Author Topic: What's in a name? (Read 273 times)

Despayre · « **on:** February 20, 2015, 09:22:30 PM »

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<td>The Stockholm Arlanda Airport, an internationally renowned airport is located twenty three miles north of the town of Märsta, a municipality of the capital of Sweden. One of the largest and busiest airports the world over, having had over nineteen million passengers pass through in a year's time, it was a natural setting as the Sin City Wrestling World Heavyweight Champion, Gabriel, casually walked through the crowds that were venturing to and fro of their destinations, whether they be business, vacation or otherwise.

Many fans recognized him for who he was, an internationally known professional wrestler as well as stage magician. Few, however, braved the stomach butterflies to approach him for an autograph or perhaps a photograph to be taken at his side. Many fans were too busy and over time would come to regret not having taken the opportunity. Others saw him as the despised heel he was on-screen and felt they might anger him or annoy him, but either way they had little intention to disturb him and whatever reasons he had for being here where they busied themselves, gathering their luggage.

Gabriel's eyes stared straight ahead, against the far wall of the luggage terminal where no less than four escalators would bring the passengers of arriving flights down to this lower level to retrieve their belongings. It was the chief reason for his being here; to meet two very special guests for someone special, and bring them back to Stockholm itself in a quiet, discreet manner. He checked his watch, and knew that the flight he had been sent here to meet had arrived only mere moments ago, so those he was here to greet would be arriving shortly.

Glancing about casually during a brief respite in the influx of passengers, he saw several people standing at the forefront to greet their guests, holding signs in front of them. He shook his head and turned away, clearly not understanding the concept -- or simply was not interested. He recognized one professional rugby player being greeted by a man in a suit, perhaps a limo driver. Another greeted an incoming family. Why would these people need a sign if they knew the person they were there to meet? Pay attention and they'd see who they were there for and they might...

"Excuse us, please."

The soft, somewhat timid voice drew Gabriel away from his inner thoughts where he was 'dressing down' the random stranger and he turned his head to see a Japanese family facing him, just to the right of where he stood. The two adults were obviously the parents, an older man and woman, while the three children, two girls and a boy, couldn't have even broken past the age of ten. Gabriel said nothing immediately. His eyebrows rose questioningly and he waited for the adults to speak their piece.

"We apologize for disturbing you." The father addressed him. "But you are Gabriel?"

"Last time I checked." He answered, not wanting to be too much of an ass hole to these people. The Japanese were perhaps the most respectful towards him and other professional wrestlers. It didn't even seem to matter to them how much he did to piss them off. They continued to treat him and his peers like the proverbial 'rock star' and with the utmost care and respect. So thus, he could play along. He asked, "What can I do for you?"

The children chattered excitedly but the father got them under control quickly and this time, the mother, a woman who was still of an ethereal beauty as most women of Asian descent were, spoke up and said, "The children were hoping they might...? She held up a camera, almost hesitantly and it was obvious the family was almost embarrassed at the prospect of disturbing him. That embarrassment was also the sole reason why Gabriel complied with their request. Any pushy fan that might have simply walked up with a camera and posed would have been shot down -- and fast.

"C'mon." Gabriel beckoned and the three children were quite gleeful at rushing forward to join him at his side. He lowered himself down to a single bended knee and the three small ones leaned in to get as close to this hero, this wrestling champion, as they possibly could. Gabriel cast a wayward glance at their bright, eager young smiles and came to understand that it would not be all that long before he himself had a small one to call his own, just like them. He then spread his arms out in his classic pose and a moment later, the flash of the mother's camera went off and the children got what they had so desired.

Gabriel stood back upright and the children ran back up to join their parents, but not before the two girls grasped him in a fond embrace, and the smallest of the children, the little boy, shook his hand like the adult he thought himself to being.

"Thank you." The father bowed to him and Gabriel inclined his own had to the family before they continued on their way before approaching him had led them briefly astray. Gabriel watched after them for a moment when another voice, this one familiar to him, stated, "Boy you just can't help yourself, can you?"

"Hello, Margaret." Gabriel said, knowing full well who it was before he even turned around to greet the woman that was his 'little brother's mother. Margaret Young's face bore a teasing smile as she approached Gabriel and enveloped him in an embrace, taking into account that he was family, being her son's closest friend as well as a 'big brother'. Plus, it was Gabriel himself who talked Synn down from his unbridled hatred of the woman due to lies, manipulations and misunderstandings against her for a number of years. So thus, she had no qualms what so ever in taking him into her arms for a hug.

Once released, Gabriel looked to the second woman who had approached, this on a fair number of years older than Margaret; Despy's Grandmother, Victoria Young.

