Starcrossed

”Oh, shut up, I’m trying to be humble.” Tatiana chuckled and lowered her head, though she didn’t really put much effort into hiding her blush this time. Belle could see. The bartender, who was really getting aggravated now, could see it. That maybe-blind dude in the corner with the sunglasses could see it. ”Compliments accepted.”

She’d been smiling for a bit now, but that smile dropped when they came to a bridge she knew they had to cross, sooner or later. She chewed her lip as Belle gave her a little speil about, and she could understand where the brunette was coming from. It had to look so weird, this grown woman not wanting to get a drink in a bar where she could get them with ease, downing water like she wasn’t old enough to drive.

”It’s not that, it’s just…” She fidgeted for a moment, before shaking her head and putting some bass into her voice. She’d shown Belle she could hang in the ring, she had to show her she could do the same out of it.  ”Forget what I said. I’ll drink. We’ll drink. Together.” Her smile returned, this time with a competitive edge. ”After I win and get that favor.”

So, game time. Tatiana had to find someway to distract Belle, and she had little time to do it. Her option were limited, she could tell that this was not a woman who easily lost her focus. But she did have one idea. It was a little dirty, but…

Screw it. No guts, no glory.

”Back to what I text before. About the rubbing.” She strolled up to Belle’s side, hands in her pockets. ”When you had me in that bearhug. I know it got a little, you know…awkward.” She didn’t have to act much to put the sheepishness in her voice.

”But a good kind of awkward. I
I’m only speaking for myself, but…” She leaned forward. ”I kinda liked that. Liked it liked it. My getup’s really tight, so that probably helped, but still.” Tatiana took a step back and hopped back to sit on the stool, wanting to get a full view of her work. ”So I was just wondering what it was like on your end. Did you feel anything with that, or...hm?”

Belle cracked a small smirk of her own watching Tatiana blush over being called on the compliments. God she was adorable. What? Belle gave her head a small shake. "Good, because I wouldn't give it to you if I didn't mean it." She snorted softly, turning her head away. "You sure? We're not in the ring, so I can't exactly twist your arm over the whole drink thing without the cops getting involved." She gave a small chuckle. She wasn't going to force the girl to drink with her, but she wasn't going to offer her another out past this point. She had a sudden hesitation though. How old was Tatiana anyhow? She stole another quiet glance the redhead's way. There wasn't a chance in hell she was going to ask. She had just assumed they were about the same age. "Don't get ahead of yourself Ms. Super Fly. Tightrope walking that fine line between confidence and arrogance."

She flexed her fingers around the dart, lining up her shot. Her ears perked a bit, though she remained steadfast, eyes forward just pumping her arm slowly as she lined up the shot, far longer than she had before while she listened. She may have had some slight interest in what the girl had to say.

She remembered that moment pretty fondly herself. The banter, the back and forth before it too. It was fun... exciting. She hadn't been sure why, not really. Tatiana was cute but she wrestled plenty of attractive girls so far. What made the redhead so special? Belle could feel her, closer now, she swallowed hard drawing in a deep breath. She closed her eyes, sucking in her lips as she recalled Tatiana's outfit that night. She looked good in that, form fitted and fanciful. It fit her well, in more ways then one. She had cursed her own attire there, getting in between that moment... that moment Tatiana liked to. Did she think about it often since then? She felt a bit hot right now just thinking about it... or many it was just the temperature in the bar. Her jacket was too tight?

The moment Tatiana asked her how she had felt, she tensed up, to much, accidentally flicking the dart with one of the aiming motions she had never stopped doing this entire time. her eyes snapped back open as she grit her teeth. The dart flew low and hard, hitting the beam the board was suspended on, off by a good few inches. She stares at the dart lodged in the wooden wall, dumbstruck, flustered, and just a smidgen angry. Her fingers clenching into fists, lips pressed tight in a mad pout. She took a long deep breath, settling herself. "Wow okay... so pretty sure you can't complain about Kaylee cheating anymore... that was twice as dirty." She refused to turn back around, she could feel herself still blushing fiercely. "You got me, congrats."

