, and Nikki could appear from thin air and they could also vanish like an ephemeral vapor simultaneously. Her heart rate was high, not from the exertion, but from anxiety. Weaponless, but her fists wrapped in black tape would do the talking for her. She stopped by the studio door and listened. She could hear the distant rumble of music. She glanced around again, and also peered up into the nearby stairwell. No one was there.

Her heartbeat quickened. Her throat felt tight.

Is it too late?

She opened the door of the studio but lingered on the side of the door, not stepping into the doorway. The music was slightly louder, bass echoed into the hallway. She looked into the studio from around her corner. The studio looked similar to last night and earlier this morning, nothing was out of place or damaged. She clenched her fists as she stepped inside finally, and shut the door, locking it and hoping to shut off the escape of whoever it was that intruded on Sasha.

The Vigilante looked at the back of black leather office chair that was positioned in front of the primary music controls of the studio, the glass wall of the music booth revealed that the microphone was suspended peacefully and the booth was empty. She saw the reflection of the person sitting in the chair that was turned away from her. This person was adjusting a nearby knob on the control panel.

“Boss.”

The Vigilante’s voice was a low growl, slightly muffled by the mask.

Sasha’s reflection smiled at her and then the chair swiveled around. Sasha wore a salmon pink robe, shiny and satin. Her long blue hair draped around her shoulders and her makeup was impeccable. A playful smile danced on her lips. The room was already warm but it felt much warmer now.

“Don’t look so tense, it’s just us. I wondered who would show up tonight. You or Bayley,” Sasha whispered with a chuckle as she rose from her chair and approached the Vigilante.

When she was close enough, her fingers reached out for the zipper on the hoodie and she pulled down. She smiled coyly as she noticed a red sports bra, and the deep, red-purple love bites that she left on her protector’s exposed neck and abdomen. Her nails grazed these bruises, which sent shockwaves of pleasure throughout the masked woman’s senses.

“Did you need me, Boss?” Forced calm, cracks appearing on stone.

“I can’t stop thinking about you.” Desperate, yearning, sensual.

Sasha leaned into her, embracing her, placing her hands under the sweater to touch her skin. The Vigilante wrapped her arms around Sasha as well, and realizing as she touched the thin fabric of the robe, that Sasha was nude underneath it. She thought she was walking into a fight to defend Sasha, a melee with freaks in Halloween costumes, but she walked into a different type of fight. The fight to keep her passions and desires under control, before they consumed the stoic and just image of the Vigilante. The fight to keep her hands on respectful places.

“I called for you…”

Sasha’s voice seemed dreamy as she held her, it seemed to melt with the soft music around them.

“I’ll always be here for you,”  The Vigilante responded, also in a whisper.

Sasha’s beautiful brown eyes gazed into the blue eyes of her defender. The blue eyes that seemed so familiar in the past few weeks. She would see them and she would hope that they belonged to the one woman she missed the most in her time as a champion. The woman she thought about every single day, regardless of whether they were friends or enemies.

“I need you tonight,” murmured Sasha.

The Vigilante watched her intensely. “I can be whatever you need me to be.”

At the conclusion of this affirmation, Sasha pulled up the Vigilante’s mask slightly, to once again reveal lips with a light, sparkling gloss. They kissed, and this set off a chaotic chain of movements. In their frenzy, Sasha walked backwards as the Vigilante guided her body, Sasha reached back to the studio control panel for support. She was lifted up slightly and then sat on the panel, her robe opening to expose her naked body as she clutched onto her protector, trying to tear down the black hoodie. Her nails, again, sliding over smooth skin and broad muscles. Sasha swiftly, roughly removed the mask that still covered most of Bayley’s face because she desperately wanted to run her nails and fingers through the short, lustrous hair. They shifted around, fighting the remaining fabric still on their bodies, and on cue, the main volume knob was accidentally turned up almost to the max, so the bass boomed throughout the room as Bayley’s fingers found moisture and Sasha let out yelps and cries of pleasure.

Wanna be loved every night

Wanna know she’s only mine

Breathe her in, give me life

Got all of these hearts in a line

They all wasting their time

‘Cause only you do me right

Baby, you should pick up the phone

‘Cause I’m wondering if you’re alone

‘Cause I’m driving down Sunset

If you’re around, come get it

If you come, come get it

I wanna be missed, like every night

I wanna be kissed, like it’s the last time

Say you can’t eat, can’t sleep, can’t breathe without me

I wanna be held, fragile like glass

‘Cause I’ve never felt nothing like that

Say you can’t walk, can’t talk, go on without me

- Hayley Kiyoko, “Wanna Be Missed”

Chapter Text

Bayley sucked in air quickly through her teeth and lips, in surprise of the freezing cold ointment that touched her skin.

“Oh shush, quit being such a baby,” Sasha teased, as she continued to rub a thick, herbal salve into Bayley’s bruised skin.

“Sash, I don’t think this will work,” Bayley said, cringing due to pain of the bruises and the icy feeling on her back.

“Well, it won’t if you’re going to be so negative,” laughed Sasha, then she drummed her fingers playfully on the tattoo on the back of Bayley’s neck.

Bayley chuckled into the pillow. She was laying naked, prone, on her stomach on Sasha’s bed, they were in a bedroom attached to the music studio. The room had a hazy glow from the multiple candles on the nightstand. Bayley had slept in this room a couple times in the past with Sasha, when they were best friends. They would stay up late into the night, excitedly discussing music and laughing about their experiences as wrestlers as Sasha’s music permeated throughout the studio. Sometimes Sasha would step into the booth and create new music, and sometimes that did not happen; some nights were filled with jokes and chatter, and alcohol. Sometimes they would fall asleep next to each other in this same bed, fully clothed, side by side. This night in this bedroom was different, and Sasha had never lit candles before until now.

Sasha was once again wearing her satin robe as she sat next to Bayley. She felt as if she had memorized every muscle and every curve on her friend’s beautiful body over the past 24 hours. Her fingers traced over the mid-back muscles that supported Bayley’s spine. Her eyes scanned Bayley’s skin, there were several bruises of varying sizes and stages of healing on her back and arms, and a few scars. She knew that the bruises were from Bayley’s recent escapades while masked, and she recognized, uneasily, that the scars were mementos from Hell in a Cell.

During their lovemaking this evening, Sasha noticed Bayley wincing in pain at times when she touched her back. Her hand and nails would grip into Bayley’s soft skin and sometimes, inadvertently, catching a blue, red or purple bruise. Bayley never said anything about her physical pain from her wounds while they were fucking, she was solely focused on obediently pleasuring Sasha. Sasha knew that although the Vigilante appeared hardened and indestructible, the way a mythical hero would appear to the common people, Bayley was human and not immune to harm. She did ask Bayley if she was alright several times, and Bayley would respond with a smile, adorable dimples showing, and bring Sasha to another orgasm.

“Was it really necessary for you to fight Nia tonight?” Sasha asked.

Bayley grinned. “They won’t take me seriously if I ignored her.”

“First, Nia, and then ninjas. Who will you be throwing down with on NXT? You know… you don’t have to do all that. Just focus on Smackdown. Remember when we were on all 3 brands last summer? That was chaotic,” Sasha said with a sigh.

There was a pause as both women thought about their time as the Golden Role Models tag team. Their triumphs and tragedies. Bayley found this silence to be too uncomfortable.

“Sasha, I think Bray knows,” Bayley said suddenly, her words seemed to tumble out of her mouth although she thought about how to bring this up for several hours.

“Knows what? That Alexa and Nikki are crazier than he is?” asked Sasha with a snort.

Bayley did not laugh or smile. “I think he knows that I’m the Vigilante.”

Sasha sighed. “If he knew that, he would’ve exposed you already.”

“I dunno, dude. Who knows what he’s thinking or what Alexa’s thinking, but what they said tonight…” Bayley’s voice trailed off, she was not sure if she could bring herself to say it.

“At their little puppet house? I didn’t pay attention, I don’t listen to nonsense,” remarked Sasha, once again focusing on the bruises on Bayley’s back, rubbing the ointment into her friend’s skin in circular motions.

She will never love you.

The words replayed in Bayley’s head over and over throughout the night. Even with Sasha’s legs wrapped around her hips, and Sasha’s lips pressed against her ear, whispering encouragement when they were making love. She still heard Bray’s serious, low tone. As if he knew her deepest fear. She wondered if Sasha heard these words tonight too but would not admit it.

“I don’t know what they want but I’ll find out. I’ll protect you,” declared Bayley, she sighed a bit as Sasha rubbed an especially tender spot.

“Sounds like Bliss might challenge for my blue belt, which makes no sense. She really should worry about Asuka and everyone else on Raw like Becky said—” Sasha abruptly stopped talking. She suddenly realized she should not be mentioning Becky, or Charlotte, for that matter. She knew that Bayley likely tuned into Raw Talk and heard her friends’ disdain for the Vigilante. And she probably heard Becky’s comment that there are only three Horsewomen.

“Yeah, Becky’s right about that,” Bayley whispered.

There was a lengthy pause in their conversation. Sasha continued to tend to the colorful bruises, applying light pressure to spread the cooling salve.

“I’m sorry, Bayley.”

Bayley turned on her side, facing Sasha and clutching her hand. “You don’t have to apologize for Becky and Charlotte.”

Sasha was not only thinking of Raw Talk. She thought of the conversations she had in the past few months with Becky and Charlotte. They visited her in the hospital in September, when she was admitted for further monitoring after Bayley tried to break her neck with a steel chair. They were sorrowful, horrified and livid. Sasha, Becky and Charlotte were not perfect, they understood that they did not always treat other wrestlers with kindness throughout their careers, but they agreed in that hospital room that they never acted in the violent way that Bayley chose. None of them ever attempted to end another wrestler’s career in brutal fashion. Sasha was grateful for their support when she feuded with Bayley last fall, Becky and Charlotte were loyal to her and continued to be so. But their loyalty for Sasha meant that they shut out Bayley. They expressed irritation to Sasha when Bayley sent text messages to them. Charlotte responded to Bayley’s texts, in very lengthy messages which she showed Sasha, and she also explained that these would be her last communication with Bayley because Bayley was “unsalvageable.” Becky stonewalled her, and had remarked to Sasha that “The Man does not associate with people like that.” Sasha knew that Becky and Charlotte understood the magnitude of Bayley’s betrayal, only the four of them knew each other that deeply, that thoroughly. Bayley did unforgivable acts and had to be excommunicated from the Horsewomen.

“And you know… maybe they’re right about me. I just make things worse for everyone, maybe my help isn’t needed,” Bayley continued, not meeting Sasha’s eyes and looking at the nearby candlelight.

“Don’t say that. You helped Kairi. You helped Liv, Ruby, Lana, the list goes on and on, Bayley,” Sasha said quietly. Her friend’s low self esteem was disheartening.

“I didn’t, the Vigilante did,” Bayley murmured, finally looking into Sasha’s eyes.

“Bayley, maybe you should get rid of the mask and just be yourself. Tell everyone the truth on Smackdown this Friday,” Sasha suggested in an optimistic tone.

Bayley frowned. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Sash. I need the mask to be close to you without people freaking out, I need it to protect you. And, they won’t believe me even if I told the truth. People don’t trust me, after everything I did to them last year… After what I did… to you.”

Sasha and Bayley both knew at some point, they would have to discuss what happened between them. They seemed to keep this conversation at an arm’s length since their sudden reunion, just occasional mentions and then changing the subject.

Sasha closed the small jar of the herbal salve and put it back into the nightstand drawer. She lay down next to Bayley, snuggling close to her and staring deeply into her warm brown eyes.

“Bayley… I know you’re trying. And you saved me when no one else could. I know you want to punish the wrongdoers in wrestling, but at this point, you’re just hurting yourself. The only person you’re punishing is yourself.”

“I deserve that… and I don’t deserve you,” Bayley whispered with a small smile, she averted her eyes away from Sasha again.

Sasha’s lips curled into a slight frown. “Don’t say that. You’re my friend. And we’re… we’re trying to make things work out again.”

Bayley knew that Sasha was trying to comfort her but she could still feel her heart sinking painfully into her stomach.

Friend.

Not even best friend.

“Yeah, a friend that you have to hide from everyone,” Bayley said flatly, her gaze fell slightly on Sasha’s muscular shoulder. She couldn’t look into her eyes.

“You know it’s complicated. What we’re doing now is for the best. We can’t just step out into the public again as if nothing happened and everything’s back to normal. I have my manager to deal with, and Becky and Charlotte, and everyone who relies on me as the Smackdown Champ,” explained Sasha, irritation creeping into her voice. She hated having to say these things to Bayley but she was also annoyed that Bayley ignored the potential consequences of their public union. Her manager, Mel Mack, despised Bayley and thought that Bayley just held her back from greatness and expansion as a mainstream star. And she felt that she would be betraying Becky and Charlotte’s support if she threw Bayley back into their lives.

And, fans on social media would once again be stating that “Sasha Banks has no backbone.”

She had to be methodical about this situation, she could not rush into anything. Although discovering the Vigilante’s true identity in her music studio was completely unexpected. She wanted to see how things unfolded with this “new version” of Bayley. Or maybe, she was back to the “old” Bayley. She trusted Bayley in September in a vulnerable state when she hurt her knee in the ring, and then Bayley struck her down repeatedly. Her trust was slowly building again for her friend but she could not open her heart completely. There was more at stake now with her championship, her business ventures, her mainstream persona, and several executives at the company described her as “the face of women’s wrestling in 2021.” Bayley could harm her again and she would lose everything.

“I’m sorry that I’m a ‘complication’ in your life. Thanks for helping me with these bruises, Boss. I’ll get going,” Bayley said shortly with a frown and she sat up, and turned around to retrieve her clothes.

Bayley paused when she felt Sasha’s arms wrap around her abdomen, and Sasha’s lips pressed against the back of her neck.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I think we just need some more time to figure out what we’re doing exactly,” Sasha murmured into Bayley’s neck.

Bayley sighed deeply, too afraid to face Sasha. She wanted to address the invisible elephant stampeding around in the room. Too afraid to confirm Bray’s poem, she wished to spare Sasha’s feelings and her own feelings.

“Sasha… what do you want? What are we?” Bayley spoke very quietly, uncertainty plagued her tone. Uncertain of how Sasha would respond to these questions, if these questions were even appropriate since they had only rekindled their “friendship” in the past 24 hours. And the uncertainty of what their relationship truly was. For now, Bayley felt that she carried the label of Sasha Banks’ secret fuck buddy.

She was too afraid to ask…

Do you love me?

“You’re my friend, and I want you. Please stay tonight, don’t leave me,” Sasha whispered into Bayley’s ear, then proceeding to softly kiss the back of her neck. Sasha’s bare breasts were pressed against Bayley’s back. She held her tightly, and those words were enough for both women for now.

Her right hand was numb and her fingers were swelling into mini-balloons underneath her hand wraps. She tried to make a fist but failed, her fingers unable to close around swelling tissue.  She was nauseous while climbing to the top of the cell, she feared heights. Heat engulfed them at the top and it felt like the world was spinning. Now, it seemed like any movement would cause the red wires to collapse beneath them, and they treaded carefully. Bayley retreating to the edge while Sasha advanced slowly. Sasha looked like a superhero in all white gear, and she acted like one throughout the match with her grace and acrobatics. Bayley contrasted her while wearing all black ring gear: a black top, cropped black pants and black sneakers. A fighter. Bayley wore this because she knew she was stepping into the biggest fight of her career, and she would not lose everything here.

She would not lose the blue belt because it was all that she had left in this world.

Bayley fell to her knees in pain and started laughing, clutching her broken right hand: “This is what you wanted, huh?! This is what you fucking wanted, you snake!”

“You started this, Bayley, you’re the snake! I’m going to finish what you started,” stated Sasha with gritted teeth as she walked carefully towards Bayley. The red wires that acted as the floor at the top of the cell, slumped and shifted around her white shoes. Bayley watched her look down at the ring below them.

“You’re gonna end me? Is that what you’re gonna do? You fucking bitch! You’re afraid,” laughed Bayley, and her voice cracked from dryness and insanity.

“Bayley, please… we didn’t have to go this far. You’re finished. You can hardly stand and look at your hand,” Sasha said, disgust and concern etched into the soft features of her face.

Bayley braced herself and slowly rose to her feet, swaying a little as she chuckled. She grinned at Sasha’s glare. She felt Sasha’s eyes examining her body, the bruises on her arms that she was ignoring were now shamefully prominent. She had gone too far, further than she could ever imagine. She never fathomed that she could be the Smackdown Women’s Champion for 380 consecutive days. She never imagined that she would be the one to attack a weakened Sasha in September, but she had to do it. For self-preservation. To protect herself from Sasha’s selfish ways. Sasha’s eyes lingered on the blue belt too long, Sasha called her names on social media behind her back. Sasha was going to hurt her, it was only a matter of time.

Was it wrong that I struck first?

“I gave you everything. I gave you all I had, Sasha! And I was never good enough for you! You wanted the red belt, you wanted to be 2 Beltz Banks and I gave that to you! So, fuck you!! I’m gonna end your career tonight,” taunted Bayley with another crazed laugh.

“You’ve tried a couple times, and you can’t fucking do it, coward. This was never about the gold, Bayley. This was about me and you. It’s time for me to end you,” Sasha whispered viciously through gritted teeth, tears forming in her eyes.

“C’mon Mamacita!! Show Papi what you got!!” Bayley yelled as her left heel dangerously touched the edge of the cell.

Bayley could tell from Sasha’s shift in expression from disgust to pure rage that her catcalling was a low blow. Sasha ran and lunged at her. Bayley screamed in shock and fear.

This angry leap launched them both from the top of the cell.

Bayley woke suddenly, gasping for air and looking around frantically. She disconnected herself from Sasha’s embrace and sat up. She felt dizzy; cold, clammy perspiration was on her face and chest. She reached to the right side edge of the bed, her fingers searching for the steel chair that was always at her bedside. It was not there.

“Bay?”

Sasha still felt so sleepy and the digital clock on her nightstand read 5:03 AM. She woke when she felt Bayley shift away from her. She reached out sleepily for Bayley’s arm and noticed that her friend recoiled from her touch.

Bayley had difficulty breathing, she attempted to get as much air as possible into her lungs with deep gasps but still felt out of breath. Her heart pounded within her chest. She woke from her usual nightmare. She glanced at Sasha and looked away quickly. Sasha reached out for her again and pulled her back into bed, under the covers and held her. Sasha caressed Bayley’s hair and scalp as she hugged her.

“Come here, Bay, I’m not going to hurt you… What’s wrong?” Sasha whispered.

Bayley buried her face in Sasha’s chest, wrapping an arm around Sasha’s waist while her hand rubbed Sasha’s lower back. She started to cry. Sasha suddenly felt more awake, gripping Bayley’s body tightly in concern.

“I’m… so sorry, Sasha,” Bayley mumbled through sobs.

“What do you mean?” asked Sasha, she ran her fingers through Bayley’s dark hair.

“What I did to you… the cell…”

Memories that Sasha had blocked away came rushing back, as if a violent waterfall broke through a dam. Bayley suddenly brutalizing her on Smackdown after they lost again to Shayna and Nia, the palpable fright she experienced as Bayley’s deranged figure stalked her by the barricade and Sasha put up her arms for mercy. Her two days at the hospital, and Becky and Charlotte’s stunned and morose faces. The back and forth: Bayley attacking her again, and she was able to get some measure of revenge at Clash of Champions but she hesitated long enough to allow Bayley to retreat. Bayley refusing to sign the contract until Sasha straddled her into a steel chair and forced her to sign.

The Cell.

The Hell that they put each other through. For what? For gold? Gold was the convenient answer. But, maybe this brought closure to their failing friendship. A friendship that was never meant to be. Sasha had deep feelings for Bayley, the ingredients of love but she knew those words were better left unsaid. They had never been intimate until recently. She told Bayley that she loved her in the locker room a couple years ago, expressing platonic love, and she hoped this would be enough to keep repressing the forbidden feelings she had in her heart. The feelings that never really disappeared, even during and after their heated feud.

But a small part of her wondered why she was comforting her attacker… her enemy.

Bayley was able to calm her breathing, slowly and thoughtfully. She mimicked Sasha’s peaceful breathing pattern and she knew that Sasha was helping her. Bayley’s hand traveled down to Sasha’s thigh and squeezed as they held each other.

“Do you remember when we fell from the top of the cell? You held me… you took most of the impact into the table,” Sasha said quietly.

“We should’ve never been in that situation, it’s my fault,” answered Bayley into Sasha’s chest. Sasha was right though. When Sasha jumped at her and they fell, Bayley was frightened but managed to wrap her arms around Sasha to protect her from the impact. Bayley’s back slammed into the announce desk that Cole and Graves had vacated. Even in the hatred that they claimed at the top of the cell, Bayley suddenly realized what was most important to her in the fall.

“Baby… I know you’re making it up to me. You defended me when I was alone,” whispered Sasha in a soothing voice before she planted a kiss on Bayley’s forehead.

“I don’t know if that’s enough,” Bayley responded, tears still streaming down her face.

Sasha thought back to what Bayley said to her at the top of the cell, choosing her answer carefully: “No Bayley, you’re important to me. You are enough.”

“I’m sorry, I thought you would betray me—”

Sasha sighed, gripping some of Bayley’s black hair and pulling her face into view. Bayley’s eyes were red, shiny and she stared up at Sasha in surprise.

“If I wanted to do that, I would’ve done that a long time ago. You know that. And I’m not ignoring the problems we’ve had in our friendship in the past few years. Things are different now, we have new enemies, we have to focus and trust each other,” explained Sasha calmly but firmly.

“I’ll protect you, Sasha. I promise,” murmured Bayley with a watery smile.

Sasha returned her smile. “I know, and I’ll protect you too.”

Sasha had heard Bayley’s promise so many times recently and Bayley’s chivalry never became stale to her.

They kissed. Bayley shifted a bit, gripping Sasha’s thigh and moving Sasha onto her back. Sasha wrapped her hands around Bayley’s neck, while Bayley was on top of her and in between her thighs. Their lips continued to grapple with each other as they held each other tightly, their senses became one in the early morning heat of the bedroom.

They could vow to protect each other. They could comfort each other and keep each other company, like before. But they both were unsure if they could completely devote themselves to the other, to completely love each other. Because things were not always clear. Trust is often the hardest thing to capture and love is sometimes too serious of a word. And the painful memories of the past may not be fully forgiven with Bayley’s heroic efforts, Sasha’s mercy, and their budding romance.

Chapter Text

If you think you're lonely now, wait until tonight

Bayley sat on a leather couch in the dim music studio, she was nodding and grinning while listening to the melody permeating throughout the room. The beat was impressive. Intricate patterns of hard-knocking bass and drums were laced with the dark, sonorous vibrations of a violin. Sasha sat in front of her in the leather office chair, and she turned down the music with a control panel knob.

“A producer gave me this beat recently, what do you think?” Sasha asked with a smile.

“Dude, that’s sick,” Bayley answered in awe.

“It’s flames! And now I just have to write some fire lyrics to go along with it,” said Sasha. She picked up her phone from the control panel to open her note-taking app. She wore a casual outfit: a black tank top adorned with yellow moons and stars, black yoga pants and white Jordan basketball shoes. Her long, blue hair held back in a ponytail. In contrast, Bayley also wore dark colors: a black sleeveless top, a thin, dark green camouflage jacket, and dark blue jeans with black skate shoes. Her black hair was neatly parted and shiny.

Bayley smirked. “So how’s the album coming along?”

“Just a few more songs, almost done. Mel hounds me about it,” said Sasha, she added an eye roll when she mentioned her manager.

Sasha was not able to apply her full attention to the album when she was not wrestling because of all of her other ventures. She had a photoshoot and an Instagram live interview earlier in the day. Also, it was Wednesday night, but she spent the past few nights with Bayley.

I only think of you on two occasions

That's day and night

Bayley’s days were usually lonely but she did not mind since she was busy with training and conditioning. She was in a group text with Seth and Murphy, and they mentioned working out together on Thursday, but that was her only interaction with others. Bayley was too afraid to text Sasha, she did not want to be a bothersome friend with benefits — she knew when she was needed and knew when Sasha likely needed her to disappear. Sasha did not text her during the day, there would usually be one text message in the early evening asking her to come over to the studio. There was always substance behind these messages, although the underlying message was clear. Tuesday night, Sasha asked for her help to rearrange furniture in the studio, and that did occur but the night ended in Sasha’s bedroom. Tonight, Sasha asked her to listen to new beats that she acquired for the album.

Bayley knew she should not be sleeping in Sasha’s bed. Their relationship was mutually beneficial in the cover of night, and publicly, Bayley was Sasha’s masked defender. She was still embarrassed that she woke from another nightmare about Hell in a Cell that startled Sasha awake as well. She knew she should leave after they fucked, but Sasha always convinced her to stay. The warmth of Sasha’s skin, the softness of her lips… Bayley could not resist her. But when a one night stand becomes a three night stand, messy, deep feelings would slowly get involved until they cannot be quieted or ignored. And these feelings were always there subconsciously, even when they truly were best friends. Bayley could not read Sasha at times, and this was still difficult even when their friendship was stronger in the past. It was all so convoluted, but their friendship was never simple. Their friendship had now evolved into what was best for the moment.

“What does Mel think about the album?” asked Bayley, she wanted to pose this question in a different way but thought directness might be too much. During their time as the Golden Role Models last summer, Bayley did help Sasha in the studio with concepts for songs and song titles. But after they became enemies, that likely all changed. Before the Hell in a Cell PPV, Sasha did release a popular rap diss record targeting her, titled “Cut off the Snake’s Head.”

Sasha chuckled. “She changed a lot of stuff but I get the final say.”

Bayley nodded silently, smiled but looked away. Sasha knew what she was thinking about.

“Um… the stuff you and I came up with together last year, she wanted to change it,” Sasha explained with a sigh, watching Bayley apprehensively.

Bayley smiled again and quickly responded, “Oh yeah, definitely. I understand and it’s whatever you wanna do, Boss.”

The songs they thought of together involved the usual hip-hop music fanfare of gold, jewelry, and sitting atop the world while ridiculing their competitors. Those songs were replaced with the topics of betrayal, lost friendships, independence, and ruthlessness. 

“You’re my friend, you can help me with the last few songs for the album. Let’s come up with something tonight,” Sasha offered excitedly.

Bayley grinned, her warm brown eyes finally meeting Sasha’s gaze. “I dunno, dude. What do you think fits with that beat?”

“I actually don’t have any love songs on the album, that might fit…” Sasha’s voice trailed off as she mused on this. She thought about this for a while actually, ever since she reunited with Bayley. She wanted to write about forbidden love, subtle love that had to hide from the public eye to sustain itself. But was this really love though?

Just let it die with no goodbyes

Details don't matter, we both paid the price

Bayley’s facial muscles did a mixture of a smile and a frown. “A love song? On the Boss album?”

“I can’t be one dimensional, Bay, you know that. Every song can’t be about being a Legit Boss. I need something that people can feel deep inside. Something sad, maybe?”

Bayley looked away again, embarrassed by the thoughts bubbling into her mind. The bubbles were becoming a turbulence of curiosity. Almost everything Sasha said was cryptic. A sad love song? Did she see someone when we weren’t talking? Is she seeing someone else now?

Or…

Could this be about—

Sasha clapped her hands together suddenly. “I’m just gonna do it! I’m going into the booth, and Bay, go sit at the control panel.”

Baby, I must confess

We were bigger than anything

Remember us at our best

Sasha greatly enjoyed this. This felt like old times with her former best friend. She repeated a few bars until they sounded just right into the microphone, and she was directing Bayley on the control panel. Bayley sat at the music control panel on numerous occasions in the past and had a good foundation on what she was doing with the different meters, knobs, buttons to adjust the beat and accentuate Sasha’s voice.

“I need that bass to hit a little harder in my headphones,” Sasha said, nodding at Bayley.

Bayley gave her a thumbs up and slowly moved a small lever up until Sasha then returned her thumbs up from inside of the glass music booth.

“Now, where’s my snare? I need that to loop in some more,” commanded Sasha from within the booth as she pointed at Bayley.

Bayley grinned and pressed a button, then adjusted the knob to change the frequency of how often the snare drum appeared in the beat.

“That’s too much,” laughed Sasha into the microphone, “Turn it down… OK, that’s it, baby.”

Sasha’s rapping was smooth and effortless, her voice danced over the intricate beat pattern in a catchy tempo that allured listeners. Bayley was enamored, but honestly, when was she not enamored with Sasha Banks?

The freestyle lyrics were not sorrowful, there were more… intriguing as Bayley listened closely. Bayley pretended to be more interested in the control panel but she had a mix of emotions listening to Sasha rap. This was not a sad love song… this was a friends with benefits song and Sasha bragged about how she did not need anyone but others needed her. How her love is essential: like air, like water; but also, how she does not need to love someone to make them feel special. It was difficult, but Bayley knew she was not the topic of discussion, this likely had nothing to do with her and this is how the Boss is; everyone wants to be with the Boss but she is independent, self-made. Bayley continued to block out her uncomfortable feelings during the session, she had to smile and nod for her friend, because that was more important. She had to put their friendship first, because Sasha often did, and Bayley made critical mistakes in the past.

Sasha watched Bayley as she freestyle rapped in the booth, her friend was grinning proudly while sitting at the control panel. Sasha beckoned to her with her fingers, motioning her to come into the booth. Bayley looked around in mock surprise and pointed at herself, Sasha giggled as she saw her mouth: “you want me in there, Mamacita?”

In the booth, Bayley stood behind Sasha and held her hips. Their bodies swayed with the music as Bayley pressed against Sasha tightly, the heat rising in the booth. Sasha felt Bayley’s body, her energy, and it took a tremendous effort to focus on her music, focus on the microphone. When all she wanted to do was melt in her friend’s strong arms. Slowly, Sasha continued her friends with benefits rap:

“Dripped up, swagged out, and Papi sees what I’m talking ‘bout /

We’re together, the lights are on, havin’ fun, there’s no doubt /

She wants the Boss, she needs the Boss /

When you’re all alone, give the Boss a shout”

Late nights, playing in the dark

And waking up inside my arms

…You'll always be in my heart

For what felt like the millionth time in the past few days, Sasha ran her fingers through Bayley’s hair. Bayley’s perfume was a flowery scent, very alluring, like the roses one would receive on Valentine’s Day. She savored the feeling of soft, shiny black hair in one hand, while her other hand gripped her friend’s powerful, hard back muscles. Bayley smiled into Sasha’s neck, they were both naked in Sasha’s bed after the studio session. Their antics in the booth led them into the bedroom. Bayley was positioned on top, her right hand holding Sasha’s thigh, her left hand clenching the white bed sheets, while Sasha’s legs were wrapped around her hips. Bayley smiled and laughed into Sasha’s neck, her breath heavy on Sasha’s beautiful skin. She craved Sasha’s touch.

Bayley’s lips proceeded down from Sasha’s neck and below her collarbone, she kissed Sasha’s upper chest. She could hear Sasha’s pleasurable gasps, a sweeter sound than the music they created earlier in the evening. Her lips pressed hard into Sasha’s skin, she gripped her flesh between her lips lightly and sucked. Sasha’s gasps were a bit louder and then Bayley suddenly pulled away, and rolled off of her friend to lay on her back beside her.

“Fuck. Sorry.”

She almost left a hickey on Sasha’s chest. Sasha had marked her with quite a few but Bayley knew it was inappropriate for her to do this to Sasha. Sasha, who was always in the media, in the public eye, who so many people were in love with. Based on her song tonight, friends with benefits came easy to the Boss, and they were fun and replaceable. And who knows who else Sasha spent her days with… she never contacted Bayley until night fall. Sasha, who always gets what she wants.

Sasha… who did not belong to Bayley.

“What’s wrong?” whispered Sasha, perplexed, turning to Bayley to rub her arm.

Bayley grinned, embarrassed. “I almost marked you. I’m sorry, I’ll be more careful.”

“Bay, I gave you so many already, it’s really not a big deal,” giggled Sasha, as her fingertips brushed along one of the love bites on Bayley’s neck.

Bayley turned to her left, giving her friend a serious look. “Yeah, um… and it’s none of my business but I shouldn’t do that to you, you’re the Boss so there might be other people you’re with—”

“What? Like who? Are you with someone else?” Sasha asked incredulously, her brows furrowed in concern.

“No!” said Bayley quickly, “I’m just with you, I’m not sleeping with anyone else.”

“I’m just with you too, Bay. C’mon, I’m not like that, I don’t trust many people,” responded Sasha, still irritated with Bayley.

Bayley sighed. “But the song you made tonight, dude… I mean…”

“What about it? Are you being serious right now?!” Sasha interrupted rather loudly, “Bay, you know how rappers are. We have to boast on these songs, it’s all part of the business. Ask my manager, ask Snoop — even ask the fans! Everyone knows that.”

“Dude, I’m sorry—”

“So what is this really about, Bayley? There’s something bothering you, what is it?” asked Sasha.

Bayley shook her head and sighed again, looking away from Sasha due to fear. “Sash, baby… So you’re saying we’re not seeing anyone except each other but you won’t put a label on what this is between us—”

Sasha interrupted her again: “I told you, we’re friends. What other labels do we need? What else do you want?”

Bayley cringed. “Are we doing shit that friends would be doing? We sleep together every night.”

Made of glass, the way you see through me

You know me better than I do…

Sasha shut her eyes, vexed and bordering into infuriated. She tugged on the bed sheets to pull them up over her nude body and she turned again, staring at Bayley. Bayley was still looking up at the ceiling timidly, laying on her back. Sasha wanted to scream at her. She wanted to point out Bayley’s violent mistakes last fall, the way they punished each other in the cell. She strongly believed that Bayley should just be happy with even being in her life again, let alone sharing her bed. Sasha continued to ponder as she stared at her friend with pursed lips.

She finally spoke, softly, after a long, uncomfortable silence: “I know it’s hard to figure that stuff out now. We haven’t talked in so long and just got back together as friends on Sunday. If this is not a good situation for you, I understand, and we can stop. We can try to go back to the way our friendship was before.”

“I’m sorry, Sasha. I really… I really love being with you like this. And I’m here to be whatever you need me to be, you know that,” Bayley whispered, turning her gaze to Sasha.

“I need you to be my friend, Bayley. And I also like when we spend time together like this. I like waking up in your arms every morning,” Sasha said quietly with a smile.

Bayley returned her smile. “I like that too. Well, if we’re only seeing each other, it’s like we’re in a relationship… or something.”

Sasha chuckled. “In a strange way… but I’m not sure if that’s what I need right now. My life has become so crazy busy.”

The muscles in Bayley’s heart twitched painfully. Sasha caught the change in Bayley’s expression. Sasha moved closer to her in bed, then rested her head on Bayley’s chest as Bayley put an arm around her.

“Things are different between us, I know we’re trying to make our friendship work out. I’m yours and I hope you’re mine,” Sasha whispered, her fingers drawing circles on Bayley’s abs.

Bayley’s heart skipped a few beats and she held her breath at those words.

“Always. Sash, I belong to you,” Bayley said, breathing heavily as Sasha’s fingers traveled down her abdomen. After everything that was said tonight, after blocking out her own pain, Bayley could not resist Sasha’s whims.

Still, even after an evolution in their relationship, they still could not find the right words, or possibly, the right word is there but left unsaid because it was easier to live in nuance and innuendo. It was easier to continue the half-measures of their best friendship, and to continue to repress the deeper feelings of love because, maybe the time was not right yet.

“I want you, Bayley, and I want your mark on my chest. It’s not fair that I did that to you, so you should do it to me,” Sasha suggested seductively.

“Are you sure…?”

Before anymore words could leave Bayley’s lips, Sasha was kissing her again. Firmly. Ferociously. Grabbing onto Bayley’s strong body, hoping to never let go.

I wanna love me

The way that you love me

…For all of my pretty and all of my ugly too

I'd love to see me from your point of view

I wanna trust me

The way that you trust me

‘Cause nobody ever loved me like you do

I'd love to see me from your point of view

- Ariana Grande, "POV"

Chapter Text

Bayley continually glanced behind her, she took this opportunity whenever Seth gazed occasionally outside of the window as he droned on and on. She sat in a booth in a diner with Seth and Murphy, they had brunch together after training at Seth’s crossfit gym. Bayley was glancing at the counter because Alexa, Nikki, and Bray were perched there, chatting excitedly about pancakes. Bayley and her group already finished their food, and waited for their check as they sipped on coffee.

“Bayley.”

Bayley’s head whirled around quickly to look at Seth when he called to her.

“Have you been paying attention at all?” he asked in a stern tone.

“Yeah, dude. I heard you the first 50 times, I get it! They won’t be a problem on Smackdown tomorrow, we got this in the bag,” said Bayley confidently as she punched Murphy playfully on the arm. Murphy sat next to her in the booth, he nodded silently in agreement, while Seth sat in front of them.

Seth’s eyes flashed angrily. “Role Model, this is not a joke. We need to take this seriously. Murphy and I are currently on a losing streak as a tag team, and now we’re in this big 3 person tag match tomorrow! We open the show, so we can’t mess this up!”

“Dude! How many times are you gonna repeat this? Don’t worry, calm down, Seth. I’m not worried about the Street Profits or Bianca tomorrow,” chuckled Bayley. She attempted to exude bravado even though she too was nervous about tomorrow’s match. She, Murphy, and Seth were facing the Smackdown Tag Team Champs, the Street Profits and Bianca Belair in a 3 person mixed tag match.

“Well, if you remember on Sunday night, Bianca eliminated you from the Rumble in about 5 seconds,” Seth said gruffly, crossing his arms.

Bayley sighed and frowned. “Dude, don’t remind me. There won’t be a repeat of that. She’s done for.”

“We need a win—”

Seth was interrupted by the arrival of their waitress, a young woman with long, wavy brown hair and green eyes.

“Excuse me,” she said politely, then placed the check down on the table, she slid the paper to Bayley.

Seth cleared his throat and glanced sideways at Murphy.

“I can take that,” Murphy said hurriedly, reaching over for the check.

The waitress gave him a cold look and moved the check even closer to Bayley, and Bayley noticed that the waitress wrote her name and phone number on the receipt.

