Starcrossed

Tatiana Siamko was convinced that she was on the cusp of breaking a world record for the longest time spent staring at a smartphone screen without actually doing anything.

She was currently sitting in her bed, wrapped in her pajamas, legs crossed, looking at the only light in the dimmed room. The phone’s glow covered her face, and she sat there, just looking at it, as if waiting for an idea to come to her. She’d put Belle’s number into the phone, connected, and was all set to give her a text. She just had to put actual words into the box and press send.

Simple. So simple.

So why wasn’t she doing it?

She growled, frustrated, and gave herself a slap upside the head, as if she could beat the machinary of her brain into working. She needed to do this. If she waited too long, Tatiana would go to sleep, it would be too late, and then she’d never get this done. Just do it now or do it never. ”Okay, okay…”

Tat: Hello?
Tat: it’s me, Tat

And so began one of the most aggravating hours of Tatiana’s life, as she rolled around in the bed while she waited for Belle to respond. A dozen possibilities ran through her mind, few of them positive. Maybe Belle had changed her mind about giving her the number, was just looking at her like some weirdo fangirl. Or maybe Kaylee had convinced her to leave her alone. Or maybe she’d dialed the wrong number or been given the wrong number of remembered it wrong or-

Belle: Hey.

”Oh, thank God.”

Tat: oh, phew, right number
Tat: hey! Not a bad time, is it?

Belle: It's fine.
Belle: What's up?

Tat: okay, cool
Tat: well, before we say anything, I kind of want to apologize

And now came another pause, which left Tatian in agonized waiting again. This time was filled with nervous fidgeting, checking out Spotify, and opening her text messages every other minute to make sure she hadn’t missed the response somehow, until…

Belle: For what?

Tat: I feel things
Tat:okay, I know they got out of hand
Tat: and my sister is kinda…
Tat: Val really hates Kaylee bynthe way
Tat: like, SERIOUSLY

Belle: Don't know what you are talking about.
Belle: Feeling is mutual. She won't shut up about your sister.

Tat: yeah, it’s a little scary
Tat: but you know
Tat: ...the rubbing and stuff?
Tat: I am not good at this

And another pause. Tatiana rolled over and engulfed her face in the pillow, so she could muffle a quick scream of raw frustration. She was messing this up before it had even started. Conversations like this were hard enough in real life, but when you couldn’t see the person you were speaking to…

Belle: I don't follow.

Back to the pillow, this time for groaning.

Tat: ugh >_<
Tat: maybe it was just me
Tat: but I really liked wrestling with you back there
Tat: and not just in the regular way
Tat: though it was fun, your angreat wrestler
Tat: but it was
Tat: it was kind of
Tat: hot
Tat: rambling sorry

Belle: It's okay.

Tat: yeah
Tat: it’s dumb, I’m dumb
Tat: i guess, bottom line
Tat: I want to thank you for being so cool with me

There came another pause, though she was more okay with it, now. Belle was being pretty calm about all this, pretty accepting of all this weirdness. Maybe she just needed time to think. She would respond soon enough.

Belle: You're not dumb and it's okay. You seem like a very nice person.

Tat: thanks
Tat: that’s a better word than the one my sister uses

Belle: What do you mean? Is your sister giving you crap?

Tat: eh, a little more than usual.
Tat: she thinks I’m naive
Tat: that you just messed with my head

[color=#660000]Belle: You don't think that though, right?[/color

[color=#ff3366Tat: no
Tat: hell no
Tat: you were super nice
Tat: as nice as you could be[/color]

Belle: Okay.
Belle: Just checking.
Belle: Sounds like she is too hard on you.
Belle: Don't let your sister get you down.

Tat: Val means well
Tat: she just wants to protect me
Tat: too much
Tat: and she can’t separate you from Kaylee

Belle: It's not like you're a little kid.
Belle: She should have more faith in you.
Belle: This sounds like more of a problem between the two of you than it does with me and Kaylee.

Tatiana sighed and sunk back into the bed, parsing Belle’s words. Was there a problem? She loved Valerie, but God, she was such a pain after this match. On one hand she didn’t want to blame her, knowing that Kaylee got under her skin and went deep, but it felt like she was taking her anger out on all of the wrong things.

