Fun In The Sun (For Parker)

[Highfly]

JJ had been riding high lately in the ring and the middleweight beauty was out enjoying a rare moment of rest. Well, sort of. JJ was at the beach to relax clad in a pair of black potentially too-short shorts, a dark blue shirts bra and sneakers enjoying the boardwalk.

Sure the muscular ebony beauty stood out everywhere in Japan but right now she didn't care. She was relaxing, disconnected for a bit. It was a break from the usual and she was still feeling a high from a great first date with Kyo a few days before.

JJ was checking out an old arcade feeling a bit like she could try her luck and see how many tickets she could pile up...

[Parker]

hadn’t meant to wander this far. The plan had been simple: Toss on some shorts over her damp swimsuit, slip into her sneakers, and hunt down something nice and filling off the boardwalk stalls before hitting the water again. Her hair was still a little messy from the ocean breeze, the salt making her bangs cling to her forehead, but she didn’t care—half the people out here looked sunburnt and windswept anyway.
The smell of takoyaki and yakisoba had been her target. But the second she caught the blinking neon kanji and heard the chorus of 8-bit melodies, her steps slowed. The arcade.

She lingered in the doorway, watching kids and teens rush past her with coins in hand. The air inside was cooler, humming with the mechanical chatter of machines. Rows of claw games lined the front, each stuffed with plushies stacked like fortresses, characters she half-recognized, some she didn’t. There was a fighting game cabinets lined in rows with sleek futuristic shells encasing setting them, fused together, and a wall of rhythm games pulsing with lights, the kind of stuff that would’ve blown her childhood mind.

Her chest tightened in a weirdly warm way. Back home, there’d only ever been the one dingy little arcade. Sticky floors, flickering lights, the smell of microwaved pizza. It had shut down before she even hit high school. Seeing this now, in another country no less, felt like stumbling onto a time capsule she hadn’t realized she missed.

She drifted inside, sneakers squeaking faintly against the scuffed tile. She lingered close to the entrance still, a grown woman pressing her face up against the glass of the claw machines, trying to see what might be buried amongst the plush figures if she peered from the right angle.

[Highfly]

JJ had just finished up some ski-ball and had done... less admirably than she would have otherwise let on. Still she was curious about what to do next when she saw one of those claw machines with some cool looking stuff inside that made the likely money loss worth the attempt. She also saw a woman who looked like she as a foreigner just like JJ eyeballing the claw machines.

"Girl are you gonna keep staring or are you gonna try your luck?" JJ asked. If this lady wanted to use the claw machine then JJ was happy to wait for her turn. If she was just oogling then JJ was ready to try her luck. She was feeling like she had a bit of a hot hand today. Ski-ball aside of course. She stood tall and puffed her chest just a tiny bit as well. She wanted to look every bit the big bad body slammer that she was trying to become in the ring. Still, if this mystery lady wanted to talk then JJ would welcome it. She felt like she stuck out so someone else who didn't blend in always seemed like a potential conversation or kindred spirit of sorts. Maybe.

[Parker]

She hadn't immediately acknowledged JJ when the other woman spoke up. Not intentionally, she just didn't realize someone was talking directly to her until she felt the other woman’s looming presence and connected it to the words she half heard. She’d been leaning close to the glass, practically fogging it up with how intently she was squinting at the rainbow pile of prizes inside. Turning away from the glass she blinked at JJ.

“Oh! Uh-sorry,” she blurted, shuffling back a half-step with an apologetic smile. “I wasn’t… I mean, I wasn’t trying to hog it or anything. I just…” She fumbled, looking for an excuse before one bubbled up all on its own. “I just couldn’t tell if this thing takes yen or, like, tokens? Whoops… haha…” She glanced down at the slot, a baffled expression giving away just how out of her depth she was.

She scratched the back of her neck, stepping aside with an awkward little laugh. “You should go for it. I’m probably better off just living vicariously through you anyway. I'm terrible at these things.” The Canadian lingered with a soft genuine smile, trying not to seem too odd at this moment.

Parker tapped the glass before directing her finger toward the back corner of the machine, where a small, round-faced plush with stubby little wings sat half-buried. “That one,” she said, eyes lighting up a little. “The chubby dragon guy. He looks like he’s just waiting to be rescued. It's up to you.”

She clasped her hands behind her back, rocking lightly on her sneakers as she settled in to watch, clearly more than happy to root for JJ’s hopeful winnings.

[Highfly]

JJ grinned and shrugged. "They got tockens, and being here for a little over a year I learned to read Japanese pretty well." JJ said as she flipped a token to this woman. She looked her over and this lady seemed pretty fit, something JJ habitually kept an eye out for that.

"Girl, I am awful at these things too. I am just too stubborn to let it stop me. I am the same in the arcade, in the ring, wherever." JJ added as she began to operate the claw. "All right chubby dragon man... you are gonna be mine and before you know it you'll be perched up on my work desk where...Damn it!" JJ had a secure hold as the claw elevated straight up but as soon as it made a lateral move her prize dropped. She shook her head and stepped aside.

"Give it a go my girl, and by the way my name is Janella but most people call me JJ." JJ said as she extended her hand. She was very interested to feel how hard of a grip this lady had for a handshake.

[Parker]

"Got'cha. I'll keep that in mind." Parker nodded, starting to lean against the side of the claw machine when JJ flipped her a token. Despite being caught off guard, she managed to reach out and snatch the coin without too much thought. Good reflexes. She pinched the side of the token, turning it over in her fingers to eye the logo and the kanji etched across its metallic face. The Canadian didn't even seem to notice she was being scanned, more interested in the coin for the moment.

