December 1 2023, Friday Night Smackdown
"You stay here tonight!"
Those were the words practically growled at her by the Women's Champion, her Damage CTRL sister, IYO SKY.
And even with the supportive little pat on the back from sweet adorable Dakota, they remained burned in Bayley's mind. But what she couldn't understand was why. She had put Damage CTRL together, she was its fearless leader, she'd helped take IYO and Dakota to the top on multiple occasions.
Had WarGames meant that much to IYO?
Bayley bit her lip.
WarGames...
The event meant to be Damage CTRL's crowning moment 2 years in a row, but both times, the team had failed. Last year it had been Dakota taking the pin, but immediately Bayley and IYO had comforted the former NXT Women's Tag Champion assuring her that their defeat was not her fault, and that both ladies were immensely proud of her efforts.
But this year...
This year, it was like a knife to Bayley's heart.
This year, she had been the one to take the pin.
Even with the new additions to Damage CTRL of longtime enemy turned friend (?) Asuka and a returning Kairi Sane, she had failed.
She'd let the team down.
She'd taken a bullet for Kairi.
She'd saved IYO and Asuka.
She was the veritable MVP of her WarGames team, but still, she was pinned and her team once again failed on the biggest stage.
It was like WrestleMania all over again.
Bayley talked a big game then for her teammates and once again suffered a crushing defeat by Becky's hands with a middle-rope Manhandle Slam.
The past defeats filled Bayley's heart with icy dread.
Was she really a failure as a leader? Was this whole group even worth it?
No!
No!
Of course Damage CTRL was worth it, they were a family.
But in the night's big match with Bianca, she tried to help Kairi against their most hated adversary Bianca Belair, only for the sweet Pirate Princess to experience the bitter taste of defeat.
A defeat, Bayley surmised, that would surely fall on her shoulders.
As she stood alone in Damage CTRL's private locker room that night, a few bitter tears ran down her face.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being such a fucking failure..." She sobbed bitterly.
She'd flashed back to the ending sequence of WarGames in her mind a billion times.
She'd been offered up to Becky like a lamb to slaughter by Bianca, Charlotte and Shotzi before being savagely driven through the waiting table to seal her fate.
A fate that once again despite such careful meticulous planning for hours once again left the Role Model staring up at the lights in one of the biggest matches of her life.
Once again, the world was left to see Bayley Martinez as nothing more than a boisterous trolling shit-talker that couldn't back it up when it mattered most.
A choke artist.
A loser.
A failure...
The thoughts continued to gnaw and eat away at her mind, reducing the usually ultra-confident Role Model to a frightened and scared little Hugger of years gone by.
And the worst part of this year's loss?
No one was there to pick her up and tell her that it was okay, that they were proud of her efforts in the match.
IYO had gone ahead to check on her countrywomen and IYO being the champion that needed to be kept safe, Dakota had gone to check on IYO, making sure she was alright, unintentionally leaving Bayley all alone...
Bayley looked down at the Damage CTRL armband on her wrist that Dakota had specially designed for her designating her as the leader of the team with heavy tears blurring her vision.
"I'm sorry Dakota. I'm sorry...I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry..." She sobbed, this time a lot louder.
Unknown to the raveling ex-champion, Dakota's soft ears had heard nearly everything and her heart metaphorically broke into pieces for her dear friend.
With tears of her own in her soft brown eyes, she despite her still healing knee ran as fast as she could towards Bayley.
The pain in her knee be damned.
Bayley was always worth it.
Pam was worth it.
Charlie as she preferred to be called when she wasn't on the clock hadn't admitted it publicly yet but she'd fallen for Pam, HARD.
Even before Damage CTRL was a thing, Charlie adored Pam for her gentle nurturing nature, so getting to work with her for the past nearly 2 years had blossomed these flowers of love, and now in her love's moment of need, when Bay needed her more than ever, Kota was going to be her savior...
Wincing lightly as she ran towards her, Dakota called out in a mix of English and her native Samoan tongue.
"Bayley! Bayley, lo'u alofa. O le a le mea sese?" She asked which translated to Bayley, my love. What's wrong?, though the former champion was thankful that Bayley was rusty in her knowledge of Dakota's speech and culture in this moment lest she figure out Dakota calling her my love was far more than a deep sisterly friendship.
