Chapter 15

Damian slowly opened his eyes, and grunted as he didn't want to leave his warm pillow this morning. His senses awakened little by little, he felt something pondering on his head and as his eyes got used to the dark, he noticed he was not alone in the bed. Memories from the previous night came back to his mind and he felt both embarrassed and thrilled by his current situation. He had fallen asleep on Mina's chest, surrounded by her warmth as she slept with her chin on his head. Her eyes were still closed, an appeased look on her face, her hair surrounding her upper body like a halo of darkness. He wanted to kiss her but feared that she would wake up and be mad at him. He carefully slipped out of the bed, trying his best to not to make noise. Grabbing his shoes, he headed to the door, looking one last time at the beautiful tailor that had given him the best night sleep he had in years.

He closed Mina's door to quickly go back to his room, trying his best to hide his morning arousal. He was halfway when a chuckle echoed behind him. It was Finn going for his early morning running. "Shit!"

- "I see that you had a good night, lad" He teasingly said.

- "It's not what it looks like" Damian tried to explain, cut by Finn's laughter.

- "Come on, explain me in your room" Finn said, unable to stop laughing at Damian's startled face. Seeing him with a bed head, in his pyjamas, hands in front of his crotch in the middle of the corridor, with wide eyes and stuttering in surprise was absolutely hilarious for the Irish wrestler.

Damian sat on his bed and Finn took the chair, looking at him directly in the eyes with a teasing glare and smiling to his ears. Damian knew immediately he was going to suffer an interrogation and that he won't be allowed to leave the room until Finn knew everything. "Dammit!"

- "So, tell me what happened last night and don't forget any detail!" Finn said.

- "I went to her room; she wanted me to listen to an old band she liked, and the song triggered me about Frederica. I was unable to hold it and I told her everything about Frederica, like… EVERYTHING." He confessed.

- "And how did she react?" Finn asked, knowing perfectly that the night went well.

- "You won't believe it man. She hugged me and comforted me like if I deserved it. Man, she is way to kind for me! She told me she didn't care about my past, that Frederica would be sad if she saw me like that and that I deserved to love and be loved. Do you believe it man?" Damian was ecstatic as he explained everything to Finn. He still struggled to believe that last night was real.

Finn was smiling so widely that his cheeks started to burn. He was genuinely happy that his friend could finally let go of everything that was weighing so much on his heart. He had seen him closing himself like a shell during years and avoiding any close contact with women. He didn't know by what magic, but Mina had successfully gotten her way to his heart and chose the right words to make him hope again.

- "Did you tell her you love her?" he finally asked.

- "Not really, I was not in the mindset for that" Damian sighed.

- "And then?" Finn asked? "How did you end up to sleep in her room?"

- "I was feeling depressed, so she sang a lullaby of some sort. I fell asleep like a baby in her arms" he admitted, blushing slightly.

- "And you just slipped out of the bed like a thief?!" Finn asked, stunned that Damian didn't take the opportunity to spend more time with her.

He finally let Damian get ready. Promising himself to keep an eye on Damian and Mina. It was too late to go for a run anyway.

Five wrestlers and a tailor were gathered in Hunter's office, waiting to know about the new storyline he had built up for them. Hunter gave them papers and explained them that starting from now, Mina would be their shadow valet and their mascot. For now, she will be half hidden from the public to build up a mystical background. Mina agreed to this without any question, it was her idea. Hunter brought up the idea of her appearing ringside as a kind of priestess or witch, using shamanism rites to protect the Judgment Day. Damian and Finn were concerned about the dressmaker appearing ringside, they were scared that she would take hits and be injured.

- "Finn and Rhea, I would like you to train Mina. In a couple weeks I would like her to be ready to be interrupted in the middle of a rite. If the fans like her, I would like her to be able to take a few hits by other female wrestlers. I'm sure she could be a hell of a character." Hunter said.

