Backstage was buzzing. Tech crew scattered around like fire ants, everyone either shouting into headsets or dragging equipment across the floor. But all I could hear was the roar of the crowd still echoing in my ears and the pounding of my pulse as it finally started to settle. My boots clicked against the concrete as I walked next to Cody, Jey just a few steps behind us. I stole a glance back at him—his chest was still heaving, his title barely hanging on his shoulder like it weighed a hundred pounds.
We finally stopped near a stack of road cases, tucked away just enough for some privacy. Cody dropped his hands to his knees and exhaled a heavy breath. I leaned against the closest crate, arms crossed and wings still half-flared. Honestly? I probably looked more dramatic than I meant to—but after the chaos out there, I didn’t really care. Cody looked up, caught his breath, and grinned that smug Rhodes grin. “Okay, tell me that wasn’t the coolest promo drop of my career.”
I blinked. “Which part? The ‘I’m sorry the John Cena Farewell Tour rode into Rhodes Country’ line?” I said, mimicking his dramatic inflection with a hand over my heart. “Yeah, that was real subtle. Might as well have said ‘this is my house now’ and dropped a cowboy hat.”
Jey chuckled quietly, and Cody just groaned, dragging a hand down his face.
“I knew you were gonna roast me the second we got back here.”
“You say that like it’s not tradition at this point,” I shot back, smirking. “Also, you paused before you said ‘Farewell Tour.’ You knew what you were doing. The drama, Cody. The drama!”
Cody looked to Jey for support. “You hear this? This is what I deal with every day.”
Jey held up both hands, amused. “Don’t look at me, Uce. She’s not wrong.”
I shot Jey a satisfied wink, and Cody shook his head like he regretted all his life choices leading to our friendship. Jey snorted quietly, resting a hand on the road case beside him as he listened. I kept going, not letting Cody off the hook. “And the way you turned and said, ‘I got myself a brother in the World Heavyweight Champion!’”—I dropped my voice in a ridiculously over-the-top imitation of him—“you were practically begging for an Emmy.”
“I was hyping Jey up!” Cody defended, holding up his hands.
“Oh, I’m aware. You hyped him up like he was entering the final battle of an anime arc.”
“Okay, now you’re just jealous you didn’t get a line.”
“Jealous?!” I gaped, then laughed. “I didn’t need a line, Code. I had wings out, fire in my eyes, and the power of judgment in my stance. I was the line.”
Jey chuckled again, a low and tired sound, but genuine. Cody blinked at me, clearly trying not to laugh. “You’re impossible,” he said.
“You’re dramatic,” I shot back.
“I’m inspirational.”
“You’re so lucky I didn’t trip you on your way down the ramp.”
“That would’ve been iconic, honestly,” Jey muttered under his breath, and I immediately pointed at him.
“See?! Even the champ agrees!”
Cody shook his head and gave Jey an exaggerated look of betrayal. “You too, Uce? I thought we were on the same team!”
“We are,” Jey said with a grin, “but I ain’t gettin’ between y’all. Watching you two go at it? Might be the highlight of my night.”
I tilted my head, curious, as the air softened just a little. “Oh yeah?”
He nodded slowly, adjusting the belt on his shoulder. “Yeah. You two… you remind me of my brother and me.”
I blinked. “Jimmy?”
“Yeah,” he said, voice dipping into something quieter, more reflective. “We’d fight like crazy sometimes—get on each other’s nerves like no one else could. Always bickering, always throwing shade, but still got each other’s backs. There was nobody else I’d rather have next to me in the ring. No matter what. That’s how we’ve always been. Ride or die. Watching you two out there? It felt familiar.”
That hit a little deeper than I expected. I met Cody’s gaze for a moment, and I think he felt it too—the rare, quiet kind of reminder that in this world full of betrayal and power-hungry egos, having someone who’s in your corner, really in your corner, meant more than having a title. Cody’s grin faded into something more sincere. “That means a lot coming from you, man.”
Jey shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal, but the way he looked at us said it was. “Just calling it like I see it.”
Cody stepped forward and bumped knuckles with Jey. “We got your back, Uce. Money in the Bank’s gonna be a war, but we’re walking in together.”
“And walking out louder than ever,” I added. “With Logan’s teeth still on the mat, hopefully.”
They both laughed, and for a moment, all the chaos and heat of the match felt far away. I stepped forward, bumping Jey’s arm lightly. “Well, I’ll take being Jimmy in this dynamic.”
“Why?” Cody asked. “Because you wanna be the cool one?”
“No,” I said, smirking. “Because it means I get to slap the sense into you when you start acting wild.”
Jey burst out laughing. “She’s got you there, Uce.”
Cody rolled his eyes, but the smile tugging at his lips gave him away. “You two are terrible for my self-esteem.”
“You love it,” I said.
He nodded. “Unfortunately.”
It was just the three of us, catching our breath, savoring the win—and the bond that got us there. Jey nodded once, slow and sure. “It’s rare, y’know? This kind of connection. You don’t fake it. You feel it.”
There was a quiet beat after that. A warm kind of silence. Cody broke it first. “Well, I would never superkick Angel in the face, if that’s what you’re implying.”
