So Close, So Far

I When was the last time she’d actually called Belle live? She couldn’t remember. If she wanted to talk live, she’d just hit her up on Skype when she was 100% sure Kaylee was off somewhere, so they could talk and she could see her in person. Outside of butt dialing, this rarely happened.

So she wasn’t the least bit surprised when Belle sounded worried. It was good. They were both starting at the same level.

Tatiana sat the phone down, put it on speakerphone, and moved over to the door, locking it up. ”I don’t know. I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t...gah!” She was going into a spaz fit, she knew she was going into a spaz fit, but there wasn’t much she could  do to stop it. ”Okay, uh, I’m just...this is crazy.”

Deep breath. Deep breath. Go.

”It was after the match and me and Valerie were in the doctor’s room or office or whatever, and just out of nowhere Kaylee came in and she was all smiles, all nice for no reason, and I was freaking out because I thought maybe she knew about us, but no, that wasn’t what she was there for, she’d come to make us this offer to be our manager and promote us and let us stay on the estate, just out of nowhere, but I like that, because, you know, it would let me stay with you and I want that, I do, but Valerie was Valerie and she thinks it’s some sort of trap, and Kaylee hands me this contract with all these words on it, and I want to sign it, but I don’t know if I can trust Kaylee, even though she did seem really nice, but this could be big, this could be the biggest, best thing in my life, and…”

She stopped, heaving, heavy breathing. She was yanked her hair. When did that start.

”I need you. I don’t know what this is, and I’m scared, and I don’t know what to do, and you’re so much smarter than me, and I need you to tell me what to do. Please.”

"You don't know?" Belle was gently prying, trying to be a calming presence on the other end of the phone. In the background there was a sound of a door closing. "You didn't get bad news from medical did you? If those bimbos concussed you I am going to bury them." There was a hard edge to her voice, one that came through the phone rather clearly. It seemed the two of them had very different concerns at the moment without context.

"Kaylee's there?" There was an initial sound of confusion when she had started to speak those two words that morphed into a very "of course she is" tone. She grumbled softly on her end of the phone but tried to let Tatiana continue speaking.

"Wait, what?" Staying silent to let her girlfriend speak didn't last for long, even with her intentions. It sounded like she was speaking nonsense. A faint muffled sound of breezy movement was coming from her phone. It was pretty clear that whatever this was, Belle likely hadn't been told about it. Another sound of a door could be heard.

"Uh… just… don't sign anything without reading it." She tossed out general advice, still trying to unpack how all the pieces of what Tatiana said actually fit together. When Tatiana pleaded with her for help, the phone went silent for a few painstakingly long moment.

"Where… are you at the moment? Can you get away from Valerie? We can meet up." Belle was fishing. She didn't have the magic answers and knowing her, the general "it's going to be alright" didn't cut it if she wasn't at all sure.

Belle had been watching Novae's match. She always did, though generally it was after the fact with the AFW streaming service. It had been a good match, a close one, one that she had wanted to congratulate her girlfriend on despite not having won. Most of that had been cast aside when Tatiana called though, swept away in the moment as both women were dragged down a different path. Now it didn't seem appropriate.

"Okay… good. You took some nasty h- uh… I don't know. Where are you?" She could tell the redhead had lowered the phone with the brief breeze of movement and the distance of breathing. Belle quietly waited through each millisecond seemed to stretch out before her.

"Close? Uh… not very. I am at home. I can call and car to be here in like… ten minutes or one to pick you up. Not sure where we can go with both Kaylee and Valerie in the wind." It sounded like she was trying so hard to be a pillar in this situation, someone Tatiana could lean on. The problem was she hadn't been ready for this call and scrambling last minute plans together wasn't her strong suit. She had lived off of planned schedules since she was a little girl after all.

Tatiana opened her mouth to answer, then shut it and groaned. An exasperated, frustrated sort of groan. Her first instinct was to suggest she come over to Tatiana’s place and hang there, something that would’ve been soothing and comforting for them both. Private time. ‘Them’ time.

