Soiree or Stay In? (For Imhotep)

He'd been saying it since he first arrived in Japan; he has to take in the sites. Domino had been to Japan a time or two, but never for more than a couple days. Hardly enough time to let the culture sink in! And now with this relatively new, hopefully stable gig, he has no excuse not to! So tonight was the night he finally opted out of ordering in, and decided to see what the local fair had to offer.

He wasn't disappointed. Having a little exposure by now in the Tension roster has earned him some familiarity with the local enthusiasts, much to his delight. The evening was mostly tame, but enjoyable, involving dining out, taking in the city, and a couple autograph moments. As the hours ticked on, however, he couldn't help but feel the experience would've been better if he weren't flying solo.

Still, it's come time to return. Domino stands before the security door of the Tension dorms, dressed in a classy-slacker ensemble of stark white dress shirt, black slacks, and matching sneakers. The cuffs of the shirt are left unbuttoned and hanging, as well as the top couple buttons of his shirt. With his wallet already fished out, he busies himself picking around within.

'Come on, where the Hell is it...?'

Each individual sleeve is investigated with no results, steadily intensifying a disapproving frown. No keycard. And no contacts in Tension to call. His modeling agent wouldn't be able to help here, and there's no chance he's going to bug the higher-ups at this hour. So it's either snooze on a bench like a vagrant and wreck whatever image he has going, or shell out the cash for a hotel.

Forehead plunks to security door.

'Awesome.'

"Hm. Nothing."

It was late at night. Mindy was crouched in front of her room's mini fridge, inspecting its contents. She had had a pretty intense training session in the gym earlier, and apparently her dinner hadn't been enough to replenish her body's nutrients, because just five minutes ago she had woken up with hunger pangs. But her fridge, although not empty, didn't have anything adequate for a quick bite. Meat was too heavy and would mess up with her sleep later, while lettuce wouldn't be enough to sate her hunger.

She looked at the clock. 1:30 AM. "There's a convenience store a block away from here, if I remember correctly..." She didn't really like the idea of going out on the streets this late, but another rumble from her stomach was enough to dispel her hesitation. Looking out of the window, there was no person in sight in the street below... It would be alright if she bought and came back quickly, right? The muscle girl quickly put on some clothes and headed out.

-------

A little later, Mindy was making her way back to the dorms, plastic bag in hand. She was wearing a jacket, jeans and a beanie, and was pleasantly surprised that she had been able to find healthy food so easily in the middle of the night. Japanese convenience stores sure were something... However, as she stepped into AFW property, she walked near the male Tension dorms, and when she did so she spotted someone before the main security door. A suspicious person? "I hope he doesn't look this way..." But he didn't. Instead, he seemed absorbed in searching his own pockets, and after a while he leaned his forehead against the door in visible frustration.

For some reason, Mindy stopped to watch him, and as she took a closer look she finally recognized him. It was someone she had met in the ring, not too long ago! "Domino?" She would step closer to the teen model. "Is everything alright?"

'Stupid.'

Bump.

'Stupid.'

Bump.

'Stupid.'

Bump.

A voice!

Domino suddenly straightens his posture and whirls to face the interloper! His eyes widen immediately upon recognizing the slightly taller girl before him. "Oh! Mindy! Hey!" How could he forget the girl who'd recently pinned him?

Her question causes his amethyst eyes to lower. A hand sets to the back of his neck, rubbing sheepishly. "I did a bad," he mumbles. "Pretty sure I left my keycard on my bed." He isn't the type to embarrass easily, but this is a little humiliating. First she beats him in front of an audience, now he can't even remember something as basic as a key.

Mindy hear Domino's explanation, not entirely sure why he was acting so embarrassed. Everyone forgets things once in a while, after all. "Your keycard? So you're locked out from the building?" After thinking a little, she took her wallet from her back pocket. "Let me open the door for you, then! Just wait a second." Stepping before the entrance, she retrieved her own keycard from the wallet and swiped it into the reader with a smile. "There we go! Problem solved... eh?"

*bzzzt*

The reader buzzed and blinked red once. That was it. Tilting her head to the side, Mindy tried it again, but the result was the same. Apparently, her card only gave access to the female dorms, not the male ones. It was her turn to be sheepish, and she turned to face Domino. "Ah... sorry. I think my card doesn't work on this door."

A chilly breeze flew past them. The night was getting colder. "What are you going to do now? Can't you call someone to come and let you in?"

