Homecoming

Early that morning, Amy took a shower- washed her hair, shaved her legs, brushed her teeth. She watched Netflix while her hair dried, moisturizing her skin and wondering idly if she should put on perfume before deciding against it. Then she put on the olive green romper she’d picked out the night before.

As she appraised herself in the mirror, their imminent 15-month reunion played out in her head. The door would open, their eyes would meet. His gaze would invariably trail down to the rest of her, lingering on where her thighs met the air before slowly sliding down the rest of her legs, which still sported that healthy California tan. Then he’d make eye contact again, but only briefly. He’d grab her arm and yank her in without a word. He’d slam her into a wall and force his lips onto hers, grab a fistful of her top and yank it up…

Amy stopped. Right; this wasn’t going to work, not with Army. There was a real likelihood - not a guarantee, but a chance- that he’d literally rip her clothes off of her as soon as he saw her; just because it was the best-case scenario didn’t mean it wasn’t likely to happen. She shook her head, dabbed the sudden sweat from her neck, and pulled off her outfit. She’d wear the romper while hanging out with Mariko, or maybe Alaina; someone who could appreciate how good it looked on her without accidentally pulling it wayy up her ass.

Amy opened a bag of her favorite corn snack and put on another tv show. Maybe just a little perfume, a hint of scent. If she was going to go all out, she should go all out, right? This wasn’t a date; it was something with far higher stakes. She was going to go meet an ex. What’s more, she was going to go meet an ex that she’d broken up with to maybe start dating again. Yikes.

Rule of exes: she already had to look incredible. With all that junk on top, she had to look better than he’d ever seen her. This was completely uncharted territory for her, and she didn’t want to regret not pulling out all the stops when she had the chance.

When the episode ended, she pulled on a pair of white cut-offs and a striped tank top. It was a little familiar, probably something that he’d seen her in before. But it was super comfortable, it was simple (shirt goes up, pants come down), and, crucially, it was easy to move around in. A second likely and equally enticing possibility- he’d grab her arm and yank her in without a word. He’d slam her into a wall, then pull back his arm in preparation for a punch. If she wore something too fancy, he’d knock her out in the foyer and never let her live it down.

Amy realized that she had bits of corn snack stuck in her teeth- stupid. She went back to her sink and brushed her teeth again. Then she put on make-up, taking extra care to hide that she’d put on any make-up at all. When she was done, she decided that she was fed up with waiting for her hair to dry and pulled out her hair dryer. And yeah, maybe she took a flat iron and some sea salt spray to her ponytail, making it cascade over the back of her neck in a beachy wave instead of just straight down. It had been about 5 months since their last Skype call, which was maybe a month after their breakup, and it was important to her that something about her look be different.

Amy picked up her bottle of perfume, then put it back down. No; too much. Besides, Army already liked the way she smelled. Finally, Amy collected her bags of gifts, slipped on a pair of white Keds, and left her apartment.

Then she went right back inside and put on her khaki trench coat, because March in Kyoto is cold as fuck.

It was heavily overcast, but there was only a 5% chance of rain today, according to her weather app, so there was no reason for concern. Not that she’d have noticed enough to be worried anyway; between daydreams and planning for their day, Amy was checking her phone for messages from Army. 0 replies- no texts, phone calls, or Skype or Facebook messages- since she’d messaged him three days ago. Amy wasn’t naive or stupid. Their separation was friendly, but she was prepared for the possibility that Army had gotten over her during their time apart, that he wouldn’t want to be more than friends.

But Amy was optimistic. She wore matching bra and panties.

Amy traced two fingers over her lips as she walked to the Rodriguez household from the station, as though briefly lost in a memory. At first, it had been a shock to be back- everything was at once intimately familiar and intensely foreign. She recognized the buildings, but some of the storefronts and signage had changed since she was here last. Even now, it was mostly her subconscious and not Google Maps that was guiding her through the twists and turns of Kyoto's side streets to her destination.

When she arrived, she checked her phone one last time. 10 after one. She hasn't told him exactly when she was dropping by today- just that they should get lunch- but she was still ten minutes later than she had planned to be. Furthermore, still no messages from Army.

Amy stared up at the apartment building with an annoyed look on her face. She’d gone through the possible explanations in her head- he was on a run, he was napping, he’d lost his phone- but each fell apart in the face of the fact that he'd had three whole days to figure out how to reply to her. Now it felt like she was dropping in unannounced, even though that definitely wasn’t the case.

