Coast-to-Coast Connection

Valley usually took a shower immediately after her match, win or lose. As much as she loved wrestling, she'd always been sensitive to smells, and going around with the stink of another woman was unnerving in an unspeakable way. Her routine from that point was simple - get in the dressing room, get clean, go home, watch the rest of the matches for the night on the AFW replay show. If there was a better way to wind down, she couldn't imagine it.

Tonight was an exception, though. Instead of changing in the dressing room, she was hanging outside with her gym bag a black Rolling Stone's hoodie covering the top of her outfit. She'd considered just taking the shower, but nixed the idea when she gave it serious thought. If Kimmy  was coming, this would be awkward enough without her going into the locker room and seeing the woman she'd just wrestled stark naked.

If Kimmy was coming. If, if, if.

She leaned against the wall beside the dressing room door, bobbing her head to the sound of Bad Company playing through her ear buds. Just a little something to calm her nerves while she waited. Valley needed it - her mind was too busy trying to rationalize everything. Was it right to just leave Kimmy in the ring? Was she being too patronizing? The last thing she wanted to be was some of classed wrestler, looking down on the new talent and expecting them to go where they said go and do what they wanted. Slamazons, at its worst, had been like that. Too much division. That was the mistake she'd made with Haley a year ago, thinking that her experience made her better all by itself, and it was an error she wouldn't be repeating.

Of course, it would be a moot point if didn't come. If, if, if.

Valley sighed and checked the time on her phone, forcing her nerves to stop tingling. She could wait a few minutes. The world wouldn't end. Hopefully Kimmy would show up, and they could hash out their feelings on the match. If not, well...at least she had an awesome match against a new face, a great way to win her third match in a row. All in all, this was a productive day.

Kimmy was almost surprised that she was able to walk so soon after that incredible, grueling fight. She felt okay, despite the fact that she had blacked out briefly. Her whole body felt heavy, and she felt like she was absolutely soaked in sweat—both her own and Valley Doll's. There was a sharp pain in her side which seemed to bite deeper with every step she took.

But, all told, her physical injuries were minor. Exhaustion was the worst physical effect she had suffered, and a couple of days of laying around her apartment doing nothing should mostly take care of that. Within a week, two at the most, all of the bumps and bruises would be gone and Kimmy would be back to fighting shape. The physical effects she had suffered only existed in the back of Kimmy's mind right now, however, because right now she was heading to the dressing room, wondering if Valley Doll would still be waiting for her in front of it.

Kimmy didn't know what she was going to say when she saw the older veteran wrestler. She would probably end up saying something that she regretted, at some point, even if she tried her hardest to avoid that. Kimmy usually shied away from talking to people, as she was hardly a conversationalist and had a tendency to be rough around the edges. Back home, she and Al could call each other "bitch" or "slut" and know that it was all in good fun. Others outside of that circle of friends generally reacted more negatively to that sort of talk.

Don't be an idiot, Kimmy would tell herself, as she approached the place where Valley said she would be waiting. Don't be an idiot. Kimmy hadn't done anything else since she had left the arena. She hadn't changed, or showered at all. She felt like crap. But she wanted to get a chance to thank Valley for everything she had done for Kimmy tonight. Even in a losing effort, Kimmy's AFW star looked very bright indeed, all thanks to Valley.

As she approached, Kimmy saw someone standing there in a black hoodie. Her first instinct was that it must be someone else, and Valley must have left already. The dark coloration of the hoodie was rather at odds with the bright pink colors of Valley's outfit. But as Kimmy got closer, it was obvious that it was Valley, with her bright blonde hair and her tall, bombshell of a body. Kimmy breathed deeply as she would raise her voice to greet the woman who had beaten her just five minutes earlier.

"Hi, uh...hi," Kimmy would say.

Valley stopped standing after a little while, opting to just slide down the wall and sit on the floor, instead. Maybe a little rude, but she was getting to her least favorite but inevitable part of any night that she had a match: the comedown. The part where her body started to remember how hurt she was and her mind began to really register it.

Kimmy had given her a bevy of lovely aches and pains that Valley would surely be feeling for days to come. The ankle was the most worrying, since she'd had to put pressure on it the whole match, but her back was giving it some strong competition. What did Kimmy call it? Brooklyn Crab? Cute name, nasty move, and she's be feeling it every time she bent over. Not to mention the bruises and the damage Valley had done to herself with the countered Full Moonsault and a muscle she'd pulled trying to squeeze Kimmy into oblivion, and...

