Charlotte was good at a lot of things. She was genetically superior and she knew it benefitted her when it came to anything athletic. She could train and prepare her body for any test or trial under the sun. Her mind was sharp and strategic and anyone who stepped foot in the ring with her would have already lost by attempting to beat her. She could admit to having one fault, and one fault only, after all, she was still human. She couldn't talk about her feelings to save her life.
She'd never been good at it. Instead of saying she was angry about something she showed it through the violence in the ring. If she was sad about something, she let her face slip into an emotionless mask in front of other and clenched her body until she was alone in the dark. No one could see past the queen to see vulnerable little Charlotte, overrun with emotions, behind her. Everyone except for one person, Becky Lynch.
When they'd met in NXT, Charlotte had already been there for a long time. Becky was the latecomer, someone who had experience on the Indy scene, but hadn't wrestled in years. Charlotte volunteered to help her warm back up to it and they'd formed a fast friendship, though with her latching onto Summer and Sasha back then, it had been when the other two weren't around. After Becky had debuted on NXT television, Charlotte was the first one she came to in complete and utter joy, so easily shown from the Irish woman. They'd gone through their paces down there, with Becky falling in with Sasha, though she had called Charlotte many times, early in the morning, to simply talk, despite them being enemies at the time, and Charlotte knew that their connection was different then.
Maybe that was what made it so easy for Charlotte to turn on Becky after their main roster debut. Becky was her biggest threat, along with Sasha, and Charlotte knew how good she was. She thought that they would handle like they had in NXT, but something had changed then. Looking back on it, Becky had become clingier in those months. They'd shared hotel rooms, drove together, and ate together. Something had shifted in their dynamic then, but Charlotte was too caught up in the title picture that she hadn't noticed. After she kicked Becky in the back, there had been no late night phone calls or truces between them. Becky poured every emotion into fueling her hatred for her and it had culminated at WrestleMania in the match of Charlotte's life.
When the brand split happened, it seemed like it was exactly what they both needed to save their relationship. Becky had come to her, after being drafted to Smackdown and expressed her conflicting emotions at being separated, but still angry with her. Charlotte, then more used to her time at the top, had been able to think a little clearer and realized that Becky was not a threat to her for the time being and being friends with her had been the one bright spot of her day to day. Something she was sorely lacking in now. She'd made up with the Irish spitfire and they'd begun texting again, getting used to one another as they were now both main event superstars.
When Survivor Series had rolled around, they were rivals once again, both champions, and both wanting to win for their brands. Though there had been trash talk, the look in Becky's eyes had told Charlotte that it was all in the spirit of competition and to not hold back. It had seemed that Becky had gotten used to her usual bag of tricks and wanted to test herself against Charlotte. She could respect that and brought everything she had to the fight, which of course, led to her side winning. Still, seeing Becky eliminate their heavy Nia had been surprising and impressive, and Charlotte had let Becky know that in the back when she went to shake her hand. Becky was the only one she felt that she needed to congratulate and couldn't help but feel she made the right decision when Becky smiled and Charlotte's heart did a weird flip.
Since then, when they had hung out, Charlotte began to notice things weren't like they used to be. Becky wasn't as clingy, seemingly more used to being in her own skin and growing into herself more, which Charlotte could respect and appreciate, maybe even find herself being jealous of. The weird thing that now was part of their friendship was that no matter the mood Charlotte was in, no matter that she schooled her facial expressions as she did among the other employees, Becky always seemed to know what that mood was, and the weirder part was that she always knew what to do or say to make Charlotte feel better.
Whether it was ignoring it and keeping silent, or a small but firm clasp of her shoulder, Becky made her feel so comfortable around her that Charlotte could feel herself completely relax and let go around her orange haired friend. She didn't know how Becky did it, whether she was that in tune with other people's feelings or that she just knew Charlotte that well. The fact that the second option didn't frighten her, said a lot about how much Charlotte adored her friend. Letting anyone have that kind of knowledge and power over you was scary to think about. Though Charlotte was nothing if not a curious woman, so just days after joining the rosters of Smackdown Live, she decided to ask Becky how she had known she was feeling down that day without her saying anything.
"How do you always know?"
Becky was doing some stretches for the live event tonight, but she dutifully turned her head towards her friend. "Know what?"
