Surprise Guests

Ordinarily Julia would’ve been offended enough by Gwen’s taunting comment to fire a retort right back at the heiress. But she was still far too overwhelmed by the shocking development before her to even figure out what to say, or how to think about all of this. She wanted to believe that it didn’t matter who Nik dated. As long as she was happy, that’s all that mattered. But a part of Julia’s mind thought back to the moments that had painted her own thoughts on Gwen. Like paying off a ref to screw Alaina out of a title match, or humiliating Julia and disrespecting the tradition she’d trained under by tearing her mask off. Had Nik supported her through all of that too?

But one thing Julia had to respect was that neither Gwen nor Nik was asking anyone to like this. Only to be respected through discretion and privacy. The cowgirl may have disliked Gwen more than she could even describe, to the point that it was nearly impossible for her to see how anyone who got to know Gwen could think of her in a positive light. But if they really were in love, that was their business. Who was Julia to interfere?

“Yeah, sure... I won’t say nothin’.” Julia finally answered. Behind her, both Josh and Jesse were a tad surprised she was as ok with it as she was. After all, two of them had only seen the matches and promos involving both Julia and Gwen, so that was literally all they had to go on to shape their opinions of the heiress before her surprise arrival today. But, Josh and Jesse also understood that because they had by far the most limited knowledge or understanding of the other people here, they had no room to talk. So they just remained silent and awkwardly watched to see how everyone else would react...

Alaina quietly nodded in agreement with Julia. She butted heads with Nik somwtimes but she really liked her. "If thats what you want Nik consider it done, I will keep this on the down low for your sake." She said genuinely. Alaina may not have cared one bit for Gwendolyn, but she did care ablut Nik and the dojo girls.

Alaina looked over at everyone else, hoping they shared in the consensus.

Gwen flinched from Nik's reprimanding tug after hearing the heiress' veiled barb's towards her Dojo compatriots. She was so accustomed to poking fun at them through sly wordplay that it had practically become second nature to her, the heiress only just then realizing that Nik may not appreciate her subtle jabs all that well. "...*sigh*...Very well...I'll be nice..." Gwen softly whispered under her breath towards Nik. Whatever enjoyment she derived from poking fun at the Dojo members was thoroughly negated by seeing her lover displeased. Against her own natural impulses, Gwen would attempt to be on her utmost best behavior when addressing the Dojo members...whenever her beloved was in the direct vicinity, anyway.

Upon scanning the captive audience's succinct yet supportive reactions, Gwen would begrudgingly separate herself from Nik's snug warmth to formally address everyone. She primly placed one of her hands over the other in her regal posturing. "Let's...dispel with the formalities. I'd wager this revelation does little to quell the animosity between ourselves. However...your discretion in regards to this matter is...appreciated. For Nik's sake, if not my own..." Gwen gently uttered, a tender solemnness to her inflection.

"One of the detriments of living a life of such prominent positioning as a future CEO, is the level of scrutiny one contends with on a daily basis. What Ms.Eng-... Nikolette and I have, could very well endanger that, and let's not forget the luminous spotlight that would be cast upon us both. And while it's only a matter of time before our liaison will be revealed to the world, you are all like a second family to Nik. So although there are those amongst my own inner circle who I fear may not react with such...acceptance...this does give me hope for the future. Therefore...you have my thanks~..." Gwen primly stated, a wholesome and utterly forced smile on her face as she actually attempted to be nice to the Dojo members in expressing her gratitude.

....

Gwen allowed a few moments of uncomfortable silence to pass, scanning the room awkwardly before abruptly speaking back up.

"SO!!!...Unless you're all willing to roll out an extra cot for a truly delightful sleepover, I do believe I should take my leave before this situation gets any...stranger. Twas a pleasure meeting all the new faces and reconnecting with old acquaintances~...Ta~..." With a polite bow and curtsy Gwen would turn in place and proceed towards the entrance way leading out of the kitchen. Desperately wishing to make a hasty exit when she actually felt the precursors of actually bonding with the Dojo lackeys, though not without extending her dainty hand for her beloved engineer to take and courteously guide her through the Dojo and back outside.

Junko listened to Gwendolyn with incredulous eyes. Her arms were crossed and while she accepted Nikolette's relationship, she still trusted Gwendolyn about as far as she could throw her. "We're not so petty as to try and wreck your lives, Gwendolyn-san." Junko said. "Nikolette's happiness is more important to me than some wrestling grudge." The older woman made it perfectly clear even if she had to bite her tongue a bit.

