Absolute Smokeshow

Mami Bear

The stiffness and pain in her elbow was the first sensation Rhea felt upon waking. She groaned, refusing to open her eyes to the sunlight and turning over to her other side to remove the pressure on her arm. The warm body she had turned to shifted in bed and she moved closer instinctively, nuzzling her face between two shoulder blades and inhaling a strangely unfamiliar scent.
Rhea's eyes flew open as she pulled away and Thea Hail's sleeping figure was the very first thing in the Eradicator's field of vision. After a few seconds of panic, trying to shake off the haze of sleep in order to recall how the younger woman had appeared in her bed, she remembered Thea seeking refuge last night. She let out a sigh of relief, secure in the knowledge that she hadn't sought out her rival's girlfriend (well, now ex-girlfriend, she supposed) for a revenge fuck.

Rhea shifted closer to the nightstand on her side of the bed, picking up her phone to check her messages and the time. Still morning, so no need to rush on checking out. Messages from her girlfriend and Damian, but nothing from Dom. She frowned at the screen, trying not to overthink as she opened the texts.
The usual combination "good morning" and "I love you" text from her girlfriend lessened her frown as she responded with the same, then asked how the indie show went.

Damian's message, on the other hand, was a photo and caption that almost made Rhea laugh loud enough to wake her guest, furious giggles erupting from her chest. Muffling her laughter with her pillow, she waited until the giggle fit was over before looking at the message once again:
Finn Balor - a veritable demon in the ring and always on his guard - dead asleep, ass in the air, and clothes halfway off as he slumped at a 45 degree angle over the armrest of a hotel couch he was drooling all over. It was obvious he had fallen asleep immediately following some sex act or other, and Damian's attached comment read: "So that's a "no" on cuddling after?"

"Didn't know you'd perfected the Go To Sleep during your off hours!" Rhea sent as a reply, smiling at her own joke.
Opening the messages between her and Dom, she decided it wouldn't hurt to send him a message first; never mind that she'd rarely had to up to this point. While she was typing, Rhea's phone went off in her hands, heralding Damian's reply:
"CM Punk is nothing compared to my dick"
Rhea cackled loudly this time, only remembering she was trying to stay quiet once her laughter had already disturbed the calmness of the room. The woman next to her immediately began to stir at the sound, stretching underneath the covers and turning to her other side. Opening her eyes, Thea blinked at her hostess with a slight confusion and curiosity.

"'Morning," Rhea said, hitting send on the message to Dom before setting down her phone. "Didn't mean to wake you. There's still time if you need to sleep more."
Hand instinctively reaching for the cut on her head, Thea stopped herself from scratching when she felt the butterfly bandages.
"S'okay," she mumbled, yawning. "What's up?"
"Damian is a regular comedian," Rhea said, shaking her head and watching the blonde grimace as she sat up. "How are you doing?"
Thea stretched cautiously, expression contorting in pain every now and then as she assessed her injuries. The bruises that had blossomed on her arms gave her pause.

"I'll heal enough in time for the next show," Thea sighed finally. "I just... I feel so stupid for thinking Jacy ever cared about me" - her voice faltered as she tried to fight back tears - "She threw me out the second I stopped helping her hurt people and now... I have no idea what to do."
"Hmm," Rhea hummed, brow knit as she began to think.
Jacy was planning on striking against her and Thea at some point in the nebulous future. Currently, Rhea wasn't in the best condition to defend the blonde herself, but she was still capable of being a formidable force if necessary; particularly since Jacy had injuries of her own that leveled the playing field.
After a moment of thought, Rhea's face suddenly relaxed into a smirk.
"I might have an idea."

-

"Hey there, beautiful," Rhea greeted you with a smile, her voice emanating from your laptop.
"Hey babe," you replied, delighted to have an impromptu video chat with your girlfriend. "What's up?"
"Missing you," Rhea admitted, licking her lips in a way that made you focus on her tongue. "I would go into more detail, but I don't want to make my new friend here uncomfortable."
"New friend?" you asked, curious.
Rhea waved over someone offscreen and a familiar, dirty-blonde curtain of hair entered the frame.

"Thea?!"
You didn't know who you expected to see, but it wasn't her.
"What happened?" you asked immediately, noticing the bandages on her head and a few bruises.
"Bad break-up. But I'm okay, thanks to Rhea," she smiled gratefully at your girlfriend.
"She's under the protection of the Judgment Day," Rhea assured you before pausing to consider something for a moment and frowning. "Though I guess this means we'll have to make JD a real member..."
"Which one is JD again?" Thea asked sheepishly.
"Don't worry, I'll introduce you to everyone when we head out," Rhea promised.

Seeing Thea happily away from Jacy Jayne relieved a nagging anxiety that had never quite left since the night you'd met her. No one deserved to be stuck in such a manipulative relationship, least of all the sweet ray of sunshine that beamed at you from the screen. Now, with the Judgment Day by her side, Thea was safe - freeing up your anxiety to focus full-force on your lack of a job and tentative living situation.
"You okay, love?" Rhea asked, seeing the worry on your face.
"Just job stuff," you sighed. "Rent is due soon and I haven't heard back from anywhere I applied to."
"That sounds really stressful," Thea piped up when your girlfriend seemed at a loss for what to say.
"It is," you admitted, "But I'm not the only one having trouble; even the local indie wrestling scene is struggling to get enough of a following to afford a venue."

Rhea's furrowed brow relaxed and you could practically see the lightbulb pop up over her head as she settled into a knowing smile.
"So if someone were to, say, offer her services" - she casually gestured in your direction - "securing a special guest or two" - her hand alighted on her own chest - "they might start making enough to hire her?"
You stared incredulously at your girlfriend's image on screen, one finger pointing at you.
"Wh- can you even do that?" you squeaked. "The Judgment Day is signed to WWE!"
"So we won't wrestle and we won't get paid," Rhea said casually. "I bet you'll get droves that come in just to look at us."
"You really don't have to. I would never ask-"
"Which is why I offered," your girlfriend pointed out, smile widening.

All this just to get you a job that didn't even exist yet? Was that even possible?
And wouldn't this increase your chances of being in the public eye?
"... Can I think about it?" you asked, on the verge of feeling too overwhelmed to speak.
Rhea's face fell, though she tried not to let it show. "Of course, love."
A silence fell over the three of you before Thea piped up, addressing your girlfriend.
"When did you say we needed to check out again?"
"Fuck, you're right," Rhea said before looking back at you. "I'll talk to you later?"
You nodded.
"Love you," she said with a smile.
"Love you," you echoed back, waiting until the call ended before scrambling in the direction of Mari's bong.