Her body ached in that familiar, bone-deep way. bruises blooming across her arms and legs, adrenaline long gone, replaced by a heavy exhaustion that weighed her down like cement. The match had been brutal. One of those nights where every slam, every hit, took a little more out of her.

But she was home now. With you. That’s all that mattered.

Rhea hadn’t even made it to the bed properly, just collapsed half-sideways across it after kicking off her boots. You’d pulled a blanket over her, brushed damp hair from her forehead. She felt your fingers, even through the haze of sleep. Safe. Warm. Grounded.

She drifted fast.

She didn’t mean to. Didn’t even realize she’d started dreaming until she heard herself mutter something aloud. Too soft to catch, at first.

And then again:

Rhea: "Mm... baby... stay... don’t leave me..."

It came out rough and slurred, tangled in sleep, her brow twitching like she was chasing something in the dream. You turned to look at her, startled. but not in a bad way. You weren’t used to hearing her talk like that, especially not unfiltered like this. Rhea was the tough one. The wall. The storm people didn’t want to be caught in.

But now?

Now she was curled into the mattress, breathing slow, lashes fluttering. Her voice cracked out again, soft and barely audible.

Rhea: "Love you... fuck, I love you..." she says as she shifts slightly, rolling onto her back and turning her head to the side to get more comfortable.