Chapter Text
As both Rhea and Iyo prepared to make their return to Raw for the first time since Rhea had broken her nose 3 weeks prior in Japan, neither could hardly contain their excitement. As much as they enjoyed their time in Japan while Iyo was on vacation, and Rhea being on the injured list, both were really anxious to get back to work. To be back in front of the fans again after being gone for a few weeks was always such a high. Rhea was going to have to wear a mask to protect her nose for a few more weeks, but that was nothing new to her. She didn't say anything, but she was concerned about Iyo. There was still A lot of animosity towards her from Asuka and Kairi. She had hoped they had gotten over it, but it was pretty obvious they hadn't when she and Iyo had gone to the house she had shared with Kairi to pick up her things. Rhea was definitely going to be keeping a very watchful eye on those 2..
*2 days prior
Rhea woke up feeling better than she had in a very long time. She looked at the smaller Japanese woman lying next to her, and couldn't help but smile. This was their first night back home. Home.. She had lived in this house for several years, but today it truly felt like home for the first time, and it was because of Iyo.
She knew they would still have struggles to face, but they would face them together. A major hurdle would come later today when they went to pick up Iyo's things. Rhea hoped the transition would go smoothly.
Iyo stirred and opened her eyes, a bit surprised that Rhea was already awake. "Morning sleepyhead, about time you woke up"
"Well, it's all your fault" was Iyo's playful reply.
Rhea laughed and said "Had to welcome you home properly chipmunk"
Iyo couldn't contain her smile "Home.. I like the sound of that"
"You better, cause this is your home now" She pulled Iyo on top of her, and began kissing her. Iyo returned the kisses, and soon after Rhea "welcomed" Iyo to her first morning in her new home..
Later after they showered and got dressed, Rhea cooked breakfast for them both and made coffee for herself, and tea for Iyo. Iyo sat quietly at the table watching her love cook deep in thought. She was not looking forward to going to the house to get her stuff. She hoped there wouldn't be any problems.
When Rhea brought breakfast over, she saw the look in Iyo's eyes. "You okay chipmunk?"
Iyo replied "I have a bad feeling about today. I hope I'm wrong, but I just can't shake this feeling that Kairi will try and make this difficult."
Rhea looked at her "Well, I'll be there with you if she should try and start anything."
"I don't know. You being there could make it worse, especially if Asuka is there.."
Rhea cut her off "Well I'm definitely going with you then. I'm not letting you go there alone if both of them are there"
Iyo sighed "Thank you. Just want to get my things without any trouble"
Rhea grabbed and held Iyo's hand to let her know she understood. Rhea also had a feeling this wasn't going to be easy..
As they drove over to the house Iyo had shared with Kairi, Iyo was getting more and more nervous.
Rhea looked over at her "Are you sure you want to do this today Iyo?"
"Of course, I don't want to stay there anymore. The sooner I get my stuff, the better"
"Okay" Rhea replied "Just remember I love you and we got this. If those bitches try and start shit, they'll regret it."
Iyo sighed, hoping it wouldn't come to that. She just wanted to get this over with and move on to her new life with Rhea. When they arrived, Kairi's car was the only one there. Hmm maybe this won't be so bad. It took Kairi a couple minutes to answer the door. The amount of hatred she had towards Rhea was obvious by the way she glared at her. She looked at Iyo with anguish and sadness at the same time. Rhea stayed silent, as Iyo told Kairi she was there to get her stuff. They heard a car door slam, and both realized why it had taken so long for Kairi to answer the door. She had called Asuka..
Kairi pleaded with Iyo "It's still not too late Iyo-chan. We can still be a family."
Iyo looked at her "It was too late the day you both turned on me, I'll never go back. Rhea is my family now. I know she has my back" she said shifting her gaze to Rhea.
Asuka came into the house looked straight at Rhea with so much hatred, and asked "What is this bitch doing here? She doesn't belong here. Get out Rhea!"
Then at Iyo "Iyo, you fool. I taught you everything you know. You wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for me. You'd be nothing without me. And this is how you thank me? By joining with that bitch?"