- "I don't think this is a good idea, Hunter. We can't make her a professional wrestler in just a couple weeks. And what if she gets injured?" Finn tried to argue.

Damian looked at Mina with concern. He was happy to work with her, but he didn't know if he could stand her taking risks in the ring. He put a hand on her shoulder, making her look at him, sparkles and calmness lighting her emerald-green eyes. She took his hand with a smile and squeezed it gently.

- "It's okay, guys. I can do it. Finn, you already trained me successfully to fight for real, I'm sure I will be able to learn to take safe hits and even maybe to give some." She said, winking at Hunter.

Hunter winked back at her, knowing well how she could make this team surrender. He had talked about this idea with her before bringing it to the Judgment Day, she immediately agreed at the one condition she could keep with her sewing job. He had recognized in her the passion and pleasure he himself had felt when he first started wrestling.

The six friends left the office before heading to the training room. They warmed up together, under the curious looks of the other wrestlers, astonished to see the tailor in the training room.

- "First of all, you have to learn how to fall" Finn said showing her the ring.

They were all surprised by how fast Mina gained confidence in falling on the mat, selling the fall and pretending to be in pain even if it was not perfect. She insisted to remove the mat to experience a real fall on the ring, asking to redo the moves again and again to be sure to be as good as possible ringside. Other wrestlers came to give her advice and congratulate her about the storyline. Becky and Bayley even took her with them to let the Judgment Day train properly. Damian had a hard time to focus on his workout as he wanted to keep an eye on her. By the end of the session, the girls were proud to show that Mina was able to take and sell a push and a fall almost naturally.

The dressmaker was under the shower, washing her long hair and getting rid of all the sweat and the salt accumulated on her skin after a long training. Her body was hurting after all these falls on the ring and bruises started to appear, curse of a pale and sensitive skin. Once dry, she came out of the shower to get dressed and go back to her workshop. She was attaching her bra when Liv stood in front of her with anger.

- "Do you think you can have a career here in WWE just because you get all lovey-dovey with the Judgment Day?" she exploded.

- "I am just in a storyline, nothing to be scared of" Mina calmly replied, not even trying to smile at Liv. The wrestler had always been mean and disrespectful to her and she had no point to try and be nice to her.

- "Don't play me for a fool! We all worked our ass out to be here and I will not let a stupid little girl with big boobs get to the top so easily." She grabbed Mina by the shoulders and pushed her against a wall. "Learn your place and stay the poor little tailor you were meant to be or else…"

Liv was interrupted by Becky, coming to the changing room to have a well-deserved shower. She immediately let go of Mina and grabbed her sports bag to storm outside of the room. The dressmaker sighed in relief before putting her dress on.

- "Are you alright?" Becky asked.

- "Yeah, I think she is not really happy about a dressmaker appearing ringside and in storylines." Mina said.

- "She is always looking for trouble, don't let that get to you. She always had views on Finn and Damian, she is just a jealous bitch." Becky angrily said while patting her shoulder.

The arena went silent when the segment started. The camera was following a shape wearing a long black cloak with a hood. The shadow turned in a corridor and entered the Judgment Day clubhouse, making the crowd erupt in cheers. The five wrestlers stood in the room as the shadows bowed in front of them, handling them their belts and jackets. Damian nodded, allowing the valet to get up on her feet to help them getting ready. She attached the belts around their waists and put the jackets on their shoulders. Rhea grabbed the valet's chin and whispered something to her ears before stepping back, allowing the camera to show the lower part of her face. Her lips were covered with black lipstick, starting a long black line running down her chin and throat. Her long-nailed hands started to move in a strange way around Finn and Damian and smoke came from around them. She kneeled again, letting the Judgment Day leave the room to head to the ring for their match against DIY.

