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Charlotte and Alexa had always loved being gifted things by fans, most of them were handmade bracelets and they wore them with pride, especially when they were matching; it was cute and it had always reminded them how much they were loved, how much they meant to fans who would spend time making something for them. This was, of course, the main reason.
But deep down, both of them loved the fact that they had something that connected them, that filled that tiny void when they were not together, and it seemed pretty normal, they had never seen it as something weird or wrong.
And that’s exactly what happened with those t-shirts, except they were given to them at separate moments so they didn’t have the chance to open it together; the night before, Smackdown was so rushed they barely had time to change into their gear, and by the time they went back to the hotel, they were so tired that both of them forgot to mention the t-shirts.
And of course when Charlotte woke up and got dressed, she decided to wear it; it was cute, it had Alexa’s face on it, why wouldn’t she wear it? They already had bracelets with each other’s name, t-shirts and stuffies with Charlexa written all over them, especially after people started to ship them; they didn’t mind obviously, it was their job and they always had fun, plus it was kinda pleasing to see people notice how strong their chemistry was.
As soon as Charlotte walked into the dining hall, she looked around to find Lexi since they didn’t spend much time together the day before, and Charlotte was pouting about that without even noticing. The problem was, Lexi didn’t wave at her or called her when she saw Charlotte, she stood there in silence while her brain shortcircuited at that view; for one, the t-shirt? She was literally shocked by the fact that Charlotte would seriously wear that. Second? Those fucking biceps. Lexi swore one day those arms would be the death of her, and a few times she even joked about it, but when her obsession with Charlotte’s arms got more serious she had to stop for her own sake. That t-shirt hugged her in all of the right places, fitting just enough to show her shape but the fact that she even rolled up the sleeves, showing off her arms even more, made Lexi’s mind go blank. And there it was, plain as day, i love my girlfriend right there, her face printed inside the heart. How was she supposed to react like a normal and sane person?
“Morning Lex.” Charlotte sat down in front of her, placing down her tray without noticing Alexa’s face. Again, it was all normal for her, unaware of the subtle change in the air and of how much that normality didn’t exist for Alexa at all.
She looked up only when the other woman didn’t answer, didn’t say anything, and she found her staring at her like she’s seen a ghost.
“You okay?”
“Oh… Good morning.” she looked down and went back to her coffee, still not rational enough to entertain a conversation with Charlotte. The mug felt warmer, her whole body felt warmer and she knew exactly what was reason, but she couldn’t show that to Charlotte, she couldn’t let herself go because it wasn’t fair.
“What’s wrong?” Charlotte asked while putting down her food, now focused on finding out what was going on with Lexi.
“Nothing, it’s nothing.” of course she couldn’t tell her that while it was not wrong, wearing that t-shirt was really doing a number on her. Every time she looked up it was right there, impossible to ignore, twisting something uncomfortable and painfully familiar in her stomach.
“Lexi c’mon… It’s me. Did I do something?”
“No, don’t worry. I have to go.” she got up, partially feeling wrong for that, but she couldn’t stay there any longer; not when her thoughts were spiraling faster than she could control, not when Charlotte’s presence suddenly felt too close, even though she was on the other side of the table. Walking away felt cruel, but staying would have been worse and she could’ve acted on feelings she wasn’t ready to face.
“Lexi what the hell?” Charlotte was confused, she couldn’t think of anything she might have done to make Lexi that cold, that distance felt sudden and unearned; and the more she replayed the last few days in her head, the more she was sure that nothing had happened between them, especially since they had barely spent any time together the last couple of days, which only made Lexi’s behavior feel heavier.
Normally she would’ve cleaned the table, she hated leaving a mess behind for others to clean, but in that moment Lexi came first; she needed answers, she needed to understand what was going on because she had started to worry about the other woman, who usually was all bubbly and giggly around her. Charlotte got up and immediately went after her, even if Alexa was probably already back to her room, or at least Charlotte hoped she would find her there.
“Lexi I know you’re in there!” she started banging on her door, she didn’t even care about disturbing other people, but Charlotte needed Alexa to open it. “Can you please open the door?” she leaned back against the wall, arms crossed, tapping her fingers impatiently as if that would hurry Lexi up.
Well, it kinda worked.
“What Charlotte?” Alexa looked at her as if she was clueless about what was going on, like she hadn’t just rushed back to her room (because of those insanely huge biceps), her expression a little too innocent to be believable.
“Do not Charlotte me. What’s going on with you?” she didn’t even wait for Alexa to invite her inside, she walked straight into the room and crossed her arms, blocking the door behind her and clearly expecting an explanation. Her mind was already running through every look and half reaction from earlier, the sudden tension, the way Alexa had avoided her, and the growing certainty that this wasn’t just her overthinking things. “Can you please tell me what’s the problem here?”
“It’s… this!” Alexa gestured to her body, not really pointing at what was the real problem; her finding Charlotte a little too much hot, Charlotte wearing that fucking t-shirt that Lexi wasn’t supposed to care about this much, the mix of it all just made her head spin like she spent the whole night drinking.
“What is “this” Lexi? I’m not trying to tease you, I just don’t understand…” she was genuinely confused about all of that, she couldn’t really tell what bothered Alexa so much to run away from her.
“It’s you! With your stupid arms! And that t-shirt you’re not supposed to wear!” now her face was literally red, both for the frustration and for saying those things out loud, her mind was racing and cursing herself for not being able to keep it together around Charlotte.
