Twenty-Nine Trips Around The Sun

Throw everything you have into it, especially when you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

And what does that get you?

Drilling your stablemate through the commentary table, knocking you both out and busting up your own ribs, therefore taking you out of the ring for 3 weeks and doing God knows what to him, therefore only extending the hell that you have been putting yourselves through for a number of months.

ALSO!

Unsure of the damage you did to him because well Austin never shows his cards but considering they had to peel him up from the remnants of the table, the damage was done. And not one thing was solved.

So, what next?

A Little Mayhem

Christian Underwood, SCW’s answer for the devil's advocate, just had to be laughing his absolute arse off when he concocted this match.

And honestly, Miles should have seen it coming the minute he walked into Peru, to watch and cheer on Carter as he had the biggest match of his career against J2H, and immediately get yanked right into the trainers room.

Which, since what took place in Jordan, has become a regular situation for him but usually he has been allowed time to breathe before being poked at and asking where it hurts. In turn it made Miles only want to grab one of their little tools and poke them in a very sensitive spot and ask them where it fucking hurts.

Thankfully that was kept to just an inner thought.

But finally the words he longed to hear happened and written down on the sheet that he was to give to both Mark and Christian as soon as he left, *ALL CLEAR FOR COMPETITION BEGINNING NEXT WEEK*

“FUCKING FINALLY!” is all that he let out the minute he got through the door to the hallway. He was pretty sure that a piece of paper wasn’t really needed after that to let everyone know he was finally cleared. Hell, he felt good to go as of last week so this was just paperwork at this point.

So now he just had to make it through this week, knowing he was a healthy scratch now, he needed to be there for Carter who was already a nervous wreck.

But even as the show ticked on, the hair on the back of his neck stood up, he knew that somewhere evil minds were at work.

Going into that go home show in Rio, it would be strange bedfellows indeed.


Someone’s Got A Birthday, I Wonder Who?

He was an absolutely impossible man to buy for. He knew that.

Miles was someone who loved to give and asked for absolutely nothing in return and that probably drove Carter insane the most.

And it wasn’t like they were able to take a week off to go jaunting off to Dollywood like Miles did for Carter’s birthday just a couple of months ago. This time around work called and they had to be in Rio de Janeiro. It also wasn’t like Miles was intentionally being difficult to give out ideas. Things that neither one had tried before that could be done around the area during the day of Miles’ big 29th birthday. Last year was perhaps the best one yet, after years of not really celebrating at all after he left home.

Though he doesn’t remember the majority of it, there is video footage out there somewhere ready for blackmail, he was sure of it.

But when Wednesday finally came around, Miles would open his eyes just like every other morning to find the other side of the bed surprisingly empty. Carter was NEVER up before he was, the majority of the time. Usually Miles was up about 2 hours earlier than now and already had a run and shower. Instead, the alarm was turned off, his phone was also missing along with the charger cable.

“Babes?” Miles called out but no answer was given. He could hear moving around outside the bedroom though.

Now on any other given day, Miles would just saunter out sans clothes but something told him to at least throw a pair of shorts on, just in case Carter decided to have people out there waiting for a ‘too early for people’ Happy Birthday.

Outside the bedroom of the suite that they currently called home for the week, Carter was preparing a small dining room table that was full of pretty much all of Miles’ favorite breakfast foods. WAY too much for the both of them to eat even on Miles’ best day. He hadn’t heard the door open up behind him and Miles stepped out from the room and walked around looking slightly relieved that no one but them were there. Carter would stand up straight making sure that everything was perfect before he slightly jumped when Miles wrapped his arms around Carter’s midsection and pulled him close, giving a little peck on his shoulder and huskily saying, “It appears someone turned off the alarm and stole my phone from me this morning.”

That brought a smirk to Carter’s face, before he turned around, “Well, it’s your birthday and you deserve to sleep in and be spoiled.”

“You’ve done enough spoiling on me for the last 3 weeks taking care of me. This?” Miles looks around and sees all the food that is spread out, “Are you trying to fatten me up?”

Carter mock-scoffs at that and pushes him away jokingly, “Never!”

“Love, this looks like the spread at SCW’s catering. There is no way in hell we both can eat all of this, unless Ari and Francisco are gonna pop up this early, and if that’s the case I may have to make my coffee an Irish one.” Miles joked, grabbing a couple of cups and pouring some of the freshest coffee he’s ever smelled in his life. He would have to remember to send Bella a message about it later. But after fixing them both, he would bring one cup over to Carter who was still fussing about things, “Ok, you are seriously fussing over this! What’s the deal?”

Carter sighs and takes the cup from Miles and trying to give an innocent look but you know he’s just biting at the bit about something, “Just wanting things to be perfect that’s all.”

“Like I said, there is more than enough food here....” A knock comes to the door and Miles groans.

“Can you get that? I still have to warm up the muffins.”

“Fine, but I am not putting a shirt on even if it is those two. It’s my birthday! They’re lucky I don’t run around naked all damn day!” Miles says as he opens the door and finishing the sentence and then his eyes grow wide, “What in the-?”

On the other side of the door stands Miles' mom, Mora and his twin sister, Brianna, who shouts out, “SURPRISE!!!”

“Ho-ly shit!” as Miles sweeps them both up in a giant hug.

“Happy Birthday, my dear sweet boy!” Mora says, muffled in the arms of her son.

“I cannot believe this!” he said letting them go and pulling them both inside the suite, “How? When?”

“Carter, of course! He called a couple of weeks ago, flew us in.” Mora said motioning towards Carter who was peeking his head down the hall and waving with a giant smile on his face.

“I told you he’d love it!” Carter said, “Miles let them in and sit! Breakfast is getting cold.”

“It does smell terrific. Carter, please tell me you didn’t go all out for us?” Mora said.

“I can tell you he did exactly that,” Miles said holding a chair out for his mom before doing the same for his sister, “He’s got two birthdays in the same room and after I spoiled his mum and grandmother, this is his way of getting back on that.”

“Prove it,” Carter said, sticking his tongue out at his boyfriend who gave him a look that he’d pay for that later.

“I will say that this day is off to an amazing start. When was the last time we actually celebrated our birthdays together?” Miles said looking at Bri, “I wanna say we were like 14?”

Brianna pours herself a cup of coffee and takes a sip, “Mmm, actually we were 13. It poured all day long so you had all my friends in the same place as all of your friends and it made for awkward conversation for a bunch of kids who just hit puberty.”

“The cake was excellent though.” Miles said laughing and nodding towards his mother, “We may not have ever had a lot but that devils food cake with peanut butter icing was just...” he does the chefs kiss.

“I sadly couldn’t bring it with me...but, I did manage to get something for you from home.” Mora said, reaching into her oversized bag. She pulls out a small 6-pack of Krispy Kreme donuts.

“And just like that, I have the best mum ever!”

“HEY! No spoiling what we got here,” Carter let out when he went to open the box, “Which reminds me, I gotta get those muffins.”

Carter stood up to get that crossing behind Miles and touching his shoulder, which Miles stopped him with his hand on his, and brings him down for a quick kiss, “Best birthday ever.”

“Just wait until tonight. I’ve only just begun.”

Later that night

The ambiance of the restaurant was lively, the sound of soft Brazilian music filling the air as candlelight flickered across the table. It was a perfect evening in Rio, and the gathering was intimate yet joyous. Miles, his twin sister Brianna, his mother Mora, along with Ari and Francisco and of course Carter were all gathered to celebrate their joint 29th birthday.

Laughter and chatter floated around the table as they savored their dinner. Stories were shared, memories revisited, and the love that bound them together was palpable. It was a moment of togetherness that Miles cherished deeply.

As the evening progressed, a warm smile played on Carter's lips. He shifted slightly in his seat, reaching into his pocket, his eyes locking onto Miles'. In that unspoken moment, Miles could feel a sense of anticipation building in the air.

Carter's gaze held his for a moment before he pulled out an elegant box from his pocket. His fingers grazed over the soft velvet exterior before he gently pushed the box toward Miles. "Happy birthday, Miles," he said softly, his voice carrying a hint of affection.

Miles looked at the box, his curiosity piqued. He met Carter's gaze again, his heart fluttering slightly as he reached for the box. There was a mixture of excitement and something more, something deeper that he couldn't quite put into words.

Opening the box revealed the gleam of polished steel and the glint of diamonds. His breath caught as he laid eyes on the exquisite Rolex watch nestled within the cushioned interior. The craftsmanship was impeccable, the design both elegant and understated.

Miles' gaze lifted from the watch to meet Carter's eyes, his own eyes shining with a blend of surprise and gratitude. "Carter... this is... incredible."

Carter's smile grew, a soft flush coloring his cheeks as he looked at Miles. "I know you're not usually one for flashy things, but I thought this might be different."

Miles felt a lump forming in his throat, the weight of Carter's words sinking in. He lifted the watch from the box, holding it in his palm, feeling the cool metal against his skin. It was more than just a watch; it was a symbol of their relationship, a testament to the love they had for each other.

He looked up at Carter again, his eyes shimmering. "I- I love it. Thank you," he managed to say, his voice laced with emotion.

Carter reached across the table, his fingers gently brushing against Miles' hand. "You gave me my beautiful moonstone necklace," he said softly, referring to the moonstone necklace Miles had gifted him on his birthday, one that he wears practically everywhere, including tonight. "I wanted to give you something equally special."

Miles nodded, his heart swelling with affection. In that moment, their connection felt deeper than ever, a bond that transcended material things.

As the evening continued, the watch found its place on Miles' wrist, a constant reminder of the love they shared. And while the watch itself was undoubtedly a precious gift, it was the sentiment behind it that truly mattered—the promise of time spent together, moments cherished, and a future filled with love and adventure.


You Shouldn’t Trust Me

The day following the birthday celebration was a mixture of tranquility and tension for Miles. The sun hung lazily in the sky, casting a warm golden glow over the Rio de Janeiro landscape. Miles found himself on the balcony of their temporary suite, a cup of coffee in hand, and his thoughts consumed by the upcoming tag team match.

“As I stand here, just a few days away from that ring, I can't help but reflect on the chaotic path that's led us here. Austin and I, two men who should be allies, whose paths were once intertwined, are now standing on opposite sides of the ring. The last time we faced each other, it was nothing short of a collision of anger, history, and pain. We both ended up shattered, the match thrown into chaos, and neither of us could claim victory.”

He leaned against the railing, gazing out at the sprawling city below. The ocean breeze rustled through his hair, carrying with it a sense of calm that contrasted sharply with the storm brewing within him. His mind echoed with the words he had spoken just days ago, the monologue that had captured his feelings about the strange bedfellows match.

Austin James Mercer. The name brought forth a complex blend of emotions. Once friends, their bond had fractured under the weight of their shared history and recent conflicts. It was difficult to forget the chaos of their last encounter, the match that had spiraled into a destructive frenzy, leaving them both battered and bruised.

