Boos filled the stadium as Roman hurled Daniel Bryan over the top rope to win the Royal Rumble. It was a bizarre moment for Mandy as she watched from Gorilla. She was delighted for her man that he was back on top of the mountain in WWE. The boos were also a good thing, since he was now supposed to be a heel. But on the other hand it hurt her on a base level to hear people shitting on her man. That was something she was going to have to get used to, she realised.

"He looks great. He was a big loss while he was away."

The voice belonged to Hunter Helmsley, who had appeared next to Mandy. She looked at him and smiled. "He's trained so hard for this. I can't tell you how much it means to him to be back." All of a sudden, she found herself tearing up. In embarrassment, she turned away from Hunter, trying to hide her reaction, as if that was going to work.

Hunter put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "He's always been one of the most passionate about the business, and he's a natural leader. That's why we want him back, and at the top. He thinks the world of you, you know that?"

"What makes you say that?" she asked tearfully.

"I went to talk to check in with him before the show, to ask how was and to talk about the match. All he talked about was you, saying how he wouldn't have made it through the past six months or whatever it has been without you. He also had a lot to say about your future in WWE, telling me how much it means to you to get this opportunity and that you'll do great things here."

"He said that?" Mandy asked, wiping her eyes.

"He did. And I believe him."

"I'm going to give it everything I've got, I can promise you that."

"Keep that attitude and you'll do fine," Hunter told her.

At that moment, Bryan came back through the curtain and Hunter went over to speak to him, leaving Mandy by herself to watch Roman celebrating his victory in the ring. He stood on the middle turnbuckle in a corner of the ring, raising his fists above his head. Pyro started going off around the stadium to mark his triumphant return. Mandy knew it was a moment she would remember for a long time.

Eventually, Roman walked through the curtain. There was a cameraman there to record the moment, not that Mandy cared. Nothing could have stopped her rushing over to him, into his arms. He wasn't a guy who displayed much emotion outwardly, but she was obviously able to pick up on the subtleties. She knew that inside he was feeling quite emotional himself.

"Wow, that felt good," he said as they embraced.

"I'm so proud of you. So happy for you," Mandy said. She was holding him tightly, not caring in the least that his sweat got onto her dress.

"Thank you, Peach. I don't know if I would be here now if it wasn't for you," he said quietly, speaking for her ears only. "I couldn't have done that time in lockdown alone, but spending it with you, it was easy. Your love and support mean so much to me. I love you."

Mandy looked up at him, tears stinging her eyes again. His words made her happier than she could have imagined being possible. What they had was true love, which was something she had never thought she would have in her life.

"I love you too, Joe. I'd better let you talk to everyone else who wants to congratulate you."

Roman pecked her on the lips, then released the embrace. Mandy stood back to watch Vince speak to him next.

The two men hugged, seeming to forget about social distancing. Vince passed on his congratulations and praised Roman's performance.

Hunter stepped forward next, offering praise and a handshake, which Roman gratefully accepted.

There was then a hug between Roman and Bryan. "We're all glad you're back, big man," Bryan said.

"I'm glad to be back. I missed this, missed all of you."

After the hug broke up, Mandy realised it was time to leave Gorilla. She joined Roman and they walked out together.

"I was in tears when you won," she said to him.

"I can see that in your eyes," he smiled. "I wasn't far away from it myself when I watched you walk out there earlier. I know how much it meant to you."

"Honestly, I was too busy shitting myself to enjoy it too much. I think I'll enjoy it more Friday night, now that my debut is behind me."

"I think you're probably right. And the good thing right now is it's TV events only, no house shows. House shows are fun, but I prefer not having to travel that much, and having time to do more things we might want to do, like house hunting."

Mandy was surprised and delighted that he brought that up. "You want to start the house hunt?"

Roman looked at her and smiled. "Yeah. Life is getting back to normal, right? There's no point waiting any longer. Let's hope there's somewhere nice near the sandwich shop."

"Yes, because we'll be working Fridays for WWE, and the rest of the week in the shop."

