Queens of Fire
I do not own the characters in this story. They belong to WWE, as well as other wrestling promotions. This story is entirely fictional.
Rating: M, for violence, course language, and mature themes/events that will appear throughout this story. Remember, this is femslash, so if that's not your thing, you may not enjoy this story.
Pairings: Bayley & Zelina Vega/Thea Trinidad, Foxy Orange [Becky Lynch, Alicia Fox], others over time.
Chapter 2: Flirting with the Competition
Bayley's POV, Saturday, Bank of California Stadium, Afternoon
Still in the waiting area, Charlotte, Andrade, Thea, and I stretch, loosening our muscles for the upcoming event. It will take longer to sign in that actually perform. We have one main race and then a few lifting competitions. I can see people shuffling in, several going in to take their seats while others head to the restrooms and concession stand. Some of them recognize the Flair's Fitness logo, so Charlotte and Andrade head over to greet them.
"Be right back, Bayley." Charlotte claims, before turning and walking towards the prospective clients. Charbar's always in business mode. Well, almost always.
"Hey, that guy's wearing a Sasuke shirt. Awesome." Thea says suddenly, catching my attention. I see the guy, his Otaku hat shown off prominently in the gorgeous sun.
"He's got an Otaku hat. Looks like Sailor Moon and Artoria from Fate." I state. Hey, I may not have watched those shows, but I know the characters!
"You're into anime, too?" Thea asks, her voice filled with excitement and her eyes lit up like its Christmas. She's looks like a cute rabbit and I'm all here for it. I smile at her.
"One Punch Man. Dragon Ball. If it's battle based, cute, and has a good story, I'm interested. I take it you're a big fan?"
"Hell yeah! Been a fan of Naruto since I sat down and watched the first episode when I was 6. That and Demon Slayer are in my top series of all time. I'm always alternating with old and new shows."
"I just finished Soul Eater the other day. I'll admit, I haven't watched Naruto… in a while."
"Like, how long is a while?" Thea asks, hands on her hips.
"Maybe a decade, at least." I answer, biting my lip. She stares at me in horror. "I saw the trailer for Boruto." Her stare continues.
"Dear God, it's worse than I thought." she claims, before taking a breath. "I'm not going to hold that against you. I'd be lying if I didn't say you're missing out, though."
"I'll give it a re-watch, maybe." I tell her.
"I'm going to hold you to that." Thea teases with a finger, a stern look on her face. She resumes her stretching, giving me a great look at her chest. Bayley, stop.
"No problem. So, you told me you worked for a gaming company?" I ask, trying hard not to blush.
"Hm-hm."
"What kind of games do you make?"
"Eh, a few mobile games. Wrestling card games. Doctor Zhubavia, which is kind of like an alchemy game where you mix different sea creatures together to attack subs." she mentions nonchalantly, rolling her head and wrists around.
"That sounds really cool!" I loved playing animal games as a kid, so that's right up my alley. Zoo Tycoon Complete Collection remains one of my all-time favorites. I do some arm-stretches, keeping my attention on her.
"Yeah, that's been a blast. My baby is still the PC game I've been working on in my free time."
"You mind sharing?" I ask.
"I don't know. How can I be sure you won't rat me out to Warner Bros?" she questions, putting a hand to her chin, her eyebrow raising as she stares into my eyes. Licking her lips, I notice her dark hair is shining under the light from the windows, making it even more radiant. This game must be good if she asked me that. I put my hands up in surrender.
"I promis-se, I'm not a spy." I stammer out. Damn, Bayley, stopping fudging this up!
"I don't know." she singsongs, giving me a Cheshire grin. Her lips are drawing my eye. Oh, so she wants to keep teasing, huh? Smirking, I go closer to her. I notice her eyes look up as I tilt my head playfully.
"Can I please know, Thea?" I rasp out, touching her forearm and batting my eyelashes. Her eyes go big, her hand going down slowly as she looks over my features.
"Y-Yeah, sure. I was just kidding, you know?" she squeaks out. Gets them every time. "Okay. *Deep breath* So, I've been working on this sci-fi game."