But it only took her a split second to remember why that wasn’t an option, and having the breaks slammed so quick would never not be annoying. There were times she liked all the cloak and dagger and times she hated it. This was definitely the latter.

She snapped her fingers after a few moments of thought, an action that nearly made her her drop the phone. ”Oh, I know. That Krispy Kreme we stumbled on when we went sightseeing the other week. It was nice, kind of out of sight. New, so not a lot of people were hanging out there. Good place to be sort of incognito.”

She smacked her lips as she rounded the corner, heading towards the locker room for a quick change. As much as she wanted to head out ASAP, going in her costume would just draw attention. ”...plus, a donut would be nice. Creme-filled, sprinkles, really.”

Sweets always made her feel a little better.

"Alright. Yeah I can do that. Let me call a car and I will meet you there in a few… order me something and try not to eat it all before I get there." She was trying to be lighthearted and playful but worry was still bleeding through her tone. Belle was a stoic woman, but when it came to matters of the heart that didn't involve hiding her own feelings, her stone veneer often times showed cracks.

"I have to hang up to dial them… will you be okay or should I call back and take the walk with you?" Belle was on the move, the breeze of motion and the sound of doors was readily heard. Her voice became louder, face closer to the receiver as she pinned the phone between her head and shoulder, busy with doing something with both hands.

It was tempting to just take Belle up on the offer and talk with her all the way - it would be good to have some comforting words. But she was already being a bother, even if she knew her girlfriend would never say that, and the last thing she wanted to do was make this weirder than it needed to be. She could hold off on a complete meltdown for a little while longer, she was fairly sure. Show a little strength, Tat.

”I’ll be okay. I think. Yeah.” She nodded, more to reassure herself than anything. ”Just get there as soon as you can. But I’ll be fine.” She had a deep, relieved sigh, one she hoped Belle could hear. ”Thank you.”

A little while later and Tatiana found herself in a corner booth at the Krispy Kreme, with a box of assorted donuts in front of her, nibbling away on a lemon-filled. She wore a blue hoodie over her outfit and had slipped on some track pants, hoping it would be enough to not stand out too much. Not much more than a redheaded Russian in the middle of Japan usually stood out, anyway.

She scarfed it down and licked her lips, getting it clean before she opened the box and decided which to devour next, hoping her girlfriend would arrive before the temptation took her and made her eat too many.

"As fast as I can, cross my heart. See you soon babe." Belle gave the air a small kiss to punctuate her lighthearted closing words. It wasn't often she referee to Tatiana as something other than her name in casual conversation, she hoped this had been an appropriate use of it now to try and uplift her girlfriend. On her end there was a long pause, unsure if she should hang up or not, but eventually she did after another soft "Bye."

It has taken Belle longer than expected to get here. The car she called was late and the roads were clogged with on and off traffic. She had wound up having her driver pull over a few block before the donut shop and let her out so she could walk the rest of the distance at what would amount to a better pace. She was sure to pay the full estimated sum though, it wasn't as if her driver was to blame for this after all.

The next moment anyone took note of her was briefly as she had entered the Krispy Kreme. There was a brief exchange of more between her and the person behind the corner before the actress ignored the other body, searching out her girlfriends blazing red hair among the scattered dark tops of red and brown. It made for easy hunting, not even pausing along the way.

"Hey" Coming up behind Tatiana at an angle, she swung up beside the girl in an attempt to catch her by surprise. Leaning in to give the girl a sudden kiss on the cheek. Normally she would retreat after that, and seat herself opposite her girlfriend but tonight was different.

"Leave me any?" Belle would try to slip in beside her now, scooting in close so she could be there to support her in every possible way. She was dressed casual tonight. Pre-work jeans, her half laced combat boots and a simple black T-shirt with a faded vintage style logo on the front all wrapped up neatly with her two tone "Killer Queen" denim jacket.