She considered asking Tatiana is she had meant all that. It had sounded like she had, but truth be told Belle wasn't really paying attention to the small details over it. She had mostly been listening to the bigger picture and reliving the moment in her head. Was Tatiana this manipulative or was she being genuine? "Ever considered a job in acting?" She huffed softly, trying to go back to playing things cool, combing back her hair with her fingers. By the time she had turned back around, most of the color had faded. "That was pretty convincing... Guess I'm paying for drinks."

To be fair, Belle did a much better job of playing this off that Tatiana would’ve done if the roles had been switch. In her hands, that dart would’ve been doing well to hit something at all. With her luck, it was far more likely to hit someone

But even so, even with her cool engines working over to keep her composed, it seemed like Tatiana’s words had an effect, one that left her surprised. She’d have thought she would have to turn things up way more than this to get a reaction out of Belle, taking a page out of her the seduction book that her sister liked to use at parties. It was a good thing that such drastic measures weren’t necessary, because she wasn’t sure how well she could pull it off in baggy overalls.

”Ha! победы!” Tatiana pumped her fis’t, then stuck her tongue out Belle’s way when the brunette attempted to rain on her parade. ”Cheating? No cheating there. You said I just had to distract you, so I distracted you. Perfectly fair.”

She kicked her legs about as Belle had her little fake fit, then hopped off the stool and made her way over to the dart. She yanked it out of the wall and put it back with its brothers, figuring the bartender had enough reasons to complain about them already. She was doing good, right up until the point where Belle mentioned her ‘acting talents’.

”Acting. Right.” She tapped her chin for a moment, then moved over to the bar and took up a spot beside Belle. ”Can I ask you a question about our match? Just a small one that’s been kind of bugging me.”

For a few seconds, she paused and thought of the best way to ask, then just decided to screw subtlety and be blunt. ”Your finisher, that counter, it was badass, really. But you could’ve hit me with that before, right? When you got me up and did an Oklahoma Slam, instead. Why? Why not just Drop the Beat on me, then?”

As she turned she caught Tatiana's celebration, arching a brow at the redhead. Why'd she have to keep being so damn cute. She couldn't help but crack the faint smile. It was a fleeting gesture however as she was quick to squash it though, returning to as blank and stoic expression as she could mannage.her eyes good humored at Tatiana stuck out her tongue. "Careful or I might have to just take that from you." She raised a hand pinching at the air in a mock threat.

She held up her hands as if at gunpoint, giving a small shrug as she conceded. "Okay, you got me. Drinks are on me, at least the first round that needs paying for." They passed by one another as she moved to the bar and Tatiana went to fetch the darts.

"Eh? Sure what about?" She opted to stand beside the stool Tatiana had claimed, propping he elbows back onto the counter top. She sensed a well of mounting dread the longer to took Tatiana to work up asking. How bad was this about to be?

She blinked at the posed question. Of all the thinks to ask about, this one caught her off guard. "...Because I didn't want to?"  Certainly there was more to it than that. She could admit that. That was probably the most innocent of feelings she had experienced opposite Tatiana that mat She figured the girl would no doubt give her a look or ask for more, so she cut that off by just saying it.

"I enjoyed our back and forth... And you said you were a fan. You seemed nice and just so enthusiastic about being there. Felt wrong to just rip that away from you so early into the match." She furrowed her brow, reaching over to jab a finger at Tatiana's chest. "And it almost cost me the match... So it was a dumb move." Which she would do it again, without a doubt.

”One round’s fine with me.” She nodded along, as Belle cemented her short but sweet victory. ”I’ll have whatever you’re having, I think.” Seemed like a risk, since Belle was undoubtedly hardier than she was, but it was better than just taking a shot in the dark and picking the first drink with a name she liked. Besides, if Belle was drinking it, if Ms. Cool had a taste for it, it had to be good, right? Seem logical.

She’d just settled in when Belle began to explain her thinking with the Oklahoma Stampede, and it made more sense that Tatiana had expected. She’d thought maybe she messed up the move or maybe she was toying with her or...something. But no, she just did it to be nice. This badass, this womanbreaker, this wrestling beast had such a small concern in the middle of a match.

