Coast-to-Coast Connection

As much as Valley wished she could talk to Kimmy all day, she was getting the impression that the feeling wasn't mutual. She couldn't blame the younger wrestler. Valley Doll Sr. had dragged her little one all around west side of the United States when she was growing up, heading along with her for many of the Slamazon showed. She'd even been up to Canada and down to Mexico a few times. Not exactly globetrotting, but farther than Kimmy was used to being a way from home, most likely. She still needed to adjust to life on the other side of the Atlantic.

So Valley didn't plan on bugging her for too long. But she couldn't resist just a little more ribbing along the way. "I'm only thirty-one, you know." She looked over at Kimmy with mock-indignation and stuck her tongue out. "Most people would still consider that young, you know. Young-ish." She gave her hip a little shake, even though it hurt her battered abdominals to do it. Worth it.

"But the good thing and the bad thing about the AFW is that they don't really give you any preferential treatment when it comes to opponents. When I got here, I had to start from the bottom up. You're not the first 'young' girl I've fought. Two of my first matches were with girls about your age, similar experience. Neither of them left me hurting quite so much afterward, though." That wasn't exactly true - she walked funny for weeks afteer second match with Ace - but this wasn't the time to brag. She gave her neck a quick and much needed rub. "You really never know who you'll be up against next. They'll put anyone versus anyone. So stay sharp, and when the opportunity comes, just...go for it."

Valley turned a corner along with Kimmy, and finally spied the end of their little journey - the elevator.  Her car was in the bottom level, and she was very much looking forward to driving it home and taking a hot, long bath.

"Just don't let Tokyo overwhelm you. And about you being sure..." Valley stopped by the side of the elevator and pressed the call button. "Look, I'm sorry if I was putting you on the spot, earlier. Or if I'm a little condescending, here. There's just..." She wiggled her hands around while she tried to find the right words. "This is a great company, overall. But there's a lot of negativity here. Some wrestlers just seem to love talking down to the new faces, or acting like they're the best things going and everyone should be taking their leads. I hate that. I just wanted you to start out on a positive note."

Kimmy was actually enjoying her chat with Valley Doll, and she had not expected that she would enjoy it even this much when she first walked up to the older blonde and they had begun conversing. But it did wear on someone like Kimmy. Back home, when she was with Al or her other friends or her parents, she could talk for hours and hours with hardly any stopping. But with anyone else, it was a struggle. Kimmy felt like she had to be on the whole time, watching herself and catching any ill-intended comments, and also actively evaluating what the other person was saying, as well.

Kimmy would be happy to continue chatting for a while longer, though, so long as it was not so long that another one of Kimmy's inevitable poorly-considered comments reared its ugly head. Valley talked about how she would still be considered young by some people, and Kimmy would laugh a little loudly at the other wrestler's joke. Valley was lots of things, including spectacular and very good-looking, but Kimmy really could not bring herself to consider the woman young. That was a little out there. Valley did look very good shaking her hips like that, though.

"Yeah...I guess I get that," Kimmy would say, when Valley started explaining how AFW did not show any preferential treatment to any wrestler, nor did they bother trying to match wrestlers of similar ages or experience levels up with each other. "And, I mean, it's not like I have no experience or something. My old league wasn't like this, but it was...it was still something. Some good wrestlers, lots of ways to get better. If these people want to, ah, put me up against people like you...then they can go right ahead, and I'll just sit here and kick asses." Kimmy clenched her fists, then sighed and relaxed. She was still a little on edge. She was glad to hear that she had done a better number on Valley than any of the other younger foes the Californian had faced.

They turned the corner and reached the elevator, which was apparently Valley's destination, as she stopped once they had reached it and pressed a call button. Kimmy was just going to try to find an exit and then find her way back to her apartment. It wasn't too far of a walk, but she could manage it. It wasn't a bad night, weather-wise.

The Brooklynite was a little surprised when her older opponent started apologizing. Kimmy didn't exactly understand it. "Umm...what? I mean, what're you sorry for? Doesn't make sense," Kimmy would say, trying to get through her confusion. "I thought there would be a lot of people like that here. It's sort of obvious, in a place like this. I thought I might have to beat the shit out of one of those assholes for my first match. But...but what you did was really, umm—it was really cool of you, I guess. Yeah." She would fidget a little as she was trying to figure out how to properly thank Valley, trying to keep eye contact despite her growing embarrassment.

"Thanks for, umm, all of that, I guess. It was...it was really weird, you know? But it was good. Sorry. I'm stupid. But I mean it, right? Really, really...thanks." She shrugged, hoping that she hadn't screwed up that thanks too badly. She blushed and looked down at her feet.

”See, that’s the right spirit!” Valley gave Kimmy a thumbs up when she announced how ready she was to take on any and all comers. This woman had some real fire to her - granted, she didn’t always keep it burning at full blast, but when she did light it up, it was hard to ignore. Her little potty mouth was cute, too.  She reminded Valley a lot of another brawling New Yorker she’d come across, only far cuter and more tolerable.

”You don’t lose that, I want to see some really good matches out of you. And believe me, there’s no shortage of a-holes around here for you to beat up. You should find a nice, healthy supply.” Valley had a little groan and stared up at the ceiling for a moment. ”Or, probably, they’ll find you.”

