Chapter Text
The aches and pains she felt while walking up the ramp seemed to disappear, they didn’t matter because Sasha Banks was happy. She still wore her ring attire because she had just completed another interview, she was wearing her glittery entrance jacket over her vibrant, Louis Vuitton patterned gear. Her Smackdown belt, white and blue leather adorned with a crystallized W and gold punctuations, was placed over her right shoulder and she grasped onto the lower strap while she sauntered along. She headed over to her private locker room and she was relieved to be going home from tonight’s Pay-Per-View as a winner.
She thought about calling Charlotte Flair tonight as well, she didn’t see her backstage after the show ended and was hoping that her friend coped well with tonight’s loss. Charlotte and her partner, Asuka, were no longer the tag team champions after a slew of shenanigans and interference from Charlotte’s father and his new “mentee.”
She stopped abruptly as she heard banging and clanging noises nearby. She heard the heavy thud of metal colliding with a wall, and someone was gasping and growling. She turned slowly, peering down an adjacent dark and deserted hallway. Her heart galloped while her breath stalled in her lungs as she steadily creeped along a wall, her foot steps light and muffled by the violent atmospheric noises. She almost dropped the belt on her shoulder when she surveyed the scene.
“Bayley?”
The dark haired woman looked up at the sound of Sasha’s voice. Her eyes were red and wet, her face was plethoric and sweaty. She was still clad in her usual black wrestling attire. She had a plastic, yellow chair in her hands and she tossed it aside. It banged against the floor, clattering to a halt about a foot away from them. Strangely, a chuckle escaped her pale lips.
“What d’you want? Here to gloat about being the champion, huh?” Bayley said, slurring her words a bit. She attempted to inject some confidence into her tone, the usual bravado of the Role Model.
Sasha frowned. “Are you OK?”
Bayley laughed again hoarsely, and her tear-stained visage glanced around the dark hallway. Thinking of the right words, and thinking of an escape route from the Boss. “Why would you care? If you wanna make fun of me, call me a fucking loser… then get it over with so I can get back to fucking up this hallway.”
“You’re not a loser,” Sasha stated, there was a hint of defiance in her voice. They weren’t friends but Sasha was above petty behavior, she wasn’t going to hit Bayley while she was already knocked down. At this point, a part of her did not consider Bayley to be an enemy either, maybe an estranged acquaintance… maybe even a stranger. Last year, Bayley did things that made her unrecognizable to Sasha. Even now, she didn’t know the woman who stood in this darkness with her.
Bayley’s brown eyes fell on the shiny blue title positioned on Sasha’s shoulder. The jewels twinkled within the shadows, ominously adding to the dangerous still life surrounding them. The title. 380 days. Her story. Her legacy.
The source of her pride, the source of her pain. A piece of her knew that those sentiments were shared with Sasha as well. And she chose the blue belt over Sasha because she knew that they would never last as a team. Sasha’s selfishness would always get in the way. So Bayley struck first: for self-preservation, to protect herself, and to protect her legacy from becoming a mere footnote in wrestling history. Because everyone often said that Sasha was the draw of the Boss ’N’ Hug Connection, that Sasha was the main attraction of the Golden Role Models. These critics also claimed that Bayley was the irrelevant Horsewoman. Bayley read what they said online, she heard their whispers backstage, and she pretended to be oblivious to Sasha’s lustful stares at the championship belt. She had to strike first because Sasha was waiting for the right moment to strike as well. That strap of leather adorned with gold fragments easily ripped their friendship apart.
Sasha watched Bayley pensively. She was very aware of Bayley’s glare at her belt, and she stepped back a bit as she watched Bayley sway towards her, her sweaty face shifting in and out of the shadows with each movement. Suddenly, Bayley’s knees buckled and she collapsed, falling to the ground while she grasped at the nearby wall. She was gasping and growling again, breathing heavily to fill her lungs with air while on her knees, her hair shielding her sobbing face. Sasha tossed the belt aside, her former friend was more important in this moment. She knelt down beside Bayley, carefully placed a hand on her back but Bayley recoiled from her touch violently, and in her fury, Bayley tumbled backwards and slammed her own back against the wall. Still kneeling, Sasha crept closer.
“Bayley… hey…” Sasha whispered gently.
“What do you want?! LEAVE ME ALONE!”
