Locker Room Meeting

Charlie shook Kozues hand and smiled. "Nice to meet ya are you in AFW too? Also, thats the first time I have ever been called the big anything!" He said before giving a hug to Alaina. "Al how have you been? I heard ya had a nice win streak going?" As Charlie hugged Alaina he made sure it was just a friendly obe. Each was taken after all. still, Kozue calling him big was jyst a bit odd. Was she flirting or fishing for something else? Regardless, Charlie was happy that she seemed fun, not boring.

"Oh yeah, sort of. Tonight was a win but not a win. I can explain more later." She said not wanting to bring up her match against King. Alaina motioned for everyone to sit down. Hopefully this went better than her dinner party did. So far so good though! "Does anyone want anything to drink or eat while I am up?"

Kozue nodded towards LC. "Little Charlie." Then back towards the cutie's owner. "Big Charlie. See?" She gave him a quick wink, with a tongue flicked out for an added effect. Didn't want to give the wrong impression. "And yeah, I wrestle in the AFW. Been in Tension for...a year." She had to pause when the words came out of her mouth, as if her brain had trouble even saying it out loud. This was coming up on the longest 365 days of her life.

She snapped out of it and gave Charlie a little poke in the chest. "Which makes us...rivals? I say 'rivals'."

She deviously wiggled her fingers and hopped back to the couch, where she took a seat near the edge. "I'm good with just water, please." She gave a quick nod and smile towards Alaina.

Talia had gotten off to a great start. She was polite and kind to the two. But already she was seeing a couple problems with this get together. One was Kozue. And the other Alaina. The hug between the two friends seemed innocent enough but she still didn't fully trust Charlie's ex-roommate. How could they have been living that close together and never done anything? Or felt anything? And the ninja seemed to be more than just a little playful with her words. Talia kept her best poker face on, nevertheless. Because even though she didn't trust the other two, she still trusted Charlie.

"Water works for me too," Talia said to Alaina as she got up, not wanting to ask for something she may not have had. "So Kozue," she started, ignoring the little bit about being rivals with her Charlie. It was just a joke after all, right? "How many matches have you had with Tension so far? Liking it?" She recalled her own experiences in the league. Even the good ones weren't necessarily proud moments to her.

"All right.... three waters and a captain and coke for Charlie!" Alaina said as she got the drinks. Charlie smiled and shook his head at not even having to say anything and still get a drink of choice. Alaina came out and dispensed everyones beverage as she herself sat down on the couch.

L.C hadn't seen Alaina in a while and went scampering over, jumping up on her lap and demanding attention. He did this by strategically nuzzling his head right in between her breasts and looking up at her. She giggled and obliged as she spoke to Talia. "Does this little furball do this to you too?" She said with a laugh. "But, how is everything going with you? You look great, and Charlie always brags about you when I talk to him!"

"Uh oh, if we're rivals a hardcore match will break out and it'll turn to chaos! By that I mean we'd slapfight and Al would put us both through tables, then the wall for misbehaving." Charlie said as he looked over at Alaina, raising his glass. She rolled her eyes at him. "I didn't think I was on anyones radar though, like I am just 2-2 but that's all secondary ya know? As soon as I get home and see Tal I know I've got it made." Charlie said as he put his arms around Talia and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

Kozue started to answer Talia right away, but she had to stop herself before she could say anything. She was actually having trouble remembering off-hand. And she was also stunned that she'd gotten to the point where that could even be a problem.

"I think, like...eight? Want to say 'eight'. Probably about ten, if you count the battle royale and this tag match I did with Johnny." She crossed her legs and took a few sips from the water bottle, shifting a bit in the chair as she tried to settle in. "And Tension is..." Kozue hummed a bit as she tried to put the right words together. "It's fun. I mean, I know what people say about it, and there are some dickheads to deal with," She threw a quick glance Alaina's way, had a little sigh, then moved on. "But, I've met and wrestled with way more nice guys than assholes. Had some fun matches, got some good opportunities, still can't believe they even let me show up at the royale. So, all and all? Good times." She nodded Talia's way with a soft smile, remembering some of the better experiences.

That grin faded a bit when she saw the Captain and Coke Charlie was drinking. How long had she been sober? Three months? It wasn't too bad most of the time, but then, she made it a point to avoid places where she might be tempted. Ignoring the forbidden fruit when it was dangling in your face was another thing.

She ran her hand over her face and leaned forward, focusing on Charlie himself and not what was in his mouth. "I have a pretty big radar, everyone's on it." She shrugged. "But I like wrestling other high-flyers. Most of the guys I've taken on aren't big and bulky, but they're super quick, either -  technical wrestlers, not heavyweights, not lightweights. Need more guys who like to take it to the ropes and go airborne." She tipped the bottle his way and let some of the smile come back. "More Charlies."

Talia sipped the water as it was given to her just wanting something to do with her hands. "Yea he does," she replied with a forced smile. L.C. more or less kept to himself except when he was exceptionally eager for attention or Talia had food. He wasn't inattentive, but he certainly seemed to like Alaina more in her eyes. The knot in her stomach twisted. Charlie's small show of affection helped calm her a bit though. She looked at him and smiled warmly. "I've been good. We're planning on being a tag team together soon," she added rather suddenly and gripping Charlie's thigh. "Sporting our hometown colors too. Representing good ole San Diego." She spoke that last bit rather proudly.

