SCW Boards
Roleplay Boards => Climax Control Roleplays => Topic started by: MiloKasey on June 05, 2026, 11:59:55 PM
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Proactive Protection
Turnberry Towers
The lock clicked, then came the deadbolt and then the chain, three separate sounds, each one louder than it should have been.
Miles stood there for a second with his hand still resting against the door, staring at it as though he could somehow will it to become thicker, stronger, more secure through sheer force of stubbornness alone. Behind him, the condo had gone completely silent, not the comfortable silence that usually filled their home after a long day.
This was different, it was heavy, very uneasy and the kind of silence that settled over a room after everyone realized something had gone very wrong.
Miles finally turned around. Kevin and Connor were still standing near the living room, neither boy having moved much since coming inside. The excitement from the movie was gone, the laughter was gone and even the Battle Cat collectible Kevin had been carrying was sitting forgotten on the coffee table with Ms Thang giving it questionable sniffs.
Connor looked nervous, Kevin looked angry, Carter looked shaken and that combination alone was enough to make something tighten painfully in Miles' chest.
His eyes immediately found Connor. "First things first."
Connor straightened slightly. "Yes, sir?"
Miles rubbed a hand across the back of his neck before speaking. "First, don’t call me sir...it’s weird but it is late."
Connor nodded. "It is."
Miles glanced briefly toward the door before looking back at him. "Is your mum expecting you home tonight or was she cool with you staying here for the night?"
Connor shook his head. "No, sir. She knew I was staying over."
Miles nodded once. "Good. Because after what just happened, I'm not exactly thrilled with the idea of anybody leaving right now."
Connor immediately shook his head. "I don't have to go anywhere."
Miles studied him for a moment, the kid was trying hard to be brave and trying hard to look older than sixteen. Trying hard not to let the fear show, Miles knew the feeling and it was unfair for a kid to feel like this, "You sure?"
Connor nodded again. "Honestly?" A small shrug followed with "I'd rather stay."
That earned the first faint smile Miles had managed since opening the card. "Good answer."
Connor smiled weakly.
Kevin finally spoke up. "So what do we do now?"
Miles looked at him as that question hurt more than it should have, because Kevin wasn't asking about tonight.
He was asking about Lazarus, the note, the basket and about the fact that somebody had managed to reach into their lives again and for the first time all evening, Miles didn't immediately have an answer.
He hated that. Actually it was closer to absolutely LOATHE at this point because protecting people was easy when there was something concrete to fight like a match or even a threat. Hell even a problem standing directly in front of him.
This?
It was smoke with a note and a reminder like a ghost rattling chains from somewhere they couldn't see.
Miles finally walked farther into the condo, setting the remaining merchandise down on the kitchen island before turning back toward the boys. "What we're gonna do," he said carefully, "Is finish the night."
Kevin frowned. "What?"
"We're gonna finish the night." Miles gestured toward the living room. "You're gonna eat whatever junk food we brought home."
Then toward Connor. "You're gonna stay over."
Then back toward Kevin. "And the two of you are gonna continue arguing about whether or not He-Man was actually cooler than Skeletor."
Connor immediately raised a hand. "Skeletor."
"Wrong." Connor grinned as Kevin rolled his eyes.
And for the first time since stepping off the elevator, the tension eased just a little, it was just enough. Miles looked at both of them. "I'm serious." His voice softened. "Nothing changed tonight."
Kevin opened his mouth to argue but Miles stopped him immediately. "Nothing changed tonight."
This time there was no room for debate. "Lazarus doesn't get to take a good night away from us just because he decided to be a creep."
The words came out firmer than he intended. Carter noticed immediately. Miles took a slow breath, then another, finally looking toward his husband. Carter still hadn't moved much from where he'd been standing since coming through the door.
The look in his eyes was enough, Miles understood. The boys didn't need to see the conversation they were about to have.
So he looked back toward Kevin and Connor. "Why don't you two go get settled?"