"Victoria." He greeted her, offering his hand and she clasped it with a somewhat surprising grip, but she too took the World Champion into her arms, as such displays of affection was of a second nature to Despayre's nan.

Once he separated himself from Victoria Young, Gabriel took a step back and along with the two women, approached the baggage carousel or their airline in order to retrieve their luggage.

As they did so, Margaret asked idly while her gray eyes that matched Despayre's own, scanned the carousel, "So where is Joshy? I'd have thought that son of mine would be here to greet us."

"Oh he isn't aware you're here, actually." Gabriel answered. "Synn hadn't planned to have you two ladies flown out to join us until we hit Copenhagen, but then Despy got a little something in that head of his and he needed his mum and nan to join us earlier than expected."

"He's up to something, isn't he?" Margaret asked as she spotted her first suitcase and quickly grasped it, but Gabriel had managed to grab it from her own grip and take hold of it himself. He shifted a sidelong glance back towards her and a cocky smirk creased the corner of his mouth upwards, indicating that yes, he knew that little guy was up to something, but he'd also be damned if he were to spill the proverbial beans.

Margaret looked to her mother and shook her head, "Apparently we're in the midst of some grand surprise."

"Well, not so much a surprise as a secret." Gabriel countered. "And it's not as much my place to tell you what's been going through his mind."

"Well this should prove interesting." Margaret stated matter-of-factly as she grabbed hold of her roll-away luggage and started to follow Gabriel who had confiscated Victoria's own and the remainder of Margaret's.

"You're up to something, aren't you?"

ironically enough, the same words that Margaret directed towards Gabriel had just been uttered exactly the same, but this time by Despayre himself as he kept his eyes glued to his father who stood at his side with a stoic demeanor that yielded the little guy no answers.

"Joshua, what on earth makes you think I'm up to anything?" Synn asked as he leaned back on the bench on the patio of the Stockholm Metro train station, awaiting for an arrival that had, surprisingly so, remained a closely guarded secret from every attempt of Despayre's to discover just what was going on. Despayre did not mind secrets. He loved them, in fact -- except for when he was not in on them. That was a whole other jar of peanut butter.

"Actually I was talking to Angel." Despayre said, his one brow arched up perfectly as his eye squinted, studying his father closely. "He says He's in on whatever it is that you say you're not up to. Plus I know my dad well enough to know that you're always up to something."

"Touche'." Synn smirked, but still gave away nothing. He turned his head and all that he would yield was to say, "And for the record, if that little friend of yours knew what I was up to -- if I was indeed up to anything, the entire countryside of Sweden would have heard about it by now."

"Heyyy!" Despayre accosted his father in a hot, accusing tone. "Are you trying to say Angel can't keep a secret?"

"Joshua, I am not saying anything that you haven't said time and again yourself."

Despayre bit his bottom lip and his wide, gray eyes shifted down to the teddy bear that was bundled up inside of Despayre's own winter jacket to stave off a chill and prevent him from getting sick. (Teddy bears make the absolute worst of patients, you know!) Despayre gave a hysterical little laugh and told Angel, "Ha ha! He's kidding. It was a joke."

"This one should be Gabriel's." Synn said as the commuter train slid to a slow crawl and finally to a stop at the station, and the doors opened and the people within started to flood outside. Despayre was immediately a bundle of excited energy (but then again, when is he not?), hopping around on the balls of his feet at the prospect of greeting Gabriel. It didn't matter whether or not the pair saw each other on a near daily basis, Despayre simply couldn't not greet his big brother warmly in the usual manner...

"Gabriel!" Despayre cried aloud, and that manner being proven to be a great big (teddy) bear hug. He ran right up and practically plowed Gabriel over, wrapping his thin arms around Gabriel's neck and squeezing for all he was worth!

"E-easy Despy!" Gabriel laughed at his enthusiastic greeting. "I might need my head to stay attached in the coming weeks! And besides, I think there might be someone else you'd rather give a hug t-"

"Mom!" Despayre cried in wonder and Gabriel was almost bulled aside as Despayre practically pounced into his mother's arms the moment he saw her emerge from the train behind Gabriel. And if his excitement was at its highest at seeing his mom, well every boy has that special place in his heart for his grandma. And when Despayre laid eyes on that special lady, tears of longing and joy welled up in his eyes and he buried his face in the nape of her neck as he hugged her as well.

"Surprised Despy?" Gabriel smiled as he and Synn approached the family trio.

Despayre was hesitant to separate himself from either woman but he yielded to answer Gabriel with a silent nod and he coked back a happy sob as he asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Well we hadn't planned on surprising you until that big show in Denmark." Margaret answered. "But your father thought it would make a nice surprise..."