“This is for you only, Daddy,” the waitress remarked to Bayley with a grin.

Murphy’s eyebrows raised high into his forehead. Seth’s mouth opened and he appeared delightfully shocked. Bayley looked up at the woman, smiling sheepishly. The woman winked, smiling broadly at Bayley before walking away.

“Here Murphy, maybe she’ll like you if you call her,” joked Bayley, sliding the paper over to Murphy.

“But really, what’s the whole Daddy and Papi thing? I keep seeing that on Twitter when fans tweet you,” Seth said with great amusement.

“Oh, you look at their tweets?” chuckled Bayley, “I dunno, dude. I don’t pay attention to that stuff.”

“You’re popular with the ladies. So… are you dating anyone?” Seth questioned with a gossiping sparkle in his eyes.

Seth was usually in a bad mood or too serious for her liking so this was very odd to hear that question from him. Bayley grinned shyly.

“What kinda question is that? Not exactly—”

“Well, you are or you aren’t,” Murphy piped in finally, he was silent for most of the conversation and Bayley was often surprised whenever Murphy spoke when they all hung out together.

“He’s right. So, who’s the lucky man or woman, Bayley?” Seth asked with a laugh.

Bayley sighed with exasperation and she glanced around again. “Hey! I don’t ask you guys all that stuff… well, are you guys with anyone?”

Interestingly, Seth and Murphy looked away, avoiding her gaze and each other’s gaze in an uncomfortable silence.

She could not stifle a smile when she saw a text message notification from “Papacito” pop up on her smartphone display. Sasha was having brunch at an upscale restaurant with Charlotte and Becky. Throughout that morning, Sasha fidgeted nervously with her white top that had a deep plunge, Bayley left a love bite on her upper chest that she covered with makeup today but she still felt self conscious as if even the most powerful concealer in the world would not hide Bayley’s symbol of passion. Becky glanced down at Sasha’s phone too and whistled, setting her wheat toast down on her plate.

“Papacito, eh?” Becky said with a humorous glint in her eyes, enunciating the vowels.

“What? Becky, stop looking at my phone,” laughed Sasha, turning her phone over on the table.

“Who’s the lucky guy?” Becky continued, picking up her toast again to take a bite.

Charlotte scoffed, smiling with a champagne glass filled with orange juice in hand. “Becks, she doesn’t have to tell us if she doesn’t want to.”

“Char has a point, mind your own business!” Sasha said with a loud, sharp laugh.

Becky shrugged, munching on her toast.

“But… we are curious, aren’t we?” Charlotte grinned over at Becky before glancing back at Sasha.

“Did they put alcohol in your drink?” Sasha joked, “Really… it’s nothing serious. Just someone I talk to every now and then.”

“Roman Reigns?” Becky said swiftly before filling her mouth with food again, she stared determinedly at Sasha.

Sasha’s jaw dropped. “What? No!”

“We saw the photoshoot, Sasha, you have lots of chemistry with him,” giggled Charlotte, the orange juice swishing around in her glass as she laughed.

“You’re drunk Char and it’s not even noon! We’re just friends,” protested Sasha, her face stony.

“This is only orange juice! And you know, he did ask us what we had planned for your birthday next week,” Charlotte said before finally sipping from her glass.

The topic that Sasha knew would arise in the conversation was finally mentioned. She looked away, uncomfortable.

“Don’t be so shy, Boss. We’re going to surprise you on your special day, and we thought we’d warn you first since you don’t seem like the type to like surprises. You’re gonna love it!” explained Becky.

“Yeah… and um, have you guys talked to Bayley at all about this?” asked Sasha quietly.

“Why the fuck would we do that?” Becky asked, exchanging confused looks with Charlotte.

“My birthday might be a good time to um, include her back in our group,” Sasha said, and her tone became more uncertain as the looks from her friends at the table became more and more confused.

“Are you sure you’re not drunk?” teased Becky with a raucous laugh.

“You can’t be serious,” Charlotte said skeptically with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, how long are we gonna do this to her?” Sasha said, annoyed.

Becky looked at Sasha in astonishment. “Are ya fucking kidding? Didn’t we decide that we’re done with that monster? After what she did to you… and did you see what happened to her at the Rumble? It’s embarrassing that she was ever a part of us in the first place.”

Bayley was swiftly attacked and easily tossed over the top rope by Bianca at the Royal Rumble and everyone remarked that this was the fastest elimination in the history of the Rumble.

“She was our friend for a long time, maybe let’s give her a chance—”

Sasha was interrupted by a loud chuckle from Charlotte’s red lips.

“No, we’re not going to let her ruin your special day, Sasha. We trusted her, and she tried to end your career. She’s not your friend, she’s not our friend. When she betrayed you, she betrayed all of us.”

“We’ve talked about this so many times, we should—” Sasha abruptly stopped talking because her phone started ringing. She quickly turned it over. Her manager, Mel Mack was calling her.

“Becky, Char, sorry — I have to take this,” she said hurriedly and stood up. She answered the phone as she was exiting the restaurant.

“Hey Mel.”

“Boss! What is all this on social media?”

“What?—”

“These kids posted photos of you a couple days ago, and what’s this about a bodyguard?” Mel snapped, highly irritated.

“What the hell—”

Mel interrupted her again: “You were at a Japanese bakery on Monday and some kids in wrestling shirts took pictures with you, and they said your bodyguard was the photographer!”

Shit.

“Oh yeah, they were fans. What’s the problem?” Sasha asked hesitantly, hoping that Mel would stop mentioning the bodyguard situation.

“Did you hire someone to be your bodyguard? If you want to hire someone, I need to know so that I can budget out the finances. And do you even need a bodyguard?” Mel questioned dubiously.

“It’s fine, it was just a one time thing! I paid her for that one time and that’s it, she’s not on my payroll,” answered Sasha, keeping her tone even.

She always had this strange feeling that Mel could see right through her, that Mel knew if someone was lying.

“Alright… and one of the kids has a hit tweet saying she thinks your bodyguard is Billie,” said Mel.

“Billie Kay?” Sasha was so confused at this point.

“I don’t know! I don’t remember the names of all of your co-workers… you know, Billie! Your best friend turned enemy?”

“Oh! You mean Bayley!” giggled Sasha but then she returned to a serious tone, “And no, what the hell! Fans these days will say anything on social media. The bodyguard was definitely someone else. I don’t even talk to Bayley anymore.”

There was a short pause.

“Hm. Alright, there are now plenty of conspiracy theories on Twitter and Instagram on who this bodyguard is and the majority of them say that you are back with Bayley.”

“Mel, are you really looking at fan tweets and fan posts as reliable sources? You sound so insane right now. I don’t have a bodyguard, the bodyguard was a one time thing and I’m happy that person was around because I didn’t know fans would run up on me at a bakery,” Sasha declared defiantly.

“OK Boss, what was the name of the person you hired?” Mel asked slowly.

Another pause.

Sasha thought quickly, anxiety rising up in her voice. “I don’t even remember at this point. Monday seems so long ago! I’m so busy, I can’t remember every single little detail of each and every day!”

“Are you sure you’re OK? I saw you that morning and you seemed so out of it. You seem off right now, and I’m worried about you, Boss,” Mel said solemnly.

“Don’t worry, really, I’m fine. I’m just busy with the usual work drama but I’m good. I’ll let you know if I need anything. I have to go.”

They said their good-byes and Sasha ended the call. Sasha sighed, her palms were sweaty. She looked around, thinking of what to do next. She stood on the sidewalk of a busy street, she felt dizzy as cars zoomed past her. She had to tell Bayley. They had to be more careful.

The playground was deserted, but it was always deserted at this time of night.

Alexa Bliss sat in a swing, her hands gripping the metal supporting the swing and her shoes swept lazily over the sand beneath her. Her hands were covered in fingerless white gloves, the words “pain” and “play” on the side of each glove. Her bright blonde hair was in neat pigtails, the ends of her hair were a shocking pink color. She wore a colorful pink and blue t-shirt with unicorn designs, denim shorts and white sneakers. Her best friend, Nikki Cross, sat in the swing next to her, clad in a white sleeveless top, frayed denim vest, purple jeans with several holes, as well as purple and black sneakers. Bray Wyatt sat in front of her on the wood boundary that separated the swings from the rest of the playground that they inhabited. He wore his usual red sweater with black jeans, and black boots.

They were giggling about their recent adventures and discussing the ice cream they enjoyed earlier in the evening. They decided to use this Thursday before Smackdown as an off day, to catch up on rest and fun.

A biting, frigid breeze cut through the nighttime heat, ruffling their clothing. They stopped talking abruptly. Alexa noticed that the sky above them was suddenly cloudless, and she did not remember the moon shining this brightly before. Now, the moon felt like a spotlight, illuminating the dark scene of the playground. Alexa found the moon to be harsh, intrusive, as if it brought light to the privacy of her friendships with the people she adored all around her. Several red rose petals mixed in with the passing breeze, and the petals scattered throughout the sand around them. Bray grinned devilishly as he watched the petals fall to the ground, he could not stifle his giggles and glee. Nikki glowered at the petals and then glanced around. But Alexa took her time. She peacefully watched each petal fall gracefully to the sand, like bloody feathers from a wounded bird. She could hear a nearby crunching noise, footsteps approaching on the sandy playground. The breeze subsided, the petals dispersed all around them like dangerous still life, heralding the approach of the person that Alexa had waited for all night. The person who she knew was following them throughout the day. She finally looked up from gazing placidly at the rose petals, and she looked to her left.

The Vigilante of the women’s division was walking towards them, her usual baseball bat and steel chair were missing. She was in her familiar uniform of a black zip up hoodie, the hood covering her head, but this hoodie was unzipped fully to reveal a black tank top; she also wore loose black sweatpants and black skate shoes. Her luchador mask was a brilliant white, with a red rose design on the left cheek, blue eyes could be seen from the eye openings of the mask but otherwise the mask completely covered her nose and mouth. As she approached closer, Alexa noted that the woman was strangely wearing a piece of black tape on either side of her neck.

Bray stood up while Nikki hopped off the swing and they faced the Vigilante. Alexa was the last to move, she lazily rose from sitting on the swing.

“Hey Rose Face, did you walk out of the nearest Hot Topic?” jeered Nikki, and she smiled when Bray giggled at her joke.

There was a long pause, it was silent except for Bray and Nikki’s laughter filling the warm night air. Alexa thought she saw an outline of a slight smile on the Vigilante’s mask.

“I could ask the same of you,” the masked woman whispered, her voice a soft growl.

Bray whooped into more gales of laughter while Nikki frowned. Nikki reached into her jeans pocket and suddenly pulled out a small, shiny item, then she clicked a button on the item with her thumb and everyone discovered that she was armed with a switchblade. Bray stopped laughing to give Nikki a bewildered look. Alexa’s expression became flat as she gazed at the weapon in Nikki’s hand. The Vigilante stared, unblinking, at Nikki. Nikki took a menacing step forward.

“I’m already tired of you and no one has taught you any manners yet. You know, it’s rude to follow us,” Nikki stated through gritted teeth, she gripped the switchblade so tightly that her knuckles looked very pale.

“Ah, well you know what they say about stalkers—” Bray started in a bright tone.

“Enough. Then fight me, Cross,” challenged the Vigilante, her voice barely audible and somewhat muffled by the mask, but still dangerous.

Nikki’s eyes widened in a wild expression of fury but she was held by Bray before she could charge at the masked woman. He laughed as Nikki struggled in his grip, and he seemed to be ignoring the knife that Nikki was waving around.

Alexa smiled at her friends peacefully before turning back to the masked woman. “That’s not why you’re here, you don’t want a fight. If you did, you’d have your little bat and your little chair. So, tell us, how can we help you?”

The Vigilante stared at Alexa, like a statue, and did not answer. Nikki’s struggle and Bray’s laughter echoed throughout the playground.

Alexa looked around at her friends, and motioned her head to the side. “Bray, Nikki, give us a moment alone, please.”

Bray gave Alexa an exaggerated frown, then he suddenly smiled childishly before releasing Nikki and walking away. Nikki lingered, staring at the Vigilante with deep hatred, the switchblade twitching in her right hand. She relaxed when Alexa touched her wrist.

“I’ll be fine, baby. She won’t hurt me. Go with Bray,” Alexa murmured to Nikki. Her voice was pleasant, sweet but still commanding.

“I’ll be watching, Lexi,” said Nikki gruffly, not taking her eyes off the masked woman before she started walking in Bray’s direction in the playground.

Alexa sighed as she watched them saunter away, then she slowly turned her attention to the Vigilante. Alexa peered into the ice blue eyes of the taller woman, her own light blue eyes had a red glint that was accentuated by the moonlight above them. Her lips curled into a coquette smile as her eyes fell on the Vigilante’s torso, her eyes hungrily admiring the well built body before her.

“My, my… you really are everything they say about you,” Alexa whispered flirtatiously.

There was another lengthy pause in the conversation. Alexa took this time to examine the woman in front of her, her smile becoming wider as her eyes fell on certain areas of anatomy. She moved closer to the Vigilante. Alexa reached out slowly, gently grasping onto one of the drawstrings on the woman’s pants. The woman did not flinch, she was unyielding and her eyes continued to gaze at Alexa. Unblinking.

“What do they say?” The Vigilante asked in a soft, measured tone, still standing immobile.

“That you’re mysterious, brave, sexy…” Alexa’s voice trailed off as she focused on the Vigilante’s tight black tank top and the drawstrings of her pants. The Vigilante watched her silently.

“But you know,” Alexa continued with a grin, “I feel so sorry for you. People only wear masks to hide their pain.”

“What do you want on Smackdown?” A harsh, abrupt whisper from unseen lips.

Alexa giggled and tugged on the drawstring. “I was waiting for you to say something about Smackdown. Finally! Oh, and did she send you here to ask that?”

The Vigilante blinked.

“Oh, c’mon. Don’t give me that. Let’s be adults here and tell the truth. I know what you want and I know who sent you,” teased Alexa.

“No one sent me. Answer my question, Bliss.” Tested patience, and a harsh, low growl.

“I like the color blue. Can you blame me?” Alexa laughed loudly, “There’s something blue and shiny that I want. And I know you’re helping her… but if you can help me, then I have something very special for you.”

A pause.

Alexa released the drawstring and then her fingers started to creep up the Vigilante’s abdomen, stopping at a few light red marks on her chest. Alexa stopped smiling and looked very seriously into the taller woman’s ice blue eyes.

“I know she did this to you. Love doesn’t have to hurt like that. I can show you, if you’d let me,” Alexa whispered tenderly.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. And I help no one. You need to stay on Raw, stay away from Smackdown.” The growl was slightly louder, and more familiar to Alexa’s ears.

“I can look into your eyes and I know what your heart wants. I can take the pain away. Join our cause, and join me,” Alexa said, a trance-like nature to her voice. She looked deeply, lovingly, into the Vigilante’s eyes. Alexa’s fingertips still brushing over the red love bites.

“No. Stay away from the Smackdown belt,” repeated the Vigilante, her stoic nature was breaking down and anger rising in her voice. She turned her head quickly when she heard an eruption of voices from within the playground. She noticed that Bray was giggling profusely about something Nikki showed him on her phone.

The Vigilante’s attention was quickly brought back to Alexa, as the blonde woman gripped her chin and pulled her face back towards her. Her touch was gentle but powerful.

“She doesn’t love you.”

The Vigilante’s jaw relaxed within Alexa’s grip, her eyes softened after Alexa’s proclamation. Alexa looked into her eyes, searchingly, like an x-ray.

“But I will love you. Bayley, let me in,” Alexa’s voice was so soft, empathetic.

The Vigilante’s throat went dry, her heart beat seemed to slow down and she became more conscious of her heart’s movements in her chest. She stared at Alexa, completely unnerved. Disturbed at Alexa’s revelation.

Alexa smiled up at her and kissed her cheek, close to the rose design on her mask. Alexa’s kiss sent electricity throughout her body and her vision was suddenly clouded by a deep red color. The Vigilante could feel Alexa release her chin, and she looked around wildly as the world was drenched in red. It was as if blood was in her eyes.

Bayley ripped the mask off her face in her blindness, and then the world returned back to focus. She stood alone in the dark playground. She glanced around nervously, Alexa was gone. Nikki and Bray who were standing off in the distance before, had now disappeared. Bayley fell to her knees on the sand, she felt weak and nauseous. She was sweating, and she sputtered and coughed, her luchador mask slipping out of her hands and onto the ground. She saw with dismay that Alexa’s pink lipstick had left a kiss imprint on the white mask.

Hills have eyes, the hills have eyes

Who are you to judge? Who are you to judge?

I only call you when it's half-past five

The only time I'd ever call you mine

I only love it when you touch me, not feel me

When I'm fucked up, that's the real me

When I'm fucked up, that's the real me

- The Weeknd, "The Hills"

Chapter Text

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -

over and over announcing your place

in the family of things.

- Mary Oliver, “Wild Geese”

Drizzles of rain finally broke through the forming clouds above, creating a hazy view of the city lights. Greens, purples, reds, all obscured through this evening mist. Or maybe, it was just her vision. She rubbed her eyes again. Still, everything looked the same. She rolled up her sweater sleeves to her elbows, the rain lightly patting her skin. Tattoos exposed. It was a warm, uncomfortable rain, while the atmosphere was already drenched in the Florida heat. Even the absence of the sun did not provide relief. She looked up into the sky, into the treacherous gray clouds that seemed to mock her misfortune with precipitation. She blinked ruefully, sighed, and looked forward again into the city lights.

She made no eye contact with others as she walked on a busier sidewalk, her left hand pulling the black hood down further to shield her eyes while her right hand was in her pants pocket which contained a familiar fabric. Her fingers clutched tightly to the mask she removed in a frenzy of desperation tonight. Without the baseball bat or the chair at her side, the mask was her security blanket. It felt more like her real face. Without the mask, sometimes she felt dishonest and unworthy. She saw the looks in the locker room, noticed the sideways glances in catering, the jokes at the Rumble.

When she wore the mask, those same faces were instead joyful, in awe.

Bayley felt sick. Her stomach churned as she walked quickly. Her phone vibrated several times in her pocket.

Sasha.

She thought about telling her that she did not feel well, and walking back home to sleep in her own bed alone. She knew that the text messages were probably another request that Sasha created to lure her into the music studio late at night. She dearly wished to hold Sasha in bed though, her friend’s soft skin pressed against her own under the warm blanket. Sasha’s blue hair often draped over her skin, also soft and comforting, and beautiful. She craved Sasha’s touch, and thought about Sasha’s bright fingernails and gentle fingertips on her back, Sasha’s hands sweeping upward and her nails digging into her neck and undercut. Sasha’s moans of pleasure in her ear. Bayley always thought about these things. Even before the benefits, in the weeks prior when they were not friends, Bayley thought of Sasha’s touch often - her hugs and caresses.

Now, she failed Sasha Banks again. Alexa Bliss confirmed that she knew Bayley’s secret. The mystery of the Vigilante was a source of power, and now that power evaporated. Alexa was pursuing the Smackdown title, possibly because double champions are still trendy in the wrestling world and because the Fiend was filling her head with reflections of conquering the division. Bayley would keep standing in their way, like she did tonight, because Sasha deserved to be champion and she did nothing to spark the ire of these clowns.

Sasha deserved the world.

And Bayley knew she could not give Sasha the world.

But I’ll give her myself.

In comparison, Sasha was her entire world. And she was afraid to tell her that. And it made Bayley nauseous knowing that she was kissed by someone else tonight, not by the woman she fell in love with.

Liv Morgan really thought that a greeting would be enough. She stepped out of her apartment to run into a convenience store to fulfill her craving for snack foods, and she ran into three drunk men who recognized her as “that hot wrestler chick.” They followed her on the street, jeering and obnoxious, continuing to seek her attention. The air was growing colder although the rain felt unusually warm on Liv’s skin. Liv could feel the goosebumps rising on her forearms while her own irritation filled her chest, her face flushing red in anger.

“Hey guys, stop following me,” Liv said, finality in her words.

“Or what?” laughed one of the men drunkenly.

Liv breathed heavily, and strangely, the air she puffed out of her lips seemed to create a frost in front of her in the night air.

In this chill, the men’s laughter was strangled into a halt. Everything happened so suddenly that Liv dropped her plastic bag of snacks and stepped back.

A metal trash can lid collided with a man’s head, and he dropped suddenly like the bag. The other men whirled around, wide eyed and frightened. A shin to the groin area, and the bent apart lid again crashed into a skull again but this time, the base of the skull. This man crumpled into the rain soaked side walk. The last man was backing away with his arms out in surrender at the dark figure approaching. Liv watched the scene apprehensively, she knew she should run but she was transfixed on this violence.

The drunk man stopped, he could not move backwards any further and felt the cold stone of a building behind him.

His voice was frantic, panicked. “Please… please don’t. What d'you want? You can have my wallet!"

He looked into piercing blue eyes and a white mask framed with a black hood. This person did not seem human. He suddenly felt himself choking, sputtering for air as his attacker wrapped her hands around his neck, she further shoved him into the wall.

“Tell her you’re sorry.” A whisper. So soft. Dangerous.

It seemed like the words came from the mask, there was an outline of lips on the shiny mask but he did not see them move. His face reddened, he could hardly breathe, his lips purpled.

“What?…” he managed to stutter out, the strong grip around his larynx was applying deadly pressure.

Wrong answer.

Swiftly, the hands around his throat tightened even more, his shoes skidded around in the wet gravel, his lungs were desperate for air. The masked figure smashed the back of his head into the stone wall, and her blank face grew nearer. Blue eyes unblinking, tinted with madness and fury. He was slowly losing consciousness from the lack of air but her yell caught his attention.

“I said apologize to her, you fucking asshole!”

“I’m s-sorry! Please! I’m… s-sorry!” he choked out in Liv’s direction, almost sobbing.

The Vigilante’s grip slackened when she felt Liv’s hand on her shoulder.

“Hey… I think he gets the point, V,” Liv whispered calmly.

The Vigilante violently threw the man aside, using the brute strength in her upper body. He collapsed to the ground. She picked up the forgotten trash can lid, she roughly flattened the bent areas before bashing it repeatedly onto his head and neck. The sobs broke free from his lips.

“Hey! V!” Liv called, and she reached out for the masked woman again. At Liv’s touch, the Vigilante stopped and threw the destroyed lid down at the man’s bloody, battered face before turning around to walk away into the rain.

“Hey!”

She continued walking away as Liv called out to her, Liv’s footsteps were fast approaching though. Another touch on the shoulder and the luchador turned around quickly, and they almost collided into each other. Liv’s reflexes helped her step aside in the side walk to avoid contact, she was clutching the plastic bag again.

“V… um. Thank you. You didn’t have to do that but, um, are you OK?” she asked the masked woman uncertainly.

The Vigilante stared at Liv for a moment, and then looked away, shutting her eyes. She felt ill again, sick to her stomach. Alexa’s little trick earlier in the night that clouded her sight still affected her. She was also nauseous because of her recent actions, she overreacted and left three men incapacitated in the street.

“Liv… are you alright?” A low growl, almost inaudible even over the light drizzle of rain.

Liv smiled sweetly, swinging the bag by her side shyly. “Well yeah, I feel better now that you’re here.”

The masked woman stared at Liv, and Liv thought she saw a shadow of a smile. The woman turned away again, and her left arm was outstretched towards a nearby window pane of a building, as if using these structures to guide herself as she sauntered. Liv frowned as she watched.

The Vigilante could feel waves of nausea pulsate through her stomach, her face felt warm and her mouth started to water in preparation for acid. She wanted to take off her mask and vomit in the street but she knew Liv was still nearby.

“V, wait!” Liv arrived by her side again, and hugged her arm to support her.

The Vigilante had pushed her mask up a bit over her lips to drink water. The water was cool and soothing, she did not realize exactly how thirsty she was until now. She was sitting at Liv’s dinner table, and Liv sat across from her, in a black crop top and plaid shorts. Liv looked away politely as the mask lifted up to reveal lips with a glittering gloss.

She knew this was a terrible idea. She should not have accepted Liv’s offer to rest and have a drink of water. But she was not sure how much longer she could traverse in the street without getting publicly sick. Now, her stomach felt a little more settled and less turbulent. She set the water bottle down on the table and peered over at Liv, colorful gummy candy was in front of Liv, this was part of her bounty from the convenience store. The Vigilante decided not to lower her mask over her lips again, she left her face mostly concealed. Before she spoke, she was careful in how the words escaped her vocal cords, mindful of the sounds of her vowels and syllables. She had trained her voice over time, to disguise her voice as much as she disguised her face. She often opted to speak in a whisper or a growl, which was a stark contrast from the loud, high pitched bravado of the Role Model.

“Thank you.”

Liv looked at her nervously, her gaze switching between the beautiful blue eyes before her and the colorful candy in front of her. This woman always made her nervous. Her savior, her protector… and she could not resist the physical attraction.

“V…” Liv murmured carefully, and she felt like sometimes this letter was her favorite letter and would often find excuses to insert it into conversations.

The Vigilante stared at Liv as she brought the water bottle back up to her lips, to take more grateful swigs.

Liv’s gaze fell on her again. Liv examined the outline of the mystery woman’s lips, the black hood that draped loosely over the masked face. The shiny white mask, the red rose design on the left side that also had some type of pink stain adjacent to it. There were light red lesions on the woman’s chest, below her collarbones, and there were curious strips of black tape on either side of her neck. Liv mused on these things, and she also thought about how she had never seen the Vigilante outside of the Thunderdome. The night felt surreal. But the only thing that was real, that although the Vigilante’s appearance seemed odd and her actions tonight were brutal, Liv was completely and fully enamored with her.

This woman rescued her and Ruby Riott several times in the past couple of months. And she and this Vigilante did have an intimate moment weeks ago that was always on her mind. She noted a slight upturn in the Vigilante’s lips, the tenderness in the blue gaze, and these features suddenly seemed familiar to her. The gentle constellation of characteristics were something she had seen before, but it felt like a dream, like a dream one would chase every night, and each night revealed one more piece of the mystery. She knew this person but could not directly put a finger on who this was exactly.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t of… I shouldn’t of attacked those guys like that. I just…” The low growl trailed off, lips still slightly open to display bright, perfect teeth.

Liv tried to smirk. “They were following me. Just some annoying drunk dudes. I think they would have run away even if they just saw you standing there. But, maybe tonight will be a lesson that they shouldn’t be stalking women in the street.”

Her protector smiled and Liv’s heart skipped a beat.

That smile. So familiar.

Comforting.

Sexy.

Liv desperately tried to find words to fill the awkward silence in the air, she could feel her heart pounding in her chest and this was becoming more chaotic as the woman continued gazing at her and smiling at her.

“You c-could stay tonight. Just stay… the rain’s getting worse and you look pale. You can rest here, Ruby won’t be here tonight since she’s with her family,” Liv stammered nervously, her blue-grey eyes looking down again at the candy in front of her.

If Liv had more courage within her soul in this moment of truth, she would have added: You can sleep in my bed with me, if you want.

“Thank you. But I should go,” The Vigilante whispered, there was appreciation in her tone.

“Who are you?” Liv blurted out, unexpectedly.

The Vigilante blinked at her, and pursed her lips. Liv’s heart beat became more chaotic again, she was anxious that this question was upsetting but she had asked this woman so many times in the past without an answer.

Silence filled the kitchen but when Liv listened closely, the harsh patter of heavy rain could be heard outside. The Vigilante continued to stare at her, lips unmoving and did not answer her question.

Liv chuckled nervously and looked away as she spoke: “Whenever I need you, you show up. Whenever I’m alone and lost… you’re there for me. And I know, I know you’re one of us on the roster. I’m not going to tell anyone if you take your mask off. But I think I should know who my hero is.”

Silence and more blinking.

Liv sighed, still looking away and fidgeting nervously in her seat. She was shocked when the Vigilante reached out and held her hands that anxiously tapped on the table. She was forced to look into her defender’s pretty blue eyes again. Liv breathed slowly and steadily, she could feel herself melting into this woman’s strong touch.

“I can’t tell you. It’s for your own protection.” A gentle, mellow whisper that sounded very familiar to Liv’s ears.

“Why?” Liv asked.

The Vigilante smiled sadly and briefly looked away before her intense gaze returned to Liv. “You don’t want to know, and I hope you never find out why.”

Liv felt steadied while her hands were held by the calloused hands of her hero. Hands that she knew gripped heavy weights in the gym, hands that protected, shielded those who needed it the most. She had to respect the masked woman’s privacy but she did not want the night to end. Her own voice surprised her.

“Just stay, V. Please stay,” she repeated to the Vigilante, “You can keep the mask on. It’s cold and rainy out there. You can sleep in my bed, and I… I’ll sleep in Ruby’s room.”

The heaviness of these words created a palpable tension in the apartment. They held hands, to comfort each other, to keep each other centered as if they would both drift out of orbit if they let go. Loneliness can cause this: this loss of balance and self awareness. They had to be each others anchor in this moment. The Vigilante’s jaw tensed and Liv knew she was thinking carefully of how to respond to her offerings.

The luchador was confused. She rushed into an assumption tonight and left strangers battered in the streets of downtown Orlando. She protected Liv but understood that many would find this display of anger frightening. But she was extremely frustrated and had to release the rage that boiled deep within her after Alexa’s mind games tonight. She followed Alexa, Bray and Nikki for most of the day, and for what conclusion? Nothing happened other than the revelation of her identity. No further clues into why they were targeting Sasha other than Alexa coveting another title. And she allowed herself to fall prey to them at the playground, Alexa shattered her defenses and left a kiss on her cheek. A stain on her mask. And she would have to tell Sasha. There could no longer be lies between them if their friendship was truly meaningful. Or whatever they were doing, if it was sacred.

She also dreaded how furious Sasha will become when she tells her tonight about the confrontation with Alexa.

“I really have to leave.”

The Vigilante released Liv’s hands and rose from the chair, and slowly trudged to the door. Her stomach felt a bit more calm after quenching dehydration, but the thoughts of Alexa still made her nauseous. She was not in a relationship with Sasha, she did not agree to Alexa’s advances but she felt like she cheated tonight. She failed Sasha Banks in so many more ways than one.

Liv ran after her, again, as she did earlier in the evening. Liv grabbed her hand, and the Vigilante looked at her, and noted sadly, that the sclera of Liv’s eyes were red and watery, and her lips quivered.

“You don’t have to do that,” Liv said carefully, bravely, “Is there something wrong? Why… Why can’t you stay with me?”

The Vigilante’s ice blue eyes seemed to soften at these words, at Liv’s distressed tone. The ice she had worked so hard to build up around her face, around her heart in the past several weeks… Her stoic nature. It was slowly melting, dissolving. She wished to embrace Liv, as she had in the past. And she did have feelings for her, in Sasha’s absence, feelings that were difficult to ignore when she rescued Liv a couple times. And especially in one intimate moment, holding Liv in her arms and Liv hugged her neck, murmuring “thank you, love” in her ear, astonished by her heroism. She discovered redemption in Liv’s eyes, in Liv’s touch. She dragged her body through pain and injury, in repentance. To seek forgiveness from those she wronged. To ask even herself for forgiveness. She hoped Liv forgave her, and that meant so much more than words could express. A small part of her knew, as well, a tiny fraction within the electrical currents of her heart hoped that Liv knew who she was underneath the mask. That Liv was amazed with Bayley, as much as she was amazed with the Vigilante.

Maybe. Hopefully.

Liv could forgive Bayley.

She could see a glimmer of her own vindication in Liv’s hopeful, blue-grey eyes. And she would not lead her on. Not here, not now. Because the lying, cheating, vicious Bayley Dos Straps was dead. And that death left a vacuum in Bayley’s soul that was unfortunately filled with malice and paranoia towards Sasha.

Bayley chose to stop disguising her voice in whispers and growls, and spoke in a normal, even tone to Liv.

“Liv, I’m so sorry. I can’t… because… I’m in love with someone and she needs me right now.”

Realization relaxed Liv’s facial muscles, she opened her mouth slightly in shock. Without much more thought, Liv’s body crashed into Bayley’s, embracing her. Bayley held her while Liv reached around and underneath the black zip up hoodie, her hands tightly pressed against the thin fabric of the tank top. Liv exhaled deeply into Bayley’s chest while Bayley stroked her platinum blonde hair. Again, they anchored each other, physically sheltered each other from the atrocities of the night.

The Vigilante pulled away slightly, finally lowered her mask over her lips, fully covering her face again. Liv looked up at the taller woman’s face, finally noticing that the stain on the mask was lipstick. She also saw the strips of tape were wearing down, since they had been out in the rain. The tape on the left side of her neck was dangling a bit, and Liv gently tugged it off. She thought she saw the outline of an embarrassed smile from the mask. Liv uncovered a very prominent hickey on the woman’s neck.

A chuckle escaped Liv’s lips, and then she hugged her hero once more.

Chapter Text

Sasha finally felt relaxed and peaceful. The rain was so loud, drumming hard against the windows, and the thunder rolled along with flashes of lightning occasionally illuminating her room. Nature played a frenzied game outside but she was warm and dry, clad in comfortable Role Model merchandise and cuddled in bed with her Bayley. She texted Bayley earlier in the evening but fell asleep in the music studio while waiting for a response. When Bayley finally arrived, she was pale and her clothes were wet from the rain. She wore all black and her hair was slicked back, and that signaled to Sasha that Bayley was worrying about something — she usually smoothed her hair down into the back of her head whenever she did this. Bayley desired to frantically discuss something but Sasha was exhausted, it can wait until tomorrow.

Sasha fell back asleep easily, her head resting on Bayley’s chest. Bayley changed into dry clothes: a white tank top and pale blue, cotton shorts. Most of her skin was still exposed and Sasha loved this sight at night, but she was too tired to partake though. She thought she heard Bayley’s heart beating quickly as she drifted back to sleep.

She woke a couple times due to the rain, and realized in the middle of the night that she was sleeping on her back and had separated from Bayley. Bayley slept on her left side next to her, so Sasha saw her back, her torso rose and fell lightly while she slept. Sasha felt more awake when the elements outside woke her for a third time and she checked her phone, it was 5:00 am, which was usually the time she would wake up anyways.

She reached out to her friend, stroking her muscular back with her finger tips. She gazed beyond Bayley at the nightstand on the left side of their large bed. The Smackdown Women’s championship belt was perched there, its leather straps folded behind it and its jewels seem to glow in the absence of light. Sasha smiled. She loved gold, it was her favorite thing in the world. Well, most of the time it was her favorite thing… but there was someone else she thought of occasionally that gave her that same fluttery feeling of happiness. She realized though that she had become so obsessed with the pursuit of championships throughout her career, and this belt positioned on her nightstand became so important to her. Sometimes when she wore it, she would stare at herself in the mirror — this belt was her.

No.

She was more than just gold.

But what if she lost it?

That’s why Alexa Bliss and the Fiend’s antics deeply infuriated her. She worked so hard for this title, to be a Grand Slam champion in the WWE. Did they even realize?! No, because everything is a fucking game and just a joke to them. Their puppets and their little funhouse…

She couldn’t block out her negative feelings for others, the paranoia that someone would take away the blue belt. These feelings amplified when she wore the belt or held it. And then there was Bayley.

Bayley.

Sasha watched her sleep, watched the peaceful pattern of her inhales and exhales in the darkness. Bayley will help me, Bayley will protect me… right? Can I trust her?

She wanted to believe Bayley’s words but it was hard. Even months after the betrayal, she still thought about it. Still dreamt about it. She could still close her eyes now and imagine Bayley’s deranged figure, body clenched in fury, as if possessed by the devil, screaming at her and hitting her. Sasha breathed deeply, centering herself and shaking her head.

No… Bayley’s trying.

Sasha looked back at her gold, and noticed Bayley’s white luchador mask laying next to it. The mask also seemed to have a strange glow in the darkness, and Sasha noticed a dark stain on it. Blood? She turned on the lamp adjacent to her, it clicked on and Bayley did not stir from sleep. She reached over Bayley to grab the mask. Now that the room was flooded with light, she realized in shock what was on the mask. Lipstick. A smeared kiss imprint.

“Bayley.”

Bayley sighed and grunted but continued sleeping.

Sasha repeated her name louder, keeping herself from yelling because that’s what she actually wanted to do. “Bayley.”

“Sash?” Bayley asked sleepily, her eyes still closed.

“What the fuck is this?”

“What?…” Still, her eyes were closed and she was still laying on her side. Bayley was never a morning person.

“Bayley! What is this?!” shouted Sasha into her friend’s ear, and she gripped Bayley’s shoulder to pull her onto her back.

Bayley’s eyes snapped open in surprise and she looked around quickly. “What—”

Sasha shoved the mask into Bayley’s face. “Whose fucking lipstick is on your mask?!”

“Sasha…” whispered Bayley, breathing heavily, “Um, I wanted to talk to you about it last night but you wanted to go to bed—”

“Answer my question!!”

Bayley spoke quickly, nervously peering into Sasha’s furious brown eyes: “I followed Alexa, Nikki and Bray last night to see what they were up to. Alexa, um, she kissed me—”

“What?”

“Sash, I didn’t want that at all, you know that! I only want to be with you. It happened so suddenly, I don’t know why she did that!”

“So, that’s what you’ve been doing? You wanna hang out with those freaks? You saw how they threatened me at the Rumble, and now you’re hanging out with them during the day but coming to my bed at night?!”

Sasha threw the white mask at Bayley’s face, and she initially was propped up on her elbow, then sat up quickly to cross her arms and stare lividly at Bayley.

Frightened, Bayley placed the mask down on the nightstand then she timidly reached out for Sasha. “Hey baby, it’s not like that, please—”

“What else have you been doing?” asked Sasha with gritted teeth, shifting aside so that Bayley could not touch her.

Bayley looked confused. “What?”

“You were stalking Alexa yesterday and then what else?” Sasha questioned angrily.

Bayley looked away briefly, pondering her choice of words. “I… ran into Liv Morgan, and she needed help. Some guys were following her—”

Sasha interrupted yet again. “Oh, so you’re flirting with Liv Morgan too, huh? I should’ve known not to fucking trust you. I let you into my bed, Bayley, and then you’re running around with a bunch of other women!”

Bayley placed a hand on Sasha’s knee and Sasha jumped away, standing up to be on the side of the bed.

