8 years later...

Ever since that fateful day in the park all those years ago, Braun made good on his promise to be Alexa's friend and protect her. They were inseparable. Two things never changed between them. They stayed friends the whole time...and the size difference was still very noticeable. Braun grew at a ridiculous pace, now being a whopping 6'5 and 260 pounds at only 17 years old. 260 pounds of mostly muscle I might add. Alexa on the other hand, at 16 was a very petite 4'10 and she just barely, reached the 100 lb mark. Braun of course, made it a point to poke fun at her for her small build. Unlike all those years ago however, there was no malicious intent whatsoever. He was hesitant at first, since her size was one of the main things her old bully Kevin Owens and his pack of followers used to antagonize her about. However, as their friendship grew, Alexa opened up more and more and made it clear that she was fine with it. She knew Braun didn't mean any harm. The boy kept his word, that's for sure. Currently, the two now teenagers were walking home from school together, reminiscing about old times.

"I remember like a month after we met, Kevin and his stooges tried to mess with me again cause they thought you weren't around." Alexa said giggling.

"Yeah, and how wrong they were." Braun said smiling.

Flashback, Middle School...

Little Alexa had found solace in her "new " bodyguard", so to speak. She felt safe whenever he was around, which was often. He walked her home everyday since he met her, and walked her to school every day as well. She never had to worry about playing alone when it was time for recess. Safe to say, she wasn't sitting on the seesaw by herself anymore. Finally, after the long months of loneliness, she had a companion. A true friend. It seemed like it was too good to be true, and for a moment, it seemed like that was the case. She was on the swing set during recess when none other than Kevin Owens and his pack approached her with bad intentions in mind.

"Well, well, well. Seems like your big, scary freak friend bailed on you, shorty." Kevin said with a spiteful smirk on his face.

"Yeah. But is that really surprising? We already knew nobody liked this little runt in the first place. This just proves it." Sami added.

Alexa looked around quickly, hoping to find Braun nearby, but unfortunately, she saw no one. That didn't stop her from calling his name in desperation.

"Braun! Braun, help! Help!" She yelled, as loud as her soft, light voice could project.

Her antagonists laughed at her presumably futile attempt.

"Don't you get it, stupid?! The freak's not here to help you! No one is! You need to understand that you're all alone. In fact, I'd be happy to drive home the point." Baron threatened, cracking his knuckles to intimidate the poor girl.

Normally under these circumstances, Alexa would've started to tear up and beg them to leave her alone, but this time she had a different reaction.

"Do you losers really have nothing better to do?!"

Her words shocked the whole group. They would've never expected little Alexa Bliss to have the guts to talk to them like that. They had no words as she continued her rant.

"Seriously! If I'm such a waste of space and time, why do you feel the need to pick on me all the time?! You know what I think? I think you people are sad and unhappy with yourselves. You're insecure jerks who only pick on people weaker than you because it makes you feel powerful. Well, news flash, you're not at all. All you're doing is proving how weak you really are. You people make me sick!"

Alexa felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders after she had finished. She had finally gotten that off her chest after months of holding it inside. However, that satisfaction instantly turned into regret when she was grabbed by the shoulders and thrown off the swings by an enraged Baron Corbin.

"You think you can talk to us like that, twerp?! You'll pay!"

"I think little Bliss forgot her place." Nikki said annoyed.

Kevin still had that sickening smirk from before.

"Don't worry. She'll remember soon enough. We'll make sure of it."

Alexa curled up into a ball and shook, preparing herself for the harm her bullies were about to inflict upon her.

"I guess I really don't have anyone." She thought, tears streaming down her face.

All of a sudden, all you heard was a scream, but it wasn't from Alexa's mouth. Oh, no. That primal noise came from an extremely ticked off Braun Strowman, who was currently running at full speed toward the scared kids. Instead of stopping this time, Braun kept running until he barreled into Baron Corbin, sending him flying, and effectively removing him from the equation. By this point, the Bella sisters had already ran away, leaving only Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. The monster kid grabbed Sami by his arm and twisted until he was begging him to stop, and when he was done, he threw him to the ground. Sami scrambled away, clutching his arm in pain. Kevin decided to try and use the Bella tactic of running away, but that didn't help at all. Braun inevitably caught him and lifted him by his shoulders.

"WHAT DID I SAY, OWENS?! ARE YOU DEAF, OR STUPID?! I TOLD YOU NOT TO MESS WITH THAT LITTLE GIRL EVER AGAIN! NOW YOU'RE GONNA PAY!" He yelled in Kevin's terrified face.

Braun carried him to the sprinklers that were currently on, and tossed him into the water. Luckily for Kevin, he managed to break his fall with his hands so he didn't seriously get hurt, but he was still humiliated since he was now drenched. Other kids surrounded the boy to point and laugh at him.

"Stupid, scary, big freak, idiot, jerk." Kevin grumbled to himself as he sat there, getting a taste of his own medicine.

Braun made his way back to his little friend to check on her. Alexa's clothes were trashed due to Corbin throwing into the dirt. She sat on the floor, hugging her knees with a sad expression, tears dried up. When she noticed that Braun was coming back, a little smile crept up on her face.

"I thought I was alone again. Thank you for coming back." She said in a quiet, shy tone of voice.

"Bliss, I told you I'd always be around, and I meant it. You don't have to worry about being alone ever again. You're stuck with me for life. You got that? Now, come on, get off of the floor. Your clothes are filthy."

The above average sized child picked up his much smaller companion and dusted her off, trying to clean her as much as possible.

"There, now you at least look better than you did before."

Alexa looked up at him with her wide, blue eyes curiously.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Braun? Can you carry me home? I'm really tired and I don't wanna walk all the way there."

Braun chuckled and caressed her cheek with his massive hand.

"Sure thing, kid. Sure thing."

He knelt down so Alexa could climb onto his back, and the two complete opposites of each other were on their way. Along the path, Alexa had fallen asleep and Braun could feel her soft breath against his right ear.

"Hey, that kind of tickles." He said to himself with a smile.

Back to Present...

"Yeah, you've always been there for me. You're like my knight in shining armor. My protector." Alexa said, looking at him with a gracious look her in her eye.

"Eh, I wouldn't take it that far. I made a promise to you, and I kept it. Simple as that." Braun responded.

"And I'm glad you did. You've helped me more than I could've ever asked for. You're the best friend a girl could have."

"Thanks, kid. I appreciate that a lot."

Alexa stopped in her tracks, confusing Braun.

"Yo, what's wrong? Why'd you stop?"

She took a deep breath.

"Braun... What do you see me as?"

That question caught the big guy off guard.

"What? What do you mean?"

"It's just.. You still call me "kid" after all these years. We grew up together and you've been by my side forever... Am I still that crying little girl you saved from abuse? Because, I... I"

She didn't have to finish before Braun new exactly where she was going with this.

"Whoa, Alexa. Really?"

"Yeah, I've felt this way for a while now."

"Well, you know what? I feel the same way."

Now it was Alexa's turn to be shocked.

"Braun? You mean it?"

"Definitely."

Alexa was so happy, she jumped into the big guy's arms and planted a wet one right on to his lips.

"I'm so glad you said that. I thought I ruined our friendship. I thought you were gonna leave."

"I've told you this a million times, Bliss. You don't need to worry about me leaving you. And now, that this is a thing. I don't gotta worry about anyone taking you from me. And if they try, well, it won't end nicely for them."

"Braun. I love you." Alexa admitted as she hugged him while still in his arms.

"I love you too", He said while patting her head, "I love you too."