"Oy vey." Valley laid her head back and sighed, taking a moment to get some semblance of calm. She had just closed her eyes when when she heard the dull pittar-patter of tired feet heading her way. She looked up and, sure enough, there was Kimmy, looking slightly less frazzled than she had been five minutes. Valley could sympathize.

She leaned against the wall and slid up as Kimmy neared, wanting to greet her face to face. She waved at her former - and, probably, future - foe, managing a small smile when the shy young woman squeaked out a few tepid words. "Hi to you, too."

And then came the awkward silence.

There was a moment where Valley wasn't sure what to say, but she was sure that she needed to say something. It was incredible how fast Kimmy changed gears. In the ring, she was so headstrong and fearless, bold and brave. Now that they were out of the squared circle, though, it seemed like that fire was dying out.

"So," Valley forced a cough to break the silence, then spoke up. "How are you feeling?" She figured it was best to start out cordial, try and ease the air a bit. Certainly better than saying nothing at all.

Kimmy was face to face with Valley again, hardly five minutes after they had last seen each other, when Valley had congratulated Kimmy on the job she had done in their match before leaving the ring and coming here. It had just been five minutes, and yet it felt as though there was a big gap between what had happened in the ring and what was happening right now, right here. Kimmy had no idea how to act in a situation like this. Should she tell Valley that she had been watching her matches online for a long time? Should she talk about the moves they had used in this match? It was all so confusing, and frustrating, and it made Kimmy much more anxious than she would have liked.

She said hello, and Valley said hello back. Kimmy was going to let Valley take the lead in this conversation, since she was obviously a social butterfly, and she had been the one who had asked Kimmy to meet her here. Kimmy assumed that Valley had something she wanted to talk about, and the Brooklyn girl was more than happy to let that come before anything she wanted to say to Valley.

But Valley didn't say anything, and they ended up just standing there staring at each other. Kimmy was not a meek girl, and she was not going to break eye contact and look down at her feet and start stammering something out. But the sustained eye contact made it even more awkward. The silence stretched out for thirty seconds, then almost a minute, before Kimmy would try to break it. "So—"

Of course, right as she said "so," Valley said "so," as well, and Kimmy would abruptly start talking, feeling a little embarrassed. At least they could start talking now, though. Valley seemed to want to start things off with pleasantries, which was...fine.

"I'm...I'm fine," Kimmy would say. "What about you, huh? Your ankle? I hope I didn't break it, or anything."

The way Kimmy said it, it certainly came off a little bit like she was bragging about the potency of the moves she had used on Valley during the match. She hoped that a more pleasant side was apparent in her voice, too, but she wasn't sure. She was juggling a lot of things in her head right now. All of this had very nearly overwhelmed her. She shoved her hands in her pockets and bit her lip uncertainly.

Ugh, simultaneous speaking. Valley hated when that happened.

She had a quick grunt of annoyance when she and Kimmy interrupted each other, but she decided to just go ahead and plow through it. After all, she was the one who'd started this, so if anyone was going to be in the driver's seat, it might as well be her. She just hoped the whole conversation didn't go that way, or else things would start becoming painfully awkward instead. More painfully awkward. If that was even possible.

She had a little chuckle after Kimmy mentioned her ankle, and she cocked her head to the side. Was that a taunt? Could've been. It was genuinely hard to tell with the way she said it. Either way, it was funny, and Valley had worked with worst conversation fodder. Besides, she didn't have an interest in starting something that didn't needed to be started. She had enough enemies in this company without making one more.

"Oh, this old thing?" She held her foot out and gave it a shakey-shake. "Nah. I'll walk funny for a while, but it'll be fine. Feels bad, but my back almost feels worse. Almost." She tried to arch her back, then hissed halfway through the effort. "It's never been through a Brooklyn Crab before, wasn't quite ready for that pressure. And I've got this aching pain in my head, and my stomach hurts, and my face..."

She poked the side of her eye, then immediately regretted it. Still tender. "The black eye will bring out my eyes. My girlfriend won't like it, but she'll deal." She sighed, wondering if Haley caught the match live. If so, she would probably be buzzing up her phone soon, wanting to see how she was coming out.

Valley took a couple of hesitant steps down the hallway, then looked over her shoulder and motioned for Kimmy to follow. "Come with? Won't take up too much of your time, I promise."

