Giovanni Aries & Cid Turner vs. Selena Frost & Deanna Frost**

[SnowQueenSCW]

OOC: CD only. In two parts (one per character).

Project: Black Ice

”It’s Like Riding a Bike”

Frost “Forever Home”
Manhattan, New York
April 10th, 2022
11:21am

With every step she took, Selena felt the exhilaration shoot up and down her spine. The garage door was already up and the sun was shining bright, promising an end to the dark, snowy days of winter.

Days that the Snow Queen would miss, as she did every year when the cold season bid adieu. Winter was part of her – her favourite season, her very makeup in some ways. She would have to return to her home of Nome, Alaska, to see any semblance of snow again until November rolled back around.

And yet, part of her had been eagerly awaiting this day. When spring was certainly back – with no chance of any lingering snow storms to obscure the roads.

Her smile as bright as the sun, the world champion pushed the object of her enthusiastic attitude out onto her driveway, feeling the heaviness of the vehicle and hearing the sounds of the thick tires rolling against the asphalt. 

This was one part of the spring she loved!

Carefully, Selena kicked out the kickstand to allow her motorcycle to stand there on the driveway. The sun shined off the sleek black of the 2015 Kawasaki Ninja, Selena having cleaned and polished it last week – an attempt to distract her mind from the events of Breakdown as well as the troubles still lingering in her personal life.

“Hey, girl.” She whispered, running a hand along the sleek leather and hard black plastic that covered various parts of the motorcycle. “Been looking forward to this too, haven’t you?”

She smiled brightly as she stood there, her hand staying on one of the handles of the motorbike. “First ride of the season…” she gave the metal and rubber handle a light pat with a pale hand as she walked around the bike, giving it one more final check. She felt the wind blow against her, ruffling her leather jacket and blue jeans. Her hair was tied back in a shorter version of her iconic braid - perfect for riding. 

That was the word that filled her. The day was perfect for this – or maybe she just needed this distraction so desperately.

She loved riding her motorcycle, that was without question, but there was no denying that there was also a certain need for a distraction from the frustrating weeks Selena and her wife, Deanna, had gone through.

Which was a sad reality when the truth of the matter was that things had, actually, started off so well! 

To start, Gavin Scythe had returned to Nome, Alaska, choosing to continue in his pursuit for the role of mayor of Nome against his brother, Ryan, despite the looming threats of Killjoy. Selena had to admit that she was beyond proud of the man – that he was facing his fears head on. According to the young man, spending the last few weeks in Manhattan with his niece and nephew, Elsianna and David, had been the deciding factor. 

”I’ve seen what my brother is willing to do – how far he is willing to sink to get what he wants.” He had remarked. “And if I just sit there and do nothing – if I let him just take father’s seat as the mayor to hurt Elsianna and David, when I could have stopped them, then how could I leave with myself?”

It had been a rather pained farewell when he had made his way to the airport last week, the Frost wives beyond worried for him. Still, he had promised to keep in touch and update them when and if he needed them there before bravely boarding the plane. Within two days, he was on the campaign trail again with Jean and Zelda, doing all he could to make up for lost time. It was actually inspiring and had prompted Selena and Deanna to push harder in all their pursuits.

The first of which had been their continued research into “Project: Black Ice”, the looming ‘clue’ that Killjoy had left them at Malcolm’s memorial service. Hours upon hours the two wives dug into Malcolm’s history, trying to find some clue in regards to it.

They had found nothing.

Then, they had tried to parlay such frustration into their tag-team debut, which had resulted in their opponents bailing on them and their replacements – The Connection, which was intimidating in and of itself for a new tag-team as her and Deanna – fighting them to a standstill, which meant that their ‘official’ debut as a tag-team had been a handed win and a draw, none of which sat well for either woman, as they returned back to Manhattan and resumed their hunt through Malcolm’s records.

To which they had STILL found nothing!

“Oh…last night…” Selena whispered, reaching up to rub her finger and thumb against her temples. Last night, the Frost wives had stayed up late into the night, long after their three children had gone to bed, staying in Selena’s office, reading files and forms of the past until their eyes had gone cross-eyed. It had gotten so bad that Deanna had fallen asleep curled up in Selena’s lap, with the Snow Queen joining her minutes later as she sat in her office chair, the pair not waking up until they heard Oberon barking as the sun rose. 

