The Bad News

Belle had made a mistake in crossing this line here and now, and she knew it. Her temper had gotten the better of her and now she had opened a can of worms that couldn't easily be closed. She needed to get out of here and meet up with Tatiana at the real restaurant, not get arrested for brawling in this place... how had she been so dumb. Her hope was in grabbing a weapon she could bring them back to a standstill, maybe even deescalate back to the tensions they had before. Her fingers curled around the base of the metal walking tool, hearing Valerie coming in fast as people scattered.

She went to turn, swinging the crutch out wildly as a threat to stay back, but it sliced through air in a moment of brief confusion was painted across Belle's face. It wasn't until Valerie's arms hooked around her throat that she understood what had happened in a moment of panic. With a free hand she reached up to grasp at the blond's forearm to try and prevent the choke, but it was too late, the submission specialist had already cinched in it while Belle struggled with her sluggishness. Her blue eyes widened in a wild moment dread, clawing at the arm around her throat while trying in vain to swing the crutch back behind her to bat at Valerie but it lacked any real teeth.

The two bumped hard into the table behind them hard enough to cause the silverware to rattle. She pushed her weight back, trying to ram the woman holding her into the edge of the table in a last ditch effort to break free but if that wasn't enough, Valerie could easily bring her down to the ground. From there, she would be helpless to defend herself, abandoning the crutch and just pawing at the blond's arm. There was a faint rumble from Belle's pocket as her phone vibrated with an incoming call that she was a bit too tied up at the moment to answer.

”идти спать!” Valerie hissed in Belle’s ear as she clamped down on the hold. иди спать, глупый, маленький …”

Valerie clamped down on the rudimentary but effective hold with everything she had, putting all of her strength into the effort. Not that she really needed to, mind you - she could tell from the way Belle moved that she didn’t have nearly enough strength to put up an effective fight here. She was familiar enough with holds to use something that would’ve neutralized the woman easily. It wasn’t that hard to fight a one-legged opponent. She could have ended this in a relatively peaceful, quiet manner.

She just didn't care to. This was about sending a message, now, and making sure this woman understood exactly what was going to happen in the ring.

Belle put up a fight, to her credit, but Valerie stubbornly refused to give her an inch, even as she was rammed hard into the table. Her response was to bring her legs into the matter, wrapping them around the brunette’s waist and clamping to her like a limpet as they fell to the floor. She wrenched the hold harder, twisting Belle’s neck from side to side, ensuring that her journey into slumber would be as unpleasant as possible. ”You brought this on yourself, do you hear me?” She grunted and sunk deeper into the hold, muscles straining as she recruited every muscle she could find for the effort. ”You should have never crossed me and my sister. This is all on you.”

When both women came crashing to the floor, it was over. She could feel the other woman's legs wrapped around her body, squeezing tightly as she kicked her legs ineffectively in a panicked struggle, jostling the table and knocking over another chair. Her head was not easy to twist, the last bastion of strength she had while at Valerie's mercy, but given seconds within the submissionist's clutches she found the former powerhouse sealing to the point that she could do whatever she wanted to her.

Belle's eyes reddened into a teary squint as she wheezed and choked her last breaths, trying to pry an arm off of her throat for some relief. She could feel her hearing fading and had trouble keeping her eyes open as each time she blinked it seemed as though she was talking asleep and waking up all over again. She tried to speak, to protest, to beg, but her mouth was empty and dry like a desert.

Her palms weakly pat Valerie's forearms, trying to talk out and find some form of release, a sudden fear of the Oblivion that waited beyond this hold seeming insurmountably frightening. By then however, it was too late. She had faded from consciousness almost immediately after, falling limp in the blonds arms as she was thrashed like a broken chew toy.

Valerie would give Belle a modicum of credit and admit that she did not go down easily. She fought, hard, all the way to the floor, and keeping her under control was a true challenge, even with her skills. She locked the hold in hard, crossed her ankles, powered down with everything she had, and the woman struggled to the end, refusing to succumb, even as her body shut down. While she was confident in her abilities, this was enough to confirm that, yes, their match would not be without some small challenge.

But she would win. In fact, she was determined to have that encounter end in the same way this one did - with Belle lying on the floor, unconscious, for all the world to see.

