Absolute Smokeshow

From One Show To The NXT

Rhea kept a comforting hand on you the entire ride over to the next show while you did your best to stay calm. Dominik was in the back with the both of you and Damian drove, his hand moving over to rest on Finn's thigh whenever the cruise control was on. Your head was swimming with anxiety, but the warm, loving atmosphere in the car kept it from getting to be too much. Every time you tried to focus on the present, concerns for the future seeped in.

"Thanks again for letting me tag along," it must have been the third time you'd said it.
Need to remember to call in sick for work tomorrow, but I'm not sure how many sick days I have left.
"Take it easy, chica," Damian chuckled, eyes fixed on the road, looking like there was nowhere he would rather be.
I'm technically not insured to have someone who isn't me driving my car, no matter how good Damian is at it.
"Yeah, you're Rhea's girl, so you're pretty much part of the family," Finn chimed in, smile evident in his voice despite the headrest blocking your view of his face, "Family takes care of family, no hesitation."
I need to stop looking back, but what if someone's following us again?
"We should make her an "honorary member of The Judgment Day" shirt," Dom suggested.
I bet my apartment complex is going to be crawling with creeps when I get back. If it isn't already.
"I'll style it for her - I know exactly where to make the first cut," Rhea insisted, eyes admiring your chest.
How many more panic attacks until they all decide I'm not worth helping?

"Don't worry, love," Rhea quietly reassured you, clearly sensing your anxiety, "This next show has a much smaller audience, and JD is getting there ahead of us to make sure we have a path inside that isn't crowded by fans. We're all going to do our part to keep people from getting too close to you."
"Thanks, Rhe. Thanks everyone-" you said again, before being cut off.
"Fuck's sake, lass," Finn's sigh turned into an amused chuckle as he explained his interruption, "You've helped me and Damian get together and you've been nothing but good to Rhea - not to mention what the three of you did last night, because I know our man here had the time of his life" - he gestured to a blushing Dominik with a jab of his thumb - "So quit acting like you're a burden and face it: you're worth more than you realize."
This coming from the man whose first words to me were about some money I allegedly owed him? The fact that Finn's position on you seemed to have completely changed made it difficult to deny the sincerity of his words, leaving you in a stunned silence.
"Good one, babe," you just barely heard Damian whisper to Finn.

Just as Rhea had promised, JD McDonagh was waiting for the three of you when you pulled into the parking lot, giving the group directions before taking the keys to park the car. JD seemed determined to help and Finn was happy to see him - but Damian definitely wasn't.
"Cuidado, mi amor," he muttered, a protective arm around Finn as he watched JD slide into the driver's seat, "He's still looking at you a little too long for my taste."
"You know I only have eyes for you," Finn reassured Damian, sticking his hand in his boyfriend's back pocket.
"Yeah, but does he know-" Damian jumped a bit, presumably in response to the squeeze Finn had given his ass.
Rhea quickly brought up the hand that wasn't holding yours to stifle her laughter, muffling it just enough for you to catch Damian whispering "brat" to Finn under his breath.
The topic of conversation soon turned to Dom's match to win back the NXT North American Championship, and before you knew it, you were backstage.

Rhea held your hand tightly as you all walked to the locker rooms. "That's her" and "belt bunny" were whispered more than once as you walked through the groups of wrestlers, managers, and technical staff. Suddenly, you were self-conscious, trying to fold in on yourself away from all the curious eyes.
Someone whistled suggestively and the entire Judgment Day stopped to look for the source - to no avail. Rhea let go of your hand in favor of putting a protective arm around your shoulders. You held her tight until you were in a less crowded area. Rhea gave you a loving squeeze before following the rest of the group into the locker room to help Dom get ready for his match.
You were about to follow them, until an arm in a dark jacket blocked the closing door.
"Hey, you're Rhea's girlfriend, right?"

The question came from a woman dressed in black and silver ring gear. She somehow looked simultaneously bored and threatening, flipping her long, two-toned hair out of her face as she stared you down.
"... Yeah," you answered reluctantly, "Why?"
"But you're not a wrestler, are you."
It was more of a statement, but you confirmed anyway.
"I'm not, no."
The anxiety was obvious in your voice; maybe that's what made the woman smirk and lean in before asking:
"So is it true what they say about Rhea?"
"What do they say?" you couldn't help but ask.
"Jacy! We still need to get ready for the match," an excitable blonde in matching ring gear ran up and addressed the woman before she could answer you, "Come on!"
Jacy sighed, looking you over before letting out a short laugh and following behind her tag partner.
What do they say about Rhea?
"Babe?" your girlfriend opened the door in front of you, looking confused, "Come join us; we need to know where you are if we're going to keep you safe."

You walked in and sat in the corner of the locker room as the others talked strategy - the last thing you wanted was to make the wrong move when Rhea was getting ready for a match.
A buzz made you pull out your phone.
It was Marisol:
"Is this you? Or do you have a twin?"
The message had a photo attached of the same tabloid cover you saw at the hotel that morning, but this one seemed to be sitting at a checkout counter.
You sighed, tapping away at your phone's keyboard.
"That's me: Rhea Ripley's girlfriend."
Looking over your response as you hit "send," it dawned on you that another part of this mess was weighing on you in a way you couldn't have expected: Rhea had become a celebrity because of her own talent, but you were only interesting to the world at large because you were dating her.

Your phone vibrated in your hands: a reply from Mari.
"I actually had to look up who she was - not really into wrestling. Hope you won't hold it against me."
You breathed a sigh of relief and smiled as her follow-up text reached you:
"How are you doing, belleza?"
"Overwhelmed" you typed.
Then deleted.
"Stressed" you typed instead.
Then deleted that too.
"Wish I could just go home. But it doesn't feel safe."
You typed and hit send.
Marisol responded quickly:
"Let me know if you need to crash at mine, hermosa."
You were thrown - she barely knew you.
"U-Hauling already?" you reply, avoiding giving an actual response to the offer.
"No need for a U-Haul when you have a truck" was her reply, a winking face ending the message.
By the time your eyes had read down to the emoji, another message from popped up from Mari:
"Kidding. But if you do move someplace, you can use my truck if you smoke me out after."
"Did you hear me, love?" Rhea's voice made you look up from your phone.
Not only did you miss what your girlfriend had said, you hadn't noticed JD was now in the locker room as well.
"I didn't, sorry," you admitted, gauging her reaction.

"I said all of us are going to be out there," Rhea said, unfazed, "So you might be on your own for a little while, but I'll have JD run back to you after he's done his part. Sound good?"
You nodded and she smiled before turning to Finn and Damian. Looking over at a slightly fidgety Dominik, you tune out Rhea's lecture about postposing the eye-fucking until after the title had been won.
"Nervous?" you asked your metamour.
"A little," he said, moving to sit next to you on the bench, "Everyone is counting on me."
"Anything I can do to help you with your match?" you asked, knowing it was unlikely but still wanting to offer.
He looked away for a moment, a blush blooming on his face.
"A kiss for good luck?" Dom asked finally.
"...Don't get used to it," you replied, holding his chin gently as you leaned in and kissed his cheek.
"So they get to be distracted and we don't?" Finn asked, making Damian laugh.
"That kiss was more chaste than any single time the two of you have looked at each other since you met," Rhea insisted, "Now let's get back to business."