Wrestlemania had been enlightening. Painful. Beautiful, in its own, messed up way. Mandy had had quite a few sleepless nights leading up to it, trying to figure out where she'd gone wrong- Otis standing her up at their Valentines' Date ending up just being a ruse by Sonya and Ziggler? Her best friend, the person she'd trusted most in the world? It hurt, it didn't make sense, and just being in the arena had left her yearning for something, some answers, understanding. Otis leaving her waiting had hurt, caused her to lash out a little bit, but what Sonya had done had ached on a different level. They were friends, partners, had been working together for years, sharing so much of their lives together, and now...
She sighs, shakes the thought off as she squeezes Otis' hand, looking up at him with a soft smile. He'd gone through a lot the last couple of months- physically, emotionally. She regrets every harsh word and thought she'd had for him, wanting to go back and scourge her social media of every mention of Dolph from it. Sonya too, now that she thinks about it. She rests a hand on his arm and smiles when he looks at her, eyes wide like he still can't believe she's by his side, touching him, smiling at him. "Otis," she says.
"Y- yeah, Mandy?" His nervousness is endearing. Cute.
She sighs, remembering the failure that was supposed to be their first date. "It's been a long day." She mulls it over, shaking her head a little. "If you're up for it... we could go somewhere, get something to eat?" Food is one of his favorite things and she bites her lip, holding in her smile as his eyes light up. "We really need to talk."
This sobers him up and he nods slowly. "Yeah," he says quietly. "I know we do." He looks down at himself and cringes. "Hey, could you give me like... five minutes? I gotta..." He motions to himself and she nods, smiling a little as he quickly excuses himself to shower.
He returns quickly, hair washed and half-heartedly dried, wearing jeans and one of their Heavy Machinery shirts. She reaches out for his hand and he exhales deeply before meeting her halfway. "C'mon," she says softly, Otis following eagerly as she walks out of the Performance Center.
They go through a drive-up window, get some sandwiches from an exhausted looking kid manning the drive-thru, and then drive around for a little bit before Otis parks near a row of apartment buildings, one that she assumes must be his. "Should we talk and then eat, or...?" he wonders, eyeing the pile of sandwiches. It's a silent agreement between them to stay in the car. Tucker's probably inside, and neither of them seem eager to break this closenes, it just being the two of them alone for the first time in months.
She laughs, a breathless, airy little sound that leaves him gaping at her, in awe that they're together again after everything. "Yeah, let's eat," she says, touched by how he can barely take his eyes off of her as she unwraps a burger and takes a bite, her appetite lately being as ruined as her sleep schedule.
He's demolished about three before she's through with one, and she leaves him to eating his way through another as she looks out at the dark sky, moon gleaming down upon them. Once he's done, wrappers back in the bag, and fingers cleaned off on the napkins provided to them, she sighs and turns to look at him. "I've really missed ya," he says quietly.
She reaches out for him, their fingers tangling together once more. "I missed you too," she hums. "Otis... I should've listened to you about the text, about... everything. I knew somewhere deep inside, something wasn't right, but I... couldn't believe it was Sonya's doing. She is... was my best friend for so long, I thought I could trust her to always have my best interest at heart. But she..." Mandy closes her eyes, shakes her head. "I guess she was jealous? Thought I was replacing her with you? I'm not sure, but either way, it wasn't right. She knows I like you, but she still tried to push me in a direction I really didn't want to go."
Otis breathes in deeply. "You still like me?"
Mandy smiles at him, rubbing her thumb over his knuckles. "Yeah, Otis. I still like you. A lot."
He's blushing, and she giggles a little, enrapturing him even further. "I like you too," he says quietly and she shifts in her seat, remembering how it'd felt to be held by him, to finally kiss him in the afterglow of his victory against Dolph, her own takedown of Sonya.
She leans against the seat of the car and examines him. He eases his head back and stares back at her, a soft smile on his lips. "I know this isn't anything like the fancy restaurant we were planning on for Valentines' Day," she says softly. "But you know what I think?"