Kevin looked reluctant, Connor looked like he understood exactly what Miles was trying to do.
Eventually Kevin nodded, "Okay."
Connor gently bumped his shoulder, "C'mon."
The two teenagers disappeared down the hallway, though neither looked particularly happy about it, with Ms. Thang trailing behind them. Miles waited until they were gone before exhaling heavily, the second bedroom door closed and suddenly it was just him and Carter, the silence returned.
Only this time there was nowhere left to hide from it.
“If I get my hands on him, I am going to drop him from the balcony with zero regret.”
“Fair.” Carter didn't even hesitate, not because he actually wanted Miles throwing people off Turnberry Towers, but because after everything that had happened tonight, it was difficult to pretend the thought hadn't crossed his own mind.
Miles let out a frustrated breath before crossing the room in two long strides and pulling Carter against him. The anger was still there, the helplessness was still there and the fear was absolutely still there but none of that mattered as much as making sure Carter knew he wasn't carrying any of it by himself.
Miles wrapped both arms around him and held on tight. “I've got you, babe.” His voice was lower now, steadier and certain, “I've got you.”
Carter closed his eyes and rested his forehead against his shoulder. For the first time since stepping off the elevator, the shaking in his hands finally started to ease.
The Next Morning
The drive across Las Vegas was considerably quieter than most mornings.
Part of that was because Connor had spent the night and nobody had gotten nearly as much sleep as they should have. Part of it was because the events of the previous evening still lingered in the back of everyone's minds no matter how hard they tried to push them away.
Miles sat behind the wheel while Carter occupied the passenger seat. Kevin and Connor sat in the back, each armed with oversized coffees and breakfast sandwiches that Miles had insisted on buying despite repeated protests that they could have just eaten at home. Naturally, those protests had been ignored.
"I'm just saying," Connor said from the back seat, "That it sounds awesome."
Kevin rolled his eyes. "It is awesome."
Connor leaned back against the seat. "No, seriously. A wrestling show on a cruise ship? That's insane."
"It kind of is."
"It sounds way cooler than anything I've ever done."
Kevin looked out the window for a second. "It'll be my first time."
That caught Connor's attention immediately. "What?"
Kevin shrugged. "Last year I was still in the hospital." The words came out matter-of-factly, no self-pity, just truth of the hell that he went through.
Connor's expression softened. "Oh."
"Yeah." Kevin looked down at his coffee.
"So everybody always talks about Summer XXXTreme and all the cruise stuff and all the stories from previous years." A small smile appeared. "And now I finally get to go."
Connor grinned. "Okay, that's actually really cool. I wish I could go."
Kevin laughed. "Trust me, after three days of Miles and Carter being Miles and Carter, you'd be begging for rescue."
"Rude."
"I'm right."
Connor thought about it. "...You're probably right."
Up front, Carter bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing, Miles wasn't nearly as subtle, "You know I can hear you two, right?"
"That's part of the problem!" Kevin immediately shot back.
The car filled with laughter for the first time since the previous evening and for just a few moments, everything felt normal again.
A little while later, Miles pulled into a quiet suburban neighborhood on the western side of Las Vegas. Connor's house wasn't large. Just a modest single-story home with neatly maintained landscaping and flowerbeds that looked like someone actually cared about them. The kind of place that felt lived in and the kind of place that felt like home.
Diane was already standing outside when they arrived. She waved as the Jeep pulled into the driveway. Connor climbed out first, "Hey, Mom."
Diane smiled, "Hey yourself." Then she looked toward the adults. "Thank you for keeping him and bringing him home in one piece."
Carter immediately shook his head. "Please. We practically had to fight Kevin to get him to come home."
"Not true." Kevin protested.
And Miles shot back from the driving side, "Absolutely true."
Connor groaned, Kevin looked mortified, and Diane laughed. "That bad?"
"It is now."
Miles climbed out of the driver's seat and leaned against the vehicle for a moment before looking toward Connor, then toward Diane, then back toward Connor again.