The five wrestlers entered the arena as their music thundered. Damian and Finn climbed on the ring, joining DIY, exhibiting their tag team championship belts. Mina was sewing in her workshop with her new assistant, watching the match on the screen. The bell ringed and Finn took the first turn against Johnny Gargano. The two men were incredibly fast, bouncing on the ropes and throwing punches and kicks for the pleasure of the audience. Finn tried the first pinfall, but Gargano escaped it. Damian entered the ring to face Ciampa, roaring wildly and lifting him over his shoulders to send him out of the ring. The match went on for a couple more minutes before Finn ending it with his coup de grâce. DIY stayed down on the ring while the Judgment Day celebrated as if they were not even tired. The commentators were wondering out loud what happened to the Judgment Day for them to be so dominant during this match. The word "witchcraft" was whispered in the microphone to set up the background.

Back to the locker room, Hunter went to see Mina to debrief with her about the segment. The public was already waiting to see the new shadow member in a fight, hoping to see a brand new character in the wrestling world. Mina was both proud and worried by this news, what if the fans didn't like her? What if she did terrible? What if Liv created her trouble? Hunter left the workshop to let her work peacefully, the job was much easier since he had hired this new assistant. She could focus on creating the attires while her assistant dealt with the repairing and stock gestion. The only counterpart was that she was no longer allowed to play blasting music out loud on her radio to avoid disturbing her coworker who was a nice introvert girl but particularly sensitive to loud noises. About twenty minutes after Hunter had left, JD knocked loudly on the door, making her assistant jump in surprise.

- "Get used to knocking quietly starting from now, JD" she scolded him softly.

- "I'm sorry, I'm so used to you listening to deafening music that I still make sure you would hear me." He explained.

- "What can we do for you?" Mina asked in a neutral tone. She was still uncomfortable with JD after he kissed her.

- "Nothing actually… I wanted to talk to you. I apologize for what I did. I acted like a shithead because I really wanted to try to have you but now, I realize that I just hurt you and I'm so sorry for that. I hope one day we can be good friends again" he said in one breath.

- "We are good JD, as long that you never try anything like that again. I'm not mad at you." She said softly. She truly meant it, JD had lost her trust but seeing how hard he tried to avoid her in the past few days made her want to forgive him.

- "Good… I hope you can trust me again one day" JD said before leaving the workshop.

Her assistant came back from behind the shelves where she was hidden. She had started to work with Mina less than a week prior and was incredibly shy with everybody, from her to the wrestlers. She was doing a good job, but Mina was sure Hunter had hired her in a hurry, as she was unable to deal with people taller than her or with a loud voice, for once, Mina felt lucky to not to be taller than Rey Mysterio's shoulders.

The next weeks were spent between training, work and promo shooting. The whole Judgment Day took turns to train Mina without letting their own workout behind. One more time she had proven herself a workhorse, repeating the moves endlessly and restlessly until she felt ready to learn more. If Finn, Dom and Rhea were strict teachers, always pushing her to go further and do better; Damian was always worried she would get hurt, asking her to take rest or to go easy with the falls and hits. Finn would often laugh at him in the changing rooms for that. Mina improved fast, becoming able to take and sell most of the basic hits she could encounter ringside, from the push to the kicks and punches in different body areas. Hunter had insisted she should be able to face some DDTs or leg drops just in case as the audience seemed to like her appearances ringside. Her witch character was pretty well settled and it was time for the other wrestlers to try to stop her. One day as the Judgment Day entered the training room of the performance centre, they were surprised to find Mina already in the ring, training with Becky and Bayley to give some kicks safely. By the time they came back of the changing room, they found all the wrestlers gathered around the ring, chatting joyfully and yelling advice as Mina and Bayley were both in the ring performing a beginner-like match.

- "She is doing good for a beginner" Finn said to Damian.