“Now, fate has thrown us together once again, not as opponents, but as reluctant partners. Strange bedfellows indeed. Teaming up with a man I've clashed with both physically and emotionally. It's a scenario I never thought I'd find myself in. Trust? That's not a word that fits here. The scars run deep, the wounds still raw.”

Miles took a sip of his coffee, the bitterness of the brew a stark reminder of the bitterness that still lingered between them. Fate had an uncanny way of weaving paths together, and now he found himself standing at a crossroads with Austin once again. This time, not as adversaries, but as reluctant partners.

He closed his eyes briefly, the memories of their clashes flooding his mind. Trust was a fragile thing, easily broken and hard to mend. The scars of their past ran deep, a constant reminder of the pain they had inflicted on each other. As Miles had said, the wounds were still raw.

But there was more at stake now. A common enemy, Jack Washington and Alexander Raven, both fueled by their own hatred for each other. Miles could practically feel the tension radiating from the ring, a maelstrom of emotions waiting to be unleashed.

“But sometimes, life takes us down roads we never expected. Sometimes, we find ourselves side by side with those we've shared bitter rivalries with. It's not about trust anymore, it's about survival. Survival in a match where animosity breeds uncertainty. I may not trust Austin, and I'm pretty damn sure he feels the same about me, but we share a common enemy. Jack Washington and Alexander Raven. Two men whose hatred for each other is almost tangible, their combined toxicity capable of tearing a hole in the very fabric of this ring.”

“We're all tangled in this web of history, animosity, and a dash of irony. We're not just fighting for a victory, but for a semblance of control over our own stories. We're stepping into that ring, four individuals who have our own reasons for being there. The air is thick with tension, each move we make fueled by more than just competition. This match isn't just a battle of strength; it's a battle of wills, of egos, of past grudges and future aspirations.”

As he opened his eyes, his gaze shifted to the Rolex watch on his wrist, a gift from Carter. It served as a symbol not only of their love but of the journey he was embarking on. The upcoming match wasn't just about victory; it was about proving to himself and to the world that he could rise above the past, the doubts, and the animosity.

Miles took a deep breath, letting the ocean breeze fill his lungs. The air was heavy with anticipation, each passing moment bringing him closer to the moment of truth. He knew the path ahead wouldn't be easy, that the ring would be a battleground of emotions as much as physicality. But he was ready, ready to face his doubts, ready to stand alongside a man he had clashed with and questioned.

“And as the crowd roars, as the adrenaline courses through our veins, I'll be there, facing Austin across the ring. The same man I've clashed with, bled with, and yes, even hurt. But in this moment, we're bound by a common purpose, a shared struggle against two men whose loathing for each other is as strong as our own. It's an unpredictable dance, a tango of emotions and alliances that will test the limits of what we can endure. And bragging rights, as we all get set for Violent Conduct.”

The city around him buzzed with life, a vibrant backdrop to the storm within him. As the sun dipped lower in the sky, casting long shadows over the balcony, Miles found a flicker of determination igniting within him. The match was a challenge, a test of wills and alliances, but he was resolved to face it head-on.

He set his coffee cup aside and straightened, his gaze fixed on the horizon. The tension in the air was palpable, a reminder that the storm was coming. But Miles was prepared. He was a man driven by more than just competition; he was driven by the need to overcome, to rise above, and to emerge stronger on the other side.

“So, I stand ready. Ready to face my own doubts and fears. Ready to stand beside a man I once trusted and now question. Ready to take on two opponents whose mutual hatred may be their ultimate downfall. I'll step into that ring not just as Miles Kasey, but as a man driven by something more. Whatever may come, one thing is certain: this match is not just about winning or losing, it's about proving to ourselves and to the world that we can rise above the chaos, the history, and the doubts, and emerge stronger on the other side.”

And with that, Miles knew that the time for reflection was over. The sun had fully set, casting the city into a canvas of twinkling lights. The ambiance of Rio de Janeiro's nightlife filtered into the suite, adding a touch of energy to the air.

“Gentleman, let’s party.”

It’s not every day that you get the chance to really show someone just how much they truly mean to you.

“Just Another Day”

It was something that Miles had heard time and time again for the last month when it pertained to Carter’s 24th birthday. Despite that statement though that Carter echoed every time Miles would try and get out of his adorable boyfriend what he wanted for his birthday, the plans were in place 2 weeks before they even got to Climax Control in Phoenix.

It was almost too fun to keep him in suspense from the details. From the moment that Miles got off the call that Carter walked in on, suspicions set in. It only got worse when as the special day approached and questions began to be asked about plans, Miles made sure to tell everyone and anyone that they would be otherwise occupied. Sunday Night through Thursday Morning was completely accounted for and there was not one single soul that was allowed to interfere in any of it. If he had felt brave, he would have even told people that their phones would have been off but that would have only led to him being yelled at.

After a private conversation with a few people, they all understood the assignment. Mum was the word and they would have plenty of opportunity to celebrate another year around the sun for Carter later in the week.

Miles even had an evil little thought to send his boyfriend on a scavenger hunt in Phoenix, especially after the night before when Carter tried to pry it out of him. Alas there wasn’t enough time and he let the whole thing dangle out there like a carrot and a few adorable pouts.

Mind you, he thought the whole damn thing would go to hell when Carter was doing a meet and greet and the man that has basically been stalking him for the last month once again showed up. What the hell did that guy do? Cash in all his frequent flyer miles to stalk the son that he walked away from?!? This guy seemed to make himself be seen whenever Miles wasn’t around, conveniently, saving himself from what would more than likely have been getting the man shoved against the wall and a long line of questioning...after some not-so-mild threatening.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Miles said after finally catching up with Carter inside of the catering area, trying to calm himself down.

Carter just sighs, “Yeah, I’m alright.” the young man said, almost waving off the whole thing.

Miles sighed in frustration, “You should have called for security. It’s obvious the man is stalking you at this point.”

The look that Carter gave was like ‘you’re right but...’, “For showing up to multiple shows as a paying fan? We have people that follow us around the world, he hasn’t done anything to warrant that...”

“-Yet.” Miles holds his hands up, “Sorry, I’m being the protective boyfriend again.”

Carter can’t help but smile, “Yeah, you are and still holding out on me about what you are even thinking about doing. Even trying to pack for whatever you have in mind gave me absolutely no clues.”

“Think? Nah, there is no thinking about it.” Miles smiles as his phone drops a tone that he has a message. His attention turns to that for a moment, and then stands up, “Ready?”

“For what?” Miles just holds out his hand and gives Carter a look, without a word spoken. After just a beat, Carter takes his hand and stands up with him.

And within the hour...

“Again with the private plane?” Carter said settling into his seat, “Ok, seriously where are we going?”

“Well you can thank Laura for this one,” Miles said with a laugh, dropping his one bag beside him and getting set up for takeoff.

Carter just growls and runs his hands through his blonde hair with a ton of frustration, “MILES YOU ARE KILLING ME!”

“I am not, and you are being overly dramatic again,” the mischievous blue-green eyes shimmered as he reaches up and takes one of Carter’s hands in his, “Trust me, it is going to be worth it and you’ll understand why I kept it so quiet.”

“Hey, as secretive as you’ve been with him, I can’t blame him for it.” Laura Phoenix said as she came from the front of the plane to get herself ready for their flight, “We just got the clearance and are about to take off. Next stop, Knoxville.”

Miles clasps his hands together like a giddy little kid, “Awesome, and thank you again for this. I hope you aren’t going out of your way...”

Laura shrugs as she buckles in, “Actually it’s not. It’s a perfect refueling spot.”

“Refueling?” Carter asked while looking at Miles, “I’m so confused right now.”

Laura just laughed as did Miles, “Will you put this boy out of his misery already? We’re not even in the air yet and I’m beginning to think he’s believing we’re gonna kidnap him.”

Carter just sighs, “I don’t believe that, I’m sorry, Ms. Phoenix...I know I’m not being a great guest right now.”

“Carter, call me Laura and trust me, I’m not the greatest about surprises either.” Laura sits back and thinks, “Neither is Bella now that I think about it.”

“No, she’s really not.” Miles says as he shakes his head as outside the window the plane is on the move down the runway and it gently lifts off the ground into the darkening Phoenix sky, “Well now that we’re finally on the way, I guess I can let it all out. Laura and the crew are giving us a lift to Knoxville, Tennessee, where when we depart we will be checking into a nice hotel room for the evening. Once we wake up, we’re going to get our rental and make our way to Pigeon Forge, TN where we will spend 3 nights at a private cabin not far from our actual destination...”

Carter’s blue eyes grow big as he realizes what Miles is telling him, “You mean?”

With that Miles reaches into his bag and pulls out his tablet, turning it on and opens the screen and hands it over to Carter, “You, my amazing deserving boyfriend, are about to check one off the bucket-list where you are going to spend your 24th birthday in Dollywood.”

“Are you- ...wait...What about Ms. Thang?!?” Carter asks which brings a fit of laughter from Laura.

“Out of all the names for a cat in my life...” is all she gets out.

“Is perfectly safe and currently annoying the hell out of K and Aron.” Miles said, showing him a picture from a text he got from Fenris about an hour ago, of her perched on his head and the most annoyed look on K’s face that brings a laugh from Carter, “Well, at least I hope she is...”

As Miles tucks his phone into the side of him Carter just sits in silence for a moment, looking out the window in shock before he turns back and looks adoringly at Miles, “So...Dollywood?”

“Just you and me, babe.” Miles says as he grabs Carter’s hand again, “We’ll see mom and grams Thursday night to round out the week before we head to Yuma.”

Carter just sits in a stun silence for a moment, “You really thought of everything.”

“That I did.” Miles says leaning towards him, “Happy?”

Carter just nods and gives him a quick kiss, “Very.”


The Road to Redemption

He remembers how it felt just a few short weeks ago when he lost the match for both he and Ally.

In his mind's eye, Miles stood at the edge of the wrestling ring, his gaze fixed on the formidable figure of Oliver Zahn. The memory of their match, a loss that had haunted him for weeks, burned fresh in Miles' mind. Determination surged through his veins as he clenched his fists, vowing to redeem himself. Eventually...

The countdown to Summer Xxxtreme XI, one the biggest wrestling events of the year, loomed only a couple of weeks away where he would be involved in that Roulette Title match. BUT, Miles knew that his upcoming rematch against Oliver Zahn was not just a chance to settle a personal score, but also a crucial stepping stone towards his ultimate goal of getting back to championship glory.

But before the grand stage of Summer Xxxtreme XI, Miles found himself in the enchanting town of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. He had planned this trip to coincide with Carter's birthday, a celebration and an opportunity to find peace in each other's company amidst the chaos of Miles' & Carter’s careers.

