It’s not every day that you get the chance to really show someone just how much they truly mean to you.
“Just Another Day”
It was something that Miles had heard time and time again for the last month when it pertained to Carter’s 24th birthday. Despite that statement though that Carter echoed every time Miles would try and get out of his adorable boyfriend what he wanted for his birthday, the plans were in place 2 weeks before they even got to Climax Control in Phoenix.
It was almost too fun to keep him in suspense from the details. From the moment that Miles got off the call that Carter walked in on, suspicions set in. It only got worse when as the special day approached and questions began to be asked about plans, Miles made sure to tell everyone and anyone that they would be otherwise occupied. Sunday Night through Thursday Morning was completely accounted for and there was not one single soul that was allowed to interfere in any of it. If he had felt brave, he would have even told people that their phones would have been off but that would have only led to him being yelled at.
After a private conversation with a few people, they all understood the assignment. Mum was the word and they would have plenty of opportunity to celebrate another year around the sun for Carter later in the week.
Miles even had an evil little thought to send his boyfriend on a scavenger hunt in Phoenix, especially after the night before when Carter tried to pry it out of him. Alas there wasn’t enough time and he let the whole thing dangle out there like a carrot and a few adorable pouts.
Mind you, he thought the whole damn thing would go to hell when Carter was doing a meet and greet and the man that has basically been stalking him for the last month once again showed up. What the hell did that guy do? Cash in all his frequent flyer miles to stalk the son that he walked away from?!? This guy seemed to make himself be seen whenever Miles wasn’t around, conveniently, saving himself from what would more than likely have been getting the man shoved against the wall and a long line of questioning...after some not-so-mild threatening.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Miles said after finally catching up with Carter inside of the catering area, trying to calm himself down.
Carter just sighs, “Yeah, I’m alright.” the young man said, almost waving off the whole thing.
Miles sighed in frustration, “You should have called for security. It’s obvious the man is stalking you at this point.”
The look that Carter gave was like ‘you’re right but...’, “For showing up to multiple shows as a paying fan? We have people that follow us around the world, he hasn’t done anything to warrant that...”
“-Yet.” Miles holds his hands up, “Sorry, I’m being the protective boyfriend again.”
Carter can’t help but smile, “Yeah, you are and still holding out on me about what you are even thinking about doing. Even trying to pack for whatever you have in mind gave me absolutely no clues.”
“Think? Nah, there is no thinking about it.” Miles smiles as his phone drops a tone that he has a message. His attention turns to that for a moment, and then stands up, “Ready?”
“For what?” Miles just holds out his hand and gives Carter a look, without a word spoken. After just a beat, Carter takes his hand and stands up with him.
And within the hour...
“Again with the private plane?” Carter said settling into his seat, “Ok, seriously where are we going?”
“Well you can thank Laura for this one,” Miles said with a laugh, dropping his one bag beside him and getting set up for takeoff.
Carter just growls and runs his hands through his blonde hair with a ton of frustration, “MILES YOU ARE KILLING ME!”
“I am not, and you are being overly dramatic again,” the mischievous blue-green eyes shimmered as he reaches up and takes one of Carter’s hands in his, “Trust me, it is going to be worth it and you’ll understand why I kept it so quiet.”
“Hey, as secretive as you’ve been with him, I can’t blame him for it.” Laura Phoenix said as she came from the front of the plane to get herself ready for their flight, “We just got the clearance and are about to take off. Next stop, Knoxville.”
Miles clasps his hands together like a giddy little kid, “Awesome, and thank you again for this. I hope you aren’t going out of your way...”
Laura shrugs as she buckles in, “Actually it’s not. It’s a perfect refueling spot.”
“Refueling?” Carter asked while looking at Miles, “I’m so confused right now.”
Laura just laughed as did Miles, “Will you put this boy out of his misery already? We’re not even in the air yet and I’m beginning to think he’s believing we’re gonna kidnap him.”
Carter just sighs, “I don’t believe that, I’m sorry, Ms. Phoenix...I know I’m not being a great guest right now.”
“Carter, call me Laura and trust me, I’m not the greatest about surprises either.” Laura sits back and thinks, “Neither is Bella now that I think about it.”
“No, she’s really not.” Miles says as he shakes his head as outside the window the plane is on the move down the runway and it gently lifts off the ground into the darkening Phoenix sky, “Well now that we’re finally on the way, I guess I can let it all out. Laura and the crew are giving us a lift to Knoxville, Tennessee, where when we depart we will be checking into a nice hotel room for the evening. Once we wake up, we’re going to get our rental and make our way to Pigeon Forge, TN where we will spend 3 nights at a private cabin not far from our actual destination...”
Carter’s blue eyes grow big as he realizes what Miles is telling him, “You mean?”
With that Miles reaches into his bag and pulls out his tablet, turning it on and opens the screen and hands it over to Carter, “You, my amazing deserving boyfriend, are about to check one off the bucket-list where you are going to spend your 24th birthday in Dollywood.”
“Are you- ...wait...What about Ms. Thang?!?” Carter asks which brings a fit of laughter from Laura.
“Out of all the names for a cat in my life...” is all she gets out.