A thought clearly forming, Carter recognized the look instantly.
Uh oh.
Diane apparently noticed it too. "What?"
Miles pointed toward Connor. "This kid."
Connor immediately looked suspicious. "What about me?"
Miles folded his arms. "So earlier I heard him say he wished he could go on the cruise."
Connor's eyes widened, Kevin immediately covered his face. "Oh no."
Diane blinked. "Oh."
Connor looked between all of them. "...I feel like I'm walking into something."
Miles nodded."You are."
Kevin groaned. "Miles..."
"Nope." Kevin knew that tone and he couldn’t even bother to try because it was already over. Miles looked at Diane. "How long has it been since you actually took a vacation?"
Diane opened her mouth closed it and thought about it then laughed. "Oh that's never a good sign."
"How long?"
She sighed. "Honestly? It’s been a while. It’s been me and just the boys for a while and with his brother now gone off into the world, I just work..."
Miles nodded. "Thought so."
Diane immediately pointed at him. "No, Miles please...."
Miles pointed right back. "Counterpoint."
Diane narrowed her eyes. "Miles."
"Connor already hangs around our place half the time anyway."
Kevin looked horrified. "I am begging you not to do whatever you're about to do."
Nobody listened as Miles continued. "You deserve a vacation. He deserves a vacation." Then toward Kevin. "And frankly, I don't feel like listening to this one mope around for a week because his best friend isn't there."
Kevin's face immediately turned bright red. "I WOULD NOT MOPE."
"You absolutely would."
Carter nodded. "He absolutely would."
Connor immediately joined in. "Oh he absolutely would."
Diane laughed so hard she had to grab the fence for support, as Kevin looked betrayed. "I hate all of you."
"No you don't." Miles grinned before looking back toward Diane. "I'm serious. You've done a hell of a job raising this kid."
Connor looked away immediately, slightly embarrassed but taking the compliment as Diane looked caught off guard. "And everybody deserves a break every once in a while. So let me take care of it."
Diane stared at him. "Miles..."
"No arguments."
"There are absolutely arguments."
"Nope."
"There are several."
"Nope."
Carter was openly laughing now and Connor looked like Christmas had arrived six months early and Kevin looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him whole.
Finally Diane shook her head. "You are ridiculous."
Miles smiled. "I’ve been told that on several occasions. But...That's not a no."
Diane laughed again. "No....It's not."
Connor's jaw dropped as Kevin immediately threw both hands into the air. "Oh my God."
Miles pointed triumphantly. "There it is."
Carter shook his head. "I can't believe that actually worked."
Neither could Diane, but looking at the smile on Connor's face?
She wasn't entirely sure she wanted it to fail.
GO Gym
Las Vegas, Nevada
The gym was quieter than usual. It wasn’t empty, but quiet enough that Miles could hear the distant rhythm of someone working a heavy bag on the far side of the building and the faint hum of the overhead lights hanging above the ring.
The SCW World Heavyweight Championship sat on the ring apron beside him. It wasnt displayed or posed.
Just there as Miles sat on the edge of the ring with a bottle of water dangling loosely from one hand while his eyes drifted toward the championship that had consumed so much of his life for so many years.
“It’s funny, for six years I had imagined what this would feel like. For six years people had told me I was capable of becoming World Champion. For six years there was always somebody ready to tell me what he needed to do differently. Some thought that I needed to be more ruthless. Others thought he needed to stop worrying about everyone else and focus on himself. Some even thought that I needed to play politics. Some thought I needed to stop taking the difficult road every single time an easier one presented itself.
The funny thing was that almost all of them missed the point. I never wanted the easy road, I never wanted shortcuts. And I never wanted someone handing him opportunities because of who he knew or whose coattails he could ride. I wanted to earn it, every mile, every scar, every setback and every disappointment. Every damn second of it, because when I finally got here, nobody would ever be able to say it was handed to me.”
He reached over and picked up the championship, resting it comfortably across his shoulder. A year ago he had been chasing, six months ago he had been chasing. Hell, two months ago he had still been chasing.