A break was needed. A break away from work, from SCW, from all of that damn reading – even for a few hours. And what better way than the first motorcycle ride of spring? Selena thought, her smile returning a second before she heard the house door to the garage open. 

Turning her head, she was just in time to see the younger woman hop out, immediately posing against the nearby wall. Her fire-red hair was curled - was that what she was doing for the last hour? Selena thought – and, unlike her wife who only wore the leather jacket, Deanna was clad in leather, from the jacket she wore to the pants, which-

“Are those my pants?” Selena asked, crossing her arms over her chest and raising an eyebrow as Deanna skipped towards her.

“You said we were going ‘biking’.” Deanna teased as she hopped in front of Selena, her hands behind her back.

“As I recall, I said I was going biking, to which you replied-“ Selena cleared her throat, her voice adopting a over-the-top high voice as she shook her hands childishly, “Oooo! Let me come with you! Let me come with you!”
“I don’t sound like that.” Deanna grumbled a little, clearly not liking the imitation.
“So, why are you wearing my pants?” Selena asked with a laugh.
“I’m a biker chick!” Deanna remarked, twirling on the spot to display herself to her wife. “Your biker chick.”
“You look like you’re trying to get the role of Catwoman on The Batgirl.” Selena remarked, recalling one of their favourite TV shows they had been binge-watching during their travels to different SCW arenas.
“They already cast her.” Deanna shrugged before eyeing her attire. “Are you saying that it doesn’t look good on me?”

Now THAT was something Selena could not say – at least not convincingly. While she did have the slightly larger chest than Deanna, the redhead had her beat in the posterior department, which made her fill out the leather pants far better than Selena could – a fact that made Selena’s sapphire eyes unable to tear away from the round, perfect-

“You’re staring.” Deanna smiled, tilting her hip a little towards Selena to give her a slightly better view.
“I sure am.” Selena nodded her head. “And now I’m thinking you’re trying for Sandy from ‘Grease’.”

Throwing a hand over Selena’s shoulder, Deanna gave a playful tilt of her head and a smoky gaze into Selena’s eyes. “Tell me about it, stud.” She winked at the taller woman, though her hand positions allowed the Snow Queen to notice one last accessory the redhead wore.

“What’s with the leather gloves?” she asked with a look of confusion and amusement.
“Don’t biker chicks wear leather gloves to grip the handles better?” Deanna asked, clearly believing such a statement. To answer her, Selena held up her own pale hands, devoid of any such wearings.

“That would explain why I couldn’t find any ‘biker gloves’ in your compartment.” Deanna remarked, staring at her hands. 
“Yeah…those are winter gloves, sweetheart.” Selena laughed a little. “And they don’t really match your outfit.”

With a sigh, Deanna turned and quickly jogged back into the garage and to the door that lead into their house. Opening it, she carefully placed the gloves on the nearby entryway table, calling into the house as she did so. “We’re going now, Gerda! Call us if there are any issues. We won’t be more than a few hours!”

She seemed to hear an answer, for she gave a nod before closing the door and re-exited the garage, closing it behind her with the built-in keypad before rejoining Selena. “Ready!” she declared, causing the older Selena to tilt her head in mild amusement.

Not saying a word, the platinum-blonde turned and gracefully threw her leg over her motorcycle to straddle it properly. She felt the bike shift and move under her as Deanna joined her, sitting just behind her and wrapping her arms around Selena’s lean waist. Reaching out to the side, Selena grabbed the two black helmets, handing one to Deanna before sliding the other over her own head, being careful to keep her hair in a comfortable position to avoid any pulling or tugging coming from the helmet position. She fiddled with the intercom on her the helmet and on her phone as Deanna pulled her own helmet on.

“Can you hear me, sweetheart?” Selena asked softly, testing the intercom.
“Yep.” Deanna’s voice rang in her ear.
“Good. Hold on tight.” 
“But we’re not moving yet.”
“Your point?” Selena asked, her voice adopting a teasing tone. In answer, she felt her wife squeeze her arms around her frame, her chest pressed into Selena’s back. 

