Carmen R./Diana A. - Building Bridges

"That's fantastic Ms. Accera. Do you have a course of action for the next few weeks? A first opponent in mind perhaps?"

Hands together seemingly in amidst a plot, a correspondent on behalf of AFW signings, or perhaps more accurately in this case, re-signings, had just finished dotting the T's and crossing the I's it seemed on a fresh new contract for one Italian born superstar.

"I'll wing it, I'm sure something will come up. Thank you very much for your time." Raising from her chair and offering a stern hand to shake and seal the deal, the Ms. Accera in question had a modest smile to her face. She was certainly a busy bee nowadays, but she never considered herself above any federation that would have her. Never mind the one she truly started her career in.

And whilst clad in an attire that mostly hid her figure, what with a loose fitting jacket upon a tight shirt, and jeans arguably described as spacious, the Italian appeared to be in a fine a form as ever. Even in the off season, what rare ones she had, Diana took it upon herself to maintain a physique that would make men swivel their heads upon passing. And often enough the women, too.

Similar Attire:

With a modest little wave as she made her exit, Diana held still those forms given and signed as a formality in her hands. Diana was far from brand new, but her time away put her perhaps among a class different to those had she simply stayed and ground her way through the ranks. Such was hardly a problem to a woman who had no intention on winning accolades or trophies. If she wanted one of them, she'd simply go to the gift shop two blocks down from where she lived.

No, like any federation, there was a fresh roster for her to take on, for her to sink her teeth in and compete in matches her body probably regretted allowing her the choice of signing up for. In truth she couldn't decide what she sought more; said fresh meat, or perhaps looking up a few old faces from her years back, not only in the interest of a catch-up but a comparison of growth.

A choice that was soon made for her mind, in favour of the latter, as Diana Accera believed herself to be on the home stretch to the exit round the corner, when she found herself turning near enough directly into the path of someone very special indeed...

So. This was Friction life.

Carmen had some idea that, when she’d choose to switch brands for a change of pace, the process wouldn’t be simple. Her time in Tension and her stint as the 24/7 Champion had proven that wrestlin could be just as much of a pain outside the ring as in it, and she wasn’t just talking about the ambush matches. Negotiations, contracts, meetings, she had to go through all of the same annoying rigamarole from when she first started in Tension, with added irritations. One of the bigger ones was having to explain why she was bald, and why that wouldn’t be changing, despite how marketable they thought it would make her.

It was an annoyance, but one she’d signed up for, so she tried not to let it bother her too much. Friction was the same company, but management like to treat it like a separate brand, wanted to keep the flavors distinct. So there were many, many hoops to jump through.

Just part of the game, and when her hour was over, Carmen found herself leaving the office with a smile - a haggard, tired smile, but a smile all the same. This would be a nice, new start. A fresh page for her career. A chance to reinvent her style, find new opponents. New year, New Carmen Rodriguez.

And then, as if to spit on that very notion, Carmen turned a corner and wound looking into a pair of familiar blue eyes.

Diana Accera. In the flesh.

The Italian was stunning as ever, even in the baggy clothes she wore. Her sleak, built form always did make for an impressive image, regardless of her attempts to hide it - Carmen had kept trying to make her dress skimpier, show off more outside of the ring, but it never took. Just to glance at her, she’d added some more muscle since they parted ways, worked on her posture a bit, but there was no mistaking that long hair, or that soft skin, or that smoldering glare.

Diana was and always would be a beautiful woman. Carmen wasn’t about to tell her that now, though.

”You.” Her eyes narrowed to slits. ”You’re back? Really?”

Chances were, any figure whom she could have possibly ran into around that corner would have been brand new to Diana. Those few she had faced in her first AFW tenancy, atleast of the female variety, were near enough now seldom seen or so she'd heard. And whilst she certainly didn't object to bumping into longtime friend and close rival Alaina Sanders, she certainly didn't expect it.

Then again, she expected the actual figure whom crossed her path even less.

And those frames still nearly collided all the same.

"Sorry, my ba-Oh..." Eyes down as she muttered that apology, Diana didn't need to see the whole of Carmen to recognise it was indeed her. Though when those eyes did lock, nothing would set them apart easily. Even with that style atop her head that Diana had yet to see.

"Y...Yep." Figure tensing up purely out of awkwardness, Diana could barely even fathom a time she was this uncomfortable. It was her own doing, mind, given she was the one who put things as they were now.

"New cut?" Finger raised as Diana's hand gestured to the trimmed hair above Carmen's skull.

To say the conversation was flowing easily would have been an outright lie. Diana however, didn't exactly know how to go about this newfound scenario.

This was a weird moment, but then, it was always going to be. While the AFW had a huge - insanely huge - roster, and women came and went all the time, it wasn’t so big or wild that two wrestlers could hope to avoid each other forever. Diana was always coming and going, and Carmen was regular with the franchise. Sooner or later, they’d cross paths, and this moment of sheer awkwardness would happen.

Carmen could recognize that. Didn’t mean she had to like it, though.

She folded her arms, never wanting to be the one showing weakness with Diana, never quite sure how the woman would react to anything. Her response was a weird one, not as aggressive as she would’ve guessed, given the way they parted company. Nervous? Hard to be sure, but that was the vibe that Carmen was getting.