Tat: it might be
Tat: we’ve been kind of joined at the hip since our parents married
Tat: I love her, but sometimes I just want space
Tat: you know?

Belle: Do I fucking ever.
Belle: I mean yes.

Tat:
Tat: is Kaylee always so...
Tat: Kaylee?

Belle: Depends on what you mean.
Belle: If you mean like the other night, no, she is not normally like that.
Belle: She is a handful either way.
Belle: Don't tell anyone this btw.

Tat: super secret, got it
Tat: still can’t believe she blinded me with a camera flash
Tat: was a bad photo, too


Belle: It wasn't that bad.

Tat: you are way too kind
Tat: um
Tat: are you
Tat: would you mind maybe meaning up
Tat: meeting up?
Tat: I know you’re super busy

Tatiana sat up all the way, staring hard at the screen, as if that could somehow help. Now was the moment of truth. Whatever was going on between the two of them, it was only going to progress in any direction if they had some real face time, got to hash things out up close.

So Tatiana waited for a reply. And waited. And waited...until her tiredness got the better of her and she passed out.

Belle: Sure, I guess.

”Huh, what?!”

The phone’s vibration woke Tatiana, making her sit upright with a sudden jolt that sent the phone flying across the room. She went to retrieve, then jumped back into the bed to continue the conversation

Tat: awesome!
Tat: I mean
Tat: just tell me a time and place that's good for you and I'll be there

Belle: I can make some time tomorrow night if you can find a place.

Tat: there's a bar near the arena that gives wrestlers free drinks if they had a match that week
Tat: Americana
Tat: how's that sound?

Belle: Sounds good.
Belle: Haven't been drinking in awhile.
Belle: Think you will make good company?

Tat: I haven't been drinking...pretty much ever, come to think of it.
Tat: and maybe? I'll try not bore you, promise
Tat: My mom taught me many jokes, if I get too dull

Belle: That another big sister prime directive?
Belle: No drinking permitting in the sistersphere.
Belle: Terminate all fun.
Belle: They better be good jokes, or I am going to bail.
Belle: Pressure is on.

Now it was Tatiana’s time to pause, as she took a moment to slap her forehead. Shouldn’t have mentioned that. It was a personal detail with a personal reason, something she didn’t like to share outside the family circle, something she didn’t even like to talk about with her mother.

Had to say something. It was getting awkward.

Tat: no. Not my sister
Tat: I can't
Tat: well, I shouldn't talk about
Tat: anyway
Tat: I will live up to your expectations! see you there!

Belle: Uh, okay.
Belle: See you then, I guess

---

Tatiana had never been to Americana before, only heard about from other wrestlers. She’d wondered what it had done to get that strange name, and she guessed it had some kind of USA-theme going on. Bald eagles, flags all over the place, an abundance of firearms and mounted deer heads.

But no, the place was fairly  subtle about it, merely looking like an American bar that had been ripped straight for the States. They had all the best American brands, their waitresses dressed blue jeans, they served hot wings and french fries and cheeseburgers. The place was clearly designed for the AFW’s outsider market, a place where Americans could feel like they’d stumbled onto a piece of home.

It even came complete with a neat little dart board, which Tatiana was currently trying her hand at while she waited for an order of Buffalo Wings to arrive. She’d chosen to come early so she could at least feel comfortable before Belle arrived, but she still felt a little out of her element in a place like this, standing there in her overall jeans and her pink shirt. Bright, colorful, maybe a little fruity, not exactly matching with the decor.

Still, she passed the time well enough, hurling another dart through the air and missing the target by a couple of inches. ”Bah, Давай!”

The sounds of retro synthetic wave music flooded the small private gym from embedded speakers in the ceiling. Belle had been it it for awhile, pumping her arms and legs as she went nowhere quick on their elliptical. She had the televisions in the room off. She found them distracting. Kaylee would normally have them on to watch TV shows or movies while she worked out. Not Belle. She just needed her music. The view helped too. The room was lined with modern looking windows which overlooked their garden... Which if she was being frank looked more like a small park with a pond in it. Even at night it was illuminated with mounted directional lights.

