Work Text:
Jey Uso was Roman Reign’s sword.
When Roman Reigns said jump, he jumped. When Roman Reigns said stop, he stopped. When Roman Reigns told him he was nothing, he left.
His worth was built on what Roman wanted. He was born to protect his family. Roman was the prodigal member of the family, meant to lead them as they dominated the WWE Universe and the USO twins were his right and left hand. But it was exhausting.
Jey spent way too long under Roman’s shadow. That was his cousin - family. Family meant everything to Jey Uso. He had his brothers; his twin, Jimmy and his little brother, Solo Sikoa. Along with their Tribal Chief and Wiseman, they dominated the WWE.
He missed his family. Being separated from them was hard, but Jey wanted to be his own person. He wanted to show people he was Main Event Jey Uso and being stuck in Roman’s shadow made him realize he was meant for more.
He went where Roman wanted him to go and in the end, Roman turned on him. Roman took advantage of him and abused him. He pushed him around and it took Roman nearly killing him over a title for him to finally turn his back on him.
He thought about all the things he ever did for Roman and the Bloodline. He made enemies. He made long time friends as well. Even after what Sami did and how much Jey hated him at first, he trusted Sami now. Cody was his partner. They got titles together and he realized that Roman was wrong about Cody. It was funny now that Cody was teaming up with Roman after everything.
Jey lost years following Roman. Now he was doing things for him. He was building his own brand - his own name. He waited 14 years for this. It was his moment and he wasn’t about to give it up. He was the Intercontinental Champion and he planned to be for a while.
—
Rhea Ripley was the Judgement Day’s shield.
That was how she always viewed herself. She wasn’t the leader, but she did the things she had to do to make sure her family was always at the top. She made matches and stopped them from fighting. They were her boys. They were her family.
She didn’t see it coming. Especially not from Dom, but maybe she should have. He hadn’t checked up on her. He was running around with Liv. He had said all the right things to convince Rhea she could trust him and she fell for it.
She had betrayed Liv to join Edge and Damian. Then they betrayed Edge to bring in Finn. She was starting to think that was where it all went wrong. Dom was just meant to piss off Rey Mysterio. It wasn’t meant to be anything. She didn’t expect to fall for him.
Her title was gone. Now she was in this useless feud with her former family because of Liv Morgan. She watched as the family she cared for hugged as they once did with her and Damian. They forgot about everything Rhea had done for them.
Rhea took the brunt of the hate. She stepped into fights because she knew the men would touch her. They couldn’t. She distracted the ref to help her boys gain the upper hand. She became hated by the entire women’s division and men’s division, but she did it because she would do anything for her family.
It hurt watching them. It hurt knowing that all those good times were just memories and wondering if it was even real. How much was a ploy to tear them apart? What was the endgame? Why did Finn put so much into motion? To hurt Damian? No egos and no leaders? She had to laugh. It was ego that caused all of this and it wasn’t on Rhea or Damian.
She was ending this at Bad Blood. She would take back her title she never lost and put an end to Liv Morgan.
—
Jey wasn’t used to being a shield. He was a sword. He fought and he won. That was all he was. It was what Roman crafted him into, but as he stared into the beautiful brown eyes, decorated purple eyelids, he realized he didn’t have to be a sword anymore.
He couldn’t protect his family from imploding. He was so far out ahead of them, fighting the battles, he didn’t see what was right behind him. He didn’t see Roman’s ego building too much or Solo’s anger at being some kind of side kick. He never saw Jimmy as someone who would turn on him.
As he looked down at Rhea, a soft smile on her face as she told him to focus on his own thing that made him realize he wanted something to protect. She didn’t need protection, of course. She’d give any man on the roster a run for his money. He just wanted to be there for her. Protect her from behind. Make sure that no one was sneaking up to take her down. Protect her from heartbreak again.
It was a slow burn. It took a while for her to realize he was there. He was in her corner. She wouldn’t tell him to jump. She’d tell him to do what he thought he needed to do. She wouldn't tell him to stop. She’d tell him not to stop until he was ready. She wouldn’t be like Roman Reigns, forcing him to become someone he wasn’t.
Jey was fine being a shield if it was for Rhea Ripley.
—
Rhea wasn’t used to being a sword. She had no other choice. She had to be. She had no family to protect and instead, she had to be on the defensive. Always checking behind her and stopping an attack before it was too late. She had to stand back to back with Damian to make sure they were safe.
But then there was Jey. She was used to having to stand in front of Dom or her other boys to make sure they were safe. Now it was her battle and he wasn’t standing in her way. He was by her side, but he knew she could handle things on her own, but also his presence? It was a relief. It was a relief to know that she didn’t have to go about it alone. She had Damian, but it was different with Jey.
She always felt like one of the guys. She was the one in all black and spikes and men steered clear because who would want some goth chick when they could have little miss perfect in pink and booty shorts? He didn’t blame anyone. People had their preferences. Dom was more her type than Jey. Her and Jey were like night and day. Cold and hot.
And she felt far more peace with Jey than she ever did Dom.
If Jey was by her side, she can be the sword and take down whoever got in their way.