Getting into Shape

Talia stared at the contact on her phone. It had been forever since she met the name she was looking at. And the two were drunk and at a club when they did meet. It seemed completely unrealistic that was considering asking her a huge favor. But at the same time, it seemed like the only avenue. Rather, the most convenient avenue to get back into shape. She didn't want to bug Charlie about it, he'd just worry nonstop about her.

And working out at the gym would just attract unwanted attention. She didn't want to run into old enemies while training. And since that constituted everyone in her book, it was out of the question.

Talia hit Call for the contact. After all, her sister had said the person was great and reasonable. This would go well. Probably. Hopefully. "Hey, Natasha?"

Natasha's phone sat on the end table beside her while she lost herself in one of the thousand books that lined the library selves in her family's home, this particular one about the war of the roses between France and England. It wasn't a bad read but the material was incredibly dry and after a hundred pages in she just couldn't press on any longer no matter how recommended the book was by her father. There was a romance novel her mother had sent over that did interest her however but as she reached to pick it up from the table her phone began to ring.

She hadn't been expecting any phone calls but her first thought was someone from the AFW was calling to inform her she had a surprise match that evening, a move she didn't put past Lukretia, but the name she saw couldn't have been more different than the german woman. Natasha had not seen Talia since she had insisted the woman spend the night at her house to sleep off a night of heavy drinking but she had spoken with her sister, though from what Aurora had told her Talia had left the country.

Picking the phone up from the table Natasha clicked to accept the call and ut the phone to her ear, smiling as she heard Talia's voice. "This is a surprise! How are you doing Talia, its been a while." She said in a pleasant voice as she leaned back against her couch.

Talia bit her lip and froze. She suddenly felt the full weight of what she was about to ask. Hey I know we don't really know each other but can I take advantage of your vastly wealth of resources? The redhead cleared her throat. "I've been alright. I took a personal sabbatical for awhile but I'm back in town now." That was a life story of journey and self-exploration that she summarized in one sentence. "Anyways, I still remember that time I slept over at your place after the club. Thanks again for that, I appreciate it."

The girl scrunched her lips up and took a small breath. "I was wondering...well...I was thinking about getting ready for a comeback of sorts. I'm not on contract right now so I can't use the AFW gyms." And also didn't want to use them. "Anyways umm..." she trailed off and tried to bring it back and be straight forward. Aurora had said Natasha was a very nice and generous woman after all. There shouldn't have been any butterflies in her stomach. "I was wondering if maybe you'd consider letting me train with you at your gym?"

Talia was probably one of the people whose name she least expected to see on her phone after Aurora had told her she had left the country, she hadn't actually thought she would hear from the woman again but here she was on the phone with Talia on the other end. She thought for a moment it couldn't actually be her but when she picked up the phone there was no mistaking Talia's voice. It was a welcome surprise and one she sorely needed with how her life had been going lately.

Though that left her with the question of why she was calling after all this time, she had a suspicion she wasn't just wanting to catch up but whatever the woman needed she was already planning on giving it to her if she could. "Your sister told me you were out of the country but I'm glad to hear you're alright, I know you were going through a few things when you left. And don't mention it, I just couldn't let you walk home alone that night." She said while rising to her feet, walking over to one of the front windows to peer outside at the lush gardens in the courtyard. Talia couldn't have called just to thank her for something that happened nearly a year ago and her suspicions were quickly proven when Talia continued.

"Oh thats great news! Its a crime for you not to be in the ring with how good you are." Natasha replied thinking that was what she had called to ask but then Talia got to the heart of the matter and made her purpose for calling clear. Natasha was surprised for a moment as her first thought was why she didn't just pick a local gym, but then she thought a little more and realized there was no way to know for sure no other AFW wrestlers or even fans would show up at any gym and recognize her. "You don't want anyone to know you're back do you Talia? At least not until you're ready am I right?"

Talia nodded mindlessly. Was she that obvious? Or maybe it was because Natasha was already aware of just how many people had it in for Talia. Either way, the redhead felt awkward now with her request. She didn't want to make things uncomfortable for Natasha. "Yea. I-umm. I'm not really comfortable with the thought of running into other wrestlers who I've...crossed in the past." And Natasha was one of the few people she hadn't kicked in the face.

"It's okay if you say no, I'll find somewhere else. I just thought...well that I'd ask you first. Aurora mentioned you had a great place to work out." She bit her lip again as she stared at the wall.

Natasha understood the woman's feelings quite well, if she had gone through even a fifth of what Talia had the previous year she wouldn't want to run into anyone she had wronged either. She hadn't given the Dark Angel much attention for the woman had never come after any of her friends, but when she had discovered it was the same sweet girl she had run into she hadn't been able to believe it. There was no denying what she had done but Natasha wasn't one to judge anyone without hearing both sides of the story, for Talia to have done the things she had Natasha knew there had to be a reason behind it all, but she would never ask her directly.

"Listen Talia...I can't say I've gone through what you are going through right now but know my house is open to you. That includes the gym. Umm tell me though, where are you living right now? I mean if you're trying to avoid people you can't be back at your old place right?" She said as she stared out the window watching a bird fly on by.

Talia couldn't help but feel relieved that Natasha had agreed to her unusual request. Maybe Aurora was a reliable judge of character after all. It would probably be awkward training at someone else's house but at least in Talia's eyes, it was the best option. Natasha wasn't a poor wrestler, after all, maybe it'd be a good thing to train a little with a successful wrestler for the little wrestler.

"You're right, I moved. I'm living with my boyfriend, he has a place at the edge of Tokyo. It's pretty far out, so I have to take the train and bus to get around a lot." Talia involuntarily grinned to herself having said that about Charlie. Even after everything that had went wrong with her life, she occasionally felt like she'd do it again if it was the only way to be with Charlie. "Why do you ask?"

Natasha could almost hear the relief from Talia through the phone after telling her she could come use the gym any time she wanted, she knew it had to be a weight off the woman's shoulders to not have to worry about being recognized while trying to get back into ring shape. With everything that had happened to her the previous year Natasha wasn't sure it was even safe for Talia to use any local gym, she remembered some of the threats Taylor and others had made to Talia and while one always had to take such things in wrestling with a grain of salt Natasha wouldn't want Talia testing the conviction behind those claims either.

A smile crept over Natasha's lips when she heard Talia had not only found a new place but that she had managed to find someone to love as well. She had been about to tell Talia she could stay at her house while she trained as well but now that wasn't necessary. "Oh no reason Talia. But now you have to tell me who this boyfriend is and when did you have the time to meet him"

Talia smiled like a goof when Natasha asked how she had met Charlie. It felt like a lifetime before, when she was near the bottom of the barrel of life. She had all but given up on wrestling and the wrestling scene, when a shaggy haired boy from San Diego walked through the doors of her office. "His name is Charlie...he wrestles with tension." Talia started to describe her boyfriend but thought it was weird talking about it over the phone.

"Well...I'm off today, want to talk about it in person?" she asked, smiling even though Natasha couldn't see her face. "I don't know, maybe get tea or coffee or something?

"Well its good to know someone else is looking out for you, and he sounds like a good guy from the way you describe him." Natasha replied with an upbeat tone, doing her best to sound cheerful for the girl who had been through so much. She hadn't seen this Charlis before on Tension but she could just look him up on the website and judge for herself if he was the good sort, not that she didon't trust Talia's judgement but she liked to see things for herself especially when a friend's well being was involved, plus she was incredibly curious now.

"We'll sure I wasn't doing anything today." She said with a quick sour glance at the boring book on her table."Want to meet up somewhere and then I can have you come over to see my gym?"