Work Text:
“I need a thousand pages just to write it down / Writing down these feelings, it’s been overdue / Don’t know how many pens it’s gonna take to get over you." - Drake, lyrics from "Pipe Down"
A notification chime from her phone startled Bayley awake. She was dozing off while watching re-runs of her favorite TV shows. She was in a hotel room, she traveled to the location of the Extreme Rules PPV a few hours ago: a small but populous college town. Many of her fellow wrestlers were going to stay at this hotel too but they would not be arriving until the early morning hours after a house show. She was homesick. The wrestling ring was her home and her recovery progress from a training-related injury was frustrating and boring. She sleepily reached over to the nightstand on her left side, but inadvertently knocked over her open water bottle — it toppled to the floor, water splashing on the carpet while her phone was unscathed.
“Shit!”
Another ping from her phone.
Bayley groaned as she shifted from her seated position on the hotel bed. Her doctor had advised her to avoid sudden movements and to be careful with her knee. Some days, she ruminated about her knee injury, and other days, she almost forgot about it until she remembered why she was moving so slowly to get out of bed. She retrieved her phone, finally, but there was a knock on her door.
The text message notification was from Sasha Banks. Bayley frowned, her eyebrows deeply furrowed. She slid her thumb over the screen to unlock the message.
“I need to see you.”
What?
The words on her screen were simple but that was the power of the Boss, simplicity often had a profound meaning to her. She almost dropped her phone when she heard more rhythmic knocking at the door.
“Bayley, it’s me.” A familiar voice, muffled slightly by the heavy door.
Sasha?
Bayley shoved her phone into her shorts pocket. She was often wearing shorts now to accommodate her knee brace, ACE wrapping, or the icing equipment used at the surgical clinic. Along with her red nylon shorts, she wore a black tank top and white socks. She had removed her brace and bandages since she was relaxing in bed, and she wondered if she should quickly place the brace back on before going to the door. She gingerly stepped down onto the carpet and stood up slowly, grimacing.
“I know you’re in there.” More impatient knocking.
“Hold on, I’m coming,” Bayley called. Before checking to see who was out in the hallway, Bayley sauntered to the door and abruptly opened it. Her heart skipped a beat.
Sasha Banks stood before her, wearing a loosely fitting black and white windbreaker jacket, this was fully opened to reveal a tight gray crop top; she also wore black leggings and black Jordan brand shoes. The crop top displayed her cleavage perfectly and also, her abdominal muscles were, as usual, well defined and chiseled as if sculpted by a world renowned artist. Her skin appeared clear and smooth, her complexion glowed alluringly even in the unflattering light of the hotel hallway. Her blue hair was long and straight, the blue color blended into black at the ends of her tresses.
She was beautiful.
She was breathtaking.
She tilted her head and grinned up at Bayley.
Bayley remembered to be grouchy towards her ex-best friend, she spoke tersely: “Can I help you?”
“You can, actually,” said Sasha as she stepped closer, “Let’s talk inside.”
Bayley sidled out of the entryway as Sasha entered. Bayley gestured to the plush couch nearby the bed and Sasha sat down, she rested her arm on a pillow as she observed Bayley. To keep some distance between them, Bayley sat on the edge of the bed, she grimaced again as she sat down and shifted her leg to accommodate her knee.
“How’s the knee—“
“Let’s get to the point. What d’you want, Sash?” Bayley asked in a grumpy tone, frowning as she looked at her former best friend.
Sasha tilted her head, smiling, and she responded in a teasing fashion, “I guess you don’t want me to be nice to you. I’m here to see if we could come up with an arrangement. As you already know, I was added to the Smackdown title match to face off against Becky and Bianca in a triple threat. You could run some interference so I can win my belt back.”
“Why the fuck would I help you?” Bayley asked, almost in a groan. She was frustrated for multiple reasons.
Sasha did not answer, instead she stared at Bayley. Her gaze was stony but Bayley knew she was reading her, examining her like an x-ray. Sasha’s head was still tilted in a coquette manner, still staring at her with a half-smile.
Bayley sighed. “We gonna do this all night?”
“Isn’t it obvious? You owe me,” laughed Sasha.
Bayley shook her head lightly, annoyed. “I apologized for what I did to you. We agreed to go our separate ways and keep our careers separate. I don’t owe you shit.”
“You think your half-ass apology got anywhere with me? I said nothing at the time because I was so tired of you. You became so selfish… and I took away the one thing that I thought could make you wake up. I took your blue belt but you just got even worse, if that was possible. And look at you now, why are you even here?”
Sasha’s words did not merely sting, they effectively re-opened many mental wounds that Bayley hid from the world. Bayley did feel some remorse after betraying Sasha, but she would never publicly admit that. There were whispers in her circle and at her workplace that people were concerned about a decline in her psyche over time, that her behavior towards Bianca Belair recently was so erratic that it scared others. Bayley did not see a problem at all, she was fully focused on her pursuit of the Smackdown Women’s championship again and to restore dignity to the WWE women’s division. And to prove to Bianca and all of the children that fairy tales do not exist because although Bianca was the champion for a while, she was still a naive rookie who believed that sparkles and sequins would actually get her anywhere. But Bayley’s hunt for the championship again was derailed by her knee injury while training.
