[Despayre]

 You should really read Rage's RP first!



No sooner did Rage pull into the space just at the forefront of the parking lot of the local Chuck E Cheese establishment, than the driver himself, the 'Sin of Wrath' aka Rage, turned in his seat and eyed his young passenger with an eye of annoyance.

Rage huffed, "So, are we happy now? We're here. Chuck E Cheese ... AGAIN!"

Not that the big man even needed to ask. Just the look on Despayre's eager face was answer enough. Despayre's bright, gray eyes lit up and his lips stretched into a childlike smile of wonder as he leaned closer toward the windshield to look out at the building before them, as if he were trying to see if they were truly there.

This was indeed his favorite place to eat, out of all the fancier establishments that he had been treated to over the course of the past several years with his father. Of course, those places didn't have live music or games to play with possible prizes to win. They just had snooty waiters, and even snobbier clientele. Not the kind of place one could run about with his best friend, Angel, and have fun. no, the last time he tried that his father had to lure him out of the kitchen so he couldn't assist the teddy bear in showing the chefs how to truly make a successful souffle.

But this -- this was where a kid could be a kid! A teddy bear could be a teddy bear -- and big grumpy guys like Rage could shut their pie hole and enjoy some of the best pizza ever!

Then something else was spotted from out of the corner of Despayre's eye and he almost whipped himself back against his seat, jerking forward against the restraints of his seat belt. He pointed ahead and called out, "Look! We got company! Look Angel!"

Rage followed where Despayre was pointing and saw exactly to what, or rather, to whom he was referring to.

Across the parking lot, walking toward the front of the restaurant, was Synn, accompanied by their two house guests, Big B and Despayre's best friend Gabriel, and their house keeper, Theresa.

"What the f...?" Rage started to say, then cast a sidelong glance at Despayre who sharply turned his head toward him with an accusing arched brow. "...fudge?" He finished. Rage had already committed to shelling out a large sum of money for a house this very day. He didn't feel like adding an even more taxing amount to Angel's swear jar.

Despayre smiled and nodded with satisfaction at Rage correcting himself before he pressed the button on his seat belt, and with a soft 'click' the belt slid back up and Despayre hurriedly pushed the passenger door open. He scrambled out, as Rage followed suit, and then shoved the front seat forward so he could retrieve the teddy bear from where it sat in the child's car seat, safe and secure.

Before Rage closed his door and locked it, he reached his beefy right arm inside and honked the car horn, causing the sound to carry across the parking lot. It had the desired effect, however, as the heads of the quartet at the forefront of the building turned and looked around before they spotted Rage beside his car, and Despy hopping up and down and waving. Only then did Rage finally close the door and with a click of a button, locked it behind him.

Despayre went to take off to greet the others, but Rage grasped him by the arm and reeled him back beside him as a car turned the corner and drove down the lane and disappeared into the maze of vehicles in he parking lot. Only then did Rage look carefully before releasing his grip and Despayre took off like a shot, racing for the four awaiting them. Despayre quickly grasped Gabriel in a hug, but knew well enough not to make it one of his special 'teddy bear hugs' that Gabriel was all well used to. So he settled for a light embrace, knowing as soon as his 'bestie' was better, he'd be free to go all out again. He waved 'hello' to Big B who smiled and returned the gesture. Despayre then turned to Theresa and 'came ever so close to trying for a hug, but try as he might, their live-in housekeeper still frightened him to the point he was not comfortable with such physical intimacy as a hug. So he settled for a courtly bow.

"M' lady!" Despayre said before standing upright and Theresa turned to look up at her employer through her sunglasses and shook her head.

Rage approached after him, arms held out and a inquisitive expression on his hardened face.

"What the he-heck?" Rage said, looking at each in turn. "What are you four doing here?"

"What does it look like, baldy?" Gabriel responded, all but ignoring Rage's own snarl at the use of the unwelcome nickname coined against him. Gabriel continued, "We're joining you two for lunch."

"Yeah, but, how did you even know we were going to be here?" Rage asked.

"Simple." Synn answered. "You went out with Joshua past lunchtime. Chances were you guys would get hungry and we all pretty much knew where you'd end up."

"Hey." Rage frowned and protested. "We might not have come here!"

"Sure, Rage." Gabriel smiled, patting the big man on the arm in good humor. "You just keep telling yourself that."