Back in America they had a pretty large complex together, but this place in terms of scenery blew the other place out of the water. Cheaper than their place in Cali too, even with all the staff that came to tend to the grounds daily. It was still taking her some getting used to, but found the settling and culture to be far less irksome than America. People were polite, and most who recognized her approached her in a respectable manner... Unlike in the states where she had been cornered more than once in a bathroom by a fan. She didn't miss that.

She could hear a faint rattling from her phone on the elliptical control panel. A message. Likely Kaylee wanting her to bring something downstairs to her. She was still three minutes off her mark but settled on that, slipping off the machine with her phone.

"Alexa, music off please." The small echo panel on the ceiling blinked at the command, silencing her workout tunes. She slowly walked the outside parameter of the room taking a cool down lap as she flicked her phone open to the text messenger. It wasn't Kaylee, just some random numbers. With a furrow brow she tapped the tab.

Tat: Hello?
Tat: it’s me, Tat

"Oh..." She had stopped mid stride to stare done at there phone, not sure what to say or feel. She made her way carefully to the windows, tapping a response out on her digital keypad. Just before she hit send, she selected it all and deleted it. She wasn't ready for this yet.

Rather than respond right away, Belle had called her workout early to go take a shower. When she climbed out her phone was waiting, texts still on the screen. She groaned wrapping herself up in a towel. She would dry up, get dressed, and respond to Tatiana eventually.

She had sat around after making herself a sandwich and eating it. Lounging on one of the couches just staring at her phone. She wanted to respond, but in some ways just wished Tatiana hadn't contacted her. Maybe ignoring it would make her go away. Her life was complicated enough without the redhead in it, occupying her mind when she could be doing productive things. She laid back on the couch, throwing a pillow over her face in hopes gravity would put her out of her misery and smother her right here and now.

Over an hour had passed since she received the text. Her phone felt like it was glaring at her as she sat in her computer chair, binge watching videos of people doing dumb things and watching the consequences. Sounded familiar. She had hoped watching the misfortunes of others would help to negate her own. It wasn't to be. With nothing left to distract her, she picked up the phone with a sigh.

Belle: Hey.
Tat: oh, phew, right number
Tat: hey! Not a bad time, is it?
Belle: It's fine.
Belle: What's up?
Tat: okay, cool
Tat: well, before we say anything, I kind of want to apologize

She had read the last text over a few times in her head. What kind of an apologize was it. Good or bad... What even constituted the differences between them. She didn't even know, but could feel a small pit in her stomach because of it. She stared long and hard at the works before tapping the phone to her forehead.

"Nope. Not doing this." She gave her phone a small toss, sending it bouncing onto her bed. She could find something to go next. Anything but this. She pushed herself up and walked out of the room. If nothing else she could use a walk. Just another cool down lap. That was it.

She wound up doing a lap or two around the the quiet darkened halls of her home before coming back to her room at a slightly brisker pace. She was being dumb. Of course it was a good kind of apology... She would just play things off with cold indifference and feign ignorance to it all.

She quietly sat herself at the edge of her bed, hunched over her phone to respond.

Belle: For what?
Tat: I feel things
Tat:okay, I know they got out of hand
Tat: and my sister is kinda...
Tat: Val really hates Kaylee bynthe way
Tat: like, SERIOUSLY
Belle: Don't know what you are talking about.
Belle: Feeling is mutual. She won't shut up about your sister.
Tat: yeah, it’s a little scary
Tat: but you know
Tat: ...the rubbing and stuff?
Tat: I am not good at this

She stared down at the phone, faint color in her cheeks. Why'd Tatiana have to be so blunt about it. Why did Belle have to feel so awkward about it? Wrestles bumped and rubbed together all the time. It wasn't a thing. This wasn't a thing. Nothing had happened. After putting distance between there match and now, she could say that with certainty... Though she knew it was a lie.

She dropped onto her back on her ocean of bed, sinking into the mattress. Tatiana was harmless, well, in text form. Belle generally faced every challenge head on, why was she backing down when it came to the redhead?  "God damnit... Just go away."

