The buzz of the door lock echoed louder than it should have.
LJ stepped in slowly behind Miles, instinctively lowering his voice and posture. The security protocols had been intense, metal detectors, check-ins, even a brief talk with the attending officer stationed nearby, but it was all necessary. Kevin was protected, physically and legally. But emotionally, that was a whole other story.
The room was more like a studio apartment than a hospital suite. Comfortable furniture. Lots and lots of natural light. Books stacked in uneven towers on the desk. A few movie posters on the wall, faded, curling at the edges. It was a space trying hard not to feel clinical, but the presence of quiet orderlies just outside the door was a reminder this wasn’t exactly a safe house.
Kevin sat curled up on the window seat, knees tucked to his chest, hoodie sleeves covering his hands. His hair had grown longer since LJ had seen him in photos, dark, messy, and falling in front of his eyes like a curtain. He was staring out the window, unmoving, but his voice was alert, "I heard the door.”
Miles kept his tone soft, “Yeah mate, it’s just me and someone I wanted you to meet.”
Kevin didn’t turn around, “I don’t recall saying that I wanted company today, Miles.”
“I know,” Miles said gently, “But I thought maybe today you might, I dunno, tolerate some.”
Kevin snorted, “Must have caught me when I was high on the pain meds they had me on because that doesn’t sound like me.”
“Fair enough, bruv. But...” Miles glanced at LJ, “I wanted to introduce my half-brother to you. This is LJ. He was with me a few times when we were trying to find you. In fact, he was the one that thought about the motels around the area.”
LJ raised his hand instinctively, “Hey there, Kev. It’s good to finally meet you..”
Silence, then, after a beat, Kevin spits back, “I didn’t ask fuckin’ introductions either.”
Miles winced, but LJ stepped forward anyway, cautious but unfazed. He’d seen that edge before—in kids who’d been through hell, built walls with steel instead of stone.
“I just wanted to say thanks,” LJ said, looking at Miles uncomfortably for a moment, before clearing his throat, “For hanging in there. I know you don’t know me. I helped Miles look for you, though. So, I guess I already kinda care about you, whether that’s fair or not.”
Kevin finally turned his head. His eyes were red-rimmed, shadowed. Tired in a way no sixteen-year-old should ever look, “You helped him find me?”
“Yeah, man. He and I went practically every corner of Vegas before we found out you had gone back to LA, supposedly to try and talk to yer da.”
Kevin stared at him a long time, eyes narrowing, "Did you actually help, or were you just another guy standing behind him acting like backup?”
LJ blinked, "I..I mean...”
Kevin sat up straight and glared towards LJ, “I don’t need more people pretending to care. I’ve got enough of that.”
The words weren’t loud, but they hit hard.
LJ’s shoulders dropped, "I’m not pretending. But, okay. If you don’t want me here, I’ll go.”
Miles stepped in quickly, tone even but protective, "Kevin, come on, mate.”
“I said I’m done!” Kevin’s voice spiked, sharp enough to draw a nurse’s attention from the hallway. His hands were shaking now, clenched in his hoodie sleeves. He pulled his knees tighter to his chest, rocking slightly, "I can’t. Not today, okay? Not today. Just get the hell out of here.”
Miles turned toward LJ with a quiet sigh and nodded toward the door, "Let’s give him some space.”
LJ nodded, and they slipped out silently. The door clicked shut behind them.
The hospital smelled like antiseptic and old coffee. LJ hated it already.
He stood by a row of chairs that looked like they hadn’t been updated since the nineties, watching through the glass panel of Kevin’s room. Inside, Kevin sat curled on his bed, knees pulled up tight to his chest, eyes blank. A nurse murmured something soothing, but the kid didn’t seem to hear.
Miles had tried. God, he’d tried. Walked in slow, gentle voice, introduced LJ like it might mean something. But Kevin flinched away, voice rising until the nurses intervened. Now Miles was leaning against the wall outside the room, arms folded tight over his chest, jaw locked so hard LJ could see the muscle ticking along his cheek.
LJ stayed quiet for a while, letting the moment settle. The hum of fluorescent lights overhead was the only real sound between them. Finally, he spoke, "Not exactly how you pictured that going, huh?”
Miles didn’t look at him but just shook his head, “He’s been through hell.”
“I know.”
Miles exhaled through his nose, "There are times...He barely even remembers me at that moment in time. And when he does, he remembers everything else, too. The doctors say it’s why his stay is going to be a lot longer than just his medical needs.”
LJ nodded. His gaze drifted back to Kevin. He could feel how fragile the air was around them, like one wrong word might shatter the whole day.
A long beat passed before Miles pushed off the wall, scrubbing a hand over his face, "We should go. He’s not gonna want to see anyone else today.”
They left the hallway and stepped into the elevator. LJ hit the button for the lobby. The doors slid shut with a metallic groan, trapping them in the quiet.
LJ looked sideways at his brother.
“So, are you gonna tell me why we actually went through with all that boxing crap?”
Miles didn’t answer right away. He just stared at the floor, as if he could burn a hole through it.