"Guess we're both Cl-awful then, hm?" Parker breathed out a quiet snort, a little embarrassed by her own stupid pun. When JJ mentioned "in the ring' though it piqued her curiosity. Glancing back up at JJ, she tilted her head. She certainly had the figure for ring work. Still, a bit odd to ask a stranger about their employment. She let the thought settle as her attention shifted to the quiet motor of the claw machine, watching the other woman pilot it.

As the small dragon plush was raised up, Parker leaned away from the machine, invested for just a moment, her breath caught in her chest. Then it plopped to the top of the pile, leaving an empty claw to make the sad journey back to the chute, releasing nothing but air and sadness to JJ. "Close!"

"Parker." She traded the token from one hand to the other, reaching out to take Janell's hand. She had a firm handshake, the sort that came naturally without trying to squeeze. Well, it seems as though they weren't strangers anymore, technically. She supposed that made her question less awkward. As Parker slipped by to trade places at the claw machine, she offhandedly asked. "Nice to meet you."

"So a ring, huh. You a fighter or something?" The brunette squared up to the machine, taking a moment to hype herself up. When she was good and ready, she dropped the token she had been gifted into the machine to the fanfare of lights and soft 8-bit beeps. Hand on the joystick, she slow, carefully started to inch the claw across the machine.

[Highfly]

JJ could help but sigh and roll her eyes when Parker said "cl=awful" but she could let that slide, it had a goofy charm to it. JJ leaned against the corner of the machine to watch Parker try her luck but made sure she wasn't blocking any of her view.

"Yeah, I wrestle. From Atlanta to Japan this whole wrestling career has had me all over. More than my old aunt could say. She wrestled but never made it big or got to travel since she didn't fit the mold of a marketable wrestler back in her day. Hell, I don't think I scream marketable either but I managed to win my way into a contract." JJ said with a shrug. "So where did you come from originally and what brought ya over to Japan?" JJ asked although her eyes were focused on the goings on inside that claw machine.

[Parker]

Parker hunched in close to the claw machine, both hands white-knuckled on the joystick and button as though she were arming a missile silo. Her tongue pressed to the inside of her cheek, blue eyes fixed on the plush she’d been stalking through the glass. Every whir of the claw above made her shoulders tighten. She eased it forward in tiny nudges, letting the metal arms sway, watching their shadow line up over her target.

“Yeah… wrestling’s changed a lot for women. Used to be about being eye candy, filling a quota, y’know?” she murmured distractedly, her voice calm but distant, as if her brain was split between JJ and the claw’s delicate choreography. “I’m from Canada originally, small town, not much to it but hockey and cold. Japan’s… well, it’s a long story, but I guess I came chasing the same thing you did. The chance to wrestle, the chance to prove something.”

“Alright… here we go.” The claw lowered, the motor groaning as it descended. Parker held her breath, fingers tensing on the button.

She exhaled slowly, thumb twitching over the button as the claw closed. It pinched down over the plush’s fuzzy head, gripping tenuously. “But yeah, these days, I think if you’re vibing with who you are, if you can connect, make people feel, that’s what makes you marketable. Doesn’t matter if you fit some old mold.”

The claw began to rise, carrying the chubby little dragon plush upward. Parker’s whole body leaned back as though her willpower alone could keep it steady. The toy dangled, caught only by the thinnest grip of metal, swaying slightly as the arm crept toward the chute.

Her lips pressed tight, eyes unblinking. The way she tracked it, you’d think the fate of the world rested on that slow, precarious journey to the prize slot.

[Highfly]

JJ was watching and listening until her ears perked up a bit. "Oh you wrestle too? I had a feeling ya did something with a build like you got, but happy to see a fellow wrestler. Do you wrestle in LAW too or are ya in another promotion?" JJ asked as she watched the claw.

It looked like Parker was about to do what she couldn't and get the prize. She was tapping her foot hoping that it could carry that pesky figure over to the drop off without issue. "All right girl you got this. I am a bit jealous but come on bring it home..." JJ said with a small grin as she kept watching. "How long have ya been in the ring? You look younger than I am and I am one of the younger women around that ring." JJ asked without her eyes leaving the crane game.

[Parker]

“Yeah…” she muttered distractedly, answering JJ’s first question without looking away. “I signed with LAW. Still… uh… cutting my teeth, I guess.” The claw swayed hard to one side, making her suck in a sharp breath and jab the button a little firmer, like it might steady things.

JJ’s encouragement earned a little laugh, nervous and tight. “Don’t jinx it… I’ve lost more to these things than I’ve ever won.” Her sneaker tapped the floor right along with JJ’s, both of them keyed into the suspense as the claw groaned across the final inch.

“Been in the ring for a bit over a year now,” Parker admitted finally, voice soft but steady as her eyes tracked every millimeter of progress. The Canadian spared a quick glance back at JJ. "I'm uh... pretty fresh out of school." Her attention turned back to the machine, as if her looking away would cause the plush to wiggle loose.

The claw reached the chute, plush dangling precariously as it swung over the opening. Parker’s breath caught in her throat, eyes wide, knees bent in a half-squat like she was bracing for an actual bomb to drop. “C’mon, c’mon, c’mon…” she whispered.

With one last shake, the prize slipped free, hanging for a heart-stopping second—before tumbling into the bin with a soft thud.

Parker shot up, punching the air with a grin that split her face. “Yes! Finally!” She spun toward JJ with bright eyes, almost bouncing on her heels. “Guess I owe you one, you were my good luck charm!”