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Rhea Ripley had tremendous misgivings about this match, but Iyo Sky was adamant. So adamant, in fact, that she showed up in ring gear. She wanted to get her revenge on Jade Cargill herself. As much as Rhea hated it, as much as she worried about her, she knew it was something that Iyo had to do. Being honest, if their positions had been reversed, she was aware that she would probably have made the same request.
Because Iyo was so insistent on doing this, Rhea decided to do what she could to even the odds. First she set her sights on B-Fab. She caught B-Fab unawares in a hallway. She grabbed her from behind, slamming her head into a steel crate, knocking her to the ground. Damian Priest and R-Truth surveyed the carnage, but didn’t stop her.
No one could stop her.
A while later she found Michin. Michin, as per usual, was carrying a kendo stick. She was easily able to overwhelm her with a sock to the jaw, followed by several savage lashes from that stick. She didn’t stop until she’d broken it in half.
Only after this was she satisfied that she’d done all that she could to help Iyo. They both agreed that she would stay backstage to avoid distractions. She stayed in the ‘Judgement Day Clubhouse’. R-Truth had offered to join her, but Damian was smart enough to know better. He escorted Truth away to discuss the new hot tub they would have. This was something that Rhea would need to see alone.
The bell rang and the match began. Rhea’s stomach was in knots. As always, Iyo was brilliant. Her tactical skills always came to the fore. She outwitted Jade multiple times during their bout. She seized momentum multiple times. Rhea hoped against hope that she’d pull it off. But, it was not to be. The extent of her injuries from Monday night’s attack just caught up with her. A successful Jaded. A pin. A count. The bell. Iyo was defeated.
Rhea swore under her breath. Jade left the ring in a hurry, going towards where her belt was. Rhea expected her to perhaps lord it over Iyo. Jade clearly had other ideas. She grabbed a steel chair. She hustled back towards the ring.
“No…No!” Rhea sped off. Her music hit just as Jade was about to slide the chair under the bottom rope.
She met Jade there, standing over Iyo. They both were. Rhea reached down and gently took Iyo’s wrist, to assure her that she was not alone and that she wouldn’t be hurt any further. Jade cockily strode towards the ropes, handing the chair off to an official before leaving the ring herself.
Jade added insult to injury by setting up the chair herself to take a seat outside the ring. She and Rhea locked eyes as she retreated down the ramp. If it had been up to her, she’d have killed Jade right where she stood. She exhaled slowly. That had to wait. Iyo first.
She bent down to check on Iyo. She was alert, but the injuries from earlier in the week had certainly been aggravated. Rhea gently picked her up.
“I’ve got you, I’ve got you…” She whispered, holding Iyo tightly in her arms.
Iyo was silent. Limp, but at least not as limp as she had been on Monday. She inhaled and winced. Bruised ribs made it hard to breathe and were extremely painful, even with adrenaline coursing through your veins.
She carried Iyo backstage. Damian had already packed up the car. He knew. He’d even gathered up some medical supplies to rebind the injuries. Rhea was once again forever grateful to have him as a friend.
They drove back to the hotel. Rhea didn’t even turn on the radio. They were both silent until Iyo decided to speak as they were about to get to the hotel.
“I’m…I’m sorry, Rhea…” Iyo said, looking away.
“Iyo…” Rhea pulled them into the hotel parking lot. Then she grabbed Iyo’s wrist. “You don’t have to apologize for a damn thing.”
“…” Iyo was silent again. Wincing. She moved to get herself out of the car but Rhea stopped her.
”Look at me.” Rhea said softly. Reluctantly, Iyo did so. Rhea took Iyo’s face in her hands. “You were wonderful tonight. The only reason she won was because of the bullshit they pulled on Monday.”
Iyo smiled a bit sadly, averting her eyes. She didn’t seem to believe that. She was having a crisis of confidence. Rhea didn’t know what to do or what to say. She just hated seeing Iyo like this.
Rhea hopped out of the car and went to lift Iyo out of it, carrying her to the room along with the med kit that Damian had put together and their small bags. She didn’t know how to fix Iyo’s self-doubt, but dammit, she was going to try.
The first thing was getting those wounds tended to. She ran Iyo a bath and got her undressed. She also unwound her existing bandages, since she’d need fresh ones after the wound was cleaned and disinfected.
“Easy does it…” Rhea said, gently lifting Iyo into the waiting water.
Iyo hissed as the water hit her exposed skin. The warm water immediately went to her ribs and the big gash in her arm. Rhea did her best to soothe her.
“I’ve got you…I’ve got you…” Rhea murmured softly, gently scrubbing Iyo’s skin.
Iyo was silent, eyes closed. She was trying to stoically power through the pain. Rhea watched her, worried about how Iyo was feeling. It hurt so much to see Iyo like this.
“Rhea…” Iyo whispered her name, her eyes still closed.
“Yeah? What do you need, Iyo?” Rhea was ready to do anything she asked.
“You can scrub a little harder.”
Rhea huffed a laugh. “Alright, you got it.”
Iyo smiled softly, seeming to relax a little.