“I mean,” LJ went on, his voice softer, “why we really did it. ‘Cause King Guy said so’? Or because, I dunno, you wanted to prove something?”
Miles scoffed under his breath, "It was never about proving anything.”
“Then what was it about?”
The elevator jolted as it descended. Miles rested his hands on the rail behind him, leaning back. His voice was low, quiet, "Sometimes, brothers gotta beat the hell out of each other so they don’t end up hating each other.”
LJ blinked, "What?”
Miles finally met his eyes, "LJ we had 20-plus years of not getting to grow up together. Our ol’ man fucked around on both of our mothers, and then shuffled loose the mortal coil, leaving absolutely hell in it’s wake. We didn’t get the big brother/little brother scuffle out of our system. I looked at it from a standpoint of this being the chance. That...If we didn’t get that out of our system, it was gonna sit there between us and fester worse than Lyle Kasey’s corpse. If we didn’t go through with it, you’d start thinking I didn’t respect you. I’d start thinking you didn’t want me around and one day, it would’ve come out way uglier than three rounds with gloves on.” He shrugged, "It was better we did it that way.”
LJ couldn’t help it—he let out a short, humorless laugh, "So… what? You punch me in the face so we can be closer?”
Miles smirked, “It worked, didn’t it?”
LJ rolled his eyes, “Barely.”
Miles smirked. But the humor faded almost as quickly as it came. A shadow passed over his face, “It wasn’t just the boxing match. I said a lot of stupid shit during that whole 2 weeks of Queen and King for a Day. Some to Ally. Some to you.”
LJ raised an eyebrow, "Like telling Ally I see her more than I see you?”
Miles winced, and shook his head and motioned with his hand before slapping it down onto the railing, “Yeah. That. I was angry at the whole situation, especially with Ally doing what she did to Artie. I’m trying to fix everything and I can’t fix Kevin, and I can’t fix how the crew in the locker room talk about us, and you and Ally and....and I couldn’t figure out how to keep you from getting pulled into the same mess. And I took it out on you both.”
LJ softened, his own gaze dropping, “Yeah. Well. You’re not the only one trying to figure stuff out.”
Miles eyed him, “What’s that supposed to mean?”
The elevator dinged as it hit the lobby. The doors slid open, but neither of them moved. LJ hesitated, then let out a slow breath.
“It means after Summer Xxxtreme and the cruise, I’m probably moving to Texas. Permently.”
Miles blinked, "Wait. Texas? As in Dallas, Texas? The whole damn state that takes at least 2 days to travel through if the weather is decent, Texas?”
LJ nodded, “Ally and I, we’ve been talking about things. Her and I have been together practically a year now and I don’t know, it seems like bouncing back and forth between my place in Vegas and her house outside of Dallas, is getting expensive. I wanna go to law school. I’ve been playing around with the final decision for long enough and there is a school near there that is fucking amazing. Vegas has been good to me. But it’s… it’s not home. Not anymore. I feel more comfortable and less stressed when I’m with her and that’s what I want in my life right now.”
Miles stared at him like he was trying to solve an equation in his head, "So that’s it? You’re just leaving?”
“I’m not leaving you,” LJ said, firmly, “I’m not leaving wrestling either. But I need to build something that’s mine, outside the ring. I don’t wanna wake up in ten years and wonder why I didn’t try.”
Miles swallowed hard. He looked away, pressing his lips together, "Are you sure about this?”
LJ’s voice was quiet but certain, "Yeah. I am.”
Miles nodded slowly, eyes a little glassy but no tears. He clapped LJ gently on the shoulder.
“Then I’ll help you pack.”
LJ gave a small smile, "I know.”
They stepped out of the elevator together, walking into the sunlit lobby. Whatever lay ahead, Texas, law school, or the next fight, they’d figure it out.
Miles sighs looking at his taller yet younger brother, “Well, I guess that’s how I know you’re really growing up.”
LJ grinned, "That or losing my mind.”
Miles patted his shoulder, "Meh, same thing. I up and left New York to move to Vegas and then moved a man that had the extreme hots for me.”
“And you for him, if I can recall the story properly.”
“Yeah...and the rest, as they say, is history.”
They stood there for a moment longer, brothers in the middle of the hallway, somewhere between past regrets and uncertain futures.
Brothers.
Gloves off.
-----
Grand Junction, CO
The hotel room of LJ Kasey and Alexandra Callaway
Early Evening
The last rays of Colorado sun spilled through the half-open curtains, painting gold lines across the hotel room’s white duvet. LJ set his duffel bag down by the wall with a quiet thump. He rolled his shoulder, wincing a little as he rotated it in its socket. Nothing serious, just the echoes of a few rough weeks.
Ally looked up from where she sat cross-legged on the bed, her phone in one hand, a bottled water in the other. She smiled the second she saw him, "There’s my world traveler.”
LJ grinned, moving over to drop a kiss on her forehead, "Hey, angel.”
She tilted her head, studying his face, "So, how was Vegas?”
LJ let out a breath, plopping down on the edge of the bed beside her, "Heavy. Like majorly heavy.”