Rhea had finally heard enough "Fuck you Asuka, You're just pissy because Iyo doesn't need you anymore. She did fucking great on her own. Won the world title. Won at Wrestlemania, something you never did. She has surpassed you and you can't handle it. So what did you do? From the time you came back, all you did was treat her like shit, try and tell her what to do and who she can talk to, and then turned on her because she wanted to be her own person. So shut the fuck up"
She turned to Iyo who stood there stunned and said "Let's go get you packed so we can get the fuck out of here" Iyo nodded and they went upstairs to pack as much as they could. Iyo knew she wasn't going to able to take everything, but she wasn't coming back here. They concentrated on getting the things she wanted most. A lot of stuff she could replace easily so she didn't bother with toiletries and things like that..
Rhea noticed that Iyo was pretty quiet as she went through deciding what to pack and what to leave. She could hear Asuka and Kairi yelling at each other in Japanese. Heard both hers and Iyo's name brought up a couple times and decided she needed to learn Japanese. She knew a few words here and there, but didn't know what they were saying. No doubt Iyo did though.
She walked over to Iyo, hugged her and asked if she was okay. Iyo nodded, but Rhea could sense she was upset. Understandable, considering the circumstances.
She whispered "I love you chipmunk, Never forget that"
Iyo looked up into Rhea's eyes "I love you too, and thank you for being here. Let's just get this over with and get the hell out of here"
"Okay, I'm gonna call Raquel, and have her stop by and wait outside, just in case.."
Iyo nodded in agreement. She wanted to see Raquel also. She hadn't had a chance to see or speak to her since the night they facetimed while Iyo was still wrecked in Japan.
While Rhea was calling her, and giving her the address. Iyo was thinking about what Asuka and Kairi were saying downstairs. They were definitely planning some shit, and Iyo was concerned. Asuka was capable of just about anything, and Kairi was 100% loyal to her even though she was scared of her as well. She would go along with whatever Asuka planned..
Finally they were finished packing everything they could fit into the suitcases. Iyo had plenty of them, since she travelled a lot. Rhea wish she had thought about bring some of hers to pack even more stuff, but Iyo was able to get the items most important to her. Raquel texted Rhea to let her know she was outside.
Rhea looked at Iyo "Ready?"
"Yep, Let's get the hell out of here"
It was a bit of challenge getting all the suitcases arranged, so they didn't have to come back in, but they managed to pull it off. When they got downstairs they saw both Asuka and Kairi standing on front of the door..
Rhea gave them a death stare "Get the fuck out of the way"
Asuka looked directly at Iyo, said something to her in Japanese, and they moved away from the door. Iyo said nothing, and just looked down as they finally got out of there.
Once they got outside, Raquel came up to meet them, and help take some of the load. She laughed at Rhea holding 4 suitcase as she took 2 of them. They got everything packed into Rhea's SUV, and Rhea invited her to come over for a bit. she said sure.
As she was walking to her car, Iyo ran over quick and hugged her and whispered "Thank you for everything."
Raquel smiled at her "Anytime Chica. I'm glad you 2 worked it out"
Iyo smiled that infectious smile and said "See ya in a bit" and went back to get in the SUV with Rhea. "What was that all about?" Rhea asked.
"I just went to thank her for being here. Now can we please go home now?" Home. It sure had a different meaning for them now. Rhea held Iyo's hand and drove off..
Raquel decided to stop at the liquor store and pick up a 12 pack of Corona's before going to Rhea's. Since she knew Rhea was driving, she sent Iyo a text asking if they were hungry for some tacos. Hell yes they were. She stopped off at a taco place and picked up a 10 pack, hoping that was enough. She wondered if either of them knew she had talked to both of them when they were wrecked. Guess it doesn't matter now, since they had worked things out..
Once Raquel arrived, they all inhaled the tacos and enjoyed kicking back with the Coronas and catching up. She thought to herself "They look so happy and relaxed now." Whatever happened once Rhea flew to Japan did the trick.
Once they polished off the 12 pack, Raquel got up to go. "Think it's time to let you kids enjoy the rest of your night.."