"I like it already."
"It's on the Unity engine. I need to come up with a demo soon to show my boss, since he's on the road. I know he'll want me to publish regardless if he can get approval, but he's a big gamer too, so he wants to be test subject."
"Got it."
"Alright, so, essentially, its set in a dystopian future. It was inspired by Judge Dredd and Terminator mixed with fantasy elements. You play as 1 or 2 different protagonists, the main being Commander Wardlow. Crime is rampant, and Wardlow works on the ground as a peace officer to fight it while most authority figures stay in walled cities or floating fortresses. Wardlow finds out that a drug runner is searching for a map of some kind. Turns out it leads to a lost army of Automatons from the past, which would allow him to control at least half of the East Coast. While investigating, he finds out the drug runner is working with his rival: an AI called 'The Machine', who goes by the name Brian Cage. He's like a Terminator. Wardlow decides to go rogue to apprehend them, working alongside an ex-convict named Malakai Black, who holds a dark magical secret. He also has a cyborg partner named Anna Jay, who is a rookie with minimal experience in the force."
"Wow! That sounds interesting. Quite a bit to unpack there, but really cool."
"Yeah, I know. I can go on and on about the lore, but I'm using a different art style. Kind of like Hollow Knight."
"I think I understand. When's the release?" I ask jokingly.
"Oh, God, it's nowhere near done! I've been doing loads of concept art. The demo should be ready soon, but I need to work on some of the character models, more. I want to make it simple but still have Malakai and Anna Jay be total hotties." I can't help but laugh.
"Prioritizing I see." We share a laugh, before Thea continues.
"Yeah, something about fit bodies and nice smiles," she starts, staring into my eyes, "really gets me going. A nice personality goes a long way, too."
I feel heat rush to my face, tucking my hair behind my ear. Fuck, am I always this jittery when I flirt? I hear the announcers telling people to take their seats, before a screen showcases the event schedule.
"Looks like we're up first." I mention, pointing to the sprinter's dash event. Thea takes a look, before noticing my armband.
"What's this?"
"My twitch podcast."
"Ooh! You stream?" I nod.
"Damn right she does!" a voice calls from the right. I recognize it immediately. Thea and I turn to the right, seeing a 6ft. man with light tan skin and dark hair coming our way. He wears a pair of black shades, a gold chain around his neck, a black tank top and shorts along with white Jordans sprint up to us. My friend, Ricky Starks. "Hello Bay Bay. I see you are fraternizing with the ladies, as usual."
"Shut up Ricky. How are you?" I ask, giving him a hug.
"Mighty fine, thank you. And who is this lovely lady?" he questions grabbing her hand and kissing it. "Enchantée, Mademoiselle." Of course, he'd bring out his Cajun French.
"Hi, I'm Thea."
"So, what's the plan Bay Bay? Rock the run before heading to the tiki bar with me?" Ricky asks.
"Nah. Probably going to stream tonight. I'll save that for the weekend. You're in the men's run, right?"
"Oh yeah. And I'm going to win, too. Why? Because I'm Absolute Ricky Starks!" he yells, putting a hand over his face and posing. Thea and I laugh hard, before I punch his arm. "Why do you do this?" he asks in confusion.
"Cause you act stupid, sometimes. Hahaha!"
"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up. But once Banana Republic goes viral because of me, I'll be going places. Be on your best behaviour, Pammy, and I'll take you with me."
"Okay, Ricky. I know you're going to kill it out there."
"Learned from the best." he argues, smiling and fist-bumping me. Someone calls his name. "Looks like my team's calling. I believe in you and will be cheering." Ricky tells us good luck and walks, before Thea and I are left alone again.
"So, I take it you stream too?" I ask, going back to our earlier conversation.
"Oh yeah. Gaming when I have the time. Always fun to interact with followers and subscribers. It was a little hard getting to affiliate, but it's still fun."
"Finally, someone who gets it." I argue, the two of us bursting into laughs. Charlotte and Andrade return.