Rhea had Iyo stand up to get her legs and feet washed. She got Iyo out of the bath and dried off. She then applied disinfectant to the wounds before wrapping them again. She put Iyo’s favorite lotion on her skin and put her into her night clothes.
Iyo remained silent throughout these ministrations, but it was clear how much she was feeling pain with every breath. The wounds, for a mercy, hadn’t grown in size but they were angry and red. The bruised ribs in particular marred Iyo’s perfect skin. Just seeing the pain on her face was enough to make Rhea lose it.
Once Iyo was placed in bed, Rhea stepped away for a second to catch her breath. This hotel had a balcony attached to it. Rhea opened the door and stepped outside for some fresh air. She had to clear her head. She had to figure out what to do for Iyo. She had to do something with her anger besides trying to find where Jade was and Riptide her as many lashes as she’d given Iyo.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She picked it up to see what the notification could be.
“You alright, hermana?” Damian texted her.
She couldn’t help but smile as she texted back. “Yeah, thanks to you for being clutch.”
“What’re friends for? Just be kind to yourselves right now. Hang in there. You’ll kick Jade’s ass soon enough.” Damian replied.
Rhea, once again, was thankful to have his friendship. She fired off another message. “How else can I help her? She’s really upset with herself about it.”
The reply took a little longer. She could see the dots indicating that Damian had started and restarted a message several times. “Time. It’s gonna take time. Just be there for her. She has to forgive herself. It’s kinda weird, but I think we’re all like that.”
“You think so?” Rhea asked, pondering that.
“Yup. When we have losses like this, we tend to blame ourselves. Even if it’s not entirely our fault. We sorta go over and over in our heads what went wrong. It’s just something we deal with. I guess it’s a way to process the grief about it.”
“Grief…?” Rhea asked.
“She wanted to do this for you. It’s really obvious how much you mean to her. She wanted to do you proud, make up for things, I think. So she’s disappointed as hell that she didn’t do that.”
Rhea considered that. What he was saying was very clear, very simple, and yet it had passed her by. “I don’t care about the win or loss column when it comes to her and me. I just want to make her smile again.”
“She needs to hear that. And then she’ll need to hear it again and again until it sticks in her head. We’re all stubborn assholes.”
Rhea chuckled. “…Mil gracias.”
“De nada. Nite!”
“Nite!”
She sighed, looking up at the moon and the stars peeking through the clouds. She’d do the best she could for Iyo. No matter how long it took. With that, she walked back into the hotel room where Iyo was still in the bed, awaiting her.
“How’re you feeling? Do you need me to get you something?” Rhea asked, ever ready to leap into action. Iyo just held her arms open for a hug, which Rhea was thrilled to grant. “I’ve got you” Rhea whispered.
Rhea felt tears on her shoulder, which made her hug Iyo all the longer while trying not to exacerbate her discomfort. She decided to try to employ some of what Damian had said.
“I’m really proud of you, Iyo. I’ve never had someone fight for me the way you did tonight.”
Iyo didn’t verbally reply, but Rhea could hear the audible sniffles. She decided to keep trying to speak to her.
“I’ve never loved anyone this way. Never had anyone else love me the way you do.”
Rhea felt Iyo holding her tighter. She kissed Iyo’s forehead. She tried to think of what more she wanted to say to her. There was so much to say, and yet she was at a loss for words.
“There’s not many people who’d go into a match with Jade not at 100% and take her to the brink the way you did, Iyo. I want you to know how much I appreciate it. You have got to be the bravest, dumbest, most stubborn girl I’ve ever met.”
That made Iyo laugh. Rhea laughed too, holding onto her.
“You’ve been that since the day we met. I’ve always admired you, respected you. I’ve watched you win. I’ve watched you lose. But I’ve also watched you grow. Both of us are so different from back then.”
She could feel Iyo smiling against her shoulder. She kissed her forehead again.
“You are the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Better than any gold, any match. You’ve been there for me at some of my highest highs and my lowest lows. And now I get to be there for you, through all the ups and downs.”
Iyo’s smile widened, which was good but Rhea felt a bit silly monologuing like this. She wondered if she should stop, but then she felt Iyo poking her to say more.
”I love you. I do. I’d…” Rhea hesitated. There was only one thing further she’d insert into that sentence, but it wasn’t really the time to ask such a thing.
“What is it?” Iyo pulled back to ask. The smile was still there.
Rhea leaned in to wipe the tears away. “Just…that I love you so much. And I’m glad you’re on my side.”
“I love you too, Rhea. I’m sorry I couldn’t get the job done tonight.” Iyo put a hand on Rhea’s.
“You did great. And I’ll make her pay for all of it at Wrestlemania. And then…” Rhea hesitated again before saying anything further.
“Then…?” Iyo asked, quirking an eyebrow.
“…How’d you feel about uh…adding another piece of gold to the collection?” Rhea asked.
“You mean, something besides the belt?” Iyo asked.
“…Yeah.”
“Rhea…”
”…Yeah?”
“…Are you crazy?”
“When it comes to you? Absolutely.”
“So am I, because I want to say ‘yes’.”
“Then let’s be crazy together.”
Rhea and Iyo sealed it with a kiss.