All The Things I'm Not

Taylor bowed her head and held her breath. She worried that her relationship with Akashi was built on Taylor the wrestler, and not Taylor the person, but they were soon put to rest, as much as they could.

"Yeah..." She said. "Thanks."

She listened to the scuff of her boots on the sidewalk, and the sharper clacks of Akashi's sandals under her much heavier body, and the sound of the air on that still afternoon. She was glad to live in Hamamatsu, and not Tokyo. She was glad to be away from everything. There was always a part of her that needed to get away. Maybe now that part was ready to grow up.

It took her a while to work up the courage to say what she had to say next. "Would... You ever leave Japan?" She asked, with a hint of a laugh as if it was just a joke.

Akashi stopped when she heard Taylor's words. Her whole body came abruptly to a halt and she looked at Taylor as if she was speaking a foreign language. Her natural answer was to play off Taylor's words and tell her that she had already left Japan a bunch of times, but she knew what Taylor meant.

Her heart began to beat rapidly and her cheeks flushed. She looked at Taylor, looked her up and down. "Um..." She said quietly. "I don't know, Imouto-chan." She said truthfully. "I don't really want to live anywhere else." That was true also. Even though she wasn't on the best terms with her own family, she still loved them. Her dream had always been to help out with her family's Sumo heya when she retired from wrestling, but she knew that was in good hands and probably didn't need her there, or want her there, if she was honest.

She lifted her head up and looked Taylor in the eyes. "But, would I ever?" She repeated Taylor's question. "I might." She said thoughtfully. "I might leave Japan, Imouto-chan." She smiled softly and turned her head. She could already feel tears welling up in her eyes but she pushed them back. She was always blubbery and emotional and Taylor was too. Taylor hadn't even said anything yet, so the least she could do would be to save her tears.

Akashi reached out and grabbed Taylor's hand from her pocket and held it. She then looked forward and continued walking.

Taylor glanced over at Akashi when she took her hand, and she gave it a squeeze back, then it was eyes front again.

"Yeah," she said quietly. She couldn't say much.

They finished a lap around the block and went back inside. Taylor kicked off her boots at the door, but left her jacket on. She went back to the kitchen and leaned against the sink, looking out the back window. She could see where Brittany had kissed Mamouru, and where Cassie had beaten the crap out of him. Wrestler memories were different from normal people memories.

She sighed. What memories did normal people have lying around the house?

Akashi gave everyone a silent look once Taylor went back into the kitchen. As much as she could say silently she did and the others nodded to her. As the house began to fill with silence, the basement door opened up and Morrigan pushed her way into the living room.

"Oi, that food ain't gonna eat itself. Get down there and have some of it before it gets cold. And make sure that twat eats some of it." She said as she jabbed a thumb at Taylor.

"I'm out for a while. I'll be back. Just put on a movie or something after." Morrigan shrugged. "I left Die Hard Three in the player. They say lots of bad words, so maybe it'll give you a laugh. Plus, I know Johnny loves his explosions." She winked at the silver haired guy and waved her hand in the air. "Just don't soak up too much class." She said while she put on her shoes and coat and headed for the door.

Johnny smiled and slipped into the kitchen. "I do like explosions." He said as he put a hand on Taylor's back. "Are you going to come down and eat?" He asked. "I know it's not the mood for this, so, I can send everyone home if you want, but... I think it's good everyone's here, babe."

Taylor shrugged, and let her head loll down over the sink. Right now, and most other times, Johnny's touch was exactly what she needed.

She turned to face him and wrapped her arms around his neck, and leaned her cheek against his shoulder. "Don't send anyone home. I'm not that much of a dick." She closed her eyes and leaned against him, and she missed the feeling of her hair around her face and her neck. It felt like she had one less place to hide now.

"You're my safe place, babe," she said. "No matter what else, I always know I'll be okay when you're around."

She shifted to lean her head against his chin, and then his cheek. "We can do whatever we want, you and me. We can discover the whole world together, like explorers." She paused slightly, and then added, with a trace of a smile. "Being rich and famous definitely doesn't hurt, right?"

As Taylor embraced Johnny, the other three slowly shuffled down stairs.

Johnny hugged Taylor against him as she spoke, his powerful arms holding firmly but tenderly against her. "Yeah, babe." He said softly. "We can do anything we want and junk." He said. "It'd be nice to see some shit without havin to worry about anything else."

He leaned in and kissed her cheek, nuzzling her with his nose as one hand slipped through her super short hair. "Nnn... I'm gonna miss this in the bedroom though." He said with a grin as he continued to kiss her cheek and jaw softly.

"I love you, babe. No matter what."

"I love you too. No matter what."

Taylor's back shuddered once, and she wiped away the beginnings of tears from her eyes. She took Johnny's face in her hands and looked up into his eyes, and then leaned her forehead against his. "I already regret cutting off my hair. But don't tell anyone." She breathed an ironic laugh. "Everyone else knew right away what a mistake it was, but I always have to learn the hard way."

She stepped back and looked over toward the way to the basement. "Do I have to go down there? Should I go down there?" She knew the answer. She had to suck it up. "Just..." She grabbed Johnny's hand and laced her fingers with his. "Don't let go of me, okay?"

"It'll look cute when it grows out a lil." Johnny said, smiling. "You should send a pic to Shorty though. I think she'd get a kick out of it." Johnny grinned, but wasn't just saying it. Taylor needed to talk to Cassie too, even if she didn't show her her hair.

"I'd never let go of you, babe." Johnny said as he tugged her along down to the basement. Everyone else was already eating and chatting a bit, though only Akashi seemed pleased with the food which had a lot of fried stuff. Things that were usually forbidden in the Higurashi home.

Gabbie held an egg roll between her thumb and forefinger and gave a distasteful look at it. "She does know we're athletes, right?" Gabbie said to no one as she set the egg roll down on her plate and began opening it up with her knife and fork.

Akashi had already downed a few chicken wings herself and grinned. "It's good though! It's fine to let go once in a while. It just gives me the determination to train harder tomorrow! Yosh!" She said as she crammed an egg roll into her mouth.

Taylor quietly made her way into the room, staying by Johnny's side the whole time. She approached the table and took a plate, and while her stomach was too knotted for her to even think about eating, there was some catharsis in grabbing some unhealthy, deep-fried food. She picked up a piece of unidentified karaage, a tempura shrimp, and one chicken wing. They looked lonely on her plate.

She looked up and found herself next to Gabbie while the kickboxer-turned-wrestler picked at her food. She didn't avert her eyes this time, and only checked over her shoulder for Johnny before speaking.

"I don't really know what to talk about, Gabbie," she said honestly. "Like... I dunno."

Gabbie smiled awkwardly when Taylor sat down next to her. She was pulling the insides out of her egg rolls and leaving the fried shells.

"It's ok." Gabbie said. "I know I don't seem like it, but I'm still a girl. I'm still a person... " Gabbie tried to explain. Gabbie was as dedicated to her craft as anyone was but sometimes she felt people just saw her as a robot, only capable of fighting. She never thought that would be an issue with Taylor.

"I've kinda been making friends." She said. "Well, friend. I don't know." Gabbie looked down at her plate and poked at her food. "She's kind of weird, but nice enough. I bought a cute outfit for her party but... It wasn't really a party, I guess... There was a cute guy there, but he was dressed silly. He didn't really notice me, I don't think."

Gabbie took a bite and when she finished, she looked at Taylor. "So, um, now I sort of need someplace to wear it again...." She said shyly.