As the sun cast a warm glow over the picturesque landscape, Miles couldn't help but marvel at the beauty of the Smoky Mountains that cradled the area. The lush greenery and majestic peaks seemed to whisper words of encouragement, as if nature itself knew the importance of this journey for Miles. In and amongst the trees was a quiet little cabin that was rented for just the two of them.

On the deck, Miles just sat quietly, trying to ease his mind, and kept trying to snap back to business when he should just be enjoying his time but sometimes... business before pleasure.

Carter's voice of the strewn of phone calls that he was getting on his birthday, broke Miles' reverie, drawing his attention back to the present moment.

Miles smiled, grateful for Carter's unwavering support. Ever since his trip up against Harris and Mercer and even more so against Zahn, Miles couldn’t help but feel like he was slipping into a place he didn’t want to go.

Just as it seemed like Carter was going to get a break, his phone would only go off again with another round of birthday wishes. Miles just stood up and motioned to Carter he was going to take a quick walk as to not to disturb him from his well deserved moment and Miles quickly descended the stairs and hoped that this would be enough. Last thing he needed was to ruin this trip with his own mental bullshit.

Miles stopped a short bit out, the cabin just over the ridge and he looked up, “Ok, we need to have a slight talk, you and I. I know that I haven’t always been the best but I am trying to enjoy a little R&R with that beautiful man, so if you could ever be so helpful as to help me get my shit together, that would be amazingly appreciated.”

And as suspected, silence. Of course...we could never have the easy road could we? ...fucker.

“Ok fine! I’ll admit that sometimes my brain isn’t as focused as it should be. *I* let Ally down in that match and I’m the one that got pinned. And now because of me, she’s in limbo. Course if I know that girl like I do, she won’t have any issue in finding herself something to do at Summer Xxxtreme but man, did you have to snap me back to reality so damn fast? I took Oliver WAY too lightly the first time and I should have known better seeing as he is under the learning tree from guys like Kris Ryan.”

Miles gives a quick run of his hands through his curly locks and rubs the back of his neck.

“My dumb ass thought, oh hey...this should be a walk in the fucking park and instead I had my ass stomped into the ground and once again, shitstains like Michael Harris get proven to be right.”

That last line hit hard, he stops and growls out, obviously frustrated with himself and with things beyond his control.

“How many times does it take to get the point through in the thick skull of Miles Kasey that hey, maybe he should actually pay attention? Apparently the answer is twice because I will be DAMNED if that shit happens to me again. What the hell does Oliver even have to prove in this match? He already kicked my ass, he’s got that Mixed Title Match set up and yeah it seems like beating me going into anything seems as it’s a right of fucking passage anymore but honestly, I completely fucking over it. They all know that I am more than just the sum of the things that I have done and yet, there are some out there that think I’m a joke.”

He knows he’s ranting into the void but hey, at this point if it helps him get his shit together...just let him go.

“Austin tried to warn me weeks ago and I didn’t see it until just now that through everything, all the pomp and the circumstance, all the glitz and glamor...I’m still just a tosser from Manchester that somehow got lucky enough to have juuuuust enough success in life to actually pull himself out from the gutter.”

Miles slaps his forehead a couple of times like he’s trying to knock some sense into himself.

“I have to get out of this street rat mentality and finally begin to believe in myself like the others do. Once I give Carter the absolute birthday of a lifetime, I’m going to go into Yuma with my mind finally so Goddamn clear and my heart set in making the statement against Oliver Zahn, that Peter Vaughn and the others that are in that match are going to actually understand that the shithead that they’ve seen finally snapped out of his awkward stage and finally showing them that the luck was for a reason, I can actually fucking learn and that people should actually be afraid when this head finally gets in-line with my heart and shows a lot of people just how wrong they’ve been about me.”

A smirk grows...no...not a smirk...a sneer.

“Olly has only begun to understand what he is facing and I’m out to redeem myself for my mistakes from the last time. I’ve already taken my punishment enough and I am going to go into Summer Xxxtreme with so much momentum it’s gonna make all their heads spin like a top. I’m not going to trash the guy because why? What’s the fucking point? He’s hella talent and that only means that I have to be that much better. I have to be quicker, lighter on my feet and not let myself get caught and dropped like before. Believe it or not...I CAN BE TAUGHT!”

“But I also am going in stronger, I’m going in with a chip on my shoulder...and I dare him...” Miles eyes shoot forward, “I DARE YOU OLIVER! ...knock it off...if you can.”

From off in the distance we hear Carter calling out, “MILES!!! I’M FINALLY OFF THE PHONE! WE CAN GO NOW!”

Miles just looks back and smiles, “If anything...I do this for him if not for me. I’m not going to be pushed around anymore.”

And with that he begins his quick journey back for the real reason they are here...and that’s all you need to know for now.

Time For Games? Apparently.
Following Climax Control

Come to Scotland, raise a little hell, watch absolute hell break loose and leave?

“Nah, bruv...not me!”

Miles Kasey couldn’t wipe the smile off his face if he tried after the night he had. Once he got through entertaining the masses, instead of messing with Harris and taking a chance of messing with Malachi’s, he and Carter made their way to the locker room area.

Then the fuckery happened. And honestly every single one of them should have been able to see it coming, because it’s typical Harris and everything that he says anymore is straight up horse manure.

Miles sat back with his eyes wide, his hands pushing back the dirty blonde curls as he watched in absolute disgust and he glanced over at Carter who was sitting to his right, who just shook his head and they both turned their heads to Bella who was standing there with her mother, Laura Phoenix and if it was physically possible for someone to shoot flames off of her body....that would have been Bella at that moment.

People love to give him shit for his multi-focused situation but who the hell could blame Miles at this point?

Michael Harris was like a bacterial infection on the entire company.

And despite Austin James Mercer breathing down his neck and for some reason wanting his head on a pike, there was one thing that Miles knew:

Something had to be done. About both of them.

He stopped Bella for a quick moment on her way back to the gorilla, to await Mal’s inevitable pissed off status and all he could do was share a look for a moment before he let her go. Laura though stayed back.

“I have seen a lot of shit in my time...but that.” she said, pushing her hair back before she turned towards Miles and Carter, “Don’t worry about her though, she’ll let off some steam as will Mal.”

“Doesn’t mean it’s not complete bullshit, Laur.” Miles grumbled, straightening himself up, “By the way, sorry about your loss tonight.”

Laura just laughs a bit and waves it off, “Ah, don’t worry. You win some and you lose some. To me this was about having fun and it was for me. And who knows, maybe I’ll stick around a little bit longer. But for now, I’m gonna go make sure that those two don’t get themselves fired and you should make sure to not get yourself into any more trouble.”

Carter steps up by Miles' side, grabbing at his arm and speaks up, “I’ll make sure of that.”

“Oh I’m sure you will,” Laura says with a wink, “Take care of each other.”

And just like that she was gone.

“I think I’m warming up to her,” said Carter, who still wasn’t quite sure what to make of the mother of Bella, “But she’s right, let’s get you out of here before Harris shows his face.”

“Oh more than likely that sneaky fuck has already hightailed it into an escape off this island,” Miles grumbled as he looked around, “These mind games have got to come to an end eventually.”

“What can you do about it though?”

Miles spots one Ms. Pussy Willow with her camera crew and a smirk grows, “How about a bit more yelling into the void?”

And before Carter can respond, Miles practically sprints over to the crew, “Hey, Ms. Willow, you guys still catchin’ film?”

“Always, Miles but...I mean...” she says with a look of confusion.

“Don’t worry about asking the questions, just tell me when you are rolling,” Miles simply stated looking around, trying to gather his thoughts. The filming crew sets up and he looks back to see the nod given to him.

“Whenever you’re ready.”

Miles rolls his neck, loosening up his tie and glares, “Well, it’s been one of those wild nights here in Scotland. Austin sent his message loud and clear...mostly. Things are pretty hazy there. We watched as unholy hell broke loose over and over again. All the in-fighting going on within all the groups and their subsets have set SCW into absolute chaos and our World Champion, who apparently has each ball in the purse of each of his wives, just couldn’t HELP himself and let those bitches prove exactly why he is the weakest champion in SCW history!”

Miles brings his hands up and while one runs through his hair, the other scratches at his chin for a moment, “Harris, you better be counting your blessings after what happened here tonight. Malachi showed you exactly how absolutely pathetic you really are and so help me...to whatever power that may be up there, if there is a remote possibility that I get a sniff at that title, I’m going to make sure that the harlots stay out of what I have in mind for you.”

He paces for a moment, “As for you Austin, congratulations...you beat the Troll.” Miles claps a few times, “Congrats, as if that hasn’t been done by practically everyone on the roster. Mate, I don’t quite understand what is going on through your head. Quite frankly, I’m leaning towards the ‘I don’t fucking care’ side at this moment because for all the trouble you go through to get my attention, you know that when I’m watching that I am dangerous. When, not if, WHEN I get my hands on you...well, we’ll cross that bloody bridge and burn the fucker down when we get there.”

Miles' blue-green eyes grow steel cold, no emotion, “Next week, I’ll be in Grantown-on-Spey in the Highlands of Scotland. It’s there I will take on a man that already has a victory over me but a man that finds himself stuck in the middle of some interesting in-fighting of his own. Peter Vaughn, bruv, I am not looking past you by any stretch of the imagination. But as you can see there is a whole lotta bullshit that is going on that we apparently both need to handle.”

“At this point, if you wanna meet up at the local pub, get shit faced and have ourselves a good old fashioned donnybrook at this rate because in all honesty, I think that both you and I deserve that much if we’re going to put ourselves out there. I have had the last couple of weeks off and in all honesty mate, I’m in the mood for a fight.”

“So let’s do it, you want to kick off that shadow of the Saviors beating the shit out of one another and well, I’m out to prove exactly why Harris is ducking me and Austin wants to kill me. I’m out to prove it all right because being given that title of “The Next Big Thing” but a target on my back that is only going to make me work harder and faster. I have no choice anymore. I need to prove it and I want to prove it.”

And with that, he simply turned away from the camera, he could hear Ms. Willow give the cue to cut behind him. All he did was wink to Carter before he took his hand and they would walk away.

For next week he would fight.


Food Poisoning. Party of One
A Few Days Later

“Miles? Hey...are you still with me?”

It was only a few days ago that Miles gave that promo before he stormed off. The rest of the days between, were a blur.

They had a weird night and Miles had ordered some wings from a popular pizza chain. And it only led to misery.
He managed to get a workout in before all hell broke loose Wednesday night and then Thursday, Carter found Miles curled up on the tiled floor after tossing at least a week’s worth of meals and his socks, sacrificing them to the porcelain gods.

By later that night, the shivers he had gave way to the sweats. Thankfully, the bathroom visitations became less and less and after his 4th shower of the day Miles laid in bed with Carter curled up beside him with a movie playing quietly in the background.