Evidently, Valley had not taken any offense when Kimmy had commented on her ankle in that strange, half-taunting manner. Kimmy was relieved by that. As soon as she had said it, she knew that it sounded very, very weird, but Valley Doll was taking it in stride and wasn't getting angry at Kimmy. That was a good sign. The older blonde seemed like a spectacularly understanding sort. Though she did give Kimmy sort of a funny look, cocking her head to the side. Kimmy's head would turn a little, too, and she would chew on her lip a little more intensely.

At least Valley was directing the conversation forward now. Kimmy didn't have to talk anymore for a few more seconds as Valley talked about all of the parts of her body that hurt. Her ankle, her back, her face. Kimmy couldn't help but smirk a little bit as Valley talked about all of the injuries she had, knowing that she had been the one who had inflicted them. Kimmy was hardly a sadist, but...this was a long-time veteran of very competitive wrestling leagues both in the United States and in Japan. And Kimmy had done quite a number on her. Of course, Kimmy was no better off right now—she was worse, probably, considering she had been the one who lost the match.

"Well, it's not like the Brooklyn Crab is a re—an old hold, or anything," Kimmy would explain, when Valley mentioned she hadn't ever been put in a Brooklyn Crab before. "It's mine. I made it." She paused, knowing how much it sounded like she was bragging, so she decided to temper that by reciprocating and talking a little about her own aches and pains. "I...my gut hurts bad. That scissors was a real bitch on my ribs. Ow." Kimmy ran a hand tentatively up along her side.

Valley mentioned the black eye, and Kimmy looked at the older woman's eyes again. The shiner was definitely taking shape, and should be nice and discolored before too long. Valley mentioned how her girlfriend wouldn't like it. "Ah." For a second, Kimmy thought she had heard wrong, or had interpreted it wrong, but it was stupid to think that way. AFW, Kimmy knew, was full of women who liked women. Kimmy just hadn't pegged Valley Doll as being one of them. Maybe it was because Kimmy didn't have much experience with gay people—or, at least, her gaydar had been so faulty that she hadn't ever realized who in her life might be of that inclination until they had told her up front.

In a strange way, Kimmy might have even respected Valley more for being that way. But she was not going to be able to articulate that sort of feeling in any way that didn't make her sound like an asshole. She had made a fool of herself more than once back home, and she was not going to touch it this time. She would let the conversation go forward naturally.

Valley turned to start walking down the hallway, and for a second Kimmy wondered if their conversation was over. The feeling that filled her was a strange mix of relief and indignation, and it was a feeling that probably would have kept her confused and a little angry for most of the night, if Valley hadn't then motioned for her to follow. Kimmy was not exactly in a position to decline, and so she would put a little hop in her step—wincing as she accidentally took a bad step that sent a wave of pain through the left side of her body—to catch up to Valley and keep pace with her so that they could walk side by side. "Sure, that's fine. That's good," she would say.

Valley had a little skip to her step as she walked, or as good a one as she could do while she limped. Assuming things worked out on a good note between them, Valley would have to introduce Kimmy to Haley sometime in the near future. She saw a lot of the similarities between the two of them - that same incredible spirit, both so talented for their age, with bright futures ahead that had just really started. Haley would be more vocal between the two of them, but once they melted the ice, she could seem them getting along.

Haley, Kimmy, Alaina, Julia - there was so much fresh talent out there, and it made Valley feel younger just being around it.

"You came up with that yourself?" There was a little disbelief in her voice when she found out the Brooklyn Crab was a Kimmy Colton original all the way, though it wasn't because she didn't think Kimmy wasn't smart enough to come up with it. Not exactly. "That's a surprise. I mean," She held up her hand, waved it off before her former opponent and potential friend could get the wrong idea. "New girls - new women, sorry - they always seem to come up with these wacky moves that look cool, but don't really work too well. Like, me, I tried to come up with this move that was, like, a reverse chinlock combined with a backstabber. If you can even picture that." Valley was having a hard time picturing it, and she was the one who'd come up with the stupid thing. She had to mime with her hands just to give a good impression of what she was going for.

"But the Brooklyn Crab is a neat little variation, I can see it catching on. Especially with heavier girls, like Akashi or Migiri. Instant tap out." She couldn't help but shiver at the thought, too. It hurt like mad with Kimmy, but with someone twice her size? "Whoof."

