What Cousins are For

"I'm telling you Luna, I'm fine." Natasha lied.

She most certainly was not fine as she tried to tell her cousin for the hundreth time and deep down Natasha knew she wasn't folling the woman, they had known each other for far too many years for Luna to not see right through her. That wasn't going to stop her from saying the words anyway and the last thing Natasha wanted to do was spend any more of her time talking about the root of all her problems these last several weeks, Ashley Evans.

Natasha had known she would be busy after winning the hentai title once again and had been prepared for it, but what she hadn't anticipated was a woman she had never heard of before marching into her first interview as champion and demanding a shot at the gold a mere three days after Summer Splash. What had possessed Ashley into interrupting Natasha's interview and demanding a title shot she didn't know, but while she had tried to shoot her down then and there she enver stopped hearing about it from nearly everyone she spoke to. Normally she could just avoid the reporters but as the champion that wasn't an option, Natasha was obligated to attend these interviews and photoshoots and at every one she had to field questions on the mysterious Ashley Evans and what she intended to do about her.

The simple answer was Natasha was going to ignore her, but the woman had made that nearly impossible for her in the weeks that followed. Earlier that day she had heard about another comment Ashley had delivered to the press, reigniting the speculation on a match between them that just did not exist. That latest bit of news had left Natasha with a headache and tense muscles from stress as she stood in the kitchen, night had fallen a couple hours earlier but she still had on a tight dress from an earlier interview. Elbows on the counter she leaned on them and looked over to her cousin Luna who had joined her not long ago. "Just a headache cousin, nothing else."

Luna raised her eyebrow at Natasha's insistence that she was fine. She knew very well that her cousin was far from fine, and her cousin knew that she knew this. It wasn't difficult for the two of them to read each other's minds—they had known each other almost since birth, and they were so outwardly similar they were often mistaken for twins. Their personalities, as much as they both hated to admit it, were much more similar than they were different, as well. Luna knew how she would be feeling in Natasha's place, though being detached from the situation gave her some clarity.

"Of course, Natasha, just a headache," Luna would reply, with dry sarcasm, giving her cousin a head tilt and a knowing smirk. She was wearing very little, even relative to Natasha's sexy dress, clad only in a pair of panties and a long, silken blue robe which she enjoyed wearing around the Loclear compound. Her breasts hung out of the open robe as she leaned on the kitchen counter beside her cousin. "You have given me more headaches over the years than I can count. And I have seen you frustrated and flustered—trust me, cousin, no one has seen you at your weakest more often than I have. The same goes for you having seen me at my weakest."

She would straighten up and spread her arms, pointing a frozen yogurt-covered spoon at her champion cousin, licking blackberry yogurt from her lips. "Now, please, no more games, Natasha. You're bothered by that ghastly woman who has kept calling you out, yes? I have seen a comment or two, though I admit I know less than the full story. So tell me why this is so important to you. Tell me why you can't just laugh off this pathetic challenge like you have others before."

Natasha cast a sideways glance at her cousin whose open robe left very little to the imagination, not that she needed to imagine what Luna looked like out of those clothes given their history with one another. That and all Natasha really had to do was looked over herself if she wanted to know how Luna looked in the nude, as much as she hated to admit it their looks were so close most thought they were sisters. She had always chalked the resemblance up to Luna's father, the brother of Natasha's father, having married a woman nearly as beautiful as Natasha's own mother. She remembered asking her father about it one time and the man had simply said "What can I say, my brother and I had great tastes and luck with women."

Course that close similarity between Natasha and Luna had led to them bickering a lot over the years but they had figured out how to live in relative peace out here in the Loclear family's Japan estate. It had been strange at first as Natasha had gotten used to having the place to herself but eventually she had figured it was pointless for Luna to have an apartment when the manor was more than big enough for the both of them, so she had insisted that Luna move in and each of them take a wing to themselves. Course Natasha had taken the west wing, the Beauty and the Beast fan that she is, but they still saw one another fairly often and if she were to be honest Natasha enjoyed the company.

Especially when it came to nights like this when all she really wanted to do was vent, even if she wasn't very good at it. "So what if I am?" She mumbled in reply, taking another spoonful of strawberry yogurt and licking the spoon clean of it. "Uh this dress has to go..." Natasha then reached behind her and with a bit of effort tugged down the zipper to let the back of the dress split open.

"Look Luna I have tried to make her go away but she doesn't let up. I go to an interview she's there, I go to a photo shoot and she's there, theres even a billboard in the city with her face on it asking when I'm going to accept her challenge! Who does this?" Natasha was clearly exasperated and she was taking her stress out on the poor yogurt, devouring the tasty treat before tossing the cup into the trash. "I just want some peace, you have no idea how stressful she's been making my life as of late."

