Heart-to-Heart (Drifter & GASTER)

[thesteedman]

It did not take Drifter long to get to Clara's apartment when she was buzzed in. By now she had come by often enough to know the place off by heart. Kay looked upbeat, and since her sudden momentum since saving Clara from the Baroness, it seemed Kay was actually doing well. She was no longer on a try out, and had secured an actual contract. With that came a fair bit more of a substantial raise, especially with her merchandise beginning to do incredibly well. As such, Kay looked great, clad in new clothing such as combats and a new vest with a rather stylish jacket hanging over it. She had done up her hair a little, making it slightly more stylised than normal, as new sneakers donned her feet. A good portion of her midriff was still left exposed, mostly as she liked to look a little sexy for her girlfriend despite her tomboy-ish image. Other than that Kay was in completely new things and it felt good.

Naturally this look had to go when she was in the LAW premises and especially the ring. Unfortunately it had become something they called a 'gimmick' that Drifter should remain a 'Drifter' for her fans. It was not too bad, as Kay didn't mind it having quite a unique entrance and such. Still... for the first time in a long time she felt like she was doing well. She was making her payments for the Orphanage, and also gaining traction from other sources. She still had plenty left over for herself too, beginning to give Irelia a good share for allowing her to live with her, and still.. having something left over for herself by the end of it.

With a smile she knocked on Clara's door, eager to see her, before she entered knowing Clara would have left it open for her.
"Hey beautiful! You sounded serious on the phone today. Hope I'm not in trouble. If it's about the Cheetos I stole... they were almost out of date I swear. They had to be eaten!" Kay mentioned, entering Clara's place with a beaming smile.

[Vc0m]

Kay buzzed in.

And Clara let her in, biting on her nail, as she unlocked the door ahead of time.

Tonight was going to be a rough argument.

She had to try and not making too...confronting. At least, she hoped to try and settle this in a civilized manner, for her sake and Kay's. Otherwise, she was worried her girlfriend's hubris would get the better of her. She quickly checked the papers in a plastic file and tucked them away in a nearby shelf. Perhaps she wouldn't need these papers after all.

Soon enough, Kay came through the door, smiling from ear to ear and joking about a bag of Cheetos Clara did, legitimately, wonder about the location of:

"Oh! I was wondering about that!", she said as her disposition changed, though worry was still on her face as she approached Kay to give her a quick peck on the lips!

[thesteedman]

Kay knew something was wrong. She managed to lighten the mood with her quip but even as Clara smiled, there was clearly something on her mind. All the same Clara approached her, and the two had a warming embrace, followed by a kiss that was all a bit too quick for Kay's liking. The moment Clara backed away, Kay tilted her head a little, sliding her hands into her pockets....

"Is.... everything alright?" Kay could not help but ask, beginning to feel some nerves of her own beginning to play up. Since the phonecall when Clara asked her to come, she noticed there was a stern tone to her voice, as if something was off. Kay figured perhaps Clara had just had a bad day and needed cheering up, but now she was beginning to wonder if it was something more than that... if she had done something wrong.

"You don't seem yourself today. You know I'm here if you need me." Kay would speak, her own tone becoming a little more serious when she realised something was definitely up.

[Vc0m]

She knew taking a serious tone during the call was a bad idea, but she felt if she didn't talk to Kay about the situation soon, something bad could happen to Kay...

With Kay's tone realizing something is wrong, she felt it was time to maybe talk about it.

"Actually, I wanted to ask you that. Is there anything you are not telling me about, Kay?"

[thesteedman]

Kay frowned slightly at the question Clara had for her, she became confused and was not sure what her girlfriend was getting at. She came a little deeper into the Brit's apartment, facing her girlfriend but not feeling all that comfortable enough to get settled. Something was on Clara's mind for certain. Was she angry with her? Kay was uncertain, right now she could not really figure out what was going on.
"Apart from the Cheetos... nothing really springs to mind." Kay replied, drawing somewhat of a blank.

Kay tilted her head slightly, biting on the side of her lower lip.
"What is this about?... What's going on Clara? Are you okay? You don't look too happy and I'm gettin' a little worried. Tell me what's going on." Kay could not help but admit. There was a slightly uncomfortable atmosphere in the air right now, and Kay was not liking it.

[Vc0m]

Kay was right. The charades would continue into the night if Clara tried to get Kay to realize what this was about. She should just get to the point:

"Kay, I've heard rumors around twitter...and not just that, but the locker room too. Are you getting bullied outside of the ring? Black Widow's name keeps popping up in relation to that..."

[thesteedman]

Kay heard what Clara had to say, and suddenly she became a little more at ease. Her shoulders relaxed as she managed a small smile, not realising the seriousness of Clara's question simply because to her it was not a serious issue.
"Oh that... Yeah the b*tch had a bit of an issue with me because I didn't tap out or something. She became a bit freakishly obsessed with teaching me a lesson. I had a bit of an encounter with her and she tried her hand again, but it didn't work. I didn't give her what she wanted. Don't worry about it though, it's been taken care of. I'd be very surprised if she tried to bother me again" Kay would explain in a light hearted manner.