“Don’t touch me, I need you to leave. Now!”

“Please, baby, let me explain to you. Nothing happened with Liv, I just helped her. And Alexa, you know that I was following her for you, to figure out what they want!” Bayley spoke loudly over Sasha’s protests.

“Don’t give me that shit, Bayley! What else would Alexa fucking want? She wants to be a double champion, duh! What else is there to figure out?” Sasha screamed, gesturing at the blue belt beside Bayley.

“I feel like it’s never that simple with them,” explained Bayley breathlessly. Fury was an understatement when it came to Sasha, and Bayley could feel herself losing hope. Sasha won’t listen. Maybe this was it, maybe they were done. Again.

Sasha laughed sharply and shook her head. “You really think I’m stupid. You’re doing something with them and you re-entered my life to spy for her, is that right? Well, you fucked that up just like you fuck up everything else, Bayley.”

Bayley sighed. She wanted to be angry as well, she wanted to scream as well and come up with some sarcastic remarks to hurt Sasha. But that was futile. There was no point in continuing this discussion.

Sasha continued on, this time in a low tone and she looked up at the ceiling. “I should’ve never trusted you.”

“Sasha… I’ve only been with you, please believe me. Alexa plays mind games and I was trying to figure out exactly what she wants. She’s been a champion for a while, so why did she only recently confront you at the PPV? Why not challenge you sooner?” Bayley wondered aloud, keeping her voice even and kind.

Sasha gazed into Bayley’s eyes, and Bayley’s mouth opened slightly when she saw the tears in Sasha’s eyes. Sasha’s voice shook as she spoke.

“Bayley, please leave.”

Chapter Text

Sasha stared at her phone but barely listened, barely paid attention. She was on FaceTime with Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch, and she wasn’t exactly sure which direction the conversation had steered too. They began with discussing Smackdown tonight and then Sasha escaped into her thoughts. She felt as if she were underwater, she heard their voices but they seemed to be muffled or maybe her ears did not register the sounds. Her thoughts were clouded with so many topics, and she was just told an hour ago that she would be handed the mic to close out the show. She had to be in the ring at 9:45 pm.

“So what d’ya say, Boss?” Becky asked suddenly over the video.

Sasha peered at her phone and furrowed her brows, she wasn’t listening so she didn’t know what Becky was asking about.

“Did you get my text about the furniture? I like the couch but Becky doesn’t, so you’ll be the tie breaker,” explained Charlotte.

“I didn’t see it,” Sasha said hurriedly, pretending as if this was a very important conversation, “Let me take a look now—”

“Ya sure you’re OK?” asked Becky loudly, staring at Sasha carefully, and as best as she could virtually.

“Are you gonna keep asking me that? I’m fine, just busy. You’re busy too Becky, with your movies and commercials, so not sure why you’re jumping all over me about this,” Sasha scoffed.

“Calm your britches, Champ!” laughed Becky, and she exchanged a smile with Charlotte, “So, ya think your friend, Alexa, will show up tonight and finally challenge for your belt?”

Sasha laughed sharply, throwing her head back a bit while laughing and this also garnered chuckles from her fellow Horsewomen.

“Maybe! But she’d be dumb to do so. Like you all have said before, she needs to worry about Raw. And, the Women’s Royal Rumble winner is on her brand, and Naomi hasn’t told us who she’s challenging yet at Mania,” said Sasha.

“Do you think Naomi will challenge you?” asked Charlotte.

Sasha laughed again. “I don’t care, I’ll take care of business regardless of who’s on the other side of the ring.”

“Ah, of course. We know ya will. But I’m excited for next Tuesday!” exclaimed Becky.

Sasha sighed. Her birthday. She was hoping for a quiet evening with her friends, but Becky and Charlotte insisted that they had a huge event planned for her. At least they warned her first, she disliked surprises.

Charlotte chuckled. “You don’t look excited, Sasha. We’re going to pick you up and blindfold you so you don’t know where we’re driving. I promise you, you will love it.”

“Hefty promise from a Queen,” quipped Sasha, and she thought a bit more before continuing, “And you all were right about Bayley, so I hope you didn’t reach out to her for an invite.”

“Of course not!” Charlotte and Becky seemed to say simultaneously. Sometimes Sasha thought they shared brain cells, the way that she and Bayley did in the past.

“Did somethin’ happen?” Becky questioned with a frown.

Sasha tilted her head, looking around and not into the camera. “We just had a brief talk and I realized why she shouldn’t be in my life.”

“And?” said Charlotte, moving closer to the camera as if they were all huddled together.

Sasha laughed again. “And what, girl? There’s nothing else. Just a brief discussion. And that’s it. We’re done!”

The choir sang in the beginning, like it always did, voices rising high together until they reached a crescendo as the ThunderDome brightened, like the sun was rising within the arena. Then the lights shuttered off, plunging everyone into a brief darkness before the pyrotechnics suddenly exploded at the top of the entrance ramp. Then the music erupted, a fast paced beat mixed with drums, and the scattered crowd chorused into boos.

Seth Rollins breathed deeply and smiled widely as he slowly sauntered, his arms outstretched and he knew the boos were really just adulation for his appearance. His right hand rose high into the air, and he grasped quickly as if trying to catch lightning out of the sky. He wore all black and his leather jacket was open, he was flanked by his Disciple, Buddy Murphy, on his right and his fellow Messiah, the Role Model, on his left. Murphy wore a tight black compression long sleeve, and black wrestling tights with gray patterns on the sides. He walked in his usual funeral march with his hands together, a foot away or so from Seth and Bayley. Meanwhile, Bayley walked alongside Seth energetically, she was shouting and trolling the fans, giving the thumbs down to the few people in the crowd and to the virtual screens. She wanted to show them a different finger but thought she shouldn’t push her luck tonight. She wore a shiny, black sleeveless entrance jacket that had a deep hood, and she wore Seth’s merchandise shirt with his face emblazoned in a stained glass-type design, and the shirt was modified with cut-off sleeves. She also wore a sleeveless, thin turtleneck under the merch shirt, to hide the obvious blemishes on her neck, and she wore black, cropped pants and black boots. She had picked up some of the red Solo cups that were scattered at the top of the ramp, and now she chucked them into the crowd and at the screens, laughing hysterically at the boos and jeers from the angry audience. Seth cackled at Bayley’s antics.

The Street Profits and Bianca Belair exited the ring as Bayley, Seth and Murphy all entered. Murphy held the ropes open for Bayley. Seth’s smile was still wide and he stretched his arms out in the middle of the ring, allowing the boos to shower over him as if they were praises. Murphy frowned, leering over at their opponents. Bayley stomped around the ring, flung off her entrance jacket and threw it in Bianca’s direction, she missed but her jacket hit Michael Cole in the face.

They fought valiantly but even their coordinated efforts were outmatched in every tag team category. As the fight trudged on, Seth reached outside of the ring for the steel chair that Murphy slid towards a turnbuckle, while Murphy and Angelo Dawkins were exchanging punches by the barricade.

“Murphy! Get back on the ring apron!” commanded Seth.

He picked up the chair and rose quickly, and he collided with the referee. The referee was furious and grabbed the chair as well, shouting that Seth could get disqualified if he used it. Seth released the chair angrily and whirled around, he was hit with a perfect clothesline from Montez Ford. Bayley was close to an opposite turnbuckle and she was slumped against the ropes after absorbing some blows from Bianca. She thought frantically of how they could cheat to win. Montez climbed to the top rope when he saw that Seth was down on the mat for a prolonged period of time, he leaped high into the heavens and then crashed into Seth’s body with a magnificent Frog Splash. The impact also affected Montez because he rolled off Seth and clutched his abdomen. As Bayley watched this, Bianca re-entered the fray and grasped Bayley onto her feet. Bayley struggled but she was effortlessly placed over Bianca’s shoulders. Bianca raced over towards Seth and dropped Bayley, the Kiss of Death, right on top of Smackdown’s self-proclaimed Savior. Bayley and Seth both screamed in agony at their collision. Bianca then shifted Bayley’s body away and she yelled for her husband, Montez, to make the pin since he and Seth were the legal competitors.

After the 3 count, the Street Profits music boomed through the loud speakers and the crowd cheered and danced. Bayley clutched at the ring apron when Murphy approached her slowly, he patted her shoulder. They saw that Seth still lay motionless in the ring.

Bayley limped along backstage, she had an arm around Murphy who supported her as she walked. Her other arm gingerly hugging her abdomen. She thought she broke a rib. Murphy held her, but he was also clutching onto their entrance ring attire in his other arm. Seth walked in front of them, still shirtless, bristling with fury and his hair was wildly askew. There were a few boxes nearby and he ran up to them, shoving them off the crates and onto the floor.

“Calm down, dude,” Bayley called to him.

Seth whirled around furiously, spit flew as he shouted. “What?! Calm down?! We were embarrassed out there, Role Model!!”

Bayley groaned from the pain, she and Murphy halted in front of Seth. Murphy couldn’t look at Seth, even though Seth’s glare moved between them. Bayley grimaced at him.

“This was our first time tagging together, we’ll make it work. Just need more time—”

“But we’ve already spent so much time practicing! I can’t keep losing like this! I haven’t won a match in months!” screamed Seth, and then he reached up and pointed a finger in Murphy’s face, “WE haven’t won a match in months!”

Bayley swatted his finger away, and Seth glared at her in surprise. “You need to calm the fuck down, you look like you’re gonna pop a blood vessel.”

Seth sighed and shook his head, then rubbed his temple. He spoke in a low tone. “Murphy, help Bayley to the trainer area.”

Murphy frowned. “What about you? You got banged up out there too.”

Seth did not respond, he turned around and walked away without another word.

It was 9:45 pm and Sasha Banks stood alone in the Smackdown ring with her championship belt around her waist. She wore her black, blue and white Legit Boss tracksuit and white Jordan shoes. Her music stopped and she lifted the microphone up to her lips, gazing around the apprehensive crowd. She was right where she wanted to be: the Main Event of the evening.

“I know everyone here saw what happened at the Rumble last Sunday,” she started, “I made Carmella tap like you all knew I would.”

The crowd cheered at these words and Sasha waited for another lull before continuing on.

“But then, Alexa Bliss, Nikki Cross, and the Fiend thought it was a good idea to steal my spotlight. I don’t back down from a challenge, and of course I was ready to hold my ground. The masked Vigilante made an appearance, but I’m the Boss and the Champ, so I don’t need friends.”

She paused again because the crowd clapped and cheered at her bravado.

“And since I’m the Boss and the Champ, I also don’t play games. I know we haven’t heard yet from the Rumble winner, Naomi, on who she’s choosing for her Mania match, but I’m tired of waiting. Naomi can take as long as she wants but I will be deciding on something tonight. So, Alexa Bliss, I know you’re here! Come out and fight me if you want your chance to be a double champion!” shouted Sasha defiantly.

The crowd roared, everyone turned to the entrance ramp.

“What? Cole, do you really think Alexa Bliss, the Raw Women’s Champion, will come out here, for a Smackdown Women’s Championship match tonight?” Corey Graves asked his partner incredulously at the announce table.

Before Michael Cole could answer, music did not explode from the speakers, and instead it was voices. The lights around Sasha became a golden swirl and she glared viciously at the entrance ramp as she realized who was answering her call. The voices were a high pitched, an angelic choir, and then the energetic strum of a guitar hit. The Titantron revealed a mashup of gold and black lines, and a familiar name appeared in the middle.

It wasn’t Alexa.

Bayley was laughing as she walked out with Murphy at her side. She was still wearing the turtleneck, Seth’s shirt, and cropped black pants while Murphy was wearing his compression long sleeve again with black wrestling tights, but Bayley’s “Know Your Role Model” shirt was tucked into his waistband. She wanted to howl louder into her microphone but it hurt her ribs.

“Sis, is this wise?” Murphy whispered, trying not to move his lips much in front of the cameras.

Bayley shot him a smirk and she waved around, signaling for the music to stop.

“Forgot about me, didn’t you? Haha,” Bayley laughed crazily, “I didn’t forget that I never got a rematch—”

“Bayley, this is really not the time for your nonsense! Leave now and I won’t hurt you,” Sasha interrupted fiercely.

“So confident, aren’t you, Boss?” Bayley said, still smirking with a sarcastic tone as she and Murphy continued to walk down the ramp.

“Bayley! I’m warning you—”

“Or what? Like I said, I haven’t forgotten that you’re wearing my title, and you never gave me a rematch after Hell in a Cell!” Bayley shouted.

The crowd booed loudly, and then they started chanting Sasha’s name. Sasha nodded around at everyone appreciatively but she did not take her eyes off Bayley. What the hell is she doing? Has she lost her fucking mind? She’s here to torment me after last night.

“Shut the hell up!” Bayley yelled around at the crowd as Murphy glowered at everyone. The crowd only became louder.

They only paused when they noticed that Sasha brought her microphone back up to her lips.

“So if Alexa’s not coming out here and looks like we still have 10 minutes to spare before the end of Smackdown. Fine Bayley, let’s see if you can beat me tonight to get the blue belt back,” Sasha stated savagely as she threw her mic down. She pointed at the referee who sat nearby the announce table and signaled for her to get into the ring.

Bayley grinned maliciously as she entered the ring, Murphy stayed by her corner and he looked quite concerned. Sasha zipped down her tracksuit, revealing a black sports bra with glittery moon designs. She threw her top aside and removed her championship belt as well. Bayley whistled and Sasha huffed furiously at this. Sasha touched just below her collarbone, Bayley’s love bite was expertly concealed with make-up.

The bell rang and they locked arms, Sasha viciously bringing Bayley’s body close to her.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” she whispered with gritted teeth at the Role Model.

Bayley’s eyes were apologetic. “Helping you.”

“What?!”

Before Sasha could say much else, Bayley kneed her in the abdomen and her grip around Bayley’s arms loosened. Bayley hammered down blows with her right forearm against Sasha’s back. But Sasha soon grabbed at Bayley’s legs and swept her onto the mat. At this impact with the mat, Bayley clutched at her sides painfully. Sasha didn’t hesitate and immediately landed several kicks onto Bayley’s abdomen.

“Hey!” Murphy called from outside of the ring and Sasha looked at him.

He found Bayley’s trusty chair underneath the ring, it was a black steel chair with an X and white spray paint; the words “ROLE MODEL” also carved into the backrest of the chair.

Sasha glared at him for running interference, while the referee yelled at Murphy to put the chair down. Sasha kicked Bayley one last time before turning her full attention to Murphy and the chair. She went outside of the ropes, on the apron area and charged at Murphy. He dropped the chair in surprise, and Sasha leaped up, falling on his neck and shoulders with a Meteora.

Bayley heard the commotion outside of the ring and she slithered out, still grasping her sides as she approached Sasha. She hit her shoulder blade with her forearm, and Sasha fell off Murphy. Murphy crawled over to collect the chair again. Bayley grabbed Sasha’s hair, but while kneeling down, Sasha jabbed Bayley’s stomach with her elbow. Bayley screamed out in pain and let go of the Champion, instead choosing to retreat back into the ring. Behind the referee who was turned around and counting, Murphy slid the chair into the ring. Bayley covered it with her body as Sasha re-entered the ring. Murphy started to wave his hands at the referee, and during this distraction, Bayley hit Sasha’s flank with the side of the chair. Sasha was livid, the air escaped from her chest and she gasped, falling to her knees. Bayley tossed the chair aside in time as the referee turned back to them. She hooked Sasha’s arm around her leg and she was ready for a Rose Plant to finish the Champion.

But Sasha was too quick. Sasha reversed this maneuver, and managed to swivel Bayley into the Bank Statement in the center of the ring. Murphy frantically climbed onto the ring apron.

“Stay out of women’s business!” Sasha bellowed at him as she pulled Bayley’s face and neck back. Bayley’s cries were muffled in this submission hold.

Suddenly, eerily, some of the lights of the ThunderDome were shut off. Sasha released Bayley in this semi-darkness and she stood up quickly, she was ready. Many of the virtual fan display screens were black or appeared static-like, and the few people in the crowd were murmuring in confused voices. The remaining lights abruptly glowed red, and the Fiend’s laughter boomed through the speakers. The Fiend’s terrible face also appeared on the Titantron, his tongue writhing out of his mask.

Bayley could feel herself sliding out of the ring, Murphy was tugging on her boots. He caught her so that she wouldn’t fall on the mat outside, he supported her weight with a muscular arm as she was sinking from a standing position beside him.

“Sis!” He shouted at Bayley, “Sis! We’ve gotta go!”

Bayley shook her head as she looked into his pale face, she stammered through her grimaces. “No, dude. We gotta get back in the ring. Protect her…”

Murphy’s face turned even more pale in this red murkiness surrounding them and he stared at Bayley, bewildered. Bayley released him and limped back over to the ring, she rolled inside. Murphy followed her.

Sasha glowered at the Titantron, at the Fiend. Her muscles tensed, her fists clenched, and she ground her teeth hard.

“Come out now! Stop with the damn games! I’m not afraid—”

Her words were cut off by the eruption of fire around her. The ring ropes were ablaze, and Sasha stumbled to the mat in shock. Bayley reached over towards her, while Murphy flung himself over both women, attempting to shield them from any harm. The Fiend’s laughter became louder as the crowd screamed in horror, people were exiting the arena because of the sudden appearance of flames. In this frenzy, Alexa Bliss slowly sauntered out from the backstage curtain and she stood serenely at the top of the entrance ramp. Her blonde hair in cute pigtails, and she wore a bright pink shirt, denim overall shorts, and white tennis shoes. Her blue eyes reflected the flames that she conjured, and her lips twisted into a smile.

From the space between Murphy’s arm and his V-shaped torso, Sasha saw Alexa. Sasha shoved Murphy off of her and she rose to her feet. Murphy and Bayley, still on their knees and clutching each other in terror, watched her as she stood close to the fiery ropes.

Alexa giggled sweetly and waved at her.

“I’m not afraid of you!” Sasha screamed at Alexa. Her words were drowned though by the Fiend’s cackle, by the heated atmosphere, by the fire threatening to burn them alive.

Chapter Text

People buzzed around her: white coats, black polo shirts, business suits, a leather jacket. She knew they were all arguing with each other, she knew they were loud, raucous. She could tell from their stressful body language, the pacing and arm waving of her otherwise calm manager, the reddening of her friends’ faces. But Sasha couldn’t hear anything, just a loud ringing in her ears. This tinnitus seemed to exist beyond her mind, seemed to bounce around the beautiful walls of her luxurious, private locker room. She felt numb, and she really wanted to become emotional after all that happened recently but her body would not allow this.

“How the hell could you people let this happen?” Mel Mack, Sasha’s manager, shouted at Sonya Deville. They both wore dark business suits, but Mel had a pencil skirt instead of pants, and Sonya’s suit was of the three-piece variety, equipped with a matching black vest.

Sonya glanced over at her colleague, Adam Pearce, and the medical staff surrounding Sasha. She sighed slowly. “Ms. Mack, as you know in the business of professional wrestling, we really can’t control what occurs during every match and like you, we are completely shocked by the events of this evening.”

Mel stepped closer to the taller woman, her eyes wide with bewilderment. “You’re shocked, huh?! Shocked?! Your ring ropes shouldn’t be randomly set on fire during the main event! And especially not when my client is in the ring! Do you know how much money Sasha Banks brings into your company?!”

Sonya allowed her to continue shouting before she finally put her hands up, as if gesturing for calm. Then, Charlotte Flair, also wearing a dark skirt suit while her right shoulder was in a sling, entered their conversation, to give her take on tonight’s lunacy. Mel seemed to welcome her opinion. Sasha watched them for a while and then looked away in Becky Lynch’s direction. Becky was talking to Adam Pearce, she was cradling her chin with her right fist, she wore Charlotte’s white merchandise t-shirt with metallic, gold lettering and she also wore tight, black leather pants and a black leather jacket. Sasha could tell, just from her movements and facial expressions that Becky was enraged. And that was an understatement.

Sasha turned to her left side when a male nurse tapped on her shoulder, offering her the oxygen non-rebreather mask with thin green straps. She had refused this mask when she was ushered into the locker room after the Orlando Fire Department helped her out of the ring. She stared at the nurse.

“Boss?”

Sasha could not hear his words, just continuous ringing. He politely offered the supplemental oxygen again and she waved him away. The doctor in a long white coat stood next to him, her dark hair had streaks of gray, and she approached Sasha as well.

“Ms. Banks,” the doctor said, “Your oxygen levels are dropping a little, could you please wear this mask? Also, how’s your breathing?”

Sasha turned her attention to the doctor, she frowned since she saw her lips moving but could not decipher the words.

“Ms. Banks?”

Ringing. Buzzing.

Her heart was beating in her ears. Her lungs were in her throat.

“There was a change in our last guest of the evening, but we are still excited to have one out of the three people who were scheduled at the end with us. Please welcome, the WWE’s Role Model and self-proclaimed Friday Night Messiah, Bayley!” Kayla Braxton said with a grin.

Bayley was waiting in the backstage curtains but her face immediately lit up with a smile when she stepped on set to join Kayla Braxton and Paul Heyman. Bayley wore a thin, white turtleneck, pale blue jeans with rips over the knees and some parts of the thighs, and she also wore Seth’s leather jacket with black fur lining the collar.

“Good evening,” Heyman greeted her with an admiring smile.

Bayley shook his hand as she sat next to him. “Hello sir, good to see you again. Sorry you’ve been stuck here all night with Kayla.”

Heyman chuckled as Kayla raised her eyebrows at Bayley.

“So Bayley, we had an hour delay in Talking Smack this evening due to the fire in the ring at tonight’s main event. As we said in the beginning of the show, everyone involved is now safe and doing well. Since you were there, could you tell us exactly what happened?” questioned Kayla, she rested her elbows on the glass table as she leaned closer to Bayley’s direction.

Bayley frowned and laughed. “Everyone saw what happened. Alexa Bliss and the Fiend interrupted my match, they prevented me from becoming the Smackdown Women’s Champion again. What else is there to know?”

Heyman opened his mouth to speak but Kayla continued on.

“Well, I saw that you were outside of the ring at first and then you and Buddy Murphy re-entered the ring. And suddenly you were all trapped in the fire. Were you trying to help Sasha Banks?” Kayla asked.

Bayley laughed again, and then coughed a bit, the smoke inhalation from earlier still affected her. “Is that a serious question? Why would I help Sasha Banks? I went back into the ring to restart the match, and while she was turned around worrying about clowns in costumes, that was the perfect time to catch her off-guard. Duh!”

“Spoken like a true Messiah and a real Role Model, I get the sense that Kayla is questioning your intelligence, Bayley,” Heyman chimed in, nodding astutely.

Kayla shook her head and smiled. “Paul, I know you’re a fan of Bayley but you have to admit that she didn’t have a good night. Bayley, you and Seth Rollins have mentioned on social media that you are the Friday Night Messiah and he is Smackdown’s Savior, but what does tonight’s set-back mean to you?”

Bayley’s eyebrows furrowed and she pursed her lips, she exchanged annoyed looks with Paul Heyman.

“What’re you talking about? There were no ‘set-backs’ tonight. Bianca and the Street Profits are always trying to find ways to cheat, we’ll see how far that gets them on Smackdown. And if they’re really worth anything, they’ll give us a rematch next week! AND, I was in the main event once again! Sasha and those two little ponies can say whatever they want but they can’t deny that I am THE workhorse of the women’s division. I am THE Horsewoman.”

Heyman clapped at the end of her statement, as Bayley glared at Kayla.

“Um… yes, we heard the statements given by Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks on Raw Talk earlier this week and they had a few words for you on Twitter, especially Becky Lynch had some, um, feedback for your performance at the Royal Rumble—”

“Kayla! The Friday Night Messiah has graced us with her presence and here you are, mentioning superstars who are not even on Smackdown,” Heyman remarked incredulously.

Bayley nodded approvingly, in a condescending way.

Kayla sighed and pulled up the Twitter app on her smartphone. “Speaking of the term ‘Messiah,’ Becky Lynch even tweeted out a few minutes ago that you and Seth are ‘just a Friday Night Mess.’ Any words for her?”

Heyman cringed at this and looked away while Bayley appeared a bit stunned. She also swiftly removed her phone from the jacket pocket, she thought quickly but was obviously rattled by the digital words of the ‘punny’ Man.

“Umm…” Bayley started, opening Twitter on her phone as well and the first thing that popped up on her timeline was Becky’s tweet with over 10K likes already, “She’s one to talk when she’s just filming movies and commercials that no one’s gonna see, haha. I’m not worried about the jokes from a fake, Hollywood Man. She should put down the phone and actually meet me in the ring if she’s gotta problem. And you know what… we don’t even have to do it in the ring, we can talk in the parking lot tonight, Becky.”

Bayley said these last words viciously into the nearest camera. Heyman and Kayla exchanged surprised looks and nodded silently. In their silence, Bayley perused a bit more on the Twitter app and started to read other tweets.

“These fans are outta their minds, I keep seeing these tweets that I’m Sasha’s bodyguard?! She can’t afford me! And I can’t stand her, why the fuck—” Bayley began and she was interrupted by a producer in the back who shouted “language!”.

Bayley smiled at the producers and the camera crew before she continued on. “Listen kids, we’re enemies. Nothing’s gonna change that, so stop tweeting me this nonsense!”

She slammed her phone down onto the glass table violently. Heyman, sensing that Bayley was further spiraling into a negative path on live television, clasped his hands together and interjected calmly.

“Seems like your mutual fanbases miss your interactions. But the most important matter of the night, at least from what I have noticed, is that you and Murphy make a good team without Seth Rollins. You and Seth both share the responsibility of Messiah, or Savior, but yet, you share one disciple among you. But might I add… I think you could save Smackdown on your own, I think you could gather more disciples on your own as you step out of Seth’s shadow. In a way, I see him similar to your partnership with Sasha Banks this past summer, he is impeding your progress,” explained Heyman.

Bayley peered over at Heyman, who sat to her right, he was smiling. Even in her anger over the fans’ speculations, she was not inhibited enough to fall prey to Paul Heyman’s machinations. She respected him and he often complimented her, but he worked for Roman Reigns, the Universal Champion who presided over the so-called Island of Relevancy. Roman Reigns, the Tribal Chief of the Bloodline, who included the Uso brothers and the Women’s Royal Rumble winner, Naomi. Roman, Seth’s former Shield brother, but now he refused to interact with Seth, treating him like a despicable jobber — or as Seth described to her.

Kayla’s voice interrupted her musings. “Tell us, Bayley, what’s next for Smackdown’s Messiahs and their disciple?”

“You’ll have to wait and see, but before long, everyone will embrace our vision,” Bayley spoke solemnly, showing her allegiance to Seth Rollins’ cause.

“What does that mean exactly? I keep seeing you all tweet about it and put that phrase in the Instagram stories. What vision are we supposed to be embracing?” questioned Kayla, in a truly curious tone.

Bayley chuckled and looked at the time on her phone. “I have to get going and looks like the show should’ve ended 5 minutes ago. Kayla, baby, text me later and we can talk about what it means in your hotel room tonight.”

Bayley was still smiling and chuckling a bit to herself as she walked down a hallway, she hoped to retrieve her things quickly from the women’s locker room and meet up with Seth and Murphy. After Smackdown ended, she and Murphy were evaluated in the trainers room, they were both fine though. Medical issues did not affect them, they were more disturbed by the appearance of the flames. It was easy to forget about this horror when she was playing her usual Role Model act while on Talking Smack, to wear an invisible mask compared to the Vigilante’s public mask. But now that she was alone with her thoughts, in this winding and poorly lit hallway of a sports arena, her smiles and laughs disappeared.

The fire trick that Alexa displayed this evening was also witnessed at the Royal Rumble during her title defense against Asuka. There was a single ball of fire that screeched into Asuka’s vicinity, that was enough to create disaster for the fearless Empress. But now, she lit the entire ring on fire. Bayley respected Sasha’s decision that they should remain separate, she did not deny that she failed Sasha but Sasha, in her own distrust of Bayley, jumped to the conclusion of infidelity. And they weren’t even in a relationship… Sasha even said herself that that was not the case between them. Bayley was no more than a bed warmer. At times, that hurt, but it hurt even more that Sasha wanted nothing to do with her.

But how could Sasha deal with Alexa and the Fiend on her own?

And Nikki? With the switchblade?

Would Sasha accept the Vigilante’s help?

Sasha had Becky and Charlotte on her side, but they had never been present when she needed help. Charlotte had a shoulder injury and Becky was on a break to be in Hollywood, they weren’t involved in wrestling at the moment.

Before entering the locker room, Bayley’s phone pinged with a text message notification. Her eyebrows raised as she opened the message.

“Ding Dong, Hello! Room 342 at the Rosen Centre Hotel.”

The text message was from Kayla Braxton. Completely distracted by this, Bayley opened the locker room door.

“Ah! It’s the workhorse I’ve been lookin’ for!” Becky Lynch shouted with her arms up in mock surprise at Bayley’s entrance. Becky was standing in front of Bayley’s locker. Charlotte was sitting on a nearby chair.

The chatter of the locker room died down and everyone stared at Bayley. An ominous vapor hung in the air, the people who were previously sitting, except Charlotte, stood up. Becky motioned her head to the side, and Dakota Kai who was standing close to Bayley, went to the locker room entrance door and locked it. Dakota had a gleeful smile on her face and her friend Raquel, crossed her arms and chuckled; they were excited for the impending confrontation.

Bayley breathed deeply when she heard the door lock click behind her. She tried to smile at Becky, her lips twitched with anxiety.

“What’s up, Dawg? I haven’t seen you in a while,” Bayley stated with a respectful nod at Becky, her voice shaking.

Becky smiled and slowly approached, Bayley stepped back but her back stopped at a wall.

“Dawg? That’s how you address the Man, eh?” Becky said, a few inches away from Bayley’s face now. Bayley could smell the alcohol on Becky’s breath.

“Just joking with ya, Becky—”

“So Talking Smack musta been a joke too, right? All your talks of ponies and how I’m fake like Hollywood? Just jokes…” Becky whispered, her face inching closer, the whites of her eyes streaked red because of the liquor she had ingested. Her whisper could be heard by all the women in the locker room. Charlotte cleared her throat but did not speak.

Becky’s eyes shifted downward to look at Bayley’s right hand, her fingers were wiggling nervously.

“What’s that? Do I smell fear? You were the one who wanted to meet me in the parking lot tonight, remember?” Becky said with a grin.

Bayley clenched her fist and looked into Becky’s eyes, she knew that everyone was watching her. Dakota and Raquel, she heard their light giggles in the corner… Liv and Ruby, Bianca, Charlotte… Everyone.

“Fear? All I smell is your breath stinking with alcohol,” Bayley said with a laugh, and then it felt like the air escaped from the room. But really, the air was escaping from her lungs, because Becky gripped her throat tightly with both hands, shoving her roughly into a locker.

“Ya think you’re funny, right? You fucking jobber,” spat Becky, her face close to Bayley’s as she crushed Bayley’s windpipe in her strong hands.

Bayley struggled, her hands lifted up from her sides to grip Becky’s wrists, but nothing was working. Becky’s grip was becoming tighter and tighter, violently ripping oxygen from her lungs. Bayley’s hands around Becky’s wrists started to loosen, slacken, and her strength was quickly fading. Flashes and floaters began to appear in her vision, as the words that Becky continued to berate her with were not fully reaching her ears.

“You pathetic piece of…”

“Shoulda collected my debt from you earlier…”

“I protected you…”

“You betrayed Sasha…”

“You’re a fucking animal…”

Bayley woke briefly when Becky shoved her repeatedly into the locker, her head bouncing off the metal behind her.

Another voice entered the fray: “Let her go, she’s had enough.”

She had another brief black out as her head, even more viciously, smacked again and again on the metal.

“Rebecca!”

After Charlotte shouted, Becky suddenly let her go. Bayley’s legs collapsed beneath her and she sank to the floor, sputtering and gasping. She heard a few women laughing. While having a coughing fit, she managed to lift her head up but that’s because her chin was wrenched upwards. Becky peered into her eyes.

“If I hear you talking about me, Char or Sasha ever again, I’ll break your fucking neck. You’ll be in some fucking nursing home eating apple sauce for the rest of your life. This is my one warning to you, and you should thank my lady here for saving your worthless neck,” Becky whispered violently. To punctuate her final statement, Becky smacked Bayley’s face with the back of her fist. Bayley’s lip busted open, and the side of her mouth filling with blood made her breathing even more coarse.

Becky stood up and adjusted her jacket, saying her goodbyes to the other wrestlers. And she reached out to hold Charlotte’s hand. Charlotte took her hand but she had a stern expression on her face.

“Bex, was all that really necessary?” she remarked.

Becky nodded and grinned at her girlfriend. She turned away to exit.

And as Charlotte sauntered by, Bayley saw her release Becky’s hand and reach to the side. Charlotte’s finger tips briefly brushed over the top of Bayley’s dark hair.

Chapter Text

Assumptions were the worst. They assumed she would never make it to the WWE. They assumed she would never be a champion. They assumed she would never be the main event. They assumed that she would never branch out into mainstream success. But Becky Lynch proved them all wrong. She proved another detractor wrong tonight in the women’s locker room. Bayley had uttered the words “Hollywood” and “fake,” and this made the blood in Becky’s veins run hot, frothing into a rolling boil. Becky was fucking livid. She was already drinking whiskey earlier in the night and made the split second decision to go to the locker room immediately after Talking Smack ended, and Charlotte didn’t stop her but she chased after her, claiming to want to “keep the peace.”

Becky endured everyone’s nonsense about her hiatus from wrestling for months. From Ronda Rousey, from Shayna Baszler, and even Asuka made a slight jab in a tweet. Everyone assumed that The Man would become a part-timer, just coming back to big PPVs for a paycheck but not for the love of wrestling. They assumed she used her athletic success to propel her into movies and TV shows.

No. Becky will always be a fighter, a wrestler before anything else. Well, maybe she was Charlotte’s love before all of those things, but regardless! The assumption that she was just a movie star who happened to be on WWE as well was ludicrous. And Bayley, of all people, chose to perpetuate lies. That cut deeply. Innocent, sweet Bayley… who was now unrecognizable. Becky realized that the woman who she thought was most like her among their friend group, the one who she saw as an underdog and a workhorse, was really not like her at all. Becky won big fights, she won championships but the gold never defined her. Bayley allowed the gold to overcome her, to corrupt her. She was truly that insecure, that she would choose a piece of metal over her best friend. And Becky knew the truth of it, she was often drunk whenever she thought of these things and she felt that this helped her think more clearly: Bayley was jealous of them all, and she was especially jealous of Sasha. Although Bayley was the champion with the historic reign, Sasha Banks was still more relevant. Becky knew it. She knew this ate away at Bayley’s core until there was nothing but rotten substance remaining.

Becky breathed heavily after she changed and sat down in bed. She was glad to be back home. Charlotte invited Sasha to spend the night with them, which Becky thought was an excellent idea because although Sasha would never admit that tonight’s events frightened her, she likely did not want to be alone after that fiery ordeal. Sasha eagerly agreed but everyone was mostly silent on the car ride to their suburban neighborhood. Sasha’s manager had a driver take them home, and an impressive security detail followed them closely. After Alexa almost burned several people alive in the Thunderdome, Sasha’s manager was highly concerned with her safety.

Becky poured another drink into a short, stocky glass, she had brought a bottle of whiskey from the kitchen and set it on the nearby nightstand. She also made popcorn for everyone, and Sasha and Charlotte were currently sharing the bowl between them. Becky took a long, grateful swig of whiskey and grinned at the other women. Sasha sat in between her and Charlotte, Sasha was clicking through options on HBO Max with the TV remote and Charlotte was looking through her phone and eating popcorn.

“Boss, anything else I can get for ya? You’re the honored guest for the night,” said Becky cheerfully.

Sasha smiled. “I’m good, thanks. And thanks again for having me over. I don’t want to keep you all up, I know it’s getting late.”

“We’re happy to have you, and let’s watch something funny and romantic before bed,” suggested Charlotte, not looking up from her phone.

Becky smirked in her girlfriend’s direction. “Yeah, let’s watch somethin’. And Charlie, you wanna focus on the movie we’re gonna pick? You’re glued to that damn phone.”

Charlotte tossed her phone down on the bed. “I was just looking at the news reports about what happened tonight.”

Sasha sighed and Becky’s eyebrows raised a bit as she took another sip of alcohol.

“Sorry,” Charlotte said softly to Sasha.

Sasha smiled and shook her head. “No worries, Char. But don’t stress about Smackdown. I’m really not bothered by what happened. Let’s have some fun and then get some rest.”

Becky giggled, and Charlotte huffed a bit because she knew Becky was getting progressively drunk.

“She’s right! Let’s have a bit o’ fun. I’m in bed with two beautiful women, what more can ya ask for,” Becky said beaming, and she had poured whiskey into another glass to hand to Sasha. Sasha took the alcohol reluctantly and gave Becky a forced grin, it was more like a cringe.

“Becky, not right now,” said Charlotte warningly.

“C’mon Queen! Like the Boss said, let’s have fun,” Becky laughed, and she toasted glasses with Sasha.

Sasha couldn’t help but laugh as well at Becky’s drunken behavior. She likely was not trying to imply what Charlotte was worried about but Sasha found this hilarious. She needed a good laugh after everything she’s been through recently.

“Bex, baby, we have a guest. And how much have you had to drink tonight? I lost count,” Charlotte stated with a stern voice and a frown.

Becky tilted her head and shrugged, she occupied herself by drinking again. Sasha took a small sip of the drink that Becky gave her, warmth immediately washed over her. It was a comforting feeling. She was already comforted by the presence of her best friends sharing their bed with her, fluffy pillows and soft sheets surrounded them. Becky and Charlotte’s lovely banter. Fresh popcorn in a large bowl. A giant TV mounted on the wall in front of them. One, dimmed lamp was providing the room with a glowing ambiance. And now the alcohol was working its way into her system. She felt relaxed and happy. At long last.

Sasha felt Charlotte’s phone vibrate, Charlotte picked it up quickly and shielded it from view of the others. Sasha and Becky continued drinking and joking as they looked for a good movie. Charlotte saw that she finally received a text message from Bayley.

Charlotte’s initial text to Bayley was, “Hey Bay, are you ok?”