As the girl steps forward with a keycard, Domino's expression shifts to one of confusion. Why would they issue her access to the male domiciles? Is she one of those... ambush-sex-wrasslers? He doesn't even know what to call that!

As the card proves useless in this situation, the teen regards Mindy with a flat, but bemused look. It was a sweet gesture on her part, really. But she probably should've known better.

As a the chill grows, Domino becomes suddenly aware of his lack of outerwear. His arms wind around his torso protectively, eyes shifting aside. "Uhhh, not really. My agent wouldn't be able to sort something out at this late a notice, and they'd ride me over it anyway. And I'm not about to wake up any of the managers around here. The last thing I need is to become a nuisance! So I think I'm gonna try to find a hotel or something'n warm up."

The spunky youth begins bobbing on his feet in an effort to get the blood flowing. "Before it gets too cold, I mean!"

Mindy put her wallet away and placed a hand on her chin, unsure of what to do. Personally, she thought it was silly of him to not wake up a manager. If she was in his shoes, that's what she would have done, but it looked like Domino had a pretty big sense of pride. Sure, this type of attitude was kind of stupid - like those guys who refuse to ask for directions when they're lost - but she decided to not say anything about it; she was far too shy to go around criticizing people. What if he got mad at her or something?

It then came to her attention that his clothes were actually quite light, and as he began talking about the cold she began feeling sorry for him. Weren't Japanese hotels expensive? And, even if he had the money to afford it, he'd have to wander around in the middle of the night until he actually found one...

She couldn't just leave him alone like this. It wouldn't be right. As she tried to come up with a better solution for him, an idea popped in her head; it made her a little uneasy, so at first she hesitated, thought twice about it, but in the end she couldn't deny that it was possibly the best way to help. "Um... if you have nowhere to go, how about... how about you come and stay in my room? You can crash there until tomorrow. [size=85:3qnnh56q]If you don't mind, of course."

Perhaps it was silly. But Domino doesn't feel he can play fast and loose with what respect he may have earned from the higher-ups. This isn't a school, they're not his parents or caretakers. And clumsy isn't a reputation he wants to catch on!

As she appears to debate something, Domino falls silent. He begins shifting from foot to foot for the sake of keeping his body moving, keeping the blood flowing. Clearly the blonde was mulling over something, something difficult. And when she comes out with it, a warm little smile touches his lips. "Of course I wouldn't mind! But y'don't have to do that. It's sweet of ya, but I don't wanna impose."

Ah, she had gone and said it! Inviting a man to spend the night in her room, out of the blue... and a good-looking one, at that. In normal circumstances, this would have been a very unusual action for Mindy to take, considering all the inhibitions she had when it came to interacting with the opposite sex. But she told herself that this was a special occasion, and that she was just helping a fellow wrestler in a time of need. It wasn't like they were going to do anything weird together, right?

"I-it's nothing, really! Look at you, jumping around just to stay warm... you shouldn't be worrying about imposing!" She turned around, facing away from him. "Just come with me before I change my mind, okay?" She would then start walking at a brisk pace towards the female dorms, hoping that Domino would follow her.

When she calls attention to his fidgeting, he abruptly stops and ducks his head, as if berated like a puppy. He abandons arguing with her, at least. Truth be told, the idea of spending time socially with Mindy was plenty appealing. She seemed like a sweet person in the ring, even if he's determined to destroy her next time they tangle. People like her are a rarity! The fact that she's cute doesn't hurt, either~

As she walks, Domino hurries up alongside her. "How're your abs?," he asks finally. Should she look towards him, she'll be met with a playfully teasing smile. "Didn't wreck nothin', did I?"

When Mindy turned her back, she wondered for a moment if Domino would accept the help come with her after all. Would his pride win out? But her worries were unfounded, as she heard his footsteps following her right away, and soon enough the two of them were walking side by side towards the female dorms. She was just a little bit relieved.

AS Domino started with his small talk, Mindy looked at him, and even in the dim illumination of the street lights she could see his playful smile. "My abs?" She had a brief flashback of their match, when she had been trapped in his grueling finisher. "They're fine! It takes a lot more than that to 'wreck' them," she teased back. Truth to be told, Domino's clawing fingers had left five sore spots on her belly, but after a few days of rest they didn't hurt anymore, and the red marks had almost gone away by now. But he didn't need to know that!

"How about you? You hit your head pretty hard... but you're playing around at night, so it looks like you recovered from that already, hm?" She smiled as they arrived to the security door, and she picked up her keycard again to open it.