Belle: I don't follow.
Tat: ugh >_<
Tat: maybe it was just me
Tat: but I really liked wrestling with you back there
Tat: and not just in the regular way
Tat: though it was fun, your angreat wrestler
Tat: but it was
Tat: it was kind of
Tat: hot
Tat: rambling sorry

At least she wasn't alone... She had thought it had been in her head the whole time. Convinced herself.

Belle: It's okay.
Tat: yeah
Tat: it’s dumb, I’m dumb
Tat: i guess, bottom line
Tat: I want to thank you for being so cool with me

Tatiana was making this so damn hard. Why was she such a sweet girl. Why couldn't she be just another asshole fan so should could move on with her life. She actually liked Belle. Not her character on a show. Not her videos. Just Belle, on her own, what little she knew.

She rolled over on her bed with a huff crawling up to her pillows to hunker down. When the blame was faceless she was fine with being cool and dismissive, nobody was getting hurt. They could just text, Tatiana could see she wasn't interested, and they could go their separate ways. Now that the girl was blaming herself, beating herself up over it, Belle was having a hard time playing things off. "Just stop it Tat..."

Belle: You're not dumb and it's okay. You seem like a very nice person.
Tat: thanks
Tat: that’s a better word than the one my sister uses

Belle furrowed her brow. Valerie hadn't made the best impression on her. She couldn't explain why, but she was feeling protective of Tatiana all of a sudden.

Belle: What do you mean? Is your sister giving you crap?
Tat: eh, a little more than usual.
Tat: she thinks I’m naive
Tat: that you just messed with my head

She frowned down at her phone. Was Valerie right? Was she leading Tatiana on? She flicked her phone screen, glancing over their chat up until this point. It wasn't making her feel any better. She should just be a bit more honest with the girl. What was the harm really... Though she needed to know something first, something to reassure her she wasn't a bad person.

Belle: You don't think that though, right?
Tat: no
Tat: hell no
Tat: you were super nice
Tat: as nice as you could be

She breathed a sigh of relief.

Belle: Okay.
Belle: Just checking.
Belle: Sounds like she is too hard on you.
Belle: Don't let your sister get you down.
Tat: Val means well
Tat: she just wants to protect me
Tat: too much
Tat: and she can’t separate you from Kaylee
Belle: It's not like you're a little kid.
Belle: She should have more faith in you.
Belle: This sounds like more of a problem between the two of you than it does with me and Kaylee.
Tat: it might be
Tat: we’ve been kind of joined at the hip since our parents married
Tat: I love her, but sometimes I just want space
Tat: you know?

Was she kidding? Ever since Kaylee lost her spotlight on television she had practically been dragged along in one she made for herself. Belle likee some of the YouTube content they put out but daily? It was beyond a chore. She lived with Kaylee for God's sake, all for the ease of managing their channels.

Belle: Do I fucking ever.

"Shit..." She shouldn't have sent that. She wished she could take it back.

Belle: I mean yes.
Tat:
Tat: is Kaylee always so...
Tat: Kaylee?

Kaylee was hard to explain. Novae had inadvertently pulled out something in Kaylee rarely seen. Save for the early days when copycat shows popped up when Coming Together was in it's prime, she never had been need of being so volatile.

They always had a been so more successful than the people trying to copy them it hadn't mattered. Just flies on a windshield. Confronted with something she seems to be ripping her off and being made to accept it as someone equal to her, that had seemed to snap her.

Belle: Depends on what you mean.
Belle: If you mean like the other night, no, she is not normally like that.
Belle: She is a handful either way.
Belle: Don't tell anyone this btw.
Tat: super secret, got it
Tat: still can’t believe she blinded me with a camera flash

Belle could believe it. She had even chastised Kaylee about it after she had questioned when that picture had been taken. The blond was treating it like she had done Tatiana a favor. "Now people know who she is, teeheehee... Fuck off Kaylee." She didn't have a terrible good impersonation of her friend, thankfully nobody was around to hear it.

Tat: was a bad photo, too
Belle: It wasn't that bad.