”Oh. Well. Thank you.” She straightened out her posture and tried to keep her smile down, though that was becoming more of a difficult task with each passing second. ”And I wouldn’t call it dumb. I’d have probably…” She bobbed her head to the side. ”Okay, I definitely would’ve done the same thing. Not that I would’ve had much chance to, but you get me.”

Feeling like her hands should’ve been doing something, she fidgeted with her empty glass, making the ice cubes clink about. Words were coming harder, now. Had to dig for them. ”I’m glad we got to wrestle. I mean, one-on-one. Really glad I got rid of Kaylee before it became a real handicap match. We both got to look good there, and…” She ran a finger down the side of the glass, taking more time than she needed for a pause. Had to work this up.

”We should get together and spar, sometimes. Just the two of us. I’d like that.”

Tatiana was surrendering the choice to her on their drinks huh? She was torn between something fun or just a good hard drink. There was a risk if the redhead wasn't properly initiated things might go rather poorly on the former... Still when in Japan, right? She glanced back, throwing up a hand to catch the bartender's eye. "Can we get three sake bombs? Whatever beer you normally use for it is fine, we're not picky. Thanks!"

She eyed Tatiana curiously as her smile faded in and out. Was she putting up a front too? Trying to impress Belle? She reached out to clap a hand on the redhead's shoulder to give her a small reassuring shake. "Relax." Nothing else, just a single word. She gave her own half smile before retreating back into her hypocrisy, stonewalling her expression again. She gave the girl one more pat before slipping her hand away.

She wasn't about to admit she had taken her time getting back in the ring after Tatiana had tossed her to the outside. The fact she had felt sick to her stomach at the fact she was going to have to break the poor girl with Kaylee. There was nothing she could have done at that point without showing her partner her hand. Up close, with both members of Party Hard, there wouldn't have been any holding back. She still dint like tink think about it. "I'm glad too..." She lost herself staring for a moment. "Yeah, we both looked good out there together." She may have watched the playback recording once or twice. The first time was to see how obvious her blunders to go soft had bee , the second was because she just wanted to see them again

Belle blinked at the suggestion. Slipping her hands into her jacket pockets to keep them someplace out of view. "I..." Her brow furrowed. " Yeah, that sounds good. I'd like some one on one time with you... Training. You've got that unique style, maybe I can pick something up from it, or learn how to deal with it better... Where are those drinks." She glanced back just as the bartender had set the glasses down, arranging the drinks specially for them. A pair of chopsticks over the top of the glass with a small shot of sake balanced on top.

"Thank God" She muttered under her breath, turning to face her order with a polite nod to the bartender. "So..." She slid one of the three glasses towards herself. It was apparent now the odd number was so she could demonstrate. Belle still however asked, despite having assumed Tatiana was a virgin in the field of good party drinks. "Ever had a sake bomb?" She smirked over at the girl. She was going to think this was fun... Right?

Relax.

It was genuinely amazing what Belle could accomplish with that one, simple word. The tension of the moment seemed to melt away, the anxiety subsided, Tatiana’s shoulders sagged and the situation became so much easier. What was she so worried about? It wasn’t like her head was going to get ripped off. She was just another twenty-something, hanging at a bar, talking with a friend.

Huh. They were friends, weren’t they? It seemed kind of fast to throw that label on, but what else was there? She wouldn’t have hung out like this with just anyone. Hell, she didn’t hang out like this with her own sister.

So relax she did, though she did falter a bit when she noticed that Belle was looking at her for second past the moment that staring became awkward. It was quick. Fleeting. A little glimpse before her coolness kicked back in again. All the same, Tatiana couldn’t help but notice it, and the hint of a knowing smile came to her face. ”Yeah,” She looked forward as the drinks came their way, swiftly followed by the order of wings she’d called for right before Belle arrived. ”I think we could learn a lot from each other.”

Tatiana managed to keep relaxed, for the most part, as the drinks were laid out. Three of them. That confused her for a second, until it became clear that one was just a demon. Apparently, there was a procedure to this that needed to be followed.

”I can safely say I’ve never ingested anything that had the word ‘bomb’ in the title.” She held up a finger. ”Except for hot sauce.” Speaking of which, the heated aroma of her wings were starting to fill the air.