Charlotte raised an eyebrow at Bayley’s response.

Simply: “My Queen.”

She glanced over at Sasha and Becky before responding: “I’m sorry about what happened, are you ok?”

The three dots blinked in various hues of gray, signaling that Bayley was typing a response. This seemed to go on forever, so long that Becky was already pouring yet another drink for herself.

Bayley: “No.”

Charlotte tried to keep her face impassive, and she responded quickly: “We can talk later in person or over the phone. Let me know if you need anything.”

Again, the three dots from Bayley appeared and blinked on forever.

“Still readin’ the news? We were ‘bout to have a threesome without ya,” remarked Becky, slurring her words a bit as Sasha laughed sharply at her jest.

Without looking up from her phone, Charlotte responded in an annoyed, matter-of-fact tone, “Well, you would need me involved if it was considered a threesome.”

Becky whispered loudly to Sasha. “Sounds like she’s open to the idea!”

Charlotte ignored Becky and shifted her attention to Sasha. “You sure you’re doing alright, Sash?”

Sasha laughed but didn’t meet Charlotte’s gaze. “Girl, I am good! Bayley and her little disciple meddling, and Alexa’s little fire show aren’t gonna get to my head. My manager freaked out, and so did Sonya and Adam. I don’t need you to freak out too, Char.”

Charlotte thought carefully of her retort but Becky’s voice cut into her thoughts.

“Ah, c’mon…” Becky took another sip of whiskey before continuing on, slurring her words again, “Th’ Boss is right, babe. No need fo’ that, and I trust her to do what’s best. She’ll take care o’ business like I did tonight!”

Sasha looked curiously at Becky, which caused a gleeful chortle to escape from Becky’s lips.

“Tell ‘er, Char,” said Becky with a broad smile.

Charlotte sighed. “In your honor, Sasha, Becky embarrassed Bayley in the locker room after Talking Smack.”

Sasha’s mouth opened and Becky howled with laughter.

“What did you do?” Sasha asked.

“She choked her and threatened her in front of everyone,” Charlotte answered, rolling her eyes because Becky was in the midst of a fit of laughter.

Sasha tried to look pleased, but she didn’t want her facial expressions to fail her so she drank from her glass.

“There was really no need for that, Becky,” Charlotte stated firmly.

Becky was still laughing, she had to set her glass down on the nightstand or else she would spill liquor everywhere. “That’ll teach ‘er from running ‘er mouth and getting involved in Sasha’s business.”

“Well, thanks. I appreciate you, Bex,” Sasha murmured in a low voice. Sasha was still angry with Bayley for spending time with Alexa and Liv, and she was also upset that Bayley chose to interrupt her impending match with Alexa this evening. But she knew why Bayley acted that way: like Sasha, she probably noticed the churning of the social media rumor mill that claimed that they had re-united, so she had to find a way to diffuse the fan-made think pieces. She surmised this after Bayley apologized to her in the ring, and Bayley’s obnoxious behavior on Talking Smack. She should’ve never stepped out into public with Bayley, because fans always found her, and those kids in the bakery got everyone talking about “Baysha.” Hopefully after tonight, everyone would realize that there was truly nothing between them, and these antics were not used to uphold a secret. There was no longer a secret and Sasha knew that she was done with Bayley, again.

And that was tough to live with. They continued their discourse of Becky getting into arguments when she’s drunk, and Charlotte, while not supporting Bayley outright, felt that a level of decorum should be portrayed by all WWE superstars. Sasha listened and interjected now and then to murmur her agreement with both Charlotte and Becky. She understood Becky’s view point, and she knew that Becky was self conscious about her mainstream ventures, and anyone ridiculing The Man would regret it. She related to Becky in this manner. But she also understood that Charlotte wanted Becky to continue to be successful, and if Hollywood finds out that Becky could be a problematic individual, that would not be helpful. She knew that they were essentially both defending her, and they lamented not being there when she needed them. And Becky’s reaction towards Bayley, likely was a continuation of her feelings after Bayley’s betrayal last fall. Becky couldn’t protect Sasha from Bayley, so she was making up for it.

As she continued drinking, and she was still only on her first drink of the night, she felt a powerful wave of disinhibition wash over her. How many of these did Becky have? Sasha turned to Becky suddenly during the conversation, wondering how she was still upright and semi-coherent. The alcohol was fueling her inner paranoia though.

Sasha interrupted as Charlotte was going on and on about something. “Char, you were defending Bayley. Why are you all of a sudden feeling sympathy for her?”

Sasha glared at her friend on the right, and she didn’t mean to do so but the alcohol had an influence. She was hurt. Charlotte looked taken aback but she managed to speak calmly, pensively.

“I’m not defending her. I’m always on your side, you know that. I don’t agree with Becky’s actions,” Charlotte explained before she was interrupted by Becky’s drunken chuckling.

“Ah! That so? I was defendin’ you both from that jobber—”

“She’s not a jobber,” Charlotte said quickly, reproachfully.

Becky set down her drink again and shifted her body in her girlfriend’s direction, her jaw set in a serious manner. In between them, Sasha sat up a bit straighter since she wasn’t sure what Becky would do.

Becky’s lips tilted into a wry smile. “Think so, Queen? Funny, you agreed with that statement earlier. What’s this change o’ heart now? Bayley’s the type to see your kindness as a weakness, ask Sasha ‘ere if you don’ believe me.”

“The point, Rebecca, is that you’re currently not wrestling. Remember that you’re visiting for Sasha’s birthday and so you shouldn’t be creating problems in the Smackdown locker room, a locker room that you are not a member of. Someone probably told Sonya and I’m hoping we don’t have to deal with a major consequence,” scoffed Charlotte, crossing her arms in irritation.

Sasha escaped back into her own thoughts as Becky answered sarcastically and Charlotte continued her lecturing. Just a typical night with Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair.

As the alcohol continued to seep into her senses, and while Becky and Charlotte continued their discourse of arguing and flirting, Sasha thought she caught a whiff of a flowery scent. She thought of the colorful roses her masked hero would give her after a rescue. And her hero smelled like a vibrant bouquet of flowers, but the scent was not truly intoxicating until her lips met the soft flesh of her hero’s neck. She wished that these thoughts and memories would disappear from her brain, and she generally had fair control over them, but sometimes she would get lost within the confines of the bed she once shared with Bayley.

She could tell that Bayley was very nervous. They were both nude in her bed, Sasha lay on her back and Bayley was positioned on top of her, in between her thighs. Sasha’s hands rubbed encouragingly along Bayley’s muscular arms and shoulders. Bayley grinned at her, perspiration on her forehead, and she glanced back down as she steadily arranged herself for her next move.

This was their first time trying something like this. But Sasha was curious, she wanted to know if Bayley could live up to the nickname she once held as a double champion… Well, with the use of one strap only.

Sasha decided not to watch, she knew she was just making her friend even more nervous. She closed her eyes and focused on her senses, still rubbing deeply along Bayley’s hard biceps. The room was scorching. She wasn’t sweating but her skin was quite warm, and felt even warmer when rubbing against Bayley. The bed sheets made sort of a crescent pattern around them that she could feel along her shins, while her legs curved along her friend’s thighs. Bayley’s perfume seemed to intensify a bit due to sweating, and Sasha tasted Bayley’s skin and other areas earlier in the evening which she was slowly becoming addicted to. She felt Bayley’s fingers again, and she groaned, but then she sensed something else which was larger and stiff.

She bit her lip and gasped as she felt it enter. She didn’t even experience Bayley’s full girth yet but Bayley backed out quickly, her kind hands holding Sasha’s hips steady.

“Sorry…. sorry, sorry, did I hurt you? I’m sorry,” the words were tumbling out of Bayley’s mouth. Bayley was always so gentle and apologetic in the bedroom, almost as if she believed she didn’t deserve these intimate moments with Sasha.

Sasha opened her eyes and giggled, looking into Bayley’s embarrassed gaze. Her fingers then lightly brushed against her friend’s jaw. “No, I was just surprised. I’m fine, you can keep going.”

Bayley smiled and then suddenly kissed Sasha. She briefly pulled away before she murmured, “We don’t have to do this. I don’t need this. I just want you to feel good, baby.”

This time, Sasha brought her right hand back up to Bayley’s face but held her jaw, she returned Bayley’s smile.

“I want this. I want you. You make me feel good. So please, keep going,” Sasha whispered softly, looking deeply into Bayley’s warm brown eyes.

Bayley grinned, somewhat uneasily, and positioned herself again. Still looking into Bayley’s eyes, Sasha nodded and then grabbed the back of Bayley’s neck with both hands.

Sasha gasped again with the impact, a bit louder. Her fingers traveled up Bayley’s undercut, and she held on tightly. Bayley’s pace was slow, tender, but Sasha could feel her entire body tense up. She heard Bayley’s heavy breathing by her ear before she felt Bayley’s lips gingerly kissing and sucking on her neck. Louder and louder moans were escaping Sasha’s lips as she felt more and more of Bayley filling her senses, possessing her body. Sasha was frantically stroking Bayley’s dark hair with her fingers, her nails grazing Bayley’s scalp, as she could feel herself sinking deeper into the mattress with every powerful thrust.

She couldn’t contain herself anymore.

“Daddy!”

“Think we found one, finally!”

Sasha snapped out of her fantasy and looked to her left due to Becky’s sudden shouting.

“What d’you think, Sash?” Becky said, pointing to the romantic comedy on the TV screen.

Sasha forced a smile. “Yeah, that’ll be good.”

“Are you OK?” Charlotte asked, and Sasha, turning to her right, noticed that Charlotte was watching her closely with a concerned look.

“Char, all night you’ve just been worrying yourself for no reason,” retorted Sasha, and she went back to sipping her whiskey that was now quite warm.

Charlotte sighed heavily, glancing over at both Sasha and Becky. “I always worry about you two. And, Sasha, you’ve really been acting strangely the past week or so. You just… often look so lost in thought.”

“Well, she’s dealing wit’ a lot!” interjected Becky, yawning.

Sasha looked at the Irish woman suspiciously, and Becky returned this gaze with a chuckle.

“You’re a busy woman, with your music, modeling, championship defenses. Char, just leave ‘er be,” stated Becky, waving a drunk hand absentmindedly before reaching over to the nightstand to fill her glass again with alcohol.

Sasha nodded in agreement with Becky but a small part of her knew that Charlotte didn’t completely believe this. Interestingly, Charlotte responded to these statements by just eating the popcorn from the bowl on her lap. Sasha knew that Charlotte wanted to be a good friend, she knew that she felt guilty that she couldn’t be there for her during her drama with Bayley that lead to Hell in a Cell. But Sasha didn’t want to keep involving others in this tangled web that she found herself in. She also watched Becky, who was laughing raucously at the opening scene of the movie, and she experienced a bit of an epiphany for her as well. Any normal person would have been unconscious after this much alcohol, but not Becky Lynch. And Sasha knew why, Becky only drank heavily when she was feeling guilty.

All drunk people seem to reach a level of clarity after a certain blood alcohol level, and Bayley thought she was reaching that point. She could imagine the crystal ball of her mind, its fog dispersing with more tequila being poured in. If only she had reached these realizations earlier in the night. If only. If only she maybe came to these conclusions weeks ago or months ago. If only.

If only.

She was sitting outside by a fire pit, although there was no fire within it. Seth and Murphy sat around her, everyone came to the silent agreement on their own that they should sit by the pit without a fire, obviously after everything that happened tonight. Their chairs encircled the pit, they were all silent, deep in thought.

Seth sat across from Bayley, he wore a plain black t-shirt and black shorts, his long hair held tightly in a neat bun. Murphy, sat to Bayley’s left, his red hair was a bit of a mess and he wore a tight, white long sleeve shirt as well as shiny, gray basketball shorts. Bayley wore a black, snapback hat so she didn’t have to worry about her hair, which was not in the greatest state after she was thrown around in the locker room by Becky Lynch. She was also clad in a black and green “Ding Dong Hello” tank top, and gray sweatpants.

As she drank tequila, she noticed that her ice bucket was no longer filled with ice, just water. She also realized that Seth did not drink at all, his glass of tequila was untouched on the small table in front of him. He had spent the past hour blankly staring off into the distance, he was more quiet than Murphy this evening. Murphy wasn’t really drinking either, he had a beer in hand but it was the same beer for the past hour, he was spending most of his time glancing around at Seth and Bayley’s morose states. Earlier, they discussed the fire but Bayley cut the conversation short when Murphy asked her why she went back into the ring. Seth had also berated him for questioning the Role Model’s motives. Seth was concerned about both of them initially but now, after hearing that they were still both healthy and medically cleared, he was oddly silent.

“Murphy, could we get a refill on the ice?” Bayley asked, breaking the silence of the still night air.

Murphy nodded quickly and he set down his beer bottle to pick up the shiny ice bucket. Seth’s voice surprisingly cut into the silence as well.

“You’re drinking a lot.”

“OK Dad,” joked Bayley shortly. She downed the rest of her drink and poured another just to spite Seth.

He finally made eye contact with her, his face still blank as he repeated: “You’re drinking a lot.”

“Dude, I heard you the first time. And I’d rather be doing this than some of the other shit I could be getting into tonight, but I have to pass these random drug tests you know,” laughed Bayley before she took another sip. If she was alone, she could find multiple ways to obliterate all rational thought in her mind, to slip into a meaningless existence and forget about her pain with the help of substances that were more powerful than alcohol.

Seth continued to stare at her, his face impassive. Murphy glanced between the two of them, as he awkwardly stood there clutching the bucket.

Bayley nodded up at Murphy. “Bro, the ice.”

Murphy acknowledged her request and he turned to go back into the apartment building. They were in the courtyard of the luxury apartment building that Seth and Murphy lived in, and several other wrestlers lived here too and Bayley was quite grateful that she did not see any familiar faces around the building yet.

“So, I heard what Heyman said to you tonight,” Seth said slowly when he and Bayley were alone in the courtyard.

Bayley shrugged. “Yeah?”

“So… do you think you can do this without me?” he was working hard to keep his voice calm but in reality, Seth Rollins was close to cracking under the immense pressure of the past few months.

“The fuck are you talking about?” asked Bayley, frowning at Seth. She felt too drunk to have this conversation. Well, she had been too drunk to function for a while at this point.

Seth’s face tensed and he gritted his teeth. “Are you really going to pretend—”

“And what, Seth?! What?!” shouted Bayley and she violently set her drink down on the edge of the pit, “You think I’m going to betray you?”

“Well… you’ve betrayed others in the past,” responded Seth angrily.

Bayley shook her head, and laughed ruefully. “You’re really gonna go there tonight, huh? I don’t need this fucking bullshit tonight.”

Seth huffed, glancing around a bit as he was figuring out how to respond to Bayley’s profanity. “I’m serious. I’ve had to deal with a lot of shitty outcomes recently too. Murphy and I haven’t won a match in months! And you’re definitely not the most popular woman on the roster to work with, I thought you could be a good addition to our team because you’re my friend but tonight was no indication of that. Then you collude with Heyman on live TV, as if I wouldn’t see that?”

“Seth, what the fuck are you talking about? Seriously, dude. How was that ‘colluding’? I’ve been loyal to you, and yeah, maybe I’m not the star of the women’s division anymore but you’re definitely not a top draw either,” shot back Bayley.

Murphy hurriedly returned with the ice, he had heard the shouting as soon as he entered the courtyard. Seth and Bayley looked away from each other when he arrived, silence fell upon them  once again. Murphy set the bucket down nearby Bayley and he sat down. He glanced anxiously around at both of them.

Bayley ignored Murphy’s searching looks, her phone created a few brief sounds due to notifications. Bayley received texts from Charlotte Flair earlier which confused her. She didn’t understand after months of silence why Charlotte suddenly gave a fuck. She looked down at her phone and saw that she had text messages from Kayla Braxton and Carmella. She also noticed that it was 1:30 am. She realized with a slight smirk that maybe her life was not completely terrible if several women were in their beds thinking about her at this hour of the night.

She had no desire to keep watching Seth’s paranoid angry outbursts and Murphy’s fearful anxiety, maybe she should respond to one of these women. It would feel nice not to sleep alone, she was so used to sleeping with Sasha every night. And maybe she should pursue someone else because Sasha was truly done with her, maybe there was a chance for an actual relationship instead of the secret that she held with Sasha.

Maybe—

“Hey! Bayley!”

She looked around, Seth and Murphy also glanced up at the approaching voice.

Liv Morgan was walking across the courtyard with Ruby Riott. Liv’s walk was energetic and bouncy, while Ruby just seemed tired and annoyed. Ruby frowned when she made eye contact with Bayley, so Bayley quickly shifted her gaze back to Liv. Liv’s smile was so bright and beautiful that Bayley forgot all about the text messages on her phone.

Chapter Text

Liv Morgan always looked beautiful. Her long, platinum blonde hair cascaded down her back, and she made even casual clothes like a tank top, shorts, and basketball shoes appear so posh and lovely. She wore haphazard colors but seemed to match with her tag team partner, Ruby Riott. Even outside of a wrestling ring, Liv and Ruby’s friendship was displayed proudly on their clothing. Ruby appeared fatigued but looked very beautiful as well, her dark makeup accentuated her features and her short green hair was neatly parted but had a stylish wind-swept appearance.

“Hey,” Bayley responded with a grin, answering Liv’s initial greeting.

Liv was grinning as well, but comically, her eyes scanned around at the two men who were staring blankly at her. “What’s up?”

“It’s late, I’m going to bed,” Seth announced suddenly, then he turned to Murphy, “Murphy, take Bayley back home.”

Murphy nodded quickly, setting down the ice bucket to fumble for the car keys in his pocket. Bayley waved a hand to stop him.

“Liv, how are you? What’re you doing tonight?” Bayley asked innocently. Everyone paused and looked at her.

“Oh, um, just probably going to play video games—”

“We’re actually going to bed, good night to you all,” Ruby interjected and she touched Liv’s arm, hoping to steer her in the direction of the apartment buildings.

“Which video games?” Bayley inquired, ignoring Ruby’s glare.

Liv giggled and blushed, her cheeks flushing bright red in the dim light of the courtyard.

Seth sighed and he shifted his body away from the group, signaling that he dearly wished to leave. “Well good night everyone. Bayley, do you still need a ride home?”

“I can drive you,” Murphy offered, holding up his car keys.

“Actually… I think I’m gonna go play video games with Liv,” said Bayley slyly, and Liv’s smile widened while her blush deepened.

Murphy and Seth exchanged looks briefly. Ruby was incensed, her mouth open.

“I’d like to get some rest, and I can’t do that if you guys are gonna be up all night, yelling and laughing at the TV,” Ruby said flatly.

“We’ll be quiet, I promise!” giggled Liv, and Bayley smirked. Bayley felt so drunk but this all made sense to her.

Bayley drank the rest of the remaining tequila then gestured at Ruby with her glass. “We won’t keep you up. And what d’you have to drink at your place?”

“She’s cut off, she had too much to drink tonight,” interrupted Seth, crossing his arms.

Ruby looked from Seth to Bayley, confused and irritated. “Bayley, my apartment is not a bar!”

“I’m sure we have something, c’mon!” Liv shouted above Ruby and Seth who started to speak simultaneously after Ruby’s last statement, and she grabbed Bayley’s arm.

Ruby shot Seth a “do something, please” glare but he shrugged at her as they all watched Liv, who seemed to be bouncing on clouds, yank Bayley by the arm towards the apartment buildings.

Bayley found a short, dark beer bottle while rummaging around in the fridge in Liv and Ruby’s apartment. She presented this bottle to Liv, who eagerly cracked it open with a bottle opener. Bayley took a sip and cringed.

“It’s not good? Ruby always buys those,” said Liv, “I thought they’d be good because of their fancy packaging.”

Bayley looked at Liv thoughtfully, taking another sip and allowing the beer bubbles to mingle around her tongue and mouth. Liv bit her lip and smiled at Bayley’s silly expressions.

“It’s bitter, but I ran out of tequila, so this’ll have to do for now. Want to try?” Bayley offered the short bottle to Liv.

Liv smiled widely. “No, I’m OK. We were just at Billie’s house, we played board games and she made us mixed drinks.”

Bayley lifted an eyebrow and she smirked. “Sounds like something Billie Kay would do.”

Ruby suddenly arrived in the kitchen, she desired some water before bed but she glanced over at the beer in Bayley’s hand. “Hey, that was my last beer!”

“Rue, she’s our guest! It’s not a big deal. I’ll buy more beer this weekend,” said Liv.

“I don’t like it, here, you can have it,” Bayley held out the bottle to Ruby, grinning.

Ruby glowered at Bayley and she stepped a bit closer, wanting nothing more than to knock the bottle out of Bayley’s hand and knock that smirk off her face. Liv stepped in between them, sensing that Ruby was tired and upset. Ruby placed her hands on Liv’s shoulders, trying to calm herself, but she kept her eyes on Bayley.

“What’s your problem, Bayley?” Ruby asked seriously.

“Dude, what the fuck is your problem?” Bayley returned the question with an annoyed tone.

Liv glanced between the two women uneasily, she remained rooted to the spot nearby Ruby. Ruby’s hands were still on Liv’s shoulders, although she was angry, her grip was gentle.

Ruby frowned. “You can pretend like nothing’s wrong. Hell, you’ve done that for a year. I’m sure you know how the locker room feels about you. And tonight was another example of how selfish you are. Why did you insert yourself in the title picture again? Let other women have an opportunity. You had your chances against Sasha, and you blew it. You bullied Bianca, but you can’t beat her even if her hands were tied behind her back. And then what you said at Talking Smack tonight… I speak for a lot of people when I say we’re tired of you.”

Liv looked to the tiled kitchen floor in embarrassment. Bayley couldn’t meet Ruby’s heated expression so she glanced away, absently drinking more beer. In this congested silence within the small kitchen, the late evening / early morning Florida air seemed hot and uncomfortable as it filtered in through an open window. Ruby stood like a statue while Liv tapped her sneakers on the tile, and Bayley leaned against the counter, her eyes red.

“Bayley…” Liv’s small voice seemed to echo around them, a different wavelength than the angry pause that left them all suspended in limbo.

Bayley glanced curiously at the blonde haired woman.

“Tell Rue… tell Rue the truth.”

“What?” Ruby asked, her brows furrowed as she stared at her best friend.

Bayley’s eyes widened, and she instinctively placed her right hand in the deep pocket of her sweatpants. Her fingers found the familiar, slick material of the luchador mask.

Liv turned to look at Bayley, her eyes and her voice were pleading. “She doesn’t know. Bayley, tell Rue the truth.”

Ruby’s indignation did not seem to subside, she also focused her attention back at Bayley. “What is it?”

Liv nodded at Bayley, her voice still a whisper: “Please.”

Bayley’s face relaxed into a dumbfounded expression, she glanced around nervously, gripping the mask in her pocket. She always kept at least one mask with her; it was strange, when the thin and slippery material touched her finger tips, she felt at peace. She felt secure. Her feelings of guilt and loneliness seemed to evaporate, even just for a few seconds, and this gave her the required reprieve to keep going in life. And wearing the mask was a different feeling altogether, she felt like a new person. She felt whole, again.

“Ruby, I…” Bayley started, bravely gazing at the green haired woman, “You, um… you’re right. About me… you’re right. I’m sorry.”

Liv stared at Bayley in surprise, her mouth open, and her eyes still pleading for the truth. The truth that Bayley chose to omit tonight. Ruby said nothing for a while, and she glanced over at the wall clock.

“It’s getting late, I’m going to bed. Good night, Liv,” Ruby said, hugging her best friend briefly before leaving the kitchen.

“Agh! That hurts!” Bayley said with gritted teeth, as Liv dabbed a natural liquid onto the side of her bleeding lip. The alcohol had worn off and Bayley’s wound, which she graciously received from Becky Lynch earlier in the evening, had split open when she was laughing at Liv’s antics while playing the Yakuza video game.

“Sorry! I thought since this was all natural it wouldn’t be so bad,” Liv said apologetically, applying the ointment as gently as possible.

“Thanks kid, but still hurts like a bitch!” growled Bayley, she forced herself to sit still. The rest of the aches and pains that the alcohol had dulled were now returning in a screaming force, sending inflammation raging through her muscle fibers and bones. Her abdomen and chest were on fire after Bianca’s Kiss of Death and Sasha’s passionate stomping.

“Can I ask you something?” said Liv suddenly, setting down the red-tinged cotton ball she used to apply the healing liquid.

Bayley looked away and answered flatly, “No.”

Liv was sitting next to Bayley on the edge of her bed, the humming of her bedroom fan in the background was a welcomed noise in the otherwise awkward silence.

Liv sighed. “Why didn’t you tell Rue the truth about you? Why didn’t you tell her that you’re the Vigilante?”

“You heard her, she doesn’t wanna listen to me,” Bayley retorted.

“I would’ve supported you. Rue would understand! She’s my best friend. And we’ve talked about these things, she loves the Vigilante. She thinks you’re fucking awesome,” declared Liv.

Bayley sighed and shook her head. “She thinks the Vigilante of the women’s division is fucking awesome, not me.”

“C’mon Bayley, you’re the Vigilante. You’re the same person. How many other people know?” Liv questioned with a frown.

“Just a couple…”

“What about Murphy and Seth?” Liv fired off another question before Bayley could close the subject.

“No!” laughed Bayley.

“But they’re your besties… OK, so what about your girlfriend?” Liv practically shouted, and Bayley almost slid off the side of the bed in surprise.

“I don’t have a girlfriend, kid!” Bayley stated incredulously, “Dude, let’s get back to the video game or I could leave and you could go to sleep.”

It was almost 3 am but Liv felt wide awake, she wrestled hours ago but felt a resurgence of energy during this conversation.

“But… but, the woman you told me about. The woman you’re in love with,” murmured Liv.

“Oh, right… She doesn’t want anything to do with me anymore,” whispered Bayley, glancing away in shame.

Liv placed a hand on Bayley’s shoulder but Bayley still refused to look at her. “I’m sorry, what happened?”

Ironically, spending time with Liv was part of the reason why Sasha Banks ended their friendship, but Bayley would never admit this. Liv, who was endlessly kind and sweet, she didn’t deserve to hear that. And Bayley did make mistakes, she thought that following Alexa Bliss to discover her motives for targeting Sasha was the right thing to do but Alexa proved to be more cunning.

“Just stuff. You know, the usual shit that destroys a…” Bayley wished to say “relationship” but that’s not what it was.

Bayley recovered quickly when Liv stared at her curiously, “We weren’t really together, she wasn’t my girlfriend. I liked her, she didn’t like me. That’s the end. That’s life. I have to get going.”

“Just stay, you can sleep in my bed and I’ll sleep with Rue,” Liv suggested, rubbing along Bayley’s shoulder in soothing circles.

Bayley grinned. “Thanks for the offer, but I’ll text Murphy and he’ll drive me.”

“Bayley, it’s 3 in the morning,” Liv said with a laugh.

“Dude, it’s Murphy, he’s a good disciple, he’ll get outta bed to drive me,” Bayley chuckled and she rose from the bed. Liv also sprang to her feet and she, surprisingly, embraced Bayley. Bayley patted Liv’s back, she towered over Liv a bit.

“Just stay here,” Liv murmured into Bayley’s chest.

Bayley continued patting Liv’s back as she thought about this. The tequila in her system was diminishing, but she was still semi-drunk, and had the strange notions earlier in the night of hopping into bed with Kayla Braxton or Carmella. Their text messages later in the evening were a let down though, Kayla told her that she was going to bed and Carmella asked her if she was alright after the Becky Lynch confrontation. She was getting used to the loneliness, lying in bed in pain after administering justice while clad in the luchador mask but then Sasha re-entered her life. Sasha discovered her secret identity. And Sasha seemed to miss her. Sasha welcomed Bayley into her bed. They were friends with benefits, but that was all gone. It was still hard to lie down alone at night though after sharing a bed with Sasha again. She appreciated Liv’s friendship and her trust, but Liv was several years younger than her and still quite impressionable. Bayley would never take advantage of Liv.

“Well,” Liv looked up into Bayley’s brown eyes while holding her, “I’ll sleep next to you if you stay here. Does that convince you?”

Bayley lay awake, staring at the ceiling in the dimly lit room. The bed sheets were quite thin and she felt a little cold, she was naked though and she considered getting up to put on a few clothes. Also, the transference of cold could have been from the woman laying in bed with her, her arm draped over Bayley’s hard abdomen. There were goosebumps on her arm, they tickled Bayley’s skin. She shifted slightly, moving a bit closer to whisper in Bayley’s ear.

“Are you sure you’re not with other women?”

Bayley chuckled, placing her arm around her friend’s neck and shoulders. “Not right now, I’m worn out right now.”

“Shut up,” the words escaped from her lips before she kissed Bayley briefly on the jaw.

Bayley laughed again, then stroked the blue hair that cascaded down onto her chest. Bayley wished that Sasha would put some clothes on, it was too arousing to have her nude in bed next to her. Bayley’s eyes hungrily lingered onto the chiseled frame, perfect curves and luscious peaks when exposed. Even laying in bed next to Sasha was a struggle, especially when her hands would travel idly down Sasha’s back to give an affectionate squeeze.

“So, did you think the strap was OK? Do you want me to keep using it?” Bayley asked quietly.

Sasha grinned widely. “It was more than OK, baby.”

“I was thinking you might’ve liked it, I realized there was a puddle underneath us when I was using it,” Bayley said with a smirk. Sasha immediately started to tickle along Bayley’s mid-section with her fingertips and nails after that comment, she was laughing as well.

Sasha awoke, startled at the sound of a choking snore. Whoever was snoring suddenly stopped, it seemed to wake them up as well. Sasha often had dreams about Bayley, and the pleasant dream she woke from was no different. She loved cuddling in bed with Bayley after a long night of lovemaking, but those times were behind her now. Although she did not want to see Bayley’s face anymore, those dreams were still more welcoming than dreaming of the hellfire and brimstone that Alexa Bliss conjured into the wrestling ring last night. Now, she was in Becky and Charlotte’s bed. She lay on her right side and Charlotte spooned her, their bodies meshed together and Charlotte was holding her hand. Charlotte was still asleep, she was breathing deeply close to Sasha’s ear.

“Fuck.”

Sasha heard Becky curse softly, and Becky was getting out of bed rather noisily. Sasha turned her neck to watch Becky, Becky was shuffling things around on the nightstand and then drinking from a glass.

“Becky, are you drinking whiskey in the morning?” Sasha asked sleepily, but in a concerned tone.

Becky raised an eyebrow at her and raised the glass, revealing clear liquid. “No, this is water!”

Charlotte’s eyes opened at Becky’s loud statement. Becky set the glass down and trudged away from the bed and towards the bathroom, Charlotte’s voice stopped her before she entered.

“Babe, use the bathroom down the hall if you’re going to throw up.”

Becky paused, not turning to look at Charlotte, then she swiftly left the bedroom. Sasha heard her trudging down the hallway as her girlfriend had commanded.

“What time is it?” Charlotte murmured, then yawned.

“Girl, I dunno, I feel like I slept only a few hours,” said Sasha with a laugh before reaching for her phone.

She heard a sound in the distance, a light, rhythmic chiming. But she wanted to focus on Sasha’s mesmerizing brown eyes, the rays of the sun seemed to dance within her visage. Bayley knew she was dreaming but she never wanted to wake from these dreams. Because Sasha still liked her in her dreams, still enjoyed her company. The chiming sound was getting louder, Bayley looked around while Sasha smiled at her curiously.

Bayley finally opened her eyes, the sun was blinding through her windows. She was in her apartment, alone in her bed. She was wearing a sports bra and shorts, her bed sheets crumpled around her legs. She reached by her right side at the edge of the bed, and she found the familiar, cool steel of her trusty chair. She felt a bit more calm, it was her security blanket. Perspiration made her skin feel a bit sticky. She glanced around for her ringing phone, it wasn’t at her bedside. She got up and tried to follow the sound, sauntering in almost a sleep-walking trance. The sound seemed louder among her clothes she wore from last night, and she finally found it after sifting through the pockets. Seth Rollins was calling and it was 11 am.

“Hey Dad,” Bayley answered.

“Hey!” Seth ignored her joke and he spoke in a rushed, business-like manner, “AJ called me because you didn’t answer her texts, she wanted to know if you’re still meeting her for brunch at noon?”

Oh, shit!

“Well yeah, of course! I’m just getting ready,” Bayley said hurriedly as she sped around her room, getting a towel ready to hop into the shower.

“Are you OK? You drank a lot,” Seth said sternly.

“How many times are you gonna repeat that? I’m fine! I have to go,” said Bayley quickly and she hung up before Seth could berate her further.

Bayley rushed to the outdoor table, hanging onto her black snapback hat as she avoided a waiter walking by. She recognized AJ Lee’s beaming face from afar, her shining smile could rival even a desert sun.

“Hi!” AJ said cheerfully as Bayley hurriedly sat down in front of her. AJ wore a relaxed purple, sleeveless top, black leggings, and black Converse Chuck Taylor All Stars shoes. Her black hair was long, beyond shoulder length, and quite vibrant.

“Hey dude, sorry I’m late,” said Bayley sheepishly. Along with her snapback hat, Bayley also wore her black merchandise t-shirt, the “Know Your Role Model” design, black aviator sunglasses, white jogger pants, and red skate shoes.

“No worries, Seth told me you’d be running late. I got some waters for us but wanted to make sure you were here before I ordered,” AJ said, pushing a menu towards Bayley.

“Thanks. So, how are you? I didn’t think you’d be in town at this time,” said Bayley, quickly thinking of relevant small talk because she knew, although AJ wouldn’t admit it, that she was annoyed that Bayley was late.

“Well, Punk and I were invited to Sasha’s birthday party a while back but we only responded recently. We kinda left Chicago on a whim, he’s at Seth’s gym now if you want to see him after we eat.”

Bayley’s eyebrows raised, and she took off her sunglasses. “Yeah, I’ll stop by to say hi to Punk but I think I’d rather avoid seeing too much of Seth, haha. We spend too much time together… So, you’re gonna go to Sasha’s birthday party on Tuesday night?”

AJ tilted her head, gazing at Bayley sweetly. “Of course. And I’m assuming you were not invited, am I right?”

Bayley’s heart skipped a beat, she was surprised that AJ would address the invisible elephant stampeding around in the outdoor dining area so quickly.

“No. I, um…” Bayley cleared her throat, “I heard Becky and Charlotte organized it, they would never invite me.”

“Why not?” AJ retorted quickly with a frown.

“After what I did—”

“Oh please, like all of those people haven’t done something similar over the years! Hypocrites! And Seth told me, that Carmella told him, that you got into a scuffle with Becky in the locker room last night, care to elaborate?” said AJ quickly, her finger trailing circles in the air as she mentioned the various names and the hearsay.

Bayley’s mouth opened a bit and she couldn’t meet AJ’s pensive eyes. Seth seemed to often be involved in workplace gossip, even if the gossip was from the women’s locker room. Carmella texted her last night, worried about her, and she didn’t respond so Carmella must’ve decided to reach out to Seth instead.

Bayley watched a deserted table as she spoke. “Dude, I dunno what’s wrong with Becky. She had some words for me on Raw Talk and then she thinks that Twitter’s a good place to resolve issues. She freaked out on me in front of everyone, but she was drunk.”

AJ’s lips tilted into a slight frown. “Have you talked to her? Or Charlotte? Or Sasha?”

“I’ve tried!” The volume of Bayley’s voice even surprised her a bit and nearby diners looked at them. Bayley looked down, embarrassed, and AJ watched her carefully.

“Sorry, I tried,” Bayley whispered, “Last fall, after everything that happened, I texted Becky and Charlotte. Becky didn’t answer and Charlotte lectured me like a child. And I’ve kinda talked to Sasha recently, that… didn’t go well.”

Bayley omitted the fact that Charlotte did text her again last night, offering to talk but what good would that do? Bayley was always the outsider among the Four Horsewomen, often overlooked, the last to be called to the main roster, often forgotten, and now, completely abandoned by the Horsewomen.

Before Bayley could continue or AJ could provide guidance, the waiter magically appeared to take their order. Bayley ordered a traditional breakfast of three eggs overeasy, turkey sausage links, mixed fruit and sourdough toast with strawberry jam. AJ seemed a bit more indecisive so she ordered a variety of things: blueberry pancakes, oatmeal with fruit and brown sugar, and a cappuccino. When the waiter collected the menus and left, AJ returned her pensive gaze back in Bayley’s direction, her facial muscles were set quite seriously.

“Why don’t you keep trying? They’re your friends. You returned to them even when they betrayed you in the past, remember that,” stated AJ.

“I dunno,” Bayley sighed heavily, “I sent Sasha to the damn hospital… everyone sees me as a psychopath. Maybe I should move on. I’m working with Seth and Murphy, hopefully we can make some noise in the men’s and women’s divisions.”

AJ chuckled. “Yeah, I’ve seen your recent efforts.”

Bayley sighed, and shook her head. “I know, we have a lot of work to do. But we’ll get there. Murphy’s a good learner. Seth and I are natural leaders, and we’ve won lots of championships between us. It’ll be fine.”

AJ smiled. “I’m happy to see your optimism, and I hope it’s real. So, it seems like Carmella’s back in the picture?”

“Pffft, no!” Bayley laughed, “We’re just friends, or maybe just friendly acquaintances, she only contacts me if she needs something. She mostly ignored me after I lost my title.”

“So, what does she need from you, Bayley?” AJ asked with a grin.

“Hey, nothin’ like that. I know what you’re thinking,” Bayley laughed, “I was seeing someone else, not Carmella, and that didn’t work out either.”

“Ooh! Tell me more! You never told me about anyone else in your life, perhaps Finn is back?” AJ’s grin was growing wider.

Bayley rolled her eyes at this suggestion, she dated Finn Balor years ago, possibly even eons ago. NXT felt like a far off, distant memory at this point. So much has happened since then.

“AJ, c’mon, no. I was seeing a woman but now she wants nothing to do with me, it’s cool though. Whatever,” Bayley said quickly, hoping the food would arrive soon so that they could talk about the things they ordered.

AJ breathed deeply and leaned in. “Who?”