Bayley’s gruff voice rang out harshly throughout the deserted hallway, it echoed and seemed to bang around against the walls like the items that Bayley was throwing around when Sasha interrupted her. Bayley put her face in her hands, sitting against the wall with her knees bent. Her chest and shoulders heaved lightly with her sobs. Sasha observed the slump and defeated figure in front of her. The Ding Dong Hello Show, the historic title reign, the Dos Straps, the Pay-Per-View money, none of that mattered here in this bleak moment of loneliness. Sasha witnessed the Role Model unraveling. And she knew why this was happening. Sasha was always perceptive, and she could peer into Bayley’s heart, even when Bayley tried to hide it from her. Bayley’s recent mishaps including her losses and feud with Bianca Belair, which culminated into the eventual Rumble winner, Bianca, eliminating her tonight… this was all too overwhelming.
She put her hand gently on Bayley’s ankle. Bayley flinched in response but did not evade her touch, her hands still covered her face.
“I don’t want anything. I’m worried about you,” whispered Sasha. It unnerved her that even her whisper seemed loud in this empty hall, and she wondered if anyone was eavesdropping on this private moment.
Bayley said nothing, and she sat very still. Sasha squeezed Bayley’s ankle before she spoke again, in a quiet voice trembling with uncertainty.
“Stay at my place tonight, please Bayley? I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be alone tonight.”
Bayley’s hands fell from her face, and she extended her knees slowly, straightening her legs on the floor. Her tear-streaked face and red eyes stared at Sasha, her mouth half open in confusion. Sasha’s lips lifted into a light smile as Bayley stared at her, then Sasha quickly reached over to brush some of the tears away with her fingers.
Among the many dumb things that Bayley has done in her life, she thought this decision was likely the worst of them all. She sat on a luxurious couch that also functioned as a day bed, she showered and changed into more comfortable clothes: slim gray sweatpants and a tight red t-shirt. She was sitting in Sasha’s bed room. Her back was turned, her palms were sweaty and she was continually smoothing down her black hair. Sasha was in the middle of the room, changing clothes, so Bayley turned away to give her privacy. Bayley wished to exit the room but Sasha said that was silly. Bayley’s anxiety heightened with each rustle of fabric, the unzipping of clothes, the opening of drawers. This was a terrible idea.
“Sorry, all done,” Sasha said, finally.
Bayley turned back towards her slowly and she gave Sasha a sheepish grin when she noticed that her former friend wore a white tank top, pink shorts and a matching pink, satin night robe over this.
Bayley’s face flushed red as she stammered: “I should probably go—”
“Just stay here, Bay, it’s late,” interrupted Sasha.
Bayley averted her eyes away from Sasha’s alluring figure, and she focused on the blankets that were placed neatly on the couch for her.
What am I doing here?
Nothing good can come from this…
This isn’t good.
“Why did you ask me to come home to you, Sash?” whispered Bayley, still averting her gaze.
Sasha put a hand on her hip and tilted her head. “Why did you agree to come over?”
Bayley thought about lying, she thought about making a sarcastic remark. But her vulnerability got the best of her.
“I dunno… maybe I’m lonely?” Bayley posed this as a question, a question that Sasha Banks unfortunately already knew the answer to.
Sasha swiftly approached and knelt down in front of Bayley. Before Bayley could register completely what was going on, Sasha was occupying the space between her knees and Sasha rested her hands on Bayley’s thighs. At these actions, Bayley’s heart went haywire and the anxiety bubbling within her chest was now a rolling boil. Her palms were sweaty again, and her arms felt stiff and heavy. Also, her legs felt like they were filled with cement, she wanted to get away but she could not. She was slightly dizzy and the room was uncomfortably warm. She had difficulty meeting Sasha’s eyes. That was Sasha’s power.
“I know. And we haven’t spoken since…” Sasha’s words trailed off as she pondered.
Bayley knew what she was referring to: last year’s betrayal and their rivalry exploded at Hell in a Cell.
Bayley gulped. “Yeah…”
Sasha stared at Bayley’s torso, giving Bayley a reprieve from her gaze since Bayley seemed too embarrassed to look into her eyes. Sasha thought about the incredulity of this situation, that she invited her supposed enemy and rival, the Role Model, back into her bed room. The woman who stabbed her in the back was sitting on her couch / daybed, and her hands were resting on this woman’s muscular thighs. Her former friend who unraveled and broke down before her in a deserted, dark hallway, and now she was hoping that her kind gesture would give her friend shelter from her own spiraling, tragic thoughts, even just for one night.
Sometimes, Sasha really hated Bayley. But she knew it was still there, buried underneath the veneer of vicious anger and playful vindictiveness was Bayley’s humanity. The same humanity that the Hugger toiled endlessly to unearth in the Legit Boss, in the not so distant past. She gave up on their friendship, and she could shamefully admit this, but Bayley gave up too. She thought that was it, it could not be salvaged. She thought they were made of gold, like their tag team name, but no, they were glass, and they broke each other into a million pieces. Not even gold could fuse them back together.
