Win Or Go Home

Talia threw the steaks onto a heated pan, instantly bathing the entire apartment in the tempting aroma of cooking meat. "Mmm," she swooned. "I can't remember the last time I had a real steak." It was just so expensive here in Japan. "Pictures?" she turned around with a raised eyebrow. She wasn't sure what to think about that. A lot of AFW wrestlers did modeling alongside wrestling, but she wasn't one of them.

"You mean, just for you because I'd totally be up for it," she grinned. She had always imagined how she looked with a championship belt around her waist. Not once, though, did she ever get close to getting one. She knew one person who had.

"My brother was a champion for awhile over in the US." It was the first time she had ever mentioned Alex to him, but it seemed as good of a time as any. They couldn't be kept in the dark about each other's family forever. "Do you think I'll ever be a champion? You know...a lesser one that I already am," she added with a wink.

"Haha, you are awesome Tal. I could see you in that attire.... or your underwear, because both look excellent, doing different poses ranging from tough to goofy to sexy." Charlie said, already daydreaming.

He snapped back to reality when Talia mentioned her brother. "Oh yeah? I bet you are a better wrestler than he is babe." Charlie joked. "You are gonna have more titles than just mine around your waist by the time you are done Tal. My biggest worry is that I will be the weak link in the team that holds you back because I honestly think you are a better, more skilled wrestler than I am."

Charlie stood behind Talia, rubbing her shoulders and upper back as she cooked. As he stood behind her, he felt a brush at his leg, looking down to see LC there. LC looked hungry, but also somehow pleased with himself.

Talia grinned and nodded as Charlie ensured her of the success in her future. She wasn't easily motivated to think such a thing, but somehow with Charlie it really didn't matter. She'd be a champion in one way or another. "Hey there," she said at LC who was standing at their feet. She cut out a piece of the still mostly raw steak with a few strong swipes of the spatula and put it on a plate. "If I give you this, will you wait until the rest is finished?" she asked the dog who just stared at her in response. Or maybe he was staring at the food. "I'll take that as a yes," she said and put the plate down on the floor for LC.

Talia then continued to tend the cooking food with Charlie. Maybe the topic wasn't as important as she originally thought. Maybe she had been looking for the wrong thing all along. For at that moment, she didn't care about how successful she could be in the AFW. She didn't even care if her sister and brother outdid her in every measurable way. Because they didn't have Charlie. She did. And they could never beat her in that way. There was nothing they could throw at her now that could ruin all this.

Well, almost nothing.