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"You okay?"
Charlotte tugged her hoodie over her head; the simple motion had her shoulders and arms screaming at her in pain. She offered a tired smile to the short blonde woman who had asked the question.
"As okay as I can be, after going through several tables, I guess," she said. "Thanks for your concern, Lexi."
Alexa frowned even as she stepped closer to Charlotte, taking note of the bags surrounding the other woman. "You're leaving already? Shouldn't you be getting checked out?"
"I already did," Charlotte said. "This is nothing ice and a little rest can't take care of." She was tired, honestly, she put herself through hell but managed to come out shining and splendid, with a Match of the Year candidate with her best friend.
A best friend who was waiting for her, because they deserve a drink after tonight, and especially after that match. She was all set to take her bags and leave, before realizing something. Charlotte looked more closely at Alexa, who was still clad in her ring gear.
Gear that she never got to truly show off, because Alexa was still injured, and thus was not cleared to compete in the historic pay-per-view -- in what was probably the most important night in all of their careers, she was sidelined.
Charlotte hesitated. It wasn't as though she and Alexa had ever been close: she was in RAW when the Goddess was on SmackDown, and then they essentially switched places last year. Their lone interaction was from last year's Survivor Series, a match that Charlotte had thoroughly enjoyed.
She breathed a deep sigh, before taking the plunge. "Hey, Lexi," Charlotte said. "Are you okay?"
"I didn't even have a match tonight, Charlotte," Alexa said, her voice soft. "Of course I'm okay."
"No, I meant -- are you okay ? Because… because I know you would have wanted to be there tonight," Charlotte said, this time a bit more hesitant. "Honestly, how are you feeling?"
Charlotte thought for a moment that Alexa would snap and say something snarky, but instead, the tiny blonde hiccuped a bit before wiping her eyes. "I'm -- I'm fine," Alexa said, "Sure, I didn't get to wrestle in the most historic pay-per-view of all time, and I had to watch ringside as my idols had a match, but I'm fine!"
"Okay, you're not fine," Charlotte said. She let go of her bags, then moved towards Alexa. "You're not fine, and that's … that's okay. It's okay to be disappointed, Lexi."
"I'm not disappointed, I'm pissed!" the tiny woman suddenly said. "I'm pissed that I got injured, I'm pissed that I missed this show, I'm pissed at --" and here she looked around quickly, before toning her voice down. "I'm pissed at Ronda, and I'm pissed at myself." She gave a sad chuckle, then wiped her eyes again. "I'm so pissed, I could cry."
At this, Charlotte couldn't herself anymore. She wrapped the smaller woman in a hug, then rested her chin on Alexa's head. "It's okay to cry," she murmured. "I would cry, too, if I were in your position."
"Oh please, you'd cry in any position." As if realizing what she had said, Alexa coughed a little, then said: "I mean… you know what I mean."
Charlotte laughed. "Yeah, yeah, I'm a crybaby, I know." She tightened her grip on Alexa, nearly lifting her off her feet. "You'll be fine, Lexi. We're gonna have another one of these next year, and you'll be on it."
"Yeah, in another random tag match," Alexa mumbled, even as she began to wrap her arms around Charlotte, too.
"Who knows, maybe you'll be in a great feud like ours," Charlotte said. "Don't worry, okay? Everything will be alright."
By now, Alexa had fully returned Charlotte's embrace. "Thanks, Charlotte," she murmured.
"Ahem."
The (obviously fake) cough snapped both women out of it, and they immediately broke away from each other -- only to see a smirking Becky Lynch, her SmackDown women's championship belt slung over her shoulder, her bags clutched in either hand.
"Hope I'm not interrupting anything," she said, though there was a gleam in her eyes that told Charlotte that she was in for a long night of teasing.
"You're not," Alexa said, just as Charlotte exclaimed: "Nothing's happening."
"Uh-huh," Becky said, her smirk growing. "We gotta go, Charlie, Bayley and Sasha are waiting, and they have alcohol. It was nice seeing you, Lexi."
"You guys had an incredible match," Alexa said, giving Becky a genuine smile. She looked up at Charlotte, who was blushing. "Charlotte… thanks," she finally said. "I'll … talk to you soon?"
"Yeah," Charlotte mumbled. "Sure, let's do that."
Alexa flashed them both one last smile before skipping away, clearly feeling lighter than when the night had ended. Becky was still smirking at Charlotte.
" What was that?"
" Nothing ."
"Bayley and Sasha will love to hear all about this."
"Becky, haven't you tortured me enough for tonight?"