Old Foes, Old Flames (For Hitman)

[Underdoggo]

Damn, that had been a good match.

Erika strode into the locker room, with the slow and steady pace of someone who has just been through a ringer. Her breath still felt a little hoarse, her body was sore from numerous slams and direct hits, and she was covered in a sheen of sweat...but despite everything, she was smiling. Not because she had won, oh no: she had lost that match. But it had been a fun, hard fought match against an opponent who refused to give up. That, in her book, was almost as good as a win. The fact that Aizen Yuzuriha had been a stand-up guy instead of some sexist heel had made the match that much better.

Plus, the fans had loved it. That was an important factor in and of itself.

Sitting down on the bench, she reached into a locker and pulled out her towel and water bottle. Taped to the back of her locker were numerous photos, both of her friends and family back home, and also of herself in all the leagues she'd been in prior to this one. Fellow wrestlers, one and all, friends and foes alike, all posing with her for the camera in backstage photos or official promo picks.

She looked back at those old indy photos. She missed some of those wrestlers more than others, admittedly, but a part of her still missed them, all the same.

She took a swig of her water bottle. Where were some of her friends from the old leagues right now, she wondered? Had they moved on, as she had? Damn, she wish she had bothered to write to some of them, or at least add them on social media...though admittedly she had not touched her Facebook or Instagram profiles in forever....

[Hitman45]

Tonight, LAW’s weekly show was going on in full swing, and the hallways inside the main arena were ripe with an entropy of staff, wrestlers and officials to ensure the smooth conduct of the spectacle. Thus, one had to dodge and weave past people rushing in their direction, straight as a bullet, while making sure that they didn’t trip and fall.

“Nope … Not a chance in hell. You just fucking made it up on the spot. I don’t believe a word of it …”Elena dismissively waved her hands, annoyance clearly painted over her face.

Elena's casual fit

“I am telling you right now. There ABSOLUTELY IS a motor-oil flavoured soft drink in the vending machine. I saw it with my own eyes!” Allison claimed, pointing in the direction where both the ladies were heading.

Allison's casual fit

“After my…excuse me….first fight with Christina, I came across that abomination in the vending machine. I couldn’t….coming through!....believe what I read. But it was absolutely REAL. I swear….”Allison managed to stay on topic despite bumping into more than a few people, determined to prove that her eyes hadn’t deceived her before.

“You know what, I am 99% sure now that this is just an elaborate ploy to get a drink from the machine without spending a penny. Better pray that it isn’t a fugazi. Or—”Elena’s words and feet both came to an abrupt halt. Her ocean blue eyes dilated.

“You know what, that’s it. If it exists, I’ll buy you drinks for the whole of next….” Allison, having skipped ahead a couple of steps, pivoted around to see her friend’s gaze locked at something, or someone, in the locker room beside the spot where she stood.

“I don’t think that soda is in there. We gotta go straight. Who you looking at….?” The ravenhead too peeked in to see what had caught the blonde’s attention so much. And there she was.

“Ah, that’s who….” Allison mused, eyes blinking more than usual to see if it was indeed true.

Erika Lavoy. LaDestroyer.

The raven-haired woman gently elbowed Elena’s shoulder to snap her out of her trance and took the first step into the lockers, keen to greet her old friend. For Elena, meanwhile, it was a different story. After all, it’s not every day that one meets their old flame out of the blue like so.

A cocktail of emotions swirled around her mind. Heartbeat picked up with every step, and a light shade of red flushed the blonde’s cheeks as she followed closely behind Allison, trying to get herself into being natural again.

“I remember that one like it’s yesterday…” Allison would look down at the photo in Erika’s hand, leaning against the locker. “Ya gave me that can to drink, and I was too late to realise that it had been shaken VERY violently before. So there I was, sputtering and coughing around from the liquid going into my nostrils and eye sockets. And you found it fitting to capture a selfie AND get a physical copy of it….? You’re evil, you know that?” The raven-haired woman chuckled, a wave of nostalgia washing over her as she looked at that photo.

“How have you been, Erika?” Allison would go in for a hug after a pause, clearly pleased to be reunited with an old buddy.

On the other hand, Elena was a bundle of nerves, trying her level best not to let it be seen. Once Allison was done, the blonde, rubbing the back of her neck, was going to step forward…

Only to be betrayed by her mind

Instead of going for an embrace, which the bigger woman might have been expecting, Elena’s arm extended in autopilot for a handshake! This would cause her to curse herself internally, and to try to smooth it out, Elena would transition it into a side hug, before pulling back.

“So….ummm…long time, huh?”