So Anxious

Carmen was, of course, paying close and intimate attention to every little detail on Akino's body, but she was especially attentive of the little smile on her face, catching that slight lick of the lips. Keeping her better angels in control was starting to become a true task, and she wondered how long they would hold out.

The irony of her thinking these thoughts while she was about to pray to a god that strictly forbade them wasn't lost on her.

"I'm not really, either. It's just..." She thought for a moment, tried to find a better word for it than the one she was thinking. She gave up after a moment and went with her original choice. "...complicated. Don't worry about it." Carmen gave her a quick nod. "When in Japan, do as the Japanese do. So." She brought up her hands up. "1, 2, 3...itadakimasu."

It sounded a little weird with her accent, but otherwise? Flawless.

Watching Carmen try to find the right words to complete her thought made Akino’s smile grow ever so slightly. She couldn’t entirely explain what it was, but something about the sight was really...cute. Of course she already thought Carmen was cute anyway - actually, quite a bit more than cute. But as the latina brought her hands up, Akino dragged her mind away from her thoughts long enough to do the same.

“Itadakimasu.” she said at the same time as Carmen, though she still heard her host’s accent mixed in. Akino simply couldn’t get enough of that sound. Just Carmen’s body alone was enough to qualify her as “sexy” in Akino’s mind. But the accent was icing on an already delicious cake. And speaking of delicious...

Akino picked up her fork and used it to scoop up some black beans, then lifted it to her lips and took her first bite of the meal. “Mmmm~ Very good, Carmen-chan.” she said right after she’d swallowed. “I take it you cook a lot, yes? You seem to be really good at it.” Even though she’d only taken one bite so far, everything smelled equally good, and she felt pretty certain it would all taste just as good as it smelled.

Carmen didn’t immediately start digging into the food after her grace - she never did with a meal she herself had cooked. No, the first thing, the most important thing, was for her to watch the fruits of her labor: she had to see Akino’s expression after the first bite. That would be the most honest indicator of her dish’s quality and the best way to gauge.

She was relieved when Akino showed her approval, always glad to see her hard work paying off. She sat back and started to dig in herself, enjoying a forkfull before she spoke again.

”I don’t have as many opportunities as I’d like these days, but yeah, it’s a little hobby of mine. I particularly like cooking for beautiful women.” She threw Akino a quick, knowing glance, then returned to her meal. ”I had to do it a lot for my brother when we were growing up, so I picked up a few things, and cooking shows filled in the rest.”

She lifted up her fork and pointed to the door, putting on the most innocent look she could manage without laughing. ”Speaking of my brother, it seems he won’t be home tonight. Staying out with his girlfriend. Funny little coincidence, you think?”

Carmen’s comment earned her a little grin from Akino, who then went back to enjoying the food and listening as her lover spoke. She pictured a much smaller version of Carmen cooking with a much smaller version of Army, who Akino had only seen on TV while watching the 24/7 title defense at Climax, running around and playing. Something about that mental image was quite amusing. But it was also sweet. It said a lot about how much family meant to Carmen.

When she learned Army was out with his girlfriend tonight, another, almost mischievous grin formed on Akino’s features. “Is he now? That is a funny little coincidence.” she said, struggling to hold back a schoolgirlish giggle herself. She then moved her foot under the table to lightly and playfully brush against the side of Carmen’s leg. “Quite convenient for us though, isn’t it?~”

Carmen jumped a little when she sensed Akino's foot moving over her leg. She wasn't suprised by the action, really - the only thing that would've taken her off guard would be if her lover didn't try some under the table action. She just wasn't expecting it so soon.

But it certainly wasn't unwelcome. After all, Carmen had switched the normal kitchen table out and used this smaller one for a good reason. She kicked off her shoes and brought her foot up and little higher than Akino had dared to go, running her toes over that smooth, familiar thigh that she loved so much. There was this odd little spot in that area, one that Carmen could've sworn was softer than the rest, and she was curious to see if...

Ah. Yes, it was still there. Good.

"Personal question, if you don't mind." She stirred her food up a bit more, then helped herself to another bite. "When did you first figure out you were attracted to other women? What was it like?"

Another giggle escaped the bluenette’s lips as Carmen jumped in reaction to the touch of her foot. A small part of her briefly wondered if she should’ve waited a bit longer to do that, but the thought was thrown right out the window when she felt Carmen’s toes against her smooth thigh. She emitted the slightest of purrs at the playful touch. But before her mind could wander off too far, it was brought back by her lover’s question.

It wasn’t one Akino minded answering. But it did turn the heat in the moment down a few notches. “I first started thinking about it in middle school, but it was in high school when I found out for sure. I..was always a bit of an introvert back then. Still sort of am, just not as much. But in school I never felt comfortable talking to anyone about it, so I just kept it to myself.” she said with a shrug. “I did tell my parents. They’ve never really been too strict or anything, but it was still a nice surprise when they were completely ok with it.”

