When Daniel Morgan had told Fenris and the rest of the guests of London Underground that there was plenty to do in the city of London, it was not an exaggeration by any means. There was always something to do here, being one of the biggest tourist destinations in the world. Funny then, how those who called London home did not see the same thing in awe as those who were visiting did, especially those who were here for the first time. To them, it was simply what it was; their home. In a casual chat over a group dinner earlier in the week, Devona had expressed the same sentiment about her own home city of New Orleans, even though when Daniel and company had paid her a visit for dinner last year, the members of London Underground had taken a little extra time for some sight seeing with Devona and her grandmother as their guides.
One person's home could always be another person's wonderland.
This was not the first time that Kristjan Baltasarsson had visited London, but it was the first time he had visited with time to be just a simple, every day tourist. The last time he had been in London, it was before his career as a professional wrestler and during his period as a professional MMA fighter. It was in late 2017 where he had ironically met the cast of London Underground who introduced him to an all new path in life, one in which he had excelled. And quite proudly if he were to say so himself. But he's not the type to brag so, you know!
So Fenris was making the most out of the time he had left before business took priority over simple pleasures. One day to himself, with his brother for the added company. There was no way that he would have been able to enjoy the day without the friendly comfort of his flesh and blood by his side. of course, Kristjan would have also preferred to have had Ty alongside him as well, but Ty had his own commitments in London and they would be meeting up this evening for dinner anyway. It just would have been....
Nicer. But don't you dare tell anyone that Fenris had said so!
The day had begun early, and Fenris had told the local agents for Sin City Wrestling that neither he nor Aron would be available all day. At all. Period! This was simple family time, and he would brook no interference. It was early, and the Baltasarsson brothers had just finished their usual morning run and shower back at the apartments of London Underground before setting out to have the day for themselves.
Not even the weather had deterred the brothers as they climbed aboard the River Taxi, which in reality seemed little more to the pair than a large boat that transversed the River Thames. The sky was quite overcast, covered in a blanket of light gray clouds with the sun really nowhere to be seen. Aron knew that Kristjan always preferred gray skies and rain as opposed to blue skies and the sun beaming down on them from overhead. That was why he strongly suspected Kristjan had opted for the River Thames to be their means of travel as opposed to the London streets and the many taxis and double decker buses that so many more tourists would have went for. If the sky had finally broken and rain washed down on them, to Kristjan it would have only enhanced the experience.
At least until their mother Eva found out and she'd take the eldest brother to task for risking Aron's health in such a silly way.
And if Kristjan saw something that drew his or Aron's interest, he would see they got off at the first opportunity to go investigate. They could always continue on once their curiosity had been appropriately satisfied. So the brothers climbed aboard the "river bus" along with the rest of the early bird tourists, settled themselves in along in a pair of seats along the side for a better view and off they went!
There was something almost magical about being on the water, a feeling and experience that both brothers shared. Perhaps it came from being from a nation that had a reputation of volcanoes and ice? Who knows! But Kristjan and Aron relaxed for perhaps the first time in complete bliss and allowed the Thames to rock them as they transversed the River aboard the boat, their heads turning and eyes drinking in everything on all sides. One brother would extend an arm, pointing something out and the other would take it in.
Kristjan was not one to be seen as the average tourist, and kept his phone in his pocket at near all times without taking a single picture. But Aron? The younger brother had his phone out at all times, taking snapshots of everything he noticed and what Kristjan had pointed out. Even a few shots of things he might have missed but overheard other passengers bring up to one another. Plus Aron couldn't wait to show Ty and Lora, and send the pictures to the family back in Reykjavík. Let them live a bit vicariously through the brothers.
Plus the little known sadistic side of Aron knew it would drive Elin and Viktoria absolutely nuts!
Kristjan then brought Aron from out of his private musing to grasp his sibling by the arm almost excitedly and point out the towering structure along the side of the Thames, the famed London Eye! Aron could not believe the twinkle in his hard nosed brother's eyes as it was clear that this would be their first stop, and as the "river bus" pulled up to a stop at the Westminster Pier where they and others disembarked. It would appear that Kristjan was a competitive sort, even when it had nothing to do with a sporting event, as he noticed others headed in the same direction that they had planned, and Kristjan grabbed Aron by the arm and picked up the pace in a brisk run, carrying themselves ahead of the others.
Aron asked in their native tongue, "K, slow down! What is the big hurry..." But the querie was lost on the older brother as he pulled Aron clear up to the forefront of the great wheel, where they and others would be loaded into one of the thirty two available capsules. They got up onto the walkway, where there was already an impressive line in wait for this historic ride.
