Dean couldn't help but stop and stare at Imelda as he entered her room next day. She had her back against the door, a firm grip up on the bars above her head, lifting herself up in her arms again and again. The strength this woman possessed never seased to amaze him. No wonder she won almost every match she was thrown into. Tonight, however, might be different. Sonya never backed down on her own even if her opponents passed out. If they didn't tap, she continued till they either died or someone forced her away from them.
"Looking good," he said.
She let go off the bars and landed on the floor, slowly turning around to look at him.
"You've eaten yet?" He asked.
"No, you're the first one in here today," she answered.
"Okay, let me just go get you something," he said.
He returned 10 minutes later with a tray of food. He put it down on the small table in the room before walking over to the cage to let her out. As always he pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply.
"You gotta eat today," he said as he broke the kiss. "You got your work cut out for you tonight."
"Another night, another fight," she shrugged her shoulders as she walked over to sit down on the small stool in front of the table.
He sighed and walked over to stand up against the wall so he could look at her face while she was eating.
"It's different this time. You're going up against Sonya," he said.
"Psycho Sonya," she said.
"Yeah," he snorted at the nickname. "Psycho Sonya. You gotta be careful. And don't be a fucking hero. If you need to tap, you fucking tap."
"Rusev's not gonna like that," she said.
"To hell with Rusev!" He snapped.
He leaned forward and put his hand on her cheek.
"You can't fight if you're dead," he said.
"I don't wanna fight," she said.
"Well, you can't do anything if you're dead," he fought the urge to punch the wall. "And I can't see you again if you're dead."
She looked up at him with those big, sorrowful eyes that always had him snapping after his breath. She could work her way under his skin by one look alone. He had tried to fight it for a long time but in the end he had given up.
"Don't you ever get tired of sharing me with everyone in here?" She asked.
"I'm doing my best to keep the others away from your room. That's why I always take it upon myself to escort you to the cage and back," he said.
"That doesn't stop them from coming in here when you're not around," she said.
"Please, don't tell me," he closed his eyes. "I don't wanna picture you with any of them."
"At least you can go home and play pretend. I'm stuck in reality," she said.
He opened his eyes again but she wasn't looking at him. She was looking at the wall, focusing on a spot to keep herself from crying. She never allowed any of them to see her cry, not even Dean.
"Eat," he said softly to make her focus on the plate again. "Afterwards I'll train with you."
After breakfast he trained with her for hours until they both were out of breath. He fixed her lunch and stayed to make sure she ate and then he locked her inside the cage again for the rest of the afternoon so she could gather strength for the fight that night. He wanted to make sure she got dinner too but one of the other guards beat him to it. When he finally got back into her room later that night, he was dying to ask her if anything had happened but he didn't. He didn't want to know. He didn't want his illusion of them together being shattered.
"Are you ready?" He asked.
"Does it matter? I'm gonna go out there no matter what," she answered.
He unlocked the cage and pulled her in for a kiss.
"Remember, don't be a hero," he said.
"Dean, would you ever consider taking me out of here?" She asked.
"I would if I could," he answered.
"Don't give me that. You could. You got keys and you could just walk me out of here with you. That's not the issue. You don't want to," she said.
"Where would we go? They would be after us in a heartbeat. It's best you stay in here where I can keep you safe," he said.
"For all eternity," she mumbled.
He heard her but he pretended not to. She didn't mean to say the words loud enough for him to catch them so he let them slide but that didn't stop them from hurting him. She was right. It was for all eternity. She would be in here forever and she would be his forever. He wasn't gonna argue with that. Instead he gave her a smile and walked her out to the cage where Sonya was already waiting inside.
"Let's go, Imelda!" Sonya shouted.
Imelda stepped inside the cage and both women watched as a man put a chain around the door and locked it with a padlock. No getting out. They've had women trying to run away from a fight before so they didn't take any chances. The second the man stepped away from the door, the fight was on.
Sonya grinned and wet her lips while raising her hands. To her surprise Imelda stood up straight and placed her hands behind her back, just looking at Sonya while waiting. Sonya moved in with a blow and Imelda stumbled backwards but quickly found her way back to the same position.
"What the hell are you doing?" Sonya shouted.
One more blow with the same result. Imelda wasn't fighting back.
"What the fuck?" Dean mumbled.
Sonya moved in close, leaning her forehead against Imelda's.
"What are you doing?" She growled.
"I'm letting you win," Imelda answered.
"Why?" Sonya asked.
"I want out," Imelda answered. "And there's only one way out when you're from Rusev's crew. So I'm asking, no, I'm begging, please, get me out of here."
Sonya took a step back, watching Imelda who still stood there with begging eyes, and then she slowly started grinning. She moved around so quick, landing a jumping roundhouse kick on Imelda, sending her straight towards the door. She followed with more kicks and punches and not once did Imelda fight back.
"No!" Dean found himself in front of the door. "Stop it! Fight back! Tap! Just fucking do something! Someone unlock this fucking door before she kills her!"
Sonya yanked Imelda up to her feet and pushed her face first up against the door while smirking at Dean.
"You can't save her!" She taunted.
"You fucking let her go right now or I'll kill you once this door opens!" He sneered.
"Dean," Imelda looked at him. "Let me go, please."
For the first time ever he saw tears falling from her eyes and his heart was breaking more than ever.
"But... I love you," he said lowly.
"There is no love in this place," she said as the tears kept falling. "Only pain. Please, don't make me hurt anymore."
His own eyes filled with tears and he blinked rapidly to not let him fall. It was one thing that she saw him in a weak moment but he had to turn around and face the other guards shortly after and he needed his face to look normal. All he wanted to do was rip open the door, pull her into his arms and kiss her like never before. Instead he took a step backwards and nodded.
"Looks like your boyfriend is okay with it," Sonya smirked. "So let's make him watch."
She pulled Imelda away from the door and wrapped her arms around Imelda's throat tight and started squeezing. As Imelda struggled to breathe, her body started trying to fight back naturally. Sonya got them both down and wrapped her legs around Imelda's legs to keep her as still as possible.
"Ssh, Imelda, almost there. Just let go," she said lowly in Imelda's ear.
Imelda had never thought it would be this painful. She lifted her hand to tap but looked into Dean's eyes again. He had hope, wanting her to tap, wanting her to stay there. She slowly lowered her hand again, keeping her eyes locked with his while Sonya gave her the only way out.