“Kevin?”
“Yeah,” he said softly, "The kid is having a rough time. Miles...well, he’s carrying a lot. He’s trying so hard to fix everything. But it’s not the kind of thing you can just patch up.”
Ally gently touched his arm, "And what about the two of you?”
LJ gave a small laugh, "We’re okay, love. He does want to apologize to you, especially. For Queen for a Day week. For that crack about how I see you more than I see him.”
Ally raised a brow, "Oh, he does, does he?”
“He does,” LJ said, "But he wants to do it right. So, give him time and be prepared. This is Milo Kasey that we are talking about so anything is possible, complete with you being serenaded in front of God and everybody.”
She considered that, then nodded, "Okay. I can give him time.”
He leaned his head briefly against hers, soaking up the quiet comfort she always seemed to radiate.
“You know what’s weird?” he murmured.
“What?”
“This whole year, everything that’s happened, it feels like it’s all pointing me here, to this weekend. To us teaming up for the first time.”
She smiled, soft but fierce, "Well it’s about time, don’t you think?”
“It’s long overdue so...hell yeah.” LJ’s grin widened, but there was steel behind it now, "I am so tired of losing. I’m tired of people acting like I’m just Miles’ brother who got lucky to be here. I want to show them who the hell I am. We’re gonna show them.”
Ally poked his chest lightly, "Then let’s make it count.”
-----
The Colorado air was cool, tinged with the smell of brewing coffee from a café down the block. Streetlights glowed overhead as LJ strolled the sidewalk, hoodie pulled over his hair, hands buried in the pockets. The sidewalk under his boots felt solid, grounding him in a way the ring sometimes didn’t.
He stopped under a flickering neon sign, stared straight into the camera that trailed him for a pre-match spot.
He took a deep breath, then let it out slowly.
“Grand Junction. Actually, no, SCW in total”
He tilted his head, voice steady but edged.
“You’ve seen me lose. Over… and over… and over. People are beginning to think that I’m cursed. I’m sure there are even some people who say I’m just the guy who shows up, puts on a good fight, and goes home empty-handed.”
He let a smirk twist his lips, "But here’s the thing about me: I don’t stay down. And I sure as hell don’t forget.”
He shifted his weight, eyes burning a little brighter under the neon glow.
“This Sunday, myself and Ally, yeah, the same Ally who’s been fighting her own wars, who’s bled for this business just like I have, we’re stepping in there together for the first time. And on the other side of the ring… we got Song. And we got Justin Smith.”
“This Sunday, I am teaming up with Ally Callaway — yeah, that Ally — for the first time. First time since we started this thing a year ago. And we’re stepping into the ring against Song and Justin Smith. One of those weird ‘lethal lottery’ deals.”
He paused for effect.
“Song, I’ve seen what you’re about. You move like you’re five steps ahead, and you’ve got experience on your side. But the one thing you don’t have?”
He pointed to himself, then directly at the camera.
“You don’t have Ally. And I do.”
There was a different edge to his voice now, not fire, not bitterness. Faith. Pure and unshakable.
“She’s not just my partner. She’s one of the toughest women in this business. She’s fought her way out of every corner she’s ever been shoved into, and came out swinging. And when it comes to this match? I don’t have a single doubt in my mind.”
He tilted his head slightly.
“You try and test her, Song, you’ll find out exactly why I trust her to finish the job. She’s got her eyes locked on you, and I promise you, she’s ready for whatever you’re bringing.”
Then, LJ turned the attention squarely to his own half of the match.
He spat Justin’s name like a challenge.
“Justin, you’ve been running your mouth since you got here. Acting like you’re some big deal. Like you’re above me. But guess what? You’re not. You really aren’t. You’re the same as me, a guy who’s been chasing wins and coming up short. Except there’s a difference between us.”
He pointed to his chest.
“I know who I am. And I know that I’m done living in my brother’s shadow. I’m done living in anyone’s shadow. Sunday, I’m not walking out there looking for a moral victory. I’m looking to win.”
His jaw flexed, voice growing sharper.
“You’re gonna find out real fast, Justin, that there’s nothing more dangerous than a man who’s got nothing left to lose. I’m tired of being the guy who almost made it. I’m tired of people writing me off.”
He paused, lowering his voice, every word deliberate.
“This is my time. Our time. Me and Ally, we’re not just some couple trying to play nice in a mixed tag. We’re a unit. We’re coming to fight. And Sunday, we’re putting a full stop on this losing streak.”
A small grin flickered across his face as he stepped back.
“So bring your best. Because I’m bringing mine and I know damn well Ally is going to bring hers.”
He dropped his hood and let the cool breeze hit his face, eyes glinting under the lights.
“I’m done waiting for my moment, I’m fucking taking it.”
He turned and kept walking into the night, his footsteps echoing off the quiet storefronts behind him.
He let the words hang, then lowered his tone again, driving it home.
“This Sunday, me and Ally? We’re not just stepping out for bragging rights. We’re stepping out to prove a point. You call it a random pairing.”
He gave the camera one last look, this one with weight.
“I call it destiny.”