Opting to let the big man down easily, Synn said, "In all honesty, we came because Bern..." Synn stopped as Big B turned and frowned uncharacteristically at him, hating his birth name with a passion. Synn corrected himself and continued, "B here got Joshua's text."

"Me?" Despayre looked at them all and pointed toward himself, shaking his head. "I didn't send Bernie a text."

"No, he didn't." Big B said. "I just said I got a text. It wasn't from Despy, though."

Big B reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He flipped it open and pulled up the text. He turned it around and they all leaned in to examine it.

"From Angel." Synn nodded and stood back upright as if it were the most natural thing in the world for his son's teddy bear to accomplish this. Truth be told, it wasn't even the most unusual circumstance that the bear seemed to get itself into. Synn sighed, "Of course."

"And how exactly did Angel send a text?" Theresa said, then played along and wagged a finger at Despayre. "Have you been letting him play with your phone?"

Despayre emphatically shook his head 'no' and even crossed his heart. "Not me!" He chirped, and then proceeded to reach into the teddy bear's bib overalls, today's outfit, and pulled out another cell phone. He showed it to the others and smiled. "See?" He said. "He's got his own."

The rest of them blinked, and Gabriel slowly turned his head to look at Synn. He often teased his mentor about spoiling Despayre rotten (and Synn did!), but this? Gabriel said in an accusing tone, "You got Angel a cell phone?"

Synn tore his eyes away from the cell phone which Despayre tucked safely back into the teddy bear's overalls and looked to Gabriel. Synn said, "I know you think me something of a soft touch for the boy, but even I'm not quite that bad."

Synn turned to his son and said, "Joshua? Did you buy that?"

"No." Despayre said meekly, not understanding why they might be so objectionable at Angel having his very own cell phone. He instead jetted a thumb back at Rage and said, "He did."

All heads turned to Rage who frowned and said, "Hey! None of you would give me any hints what to get the kid for his birthday so deal with it!"

"We didn't say a thing." Gabriel answered simply. He reached over to open the door to Chuck E Cheese and allowed Theresa to step inside first, and almost immediately after, Despayre blew right on past.

No sooner did Despayre enter, than he dashed across the lobby and straight toward the games when a large and familiar face to this establishment turned around and brought Despayre to a skidding halt with a sharp cry. The mascot to Chuck E Cheese, the gray mouse itself (actually an employee in costume, duh!) tilted its head in wonder as Despayre did an about face and quickly hid behind Synn who had followed in right behind him.

"Josh.. Joshua?" Synn said as he tried to turn around to confront his son but Despayre simply turned around with him, continuing to hide behind his much larger father. "Joshua... stop this now."

Rage, watching this with a hint of a smile on his face, leaned over to Gabriel and whispered, "Remind me again? Why does he love coming here if that mouse and the animatronics scare him so much?"

"The games." Gabriel answered matter-of-factly. "And the food is a close second I suppose."

"Ah." Rage nodded and stood back as the mascot turned and headed off toward some of the other occupied tables with many children in attendance. Only then did Despayre peek from around his father's back and then, once he coast was clear, did Despayre emerge.

"Whew!" he wiped at his brow. "That was a close one."

"Why don't you like Chuck E Cheese?" Big B asked with a genuine sincerity behind his curious nature.

"Are you kidding?" Despayre asked his big buddy. He looked around and once he saw that no other tables might hear, he answered, "You have any idea how many diseases meece carry?"

"Meece?" Gabe smiled, knowing full well what his 'little brother' meant.

Despayre nodded knowingly, "It's 'plural' for mouses." He then looked at B and whispered, "Meeces caused the Black plague, you know."

"This is just the type of conversation I enjoy before a meal." Theresa mentioned.

Understanding her logic, Synn placed a reassuring hand on Despayre's shoulder and said, "Theresa is right. That was a along time ago. It's perfectly safe here."

"So you say!" Despayre said, shaking his head. "Angel tells me differently."

"So is it safe to eat here or what?" Big B wondered as a hostess approached them.

"Hi!" She said with the type of perkiness that made one wish they had an ice pick in hand to drive through her forehead. "Welcome to Chuck E Cheese! How many will this be?"

"Table for six." Synn said and Despayre blinked, then frowned.

"Six?" Despayre questioned. "Is one of us not eating?"

"Sorry." Synn told him, obviously having gotten the  numbers confused in their party. Angel. Always remember the bear. Synn then turned to the hostess. "Make that seven. And... " He glanced at Despayre and said, "A high chair?"

