[Grappl] Karaoke Calm Down

[Dubski]

Deanna Duncan couldn't help but laugh when Elle had called her a hottie, somewhat in jest. She appreciated the compliment, and appreciated more the arm around her waist. This girl seemed comfortable with her, despite her tremendous awkwardness and chattiness, and that much made Deanna feel more at ease.

And a wide grin came on her face when Elle said she earned points for the compliment, which helped Duncan think she was doing at least something right. She made her way to that bat and propped herself up on the stool as soon as her date did, crossing her legs and resting and arm on the table. It showed plenty of leg in her short skirt, and Deanna did manage to notice Elle looking at them before. And of course, Deanna took notice of Elle's own leg.

But the excitement came into Deanna's eyes when Elle mentioned letting her choose the drink, her mouth opening up in a small gasp. She then threw a hand down on her date's knee and said excitedly as she leaned in, "Do I have recommendations!? Honey, please! You asked me the one thing I have a good answer for."

Deanna would then turn, looking to face the bartender as she appeared to give them attention. Holding up two fingers, Duncan waved her hand with a big smile on her face. "Two Kamikazes please!"

Then, the platinum-haired girl turned to face Elle again and said, "To start us off. But girl! Tell me stuff about you! Like why you made the insane decision so many of us did to move to Japan in pursuit of a wrestling career!?" Deanna looked attentive, smiling broadly as she awaited Elle's response.

[Leira]

Uh oh. Deanna's enthusiasm about picking out drinks for the two of them told Elle that her date might have too much knowledge of and fascination with alcohol. The flower girl could see stumbling back into her apartment in her future, but she supposed she had volunteered herself. She patted her stomach as if to prepare it, and before she could retort, she had been ordered a kamikaze. Elle didn't have even the inkling of what that could be beyond the connotation attached to the name, and that certainly made it intimidating. She peered at the bartender with a wide-eyed look that broke through her smile, but frankly it was better she not ask ahead of time and dive right into drinking it when it arrived.

She only had to take it easy. Ish.

Putting her concerns out of mind, she rocked back toward Deanna at the big question, the one that surely came up between two wrestlers who were clearly not Japanese meeting in a Japanese promotion for the first time. Fortunately Elle's answer proved simple, as did most things in her life. "Well...I like money," she dropped first because, when one had come from her place in life, the money certainly helped. In the loudness of the room, she had to raise her soft voice. "But I also didn't think there was much left for me in California. I liked my promotion, but it was pretty small. My friends all mostly left, and it just ended up being meee~ and my mom. When I got the offer, it was kind of obvious to come and bring her with me."

She should probably embellish that story more often. It couldn't have been less eventful. Maybe Deanna's was better, and she would need to hear it now: she saw the kamikazes coming from the corner of her eye. "What about you? You come to meet any girls like me?", she asked, playfully batting her eyelashes.

[Dubski]

Deanna watched on cheerfully, listening to Elle's response. She wanted to prove that she was capable of listening and not just talking someone's ear off. She had a measure of patience. Nodding along, she laughed at the initial explanation. A very relatable one, for sure. She looked a bit surprised when she heard about bringing her mother to Japan with her. She hadn't heard of relocating family members with the move.

Then, Elle had asked Duncan the very same question back, remarking about meeting any girls. With a gleeful giggle, Deanna showed off a toothy grin and leaned in, saying, "I didn't know a girl like you existed, or else I may have found my way to California instead," flirted Deanna, winking at Elle before leaning back again, noticing the kamikazes. She reached over, grabbing both glasses and handing one over to her date. "But no! I got noticed with my tag team partner and bestie, and the offer came and... I don't know, I could have stayed, but I didn't want to hold her back, you know?" Briefly, Duncan frowned, thinking on Cheyenne and the current state of their friendship before shaking her head, flashing another smile.

"But shots time! Three, two, one!" She had done so abruptly to shift focus off of that. Deanna didn't want to have to get into her issues with Cheyenne while she had a date here. And so she held up the kamikaze and then threw it back with ease, allowing the lime shot to go right back no problem, exhaling sharply and shouted, "Whoo! That felt good!"

Clearing her throat, Deanna would then say, "But tell me about why you brought your mom to Japan too though. I haven't heard that one before. Not that I'm judging!" Deanna Duncan held her hands up, smirking at Elle. "I just didn't peg you as a mama's girl though," joked the platinum-haired girl, awaiting the explanation for that.

[Leira]

Elle fingered the glass and eyed the drink in it as Deanna spoke. She smelled...lime? And that had to be vodka, she had been around enough alcohol when in the company of friends to recognize it. The brunette imagined a few too many would lay her out, but she didn't have a match or a responsibility for at least another couple of weeks. Besides, she could consider it research.