Now? Now people were chasing him, and strangely enough, he loved it, because for the first time in his career he wasn't trying to convince people he belonged at the top of SCW. The championship sitting on his shoulder was all the proof he needed.
Miles shook his head and laughed softly. "You know what I've noticed this week?"
His eyes lifted toward the camera.
"Nobody seems all that interested in talking about me."
A grin crossed his face.
"They're talking about Logan Hunter and Carter. They're talking about Summer XXXTreme. They're talking about the cruise. They're talking about the grudge match and somehow the SCW World Heavyweight Champion got turned into a side quest."
The grin widened slightly.
"Which is honestly kind of impressive when you think about it.” Miles stood from the ring apron and slowly began pacing alongside the ring.
"Because everybody keeps talking about Logan using me to send a message. They keep talking about Logan trying to get into Carter's head. They keep talking about momentum heading into Summer XXXTreme. But here's the problem with all of that. The problem is that eventually Logan Hunter has to stop talking about Carter and actually step into a ring with me."
The grin disappeared, not replaced by anger but by confidence. The kind that only comes from knowing exactly who you are.
"And that's where this whole thing starts falling apart."
Miles adjusted the championship slightly on his shoulder.
"Because if Logan thinks I'm just the obstacle standing between him and my husband, then he hasn't been paying attention. I'm not a message. I'm not a warning shot. I'm not the preview before the main attraction."
A finger tapped the faceplate of the World Championship.
"I'm the SCW World Heavyweight Champion. I earned that by surviving six years in this company. I earned that by taking every setback, every failure, every disappointment and refusing to let it define me. And I earned that by walking into Osaka and beating Alexander Raven when everybody in the world knew exactly what was on the line."
Miles took a slow breath.
"So the first mistake Logan is probably going to be making is treating me like I'm part of somebody else's story. The second mistake is thinking I need extra motivation. Trust me, Logan. Life has been generous enough to provide that lately."
His expression hardened slightly.
"I've spent the last several weeks protecting my family. I've spent the last several weeks making sure the people I love are safe. I've spent the last several weeks carrying responsibilities that make getting punched in the face for a living sound relaxing and because of that, the last thing in the world I'm worried about is mind games."
He pointed directly into the camera.
"You don't get to send messages through me. Not anymore. If you want to make a statement before Summer XXXTreme, you're going to have to earn it. If you want momentum heading onto that ship, you're going to have to earn it. If you want to stand over the World Champion and make people believe you've arrived..."
A slow shake of his head.
"You're going to have to earn that too. And here's the part nobody seems interested in talking about. Everybody keeps discussing what happens if Logan Hunter beats me. Everybody keeps discussing the message that sends. Everybody keeps discussing what it means for Carter. But nobody wants to talk about what happens when he doesn't. Nobody wants to talk about what happens when Logan Hunter spends twenty minutes learning exactly why I'm carrying this championship. Nobody wants to talk about what happens when the man he's overlooking reminds him exactly why he's standing at the top of this company."
A smile slowly returned.
“For six years I chased this championship. For six years I chased the mountain.”
His hand rested against the title.
"Then Osaka happened and now? Now I'm the guy standing on top of it. And the funny thing is, for years people got frustrated with me because they thought I was making the climb harder than it needed to be. They thought I should've taken shortcuts. They thought I should've played politics. They thought I should've worried more about championships than people but standing here now, holding this championship on my shoulder, I wouldn't change a damn thing. Because every choice I made got me here. Every setback got me here. Every mistake got me here. And now that I'm finally standing at the top of the mountain, I'm not interested in giving up my spot just because somebody else thinks they're ready to climb it."
He looked directly into the camera one final time.
"So Logan, if your plan is to use me as a stepping stone on your way to Carter..."
Miles laughed softly.
"Good luck with that."
The World Champion adjusted the title on his shoulder.
"Because before you get to him... You've got to get through me. And that's a problem all by itself."