“Only because you’d be terrified of what I’d do afterward,” I muttered.
Jey grinned. “Smart man.”
Cody looked between the two of us like he was being ganged up on. “Great, now you’ve turned Jey against me. This friendship is becoming very one-sided. Why do I even bring you backstage with me?” Cody asked no one in particular, shaking his head.
“Because without me, your ego would be completely out of control,” I said sweetly.
“And because she’s the one who saved your ass from getting knocked out by brass knuckles,” Jey added, grinning as he wiped his face with a towel. “She yelled at the exact right time.”
I turned toward Jey with a proud smile and pointed a thumb at myself. “You’re welcome. My danger senses were tingling.”
“Oh, is that what we’re calling it?” Cody asked with mock skepticism. “I thought it was just your ‘I want to punch Logan Paul in the face’ radar.”
“Hey, it’s a real thing,” I said. “Like a sixth sense I feel when that man’s up to something shady. My wings get itchy. My soul screams.”
Jey chuckled again and shook his head, looking between the two of us as we kept going. “But seriously,” I continued, leaning against a crate. “That Cross Rhodes? Beautiful. You spun Cena like a pizza.”
Cody flexed slightly, pretending to admire his own arms. “Years of practice. Also, rage. Mostly rage.”
“Anger does wonders,” I agreed. “Especially when it’s at someone who monologues like he’s the main character in a movie nobody asked for.”
“Oh, look who’s talking!” Cody shot back. “Miss ‘I don’t need a mic to deliver terrifying threats with my eyes alone.’ You think that wasn’t dramatic?”
“That wasn’t drama. That was presence,” I corrected smugly. “There’s a difference.”
He pointed at me, eyes narrowing playfully. “You’re enjoying this way too much.”
“You know me, I live and breathe sassiness,” I replied with a shrug, eyes drifting to Cody for a second before going back to Jey. “We’ve been through a lot together. Wins, losses, betrayals, steel chairs, ambulances…”
Cody snorted. “You threw me into an ambulance once.”
“I had to. You tried to fight Solo with a torn rotator cuff!”
“It was a partial tear.”
“It was stupid, Cody.”
Jey shook his head, laughing again. “Y’all really are like siblings.”
Cody reached out and ruffled my hair roughly, knowing it’d annoy me. “Hey!” I ducked away, swatting at him. “You’re lucky I’m too tired to dropkick you into the catering table.”
“You’re lucky I let you steal my thunder with your dramatic, winged, wordless stare of judgment,” he fired back.
“Oh please. The second I walked out, that crowd lost it. Admit it—you were glad I was there.”
He rolled his eyes. “Fine. I was glad.”
Jey raised his eyebrows. “That’s a big deal.”
“You wanna write that down?” I asked Cody sweetly. “Frame it maybe? ‘Cody Rhodes once admitted he was glad Angel existed.’ We can hang it next to your collection of sparkly capes.”
Cody was this close to flipping me off, but Jey’s laughter cut through the space again, warmer this time, full of something that felt like relief. “You know,” he said, voice a little rough around the edges, “after everything lately… it’s good to be around this kinda energy again.”
I looked over at him, softer now. “We’re glad to have you in it.”
He nodded. “Y’all real ones. That’s all I need.”
A beat passed. The air settled. Then Cody clapped his hands together with a dramatic sigh. “Alright. Can we now talk about how I nailed Cena with that Cross Rhodes like I’d been waiting my whole career for it?”
I groaned. “Here we go again.”
“Come on! I spiked him like a volleyball and you know it!”
“You did,” I admitted, holding up my hands. “And I’ll buy you a drink for it. Just one. I’m not funding your cowboy-themed ego trip.”
He grinned, slinging an arm over my shoulder as we turned to walk down the hallway. “That’s fair.”
“Nah, seriously though,” I added, tone softening as I looked between them. “That was a hell of a moment out there. You two stood tall. That’s what they’re gonna remember. Not Cena. Not Logan. You.”
Jey nodded, still catching his breath. “Y’all were on point. Cody came out swingin’. And you?” He looked at me, that small, knowing smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “You came out like a storm. Wings and all.”
“Someone had to save your title reign,” I teased, bumping him lightly with my shoulder. “Can’t have YouTube Boy stealing your moment with brass knuckles.”
Cody gave me a side-eye. “You’re just mad you didn’t get to punch Logan yourself.”
I didn’t even try to deny it. “Damn right. Next time, he’s mine.”
“Alright,” I finally said, pushing off the crate. “Now who’s buying me a drink? Preferably something strong enough to erase Cody’s dramatic cowboy monologue from my memory.”
“Oh my god,” Cody groaned, already walking away. “Why do I talk to you again?”
Jey chuckled beside me. “Because she’d haunt you if you didn’t.”
He wasn’t wrong. And honestly? I wouldn’t have it any other way. Jey walked beside us, still grinning, belt over his shoulder, the three of us moving like we’d always belonged on the same page. Same fight. Same mission. And with that, we walked off—three shadows with fire still burning in our blood, already thinking about Money in the Bank. Because legends weren’t just made in the ring. They were made right here—in moments like this.
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and then Add to home screen.