Tatiana put her hands on her lap and bowed to Belle, her shimmering red hair cascading over her face as she dipped. ”Show me your ways, Belle-sensei.”

"Sounds like you have been missing out. Live a little." The bow finally pried a laugh from her, it was short, but something. While she wasn't smiling with her lips, her eyes betrayed how much she had like that. "Okay, settle down. Nobody should be learning from me."

She nudged the other two drinks away from her, as the bartender had carefully set them up and she didn't wish to disturb them. "So...  Sake bomb is sake..." She gave the shit glass on top a light tap.  "Suspended over beer, via chopsticks. " The bartender held up the bottle of beer in question, a Japanese brand as was appropriate. They left the remains of the bottle for the two.

" It will be easier for you to just watch and learn." She pressed her palms on either side of the counter, raising them up she balled them into fists. With a solid thump she pounded the counter, shaking the sake shot loose to fall into the glass of beer. The beverage instantly started to fizzle and bubble up, clouding up the glass.she was quick to pick it up, sipping from the rim to keep anything from spilling over until it settled in her glass.

She glanced over at Tatiana as she drank from the glass, wiggling her eyebrows. Lowering the glass she smirks over at the redhead. "See, fun, right?" She was really fishing here. She didn't have any dedicated drinking buddies these days so this was a good chance to audition Tatiana for the role.

She offered her half finished glass, allowing Tatiana to sample what she was about to be drinking if she wanted to try before taking the plunge. Belle figured it would lessen the likelihood of her having a unfortunate accident.

Belle had a sweet laugh. It was short, didn’t last for too long, but it was cute while it lasted. It helped that it didn’t sound so faked like some other women Tatiana had hung out with. No, it was a genuine burst.

”I am but a humble student.” She bounced her eyebrows as she looked Belle’s way, then focused on the setup at hand. It was oddly fascinating spectacle, she’d never seen so much effort put into setting up a drink. She could tell Belle really knew what she was doing, too.  Helped up the comfort levels.

She’d been wondering what the chopsticks were for, and Belle made it clear pretty quick, as she slammed her fist down and made the glass fall. Neat little trick.

”Oooooooooooooooh.” She snapped as the fizzle started and Belle’s lips saved them from a mess. ”Bomb. I get it now.”

When Belle offered the glass, though, she chewed on her lip, gazing at the drink for a moment. Only a couple of seconds, but long seconds, rife with hesitation. It was just a drink, it wasn’t like she was ingesting poison, just a little sip…

Relax..

She leaned forward, opened her mouth, took a sip, and jerked back like she’d just take a punch in the face, because that was precisely what it felt like. ”Phew. That was….hm.” She blinked a few times, then took a deep breath as her brain restarted. A bit harder than what she’d been expecting, though she hadn’t been too sure what to expect in the first place.

”Okay, going back in.” Not wanting to disappoint, she leaned in and took another, longer sip, tensing up as she did it to better handle the new sensations.

Belle tried not to stare, occupying herself with situating the two fresh glasses before each of them, mindful not to jar them too hard. She stifled another laugh at Tatiana's initial reaction to the drink, though it was proving hard. She had cracked a smile again without realizing it, the only reason why it seemed to persist.

Either Tatiana was new to this drinking thing or she just wasn't use to something this potent. Once she had everything set up for her real debut, she gave the redhead a hearty Pat on the back to help her along. A bit of encouragement. "So...? Like it? Yes, no, maybe?" She clearly was hoping for the yes camp of things, it was in her tone.

"I'm not going you make you choke this down if you don't like it." She felt it important to be clear. She had done plenty of dumb things due to peer pressure... Still did really with her challenge videos. Tatiana don't have to go through the same thing, Belle was considerate enough in that regard to give her a parachute before the big leap.


"We can get you some cutsey cocktail or something if that is more your speed. Some of them are more like deserts or like... Adult juice instead of something are rough around the edges as this." While she didn't mean to, she came across as rather dismissive of the idea. That wasn't to say she didn't enjoy the occasional girlie drink, she was very much a creature of machismo when it came to packing her alcohol. Her uncle use to say it wasn't real liquor unless it lacerated your throat all the way down. While she wasn't that hardcore about it, she preferred to challenge herself.