Aftershock (For CyanDimitrik)

[Letta]

At Bandita’s declaration that she liked being on top, Laxia let out a soft, amused laugh. She loved this side of her... bold, playful, just a little cheeky. When she had first looked across the ring at Bandita, Laxia had only seen an opponent, someone standing between her and the first victory of her career. It seemed almost ridiculous now. She never could have imagined things ending like this. Her debut would probably always matter to her, but not for the reasons she had expected. She would remember it as the night she met her.

And somehow, the fact that Bandita had been the one to share that first match with her felt strangely precious now, something Laxia found herself genuinely grateful for. She tightened her arms around Bandita, savoring the warm press of the girl’s cheek against the side of her neck, almost instinctively nestling closer into the embrace.

“I... have so many things I wanna know about you...” she murmured, her voice softer now. “Do you like tea...?” She went quiet for half a second, as though seriously considering the question, before her exhausted body apparently overruled her brain. “...Actually, forget tea. I can’t feel my legs.” A weak little laugh escaped her. “I need food. Carbs. Lots of carbs.”

At Bandita’s small, affectionate nip against her neck, Laxia gave a faint shiver. Her head tilted farther toward her almost without thinking, exposing just a little more of her neck to Bandita as though quietly inviting her to continue. Then came that question. Laxia blinked. For a moment, she looked almost incredulous that Bandita even felt the need to ask. But there was nothing sharp about it. The surprise in her face quickly softened into something warm and unmistakably fond. “Of course you should come watch me.” Her smile widened, carrying just a trace of competitive pride now. “I’ll show you something impressive...” She paused, eyes narrowing with a playful confidence that felt much more like the Laxia Bandita had first met in the ring. “Everything I didn’t get to show you in our match today.” Then the corner of her mouth curled upward. “So make sure you’re watching.”

[CyanDimitrik]

So many things she wants to know about her.

That alone fills Bandita with a new, affectionate warmth. It inspires her to snuggle herself more against her, eyes happily shutting. Someone is taking an interest in her, specifically her. Not as a wrestling fan getting thrills watching a superstar luchadora, but as a person who wants to get to know her. Personally. Like she matters beyond the ring. Beyond being an entertainer.

She suddenly realizes the conundrum, eyes shooting open. She's a luchadora. The mask. Her name...! How is this going to work? Will she just.. casually go out on the town with her while wearing a mask? Is that going to be okay in Japan? They won't think she's up to something nefarious, will they? Does she have enough of a social presence yet to be recognizable on the street..?

The question draws her focus to the present again. "Oh, ah- I don't know, I've never really tried it..," she admits. Refined with sophisticated tastes, Bandita is assuredly not. But the mention of carbs gets a quick titter of a laugh, and the girl buries her face into the side of Laxia's neck anew.

"Don't do too much...," she murmurs against her skin. "...I'm already impressed with you. If even more people fall for you..." Her head finally lifts to look down into Laxia's eyes. "...I don't wanna have to compete for you."

A perky little smile follows.

"We can, um.. shower.. but I don't have other clothes. So maybe I'll just steal a towel, sneak back to my room, and we can, ah, meet up later..?"

[Letta]

Like the stillness after a raging storm, now that the crashing waves had finally settled and gone quiet, Laxia was simply enjoying the way Bandita snuggled against her. It felt like they could stay like this, wrapped in each other’s warmth, and just fall asleep. But at Laxia’s question, Bandita suddenly looked as though worry had gotten the better of her, and Laxia peered up at her with a puzzled expression. Black tea was usually more to Laxia’s taste, but for her…? Even if it wasn’t exactly her preference, she’d be more than willing to keep her company over a glass of Agua de Jamaica.

Then, at Laxia’s declaration of hunger, Bandita broke into laughter and buried herself against the side of her neck again. Laxia blinked, looking genuinely confused as to what part of that had been so funny. Maybe it was because Laxia had just let such an unusually unpolished side of herself slip out. Normally, she kept herself on a strict diet and stayed well away from too many carbs. But today? Today she was already in the middle of the biggest indulgence of her life. So who cared? Then came Bandita’s jealous, worried little confession. Laxia looked surprised for a moment, but her expression soon softened into something calm and warm as she looked at her.

“What are you even talking about? I just had my first match here, dummy...”

With a fond look in her eyes, Laxia reached up and gently smoothed Bandita’s disheveled bangs back into place. “Still...” she added, her lips curling. “Hearing you say something like that.. kind of makes me want to try a little harder~~...” A mischievous little laugh slipped out. “Maybe next time... I should make myself even prettier before I step into the ring...” She put a hand to her chin and pretended to seriously think it over, clearly just teasing her.