"What?" he whispers.
"I think it's a pretty good first date."
He stares at her, then looks around at the bag of wrappers between them, the soft moonlight gleaming in through the windows, the shadows of his apartment complex looming over the car. It's quiet, peaceful. Just the two of them awash in the joy of the Wrestlemania that had just passed. "I think you're right," he says, eyes shining as she reaches out and tangles her fingers in the neck of his shirt, drawing him in closer and kissing him lazily.
After a couple of hours spent holding hands and talking, making up for all of that lost time, Otis drops Mandy off at her apartment and she waves at him as she unlocks her door and lets herself in, flicking a light on and peeking out of the window as he only then drives off. She sighs and glances around, unused to the quiet of her own apartment, and wanders through to her bedroom, doing her best to ignore what used to be Sonya's room, now sitting dark and empty.
Dropping onto her bed, she toys with her hair and thinks about the evening- how it had felt to finally get some payback on Sonya and Dolph. How easy it is to be with Otis, laughing and talking about any random thing on her mind and knowing he won't judge her or use it against her in the future. She sighs and rolls over, lightly kicking her feet in the air. "I'm so happy," she murmurs to herself, lips parting as she grins.
She's drifting into a quiet doze when a whisper echoes in her mind, sending her thoughts into overdrive and waking her up immediately. "You never know when the chance will pass you by, and you never get another opportunity..."
Mandy blinks, hard, and sits up, running her fingers through her hair once more. "Kelly," she mumbles, fumbling a little as she finds her phone. She'd ended up with the other woman's number at some point during the Rumble or immediately following it- she doesn't even remember why, now, just that she's glad she'd kept it through the mess her life had become. She weighs her options between a text or a call and ultimately chooses to call. It's late, but it's a chance she's willing to take.
Sure enough, Kelly answers on about the third ring, sounding alert enough, a little uncertain. "Hello?"
Mandy exhales. "Hey, Kelly, it... it's me, Mandy Rose." There's an awkward pause and Mandy grimaces, remembering how bitchy she was the last time they'd interacted. "I, um. I'm assuming you watched Wrestlemania, or maybe heard what happened."
"Yes, I did," Kelly says softly. "I... I've been watching the last couple of months. I'm glad it all worked out for you and Otis."
Mandy sits there for a minute, surprised by her graciousness. "I'm sorry how I acted to you that night, I didn't really know why you cared about what was going on with me. I, I know now." She hesitates, sympathy overwhelming her guilt. "I'm really, really sorry."
"It's ok," Kelly says quietly. Her voice trembles a little. "I think about him every day."
Mandy swallows, hard. "I can imagine. I, uh. I just wanted to apologize and say thank you so much for trying to open my eyes to what might happen. You, you had a better read on the situation than I ever came close to."
Kelly chuckles softly. "I lived the life you're living right now. Girls I thought I could trust working against me to keep me away from someone who genuinely cared about me, to keep me close to a guy who only cared about what I could do for him." She sighs. "It was really brutal, and I'm glad you figured it out and worked things out with Otis."
Mandy smiles. "Me too." She curls her hair around her finger and sighs. "Anyway, I, um. It's late so I should go to bed. I just... you know, wanted to thank you for everything."
"You're very welcome." There's a moment of silence, Mandy considering what else to say, when Kelly clears her throat. "Mandy?"
"Yeah?"
"Feel free to call me any time," she says. "I know I'm no replacement for your friendship with Sonya, but it's an open invitation if you choose to take me up on it. Alright?"
Mandy closes her eyes. "Alright," she whispers. "Thanks again."
"Goodnight, Mandy."
"Goodnight." Mandy hangs up and lays back against her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Losing Sonya hurts, but she's got Otis back by her side, and she knows the truth, and... something tells her she's going to be just fine.
She smiles and rolls over, sleep finally coming easily for her.