All of the people who doodled and photoshopped over the photo for the chance to be retweeted by Kaylee at the expense of Tatiana however... Some of those got to be pretty bad.

Tat: you are way too kind
Tat: um
Tat: are you
Tat: would you mind maybe meaning up
Tat: meeting up?
Tat: I know you’re super busy

She groaned softly. She knew she shouldn't have been so chatty. Now she wanted to meet up... Belle wanted to as well. She wanted to talk to Tatiana outside the ring. Get to know her. See her again.

Maybe the girl would do or say something that would be a deal breaker so she could stop thinking about her so much. How should she greet her when they saw each other? A wave, a handshake, a hug? What would they talk about?

What if Belle really did like her. What would Kaylee think. No, she couldn't find out. Not about this meeting or anything that came of it. But nothing was going to come of it. Just Belle meeting a fan. They could talk shop a bit and part ways. Nothing strange, nothing awkward.

She felt giddy... was that the word? She knew she was smiling.

Belle: Sure, I guess.
Tat: awesome!
Tat: I mean
Tat: just tell me a time and place that's good for you and I'll be there
Belle: I can make some time tomorrow night if you can find a place.
Tat: there's a bar near the arena that gives wrestlers free drinks if they had a match that week
Tat: Americana
Tat: how's that sound?
Belle: Sounds good.
Belle: Haven't been drinking in awhile.
Belle: Think you will make good company?
Tat: I haven't been drinking...pretty much ever, come to think of it.
Tat: and maybe? I'll try not bore you, promise
Tat: My mom taught me many jokes, if I get too dull
Belle: That another big sister prime directive?
Belle: No drinking permitting in the sistersphere.
Belle: Terminate all fun.
Belle: They better be good jokes, or I am going to bail.
Belle: Pressure is on.

She overstepped didn't she. Said something dumb. Tatiana had been practically been machine gunning her back texts this entire time until now. Her heart sank a bit. Wasn't this what she had wanted? To distance herself?

Tat: no. Not my sister
Tat: I can't
Tat: well, I shouldn't talk about
Tat: anyway
Tat: I will live up to your expectations! see you there!
Belle: Uh, okay.
Belle: See you then, I guess.

She wasn't sure what had happened at the end of their conversation. Did she have some sort of health concern she was hiding? Was it something to do with her sister? Her mother? She had no idea. She tolled over onto her side, staring at her phone. She had quietly waited just to see if she received another text, anticipated it. Nothing. It made sense though. They had finished talking after all. After about fifteen minutes she picked up her phone and turned it off. That way she didn't have to deal with it one way or another.

---

Bell had showed up early as well. Not quite as early as Tatiana, nor did it happen to matter. She hadn't wanted to be there waiting. Making it LOOK like she had come early to the meeting. So she milled around outside, checking out storefront windows. She watched the time like a hawk on her phone, wanting until it was the time they had designated before circling back to enter the bar. She had been to Americana a few times before, though she hadn't been awake of their wrestler policy. Knowing that now, it would likely be a new hot spot for her.

She had dressed for the occasion and the weather, thankful to actually be able to pull from her wardrobe for a change. She wore a plain black sleeveless top with a modest V neck collar, and some faded blue jeans, visibly well worn as the ankles cuffs at the bottoms were frayed. A detail lost on inspection however, since they were tucked into a pair of scuffed up combat boots that rose about half her shin height, the laces were for show as the boots themselves zipped up along the side. She had a two tone leather jacket, the body a deep dark brown with "Killer Queen" etched on the back in a gold embroidery surrounded by various flowery looking patterns encircling it. The I in Killer was a switchblade. The sleeves however weren't leather, but instead a bleached denim. The jacket itself had visible signs of wear, a few creases and cracks in certain places on the leather. A pair of driving gloves hung from her back pocket, a non-reflective dull black, fingerless.