Then Bandita started to suggest sneaking back in a towel, and Laxia immediately cut her off. “No. Absolutely not. Do you have any idea how many people are outside..? Are you crazy?” She gave her an incredulous look. “I’ll give you my hoodie and shorts. Just wear those. We’re not even that different in height.” As she said it, though, Laxia’s gaze drifted downward and stopped at Bandita’s chest. A distinctly wicked look slowly crept onto her face. “Though... I guess there are a few places where the difference is pretty noticeable~” Laxia slipped her hands beneath her own ample breasts and gave them a playful little lift, proudly showing them off to Bandita with a smug grin.

[CyanDimitrik]

Alas, Bandita finds her joke didn't land! It's probably something in the linguistics! Her cheeks flush and she buries her face again, trying to hide against her neck. Of course she wants Laxia to do her best! Better than her best! She wants this beautiful new infatuation to beat everyone! ...Well, everyone except her!

Her head lifts again, brows raised a little. "How could you be even prettier when you're 'de prettiest girl I've ever seen?," she asks. The rest of the thought is put on the backburner, letting the noble get out the rest of her thought, and her cheeks flush again. She could sneak through! Probably! Maybe! They wouldn't have to know which room she came from! Um...

Borrowing her clothes? Hers? They do seem close to the same size, differences seem pretty minimal. But--.. what? Her head tilts, gaze lowering to Laxia's breasts as she pushes them up on display. A sudden flash of impulse races through Bandita's mind, and with a smirk, she scoots down and dives her face downwards to nuzzle firmly against Laxia's left breast. Very different, very unique sensation! She would never do this with anyone else, she couldn't imagine it! But given what she'd just done with Laxia...

Oh god, this might've been the dumbest, most crass thing she's ever done.

Her head lifts quickly, expecting to find a horrified look on the ginger's face. On her own? Sheepish, embarrassed. "Eheheh, lo siento, mi princesa..." Clearing her throat softly, she tries to bring them to focus on the previous point! "Back to what I was saying! How could you look prettier? I love 'dis outfit on you, it's so perfect! It shows off 'de stomach, your beautiful abs, your strong thighs, 'de long legs, your chest... all 'de gold, 'de white, you're so majestic, so confident, 'de perfect mix of.. of elegance and strength.. like something out of a wrestling fairytale.."

A soft sigh escapes her.

"But even without it, your eyes, your smile, your face... 'de way you looked back at me..."

[Letta]

Bandita looked as though her face had gone red after realizing her joke hadn’t landed quite the way she intended, and Laxia watched the whole thing with a deeply satisfied little look, as if she understood perfectly what had happened. After all, when it came to someone as skilled at push-and-pull teasing as Bandita, Laxia was more than willing to seize every opportunity she got to turn it back on her and make her squirm a little.

But when Bandita called her beautiful, Laxia’s expression shifted. She looked faintly surprised, and a blush crept into her cheeks. Of course, Laxia had been told she was pretty plenty of times in her life. More than enough, really. But hearing it from Bandita felt different. And in the brief moment she let her attention wander, Bandita suddenly leaned in and playfully buried her cheek against Laxia’s breast, nuzzling into it.

“Wah-?! H-hey...!” Laxia jolted, eyes widening in startled embarrassment. The surprise faded quickly enough, though. Her eyes narrowed as she stared Bandita down. “You little pervert...” But by the end of the sentence, the corner of her mouth had already curled upward into a smile. Bandita’s sheepish expression soon gave way to something else entirely as she began praising Laxia’s outfit, and then Laxia herself.

Her stomach. Her abs. Her thighs. Her legs. Her chest. Each time Bandita named another part of her, Laxia could practically feel the other woman’s gaze following along with the words. Her lips pursed slightly, cheeks growing warmer and warmer with every compliment. Strangely… It felt really good. And as much as some quiet part of her wanted Bandita to keep going, the embarrassment building inside her finally became too much. Laxia hurriedly tried to steer the conversation somewhere else.

“Who knows~ Maybe next time I’ll wear something that covers me from head to toe...” She tilted her head, putting on a thoughtful little expression. “Or what about something covered in studs? Like a punk princess...?” But the joke died before it could really go anywhere. Bandita’s next words were too sincere. Laxia swallowed, suddenly left without anything clever to say. “...You could tell I looked back at you?” Her voice had gone noticeably softer. Then Laxia slowly raised a hand and brushed her fingers along Bandita’s cheek, stroking it gently. “You’re.. really beautiful too...”