"How I'm feeling. You didn't know that I had a run in with Bram yesterday and was feeling sad, so how'd you know?"
Becky stopped her stretches and stood up straight. She crossed her arms in front of her showing that she was unknowingly defensive, which confused Charlotte. Then she noticed that Becky seemed to be mulling over how much to reveal. When she was done, her hands went behind her back to cover her tailbone as she pushed against the wall again and again in a rocking motion.
"Well, I've always noticed that when you're feeling off, or maybe a little down, you always sit there in thought and draw these patterns on your legs." She shrugged like it was no big deal that she paid attention to that detail. "So, I just try to be a little more sensitive on those days and make sure you have a good day. And Bram is a dick, so I can see how that'd upset you."
Charlotte didn't know what to say. That was so irrevocably sweet, and amusing that she was still so defensive of her years after the divorce, and just so Becky. It made her heart do that weird thing again, and Charlotte cleared her throat, to distract herself from that fact and what it could mean. "What else do you notice?"
Becky sighed, tilting her head, knowing she wasn't going to get out of this line of questioning. "Well, when you're angry and trying not to show it or do anything, you busy your hands and play with the ends of your hair. Usually, if you're just messing with it it's only a minor annoyance, but if you're tugging at it that means its something serious." She chuckled and looked at Charlotte with such a pure smile that Charlotte's heart did the thing again, only this time it almost made her flip with it so that she was forced to recognize what it was trying to say. "And when you're happy but trying to hide it, you'll bounce your leg up and down as you sit. It's quite adorable actually."
Charlotte flushed and cleared her throat. "So, you've answered how, but not why. Care to fill me in on what makes me so special that you notice the stuff no one else does, not even people who have known me my whole life?"
It was Becky's turn to flush and she bit her lip again. "Maybe you're just an interesting subject to me, so I observe you a lot."
Charlotte felt her body shiver involuntarily at that. She hoped Becky hadn't noticed, and by the sound of how closely Becky observed her, she would have seen it. She tried to think of a way to distract Becky so as not to embarrass herself, trying to change it into a joke.
"Is that your subtle way of telling me that you check me out a lot?"
"Yes, actually."
Charlotte hadn't expected an answer. She'd expected the Irish woman to laugh it off. Now she felt rooted to her seat, watching in front of her while Becky stood and moved closer to her, kneeling down so she was eye level with Charlotte still sat on the bench.
"Ever since NXT, it's always been you that's been a constant in my life. It never really surfaced while we were there because you were still married, but when we came to the main roster together and joined PCB, it was then that I couldn't ignore it. Then we got torn apart by the limelight until we could soak it in, and now we are back together here and on good terms, and more importantly, we understand each other now. I don't want to wait around and lose my chance again."
Becky had been leaning in the entire time she spoke, face mere inches from Charlotte's and she could feel her neck wanting to crane forward, and her lips itching to be kissed by the Irish woman's. Her heart had wanted this, even as her head told her that she would ruin it and there'd be no coming back a second time. Becky deserved someone who was in touch with their feeling and could give her what she wanted. Someone who could express themselves to her.
Becky hadn't moved, waiting for Charlotte to give her the okay, or to finish what they both knew was happening here. "I forgot to mention one from before. When you're nervous, you don't have a tell, but I can always see it in your eyes." And with that, Charlotte couldn't fight anymore and brought herself forward, Becky letting her initiate and kissed the girl she had been wanting to kiss for months. A girl who'd wanted to kiss her for much longer and that fact made the kiss just that much better.
Their lips moved languidly, never in a hurry, and Charlotte could feel her pulse shooting through her hard and picking up pace, and it became one of her new favorite feeling only second to the softness of Becky's lips. Sparks danced behind her eyes and the tingle of her skin was the only other sense that she could feel pricking. After what seemed like hours, Becky pulled back smiling. "I've always loved you Charlotte. It's only ever been you."
Charlotte looked at her, mist gathering in her eyes, her mouth opening but no sound coming out. She wanted to say it back, because she felt the same way, but she couldn't get the words to leave her lips. Becky watched her face with a fond smile; not seeming bothered by her lack of response. Before Charlotte could begin to freak out about her inability to say the one thing she wanted to say to the most important person in her life, she watched Becky jerk her head down to where her eyes had drifted, causing her blinding, adoring smile, to Charlotte's knee.
It was bouncing.