Both Rhea and Iyo thanked her for helping them, and for the beer and tacos. After she left, Rhea picked Iyo up and carried her around the house. "Time you got a real tour of our home" Iyo loved it when Rhea carried her.
Rhea took her out to the garage where she had a home gym set up. They had different workout regiments, but there was plenty of equipment to accommodate both. Rhea of course was into building muscle for power and strength, while Iyo was into keeping her stamina up, staying flexible and lighter weight training. She was going to love that treadmill. She did yoga to keep herself flexible. Plenty of room for her yoga mat. After that they went to the backyard where the pool and Jacuzzi were. Rhea grinned to herself thinking that Jacuzzi is gonna get a lot of use..
It was a nice warm evening, so they sat outside on the patio, enjoying the nice breeze. Iyo was pretty quiet, thinking about what Asuka had said before they left earlier. Why couldn't they just let her be happy? It pissed her off and made her sad. She had finally found true love and happiness, and the ones that supposedly had been her family couldn't accept it.
Rhea was also rather quiet, thinking how happy she was, now that Iyo was here to stay. She looked over at Iyo, and instantly knew something was bothering her. "Hey" She patted her lap and held her arms out for Iyo. Iyo glad accepted and wrapped her arms tightly around Rhea's neck.
"What is it Iyo?"
"Asuka.. She's planning something."
Rhea's eyes grew dark "I meant to ask earlier, what did she say to you?"
"She told me I was going to regret betraying her" Rhea was fuming now.
Iyo's eyes started watering "She just can't accept that I'm happy now. She can't accept that I don't need her guidance anymore. She can be so vindictive. You've seen it. She's capable of anything.."
Rhea tried to stay calm. She was ready to go back to that house and beat the living shit out of both of those bitches.
She replied back as calmly as she could. "First of all you didn't betray her, she betrayed you. She should be glad you don't need her anymore. Means she taught you well. Isn't that the goal? As for the rest, she would be wise to leave you alone, or she'll be the one regretting it. I'm not going to let her hurt you Iyo."
Iyo nodded "I know you won't.."
Rhea felt Iyo start to relax a little "You getting tired little one?"
"Yea a little"
"Okay" Rhea replied "Let's get you to bed, busy day tomorrow" She carried her back into the house, and within 5 minutes of going to bed Iyo was out like a light.
"Yea, just a little tired" Rhea thought to herself. She herself was still pretty wound up from What Iyo had said earlier about Asuka and Kairi. If they tried anything..
Iyo woke up pretty early. She must have been more tired than she had realized. She barely remembered coming back into the house, and getting into bed. She wanted to get as much stuff unpacked as possible today before their late afternoon flight to Boston for Raw tomorrow. She was so looking forward to being back. Part of her was dreading it too, in case Asuka decided to follow through on her threat.
She turned over on her side facing the sleeping Aussie woman. They had been through so much emotional turmoil over the last few weeks. She had hoped they could just concentrate on building their lives together and not deal with more bullshit. They deserved to be happy, but of course Asuka was going to be a bitch about it. She knew Rhea would protect her, but had hoped it wouldn't be necessary. She snuggled in closer and soon fell back asleep.
She woke up alone about 90 minutes later and was startled for a second. She hadn't meant to fall back asleep. She could smell Rhea cooking breakfast, so she got up to go help. Rhea was already nearly done when Iyo made it into the kitchen. She had already set a cup of tea at the table for Iyo.
Rhea heard her come in. "Well there's my sleepy chipmunk"
Iyo replied "Must have been more tired than I thought"
After they finished eating, Iyo got to unpacking, while Rhea arranged her closet so Iyo could keep her clothes and the few gears she grabbed in their own area. She just didn't have enough room for all her gears, but those were easily replaced with new gear. Iyo wanted to get some matching gears anyway. She had made sure to keep special ones though, like the one she wore at WM, and the one she wore at CJ just last month. She was going to get all her robes replaced though. She wouldn't need one before Friday, so there was time to get one made at least. They were starting to get limited on time, so they quit the unpacking and got ready for the flight to Boston..