Carter had seen to his man’s every need, even accidentally saying something to Ari and her dropping off some soup. Carter had made sure to keep him hydrated but every once in a while he couldn’t help it and made sure that Miles was still alive.

He kept nudging Miles until he heard, “Babe, please don’t make me try any more of that soup.”

Carter laughed, turning around and facing him, “There isn’t anymore anyways.”

“Thank. God.” Miles mumbled out as Carter placed his hand on Miles’ forehead, “Any change?”

“Feels like the fever broke, so that’s good,” he stated, “Still a bit clammy. Maybe I should get you some juice.”

Miles could feel Carter trying to move but he just, with what little strength he had pulled Carter close to him, “Later, I just wanna stay just like this.”

“Someone is needy when he’s sick.” Carter teased but eventually gave in, turning back around and settling back in, “Not that I’m complaining.”

For the first time today Miles actually laughed a bit, “An agreement, no complaining when the other is dying of a flesh eating parasite that is working from the inside out.”

Miles couldn’t see it but he knew his boyfriend was rolling his eyes, “You’re not dying.”

“Felt like I was earlier...”

“Well, you’re not.”

A silence fell over them for a few moments, before Miles slightly lifted his head, “Did you say you had a nurses uniform earlier?”

Carter just laughed, his face turning red for a moment, trying not to jostle Miles too much and rolling onto his back, “Out of everything that I have done today, THAT’S what you remember?”

“I must be getting better then,” Miles said with a smirk before his head dropped back down with a groan, “Still weak.”

“Then go back to sleep,” Carter teased, pulling Miles closer to him this time, “I’ll tell you how the movie ends.”

And after a few more moments, Miles was seemingly asleep for the 100th time today and Carter looked down before giving him a kiss on the forehead.

This caused Miles to only cuddle closer for a moment and take a deep breath. Carter would hear in a low mumble, “Thank you, love.” before his breathing pattern definitely showed that Miles was out to the world.

So It Didn’t Go Your Way
Sunday the 5th

He could seriously have ruffled a fair amount of feathers if it had happened. And oh how he wanted it to happen. To walk out of San Jose with that SCW Internet Championship would have been the plucked feather in his cap.

Alas, after a battle that had every fan that could, on their feet, Miles’ body just gave out.

As much as the spirit wanted to will on, Raven took him to the limit.

He would never deny that Alexander is a great competitor. Twice now that they have had a one on one encounter and each time they took each other to that limit. In those terms it’s now 1-1. Someday, they’ll do it again....and next time he’ll return the favor of being left unconscious on the mat.

He couldn’t even be mad about it. Disappointed? Yeah, of course but there was a different feeling about the whole situation. He was always lauded as this up-and-comer but even with the loss, there was a win. He couldn’t tell you what that was as he limped his way to the back as Climax Control went off the air, but the eyes weren't on Raven.

They were on him. They were on him as he woke up and sat on the ring apron, cursing at himself for falling into the trap of Raven's submission. They were on him when he made his way over  to his mother and sister who sat in the front row for the first time ever to watch him. They watched as he gave them both hugs, assuring both that he'll be okay. He was rather thankful that the cameras were off at that particular moment with his mom, Mora with tears in her eyes, not for him but for the fact that she would never forgive him looking like she did and being seen by everyone back home. She was used to seeing her boy coming to her after getting his ass kicked on multiple occasions, so that was nothing new.

He wasn’t ashamed of that match at all and he made it known but what floored him the most was to be called “The future of this sport” by Ben fuckin’ Jordan.

They would sit at dinner when Miles’ eyes went wide when the tweet came down the pipe, “What is up with your face bro?” Bri would ask, taking a sip of a wine that was picked out by Carter.

“Hmm?” Miles said looking up, “Oh um, just got a shocker of a tweet. Nothing bad, just surprising that’s all.”

“From who?” Carter said with concern in his voice but genuine curiosity.

Miles smiled, “Ben Jordan. I had no idea he was even watching tonight but...” he brings his phone up to show Carter the tweet and the response he sent back. “It’ll be good to see him but just sorta floored by it.”

“Why? You’re the hottest thing...” Carter simply said.

Miles cut in with a sly smirk, “In SCW or in general?”

Carter blushed and looked towards Miles’ mom and sister, “I-”

Mora and Bri got a quick giggle out of the exchange between Miles and Carter, enjoying how happy they both seem to be around each other, at least they could tell with Miles and that look that he was relaxed. Mora cleared her throat with a semi-stern look in her eyes, “Putting him on the spot like that in front of your mother like that? I taught you better than that, Miles.”

“But per typical of everything he listens but never learns.” Bri lets out with a laugh, “Then again, neither did I. Which is part of the reason I’m anxious to get home Tuesday. I’m missing my boys something awful.”

“You both deserved this trip though, and I’m glad you did.” Miles said with a raise of his glass, “Just wish I had a better outcome than I did.”

“Miles, I may never understand the whole thing but it is obvious that you were destined for this. Watching you tonight, even through all my worry...and hearing the reactions you have with those people.” Mora proudly stated, “I almost wish we could stay behind another weekend to see Carter in action. You said that your mum and grams have never watched you wrestle?”

“No, but it’s alright, they support me in their own way. I don’t think they would be able to withstand that type of anxiety, I put them through enough as is.”

“Well here is hoping that the next time I’m able to make it across or you guys come to our little piece of the world that I get to meet them.” Mora said with a genuine smile to Carter, “I would love to meet the women behind the man that brings that sort of look out of my son.”

“And what look is that?” Carter asked.

“Oh my boy, don’t you see it?” Mora asks and Carter just shakes his head, “The one of pure happiness.”

Carter shifts in his chair for a moment before he looks at Miles who is just looks at him with all the admiration and happiness. He looks down at Miles hand which is open towards him and even though he’s blushing, Carter reaches with his own hand.


Gotta Think On Your Feet
Valentines Day

“Son of a bitch!” Miles said that Tuesday morning. He sat at the island of the kitchen enjoying a bit of breakfast before he was to get the day started. On the TV sat the morning news and the weather person brought bad news.

Rain, Freezing Rain (In Vegas? WHAT?!?!) and a whole lot of wind.

You see, a day before Miles’ mom and sister flew back to England he had made a trip with them. While he had told Carter it was just to take them to a mall that had some fun things to take back with them, there were other plans afoot.

Though they have been to plenty of dinners together, had several movie nights crashing on the couch or in bed... Miles was determined to make Valentine's Day a day to remember, especially for the one person that deserved it.

Carter had been through enough, he deserved to truly feel adored and he was determined to make it special.

Apparently mother nature had other things in mind.

By the afternoon all the hopes of the weather stopping were gone and he felt a tad bit defeated and made it known. So alternate actions came into play. He reached out to Carter’s mom and practically begged for assistance. He didn’t want it to be cliche and nothing about Carter screamed traditional. Dinner was already handled, thankfully....once he was told about Carter’s favorite flowers he went into action. Had a huge bouquet of lilacs delivered to Carter with a cute message that was just for them.

When he made it known about his frustrations with the weather ruining his plans and Carter spoke up that he would just be happy ordering chinese and playing the game ‘Netflix roulette’, Miles made it known that he had already had his favorite sushi that Ari told him about along with a few other varieties of dessert sushi made up as something fun to try for them both. After that he would run to Target to grab a few candles and before Carter even walked through the door of the condo, through his exhaustion, Miles changed into a simple black suit with a white shirt...trying to look as dapper as he could.

This was a special day afterall.

Technically this was supposed to be their first date. Fuck you very much mother nature.

Carter would look around in astonishment, candle lit, Netflix ready to rock on the main TV, 2 wine glasses, the red sweet marlot that they both enjoyed at the Italian restaurant they went to as Carter’s ‘Thank you’ shortly after he had moved in and the sushi that he almost lost in the parking lot when the wind tried to knock it out of his hands.

“I cannot believe this!” Carter said as he looked around, “How-”

“I have my secrets,” Miles said giving him a quick kiss before leading him over to the couch and handing him a wine glass, “Not exactly what I had in mind but figured I’d make it memorable somehow.”

Carter would watch as Miles grab the bottle and pour himself a glass before he turned to Carter, “Dressed up and everything? What was the original plan?”

Miles sat back and turned towards the young man that had since gone full platinum blond, “Something similar except I was gonna drive us out to this darling little farm that I found when I got routed in the wrong direction with mum and Bri the other day. I was going to rent a convertible and take you out there and they do this drive-in movie thing out there but when it decided to winter in Vegas...”

“Oh my- that...” Carter got out before he leaned in and kissed Miles with passion, after a bit they just sat in silence with their foreheads touching, “I think that would have been amazing...but this?”

“Well I mean it is Valentine’s....and technically our first date. I wanted to show you how amazing you are, you inspired me to do all this...” Miles laughed, “I’m exhausted but it’s all worth it, especially worth that look on your face when you walked in here.”

Carter just sighs contently, “You are amazing.”

“I’m trying to be, especially for you.” Miles says handing him the remote, Carter looks shocked for a moment as Miles grabs the first plate full of food, “Now, tell me all about this Netflix roulette.”


Well I’m “The Future”, What About You?

Why is it always the chair in the middle of the room? Because it’s simple, no flashy things needed here. Miles lets his actions speak in the ring but hell if he must indulge he’ll do it simple and he sits there. Looking like the handsome devil he is.

“Peter Vaughn...you know what’s funny when I first heard this name my brain immediately went to this whole ‘Wait did SCW start digging up dead actors?’ moment....he was so awesome in Game of Thrones...”

Miles clears his throat.

“ANYWAYS, I’m getting off track. First of all, mate, let me be the first to welcome you to SCW. I saw you sign up for that Blast From the Past tournament and good luck with that whole thing....I did it last year and needless to say I didn’t have a whole lot of success but that was me, not you. It’s a tough tournament filled with talents of all kinds and there is no telling what is going to happen but you just so happen to sign up at just the right time. You see, I kind’ve found myself in this interesting moment where I have no general path to any title and just enjoy the moments of being in our six-sided ring.” Miles sits back and crosses his arms in front of him, “So in doing my research on you, I feel like maybe I’m at a bit of a disadvantage. ...Which is absolutely nothing new on my part, I’m always in that underdog scenario and truth be told, it’s just how I like it. Now when I mean underdog I don’t mean in the terms of height and weight but in that you are a multi-time champ, coming in here with a trophy case full of achievements and well while I got a few under me...it’s not nearly as impressive as your resume. And to be backed by a group as dangerous as the Saviors, well we all know right there that there is a large chance that you won’t give me an honest fight.”

Miles scratches his head before rubbing his hands across his handsome face, “So now I have that whole need to look over my shoulder factor coming in red hot and just what is a poor kid like me gonna do about it? Simple. I’ll fight each and every one of you and your pals that you want to bring into this. But bruv, if you have even paid any remote attention you should know something about me....I love a good fight. I mean, you seem to have this whole blue collar look about you, you know how it feels to be looked down on. I’m not going to look down on you for what you are or what you have done. In fact, I applaud it.”

