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“Did you see her?”
“Of course, Iyo-san, I saw her.”
Rhea finished a set of cable core workouts when her ears prickled at the Japanese that they were speaking. It wasn’t a rare occurrence to hear the foreign language; the company had regular business guests, and people on the roster brought in family to visit. She just never pictured Iyo speaking the language to Stephanie so casually.
Iyo, breathless, adjusted the weight of her leg press machine to something heavier, “It’s hot.”
Rhea twisted her back, not quite sure if they were speaking of the weather, even though the AC was blasting. Maybe it was some code they were speaking?
“I know.”
Questions flooded her. What could they be talking about? Planning for their own opportunities for the belt? Or betraying their friends?
Rhea’s lack of understanding of Japanese was never a problem anytime she and Iyo crossed paths. Sure, there had been times when the language barrier made it hard to understand everything perfectly, but they made do.
“The way she threw Naomi!” The older woman’s voice trailed off, and wonder filled her eyes.
Stephanie cackled, “Yes, you think Mami’s muscles are the best.”
The Australian’s ears prickled at the affectionate tone of her nickname. But the mystery made her feel unsteady. She rushed her routine to leave, unsure if she was too tired and imagining things— or if they were plotting something else. After all, there’s no such thing as friends.
Now, she understood all the qualms Bayley had in the last days about the founding members of Damage CTRL. At least it appeared they weren’t talking about anything that would cause a rift. But it would be better to know for sure.
A lump formed in Rhea’s stomach; she would stomp out any problems before they came to be.
“C’mon, Kai, I need just enough to get me by.”
“‘Get by?’ That’s basically the entire thing, Ripley. You’re asking for entire conversations, not simple greetings. If you really wanted to ‘get by,’ you’d have asked Asuka.”
Rhea’s nose twitched. “If I asked Asuka, she’d call me a ‘baka,’ then ask me why.”
“Wouldn’t picture you’d be scared of someone you always beat in the ring.”
“I’m not scared. It’s–” she paused, “It’s hard to explain.”
Dakota raised an eyebrow, “Hard to explain? And you decided to ask me instead?”
Rhea waved an inked hand, “C’mon, will you do me the solid or not?”
Iyo’s older tag team partner, and two-time champion alongside her, asked, “What do I get out of this?”
“What would you want?”
“I don’t want anything. Just don’t hurt her.” A hollow echo of a laugh fit for a champion left the Kiwi’s mouth.
“Me, hurt her?” Her mind wandered to the various bumps she’s taken from the joshi. She never beat her after all. “I could never.”
“You’d be surprised.”
Seeing that they were going to a different tangent that Rhea wasn’t sure she knew how to navigate, she brought back the task at hand. “So, will you teach me?”
“Are you sure?” Dakota tried to persuade Rhea against it, but she chose to anyway. “What they’re talking about really isn’t that interesting.”
She traced back to the way Iyo’s smile didn’t reach her eyes when she spoke to her, but the light beamed whenever she spoke to Vaquer. “I’m positive, Kai.”
Rhea watched the Latina and Japanese laughing, Iyo’s head lolling to the back at something particularly entertaining. It caused her stomach to twist. It’s been a while since she elicited that reaction from the older woman. Rhea’s limited knowledge of Japanese was running its course as she scoured the lessons Dakota taught her for answers.
The Kiwi in question sat next to her and raised an eyebrow as she watched the Australian’s face, “Picked up anything yet?”
“Gimme a moment.”
Slowly, Rhea pieced together the bits and pieces. It took her some time, but she navigated her way to that point. “Today”. . . “We”... “Leg”. . . “Center” . . . “Cute.” The last bit might have gotten lost in translation since it seemed irrelevant to the rest of the conversation, which, if she understood properly, they were talking about Rhiyo’s routine for the day. At least, she felt like she made progress overall. She repeated her findings to Dakota and even voiced her concerns, to which the older woman only laughed and waved them off.
“That’s good enough, you’ll get the rest soon enough.”
Rhea let out an exhale in frustration, “Wish I got it already.”
Dakota patted her back, “You’ll get there eventually. Just like it took a while to get to the main roster.”
Iyo and Rhea finished their training session against Lyra and Bayley, testing different options out. Nothing that they would want to hide against opponents, but they at least got to make sure that they could tag smoother and their combos transitioned into each other well. They parted ways for lunch, the old mentor and upcoming star decided to eat out, while the other two decided to have something from the center’s cafeteria.
