Otoko to Onna

[BlackAkuma]

”Kyo!”

Valerie awoke with a start and immediately regretted it, as she was greeted with a headache so fierce that it put her back down again. She flopped against the bed and stared at the ceiling for a moment, as memories flooded into her brain at a dizzying pace.

The match. She’d been wrestling Kyo, the Iron Person Match, and the last fall had been hellish. She recalled going up on the turnbuckle, looking to finish him, but everything had gone terribly wrong, and the last thing she recalled was falling, falling, falling hard, and the cacophonous crash. And now…

Valerie looked about on the bed she was on, a light cot setup in the middle of a darkened room, one that was lined with medical suplex, with the faint scent of formaldehyde hanging in the air. LAW’s trauma center, it seemed like. They must’ve carried her hear after the match. Had she been in that bad of shape? What had happened?

Where was Kyo?

That was the big question on her mind, and one she wasn’t going to wait for answers on. She grumbled, rubbed her head, and hobbled out of the room, figuring that he couldn't be too far away.

[Underdoggo]

Three cracked ribs. Multiple abrasions on his back, chest, and arms. A sprained wrist. An acute neck injury. In all honesty, Kyo should not have been walking. And yes, here he was.

He had woken up in the infirmary after blissfully passing out. He dimly remembered enough to know that he had won...barely won...the iron man match. Somehow he had found the energy, strength, and above all willpower to haul Valley into the ring before they were both counted out, and somehow he managed to pin her. This, after the two of them had battered, slammed and stretched the hell out of each other, and after they had both had a collision with the announcer's desk.

What could have been a potentially disastrous collision, Kyo thought grimly. God, what the hell was I thinking?

He had managed to avoid the post-match interviews for now. He should have been sitting in recovery after what had easily been the most grueling match of his career; instead, he was up and active, against his better judgement. He couldn't sit still, not knowing how Valerie was. He had to check up on her, to see for himself.

As he hobbled down the corridor, past more than a few concerned looking orderlies, he immediately saw a familiar figure also hobbling down the hallway.

"Valerie...?"

[BlackAkuma]

Valerie regretted getting up so fast every step of the way, as her body seemed to constantly remind her that she needed to lie down with every step she took. She didn’t feel like a human; she felt like a bag of crumpled bones. Nothing she was going to die from, but all of it was concerning. This was a bad idea.

And yet, here she was. Walking, moving, going at a hurried pace, not resting, until…

”Kyo-san!”

Relief, pure relief, flowed through, Valerie when she caught sight of Kyo. He looked about as busted up as she was, but okay in general - not as good as she’d hoped, not nearly as bad as she’d feared.

Valerie moved towards him with arms open, almost going for a hug, but she stopped short and caught herself at the last second, with only a few feet to spare. Nervous, she stepped back with her arms behind her back, and glanced off ot the side. ”I’m, uh…you’re okay. I’m glad to see you’re okay.”

[Underdoggo]

Kyo hadn't had time to change out of his wrestling gear; he only had a spare t-shirt that he was able to slap on before hobbling down this corridor. A good thing too, as he didn't want anyone to see the livid bruises marking his torso. But now, out here, he could see the similar marks on Valerie's arms and upper body, and felt more than a small pang of guilt. True, it had been a wrestling match; it had also been him going overboard, both literally and figuratively.

Even so...seeing her out here caused the breath to catch in his throat. For a few seconds he was at a loss for words.

"Yeah...thanks," he finally mumbled. "I...um...came to see if you were okay as well. And, um...are you?" He had no idea if Valerie should have been out and about walking. He had no idea if he should have been doing so either, come to think of it.

[BlackAkuma]

This was going to be a simple thing. Didn’t have to be complex. Valerie already had it planned out. She would see Kyo, give him credit for a job well done, maybe make some vague challenge for a rematch - though she didn’t honestly see how she could up the ante from here - and then she would be off and let him be.

Easy. Simple. Quick.

That was not what was happening at the moment. As she spoke with Kyo, everything felt…tight. Restricted. Like there was something she needed to say, something she needed to do, but nothing was clicking. She felt awkward, she felt afraid, she felt like…

”Kyo,” After five seconds that felt like five minutes, she mustered up enough strength to gesture towards one of the unoccupied examination rooms. ”Can we talk?”