Bayley saw her through tear-rimmed eyes. She looked like an angel on Earth, that to Bayley in her current state, she wasn't worth saving.
Wiping her eyes clean of tears, she croaked out a reply of "Go away..."
But Dakota was far too persistent as she got to her grief-stricken friend and threw her arms around her in the tightest hug, ignoring the thunderous beating of her own heart.
"Shhh...shhh. Easy dude. Calm down. Baylz, please talk to me mi amor. Talk to me..." Dakota softly and lovingly cooed, stroking Bayley's hair and alternating that with sweet, soft, gentle rotating rubs of her aching back.
Bayley's breathing was ragged and shaky as she felt Dakota's oh-so sweet and gentle touch.
Goddamn this girl.
She was too sweet and pure for this sinful Earth.
Whenever Bayley was down on herself, like a lightning bolt, boom, there was Dakota.
Bay didn't invoke religion much, but she thanked the stars above for whatever delivered Dakota to her, and it wasn't just Triple H either.
In a hoarse whisper, Bayley croaked out, "Why do you stay? I'm not good enough to lead this team. All I ever do is let the team down."
These words broke Dakota's heart all over again as she hugged Bayley even tighter.
She then spoke in a tender soft and loving voice that was still firm.
"Dude. I want you to stop that right now. You hear me? Stop it. You ARE good enough to lead us. Without you, Damage CTRL wouldn't exist. This is your brainchild honey. WarGames didn't even have stakes. Pam, mi amor, look at me. Look at me." She softly instructed.
Bay shakily looked into her friend's eyes.
"You ARE worth it. If IYO, Kairi and Asuka want to stick the knife in your back, so be it. They can be filthy disloyal cunts if they want. But not me. I will follow you to the ends of the fucking earth honey. If it has to be you and me against the world, then I'll jump on that ride with both goddamn hands. Damage CTRL was born from a friendship, a sisterhood and I'll be fucking damned if you ever think this way. You are the best teacher I could ever ask for. I would do anything you ask me. I will always be here."
Dakota said softly in a firm but impassioned voice, gently gripping Bayley's shoulders with every word she said.
Bayley for the first time in hours began to smile as Dakota took note of this as she continued speaking.
"It's thanks to you I'm here love. You saw something in me that no one else ever did. You took a chance on me. You saw I was worth something. Now it's my turn. WarGames was just a bump in the road dude. If IYO sticks a knife in you, I'll whip her ass. You know why? Because you mean absolutely everything to me. I will protect you, I'll love you and show you that you're worthy of praise. We can get to the top together, IYO or not. We're friends, sisters, partners. You mean the world to me. We can still fix things with IYO, Kairi and Asuka. And if not, fuck the cunts. We can rule the world together, you and me dude."
Kota softly implored her friend before Bay finally spoke up again.
"You're speaking from the heart, I can feel it. And...you're right Kota. WarGames was just one night. I shouldn't dwell on it. I've realized that now. And you're right about IYO too. We can go talk to them and make it up to them. If they want to leave my learning tree and unleash hell on their own asses, that's their fault it's not mine."
Bay mused as Dakota's face utterly lit up like a Christmas tree.
"Yes Bay yes. That's exactly what I'm saying and I did all this for a special reason. You're not just my sister anymore. You're my best friend. But I want us to be even closer now. These past years working with you have been amazing and I want it to last forever. Till we're claimed by the sweet embrace of death. Pam, what I'm asking is, would you make me the happiest Kiwi on earth and go out with me? Because I'm head over heels in love with you."
Dakota said happily, smiling broadly as she looked into the Latina's big brown eyes with hope.
Bayley's eyes misted with happy tears at Dakota's declaration as she answered.
"Yes Kota. I will. I'll go out with you..." She said softly.
Dakota's smile seemed to get bigger as she leaned in and the duo shared their first kiss as a couple.
They knew they had work to do in order to get the rest of Damage CTRL straight, but for themselves? They'd never been happier.
The next era of their lives would begin now: Together.
The duo then went to gather the rest of their gear and leave in Bayley's car together, eager to spend the rest of the night as a couple for the first time.
Damage CTRL may have lost WarGames.
But for the duo of Bayley and Dakota Kai?
It was now paradise on earth.
The End!