Rhea Ripley takes a deep breath.
She knows what she has to do.
Has done it many times before.
While she hasn’t been booked to fight tonight, she’s here to make a scene.
The creatives were quick to realise that more viewers tune in when Rhea is involved - promo or fight it didn’t matter. And she is super thankful for it. Keeps a mental note to always make time for her fans because she knows that she wouldn’t be here without them. She’d probably still be stuck on the outskirts of the brand if it wasn’t for her fans. So if she has to fly all over the world for a promo - she will do it. Every time.
The floor vibrates underneath her. It’s almost too much.
She can hear the crowd going absolutely bat shit crazy for the two competitors currently going at it. And rightly so. There has been a lot of build up to this particular fight. Iyo Sky has been in rapid form and ran over almost everybody to get to this position. She absolutely deserves to be here.
In any other circumstance, Rhea would be rooting for the Japanese firecracker. Iyo is one of her favourites on the roster - has been for years.
Unfortunately, Iyo’s target tonight is Liv Morgan.
And well, you know how it goes…
The fight has been fast and full of tricks. Both fighters are very technical in their technique which always makes for a fun match. All the airtime, rope work and major body hits is freaking awesome to watch. But it doesn’t make for a long match. Both Iyo and her opponent struggle with long winded fights. Much to the liking of Rhea Ripley. Rhea is definitely in it for the long run. The more sweat - the better.
When the crowd erupts in cheers, boos and everything in between - that’s when Rhea knows. The moment she has been hired for.
She takes another breath.
Closes her eyes.
Tries to rid herself of the nerves she always feels before making her way into a ring. No matter how many times she does this - the nerves are always there. In a way she needs them. It means she still loves what she does. Even if sometimes she thinks she might be having an early onset heart attack.
She tries to crack her back, unsuccessfully.
Readjusts the chains around her neck.
Waits patiently for her cue to make her way through the curtains and into the spotlight.
- THIS IS MY BRUTALITY -
Rhea opens her eyes and smirks.
She starts making her way through the curtains fully in character.
Chin held high.
Untouchable. Unstoppable.
She is Rhea Bloody Ripley.
—————
It’s almost not fair that Liv Morgan has to make such a commotion after winning her fight against Iyo Sky.
Yes, she understands that right now she is one of the faces of the brand.
Yes, she is ‘the greatest’ Women’s World Champion.
(Ps she fucking despises that damn tag line.)
Yes, she understands that this is all for the viewership.
But honestly. The fight against Iyo was draining. She’s pretty sure she landed funny on her knee and she is so god damn sweaty that she can smell herself. It’s the worst feeling in the world.
Yet here she is. Making a scene. Holding her belt up high. Pretending like she is comfortable with playing a cocky title winner. Talking shit. Not even really knowing what stupidity is streaming out her mouth. She can’t hear anything over the crowd but with the camera this close to her face she tries to tick the boxes of what a champion retaining their title would say.
Cue Liv channelling her best Becky Lynch impression.
Raquel and Dom are right there with her.
While Dom is used to playing a bad guy; Raquel and Liv have struggled to adjust. Raquel is just NOT a bad guy but she is a good friend. One of Liv’s favourites and she will be forever grateful to Raquel for agreeing to play the part along side her. Liv would definitely not be able to do this without her.
The trio have almost made it to the exit.
A shower just in reach.
- THIS IS MY BRUTALITY -
And what the actual fuck!?
The arena goes dark save for the purple flames projected on the screen.
Liv and her support all turn to the exit just in time to see Rhea Bloody Ripley make her trademark entrance.
To be fair it’s epic.
The kick.
It gets Liv every single time.
The way that Rhea enters the arena.
So commanding.
So confident.
She is a force.
And sometimes it leaves Liv breathless.
I mean look at the unyielding Aussie. The perfect black lips that are begging to be bitten. The tight fitting tank top. The ridiculously tight high wasted pants plus all the accessories adorned… Liv can barely hold herself together.
It is completely unfair.
But then Sapphire meets crystal. The tension is palpable.
Liv can feel herself losing it. Is shocked she hasn’t orgasmed right there because Jesus Christ this woman.
Rhea Bloody Ripley slowly moves towards her.
Doesn’t break eye contact.
She’s inches away and Liv is in a complete trance.
The sound of the screaming crowd is gone.
Raquel and Dom. Who are they again?
No.
It’s just Liv and Rhea.
Having a moment in front of thousands of people.
A gentle knock on Liv’s foot by her lover is what breaks her out of it.
Suddenly the crowd is so god damn loud.
The purple of the screens is too bright.
Liv takes a moment to come back to the arena.
Rhea’s eyes are shining and Liv almost forgets to be mad at the unyielding Aussie for not telling her that this was happening tonight.