Valerie opened the door and gingerly stepped inside, motioning for him to follow close behind.

[Underdoggo]

Kyo blinked in surprise despite himself. Valerie was saying "Can we talk?" in a tone that brought back a lot of memories. It was the same tone and phrase his old kendo sensei used when, as a kid, he was told we wasn't making the cut for the team. It was the tone and phrase his mom used when she revealed her cancer diagnosis. It was the tone and phrase Shin used, just before venting a lot of her frustrations with him. Frustrations that ultimately led to their breakup.

The fact that Valerie was using it right now immediately set him on edge.

"Of course," he replied, and despite his reservations, he hobbled into the empty examination room. He leaned against a nearby examination bed, partly to adopt a calm posture, and partly because standing for too long was honestly a bit painful at the moment.

"What did you want to talk about?"

[BlackAkuma]

Valerie waited until Kyo was all the way in the room, then closed the door behind him, wanting a little privacy. This would be hard enough to do as was, without prying eyes and perking ears.

She approached him, fidgeting with her hands as she neared, clearly stewing over her words. She knew what to say. The speech was in her head, every syllable. But making her mouth do the right thing was proving to be a real challenge. She opened her mouth, closed it. Looked up at his face, looked down at his feet.

”I…” She rubbed her shoulder. ”I just…we just…you know? I mean, we, we’re kind of, like…”

Screw it.

Valerie was moving before she even knew what was happening. She closed the distance, wrapped her arm around Kyo’s neck, and pulled him in for a kissing, pressing their lips together, feeling his body against her, tasting him on her tongue. A low, long moan rumbled through her body, as she savored him in full, but she broke away from him when that moment passed and stared at with wide, fearful eyes. As if she didn’t even know her own body was going to do that.

”I…” Her lips quivered. ”I’m sorry, I-”

[Underdoggo]

Kyo couldn't help but tense a little as Valerie closed the door. Whatever it was would be done in private. He felt his heart tighten in his chest. Was this bad news? Had he gone overboard in their match? Was Valerie seriously injured and--

And then she was upon him, and her lips were meeting his.

It felt like electric sparks went off as Kyo was pulled into a kiss. His brain froze, and his mouth was suddenly moving of its own accord, moving against Valerie's as she felt her tongue dart against his. And then, just like that, she broke away, wide eyed and stammering an apology. Kyo felt the redness in his face, the bewildered increase of his heart rate as everything around them suddenly seemed to cease to exist.

Before he knew what was happening, and before he could stop himself, he was closing the distance between them, grabbing a hold of Valerie's shoulder to pull her closer to him, and leaning in to resume the kiss, closing his eyes as he pressed his lips against hers, his tongue darting playfully with hers as he surrendered to the moment.

[BlackAkuma]

Fuck. She’d fucked up. She’d fucked up, she’d fucked up, she’d fucked up.

This was it, this was her one chance to make this work, and Valerie could tell she’d messed up big time. Had the time not been right? Had she been too aggressive? Her mind raced with possibilities, and none of them were good. She should’ve waited, should let him heal first, should’ve confronted him all at once, and-

It was her turn to be surprised, now, as Kyo rushed and brought their lips together for another kiss. Valerie jumped at first, surprised by the same boldness she had brought out only a few seconds ago, but that surprise quickly gave way to longing - she wanted this, she needed it, she craved it. Her hands came around his waist and pulled him even tighter, their bodies meeting with familiarity.

The kiss went on for a few seconds, before she finally had to pull away and gasp. Rasping, she met his eyes and locked on, and asked a simple question.

”Here?” It was half a question, half a request.

[Underdoggo]

For a brief moment, Kyo lost sense of everything else around him. He forgot he was still in a hospital, forgot about all of his lingering injuries, forgot about propriety; all that mattered was this moment, as he gave into the feelings he'd had ever since he first faced Valerie in the ring. Valerie pulled him in tighter as their lips locked, before pulling her lips away, allowing Kyo to breathe a little as his cheek brushed against hers.

"Here," he answered, his lips traveling the length of Valerie's neck as he slowly lowered her arms around her upper body, gently pushing her against the wall.