Despite actively trying to stay alert and focused, Tatiana wound up jumping when Belle came out of nowhere and planted the little kiss on her cheek. Her girlfriend could be surprisingly stealthy when she wanted to - either that, or she just knew the best way to approach her so she wouldn’t catch on. Or Tatiana just sucked at being perceptive. All three possibilities seemed likely, really.

She was happy for it, though, and returned the greeting with a smile and a high-pitched ”Hi!” that was enough to startle the woman working at the counter. She gave the poor girl an apologetic wave, before sliding over and giving Belle enough room to come over and get comfortable. She was more than happy to have her this close, not just tonight, but in general. Maybe they could make sitting like this the default the next time they went out? A thought. Though it would be hard to play footsies under the table. Then again, they could do other things to make up for it…

...focus, Tatiana.

”Uh-huh.” She opened up the box, showing that there were plenty left. Tatiana had indulged and eaten up all the cream-filleds save for one, but other than that their were plenty to choose from.

She pushed the box over to Belle’s front, but also brought the papers over and had them right beside it. At the same time, she nestled into her girlfriend’s side, getting as close as she could and give her shoulder a nudge. A silent hint to that she could put an arm over her shoulder. If she wanted to.

”So, this…” Tatiana gave the papers a quick flipping through, then shook her head. ”I know you’d never keep this from me, I know that, but, just...wow. She didn’t mention anything about this? At all? Not even a weird hint?”

It was so hard to fathom. She was 100% sure Belle would’ve told her if she knew about it, but it was hard to picture her not know. She and Kaylee lived in the same house, after all. ”It’s just out-of-the-blue, you know?”

Belle eyed the box of donuts, absentmindedly putting her arm up and around Tatiana out of sheer reflex of the girl snuggling up against her without even needing to be prompted. She had her heart set on a Boston cream but found them mysteriously absent from the box, likely having occupied one of the empty spaces moments prior to her arrival. That was fine. Relationships were full of compromises after all. She hooked a simple chocolate glazed in its place for now, looking over to the other thing wet before her.

The brunette brushed the box of sweets to the side, planting a finger over the top of the contract to pull it slightly closer. Unless Tatiana stopped her she would quietly start to thumb through it. "She didn't tell me anything about this, not directly anyhow. She is always doing things though…" Scanning over key words about brand, booking, creative direction… it all seemed things a manager would be doing. The curious bit was the thing about hosting a facilities though. She read that a bit more closely with squinted eyes until something clicked.

"Oh." Belle tilted her head thoughtfully, chewing on her lower lip just a bit. Her mind flashed back a ways before today.

She had to take the long way downstairs to the lower kitchen as most of the upper floor was sectioned off due to some construction project Kaylee had invested into. She had kept her mouth shut on the matter though knowing full well she couldn't convince her friend to reconsider. They really didn't need more stuff added onto the compound, it was already far too big for just the two of them on average.

"Hey… remember when you invited me over for the painting thing?" It was more or less a rhetorical question, she doubted Tatiana would just forget about one of their more memorable date nights. "I don't know if I mentioned it, but Kaylee had like… have the compound shut down for construction, adding a new wing. Maybe that's part of this. Housing for whoever she is signing?" She furrowed her brow, thinking hard. Had Kaylee told her anything else important?

"Not even speculating. She literally told me she was going to put you both on the spot if you win… so heads up."

Had that been what Kaylee meant? At the time she assumed the other woman and been referring to challenge them to a match that night, but had she actually wanted to offer them contracts? She found it hard to believe after knowing how vindictive her friend could be… but she found herself unsure.

"I may have told you… in a roundabout way, even if I didn't know it at the time." She grumbled softly, feeling a bit stupid in the moment. If all the pieces had been there why had she never thought to put something like this together. It was outlandish, yes, but was it really that impossible to imagine? She had fallen for Tatiana because of her talent and personality. Surely other people who see similar things the brunette did in her, possibly even Kaylee.