To the back!

Haley walked down the hallway at a brisk pace. She had been watching the match on a monitor in the back, jumping for joy when her friend picked up a very hard fought win.

Making her way to the locker room, she smiled as she saw Valley exiting it and walking away from it.

"Val! Hey Val!"

She ran up the blonde, getting her arm around her and giving her a brief hug.

"You were great out there!"

Valley was happy. She was having a weird, difficult time explaining exactly why she was happy, but she certainly was.

There was a fire in Natasha's eye that really kindled something in Valley. Something raw, something passionate. Rivalry. She'd had some good matches in the AFW, some tense battles, but there wasn't anyone she would've put that label on. She hadn't had a straight rival since her Slamazon days, when she warred with Terrible Terri. That got ugly a few times, but it ultimately brought out the best in them, and she was glad to have the chance to do it again.

There was a smile on her face as she paced through the hallway, and it only got better when she saw the exact first person she wanted to see after such a hard match.

"Haley!" Valley caught her up in a close embrace, glad that most of the sweat had long since dried off. "You liked that, huh? It was no Silver Ace vs. Valley Doll 2, but yeah. That did get crazy."

"You kidding? That was awesome! You two really kicked each others ass out there!"

Haley replied back, giving her spandex clad friend a smack on her ass as if to prove her point.

"You gotta teach me how to do that cartwheel powerbomb of your's. That move is so cool!"

Valley jumped a little at the sudden smack on her ass - not that it wasn't welcomed, but it had been a while since she and Haley had even this level of physical contact. Back when they were dating, it was a common thing. Valley liked to cuddle, Haley liked to be cuddled. It was a stark reminder of just how long they'd gone without a real touch.

She'd missed it. She missed it a lot.

"It's all in the timing." Valley started to walk alongside Haley while she went through the motions with her hands. "You just roll through it, grab the legs and...bam."

She smacked her palm to emphasize the point, then shrugged. "Anyway, you'll probably get the chance to see it in action again. Han's really bent on a rematch and I'm really bent of giving it to her. Should be a lot of fun."

Valley knew she had the dumbest smile on at the moment, but she couldn't help it. Too giddy. And sore. But giddy. "So," She pipped back up, turning the focus back to Haley. "How've you been, lately?"

"I've been good! Just working out lately, haven't had a match in a while, so trying to think of what to do next. I wanna go back after the Entropy belt of course...but I'm also wanting to try my luck against some the more elite girls in the league again...and I've even had a few thoughts about possibly making a mark in the tag scene..."

Haley replied, giving Valley a teasing glance after her last comment as they moved down the hall.

"Oh, I met that one girl you fought a while back, Alaina. You were right, she is really good. Needs some work, she got distracted and I rolled her up without much issue, but still really good!"

Haley's little hint was not missed. Not in the least. 

Valley had wanted to start a full tag team between the two of them for a little while - pretty much since they started dating. Tag matches were something she'd never gotten to do much of with the Slamazons, and she felt like it would've been a perfect step for the two of them to take together. Romantic, in a way - two lovers, fighting against the odds, side by side.

Of course, Summer Splash poured some cold water over that dream. But bringing it up now got those thoughts sparking again. They'd patched things up, they had a great respect for each other, and they knew each others' styles so well...

"Yeah, I caught that match, and yeah - Alaina is good. Real good.  Almost had you a few times." She nodded and gave Haley a little elbow in the side, before looking back at Haley with a cautious glance. "Tag team, though...you and me? Maybe?"

"Yeah, she's good. I think I could beat her if we fought again though."

Haley smirked back, before putting her hands up behind her head, looking at the ceiling as they kept walking, taking a leisurely stroll around.

"Yeah. I mean...I'm still trying to get my Entropy Belt back, but with that whole "Champion chooses Challenger" rule, Gwen ducking me, and Cassie Elliot suddenly feeling she's good enough to take the belt, I'm probably out of the mix for now. You and I though...we never really got to show what we could do as a team, ya know? I think we could do some good stuff."

Valley was glad that Haley was looking upwards at the moment - she couldn't see the somewhat goofy smile on her face. Even with all the crap with the Entropy Belt, Haley was still staying upbeat, and it was rubbing off. "I know you can. And I'm looking forward to that match."

She stopped and reached out, wrapping her hand around Haley's and feeling her skin for the first time in months. Far, far too long. Soft skin. So delicate. Felt like it might be break if you squeeze it too hard. And there was this unmistakable scent - not quite vanilla, but close. It brought back a whole host of memories. "But that just covers you and me. What about, you know...us." She bit her lip, knowing full well the minefield she was potentially stepping into. "I know what we talked about after our match, but..."

Haley stopped in her tracks as Valley took her hand, blushing lightly and enjoying the feeling just as much as the other blonde was.

"Y-yeah..about "us"...I've been thinking about that."

She said, gripping Valley's hand a little tighter.

"I thought we moved too fast last time, I mean, I met your parents a couple months after we met, and you and I hadn't even had a proper date yet...So...after thinking about how we never really had a chance to get to know each other before like we should have and such...I was thinking..."

She looked over at the veteran wrestler and grinned.

"I was thinking that maybe we could discuss it further over dinner Friday night?"

She asked, the hint of it being their first date rather obvious.

Valley was giddy. She couldn't remember the last time she was giddy, but she was definitely, now. Maybe high school. It had been a while.

When Ace grabbed Valley's hand and held it tight, it was like the universe corrected. Everything suddenly felt right, better than it had been in a long time. It was the last little hole, the last thing that had been emptied since last year's Summer Splash, and it finally felt like it was starting to get filled up.

"Dinner." She tried not to sound too excited. Couldn't do it. "My place or yours? Oh, and I can bring Valentine over or you can bring over or...whichever works. Unless you want to go out, of course. That would be fine, too. Or we could go out, then come back home." She caught herself, as her cheeks started to flare. "Not saying we'll end up going back for anything afterwards, or...yeah."[/color]