“My… arms? What?” she furrowed her brow, Charlotte didn’t understand why Lexi was acting as if she hadn’t seen them every day for months, still not getting why she was so flustered over something so normal to her. “And what about the t-shirt? It’s cute… Didn’t they give one to you too?”
Now Charlotte was starting to think Lexi might be drunk or hungover, nothing she was saying made any sense; and the way she kept pointing at her like it was a crime was both confusing and a little funny to her.
“You can’t do this Charlotte, you can’t.” Alexa started pacing around the room to calm down, she didn’t even understand why that morning seeing her like that had affected her so much; and yet she couldn’t deny that the t-shirt, the way it fit, the way it showed her arms, had somehow made everything she was feeling feel louder, sharper, impossible to ignore.
“Enough, Lexi! Tell me what the hell is going on!”
“Your arms! And those fucking veins!” she whined and gestured again, this time pointing more clearly at her arms, still way too exposed and not helping at all. “And the shirt! You can’t wear it with “I love my girlfriend” written on it!”
“You’re confusing me… One thing at a time… First, do you want me to take it off? Does it bother you? I’m sorry, I thought it was a cute gift.” that was the rational explanation, but the truth was that wearing that shirt let her feel, even just a little, what it would be like if it wasn’t just an innocent gift from the fans. Every time she caught sight of the words a warmth spread through her chest, a mix of guilt and something else, something tender she couldn’t quite name.
“I’m not your girlfriend.” but Alexa wanted to be with all her heart, even if she would never say it out loud. “Why would you wear that?”
Those words inevitably hurt, even though Charlotte had never admitted to herself that she felt anything for Alexa; that small, hidden hope shattered instantly, making her take a few steps back.
“I’m sorry… I… People ship us, it’s cute. You’re like my work girlfriend…” Charlotte’s words stumbled out, awkward and uneven, and she pressed her hands together, fighting the urge to run, to hide the sudden rush of whatever it was she couldn’t name but that was getting stronger and stronger.
“No, you’re not my girlfriend and yeah, you’re wearing that shirt, but that’s not the point! The point is you’re not my girlfriend! Can’t you see why that’s a problem?” her chest tightened, a strange mix of frustration and something she wasn’t ready to process. Every time Charlotte looked at her, that flutter came back, sharp and unwelcome, making her words sound harsher than she intended.
Hearing those words Charlotte parted her lips and just stared at her, frozen for a few moments. She tried to process what Alexa had said, to understand if she’d really meant it but her mind kept twisting it in a hundred different ways; her thoughts scattered and for a brief second all she could focus on was the way Alexa looked standing there, so intense, so impossibly close.
“So… You’re telling me that it’s a problem I’m not your girlfriend? Like… You want me to be your girlfriend outside of work?”
“Yes, Charlotte!”
Charlotte froze, her heart skipping a beat, trying to make sense of her words, and for a moment the world seemed to narrow down to just Alexa’s eyes, so intense and full of… something she hadn’t dared hope for. A small, incredulous smile tugged at her lips, and she found herself wanting to take a step forward, to close the distance between them as if it was everything she’d hoped for.
“What was that about my arms by the way?”
“You’re literally focusing on the wrong thing here.” Alexa’s cheeks warmed as she pouted and she looked down, suddenly wishing she could erase her earlier meltdown over Charlotte’s arms; she didn’t want to dwell on that embarrassment, it was easier to shift to the real problem, the one that actually mattered. But even that was hard to say out loud: Charlotte wasn’t her girlfriend and admitting how much that bothered her was hard.
“Nope… You want me to be your real girlfriend and, if I remember correctly, you babbled something about my “stupid arms” and “fucking veins”, can you tell me more about it?” she moved a few steps closer, tilting her head with a stupid teasing smile that made Alexa’s stomach twist in a mix of embarrassment and anticipation. Charlotte’s eyes sparkled, daring her just a little as if to say come on… I know you want to admit it.
“I hate you…” Alexa mumbled under her breath and looked away for a moment, cheeks burning but she couldn’t stop the corner of her mouth from twitching into a reluctant smile. Part of her wanted to shove Charlotte playfully, another part just wanted to pull her closer and prove her that she, in fact, didn’t hate her at all.
“You don’t, Blisster. Now kiss me and wear your t-shirt.”
“I…”
"C’mon babygirl.”
Alexa stepped closer almost shyly and placed a hand on her chest, rising onto her tiptoes she then pressed her lips against the other woman’s. in that instant every nerve in her body seemed to settle, as if that kiss alone had the power both to unravel her and to soothe her completely; time seemed to stretch, each second dragging and rushing at once, as if the world had shrunk to the two of them, nothing else mattered in that moment. Her mind buzzed with awareness of the faint vanilla and coconut scent, the soft press of lips, the steady rhythm of a heartbeat that now matched her own.
“So much better, don’t you think?” Charlotte asked with a small smile playing on her lips, then she reached out her hand, letting her fingers tangle lightly in Alexa’s hair, which always seemed to draw her in like a magnet. “Now wear the t-shirt.”
Alexa took a shaky breath and slipped into the shirt, the soft fabric against her skin and the image of Charlotte printed across her chest that made her heart skip a beat. Charlotte’s eyes darkened slightly, a mixture of amusement and something deeper flashing across her face. Without another word, Charlotte leaned in, pressing her lips gently against Alexa’s; they stayed like that for a while, the world outside didn’t exist anymore, just the two of them, the warmth and closeness filling the space between heartbeats.
Both wearing “I love my girlfriend” t-shirts with each other’s faces on them.