The older woman gave a nudge ƒor Rhea to go ahead when she noticed the younger wrestler who captured her recent interests. Her steps were slowed as she lingered to talk to Stephanie. The taller woman nodded, even if she felt left out. The twist slowly started forming in her stomach again.
She walked ahead, selecting some lean protein so it wouldn’t upset her stomach from the hard workout. Rather, that’s what she told herself about the thud that existed. With a clatter of an unceremonious slam of her platter, she slumped into her chair. Her tatted fingers wrapped around her eyes to cover them from the stares she garnered. She heard a rustle beside her and hoped it was her tag team partner. To her unfortunate demise, it was a different pair of brown eyes looking at her expectantly.
“Well? Get to it.”
Raven brows furrowed together as she began to listen to quick Japanese that made her mind mesh.
“I got to see her for a while during training.”
“It’s different being on separate brands for sure.”
“At least the main events feel more worth it when we’re together.”
“Try being Miss Money in the Bank, then you get to see her whenever you want.” Iyo gloated; a faint memory shone in her eyes.
“Can’t really do that when I already have a belt around my waist.”
“Your accomplishments in NXT say you would find a way.”
“As you managed to wiggle your way to your crush?”
Iyo sputtered for just a second before she composed herself, and a shine returned. “Don’t forget, you still have to find a way to capture her heart.”
Stephanie rolled her eyes, “I’m sure we would’ve had things sorted already, if given the chance.”
Rhea had her palm to her embarrassed lips as they fell into a straight line. A full bloom blush painted her cheeks. She saw the glee in Dakota’s gaze, who nudged her shoulder and relished in her agony. “I told you it wasn’t anything you had to worry about.” The Australian glared at Dakota’s knowing glance- the wagging eyebrows. She spent a month learning– for this?
She understood that maybe it was easier to gossip in the other tongue or convey meaning that they can’t in English. But, from what she understood, they were gossiping like high school girls. They had been discussing and describing their crushes to each other in Iyo’s mother tongue this entire time. That became the easiest to figure out.
“Easiest” as in a month of piecing together different verbs, conjugations, sentence structures, and nouns.
“Who” was still lost on her. They kept using pronouns rather than proper names without giving it away to anyone who might be listening. But Dakota knew. When she asked the older wrestler for an answer, the Kiwi bit back with a, “You haven’t figured that out yet?”
And just like that, any sense of accomplishment was gone once more. Then her pride kicked back in, and she wished nothing more than to prove her wrong.
Rhea tried to find hints, listening in when there were fewer people, or noticing their behaviors around others. She felt like she was going insane.
In simplest terms, Stephanie was a wild card. Yes, she seemed a little more difficult because she was still new to the main roster, but it also had its perks. Fewer contacts, fewer people to have gotten close to or make connections with. So far, Stephanie has only really had Iyo, Nikki, and herself to call friends RAW. Then she worked counter to Naomi, Chelsea, Piper, and Alba. So that only really left those she worked with back at NXT. Or to throw everything for a loop, she caught some fresh feelings for a new colleague.
In Rhea’s perspective, it’d probably be someone she had longer ties with, like Giulia or Roxanne. But some part of her kept doubting herself. She couldn’t be too sure.
Some deeper part of herself questioned: not unless they were flirting with each other. Talking about one another the entire time.
The Latina’s respect and actions toward the joshi held some liability to the matter. But Iyo’s actions didn’t add up. Much less the two of them together didn’t appear to be very “couple-like,” not that she had much say. Her experience in the romance department always went up in flames. Especially if anyone looked at her current dating status as “single” was anything to go by.
Another part of her just tugged at the notion that she couldn’t wrap her brain around the two of them as a item. Something in her sparked at the idea of them hugging, or doing anything more intimate than that, caused her brain to halt. Her nostrils flared, and her throat tightened. There wasn’t an explanation for why she was uncomfortable with the image that popped into her mind. The fact of the matter, she just was.
“Have they put your panties in a twist, Ripley?”
“Oh, sod off, Kai.”
A laugh ripped from Dakota’s throat. “Whatever. Have you figured out who those two are talking about?”
Rhea rolled her eyes, “If I knew, I wouldn’t be deciphering their conversation like some paparazzi creep.”
