#also I hate just as much as you do that boxer au Anetra is a blonde but I can’t change established canon!

[sexynetra]

I’m so sorry to be that person but I can’t choose a specific prompt for the otp protective list thingy 🫠

IF you want to I’m down for anything on that list for boxer au, you pick…apologies again 🥲🥲

No worries! Even just showing interest at all in more boxer au is helpful to me 💕

Have some concerned Marcia, as a treat

Also… me completing a piece of writing these days? Less likely than you’d think! But we did it lads <3

Pretending everything is fine so the other doesn't have to know what's going on. / “Please never do that again.”

(Also uhhh this one got long sorry)

Ao3 link

~~~~~~~~~~~

Either Marcia had gotten complacent, or Anetra was an incredibly skilled actress. Marcia wasn’t sure which. But when Anetra insisted she was fine after a particularly rough match, Marcia believed her. After all, Anetra had no reason to lie to her. She was a nurse, Anetra would tell her if she was hurt. Besides, Anetra had been fighting long enough that she could certainly tell when an injury was serious or not.

So Marcia didn’t push, didn’t force Anetra to let her double check. They were early in their relationship, and Marcia didn’t want to ruin things by being too much of a worrywart. So she left after the match, with a kiss goodbye, and a promise to see her for their dinner date. And as she left, she tried to convince herself that everything was fine.

And it was, at first. Anetra looked radiant as ever when Marcia arrived at the restaurant, blonde hair perfectly coiffed, tight pink dress like a second skin hugging her perfect figure. Nearly all traces of the fight had been wiped away, hidden under effortlessly blended makeup.

The only hint that she had been bloody and bruised just that morning was the slight limp in her walk, and the split second longer than usual that it took her to react.

“Hi, beautiful,” Marcia murmured, crossing the distance to wrap her arms around Anetra and pull her in for a gentle kiss. Anetra set her hands on Marcia’s waist, squeezing gently as she kissed her back.

“Missed you,” she breathed into the kiss. “You look ethereal. As always. Taking my breath away.”

Marcia pulled back finally, a shy smile on her face. No matter how many times Anetra complimented her, Marcia still couldn’t believe it was real. That Anetra was actually hers.

In hindsight, maybe she missed the signs because she didn’t want to admit anything was amiss. She just wanted a nice date night with her girlfriend, and maybe if she ignored what she knew in her gut, it would go away. That was the hope at least.

But life didn’t work that way, and denying the evidence in front of her face could only last so long. Especially when Anetra was acting so… off.

“Babe, you aren’t looking too hot, are you sure you’re really okay?” Marcia asked after the third time she’d had to drag Anetra back into their conversation. Anetra blinked a few times, shaking her head for a moment as if trying to force herself to focus on the conversation at hand.

“Damn. And here I thought you found me beautiful. Now I’m not even that hot?” She joked, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. Marcia’s own frown deepened.

“Neech, I’m serious. You’re really out of it and it’s starting to scare me,” Marcia tried, chewing on her lower lip as she watched her girlfriend who was currently refusing to look her in the eyes.

“I’m fine, Marcia. Don’t be overdramatic. I had a big fight this morning. I’m just tired,” Anetra deflected, picking at her chipped nail polish and staring resolutely down at her food. Marcia deflated a bit.

“I’m not trying to—“ Marcia sighed, rubbing her temples. “I’m not trying to be a drama queen, I’m just worried, okay? Can we just like… go back to my place? Relax on the couch and go to bed early? If you’re really just tired then I’ll drop it and things will be all good in the morning.” Marcia put on her best puppy dog eyes, looking across the table at Anetra until her girlfriend looked back.

Anetra deflated slightly. “Yeah, okay. That sounds nice,” she admitted begrudgingly, waving over the waiter to get the check.

Marcia was still antsy, but was trying to rein in her concerns. Surely Anetra really was just tired, and a good night's sleep would fix everything. She kept telling herself that, until Anetra went to stand up.

Marcia felt frozen as she watched Anetra stumble, grabbing onto the edge of the table with white knuckles and clenching her eyes shut, head dropping. After a second she sprung into action, running over to the other side of the table to wrap an arm around Anetra, to make sure she was steady on her feet.

“Sorry, sorry. I’m fine. I'm okay. Just got… dizzy,” Anetra’s voice was distant, her breathing shaky, and Marcia’s heart broke for a moment.

“I’ve got you. Just breathe. Let’s go outside. Get some fresh air.” Marcia kept her arm right around her girlfriend, letting her lean against her side for support as she got them outside, helping Anetra down onto the nearest bench. She sat down beside her, thoughts racing as she watched the color return to Anetra’s face.

“Marsh, I—“ Anetra began after a moment but Marcia cut her off, trying to keep her voice from trembling.

“How long have you been feeling off? Don’t lie to me, please. I need to… I need to know if this has to do with the fight. Please, let me help you. I just want you to be okay,” Marcia rushed to get her words out, eyes wide and pleading.

Anetra was silent for a moment, chewing on her lower lip and fidgeting nervously with the rings she was wearing. “I… I thought it was just a headache from the impact, I swear. If I thought it was anything serious I would have told you,” She spoke quietly, finally glancing up from her lap to meet Marcia’s eyes. “I know you get frightened during these fights and I just. It would have scared you even more if I told you something was wrong. I just didn’t want you to have to worry about me.”

The revelation that Anetra had been hiding things from her did nothing to soothe Marcia’s frayed nerves. For all she knew, this wasn’t the first time Anetra had been hurt and thought it wasn’t important for Marcia to know. “I’m a nurse, Anetra. You need to tell me these things. Of course I worry, you’re my girlfriend, and I care about you. A lot. But I’m gonna worry a hell of a lot more when you nearly pass out in a restaurant than if you just tell me when something isn’t right. Or better yet just… let me check to make sure nothing major is wrong after fights. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen? Better I find it early than… whatever could have happened tonight.” She paused to take a few calming breaths, trying to keep a cool demeanor, despite how anxious she was. “You can’t keep this stuff from me, not if you want me to come to your matches. Not if you want to be able to keep fighting in the long run. This isn’t fun and games, Neech. It’s life and death, and I don’t think me being worried is an overreaction. This is my job, I know how risky what you’re doing is, and I just want to help. But you can’t keep this kind of thing a secret from me. Please never do that again. My heart can’t take it.”

The guilt was plain as day on Anetra’s face and Marcia wondered for a moment if she had pushed too hard, if she was being too harsh. But Anetra reached to take Marcia’s hands in her own, and Marcia melted slightly into the touch, having to blink a few times to keep her tears from spilling.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was… I didn’t realize. I never meant to frighten you,” Anetra murmured, running her thumb across the back of Marcia’s hand delicately. Marcia melted more at the gentleness, shifting to rest her head on Anetra’s shoulder.

“My heart can’t take it,” Marcia repeated quietly, closing her eyes and focusing on the feeling of Anetra, sturdy against her side.

“I know. I’m really sorry. If I’d known I was making you worry this much I never would have kept it from you…” Anetra’s breath was warm on her hair as she felt her place a soft kiss to the top of her head.

Marcia turned her face to bury it in the crook of Anetra’s neck. “You owe me big time, you know. For lying to me. You’d better be prepared to grovel.” Anetra laughed softly against her hair and Marcia smiled to herself, warmth running down her spine. Everything was going to be okay, she could tell.

“Of course, darling. Whatever you say.”