But despite her expression, Amy was giddy. She’d missed the Rodriguezes, and she was excited to see them again. She was looking forward to seeing Carmen react to her gifts, to catching up with Felina, and…

Amy stepped off of the elevator, shuffled quickly to Army’s door, and rang the doorbell. Then she huddled in her coat, hiding from the cold as best as she could. “Come on, Rodriguezes…” Shivering, she stepped from one foot to the other, regretting her choice of outfit more and more with each passing second.

This day was going to suck. Army knew it the moment he woke up. It was one of those days where you go to sleep and, in some small way, hope you don’t have to wake up again. He almost didn’t, too, spending far more time tossing and turning in the sheets after the sun came up, hitting the snooze button at least three times. But he’d never been a good riser, and once he woke up, going back to sleep always proved to be too much of a pain in the ass.

It started with him grabbing the phone shortly after he'd woken up, and looking at Amy’s text for what had to be the ten-thousandth time. Once more, he considered typing a reply, and he even opened up the text box for it...before his nerves got the better of him and his fingers seemed to forget how to type.

He honestly had no idea what to say to her. What could he say? What was the proper protocol for a girlfriend who broke up with you, who you thought you'd never see again, who just all of the sudden plunking down back into your life?

It wasn't like this was the first time he'd met an ex after the split, but that was usually by accident. At the movies or the mall and you run across your old girl with her new guy and you have the awkward ‘Oh, hi, this is the guy you're with now?’ moment. This was different. This was wholly different. This was his ex pretty much inviting herself into his apartment like she belonged there.

He'd spent the whole day worrying about it, and there was a small part of that just wanted to get out of dodge and leave it be. Carmen and Felina were out doing Girl Business, so if he was gone, Amy wouldn't be able to get in. She'd probably leave and it would make this whole thing so much easier. Maybe. Possibly. Probably not.

He didn't leave. For whatever reason, he got up, put on some shorts and his Batman sleeveless shirt. Played some Star Wars Battlefront. Cleaned up a bit. Had lunch.

And then the doorbell rang.

He’d been working on some dishes when it did, fists-deep in soapy water when it did, and he paused for a second, running all the possibilities through his head. He could’ve just pretended he wasn’t home. Didn’t have to answer it. Just leave it be.

”Fuck. Fuck me.”  He sighed and gave himself a slap on the skull. ”Stop being a pussy. Just do it.”

He took a quick moment to dry off his hands, then took the long march towards the door, dreading and anticipating every step at the same time. After what felt like an eternity, he opened the door, swung it open, and there she was.

For a second, an instant, he stood there without anything to say, as if some part of him still couldn’t believe what he was seeing. There she was. Amy Poford. The single most amazing woman he’d ever met. His equal and his better in so many ways. After a year of seeing her through glitchy screens and dreaming about her and reliving memories, she was just there. Standing there. Looking as bright and beautiful and sexy and dangerous as ever. In white cut-offs and a tanktop, too, clothes that were almost begging to be yanked out.

What could he say to that?

”Hi.”

It was a start.

She could hear the bell ring beyond the door, but it was completely silent save for the forlorn howl of the wind in the moments just after. Was no one home? Fighting the sense of dread crawling up her back and shoulders, Amy risked her fingers to the cold to pull out her phone.

I’m outside. Are we doing this?

Amy sent her first text, then got as far as

I’m about to freeze to death, so if you could hurry up and

on her second before she heard the latch turn in front of her- finally.

The door swung slowly open, and, even though she missed both Carmen and Felina dearly, she had to admit that she was happy to see that it was Army on the other side. He looked exactly the same as she remembered him- standing tall and dressed, as always, for comfort, not to impress. He also wore a scoop of bubbles on his head; Amy decided to ignore that for now.

Instead, when she saw him in that pair of shorts and improbably nerdy top, she made a quick deduction. She pushed forward- past the open door, past the threshold, past his tentative greeting- and barreled into the man in front of her, wrapping her arms around Army’s back in a tight hug. Sure enough, the Rodriguez hearth was incredibly cozy thanks to the heater humming merrily overhead. “Oh my god you’re so warm,” Amy breathed gratefully into his chest (he smelled the same, too). The chill beat a full retreat out the back of her neck and into the Kyoto air.

When her teeth finally stopped chattering, she pulled away from the hug with a short punch to Army's gut. “Hey, dude. So did you get a new number or something, or what?” Then she was moving again, slipping past Army to enter that very familiar living room. She pulled off her coat and dropped her gifts onto the coffee table, not bothering to wait for an invitation that she’d never needed before. "Are Carmen and Felina home?"