“Well, what have your efforts discovered?”
By this time, Rhea’s had it. Stephanie is a respectable friend and tolerable foe, but seeing them in the ring together? Vaquer taking the belt from Iyo? And the smiles, the bows, and the laughter? Something about all of it caused a stir in her.
She barged into Stephanie’s changing room only to see the two of them chatting, already changed. Laughing once more. They looked at her as the sound of the door opening alerted them.
A snarl dawned on her face, and without holding herself back, she asked, “What’s going on here?”
The two of them stared at her in confusion and surprise, not sure what she meant. “Rhe-chan? What are you doing here?”
Heat rose on her cheeks, and it dashed along her jaw that drew tight as her teeth clenched. The knot set in her stomach formed into a seed in her throat that got stuck. “Checking in on the New Women’s World Champion, and the former.” She jerked her head to the two of them, “Wasn’t sure how you were handling it. Lots of pressure for the belt, or disappointment from losing. You never really know with the camera and lights.”
The words felt hollow, and she noticed how both pairs of eyes didn’t believe a lick of what she said. They shared a glance at each other. Stephanie hefted the belt on her shoulder, “It’s not too heavy, yet, unless you want a try, Mami?”
Goth’s cheeks lifted playfully, “I won’t refuse a chance, but I’m not chasing for it right now.” Her attention diverted back to the redhead whose eyebrows spoke volumes about what she really felt.
“Good fight, I’m not hurt. La Primera deserves a clean win.” Iyo glanced back at the other high flyer with an amicable smile.
Guilt flooded the tallest among them. She felt like an invader in foreign realms. This was their after-fight cooldown, and she disturbed them. Just because they’ve had in-ring experience with one another does not mean she could just barge in unexpectedly.
“I’ll, uh, leave y’all to it.” She awkwardly gestured back to the door behind her, voice trailing upwards.
They watched her as she fumbled with the doorknob behind her, looking back at them, embarrassed. A new wave of emotions flooded through her as she left. She’ll just have to figure them out later.
“Why did you do that to Stephanie?” The smaller woman rounded the corner and stopped Rhea in her tracks.
She shifted the weight from the balls of her feet to her heels. She wanted to ask Vaquer more questions, but it seemed that the joshi would prevent her efforts. “What are you talking about?”
The shorter woman poked her finger at the younger woman’s chest, reminding her of their track record. “You say ‘congrats’ when you mean it. You say, ‘let’s fight’ when you want to. You didn’t say either.”
Rhea’s eyes squinted, sometimes she felt Iyo knew her too well. “I don’t say only those things.”
Iyo rolled her eyes, “You might not believe it, but that’s what you do. Especially when you said that you were there just to check on us.”
“I was.”
“You can tell yourself that, but we both know there was something more.”
Her cheeks tightened as her mouth thinned into a line. “I care to check how you are doing.” It was true, and it felt like the seed that settled in receded a little.
That startled the older woman a bit and set her peddling back. “Me?”
“You.”
She noticed the faint shimmer that grew on Iyo’s cheeks, “You don’t need to check up on me.”
A stubbornness that Rhea was intimately familiar with from the ring exploded in her chest, “I don’t need to, but I want to.”
The smaller woman stopped her pursuit and took an unconscious half-step back, “You want to check on me?”
“Someone’s gotta keep you in check, chipmunk.” It didn’t feel right to say, but the words slipped out before she could think of anything else. And just like that, the joshi’s eyes dimmed as if a door closed.
“Hai, I’ll make sure nothing comes your way either, Mami.” A grounded, hollow voice met Rhea as the smaller figure retreated. Even if Rhea was making progress to understand Iyo’s words, it felt like she understood her partner’s actions even less.
“What’s the point of all this?” Rhea groaned to Dakota as the older woman spotted her weights. “They’re never going to reveal the names of who they like.”
Dakota raised an eyebrow, adding another weight to both sides. “If you just give up, you’re not going to find out.”
“Well, Iyo won’t tell me anything since she thinks I’m going to beat the shit out of Vaquer.”
“And Stephanie?”
She turned her head to the side, “I can’t really come close to her. Iyo keeps guarding her when we’re not practicing.”
“Guarding or gossiping?”
“You know it’s a mix of both.” The younger wrestler rolled her eyes, annoyed.