“But if you think for one iota of a millisecond that I’m not going to drop you like you stole my lunch money and I finally have had enough of being bullied by people like you? ...you are going to have an extremely rough night, and even a rough go here in SCW. You see, there are a lot of people here that hate bullies, and I get that honest feeling that is exactly what you are.” He nods for a moment and lets his eyes do the talking for a moment, the emotion pouring through. Sniffing for a moment and smirking, “So bruv, leave the Saviors in the back and let me give you the welcome that you deserve...or don’t...and I’ll still give you the welcome that you truly deserve.”

“We’re all crazy here, mate. It just varies on the level of crazy you wanna play at. And I’m just that type of asshole that’s going to make it that much fun.” Miles takes a deep breath and slaps his legs and pushes himself up to his feet.

“Welcome to SCW. I’ll see ya out there, mate.”

The New Home Away from Home...Away from Home
Turnberry Towers
Las Vegas, NV


“I must admit, Mr. Kasey, I was surprised when you called in regards to looking at one of our condo’s. Mr. Baltasarsson told me you were more interested in staying in New York.”

Cassandra Trentford, a realtor that worked well with the very towers where K and Aron had moved in just a few floors up from where she currently about to show an available condo to the one and only Miles Kasey.

She cleared her throat before she continued on, “I did happen to hear about what happened back towards the end of last month...sorta.”

Miles stops in his tracks for a moment, “You did?”

“Well, like I said, sort of...” she smirked at him, “I know your record came back clean, so I’m assuming it was a misunderstanding?”

“Something like that.” Miles laughed nervously, “I mean it’s a serious yet funny story.”


Flashback almost 2 weeks ago

We have a friend of ours who went back to his abusive piece of shit boyfriend. He was staying at K’s place until we could get a better situation for him, but after coming with us to Cali for the weekend, he just vanished on us. We tracked him down once we got back into town.

Things however, didn’t go all that well. If Aron and I wouldn’t have been there, K would have probably ended up maiming the son of a bitch.

“K, we can’t do anything stupid,” Aron said pleading with his brother outside of Carter’s loft that he shared with Lazurus, the one only a few weeks previous Miles along with Ari and a few other’s had found Carter busted up. Now the three men stood at the front door staring down Carter’s boyfriend, Lazarus and looking about as smug as he could get.

Miles had turned his back to Laz, before he lost what sense of composure he had left with dealing with this asshole, there was no reason for decorum though so, “He’s not fuckin’ worth it, K. Not worth the jail time or the potential for anything else like getting deported. We’ll figure out another way.”

K growls and eventually relents with an albeit short “Fine,” before Aron eases his grip and Miles goes to shift his feet...when suddenly...

“Going somewhere?” is all Miles heard, he felt a hand on his arm to pull him back and in one fluid motion, Miles pivoted, swung and decked Lazurus right in the jaw.

As Laz slammed back into the door, holding his face, Miles stood there shocked for a moment...hell he wasn’t the only one that stood silent with their mouths agape. “Holy shit, dude.” is what snapped him out of his haze, coming from K who was now pulling him away from the scene.

Before he left though Miles glared at Laz as if to speak an unspoken warning to him. No words were exchanged. None needed to be.

And that was the end of that....or so we thought...

“I can’t believe you just punched him!” K said with a smile, “We’re finally wearing off on ya!”

“Perhaps, doesn’t mean that I should have....but it felt fuckin’ amazing, I will say that.” Miles said sitting back looking at the backside of his right hand, “The cunt has a jaw like a brick though. Ow.” he finished shaking it a bit.

“So what if the cops show up?” Aron asked handing him an ice pack.

“Let them, the asshole touched me first and I was defending myself...case closed,” he said as he winced, laying the ice pack on his hand.

The doorbell rang and all three just looked, “Well, here’s the chance.” K said raising his eyebrow before answering the door, “Hello there officer, how can we help you this fine evening?”

“Good evening, sorry to disturb you so late but I’m looking for Miles Kasey and was told that he would be here,” a fairly young officer said not really sure what to make of the White Wolf standing in the doorway, poor thing couldn’t have been more than 3 months into his time on the force.

“Yeah, he is. May I ask what this is regarding?”

“Well we received a call from someone about a disturbance tonight and Mr. Kasey was involved, assaulting a gentleman by the name of Lazurus...”

“Oh for the love of...” suddenly K is furious and waves the officer inside before slamming the door shut and storming into the living room area where Miles and Aron were sitting there with a shocked look on their faces, “HEY BITCH! WERE YOU SERIOUSLY AROUND THAT PIECE OF SHIT AGAIN TONIGHT?!! What did I tell you about that guy? He’s poisonous!”

“Oh fuck...Milo, you didn’t...” Aron said looking at the Brit with sadness in his eyes, “Please tell me you didn’t do what I think you did.”

Miles tucks his hand next to him, holding onto the ice pack and stands up, “Hey, I swear I didn’t start anything!”

“Well according to Officer...” K look at the cop and reads the name tag, “Yunger here, you did just that! You wanna explain yourself?”

Miles seems to be a bit confused at first but when he catches a wink from Fenris, it suddenly makes sense, “Look, all I did was go over there to confront...”

K scoff and gives Miles a little shove, “Oh I’m sure that’s all you went over there to do...”

“HEY! That’s all, I swear! I would never get myself involved with such a piece of shit. I went to give him a piece of my mind, that’s it.”

Aron sighs heavily, "Oh perfect! You two are fighting again and got the cops called on you because of it! And all because you.. !" He looks at Miles, "Can't keep it in your pants!"

“Low blow, Aron. Even I have standards...” Miles barked, which almost caused Aron to break.

“Then..uhh..what happened to your hand?” Office Yunger asked.

“Oh this?” Miles says holding it up, “Yeah, he grabbed me and I swung in self-defense. I was trying to get out of there and he stopped me. So yeah I hit him but if you check out the video camera that I know he has outside his door and the security cameras in that building, I’m sure that will give you enough evidence.”

“Umm, alright well I will make sure to do that.” Officer Yunger says, before he backs up, “We’ll be in touch. Thanks for ...well..good night.”

The young cop leaves quickly and the three men watch as he makes a hasty exit. Just after the door closes behind him they all three bust down in a fit of laughter.

Miles wipes the tears from his eyes, “You guys are pricks...”

K slaps him on the shoulder, “That was the best thing that happened after you punched Laz...I need a drink.”

“Make it 3.” Aron says following him into the kitchen.

So as you can see, while it got a little interesting, my friends had my back.

“That’s why I decided after all that, that looking into a second home was the best of ideas.” Miles said looking around the condo that is almost the exact twin but opposite of K and Aron’s place. The walls were familiar to him now, and he could easily see himself here, “I really do like this, and the extra den is perfect, I can turn it into almost a second guest room when I need to.”

“Well, hearing the story, I can understand why.” Cassandra said with a smile, “So what do you say, Mr. Kasey? Shall we get the paperwork started?”

Miles smirks, “How about over lunch? I’m starving.” which catches Cassandra off guard, he notices this and points behind him, “Think about it, I’m gonna check out that master bathroom again.”

“Oh..umm...ok.”


Welcome Back, London Underground
San Francisco, Cali

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and since Miles has given himself not one but 2 early Christmas presents, something he hasn’t done in a long time, he has a little more pep in his step. Course things have definitely been better lately in his personal bubble so taking on the sites and sounds of this time of the year. San Fran may be cold and wet at times but you can’t help but admire the beauty of the season.

“Just like home.” Miles muttered as he strolled down Pier 39, “Mind you it’s a little colder but the weather is pretty much spot on.”

With the long umbrella in hand, currently closed and wrapped up, he uses it as cane right now on his stroll. “I think most of us sometimes forget to accept and take in the little things in life. There are some that get going so damn fast that we tend to forget that for the most part we only have one damn life to live. So imagine my surprise a few weeks ago, when Daniel Morgan and his merry band of misfits known as the London Underground, showed up unexpectedly.”

“Now while it was a nice little re-debut by them, one has to wonder why now? But then again Londoners always had the absolute worst timing in the world, and talk about coming right into the fold and messin’ in a timeline that he has no business in, but the big boss man himself. Daniel, you wanna talk about coming in hot?”

“Mind you, I have had a misstep or three as of late, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t wanna end the 2022 calendar year on a high note. And in case you have missed it, 2022 has been quite a year for me.” Miles puts his hand out and feels a drop, he reaches down and begins to open up his umbrella, “Call me sickeningly optimistic but my road back to the Roulette Championship and Billy Barnhart has to have a few bumps in the road. He’s that one guy that I have never really been able to beat and what a test in the hands of a man like you, Danny boy.”

“I gotta admit, it feels like I’m going in a bit on the blind side but if you are coming for me with guns blazing then let it be known that I’m going to give you that workout that you’ve been so desperately craving. That’s why you came back, that desperate search for glory yet again.” Miles lifts his umbrella just as the rain comes pouring down, “We’re used to the gloom, we’re used to the rain, but the bright end of the all this is I’m going to give you the one thing that brought you back...cause past the gloom is the glory.”

Miles adds a little extra pep and whistles ‘Walkin’ in a Winter Wonderland’ before he turns around and bows, “See ya out there, mate.”

Powerless
Las Vegas, NV
Carter’s Loft

“Carter, I-”

His eyes had a hard time believing it and seeing it, but there Carter stood with their back to each and everyone one of them but even through the steam of the shower, the mirror didn’t lie.

The women that surrounded him just gasped and cried. Hearing it from Carter’s mom and grandmother broke his heart even harder than it had already been just looking at how bad his friend looked.

Miles though, his focus remained on Carter. Silently cursing himself for not doing anything sooner, he took two more steps into the bathroom, reaching for Carter’s shoulder, “Carter.” is all he got out before Carter turned and wrapped his arms around Miles’ midsection and started to cry- actually, sob, “Go ahead, mate, let it out.” Miles followed up by giving his friend one of his famous hugs.

It wasn’t more than a few moments before Ari joined them and began questioning who did it and as soon as he lowly said Laz’s name, you could have potentially felt the flames shoot off Miles’ body but he internally tampered it down because this was not the time and he was gonna get it enough from everyone else. Carter didn’t need a lecture right now; eventually it would have to happen but now was not the time nor the place.

“Ok, let’s get you cleaned up and get you out of here.” Miles said before turning around and walking out of the room for a moment.

Carter’s eyes got big for what they could under the bruising, “But-”

“No!” Carter’s mom barked out, “You are not staying here. END of story.”

From outside the bathroom, a commotion could be heard for a moment, “Hey, this PS5 out here...yours?” Miles said popping his head around the corner as Carter’s mom and gram watched over him for a brief moment.