"Ah-HA!" Despayre barked, pointing an accusing finger at his father.

"Are you certain this will be alright?" Margaret had asked when Synn had announced the plan for Despayre to have the afternoon to spend with his mother and grandmother, while he and Gabriel discussed SCW related business. Her question was innocent enough, although she had her reasons for asking. The last time that Despayre had attempted time alone with his grandma and herself, it was that ill-fated overnight stay where he had purposely gone without his medications, and suffered for that decision. To date, Synn had been hesitant at risking the welfare of her mother or herself again, at least until now.

"It'll be fine." Synn had told her as he took her aside to pass her an envelope of Swedish currency. She had attempted, without success, to refuse, and yielded only when she promised to spend the vast majority on showing their shared child the best of times.

Synn continued as he all but shoved the currency-laden envelope into her purse while he said, "Joshua has been very good at taking his medication ever since he suffered that particular ... setback. I'm not certain he remembers what happened, but I know he doesn't like 'not' taking his pills now, so just keep an eye on him."

Margaret looked up at him and the smile on her face spoke volumes at the forgotten animosity that had once existed between them.

And Synn had been right. Everything was turning out quite alright. Mother, Grandmother and Despayre himself had started to spend a very pleasant afternoon together, just the three of them. The highlight for the ladies had been visiting the famed Djurgårdsbron bridge in central Stockholm, built for the Stockholm World Fair in the year 1897. The architecture was simply magnificent; with four of the Norse gods depicted on granite columns - Heimdall, Odin's wife Frigg, Freyja, and of course, Thor himself.

Despayre's highlight was, of course, the amusement park Tivoli Gröna Lund. It was small, with only fifteen acres and a mere thirty attractions, but still ... it was an AMUSEMENT PARK! `Nuff said! Of course Despayre openly refused to ride any attractions without his mom and grandma accompanying him, and both were admittedly hesitant at riding the more 'daring' rides such as the roller coasters. They did indulge the young man in the 'House of Nightmares' and a few others, but saved themselves when 'Angel' suggested they return tomorrow with the others to make better use of the offered features.

Despayre was only to eager to agree since he just knew his mom and grandma were delicate ladies and did not wish either to be ill at ease. Gabriel wasn't a lady though. He'd go on some rides with him! Maybe Synn and Shipman would too!

The day was quickly getting away from the three, and soon it would be time for them to head back to the hotel to meet the rest of Despayre's little family for dinner. Hopefully Synn had finished conducting his business with Gabriel so that they could all enjoy a nice, late dinner together. Now they found themselves on the other side of the aforementioned bridge previously, at the luxurious park in central Stockholm.

"So Joshy," Margaret said gently as she escorted her son over to the edge of the water where they saw some ducks gliding across the calm waters, and a scant few men in a small canoe, rowing across for sport and exercise. Her mother, Victoria, sat on a bench knowing her daughter wanted a moment alone with her son. Angel had offered to keep Victoria company, Despayre stated, but that was just an excuse to keep his plush pa away from the water.

Angel and ducks did not go well together.

Margaret said to him as she passed him a handful of bread crumbs she had purchased to distract him and he threw them bit by bit into the water for the ducks, "Gabriel and I talked on the train on the way here. He said you had something important to talk to me about?"

Despayre glanced up at her and his fair skin blanched to her eyes, and she gently caressed his cheek, sweeping his long, black hair from out of his eyes in the gentle, cool breeze.

"What is it Joshy?" She asked. "Is anything wrong?"

"Are you sure this is something you want to do, Despy?" Gabriel asked in the home he owned with his wife, Odette, in Las Vegas. "It's a big step. An important one."

There was a brief lull in the SCW World Tour, and everyone had taken the opportunity to return home to indulge in the small time they had away from business. Odette sat at Gabriel's side, her eyes on the legal paper in her husband's hand as Despayre stood before the both of them. He had been an invited guest to stay over that night, but while Gabriel had expected the usual fun and games Despy had been prone to indulge in, his little brother instead came from out of nowhere with this particular request for his assistance.

Despayre answered his question with a nod, fidgeting in place and absently clasping his hands together at the palms. "Uh huh." He nodded. "I want to do this for dad's birthday. I think it's important."

"Well, I admit it will be a touching gesture." Gabriel found himself saying. "I know it'll mean a lot to the man, but you might want to talk to your mom about it too, bud."

"Why?"

"Because it's her name, sweety." Odette answered for her husband. "And it's a very big step."

"`Kay." Despayre nodded. "Will you help me though? To get it ready just in case?"

Gabriel had one last look at the paper before he looked to Despayre and nodded, "You got it."

"You want to legally change your name?" Margaret asked as she looked at the document in her hands.