She had slipped into the bar trying to look as nonchalant as possible, but she was a bit nervous. Only after the plans had been made did she think about how other wrestlers made use of this place. What if they were recognized. Why did it matter? They were grown ass adults drinking grown ass adult beverages. they could do whatever they wanted, MOM. She snorted softly as she glanced around for Tatiana, hearing her Russian before actually catching sight of her. Hands buried in her pockets she made her way over, trying to sneak around the redhead as much as possible to get up behind her. "An acrobat, but not a knife thrower. That is one less thing I have to worry about." She forced a half smile waiting for the girl to turn around.

”Ready, aim, and-”

Tatiana let another dart fly, making it whiz through the hair, careening towards the dart board...only to hit the outer rim and stick there, well away from the center. She’d been playing this for ten minutes, at least, so how was it possible that she was getting noticeably worse at it as time went by? On paper, it seemed easy enough, just throw the damned thing, aim well and hit the center. In practice, she would overthink her shot, release too early or too late, kept messing it up.

”Bah.” She harumphed after her latest missed shot and reached over for the glass of ice water she’d sat nearby. Before she could have a sip, though, the voice she’d been waiting for came from behind.

Glass in hand, Tatiana whipped around to see Belle standing there, looking suitably badass in her jacket and her jeans and her combat boots. It was a stark contrast from the more cutesier look she’d brought to the ring, and she found herself loving it and hating it at the same time.

Loving, because it looked great on her.

Hating, because it made her aware of how plain and dull her overalls were. She probably looked like a bumpkin. Not a good start, Tatiana.

She gave herself a mental slap on the forehead, but kept it light on the outside, putting on a smile that she prayed didn’t look too goofy. ”Okay, if you’re going to criticize my skills firsthand, you know you have to take a few swings yourself.” She reached into the small, wooden box on the edge of the bar, pulled out a handful of darts, and offered them up to Belle with a taunting gleam.

”Thanks for coming.” She leaned forward and whispered. Why was she whispering? ”You look great in that, by the way. I mean, I’m sure you’d look great in a lot of stuff, but...that, in particular.”

She had considered trying to startle Tatiana as she was able to creep in closer, working hard to lay her heels as gently to the floor as possible with each step. Sneaking in boots wasn't exactly easy after all. When the redhead had lifted her glass, was when she decided against it. The last thing she wanted was her to spill it all over herself and start the evening off poorly.

She had to focus hard to suppress a grin as Tatiana turned. She looked absolutely adorable, if not a bit out of place in the bar. She remembered a time when she is to wear stuff like that as a kid... For some reason it just worked for the other girl, she made it seem natural.

This poor sweet girl, she had no idea. Belle spent quite a bit of time in bars, even in her earlier years. She had an uncle that ran a small hole in the wall establishment. In retrospect, he likely hadn't been the best candidate for babysitter when her parents were in need. It was a win win though. He had gotten some extra help cleaning up glasses and she got to eat whatever she wanted off the menu.

Even before she was strictly allowed to drink legally in the states, she would frequint bars for the live music or play some of the games on hand. Darts and pool being among the ones she was best at... In some places they even had a cornhole boards set up indoors. Playing the games gave her an easy in to bum drinks off people without having to get carded, not many people minded sharing with a pretty girl after all.

She took the darts in hand as she stepped up along side Tatiana, waving a tail end of a dart at her to shoot her back for extra room. She wondered how familiar the girl was with the game. Should she actually go for the big points, or just a bullseye which most people assumed the high score was located. "What was your best score tonight?"

Belle turned the cheap darts over between her fingers, testing the weight. Standard fair, not very well kept. "No problem, was the least I could do. After that match we might as well be war buddies or something.." She raised a dart, closing one eye as she lined it up with a gentle forward and back motion with her arm at the elbow. She tensed up a bit when Tatiana whispered in her ear, a small shiver creeping up her spine. She managed to maintain her cool, stone faced as ever. "Thanks." Was it stuffy in here? She was starting to think it was a bit stuffy.

The strange thing, here? Tatiana was older than Belle. Not much older, mind you, senior to Belle by about three or four years, but older. One would’ve thought she’d be the more mature one between them, but that clearly wasn't the case. The brunette had this poise to her, this control that made everything cool around her. She was the best looking woman in the room, the best dressed, with the best body and…

Ugh. Tatiana was blushing when she stepped over. Damn it.