Luna had not been any more confident than her cousin about sharing the Loclear estate, seeing as how she had been used to her own lavish penthouse suites for the last several years she had spent in Europe, and all of a sudden having to share resources, even when there were so many, would put a strain on any relationship, let alone one which had been as tumultuous as that which existed between the Loclear cousins. The last time the two of them cohabitated—during a family vacation—they had ended up spending the better part of three consecutive evenings in steamy conflict, trying to humble each other, battling to exhaustion.

But, to Luna's surprise and delight, she and Natasha had been able to coexist peacefully since she had moved in. Perhaps they were more mature now. Luna certainly enjoyed having someone to talk to, and she actually found herself wanting to help Natasha talk through her problems in moments like this.

"Here, let me get the zipper," she would say, standing up and walking around behind Natasha, finding the zipper where the girl had left it, halfway down her back, and pulling it the rest of the way. After that, Luna's hands would go up to Natasha's shoulders and slide the dress down around them. "Tuck your arms," she instructed, and when Natasha did she would slide the dress down to her hands, leaving it so that her cousin could easily pull her hands free and let it drop.

One problem solved. As for the other... "Little people like that can be so very desperate. I don't understand why someone like that can't manage to find a little more tact...if she simply presented a credible case, clearly and plainly, I imagine you would give her a chance," Luna would say. "As for getting yourself some peace, well, you could try to insist on security keeping her out of places she is not supposed to be. Threaten legal action. You could even buy that billboard and replace her face—donate the space to a puppy charity or something, so that she can't complain without looking like a despicable whore." Still, after all that, and a couple more scoops of her own yogurt, Luna shrugged.

"The easiest way to get her to go away would, of course, be to accept her challenge. But it sounds as though you're against that."

"Oh thanks Luna." Natasha said as her cousin walked around the island counter and unzipped the back of her dress the rest of the way, allowing her to take a deep breath for the first time that day. Natasha let out a sigh of relief and with a bit of wiggling she slipped the dress down her body, letting it pool around her feet on the tile floor, leaving her in nothing but a matching pair of black underwear. Retrieving the dress from the floor Natasha folded it up and put it aside, returning her attention back to her yogurt while Luna delved into the topic at hand.

She just nodded along, not wanting to interrupt her cousin while the woman was on her roll, waiting until she had finished before putting down her spoon and reaching into her handbag on the counter. "You know how I feel about using our family's money for that sort of stuff though that billboard for charity idea has merit, I might just do that. Otherwise I much prefer to settle AFW matters in the ring...oh here it is." Natasha finally found what she had been searching for and pulled out an envelope, handing it over to Luna who would open it up to find a hand written letter from Ashley along with a photo of the woman completely naked. "She even sent that to me the other day, listing out all the ways she would arouse me, make me cum, etc. The photos nice though."

Natasha took another bite of her yogurt while Luna looked over the letter, finishing it off and tossing the cup into the trash can. "Anyways I'd love to accept her challenge but she demands a title match, which I just can't give her. One she didn't climb through the ranks of Friction like everyone else who ever fought for this title has, and two she isn't even a Friction wrestler, she works for Tension. Can you imagine what would happen if a newcomer at Tension took the hentai belt from me? I'd never hear the end of it from the GM, even if Ashley would have to cheat to win it, it wouldn't matter..."

Luna thought idly about how strange this encounter would have felt even just a couple of years earlier. She and Natasha had had some serious differences during their formative years—differences which were primarily brought about by the vast number of similarities the two shared, ironically enough. Getting along was difficult, and doing casual, cousinly things for each other had once been almost unheard of. Things were different now. Luna felt more comfortable with who she was as a human being and she guessed that Natasha did, too.

And they weren't exactly the same, it was clear—at least they had different tastes in yogurt.

Natasha expressed how hesitant she was to use their family's money in this sort of situation, and, to be honest, Luna understood the feeling. She herself had started her wrestling career masked, wanting to maintain an anonymous flair and live on the edge, without the safety harness that boatloads of money would provide. Natasha next handed over an envelope, which a curious Luna opened and perused the contents of. Not bad, she thought. "Not bad," she would subsequently say out loud. "Not the best I've seen, and not much of a match for a Loclear, but, well...she certainly would get the job done, I do suppose."

She read the letter, with that long list of everything she intended to do to Natasha. Luna smirked, glancing back and forth from that to the naked picture. Once she was done, she would tuck the photo into a pocket of her robe and look back up at Natasha. "I don't like the sound of it, either, but I don't know if you have a viable way out of it without putting our fortune to work. Honestly, I think we both know that the only way for her to win is to cheat, so if you framed the challenge properly there would be little risk of losing the title." She would spread her arms in a shrug. "But really, Natasha. In the end, what do you truly want to do about her?"