"No." Despayre shook his head. "I like the name Joshua. I just want to change my last name. That's all. If I can."

Margaret seemed unsure of what to say, as if she were at a loss for words. Out of everything that could have been a concern or a request for her child, this was not amongst any of the thoughts that passed through her mind when she had been told Despayre had something 'big' to talk to her about.

"Well..." She started to say, perhaps a bit breathless for obvious reasons. "Joshy, in the end it's your decision. Does your father know about this?"

This previous question was almost spoken in an accusing tone. She knew Synn would never try and take Despayre away from her. Not after the two of them had settled all of the issues that had existed between them. She might even dare admit they had grown closer since Gabriel had helped her to mend burned bridges between Synn and herself. Still, if this was Synn's idea....

"No. He don't know about it." Despayre answered honestly, and she knew his words were true. Her Joshua was an honest young man. He went on, "I wanted to do this as a kinda sorta birthday surprise."

"His birthday was last week, sweety."

"I know." Despayre said. "But this is a belated prezzy. Maybe surprise him at the Supercard after it goes through or... I thought, maybe... if it's okay with you...?"

"You thought this would make a nice present from son to dad?" She finished his thought for him, and his answer was a meek nod in the affirmative. She felt the hot moisture sting her eyes, but struggled to keep it in check so as not to alarm thee sensitive son she shared with Synn. She knew now that the man had nothing to do with this idea. It was simply a desired gesture to further cement the bond between father and son, and she could see why Despayre wanted to do it. It was Synn who had successfully saved Despayre from Broodmoore all those years ago, and now father was trying desperately to make up for so much lost time that existed between the two.

She looked up at her boy and forced a smile to her lips, the better to shield her hurt.

She passed the paper back to her son's hand and caressed his cheek with her finger tips.

"I think it's a wonderful idea." She lied.

"Hellllooooooo! It's me again! Angel! Yeah I know. It's not all that often I get involved in the business end of these little promos. I'm more of a figure head, really. I get paid to stand there and look adorable, which I am very good at if I do say so myself -- which I just did. Synn is a little tied up at the moment, if you must know. He was playing leapfrog with Synn and well... well let's just say that it's impolite to talk with your mouth full and leave it at that, shall we?"

"I am so proud of my buddy Despayre and his tag team partner, Amanda Cortez! To have gotten this far in the Blast From the Past III tournament against such great teams just goes to show that not only is Ms. Cortez an amazing grapplerette, but Despayre is a true and certified tag team specialist! There is nobody that he teams with that he won't find success with in the end. Just look at who Despayre and Amanda have gone through already too get this far!"

"In the opening round, they bested perhaps one of the single most credible duos (second to Despy and Amanda themselves of course!) in another tag team specialist in Veronica Taylor and the reigning Internet Champion, Blaque Hart Bruce Evans! Then they went on to face and beat Crystal Hilton and Bo Dreamwolf! Now, Despayre and Amanda are in the semi-finals, and just who do you think they're facing?"

"Another current champion in the Roulette Champion Alex Kaelin, and Jade Manendez-Arcador, a chick who has one of the single best won-loss records in all of Sin City Wrestling! Gnarly, huh? Well Despy and I are positive that Amanda can handle Jade! Amanda's not just one-half of the reigning World Bombshell Tag Team Champions, but she's also a former World Bombshell Champion so that means Despayre's partner is better than Alex's! So neener neener neener!"

"Boys are not allowed to compete against the girls in this event, which is as it should be, so while Amanda takes care of Jade, why don't we focus a little on you, Mister "I'm So Tough" Alex Kaelin?"

"Yeah, you think you're something special all right, huh/ You think you're like the toughest guy inside of that ring, don't you? well let me tell you, that if you were all alone in the ring with Holly Wood as the referee, you' still be the second toughest mug inside of the ring. So pth! You think you're tougher than Despayre just because you can fight? Well take a long, close look at my pal because Despayre is a lot tougher than you, and isn't afraid to prove it. So he likes to have fun inside of the ring. Good for him I say! That doesn't make him weak or a bad wrestler. Quite the contrary! Despayre is a lot better of an athlete than you are, and he's a whole lot tougher too! You want to take a cheap shot at him? Hey that's your funeral pal, because Despy can fight just as dirty as you can, and still come out smelling like roses. In the famous words of the immortal ... well, me:"

"Anything you can do, Despayre can do better!"

"Just be glad your title isn't on the line here Alex muh boy, because if it was, there would so be a new champion inside of the ring come Sunday. So for all the bravado you like to scoop up with a shovel and use as fertilizer for your growing dreams, I have this to say...."

"Fooey to you from me! PTHHHHHHH!"</td>
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