She holds up her title between the two of them.
Tension building.
A reminder of a fight that is taking place between the two of them in a few weeks.
The camera is so close to her. She’s almost worried that if she turns she’ll smack her face into it.
She’s so focused on holding up the strap with her exhausted arm that she doesn’t notice Rhea holding an arm out to the cameraman to make sure that doesn’t happen.
It is actually baffling to Liv that Rhea can be as terrifying as she is when in character and yet still be so aware of people she cares about. That big scary bruiser was actually just a care-bear dressed in black. It took a while for Liv to realise this little fun fact about her lover but as time goes by … Liv is 90% sure, it’s one of her favourite things about the unyielding Aussie. Though Rhea will deny it venomously.
A gentle hand wraps around Liv’s arm and the tiny champion looks to her left.
Raquel.
She’s gently reminding her friend that it’s time to go. The segment is over - she knows because the ringside announcer is making some speech and the camera is gone. Liv huffs out a laugh. Lets herself be pulled towards the exit but not before she blows a kiss to her lover.
Gets a thrill when Rhea breaks character for a split second.
The crowd won’t have noticed but she does.
Liv takes it as a win.
———————
Rhea Bloody Ripley is on a mission.
She knew what she saw out there.
Liv Morgan barely able to hold herself together in front of her colleagues, the camera or the crowd. She can tell because of her breathing. Sure. Everyone saw it. But what they didn’t see was her eyes. Fully dilated. Black almost. And the way she kept her mouth slightly parted. The tiny champion was doing anything to not bite her lip. It made the segment that much easier for Rhea.
And while the message the audience received was a little different to what Rhea had gotten … the message was understood.
So Rhea stalks backstage. People are everywhere. Wrestlers, extras, crew. That was the issue with being backstage during a show. If you weren’t about to enter the arena you generally stayed away or hung around catering. Which is precisely where Rhea was heading. She pushes past people. Smiles awkwardly at others because she doesn’t want to seem like an asshole. But really she’s not interested. She just wants Liv.
Finally after what feels like a lifetime - the sign for catering.
Rhea all but runs. If she wasn’t wearing ridiculously high boots right now, she probably would.
True, it’s desperate but Rhea almost is at this point.
She opens the double doors harder than needed as her eyes scan the room.
Bianca and Naomi are in the corner gossiping. Not unusual. Iyo sits at one of the tables with Bayley handing her an ice pack and really, Rhea should go over to her. She should see if her friend is alright. She sighs in frustration when her morals kick in. Iyo always goes out of her way to check in. She really should do the same.
Liv is probably being held up by Cathy Kelley who is always lurking for a quick interview (mainly when you’ve lost because she’s just that girl).
‘Great bloody match mate!’
Rhea offers as she chooses a seat that still had the doors in sight - just in case.
Iyo’s face lights up when she realises who had spoken. Bayley offering a smile of her own.
‘Oh Rhea! You watched?’
Bayley barks out a laugh.
“Girl. Liv was your opponent, remember?”
Iyo giggles like a little school girl.
She and everyone else knew that Liv and Rhea were together. It was so bloody obvious. Rhea didn’t mind. She liked that they didn’t have to hide - not that they could anyway. They had tried in the early days when they were trying to figure out if what they were doing was just a fling. It wasn’t. It was never a fling. They were just scared to admit it. That was until Becky ‘the man’ Lynch sat them down and demanded to know what was going on. Rest assured - after they came clean the whole locker room knew within minutes.
Rhea smiles fondly at her favourite little firecracker.
“Of course I watched. I wanted you to win.”
“Hehe Rhea!”
The way Iyo’s face brightens is enough to melt even the coldest of hearts. Rhea playfully winking for extra effect. Even Bayley can’t pretend that the exchange isn’t adorable.
“Don’t let Liv hear you say that.”
Bayley warns as she gets up to go make herself a coffee. Leaving Rhea and Iyo alone to their own devices. Rhea takes a moment to really study the Japanese firecracker who currently holds the ice pack to her ribs.
“You doing okay, Sora?”
Fun fact: years back during a heavy drinking session with a few of the girls. Rhea had googled the Japanese word for Sky aka Sora. She had thought the word beautiful and had used it as Iyo’s affectionate nickname ever since. Iyo had loved it so much that only Rhea is allowed to call her by it.
“Mm. I’m okay. Just little bit tender… shouldn’t you be checking on Liv? Won’t she be mad?”
The question catches Rhea off guard momentarily. Yes, she came here in search of her partner true. But Iyo was special. She was different. She moves her chair closer to her little firecracker. Puts an arm loosely around the smaller woman’s shoulder.