Valerie kept the hold on for a few seconds after Belle’s consciousness left her, even though there was no one to really stop her from doing it for longer. She let the woman go and gave her limp body a contemptuous shove to the side, before grabbing a nearby table for support as she rose to her feet. Valerie took long, deep breaths, trying to steady her heartbeat, and it was only now that she heard the nearing wail of sirens, a strong hint to where she’d be spending the night.

Somehow, though, as she looked down at the wrecked Belle, she wasn’t bothered by the prospect of a night in a jail cell.

This was worth it. Yes.

---

---

Belle leaned against the small wooden dividers, glancing back at the Japanese officer monitoring her from the doorway, a hand left at there belt where a baton lay in waiting should she try anything. She didn’t intend to… the night had been eventful enough without adding more to her charges for assaulting an officer. She gave them a flat look, looking so over this situation. Dark circle of a blackened eye, her carefully cultivated outfit stained with sweat, and hanging all over disheveled missing a few buttons. Turning back she lifted the phone from the receiver, tapping in numbers to call the only number she had as a real lifeline out here.

She could feel her heart pounding as the line started to ring in empty air. It was very possible she wouldn’t get a response. Her tag partner wasn't exactly fond of answering the phone when the number was unknown. As far as she knew, this wasn’t one of the stations that Kaylee would have the number saved… Belle had her fair share of arrests in Japan where she had been tossed in a drunk tank for the night. All of that however was behind her, she thought. She had been better, more careful about her well being after she and Tatiana had started hanging out.

“Kaylee.” She stood to attention, grunting at the strain. She reached to clutch the phone as close as she could. After tonight, hearing the other girl’s voice was a blessing. The blonde could help her out not only with bail, but with the Valerie situation. Belle was far too in over her head.

“Hey, it’s Belle.” She mentioned sheepishly, some of her excitement drowning out as her setting sunk in around her. She didn’t like being back here, it felt as though she had fallen back into old habits again, a darker time.

“Oh…” Her partner asked about the photo shoot, the random excuse she had given for showing up to dinner with Tatiana as a surprise. Had the redhead not mentioned that? How much of their plans had been derailed by her being unable to make the dinner date. She grit her teeth, balling up a fist to give the wall a small thump. The shuffle of steps caught her attention as she looked to the officer moving over towards her. With a nervous smile she held up her hands apologetically, shouldering the phone receiver which was enough to get them to back away again.

“Don’t worry about it… You still with Tatiana?” Better to just avoid talking about things that might put her or Tatiana into a corner and just stick with what she should know from her dealings with Kaylee. She didn’t want to risk outing their relationship if Tatiana hadn’t come clean yet.

“Alright... well, no reason to let her know its me.” They were still together, presumably at dinner. That was a good sign at least. At least her girlfriend and partner hadn’t gotten into a fist fight at their restaurant. “I just need to talk to yo- wait…” She could hear her own voice through the receiver, faintly, but it was there. “...Am I on speaker?”

“Damnit Kaylee.” Belle gnashed her teeth, body tensing up as she pressed the back of her head to the booth divider with a frustrated sigh. It took her a moment to compose herself, wanting to reach through the phone and just strangle the blond. Tonight had her so out of sorts, the burning anger Valerie had instilled in her was still threatening to explode outward again.

“Uh… hey Tat. Hope… the contract stuff is going well.” Her voice softened a bit as she addressed the redhead, equal parts trying to make up for the failed attempt to keep this phone call secretive away from her and just because she wanted to hear her voice. She couldn’t take anymore heartbreak tonight.

Hearing Tatiana on the other side of the line call her beautiful almost made her crack. Tonight had been so nightmarish and that was just only beginning. She closed her eyes tightly, holding back a sudden sensation of tears threatening to overwhelm her. How was she going to tell Tatiana what happened? That Valerie was threatening to get them deported over their relationship,  that they had brawled in a restaurant, or that she had put everything on the line in a match of all things… what had she been thinking?

When Tatiana mentioned that things had been going well, it pulled her out of the momentary despair. There was a small glimmer of hope that she wouldn't need to explain what happened, not yet, that she could keep it bottled up like the rest of the things she didn't want to address in her life. She could leave this place, she could be with Tatiana now openly, that's all she needed.