Despayre nodded with a smile and Synn turned to avoid the smirks and withheld laughter from the others in their group at his over indulging the boy. He told the hostess, "Seven, with the high chair."

"Right away!" She said as she turned to lead them to a table against the far wall. Of course she knew well enough to play along. This was Despayre, and as such, he was quite the regular here at their establishment of Chuck E Cheese. I mean, its the greatest pizza example of fine dining ever! So the employees were all familiar with him and his company -- and their usual antics.

The party had seats around the table, Big B taking a moment to hold Theresa's chair out for her and then scoot her in before taking his own spot at her right. Despayre made very sure that he got to sit between his dad and Angel, and Gabriel and Rage sat on the bear's other side, Gabriel in the place of honor at the plush form's side.

A young man, in his late teens, arrived alongside the hostess and she said, "This is Jason. He'll be your server."

"Hi Jason!" Despayre quipped. "I'm Joshua and that's Angel! We'll be your customers!"

Despayre slapped his though and chortled in silent laughter, then brought himself to a halt and narrowed his eyes at the teddy bear. "Boy that was a corny joke!"

"You told it." Rage pointed out.

"He said it'd be funnier out loud than in my head!" Despayre protested.

Gabriel spoke from the side of his mouth to Rage and whispered, "Do you want to take that one or should I?"

Rage answered only by holding his hands up and staying silent. he said, "Even I know when to pick my battles with that kid."

Gabriel smiled brightly and went back to watching Despayre argue vehemently with Angel whether or not the joke was a timeless classic or not. Usually, Gabriel knew, the teddy bear came out ahead on these little one sided debates. While this went on, the hostess excused herself and Synn proceeded to place their usual order with the server, Jason.

"Oo!" Despayre quickly turned to his dad. "Anchovies!"

"Anchovies!?" Almost everyone in their group blurted out.

Despayre nodded and looked at the server. "Anchovies on one of our pizzas, please."

"Why?" Rage asked without bothering to disguise the disgust he felt at the thought of that particular added ingredient.

"Angel said it'd taste good!"

"Not everyone likes anchovies, Joshua." Synn said. As a matter of fact, Despayre appeared to be the only one interested in trying it.

Despayre looked around at the others who each avoided his eye and he then said, "Okay, just on one pizza."

"Joshua..." Synn picked up the gauntlet, negotiating as best he could with the boy he had great difficulty saying the word 'no' to.

"Half?"

"Two slices."

"Deal!" Despayre spit into his palm and held his hand out to his dad and all eyes were kept close on Synn as he reluctantly extended his own hand and clasped hands with his boy for a firm shake.

"Now, if you'll excuse me." Synn said standing up while their waiter finished writing their order and swiftly headed off to have it filled.

Despayre leaned over and whispered none too subtly to Big B, "Dad hasta piddle."

"Actually, I need to wash my hand." Synn held it precariously outward, and moved off and muttered, "Or preferably boil it..."

"Boil it?" Despayre blinked and then turned to Gabriel. "And he thinks anchovies are a weird craving? Yeesh!"



"That's what anchovies are!?" Despayre barked, leaning over to look at the two slices on the platter filled with piping hot pizza. The look on his face said it all; he was not enthused any longer at attempting to sample that particular food.

"Yep." Rage nodded and with the spatula included, served both pieces at once onto Despayre's plate. The kid squirmed and fidgeted in his seat, trying not to even look at the tiny fish on his favorite food. "Eat up. You don't want this food wasted."

As the others served themselves, they kept an amused watch on Despayre as he frowned at the anchovy laden pieces on the plate in front of him. He extended his hand and poked one of the fish, then drew it back and sniffed his finger.

"Ick." He murmured, but he would not be deterred! He remembered many a lesson from his mom and grandma (and now Rage himself) about food not being wasted, and lessons learned. He carefully picked up a slice from the plate, and not minding the eyes watching him, he bit into it -- and almost immediately made a most grossed out facial expression that had Rage and Gabriel choking back on their laughter!

"Gah!" Despayre gagged and he flung the pizza back onto his plate, choking down the one bite. "It tastes like fish!" He whined pitifully.

"That's because it is fish." Rage stressed with a smug smile on his face. "What did you think anchovies were?"

Despayre just squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head, silently admitting that he didn't know the answer. He was just, as always, curious. He managed to choke down that one piece and then practically drained his full glass of Cherry Coke before gasping. He looked at Angel and practically shouted, "What made you think FISH would make a good pizza topping!?"