She giggled at Kimmy rubbing her poor, pulverized ribs, glad she wasn't the only one suffering today. "Yes, well, if you'd have just taken my Full Moonsault and let me pin you, it could've all been over fast." Valley faked like she was going to give her a little elbow in the ribs. "But nooooo, you just had to be all cool and counter me. Valley gave her bare thigh a slap. "That's what you get."

Valley turned her nose up at Kimmy, trying her best to conceal the smirk on her face and failing terribly at it. After a moment, she just gave up on it, had a quick laugh, and shoved her hands into her hoodie's pocket. "Okay." She threw her hair back and gave the Brooklyn Bruiser a full view of her face. "First match in the AFW. Mind telling me what's going through your mind? I'm curious."

Kimmy could not help but notice that, even while limping around on her injured ankle, Valley had some pep in her step. She seemed to be a very cheery person, not in an airheaded or naïve way, but full of positive energy—it seemed like very little could shake this woman or take her off of her game. She had no problem with sharing her positive energy, either, as became clear after Kimmy told her that the Brooklyn Crab was a Kimmy Colton invention.

"Of course I did!" Kimmy would insist, when asked if she had came up with that herself. She balled her hand into a fist and pumped it in the space in front of her as she walked, smirking a little, too, as Valley seemed to be at least somewhat impressed by the fact that Kimmy had invented the hold herself. When Valley said it was a surprise, Kimmy was quick to begin to protest, but Valley held up a hand to stave off any indignation on Kimmy's part, and Kimmy backed down and let Valley finish. When Valley described the move she herself had tried to come up with as a young wrestler, Kimmy couldn't help but snort and chuckle a little.

She quickly would try to wipe the smile off her face and look serious. She didn't want to be laughing at Valley at all. That could turn a good thing into a bad thing very quickly. Kimmy's face turned a little red and she swore at herself profusely inside her mind. She almost missed Valley's suggestion that it might catch on. Kimmy had never really even considered that. As far as she had been concerned, it was her move, something for her to break out whenever she wanted. But other wrestlers could imitate it, even improve upon it. Seeing someone as famous as Akashi using it would be—well, it would sure be something for the newest addition to the AFW roster. "That would be...cool, I guess. But I want to be the one getting those instant tapouts with my move," Kimmy would muse.

Then they were back to talking about the match itself, and the damage they had inflicted upon each other. As Kimmy rubbed her ribs, Valley made a move as if to elbow her in them. Kimmy reflexively reacted to it, immediately bringing both arms in to guard herself, and almost grabbing for Valley's arm, before the older blonde just slapped her thigh lightly. Of course, Kimmy came out looking like an idiot, as she flinched at something that was obviously not ever intended to harm her. She tried her best to recover conversationally. "I...it was so easy to counter, though. Th-that's why I hate high-flying moves: all I had to do was lift my leg and you're doomed. Knee the fuck outta your gut."

She was sounding pretty harsh again, and that caused her to become even more frustrated. "Damn it," Kimmy grumbled to herself, clenching and unclenching her fists before sticking her hands back into her pockets. She cast her gaze downwards for a moment, but after a second she felt Valley's gaze on her, and she would look up again quickly, locking eyes with Valley again, this time getting a full view of Valley's face. They were close enough that it was sort of...unnerving. Disconcerting. Kimmy twitched a little bit. Valley was sort of putting her on the spot. "Eh...th-the match was fine. No, it was good. Really damn good. Going through my mind? Umm..."

She paused, trying to think the question over. "Uh, I don't know. I mean...there's a lot. A lot. I guess I was surprised that you were gonna be my opponent, you know. That was weird. I'm thinking about my friends back in Brooklyn, too—they, uh, said they were gonna watch. They better have watched, right?" She snorted, almost laughing now. "But...never mind. I guess I feel good right now. It was a really good match. I guess I didn't know when we started whether or not I was sure about comin' over here and doin' this."

It had taken a little coaxing, but it looked Kimmy was finally poking her out from under the shell, and Valley couldn't help but warmly smile at what she saw. This was a woman who loved the sport with infectious enthusiasm, and it was hard not to be swept away. It took some physical effort not to break out in laughter when she had her little exclamation. Getting a few awkward glances from the stage crew as they passed. The two of them were joking, of course, but Kimmy seemed proud of her invention, and she had every right to be.

