Starcrossed

Definitely getting more than a few stares now, as the two of them shared an intimate moment in this relatively busy bar. People were casting curious glances, no doubt trying to place them without the benefit of ring attire. The AFW had so many girls, it was all too easy to lose track of who was dating who or rivaling with who or just getting flirty on the side with who.

Tatiana, frankly, could not have cared less. This was their moment, nobody was taking it from them.

She closed her eyes as Belle’s breath washed over her back and tickled the fine hairs along her neck, making them stand at attention. As they pressed tight, she swore could feel each beat of the brunette’s steadily beating heart, thump-thumping away, strong and fierce. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had this effect on another woman. She didn’t even know it was possible.

A part of Tatiana wanted to ask what was bugging her so much, but a smarter part of her knew to not pry. Belle would tell her when she wanted to. If she wanted to. How she wanted to.

”We both did.” She finally pulled away and glanced at her hot wings. She hadn’t gotten to touch them yet, but that was what To-Go boxes were for. ”Hey, do you want to get out of here? I could walk you home. Or you could walk me home. Either way.”

As she came down from the initial high of their contact, she became more and more aware they were making a spectacle of themselves. She hadn't cared in the moment, but real concern slowly started to seep in. What is someone noticed her? What if someone took a picture? What if Kaylee found out after the vicious social media onslaught she had started on the sisters. It wasn't just they were drinking together. They were hugging.

Glancing around the bar she would dip her head, trying to obscure her face as she gently peeled herself away from Tatiana, seemingly when the redhead meant to do so as well. As much as she enjoyed the moment, that's all it was. Now it was time to be over before she had to face the consequences.

"Yeah... Let's blow this joint." She fished her wallet out from her jacket, fanning through it. It seemed pretty packed, still with some American dollars as well as Japanese paper currency. Her American license on the inside fold. She searched through a large collection of cards before waving the bartender over offering one of the half dozen inside. "Put anything she got on my bill, thanks."

She half smiled at Tatiana. "I live a ways out of town. We'll be walking quite awhile if you wanted to escort me home. Took a taxi to get here." She wanted to show Tatiana the house. Impress her some, but it seemed a bit presumptuous of her to offer. Besides, she likely knew what they had. Kaylee had made a few videos detailing the place.

"The Compound" as Belle called it was an ultramodern two story home on the outskirts of the city. A large space of land closed by a tall winding wall surrounding the entire area. It was made to adhere to the more traditional aesthetics of the "nearby" estates while hiding their home from view to people passing through. It had just about everything one could want creature comforts, beautiful scenery, and more activities both inside and outside of the house itself than Belle knew what to do with.

Aside from the editors who would report to the house every few days to work on some of their more in-depth content, very few people ever came in and out of the house itself. While the facilities were split between the floors, for the most part Belle lived upstairs while Kaylee had the lion's share of the downstairs. While they say each other plenty while working, they two kept to themselves otherwise. It was a great place to find a bit of solitude for better or worse.

For Belle it tended to be the latter. The vast empty hells filled with mostly soulless comforts. It got lonely, which is why she wasn't there when she could help it. She would rather at least pretend to have some connection to humanity by living it up at the bars around the city and spreading a bit of joy by starting contests or buying round.

"You need to be getting home?" She prodded Tatiana carefully, feeling out how possible it would be to maybe bring her over. If not, she would be more than happy to just walk her to wherever she lived. Possibility where Valerie lived too. She wondered if the other sister knew of this meeting. We're they both skulking around in the shadows?

As the bartender came back with her card, she signed off a generous tip, willing back the good graces of a man who had been at Whit's end with them both. Now chipper and upbeat, he wished them both the best making sure to wrap up Tatiana's wings. Belle plucked them up before the redhead could complain and headed for the door, lagging behind to make sure the other girl kept up. "Let's jet."