"So no luck?" Synn asked as a fuming Rage stomped back toward the table, leaving the gaming area behind him.

"No." The Sin of Wrath grumbled. "I tried winning that toy for Desp but no such luck."

"Well don't feel too bad." Synn admitted as Rage took a seat. "None of us really had any luck with those games to get him some tickets."

Theresa added, "I won him six."

"Well bully for you." rage snarled but she paid him no mind. They all turned to look at the game area where Big B and Gabriel were each taking turns to try and win a few tickets so Despy could pick out a prize. Big B was attempting 'Whack A Mole' while Gabriel was rolling a ball up a slanted hill, trying to get it into the rings to score points.

After scoring a few tickets which he passed on to an eager Despayre, Gabriel returned to the table and shook his head with a big  grin.

Gabriel had a seat and said, "I tried. I don't know what he can win with those tickets but least he'll be happy."

Suddenly an 'alarm' started going off on one of the games and lights flashed, indicating a big score! Everyone, the Sins table included, turned to scope out the area to see just who won 'big' -- and they spotted Angel on the same game Gabriel had just played with a large pile of prize tickets printing out into his fuzzy paws.

They each, Synn and the rest, turned their heads away and opted to continue their meal rather than try to explain that.



"See you next time Joshua!" The hostess said happily as the group started for the door.

Despayre stopped and smiled to say, "Thanks! We had lots of fun!" He held up the 12 inch Loki action figure from the new Thor movie -- the resulting reward for all the tickets Angel 9and the others) had won for him!

"Looks like it's someone's birthday." Theresa observed, watching as a large group of children and a handful of adults gathered around a decorated seating area with gifts and a large cake in the center.

"Big deal." Despayre said. "It's not even a very good cake." He looked at Big B and whispered, "Coconut."

Big B made a face when Rage brought up the obvious point and asked, "How do you know what kind of cake it is?"

Suddenly a voice thundered across the restaurant, "HEY! WHO CUT THIS PIECE OUT OF MY KID'S CAKE BEFORE HE COULD EVEN BLOW OUT HIS CANDLES!?!?"

"Gotta go!" Despayre said and he swiftly ran out the door. Gabriel almost keeled over laughing as the rest followed them outside...



"Well, I guess this is something akin to what one might refer to as a Blast from the Past."

"Casey Williams, how long has it been? If I'm not mistaken, but then again I admit it hasn't really plagued my mind, but I believe the last time you crossed paths with Despayre was actually in the match where he and Gabriel won the SCW Tag Team Championship for the first time ever. Perhaps you had a rematch with another partner after that, I admit I am not too ware, but it is amusing how often your path crosses with that of the men that I manage, isn't it? One would almost think you had the proverbial death wish, because the end result is always the same."

"From days past in the Asylum Wrestling Alliance, straight here to Sin City Wrestling, you have seemed to have something of an insatiable appetite for humiliation at the hands of the Seven Deadly Sins. Singles or tag team encounters, it didn't really matter, did it? The end result was always the same; victory for the Sins in one form or another. But always it was ours to be had."

"I give you credit though. You have perseverance. I give you that. You keep trying, no matter what, and always you have the confidence and positive outlook that success against us will soon be yours. I like that. I admire such positive thinking, though I'm not sure I feel the same about the foolhardy belief that one can do the same thing over and over, yet always expect a different result. Some might even think of that as a form of ... madness. It's all the same to me. You're big Casey. Perhaps the largest man currently on the SCW roster. It affords you a great advantage when it comes to strength, but this time you're against another man whom is damn near your equal in size and strength, and he's sure as hell a lot meaner than you are."

"But enough about Despayre."

"Now this partner of yours, Simon Jones? In him you just may have found the best you've had at your side since the days you teamed with Jordan Williams. The question though is, how can two men who hate each other as much as you two do, hope to accomplish the enviable goal of dethroning the Sins?"

"Simon, you are without a doubt, one of the fastest rising stars in SCW today. You came from out of nowhere and won the Heavyweight Championship, surprising everybody -- myself included, and everyone that knows me knows that is no small feat. And then, even after you dropped that belt, you did not let such a thing discourage you. You kept on and continued to fight, and have fought hard to remain at the top, whether you had gold around your waist or not. Well mark my words Simon, one day you will wear gold again. I can see that, a man of your many talents. But it won't happen tonight, and it won't be at the expense of Despayre or Rage."

"This night will be, as usual, all about us."</color>