(Un)Break me - Rhea Ripley x reader

Strength

To realize that it isn't always loud or unshaken. Strength is not black and white, you're not simply strong or weak. Strength is a lot more nuanced than that: it shapeshifts, transforms, adapts. It wears a different face each time something shatters.

Y/N's POV

After Rhea fell asleep beside you, you stayed awake for hours. Staring at the ceiling trying to make sense of everything she hadn't said.

You weren't sure how long had passed (maybe an hour, maybe three) when her phone buzzed sharply on the nightstand, which was odd: it was too late for anything casual, unless...

Unless it was someone back in Australia.

You take one last glance at your girlfriend's sleeping form before slipping out of the bedroom to answer the call.

Calista.

"Hello?"

There was a pause. Then a familiar voice, thick with fatigue and something else you couldn't name.

"Who's this?" Calista''s voice spoke.

"It's Y/N, Demi's girlfriend. I'm so sorry, she finally fell asleep after a terrible day."

"I can imagine." Her voice cracked.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" You softened your tone.

"Oh, yes, sorry my dearI was just calling to let her know that the..." a heavy sigh "the service is going to be on Sunday." Service?

You felt the air get stale.

"The service?" You asked, as gently as you could.

"Yeah." A shaky exhale. "We're holding it at St. Helena's, just like nonna wanted. Thought Rhea might want to say something. But if she can't-"

Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Suddenly, everything made sense.

"I am so sorry." Was the only thing you could say. And you meant it, more than anything.

"I figured she might not be answering, but I just wanted to..." Calista's voice drifted off.

"You can tell me, Calista." You reassured.

"I just, I wasn't sure if she'd want to come? Or even could? I-I felt like she should..." She gulps, "like she should know that we'd love to have her here."

"We'll be there." Not a string of doubt in your voice, though soft.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah.. I think she'd want that. She seemed really special to Rhea. Yeah" You repeat, more confident this time as memories from how much Rhea's family meant to her popped in your head. "She'd want that. I'll help her get there."

There was a long pause before a grateful exhale sounded through the phone.

"Thank you, Y/N. Truly."

"Of course. And thank you for calling." You hung up slowly. The truth settling over you.

You would go. And you'd stay beside her.

Rhea had lost her grandmother. Her nonna. The person that meant the most to her in this entire world. You knew this for a fact from the amount of times she would call her, to her favorite dish (her nonna's gnocchis) and more importantly, the fond look on her eyes when she mentioned her.

She needed to go home. And whether or not she could find the strength to say it, you knew this mattered. So you made it your goal to make it happen, no matter what.

For the rest of the night, you don't sleep. Even after you slid back into bed beside Rhea. You stayed still, stroking her hair gently with one hand while the other gripped your phone in the dark. You lost count of how many flights you checked. Red-eyes, layovers, seat upgrades. Anything you could think of to make the excruciating trip a little more bearable, even more so under the current circumstance, devastating in itself.

By the time birds started to chirp by the window, you had everything ready. Though your eyes were dry from the blue light, you knew it would be a waste to try to get any sleep at this point so you just stared at the ceiling, mentally reviewing everything to make sure you didn't forget anything.

It was fully bright outside when Rhea stirred beside you, unconsciously curling into your chest. When her eyes blinked open, so heavy and distant, it took her a while to notice the light coming from outside, which made her turn to her phone in desperation of missing something.

Rhea looks back at you, but there was that look again, with a quiet question behind her eyes, like she didn't know how to (or even if she wanted to) ask.

You reach for her hand. For the first time, her fingers cold against yours.

"We're going to Australia." You said gently. "I booked the flights...We leave tonight." You kiss the back of her hand in comfort.

"I-you...You're coming?" You blinked in affirmation.

"Of course I am. You don't have to do this alone." But doubt washed over you. "Or, unless you don't want me to, then I-"

"No, no!" She interrupts. "I... thank you." Her voice also showed how grateful she was.

You stand up and walk to her side of the bed, kneeling in front of her as you reach for both her hands.

"You don't have to thank me for anything, really. I will always, always" you emphasize, "help you carry the weight. No matter how heavy it gets. I love you, Demi." And you meant it. You would do everything, anything Rhea needed.

Fuck, you would find a way to pull the sun from the sky if she only so much as wanted to.

She pulled you up only to wrap her arms around your body, resting her forehead on your shoulder.

You didn't know it then, and perhaps you never truly would, but the urgency to take care of Rhea, to hold her like something soft and breaking, had passed her mind too. Precious and fragile things need special handling.

It only proved how much you and Rhea were alike: two hearts wired for devotion, for carrying what the other couldn't say out loud. Although you'd never fully believe it.

There was a part of you that would always see her as stronger, steadier, more capable of holding everything together than you ever could. And yet, here you were, doing the same for her. Not because you had to, but because loving her made it impossible not to try. She's golden like that.

Was that the point all along? To realize that strength just looked different depending on who was falling apart? To understand that it doesn't simply disappear when someone breaks?

Without Rhea noticing (and you didn't want her to), you quickly write that thought down on your shared notebook and throw it inside your bag. You had a gut feeling it would be important to take it to Australia.