“And you still think La Primera has a crush on Iyo?”
Rhea placed the bar back on the support as she turned her head away, “I don’t know what to think.”
Behind them, they heard a voice and a strong chuckle, “I don’t like Iyo-san.” Both of them turned to see Stephanie enter the gym, her bag thrown over her shoulder.
Dakota’s eyes matched the mirth in the Latina’s. “So who is it that you like?”
Vaquer’s eyes grew wistful, “Beautiful Madness.” It suddenly hit her, one half of the equation solved. Yet, similarly, there was still a gaping hole to be discovered.
Then, as an added nugget of gold, the youngest of them spoke once more, “Iyo-san has only had her eyes on one.” She finished with a piercing gaze into Rhea’s soul as if she answered her riddle. Afterward, she turned on her heel and began her own routine.
“Did that help you any?”
“Maybe?”
Dakota snorted, “What are you still stuck on?”
“Something’s not clicking.”
The Kiwi rolled her eyes, “You stomped the ever living shit out of Liv just to screw her, you stole Dominik from his father to date him, and you got the respect beat into you by Iyo— you’re still asking what you’re missing?”
Rhea wore a blank face. “I’m not sure what I want with Iyo.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I can’t tell if, personally, I want something like Liv, or something similar to Dom, or–” She waved her hand out to the open.
Dakota nodded her head encouragingly, “Or something else? If it helps, you’ve been treating her as something completely different from those dunderheads, and she treats you separately from Damage CTRL. Which I would hope you realize means she sees you as special.”
“Or an anomaly.”
“Iyo single-handedly called you the best and chose you to defend against.”
Rhea sighed as she took the weights once more, eager to take her mind off of where the conversation was headed, “Okay, she likes beating my ass. That still doesn’t explain anything.”
“You’re not making this easy, Ripley. You both were going for the world championship, but you’re tag teaming now. If she wanted to tag team, she could’ve chosen me. Heck, she could’ve chosen Kairi and revived the Sky Pirates. Or for a real throwback, she could team with Asuka. And if she were really desperate, she would grab Bayley by the shoulders and force her to be at her corner. But she’s not, she chose you, Rhea.”
“That was by coincidence and convenience.”
“If it were simply that, you both would’ve disbanded and stopped Rhiyo a long time ago.”
“We’ve been winning.”
“You could say the same for your past roundabouts.”
The raven gritted her teeth, “We saw how those went. We lost and toppled over.”
“Neither of you is like that. You’ve both been hurt before and betrayed others. You’ve grown and learned. Just give it a shot.”
The younger woman planned for a grand gesture with a fancy dinner after winning the gold around their waist, but the timing wasn’t there. They were busy with photo ops and interviews, and their only respite existed when they were in the ring together or resting in their shared hotel room. But she was done with planning. It was time for her nonna’s recipe to wait. The moment Iyo entered the bedroom, she held the older woman close in her arms. The words Dakota had taught her a month ago spilled from her lips. “Watashi wa aishiteru-desu.”
A gasp escaped the older woman, and her eyes fluttered to meet hers. For a split moment, she thought she had said the wrong word. “What?”
It felt that for once, in what seemed like a long time, Rhea had the upper hand in a bout between them. “Aishiteru-desu,” she repeated.
Iyo laughed, her eyes turning into crescent moons. “Say that again, Rhe-chan?”
Rhea’s cheeks reddened with embarrassment, unsure if she was messing up the pronunciation or if Dakota lied to her. Even if, so far, the older woman seemed to be trustworthy, some inkling of doubt festered. No matter how many times the Kiwi swore up and down, the Australian continued to practice night and day. “Aishiteru.”
The older woman’s smile bloomed. “Do you know what you’re saying?”
“Kai taught me.”
A snicker escaped her before she could stop it, “Kota, huh?”
“Hai.”
“So is that all you know?” Her voice was full of knowing mirth.
“No, I can basically understand what you’re saying, but there are some metaphors that still get lost on me. Y’all use lots of flowery language.”
“We like nature, can you blame us?”
One of Rhea’s cheeks lifted, “I like you, can you blame me?
Brown orbs glowed in amusement, “Tsuki ga kirei desu ne.”
Sky lights widened, before rolling her eyes, “You’re so lucky Dakota taught me at least the mainstream subtle bullshit.”
