Time for a comeback!

[RedShinigami]

Karl froze in his place when he saw the face of Shiori looking up to him.
Oh god dammit, now he made a mistake.
He may or may not had admitted some feelings for the Manager of Shiori Takeda.
Oh cruel twist of fate, any other person would'ne have thought a minute about that
but the young intern before him?

She was known for shipping and even writing fanfiction about wrestling couples she found cute.
And Karl could only imagine what Christina, uh, Dr. Morgenstern would think if she woke up on morning to find a "Karl x Christina " Fanfiction in an Article of Shiori Takeda.

"I did'nt even said that!", the Ex-Wrestler said hastely and looked around.
Oh his body and nervous mannerism did betray every word he spoke.
"I respect her...because...she is...respectable...a respectable...person...with much...respect..."
He only saw the fat smile on Shioris face grew wider and literally could feel his fall into the pit he had dug himself.

"Please Shiori, this is between you and me. I maybe like her...a little...ok maybe a little more but still, as you mentioned. She maybe is'nt into man, I am twelve years older...there are things that just don't add up.", he said as they reached the coffee machine.
Karl opened a window and pulled out his cigarettes with shaking hands.
"Do you mind? Don' t worry, I blow it out the window...nasty habit I know but yeah..."

[FreestylePoet]

This was just too rich. She had the Sensenmann all but wrapped around her finger! More than that, she was the one person in the entire world who knew perhaps one of the juiciest pieces of gossip in LAW. A former continental superstar making a comeback tour. A rising star in the sports management world. And a possible romance between them? This was just too good to be true.

Suddenly, a tinny version of Shiori's entrance theme rang out. She pulled out her phone, and a devious grin grew onto her face when she realized who was calling. One tap, then she put the device to her ear. "Oh, hey, Dr. Morgenstern!" She looked over at Karl smugly. "Oh, everything's just fiiine here at the Magazine offices. Yeah, I'm just giving some... new hires-" Her eyebrows waggled up and down. Dr. Morgenstern wouldn't know who she was talking about, of course, but she still wagered that this conversation was sending Karl's heart into a breakneck pace. "-the grand tour. Oh, the scouting reports? Yeah, I'll get right on those as soon as I'm done here. Okay! Byeeeeee!"

She hung up, stuffing the device into her pockets before looking back up at Karl. The man was smoking now, his shaky hands holding a cigarette that she guessed was meant to calm him down. With a guilty frown, the young Shiori approached Karl. "Hey, Mr. Schneider, relax! Like I said, I was never gonna tell her or anyone else, and blackmail is just way over my head." She clutched her other arm sheepishly. "Sorry." Then she walked over to the break room counter. "I'll make it up to you. C'mon, how do you like your coffee? I'm not here very often, but I've gotten pretty good at making a cup."

[RedShinigami]

Karl was nervous , but just for one second.
He felt a drop of sweat, running down his forehead but when Shiori just smiled and said her goodbyes to Dr. Morgenstern, he relaxed.
"Thanks , Shiori-san.", he smiled and then turned to look out the window again.
"No need to be sorry, I am all to eager to make some tasteless jokes myself...", he said and dropped some ash into the harsh, cold wind that blew on this day.

"I had a troubling month let me tell you, I could use a good coffee. Oh, please just black, nothing added. Dunno why people drink it with stuff like milk an sugar anyway...", he said.
"If I want sweet coffee, I drink a pepsi.", he said and snipped his cigarette away.
The nervousness was slowly fading and the Reporter took a deep breath.
"Well Shiori-san, thank you.", he said smiling.

"I hope you enjoy the photo and lets leave the formalities. Call me Karl. We are friends now, are'nt we?", the big, charming man said and reached for her hand, of course it was not usual in japan, Shiori of course knew the gesture.
"Don't worry, wash them after every visit to the bathroom.", he quipped.

[FreestylePoet]

"Black coffee then, got it." She got to work, putting the whole beans into a burr grinder, meticulously measuring out the proper ratios of water and coffee, and putting the two components into the machine. Given that the LAW Magazine offices only had a drip coffee maker, it wasn't anything too complicated or time-consuming. But given that this was one of the few tasks she did consistently, Shiori wanted to make do her best. Eventually, she stepped away from the counter, carefully bringing the steaming-hot cup of the godly nectar to Karl.

"Here you go!" After offering him the coffee, Shiori watched with shock as the Austrian offered her his hand. She was familiar with the gesture, of course, but to have it offered by someone like Karl Schneider was something she still wasn't used to. With a wide smile, she accepted the handshake.

It was strange, watching Karl's massive, work-worn hand cover up Shiori's comparatively small and clean one. It really drove home the differences between the two of them -- which was the really weird part. Karl had been many things in his life. A well-known wrestler of repute, a wrestling magazine featurist, a father, and now, an ascendant writer for the in-house publication of the fastest-rising wrestling league on the planet. By comparison, Shiori was just a middle-of-the-road high school graduate, perfectly average in all things except for how much she could babble on about things she liked. And yet, the two were coworkers. Colleagues. Friends?

The thought was almost too much for Shiori to handle, and it was emblematic of nearly every moment since she'd first joined LAW as a wrestler, writer, and management intern. Regardless, it was real, and it was happening. Karl, Lillian, Moni, Gil, Chris, Finella, Chiaki, Skylar, and all the rest were more than within arm's reach. They were all brothers and sisters in arms, working to build LAW to the heights she knew it could reach -- together! In that light, moments like these were never any less special for the fangirl, and she hoped she never got used to them.