Bayley breathed heavily in anger. “I don’t care to know who snitched on me and said I would be here for the PPV. And yeah, sure Sasha, why don’t you kick me while I’m already down. You’re not helping yourself by talking shit to me. You should be nicer if you want me to do something for you.”
“I have an arrangement,” repeated Sasha, gazing deeply at Bayley, her brown eyes were unyielding.
Bayley looked away nervously. “No. You should probably get going so I can get back to watching my shows.”
Sasha glanced at the TV, which was emitting a low background chatter from an episode of a comedy show. “How many times are you gonna watch re-runs of New Girl?”
“OK, time to leave, Sasha, have a good night!” Bayley said loudly as she huffed out another deep breathe in annoyance, she tried to stand to gesture for Sasha to go to the door but she plopped back down on the edge of the bed due to soreness rising in her knee.
Sasha noticed this, glancing down at Bayley’s knee. “Are you alright, Bay?”
Bayley nodded slowly. “Yeah, just gonna have some water and Tylenol, then call it a night.”
“I could stay if you need help.”
Bayley stared at her in surprise. “I don’t need your pity. You have better things to do. You should go back to your hotel suite with your boyfriend, Roman Reigns. I’m sure he’s lookin’ for you. Tell him to stop talking about me on social media, by the way.”
Sasha giggled, she knew Bayley was referencing Roman’s comments about how he was the most important wrestler in the ThunderDome and not Bayley.
“He’s not my boyfriend, we’re just hanging out,” said Sasha, still grinning, “And I’m surprised that Carmella is not here changing your bedpan, haha.”
“Carmella and I broke up. But she’s a beautiful woman, she can be with anyone… she deserved better,” Bayley said in a low tone, looking away, preoccupying herself by randomly looking at the dresser.
“What?” stated Sasha with a frown.
“I don’t wanna talk about it, you should get going—“
Sasha’s tone was suddenly serious: “Did she say something to you? Anything she said is a bunch of bullshit. I know we’ve had our differences but you’re a good catch, Bayley.”
“She didn’t say anything! Just go, dude,” Bayley said hurriedly with a grimace, and she finally rose to her feet to motion to the door. Sasha stood up as well and slowly approached Bayley, her face lined with concern and a tender expression in her eyes. Her fingers brushed against the fabric of Bayley’s tank top. Bayley shifted away from her touch, almost embarrassed.
“You’re in pain, let me help you,” Sasha whispered, and then she noticed that a water bottle lay empty on the carpet by the nightstand, the carpet was darkened due to the water.
Bayley glanced around, avoiding Sasha’s gaze. Her knee ached, she was standing in an awkward angle to recoil from Sasha’s hand. Perspiration formed on her forehead from the strain in her legs.
“Why?”
Bayley’s mouth was very dry when the simple word left her lips. Marred by embarrassment and pain, and it almost felt as if the throbbing and swelling was traveling up her left leg.
“You’re my friend.”
Sasha’s reply was equally simple but powerful. The sound of her voice and her sincerity was palpable, Bayley almost forgot about the pain for a moment. She looked at Sasha, almost in astonishment.
“You’re just saying that. I don’t need you to feel sorry for me like everyone else. I’m fine on my own,” retorted Bayley.
Sasha’s eyebrows raised and her lips lifted into a beautiful smile. “Doesn’t look like it.”
Bayley huffed, realizing that Sasha was talking about the current state of the hotel room: her black knee brace on the bed, a crumpled heap of beige ACE wrappings on a chair, empty Gatorade bottles by the TV, the water bottle that crashed onto the carpet.
“Well, looks like you’re not gonna leave and I’m not gonna help you tomorrow night, so where do we go from here?” Bayley asked sarcastically, she straightened up a bit because her own pride and bravado was getting the best of her. She moved closer to Sasha, towering over the shorter woman. She folded her arms, pushing out her muscular biceps while she gazed determinedly at her former best friend.
“Oh, you’ll help me,” giggled Sasha, “You will, because you always do. And I’ll do something for you…”
Bayley chuckled and smirked. “I’m not falling for it tonight. Go ask your man, Roman, to help you. Maybe if you give him head at the table—“
“Shut up,” Sasha interrupted, irritated, “I’ll take care of you if you take care of me.”
“And how exactly are you going to ‘take care’ of me?” Bayley asked incredulously, also becoming irritated with this circular discussion.
Sasha blocked Bayley’s path, she looked up at the taller woman and steadily gripped her hip. “I’ll spend the night with you, and we’ll spend time together the next couple of days. I’ll help you with whatever you need. You don’t have to be alone, I’ll be here with you.”
Bayley gazed at her in surprise but suddenly tried to shift her face back into an annoyed look. This was a trap from the master of traps, the Legit Boss. After what happened a year ago, she knew that Sasha would never trust her again. Sasha does not trust easily and Bayley betrayed her trust. She assumed this was another way for Sasha to get back at her.