She felt so alive when she twisted the handle to start the engine, feeling the bike do the same from under her! “Atta girl…” Selena whispered.

“You mean me?” came the voice from her ‘head’, Deanna’s intercom still working.
“No, but I appreciate you anyway. Here we go!” Selena answered back before kicking the kickstand back in place and shooting down the driveway and out into the streets of Manhattan! 

*********************************************************

Years ago…
Manhattan, New York
April 18th, 2016
3:34pm

“Here we go…” Deanna breathed as she reached up for the top shelf, sticking her tongue out and stretching as far up as she could where the Oreo cookies were. She had been craving them all day and, finally, she would soon have them! If she could just reach a little farther… 

She felt so sluggish and heavy as she tried to stand on her tiptoes, her legs shaking against the strain of trying to support herself. As if I need any other reason to feel fat… the redhead remarked glumly, though she kept trying to reach the damn bag of cookies. “Almost…” she whispered, her fingertips just grazing the wrapping of the cookie-box. “Almost…” she huffed, growing more winded with each exertion. She felt her lower back spasming as she overstretched and just as she was about to collapse, she suddenly felt a pair of arms wrap around her, and a soft, yet toned body pressed against her in support, pulling her back – to the relief of her muscles and spine.

“Deanna!” she recognized the voice instantly but cringed at the tone – I’m in trouble….  “What are you doing?”

Turning around, Deanna bit her lower lip, the guilt evident on her face as she saw the concerned expression of her wife, Selena Frost. “I was just…” she gestured with a hand towards the top shelf of cookies in the baked goods aisle of the grocery store. “Just wanted…”

Following her gaze and gesture, Selena’s sapphire eyes spied the box on the top shelf. “Couldn’t you have waited?” she asked, trying her best to be patient as she reached up, standing on her tip toes to grab the box with ease, taking it off the shelf to place it in the grocery cart that stood nearby. “Let me help you.”

“I can…” Deanna tried, biting her lip, trying to hide the upset nature of seeing her wife achieve the redhead’s desired goal with such ease. “I’m not useless.” She muttered under her breath, but Selena still heard her.
“Of course you’re not useless!” she urged, taking her wife’s face into her hands. “But you ARE carrying our baby.”

At those words, Deanna’s hand drifted down to rest over the swell of her belly. She was only a few months away from delivering their child – they still had no idea what the child would be, nor did they care – and it seemed like the young one couldn’t wait to be born, a feeling shared by both Frost women. Still, Deanna could have done without the added weight and feeling incompetent and useless.

It was hard not to feel this way, especially recently. Her wife had just won the biggest tournament in SCW – the Best of the Best Tournament. Not only that, she had won the Shot of Adrenaline Tournament a month or two ago as well, making her the current Adrenaline champion in SCW! The world was abuzz about Selena Frost and her making an impact, easily the biggest, in her career! There were even talks of her becoming world champion, something that Deanna was beyond proud of her for her beloved.

Except she’s winning tournaments… she thought. “….and I can’t even get a damn box of cookie off the shelf…” but muttered the last part, only realizing she had when she heard Selena’s voice.

“What?” came the accented voice, making Deanna’s eyes widened as she realized her error. “What did you say, Deanna?”
“Nothing.” The redhead shook her head. “Nothing important.”
“Deanna, if something’s bothering you-“ Selena implored. “Please tell me. The stress isn’t good for the baby.”

“I said, ‘Here you are winning tournaments and titles and maybe even becoming a world title contender, and I can’t even get a damn box of cookies off a shelf!” her voice cracked as she repeated herself, shocking her wife and hating herself for doing so.

“I…” Selena tried, unable to fully process the outburst her pregnant wife had just unleashed. “I haven’t heard anything about being a world title contender – I wouldn’t even if there was. I’m not ready or deserving of that-“

“That’s not my point.” Deanna half-cried, her emotions running wild as she swiped at her eyes. “You are… you’re amazing.” She huffed. “Your office is full of trophies and those two new ones for the tournaments – and all I can do is carry around a baby and, let’s face it, I’m pretty sure I’d fail that if you weren’t here.”