She downed some more water in the hopes that it would help cool her down, and subtly stepped to Belle’s side, hiding her flushed face. ”Well, you know, I’m kind of new. New-ish. I haven’t played this in a while.”

By ‘in a while’, she meant she hadn’t played it since she was a little kid with the suction cup dartboard thingie her Grandpa had bought her for Christmas.

”But I got 103. The first time. Haven’t gotten close since. And now that I say that, you are about to blow me out of the water. So proceed.”

She took up position on the nearest barstool - or tried, anyway. She almost slid off the first time, but quickly righted herself and found a comfort zone. ”But yeah, that was a crazy way to start out Friction career. I mean…wow. We lost, but still, I don’t see me and Valerie topping that anytime soon. You’ve really taken well to wrestling, haven’t you?”

Pinching the first dart, she rolled it between her fingers, finding a comfortable grip on it. Squinting, she inched a bit to the left, extending her arm to peer down its length to better gauge how lined up she was. She did this a few times before she planted herself where she wanted. "103, that's not bad if you're new." Though, she wasn't sure how new she was if she understood the scoring. She couldn't help but smirk to herself. Tatiana had been to quick and precise in the ring, something about her not having a natural gift for darts she found amusing. While she hadn't seen her blush, she could hear something in her voice that gave it away. "Well, who knows. I haven't played in awhile myself." Which was a blatant lie. She had played quite a few times over the last month. She brought her arm up, extending it fully with a few more testing motions before actually tossing the dart.

Dead center, bullseye. 50 points.

Sure, there were higher scoring areas she could have gone for, and likely hit, but this was the obvious one meant to impress. She traded another dart into her hand, going through the same motions to line up her shot. She didn't have to do much to beat Tatiana's score, which she seemed intent on doing. "You'll have to show me your form after this, maybe I can check it out and give you some pointers." She briefly considered trying to get all three darts in the center, but knew that was a foolhardy risk. Better to try for someplace less crowded. Squinting, she let fly another dart.

A small green strip between seven and eight o'clock. 48 points.

She wouldn't have to worry about what to hit now, not really. Not even a handful of locations would award her less points than she needed. She traded the last dart to her hand, taking a deep breath as she lined up her final shot. "That was your debut huh? I didn't even think of that... Certainly the hardest fought tag match we've had." She left out the two versus one they had with a murderous boxer that nearly saw both women laid out. "You were pretty amazing in there." She nodded slowly as she gave a few practiced throwing motions without loosing her dart yet. "Yeah, it came easier than you'd imagine. I know it wasn't much, but I use to do my own stunts back when I was on TV. I picked up on how to do a lot of things relatively fast. Had to, it was written into the character. I use to watch the stuff all the time back home, back when it had a bit more bite to it."

”103, I think..” Tatiana ran a hand through her hair, letting her red strands fall all around her face. ”I might have read that rule card wrong, won’t lie.” She thumbed over to it, a sign on the wall with instructions in Japanese and English. Both languages that Tatiana didn’t read that well.

When Belle took her up, though, and started to threw the darts in succession, she leaned forward with focused interest. Belle told her she hadn’t played in a while, then proceeded to throw a perfect bullseye on the first try. Hm.

Tatiana tried to stifle a laugh, but most of it came out, anyway, as swiveled about on the stool.”Oh, yeah, I can tell you’re so rusty.”

The bartender occasionally threw a glance her way, like he wanted her to stop using the stool like a toy, but he was keeping quiet for now. Wrestlers brought in the business, after all.

”I can relate, sort of.” Tatiana brought her elbows up and tried to lean against the bar, wanting to look cool and relaxed, but it was a little too far to do that comfortably. ”I didn’t know any wrestling moves before we started to get into it, but I worked in the circus, working on the high trapeze. So I could already do a lot of the crazier moves. I was capable of them. It was just a matter of telling my body what to do and when to do it.”

Maybe if she shifted a bit back, then crossed her legs...no, still looked awkward. Damn it. ”I was iffy before, but now, I’m glad we’re trying this out. Wrestling so much more fun than I expected.”

