Carmen R./Diana A. - Building Bridges

Diana knew now there was no turning back. There'd be another world in which she reigned herself in, and stopped this from building as aggressively as it was, but said would was not to be this one. Likewise there was probably another life in which she didn't walk out on Carmen for the pettiest of reasons, but that was this one neither.

"You didn't hit me up, and neither did I. Way I see it this is equal blame..." She'd snarl back, knowing full well it wasn't. But what tiny possibility there was in apologising and backtracking on this aggressive path went right out the window when Carmen shoved that tensed shoulder of hers.

"And I ain't backing away from nothing...I just...didn't expect to be dealing with your shit so early in the day..."

Opposing arm raised, to give Carmen a shove of her own, just to add a little sting to her response.

Carmen took the shove and was forced a step back, putting more distance between them than she’d expected. Her earlier assessment seemed correct, Diana had been working out harder and slapped on some new muscle to her always-impressive frame. Probably a more solid core, too. Had she upped her game mentally, too?

Curious.

She folded her arm and looked Diana over again, silent, taking a moment to process. It was pretty clear where this was going to lead in her mind, and she was running out of reasons to prolong the inevitable. Might as well cut out the bullshit.

”A match.” She reached out and poked Diana’s chest. ”You and me. Name the time. Name the place.”

Well, that cut to the chase rather quickly.

Barely raising an eyebrow, it seemed whether she herself wanted one or not, Diana sensed the way things were going here and now there was only a physical encounter to be had. There was no use in backing down. A no right now would just earn endless goading from Carmen. And that would be something Diana couldn't ignore.

"My place. Or yours. Doesn't really matter which. Or when."

With that, Diana nudged a little forward, pressing shoulder to shoulder whilst tipping her head just a little to really look into Carmen's gaze. Had she had her way, things would have been settled over a long talk. But it was somewhat past that point, to say the least. And this means of hashing things out was most certainly something Diana was better at.

"You decide. Don't act like you don't still have my number..." With that final mutter, Diana pulled back that touching arm and shoulder of hers, before ramming it outright into Carmen's own. Her head raising, as she now looked to make the most dramatic of exits.

Carmen Rodriguez stood in the middle of her living room - or the area that had formerly been her living room, at least. Now, it more closely resembled a cheap wrestling arena. The furniture had been moved to the side, lamps and couches and tables and all, and in there place were mats strewn across the floor. Nice and thick, they were typically used for her workout equipment. They’d be used for a workout tonight, too, just one of a completely different sort.

A camera was set up in the far corner, at a distance where it wouldn’t get knocked over and could catch the whole match. This was an official AFW match, and while they didn’t need a referee for what she had in mind, it had to be recorded. The light was on, it was ready to go, and so was Carmen - she stood in the middle of the mats, getting in a few stretches, wearing the same black bikini that she’d doned the first time she and Diana had fought outside the ring.

And now, they were about to go again.

In her apartment.

God, her life could be so weird.

Running a hand over her scalp, Carmen plopped down on a couch off to the side and took a deep breath, glancing out of her window at the rainy night sky. She’d given Diana the time and the date, told her to come, and now it was only a matter of her coming - there wasn’t a doubt in her mind that she’d show, either. Diana was a woman of her word, she couldn’t take that away from her. Ever.

Besides, they both knew that they had matters to discuss, and neither of them were good at expressing things through language. They did their best talking with their punches and their clotheslines and their suplexes. And they had so much to talk about, didn’t they?

The text received by the Italian on the other side of things was a cold one, but it was to be expected. Diana wasn't exactly going to question the missing kisses at the end of it.

Having adorned her frame with her usual casual wear, only beneath it in place of standard bra and panties lay her signature wrestling underwear, Diana arrived a fair few moments early to an apartment she had frequented more times than she could count. With a deep inhale, her hand stayed inches from the door for a moment with her fist clenched, before she finally beat upon it like a drum. Three hard knocks given in quick succession, though Diana didn't expect there'd be any confusion whom would be at the door at this hour.

And there was the knock.

Carmen had just finished tweaking her phone, hooking it up to the speakers and getting some dance music playing in the background. Nothing too heavy, but with a hard, steady rocking beat. It wasn’t necessary in the least, and if anything, it would get her some complaints from whoever would have to edit this video when it was done...but creating a playlist gave her something to do, something to occupy her mind with, and she needed that desperately.

