Wrestling

Fenrisha cleared her throat, noticing the change in atmosphere before finally saying, "I heard something while I was in France," her voice unnaturally even, you wouldn’t guess she was about asking about an old friend. "That Kid Montana is planning an international tour. And that Japan is heavily rumored to be one of the destinations."

Bambietta leaned back on her hands, an amused smirk slowly spreading across her face. "Is that right? Who told you that? You sure you weren’t just religiously refreshing his tour website?"

Fenrisha’s cheeks flushed, a faint but undeniable shade of pink appearing on her skin. "I keep tabs on all relevant events that might impact our hotel bookings, Ana. It is strictly business."

"Right. Strictly business," Bambietta teased, thoroughly enjoying the rare opportunity to see her friend squirm.

Fenrisha ignored the jab, turning her attention to Jey. She hesitated, her manicured fingernails digging slightly into her palms. She now felt like the girl who used to pay for Seb’s coffee when he couldn’t afford it.

"How is Seb?" Fenrisha asked bashfully, her voice dropping to a quiet whisper.

Jey smiled as he uncrossed his legs, stretching them out in front of him.

"He’s good, Fenri," Jey said gently, deciding to spare her any further teasing. "He’s really good. Exhausted, obviously. He complains the label is running him into the ground with the new album and everything, but he sounds happy. He hasn’t let the platinum records go to his head."

"He reached out to you?" Fenrisha asked, sitting comfortably, her posture relaxed now that the subject was finally out in the open.

"He did," Jey confirmed. "It was out of nowhere if I’m being honest. About two weeks ago. My phone rang at four in the morning here, which meant it was the middle of the afternoon wherever he was. I didn’t even check the caller ID. I just picked it up, and before I could even say hello, he was already yelling at me."

Bambietta laughed. "That sounds exactly like him. What was he yelling about?"

"He had watched Billy dropping me with the Mexican Destroyer," Jey explained, his tone light despite the dark subject of discussion. "He saw the clip trending online. He spent the first ten minutes of the call cursing me out for getting dropped, and then cursing Billy out for being a miserable piece of garbage. He told me he was ready to buy a first-class ticket to Osaka just to hit Billy on the head with his guitar."

Fenrisha smiled, an affectionate expression crossing her face. "He always was overly protective for a man who couldn’t do much back then."

"Exactly," Jey agreed with a chuckle. "I spent a whole kot of time convincing him that I was fine, that the doctors cleared me, and that he didn’t need to commit assault on my behalf. Once he finally calmed down, he asked me if I liked my current entrance theme."

"He insisted on doing one for you," Bambietta interjected, looking at Fenrisha.

"Yes and he wasn’t taking no for an answer. He refused to let me use the generic stock music the JW production had assigned to me," Jey continued, shaking his head at the memory. "He told me that if I was going to walk down that ramp and put my worries to rest, I needed something that actually felt like me."

"Wow," Fenrisha gestured, genuinely fascinated.

"He produced the entire track in just a few days," Jey said, a deep sense of gratitude evident in his voice. "He sent me the audio and handled the licensing with Mr. Shin’s legal team himself so the promotion wouldn’t have to pay a dime for the broadcasting rights. He basically bullied the biggest wrestling promotion in the country into using his music."

"And the crowd lost their minds," Bambietta added, pride evident in her eyes. "When that first chord hit, the entire arena and even me, stopped breathing. It changed the entire atmosphere before Jey even stepped out."

Fenrisha stared down at the mat, a wishful smile playing on her lips. She traced the seam of her leggings with her thumb, clearly lost in thought. Hearing about Seb’s loyalty, his stubbornness, and his massive success seemed to be doing wonders on her.

"He always had a gift for understanding and fighting for friends," Fenrisha murmured softly.

The three of them sat there, a comfortable, shared nostalgia moment wrapping around them. They had all survived their respective grinds.

Jey watched Fenrisha. He knew the history just as well as Bambietta did. He knew that Fenrisha and Seb had orbited each other for years, a messy and complicated dance of missed timing and unspoken feelings. When Fenrisha’s franchise finally took off, she was traveling the world constantly. When Seb’s music blew up, he was locked in too.

The timing had never really aligned, but the underlying tension had also never faded.

Bambietta leaned forward, resting her chin in her hand. She looked at Fenrisha, her eyes sparkling with unmistakable amusement.

"So," Bambietta said, her voice dripping with playful mockery. "As you heard, he might be coming to Japan on tour. You own a luxury hotel in Japan. The math isn’t exactly difficult to put together."

Fenrisha’s head snapped up, her billionaire posture instantly attempting to return. "I am a very busy woman, Ana. I cannot magically make my schedule open up because a musician happens to be passing through. Best I can do is arrange lodging for him, I might not be around that long."

"Right," Bambietta snorted, clearly unconvinced. "Because it takes so much effort for the owner of the building to stick around in her establishment."

"We do not even speak regularly," Fenrisha argued, crossing her arms again defensively. "It has been months since we had a proper conversation. I wouldn’t even know what to say to him."

"You could start by telling him you’ve been following him, or that you’re proud of him" Jey suggested helpfully, earning a sharp, warning glare from the Frenchwoman.

Fenrisha stood up from the ball, brushing imaginary dust off her leggings. She tried to look stern, but the lingering blush on her cheeks completely ruined the effect.

"I am going to check on the spa on the second floor," Fenrisha announced, her tone clipped and overly formal. "You two can finish your stretching. Try not to break any bones while I am gone."

She began walking away, her pace noticeably faster than her usual confident stride.

Bambietta watched her friend retreat across the gym floor. She shook her head and called out loud enough for Fenrisha to hear her across the room.

"I see you guys are still playing hard to get."

Fenrisha increased her pace.

---

The gym floor had mostly cleared out by the time Jey decided it was his last stretch. A few hotel guests were still scattered near the mirrors, one of them attempting bicep curls with terrible form, but the earlier morning crowd had long since thinned out.

Bambietta checked her phone, tapping the screen before shoving it into the side pocket of her gym bag.

"We should head back soon," she said, rolling her shoulders. "Your mom’s probably getting hungry, and I told her we’d bring food."

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