The funniest thing about it was that she could tell by his reaction that he didn't know if she was joking or not. The truth was somewhere in between. She fully intended to work in the shop to help her dad at least a couple of days per week. After all, it was the family business. One day, it would be her business. The immediate concern would be getting it back on its feet when it reopened. There was no telling how many of the regular customers, or customers in general, would be around. The whole world had changed thanks to the virus.

"I'm happy to help out whenever I can," Roman said. "But as far as tonight is concerned, you know what I'm thinking about? Hitting the showers, getting back to the hotel, ordering some room service, and..."

"I think I know the rest," Mandy said, very much liking the sound of the plan. "Message me as soon as you're ready and we'll get out of here."

Half an hour later, they were walking into the lobby of their hotel, pulling their travel cases along behind them.

During the drive from the stadium, Mandy had told Roman about the altercation with Natalya. Perhaps unsurprisingly, he had taken the side of her and Raquel, saying that Natalya was out of line. He had pointed out that Raquel should have kept her cool, and Mandy had told him that Raquel had admitted that herself when they had gotten back to the locker room.

There were a few fans hanging around in the lobby, she saw as they walked in. It was nothing too serious, just some people who were staying there and had figured out that some of the wrestlers were too. Here goes, they're going to flock around Roman, she thought. Given the virus, it wasn't the best situation for him to be in.

"I'll get a few pictures, then we'll quickly get up to the room," Roman said as people started coming over.

"Okay. Just be careful," Mandy told him. Watching him go over to the group of fans, she wished she had a mask and some gloves on. The situation felt risky, and she wanted to get out of there.

"Mandy? Any chance I could get a picture, please?"

Mandy felt like she must have misheard as she turned to look at a young asian woman who was holding a phone at the ready.

"Sorry, what?" she asked.

"Do you mind if we get a picture together?"

Holy shit, I have a fan through WWE, Mandy realised. It was a bizarre feeling, and it left her thinking that she couldn't really say no. It would seem rude, and she didn't have it in her to act like that.

"Yeah, sure we can. But we need to keep a bit of distance between us, so have someone take it for you."

The fan had luck on her side. A member of the hotel's staff happened to pass by, and she was able to ask him to take the picture for her. When he agreed, she walked over to Mandy and stood beside her, about a metre away.

"Okay, ready," the male staff member said.

Mandy made sure to put on one of her best smiles for what was basically her first ever meet and greet. Yes, she had met people from her stream chat before, and had said hello to people who had recognised her in Las Vegas shortly after her World Series of Poker win. But this was different. This was a WWE fan seeking her out because she worked there.

"Thanks, Mandy. I can't wait to see you and Raquel run through Smackdown."

"You're welcome. We'll do our best," Mandy said, sending the fan on her way with another smile.

Roman had dealt with the other fans by taking a couple of group photos – all the better to get out of there quickly. To their credit the fans were not pushy about it, and shortly he and Mandy were in an elevator, heading up to their floor.

"I actually had a fan come up to me," Mandy said proudly. "It was a weird feeling."

"And so it begins," Roman said. He sounded happy, but also tired, suddenly.

"Are you okay?" Mandy asked with some concern.

"Tired," he admitted. "Physically and emotionally, it's been a long day."

"Aww, baby," Mandy said, squeezing his hand. "You went through almost the whole rumble match from number five, so I'm not surprised you're beat. We'll have some room service, then you can let your Peach take care of you."

"That sounds like a plan," Roman said as the elevator doors opened on their floor.

Their room wasn't far from the elevators, and they were soon inside. After taking her case around to her side of the bed, Mandy went over to the full length window to close the curtains. The view across the city's night time skyline struck her as especially beautiful.

"Roman, look at this," she said.

"Lovely, isn't it?" he said, stepping up beside her and putting and arm around her waist. "2020 was a weird, rough year. This year is going to be better. It's going to be our year. There's a whole world out there, Peach. We're going to make it ours this year."

"Roman?" she said softly.

"Yeah?"

"That was the corniest shit I've ever heard in my life."

"Wasn't it?" he said, and they both burst out laughing.

A/N: Many thanks to everyone who left a review on the previous chapter. The continued support is greatly appreciated.

Next time, Mandy's first appearance on Smackdown in her new role. What will she and Raquel have to do on the show?