Rose & Thorn: Liv/Rhea

Chapter 1

"WE WON!" Liv knew she was being loud and she didn't care. She had struggled so much in the past year, both personally and professionally, that she had resolved to bask in every single victory, no matter how small. When she hopped up to hug Rhea, she wasn't surprised that her partner caught her easily—Rhea could easily be fighting a lot of the men on the roster, if the company would let her—but she didn't expect to be spun around. She didn't anticipate Rhea's wild howl of delight as they twirled backstage. And she certainly didn't think Rhea's wide, warm smile would make her breath catch.

"Do you have time to celebrate a bit tonight," Rhea asked, holding Liv on her hip easily, "or do you have an early morning? We're done for the night, so we're free to go...."

It didn't escape Liv's notice that Rhea's hand was still gripping her ass. Sure, it was probably the easiest way to keep her in place, but when she shifted her weight slightly, Rhea simply readjusted her grip, moving her hand only slightly. "What did you have in mind? Drinks? A club?"

Rhea's grin sharpened a bit, like a hook tugging at Liv's heartstrings. "Something like that." When a couple of the show's producers walked past, she gingerly—and reluctantly, Liv noticed with a flutter—set Liv down on her feet. "My treat, but you'd have to bring your wallet along. Identification and all that, you know."

Identification generally meant a club, or some place with liquor, and Liv wasn't sure she wanted to get drunk. She trusted Rhea and knew the Aussie probably had something fun in mind, but Liv wanted to be able to remember her victory celebration. "I don't really feel like drinking," she hedged, tugging on the hem of her ring shorts. "But I'd be up for some dancing...."

"No drinking necessary, I promise. They'll just need proof of age. And there's an entrance fee," Rhea added, slinging an arm around Liv's shoulders, "but like I said, it's my treat."

Liv waited for Rhea to elaborate as they walked to the women's locker room, but she just smiled, occasionally nodding or replying to people who congratulated them as they passed by. Live a little, Liv scolded herself. Rhea wouldn't purposefully put her in danger, after all, and Liv had resolved to be more open, more adventurous. "Sure. It won't take me long to change and shower—"

"No need." Rhea's gaze slid down her like honey, slow and sweet. "I mean, you can if you want to," she added with a shrug that made the studs on her gear scrape lightly against Liv's arm, "but you don't have to. Your look will fit right in."

Let's go! Liv's heart was racing, but she tried to rein it in. Rhea's street wear was mostly black anyway, so it wouldn't make much difference if she wore her ring gear or her regular clothes. Liv, however, often dressed quite differently, and as much as she loved her fans, she didn't really want to be constantly stopped for selfies and autographs tonight. "I'll be really quick," she promised. "I won't even bother with make-up."

For a moment, it looked like Rhea was going to change her mind and suggest going out another night, but then she nodded. "Sure." She hooked a finger under the one of her top's straps and fanned herself a bit. "Sweat and latex aren't always the best combo, so I could go for a shower too." Keeping her arm on Liv's shoulders, Rhea steered them towards the women's locker room.

Liv never really liked to dally in the arena showers. The venues WWE went to were mostly safe and definitely a lot cleaner than some she had been in, but she had still heard enough horror stories about locker room behaviour that she didn't linger often. It had been different in the Riott Squad days, when she and Ruby and Sarah had the numbers on their side. And different now, she thought, sneaking a glance over at Rhea once they were in the locker room. Very few of the girls were shy about changing in front of each other, but Rhea seemed to have the least qualms of all of them, stripping down without a second thought as to who was there.