Family Matters
Being stressed is never good for a home life. Especially in the world of Pro Wrestling. You pack your bags, say goodbye to your family and go off to work, you spend days away from them, sometimes weeks. And if you have stress at work you bring it home. It’s not something that Alicia Lukas wanted to do. And usually she could handle it. No matter what she was going through, whether it was losses, or being sore, or an injury the second she would walk through that large wooden door she would forget it and smile.
She had her husband, her kids and her friends and family. But this was different. With everything happening at Wolfslair, feeling the awkward stress of a place that was like a second home. She had been on edge. Alicia still did everything she could not to take it out on her family. But earlier in the night she did, she snapped at Rory for simply putting a plate in the sink too loud. After a few moments Alicia realised she yelled and it was for no reason. Her heart sank, she felt like the world mother in the world.
She apologised, gave him a hug, then retreated upstairs to the bedroom.
And there she sat, on the end of the king sized bed, her head in her hands along with a tissue, tears streaming down her face as it all bubbled to the surface. The door opened, Michael Reynolds, her husband of two years poked his head around the corner, his eyebrow raised as he stepped inside, closing the door behind him. He got closer and Alicia looked up before shaking her head. Michael smiled warmly before dropping down in front of her, taking both her hands that were clasped together in one of his as his other hand came to rest next to her.
She wished she could just take all the stress away and put it in a box.
Atleast Michael understood. His hand tightened around hers, his thumb rubbing the back of her right hand lightly. She smiled lightly and took a deep breath calming down as the tears stopped. He tilted his head to the side and leaned up kissing her on the forehead. ”I take it there’s something upsetting you?” He delivered it in his usual warm way that had a certain dry wit to it. Alicia couldn’t help but laugh as Michael smiled again before getting up and sitting next to her on the end of the bed. Alicia stretched out her neck and it cracked loudly, her husband’s eyes lit up, not hearing something that loud in a while.
He slid back sitting behind her, his hands dancing up to her shoulders, his thumbs pushing on the base of her neck finding knots on either side of her spine, Alicia gave a small jump of pain as he pushed against the hard muscle. ”I think I’m a little stressed out..” He chuckled and gave a small nod as Alicia rolled her neck and started to loosen up.
”You think?, it’s a minefield back here.” Alicia chuckled and then winced hard as Michael found another, her chest shot forward as she let out a small whimper of pain. ”I’m not hurting you to much am I?. I need to get some of these out before you get in the ring and tear a damn muscle. That’d be a few months out.”
She groaned and sighed heavily. ”That might not be so bad the way things are…”
Michael stopped rubbing her back, he moved off the bed and around in front of Alicia, he slowly dropped to one knee again and shook his head. ”We had a conversation about that, you said you weren’t ready, but now it seems like you are miserable.” He paused for a moment waiting for her reply, instead she put her head down and stared at her hands, fumbling with the tear soaked tissue. Michael swallowed hard and groaned as he sat back onto the floor with his legs crossed indian style. ”Things have gotten that bad? Maybe you should think about changing companies”
Alicia put her hand up and shook her head slowly. Her voice was calm as she took a deep breath. ”It’s not SCW….the company is great.”
”Then what is it? Is it me?”
Her bright blue eyes shot forward right into his as she slid down in front of Michael leaning forward to put her hands on his knees and stare him right in the face with a small smile. ”It is most definitely...not...you” She kissed him and then sat back with a sigh. ”It’s Wolfslair. It doesn’t feel the same anymore. Everyone is on eggshells, you walk through those doors and the air is thick. Like just...pressure...you know?” Her heart ached, she hated the feeling and talking about it took her right back there.
Michael gave her a moment, he waited and didn’t want to break her concentration, until he realised she needed support, his hand reaching out to lightly brush her arm. ”Maybe you should train here more, or start your own gym. I mean you could volunteer to re-open the Texas one” She couldn’t help but smile and laugh, Michael was always so supportive, so sweet and was always willing to have new ideas and new opportunities.
But, he wasn’t a wrestler. He didn’t understand that life and didn’t get how rare it was to find people to train with and help and support in that way. ”I don’t want to abandon them. They’re like...family” There was a warmth in her voice when she said the words. Michael gave a small nod before standing up and offering her his hand. He pulled Alicia to her feet and wrapped his arm around her shoulder pulling her close.
”Family has fights…..Wolfslair will get over this one...just have a little faith...and patience” He was right of course. Alicia knew it, she felt it. But there was still that lingering black cloud over her head. A terrible feeling of dread and fear. That all of it would explode. And there would be sides that needed to be chosen. And nothing she could do about it.