Silly as it sounded, taking the long walk back to Belle’s place didn’t sound like the worst thing in the world. She understood the impracticality of it, sure, but the idea of this long stroll with her, commenting on the sites as they passed, joking and talking and maybe hugging a bit...well, it wasn’t the worst thing in the world she could’ve done with her night. Particularly compared to the absolute nothing she was spending her nights on before this.

She took a moment to put all her food in the box, and almost stopped Belle when she brought out her wallet, never much liking the idea of having others pay for her food...but, truth told, she couldn’t afford not to take the handout. She and Valerie were making decent money, but not nearly enough that she could turn down free meals. ”Thanks a million.” She chirped as Belle handled the food and drinks, clearing them. ”Next time is my treat, though. Non-negotiable.” She wagged a finger back at Belle, wanting to settle the matter long before it came out.

Showing more of her lady side, Belle took Tatiana’s food, holding it for her as they made their way to the door. Not necessary, but appreciated. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt this pampered. It was like the brunette wanted to go out of her way to impress her.

It was working.

”Do I need to be getting home? Need is kind of a strong word.” She was quick to skip after Belle, not wanting to make her wait long. ”I mean, Valerie won’t like me staying out, but really? I’d rather stay with you as long as you’ll let me. It’s worth the tongue-lashing.”

She stayed close to Belle as they made their way out, doing her best to be shoulder to shoulder. She considered going for some handholding, but didn’t want to push things too far, too fast.

”What about you, though?” She got a little too close and bumped into Belle by accident, but managed to recover and stay at the prime distance. ”I know you’ve got to have a crazy schedule. I’m not taking out too big of a chunk, am I?”

"You're welcome... If you say so hotshot. I won't fight you on that." Belle turned on her boot heel, backing into the door to shove it open, wedging her foot against it to hold it open from Tatiana. She had every intention of paying for whatever outings the two had together. No right required, she would just steal the bill and pay for it whenever the time came. What the hell good was having money if she didn't use it?

"Picked tonight for a reason, nothing scheduled at an unreasonable hour so I am free and clear for a late night. Not exactly the first or last time I am going to do the night owl thing." She reach into her pocket, pulling out her cell phone. She started to tap away at the device. Kaylee was the early to bed early to rise person. Getting most of her solo videos done before Belle even hit snooze for the first time on her phone's alarm. It was rare when Belle needed to report to the studio for an early recording session. Even then it was just a trip downstairs.

"How'd you like to swing over to my place for a little, since you don't need to head home right away?" She asked without even looked at Tatiana. Finishing up with her phone she tucked it away. She had dipped them away from the bar, walking slowly along the walks. She didn't seem to mind the closeness, even going to far as to intentionally bumping shoulder with her as they walked.

She would lead them over to a bus stop, gesturing Tatiana to take a seat if she wanted as Belle stepped into the small roofed enclosure. She would go right ahead and plop herself down, stretching her legs out. She had already texted for a taxi, one that would be here shortly. Regardless of what Tatiana wanted to do, this worked out for her fine. If worse came to worse they could just drop her off at home.

"Don't want to get you in trouble with hurricane Valeria, so that end of things is all on you." She folded her hands behind her head, reclining against the bench as she dropped herself back into a more comfortable position. She had set Tatiana's wings below her under the bench.

The two of them scooted their way out of Americana, going out into the brisk Japan air. It wasn’t exactly warm weather, but not exactly cold, either. Not something Tatiana would relish spending an extended stint of time in, but more than tolerable for a little while. Especially if she was with Belle.

While she didn’t want to be too nosy, curiosity got the better of Tatiana when she saw the brunette texting, and she stole a quick peek - too quick to see anything, really. If she had to guess, though, whatever she wrote was meant for Kaylee. If she had to guess again, it was about clearing the way for her to come over, and she based that on what Belle said next.

”Me, coming over?” The surprise was plain in her voice, couldn’t hide it in time, and it was mixed with more than a little excitement. She was fairly familiar with the place from their Youtube channel and tweets - she’d seen enough that she could probably draw a halfway decent map of the place, were she so inclined. It was quite swanky, but it always seemed a bit spacious for two people. As a girl who spent the bulk of her life sleeping in hotels and mobile homes, it was surreal seeing so much unused space.