"Fuck!" Kristjan grumbled as a tour guide that maintained order spoke up, "Originally, the London Eye was intended as a temporary structure, able to dismantled and transported to a new location..." But it was lost on the impatience of Fenris as he never had been known for his patience. Finally, after what seemed like forever (to Fenris at least) they arrived on the capsule loading sock and were ushered inside of an empty one, with a handful of others along with them; ironically and to Kristjan's discomfort (and Aron's amusement) a group of elderly nuns.
Fenris and Aron took their place at the back of the capsule, allowing the "sisters" to have the free space in the middle and along the sides. Say what you might, even the Norse brothers and Kristjan in particular were capable of respect to women such as this. The lift then started to rise only minutes later, and each time a capsule arrived at the pier for passengers to disembark and load up anew, they would stop which allowed the passengers in each capsule in the air to enjoy the view and take snapshots if they were so inclined. It was a slow process, but with the view all around them, one that was intended to be savored. One of the nuns, the brothers saw, held up a rather old fashioned camera to take a snapshot. Given the age of the device, they both knew it would not be the best of photographs but still one the nuns here and back at their chantry would appreciate.
At its peak, the London Eye was over four hundred and forty three feet. The height did not disturb the brothers in the slightest, but they both noticed one or two of the elderly nuns seemed discomforted. Slowly, the Eye went full circle, and they finally came to a stop back at the loading area. Once the employee opened the door, Fenris and Aron allowed the nuns to exit first, and then followed after. As they made their exit, Aron noticed a slight scowl on his brother's face.
"What's the matter?" Aron asked. "I thought you were enjoying yourself."
"I thought it was a fucking Ferris wheel!" Kristjan came skidding to a halt and stared wide eyed at the nuns who had overheard his colorful outburst and mumbled a hasty apology before turning to an amused Aron, "Fuck....!"
Of course more was to come, as the day had barely begun, even for as long as a time they had spent enjoying the London Eye. As expected, the brothers took the first opportunity to get back on another river bus and continue down the Thames. If truth be told. Fenris could have been perfectly content just doing this, spending the day on this open water and relaxing. It seemed he had little enough chance to do that on any other day, given his days always seemed to be filled to the brim with the duties of his given profession and training. Non-stop training.
They stopped again briefly to see up close the Houses of Parliament, and more specifically, famed Big Ben.
They then took a break as the noon hour approached and Kristjan and Aron found themselves outdoors along the riverbank at the Riverside Vegetaria restaurant. Aron, being a meat eater but never the less always a good sport, co,plied with his brother's choice and the two calmly ate together as comfortable siblings, deciding between themselves one or two more stops along the Thames before they met Ty later this evening for dinner. Once they finished their meal and went back along their way aboard a river bus, their next stop was almost preordained as it was always a heavily favored stop for most tourists;
The famed Tower of London.
Although much preferring to take self guided tours, this was a structured tour for all, and the brothers had little choice but to comply but it did nothing to take away from their enjoyment. They walked along with others in the interior of the ancient fortress, and listened as the Yeoman Wardens told bloody tales with their guests rapt attention. Some of the details may have been somewhat lost on Fenris, given his English was by no means perfect, but he still listening and as far as Aron could tell, enjoyed himself.
Figures the big lug would enjoy tales of the macabre over most else!
Then their final stop of the day, bringing their casual day between themselves to a close, was the Tower Bridge, built in 1894 and measuring over eight hundred feet between the two Towers which held the mechanisms that allowed the bascules, each weighing over one thousand pounds, to be raised in less than ninety seconds. As they and others walked across the bridge, they happened along the glass floor that gave all who walked over it an unsettling sensation of being out on the open air with nothing but the road and those famous red double deckers far below, and the River Thames itself over forty two meters down.
Aron paused in taking a small video memento on his phone and casually glanced to his left and down -- and did a double take at what he was seeing before him and others; his brother, the perpetual stick in the mud, laying flat on his back across the glass walkway, with a goofy expression on his face and his own camera held out above him for a comical snapshot.
No doubt to send home and scare the shit out of their mother!
The day had come to a blissful close, and now the evening was beginning to deepen in the sky. Only a slight amount of rain had fallen, but it left that delightful scent in the air as the evening sky and the lights of London colored the clouds above in hues of reds, oranges and yes, purple. Kristjan had sent Ty a text on where to meet them, and the three men had decided to close the day out by having dinner and enjoying the performances at the Medieval Banquet.
Fenris, Ty and Aron sat comfortably through a four-course medieval style banquet (with vegetarian options for Kristjan and Ty) while they watched the entertainments that included knights jousting, minstrels who wandered from table to table and magicians who performed tricks for the delights of their senses.
"Gabriel does better." Fenris whispered for the two to overhear when a young "maiden" shimmied up to the handsome Icelandic male and slipped her arm in his.