Until Valerie ruined it all…

"...Really? I…" Her voice practically croaked, unable to get her thoughts in order before she heard the blonde chime in. She felt like such an idiot. Had it really been that easy? Tatiana had just confessed their deepest darkest secret and Kaylee had just accepted it like that? They had been running and hiding for so long, was it all for nothing?

"I am… so sorry I'm not there right now… I should have been there. God damnit…" She shook her head, sniffing loudly as she tried to compose herself. She was falling apart at the seams. Belle pressed her forehead to the wall, leaning her weight in hard. She needed to feel something, anything that wasn't this ache in her heart.

"My phone is fine… I think." In truth she couldn't recall much of the latter half of her conflict with Valerie, it was mostly a blur. Belle knew she had challenged the woman and understood the stakes, but what happened after was a hazy dreamscape that left her unsure how much of what happened actually did and how much of it was imagination between being choked out and waking up in the back of a police car. It wasn't like she was going to ask Valerie to corroborate stories with her.

"I was just… busy. Listen I will tell you all about it, but later. I don't have time now." She cast a glance back to her ever present watched in the doorway. They hadn't given her a time limit for the call, but she had done this enough times to know they grew impatient if the call went on for too long.

"Kaylee, you still there?" While it was great to hear Tatiana was there and doing well, she needed to get down to business. This was part of her life that her girlfriend didn't need to witness, something she had sworn off and now it returned.

"Can you take me off speaker?" Like a girl caught with her hand in the cookie jar she felt the pang of guilt just at the thought of being exposed to Tatiana. Thankfully Kaylee seemed to understand that to a degree, having already caught on to the situation. That was a relief at least...

Then she was refused to be given a private forum with the blond to discuss details. Her face flush with embarrassment and anger and being put on the spot like this. Her fingers clenched tightly on the phone received, twisting at the device in her hands, threatening to snap it in two. Hadn't she been through enough tonight? Why was she also made to suffer this sort of indignity, paraded out in front of Tatiana like some criminal… Who in the hell was Kaylee to give her relationship advice anyway?!

"The Toshima MPD office, I'm in holding. You'll need to post bail." Belle swallowed her pride, her anger, her darkness. It didn't serve her any good right now… she could hold it in just a little while longer, just enough to get through this hellish night.

---

The drive to the police precinct wasn't an especially long ride but time tended to stretch when someone felt invested. Kaylee to her credit, did everything she could to ease Tatiana's worries by talking her through how this sort of thing worked and assuring her everything would be fine. The two had sat in the back together and the blond made sure to keep the redhead talking and distracted, not allowing her to have the time to overthink and needlessly stress over the situation.

When Kaylee went inside, she took Tatiana with her rather than leaving her behind. The social media star navigated a conversation with a clerk and had a brief discussion with an officer… even snapped a picture for one that knew her. She paid the bail and the both of them were left to wait before Belle was brought out to them and her things returned. Kaylee had some brief, quiet words with her friend whispered in private before surrendering her custody to her girlfriend.

Belle looked like hell. The obvious darkened signs of a black eye. A faint brush of dried blood on her collar and a visible slit where her lip had been split. She hadn't really spoken, answering any queries she could with a nod or a shake of the head rather than opening her mouth. The look of shame was apparent the moment she had come through the door, appearing more of a wilted flower than the millionaire social media influencer. Even still, she had been quick to hug Tatiana close. Tighter than intended perhaps, but she needed her now so much. Even when she had been hospitalized and her career was in question she hadn't been plunged as far into despair as she did now at the thought of losing Tatiana forever.

When they all filed into the car, Kaylee had taken the front seat leaving the two in the back with the brunette's crutches awkwardly laid across both girl's laps. She had returned to silence, eyes closed and content to soak in the darkness, pretending to be anywhere else right now. She hated feeling like this, the fact they had wanted to be together publicly for so long and their first moments had been torn to shreds. This was suppose to have been Tatiana's big day, their big day as a couple to come out to the world, and she had ruined it all.

To say that Tatiana was stressed would be an understatement. Tests made her stressed. Bees made her stressed. Spending too long in enclosed spaces made her stressed. This was something wholly different, a level of worry that she had only experienced one other time, when Belle was beaten up and hospitalized. In a way, this was worse than that, because while this, whatever this was, hadn’t messed her up so badly that she needed medical care, there were more questions than back then, more things she just didn’t know and understand. Who had done this to Belle? Why was she in lockup and not them? Why was this happening, and why was it happening now?