She gave Kimmy a quick pat on the shoulder, right before the elevator door opened. Valley didn’t hop on just yet, though, and instead let her leg slide out and get in the way of the sensor. They were on the employee side of the building and most of the staff was busy working on the show, so she wasn’t likely holding anyone up.

Valley stood there as they started to veer back into awkward territory, running a finger through her hair while Kimmy spoke. They were leaving on good terms, and that was what Valley was concerned with the most. ”You’re welcome. And you’re most certainly not stupid, Kimmy.” She shrugged. "I just get a little paranoid, sometimes. Consequence of getting 'not young'."

She had a final giggle that devolved into a sigh, and started to step into the elevator. She paused halfway, though, when a lightbulb went on in the attic of her mind. ”Here, let me just…” She reached into her pocket and took out a little notepad she carried with her to sign the occasional autograph. ”Phone number, apartment and cell.” She scribbled it quick and handed it off to Kimmy. ”I’m sure you’ll be fine, but if you ever need a little backup, tag partner, whatever, give me a call, okay? Or, heck, we could workout and train together, sometime. That would be awesome. Or catch a movie and dinner. That, too, would be awesome."

This conversation was still just as awkward as most of the ones Kimmy had with people she was not familiar with—when one-half of the conversation was Kimmy Colton, it could not possibly be anything but awkward—but it had actually turned out to be pretty great. If the other half of the conversation was someone less easygoing and kind than Valley Doll, then maybe things would have turned out for the worse. But every slip of Kimmy's tongue was understood and brushed aside by Valley, and Kimmy truly did find herself enjoying this chat that the two of them were having.

"I mean, I love to beat up a-holes, you know. It's just a ton of fun," Kimmy would say, her fists still clenched, smirking a little as she thought about it. She considered herself a good candidate for the role of resident asshole-destroyer around these parts. She was rough and tumble enough herself to have no qualms about kicking the shit out of people who deserved it, but she was not at risk of becoming one of them herself. Kimmy almost felt like she could be some sort of superhero. Her smirk turned into a grin. "Yeah." Damn, Valley really had a way of making people feel good about themselves.

The elevator arrived, and Valley stepped forward to make sure that the door stayed open and the car remained on this floor. She didn't leave just yet, however. She kept making Kimmy feel better about herself. Kimmy blushed a little again—right now, it seemed as though she had a permanent rosy hue on her cheeks, since Valley was really doing a number on her—and managed a shrug. "I mean, I sort of am stupid. I just keep on trying to do one thing and, well...I mean, when it comes to speaking, I'm—I'm not so good."

Kimmy thought that they were reaching the end of their conversation. Valley had begun to step into the elevator. But evidently she had one more thing to give Kimmy before they parted ways. Kimmy's eyes widened a little when Valley handed her the piece of paper and explained what all was on it, and what all Kimmy could contact her for. Kimmy froze for a second after taking it, and then her cheeks turned a deep, deep red, born from surprise and from a profound sense of gratefulness—there was no way she was worthy of all of this kindness from a veteran like Valley Doll. "God...seriously?" she would say, in shock, as she brought a hand up to cover her red face. She took a second to compose herself before dropping her hand again. She looked up at the taller wrestler, looking Valley in the eyes.

"I'm...r-really, really happy. Thank you. Really, I mean it—thank you so, so much," Kimmy would say. She had to make an effort not to get all teary-eyed or anything. She had been feeling a pretty powerful bout of homesickness ever since she'd arrived in Tokyo. She had felt trapped in a strange situation in a strange place. She hadn't been sure about her decision to pursue wrestling full-time with AFW. The match had assuaged those worries somewhat, but there was still a little nagging feeling in her mind. But Valley had made it go away completely right here, right now, and Kimmy doubted that it would rear its head again any time soon.

"That...that all sounds awesome. Really frickin' awesome. Thank you. Thank you again."

There were moments where Valley really hated this business, when it felt like the all the trials it loved to throw at her were just too much. Getting beat by Akashi, getting stripped by Morrigan, nearly losing her girlfriend over it, all the insanity that happened at the end of last year - times likes those, it became depressingly easy to lose sight of why she did what she did.

But, then, there were moments like this that made all those things irrelevant. Just seeing the look in Kimmy's eyes was amazing. Valley never thought of herself as all that big of a deal, even when she was riding high with the Slamazons. They did fairly well on the west coast, but it wasn't like she was a megastar, and wrestling wasn't quite as popular as it used to be. The way Kimmy looked at her, though, you would've thought she was the best thing running in the AFW. So sweet and pure. This was a woman who thought the world of her, and it was something she had to live up to.

"You're welcome, Kimmy. You're more than welcome. Okay," Valley snickered and put her finger up to her eye, stopping herself from getting a little misty eyed, herself. "I'm going to have to have to stop before I hug you and things get awkward. I'll save that for the next time we have a match." Valley finally retreated into the elevator. "And we will have another match. I'm looking forward to it."

She gave the young, rising star a final wave, as the elevator doors began to close. "Welcome to the AFW, Brooklyn Bruiser. Don't be a stranger."