But she wanted to come, regardless. The Valerie thing was a consideration, but one she took a moment to think about as Belle sat down on the bus bench. She respected her stepsister and their parents had put her in charge of their little Japanese excursion, but at the end of the day, she was not Tatiana’s mother.

At best, she’d mutter and give Tatiana the silent treatment for a day or two. At worst, she’d throw out a lecture, probably something regurgitated from her father.

”I’ll probably just get chewed out. I’ve been chewed out, before.” She dropped on the bench and started to squirm around, turning sideways. ”I’ll come over, sure. And, ah…”

Tatiana was trying to lay out on the bench and stretch out all the way. She thought she’d had enough room, but she wasn’t quite right - Belle’s leg was in the way of her head. Simple fix, though.

She lifted her head about Belle’s leg, starting to use it as a pillow, but didn’t bring it down just yet. ”Mind if I…?”

Belle have been texting something. There wasn't anything note. If she happened to catch what she was typing, it was the address they were at. She closed her eyes, easing back onto the bench. "That's what I said, yeah. Just in a few more words. Not trying to pull teeth here if you'd rather call it a night." She hadn't been watch Tatiana but heard something in her voice. She wasn't sure if it was a good sign or a bad sign for her offer.

She could imagine the type of hold Valerie might have had over Tatiana most days. She had been around the block before between her parents, managers, and Kaylee these days. For the most part though, Belle had a reasonable amount of freedom just will a crippling workload of expectations on some days. Still, she wasn't looking to start a riot between sisters. She may not have liked Valerie, but that didn't really matter. It was Tatiana that had to get along with her.

"Well, if you're sure." She could feel Tatiana shuffling about on the bench, what was she doing? She opened one eye at the inquiry, staring down at the redhead laying down beside her. She blinked, slightly confused what she was asking for at first before she put it together. "...Go ahead. I don't bite, usually." She closed her eyes again breathing deep from the cool night air. She could feel her heart thinking again... Was she blushing? It was too dark at the bus stop for it to matter.

They would remain here together for a bit. Five or so more minutes before a Japanese taxi would pull up and stop for them.

Tatiana opened her mouth to say something about the biting comment, but decided it against it at the last second. Whatever the  nature of their relationship was at this point, it was probably a wee bit presumptuous to be getting that kinky.

So, instead, she just let her head rest on Belle’s muscular thigh and closed her eyes. After a moment, she shook her head about and nuzzled against the leg, getting even more comfy. ”You’re warm.” She made a yawn that was almost a purr. ”And soft.”

Tatiana had sort of a unique ability, one that came from years of having to get sleep in the most uncomfortable of places while traveling. Once she closed her eyes and set to it, she could get to sleep in near-record time. That was precisely what happened here after two minutes. She drifted off with a small smile, going to sleep with pleasant thoughts about her and Belle. Things they could do. Things they could try. More hugs. Maybe even…

She popped back to reality when she heard the taxi pulled up. ”что? Hm?” She open her eyes, blinked, and slowly sat back up, groaning as she parted ways with Belle’s welcoming thigh.

Belle sat in a strange in between of being stressed and relaxed. She knew for a fact she was blushing now as the redhead snuggled up with her leg. She remained still, like any good cushion, not wanted to disturb her. She want sure what to do or say. So she sat in awkward silence until she heard Tatiana's breathing change... Was she?

She stole a glance down at the girl, speaking softly. "Tat? ...You still with me?" There was no response. She glanced around slowly, unlocking her fingers from one another. Resting an arm back on the bench, her other hand tentatively reached out, hovering over the the redhead. "Hey..." She continued to speak softly... No response.

