Casual Conversations.

Kyoto, Japan - 10:03 am

The weekend was here. A nice sunny Saturday outside.

"O-Owww... " Clyde was on his couch, watching TV with a blacked right eye, bandages applied to his cheek as well as his rib cage, having it completely around his body following his match with Carmen who's punches had wrecked him something fierce. His jaw ached from the unprotected running big boot he took to his face from Shauna O'Connor, probably hurt his pride more than anything, wondering how things had gotten so rough lately.

But it was rough. Really rough. Everyone seemed like they were out to get him. Melissa the Tension GM, Bree and King, That masked Trio of Thugs that now had Shauna with them, Cheerleader Lilly and the worst of them all... Allison Watson and her crony Jocelyn. Those two weren't even stalking him like the others and yet they had harmed him than anyone else due to the attacks they had put on his family. Clyde felt worn down and riddled with inadequacy and guilt be he was carrying on. He was determined to set things right somehow.

But part of him was happy. Fighting Carmen made him feel like wrestling for AFW could be fun again and not always this brutal place where everyone was out to just break you down. He needed more fights like that. Less drama and bitter feuds. He was starting to get tired of all the crap that was flung at him, he missed how simple things used to be... Maybe he was going to need that high school education more than he knew. He was starting to rethink a long term career here.

There was one other person who made him happy in this crazy world and he felt he had to talk with her, so he flipped out his phone and started texting his pink haired paralegal.

"had plans to ask you out for dinner but babe im sore as hell. got time 2 talk on the phone?"

Mercy yawned as she sat on her couch. She was still in her pajamas, light pink with purple octopi on them. She was wearing her "Ride Me, Cowboy" shirt while she flipped through the television channels with her remote. In the her lap was a bowl of partially soggy OCT-O's that she was enjoying for breakfast. Even though she had got the gist of Japanese down, it still wasn't fun to try and watch Japanese TV. She flipped the television off and tossed the remote when her phone buzzed.

She looked at it and saw it was Clyde. Mercy sighed. There was no real good excuse to not talk to him. She picked up her phone and situated herself into a loungier position so she could talk. She dialed Clyde's number and wedged the phone into her shoulder and neck, waiting for Clyde to pick up.

"You're actually awake?" She teased when she heard the phone pick up. She smiled. "Hello, Clyde." She added.

Clyde slumped on his sofa after making the text, not knowing when he'd get a reply to his text but suddenly and rather quickly, his phone started to ring, he quickly picked it up in a moment's haste!

"Yeah..." He said cooly. "Too sore ta sleep." he mused only to pause as she greeted him, he smiled softly, it was so nice to hear her voice and say his name like that. He felt the aches and pains go away. "Hey babe." He finally answered.

"...You been alright? Anybody been foolin' with ya?" With their relationship now as public as ever, Clyde worried about Mercy's safety.

"Uh... I'm fine..." She said in response to Clyde's words. "Am I afraid to leave the building without an escort? No." She said. "Are half the employees that work in the company giant hoebags? That's never going to change, Clyde. Why? What's wrong?"

"Hm." Clyde listened in patiently. Mercy was a strong girl and she made him proud to have her. For someone who wasn't a wrestler or a fighter in general, she had proved on several occasions that she did not fear them. It was admirable. But she knew an unfortunate truth. Lots of pople in AFW were in fact giant ho' bags of the highest caliber.

He sighed. "I... Guess that's just It, babe. Giant ho' bags." He said softly. "Lately lots of bad things been happenin'. I feel responsible fer so much. Lilly comin' after ya at the Friction Arena. I... Even got Bonnie and Duffy hurt. I..." He put his hand over his exposed eye that started to water. Stressed out, guilt ridden and just plain afraid.

For once he was begging that no one in the world cared about him and wanted to see him on TV during that PPV match.

"...B-Babe. I know I've- We've. Said this before. But, I... I love you, Mercy. I really do. I wouldn't do anythin' ta' hurt ya. But lots of people have been or have tried, hurtin' me..." He paused briefly. "...I'm scared those same people would try to hurt you. Especially Allison. The public knows we're together." Their relationship was always speculated due to the in-match conversation Clyde had with Lilly at the Tension vs. Friction PPV, the countless mentions of Mercy, as well as what occurred at the Final Conway's Crib. But now they had been seen together on live TV. It was official.

