Entangled

Chapter 19

Still open to requests for Camp NaNoWriMo, so if you have any, please go to COMBATFAERIE Q&A and either use the form or send an email :)

"This is the last pair, I promise!" Sasha would have pointed at the adorable pair of baby combat boots in the store window, but her hands are already full of bags. Since Becky's appointment isn't until the middle of the afternoon, they came to Chicago early to shop and hang out, and Sasha has already bought enough baby clothes to open her own boutique.

"Sasha... you've already bought all this," Becky replies, gesturing to the bags in her friend's hands, "and the load we dropped off at the hotel before lunch on top of that. And it's not like babies even really need shoes, because they can't walk."

Sasha pouts and nudges Becky towards the shop's door. "But they're so cute! And you know Naomi's going to get the baby some light-up boots, so I have to do something." Smiling when the clerk approaches, Sasha points towards the window display. "Those awesome little shoes with the wings on them—what sizes do they come in?"

"Unfortunately, we only have those in a 4.5 at the moment, which fits ages twelve to eighteen months," the clerk replies. "What size are you looking for? We can call you when we have more stock in."

"I'll take them," Sasha insists, setting down her other shopping bags in front of the sales counter. When the clerk goes to the back to find the box, Sasha chances a look at Becky. "What? The baby will definitely be walking by that age, and those are way too cute to pass up!"

Becky just smiles and kisses her cheek. "You're the best auntie."

Sasha beams and flutters her eyelashes. "Be sure to tell Charlotte that, okay? Often. The Best Auntie crown is one she will never have," she insists, "not while I'm around." While she's waiting for the clerk to return with the winged shoes, she wanders around the store and finds a few more things she wants to buy: a pair of sunglasses with the lenses shaped like shamrocks, a t-shirt with 'Little Boss' emblazoned across the front, and a onesie with a hood that has little monster horns sewn to the top. When she catches Becky watching her, Sasha laughs. "Okay, okay. Some of it can stay at my house. You're going to want some baby free time," she points out, "and the baby will adore me, of course, so I'll babysit some weekends."

"Sasha, I appreciate all this—you know I do—but you don't need to." Becky touches her belly gently. "The baby isn't your responsibility. I'll appreciate all the support I can get, but I don't expect—"

"I know you don't." The temptation to kiss Becky is strong, but Sasha's very aware that they're in a public place. Even going in so many baby stores is risky; all it takes is one keen-eyed fan and then there will be pictures on the internet and a flurry of speculation. Sasha settles for squeezing Becky's hand instead. "But you're like a sister to me—aside from, you know...." That their relationship is both sexual and deeply familial is hard for herself to understand, let alone to explain to anyone else. "When I say I want to be an auntie, that's not just slang or some cute name. I mean it."

Becky's eyes glisten with tears and she glances away for a second, and Sasha's never hated Charlotte more than in that moment. Ever since Becky filmed her fake attack backstage, wrestlers have been calling or texting to wish her well—except for Charlotte. "I know. And that means the world to me."

"Found them!" The clerk's bubbly voice fills the store and Sasha turns her attention back to the counter. "Ah, you found a few more things, I see. Did you want to keep looking around?"

Sasha shakes her head and takes out her credit card. "No. Places to be and all that. And I'm pretty sure the mother-to-be will kill me if I buy much more." As she finishes the transaction, she watches Becky wander around the store. The Four Horsewomen were always close, but there had been a clear division from the start: Becky and Charlotte as best friends and likewise for Bayley and Sasha. Bayley's never begrudged Sasha her hookups with Becky and Seth or pushed for her to reveal her secrets, but Charlotte hasn't been so supportive. The instant Becky started getting any sort of success, Charlotte started growing distant. Charlotte doesn't know what she's missing, Sasha thinks as she grabs the newest bag and rearranges it to fit with the others. She won't say it out loud because she doesn't want to upset Becky, but the second Charlotte so much as rolls her eyes in her vicinity, Sasha's going to let her know.