She paused for a moment to take another bit of her food before continuing. “After high school, I had more freedom, so I started experimenting at clubs. And it didn’t take long to get comfortable with it. What about you, Carmen-chan?”

Carmen always loved to hear about the journeys other people had taken to learn about their sexuality, and Akino's didn't disappoint. She tried to imagine her young lover in high school, keeping it to herself, thinking about. She could sympathize. She still remembered that time of her life very clearly, all the doubts, the confusion, the questions.

"You were lucky." Carmen spoke after a brief pause, keeping her voice solemn and quiet. "This country is a lot more accepting than Puerto Rico. We're a very religious people, and my family especially - if you're a Rodriguez and you're not a boxer, you're probably a preist or a deacon or something like that. So when I came out, it was...difficult. Especially since me and this girl I was into at the time picked a church bathroom of all places to 'experiment'."

There wasn't any sadness in Carmen's voice. It was what it was. Not a happy time in her life, but she'd pulled through and come out stronger. "Lucky for me, I left home before it could get to be a real problem. My matches and my training took me all over the world - haven't been back home that much since."

Akino listened intently as Carmen spoke. She stopped eating, and kept her gaze locked on the latina, hanging on every word. Akino had never really thought of herself as “lucky” for the way things had gone, though she hadn’t thought the opposite either. Everything just was how it was, and there had hardly ever been any reason for her to give it any more thought than that. But as she listened, she found she’d taken quite a bit for granted, especially in regards to her parents’ reactions. Now that she thought about it for the first time, Carmen was right. She was pretty lucky.

Carmen’s mention of the church bathroom incident brought a look of genuine surprise to Akino’s face. She knew how wild her lover could get, but that was one hell of a mental image coming into her mind. And she couldn’t help but blush ever so slightly at the thought. Fortunately, Carmen continued on, making it a little easier to get her mind out of the gutter.

“I’m sure it must’ve been hard staying away from home so much. But I bet traveling the world has plenty of perks too, doesn’t it? I’ve only left Japan twice, both times to compete in a match. One was in Russia, and the other in Korea. So really, I’ve never been anywhere outside of Asia before. There’s a lot of places in the world I’d like to see at least once. Who knows? Maybe I’ll have some matches that bring me to some of those places.” she said with a soft smile, then ate few more bites of her food.

Carmen really wasn’t in the mood to reminisce, but something’s couldn’t be avoided. She wasn’t about to break down and cry in the middle of the their dinner, but she couldn’t help but wonder what life might’ve been like with just a little tweak of her genes. If she hadn’t been gay, if she hadn’t been a woman. If, if, if.

Her trip down memory lane was canceled when Akino next spoke, though, because she said some interesting things. She hadn’t thought to ask about her fighting history before, but she was definitely considering it now.

”If you ever want to see the world, that’s something I could make happen.” She grabbed the pitcher of tea and refilled her glass. ”I have strings I can pull. I don’t pull them often, but for you…” She had a quick, knowing smile, then covered it up with her glass. ”Korea and Russia, though? That’s still pretty far. What sort of competition brought you that far west?”

Hearing Carmen’s words made Akino practically freeze while she was in the middle of lifting her fork to take another bite. Since signing with AFW she had held a faint optimism that she might by chance make it onto a big show in a place she’d always wanted to go to. She’d never thought it could be easier than that, yet Carmen made it sound like she could be going anywhere she wanted with the snap of her fingers. Could it really be so simple? And just what “strings” did Carmen have at her disposal? Well, whatever it was, Akino had to fight to contain just how happy and excited the thought made her. Though she did smile right back at her lover.

“Really? Wow, that’s... I...I’ll definitely have to take you up on that sometime.” she managed to say, somehow managing to keep her voice steady and her emotion in check. But then Carmen asked about her experience in Korea and Russia, and quickly she came back down to her normal, casual self, no longer having to force anything.

“It wasn’t anything big.” she said with a light shrug. “Both were just one-off matches for some small time indie leagues who needed freelancers to fill up spots for a show. In South Korea I fought some amateur who seemed like she was brand new to the whole thing. Can’t remember, but it might’ve been her first match.” She took a quick sip of her drink before continuing. “Russia was a bit different. I some guy in a no holds barred match. That one was a draw. I cracked him over the head with a baseball bat, and he hit me with...something at the same time. I think it was something metal...” She pondered over it for a moment, then gave up and shook her head. “But anyway, it put us both down for the count. Took a little while to get over that headache.” Akino said with a chuckle. It wasn’t the worst thing she’d been put through in the ring, but she still remembered it quite well.