She couldn’t parse it, and it was a good thing that Kaylee was present in all this, because she wasn’t in a fit state to drive or talk or do anything. The blonde had been a godsend in all of this, keeping her from totally freaking out, assuring her every step of the way. It was more than a little worrying that she was acting as if this was all routine, but Tatiana pulled those concerns aside for now. Getting Belle and keeping her safe was all that mattered.

So she didn’t say much of anything when they came into the station. She kept silent as they did the paperwork and spoke to whoever they needed to speak to. She was all too willing to accept Belle’s embrace when she came out and stayed close to her all the way out of the station, never moving further than a foot away from her girlfriend, not for an instant. A torrent of questions threatened to pour out at any moment, but the look on Belle’s face told her to hold them all back. When Belle was ready to talk, Bell would talk.

For now, she was content to be near Belle, to just be in her presence. As they rode in silence, Tatiana laid her head on her shoulder and let it rest there, occasionally reaching over to stroke some of her hair that fell down. She slipped her feet out of her sandals and let them rest on the floor of the car, just to let her toes free. Being barefoot always made her feel more comfortable. Didn’t hurt.

”I’m-” She started to speak, but bit back more words, glancing up at Belle. The silence was maddening. She had a hard time keeping quiet in normal circumstances, but not talking to her girlfriend was like holding her breath. Needing to do something, she brought out a moist towelette from her purse and dabbed off some of the dried blood on her neck and face. ”Let me just…”

Belle was trying to hold back the floodgates and distance herself from tonight's happenings. She knew she'd have to explain to some degree, and fully intended to when they got back to the compound and had Tatiana alone. This was a sensitive subject as family matters tended to be and the stakes she had put on the line made everything that much more dire. How was she going to tell her girlfriend if she couldn't even unpack it all herself?

The brunette's fingers tugged at the shoulder strap of her belt, wringing the material out with idle worrying. She remained still and silent, even when the redhead finally spoke up. It wasn't until she had her face lightly dabbed with something wet that her facial features tightened up an eye opened. She leaned a bit to the side, turning her head like a fussy child trying to avoid her grandmother rubbing dirt off her cheek. The awkwardness of their positioning in the back seat as Tatiana hovered over her trying to clean her up was incredibly apparent… and actually got a tired smile out of her. "What are you even…"

Reaching out she gently took hold of Tatiana's hand to guide it away, cradling it between her own hands in her lap. With a sigh she leaned closer so they could be shoulder to shoulder though she couldn't bring herself to look the girl in the eye, even in the dark. "So… how was dinner?" Little more than a whisper even though nobody else was here save for Kaylee and the driver.

Tatiana was happy to see Belle’s smile, even if it was a tired one. She wasn’t sure what Belle had gone through, but she had the feeling it wasn’t just getting beat up in some bar or something like this. Belle was tough, Belle was a rock, if it had just been as simple as getting jumped, she could shake that off with ease. She seemed haunted, like something was weighing on her, but she couldn’t even begin to imagine what.

But she was smiling. That was good. Even if she couldn’t look her in the eye while she spoke, at least she was speaking. It reminded her of that rainy night when she had to sneak around the compound, the way she looked when they talked about her hentai matches. Belle had looked so ashamed back then, couldn’t even make eye contact with her, and that look struck at Tatiana’s heart. There was just no reason for it, not with them.

She didn’t fight as Belle brought her hand down, just grateful for the touch and the chance to speak with her. ”It was, ah…” Tatiana swallowed and cleared her throat, putting a little more energy into her voice before she spoke again. ”It was great, just...awesome, me and Kaylee had the best time. I had crab and we talked and hammered some stuff out. And I had another sake bomb!” She let herself get excited, wanting to share that part in particular with Belle, before the mood got the better of her and she sank back down. Ease back, ease back. ”Sorry.”

Tatiana ran a pensive finger along Belle’s hand, tracing her knuckles, before she laid it on top and brought all their hands together in her lap. All in. She looked up, sheepish, hoping to catch even a glimpse of Belle’s shimmering blue eyes. ”It was a great time. Thank you for asking.”

There was an unspoken ‘I wish you’d be there’ in the air, but Tatiana kept it that way.