But Diana didn’t have her waiting too long after that - the woman was punctual, couldn’t take that away from her.

Carmen opened the door with her best stoneface on, not saying anything as she stepped away. Keeping her eyes locked on Diana at all times, she walked back to the center of the mat and raised her fists, already limbered and ready to go.

Just waiting.

Nothing was said as the door open, and things stayed that way as Diana made herself into the room. She didn't opt for the snide comments that came with an apartment brawl, let alone one that occurred in an apartment she was already home to many a night.

Things only grew more awkward as Diana took to slowly taking her attire off; eyes never leaving Carmen, whom adopted her own posture on the mat. She knew her former lover would never sucker punch her, but she sure enough had the stance for it. You'd have thought Diana was charging at Carmen full pace with horns reared, given how tense the skin headed gal already was.

After what felt to be a short lifetime, cutting straight to the point in both the removal and dumping of her clothes to some far off point she could throw, Diana stepped onto the mat.

Her own pose soon established, as the Italian shot daggers back at her ex.

Despite herself, despite all the feelings between them, despite the mindset that she’d tried to force herself into when this all started, Carmen couldn’t help but have an audible gasp when Diana’s clothing peeled away and she revealed that familiar bikini of hers. God, she’d forgotten how sexy the Italian could be without even really trying.

She wasn’t the strongest woman in the league, and there were bigger wrestlers, sure, but Carmen couldn’t think of anyone else with such a finely balanced body. A true work of art.

She was quick to catch herself, of course, straightening back into her stance, but she couldn’t remember the last time she was so grateful to have dark skin, hoping it would help to cover the blush.

Down to business.

There was no referee to kick this off, so Carmen did the honors, charging forward the moment Diana was ready on the mat. Wanting to see how Diana’s striking skills had changed since they last tangled, she threw out a couple of quick jabs, one aimed at her opponent’s and the other at her chest, testing out those reflexes.

Diana's feet stepping onto the mat seemed to be a metaphorical ringing of the bell, as not before the Italian could even really tense her figure up, Carmen was on her for the opening shots.

With a deep inhale to puff up her chest, Diana held those arms high as the former champ cut the distance, leaving Diana with next to no space, though there was hardly a rule in place to stop her exiting the mats instantly. Surely enough though Carmen would find her intended punching bag a still target, as Diana looked to see how things would play out when left to Carmen's devices.

Knowing full well that Carmen always possessed the greater striking still if by pure choice of incorporating it more in her wrestling repertoire, Diana was left first in control of that opening jab, as it pinged with a solid sound off her wrist.

The other would come closer to home however, as Diana's puffed up torso would feel a gush of wind roll over it, given her frame felt it natural to respond to the danger by stepping back.

Narrowly avoiding what appeared to be a intended shot to the bust.

"Tch..."

Diana opted to skip over commenting or even pondering on what looked to be Carmen's intended target, as she instead came in for a go of her own.

Her right hand leading and for the moment the only one in use, as a more relaxed, slower jab up high was followed immediately with one towards Carmen's firm abs, as Diana whipped it back and forth almost expecting the first strike to do nothing.

Though she and Diana were close enough when it came to height, their builds had always been vastly different, and even though Carmen had altered her regimen somewhat since they parted ways, that still held true. Diana had the bigger frame, more muscles, more strength, while her body was built for speed and quick movements, for shots at long range and quick grapples. A speed bag versus a heavy bag.

Her first shot didn’t exactly hit paydirt, but that didn’t mean it was a failure. She’d just learned that her opponent had improved with her footwork, using a good backstep to avoid her blows, the sort of simple move that you don't often see in the AFW rings.

But just like before, it wouldn’t be Diana if she wasn’t coming with her usual headstrong offense at some point. And she didn’t have Carmen waiting long, either.

Carmen had been expecting Diana to try for a grapple, but she seemed interested in duking it out, instead, looking to take her with punches. Surprising, but not unwelcome. If that was the game she wanted to play, fine. Carmen would remind just how good she was at it.

She dodged the jab, slow as it was, but the lower blow didn’t catch her off guard - not totally. She wasn’t able to dodge, but she managed to lower her guard in time to block the blow, letting it whiff off her elbow. Not the most comfortable feeling, but something she could endure well enough to return fire immediately. Which she did, naturally, as she lashed out with a hard right hook to Diana’s face, looking to knock some taste off her tongue.