“No, it’s his.”

Miles have an evil smirk creep across his face, “Ah good, be right back.”

He stalks back down the hall, rips it off the entertainment center, not caring about the cords, “What are you doing?” Krystal said.

Miles smiles, walks over to the window, throws it open and whistles, “INCOMING BROKEN PS5!!!!” before he chucks it from 5 stories up and all you hear is a crash of plastic, some metal and cement colliding. There was a collective moment of silence before Miles made his way back into the bathroom.

“Why don’t you lovely ladies leave cleaning Carter up to me and you can collect his things and we’ll make our way to our next destination as soon as we’re through here,” Miles said with a little comfort in his voice, he was trying to keep everyone calm in a situation that didn’t call for it, “Besides, I don’t think you wanna see what I have to do next.”

The women look back to Carter for a moment as he just gives them a reassuring nod before leaving the two men alone in the room, closing the door behind them.

“First aid kit?”

“Under the sink, but you don’t have to-”

Miles is already under there and pulling things out and standing, “Shush, I think if anyone here knows how to clean up something like this, it’s me. Gods know, I’ve had enough practice.”

He knows Carter is watching everyone movement he makes before his eyes glance at his shirt, “I got blood on your shirt.”

“Don’t even worry about it, I have my methods to get it out and if it doesn’t, it’s just a shirt.” he says motioning Carter to sit on the counter for the sink for a moment and begins to clean up what he can on the young man’s face, “You scared the hell out of everyone, you know?”

Carter’s eyes just drop in sadness.

“I get it though,” Miles says before Carter can answer him, “I’m not going to hound you for the details, because the more I hear about it the harder I’m going to put the son of a bitch through the wall before anyone else can get their hands on him.”

“Miles...” HB gets out like almost a warning.

“Oh don’t!” Milo growls at him before he shakes his head, “I’m allowed to be pissed off at the person that made you almost unrecognizable. And you’re lucky that you don’t get dragged to the hospital.”

“They’ll insist.”

“And if you start showing signs that you need to, I’ll carrying you in myself, kicking and screaming if I gotta.” Miles smirks brightly enough, but if it was possible Miles could have swore Carter was holding his breath, “That was a joke. You’re supposed to laugh.”

“Oh uh...Sorry,” Carter said with a small laugh. A knock comes to the door for a moment, “Yeah?”

“I have some fresh clothes for you, my boy,” the kind voice of Carter’s gram says from the other side. Miles opens the door and she hands them to him, “You are such a sweet boy for taking care of Carter.”

“It’s an honour.” Miles smiles at her, “We won’t be much longer.”

Grams smiles and just shuts the door behind her, “She likes you.”

“She’s pretty awesome. I can definitely see where you get your sense of humour.” Miles says putting the clothes on the other side of Carter, “I’ll have to remember to tell you about her joke in the elevator. ...NOW, about that nose.”

“What about it?” Carter says with worry in his eyes.

“Well...” Miles says with a sigh, “We can do this a few different ways. One, we can just leave it as is right now, take you to the hospital and have them do it. Two, we can just leave it, heal it crooked and while I think it’d ruin your pretty face, some would say it’d add character.”

“Is there a third option?”

Miles stands right in front of him, leaning his hands on both sides of Carter and looks him eye to eye, “Yeah, but you are going to have to trust me.”

“I do-”

“No, you don’t understand...” Miles sighs and leans in a little closer, ”You are going to have unequivocally trust me. It’s not pleasant, it’s going to suck but if you let me do this...I don’t know, maybe I’ll tell you something that I’ve never told another soul...even my own sister.”

Carter swallows hard, there is a moment, a beat that he seriously is considering every option but at the same time distracted by Miles’ closeness, “Do it.”

“You sure?” Miles asked with a raise of his eyebrow.

“Yes.”

Miles leans his forehead onto Carter’s “Alright, here we go.”

3...

2...

1...

From outside the door we hear Carter screaming out, “HOLY SHIT!”


It’s Been A Week
Still Vegas
This time it’s somewhere in the remote vicinity of K and Aron’s place

“You know, I’m beginning to think K was right and I just need to get a place here with how much I’ve been hanging around lately.”

Miles kicks back, deck side. He looks up and takes in a deep breath before rolling his neck, giving it a couple of deep cracks. In front of him a roaring fire crackles as the sun sets over Vegas.

“You’ll have to excuse me as it’s been a rough couple of weeks.” he shrugs, “You know, I’m not even mad about the loss anymore. Barnhart has to live with the whole ass fact that when I spent my first reign as the Roulette Champion, I didn’t hold back. I’m not even remotely sorry for it and those pictures will live on twitter as long as Elon doesn’t fuck twitter up even further.”

“But now, we shift our focus. Because I am a former champion that finds himself on the road to redemption. I wanna get my hands around the non-existent neck of Bill Barnhart but also there is a bigger part of me that almost wonder about life beyond the Roulette Division. And I get to test out that wet dream against the ever pompous pious one, “Godly” Ken Davison.” Miles laughs, “It’s absolutely amazing, Finn beats this man’s arse, dethrones him and Kenny boy still has got his nose in the air like his shit don’t smell just as bad as everyone else.”

“Starts a whole ass betting pool between Mercer and Raven and then when he gets out-numbered for people backin’ Austin, he takes his tail, tucks it and without missing a beat shoves that crooked schnoz of his, sniffs his horseshit ‘I have a match to prepare for.’ WELL NO FUCKIN’ SHIT, BRUV! The hell you say!” Miles leans forward with a glimmer in his blue-green eyes, “Could it be that you are looking to redeem the redeemer? Naaaaaaah, you’re above the SCW World Title right? At least that’s what you would have us all believe. But yet, those wounds are fresh and far be it from me to rub salt into them because honestly I have not much room to talk but pretty much I think a lot of us are really over the whole ‘I’m better than you’ attitude.”

“On any given day, no matter how great you think you are there is always someone that is looking at the possibility to get a glimpse as to what it is like to know what you have experienced and you, old man, have had a lot of experience.” he takes a sip of his drink that’s been sitting by him, “You are so used to the next young upstart coming along and looking to knock you off that pedestal you have a death grip on. I have come to the realization that there is always a possibility with me doing just that but I also have things that tend to hold me back. Whether it’s my life, my anger...which is what cost me the Roulette Championship...I know that now more than anything that I did let my anger get the better of me against Bill.”

“I’m gonna use my anger, my angst and I wanna turn it into a strength instead of a weakness. I’m not one to use my anger on innocent people and sometimes it just so happens that whomever I’m across the ring from deserves a little hard dose of just how dangerous one can truly be...when they are properly motivated. A win against you, would be huge in the bucket list column, at least with this we don’t have any stupid gimmicks and I can show you just how far I have really come.” Miles head drops, “I know some people even after a couple of years still consider me the young upstart with potential out the ears but then they’re like ‘He really is just a lovable loser.’. I got told by people that they are still convinced that I paid people off for wins. I’m honestly getting sick and tired of the backhanded comments around here and I think it’s about time I really live up to what some people see and what some people try and stomp out.”

“I’m not gonna let someone with a stick so far up their arse they should be classified as a puppet treat me like I’m worth nothing anymore. NOT ANYMORE!” he sniffs hard and glares even harder, “I’m not gonna let people who should have that silver spoon shoved down their throats treat me or even the ones closest to me, like we belong on the bottom of their shoe.”

“Prove points, attitude adjustments and doing whatever I need to do to finally get it through people’s heads that you only just gave me all kinds of ammo and I’m gonna make you pay for every time you tried to beat us down.”

Miles reaches behind him and looks at the photo, his eyes growing cold. He crumples it up and tosses it into the pit.

“And I’m going to eat you alive, like the wolf I am.”

He pushes himself up, grabbing his glass and walks awake. We focus on the fire as it burns the photo he tossed in there, where we see a headshot of Lazurus that Miles must have taken from Carter’s apartment and it burns quickly, melts and then turns to ash.

Friends, Mates and Snakes
Finn Whelan’s Home for Wayward Wrestlers

It’s been a few weeks since Miles had moved into Finn’s place. Things for the most part had been going decently. Especially when Dickie Watson brought over FIFA 23 that gathered all the boys in the main room with a Playstation 5 as Miles took on Dickie in a match.

“Watch yourself!”

“Oh watch this!” Miles would bark out with the follow up of when his player lost the ball, “SHIT!”

“GO GO GO!” Dickie screamed out pounding on the controller, on the screen his team scored. “YES! GOAL! VICTORY!!!”

Dickie would get up and do a dance much to Miles’ chagrin before Kayla came storming out  of her room, “WILL YOU TWO SHUT THE FUCK UP! Some of us want to have peace and quiet.” followed up by her stomping back into her room and slamming her door shut.

Miles ducks in self-preservation while Dickie just goes wide-eyed and carefully lays down his controller, “Ooof, nice to know her title win didn’t curb  that attitude.”

Miles looks over his shoulder and feels safe enough to sit up straight, “Mate, the only thing that is gonna curb that is your bro finally giving in. Until then, I need to invest in a hardhat.”

“She’s harmless.”

“As a mountain lion.”

“You’re such a coward, Zoey is bigger than her...”

Miles couldn’t help himself and a shit eating grin slides ever so slightly on his face, “Yeah but there’s a difference between one that wants to maim you and one that wants to mark you.”

“Don’t be...” Dickie sighs, he was gonna say gross but it would have just been completely pointless, “Have you even talked to Zoey since India?”

“Not really.” he motions around, “Not that I’ve had much of a chance. Things have been purely insane since we got back. Part of me wants to just walk up to her, ask her on a real date but I’m also still at that point where the whole damn thing with-”

“Don’t say her name...” Dickie cuts him off, “Those wounds are still plenty fresh but man, look how far you have come.”

“Ok, but also at the same time, Aron has been after her but if it wasn’t for her, I’d probably still be completely stuck in a one way relationship. I wouldn't have opened my eyes to what I actually have.”

“Then fucking ask her!” Dickie barks at him. “You said you’re not afraid of her, you actually like her...don’t let Aron beat you to the fuckin punch!”

The two don’t hear Finn walk in about halfway through their conversation as he’s been listening intently for a bit.

“You don’t think it’s too soon after...her?”

Dickie sputters a bit, “NO! If you pull the same stupid shit my brother does with Kayla, I will beat your ass myself.”

Miles laughs, “My safe word is teal.”

Dickie takes a swing at Milo’s shoulder, “Mate, you are not my type.”

“In all seriousness though, I just gotta pull that band-aid off. I have a feeling it’s gonna be met with some kickback though but it’s time I put myself back out there....so to speak.”

“Don’t give yourself blue balls like Finn, I am begging you.” Dickie snarks, “Last thing I need is three miserable bastards instead of the usual two that would lighten up if they'd just...”

“Fuck like there’s no tomorrow?” Miles raises his eyebrow.