"There you guys are. We were worried you were going to start without us." Charlotte teases.
"Oh, we couldn't possibly start without the Queen, now could we Thea?" I state mockingly, bringing my pinky up. Thea chuckles, before bowing.
"Of course not." Thea says, faking a British accent. "Tis but a marvelous time when the Queen graces us with her presence." she taunts, giving a Queen wave. We both burst into laughter, holding our sides. God that was great!
Charlotte rolls her eyes, while Andrade looks at Thea with a 'Really?' expression. "You guys suck." Charlotte says.
"Yeah, but you love me." I argue, bumping her with my elbow.
"Me too?" Thea asks with doughy eyes, looking like a cute little chipmunk.
"We'll see, Queen Kunoichi."
A new competitor walks up to us, trying to view the screen. "Excuse me?" she asks from behind Charlotte. Charbar turns around and moves, letting the smaller woman come fully into view. She's 5ft. tall, and wears a black and silver shirt, matching shorts that reach her upper thighs, black fingerless gloves, and black and pink running shoes. Her makeup is on point, accentuating the curves of her pink lips and blue eyes. Her blonde hair has been brought into a ponytail, the tips of it both blue and pink. Her light blue eyes scan through. "Well, looks like I'm up next."
"You're in the race too?" Zelina asks. She nods.
"Yep. Are you 3 my competition?" she taunts.
"And if we are?" I question, taunting back. She turns and lolls her head to the side, giving me a sideways smile.
"Then may the best girl win." she extends her hand. I shake it slowly, giving her a smile. "Which will be me."
"What makes you so confident? Little Miss-" Charbar questions, a hint of irritation in her voice.
"Bliss. Alexa Bliss. I practice for Olympic style sprint competitions all the time. And I meant no disrespect to any of you. I just happen to love all your brands." Alexa mentions, pointing to our shirts. So, this is the girl Alicia bet on? She's definitely got the confidence to back it up. She's pretty, too.
"Okay, Alexa. Prove it." Thea argues, arms crossed while looking Alexa in the eye. Pulling out her phone, she goes through her apps. Sure enough, she shows us the Flair's Fitness training app, Pierce Publishing newsletter and a video game entitled 'Psycho Rushletic V1.4'. "No way! You downloaded the new patch?"
"Yep. Monkey King add-ons and everything." she admonishes, causing Thea's smile to widen. Alexa then turns to Charlotte. "I take it you're 'the Queen' Charlotte Flair?"
"Yeah." Charlotte asks.
"I've been using the unit 7 program to work on my arms. Seems to be working." Alexa says, flexing and showing off her toned biceps.
"Wow! Coming in nicely. You got these results from unit 7?"
Alexa nods. "Yep. Couple of dumbbells and grocery runs helped tone up my arms really well."
An airhorn sounds throughout the stadium, signaling us to start heading outside.
"Catch you guys out there?" Alexa questions. We all nod. Turning on her heels, she leads out front, proudly walking into the chorus of cheers. Confident as fuck, huh? I'll make Alicia eat those words about me 'not' being suited for running. Becks and I are going to spend that money on deluxe ice cream and fun foods. Charlotte and Andrade follow behind Alexa. Thea and I keep bumping into each other, laughing.
"You go first." she offers.
"Thanks, Thea."
"No problem." I slowly make my way towards the start line, the sun's glare in my eyes as we walk on the red and white painted track. The track winds around one portion of the arena. It's about 300 meters, so under Olympic standards but still long enough to get you winded. I suddenly hear Thea talk from behind me. "You know, Bay, I was thinking that may- maybe, you and I… *breath* I, um, I think… I think…" What's going on? She sounds short of breath. Turning to check over my shoulder, I notice her face has gone a shade of red and her eyes are closed.
"Uh, Thea, you alright?"
"What?" she murmurs, eyes shooting open and looking me. "Yes. Wait, yes, I'm fine. Just a little hot under this sun."