She may have grinned at Tatiana's sarcasim over her first shot. "Pretty impressive honestly. I don't see a lot of people who do the acrobatics thing but can get up close and personal like you... Where did you learn to fight like that anyway? That isn't just normal wrestling. If I wasn't so hardheaded, I might have been pretty scared of you in there. You're sort of a terror when you get rolling."

Belle had paused for just a moment, thinking for the smallest fraction of a second Tatiana's comment on being glad to have tried things out was in reference to them being in the bar tonight. A faint hit of color on her checks as soon as context was provided. She lowered her hand, waiting a moment for her blush to fade as she stalled for time.

After taking a small breath, she felt like she was in the clear enough to toss a glance back to Tatiana. "Glad you're enjoying yourself though. Happy to know you weren't put off by our match... Commere." She motioned the redhead over with a nod before looking back to the board.

"Let's start this off right, with a bet. Winner gets a free request, favor whatever to cash in at any time they want. Just one." She held up her free hand motioning with a single finger. "If I can beat your score I win... But you can distract me or something, cover my eyes, whatever as long as you don't physically obscure my shot." She rolled the dart between her fingers with a small smirk. "You game? I will even sweeten the deal, if you win the next round of drinks is on me as well."

Tatiana was just self-aware enough to wonder if Belle was buttering her up a bit, but she was also hungry enough for compliments that she didn’t much care. It was a nice change of pace from Valerie, so critical all the time, so picky, hoarding compliments like a mizer with his gold. Plus, Belle came off genuinely with what she said, like she meant every word. Not trying to play her, just real talk.

”If you weren’t hardheaded and able to crush me like a soda can, you mean.” She idly wrapped a few strands around her finger, as she watched Belle get ready establish her dartboard dominance. ”But thanks. It actually means a lot to hear you say that.”

Tatiana bit her lip the second those words came flying out. Why had she said that? It made her sound needy, like all you needed was a few compliments to win her over. Which...likely wasn’t too far from the truth, but she could at least pretend like she was harder to get.

She was snapped out of it when Belle spoke again - God, the woman had this voice was that comforting and commanding at the same time, strong and sure - and came over at her call, standing beside her as she laid out some stipulation. Tatiana’s hand came up to stroke her jaw, as if caressing some invisible beard, as she pondered the possibilities. The idea of having Belle in her pocket was neat. She wasn’t quite sure what she’d get her to do, but she was sure she could think up something, given enough time.

That last add-on made her chuckle, though. ”Yeah,” She thumbed at her glass of water. ”My next drink is probably going to be another glass of water, so I don’t think that’ll be a big stretch for you. But otherwise, I’m down.”

"If I had as much trouble crushing cans as I had getting you to stay down, I would really reconsider my life choices." She outright snorted in annoyance at that. "Don't be so hard on yourself and just take the damn compliment." She took the tail end of what Tatiana said about how much it meant to in an easy stride. One wrestler to another. The redhead had earned her respect in the ring already, as far as she was concerned they we're on a similiar level to one another.

"Seriously? You're going to have me drinking all on my own?" She lofted a brow glancing sidelong at Tatiana. "If you're worried about over doing it we can cut you off at two. You're not that much of a light weight." She had mentioned in their text she hasn't gone out drinking before but she didn't expect her to hold out now that they were here. Why did she even volenteer a bar to begin with if she wasn't going to drink? She tried not to seem as disappointed as she was, feeling pressure now to temper her own drinking for the evening. Belle would normally hit the drinks pretty hard, but if she was going solo... She didn't want to seem like a lush or anything.

With a small shake of the head she looked forward, lining her shot up. " Alright, whatever. I will buy you something off the bar menu if you aren't drinking. Done deal." She went to put the tip of the dart between her teeth, wanting to free up her hand but decided better of it half way into doing it. Who knew where these had been. She swapped out the dart from right to left palm before thrusting her hand out to Tatiana to shake on their wager.

Once the pact was made she readied up, taking aim with her practiced motion. "Alright, do your worst." She'd give the redhead ample time to make use of her end of the bargain before attempting her shot at the board. Tatiana had one chance to make this good.