The question that she knew was coming came soon enough, and Carmen met it with a sigh, a deep one. ”Yeah. Good eye.” She ran a hand over her fuzz and took a step back, giving the two of them some more space. ”Been awhile since I’ve seen you in the ring.” An unspoken admission that she’d been looking for Diana in the ring, but she was quick to move on.”Why’re you coming back now?” She didn’t bother hiding the flicker of suspicion in her voice. No point in dancing around with this woman.

"Yeh...you too...I imagine you've been busy though..." Her question carried with it the enthusiasm of someone seemingly trying to bring about a conversation end to hurry up a chance at making an exit. Though not through arrogance, nor lack of interest in speaking to Carmen.

Nay, out of pure awkwardness.

Diana had every intention to speak to Carmen, and try to bring about some form of closure on their past meeting, but certainly not like this. Curiously enough bumping into her ex without the fondest idea she'd even be present among the Friction lot was not Diana's ideal scenario. If she had her way, she'd have been able to muster her words and practice them time and time again in front of a mirror. And perhaps just maybe, have a little liquid courage running through her veins.

"Matches, I s'ppose. How come you're in Friction?"

Carmen didn’t answer Diana right away, instead taking a moment to look at the woman over - really looking at her. She looked stronger, had more muscle, but yet somehow she seemed less imposing than she remembered. This was the same woman that had marched into her gym and demanded a match for a title belt. The same woman who’d challenged her brother to a match, pretty much just for looking at her wrong - and then went on to not only beat him, but make him tap out. She was one of the toughest, boldest, stubbornest women that Carmen had ever crossed paths with.

And she was mumbling. Barely speaking.

”I’m here to wrestle, same as you.” She folded hr arms and took a step forward, getting more into her former lover’s personal space. An unspoken challenge. ”What’s going on with you? You had plenty to say the last time we spoke, now you can barely meet me face to face?”

There was no way this woman had gone soft in the time they’d been apart, Carmen could never believe that. So what was all this about?

Well. Carmen had no time to dally.

Raising but one eyebrow as her short haired ex cut the space, Diana tensed up only out of instinct. A lifetime of having sizeable women, and often enough men, stepping against her with the intent to cause harm gave the Italian such. Though really, she sensed it wasn't needed. Things were about to get heated, maybe a little pushy, but she couldn't imagine a world in which either she or Carmen attempted the task of caving in the others skull in a petty hallway scuffle. In the ring, or on the mats, on the other hand...

"Well...I was hardly expecting this, Carmen..." Diana almost tutted, turning her frame just a little so that she could gaze off into the distance, before quickly bringing her cold eyes back. "Bumping into you in the hallway, I mean..."

Tensing up, Diana tried to affirm herself just a touch more as her figure swung round again, to straighten herself out against the equally sizeable woman.

"What do you expect me to say?"

Was it weird that Carmen would’ve been more comfortable if Diana had just come out screaming at her?

Yes. Probably so. And yet, she couldn’t deny that was precisely what she wanted.

It would’ve been more familiar, at the least. Aggression had always been their language back when they were a couple, something familiar to the both of them, even when it came to intimate affairs. This? This was a flavor of Diana she didn't recognize, and she couldn’t say she cared much for it.

She stepped forward, pressing against Diana’s frame, well into her personal space. Each step forward would bring her further and further back, and she’d press her up against the wall if she could get away with it - which she strongly doubted. The real Italian Destroyer would be coming out soon.

”An apology would be a good start.” She brought her head forward, tapping their foreheads for a clear challenge. ”I think I’m owed that much after the shit you pulled last time.”

Diana didn't want Carmen to step up to her, which was the complete opposite to her usual. Had this been a prospective foe, this sort of contact would have been bog standard for Diana. The chance to not only impose her own powerful figure on a foe alongside the obvious chance to size up the body she'd soon be seeking to submit or pin was rarely a wasted on. But she didn't need to do such with Carmen.

She already knew this body very well.

"For what?" Diana muttered back, unmoving despite knowing the answer full well. She even knew Carmen deserved one. It wasn't the Puerto Rican who broke things off and stormed out of sight, all because she couldn't bare with the concept of getting a little attached. For now at least, Diana managed to force her usual self up to the surface, as opposed to perhaps a more adhering woman that Carmen deserved. Though perhaps didn't want.

"Phone calls go both ways...Rodriguez..."

A part of Carmen realized the futility in all of this, the pointlessness of prodding Diana the way she was. It wouldn’t get her anywhere, wouldn’t solve any problems. If anything, it would just create more of them. There was always the slight chance that management might see profit in forcing them to fight each other, but she had enough sway as a former champion to get out of such things if need be. She and Diana might have been on the same brand, but that didn’t mean that had to interact. Not by any stretch of the imagination.

So why be here? Why do this? Why pull the tiger by its tail?

She put those questions on the backburner as she started to see some fire rise into Diana’s eye. Not the heat she was going for, but a solid start.

”And why would I call you? You’re the one who walked out on me, remember?” She canted her head to the side. ”You’re the one who ran away, and now that we’re face to face, you’re backing down from me like a coward. Like you’re afraid of something.” She gave Diana a hard shove on the shoulder. ”What’s up with that?”