"No," Fenris started to protest, unaware that one of the entertainments was when the maidens would take unsuspecting gentlemen from the tables to share a dance with in front of others. Kristjan almost dropped his mug of ale and grasped blindly for Ty and Aron, both who avoided it expertly so that they could watch as the hard-edged man was coerced onto the dance floor with the young lady. After a moment's hesitation, Kristjan sighed to himself...
"Fuck it!" And he took the young maiden in his arms and the two started to dance around the floor, as Ty laughed and applauded with others, and Aron covertly recorded everything on his phone to share with family and friends.
And as night fell and the city of London came to life with all its lights, Fenris found himself walking along St Katharine's Pier, adjacent to the Tower Bridge.
"I never was much of a talker to begin with, and when you're facing the same men more than once, and you have to focus on them time and again, things become difficult. I myself never thought to mince words. I always believed that putting my face into a microphone and spouting off a bunch of bullshit about what I was going to do and to who was pointless. You can talk all you want, but the fact is, whether it was in MMA or wrestling, if you weren't going to back up what you said in the cage or the ring, then no amount of bullshit you spout off was worth a damn!"
"You are right, Ty. I was not happy about this match when it was made official. I was even less happy when they decided to screw with our personal lives and add that tag team match to the equation, but the simple fact is; your team won, and my own did not. But the key to that fact is that I was not the one who was beaten in that match. You pinned Caleb, not me. Beating me is a much, much different experience, and takes a lot more if that's what any man hopes to accomplish. So far, only one man has managed it, and he was the one you were teamed with. Austin James Mercer pinned me, but what happens if the time comes where Mercer and Storms is out of the equation for a time and it's left to you and myself? I think you were rather surprised when I fought you the way I did in that tag team match, as if you didn't think I'd hit you now that we're together the way I did the previous two times we were set against one another. But you were wrong. That shiner I left you was testament to that."
He shook his head.
"There isn't a chance in hell that I will be out to hurt you Ty, but if it ends up you and me in the ring for any reason, I will be out to win because, as I'm sure you know, I hate to lose! And if you hold back, if you do anything to give me any reason to think you're trying not to hurt me enough to put my shoulders down or make me tap, then you and I are going to have problems, and I will be pushed to fight even harder. I may hate losing, but I do not want to be in the ring against a man who is holding back for any reason! I want to win, and I want the exact same thing from him! Otherwise, what the fuck is the point!?"
"I'm pretty damn sure that you wished this had been a singles match, Austin, man to man. One on one. It wouldn't matter if it were against Ty or myself, it just seems more natural to settle issues with nothing to divide your attention. Ty challenged you and you accepted, and you would see it be alone in the ring, same as if this were the return match that one day would be owed to me if I wanted it. If for any other reason than to lay aside any doubt cast in your direction, as to whether than win over me was a one time thing, or if it was you having, as you seem to think, my number. I give you full credit for taking advantage of the situation and pinning me cleanly. I could not have lost to a more deserving man! But, the question is, can you do it again? If it's just you and myself in there, and Ty and Caleb are incapacitated, could you do so again? You seem to have forgotten the first time we met, I was the one who beat you. Can I do it again?"
Fenris smiled.
"Well I'd answer that but I tend not to answer questions I already am confident in the answer to. Which brings me to the quiet one of the group so far, Caleb Storms..."
Fenris paused and looked out at the River Thames and rubbed his palms together.
"You have been terribly quiet since this match was announced, Caleb. What ever is the matter? Cat got your tongue? Or perhaps, has the wolf? It is not your tongue that interests me, Caleb. I have Ty for that. I think maybe for the first time since that tweet you posted, you have fully realized the shit storm that you've found yourself in and have been left speechless! What do you do when you get the very last thing that you could possibly want, Caleb? It was bad enough when we had that little non-title match, but we have the whole world ahead of us, and right now? The World Championship is the last thing on my mind! Time enough for that later, but it's not Mercer I will be completely focused on, and it isn't even Ty. Let those two fight each other to their hearts' content!"
He pointed a forefinger directly at the camera.
"You, Caleb. You are the one I want. Everything else? It's an after thought in this match! This may not be the end, but can swear to god that what I do to you once that bell rings will give you a very bad taste in what is to come! And the best part?"
He smiled,, holding his arms out.
"Fatal Fourway! No count outs, so you can't run! No disqualifications, so you can't take a cheap way out! And if and WHEN I get you down on the map and tied up like the Gordian knot, if somehow you reach the ropes, I won't have to break it! I will keep that hold on just on principle until I hear that sweet, satisfying pop and you have no choice BUT to cry out that you can't continue! And then you'll have to face Mercer and explain to him, just why you cost him the World Heavyweight Championship!"
That being said, the moment had ended. Ty West approached from his left and snaked his hand in Fenris's own, and Aron joined the two on his brother's right, and the trio of men walked back along the Pier as the evening was brought to an end.