She turned to Kozue. She seemed to think there were more nicer guys than jerks in Tension which Talia couldn't understand. Maybe she just hadn't been in Tension as long as she had been. There were far more assholes. There was Mamouru and Killer King and Clyde and Johnny...well maybe less so on Johnny...but really just him and Charlie, and the latter hadn't ever wrestled her. He was atypical for wrestlers which is probably why she loved him so much. But there had always been a thought in the back of her head that things could have been different for her if she had just been more...

Talia looked at Kozue for what was probably an awkward couple seconds. She did seem as...attractive as Shauna...and Alaina for that matter. Maybe that was why the guys were so much better to her. She grit her teeth in her mouth and sipped the water again, especially as the ninja girl mentioned the desire to have more Charlies in Tension. She casually grabbed Charlie's hand and pulled his drink over to her so she could take a few sips of it. "Can never have enough Charlies," she replied back in an attempt to be casual about it.

L.C waddled over to Charlie and Talia, jumping right in between them. He rolled onto his back and laid there as Charlie rubbed his belly. Charlie looked around, smiling as Talia announced their tag team goal. He did find it odd that she didn't mention it to her sister but did tell these two. "Sexiest tag team in Tension! Mostly because of Talia though." Charlie said as he playfully nudged Talia. "We just need to figure out who the team captain is and stitch a C on their attire although she's gonna be the one stuck carrying my dead weight." Charlie said jokingly. However, part of him thought it might be true. He had two narrow wins, and 2 sound losses. Still, as long as he never ended up letting Talia down he didn't care.

Alaina smiled as she heard her hometown brought up. "Gonna rep the chargers I bet.." She said as she watched L.C leave and go to the couch. "I am with ya on that Charlie, Talia is pretty. If you two are as good a tag team as you are as cute a couple their tag division is in trouble!" She knew Talia was good, but also could tell when Charlie was fake joking. "Pssssh, once you work yourself back into form the meatheads won't know what hit them. However, how are you guys gonna decide a captain?"

Charlie was a bit taken back as well by the talk of him needing to be cloned. Before Alaina was the only woman who gave him the time of day. Now he had Talia, and Kozue seemed very social with him. "I dunno if the world can handle more than one of me...."

Kozue had a little chuckle as she looked at the beautiful couple, and in the back of her mind, she couldn't help but wonder if she might ever be like that sometime. A happy little girl, holding on to her man, gushing over him. There wasn't anything wrong with it, really, but it was hard to picture herself in Talia's place. Maybe it was because she'd never been that deep into a guy before. Maybe it was because she couldn't be. "Oh, you found yourself a hometown girl? Nice." Kozue tipped the bottle Charlie's way. "Pretty sure I'm the only Jerseyite within, like, a hundred miles. Lots of Yorkers around here, though."

She reached out to pet LC as he moved over to the couch, taking care to get that tender little spot behind the ear that dogs seemed to go for. It was always enough to get her neighbor's dog nice and soothed, anyway. "Hey, boy. Hey." She let herself enjoy the moment, before looking back towards Talia.

"Tag team action, huh? Yeah, I hear that's getting busy. Might actually have some new champs, soon. A real tag division, something consistent." She uncrossed her legs and leaned forward, letting her long hair slide off her shoulders. "You've been out of the game for a while, though, right? How you feeling about stepping back through the ropes?"

Talia smiled at Charlie. "Captain?" she asked curiously. She knew he was just fooling around but it was an interesting thought. The mention of meatheads didn't give her much confidence though. Her worst matches were against those types, and her best against people around Charlie's size. She wasn't sure how the two were going to deal with that inevitability. Still, at the very least she knew she'd be with Charlie for then. "I guess we'll have to wrestle to see who knows what they're doing," she added while nudging Charlie with her elbow.

She reached out and rubbed L.C.'s belly as well, partly just because everyone else seemed to be enjoying his company. Her thoughts drifted to her first match back in tension and how...disastrous it had went. Charlie had found out she had wrestled but she never did tell him the details of it all. "I'm not sure. I did a little training with John Mitchel. Hopefully with a little teamwork training with Charlie we'll be good to go in no time at all." She was curious about the other tag teams in the league. She hadn't watched any of those matches, but now it seemed like she'd have to watch all of them.

"You've both been pretty active, right? Anything I should be worried about?"

Charlie chuckled and looked over at Talia and he put his arm around her. "I guess I will do my best to keep up babe." Charlie said. "After that last loss I will need a warmup to shake off some bad juju."

Alaina giggled as Charlie and Talia continued to be adorable. She couldn't help but think about how lucky Talia was to have Charlie. Alaina knew that he had a fair share of quirks, but he was a sweet and loyal guy.

"I don't know a whole lot about Tension, but the Takeuchi siblings are a couple jerks.... but talented competitors." Alaina said as he cheerful expression soured. "That and I just had a match with Jerkbag King. Won by him going for a low blow and getting DQed. I guess he doesn't like it when women kick his butt back..." Alaina shook her head a bit before looking over at Kozue. "You would know more about Tension... ya know of any good matchups for these two solo or tag team wise?"