“I can hardly stand, I deal with pain and swelling every day. I don’t believe you,” Bayley explained in a defeated, almost hurt, voice, “So why don’t you get it over with and beat me up or something? Just do whatever you were supposed to do in the first place. I know you hate me.”
Sasha didn’t believe Bayley’s apology. Bayley apologized to her with a long text and they also spoke in person about it several months ago. She thought Bayley did this to have a “clean break” from their time as a tag team, to finally let go of their friendship. Bayley wanted to be a singles competitor, she wanted to prove that she could survive without Sasha Banks in their industry because her whole main roster career so far involved her being tied to Sasha in some way.
Sasha looked at Bayley in astonishment but her former friend continued before she could speak.
“Go ahead and hit me. Do it. Hit me. Get it out of your system, then get the fuck out,” Bayley whispered breathlessly.
“I don’t hate you, Bay—“
Bayley chuckled sarcastically. “Don’t lie to me. You should be happy. I have nothing! You took my title. Carmella left me. I’m out until next year because of this bum knee…”
There was a pause, only the light hum of the TV filled the humid space in the room. Sasha noted Bayley’s strange behaviors over time as well, she didn’t need the rumor mills of the locker room to convince her. Bayley was quick to anger, she was violent, but also entertainingly condescending when she acted as a talk show host for Ding Dong Hello. Then there was the Role Model in her, who was a leader in the locker room, even if she was brash and self absorbed. Bayley wore many disguises, many faces. Sasha wasn’t sure which side of Bayley she would see tonight. Bayley had difficulty being faithful to any of her faces.
“I have nothing,” Bayley repeated, “You won. So you can keep hating me forever. I don’t care.”
Sasha didn’t speak, but she slowly embraced Bayley. She snuggled her face into the taller woman’s chest, while her arms curled around Bayley’s back and she could feel the perspiration through the tank top. Bayley was shocked, immobile at first and then her arms instinctively also held Sasha.
“I’ve always loved you,” murmured Sasha, “I’m always thinking about you.”
Bayley breathed heavily, the soft scent of Sasha’s shampoo filled her senses. A familiar scent which brought back pleasant memories.
“I think about you too,” whispered Bayley, “And… I love you too, I just didn’t think you ever felt that way about me.”
There was a silent understanding between the two women as they held each other. The end of their friendship left a void that Bayley could not fill with her rage and her new talk show, a void that Sasha could not fill with her music ventures, acting roles, and her new interest in Roman.
“I did, you didn’t notice?” Sasha asked with a grin.
Bayley smiled back, embarrassed. Maybe she saw signs, but she thought she was assuming things. She never believed that Sasha Banks, of all women, could ever love her.
“Um… is he gonna be lookin’ for you or can you hang out here tonight?” asked Bayley uncertainly.
“It’s not like that between us, we’ve just been on a few dates. It’s probably hard for you to stand so long so lay down here,” Sasha motioned to the bed.
Bayley sat down, sighing in relief that she could stop applying pressure on her knee. Sasha took two pillows, fluffed them up, and then placed them under Bayley’s swollen left knee as she leaned back to lie down. Suddenly, Sasha threw her windbreaker off and onto the couch, she kicked off her shoes before lying down next to Bayley on the opposite side. Bayley’s lungs stopped functioning for a brief moment when she saw more of Sasha’s body exposed.
As they had done, so many times before, Sasha rested her back against several pillows and the headboard, and she invited Bayley to lay her head in her lap. Bayley gingerly repositioned herself, keeping her knee propped on pillows as she gratefully laid her head in Sasha’s lap. Bayley’s black hair was longer, almost to the base of her neck. Sasha rubbed her fingers into Bayley’s scalp, goosebumps formed on Bayley’s arms in response.
“So tomorrow…” Sasha started as she massaged into her friend’s soft, dark hair.
“Mmm,” Bayley moaned, almost dozing off again.
“I was thinking you could hang out in the crowd with a crutch, people would assume you’re just there to watch the PPV. I’ll cause some type of distraction with the referee, and you hit either Becky or Bianca to take them out,” Sasha stated; it was obvious that she had planned this a while ago.
“I’ll take out Bianca, she’s a rookie and still makes mistakes. I don’t think we’re gonna fool Becky that easily. You should distract Becky and the ref,” suggested Bayley.
“Hm. You’re right, Bay. Let’s target that rookie, Bianca. Becky will be so furious when she sees you, that’ll throw her off her game immediately,” Sasha cackled.
“Yeah, she’s done for too,” said Bayley, smirking.
“We’ll cuddle tonight and then you can think of what we should do tomorrow night after you help me get my championship back,” said Sasha, she had moved on to massaging Bayley’s neck and arms.
“Sounds like a fair trade to me,” chuckled Bayley.
Sasha smiled. “And just so you know, we don’t have to wear any clothes when we cuddle tonight.”