Bayley gazed into AJ’s excited eyes, she sighed. She didn’t want to lie to her mentor, but also, how would AJ respond if she were to say that she was the secret fuck buddy of the Smackdown Women’s Champion, model, businesswoman, and recording artist, Sasha Banks. Her former best friend. And their championship fight last night on Smackdown was merely just to diffuse stan Twitter’s musings. But unfortunately, stan Twitter is never wrong, and all facades are see through. Bayley thought that the kids at the bakery and their discovery might have been another reason why Sasha was upset with her. If anything could go wrong, it would, especially when it came to Bayley and Sasha’s tumultuous friendship.

“Just someone… I had feelings for her but she didn’t feel the same way, we don’t have to talk about it,” Bayley said, adjusting her backwards snapback nervously.

“Did you love her?” asked AJ abruptly.

Bayley blushed. “I dunno… who knows—”

“You would know. It’s a yes or no question. I can tell from your vibes and the energy you’re giving off that she is very important to you,” said AJ wisely, a kind smile on her lips.

“Yeah, she always will be. There were times when I thought I should leave but I still won’t, because she saw something in me that I don’t,” Bayley explained glumly, and thoughts flooded her brain as she reached into her pocket and found the familiar fabric of the Vigilante’s mask. Sasha was always so amazed with the masked crusader, her personal Zorro who gifted her a rose after a rescue. Bayley remembered their parking lot brawl with Nikki and Alexa, and how Sasha held her and supported her to her Audi convertible, then drove her to the studio to rest. How Sasha said she wanted to repay her for protecting her, how she wanted to express her feelings for her hero. Bayley will never forget the light she saw in Sasha’s eyes, the light that taught her that she did not hate the woman underneath the mask. Now that was extinguished.

“But you have to decide, Bayley, if this woman doesn’t want you, why would you keep inserting yourself into her life? She’s important to you but are you important to her?”

Bayley clutched the mask in her pocket and she suddenly had the wild thought of setting it down on the table in front of AJ. But she didn’t know how her mentor would respond, maybe she would be horrified. Maybe she would tell her to stop being so stupid. Bayley decided to keep the mask in her pocket, and she brought her hands back onto the table, clasping them together as she gazed back at AJ. Tears were forming in Bayley’s eyes, the warm brown hues of her irises were watery.

“She needs me, AJ. You wouldn’t understand. I’m sorry, I can’t tell you anything else.”

“And do you need her? Or do you just like the idea of her? I can tell that this internal conflict is really hurting you, and that worries me,” AJ said quietly, reaching out for Bayley’s hands. AJ’s touch was firm, gentle, powerful.

Bayley looked down at the table, she was trying with all of her might not to cry. The words between them were so loaded, as if AJ already knew what was going on. AJ always said that Bayley was her unicorn, that she would be the one to carry her legacy when she retired from the wrestling ring. There were many days though that Bayley felt like she failed AJ.

In an even quieter voice, AJ continued, “If she doesn’t give you life, then let her go. But I can’t decide for you, only you can. And I know that you’ll make the best decision for you, Bayley.”

Chapter Text

Bayley placed her car in park on the street, it was Sunday morning and the street parking in downtown Orlando was free. There were a few people milling about but the street was otherwise devoid of cars. She watched the people in the rearview mirror of her green Jeep Wrangler, then she adjusted her sunglasses. She also wore a blue beanie, a white t-shirt, black leather jacket, tight black jeans, and short black leather boots. It was a chilly morning, which was not uncommon in January in Orlando, and this street appeared gray and drab with some older buildings. She exited the car to walk over to a nearby building. There was a strange mix of businesses on this street: a thrift store, a private accountant, an “herbal supplement” shop. The store she entered was quite curious, the outside glass display read, in large, cursive, purple lettering: “Fortune Telling and Crystal Shop,” but she was not coming to buy crystals or to discover her fortune. Bayley was running an errand for Seth Rollins, the owner of this shop actually was the seamstress who created Seth and Murphy’s ring gear. Usually, Murphy would be picking up these items but Bayley needed to talk to the seamstress for her own reasons, so she decided to go alone.

As she walked, she thought of AJ Lee’s words from yesterday. She made her decision, she knew what was best.

The bells at the top of the door clinked together as she opened it. She smiled when she saw that the owner was standing at a nearby shelf. The shop was quite messy and somewhat chaotic, shelves of assorted items from the Caribbean and Central America were abundant, there were also a few random things here and there such as a catcher’s mitt and a baseball, and of course, diverse crystals of varying hues and shapes. Bayley grinned as she felt a cat’s tail brush by her leg, she looked down and saw a familiar cat, he was brown, gray and white, he peered up at her with bright green eyes.

“Ah! Role Model Bayley! The Messiah said you’d be coming over to pick up his gear,” the seamstress called to her with a wave, her voice had a musical nature.

Bayley snorted at the woman’s greeting. Callie Gudreau was a petite woman, she had wavy, dark brown hair that fell to her shoulders, her dark brown eyes were accentuated by large, circular glasses with a thin metal frame. Her skin was smooth, shiny in the sunlit shop, olive complexion. She wore a black long sleeve shirt, black leggings, and she had a long, flowing purple shawl over her shoulders, this was patterned with yellow crescent moons and stars.

“Ms. Callie, good to see ya,” said Bayley, grinning as she took off her sunglasses.

Callie reached over towards her long table, picking up a brown package and handed it too Bayley. “For the Messiah and the Disciple. You should let me make your Role Model ring gear as well!”

“Thanks, but I have a deal with a fitness company. I’m grateful for the ring gear you provide for my, um, other venture though,” stated Bayley, still smiling at the shorter woman.

Callie’s eyes twinkled. “Ah yes, my favorite wrestler in WWE: The Vigilante of the women’s division. And I’ve seen musings on social media that your enemies are now calling you, The Devil.”

Bayley sighed, she remembered Nikki Cross’s tweet several days ago. “Yeah.”

“As you know, we are often remembered by the names our enemies give us,” Callie said, peering unblinkingly into Bayley’s eyes.

Bayley recited Bray Wyatt’s response to Nikki’s tweet, his words often haunted her: “We understand how dangerous a mask can be. We all become what we pretend to be.”

Callie looked away, smiling, as if having a deep realization. Months ago, Bayley first met Callie when she was picking up items for Seth, Bayley helped Callie with an annoying customer and Callie returned her kindness by giving her a luchador mask. Callie claimed that this mask was enchanted, blessed by a priestess in Mexico. Bayley wondered if this was something Callie told all customers to make her items seem more exotic and desirable, but after wearing the mask, Bayley knew it was not an ordinary article of clothing. Now, Callie was the seamstress behind the Vigilante’s ring gear, the different color masks, all from Mexico, but Callie added a large rose design to the left cheek of the otherwise plain masks. Callie also provided Bayley with various zip up hoodies that were lined with special fabric, a thin type of armor that helped her become impervious to some forms of punishment from the villains of the division.

“He’s an interesting one, that Bray Wyatt. But I would say that his female friends frighten me a bit more,” Callie said, still appearing as if she were lost in thought.

“Yeah, agreed,” said Bayley and then she took the white mask from her jacket pocket, she set this down on the table for Callie to see. Callie stepped back a bit, recoiling in disgust at the sight. This was the mask that Alexa planted a kiss on, the former kiss imprint was now singed and frayed.

“I washed it and the stain wouldn’t come out, and I noticed over a few days that this happened,” said Bayley, gesturing to the “burn” marks on the mask.

Callie touched the edges of the mask, grimacing. “Very peculiar. This is really dark magic that’s destroying the mask. What happened?”

“Alexa Bliss kissed me when I was wearing it. I put on the mask later and it made me sick, it makes my vision go red. But that goes away when I take the mask off. None of the other masks do that but she didn’t touch those,” Bayley explained, uneasily.

Callie raised her eyebrows at Bayley, then her eyes fell back down at the mask. “I’ll take this, I need to study it to see what she did. Don’t let her kiss you again.”

Bayley frowned. “What do you think is going on?”

“I don’t know, seems like she has her own enchantments,” Callie whispered.

Suddenly, Callie looked up at Bayley and she rushed around behind the store counter. Bayley watched her curiously, Callie often had spur of the moment ideas. Callie returned swiftly with a small gold box that had a gold bow, she handed this to Bayley.

“Here. For your girlfriend,” Callie said, beaming.

Bayley accepted the box but frowned at the seamstress. “I don’t have a girlfriend.”

Callie stared at her with wide eyes for a few seconds and then she burst into laughter, and she continued laughing when Bayley protested that she indeed was single.

Dakota Kai exited the fancy, silvery elevator, flanked among several friends, Raquel Gonzalez, Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart. The roots of Dakota’s hair were dark but her hair otherwise was a bright pink color that had frosted, lighter ends. She wore a long, white baseball jersey, which was opened to reveal a tight black tank top, she had white shorts, black and red basketball shoes and long, white knee high compression socks. Ember and Shotzi both looked as if they recently left an anime cosplay convention, and they were slightly matching with black leather shorts, black tops, lace, chains and spikes. In comparison, Raquel looked quite boring in a business casual pink blouse, jeans and black heels. They all looked around when they exited the elevator of the high rise building, Dakota detected the numbers on the wall and she wordlessly motioned for the rest of the women to follow her. The hallway was clean, white, decorated with green plants and the lettering for the numbers on the various doors was luxurious and metal. This was a corporate building and they were rather confused that their meeting was being held here.

“Dude, this is a bad idea,” Shotzi said as they all sauntered along.

“Then why did you come?” Dakota shot back, turning around at Shotzi.

Ember put up her arms for peace. “Let’s just go, like Kota said earlier, let’s just see what she has to say.”

“Exactly! Thank you!” Dakota said to Ember and then she gave Shotzi another glare before walking down the hallway again. Shotzi stuck out her tongue at the other women but remained silent.

Dakota finally stopped at the right place, and she knew it was correct because she was able to peer inside the large glass doors with opaque borders. Nikki Cross, wearing a white tank top, frayed jean jacket with matching jeans, as well as bright yellow sneakers was sitting at a desk. Dakota tapped the glass loudly with her index and middle fingers and Nikki looked over at the women, she gestured for them to come inside.

Raquel opened the door for them all and everyone shuffled inside.

“Yo, what is this place?” asked Shotzi, looking around at the wide office space and tall windows with views of the beautiful Orlando skyline.

“The door was unlocked,” Nikki responded, irritated.

“And how was I supposed to know that? Knocking was more polite, right?” Dakota retorted with a sarcastic smile in Nikki’s direction.

Nikki sighed, tilting her head in annoyance, and she went back to typing on her computer. “Have a seat, you’re early so Lexi will be with you when it’s your time.”

“Aren’t there any refreshments here?” Ember questioned casually when she sat down on a white leather couch.

“Yeah, whenever Bray arrives, that’s his job, not mine,” Nikki huffed, not looking up from her computer.

“I wouldn’t drink anything they give us,” Dakota said in a low voice to her friends.

“I heard that!” Nikki said, tapping her trackpad angrily.

Dakota smirked at her and rolled her eyes before finally sitting down next to Raquel on a couch across from their two companions. Dakota, Raquel, Ember and Shotzi all decided to meet Alexa Bliss on this Sunday afternoon to discuss “business.” They decided on this after Raquel’s boyfriend, Braun Strowman, urged them to do so. He recently reconciled with Bray Wyatt and thought it would be a good idea if they all joined Bray and Alexa’s faction. Bray and Alexa were champions, thought Dakota, so if there was gold in it for her as well, then she’ll join.

Everyone pulled out their phones as they waited. Dakota was losing patience though, there was only so much of Instagram that she could peruse before going crazy.

“Nikki, it’s dead silent in here. Does Alexa actually have an appointment right this minute? Can we start our appointment early? We’re all here,” Dakota stated loudly. Her friends all nodded in agreement, looking up from their phones.

Nikki sighed heavily, looking up from her laptop. “Lexi will be with you when it’s your appointment time!”

“This is already getting ridiculous—” Dakota began and she stopped talking abruptly when Shotzi gasped. Dakota looked quickly to the door because it suddenly opened.

“What the fuck?!” Dakota shouted, and she sprang to her feet. Raquel automatically rose as well, ready for a fight. Dakota grabbed a vase from the side table to arm herself but she strategically stood behind her taller and muscular friend.

Of all people to randomly appear in a corporate building, the Vigilante of the women’s division stood in the doorway. She wore her usual uniform, it was a mix of black and white, but her mask was black with a large, red rose design on the left cheek, her black hood with a white stripe down the middle was pulled over her head. Her icy blue eyes scanned the women around her.

“What game are you fucking playing at, Nikki?!” screamed Dakota, livid that this was some sort of trap.

Nikki slammed her laptop cover down, almost smashing it down with a raging force and her tone also rivaled Dakota’s anger, “She has a fucking appointment!! And put the vase down! Bray is gonna freak out if you destroy things in here!”

Dakota reluctantly set the vase down and she put up a hand to calm her friends, although she was the one most in need of calming. Shotzi and Ember were absolutely fangirling while Raquel stood like a stoic sentinel, fists clenched at her sides. The women finally sat down as the Vigilante approached Nikki’s desk slowly.

Nikki looked up at the masked woman, her face brimmed with anger but she kept her voice even. “She’s expecting you, go inside, her office door is right behind me.”

“Thanks.” A whisper, soft with a dangerous edge.

“Hey V! Yo!” Shotzi called and the Vigilante turned to her, “I saw that you joined Twitter today, could you give Ember and I a follow back?”

The Vigilante stared at her, and Shotzi thought she saw a slight nod and a shadow of a smile before the woman disappeared into the door behind Nikki.

“I didn’t think you’d actually come.”

Alexa Bliss stood up from a large, fancy desk made of dark wood. Her office looked similar to what one would imagine a CEO’s office would be. She was dressed differently than her typical attire: she wore a navy skirt suit with white pinstripes, her white blouse was silk with a lacy trim, white high heels, her blonde hair neatly pulled back into a ponytail, the ends of her hair were still a vibrant pink color. She gestured at one of the plush seats in front of her desk but the Vigilante remained at the closed door, immobile and staring blankly at her.

Alexa smiled coyly. “You don’t want to have a seat? Get comfortable and relax.”

“This shouldn’t take long.” A cold, flat whisper from practically unmoving lips.

“Cut the shit. Stop with the growling and whispering, you’re not Batman,” Alexa laughed, her laugh seemed to sparkle like her diamond earrings. She walked around the desk and stopped by the plush chairs, leaning against one of them as she faced the masked woman.

The Vigilante glared at her, and reluctantly, lifted the mask over her lips, revealing a pale pink, glittering gloss. She kept the rest of the mask over her nose and face, her blue eyes piercing into Alexa’s equally light blue gaze.

“You asked for me. What do you want?” The whispering was gone, now it was just Bayley’s normal, even voice.

“I’ve already told you,” Alexa approached slowly, “I want you.”

“And what will you give me in return?”

Alexa gave off another sparkling laugh, revealing perfect teeth again. “You like to get to the point, don’t you? Well… the things your friends, the little ponies, refuse to give you. Things that she refuses to give you.”

The Vigilante pursed her lips and focused on keeping her face blank, as if Alexa could see right through the mask… as if Alexa could read her mind. She worried about that sometimes, that Alexa, and Bray, used some type of clairvoyance to uncover things that most people wouldn’t be privy to.

Alexa continued to approach until she was quite close to the taller woman. She reached out for the dark hoody, and the Vigilante stood still, allowing Alexa to unzip the hoody. Alexa licked her lips at the revelation of a black sports bra and an exposed, chiseled abdomen. The love bites on her chest and abdomen were now a faint red, remnants of a dead secret. Alexa trailed her finger over the hard abdominal muscles, admiring the contours.

“Bayley… you can have me.”

Alexa’s words were a mere whisper, softly seductive and alluring. The Vigilante watched her finger, refusing to allow her body to react to the flirtatious touching. The Vigilante swiftly, but gently, held Alexa’s hand to stop her movement.

Alexa smiled up at her. “Would you like me to show you?”

“No. Wait until tomorrow night after Raw,” stated the masked woman.

“You’re no fun!” chuckled Alexa and she stepped away to be released from the Vigilante’s grasp, “But let’s discuss business while you’re here, since you’re joining us. We’re having some trouble with people who just won’t go away, I think you know who I’m talking about.”

Alexa walked over to the large windows with the view of the Orlando skyline, she breathed deeply while watching the scenery and awaiting a response. There was a pause.

“Maybe,” she responded shortly to Alexa.

Alexa didn’t turn around, and continued speaking while watching the outside. “I know you’ve been paying attention, so tell me who.”

Another pause.

“Asuka and Drew.”

“Yes!” giggled Alexa, “We have to get rid of them first before proceeding with the next phase of the plan.”

“Which is?”

“Oh, wouldn’t you like to know!” Alexa’s voice had a sing-song nature, reminiscent of Bray.

Alexa turned around quickly and realized that the Vigilante was standing closer to her, in the area of the plush chairs in front of her desk.

“Help us with Asuka and Drew first, prove your worth and then I’ll talk about what’s next,” explained Alexa, “And don’t worry, I’ll keep my word of giving you everything that she won’t give you.”

The Vigilante blinked, and emphasized some syllables as she spoke. “So, is she part of the next phase?”

Alexa grinned. “You’ll just have to see, my dear. You shouldn’t spend so much time thinking about her, and I can assure you that very few thoughts in her head include you at this point. But that’s why you’re here right, to move on?”

“Not sure what you’re talking about. You’re giving me an opportunity and I’m taking it,” The Vigilante said flatly.

Alexa was approaching again. “Just an opportunity? How do I know that we can trust you?”

Alexa halted when the masked woman instead sauntered towards her. She stopped a few inches away. Alexa smiled, admiring the strong scent of roses again. The Vigilante reached out and gently took her hand.

“You said you know what’s going on with me… and if that’s so, then you know I have nothing left,” whispered the Vigilante in a tender voice, her blue eyes morose. Bayley’s hurt and pain echoed in these words.

Slowly, Alexa moved closer to embrace the woman, reaching under the hoodie to touch the hard muscles encased in soft skin. Alexa thought this hug would be one sided, but after a brief pause, she felt the Vigilante’s arms wrap around her tightly.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” murmured Alexa, “I promise to love you and accept you. You don’t have to wear the mask with me, we can be out in the open.”

“What about Bray?”

The question surprised Alexa, and she looked up, slightly bewildered at the masked woman. “What about him? And he’s not the one you should be worried about. Nikki hates you but she’ll get used to seeing you and I together.”

“Lexi…”

Alexa smiled, almost blushing at the sound of her nickname from those sexy lips.

The Vigilante licked her lips before proceeding with her question, “Why do you want me?”

“It makes me mad, it makes me so mad…” Alexa began, slightly looking away before returning her gaze back up at the pretty blue eyes, “That she would make you think that you’re worthless. I will rebuild you, she will never hurt you again.”

Alexa’s nails dug, possessively, into the skin of the Vigilante’s muscular back. She didn’t flinch though, she continued embracing Alexa, as if there were nothing else in the world that she would rather cling to. Suddenly, Alexa grabbed the exposed chin of the taller woman, flanking the defined jaw between her thumb and index finger, and she looked deeply into her eyes. Again, as she had witnessed before, there was a hypnotic nature to Alexa’s gaze, it was impossible to break free.

“I want you because I want to take away everything she has ever had, she is nothing without you. Everything she has ever held will belong to me. You… now, you belong to me,” whispered Alexa, “Will you do what I need you to do?”

Silence drifted throughout the room, almost like a pleasant breeze breaking into the heady trance of Alexa’s words and gaze. The blue eyes of the Vigilante did not look away, they remained on the blonde woman as if nothing else would ever matter. Deep within, Bayley decided, while the Vigilante acted.

She pulled Alexa closer, if it were possible, almost smothering her and she brought her lips to Alexa’s ear.

“Your wish is my command.” A seductive whisper, brimming with danger.

Dakota, Raquel, Shotzi, and Ember stepped outside because they desperately needed a break from Nikki’s angry keystrokes on her laptop and her suspicious looks in their direction. Also, Dakota group texted everyone while they were in the waiting room, stating that they needed to discuss the appearance of the Vigilante privately, away from any of Alexa’s cronies. Dakota leaned against her white Range Rover SUV, she drove everyone to the business meeting and a part of her wondered if they should all get back into the car and drive away. The heat was rising in the atmosphere, while it was much cooler in the morning, but the sun was intermittently hiding among clouds. Dakota ran her fingers through her hair as she glanced around at her friends.

“What the fuck was that?” Dakota said with a grimace, as if she smelled something rotting.

“Bro, it’s awesome! V is here and is working for Alexa too, I guess?!” exclaimed Shotzi, looking impressed.

“Yeah but she still hasn’t followed back,” Ember said, holding up her phone to show the Twitter app to everyone.

Dakota glared at Ember, Raquel sighed and rolled her eyes.

Shotzi giggled. “Dude, she’s talking to Alexa, she didn’t have time to follow back yet but she’s cool. She probably will.”

Ember tilted her head and smiled at Shotzi. “She was looking fine as—”

“OK, back to important shit,” Dakota interrupted, “I don’t know if I wanna trust this situation. I’ve had problems with that Vigilante… But Braun said we should hear what Alexa has planned, he said they’re going to take over the company and get all the gold. So we wanna be on the winning side, right?”

Raquel nodded in agreement with Dakota’s statement, Braun was her boyfriend and she heard his suggestions earlier.

Shotzi looked up at the gray sky thoughtfully. “Yeah but how long does it take to ‘take over’ the company? And getting all the gold? That’s what I was gonna ask Alexa at our appointment.”

“Right, we’ll stick to our strategy when we talk to her and we need clear answers. No ‘ifs’ or ‘maybes.’ We’re here for the gold, ladies. The opportunities and the gold that we deserve,” declared Dakota, glancing around at them all.

“But even if there’s no gold, it’d still be cool to be a part of a faction. Especially learning about the division from Nikki and Alexa who are veterans,” said Shotzi with a shrug.

Dakota shot her an incredulous look. “No, we already have the right amount of experience here. Ember’s been on all the brands, and Raquel and I were recently called up to Smackdown. We don’t need for anyone to discuss ‘experience,’ we need the damn gold!”

“Well, we’re in the tag team tournament in NXT, so today we’ll ask how they’re gonna make sure Shotzi and I become the new champs,” quipped Ember, and Dakota nodded eagerly at this.

“Exactly, and if she doesn’t have a good answer, then we’re not accepting a spot in her faction,” Dakota said in a defiant tone.

“Well, it takes some people years to become a champion in the WWE, and we’re getting good experience and nice paychecks—” Shotzi began.

“You’re happy just living paycheck to paycheck?” Dakota interjected with a frown and crossed arms, “We need more, Shotzi. I want more for us! I will be a champion soon and if Alexa Bliss and the Fiend can bring me the gold, then I will join them.”

“Kota…” Shotzi said in a soothing voice, turning to her friend, “Not to be offensive but Tegan spoke to me recently and said she was worried about you… She thinks you’re becoming hella obsessed with championships. And you’re in a transitional year, you just switched to Smackdown two months ago, give it time!”

“Tegan?!” Dakota shouted angrily and Shotzi looked away sheepishly. Tegan Nox was Dakota’s former best friend and they were slowly attempting to rebuild their friendship in recent times.

“You’ve been talking to Tegan about me?” she continued on in a livid tone, “She’s one to talk, because what’s she doing now? Oh, that’s right! She’s recovering from a knee injury, yet again! She’s learning to do heavy squats again while I’m in the pursuit of gold, there’s no comparing us. She’s just jealous!”

Dakota’s words echoed in the empty parking lot and everyone looked away, avoiding her furious glare. She sighed and looked at the ground, if there was anyone holding her back, just like in the past, it would be Tegan. She wanted to be her friend but she thought maybe Tegan was too complacent at times. Dakota knew within her heart that she was a natural leader, who cares what Tegan thought? She betrayed Tegan in the past but this was a necessary evil of the industry, the cream rises to the top. If Tegan once again chose to be left behind, then Dakota knew that this rebuilding of a destroyed friendship will never work. Raquel was industrious, she never really said much but she supported Dakota’s leadership. At this point, Dakota found followers to be more important than friends in her hunt for a wrestling title.

The wind rushed around them at the moment that Shotzi chose to speak, her voice sounded meek, “Sorry Kota. She’s not jealous… she cares about you.”

“Whatever, I don’t have time for that. I will deal with Tegan later. We need to focus!” growled Dakota at the women, “And now Alexa has some explaining to do with that masked thug in her office. That’ll be our first question to her!”

Dakota developed a deep hatred for the Vigilante over the past few months because she embarrassed her on two occasions already on Smackdown. She thought maybe Becky Lynch was bored and decided to surprise the WWE Universe in a fun costume to intervene for no reason in matches, but she was skeptical of what truly was the point of this charade. Becky wouldn’t be one to hide her face… Dakota ruminated on this often because her beginnings on the main roster were marred by the Vigilante’s interference. She even made Raquel look weak. So who is it? And why is she doing this?

“Do you think… she’s been working for Alexa all along?” Ember asked, with a sudden epiphany.

Everyone thought about this, glancing around at each other.

“Damn, if that’s the case, Alexa is so powerful,” Shotzi said, nodding at the others.

Dakota huffed. “I don’t know, I just hate that fucking hoodlum! Wearing street clothes in the ring, looking ridiculous in a mask… and no one’s been able to get their hands on her except maybe Reckoning, Shayna and Nia. Who is she anyways?”

“The Man?” Raquel asked with a slight shrug.

Everyone looked at her. Dakota kicked at some of the gravel in annoyance during the awkward silence.

“That’s the popular rumor but I don’t believe it. Charlotte Flair was right when she said that our buildings need more security, what if this is just some person off the street picking fights with all of us in the ring?” Dakota stated in an incredulous tone.

“Like you said, Captain,” responded Ember with a grin, “Let’s ask Alexa, maybe she knows.”

“But yo, if the Vigilante works for Alexa, then I’m in. Are we all in?” Shotzi said excitedly, and she clapped Ember’s shoulder. Ember returned her movement with a nod and a smile. Raquel exchanged looks with Dakota, then she gave a smirk and a slight nod.

Dakota’s brows furrowed and she frowned. “Sure, I’d be down, but Alexa has to let me have a piece of that freak.”

Their conversation was interrupted by giggling, they stood in a sort of semi-circle and everyone shifted their attention to the sound of the laughter. Bray Wyatt approached, he held several grocery bags and his face was split into a wide smile. He wore his usual red sweater, dark jeans and black boots.

“I heard you say ‘freak,’ Captain, and you gave me a good laugh,” he said heartily.

Dakota frowned at him and then she eyed the grocery bags. “Nikki said you were in charge of the refreshments, ‘bout time you brought them.”

He nodded and giggled again. “Of course! Alexa and Nikki are in charge of the operations, I’m just here to help!”

He continued laughing as all the women glanced around at each other after his statement.

“Since you’re so helpful,” Dakota sarcastically emphasized the vowels as she spoke to him, “Then tell me… why is the Vigilante of the women’s division, the so-called Fist of Justice, meeting with Alexa Bliss?”

Bray stopped laughing as he stared, unblinking at Dakota. A smile remained on his round face but it was now hollow. His blue-grey eyes glinted seriously, unnervingly. Suddenly, the cheerful, joyful nature of his voice was gone, and the sounds emanating from his larynx were soft, emotionless, almost prophetic.

“I don’t control the Devil, but she belongs to Alexa now.”

A long pause plagued the deserted parking lot. Everyone refused to meet Bray’s gaze other than Dakota. She continued her slight scowling.

“I’ve had problems with this um, Devil, and I want to make sure those problems are addressed,” she declared defiantly. The longer she stared in Bray’s eyes though, she saw flashes of red in her periphery and she thought there was an occasional ringing in her ears, almost like a high pitched metallic noise. In the dull sun illuminating the gray parking lot, her vision blurred intermittently and it seemed that Bray’s face swam in and out of focus. She refused to look away, she traveled this far and would not appear weak. She thought she saw the Fiend’s mask replace Bray’s face and she blinked furiously but continued the stare down.

Bray’s lips broke into a smile again and his gleeful chortle echoed in the afternoon air. “That shouldn’t be a problem! But we can only solve those issues if you join us!”

Dakota snorted and rolled her eyes. “We’ll hear what Alexa has to say, no guarantees about any of us joining just yet—”

“Then why are you here?” Bray interrupted with another loud laugh, “Braun talked to you, didn’t he? He’s in.”

Dakota glanced over at Raquel after her boyfriend was mentioned before she continued on, “Yeah, he’s an adult and can decide for himself. Maybe we’ll give this a trial, and if there’s no gold and if I can’t solve my Vigilante ‘problem,’ then the deal is up.”

Bray’s smile faded. “You don’t seem to understand… once you’ve let us in, there’s no way out.”

Raquel and Ember froze at this declaration. Dakota was ready to give a sarcastic retort but she felt Shotzi’s hand on her elbow. She glanced over at the green haired woman who gave her an uneasy smile.

“Dude, the Vigilante joined and she’s hella cool. And Kota, you drove us all here because this is important to you… so I dunno… let’s do it,” Shotzi explained in a hushed whisper to the women, a nervous edge to her voice.

Bray was still watching them. Dakota gave Shotzi a slight nod and then she looked down at her Apple Watch. It was time. Dakota breathed deeply before she looked back up at Bray, she was a leader and she would not back down.

“Well then, let’s all get back inside to start our appointment,” Dakota stated loudly and she started to walk towards the building with everyone else trailing after her.

On cue, as Dakota re-entered the beautiful, expansive waiting room, Alexa was exiting her office. Dakota stepped back and frowned in surprise when she saw that Alexa, who was dressed in business formal attire, was hurriedly buttoning her blazer and the Vigilante was also leaving the office behind her, the woman was adjusting her mask. They appeared rather breathless. Dakota made eye contact with the Vigilante and glowered viciously, while Nikki was in the background, seemingly just glaring at everyone. Bray rushed over to Nikki to hand her a granola bar and a bright orange Vitamin Water. In his frenzy, he managed to briefly pause by the Vigilante to give her a pleasant smile, and his smile was as sweet as aspartame.

Raquel crossed her arms and also glared at the Vigilante while Ember and Shotzi were grinning hard.

“Thank you… for talking to me,” Alexa said sweetly to the Vigilante. In response, the mystery woman held Alexa’s hand and brought her hand to her lips, planting a brief kiss through the shiny fabric of the mask. A momentary, pink blush appeared over Alexa’s face while Ember and Shotzi were practically swooning in the background.

Dakota whispered furiously at her friends, “Stop that, don’t be dumb! You haven’t even seen her face. I really don’t understand this!”

“I’d let her wreck me and leave,” Ember whispered back through giggles.

Shotzi looked so impressed with this statement that she fought to stifle the volume of her voice, and chuckled, “Girl, same!”

Raquel also gave a slight chuckle, and thus, Dakota became truly pissed. The Vigilante was sauntering away after gifting Alexa with a red rose and she turned to look at the group of women, she winked before she disappeared. Shotzi and Ember giggled very loudly and held onto each other for emotional support after witnessing the romantic gestures of the heartthrob of the women’s division. Raquel also laughed with her friends. Nikki and Bray were munching on granola bars, glancing around at everyone. Alexa watched the door that the Vigilante exited from, she swayed slightly as if she were in a dreamy haze and she twirled the red rose in her right hand.

Dakota clenched her fists and stared at everyone in a silent fury.

Chapter Text

The cold morning air cleared the clutter from her thoughts; she was grateful for it. A cool breeze rushed around her occasionally, waxing and waning but pleasant, helping to evaporate the clammy perspiration on her face. Bayley sat on a chair on her apartment balcony, the small table beside her. She woke up from one of her usual nightmares, she couldn’t return to sleep so she went out into the balcony with a cup of water, a book, and her thoughts to keep her company. Clad in a dark blue hoodie and faded black pajama pants, the hood pulled over her head to hide her messy, black hair; she crossed her arms for warmth. These days, her thoughts were rather scattered and negative. It was months later and she still had night terrors of being locked in the cage with Sasha. Or sometimes she would see visions of attacking Sasha again with a steel chair, and these would overlap with images of Sasha hitting her with a chair and then a kendo stick. She could still feel those weapons crashing into her body. She could close her eyes and see this violence immediately, she could be thrown back into this darkness so quickly.

Instinctively, her right hand reached into her hoodie pocket, and her fingers met the familiar, soft, slick fabric of the Vigilante’s mask. Gradually, she felt warmer, more relaxed, although the chilly wind picked up around her. She stared out into the cloudy sky, the fog obscured the sunlight but there was an orange glow around her. Reds and yellows were mixed into the atmosphere as well, heralding the morning. She breathed deeply, thinking about her decision yesterday and then her mind arrived to the intriguing conversation she had with Callie, the seamstress, later in the evening.

“It’s bothered me the whole day, I might talk to a healer about this.”

Tarry, the cat, prowled around the table that Callie had perched her phone on, his large, curious eyes stared at Bayley through the camera. Callie rubbed between his ears, Bayley smiled at them.

“A healer?” Bayley responded to Callie’s statement.

“Yes, they could be helpful. I’m not the expert on this sort of magic that Alexa is using, I haven’t seen anything like this,” explained Callie with a frown.

Bayley looked away quickly, she met with Alexa hours earlier and she omitted this fact to Callie. The seamstress often knew more than she was willing to let on though, and Bayley wondered about her clairvoyant nature on more than one occasion. Callie FaceTimed her this evening to discuss the mask, she seemed to be reading and studying all day, trying to find ways to preserve it.

Callie noticed Bayley’s shift in expression. “Something wrong?”

“The priestess… who gave you the masks, do you think she would know?” Bayley went on, ignoring the question.

“She’s not easy to get a hold of, I’ll send a letter if I don’t find anything helpful to us this week.”

“A letter?” muttered Bayley.

“Yes, Role Model, a letter. She has no other mode of communication, unless if you and I drive over to rural Mexico to ask her in person,” laughed Callie.

Bayley grinned. “Sounds like a good time.”

“It’s much more convenient for you if I can find a counter charm or if a healer can heal the mask,” Callie said, watching the cat thoughtfully as he appeared back in the camera’s view.

“Speaking of that type of stuff…” Bayley paused slightly before continuing, in a nervous tone, “I think you might’ve noticed too, and maybe this is a charm or something of the mask? People see the Vigilante, especially women, and are… attracted.”

Callie smiled widely. “Yes, of course I’ve noticed that on the shows and on social media, you’ve got lots of ladies in love with you.”

Bayley chuckled, embarrassed. “Not me, they like the Vigilante! So, there’s some type of magic or whatever from the mask that’s causing that, right?”

“What I find interesting, and strange, is that you see the Vigilante as a separate person from yourself. You are the Vigilante, and the Vigilante is you. You’re one person. Those people love the Vigilante because they love you. There are many enchantments and spells in the world, infatuation can be mimicked but that level of attraction… lasting attraction and love, that is not magic. It’s you,” Callie said, kindly and sincerely. Her dark brown eyes sparkled, even virtually, behind her large, circular glasses.

Bayley sighed deeply. “They don’t know that it’s my face under the mask, and if everyone found out, it would give them more reasons to hate me.”

“Role Model…” Callie said, her words trailing off, and then she smiled solemnly before she spoke again, “Take a chance, you’d be surprised.”

The windows of the luxury, gray sports car rolled down, cool air filtered into the car while the energetic beat of pop music permeated outward into the parking lot. Charlotte Flair pressed a button by the steering wheel to shut off the engine, then she sent a quick text message on her phone. Her blonde hair was in a long braid, and she wore a relaxed white, sleeveless workout top, pale blue compression pants, and white athletic shoes. She parked in the lot of a fitness center, waiting for a friend. She initially offered to meet at the Performance Center but this particular friend thought that would lead to negative attention for both of them.

A few minutes later, she saw Bayley trudging towards the car. Glum, scowling, Bayley wore a distressed black tank top, a black sweater with Seth Rollins’ logo in gray on one of the sleeves, colorful, but mostly turquoise, compression pants, and black running shoes. Her black hair was shiny, and neatly parted. Charlotte smiled and waved at her, Bayley’s lips lifted a little as she opened the car door to sit inside.

“Good morning—”

“What d’you want, Char?” Bayley said flatly, interrupting Charlotte’s pleasantry.

Charlotte’s brows furrowed, she was taken aback by this response, she spoke carefully, attempting to keep anger from seeping into her tone. “Thanks for meeting me. I’m worried about you and I want to make sure you’re OK.”

Bayley huffed, crossing her arms and stared at the digital display on the dashboard of the Mercedes vehicle. “After all this time, now you’re worried, huh?”

“I’m sorry, dammit!” Charlotte yelled and then she sighed, calming herself before continuing because Bayley glowered at her, “I’m sorry. I should’ve reached out to you earlier. I just… I dunno, a lot’s happened. And Becky should’ve never did that to you in the locker room, so I’m apologizing for her behavior too.”

“Becky Lynch can’t apologize to me herself, she needs her girlfriend to do it for her,” muttered Bayley, who returned to watching the dashboard absently after glaring at Charlotte.

“I’ve talked to her, and I’ll keep talking to her… You know how Bex is, she’ll talk to you when she’s ready,” Charlotte said soothingly, and then she continued on when Bayley remained silent, “What you did to Sasha was wrong, and Sasha mentioned something recently — I guess that’s why you two had that showdown in the ring before Alexa appeared? I’ll talk to Sasha too, for you.”

Bayley frowned and glanced curiously at the blonde woman. “What did Sasha say?”

Charlotte sighed. “She wouldn’t go into details. But whatever happened doesn’t matter to me now, I’m moving forward. Bayley, you should come to the birthday party tomorrow night, I’ll text you the location. It starts at 6pm.”

Bayley’s curious expression morphed back into a scowl. “I knew the party was tomorrow and you’re just now inviting me. Everyone else received their invites weeks ago. You don’t have to pretend to be nice to me, I know how you all feel.”

Before Charlotte could speak, Bayley reached for the door handle. She paused because Charlotte gently touched her arm.

“Bayley, I’m sorry, please listen to me. You’re welcome at the party tomorrow. You’re my friend. And I’ll keep talking to Becky and Sasha until they accept you back.”

