Disquiet Comfort

Johnny was dripping with sweat as he walked into the kitchen. He'd been spending a lot of time working out at home lately. Though Tension had way better equipment, he just felt like he needed to stay home. He didn't really want to run into King or any of his girls before the match. No doubt they might take a chance to take him out before hand if he let them, but, maybe more importantly, he wanted to be near Taylor if she needed him.

She didn't really. Her physical injury was limiting but it didn't make her an invalid. Even so, she was stubborn and wouldn't ask for help unless she had no choice. She was out of action and he knew how stir crazy she could get. She had been focused this time around though. She really wasn't like that either. Still, Johnny knew that just being around more would probably give her some kind of comfort, even if it was subconscious. Plus, he liked being around her. She was everything in his world and even when they were away from each other even for a short time, he still thought about her.

Johnny poured a glass of juice and fished out some nuts from their stash and gulped them both down quickly. He was putting in pretty intense workouts because he knew if he didn't, King was going to murder him. He didn't use the term figuratively either. There was a very real possibility that the upcoming match could be the last one of his career. He had resolved himself to the possibility, but he had also known that if it was, he was going to try his damnedest to make sure it was King's as well. If they took each other out of the league, Johnny was ready to call it a win.

Johnny was spending a lot more time at home than he usually did and it wasn't entirely because he thought Taylor might need him. It was because he knew that he needed her.

Whizz, whizz, whizz, whizz...

The TV was on in front of Taylor, showing a Japanese daytime talkshow on which the host was interviewing some actor. Gradually, her attention waned until she was listening more to the swishing of the exercise bike's wheel as she pedaled along.

Her arm was still in a sling. She didn't need it anymore, but it helped to keep her arm steady while she worked out. Her shoulder ached, but thirty minutes of pedaling, and a bucket of sweat, helped her forget it. She had taken a liking to distance running and biking after her recent issues forced her to slow things down, and with her runner's high came a moment of zen that helped to quiet all her many troubles.

They all had names. Kelly. Talia. Brittany. Alaina. King. Fang. Eagle. Cassie. Avery. Were there more?

Taylor stared blankly at the people on the TV until the timer on the bike beeped. After a couple minutes to cool down, she stopped entirely and dismounted. Her legs were weak and pleasantly warm. She mopped off some sweat with a white gym towel, and then slung it behind her neck.

"Babe, are you hungry yet?" She called out to Johnny. She could hear him in the kitchen. "I thought I'd cook something..."

She paced out of the living room and into the kitchen, and leaned up against the counter, her royal blue eyes on her muscular husband. "...I don't really know what, though."

Johnny smiled at Taylor when she came into the kitchen. "Ah, yeah, man..." Johnny muttered. "What do ya wanna cook?" He asked.

He then paused. "Actually... Ya know what would be pretty awesome? Why don't we go take a shower and if we don't take too long, why don't we go out? Just go out, the two of us. and just have night out? Dinner and shit and, just get away for a night. That sounds pretty cool and junk."

Johnny slipped over to where Taylor was and slid an arm around her waist. "I can't even remember the last time we just went out and didn't have to worry about anything, ya know?"

Taylor shrugged. Adulthood had taught her to cook, but her busy schedule kept her from learning to do it very well. Her options in the kitchen were limited.

"Well..." She said hesitantly. Her first instinct was to say no, that the last thing she wanted to do was get dressed and go pretend everything was okay, but...

It had been a long time since the two of them had time just to be together. So much of their lives had been taken over by the cycle of training, preparing, fighting, recovering, and worrying about the Dojo girls and everyone's wellbeing, that even when they found time they rarely were able to enjoy it.

"...I dunno, I don't wanna get out there and just be a drag," she said, tilting her head to the side. "And when we have time like this we should be taking notes on King and Kelly and their little bitches. Where would we even go?"

"I dunno." Johnny shrugged. "I don't really even care, really, babe." He said as he leaned in and kissed the top of her head.

"Man, we've been livin in this city how long? We haven't seen shit of it!" Johnny frowned.

He stepped away from Taylor and ran his fingers through his hair. "I think I'm good on taking notes on King. What else do I need to know besides don't get fuckin' murdered? It's not like the dude is some technical genius. He's just a giant motherfucker who needs to be taken the fuck out."

Johnny motioned to Taylor. "Besides, is there anything you don't know about Kelly at this point?"

Johnny sighed and lowered his head. "Sometimes I think you're thinkin about her more than me... Sometimes I feel like we're dead dudes walkin and I just wanna take my wife out and have a good and forget about all this shit before we get fucking executed."