[CyanDimitrik]

A gasp in scandal! "You wouldn't!"

After gushing so heavily at Laxia's choice (or insofar as Bandita is aware) of attire, she couldn't just suddenly cover up! Sure, she'd still be the same beautiful and magnetic girl beneath whatever layers, but-- she likes looking at her! She likes the access! And now that it's clear that the feeling is mutual, she can openly admit to herself that she thoroughly enjoyed grappling with her like that, too!

Then another thought crosses her mind!

The deep hazel-green eyes shift aside coyly. "I mean, maybe with other opponents. 'Dat would be fine." Because that means the bandit gets to keep the very best version of wrestling with Laxia to herself! Even if the idea of watching her beat someone looking as incredible as she does is deeply appealing, too...

The gaze returns to Laxia, her smile playful and light. But it soon adjusts evolves into warmth. Sweetness. "You.. looked at me a couple times. I know I must've looked at you 'de same way through the night. When I first saw you and took your hands, 'de way you looked at me. You seemed.. surprised. Like people don't usually just tell you what's in 'deir heart..."

The hand lifts to her cheek, and Bandita's face turns to softly nudge her nose against the edge of the palm, and she shuts her eyes again.

"Can I tell you a secret?," she asks, her voice softening further, growing gentler.

[Letta]

Bandita’s scandalized reaction drew something rare from Laxia. A bright, open laugh. “Haha... Then perhaps I’ll make a point of covering myself from head to toe whenever you’re my opponent. Full-body latex is supposed to be quite popular, isn’t it?” Her smile turned mischievous. “And when I’m wrestling everyone else... perhaps I’ll wear even less~..? Though I’m not entirely sure there’s much further I can go from what I wore tonight...” She was clearly teasing Bandita, but the last few words carried a faintly self-deprecating edge, her expression twisting with a touch of rueful amusement at her own expense.

Then Bandita’s tone changed. As she spoke, Laxia found herself remembering those little moments scattered throughout the night, the looks exchanged across the ring, the way Bandita had taken her hands without hesitation, the warmth in those hazel-green eyes that had caught her so completely off guard. “Well… the world isn’t a fairy tale.” Her smile softened.

“Especially not somewhere like this. I never imagined someone as genuinely warm and earnest as you would be here… much less that I would happen to meet her tonight.” Laxia’s gaze drifted aside as she continued, her voice growing quieter. “But if you’re that honest with everyone... someday, someone is going to hurt you.” A small pause. “And I don’t want to see you get hurt.” Her eyes lowered. “I don’t particularly like you being so kind to everyone, either…” The final admission came out barely above a murmur, as though Laxia herself had only realized what she was saying after the words had already escaped.

Then came Bandita’s question. Laxia blinked. A secret? Almost immediately, that dangerous little thrill which had followed Bandita throughout the entire night stirred to life again. She wanted to know, desperately. And yet... What if it changed something between them? She had told Bandita that she wanted to know more about her, yes, but what if this was something she wasn’t ready to hear? What if whatever Bandita told her made it impossible to look at her with the same warmth afterward? One possibility became ten, then a hundred, each racing across Laxia’s face far too openly for the aristocrat to conceal. She neither agreed nor refused. Instead, she merely echoed the word back to her.

“A… secret?”

Her blue eyes lifted cautiously toward Bandita, trembling with a complicated mixture of curiosity and apprehension.

[CyanDimitrik]

Bandita would look absolutely stricken with the threat of wearing more when wrestling her, and wearing less when wrestling others! It should be the opposite! The opposite!

Life isn't a fairytale. But this moment, tonight, it definitely feels like one. Like a wrestling fairytale. What more could a girl ask for? She doesn't get the chance to vocalize that, though, not with the thoughts swirling in her head concerning what she's about to say. It feels weird, and she's having to brace herself a bit in preparation for it.

"Uh, si, a secret.." She clears her throat daintily, more of a nervous stall than anything. Then her eyes shift back to Laxia's, her head ducking. "I'm... um." She inhales deeply, and blows it out in a quick sigh, her breath just reaching the other girl's cheek. Her words are hedging and awkward, riddled with uncertainty and trepidation. "People... people don't really notice me. Normally, I mean. I think... without 'de mask... I'm maybe... kind of... boring?" The gaze lowers to the cushion beside Laxia's head, rather than looking at her directly. "When I wear 'de mask, all eyes on me. I come alive. But I'm just-- I'm- worried? 'Dat you'll lose interest if you saw me as.. not Bandita.."