The Puerto Rican had to admit that the dressmaker was fighting proudly, keeping a strict and focused face as she escaped pins and kicks. Bayley was going easy on her, making sure to not hurt her but Mina was taking this training match very seriously. He saw her eyes sparkle as she performed a middle kick on Bayley, she was enjoying being in a ring and fighting without being scared for her life. She cracked a smile when she pinned Bayley on the ring mat even if she escaped. Damian couldn't help but find her beautiful at that time, her T-shirt sticking to her body because of the sweat, making her chest more prominent, her long hair tied in a messy braid with strands of hair flowing around her face, reddened by effort, highlighting her shiny green eyes brightened with focus on her target. A couple minutes later, Bayley finally pinned her for the count of three. She stood up, smiling as she hugged her friend tight. The other wrestlers slowly went back to their training, chatting about how this match had them going back to the days they were beginners. The only one who was standing away from the ring was Liv, mumbling about how stupid this match was and how there was no way this stupid ugly little tailor became a wrestler. She clicked her tongue in disagreement when she saw the Judgment Day congratulating Mina about her progress and hugging her. Her anger grew stronger when she saw Damian kissing her head while gently petting her back. She waited until the dressmaker was stretching alone to go to see her.

- "Do you think you impressed anyone with your little show?" She asked.

- "I'm not here to impress anyone" Mina answered without even looking at her.

- "Listen to me, bitch. I saw how Damian was looking at you, do you think I ignore you got here only because you sleep with them? If you don't stop with your stupid little game, tailor, I promise you I will destroy you!" she spat.

- "Everything okay here?" Rhea's voice echoed behind Liv. Making her leave in anger.

- "You did good today" Damian softly said hugging Mina in her hotel room after a show. Since the night he had spent with her, he was much more tactile with her, embracing her tight as much as he could.

- "Thank you, I hope I didn't do too much with the barricades" She chuckled. Ivy Nile had interrupted her ringside rite by kicking her in the face, sending her over the barricades.

She pressed her face against his torso, stroking his back gently. He felt the urge to kiss her, to tell her about his feelings. He had fought against this need for weeks, too scared she would reject his love and break the sweet relationship they had built. He needed her close to him at any cost. The courage he had lacked suddenly came to him. "Now! Tell her!"

She went to grab her phone to pick a song when Damian stopped her by putting his hand on hers. "Come on big boy!"

- "There's something I want to talk about" Damian started. Seeing her nod in agreement, he took a deep breath and continued. "Do you remember when I told you that I avoided every woman until I met you?" she nodded yes. "I was serious, you changed me. Since the first day I saw you, I can't stop thinking about you, I want to protect you, I want to make you smile, I want you to be happy." He stopped to catch his breath and sighed deeply when he saw her puzzled eyes "There is no turning back now". "To me you have become the most precious person on Earth, I would understand if you chose to reject me but after one year I must tell you. I… I fell in love with you."

He looked at her with worried eyes, scared about her answer. He gasped when he saw her eyes sparkling with joy and her arms wide opened to embrace him tenderly. She didn't say a word, just raised her hand along his body, stroking his hair softly, making him shivering, to make him lean towards her. She rose to the tip of her toes and gently put her lips on his, making him sigh in both relief and disbelief. "Is she really…?" She broke the kiss and smiled at him, her emerald eyes pierced his soul, and he captured her lips in a passionate kiss, pulling her closer to him, caressing her hair with his hand. He wanted more of her, he wanted to drown in her eyes, feel her body against his, get drunk with her smell, hold her tight and never let her go. She put her hands on his chest and slightly pushed him back to look directly in his eyes.

- "I love you too Damian."

"Dammit!" He surrendered to happiness and kissed her deeply, playing with her tongue, tightening his embrace. He let his hands wander on her body, he wanted to touch her to make sure this moment was not a dream. He sighed deeply, already drunk with the taste of her tongue and the touch of her lips against his. Every sound she made, every single sigh she had thrilled him, he had to fight the tearing desire to make her his here and now. For the first time in years, he felt truly happy, and the origin of his joy was in his arms.