It took a real, physical effort not to immediately start kissing Amy the second Army opened the door.

Just seeing her there, standing there, looking every bit as vibrant and sexy and beautiful and hot and funny and happy as he remembered, woke up so many sleeping feelings in his body. His blood was racing, his nostrils flared, his heart rate jumped up a few tics. His body knew how to react to seeing her, remembered how great she could make him feel in so many ways. More than anything, Army just wanted to not care about her being gone so long, to just forget about it and pick up where they left off. To just touch her…

And, yet, he didn’t. Amy beat him to the punch, wrapping her arms around him, squeezing him, caressing him. Goddamn, she even smelled like he remembered. None of that raw flowery perfume crap. All-natural.

She was perfect. She was still perfect.

He was stunned for a second, but managed to give her a tentative hug back after the shock passed, even if he wasn’t quite sure what to say. Not that it really mattered - Amy was talkative enough for the both of them, at the moment. The little punch in the gut helped wake him up, too.

”Uh, no.” He shook his head and moved after her, taking a moment to look over the gifts she’d brought with her. ”Same phone. And yeah, they’re not here. Out doing stuff.”

There was a brief pause, and Army started to open his mouth, only to shut it tight a second later. Didn’t want to come off to strong. Didn’t want to say the first things that came to mind.

”So,” He scratched his shoulder. ”Been a while.”

Interesting. “Oh, that’s too bad.” Amy said, nonchalant. Casually, she draped her coat over the back of his easy chair. “Do you know when they’ll be back?” The two of them were supposed to leave soon, but it couldn’t hurt to have a complete report; after all, if all went as planned at lunch, it would be nice to know that they had the time for a quick, celebratory handjob before the Rodriguez women got back. Or maybe before lunch; Amy wasn’t in any hurry. Hungry though she was, she was also warm now, and the notion of braving the elements again was not appealing in the slightest.

Amy laughed. Understatement. She fell backwards onto the couch and instantly felt right at home. “Yeah, it has.” It’d been about five months since they’d heard each other’s voices, well over a year since they last touched. Any communication since had been mostly idle chatter, unsolicited commentary on Army’s latest match, or links to videos of unlikely animal friendships. Her arms spread open nice and wide; her grin did the same. “What uuupp, Ace? How've you been?”

She watched him peer into the bags of gifts and suddenly realized exactly how nice it was to see him again. They knew going in, way back when, that Skype was just a stopgap, a no-better-option option; they used it to tell each other about their days, to talk trash while playing games online, to strip and masturbate for each other... it kept them connected, even if it intensified their longing. But, until she was in the same room again, breathing the same air, getting the full context of where his eyes were looking and the little things he was doing with his hands, she didn’t realize just how much and how profoundly she’d missed him- and she already thought that she’d missed him a ton.

Amy decided that she didn’t like that Army was still standing. She patted the cushion beside her, beckoning that he come sit. Then she looked, bewildered, at where hand met seat. Suede? Then it hit her. “This is a new couch,” she declared confidently.

Army could envision that there was a world, another world, where this little reunion went a completely different way. Where, the second he saw Amy standing there with those big blue eyes and that glowing smile and that shimmering hair of hers, he did what his instincts told him to and just kissed her. And kissed her again. And help her tight. And threw her around the apartment like a ragdoll. A world where they broke that new couch in and hammered each other so hard they got noise complaints from apartments on the other side of the street.

Whether that was a better world, he couldn’t say. It was definitely a hotter world. A world where he didn’t have to worry about turning his body in a particularly way so Amy couldn’t see the growing bulge in the front of his pants. A bulge that didn’t lessen when he looked over and saw her sitting on the couch, wide open, with that come-hither stare.

Yeah. Amy could be subtle, she was great at it, but when she laid it on thick…well, they'd watched pornos with better lead-ins. And laughed at them. Good times.

He took a moment to step back and casually turn to the side while he feigned interest in the bags, then reached into his pocket and made some adjustments to his hardware - just enough to make things less obvious down below. With that done, he finally got back to speaking, though he made a concerted effort to keep his tone friendly. Just friendly.

”Yeah, it’s new.” He gave her one more quick look, then stepped back into the kitchen. Needed something to drink. Anything. ”And I’ve not been up to all that much, really. Wrestling. Doing the wrestling thing, you know. You?”

Ah, overpriced water bottles, perfect. Army took out two and made his way out of the kitchen, holding out one to Amy as he came. Didn’t sit down, though.  Not yet.

Amy wasn’t exactly flashing Army her steamy, do-me-now bedroom eyes here. But, while she may not have been trying to get him to come over and lay pipe, she did expect him to at least accept her invitation to come and sit.