Warriors
”I have made an analogy in the past about Mercedes Vargas. One that I personally think is apt and a little clever if not obvious. See professional wrestlers, are like gunslingers. It’s a young persons job, and if they made it to old age, you should fear and respect them. Because it means they survived that long in something so brutal. But, like gunslingers, wrestlers have no idea what it’s time to walk away. And they have no idea...which bullet has their name on it…”
Alicia points her hand like a gun, her thumb up, and as she slowly smirks the thumb comes down.
”And I get it, I do, no one wants to think their best days are behind them and as good as Mercedes was you can’t ever discount her out from doing something, anything of note. See, Mercedes could still shock the world, she co0uld go beat Myra Rivers and become the Internet champion, she could go and face Johanna for the Roulette title, hell she could beat Keira for the Bombshells title. But, would it last?. See, being a champion, being a star isn’t just about being good enough to win a championship, it’s being good enough to keep the other hungry wolves from your goddamn door.”
“And while in my heart I know Mercedes is good enough to win any title she pleases, keeping it, and keeping the wolves at bay? I’m not sure she has that in her anymore. And as I said before, this was never about dragging Mercedes down this was about helping her see reality. And for the most part I think she has. See the last time Mercedes and I went one on one she had this look in her eye, she didn’t care what I had to say, didn’t care about the match. She was focused on something else and had this delusional idea in her head where all she had to do was turn up to beat me. But, that isn’t what happened..”
“Mercedes has given me some respect so I will return in kind and admit that against me Mercedes has had more success than most.”
“It has been in multiperson matches and tag team matches, but she still has wins over me, that isn’t something a lot of women can say. But, as Mercedes brought up, one on one I’m not someone she has been able to beat. In Honor, in SCW, I have been the one to stand over her with my arm raised and I do not take that lightly. I am proud of that record...as anyone who actually knows wrestling should be…”
Her eyes blaze with fire, her red lips turn upward as she steps forward and slams her fist down on a table in front of her.
”I am proud of the fact I have beaten women like Mercedes, Roxi, Keira, Dani, Evie, Andrea. Shit even Crystal. I have faced and beaten the best this company has to offer from the last generation and this one and that isn’t something I just bring up to make myself look better. In fact bif I keep your name off that list it’s because you haven’t accomplished enough for me to care that I beat you. But, you’re right Mercedes, this has never been personal between us and it won’t be. I might occasionally take issue with things you say but I don’t hate you, I don’t even dislike you.”
“You love this business and so do I, and part of loving this business is waking up one day and realising this business does not love you back in the same way. It’s something I know, it’s something you know. That analogy before? We’re both older gunslingers Mercy. I might have more time left on the clock than you but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel it. I’ve been doing this for ten years and nI have been doing it at a very high level. Six years ago I walked back into the US and I started taking over.”
“I beat big names, mI hasd title runs that most people would kill for.”
“My personal life was splattered all over social media, there was a very bitter and public contract dispute with WWH. All things people know but I grew with it. Nothing has stopped me, nothing has slowed me down and the thing that keeps me going as long as I’m able and feeling this way is the knowledge that you, people like you, are still going despite everything thrown at them. I am a veteran like you Mercy despite the fact I’m a decade your junior.”
She raises her hands off the table and paces back and forth running her hands through her hair.
”I didn’t want this to be about your age, I mean I did want to bring it up but I have talked more about that than getting to my point. See, even now, as I am trying to climb back up that ladder and remind everyone just how scary Alicia fucking Lukas is and you are trying to remind everyone who Mercedes Vargas is nto and that you can still hang with the best, this match matters. We matter. You are a hall of fame star and I know, and you know I’m destined to be in there too. We are two women who have held gold almost everywhere we have gone. We have beaten people who told us time and time again that we weren’t as good as we believed ourselves to be.”
“And now here we are ready to face each other again.”
“It isn’t the first time, and part of me believes it won’t be the last. But this match is scary, because we are both motivated. Motivated by the same goal to make sure the current champion, and everyone else who seems to have forgotten about us stand up and take notice. The sad part is only one of us can win. Only one of us can stand up at the end of the match and be declared the winner. And as I start to build momentum towards the Blast from the past tournament it has to be me.”
“This isn’t about me trying to end your career or ruin your little comeback, put up or shut up story Mercedes. This is about professional momentum and courtesy.; Two women who need the win, two women whose names matter. And not just in Sin city but world goddamn wide. You were right when you said a match against me is one you can really get up for because one with you is the same. I never have a problem going out there and giving my all against you and that should scare people. They should see this match and watch what we do to each other and be in fucking awe of us…”
“So, Inception, Alicia Lukas versus Mercedes Vargas...lets light up the skies and give a performance that the wrestling gods themselves will be jealous of….”