"Really? Just the sun?" I tease, smirking and giving her a devilish grin. Thea remains silent, playing it cool. "Better get your heart rate down before the games, Thealita." I tell her, bringing out a Latina accent to tease her. Thea's reaction is priceless: her big brown eyes go wide, while her mouth opens and closes like a fish. I laugh out loud, before Thea jogs up to me.
"Usted primero, señorita Bayley Martínez.
(You first, Ms. Bayley Martinez)" Thea responds, her breath in my ear and her voice low enough that only I can hear the words. A shiver runs through me, goosebumps forming on my neck and arms. "So, let's just do our best and get over your loss."
"My loss?" I cut in, giving her an accusing look. She just shrugs.
"Sorry, Bay, but I'm winning this."
"You're as full of it as Alexa." I argue. The referees tell us to line up at the starting line. Bending my knees and putting my hands on the ground, I feel the rough texture of the track on my fingers. I notice another 9 girls to our left, already in position, with various logos and names on their shirts.
"Excuse me?" Alexa cuts in.
"Yeah, you're not winning this. Neither are you, Thea. None of you are. Your Queen will be standing tall at the finish." Charlotte asserts.
"Yeah. Sure, Charbar." Thea scoffs, making me laugh.
"I'm with Bayley on this one, Queen. Nobody bests the Goddess."
"The amount of ego, here!" I exclaim.
"Shut up! As if you don't have any?" Charlotte scolds me.
"I do not! Right Thea?" She remains quiet. Turning, I look at her. "Thea?"
"Eh…" Thea states, moving her hand in a 50-50 gesture.
"Wow. You guys all suck!" I tell them.
"Come on!" Thea says.
"Booooo!" I taunt, giving her and Charbar a thumbs down. Charlotte playfully pushes me, while Thea gives me a smile. One of the referees tells us to be ready. Synching my feet in, I place my palms down. The grit of the track pushes onto the skin. I've got something to prove now. Alicia wants Alexa to win. I'm going to give my all, and then they'll see. They'll be eating their words. "I'm going to win this."
"Clean fight?" Thea asks, putting a hand out. Giving her a glare, I quickly shake it, before staring ahead. A referee wearing a red shirt and brown shorts walks a few feet to the right, holding an air horn.
"Ready? Set?" Lifting his hand, I watch the horn go into the air. The sun is baking my skin, sweat pouring down my brow and my hands grabbing at the floor. AIR HORN!
I quickly stand and start running. My arms swinging as I sprint forward, I watch Thea and Charlotte pass by me, taking the lead. No! I push myself harder, turning the corner as the burning begins to rise in my thighs and back. Fuck, I was built for endurance, not super speed! Alexa is neck and neck with me initially, but as we round the corner, she bolts forward. The other competitors and I stare in disbelief, watching as she sprints quicker than everyone and lands next to Charlotte, who was in the lead. Breathing deeply, I continue pushing. I may not get 1st, but I need to make top 10. Passing the next checkpoint, I feel myself getting tired. Panting, the sun bakes down on me. Damn, this is harder than I thought. Maybe the girls were right. I watch Alexa and Charlotte pass the finish line; the ref blasts the air horn again, signaling an end to the contest. Another girl and Thea get 3rd and 4th place, before I'm overtaken again. I finally finish, landing in 7th place. Not the best, but still top 10.
Huffing and puffing, the sweat pours down my face, running along my brown and into my eyes. The salty sweat stings for a moment before I swipe it away and bend over to catch my breath.
"Hey, Bayley." Thea calls. Turning, I notice her standing beside me, 2 Naya waters in hand. "Thought you could need it. You okay?" I nod. "What place did you get?"
"7th. I saw you get 4th." I taunt, grabbing the bottle and unscrewing the lid. I chug half of it, the cool liquid refreshing my mouth and body. I see Thea doing the same, before freezing in place. Her hair is pulled back into that ponytail from earlier, but a few stray locks are plastered to her forehead with sweat. Sweat shines on her arms and chest, the droplets rolling down her collar bone to her bust and drawing my eyes. My mouth becomes drier than before. I turn my focus to her face, where her large lips suck in water. Looking down to hide my blush, I peek and notice Thea smirking with a raised brow. Just then, Alexa and Charlotte arrive, Ricky and Andrade in tow.