“I’ll tell you a little secret…”
Rhea leans in closer so that only Iyo can hear her.
“I like you better anyway.”
It’s a cheeky remark that would absolutely earn a playful slap if Liv was in the room but Iyo didn’t need to know that. Plus, it seemed as though the little firecracker had taken the loss a little harder than she let on. Rhea gets it. She usually closes in on herself and downward spirals too. It’s enough though. Iyo can’t wipe the smile off her face.
That’s when she sees her.
Liv Morgan stands in the corridor with Raquel and Tegan Nox of all people. The conversation seems strained. Like the three of them have been dealt some not so great news. Liv seems almost lost in thought while Tegan aggressively rants at the other two (she does that a lot). Iyo turns to see who Rhea is looking at. Rolls her eyes.
“You should go save her from that.”
Fun fact: Iyo Sky does not like Tegan Nox. It’s a language thing more than a personality clash. Rhea thinks it’s mainly because neither of them can understand each other and find it extremely difficult to work together because of it.
Still it’s funny and Rhea chuckles before getting up.
“You gonna be okay, Sora?”
“Of course, she’s got me.”
Bayley quips as she sets down a mug of tea in front of Iyo and Rhea is greatly appreciative. It’s not that she doesn’t want to stay. But she also should go and see what that is all about.
———————
Liv Morgan still hasn’t showered.
The one thing that she has been desperate to do and she just hasn’t.
In her defence; as soon as she made it back stage she was surrounded by crew. A medic was there having a look at her nose because she had been bleeding. Iyo did knee her in the face a little harder than Liv would have liked. Then Cathy Kelley and her hoard of cameramen had demanded a ‘quick interview’. That part was okay - Raquel and Dom did most of the talking. But then. Then she had been informed that her next match was against Tegan Nox. Even worse… it was meant to be an iron man match.
Hence why at this moment Tegan Nox was all up in her face. She had obviously been told during Liv’s match and was not happy about the whole arrangement. The shiny dragon (Liv still doesn’t get why that is her nickname) was hard to understand at the best of times but now; while ranting… not possible. Raquel did her best. Tried to not completely zone out. But if Liv didn’t understand what was being said - there was no chance for the Mexican American. Liv wants to stop the Welsh lass. She doesn’t have the energy for whatever this is.
Then she feels her.
The unmistakable presence of her love. She hasn’t forgotten what transpired between the two of them in the arena. Hasn’t quite yet recovered from it either. If anything, it’s made her more impatient then normal.
“What’s going on?”
Rhea’s mouth is too close to Liv’s ear.
She can’t hide the shiver that ripples through her body as black tainted lips graze the shell of her ear. Liv can feel herself seek out her body. The heat, the comfort. Instant relief when she slots into the side of the unyielding Aussie. It’s almost immediate, Rhea moving a hand to Liv’s ass.
The pair had always sworn that they hated public displays of affection but when it comes to each other… all bets are off.
Liv bite’s her bottom lip when she feels a squeeze.
Tegan, upon the arrival of Rhea Bloody Ripley seizes the opportunity to start the rant all over. She’s going on about how it’s too much of a risk for Liv and herself to be billed for an Iron man match this close to a major PLE and honestly she’s not wrong. Especially when Rhea and Liv are due to fight each other in mere weeks but there is little that they can do about it. Like it or not, it’s going to get the views.
It doesn’t take long for Rhea to get bored of the conversation and quickly shuts it down because she doesn’t care. And honestly, thank god. Liv cannot deal with it anymore. She needs to get out of here.
She is tired.
She is smelly and she is fucking starving by this point.
Please someone , just let her take a shower.
——————
It’s the perfect temperature.
The room is steaming with the heat of the water. It burns the skin at first but then feels absolutely divine a few seconds later. Not that Rhea had noticed.
No.
Right now all she can think about is the woman standing under the spray, soaping herself up almost too slowly. She moves in behind her and takes the bottle of shower gel.
“Let me.”
The unyielding Aussie smirks when she feels her love shudder and pushes herself into her front. Always seeking her out no matter what. It’s one of Rhea’s favourite things about the tiny champion - her constant need of touch.
Kisses an exposed shoulder and she begins running soapy hands all over her lover. It’s not sexual. Liv doesn’t do sex in the shower and honestly, Rhea’s not a huge fan either.
Instead she helps her love clean herself up.
Massages any kinked muscles, keeps a mental note of any new bruising that looks concerning - Rhea is a stickler for looking after their bodies. If there are bad bruises that need a little persuasion she will make her special smoothy that Liv fucking hates but drinks because Rhea tells her too.
They end up having a little make out session. The pair love a little shower make out. It’s heated enough to promise more but not right now.