“Maybe you are my type.” Dickie leans in followed by Miles just before they get too close...

“ALRIGHT THAT’S ENOUGH OF THAT!” Finn speaks up as both Dickie and Miles lose their collective shit and bust up laughing, “Fucking weirdos.”

“THAT WAS SO FUCKING WORTH IT!” Miles rolls off the couch laughing.


The Match That Should Have Happened FOREVER Ago
Wolfslair Gym

Miles stands atop the gym back in New York City. You couldn’t wipe the look of excitement off his face if you tried.

“How the hell did it take to just now to have Fenris vs. Miles Kasey so fucking long?”

“I know Depsy, I owe the swear jar a good amount by now but how??? I have faced Agostino like FOUR THOUSAND TIMES! There’s been a few others but somehow K and I have never had this chance. I mean I’m sure if I had gotten my shit together sooner that it would have been inevitable but this is perhaps one of the most anticipated matches to come to SCW in a long long time and for the fact that it’s just for bragging rights and honestly, mate...I can’t fucking wait!”

“What’s absolutely amazing is that this man is majorly responsible for dragging my ass out of the pit of despair and someone that I’m proud to call my friend and we are going to probably fuck each other up, someone is gonna beat the other, we’ll laugh about it and go get drunk after.” Miles smirks, “And honestly that’s exactly how it should be. I have absolutely NOTHING NEGATIVE to say about Fenris because I don’t have anything against him!”

“While that is a kick in the balls at some points, the fact remains is I cannot wait to sweat buckets and get my ass kicked by the perhaps the BEST PURE Striker in SCW. BRUV! I have zero doubt that when my ass wakes up Monday morning, I’m going to have handprint tattoo’d across my chest that might as well be signed ‘Kristjan was here’.”

“But mate, I know you, if I show up and not bring it as hard as you do in that ring, you would never fucking forgive me. It’s one of the things we have in common, we can both take a legit beating in that ring, smile and be ready to go again the next week. We live for the thrill and the rush. We love and live for the pain with the exhilaration of putting something out there that would just wow the crowd.”

“This match is a match that the win doesn’t matter, the loss will sting but we will get over it and we will still be able to pick each other up.”

“I know with everything that happened lately with your sight, you had a hard time really questioning yourself. Mate, make no mistake, you didn’t make the wrong choice. Why? Because we wouldn’t have this opportunity. If I just walked away when I was publicly humiliated by the ex, we wouldn’t have had this chance. And I don’t want this to be our only chance. I want more.”

“We’re going to beat the unholy piss out of each other, bruv...”

“And I cannot fucking wait!”

28 And Growing
Sometime around August 9th-10th....I don’t know it’s all kind’ve a blur

“OH HELL NO!” Miles bellowed with a full on laughter as Kristjan offered up the infamous bottle that could knock even the best of drinkers on their ass with one sip, but also resembled the taste of jet fuel, “You got me on the boat, I fuckin’ refuse tonight. I actually want to remember this.”

Fenris almost looked insulted by that comment and just growled at him, “You are a coward!”

“Hey, it’s my birthday, allow me to pace myself!” Miles said as he waved a couple more people making their way into the hotel bar, all joining in on the big Milo Birthday Bash, “Sometimes if you wanna make a complete arse out of oneself you have to take the slow and steady road. That and the fact that I don’t think I’ve been sober since I woke up helps as well.”

Kristjan just sighs and caps the bottle, sliding it next to him, “Yeah, but how the hell are you supposed to do things you’ll regret when you still have your faculties about ya!”

“The night is still young! Let him go at his own damn pace, K!” Aron had said with what Miles only could assume was a caffeinated non-alcoholic drink. Come to think of it, he wasn’t even sure if Aron even drank at all.

“Thank you!” Miles motioned to Aron, “See, even your bro knows better. Besides, I have only begun to defile myself.”

And as he turned around to get himself another round of beer, he was greeted by the smiling but nervous looking face of Zoey Lukas.

“THERE YOU ARE!” he let out loudly, holding his arms out with a large smile on his face, “I was beginning to wonder if you and your sister were going to show.”

Zoey looked kinda shocked as she looked around to see a few familiar faces, “Well, just me. Alicia wasn’t feeling up to it.”

Miles arms just drop to his side and grumbles, “I have half a mind to go up to her room and drag her ass out kickin’ and screamin’.”

“Only if you wanna get hurt,” she smirked at him. “I wasn’t going to miss this for the world.”

“Well I appreciate you making the effort. I know it’s not much, but hell this is the most anyone has made of my birthday ever.” he said as he walked her over to the bar and leaned against it, looking out. She had missed the earlier noise between Fenris and HB. He had gone to take a leak and the next thing he know, Carter was gone. Which almost ruined it but he was able to bring it back.

Zoey frowned at him, as he pointed out that he never really had a full on celebrations, “That’s sad.”

“That's life,” Miles shrugs before waving to the bartender, “Another round please, and one for the lovely lady as well.”

Zoey practically glared a hole on the side of his head at this, “Oh hell no, you are not buying me a drink tonight, Miles.”

“I insist.” he motions, batting his eyes at her, “Just one. Besides, I got quite the headstart on ya anyways.”

“How long have you been at it?” she just looks him up and down for a moment, wondering why the poor guy wasn’t stumbling about yet.

Looking at his watching, trying to remember, “Umm, since about 11am?”

Zoey’s eyes go big for a moment, “And you’re not drunk?”

He tips his head back and forth like he’s taking stock of his alcohol induced state, “I am pleasantly buzz.”

Zoey just rolls her eyes, “Oh hell no. HEY! BARTENDER! Cancel his shit and get me 2 double shots of your good whiskey with a beer chaser, and keep em coming.”

Miles can’t help but be impressed and maybe a little something else. He leans forward and in a lowered zone says, “Zoey Lukas, are you trying to get me so pissed that I won’t know what I’m doing?”

A smile creeps on her face as the bartender hands their drinks over and she hands the glass and beer over to him before grabbing her own, she clinks the glasses together and says, “Oh you’ll know, and you’ll have no regrets about it. Happy Birthday, Milo.”

And as the night went on things got interesting and blurry for a bit but it was a night that he was never going to forget.

Complete with belly dancing that he joined in on and he’s fairly certain video sits on a few of their phones but honestly he didn’t care. This was the Miles Kasey that everyone started to know and love. This was the Miles Kasey that he needed to be again.

So imagine the surprise...or lack thereof when he was poured back into his room. Kristjan tried his damnest to wake him up from his drunken stupor at 5am before he prompt yelled “FUCK OFF!” after the 7th round of knocking.

He eventually opened his eyes to a large bottle of water, several aspirin and a note that she would call him later. What was the best about it, was that the entire time he wasn’t yoked to his phone, waiting for people to call. He figured if they really understood, they would be fine with them getting a call back several hours later.

When he eventually got around to it, he found several messages on twitter, text messages....but the one thing that stood out was the 20 missed calls from a number that he hadn’t seen since before he left for India with about half of them being left with voice messages.

His hands shook for a moment, only a moment before he opened the first one and hit play.

"Heyyy call me back, babe"

He’d hit delete and followed up with the second one that played automatically

"Heeeeeey, I miss you"

At least she was keeping them short. He’d keep moving on.

"Miles, where are you?"

Ok that one sounded like she was extremely annoyed. He didn’t know why, she hadn’t talked to him since he left.

"You're with her aren't you?"

She growled that one and Miles just rolled his blue-green eyes before hitting delete on all but one last one from her.

“YOU KNOW, I DON’T GET IT! I GAVE YOU YOUR SPACE! WHY AREN’T YOU THERE? WHY AREN’T YOU HERE?”

And that was enough that he deleted all the rest of the voicemails she had left without even listening to them. This was not how he was going to start his 28th year on this earth. He was ending this...now.

He made a couple of touches on his phone before bringing it up to his ear...


I Bet You Thought You Were Going To Do Something
Present Day

“Todd Williams, you are perhaps a bigger bitch than Crystal Zduchich or whatever the fuck last name she has this week.” he laughed, Miles had found himself walking around Chandigarh Rock Garden where he sat in front of a beautiful waterfall. Miles found this place earlier this week when he was looking for a quiet place to practice meditation and yoga that he had been picking up as they traveled around India.

That stuff was supposed to bring you peace right?

“Imagine being so fucking arogent that your own wife actually had tried to intimitate me, ME, the biggest idiot in Wolfslair, who saw exactly what she did to make sure that somehow her beard, sorry...no, her *ahem* “husband” won. Hope, you have to be a special kind of dumb as hell to actually sit there and tell everyone that you would do whatever it takes to make sure that he would beat me.”

He looks around for a moment to make sure he was by himself, just him and the camera.

“Hope, I hate to break it to you, but that is just a vital rookie mistake to think that the majority of us will just turn a blind eye to the bullshit that you two have been pulling. Sometimes, I do think whoever puts the cards together gets a little too kind when they describe when they described Todd as ‘diabolical’. See, I don’t think Todd has more than 4 brain cells to rub together and that you are the reason for that term.”

He finds a spot to sit, as he looks at the waterfall.

“So when you showed your hand, the first thing that had popped into my head before even HB Carter said anything was to ask someone who is absolutely brilliant, dominating and looks damn fine to boot to watch my back. See, I can’t touch you. That’s a rule here but she can. Zoey Lukas will be in my corner at Climax Control as you sit there and do nothing but watch your husband get his ass kicked. And if I were you, I would sit down and enjoy the show because if you don’t, you’re going to find yourself in a world of pain. And not the good kind.”

That damn smile grows wide for a moment as he tries to hide it but he just can’t.

“As for you Todd, how absolutely sad it is for you to try and send your wife to do YOUR dirty work. Apparently their honor among thieves is about as thin as any wedding license you sign. I’m beginning to think you all sign flash paper at this point. Question, a serious question, do you and your whole lot have punch cards where you get so many marriages, eventually you get one free?”

He just shrugs as he reaches out and touches the water with his fingers.

“I mean, I can’t be the only one thinking it. But alas, you just can’t help yourself, you can’t help but try to make yourself bigger than you really are. If you think that you are going to step in my way and beat me before Violent Conduct, I’m going to teach you a whole new lesson in pain. I’m going to do SCW a whole ass favor and I’m going to take your head off. There is going to be no glory for you here, mate. There’s going to be no remorse from me because I have none to give. Wolfslair has no remorse for the kind that takes the easy way out.”

He uses the hand that is now wet to slick his hair back and try and cool him down a bit from the heat as he just glares forward.

“And then Raven....you will be next. Welcome to the Rediscovery Tour of Miles Kasey. 28 years and counting.”

There were a lot of questions that he had to answer. So he had to make a choice.

But why? You just got back from everything, There was a whole lotta hope to work things out.