“Char…” Bayley’s voice was a whisper and she turned to stare at her blankly, her hand still on the door handle, “I know you, and I know you do things for your own ego. You don’t have to do anything for me. I’m fine on my own. I don’t need you, I don’t need Becky. And I damn sure don’t need Sasha. Yeah, I betrayed Sash, I sent her to the hospital, I was wrong… but remember what you’ve all done to me over the years.”

“Bayley—”

Bayley quickly pulled her arm away from Charlotte’s grasp and she opened the door to escape the luxury car. She slammed the door as Charlotte tried to reach out for her again. Bayley paused outside of the car, staring at Charotte’s shocked, dumbfounded expression. Bayley’s face was lined with rage, disappointment, anguish, and her dark eyes were intense and cold, rivaling the chilly morning atmosphere.

“Worry about yourself, Charlotte. And I’m sure all of this was really just about you. Whatever makes you feel better about yourself, I don’t care. Just leave me alone.”

She grinned while watching the action unfold in the ring. Even while practicing, they were impressive and acrobatic, but also impressionable and obedient; she knew they would be a good addition to her cause. Alexa Bliss smiled as she watched Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon exchange grappling moves in a wrestling ring in one of the large practice rooms of the Thunder Dome. Wrestling was an art form, easy to get lost in the swift motions and colorful maneuvers on a blank canvas. Alexa found herself in a trance while watching the ring from the room entrance. She was so enthralled that she didn’t realize that someone snuck up behind her.

“Boo.”

The simple word in her left ear did not startle her because she recognized the sweet voice. Her smile widened and her heart fluttered as she turned around. The Vigilante stood before her; her red mask seemed to have a metallic texture under the bright lights of the practice arena, a brilliant white rose was emblazoned on the left cheek region of the mask, while the rest of her outfit was white as well, the white hood pulled over her head as usual.

“Hello,” Alexa murmured in response and she reached out for the taller woman. They hugged, Alexa buried her face in the soft fabric of the white hoodie, the familiar scent of flowers filling her nose. She sighed as she felt the masked woman’s comforting finger tips brush along her spine. Alexa wore more of a simple outfit of a black sleeveless top, gray pleated skirt and short black boots before the start of Raw in 2 hours. Her blonde hair with pink ends was down, it was rare to see her without pigtails.

“Let’s go spend time in my locker room alone,” Alexa said, her voice slightly muffled since she spoke into the Vigilante’s clothing.

Bayley’s soft voice spoke, “Not yet, later after Raw. After I do what you need me to do.”

There was a loud whistle from the ring, the background chatter diminished and Alexa looked up, releasing her source of peace and warmth.

“Lexi, you gonna tell us who that is?” Dakota Kai called from inside the ring, sneering. Dakota noticed the masked woman immediately when she appeared, and she was appalled that no one else seemed to care. She stepped into the ring to correct Shotzi’s technique on a takedown, but to also give herself a stage to call attention to what was unfolding in the background. Braun Strowman and Raquel Gonzalez were also at ringside, deep in conversation, ignoring the rest of the world. Bray Wyatt and Nikki Cross were also nearby, giggling at baby animal photos on social media. Dakota excused Ember and Shotzi because they were practicing wrestling moves. Everyone turned to the Vigilante though after Dakota’s shout.

Alexa raised an eyebrow at the tone of Dakota’s voice. “Maybe.”

“Then tell us,” Dakota said firmly, “We are in your faction now, and she’s with us too, right? We’re all friends here, no need for secrets.”

There was a lengthy pause. Everyone looked from Dakota to the Vigilante, and to Alexa, their eyes surveying the awkward scene. Alexa’s lips were tilted into a mild smirk, but her smile did not reach her eyes. Her blue eyes were rather blank, apathetic. The Vigilante stood next to her like a statue carved from centuries old stone, with indecipherable body language. Bray chuckled and a few people looked at him. The Vigilante and Alexa continued staring at Dakota. Dakota shifted her weight among her heels, balancing in anger while clenching and unclenching her fists.

“Knowledge is power, and Lexi will tell you when you’re ready to know,” Nikki chimed in, to everyone’s surprise. Alexa grinned at her best friend.

Dakota glared at her. “You probably don’t even know.”

“Watch it, you just joined us and I’m already tired of you,” Nikki said flatly, matching the other woman’s glare.

“What’s with all the damn secrets!” Dakota shouted in the ring, her voice echoing off the walls of the practice room. Shotzi shook her head quickly when she made eye contact with her friend, motioning to Dakota that she needed to stop talking.

Bray laughed again. Dakota turned to look at him after Shotzi gained her attention, and she did not think she was turned away from the entrance for too long but she experienced a strange chill, as if ice was running down her neck and back, underneath her dark blue Tampa Bay Rays baseball jersey. Oddly, the air felt painful in her lungs, her chest tightened and her diaphragm constricted because of the sudden cold. She knew what was happening and she forced herself to turn quickly towards the side of the ring closest to the entrance area. The Vigilante was now standing in the ring with them.

“Have patience, Captain. My love is here to help us, as are you,” stated Alexa cryptically.

Nikki crossed her arms and looked away. Ember and Shotzi stared at the masked crusader, still awestruck.

Dakota frowned, stepping closer to the Vigilante. “Your ‘love’ and I have some unfinished business. She keeps meddling in my matches.”

“You’re both in the ring, settle this now so we can all move on as a happy family,” said Bray excitedly, and there were murmurs of agreement around him.

Dakota smirked and she pointed with her thumb for her friends to exit the ring. At ringside, Nikki banged her fists on the mat frenetically, while Alexa sauntered towards the ring.

“C’mon Kota!” Braun cheered at ringside.

Dakota nodded at him and Raquel, as she unbuttoned her long, loose jersey and tossed it in the Vigilante’s direction. The masked woman was unperturbed, she caught the jersey, swung it in a few circles before hurling it back at Dakota. Dakota swiftly moved out of the way, she was now only clad in a black sports bra, long black shorts, and white and blue basketball shoes. She was well defined but slim, and her opponent was taller and more muscular. Some of her bright pink hair fell into her vision when she moved suddenly, and she brushed this aside nervously. Dakota thought she saw the shadow of a smile on the mask.

The Vigilante, in response, fully zipped down her hoodie, revealing a red sports bra and a hard abdomen. Shotzi whistled, Ember crooned “oooh,” Nikki smacked the mat again, Alexa blushed, and Bray giggled.

“Let’s see what you got, baby girl,” whispered the Vigilante in a low growl, still audible and dangerous over the ringside hum of excitement.

Dakota was furious at this taunt, she lunged at the other woman, reaching out with both arms extended to grapple. The Vigilante met the grapple easily, quickly overpowering Dakota by shoving a forearm in her face, and pressing hard as Dakota held on. Dakota stumbled onto her knees, and the taller woman proceeded into quick, powerful mat techniques, extending Dakota’s neck up with a headlock after a side takedown. Dakota shifted, struggling in the hold but she floundered. The Vigilante finally released her after some jeers from the crowd, she smacked Dakota’s face with an open palm as she rose up before proceeding to a corner. Dakota hastily returned to her feet, her face flushed with rage and embarrassment.

She charged at the masked woman, aiming for a vicious clothesline but missed wildly. She wheeled around and then suffered a punch to the gut, the air was forced out of her lungs and she gasped and sputtered as she sank to one knee. The Vigilante turned away, running to the ropes for momentum before returning back to Dakota, a right knee strike ready but Dakota managed to pivot away, still breathing hard and coughing as she drunkenly rose to her feet. Dakota attempted a right hook of her own and missed wildly again when the masked woman ducked instinctively, she knew another vicious attack was coming but she was too late to avoid it. When Dakota regained her balance, she was knocked hard in the throat by a spinning forearm, she fell to the mat on her stomach, coughing again but this time, saliva mixed with specks of blood was on the gray mat.

“Dakota’s had enough,” Alexa proclaimed at ringside to stop the fight.

“No! Just… getting started!” Dakota managed to sputter through thunderous coughs, attempting to get on her knees while Raquel and Braun quickly entered the ring to be by her side.

“You’ve had enough and I’ve seen enough,” stated Alexa, her tone more serious and deadly. Dakota noted this shift in Alexa voice but she glanced up at the blonde woman, she was in pain but still, her facial muscles mustered a scowl.

“Learn to listen. And learn how to fight before you ask questions.”

Dakota turned her attention to the Vigilante who spoke softly and calmly, she stared at her vehemently from her knees. Completely enraged.

“Oh, Captain! But she’s right, you know,” Bray said cheerfully, and in a seamless shift, his tone became darker, more grave, “When you sow the wind, you reap the whirlwind. And you want to know who she is? She’s the Whirlwind.”

The match ended in disqualification, and everyone knew this main event would not end well. The main event exploded into chaos when Braun Strowman arrived and attacked Drew McIntyre, and then Nikki Cross attacked the referee after the bell was rung. Drew and Asuka fought bravely for 15 minutes in their tag team match against Alexa Bliss and Bray Wyatt, but knew they would be outnumbered soon. Drew managed to fend off Braun, sending him slumped to a corner and then Nikki blocked his path, laughing maniacally.

“Get out of the way!” Drew yelled at her.

Alexa and Bray rolled back into the ring, also giggling uncontrollably. They created a wall around Braun, and “the Monster among Men” was stirring once again, but struggling to his feet. Asuka shouted at all of them in Japanese, and she smacked Drew’s bicep, pointing at Bray. Drew stepped closer, but Alexa, this time, blocked him, shielding Bray. Nikki also managed to collect a chair, she brandished this in front of Asuka. More confusion and frustration.

Drew was about to yell again but he couldn’t ignore the goosebumps forming on his arms. There was a sheen of sweat over his body but it suddenly felt as if freezing rain was being dumped into the Thunder Dome. He puffed air out of his lips and saw an outline of frost form before him. The loud, discordant crowd was becoming more of a lull as others noted a similar chill in the air. Everyone was glancing around. Alexa was still giggling.

“Why does it feel like we’re in a freezer?” Samoa Joe asked at the commentary table to his colleagues.

Alexa looked up at the ceiling, red rose petals were drifting downward, slowly twirling in the cold air. Others also looked up. Abruptly, the arena lights shut off, Asuka and Drew shouted in this darkness, reaching out for each other in case they were attacked suddenly. Seconds later, the lights regained their power, color flooded the Thunder Dome once more, the commentary team were screaming shrilly, and the crowd let off a deafening cheer. The Vigilante stood, in front of Nikki, Alexa and Bray, her left hand holding a black baseball bat and her right hand holding a black steel chair. She wore all white except for her red mask adorned with a white rose. She stared, unblinking at Drew and Asuka. Behind them all, Braun grunted and was able to get onto one knee to survey the confrontation.

The group slowly approached Drew and Asuka before halting again, Nikki, Bray and Alexa were in a line behind the Vigilante. Asuka screamed again, harshly, at the masked woman, beckoning for a fight. Before any further movement, the Vigilante lifted her weapons above her head, the crowd was roaring in the background. She moved suddenly, injecting all of her strength into the force of the weapons, which came crashing down on Nikki’s head and shoulders. Nikki was blasted to the side, almost falling out of the ring.

Bray stared at Nikki, wide eyed and ballistic, but in this distraction, Drew ran to him, launching a Claymore kick into his shocked face. Bray collided with Braun, and they toppled out of the ring together. Alexa quickly turned to grab at the masked woman’s weapons after Nikki fell, but this was anticipated. The Vigilante swung the bat at the blonde woman’s head, she managed to dance away but was turned towards Asuka, whose lips were dripping with a green substance. The green mist was sprayed, full force at Alexa’s face.

“Aghh!”

Asuka pivoted around the Vigilante, driving a roundhouse kick into Alexa’s abdomen. She slumped to the ground, nearby the ropes, and escaped the ring a split second before the Vigilante’s steel chair struck her body. She was still screaming, and she tripped over Nikki who’s motionless body lay outside of the ring as well. Her team was scattered, thwarted by who she thought was her newfound ally.

Asuka’s music boomed through the arena, she and Drew were both shouting excitedly but they were difficult to understand over the cheering crowd. Asuka patted the Vigilante’s shoulder, grinning widely and her teeth were now a deep green, some of the mist on her hands were now transferred to the masked crusader’s white hoodie. Asuka started to dance in celebration, moving rhythmically with the drums of her theme music, her hand still on the Vigilante’s shoulder. Drew smiled at the two women.

“The end of Raw was a disaster but the champions had to retreat after the Vigilante of the women’s division crashed their party! The challengers, Drew McIntyre and Asuka, stand tall at the main event!” Samoa Joe shouted enthusiastically at the commentary table.

Drew and Asuka both held one of the Vigilante’s wrists, and in unison, nodding to each other in appreciation, they raised their arms in victory which was the close of the show before the cameras were shut off. The Vigilante noticed that Bray was finally regaining his composure, he sat on the ground next to Braun. She was forced to blink and look away though, Bray’s face was frigid and seething with resentment. She thought she imagined this, but when she stared at him, she heard a high pitched ringing in her ears, and she witnessed the Fiend’s horrific mask intermittently obscuring his true face in flashes of red.

Chapter Text

Becky Lynch was in a sour mood as she stared at the stupidity being displayed on the wide TV screen in Sasha Banks’ private locker room. She watched R-Truth, Drew McIntyre, and Asuka, dancing and waving their arms around while all clad in new merchandise shirts for the Vigilante: black t-shirts with a large white mask printed on the front, the mask had narrow, accentuated blue eyes and a red rose on the left side. Asuka and Drew were also excitedly describing their ordeal with Bray Wyatt and Alexa Bliss and company, proclaiming that they refuse to disappear quietly into the night and that they will win their championships back. Becky cracked open another sparkling water can to pour into a glass.

“I know what this is ‘bout,” she suddenly said to Charlotte and Sasha who flanked her on the leather couch.

Charlotte glanced at Becky while Sasha’s brown eyes remained on the TV screen, she was smiling.

Becky cleared her throat, hoping to get Sasha’s attention as well. “It’s about the Raw title. That masked thug wants the title and is gonna stab Asuka in the back.”

“Where was the security? They’re going to let this person run all over the place and interrupt the main event?” asked Charlotte in an incredulous tone.

Sasha finally looked at the other women, still smiling. “C’mon now, she makes Raw exciting. The main event ended in disqualification anyways, but I don’t see you complaining about Braun and Nikki. And speaking of security, Bliss has caused much more damage with her fire tricks, so where was security for that, huh?”

Charlotte sighed and shook her head while Becky aggressively sipped the sparkling water.

“This is why Raw is absolute trash, look at this shit! Smackdown is the superior show, and especially wit’ you as champion, Sash. Just watch your back for this Vigilante,” Becky said, gesturing her glass at the TV when R-Truth gleefully pointed at his Vigilante t-shirt to plug the WWE Shop website.

“I know,” Sasha spoke solemnly, “I don’t know what she wants, but I’ll be careful.”

Sasha looked at her blue championship belt that was placed on a podium nearby the TV. She heard the rumors that the Vigilante… Bayley… was now in Alexa’s camp but her actions tonight were in complete defiance to those allegations. What did she want? Maybe Becky is right. She knew that Bayley had issues with becoming obsessed with gold, and she betrayed her trust yet again. Sasha sometimes found herself getting lost in the glimmer and shine of the jewels on her championship belt, and her own paranoia grew stronger while wearing it. The feelings were stifling, and she should feel proud when wearing her title but sometimes she felt neurotic, joyless. She knew the paranoid thoughts were irrational, or were they? That someone would take her hard earned prize away… Alexa? Or even Bayley?

She grinned, feeling a bit embarrassed by the calm blue eyes watching her. She loved the attention and those pretty blue eyes were in stark contrast to the setting sun in the horizon, the sky was swathed in a deep orange and varying hues of pinks. There was chatter, laughter and happiness all around them. It was Sasha’s birthday, and Becky and Charlotte had set up a carnival / amusement park style outdoor party. The lights from the attractions and the rides twinkled around them, but she focused on the person in front of her. Roman Reigns, the WWE Universal Champion, wore the Legit Boss retro track suit, his long black hair was pulled back into a bun, his beard was neatly trimmed and perfectly framed his handsome jaw.

“Boss, I know you’re busy. I’m happy I could be here for you. Maybe we should find time to hang out, if you’re interested?” Roman said warmly, smiling.

Sasha wore a tight, sleeveless black dress, a shiny silver necklace adorned her neck, the necklace had several pendants of moons and stars. Her smile widened at his suggestion.

“Of course I’m interested! Text me later in the week and maybe we could come up with a weekend plan,” she responded, and then she had a strange thought. Roman’s blue eyes reminded her of another pair of blue eyes that she missed looking into. She looked away briefly and sighed, she shouldn’t be thinking of her at all, especially not on her birthday, she needed to move on.

Roman noted the slight shift in Sasha’s expressions, he spoke gently, “If you’re busy, we can just text and set something up in a few weeks. No rush. Let’s keep in touch.”

Sasha grinned again at his kindness, she touched his arm. “I want to hang out with you, Roman. I really do and I’d love to do something on Friday after Smackdown if you’re free.”

“I was going to have dinner with Naomi, Jimmy and Jey, but you’re welcome to join us,” he said smoothly.

Before Sasha could respond, she and Roman both glanced around to the sound of raucous laughter. They were standing nearby a large table where Becky and Charlotte were cutting the birthday cake earlier, the cake was chocolate with a ganache layer filling and topped with blue frosting that had designs with glittery lettering. At the table, Becky and Naomi were laughing while eating cake, and Sasha knew they were already drunk by the sound of the high pitched chuckling.

Dakota Kai shared a carriage with her friend, Raquel Gonzalez, on the ferris wheel and she thought this fun, amusement park birthday party would lift her mood but she was still pissed after the carnage of yesterday. Raquel seemed to be having a good time, she was waving at her boyfriend, Braun, who was watching them from the ground, he was standing next to Nia Jax’s boyfriend, Reginald.

“I’m going to the gym after this ride is over, you and Braun can stay as long as you want,” Dakota stated grumpily.

Raquel frowned at her friend. “The gym? The night’s just started and this party is way better than I thought it would be.”

“Yeah but I have to prepare,” said Dakota as she stared into the atmosphere, the lights were bright around them because night had fallen.

“Kota, are you still thinking about the Vigilante?” asked Raquel.

“No!” Dakota lied, “I have to prepare for Smackdown on Friday, I can’t be eating a bunch of cake and drinking alcohol and relaxing. I take my job very seriously.”

There was an audible clunk and the ride halted, it wasn’t a sudden halt since the ferris wheel was moving rather slowly but there was already babbles of complaints from the passengers. Dakota huffed and looked at the passengers below them, trying to get their attention.

“Can you believe this shit?” she called to them.

Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax sat together in another carriage, they looked up when Dakota shouted.

“See? Didn’t I tell you all not to get on this thing?” Shayna expressed in an annoyed tone.

Nia rolled her eyes. “I didn’t force you on the ride, I thought it would be fun like everyone else who wanted to join in.”

Shayna sighed, crossing her arms. “I don’t trust anything that Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair put together.”

“I said the same thing and here we are, stuck on this fucking ride!” yelled Dakota, throwing up her arms in irritation.

Nia ignored them and waved, smiling sweetly at Reginald who was on the ground with a forming crowd of people. “Reggie, babe, I can’t hear you! Text me!”

The operator of the ride stepped out of his booth, he walked over to the power box of the ferris wheel to investigate. He saw that the box door was opened, before he could reach inside, he was knocked out as something hit him in the back of the head. The crowd did not notice this since everyone was preoccupied in their own drunken conversations. The operator slumped against a steel beam, and Nikki Cross, who was behind him with a crowbar, shut the door of the power box. She turned to walk away and something fell into her path. A red rose darted in front of her from thin air, it’s stem dug into the concrete as if it was sharp enough to pierce stone. She gripped the crowbar, a sense of impending dread simmered within her chest, and she looked around for the owner of the rose.

As she whirled around, she lifted the crowbar to block an incoming punch, her rusted metal weapon slammed into the Vigilante’s forearm. The masked woman snapped her right arm back wildly in pain, but she still possessed the awareness to step out of harm’s way as Nikki swung the crowbar in her direction. The force of Nikki’s violent swing turned her around a bit, she twirled on the spot and lost her footing, overwhelmed by her own anger and the Vigilante took advantage of this. She grabbed Nikki’s left arm, lifting her high into the air, in the form of a belly to back suplex, and slammed Nikki’s upper back and neck into the unyielding gravel. The crowd of wrestlers noticed the masked woman and Nikki fighting, now they encircled them, cheering. Nikki dropped her crowbar, gripping the back of her head and neck in pain.

Nikki grunted when she was kicked in the abdomen, she wiggled around while on the ground and reached for the crowbar. The Vigilante stomped on her hand. Nikki howled in pain, this was muffled by the crowd’s jeers. Suddenly, Bray and Alexa emerged from the crowd, they looked strange, clad in Sasha’s merchandise, which was the theme of the party and granted guests entrance. Alexa knelt beside Nikki, glaring furiously at the Vigilante. Bray sauntered over towards the rose that stuck into the concrete, he stepped on it, crushing the delicate petals underneath his boot. The Vigilante slowly picked up the crowbar, not taking her eyes off her adversaries. Alexa and Bray started giggling profusely, there was confusion brewing among the crowd. The Vigilante blinked a few times, there seemed to be a red mist forming around them, this mist was shielding Nikki, Alexa and Bray. She gripped the metal weapon in her hand, ready to swing and shatter bones. Unfortunately, the mist cleared a bit and she saw that they had disappeared, she looked around and the crowd was also glancing around as well. The ferris wheel restarted and was moving again, the crowd started clapping for the impressive masked crusader. The Vigilante ignored the praise, still glancing around for her enemies as she walked away from the ferris wheel.

An R&B power ballad was booming throughout the carnival speakers, a love song about lost love. The song was growing fainter as the Vigilante continued walking away from the festivities, her hands in her pockets and she had abandoned the crowbar earlier. The Vigilante was also wearing Sasha’s merchandise, a black Legit Boss zip up hoodie with blue and white designs and Legit Boss sweatpants. Her mask was a brilliant blue with a red rose design. She hoped the remainder of Sasha’s birthday party would be fun and free of the shenanigans of jealous, bitter people.

“Hey! V!”

A familiar voice called to her, she wanted to keep walking away but her legs commanded her to stop. She sighed and turned around.

Sasha was hurriedly approaching her, walking rather quickly in black, high heels. She was smiling widely, this surprised the Vigilante because she never thought she would ever see Sasha Banks smiling at her again.

“Happy Birthday, Boss,” Bayley’s normal voice murmured from behind the mask.

Sasha’s smile grew wider. “I’m happy you showed up.”

Sasha saw the usual shadow of a smile behind the blue mask. The masked woman unzipped her hoodie, Sasha looked away shyly, she did not want to be enamored with the muscular upper body in front of her. She presented Sasha with a red rose, and Sasha could feel her breath becoming heavy as she accepted this gift.

“I hope you enjoy the rest of your night.”

The Vigilante turned again after her statement and started to walk away. Sasha gripped the rose in her left hand and she swiftly reached out to her friend with her right hand, her nails brushing against the fabric of the black hoodie.

“Baby, wait.”

The Vigilante stopped, closing her eyes, she wanted to keep walking… she wished she had the courage to keep walking because there was no good that could come from this situation. She would just end up hurt, again. But Sasha’s touch and her soft tone… Bayley could hide behind the mask and use it to bolster her own bravery, but now she suddenly felt as if she stepped into quicksand.

“I know what you did at the ferris wheel. Thank you,” whispered Sasha.

The Vigilante opened her eyes again and looked at the blue haired woman. Sasha quickly closed the distance between them, reaching up to the blue mask and pulling it up gently to reveal Bayley’s lips. A light pink lip gloss adorned Bayley’s lips. The environment around them seemed to slow down, the night sky twinkled with stars in this late January evening but these stars seemed hazy and dull compared to Bayley’s beautiful blue eyes. The happy chatter from the crowd of people at the party was suddenly absent, the R&B music laced with synths and a potent vocoder were drowned out. She was lost in Bayley’s gaze, she was anchored by Bayley’s presence. Before Bayley could retreat, Sasha kissed her deeply. Bayley’s hand instinctively fell to Sasha’s lower back and she pulled her closer. Sasha’s hands cupped around Bayley’s jaw as she continued kissing her, her eager lips grappled with her friend’s soft lips. Bayley pulled away, panting for air, and she quickly pulled the mask down over her lips to once again completely cover her face. Sasha had released her friend but still watched her, yearning.

“I’m sorry, we shouldn’t,” muttered the Vigilante, looking away, embarrassed.

“Oy!”

The Vigilante and Sasha both sighed as they saw Charlotte and Becky sauntering towards them swiftly, there was something very business-like in their stride. Becky was drunkenly shouting about other things as they walked, Sasha snorted at this because she spent most of the night observing Becky’s antics.

Charlotte and Becky halted, but were quite close to the other women. Sasha stepped in front of her friend, like a shield, and her left hand reached behind her to feel the masked woman’s hip. The warmth from the taller woman could be felt through the thin fabric of her dress because of their closeness.

“Th’ fuck’s going on? We didn’t invite her!” Becky shouted, gesturing rudely at the Vigilante but she addressed Sasha.

“This is my friend. And she’s wearing my merch, she’s allowed to be here! You and Char said that all guests had to wear my merch to be allowed in the carnival,” Sasha quipped defensively.

“We saw the ferris wheel shut down for a bit back there, I was wondering if you had something to do with it,” Charlotte said, raising a skeptical eyebrow at the Vigilante.

The Vigilante’s gaze shifted between Charlotte and Becky, unblinking. She felt Sasha’s protective grip on her hip.

“No, she wasn’t involved in that. It was actually Nikki, ask all the people standing there! And V was helping to make sure the ride worked again,” Sasha argued.

“Ah! The many talents of the Vigilante of the women’s division, not just a street thug but also a fucking mechanic, eh!” Becky exclaimed, taking an angry step closer.

Charlotte placed a hand on Becky’s shoulder, hoping vainly that this would prevent any sort of violence. She glowered at the Vigilante, peering deeply into the masked woman’s blue eyes. “Who are you?”

There was a long pause, distant screams from the amusement park filled the air and bass-filled music accompanied it. The Vigilante stared at Charlotte and said nothing. Charlotte did not back down but the icy blue eyes were a bit unnerving, there was something familiar about this woman… her stance, her gaze, her energy, her aura. Charlotte knew she met her before but couldn’t place her within her memory. She also wondered if alcohol clouded her judgement in this moment, she was not as drunk as Becky but she still felt off.

“I told you, Char, this is my friend,” Sasha proclaimed proudly.

Without warning, Becky swiftly yanked Sasha away from her path and Becky threw her entire weight behind a left hook directed at the Vigilante. Too slow. The Vigilante easily dodged this and took a few steps back. Becky, bewildered, charged at her. The masked woman side stepped, and kept her foot out in Becky’s path, so that Becky stumbled and tripped into the ground. Charlotte and Sasha gasped. Before the Vigilante could approach Becky and do any further damage, Charlotte stepped in front of her, holding up her shoulder positioned in a sling.

“I’m injured but I’ll fight you right here if you lay a hand on her,” warned Charlotte dangerously.

The Vigilante sighed, remaining silent and crossed her arms as she walked away from the women. Becky was shouting obscenities from the ground as Charlotte tried to help her on her feet. Sasha hurried after her friend, abandoning the other Horsewomen. After they were some distance away from ear shot, Sasha tugged on the Vigilante’s elbow to motion her to stop.

“Hey… I’m sorry about that,” Sasha said gently.

“There’s nothing to forgive, they were trying to protect you.”

“I know but you didn’t deserve that.”

They looked at each other for a while, as Sasha twirled the red rose between her fingers.

“Could you spend the night with me?” asked Sasha, suddenly.

The Vigilante frowned. “That’s a bad idea. I’m always here for you, Sash, and I’ll protect you from a distance, like I promised. You’re going to regret having me in your bed on your birthday.”

“Bayley,” Sasha murmured, and her finger tip slowly outlined her friend’s lips that were covered in the shiny fabric of the luchador mask, “I’m sorry. I regret ever asking you to leave. So, will you please spend the night with me?”

Where do all the lovers go

When love ain’t lovin’ you no more?

Do they run or do they hide?

Sit it out, give it another try?

Chapter Text

You love it when I call your name

You love it when I make it rain

The large moon glowed in the night sky, a misty luminescence among forming dark clouds. The moonlight poured into the hotel balcony, much brighter and impressive than the twinkling city lights surrounding the building. Bayley gripped the balcony ledge with sweaty palms, contemplating the rain. The forecast predicted rain showers in the late evening, drizzles appeared here and there but Sasha’s amusement park birthday party was unscathed. The notification pings from a nearby phone interrupted Bayley’s thoughts and she turned around.

“Becky and Char are wondering where I am, I thought they’d be too drunk to notice that I left,” Sasha called to her from inside their hotel room.

Bayley met Sasha’s gaze and forced a grin, she walked back inside and shut the balcony’s sliding door. Bayley wore a white tank top and she also still wore Sasha’s black merchandise sweatpants, her dark hoodie was folded over a chair while the Vigilante’s brilliant blue mask lay on the coffee table. Sasha wore a fluffy, white, terry cloth bathrobe and she carried two short glasses in her hands as she approached Bayley.

Bayley smiled at her friend, but her lips twisted into more of a grimace. “I shouldn’t. I’ll get going.”

“We just got here! Stay for a little while. And it’s rude to refuse tequila on my birthday,” said Sasha, smiling brightly as she handed a glass to Bayley.

Bayley sighed, chuckling slightly and she finally accepted the glass. They clinked glasses together before Bayley took a small sip while Sasha downed her drink quickly. Sasha ordered a carafe of tequila from room service, which was perched on the coffee table; she had several drinks a couple hours ago at her birthday party but the effects of those mixed drinks had already worn off. The night was still young.

Bayley looked away quickly as she noticed Sasha staring at her with a particular coquette gaze, she saw that familiar faces were on their TV screen so she motioned with her glass to the interviewer. WWE correspondent, Sarah Schreiber, was in a night club, and the scenes were switching to various interviews she had with different people. Bayley sat down on couch in front of the screen, Sasha refilled her glass and then chose to sit in Bayley’s lap when she returned to the couch. Her robe opened a little as she plopped down and Bayley quickly looked away so she wouldn’t be staring at an exposed breast.

“There’s enough room for both of us, did you want me to move over—”

“Shh, Sarah’s interviewing Nattie!” Sasha interrupted Bayley’s meek suggestion.

“Hello to the WWE Universe! This is Sarah Schreiber and I’m reporting from Sasha Banks’ birthday after-party at a night club. I’m here with Natalya! Natalya, what can you tell us about what happened at the ferris wheel tonight?” Sarah asked her excitedly.

Nattie Neidhart wore blue, fuzzy cat ears, and was completely drenched in Sasha’s merchandise, she also wore the Legit Boss sunglasses.

“Well,” Nattie said, pausing dramatically and starting slowly, “TJ and I were having a good time on the ferris wheel like everyone else, and the ride wasn’t going very fast at all. Just like a normal pace, you know? And everyone is just minding their own business, having fun, and maybe we all didn’t notice at first that something was wrong. I mean, why would you at an amusement park? I was telling TJ about the last match I had, and that Tamina was going to come over soon for training at our home ring—”

“That’s great, but what happened at the ferris wheel?” Sarah veered the conversation back to her original question as politely as she could.

Nattie frowned. “Right, I was getting to that… Anyways, like I said, we’re just having fun and the ride just stops. I turn to TJ and I’m like ‘honey, what is going on?’ and we’re just staring at each other blankly. And I’m looking around asking other people, and I’m texting people too—”

“Look, Sarah, what she means to say is that Becky and Charlotte should’ve thought more about this before piling everyone into that dangerous ride,” Shayna Baszler entered the interview, interjecting into the conversation so Sarah shifted the microphone to her. Shayna wore a blue Sasha merch shirt, black leather jacket and leather pants, she was also flanked by Nia Jax and Reginald. Nia and Reginald also wore Sasha’s merchandise, but in darker colors.

Nattie sighed and rolled her eyes in annoyance at them. Sarah was grinning as Shayna continued on.

“That was a disaster! When the ride stopped, all I could think was maybe Ric Flair’s credit card was declined. If Charlotte and Becky had some real money, that wouldn’t of happened at their best friend’s birthday party!” exclaimed Shayna, shrugging her shoulders, while Nia and Reginald guffawed.

“Some of the crowd said Nikki Cross was involved in the ride stopping, can any of you corroborate that?” asked Sarah, glancing around at them all.

Nattie suddenly grabbed the microphone away. “Well, I dunno about that but it was amazing to see the Vigilante. She is so sexy! She came out of the sky or something to save all of us and get the ride moving!”

Nia snorted and gave the blonde a derisive look. “No, she didn’t! She came out of the crowd, Reggie saw her. I’m so tired of all this talk of how hot she is, we don’t know that! We’ve never seen her face, she’s probably ugly and that’s why she’s wearing a mask.”

Shayna and Reginald laughed while Nia and Nattie continued arguing, but the scene cut away into another interview. This time, Sarah stood with Nikki Cross, Alexa Bliss, and Bray Wyatt. They also wore Sasha’s merchandise in a wide variety of choices, and Nikki and Alexa’s shirts were cut into stylish crop tops. Bray held a paper plate of chocolate cake with blue frosting, funnel cake sprinkled with powdered sugar, and large scoops of blue ice cream adorned with chocolate chip cookie dough. They were still in the night club after-party, lights flashed and people danced around them as the trio was interviewed at the bar with Sarah.

“Nikki, several people said you were involved with the ferris wheel suddenly stopping tonight at the amusement park, is that true?” Sarah asked, rather timidly as she held the microphone towards the darker haired woman.

Nikki’s lips twisted into a deranged smile. “No, it was the Vigilante! I was there to stop her from causing anymore damage but she was armed with a crowbar.”

Sarah gasped at Nikki’s comment and Alexa moved closer to the microphone.

“She’s awful, always ruining the fun. As you can tell from Raw, she’s always meddling in everything. She’s the problem in this place,” explained Alexa sweetly.

“We’re going to solve this problem that everyone in the WWE’s been having,” said Nikki, grinning widely.

Bray giggled with a mouthful of dessert.

Sarah glanced around at the women. “But the Vigilante seems to be helping—”

“Whose side are you on, Sarah?!” interrupted Nikki angrily, “She is the problem! You might not believe this now but you’ll see. I will expose her for what she really is.”

As they watched the interview on TV, Sasha could feel Bayley’s muscles tighten beneath her. She rubbed the back of Bayley’s neck, her skin felt cool and clammy.

“The Devil,” Bray said simply before he took another bite of ice cream.

Alexa grinned, and she repeated, “The Devil.”

Nikki firmly took the microphone away from Sarah and she turned her attention into the camera, she leaned in very closely and spoke in a harsh tone, her voice rising with each statement. “We know who you are. Think you can get away with attacking from the shadows? Attacking me when my back is turned? Pretending to be on our side and then choosing your own selfish reasons, you think that’s OK?! I’ll show everyone what you truly are. I know what you really want, and you’re gonna have to take me down to get it!”

Nikki laughed loudly into the microphone while Alexa and Bray started to giggle around her. The scene cut into another interview with Sarah chatting with Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose. Sasha gripped the back of Bayley’s neck with a soothing touch. Bayley nervously sipped the tequila and looked away from the screen.

“They know it’s you,” Sasha said quietly.

Bayley stiffened even more. “Yeah.”

“Do you think they told anyone?” asked Sasha.

“I dunno, no one’s said anything to me.”

Sasha sighed and she peered down at the Vigilante’s mask on the coffee table. “Maybe you should give up the mask, tell everyone before they spill your secret. Just be yourself, Bay.”

“I can’t do that, Sash,” whispered Bayley, “I can’t help you as ‘Bayley.’ We’ve talked about this. I know people still hate me, they don’t trust me. Even Char and Becky… It’s better for you and I if the Vigilante is involved.”

“So you’re gonna let Nikki expose you to the world?” Sasha raised an eyebrow at her friend as she spoke.

Bayley looked up at Sasha’s worried eyes, and then her gaze fell onto Sasha’s opened robe revealing a nude breast. Her eyes lingered on Sasha’s body a little longer than she wished and she looked away again. Sasha smiled as she looked down and noticed that her robe had shifted open when she sat in Bayley’s lap but made no attempt to cover herself.

Bayley couldn’t help but smile but she injected a seriousness into her voice. “I dunno, dude. I’ll fight for as long as I can. Char is injured, and Becky will be going back to Hollywood to keep filming her movie. I’ll always be here for you. I’ll protect you. I think I’ve learned a bit more on what Alexa wants…”

Sasha cackled and she took another sip of tequila. Bayley started laughing as well, Sasha’s laughter was quite infectious.

“Why the hell are we talking about Alexa on my birthday?” giggled Sasha, and she repositioned herself on Bayley’s muscular lap, but some drops of tequila from her glass dripped onto Bayley’s pants.

“Well, oops. Sorry Bay, looks like you’re gonna have to take those pants off,” Sasha said innocently.

“I think that’s my cue to leave but I have a gift for you before I go,” said Bayley, trying to rise off the comfortable couch but Sasha did not budge.

“You’re gonna make me sleep alone on my birthday?” Sasha quipped with a raised eyebrow, staring at her friend.

Embarrassed, and a slight red tinge appearing on her face, Bayley cringed. “Dude! No— I mean, I dunno… it’s a bad idea! You know it. We’re friends.”

Sasha cackled again, the tequila sloshing around in her glass. “Yeah and like that stopped us before. Don’t you wanna see my birthday suit?”

Bayley licked her lips timidly and looked away because Sasha leaned into her. “Maybe, um, w-we could just cuddle? I’ll stay but I want to be respectful to you on your birthday. Just cuddling, OK?”

Sasha finally rose from Bayley’s lap. “I’ll consider it.”

Bayley exhaled deeply, she hadn’t realized that she was shallow breathing out of the anxiety of having a beautiful woman sitting on top of her and rubbing her sore neck muscles. She stood up as well and set her drink down on the table, she only had a few sips because she knew the desires that she fought hard to repress would overcome her chivalry if she was drunk in Sasha’s hotel room.