Johnny raised his eyes and looked at Taylor. There was a look of sorrow and apology in them. He wasn't as hopeless about the situation as his words sounded, but things were definitely starting to get to him.

Taylor found herself with nothing to say. She wanted to immediately brush Johnny's concerns away, to say that certainly they would prevail over the cheating, sadistic bastards they were facing, and to spit out some cheap idiom about how they were invincible. She couldn't. If the last few years had taught her anything, it was that the bad guys won, and they won a lot.

She turned her head to the side and gazed up at her husband with troubled eyes, and admired all the details of his face. So often, as a wife, she only saw the emotion on his features, and even then it was often just her expectations projected on them. But his straight, perfect nose, his kissable lips, his strong-but-not-neanderthal jawline, and his pure, kind eyes all warmed her heart whenever she took the time to notice them. Maybe everything they had would be lost once King and Kelly got to them, but they still had today.

She nodded. "Okay," she said, and stepped in front of him, wrapping her arms tightly around him and leaning her head against his chest. "But if I starting talking about you-know-who, just tell me to shut up."

She looked up to give him a quick kiss on the lips, and then walked away. "I'll go get ready."

Johnny grinned as they kissed. She could always lift his spirits, even when they were both down. As she turned, Johnny chased after her. Be grabbed her by the back of her bottoms and pulled her close, wrapping his strong arms around her and squeezed.

"Don't get ready too fast, babe..." He said as he guided her towards their bathroom. His body pressed against hers and his hands wandered as he kissed her neck.

Johnny's hand squeezed Taylor's as they walked down the streets of downtown Hamamatsu. It was still a city, but it wasn't nearly as cramped and crowded as Tokyo.

"Have we ever even done this before, babe?"

"Not quite like this," Taylor remarked.

She strolled along with Johnny, pressed tightly against his shoulder and gazing up at the Hamamatsu skyline. It felt like another planet.

She had decided to avoid looking anything like a wrestler in a pretty periwinkle dress with spaghetti straps and a cutout at her lower back, the skirt falling just above her knees. Her bangs were clipped to the side with a pretty barrette over her ear, though her blood-red highlights remained an undeniable reminder or real life. She couldn't resist wearing a pair of punky black combat boots, and for once she wore all of her piercings, one ring in each earlobe, two in each upper-ear, one in her eyebrow, a small stud in her nostril, and another hidden away in her belly button. She was the prettiest blonde-haired, blue-eyed, punk rock white girl in Hamamatsu.

"I want unagi and gyoza and green tea. Apparently that's what Hamamatsu's about. How long have we lived here? That and turtle, but... I don't think I can eat turtle." She nudged Johnny with her hip and switched to Japanese. <Should we see a movie? Or maybe a concert? We can do aaaanything you want... As long as it's not violent,> she laughed.

"Turtle's not that bad." Johnny said with a shrug. He was wearing a worn black CRASS tee that said 'Anarchy and Peace' along with some ripped up stone washed jeans. His silvery hair was spiked into a perfectly disheveled mess. Despite his Japanese features, he looked more like he belonged with Taylor than with his countrymen.

"It's all good though, dude." Johnny added. "Let's just hit the first shop we see, ok? Like, right there." He said and pointed to a small restaurant. I mean, just, wherever we end up and junk."

He led Taylor into the restaurant and they quickly got a seat. "So, like, how much are you in town and junk?" He asked. "I mean, here, in Hamamatsu? We moved here cause it was kinda convenient for us both, to to, like, get away and junk, ya know? It doesn't feel like we've really gotten away. Our home's like our sanctuary and junk, but... I don't wanna live in a fortress either. I want this to be our city, our home. Not just our respite."

Taylor smoothed her dress behind her thighs as she sat down across from Johnny, and nodded attentively. "Yeah, totally. I've been thinking about that a lot lately... Like, we really don't have lives outside of wrestling. Even if I'm not doing something wrestling-related, I'm still doing something to take a break and recharge so I can get back to wrestling, and I don't know if that's really-"

She was interrupted when a waitress approached their table, and she greeted her with a smile. <Hi, could I have green tea? And do you guys have this grilled eel everyone talks about?>

The waitress was momentarily stunned by the fluent Japanese that came out of the punky white girl, but she nodded politely. <Hai, hai,> she responded and quickly turned her attention to Johnny.

Once she was gone, Taylor resumed. "I think at first, giving up everything and being like, laser-focused on wrestling was what I needed to do to like, climb the mountain or whatever. But I feel like I'm kind of at the top now, and to stay there I think I need more of a balance. That sounds really reasonable, right?" She asked, and raised her eyebrows hopefully.