“Don’t say that.” Selena tried. “I’m beyond proud of you and I couldn’t ask-“
“Please don’t placate me!” Deanna begged, doing her best to keep her voice down as it cracked under her emotions. “I’m nowhere near your level, okay? You’re the superstar, the breadwinner, the celebrity – I’m a hick from Kentucky you found and took pity on.” She sniffled again and, again, reached up to wipe at her teary eyes with her hand.

Selena, meanwhile, stood there in silence, her jaw moving a little up and down but no sound came out. There were not many other shoppers, thank Odin, but she had spied one or two of them peek their heads in, perhaps they heard one of Deanna’s cries, the young wrestler wasn’t certain. Nervously, Selena reached up to grab and twist at her long braid, feeling the thick hair in her hands.

“Please tell me this is the hormones talking.” She tried. “Because I’ve never- I’ve never thought of you-“
“It’s not you.” Deanna was crying a bit more, though she was doing all she can to keep her voice down and not embarrass anyone. “I’ve been feeling that for so long now.”
“Feeling what?” Selena asked. “I don’t understand.” She tried desperately. “All I’ve done is because of you. You’re the reason I work so hard and try so hard to win-“

“You tried to win to keep your name-“
“Our name.” 
“Because we thought Brachiss and the others were going take it.”

“That’s partly true, yes.” Selena admitted. “But it’s also you! I mean – I want you to be proud of me. Proud that you married me…”
“How do you think I feel?” Deanna half-laughed. “I can tell everyone in the neighbourhood that Selena Frost, SCW Superstar, is my wife! Can you say the same?”
“Well…no, because I can’t really marry myself.” Selena tried, laughing awkwardly at her poor humor.

“Try it.” Deanna sniffled. “What can you say about me that you’re proud of?”

The Snow Queen seemed to pause at that as the pair stood in the aisle, her mind racing as she tried to put all the pieces of the last three minutes together. Maybe this wasn’t just hormones… she would be lying if she hadn’t noticed how much her stock in SCW had skyrocketed lately, the massive wins she had accumulated making her somewhat of a megastar, perhaps in the same vein as those with the world championship like Syren or her best friend, Regan Street.

Did Deanna feel inadequate in comparison? Because she was a stay-at-home wife? Or was it because she was a manager while Selena was a superstar? Someone that was seen so often versus someone that stayed in the back?

“You can’t can you?” Deanna smiled sadly, sniffling once more. “I’m sorry.” She sighed. “I know I’m being unfair – you’re working so hard to do all these great things. Things I can’t possibly do or will ever do. And I need…” she took a deep breath to try and calm/recenter herself. “I need to get use to the fact that I’m going to be ‘Selena’s wife’ and that’s it.”

Every nerve in Selena’s body fired off at that, her mind racing as she beheld her wife’s exhausted and broken expression. How many years, how many decades, had Selena, herself, had to deal with a name she despised? The Crazy Miner’s Daughter? A name she hadn’t deserved, a reputation her father didn’t deserve! Or at least he deserved better!

Just like Deanna did! She wasn’t asking for praise or adulation! She wasn’t asking anyone to worship her as some sort of god! She wasn’t even asking to be some kind of celebrity like Selena was becoming in the SCW Universe. 

She just wanted to feel worthy….

Worthy of being Selena’s wife.
Worthy of bearing Selena and her children.
Worthy of being a Frost.

She wanted to feel as needed and worthwhile in this relationship as Selena was. It didn’t have to be seen as easily as Selena’s case was. It just had to be there.

Lifting her head, Selena’s eyes caught sight of one of the apron-wearing employees of the grocery store. The young lady, raven-haired and short, seemed to be stocking jars of peanuts on one of the displays. Holding up a finger to Deanna, Selena excused herself, taking a few steely breaths to calm herself as she approached the woman. 

Seeing the platinum-blonde coming, the dark-skinned woman offered a kind smile, no doubt part of her training in such a profession. “Hello, ma’am.” She offered. Now I feel old… Selena thought before shaking her head, clearing just in time to get the second part of the employee’s message. “Can I help you?”

“I hope so…” her eyes scanned down to the nametag on the left side of the woman’s apron. “Connie. I really hope so…”