Nikolette spared the group an apologetic yet appreciative glance when she was pulled away by her lover. She escorted Gwendolyn out of the house and closed the door behind them.

"Gwennie..."

Nikolette said softly when they were finally alone. "I can't say I'm fond a how you went about this." She said. "But..." Nikolette lowered her head. "Hopefully this'll be a burden lifted." She admitted. "And, I appreciate makin the effort. Those gals're my friends an family. Y'all gotta try and leave whatever beefs ya got inside the ring." Nikolette squeezed Gwendolyn tightly and hugged her with her strong arms.

"I just hope... I hope that ..." Nikolette faltered and just sighed. She wanted to say how she hoped that Gwnedolyn never fought any of the dojo girls ever again and they could just be nice to each other but she knew it was waste. She just hoped that she could stay neutral forever too but that was a different can of worms entirely. "Oi..." She said finally and leaned against Gwendolyn.

"This ain't even the worst of it, that's what's so nerve wrackin..." She decided to go with that. "And all things considered, this went pretty darn well."

Gwendolyn breathed out a sigh of relief once she stepped outside and felt the brisk winds across her face. The palpable tension in the air was hardly lost on her, and successfully manipulating an entire room of former adversary's and their families into not pummeling her was no small feat, even with her linguistical expertise.

She warmly cozied up into Nik's loving embrace and felt immediate levity wash over her, holding Nik tightly across her shoulder blades. "My apologies for ambushing you like this. Matters such as these are sometimes best handled without forethought. I'd wager there was never going to be a proper time for this to happen, and that the more we elevated it in our minds as this grand occasion, the more insurmountable it could come off as. Now, it's over and done with, and we can all start moving forward~..." Gwen sighed and closed her eyes while nuzzling her face against Nik's neck. Her lover's muscled embrace putting her at ease as she smiled at the realization that this was the first time they openly shared affection for eachother out in broad daylight.

"Considering this was only the first step amongst many down a potentially rocky path, I'd say we're off to a rather splendid start as well. Though I fear you're the one who may have drawn the short straw in this particular situation. You're the one who has to go back in there~..." Gwen laughed softly to herself at the thought of Nik fielding questions left and right from the Dojo lackeys, the heiress hoping that making light of their situation would raise Nik's spirits and alleviate her mood. "Unless you'd prefer to spend the night in my humble abode, that is~..."

"Nnnn...."

Nikolette just grunted at Gwendolyn's apology but squeezed her lover. "I guess it worked out." She admitted though she didn't want to. "You're probably right about rippin the band-aid off though..." She she added. Nikolette kissed Gwendolyn softly and took her lover's hand. She gave them a squeeze.

"Maybe... I could skip out for a lil bit." Nikolette said and kissed Gwendolyn. "I'l be right back, ok?" Nikolette said. "I hope ya don't mind waitin in that limo for a while?  I'm just gonna take a quick shower and settle everyone down."

Nikolette slipped back into the house and began to peek around, wondering if everyone else had dispersed.

"Of course...Take all the time you need." Gwendolyn politely uttered after Nik's affectionate kisses left her with a fluttering heart. Gwen took a step back to allow her dear engineer space to step back inside the Dojo. She surmised that Nik may be inundated with lengthy questions about what just transpired, so she approached her extravagant limousine intending to relax in it's luxurious confines.

Though not without taking in one fleeting glance of the Dojo's sturdy structure behind her. Scowling slightly and imagining how much easier things would be for the both of them if there simply were no Dojo around to complicate their relationship.

Once Nik and Gwen had both stepped out, it took Julia a few seconds before she could finally say something. And when she finally did, it wasn’t much.

“Wow...”

Josh and Jesse looked at Julia, then at each other, then everyone else around. They sure did pick one hell of a day to come join the fabled Higurashi dojo. And now, none of the Rogers siblings had a clue what to say or do. It wasn’t until Nik came back in that Julia finally someone managed to get her wits about her.

“Well... Think I’ll help Josh and Jess get settled in. Y’all let me know if ya need anything! C’mon, guys.” she said, gesturing for her brother and sister to follow her. Jesse went without hesitation, but Josh paused for just a second.

“Nice meetin’ you guys. Look forward to workin’ with ya.” he said, giving a quick, small wave to everyone before going to follow after his sisters.