"Me too, Clyde." Mercy said after a moment.Why did she have to go and say those words! Now Clyde was going to be insufferable. Like right now. She tried to hold in her sigh. "Clyde, the reason I didn't want people to know we were together wasn't because I was afraid people would come after me. I think that's just ridiculous, really." She said. "People are jealous of how smart I am. They will come after me anyway. Like with Lllly. She just knows I'm so much better than her and the only way she knows how to deal with that is to be even more of a gutter skank than she already is."

Mercy scooped up a soggy OCT-O and slurped it up. "Allison? Please. I've already dealt with her before. She's the last person I'm worried about. You need to stop being so paranoid. I'm not a child. I can handle myself." She said, her last words spoken with a little bit of irritation.

And just like that, Mercy took all his worries away. Not in the comforting way either. No, Mercy took away Clyde's worries with a dull reaction from the cowboy, his eyes narrowing, looking up at the ceiling with a deadpan gaze as Mercy concluded that people were jealous of how smart she was. "Yup." He said bluntly. Leave it to Mercy to never take his words seriously. He knew she wasn't a child, she was more mature than him. But he wished she would be more careful, especially with a scorned Shauna gaining some new friends.

Clyde just sighed in frustration. "I know. Never said you were a child, honey." said the cowboy to the 20 something year old with happy-face cloud pajama and cartoon octopus slippers. But Paranoid?

"Paranoid? Nu uh. Listen babe. Between the crap with Angela and Poison, who went to sister's apartment to injure her further. I got jumped by Killer King's stripper cat-lady Bree and just recently after my match with Shauna I got jumped by those 3 masked goons that been foolin' with Jonny and Taylor!" After getting that out of his system, Clyde sighed.

"...Just be careful." He muttered finally. "If anythin' you might find all the beatings I've taken a blessin in disguise... They've motivated me ta' enroll in an online course to earn my GED back in the states. Don't exactly know whats gonna happen ta' me and you in the near future but I don't plan on stayin in AFW at this rate. Not forever at least. I'm rarely havin' fun in the ring like I used to." He muttered, slightly dissapointed.

"You're a wrestler, Clyde. That's the stupid crap wrestling meatheads do. If they were right int he head, they wouldn't BE wrestlers, they'd be normal people." She said, trying to explain things to Clyde. "I'M normal. I have a normal office job and I do normal work. If they come after me, I can just call the police." She said.

Mercy sighed and leaned back in her seat on the couch. "Clyde. I don't LIKE seeing you get beat up, believe it or not. If you LIKE wrestling, then... I guess I'm happy for you." She tried her best, she really did. "But even if no one was out to get you, you could still suffer a freak injury. or, a regular one. Even if everything goes right, it's still not something you can do forever. HAT'S why it's good to have something to fall back on."

Mercy set her bowl on the stand next to the couch and stretched out. "If you want me to come tutor you, I'll do it, Clyde." Mercy said, her voice taking on a sudden sultry inflection.

"Hmmm." Clyde mulled over Mercy's words. She seemed right as usual. What kind of person would do dangerous things like wrestlers? Especially ones from AFW? They, Clyde included, were all very far from normal people.

"I believe it." He said quickly, having no doubts on her concern for him even though he seemed to be the one who called more often. And though he wished she liked the sport more, Clyde did love wrestling and just fighting in genral. It was what he loved to do and felt he was meant to do. But he knew Mercy was right and he had been thinking about the future. Anything could happen, especially after recent events showed him that human bodies were not invincible. His taped ribs were an example.

"I know babe. You're right." He completely agreed with her and felt a motivation to get his education finally.... But that motivation seemed to only increase as Mercy spoke into the phone with a sultry tone that made sent a pleasurable tingle down Clyde's spine, dopey smile across his lips.

"H-Hoooh... Y-Yeaah. That'd be great." He stumbled over his response like a true lovesick puppy that was beyond excited. He liked having Mercy over, but she was also smart. It was like he was guaranteed.to be smart by default now. "You can teach me whatever you like Ms. Wrenn. I'll get an A+." He said confidently

"You'd betterrr." Mercy purred, her eyes sparkling as she giggled into the phone. She kicked her legs up and carried her dish tot he sink, washing it out while she spoke. "What are you studying, Clyde?" She asked. "I can think of a fun way to keep you motivated on the subjects at hand." She said, grinning delightfully at the thought of teasing him.

"But, what DO you want to do with an education, Clyde?" She asked, getting a little serious. She didn't know if it would be better if it was something she could get behind or help him with or something that she could use as an excuse to ditch him if she needed to.