Sasha sat at the edge of the king size bed, her robe slung loosely around her shoulders as she beckoned Bayley to come hither with a flirtatious finger. Bayley approached slowly and crossed her arms in front of Sasha. She gulped. Her fists clenched under her biceps when she crossed her arms, cord-like muscles bulging out which only appeased Sasha’s lust even more. Sasha also eyed the forming bruise on Bayley’s right lateral forearm, and it appeared swollen. She reached out and slightly touched the edematous tissue and Bayley recoiled back.

“Ouch! Damn, she hit me pretty hard, I didn’t realize it looked this bad,” murmured Bayley as she examined her own arm.

Sasha pursed her lips. “Nikki?”

“Yeah, she hit me with a crowbar,” explained Bayley in a glum tone.

“Poor baby, let Mami take care of you tonight,” Sasha said in a seductive whisper as she reached out for Bayley’s hard abdomen clothed in a tight tank top.

Instinctively, Bayley’s hands clasped onto Sasha’s. She sighed, moving closer to the blue haired woman and then wrapped her arms around her. Sasha pressed her face deeply into Bayley’s torso, a flowery scent filled her nostrils.

“Mamacita.”

Sasha smiled when Bayley whispered her nickname. Bayley’s fingers stroked her blue hair and her thumbs swept down over her well defined back muscles through the fluffy robe. Sasha almost purred during Bayley’s strong caresses.

Bayley sighed, heavily, morosely. “I know I fucked up. After everything that’s happened between us… I got closer to Alexa to figure out what she wants. I helped Liv because she was alone. I’m not interested in them. I, um, think of you a lot, Sash. I’m sorry. I’ll stay here with you to cuddle only.”

Sasha repeated the words that she uttered to Bayley in a breathless tirade of emotion in the Raw locker room several years ago, “You’re always there for me when I don’t even ask you to be.”

I love you.

Bayley wished deeply to say those words. She wished that her bravery did not escape her in this rainy evening. But maybe it actually was courage and honor keeping her from destroying whatever was left between the two of them. She was Sasha Banks’ friend, and that’s all she will ever be. She saw Roman hanging out with Sasha at the amusement park, and they were often featured in advertisements together and had a few photo shoots as champions. Sasha is a champion, Roman is a champion, they belong together.

“Always.” Her voice cracked among the vowels of the single word.

Sasha pulled away a bit to gaze up at her. “Baby, I’m sorry. I was wrong, and you were trying to help me.”

Bayley’s lips lifted into a smile. “It’s late. I want to give you a gift but maybe you can check it out tomorrow? I have it in my hoodie pocket.”

“I have a gift for you too…” Sasha said slowly, and she stood up from the edge of the bed, but Bayley still towered over her. With a light tug of her robe enclosure, the fluffy fabric opened completely to expose her naked body in front of Bayley. Bayley blinked a few times, in awe of Sasha’s perfect breasts, toned abdomen, chiseled leg muscles, smooth caramel skin… and her eyes lingered on a specific sweet spot that she had devoured on many occasions. But not tonight…

“I’d prefer to wear clothes when we cuddle but you can do whatever you want, birthday girl,” Bayley said lightly, and she forced a friendly smile.

“Cut the bullshit, Papi,” whispered Sasha as she embraced Bayley, she cupped the taller woman’s jaw in her hands as she kissed her. The kiss was brief but Sasha’s mouth was hot, and Bayley tasted sweet and sour notes from the tequila. Bayley wanted to look away as Sasha gazed longingly into her warm brown eyes, but Sasha held her jaw stationary with a firm grip.

“Are you sure this is what you want?” mumbled Bayley, she stared at Sasha as well, keeping her carnal desires locked within her heart but the cage was rattling, threatening to burst. She heard the drizzle of rain rising into a storm outside, cracks of thunder presaged an overabundance of wetness that could drown them within their own passions.

Sasha’s thumb outlined Bayley’s chin as she spoke in a husky whisper, “Do you want me?”

Bayley’s hands gripped below Sasha’s lumbar area underneath the robe, Bayley grasped onto nude skin as she kissed Sasha eagerly. In their heated movements, lips intertwined and Bayley’s tongue darting into her mouth, Sasha’s legs met the edge the bed and she pulled away before tumbling backwards onto the bed, discarding her robe completely. While seated, she hungrily reached for the waistband of Bayley’s sweatpants and Bayley quickly removed her tank top and sports bra. Sasha felt as if she was unwrapping her favorite candy, she peeled the pants down from Bayley’s plump bottom. Then, she playfully tackled Bayley onto her back on the bed.

Sasha’s hands cupped her friend’s full breasts. Bayley groaned, her senses were on fire and she could no longer feel the pain in her arm. While in between Bayley’s muscular thighs, Sasha lowered her lips onto Bayley’s breasts, kissing the sensitive areas first before lightly sucking. Bayley breathed heavily in pleasure, air puffing out of her mouth as she steadied herself while Sasha’s tongue flicked over a soft spot.

Bayley’s fingers rubbed into Sasha’s blue hair as Sasha started to work downward, away from the sensitive breast area and kissing her abdomen. There were a few stray scratches from her recent escapades as the Vigilante, and the old scar on her hip. Sasha stopped at the scar, as she usually did when they made love, and she kissed this area deeply, her hand grasped Bayley’s inner thigh and dangerously close to a very delicate area. Sasha’s hands maneuvered around the lacy, powder blue underwear that Bayley still wore and she yanked this down too, before tossing it with the rest of the clothes they abandoned on the floor. The rain and wind beat hard against their hotel windows, but that was not the only moisture they were accustomed to this evening.

Storms will come

Make me overflow

Can you stand the rain?

When we get done

I still want some more

Can you make it rain?

Chapter Text

“Baby, wait—“

Sasha’s lips hovered over her soft, wet target. She was previously kissing Bayley’s inner thighs, sending shocks of anticipation throughout Bayley’s legs and abdomen. Bayley’s fist wrapped around a bed sheet, twisting it and wringing it tightly as she crooned softly before she protested to stop Sasha. Her senses were overriding her decision but anxiety forced her to speak.

Sasha paused, still hovering, resting her hands on her friend’s thighs, gazing up at her seductively. Bayley gulped.

“You’re drunk,” Bayley laughed nervously as she spoke, “You’re gonna regret this.”

Sasha grinned. “I didn’t have that much to drink. And no, I don’t think I will.”

Bayley shifted away towards the pillows by the headboard and sat up, she looked at her friend seriously. “Sash, a lot has happened between us. Do we just go back to how things were? Whatever that was? Whatever we are?”

“What do you mean? You’re my friend,” Sasha said, rubbing Bayley’s knee. She lay prone, her left elbow providing support as she gazed at Bayley. 

“Friends don’t do this though…”

Sasha giggled. “Lots of friends do this, Bay, there’s nothing wrong with it. Let’s just enjoy each other tonight. Please? For my birthday?”

Bayley smiled and gently reached for Sasha’s arms, she pulled her closer. Sasha, still positioned between Bayley’s thighs, drew nearer until her face was inches away from Bayley’s. 

“Of course I want to, but… who am I to you?” Bayley whispered, sadness lingered in her expression as she stared into Sasha’s beautiful eyes. 

There was a pause but complete silence was not achieved with rain beating down hard on the windows. Thunder rumbled in the background. Bayley could hear her own heart pounding nervously in her ears, her breath seemed so noisy in her chest. In comparison, Sasha’s senses were pleasantly numbed by tequila but she could feel the anticipation in the air. No one, and nothing was dry… the atmosphere was, well, wet.

Sasha placed her palms on Bayley’s upper chest and collarbone area; she could feel her friend’s heart drumming, almost jumping out of her chest. She caressed the smooth skin that was marred with a few scratches and scrapes, her hands moving up and laterally, she spread her fingers out onto the powerful traps and deltoids. Bayley did become more muscular in the past several years, but she seemed to be even bigger since their brief absence from seeing each other. Her hands returned to rub Bayley’s neck before she cupped her friend’s face in her eager hands. 

Sasha’s response was simple. “Papi.”

Before any other protests could leave Bayley’s lips, she kissed her fervently. Sasha’s tongue plunged into Bayley’s mouth, and Bayley, again, tasted the sweet flavor of the tequila. Sasha’s fingers once again found her previous, slippery target, and Bayley moaned loud against her lips as Sasha’s fingers worked steadily on this area. 

The morning sun glowed through the drawn, cream colored curtains. The room was warm, but they made no effort to remedy this other than having the bed covers strewn around their nude bodies. Becky was sitting up, her back resting against pillows and the soft headboard while Charlotte’s head lay on her chest, and Charlotte’s arms were draped around Becky’s hard abdomen and back.

Becky sighed, lightly stroking Charlotte’s golden hair. “Ah, so ya butter me up with good morning sex and now ya ask if I’ll forgive that heinous woman-child.”

It was rare when they had these moments together, with Charlotte rehabbing her shoulder and keeping up with her business ventures, and Becky being absent for weeks at a time to film at Hollywood. Charlotte had asked again this morning if Becky could re-consider Bayley’s position, if she could welcome her back into their friend group. In the past, Becky had changed the subject, made a joke of the situation or just outright said “no.”

Charlotte sighed and drummed her fingers on Becky’s chest. “But, Daddy—“

“Daddy?” Becky interrupted with a chuckle, “Alright, maybe I’m willing to listen.”

“It shouldn’t be a ‘maybe,’ she’s not doing well without us, I can tell. I think that’s why her behavior is getting so weird, she spends too much time with Seth Rollins and Buddy Murphy,” Charlotte sighed again.

“Anyone would be slowly losing their mind if they had to spend any extended period of time with those two, ya bring up a good point there,” said Becky, grinning.

“So, let’s tell Sasha, maybe we could have a brunch this weekend with Bayley?” Charlotte suggested. 

“She needs to apologize to Sasha and I first before an invite,” Becky quipped back.

Charlotte stared up at Becky blankly. “OK… I get the Sasha situation but remember what you did to her in the locker room—“

“Well, if she didn’t run ‘er mouth on a talk show, she wouldn’t be in deep shit wit’ me, right?” Becky’s voice was a bit loud, irritated. 

“OK babe, let’s talk about it again later. I want us to have relaxing moments together since you’re going back to California in a few weeks,” said Charlotte, caressing Becky’s nude skin. 

Becky hummed in agreement, she held Charlotte tightly as well.

After a brief silence, Charlotte spoke again, she was thinking about this for a while. “Since we were face to face finally with that Vigilante last night, who do you think it is?”

“Ah, c’mon baby, you go from talking about Bayley, to talking about that thug in a mask. Whatever happened to having a relaxing morning together?” Becky asked, highly annoyed.

Charlotte interjected before Becky could continue on. “Seriously, Bex, why was Sasha protecting her? It was strange. I don’t trust the Vigilante, but she seemed so familiar. It’s hard to put my finger on it but I feel like she’s someone we know.”

Becky frowned. “Someone in the locker room?”

“Yeah, I doubt this is someone from the street or a fan. She moves too well, as you figured out,” Charlotte said in a low tone as she reached over to the healing abrasion on Becky’s right knee.

“Eh, I don’ care. Street thug or co-worker, why spend your evenings in a mask and gettin’ involved in everyone’s business?” Becky shrugged with this statement.

“Well…” Charlotte started slowly, choosing her words carefully, “I think this has something to do with Sasha, Alexa and the Fiend.”

“What d’ya mean, love?”

Charlotte looked up at her girlfriend again and sighed. “I dunno, I just have a feeling that all of this is connected. Whatever is going on, let’s just try our best to be there for Sasha, no matter what.”

Bayley awoke, rather startled. She lay prone, her arm dangled off the side of the bed, and the hotel bed sheets wrinkled around her mid-section. Sasha had whispered in her ear to wake her.

“Good morning! Room service will be here soon,” Sasha said brightly. Bayley’s eyes felt glued shut but she managed to open them to see the breathtaking beauty before her. The sun drifted into their room since the curtains were open, and Sasha sat at the edge of the bed, clad in a black tank top, black leggings, her blue hair was straight and long, and her makeup was impeccable.

“Room service? What time is it?” asked Bayley sleepily, and her head dropped again to her pillow.

“It’s 10 am, they’ll be here any minute, oh!” Sasha stopped talking abruptly as there was a knock on the door.

Bayley sat up quickly and looked around wildly. “Should I go into the bathroom and hide?”

Sasha motioned for her to stay in bed. “Get under the covers!”

Bayley tossed the covers over herself and laid back down as Sasha opened the door and was greeted by loud voices. A man and woman, hotel staff, were pushing a large, round table. 

“Ms. Banks, good morning! We have your order here,” said the man, he politely handed her the receipt with all the menu items she ordered.

They swiftly moved into the room, wheeling in the table. They arranged the table, uncovering the plates revealing a decadent spread. Sasha nodded and grinned, seeing that everything on the table was accurate.

“Anything else ma’am?” asked the woman.

“No, I think we’re all set,” responded Sasha with a smile.

“Enjoy! Please call us if there’s anything else we can do, and please call whenever you’d like us to pick up the table,” said the woman. 

She and the man noticed some tufts of black hair peeking out from the white bed linens, and they could see an outline of a person clearly in Sasha’s bed.

“Morning, sir,” the man said in Bayley’s direction, as he and his partner walked out of the room and shut the door.

Bayley lowered the covers from her face and she caught Sasha laughing at her. “Sir? So, now they’re gonna think you slept with Roman.”

“Shut up. Let’s eat and then we’ll go out and do something,” laughed Sasha.

They mostly dressed in dark colors, thinking these were good disguises to deter anyone they may encounter on this Wednesday morning. Bayley fully understood that the world, and even those closest to them, didn’t know that they managed to rekindle their friendship. Sasha didn’t have to explain to her again about the prying eyes of the public, the conspiracies on social media, the disapproval of Becky and Charlotte, and the potential complaints from her manager if they were seen together. It bothered her but she knew she made mistakes in her friendship with Sasha, even some critical errors that would be reason for Sasha never to forgive her. But they once again found ways to have their friendship persevere. ‘Friendship’ or whatever this may be. Bayley wished for a label but she knew that Sasha didn’t care for this, she would take what she could get.

Before leaving the room, Bayley held Sasha’s hand to stop her briefly. 

“What is it, Bay?” Sasha asked curiously, she removed her sunglasses before exiting. She said it was best to wear sunglasses in the public hotel areas as well.

“I didn’t get a chance to before but I have a gift for you. Sit here,” Bayley motioned to the couch area.

Sasha sat down and watched her friend. Bayley rummaged among her things and then a golden box was in her hands. It was small to medium sized. Bayley knelt down in front of Sasha, holding the box out in front of her. Sasha’s heart rate quickened, and for some reason, strange, bright visions popped into her head. A sparkling sun, doves, maybe she heard laughter and joy; these thoughts whirred within her brain in dizzying flashes but time felt like it had cranked into a slow pace as Bayley gently opened the box. 

“Happy Birthday,” Bayley whispered with a shy smile.

Inside the box was a golden diadem adorned with an aquamarine crystal and a moon, and a small gold bracelet with crescent moons linked together. Sasha gazed at Bayley, speechless.

They thought the diadem would bring too much attention so Sasha wore the new bracelet when they were out walking in a nearby park. They both mostly wore black and dark sunglasses. Sasha wore an open zip up hoodie as well to reveal her black tank top and the hood was pulled up to cover her recognizable blue hair. Bayley’s dark hood was also pulled up, and she zipped up her hoodie to cover her blue Sasha merchandise shirt. They were hoping to avoid any wrestling fans so they decided not to hang out at a bakery again.

They chatted lightly about what the rest of the week would bring both of them. Sasha was free today, but she had a photo shoot tomorrow and would be in the studio again, while Bayley had gym sessions with Seth and Murphy as well as a meeting to talk about “strategies” to collect some wins. Their conversation arrived to Smackdown on Friday.

“Naomi hasn’t picked her opponent for Wrestlemania yet,” said Bayley. Naomi won the Women’s Royal Rumble match, eliminating Bianca Belair, the last competitor, emphatically. Naomi was also a member of Roman Reigns’ family: the Bloodline. She was married to Roman’s cousin, Jimmy Uso. She recently teased appearances on both Raw and Smackdown, mentioning both Sasha Banks and Alexa Bliss in recent promos.

“Edge hasn’t either,” returned Sasha, she thought about the men’s Rumble winner and what that meant for Roman and the Fiend. 

Bayley looked around thoughtfully as they sauntered on, a drizzle of rain starting around them. “Maybe we’ll hear soon.”

“I need to get this Bliss problem wrapped up, Naomi getting involved with either of us right now will just make things more messy,” said Sasha.

Bayley nodded. “Yeah, we might see a blow up between the Bloodline and the clowns.”

“So what do they want from me?” Sasha asked, her question felt rhetorical and she did not assume that her friend would know any inkling of an answer.

Bayley looked around, they were mostly alone. “I think I have an idea.”

They halted at an area that was reminiscent of a sanctuary, it was in the middle of the park and provided some covering from the rain. They were finally alone. Bayley suddenly became nervous as her hand slipped while trying to unzip her hoodie and Sasha watched her with a tilted head and raised eyebrow. She removed a small, black book from her pocket. The book was leather and had a worn cover; she handed this to Sasha.

Sasha opened it slowly, seeing neat handwriting on the first page: Property of Alexa Bliss.

“It’s her diary, I found it in her office. I pretended like I wanted to join her and the Fiend, to figure out what they’re trying to do,” explained Bayley.

Sasha’s jaw dropped as she stared up at Bayley.

“Sash… I know what you’re thinking,” Bayley started, “Nothing happened. We hugged, just so I could get closer to her, and nothing more than that. You know I’m loyal to you, I spied on them for you.”

Before continuing, she paused, wondering if Sasha would blow up at her again. Wondering if Sasha would chuck the diary at her face after an explosion of curse words. She braced herself. But nothing happened, Sasha remained still and silent.

“I promise you, baby, nothing happened between us,” Bayley breathed heavily as her warm, brown eyes pleaded with Sasha’s blank stare.

Sasha’s lips tilted slightly into a smile. “I know, Bayley, I believe you.”

Bayley stepped closer to her friend. “Thanks, Sash. I didn’t read all of the pages but sounds like she’s really intrigued with the Fiend, and it feels like she sees the Fiend and Bray as separate people. She’s planning to steal other people’s energy… I don’t understand.”

Sasha looked puzzled and repeated Bayley’s statement: “Steal other people’s energy?”

“I dunno, dude. She didn’t explain it clearly or maybe there’s more that I didn’t get to in the diary? She said she needs your title and the Fiend needs Roman’s title to be able to do that,” said Bayley.

“What?” Sasha said, concerned.

They kept walking as they discussed, it felt like they needed to walk because of the anxiety bubbling within them both. Bayley stated in detail where she found Alexa’s musings in the diary, about winning the titles on Smackdown for her master plot of “energy draining” and Sasha flipped through the diary to find these entries. As Sasha read along, Alexa’s thoughts became more and more convoluted. 

“This is fucking crazy,” Sasha said, shaking her head as they reached the edge of the park close to a street. 

Bayley chuckled, but uneasily. “Yeah dude, I don’t get her.”

“I’m gonna put an end to this, once and for all on Friday. I’m tired of her riddles and magic tricks, she needs to face me. Or I will go to Raw next Monday if she refuses to meet me on my show,” explained Sasha determinedly. 

“Whatever happens, I’ll be there for you,” Bayley responded sweetly.

“Bay, I got this,” Sasha retorted kindly, and she grinned as she rubbed Bayley’s muscular arm.

“I’m not trying to annoy you, and you’ve already explained this to me… I know I can’t be seen with you in public but I’ll be there in the mask, and that’s the purpose of the Vigilante, right? To protect you,” said Bayley in a solemn tone.

“I’ll figure something out. I’m sorry, I’ve just been so busy. I care about you, you shouldn’t have to hide your face to be around me. I just don’t know what to do now other than to settle this beef with Bliss,” Sasha stated, looking away.

Bayley smiled. “It’s complicated. I understand. And um… I saw you last night with Roman, I know it’s better for you to be with him in public—“

“Bayley!” Sasha interjected with a cackle, “Shut up! Who slept with me last night, huh? Was Roman in my bed?”

Bayley grinned sheepishly. Suddenly, Sasha hugged her and kissed her. Bayley embraced her friend as well.

Meanwhile, a black, Cadillac Escalade with limo tint was parked on the street overlooking the edge of the park. The street was fairly deserted, and this was the only car parked there. One of the back passenger windows was rolled down. Mel Mack, Sasha’s manager, was sitting in the passenger seat, wearing a dark business suit and dark sunglasses. She watched the two women kissing at the park, she saw a bit of blue hair poking out from the hood of the shorter woman. She frowned deeply as she watched this public display of affection. 

“Driver,” she stated flatly before rolling up her window, and the car started again, slowly driving down the road to leave the park vicinity.

Chapter Text

Sasha Banks intently watched the scene before her. A meticulous scraping, a butter knife spreading orange marmalade on a perfect slice of wheat toast. The thick, translucent substance covered one side of the bread, the knife expertly dispersed the orange coloring like a brush on a canvas. The artist was Becky Lynch. Becky and her girlfriend, Charlotte Flair, were chatting about something, but Sasha didn’t register her words; she, instead, watched Becky’s butter knife.   They were in a trendy cafe, having brunch. Sasha was deep in thought, but her eyes absently scanned what was directly in front of her.

She was extremely busy on the Thursday before Smackdown. A photoshoot, recording music, updating her social media accounts, and then there was something about a skincare line that Charlotte wanted her to get involved in. She was up very early this morning to flip through Alexa’s diary again, which Bayley gave her yesterday. The diary entries began before she interacted with the Fiend, and she mostly mused on the end of her romance with Buddy Murphy and her appreciation of Nikki Cross. There was a stark contrast in her writing though after the Fiend enchanted her. Her handwriting seemed to loop around in a different fashion as well. 

“His touch. There’s nothing like it.”

That statement made Sasha’s skin crawl. And she noted that Alexa would go on and on about “draining the energy” from others, how this would “set everything into motion.” This was difficult for Sasha to decipher though because Alexa’s plans were not clear, she even spoke in riddles in her own private diary. A tension headache, band-like across her forehead, squeezed her mind as she flipped pages from the worn diary, back and forth, under lamp light. A reprieve was needed from the insanity of Alexa Bliss’ thoughts, that were obviously distorted by the Fiend’s influence. Sasha thought that she could discuss with Bayley later but she didn’t want their evenings together to be centered around whatever plot the Raw Women’s Champion had concocted. She slept with Bayley again last night, the highlight of her day was her nighttime adventures with her best friend.

“Sasha.”

The scraping from the knife on the toast stopped and Sasha looked up.

“Hm?”

Becky raised an eyebrow at her. “Did ya hear what my baby asked ya?”

Sasha quickly glanced at Charlotte, slightly embarrassed. “Sorry, what?”

“Are you OK?” Charlotte asked, frowning. 

Sasha sighed, drumming her nails on the table. “I’m sorry, I’m just worrying about all the stuff I have to do today. So, the skincare products, right? What about them?”

Charlotte paused, gazing at her friend for a while with observant green eyes before responding, “Do you think it’s something you’d be interested in? I was just talking about some ideas I had. I told Bianca about it when I saw her at the gym this morning and she would be interested to help model the products. I have a prototype for an eye cream!”

Sasha forced a smile, still preoccupied. “That’s great! Let me know how I can help.”

Becky took a big bite from her toast, staring at Sasha as she munched. Sasha glanced at her, unnerved. 

Charlotte ignored all of this and continued with a sparkling smile, “You can be a model! I have this business plan thought out and your manager, Mel, is actually linking me up with people who can help on the business side. And one more thing… please don’t get mad…”

Becky and Sasha both stared at Charlotte curiously, as Charlotte nervously sipped from her water glass. Witnessing the often poised and graceful Charlotte Flair becoming nervous was alarming to both women.

“I’ve been making progress with my injury and I’m gonna be on an interview segment next week on Smackdown,” she said finally.

“That’s news to me!” Becky exclaimed happily, “You must be gettin’ close to an in-ring return if they’re interviewing you on the show!”

“Well,” Charlotte started uneasily, “Not quite. I thought it’d be a good time to talk about my progress and the new skincare line, I invited Bianca to the interview… We’ll be on Bayley’s Ding Dong Hello show.”

Becky dropped her toast and it clattered onto her plate. Sasha’s eyes widened. Charlotte cleared her throat, sipping the water again nervously as she glanced around. 

“That, um… that’s the only interview segment you could be in? I’m sure there are other options, right?” Becky asked blankly.

Charlotte frowned at her. “What d’you mean? Bayley has a great program and it’ll be nice to be on an actual talk show—“

Becky laughed loudly, interrupting her. “If ya think that’s a real talk show, babe… Mm, wow! Sash, I’m sorry about this.”

“Charlotte can do whatever she wants, it doesn’t bother me,” Sasha said hurriedly. 

“Ya sure?” Becky returned quickly, picking up her toast again.

“Yes. I’d let you know if it was an issue. I know that Char is talking to Bayley again, it’s fine,” stated Sasha with a half shrug. 

Becky’s eyebrows furrowed in anger and looked over at her girlfriend again. They were in a booth, Becky sat alone on one side while Charlotte and Sasha sat together. 

At Charlotte’s silence, Sasha started to speak again, feeling a little irritated: “OK, look, I know how everyone feels. I don’t know what to do about her right now, but you guys are adults and can talk to whoever you want. Don’t let me stop you. I’m not mad.”

“I think… well, maybe this has gone on too long? Bayley has been our friend for years, maybe it’s time to include her back in the group?” Charlotte suggested, almost in a whisper.

Becky huffed angrily. “Like I said, after she apologizes than maybe, maybe, I would be willin’ to speak to her again. She has to do everythin’, and I mean everythin’ to get back with us. And did she even apologize to you yet, Sash?”

Sasha silently glanced around at her friends, she was still thinking of the right words to say but her lengthy pause gave Becky more fuel to be resistant. 

“See? What’d I tell ya, Charlie?” Becky said rather loudly, “Told ya she didn’t apologize! And how do you even say sorry for the evil shit she pulled? She almost ended Sasha’s career! I remember her smiling and laughing as Sasha was put on that stretcher, I remember her saying that it brought her joy to hurt her best friend! She even said on Talking Smack recently that she’s still our enemy! What kinda shit—“

“Becky! OK… OK. Let’s just stop talking about this,” said Sasha quietly, and she sighed deeply, “Charlotte, you can be on her show. That’s the end of this, let’s move on to another topic.”

Sasha’s phone chimed, she turned it over and grinned. A text message notification from ‘Papacito.’ 

Speak of the Devil.

Becky and Charlotte smiled at each other as they saw Sasha’s face brighten. 

“Roman?” Charlotte asked, grinning widely.

Sasha laughed sharply at this assumption. 

“He said he enjoyed your birthday party, did ya happen to enjoy him after the party?” Becky asked slyly.

Sasha cackled, she couldn’t believe this. At her response, Becky and Charlotte also couldn’t help but giggle.

“Was it big?”

“Was it good?”

Becky and Charlotte asked their questions simultaneously. Sasha’s mouth opened and she looked at both of them, shocked. Even more laughter ensued. 

“Now we know why you’re so busy!” laughed Becky. 

Sasha tilted her head, still chuckling. If they only knew… Roman did want to spend time with her, he invited her to a late dinner with his family after Smackdown. She thought Roman was attractive and they could potentially be the most powerful couple in all of sports if they truly desired each other. But she wasn’t sure if she wanted a relationship at the moment. She had so many things to focus on. 

And then there was Bayley. 

She could never talk to anyone about her friendship with Bayley, not even Charlotte or Becky. No one would understand. No one could ever know. Maybe it was wrong. But it felt so right to be snuggled close in Bayley’s arms late at night, listening to the rhythm of her heartbeat. She did have feelings for her best friend. She loved Bayley, and sometimes, she was afraid that she was in love with Bayley. 

“Boss! Char! Becks!”

They all turned to the direction of a woman’s voice calling to them. Sasha saw that her manager, Mel Mack, accompanied by several bodyguards in black suits, was fast approaching their table. Mel wore a dark gray suit, she was actually wearing pants instead of her usual skirt because it was slightly cold that morning, and her brown-blonde hair was in a neat ponytail. 

“Hey,” Sasha said in a low tone, surprised to see her.

Mel waved off her bodyguards and they dispersed to various tables, away from earshot but still close enough to react if needed. The Horsewomen glanced around at the bodyguards, confused. 

“After that whole fire fiasco with Bliss and then that masked Vigilante running around, you can never be too safe!” Mel stated after seeing the confused expressions around her. She sat down in the empty spot next to Becky in the booth.

Sasha smiled stiffly at her. “I didn’t think you’d be joining us. We’re actually almost done with brunch.”

“I’m not here for food, but thanks. I saw that you guys were here after Charlotte posted pics of your meals on Instagram, need to be more careful next time,” Mel said rather sternly to Charlotte. Charlotte raised her eyebrows at the severity of Mel’s tone.

“You should lower your tone when you’re speakin’ to my Queen,” Becky growled.

Mel chuckled, befuddled by their reactions. “I’m interested in everyone’s safety, please don’t get mad. I meant no disrespect to the Queen and King here! I just want to talk. Have you all been on Twitter lately?”

Becky sighed, annoyed. “Yeah? What about the dumb bird app?”

“The WWE Shop account said that the Vigilante’s new t-shirt sold out in a few days. Boss, you’re the champ, you should be selling out the merch!” Mel said incredulously.

Sasha stared at her with a blank expression. “You came all the way over here to talk about merch sales?”

“I came all the way over here to discuss this problem,” Mel retorted, gazing at Sasha deeply and seriously, “My job is to make sure you’re the star and that you always get the money you deserve. Why is this, this faceless woman selling out merchandise?”

“I don’t see the problem, she’s cool and she keeps things entertaining,” said Sasha, her lips tilting into a cryptic smile.

“And apparently she’s Sasha’s friend. Sasha was hangin’ out with her at her birthday party,” said Becky with a shrug. 

Mel was initially rubbing her temple but then she stared at Sasha in horror. “What?”

Sasha shot a vexed look at Becky before speaking again, “We have a common enemy! Alexa Bliss, duh! Of course she would be my friend.”

“I’m sorry… can I just be real right now?” Mel said looking around at the other women.

Sasha sighed and gestured for her to continue.

“I think I’m in good company to say this since Becky and Charlotte are your best friends, but I’m worried about you, Boss. There’s a lot of weird things going on lately, and I just want to help you. That morning you missed the photoshoot, and then the kids at the bakery tweeting about you with an alleged bodyguard, this ordeal with Bliss, and… and…”

Becky snorted when she mentioned the kids tweeting about meeting Sasha at the bakery, but Charlotte interjected after Mel’s words trailed off.

“Sasha is a busy woman, there’s a lot going on. I’m glad you brought it up because I’ve been worried too. There’s just something off… You know we’re always here to help you, with whatever you need,” explained Charlotte kindly.

“I know, thank you all. But there’s nothing to worry about. My priority is my championship and Alexa threatened me, so she’s on my radar. That’s it. Really,” Sasha said quickly. She was becoming concerned with Mel’s worries, and she also wondered what Charlotte and Becky say to each other privately about her.

“And then that Bayley!” Mel said suddenly and Sasha flinched.

Mel continued on, “What gave her the right to challenge you for your championship recently? She’s not even in the title hunt! She’s lost every damn match she’s been in recently. I remember what she did to you before and I don’t like that she’s hovering again.”

“Please don’t mention her fucking name,” Becky groaned, and Sasha appreciated her interruption.

“I’m not worried about her,” Sasha said, avoiding everyone’s gaze.

“Now that we’re out in the open about everything and we’re taking this time to be real… Sasha, who is the Vigilante?” Charlotte asked in a serious manner.

“H-how am I supposed to know? I don’t know!” Sasha stammered, taken aback when everyone stared at her.

“Ya told us that she’s your friend,” Becky said, “Wouldn’t she tell ya who she is? You protected her from me like she was important to ya.”

“What’s her motive? Did she ever explain this to you? Or to anyone?” Mel asked, she looked so intently at Sasha, her sharp, hazel eyes could cut glass.

“I don’t hang out with her. I have no idea! But I know for sure that she isn’t a threat. You’re all missing the point here! Bliss and the Fiend are who we should all be planning against,” explained Sasha in a low tone.

“Right, I’m not a fan of theirs either but the things I’ve heard about this Vigilante… You all remember from WWE management recently that the police told them that a group of men were attacked by a masked woman in the street, and those men think it was the Vigilante! Apparently she robbed them,” said Mel, scowling.

Sasha scoffed. “I don’t believe that! The police said those guys were drunk too. I’m not worried about her robbing me, Mel, that’s crazy. I’m worried about Bliss trying to take my title.”

“But lots of people have said the Vigilante was with the Fiend’s group. I mean, I know she attacked them recently but she seems unpredictable. I don’t know what to believe, or who to trust,” Charlotte said, shaking her head a little while crossing her arms.

Mel placed her elbows on the table, leaning closer towards Sasha. “The only people I trust are the people sitting at this table. I’m here for all of you, and I’m always looking out for you, Boss. I’m always watching, I’ve got your back.”

Sasha had a strange feeling that Mel’s words had a deeper, unsettling meaning.

“There you two are, you’re late!”

Seth’s voice rose high above the cacophony of noise from the exercise equipment and chatter surrounding them at the Performance Center gym. Bayley was flexing her arm muscles at a large mirror, and she was sending selfie photos to Sasha. When Buddy Murphy arrived, he greeted Bayley and she handed her phone to him so he could help with the photos as well. He assumed the photos were for Carmella, Kayla or even the waitress who gave Bayley her number.

“What is that on your arm?” Seth questioned as he glanced at the black compression sleeve that covered Bayley’s right arm. Otherwise, Bayley wore a black tank top and colorful compression tights. In comparison, Seth and Murphy both wore black shirts and shorts, with Seth’s logo emblazoned on their workout gear.

“Just some swelling. I fell while doing exercises at home earlier in the week,” Bayley said dismissively as she looked around the gym. This was the arm that she used to shield herself from Nikki’s crowbar strike at Sasha’s birthday party. Callie, the seamstress, used a thin, protective fabric in her hoodies to shield her from some bodily harm, but like all armor, it wasn’t perfect. It did prevent her from having a fracture though, and she instead experienced some tolerable pain, bruising and swelling. While glancing ground, she noticed that Nikki was exercising with Dakota, Raquel, Shayna and Ricochet. She had never seen Ricochet with their group before.

“You fell?” Seth asked in disbelief.

“Yeah, dude! Anyways, are we gonna hit the treadmills first for a warm up or what?” stated Bayley, annoyed.

Seth lowered his tone and leaned in. “Have you been drinking again?”

Bayley sighed, looking away from him. “Maybe? So what? You drink too.”

“I only drink on the weekends! Murphy and I each had one drink only at Sasha Banks’ birthday party, and you weren’t even there so were you at home drinking on a week day?” he interrogated.

Bayley remembered something important due to Seth’s questioning. “Seth, dude, I know you tell AJ stuff about me. I’m not drunk all the time. I’m not smoking all the time. I’m here, aren’t I? You didn’t even want us to meet at your CrossFit gym because you wanted to use some of the special equipment here at the PC, so let’s get started.”

Seth glared at her after the mention of AJ Lee. He smoothed down his already neat hair that was pulled back into a bun. “The arm injury or whatever is going on now… The drinking and whatnot… The mysterious disappearances… And you’re also more worried about flirting with random women than about our team, I heard what you said to Kayla on Talking Smack!”

Seth added that bit at the end due to the incredulous look that Bayley gave him. Deep lines of exasperation and frustration appeared on his face. 

“You lack focus, Bayley,” he said quite seriously, “I need your complete focus for us to succeed as a group. Murphy also has a lot of work to do, especially with in-ring timing and tag team work. You both need to embrace my vision.”

Murphy nodded solemnly at these words.

“I’ve been embracing the vision, man!” Bayley protested, “And where’s that got us? In a pointless feud with Bianca Belair and her husband and friend.”

“They are merely a stepping stone for greater things! Like I’ve been saying so many times, let’s collect some wins and we’ll be back in the title picture. I know I can be a tag champ with Murphy, and you almost beat Sasha for the Smackdown belt if it wasn’t for the Fiend’s girlfriend screwing everything up. We’ve all been champions before and we can certainly do it again. We’re so close, Role Model, we can’t give up now!” explained Seth passionately. 

In the free weights section, Ricochet and Shayna were helping Nikki with new lifts to help with compound movements. They all saw Ricochet working out alone initially but they decided to invite him to join their workout session. Nikki had said that they should branch out whenever seeing fellow superstars to invite more people to join Alexa and Bray’s cause. Dakota thought this was a great idea but she also had other things in mind. Raquel gave her very important information today.

Raquel scrolled through the photos on her phone, showing Dakota a small neighborhood that she explored with Braun yesterday. It was reminiscent of a “ghost town.” While examining the photos, Dakota noted a shop with a luchador mask in the window, the mask was quite plain but the eye openings looked familiar and there was no opening in the mouth area.

“I get the feeling that whoever made this also made the mask of our enemy,” Dakota said, deep in thought. 

Raquel frowned slightly. “How can you be sure? It doesn’t look like the Vigilante’s mask. There are probably tons of people in this city alone who make luchador masks. Or maybe she got her masks online, who knows.”

“It’s hard to explain, it’s a gut feeling,” said Dakota, “Thanks for showing me this but I’m thinking of heading over there later today to check things out and speak to the shop owner.” 

She never revealed this even to her close friend, but Dakota spent much of her brain energy thinking about the Vigilante. The masked hoodlum humiliated her on several occasions, and this is something that Dakota Kai would not ignore or forgive.

Sasha Banks was exactly where she deserved to be: in the main event of Smackdown. She stood in the middle of the ring in black wrestling gear, and her jacket was also a dark color, with some rhinestones and sequins in the shape of crescent moons and stars. The blue championship belt was clasped around her waist, the crystalline W sparkled. Her blue hair was wavy, vibrant with a little bit of black interspersed in the blue. She was flanked by Becky and Charlotte, her manager insisted that they go to ringside with her since her enemies seemed to appear in groups. Becky wore a backwards blue snapback cap, a Legit Boss tank top, tight black jeans and black boots. Charlotte was dressed a bit more formal: she wore a stylish black blazer, a pale blue top, tight black pants and black high heels. They were clapping along with the crowd as Sasha held the mic up to her lips. Fans in the digital screens were also cheering and clapping. 