"I know what you mean." Valley said with a wistful sigh, when Kimmy started thinking about the possibility of others using her innovative move. Back in her mother's day, you could get away with having your own move and know that it probably wouldn't be showing up in someone else's promotion on the other side of the world. "These days, they have the internet. They have tutorial videos. Anyone can learn to do anything. It's hard to really own a move a these days, you know?" She shrugged and hoped this wasn't making her sound too old. All this talk was starting to give her voice a nostalgic tone. "Nobody will ever do it as good as you do, though. The original is always the best."

Maybe she was getting a little too casual, though - Valley had been expecting a response when she jerked at Kimmy, but not that extreme. It seemed like the Brooklyn Bruiser was still halfway in bruising mode.

"Sorry," Valley had a soft chuckle, trying to ease the tension as she gave Kimmy more space. She shook her head at the comment about the high-risk moves. Not because it was funny, really, but, well..."You sound a lot like my mother, there." Valley's gaze went to the ceiling as she recalled dozens and dozens of lectures on this very topic. "She was a big power type of wrestler, powerbombs and Samoan drops and stuff like that.  I never had the frame for that sort of thing, and when I went into the business, she wanted me to work on submissions and be really aggressive, smashmouth sort of style - she wanted me to be a lot like you, I guess."

She gave Kimmy a little poke in the shoulder. "I was a cheerleader in high school, though, so high-flying came natural to me. I picked up the moves fast, and I just stuck with them. You're not wrong." Valley wagged a finger her way. "Tonight wasn't the first time a move like that's bitten me on the butt." Deep sigh. Deep. "But that's my way, you know? I like to fly. Back when I was in Cali, it wasn't enough just to win. You had to be spectacular. Keep them coming back, make the tickets sell..."

She let her words trail off, not wanting to talk Kimmy's ears off with a sermon on wrestling psychology. Besides, what she heard next was more interesting. It was a good thing that Kimmy was keeping up with her friends back home - Valley still didn't know where her fellow Slamazons had scattered to - but she was most focused on what she said at the end.

"But you're sure now?" Valley's words were full of hope, glad that their match could've erased some doubts. "And why the surprise at facing me? It's not like I have a title or anything."

Valley was right about the whole Internet thing. Of course she was, and Kimmy knew all of that perfectly well. She was, after all, the child of the digital age, while Valley was older, having grown up without any of that sort of technology in the home. Kimmy had learned most of her moves online, and had for years been watching matches from many prominent leagues—including Slamazons and AFW—on her computer. Even now, the match she and Valley had just contested was available on the AFW website, and probably had thousands of views already. People all over the world would see the Brooklyn Crab, and there might just be some girl who was just getting into wrestling herself who liked Kimmy's style and was deciding to copy it.

Well, Kimmy did not have much experience being a trendsetter, but she guessed she wouldn't mind it too much. Seeing someone using her hold would be weird at first, but Kimmy felt that she might be able to get over that, and feel a sense of pride for having started something.

Of course, right now, she was still the only user of the Brooklyn Crab in the whole world. She would savor that title as long as it lasted. And, like Valley said, her Brooklyn Crab would always be the best. Kimmy smirked and nodded her head slowly. “Yeah. Yeah, thanks,” she said, rather earnestly.

The conversation moved on to Valley’s high-flying, and the explanation that she had been a cheerleader in high school made a lot of sense. “That makes sense, I guess.” She said. “I mean, I always h—I never did anything l-like that, so, uh...so I just stick to beating the shit out of people.” Kimmy gritted her teeth in annoyance at herself. She had almost said “I always hated cheerleaders,” to someone who literally fifteen seconds earlier had told her that she was a cheerleader. Kimmy knew that, the longer this conversation went on, the more likely she was to say something stupid like that. It was inevitable, no matter how hard she tried to avoid it. As much as she was enjoying speaking to Valley, she was a little anxious to be off the clock, as it were.

Kimmy’s musings about her first AFW experience were jumbled, confusing, and stupid, but apparently Valley didn’t mind that. She had some insightful questions, and Kimmy would take a deep breath and try to answer them. “I...I mean, I don’t know if I’m sure, but I feel okay about everything, I guess.” She shrugged and stuffed her hands in her pockets again. “Umm...it still feels weird to be livin’ here. Tokyo is...really different, even though I come from Brooklyn, you know, NYC, which is a big city, too. Sometimes I just...” She paused, considering what she might say, then decided not to say it. “Never mind.”

She glanced down, then glanced back to Valley. “I was surprised that you were my opponent ‘cause I wasn’t thinking I was gonna fight someone who I’d actually heard of. I thought I’d fight some Japanese chick, or something. Another young person.”