It was something he couldn’t answer even to himself but one thing was clear, he wasn’t going to get answers staying put. The tour to India was his perfect excuse. It wasn’t going to make her happy, but she was going to be so caught up with her work again that there was a chance that it wouldn’t give her a chance to miss him or even be pissed off that he was just going to stay there for the entirety of the time there.

He knew he had to work out how he felt. He had to clear his head.

The almost two weeks between the cruise and the trip to India and it felt like all he was doing was just spinning his wheels.

How the hell did this happen?

He felt completely pathetic and it didn’t suit him at all. It was unpopular but he wasn’t going to be able to come to any sort of peace.

Especially being shitlagged.

The days before he would stare at his phone, he would put a whole sheet of blank paper in front of him and sit for hours on end with not even a word on them. He wanted to get it all out before he left but he couldn’t. It frustrated him to no end.

Maybe that’s your fucking clue, Milo.

Get out, get your mind straight and focused...

Unpopular as it may be, he needed this. He was, for better or worse, going to find out how deep his convictions really were. He let it derail him at Summer Xxxtreme, he’ll be damned if it happens again.

People wanted to know what this was?

Welcome to Miles Kasey’s journey back from the abyss.


The Sunday Before

“Hold up, what kind of match?” He heard that humor in their voice, as the lineup for the first Climax Control got released for Mumbai.

“OH PLEASE! Let me be the one to tell him.” another voice popped up.

A slight smirk popped onto the face of Miles Kasey who was pretending not to be able to hear what was going on. He had his bluetooth headphones on because he was just feeling particularly anti-social lately but he knew that it was only a matter of time til one of the collective group of assholes that he calls mates would walk up, tap him on the shoulder as he was in the middle of his workout.

Well maybe. It seemed as of late that since they all returned back to New York and back to the gym that people kept their distance and honestly it was starting to piss him off a bit. Not at them but the reasons behind it. Not that he blamed them, the above and beyond damage that she did made him just keep his head down for the majority of the week and not say much of anything.

But one thing he knew was if SCW paid attention, like he knew they did, it was only going to be a matter of time before the one match that was coming did.

Teaming up with Zoey Lukas....He knew it was coming.

And honestly it was going to turn some heads and GOOD. FUCKING GOOD! He wasn’t going to let some petty jealousy bullshit get in the way of being first and foremost a professional.

He grabbed his phone and brought up the link they had all gotten announcing the show, and that brought and even bigger smile to his face.

“Guess I got some shopping to do.” he mumbled to himself, before he turned around to rack a set of weights one at a time. He turned and looked at the rest of them, tried to pretend that they weren’t just staring at him, and laughed and let outloud, “It’ll be interesting to see what the rest of them pick out.”

And their jaws just sorta dropped for a moment as they watched him grab the rest of his crap and leave them all just standing in that weird and uncomfortable silence they all made themselves.

“Well...now fucking what?” Austin spoke up to Alex. Alex went to speak up before Miles poked his head back in with a giant smile.

“Now you can all stop feeling bad for me, that’s fucking what!” Miles barked out laughing before the took off again. Austin looked like he was ready to take off after him and beat the shit out of their young compatriot.

“ASSHOLE!”


Mumbai-bye-bye
“Did you all know that it was India that invented the pyjamas? Google that shit. I didn’t know it until I was sitting one night alone...I know what a giant surprise. But I was watching this episode of Big Bang Theory and it was the episode where Sheldon’s twin sister was visiting for the first time and I heard the one character that honestly made the most improvement of all those on that show, Raj say something while trying to impress this beautiful young woman.”

The small laugh falls from the lips of our young hero who is sitting on the balcony of his hotel room, overlooking Mumbai. He spent 20 hours in the air and slept for most of them so while the night was there, Miles was wide awake and looking a bit like a weight had almost lifted off his shoulders.

“I mean I will give Christian all the props in the world on the creativity of this match going into Climax Control, because I look at it as something fun. Something that I have been seriously lacking as of late. It hasn’t been any sort of secret of the drama that I’ve been dealing with but I feel that this whole match is something that I’ve been needing.”

He lifts up a bottle of beer and tips it back for a quick sip. He lets it set for just a few, just enjoying the taste...and the quiet.

“I came to the realization a while ago that I needed to treat this tour as my own personal...coming to Jesus moment, if that makes sense. I have let my outside drama control my pace and honestly, I should have walked off the cruise ship with 20 pounds of gold and instead I let others dictate the pace. I let them get to me and instead of just being that good ole, going with the flow Milo....I became something I didn’t recognise.”

“Am I back to being myself? No, not really. But I feel like I’m getting back to where I need to be. I’m going to stay here, I’m going to commit to getting back in control of my life on my rules and no one else's. And I’m sure there are some out there hearing this and are getting really down hearted at this fact and if you are one of those people, then you need to step up and realise really fucking quick that I am not about to be controlled like that ever again. I made this choice for me.”

He tips the bottle back again and drains it’s contents before letting out a giant “ahhhh”.

“You know what’s absolutely amazing? I can’t even say anything BAD about my opponents. HB Carter has been one of the few people in all of SCW that has actually gone out of his way to try and boost me up through all of this. I admire someone that has absolutely zero qualms about being themselves through and through. He is not shy about anything and how can you hate someone like that?”

“You CAN’T! It’s impossible and in this Strange Bedfellows match, I’m going to go out to just give him a welcome into the SCW roster like he deserves. He deserves that as someone who considers him a friend, even if he’s on the other side of that ring from me. Even if he’s apart of a whole other gym....it doesn’t matter because right now, we both need this.”

Miles leans up a bit and that devilish little smirk appears.

“I even picked something special out just for you, mate. Something tasteful...yet just enough to make you a little weak in the knees.”

Giving a little wink, leaving something to the imagination.

“As for dear sweet Krystal, well my dear, you get the unfortunate draw of dealing with my partner. Zoey Lukas is exceptional when it comes to being in that ring. A true student of her game and even I wouldn’t dare want to be across that ring from her when she’s pissed off. See, not so unlike me, Zoey finds herself with that insatiable need to prove herself. The woman puts my arse to shame in the gym and that’s saying something. I go into this fully trusting her and she puts her trust in me because that’s what partners do.”

A bitter little laugh catches him by surprise for a moment as that comes from his lips freely.

“Trust is a fickle being. This isn’t for anything but fun and bragging rights of one gym taking on another and I’m not about to let my partner down and I know she isn’t either. If it's a full moon over Mumbai and that’s what it takes to win? Then so be it.”

He stands up and shakes his head out and takes a deep breath letting those mischievous blue green eyes shine.

“It’s about time this shit became fun for me again....and I’m not above not making myself a complete ‘ass’ to do just that.”

We’ve Been Here Before

It has been an interesting set of weeks to say the least, following his victory in Athens at Into the Void, the news dropped about his former classmate sadly having a fatal accident. Now it was no secret that this had only fueled the match that he was heading into after this in Hawaii.

Destiny was its name and Miles had shown that he had indeed outgrown the very man that challenged him. Nothing against Jack, he brought it. But at the end of the day, it was Miles with his hand raised and proof that he was more than his past.

So when the match for this week was announced he had to have himself a laugh.

If what they want is a repeat performance of Into the Void, who was he to say no? And who knows, maybe better news would follow this time around.

So since Destiny, he finally found his way back home, back to his own bed and back to the drawing board because he was still very much at the bottom of the proverbial ladder. Wolfslair gym was a sight for sore eyes and he knew that he’d be spending plenty of time here because Becca had herself buried neck deep in video game work.

I know it seems repetitive but when it comes to Milo, it’s the simpler things in life that make him happy. An occasional donut, working out and being in the ring. It  felt great knowing that it was all ticking the right direction.

"You've been around more lately." he heard a voice pipe in. Miles turned around and smiled when he saw Zoey Lukas.

"Yeah, figured I'd make myself useful. Just because I've been successful as of late doesn't mean I rest on my laurels." Miles said with a simple smile, as he grabbed one of the weighted bags that was used during practice, "It's either that or try and eat my weight in donuts today and we can't have that."

"No, we can't." every word dripping like she checking her prey.

"Zoe?" Miles says like he's trying to snap her out of whatever she's got on her mind.

She shakes her head, "Sorry, I just wanted to come over and say how great you looked at Destiny. And if you ever needed a workout partner then by all means I will gladly volunteer."

"I will keep that in mind." he says with a wink that causes her to swoon a bit which amuses Miles just a bit, "We'll see after my match with Hitamashii? A'ight"

"Perfect! It's a date... Er... I mean-" she stumbles. "Oh you know what I mean!"

Miles laughs, "Yeah, I do."

And before she can stumble over herself any more, she shyly waves and walks away leaving Miles standing there amused.

"You ever get that strange feeling you're onto something... But you're not actually sure what?"

Miles points and lets out a snicker.

"That would be one of them. I'm not sure how this happened but suddenly it seems like I'm a hot commodity and I'm not really sure how that happened."

Miles shrugs before continuing cleaning up after the class.

"Don't get me wrong, I know it comes as part of this whole business. Hitamashii, you as a former SCU champion understands that better than most but it seems like you have bitten off a bit more than you can chew when it comes to being in SCW."

He hops up on the ring apron and runs his hands through his blonde curls.

"I'm not saying that you could find yourself in an extremely lucky position and catch me on a bad night, but mate... Since Into the Void, I haven't really had a bad night. I have had bad news but if you let a negative moment in time negatively affect your performance then I found out that you will have a very bad time."

He sits back and almost seems lost in thought before taking a deep breath.

"What has happened lately has almost been an enlightening experience of my own experience. I came to Wolfslair to be more than just some high flying pretty boy. Though I'm sure there are some that would rather I remain stupid to the fact that I can be so much better than what I have been."

His blue green eyes seem to grow a little stormy.

"I should have been the Roulette Champ by now... Hell I could have been the Internet Champ if I hadn't held myself back all this time. But now, honestly? There is no one that can stop me but me. And now, I'm out to make examples out of people that try to get in my way."

The Pirate Wolf has now shown through. The confidence ever growing in the young one.

"Hitamashii... You're in my way. AGAIN! We've been here before, I recognize that tree and I'm about to mow the fucker down with your head. I'm not going to play this stupid little incepeted game with you and whomever is having a good ole laugh at my expense."

He scoffs at the thought with 'pfft' and you see a little evil streak come across his handsome face.

"It's time I start kicking in a few heads and finally start living up to that hype and stop letting everyone down that has helped me get there and the ones that have cheered me on since day one."

Miles drops down from the apron and just looks ahead.

"And I'm sorry, mate. I am ridiculously sorry for the way that I will go about this. I'm gonna take your head off and I'm going to do it in front of your friends with a smile on my face and zero regrets in my heart."

And with that he laughs.

"And can we stop with the lather, rinse and repeat? I'm ready for a new adventure!"

LEAVE THE DAMN TREE ALONE!