Iyo stopped holding in any laughter as a giggle erupted from her stomach. “Gomen, gomen. I couldn’t accept the tokimeku I felt.” The older woman casually flipped between both languages without trepidation now. “I knew it was a once-in-a-lifetime meeting when my eyes fell upon you. Twenty minutes to create a fifteen-minute main event stage? And it was our first time touching? That’s not just chemistry, that’s fate. Especially since you’ve never strayed too far. You chose to stay by my side. I’ve always felt at ease when I’m with you. I can fight a little tougher against you, and I can trust my back with you in the ring. You remind me of the rising sun that greets the sky. A constant reliance, if a bit hidden by the clouds around her. But when you have a sunny day– you radiate confidence and charisma that no one else can imitate. Your smile lights up the world, and I’m lucky to touch the rays that you provide.
“I might be the genius of the sky, but I haven’t touched the ground once since I’ve landed in your arms. The sky opens its arms to anyone who can learn it, follow the winds, but let their song fly towards a brighter future. You are as steady as a tree, taking in the breeze of a wily wind spirit. I need your presence, because without you– I feel like a vacuum split the heavens apart. So, stay by my side. That’s all I can ask of you. Even if I reveal all of this to you, I won’t superimpose myself on you. I love you, too, more than you.” Her cheeks are sore from all the smiling. “How’s that for metaphors and flowery language?”
Rhea stood still for a moment, her jaw on the floor and unable to respond. “You, just–you’ve just had that ready in your back pocket–for how long?”
“For as long as the clouds obscured the sun.”
The younger woman tasted metal on her tongue. As much as Dakota taught her Japanese, it did not prepare her for this kind of truth. “How long, Iyo?”
Her eyes misted, transfixed to a different time. “From even before you changed out of a sit-out riptide.”
“I-” Rhea was at a loss for words. She had gotten used to affection from various fans and certain peers, but nothing prepared her for the backlash that struck her. She didn’t even know where to begin with her emotions. That long? Why? How’d she know?
Joshi was able to tell the complicated feelings that covered her face. She grabbed the taller woman’s sharp cheeks, “Aishiteru, Rhe-chan. Nothing can change that. No matter who joins the roster, no matter what we may experience, no matter what language we speak, I will always choose you.”
Rhea couldn’t believe her eyes. Iyo Sky was the forbidden fruit she wrote off years ago. Besides their in-ring chemistry, Rhea didn’t even see her own appeal. To her knowledge, Iyo was straight- or at least had one public relationship with a male that resulted in an engagement that went astray. She didn’t think about anything besides them maintaining neutral ground. Not to mention, the joshi’s close ties with some of her rivals caused their paths to diverge– if not run parallel with one another. “Fuck. Chipmunk. I was supposed to leave you speechless, not the other way around.”
“I always beat you, Rhea; I wasn’t going to let you change the score, now.” The older woman shook her head, bemused. “I’ve had several dreams and nightmares of this moment. I’ve had practice.”
“Nightmares?”
Iyo waved her hand to dismiss it. “Confessions gone wrong. Broken relationships. Nothing to worry. Unless you want to change being friends.”
Rhea let out a breath she didn’t realize she held. “I worried you meant me as the nightmare.”
“You’re never a nightmare, as much as you claim to be. Just ‘pretty Rhea.’”
“I-pretty, what?”
The small woman pulled Rhea’s face closer to her own, “I love you, now will you date me or not?”
“Sou-desu,” Rhea mumbled, all sense of confidence evaded her, and she was left with a resolute feeling to never let the older woman go.
“Good, I’ve been waiting long enough for this.” Then she pulled the taller woman to her face and brought her lips a hair’s distance away, “Will you let me taste Adelaide’s barrier reef?”
A snort made its way out of Rhea’s nostrils. If Kai hadn’t been taught about Japan’s indirect way of communication, she would’ve waved off Iyo’s overly cheesy flirting. “Only if I am permitted to taste Kamakura’s heavens.”
For once, Rhea didn’t need a guide to what Iyo was saying and completely understood her. They moved with the fluidity of their in-ring combinations, and they finally connected with the same fury of their tag-ins. It was absolutely electric, even better than any time Rhea owned any title.
As her lover put it, it was fate. They fit into one another perfectly. In another way, the gold that wrapped around their waists tied them together in more ways than one. This was something Rhea would make sure she didn’t lose.