In her own moments of loneliness and self-reflection, Sasha knew the truth. She would not admit it aloud, not yet. This monster, this evil that overcame Bayley’s spirit… was Sasha’s creation. There were never any half-measures for Sasha Banks, she never operated in maybes and what-ifs. She had a “ride or die” mentality, and she expected this same unyielding thought pattern from Hugger Bayley. The Hugger took the steel chair from her and smashed it into Becky Lynch’s body, to prove her loyalty to the Boss. Sasha watched on proudly, albeit somewhat frightened.
And now Sasha sadly observed the monster whom she manipulated, because all monsters are human. And this monster made her sweet, innocent Bayley become a vicious, violent stranger. Now, Bayley was at rock-bottom, no gold and no friends, just alone with her own demons — her internal wounds appeared on her face, which was ashen from exhaustion and depression. It didn’t matter, in this moment, what terrible things happened between them in the past, Bayley did not deserve to be tortured.
“I’m sorry,” Bayley said abruptly.
Sasha gazed up at her face. “I’m sorry too.”
Bayley smiled sadly. “You’ve done nothing wrong, dude.”
Sasha returned her smile. “We’ve both made mistakes. Let’s get some rest.”
Bayley lay on her right side, her face was towards the couch cushions and her right arm was underneath the pillow. She listened for the sound of Sasha sleeping, but she knew Sasha was awake as well in the bed. The couch was quite spacious and comfortable but Bayley’s own apprehension kept her from sleeping. It was many months since she shared a room with Sasha, they used to be roommates and would often cuddle in bed, drifting into slumber while still in each other’s arms. Bayley hasn’t really slept well since those times.
She shifted around, trying, and failing, to get comfortable. She sighed and moved the blanket down towards her waist, maybe the room was too warm. Something in the back of her mind kept reminding her that this was a big mistake, that she needed to get up and leave. Sasha hates you, this is a trap. Sasha didn’t forgive you, this is a trap. She’ll attack you tonight.
This was nothing knew, she often fought with paranoid musings right before going to bed. When she would lay awake at night for hours, thinking of the idiotic sheep who criticized her, who didn’t respect her, and she also thought of new ways to torment the Smackdown women’s division. But this was different, the threat was only a few feet away from her. She also thought about Sasha at night also, she occupied more space in her mind than Bayley would ever admit.
Sasha glanced over at her large windows that were draped in curtains, the half moon outside glowed brightly. She felt wide awake. Her joy from earlier had soured when she ran into Bayley tonight, her heart panged painfully in her chest when she thought of Bayley hurt like this. But Sasha needed to focus on the definite future, and the events of tonight with Bayley may not actually lead to anything. Maybe after Bayley felt better about herself, she’ll go back to being her enemy. This new Bayley was much too prideful to ever acknowledge the events of tonight, Sasha surmised. Sasha thought about the Rumble, Bianca would likely choose to challenge her at Wrestlemania. Bianca was extremely impressive and heralded as the future of women’s wrestling. She will be a difficult opponent, and this would be much more than just throwing some cheap champagne around. Sasha was glad to be rid of Carmella, and she hoped this was the case after tonight’s decisive win. But Carmella was persistent, maybe she would have her hairstylist or personal trainer challenge Sasha next in the ring.
She sighed, shifting around in bed at this thought. She glanced around her bed, and it always felt too large and lonely. She used to share this bed with Bayley, exchanging body heat with her best friend. Now Bayley was sleeping on the couch, Sasha looked over at her and knew she was still awake though. She had an uneasy thought, an idea that scared her. Her heart hammered within her ribs, her stomach twisted upon itself, her mouth became dry. She allowed her own loneliness to take over her.
Bayley thought she heard a noise in the darkness but was too afraid to look over at Sasha. This was her house, she needed to give her privacy. It was really best not to piss off Sasha Banks in the middle of the night. Bayley’s circular thoughts jammed in her brain when she felt nails and fingertips on the back of her neck. Goosebumps automatically sprouted on her skin and her heart skipped a few beats while she struggled to steady her breaths. She lay like a statue, not sure what the hell was going on.
“Bayley?” A calm, but desperate whisper.
“Sash?” Bayley murmured, pretending that she just woke from sleep. She continued laying on her side, not moving in response to Sasha’s touch.
“Why don’t you come to bed and sleep with me…”
Bayley froze in the darkness. “What?”
“Please come to bed,” Sasha repeated softly, “And let me see you and feel you.”