She gently set her hand on Tatiana's shoulder, a small touch before retracting it. Nothing. She placed her hand back down on the girl's shoulder, lighting brushing at the strap of her overalls with a thumb. Slowly she moved her hand up to rest on the back of her head, quietly running her finger through the girl's hair. Was this wrong to do while she slept? She sighed softly as she leaned into the bench, closing her eyes again as she softly caressed the girl beside her.

It was strange how little had to be done to make someone smile as wide as Belle was. If they didn't have places to be and a cold evening to retreat from, she would have been alright with staying this way for quite some time. The gentle murmurs from the slumbering acrobat mixed with how soft and we'll managed her hair was along Belle's fingertips was a simple but potent pleasure.

As the taxi pulled up, Tatiana stirred. She quickly removed her hand, spreading her arms out across the bench as if she had been lounging like this the whole time. "Hey there sleepy head. Ready to catch a ride?" She dared to be a bit more bold, slipping an arm around Tatiana to help her upright. With a smile she retrieved the bag of wings and rose to stand, helping the redhead if she didn't resist her aid.

Moving to the back of the taxi, she would open and hold the door for Tatiana before slipping inside behind her.

Tatiana had just come home from a hard day of...something. Probably working out at the gym, or maybe she had a match. Was it night? Also, why were they at her old, old home back in Sochi? She couldn’t tell. At any rate, Belle was there, waiting for her in her ring outfit for some reason. She was on the couch, watching TV. Tatiana came over and laid beside her, setting her head on Belle’s lap, letting her the beautiful brunette stroke her hair while they talked about this and that…

Just a dream, one that vanished when she woke up. But it seemed real when she was having it. She swore she could even feel her hair being stroked, hear Belle’s soft words to her.

It was a warming thought, one that kept her smiling as Belle helped her up and into the cab. Tatiana didn’t fight the help. In fact, she welcomed it, even put her arm around her waist as they went. For added support. Of course.

Once inside, she scooted over next to Belle, getting cozy again, despite there being more than enough space. Honestly, at this point, it was more than clear that they didn’t mind being in each other’s space. Why fight that?

Not wanting to drift off again, she decided to throw a little conversation Belle’s way. ”Hey, question for you. Something I was wondering.” She pulled the seatbelt around her waist as the driver took off, then settled back into position. ”Why Japan? What brought you here? I know the AFW is popular, but...it seems like such a big jump from America. Especially when the scene there is strong, too.”

Belle slipped into the Taxi behind Tatiana, giving the bagged wings a small toss to set them behind the far seat. Settling down into the back of the taxi she closed up behind her and buckled herself up. She was surprised when Tatiana cuddled up against her again, but wasn't about to turn the girl away. She slowly reached her arm around her, draping it over her shoulder, palm resting gently on the girl's far shoulder. She continued to second guess herself, making excuses for why this was happening and why she shouldn't be acting on these impulses. She fingers idly played with a wrinkle in Tatiana's sleeve, trying to occupy her mind.

She sat up a bit more as the redhead spoke to her, glancing down at her curiously. "Sure, shoot." She nodded slowly along with the question, settling back into her seat. That was an easy one. "Creative control, and the ability to put out our content. We shopped around the bigger American promotions, and it was all the same song and dance. They wanted their hands in just about everything. No thanks... I talked Kaylee into giving Japan a try. I figured having a soft reboot for our content and a potential new fanbase would be right up her alley." She drifted into Tatiana, leaning up against her as her hand lightly rubbed her far shoulder.

"Feel kind of mixed about it now. I thought it would be good for me, getting away from the routine back home. New land, new adventures, ya'know? That's how it works in books and movies. Turns out it's not that different here, not really. Just now everything is less familiar." She kept herself from getting into any more details. She didn't want this newfound comfort she was being allowed to have with Tatiana to be soiled by her going into a depressing lament. "What about you? How did you even decide to go into wrestling, let alone wind up here?" She turned her head, almost getting a mouthful of Tatiana's hair. She leaned back slightly, watching to look her in the eyes when they spoke... She had such pretty eyes.