She hesitates a moment more before saying, much more quickly, "Because I like you, and I want you to keep liking me, and 'dis is very new to me, and- I- don't wanna lose you to someone who isn't in a mask, and always not-boring." The gaze drops again. "Maybe it was a dumb thing to say. I'onno. Hard to, ah.. think straight when I just want 'dis moment to last all night."

[Letta]

Laxia swallowed as Bandita hesitated, listening closely to whatever confession seemed to be struggling its way out of her. Her heartbeat only grew louder with every second. The longer Bandita stalled, the more that delicate balance between anticipation and anxiety began to tilt toward the latter. Laxia’s expression gradually darkened as possibility after possibility raced through her mind. Surely she wasn’t about to confess that she was the thief Laxia had been searching for all this time...? Or worse, perhaps there was some reason tonight could never happen again, some circumstance Bandita hadn’t told her about that would take her away after this. The thoughts piled atop one another until-

“W-what...?!”

Laxia stared at her. That was it? For a heartbeat, she looked genuinely stunned before her expression cracked and a disbelieving little laugh escaped her, all that gathering dread dissolving into visible relief.?“What are you even talking about… you fool...” Of all the terrible confessions Laxia had prepared herself to hear, somehow this was the one that only made her want to hold Bandita closer.

She lifted a hand to Bandita’s cheek, gently cupping it and coaxing her gaze back upward. Her expression softened into something openly affectionate. “You are... without question, the most interesting person to have wandered into my life.” Her thumb brushed slowly across Bandita’s cheek as she continued. “Didn’t I already tell you that I wanted to know more about you? I meant it. I want to know... the person behind the mask, too...”

Laxia’s hand drifted upward until her fingertips met the edge of Bandita’s mask. Her fingertip traced carefully along its border without ever slipping beneath it, following the line downward until it reached the tip of Bandita’s nose. Then she gave it a playful little press.

“And you? Boring? Don’t be ridiculous.”

Her smile brightened. “Besides... I feel the same way. I want to keep seeing you. Here, outside of here… wherever. I want moments like this to keep happening...” Then Laxia slipped an arm around the back of Bandita’s head and gently drew her into her chest, holding her there.b“I do want to see what’s beneath the mask someday...” Her voice softened. “But if you aren’t ready, then I’ll wait. Until you are.” Her embrace tightened just slightly. “And until then... I’ll do my best to make sure you feel safe enough to show me when you’re ready.”

She lingered there for a moment before her gaze suddenly wandered upward, as though a considerably more practical problem had just occurred to her.?“Hmm...” A tiny crease appeared between her brows." “Walking around outside in a wrestling mask might attract a little attention, though...” Then her eyes lit up. “Oh! I have my paparazzi-proof sunglasses in the locker.” Laxia sounded entirely serious now. “The lenses are enormous. Honestly, they might cover your mask.” A pleased little smile appeared on her face, as though she had just solved an exceptionally difficult problem.

[CyanDimitrik]

The laugh first hits Bandita like a sledgehammer, her eyes widened and mouth slightly ajar as she tries to process what she said that could possibly be funny. No one wants their insecurities laughed at! But thankfully, she quickly explains as her gaze is drawn back to Laxia's face.

These facial pettings, the affectionate brushes of Laxia's hand against her cheek, she could absolutely get used to that. Though her heart skips a beat in fear that the mask might be removed! The tension eases again with a breath as she adds 'someday'. Whew.

Her head is pulled low, and her lips meet Laxia's chest. Still sweaty, but she's into it - nuzzling contently, adding a soft press of her lips to the window of skin just above the curvature of her breasts. "Mn. No. If you date me, you have to deal with 'de mask," she murmurs against her. It might even be an interesting spin for both of their wrestling careers.

A beat later, and Bandita's head lifts to look back down into her face with a smile. "Is weird, I know. I just.. I need time. With 'de mask thing. It's a sacred part of lucha libre. Is important for where I'm from. No one in 'dis country knows who I am except mi familia. But if.. if we're really together... 'den, um.. you'll get to decide for yourself if I'm boring without 'de mask."

She lowers her face again, this time drawing nearer to Laxia's. "'Cuz you'll be stuck with me, chica." A sly smile is added. The lips meet Laxia's, a soft and sweet brush together, focusing on the aristocrat's lower lip in a gentle nibble.

"'Dey're gonna freak out when 'dey see I kissed a girl in 'de ring, though," she muses, eyes only cracked open at that range. Close enough that her lashes mingle with Laxia's.