"Hey you two. Great race." Alexa says, shaking both our hands.
"I should be saying that to you. You bolted like you stole something!" Thea argues, making everyone laugh.
"Yeah, you were incredible." I admit. I know Alicia is somewhere cheering right now. Ass. Ricky mouths 'so were you' and pats my head with a towel. Such a great friend.
"Thanks girls. Charlotte and I were just interviewed over the win. We're headed over to the back to get some shade. You in?"
The four of us head inside to get some needed relief. We watch the other athletes compete, including Andrade using a sledgehammer to destroy as many cinder blocks as possible in a given time. Charlotte and I cheered hard for him, and he got 2nd place, so kudos. Ricky won his race and I jumped for joy, hugging him tightly after it. We got up after to do some weight-lifting challenges. There was also a piggy-back even, where this girl named Bianca lifted a 330-pound man named Otis and ran with him. That was damn impressive and she deserved that win. He had to leave early to go celebrate, but his cheering during my lifts more than made up for it. In the intermission, I was able to snag an interview so I could promote Pierce Publishing and my twitch channel. We sat back down and just hung out like friends after. Alexa and Charlotte discuss some of their workout plans, while Thea and I talk gaming, streaming, and music. We even laughed at the idiots changing their game-tags to 'Yellowstone Blue' for the fumes. She's really fun to talk to. I didn't think Becky's words would come to mind to take the chance. Seeing her smile, I feel it's time. I'm about to open my mouth, before getting nervous and stopping myself. What if I am reading her wrong? Is she just being flirty with me? I don't want to make things awkward between me, her and Charlotte if I'm getting the wrong signals. Suddenly, a phone goes off beside us.
"Shit, that's mine." Thea tells us, before answering. Speaking in Spanish, she goes back and forth with someone. Sounds like she has to go wait for something. Her eyes narrow, before she sighs and agrees. Ending the call, she walks back up to us. "Listen, I've got to get going. My nephew needs someone to watch him tonight while my bro goes with his wife to see her sick father in hospital."
Alexa, Charlotte, Andrade and I give our condolences.
"I'll drive you. Come on." Charlotte states, getting up with her fiancé.
"Yeah. But it was really great spending time with you, Bayley and Alexa." she says sweetly, bringing out her pearly whites again. Damn, this is my 1 chance. TO hell with awkward! "Say Bayley…"
"Would you like to go out with me sometime?" I blurt out, before my eyes widen in shock. WhydidIdothat? WhydidIdothat? WhydidIdothat?! Covering and rubbing my forehead, I try to speak, before Thea answers.
"Yes. I was just about to ask the same thing. You're really cool and I'd like to take you out." she declares. She presses a few buttons on her phone, before handing it to me. "How about we exchange numbers and go from there?"
To say I'm speechless would be an understatement. Fumbling for my phone, I go into my contacts and press create a new one, before giving her mine while taking hers. Inputting my number, we hand our phones back to each other. I notice she put a little heart in the contact name. Cute.
"Awesome. So, I'll call you and we can schedule something for later on next week. Cool?" Thea offers.
"Yeah, cool." I tell her.
"Great. Speak to you soon and have a great day!"
"You too." I say with a wave.
Alexa and I chat for a bit, before I decide to call it quits myself. We exchange numbers, Alexa saying she wants to hang out with Charbar, Thea and I in our spare time. I get my belongings, head back to my car, and pull out onto the road. I feel myself grinning from ear to ear as I make my way home, wondering what will happen tomorrow.
Author's Note: Hey guys. Long overdue, but as promised, the newest chapter just for you. Had a lot of fun with this one. More updates for stories old and new on the way. Remember to follow and favorite if you enjoyed. And please feel free to leave a review. It's always appreciated. Until next time, enjoy your day!