She did hope to finish her "research" on Deanna before anything swept the floor from beneath her feet. Tag team partner. That was cute. Elle wanted a tag team partner who would travel across the world with her like Deanna's. Her face did appear to fall however. Maybe their team had not been working too well. "What's her name?", she asked as her only interruption to Deanna's answer.

Deanna certainly had an interruption though. Without much of a chance to prepare, Elle tilted her head as a makeshift shrug and scrunched up her face to brace herself for downing the kamikaze. It took her a good couple of seconds longer than Deanna, and she snort-coughed when the vodka hit her. However mama hadn't raised no weakling, and though Elle tensed up as it slid down her throat and knew she wouldn't need any cough syrup for the next lifetime, she suffered no other ill effects. Wasn't quite as refreshing to her as Deanna indicated though, and she made a few tongue-waggling noises. "I think I could trace the outlines of my sinuses now," she said, tracing her cheek with a fingernail. "Ahhh."

She suspected the question about her mother would come up, and Deanna had more of the right of it than she might have known. "Mmmm my mom knows about ten percent of what I do," Elle told her, giving way to a grin. "She doesn't care enough about technology to know any more, so I tend to do what I want. But I love her to death, and we didn't have any more connections in California. Her family all lives in Wisconsin, and I would not survive on Hoth, so we were never going to move there. Moving her here and paying for a place with all this sweet LAW money seemed like the only option."

[Dubski]

Deanna Duncan had taken notice of Elle having a little more difficulty with the shot than she had, which amused her as she saw the cute reaction her date had. Not everyone can handle a shot gracefully, but a kamikaze was probably one that was easier to handle.

"Jeeeez," was Deanna's first response to listening to Elle explaining bringing her mother to Japan. Looking impressed, Duncan shrugged her shoulders. "You are like, an amazing daughter." The platinum-haired girl sighed, leaning in close with a smirk on her face. "I'm a little bit of a mama's girl too though. Love my mom. I don't visit her nearly enough because it's... you know, hard."

Deanna leaned back again and then continued, "I don't think she could tolerate still living with me still though. She'd never say it though. That's really sweet of you to do for your mom though. I also send a very selective number of videos to my mom to show her I'm a success and all of that. ...Well, successful enough at least."

Taking a deep breath, Duncan would then gesture to Elle's shot glass. "How was it though!? And what do you want next? Any liquor you prefer? They can make pretty much anything at this place." Deanna rested her arm on the bar table again, a warm smile on her face.

[Leira]

Elle framed her face with her hands and smiled as if for a photo op at the mention of her being the best daughter. While she did not believe she nailed it all the time, she tried to at least give back as much as her mom had been able to give her, which was more than she could say for some. Deanna didn't sound like some however, and Elle listened to her with fondness. "I do have to keep mine at arm's length. She's in a little neighborhood on the edge of the city. I didn't even tell her the location of my LAW assignments besides my apartment since I can lock the door." She looked slyly guilty, figuring Deanna would know what she meant.

"I go for curated highlights. She doesn't understand wrestling at all beyond the basics, but she's glad I haven't hurt myself." Given Elle's childhood as a somewhat wild lover of nature, her mom could take her getting banged up too. She didn't think the woman would lose her mind if Elle ever broke anything.

Elle studied the glass at Deanna's question. "If nothing else, I've proven to you that I really don't drink often," she replied. "I don't know if they have anything fruity, but that's usually in my drinking wheelhouse. I'll turn the place into a little cabana bar on the beach."

[Dubski]

It warmed Deanna's heart a bit to hear Elle talk so positively about her mother and helping her out. She wasn't in a position to give back to her own mother as much as Elle was, but she appreciated that someone else had some tremendous values like that. She did laugh when Elle mentioned that she's glad she didn't hurt herself and shook her head. "My mom just asks me if I got my ass kicked, and if I tell her I did, she just goes 'Damn,'" explained Deanna with a laugh, reeling back in her stool a bit. "But she gives me space, I guess. Mostly hands off since I have..." The platinum-haired girl wrinkled her nose, stalling off for a moment. "...help staying out of trouble. So thankfully she doesn't get too worried if I'm getting hurt or not. Me and my mom are made of sturdier stuff, you know?"

But drinks were promised, and soon they would be granted. Elle gave Deanna the parameters and she smiled cheerfully and gave her a wink. "I hear you. And I got you," said Duncan as she put a hand on Elle's bicep, waving to get the bartender's attention. "Hello! Two Malibu Sunsets please!" The bartender acknowledged her and then began making the drinks as Deanna looked back to Elle. "You'll love it, I promise! And if you don't then that's just more for me I guess," joked Deanna with a giggle.