"It's not a big deal." Kay would add, no doubt playing down the situation to Clara's eyes. In truth she was rather nonchalant about the issue simply because it was something she was used to in prison. Attacks upon her had become the norm and as such she considered it common place, with the LAW being no different in her eyes after living in such a culture. She had a lot of people come after her, people who once she considered friends in another time during her sentence.
"Fancy going out tonight? It would be my treat." Kay would then sing with her beautiful smile flashing across her alluring features. It almost seemed like Kay felt the subject was over.

[Vc0m]

Kay slightly relaxed as Clara explained the issue...but as she explained, Clara's gaze got more and more stern, though not outright angry. She partially understood where Kay was coming from. She was incredibly stubborn, and used to do things her own way...

...problem was, her girlfriend was a woman who was incredibly worried about anything, everything, and everyone in her life, and as such, it was, in fact, a big deal for her:

"...no, Kay. I am sorry, I can't let that issue just...sit around", Clara would explain: "I know how you dealt with it, and I am happy you did, but for one, it isn't the first time this has happened. I still remember what happened in the summer. You are stubborn, and that is both good and bad. People might come after you even despite what happened there. Sandy and Widow aren't the worst that LAW has to offer. Plus, being attacked in broad daylight, to places I recommend you go to...I can't feel anything but guilt..."

What Clara wasn't finishing with was a quite simple factor. What if Baroness targetted her through Kay? She couldn't bear the thought of her girlfriend being targetted because of her...and she couldn't help but be paranoid.

"Secondly, Mary seems a nice sort...", Clara would say, not knowing too much about the big heavyweight blonde: "But why do you have to go to her? Why couldn't you ask me to deal with it? I will kick butts of anyone you'd point me to..."

The last part was accompanied by a light chuckle...

"And thirdly..."

Clara immediately cut herself off. She didn't want to say the final reason because it was incredibly selfish...

Kay was attacked for her own reasons, but she was also the one people got to. She got tweets from various LAW wrestlers about how they'll beat her up next, and she didn't pay them any mind. She'd get to those threats the best way she could - at some point, in the ring. But as of right now, she hated to be punching back of other, villainous women on twitter, used only for them to get at Kay...

Clara shook her head:

"Ahem...point is, I am really upset at the fact that you do not trust me enough to help you with your troubles. Especially ones where I can help..."

She stood up and approached her girlfriend:

"Please?"

[thesteedman]

Kay was taken a little aback, seeing how serious Clara was when she discussed the issue. It was something Kay struggled to comprehend, as in her head she had not really done any wrong as far as she knew. That and she struggled to comprehend what it was to actually have someone care for her as Clara did and love her. It was all still so new to Katherine... Kay had gone at it alone for so long that she always had her own back. Her time in prison meant she had to look after herself, and that carried over to LAW as it did now. Kay had got into trouble and was still in trouble from some wrestlers, and she dealt with it the only way she knew how... that and she knew she could not bring herself to put Clara's in harm’s way. She prized her and loved so much...

"I... I do trust you, I do... I just... I don't want anything to go wrong. I don't want you to get dragged into something and then end up seeing you get hurt because of it." Kay began, her tone much more serious than before but dripping with clear concern when she began to see how Clara felt and how worried she was becoming. Her posture began to shift, no longer looking as confident as before.
"Th... this is how I do things. It's how I've always done things since I was in prison. I thought by going this way you wouldn't have to know about it... and I'm sorry I didn't tell you... but I didn't want you to worry and I didn't want to risk getting you involved if it meant you getting hurt because of me." Kay began, realising she was getting nervous and repeating herself.... slowly going into herself a little as she was on the defensive.

"It's not that I don't think you're capable.... it just.... it felt safer this way. I didn't think it would upset you and... I'm so sorry.... but I don't think I can change how I deal with these things." Kay whispered, trying to sound stern, feeling a little anxiety brewing within her.

[Vc0m]

Clara could still remember when she and Katherine talked about Kay's time in prison. It felt kind of surprising...but at the same time not. Kay struck her as someone who'd have a mysterious, dark past, especially with regards to why a wrestler on LAW payroll, even if not on a full contract, would be so broke. She soon found out about Kay's past, and her time in Juvenile prison. Clara didn't mind it, or rather, that fact didn't lower Kay in her eyes. She herself made plenty of mistakes in her life, even if it didn't land her in prison...but she should've imagined something like this, betraying her former gang and serving penance for that fact...it would make a person distrustful of others.

Clara didn't interrupt Kay, she let her finish...and shook her head at the fact that she wasn't able to change how she did things:

"That's not good enough for me.", Clara's face kept a serious expression, especially as Kay's confidence crumbled:

"I am supposed to be ok about you getting hurt because you angered a vet with a chip on her shoulder? What if someone who hated me attacked you? I have made plenty of enemies myself, once who wouldn't think twice about beating you to a pulp if they saw you...and if that ended up getting you to a hospital, or if I could've helped you from getting beaten up by your enemies, I couldn't live with myself."

"Besides, we are wrestlers. I already signed up to a ton of risk solely by the choice of profession."

Her face softened, from a serious expression to a pleading one:

"Please...please don't just deal with them by taking all your problems on the chin. I am here for you, even...and especially for stuff like this..."

Despite the pleading, Clara felt like she was going to be met with resistance again. She stood up from her chair, slowly walking to the shelf where she hid the file from earlier. She was likely going to need it after all...