Natasha raised an eyebrow when she noticed Luna tucking the nude photo of Ashley into her robe but said nothing on it, if her cousin liked what she saw enough to keep the pic then what was it to her? She was soon distracted from the subject of the photo by the mention of Ashley needing to cheat to win, hearing her cousin repeat the sentiment to her brought back memories of Minerva who had done just that and put an end to Natasha's first hentai title run. Unpleasant thoughts that she banished with a shake of her head and a long drink from a wine glass that now needed refilling. "She looks like a good enough time don't get me wrong, I mean you just saw the kind of body she has, who would turn down a lay with a woman like that in normal circumstances? Problem is this wouldn't be a normal match, being the champion can be restricting at times."

She let out a sigh of relief as the warmth from the alcohol spread through her body, quite welcome on an otherwise cool autumn evening. Luna then asked the question of the year and for a moment Natasha just stared back at her cousin, blinking a few times as she thought the question over in her head for nearly a minute before she had an answer. "What I truly want is to take out half a year's worth of frustrations on her, to take everything she has to throw at me and have it not be enough, simply put I want to take her down...HARD." That last word came out in a much more stern tone than Natasha usually used, a detail Luna would pick up on easily enough.

It wasn't so much that Luna liked the picture so much as it was an opportunity to do a little more research on behalf of her cousin. For whatever reason, after years of rivalry and simmering sexual tension between the two gorgeous Loclears, Luna was very much enjoying being in her cousin's corner, thinking through how she could go about humbling this upstart. In the end, of course, it was Natasha's decision, and, though she took quite a while—during which Luna would just awkwardly watch her cousin's face as she polished off her yogurt, her slurping on the spoom practically the only sound—Natasha did finally figure out what she wanted.

Luna smirked at the determination in Natasha's voice. She was usually much more guarded with her emotions. "Well, then, it seems we have our answer, don't we? But, look, even if you're going to accept her challenge, don't do it on her terms." Luna would lean forward across the counter, her breasts brushing across the polished marble, as she put her face a bit closer to Natasha's, as if they were conspiring and weren't to be overheard. "She will try to cheat you, so be clear and lay down the law. You get the final say in what constitutes a victory. Give her a fair shot...but don't give her an inch beyond that."

Why couldn't they have agreed on more when they were younger? She too leaned over the counter, bosom brushing along the cold marble which even with her bra on the cold surface stiffened her nipples as they dragged along it, getting her face within inches of her cousin to keep with the hushed tones Luna had taken up for some reason. She didn't question her cousin's oddities much anymore. "Oh I have the perfect idea, trust me Luna she isn't leaving that ring until I've completely demolished her sexually and mentally. Sneaking in a quick pin or scoring a cheap orgasm won't be enough to win, she will have to outlast me in order to take my title, and theres no chance of that!" She had intended to keep her voice low but by the end of her response Natasha's was practically announcing her plans to the world! Realizing then how loud she had gotten Natasha blushed and then burst into laughter, straightening back up as she felt relief for the first time in a long while.

"Thanks Luna, I've been struggling over this problem for a while and it feels great to have settled on a path forward." She stood there for another minute or so, a big grin on her lips as she paced around the kitchen in her underwear while running through what she had to do in order to make this decision a reality. "I still have to convince the new general manager to go for this but I can handle that. But thats for tomorrow, for now I'm going to go hop in the jacuzzi and let the heat and jets get rid of the tension in my muscles." She then took a step in that direction before pausing. "Would...would you like to join me?" The brief pause and the smirk she shot Luna would tell her cousin the offer came with...other benefits should she so desire.

The two Loclears leaned together across that marble countertop, foreheads nearly bumping as Luna gave her cousin that warning and Natasha, indeed, seemed to take it to heart. Luna couldn't help but smile. She didn't know what had come over her, but she was actually excited for her cousin, proud of the championship her fellow blue-haired beauty held, feeling real kinship with her longtime familial rival for the first time. When Natasha practically yelled that last proclamation, right in Luna's face, Luna couldn't help but flinch, but even then there was a goofy smile on her face—a smile that turned into jovial laughter as she pulled back and straightened up, arching her back to stretch it out a little.

"Well, I actually am very glad I could help you, Natasha," Luna would say cheerfully, as she tossed her empty yogurt carton in the trash and paralleled Natasha's pacing to some extent, not quite sure how to end this conversation, as wonderful as it had been. Natasha had an idea, though, which definitely piqued Luna's interest. Her eyes lifted and met Natasha's, and she held her cousin's gaze for a moment. She could tell by the tone of the other bluenette's voice what she was thinking, and, soon enough, Luna would give Natasha an equally mischievous smirk in reply.

"What a coincidence," Luna would say. "I was just planning on heading to the jacuzzi, and I would be willing to allow you to accompany me." Something she might have said with reluctance or malice even just a few months ago, Luna said with enough humor—coupled with a wink directed back Natasha's way—to let her cousin know she was just having fun. Stepping forward, Luna would grab Natasha's hand, entwining their fingers.

"Lead the way, cousin."