Rhea can tell by the slackness in her lover’s body, the slowness, that she isn’t in a position to ‘make love’ for lack of a better phrase. She can tell that Liv is going to need food very soon and she is more than okay with that.
What is so different, so special about this relationship is that it’s more than just sex. It’s never really been about sex. Yes, it’s mind blowing. (Some of the best sex Rhea has had in her life). But they had started off as friends. Built a foundation. An understanding. They’ve got each other figured out on an emotional level as well as physical. It swept them up in a whirlwind and scared the shit out of them in the beginning. But here they were. Years later and Rhea wouldn’t have it any other way.
She hands over a towel to the tiny champion.
Kisses her cheek before putting a singlet and boxer shorts on. She sits on the toilet to put on a pair of socks.
Fun fact: Rhea hates feet. They must be covered at all times!
Then she leaves Liv to head to the kitchen.
The agreement is that whoever doesn’t fight has to make dinner. Granted it doesn’t happen as much as they’d like but they do what they can.
She opens the fridge and pulls out some celery. Chops it up so that it’s the perfect size for dipping then grabs the ranch. It’s not much but starting a meal from scratch takes time and Liv hasn’t eaten for too long. She’s going to need a snack.
Like clockwork, Liv slowly makes her way into the kitchen. Her hair still damp, but she’s clean and a lot less wound up. She’s wearing one of Rhea’s oversized jumpers, tights and fuzzy socks. So cute.
Rhea puts out a bowl of celery with the side of ranch and Liv’s face lights up. It is her favourite snack of all time. She moves over to a barstool, sits and begins tucking into her snack happily. Utterly adorable. Even Rhea can’t help but smile at the image of her partner getting excited by her food. She places both hands on the counter and watches for a moment.
“Hey cutie… what do you feel like?”
Liv hums in thought.
Locking eyes with her lover.
“You mean apart from you?”
She raises an eyebrow as she pops ranch covered celery into her mouth.
Rhea lets out a bark of laughter. Of course Liv wants to play now, once she’s showered and had about 3 pieces of celery.
“Baby you need protein.”
Liv pouts and it’s almost comical just how childish she gets when she is content. The tiny champion throws her head back, clearly unimpressed by Rhea’s need to be the adult. She sighs aggressively and Rhea knows that Liv doesn’t want to make a decision.
“I’ll figure something out. Why don’t you put on a movie or something? It shouldn’t take too long.”
It’s exactly what the tiny champion needs to hear. She squeals in delight. Jumping up and taking her bowls of celery and ranch over to the couch screaming an ‘I fucking love you’ over her shoulder which always makes Rhea smug. Smug isn’t the right word… over the fucking moon?
She opens the fridge and pulls out a packet of stir fry chicken. Silently thanking her past self for thinking of going grocery shopping this morning before having to drive to the stadium. While she likes being able to travel for work, sometimes it can be a pain in the ass. Not being familiar with the hot plate in the hotel is annoying but she makes it work. It’s not a bad set up. It’s just not hers. Or Liv’s. Liv has an excellent set up at the farm. (She knows because they spend more time at Liv’s).
Her first mission is to whisk corn starch and water.
Then she adds chicken broth, soy sauce, honey and for an extra little something - some chilli flakes.
Next she grabs her skillet. (Yes, Rhea travels with her own skillet. Don’t judge).
Throws it on to a medium heat then adds a dash of olive oil.
Then goes in the full packet of diced chicken with salt and pepper.
Broccoli, peppers and red onion, garlic and a tiny amount of ginger.
The makings of a perfect stir fry, are added once chopped.
After a few minutes, the place fills with a delicious aroma. It’s actually got Rhea frothing. If Rhea wasn’t a professional wrestler, she thinks she would have liked to become a chef. She likes the precision. The creativeness and that it’s working with her hands. Perhaps she will take it up once her body grows too old for the ring?
Once the stir fry is cooked to perfection (or as close too as she can get in a foreign kitchen) Rhea plates up their meal. Makes sure that all appliances are turned off and all dirty utensils are soaking in the sink. She makes her way over to Liv and hands over the bowl of goodness. Liv hums in delight. The food looks delicious. Smells even better.
Rhea sits down on the couch and makes herself comfortable. Liv moving closer so that they are touching but still able to eat their food easily.
They tuck in.
Both devouring their food like animals, that’s how hungry they are. And honestly, this might be the best stir fry that Rhea has ever made. She definitely needs to make it again!
Bowls set aside. The pair of professional wrestlers settle in.
Rhea with a comforting arm around the smaller woman.
Liv gently tracing patterns on the Aussie’s thigh as she presses play.
The unmistakable sound of the opening scene of 28 Days later… one of Rhea’s favourites.
“I love you too, you know.”