“You all know why I’m here,” Sasha began, the crowd cheered loudly again and she waited until they quieted down before continuing. 

“The Boss is in the main event of Smackdown, and what would you expect? But I’m here because I’m finally going to settle this score. You all saw that Alexa Bliss has been dodging me ever since she confronted me at the Royal Rumble. She wants my title but she won’t face me. She’s been hiding behind magic tracks, and hiding behind Nikki Cross and the Fiend!”

The crowd booed when Sasha mentioned those names, and Becky, beside her, mimicked the virtual fans in the screen and she also gave a thumbs down. 

Sasha continued on as everyone quieted down again, “It’s time to stop hiding, babe. Time to stop playing games. Let’s have a match tonight, winner takes all for the women’s championships!”

There was another roar from the crowd. As Sasha was smiling around at everyone’s excitement, the lights of the arena shut off, and even the digital fan screens went dark. With her free hand, Sasha reached out and touched Charlotte’s hand in the darkness, she was worried about a sneak attack from Alexa and her goons since Charlotte was still injured. 

Suddenly, red words accentuated with bright green borders appeared on the titantron screen: FEAR THE GLOW.

Triumphant drums from a hip-hop beat boomed through the speakers and the crowd became loud once again. Green lights flashed around them although the arena was still mostly dark. A woman appeared on the entrance ramp, her outfit practically fluorescent and her shoes glowed as well while the soles blinked in different colors. Three men walked with her, they all wore white so they appeared to glow as well. Sasha watched them approach the ring but she glanced around too to make sure she and her friends were not ambushed; she noticed that Becky was highly observant of their surroundings as well. 

The woman walked quickly, her footsteps matching the beat of the rap music that was so loud that the ring felt like it was vibrating. The woman leaped over the ropes while the men remained outside of the ring, and the lights came back on. Naomi smiled at Sasha, she wore all white except for her brilliant shoes, and her black hair was long and straight, with green at the ends. She came to the ring with the Bloodline: Jimmy and Jey Uso, along with the Universal Champion, Roman Reigns. Sasha glanced at Roman while he stood outside of the ring, and he smirked and winked at her. She returned his smile.

Becky and Charlotte stood back slightly, allowing Sasha and the Rumble Winner, Naomi, to have the center of the ring. Naomi held the microphone up and she chuckled because the crowd was so loud and frenetic.

“Sis, you must have forgot about me,” she said simply to Sasha.

Sasha grinned at her in amazement, as everyone watched apprehensively.

Naomi pointed above Sasha, at the colossal Wrestlemania sign that hung by the south wall of the stadium. “I’ve made my decision, and Sasha, I choose you as my opponent for Wrestlemania.”

Chapter Text

WHACK.

The sound echoed throughout the hallway, violently bouncing off the walls. The sound mimicked the physical action of the spray of conditioner and the mist of water filling the air, after Seth’s gloved hand smacked Murphy’s head. Murphy stumbled back, his wet hair askew, his shoulder lightly bumping into Bayley’s arm, he mumbled his apologies to her but he met no one’s eyes; he stood rigid, stoic with his hands clasped together although his face was bright red with embarrassment.

“You!”

Seth raised his hand up again after shouting, but he suddenly grabbed the collar of Murphy’s t-shirt and yanked him closer. Livid was an understatement when describing Seth, his face was contorted with rage and his eyes practically bulging as he glared at Murphy. 

“You fucked it up for us again!!”

He was referring to the critical error that Murphy made tonight during their match. Seth and Bayley teamed up again to face Bianca and Montez in a steel cage to open the show for Smackdown. 

Bianca and Montez wore mostly red and gold, matching attire befitting a devoted married couple. In comparison, Seth and Bayley had slightly matching gears, wearing all black except for the white designs on their gear: Seth with “ROLE MODEL” in white letters on the lateral thigh side of his tights, and Bayley with “MESSIAH” in white letters on a similar area of her cropped pants. Bayley still wore the black compression sleeve on her right arm to cover the contusion she experienced as the Vigilante when Nikki Cross attacked her with a crow bar. Bianca and Montez, as usual, were a tough group to contend with and Bayley and Seth often felt outmatched. They knew the couple was fast and strong, but they thought they could use Murphy as a wild card outside of the ring. Unfortunately, Angelo Dawkins was there as well and he thwarted many of Murphy’s attempts to interfere. Miraculously, at one point, Bianca and Montez were both slowed down from chair shots from Bayley, since Murphy managed to sneak her trusted chair into the cage. Bodies were scattered throughout the ring, exhausted and broken. Seth managed to crawl to the door of the cage, but Montez hung onto his foot. They reached the door together and bashed each other against it. Murphy was in the midst of a scuffle outside of the door with Dawkins, and he did free himself but he slammed the door without looking, since he assumed that Montez had the upper hand on Seth and was escaping. The door smashed into Seth though and he was thrown backwards. This confusion ultimately lead to a resounding victory for Bianca and Montez. 

“It was a mistake, dude! There was a lot going on. Dawkins was meddling in our business again, he’s to blame,” protested Bayley as she stepped into the fray between the two men. 

Seth swiftly turned to her, his lips quivered with fury. “Dawkins didn’t slam the door in my face, Bayley!”

“I know you’re frustrated, man. Fuck, I am too! But you don’t gotta take it out on Murphy,” said Bayley, as she bravely met his angry gaze. 

“Murphy,” Seth spat out his disciple’s name as if he detested the sound in his mouth, “Murphy has failed me for months! Maybe you don’t remember because you were out with an injury. He’s a failure!”

Seth spoke to Bayley as if Murphy didn’t exist in the space they inhabited. Suddenly, he shifted his upper body back to Murphy and raised his arm to strike once again. Reflexively, Bayley hugged Murphy, shielding him and knocking him into a nearby wall. Seth just missed as he swung, he breathed heavily in anxiety because he almost hit Bayley. 

Murphy, shocked, looked back and forth between his two Messiahs. Bayley released him and she stepped closer to Seth, she wouldn’t back down if he wanted to fight her in this hallway.

“Go ahead and hide behind a woman, coward!” Seth yelled, removing his gloves to throw them onto the floor in front of Bayley, “You two can keep teaming up together and can keep losing. I’m out.” 

Bayley finally parked on the side of the street in downtown Orlando. The street was oddly empty for a Friday night. The brief car ride was mostly silent with Murphy. Seth deserted them and didn’t answer her texts, so Bayley offered if Murphy was interested in getting food at her favorite taco spot. She thought some separation could be helpful. 

“It’s just across the street there, it’s closing soon so we’ll pick up the food and go—“

“Bayley?”

Bayley looked at Murphy in surprise when he quietly interrupted her.

“When you challenged Sasha for her title last week… when the ring was set on fire…” he began softly, “We knew Alexa and the Fiend would appear, but why did you go back in the ring?”

Bayley lips tilted into an embarrassed smile, as she peacefully and internally fought to push the thoughts of mayhem from that night out of her mind. “We’ll talk about that another time. Let’s get the food, I’m starving.”

Unfortunately, she already said something similar to him previously when he asked last week. He respected her decision that time because maybe it was too soon to discuss since they just experienced the horrific ordeal in the ring surrounded by fire. Tonight, he nodded silently again. 

As they were leaving the restaurant, they were about to cross the street back to the parked Jeep when Bayley heard her name. She sighed, recognizing the voice, and she held out a hand to stop Murphy, he was holding their bags of food. 

“Hey!” Charlotte waved at them as she was leaving a nearby bar and restaurant with Becky. She was wearing the same outfit that she had on earlier in the ring, but now she had a long, black fur coat covering her clothes. Becky adjusted her hat as she leered at Bayley. Behind them, also exiting the building, were Roman and Sasha, arm in arm. Bayley’s heart seemed to break through her chest cavity and plummeted to the bottom of her stomach as she saw them, and she turned away quickly.

“Let’s go,” she muttered to Murphy.

“Bayley, wait!”

“Oy! You don’t hear us talkin’ to ya?!”

Bayley sighed when she realized that the second voice screaming at her from a distance belonged to Becky. She finally stopped and beckoned for Murphy to follow her as she headed towards her former friends. 

As they approached, Roman, his muscular, tattooed arm linked with Sasha’s, looked at Murphy and Bayley curiously. Next to him, Sasha glanced at Bayley, they locked eyes briefly, meaningfully, and then Sasha quickly looked away. Of all the people to run into tonight, Sasha was hoping not to see Bayley after she had a late dinner and drinks with her friends and Roman. Becky played with the brim of her backwards cap as she eyed Bayley maliciously, a grin creeping along her face. Charlotte’s smile in comparison, was warm and friendly, she looked at the bags that Murphy carried.

“Did you guys get Mexican food at the place over here? We were just in the bar. I wish I knew you guys were going to be in the area too,” Charlotte said lightly, in polite conversation as she ignored the strained atmosphere that both Becky and Sasha created.

“Charlie called to ya a couple times, why were you ignorin’ her?” asked Becky, still grinning. 

Bayley gazed at her defiantly, she thought maybe she should just bow her head, apologize, move on. But something about Becky and Charlotte in particular truly annoyed her. She knew Charlotte was being fake, from the tone of her voice and her facial expressions; she was just being nice because she felt guilty for ignoring her for months. And Becky… The Man who would never care to understand, who jumped to conclusions and used violence as her form of argument. Also, it seemed that she was intruding on Sasha and Roman’s date. This hurt the most, more than any of the damage she endured in the steel cage tonight. 

“What the fuck’s your problem, dude? You’re always on my case about something. You made your point in the locker room. I’m done talking to you. Why don’t you leave your movies behind and come back to the ring to face me? Instead of just talking shit while you’re with your girlfriend and friends,” retorted Bayley angrily. She couldn’t contain her irritation, it was too easy to let it bubble into a rage and spill over. 

The smirk evaporated from her face and Becky’s brows furrowed, her eyes narrowed. “And look at you, Bayley, talking so tough when you’re standin’ here wit’ your little disciple. Remember I warned you in the locker room to shut your mouth, guess I’ll have to shut it for you.”

Instinctively, Murphy moved forward, blocking Becky from Bayley’s path. Becky laughed at him.

“Whatcha gonna do, boy? You steppin’ up to The Man?” she sneered, “Bayley, tell your lap dog to stand down or I will make him.”

Sasha felt Roman’s arm muscles tense as she held him. He glowered at Murphy. 

“Becky, don’t be rude to Murphy,” Bayley said flatly, then she murmured to her friend, “She’s not worth it, man, just step aside.”

Murphy followed Bayley’s instruction and he then stood beside her, instead of in front of her. Becky chuckled at his obedience. 

“Looks like ya never wanted actual friends, Bayley, just followers,” Becky said, gesturing her head at Murphy, “I saw you get destroyed in the steel cage tonight. How many more matches are ya gonna lose to Bianca? You should be sitting in catering, I don’t even know how you get on the show.”

“Well, Becks,” Roman chimed in suddenly, “They do need some jobbers to make the stars look good.”

He and Becky shared a hearty laugh together while Sasha and Charlotte looked at each other awkwardly. Bayley felt the heat rising in her face from shame. Sasha’s new boyfriend called her a jobber… a loser…

Maybe that’s how Sasha feels about her too.

“C’mon,” she muttered to Murphy and gestured that they should get going.

“Wait!” Becky called, “You’re gonna give up that easily? You didn’t acknowledge the Tribal Chief when he spoke to you!”

“Becks, just leave her alone,” Sasha finally said.

Bayley stopped and glanced at Sasha when hearing her words.

“What? She’s the one who started shit with me. And maybe your neck forgot what she did to you a couple months ago?” said Becky with gritted teeth.

“Becky,” Charlotte stated sternly.

Sasha glanced around and saw that several people were taking out their phones, and murmuring amongst each other. She lowered her voice as she spoke to them all, “We don’t want to make a scene, let’s just go.”

Roman started to turn away, and Sasha moved along with him towards the valet parking. Charlotte tugged on Becky’s tank top as the Irish woman called down the street at Bayley and Murphy.

“Maybe I’ll take a break from filming my movies to beat your ass in the ring! See ya around!” 

Bayley dropped off Murphy at the apartment he shared with Seth. He said he would text her if Seth was already home. They didn’t hear from him since they left the arena so they were slightly worried. Her own apartment was only a few minutes away, and she blasted a Pierce the Veil song to fill the silence of her car. The drum patterns and guitar melody only served to take the edge off her tumultuous emotions. 

When finally inside her apartment, she limped over to the kitchen counter to set down the bag of food. She worked hard to keep herself from limping earlier, she couldn’t look weak in front of everyone. Now that she was alone, she allowed her pain to take over, allowed her body to break down after the punishment of the cage. She was no longer hungry after the confrontation with the Horsewomen and Roman. She was interested in beer and tequila, and her THC vape. And she did have some painkillers in the medicine cabinet that were left over from when she broke her hand at HIAC. The physical pain wasn’t the worst, her emotions were a mess. 

Her thoughts were racing, she needed something immediately to calm herself down. She could hear Bray’s voice in her head again, the serious expression on his face swam into her mind. 

“Roses are red. Violets are blue. You can hide behind a mask, but she will never love you.”

…

She will never love me.

That was the truth and Bayley saw the evidence tonight. Bray or the Fiend, and Alexa… they all knew and they would laugh if they could see her now. Sasha and Roman are champions, they were meant to be together. Bayley couldn’t even be seen in public with Sasha or else Becky and Charlotte would create a ruckus. Sasha looked at her tonight like she wished she didn’t exist and she clutched onto Roman’s arm. Roman was tall, muscular, handsome, with light eyes and long, luxurious locks of hair. He was, arguably, the most attractive man in professional wrestling. He and Sasha looked happy together. They could be a power couple at highly televised events, on red carpets and award shows. It would be more socially acceptable for Sasha to be with a man. Bayley knew she shouldn’t get in the way but even that thought felt like a dagger twisting in her gut. 

She opened the fridge door, and luckily, she had bottled water, pre-made protein shakes, and plenty of alcohol. She grabbed a bottle of tequila, rubbed away the moisture forming at her eyes with the back of her hand before downing some grateful sips of the liquid. She could drink the pain away tonight, like she did on many other nights. But the pain would return; a lingering, dull ache in the center of her chest when she woke up in the morning. She limped into her bathroom, the bottle accompanied her; she thought she should find some painkillers and down them with alcohol. In this moment of anguish and hopelessness, that sounded like a good idea. The light switch flipped on and she gazed at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were red from fatigue and the tears she held back. Her short black hair was matted down from the beanie she wore earlier. Sometimes she hated her face as much as everyone else did. She felt more comfortable in the Vigilante’s mask. 

She set the bottle down on the bathroom counter and her right hand gripped into a shaking fist. This was the same hand she broke a while back, sometimes if the weather changed rapidly or after strenuous exercises, she had some swelling and achy pain in the knuckle adjacent to her pinky - the area of the fracture. She stared down at her fist and had a deep desire to shatter her mirror. She breathed deeply, huffed out breaths in anger and stared at her reflection. She slowly brought her fist up, injecting as much power and force—

Suddenly, there was a loud knocking at her door. She looked around, and she remembered that Murphy never texted her back. Maybe it was Seth or Murphy. Another knock jarred her out of her thoughts and she raced to the door to open it. 

“Bayley.”

It was Sasha. She was no longer wearing the fancy attire Bayley had witnessed earlier. She was wearing darker clothing, a Louis Vuitton jacket over a black tank top, and dark gray pajama pants. She was wearing glasses instead of contact lenses. Her hood was pulled up to cover her vibrant blue hair. 

“Mamacita,” Bayley was shocked and she stepped aside to allow Sasha entrance into the apartment, “You shouldn’t be here, what if someone saw you?”

Sasha embraced Bayley tightly as the door shut. Bayley held her, but weakly and somewhat awkwardly. 

“No one saw me. I didn’t drive my car, I took an Uber. I shook off my security guards too,” she mumbled into Bayley’s chest.

“Security?”

Sasha gazed up at the taller woman, giggling at her friend’s surprised expression. “Yeah, my manager hired a bunch of people to keep track of me, there’s always a car parked at my house. She was worried because of that fire shit that Alexa did in the ring.”

The women released each other, and Sasha pulled down her hood. She took off her jacket and hung it on a chair at the breakfast bar. 

“What’re you doing here?” asked Bayley quietly. 

“I’m sorry about Becky… and Roman,” Sasha answered, looking earnestly at her best friend. 

Bayley pinched the fabric of her jogger sweat pants nervously. “You could’ve just texted me, you didn’t need to come all the way over here in the middle of the night. I thought you were spending the night with Roman.”

“It’s not like that between us, Bayley. He invited us to that restaurant bar. We’re not dating.”

“You don’t have to lie to me, babe,” said Bayley, looking away, “It’s OK. I’m happy for you. You guys look good together. I won’t get in the way. I’m still here for you… as the Vigilante… you know that.”

Sasha frowned. “I’m not lying. If I was dating him then I wouldn’t be standing here. You are never ‘in the way.’ What makes you say that?” 

Bayley sighed deeply. “I know you don’t like talking about this but… things got messy between us. Sleeping with you and keeping this secret. And I’m already keeping a secret identity. It’s a lot for me. And um… I noticed that if Becky and Char are around, you don’t say anything to them when they cause trouble for me.”

Sasha’s expression softened, she could sense Bayley’s sorrowful energy. “I’m sorry Bayley. Maybe things between us got out of hand. It’s hard to explain. And Becky and Char, well, you have to think of it from their perspective. They don’t trust you after what you did. I had a hard time trusting you as well but I learned that you truly are my friend and you’re here for me. I’m here for you too, I didn’t want you to be alone tonight.”

Things certainly spiraled out of control. Like many people who came across the masked hero of the women’s division, Sasha became infatuated with the Vigilante. She was often alone in the winter, due to Charlotte’s injury and Becky being in Los Angeles. She was so used to sleeping next to Bayley at night, and abruptly, her bed was cold and empty. The Vigilante came to her at the perfect time. She just wanted a one night stand, to have fun with her protector and hopefully repay her kindness. But then she discovered that the Vigilante was Bayley all along. She missed Bayley, and there were times in the past when she thought about something deeper than friendship when it came to Bayley. The one night stand turned into many, many nights, and she didn’t mean for that to happen but there was something so addicting about the feel of Bayley’s skin. Her lips, her tongue. Her touch. 

She was in love with Bayley, at times, but this feeling frightened The Boss at her core. Love is so vulnerable and fragile, and fleeting. She couldn’t open herself up that much to be hurt. And there was a strong possibility that Bayley didn’t share her feelings. Bayley was disliked in their locker room but Kayla and Carmella showed interest in her, irritating fans on the internet called Bayley their ‘Daddy.’ She wasn’t sure if she wanted to deal with Bayley’s player behavior.

“You would always choose them over me, huh? I understand,” Bayley said glumly.

“I’m not choosing anyone,” Sasha retorted, “You’re all equal to me. I know that Becky and Char are making up for the past, they feel bad that they weren’t there for me when you… you know. But they’re coming around, or at least Char is. We’ve talked about it and she’s open to having you back in our group.”

“With the way Becky’s acting, I’m not interested,” stated Bayley in a flat tone. 

“It’ll take some time, they’re hurt too. You know that. We should all sit down and talk instead of just randomly bumping into each other and getting into fights,” suggested Sasha.

“I dunno, I’ll think about it. I’m gonna go drink some more and go to sleep. I can get another Uber for you to go home.”

Sasha shook her head. “I’m staying here with you.”

Bayley sighed. “I’m in pain and I’m in a bad mood. I’m not gonna be fun to be around.”

“I know you better than anyone else. I know what you need. Maybe just drink some water and then we can cuddle in your bed,” Sasha said with a smile.

Bayley mumbled something that sounded like “I dunno” and glanced around, embarrassed. Sasha looked around the apartment as well since this was the first time she ever visited Bayley. She and Bayley lived at her house together before Bayley’s betrayal. Bayley did have her own room but she always slept with Sasha in Sasha’s room. Their living room and office space was adorned with the championship belts they won over the years, magazine covers, photos and other awards and accolades. Now, seeing Bayley’s new apartment, it was small but not cramped, and slightly barren. There were no decorations on the walls, a few books and a set of upright vape pens occupied the coffee table, a Christmas tree stood next to the wide screen TV on the wall. There was also a dark gray sectional couch and a couple of bookshelves in the living room but not much else. 

“C’mon, baby,” whispered Sasha and she gently held Bayley’s hand, to lead her into the bedroom.

Bayley trudged along and Sasha noticed the limp. Bayley sat down by the edge of the bed, grimacing.

“I got banged up in that steel cage match. Bianca is no joke but don’t tell her I said that,” chuckled Bayley, still grimacing.

“Do you have any Tylenol or anything like that?” asked Sasha as she wandered into the bathroom to check out the medicine cabinet. 

“Maybe,” Bayley answered back in the bedroom.

Sasha frowned when she saw the opened bottle of tequila on the bathroom sink. She opened the cabinet and found a few things that could be helpful, but she also found several bottles of opioid analgesics in plain view. 

Sasha was back in the bedroom rather quickly with a few things in her hands. “Where’s your pain?”

“Everywhere,” laughed Bayley. She slowly removed the compression sleeve from her right hand, and the bruising and swelling had further blossomed. She also had some milder bruising and abrasions in her upper arms from the cage match. Then, she gingerly removed her tank top to reveal further damage. Sasha groaned as she saw new scars mixed with old scars, and a couple of bleeding gashes on Bayley’s lower back. 

“Why did Seth agree to the steel cage match? I remember he was the one promoting it on social media,” Sasha said, frowning.

Bayley took a while to respond. “He… um, wanted to win in style, I guess. But you saw what happened. I fucked up again.”

“It’s not your fault. You guys looked a little disjointed out there and poor Murphy, he was trying to help but made it worse,” Sasha said kindly. 

Bayley sighed painfully as she felt a cool, stinging liquid touch one of the bleeding gashes in her lower back. She took a shower earlier but two of the gashes continued bleeding in the past few hours. Sasha used an antiseptic to clean the wounds. 

“Bayley, I saw the alcohol and the pills in your cabinet,” Sasha finally said after thinking about this for a while.

“Yeah? What about them?”

“All of those things together are dangerous. That’s some scary shit to get into.”

Bayley would go to great lengths tonight to forget her mental pain, she was going to start with the alcohol first and proceed onward if Sasha hadn’t arrive. She felt so miserable at times. Seeing Sasha with Roman crushed her completely. She didn’t think Sasha knew that’s how she felt and she was too ashamed to describe this. Because describing this would mean admitting her feelings, and she didn’t want to piss off Sasha tonight. Sasha probably didn’t share her feelings and never would. 

“I wasn’t gonna hurt myself. I don’t feel good and you’re right that I should just try to sleep,” whispered Bayley.

Sasha set down the gauze pads with the antiseptic solution, and she rubbed along Bayley’s upper back, moving upwards to her neck and then into the undercut. “Messiah” with flame patterns was shaved into Bayley’s hair. She then noticed a candle and one of the Vigilante’s masks on Bayley’s nightstand. There was a black baseball bat next to the stand too, and a steel chair strangely propped up beside the bed. One of the Vigilante’s hooded sweaters was folded over another nearby chair. Sasha recognized it because the inner lining of the sweater was very different, it had an intricate design and looked almost shiny. Bayley had told her that the seamstress who made this created a lightweight armor for her sweaters. There were so many remnants of the masked crusader in the bedroom, and very little left of Bayley.

“I’m here, baby, let’s sleep together,” Sasha whispered gently in return.

Chapter Text

“It’s OK, baby… don’t hold back.”

Sasha whispered in Bayley’s ear as their bodies were once again intertwined in a bed, but this time, it was Bayley’s bed which was new territory in their friends with benefits situation. Bayley’s body felt like it was boiling, in a pleasurable way, while on top of and wrapped around Sasha, underneath warm blankets. They hadn’t planned on this, they both wished to sleep after the long night but they also both realized that they couldn’t keep their hands off each other in a bed. Bayley was in pain after the steel cage match, and this pain slightly intensified as her muscles were getting more and more tense during lovemaking. She was getting closer but she fought to hold herself steady, her left hand gripped a pillow while her right hand was on Sasha’s hip. She gritted her teeth and leaned into Sasha’s soft neck, growling with pleasure. 

“Mmm… that’s it,” encouraged Sasha with a whisper, her hand holding the vibrator in place between them, and her legs wrapped around her friend’s hips. Her other hand rubbed into her friend’s undercut and scalp. With a click, she pressed the next setting for the vibrator to increase the intensity. 

Bayley moaned loudly and she could feel waves of satisfaction pulsate through the lower half of her body as she reached climax. The nerves in her legs tingled intensely and she experienced some involuntary muscle movements as she collapsed fully onto Sasha.

“I love you,” Bayley gasped breathlessly into Sasha’s ear.

Click. The vibrations stopped. 

Sasha’s mouth was dry as she stared at Bayley with delightful amusement. “Was it that good?”

“Fuck,” muttered Bayley as she rolled off Sasha and positioned herself beside her. She was breathing heavily and perspiration had formed on her forehead. She couldn’t believe it. She couldn’t stop herself. She was mortified that she would frighten Sasha with that statement.

And, in the act!

She couldn’t look at Sasha; she stared at the ceiling while Sasha’s gorgeous brown eyes surveyed her closely. She ruined everything. She knew it. Because it wasn’t that type of a relationship. Maybe it was the pain in her arm and in her back in combination with reaching the height of lovemaking that created a momentary weakness within her. It made her lower her guard, shatter her armor, just for a moment, to reveal how she truly felt about her friend.

She covered her face with her hands. “Dude… fuck… I am so sorry.”

Sasha was puzzled and she reached out for Bayley’s arm and shoulder. “Babe, it’s OK. It’s really OK.”

Bayley finally summoned the courage to drop her hands and look at her friend, she saw that Sasha was smiling broadly at her and delight danced in her eyes. 

She was trapped in a dark pit. There was something overhead though, far beyond her in the black sky, something orb shaped and bright. The moon? Yes, most likely. It was the only light around her. The sky was starless. But what are stars, truly? Just exit wounds riddling the night sky. 

But what—

Suddenly, like rain, objects were falling out of the sky and into the deep pit she stood in. Thousands and thousand of them…. Some brushed against her skin, slicing her. 

Thorns.

From red roses.

She could see the vibrant hue of the petals in the moonlight. 

Dakota looked around, bewildered and frightened. She’s here.

If they’re here, she’s here, she thought, panicked.

She ran and tried to scramble up the dirt walls of the pit but couldn’t find anything to latch onto. Her foot slipped and she fell into a bed of roses. She screamed as the thorns pierced her, punctured into her body. They continued to pile on top of her from the sky. She couldn’t escape. They would suffocate her.

Then, she felt hands grab her arms and her shirt, yanking her upwards. 

It was her.

Roses continued to fall from the sky around them, in this dark pit, and she held onto Dakota. Her mask was white, almost fluorescent in the moonlight, with a red rose design on the left cheek; her eyes were an icy blue, expressionless. 

It was her.

The so-called, Vigilante.

“You,” groaned Dakota as she attempted to grab the woman’s masked face; she would gouge a blue eye out with her thumb due to her own desperation to escape this pit and escape the rainfall of roses.

The woman was too strong. She gripped Dakota’s wrist and twisted it into a position that it shouldn’t naturally be in. Dakota could feel the tendons and ligaments shearing in her wrist, she was in excruciating pain. 

The red roses continued to fall from the sky, they were waist deep in flowers in this pit. The flowers impact with each other was like a frantic applause. The thorns dug into Dakota’s legs. But the woman still gripped her tightly, impervious to the thorns. Dakota flailed her other arm around wildly, blood dripped down to her hand from the cuts from the thorns. The woman caught this arm too and pulled violently. Dakota screamed as her shoulder was dislocated. 

The Vigilante held her steady, bringing Dakota’s face closer to her mask. Where there should be a mouth, the mask split horizontally to reveal a dark, inhuman opening. Then there was laughter from this ‘mouth.’ It echoed around the pit among the loud rustling of rose petals. 

But.

It was the Fiend’s laughter. 

Dakota awoke abruptly, almost toppling out of her chair. Her sharp movement caused the white PlayStation 5 controller, which she held as she fell asleep, to fall to the bedroom rug. She rubbed her mouth, a slight ooze of spit was dripping down from her lips. She hoped that she wasn’t screaming aloud during her nightmare. It was her usual nightmare but there were different variations of the Vigilante’s appearance each time. 

“Mother fucking shit,” she muttered to herself in a low hiss as she thought of the masked woman’s face and laughter. She despised the Vigilante, and she would never admit this to others, but she consumed her thoughts. The woman who humiliated her and ruined her matches. The stupid bitch who the equally stupid fans chose to cheer on. 

She shook her head slightly, trying to rid herself from sleepiness. She realized that someone had placed a blanket over her when she fell asleep. There was cold popcorn on the end table next to her. The PS5 was on sleep mode. The large screen TV in her room was shut off. The only soft light in the room was from a nearby lamp. She looked around and saw that her friends, who were playing video games with her earlier, had curled up amongst each other to fall asleep. Shayna was spooning Nia, while Nia spooned Reggie. They snoozed deeply, peacefully unaware of Dakota’s mental fight with the masked woman of the WWE women’s division.

Raquel was there earlier as well but she probably went to sleep with Braun in her room. Dakota rose from her chair, plopping the blanket aside. She scooped up the controller and placed it on the entertainment stand. Her Apple Watch showed 3:42 am. 

Fuck.

She needed to go back to bed, especially because she had a busy Saturday ahead of her. A morning gym session followed by a women’s locker room meeting held by Alexa Bliss. She and her friends had joined Alexa and Bray’s group, but she knew nothing about the topics of this meeting or what motivation Alexa had for doing this. Every time she questioned Alexa, she was met with Nikki berating her like a mad woman or Bray’s simpering giggles and smile. 

She left the room and walked downstairs, the automatic lights of the hallways and stairwell turned on as she passed by. The living room TV displayed a fishing channel and a man droning on and on in a Southern accent. She shut it off; Braun was probably watching this earlier.

Dakota quickly rounded into the large kitchen and opened the refrigerator door. She pushed aside items until she found what she was looking for. She smiled as she opened the bottle of vodka and drank a small sip. Maybe she would have a drink or two which would help her fall back asleep. She needed a few more hours of rest. Her body ached, but it wasn’t because she wrestled on Smackdown, it seemed to be from her dream. 

She sighed. The mind plays strange tricks.

Armed with the vodka bottle, she went back upstairs. She tip-toed around her friends who slumbered in her bed, and she went into her bathroom. The bright lights felt jarring but she needed to wash her face; she needed to wash away that nightmare with crisp, clean water. She took a couple more swigs of the vodka and set it down on the counter. Slowly, she turned the taps and splashed water onto her face before reaching for her facial cleanser. As she glanced into the mirror, her heart stopped. 

The fuck…

No! 

She had imagined it. That wasn’t real. She thought she saw the Vigilante standing behind her. The water continued to run steadily as she glanced around. No one was there. She was alone in the bathroom. A giggle almost parted her lips and she shook her head. She definitely needed more sleep.

Dakota splashed some more warm water on her face. She glanced back at the mirror.

What—

White mask. Black zip up hoodie. Black pants. 

Red rose.

Blue eyes. 

She was there. She was truly there. And on instinct, Dakota grabbed the glass alcohol bottle and swung it rapidly as she turned around. 

She did not connect with flesh. Because there was no one behind her. The bottle shattered loudly against the bathroom wall. Broken glass erupted all around her. She closed her eyes and recoiled automatically. 

“What the fuck?!” 

Dakota heard Shayna calling from her bedroom. Then she heard other voices as Nia and Reggie awoke too. 

“It’s just me! I’m OK,” Dakota called to them as she opened the door.

Nia was rubbing her eyes, her hair in disarray. “Kota, what’s going on?”

“I was drinking in the bathroom and the bottle slipped from my hand,” Dakota said quickly, hoping everyone would just go back to sleep.

“You were drinking in the bathroom?” Shayna asked, perplexed.

Dakota huffed with irritation. “Just a little drink and then I was gonna go to bed. It’s nothing, I’ll clean this mess up and you guys get back to sleep.”

Her friends, still with sleepy expressions, frowned at each other and exchanged concerned looks. 

Sasha spooned scrambled eggs gratefully into her mouth. She hummed with excitement. It was fluffy with a slightly runny texture. Exactly how she liked them. She was sitting at the breakfast bar in Bayley’s apartment while Bayley stood across from her at the counter. They woke up early this Saturday because Sasha had many meetings to attend. Bayley didn’t have much food in her apartment but she did make a quick grocery run very early this morning to provide Sasha with some small luxuries at breakfast time. 

Bayley smiled at her as she ate. “I’ve gotten better with making breakfast, right?”

“You were always good at it,” Sasha said, eyeing the eggs, turkey bacon and apples on her plate, “But this is truly excellent.”

This felt, almost… romantic. Sasha picked up her cup filled with orange juice and sipped. Bayley even made freshly squeezed orange juice for her this morning. She knew Bayley hated early mornings. She did this all for her. Sasha pondered this, maybe there was some meaning behind Bayley’s words last night. 

“How is it?” Bayley asked after Sasha drank some of the beverage.

“It’s good, I love it. Everything’s perfect,” Sasha said and then she tilted her head at Bayley, “So… about last night.”

Bayley looked down at her own plate shyly and said nothing.

Sasha pressed on, “I want to talk about it.”

Bayley thought she frightened Sasha with her careless statement but Sasha held her last night afterwards. She still kissed her ‘good morning’ when they awoke. She wished she could express her most important feelings at a different time though, not while practically passing out in the throes of passion. She loved Sasha as a friend but also… 

No, she’s just being nice to me. She doesn’t feel the same way.

She couldn’t get the thought of Roman and Sasha together out of her head. They looked happy together. They looked like they belonged together. Becky and Charlotte accepted Roman. 

“I’m sorry,” Bayley said, embarrassed.

Sasha giggled. “Why are you apologizing? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Bayley’s gaze shifted around the room while Sasha eyed her intensely. Sasha was starting to think that maybe Bayley didn’t mean to say that and it slipped out in the act accidentally. Maybe she truly just wants to be friends and nothing more than that.

“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable,” said Bayley quietly.

“You didn’t,” Sasha stated.

The women waited for the other to make a move or to affirm or deny their feelings. But there was a stalemate. There was too much fear and uncertainty that they each didn’t want to express out loud.

Bayley broke the silence with an awkward tone: “Well, um, so today… seems like you have a lot going on.”

Sasha spoke after she finished another bite. “Photoshoots and interviews. Charlotte will be there, she has an interview too.”

“And Becky?” Bayley said, clearing her throat nervously. 

“Becks has a virtual meeting with her movie crew, she won’t be with us. If you want to stop by, you can,” offered Sasha.

Bayley shook her head quickly. “Nah, it’s not my place. Will Roman be there?”

A pause, and Sasha shifted a bit in her seat.

“Yeah,” she said plainly, crunching on an apple slice and looking away.

Bayley’s heart sank slightly but she nodded as if this piece of news didn’t disturb her. Sasha’s gaze fell on a nearby Vigilante mask.

“You’ve told me that the person who helps with your gear also makes Seth’s gear. Is there armor or something on the mask? Does it protect your head and face?” questioned Sasha, pointing at the mask with another apple slice.

“Not exactly. She told me there’s some type of ‘glamor’ or something on the mask. When I wear it, I feel like my senses are on fire. It’s like… I feel hyper aware. But I’ve noticed, if I’m around Alexa and Bray, that doesn’t always happen, it’s like they create a white noise. It’s hard to explain,” Bayley said, also gazing at the mask.

“And the air gets super cold when the Vigilante of the women’s division appears, as Michael Cole named you,” Sasha said with a smile.

Bayley laughed, she almost forgot that it was Cole who gave her the ‘Vigilante’ name. “Yeah, I don’t know why that happens, must be part of the ‘glamor’ of the mask. If I get angry or emotional while wearing it, things get cold then too.”

Sasha thought about this. She thought about Alexa’s description of magic in her diary, how she too wondered if there was some type of magic within the Vigilante. She wondered if Bayley had read that far into the diary when it was in her possession, that Alexa was intrigued by her. Sasha didn’t understand how Alexa or the Fiend got to this point or how they would achieve their strange goals. What did her title and Roman’s title have to do with any of this? But, she was caught in the middle of it and she would go down swinging if she had to, and she knew Bayley would protect her. Her worry was that the Vigilante identity was absorbing Bayley and would take over to the point where she forgets her own face. The face that Sasha had loved for so many years. 

“Bayley, maybe you should talk to someone. Like a therapist,” Sasha blurted out randomly.

Bayley smiled at her friend incredulously, her brows furrowed in confusion. “What? I know, Sash, the Vigilante shit is weird, but—“

“That’s not what I meant,” Sasha interrupted, “I don’t think the mask is weird. I don’t think your wish to help other people is weird. I think it’s kinda… taking over your whole life, you know? Your apartment has no decorations. I just see stuff that the Vigilante would have around, you even have a bat and a steel chair beside your bed. I know things are getting to you… Becky and Char, and the women’s locker room getting mad at you. It’s a lot for anyone to endure.”

Bayley opened her mouth to protest but she couldn’t find the right words. She stared at Sasha, her expression mixed with disbelief, sadness, realization.

“It bothers me, to see you like this…” Sasha said slowly, almost in a whisper, fighting to keep her voice steady, “I know what you’re doing. And… this isn’t the way to rebuild yourself. I think you should talk to someone.”

Bayley nodded and sighed, not meeting her friend’s eyes. “Alright, Sash… I’ll think about it.”

“And, we need to get some decorations up in this place so it can feel more like home,” Sasha said with a watery smile and she sniffed loudly, “I know you had lots of Paramore posters and art paintings when we lived together, where is that stuff?”

“It’s in my walk in closet,” said Bayley.

Sasha nodded determinedly. “OK, we’ll finish eating and then we’ll put up the stuff. Finish your food!”

Bayley chuckled appreciatively at her best friend’s determination and empathy.