Instead, right after making eye contact, Army retreated into the kitchen; Amy’s jaw actually dropped. “...the fuck?” Amy muttered, astonished, as she watched him go. The rejection was especially confusing given that he was getting hard with her literally just being here (the whole, feigning- interest- in- a- poster- or- houseplant- while- rearranging- your- boner- through- your- pocket- move may have worked once or twice at crowded house parties (a move that may not have been necessary if Amy hadn’t swept by with a breathless, whispered tease and a stealthy but deliberate stroke of his crotch through his jeans just moments prior, but that’s not really relevant)). But it was just the two of them here now; Amy had almost laughed.

But she understood Army’s caution. No matter how much she obviously turned him on, no matter how easily they might have ripped into each other before, the fact remained that she had broken up with him. As far as Army knew, she just was here on a friendly visit; he had no way of knowing that she was here to rekindle their relationship, and it’d look pretty desperate if he started putting the moves on his ex-girlfriend without her explicit green light. If anything were to happen between the two of them today, it would fall to her to initiate.

This was okay. She was ready for this sort of reception. She’d prepared for this.

Army didn’t sit after he came back from the kitchen, either; he stopped a chaste distance away, holding out a chilled bottle of water. Amy smiled. “Thanks.”

Amy adjusted herself on the couch to be more comfortable, slipping off her shoes and curling her bare legs in beneath her. “Hmm… well I went to another wedding. John got into CalTech, so he’s probably going there. I’ve been working as a personal trainer for the past few months, but I quit so I could move back to Japan and wrestle again.” She took a sip from her bottle, allowing her revelation the time it needed to sink in.

God, Army had forgotten how amazing her eyes were. Amy’s eyes were blue, but they weren’t just blue, they were that special shade that almost seemed to glow. He swore you could see them in the dark - not that he had too many chances to tell, because Amy didn’t mind it with the lights on, unlike some of his past flames. And that hair...he swore, he’d never cared that much for blondes before she came along, but after Amy he was addicted.

Skype and his apartment internet connection couldn’t do her justice, and here she was, right there, inviting him to be near her again. Why wasn’t he sitting in that seat?

Right. Mad and stubborn.

He stayed standing for the moment, unscrewing his own water bottle to sip away while she talked. He didn’t mind, couldn’t miss, her taking off her shoes - she had the daintiest little toes - and he connected the dots quick. You don’t go barefoot when you’re just dropping by for a quick visit. That’s an ‘I Intend To Be Here  Awhile’ move.

Army had little time to ponder that, though, before Amy went about dropping bombshells. He canted his head ot the side and held it at angle the second he heard the word ‘quit’ coming out of her mouth. It sounded like she had a pretty solid, stable thing going on, the sort of thing she’d always craved. Being a personal trainer gave her flexibility, a big thing for her. She was a good wrestler, but the whole lifestyle seemed to chafe her. Being on millions of TV screens every week made people feel like they owned a part of you, like you lost some of your privacy, and that was not Amy Poford. Never Amy Poford.

”Really? You’re back in?” He couldn’t keep the confusion out of his voice as he sat down...on the recliner a few feet away. He was a little smelly and Carmen would give him hell if he left a scent, but he’d worry about that later. ”What brought that on? I mean, the personal trainer thing seems like your..." He waved his hands about, searching for the right word, before giving up. "...thing. Why quit so quick?”

Amy was pleased by the question. Army knew her pretty well.

“Yeah, it was a pretty good gig. When I move back, I’ll probably even pick it up again.” Amy played with her water a bit in her hands. “But I didn’t feel like I was done traveling, you know? Like, I wasn’t ready to settle down in one place just yet. And there was just so much to miss about Japan.” Then she placed her bottle on the coffee table in front of her and looked right at Army. After a moment, she uncurled her legs, leaned forward in her seat, gently grabbed his hand- and smiled. “I missed you, Army.”

”I missed you, too. I missed you more than I’ve missed anything or anyone. I missed you more than I imagined it was possible to miss someone. I went to sleep every night wishing you were beside me. I woke up every morning reaching out for you and feeling nothing. I am insanely in love you, Amy. I love you so much it hurts.”

That was what Army wanted to say. What he tried to say. He opened his mouth for it, even, but the words that came out…

”Yeah, well,” He stuffed his hands in his pockets and sighed. This long, tired noise, that went on for a second longer than a sigh should. ”Took your sweet-ass time getting back. Couldn’t have missed me that much.”