Work Text:
Saki wanders through the hallways backstage absentmindedly. It was kind of nice, being in a unit as small as God’s Eye. If you’re teaming with the whole unit at once you just have your match and then have your time to yourself afterwards, no need to be back and forth through the rest of the show seconding for two more matches or something. It was great, more time to relax. She’d had a nice little chat with Mirai and Ami before they’d gone off to do whatever they were constantly doing together - more practice or weight training or something insane like that, even while on tour. They kept inviting her, which was nice of them, more or less, but god what a pain in the ass that would be. Syuri’d talked to them in private though and (at least for now) they kept accepting her admittedly bad excuses, so at least there was that. She didn’t even have to try hard with her excuses to get out of doing things with these girls! Maybe God’s Eye was pretty great, actually.
She’d spent some time puttering around the locker room as people came and went throughout the show, gone over to catering to grab something to eat. Briefly chatted with the few new girls, since they were the ones who didn’t hate her yet.
And before she knew it she found herself out of things to do, so she wandered the halls, meandering her way back to the locker room once more. She figured she’d just play a game on her phone or something, finish packing up and then head out back to the hotel once the show was over. Maybe she could just take off now actually, it’s not like anyone would even notice her gone.
She starts at the tentative hand on her shoulder, turns around to see the roster’s very own creepy nerd herself, Momo Kohgo, standing behind her, pulling her arm back and nervously holding her hands in front of her.
“H-hi, Saki-san…”
Saki lets out a sigh. “You already have your signed copy of my last photobook. That you STOLE.” Momo furrows her eyebrows, muttering “I won that fair and square…”
“I don’t have any more merch for you creep, what do you want?”
Momo winces very slightly, but works to keep eye contact with Saki. She takes a deep breath to steady herself. “I wanted to say good job. I know what you’ve been through can’t be easy, but I see how hard you’re working right now. It’s… nice. To, to see that from you. So I just wanted to say good job.”
Saki’s eyes widen. She blinks a few times, breaks Momo’s eye contact. Scrunches up her nose and rubs her eye while Momo just stands there awkwardly. Eventually she takes a deep breath, catching ever so slightly.
“...Why do you love me so much? It’s weird, okay? You can stop, you don’t have to pay so much attention to me. It’s creepy.”
Momo’s brow furrows, like the answer should be obvious, self-evident. “Saki-san your work in Stars means a lot to me. I’m not an idiot, I know you’re not… not the same person you were then, but it still was you. It’s the same for everyone who was a part of that. It’s a little different for Mayu, because I get to actually be next to her, but I love her too. And Tam, I think what she’s done and accomplished with Cosmic Angels is incredible. I just, I don’t know. You can’t help having favourites, that’s how wrestling works.”
Saki laughs once, short and sharp. Momo stares her down, a focus, a fire in her eyes that Saki had never noticed before.
“Look,” Momo says, “I know the way I was acting was, was stupid. That I shouldn’t have brought fandom into the ring, I get it okay, believe me. I know to focus now, to fight to win, and I know I have to get stronger. But trying to just forget about what I love that brought me here sure as hell didn’t help anything either. So no, I won’t fight as a fan any more. I’m a pro wrestler , just like you, Saki-san.” She takes a step towards her, her jaw clenched, seemingly without even noticing, as Saki leans back slightly. “But that doesn’t mean i have to stop loving it in my heart. I can fight because this means something to me. Because I want to make something like that - something like you did - one day. That doesn’t mean I have to stop appreciating what that work means to me. And - and I know you’ve changed. No one’s who they were in 2018. I know you did lots of bad things in matches and, and - “ she giggles then, just a little, and smiles so bright it’s dazzling, and looks at Saki with a love she still doesn’t know how to react to when confronted with it. “You bullied lots of girls, yeah, but that can be entertaining too! It’s all part of the show, you know, maybe I wish that wasn’t what you had done but it doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy that work too. I don’t know. It’s still fun. You’re still a good wrestler, even if you’re mean. I can think that and also want to beat you.”
Momo shakes her head a little. “Look, I just wanted to say it’s nice. To see you being nice again, to see you… try again.” Saki flinches, surprised. What was she talking about? She hadn’t changed all that much, had she? She’d said she wouldn’t change in God’s Eye, they’re just the only ones who offered to protect her. Right? Sure, they weren’t so up on the whole cheating thing, but… still. She still just wanted to take it easy, she wasn’t going to, to reach out to them or become best friends or start really trying for real. Right? At least not, not unless it really mattered. Right? There was no way she had already changed after just a few weeks away from Oedo Tai, was already changing. Because that was who she really was, right? Had been.
“I know Mayu was a little bummed you didn’t at least try to come ‘crawling back’ to Stars,” Momo continues with a small chuckle to herself. Saki’s eyebrows climb - this girl really is nuts. “And I can’t lie, for just a moment there it was nice to imagine maybe, maybe tagging together some time. But it’s still nice to see you care again. …To see you happy, again. So yeah, keep doing your best. And uh, I guess I’ll see you in the ring, then. Sorry for bothering you.”
Momo looks down at the ground and goes to move past Saki, but Saki stops her with a hand on her shoulder. “Hold it.”
She rubs her chin, less deciding on what she’s going to do next than going along with a half-formed impulse. “Did Mayu really say that? That she wanted me to come crawling back to Stars?”
Momo shrugs. “Not like that, no, she wouldn’t admit it like that.” Saki snickers, maybe this girl’s slightly less crazy than she thought. “It’s just obvious. She doesn’t trust you, but she cares about you a lot. She watched you win the High Speed belt, you know.”
Saki nods to herself and then smiles at Momo. Momo’s eyes go wide. A part of her had thought she’d never really get to see her idol make an expression like that again, and certainly not at her. “Thanks, Momo,” she says, and then she steps forward, takes Momo’s face in her hands, and kisses her.
Momo’s eyes go wide, startled, but then she immediately melts forward into Saki, putting her arms around her. She breathes heavily into Saki’s mouth, almost gasping as Saki holds her there for a moment. And then as their mouths open together and Momo whimpers and goes to push her tongue forward -
Saki steps back, gently pushing Momo away, still holding her face, as Momo looks at her, longing and pleading in her eyes. Saki pulls Momo forward, putting her mouth up against her ear, and whispers, “If you ever really need to drive Mayu crazy, just pass that on to her and tell her it’s from me. It’ll work. And don’t assume I’m above bullying just because I’m nice again.”
She kisses her on the cheek and then gently shoves her away, walking past her barely containing her laughter. She thinks to herself that maybe she is happier these days.
Momo stands there long after Saki rounds the corner out of her sight, running her fingers over her lips. Mayu is absolutely never going to hear about this.