“Is perfectly safe and currently annoying the hell out of K and Aron.” Miles said, showing him a picture from a text he got from Fenris about an hour ago, of her perched on his head and the most annoyed look on K’s face that brings a laugh from Carter, “Well, at least I hope she is...”
As Miles tucks his phone into the side of him Carter just sits in silence for a moment, looking out the window in shock before he turns back and looks adoringly at Miles, “So...Dollywood?”
“Just you and me, babe.” Miles says as he grabs Carter’s hand again, “We’ll see mom and grams Thursday night to round out the week before we head to Yuma.”
Carter just sits in a stun silence for a moment, “You really thought of everything.”
“That I did.” Miles says leaning towards him, “Happy?”
Carter just nods and gives him a quick kiss, “Very.”
The Road to Redemption
He remembers how it felt just a few short weeks ago when he lost the match for both he and Ally.
In his mind's eye, Miles stood at the edge of the wrestling ring, his gaze fixed on the formidable figure of Oliver Zahn. The memory of their match, a loss that had haunted him for weeks, burned fresh in Miles' mind. Determination surged through his veins as he clenched his fists, vowing to redeem himself. Eventually...
The countdown to Summer Xxxtreme XI, one the biggest wrestling events of the year, loomed only a couple of weeks away where he would be involved in that Roulette Title match. BUT, Miles knew that his upcoming rematch against Oliver Zahn was not just a chance to settle a personal score, but also a crucial stepping stone towards his ultimate goal of getting back to championship glory.
But before the grand stage of Summer Xxxtreme XI, Miles found himself in the enchanting town of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. He had planned this trip to coincide with Carter's birthday, a celebration and an opportunity to find peace in each other's company amidst the chaos of Miles' & Carter’s careers.
As the sun cast a warm glow over the picturesque landscape, Miles couldn't help but marvel at the beauty of the Smoky Mountains that cradled the area. The lush greenery and majestic peaks seemed to whisper words of encouragement, as if nature itself knew the importance of this journey for Miles. In and amongst the trees was a quiet little cabin that was rented for just the two of them.
On the deck, Miles just sat quietly, trying to ease his mind, and kept trying to snap back to business when he should just be enjoying his time but sometimes... business before pleasure.
Carter's voice of the strewn of phone calls that he was getting on his birthday, broke Miles' reverie, drawing his attention back to the present moment.
Miles smiled, grateful for Carter's unwavering support. Ever since his trip up against Harris and Mercer and even more so against Zahn, Miles couldn’t help but feel like he was slipping into a place he didn’t want to go.
Just as it seemed like Carter was going to get a break, his phone would only go off again with another round of birthday wishes. Miles just stood up and motioned to Carter he was going to take a quick walk as to not to disturb him from his well deserved moment and Miles quickly descended the stairs and hoped that this would be enough. Last thing he needed was to ruin this trip with his own mental bullshit.
Miles stopped a short bit out, the cabin just over the ridge and he looked up, “Ok, we need to have a slight talk, you and I. I know that I haven’t always been the best but I am trying to enjoy a little R&R with that beautiful man, so if you could ever be so helpful as to help me get my shit together, that would be amazingly appreciated.”
And as suspected, silence. Of course...we could never have the easy road could we? ...fucker.
“Ok fine! I’ll admit that sometimes my brain isn’t as focused as it should be. *I* let Ally down in that match and I’m the one that got pinned. And now because of me, she’s in limbo. Course if I know that girl like I do, she won’t have any issue in finding herself something to do at Summer Xxxtreme but man, did you have to snap me back to reality so damn fast? I took Oliver WAY too lightly the first time and I should have known better seeing as he is under the learning tree from guys like Kris Ryan.”
Miles gives a quick run of his hands through his curly locks and rubs the back of his neck.
“My dumb ass thought, oh hey...this should be a walk in the fucking park and instead I had my ass stomped into the ground and once again, shitstains like Michael Harris get proven to be right.”
That last line hit hard, he stops and growls out, obviously frustrated with himself and with things beyond his control.
“How many times does it take to get the point through in the thick skull of Miles Kasey that hey, maybe he should actually pay attention? Apparently the answer is twice because I will be DAMNED if that shit happens to me again. What the hell does Oliver even have to prove in this match? He already kicked my ass, he’s got that Mixed Title Match set up and yeah it seems like beating me going into anything seems as it’s a right of fucking passage anymore but honestly, I completely fucking over it. They all know that I am more than just the sum of the things that I have done and yet, there are some out there that think I’m a joke.”
He knows he’s ranting into the void but hey, at this point if it helps him get his shit together...just let him go.
“Austin tried to warn me weeks ago and I didn’t see it until just now that through everything, all the pomp and the circumstance, all the glitz and glamor...I’m still just a tosser from Manchester that somehow got lucky enough to have juuuuust enough success in life to actually pull himself out from the gutter.”
Miles slaps his forehead a couple of times like he’s trying to knock some sense into himself.
“I have to get out of this street rat mentality and finally begin to believe in myself like the others do. Once I give Carter the absolute birthday of a lifetime, I’m going to go into Yuma with my mind finally so Goddamn clear and my heart set in making the statement against Oliver Zahn, that Peter Vaughn and the others that are in that match are going to actually understand that the shithead that they’ve seen finally snapped out of his awkward stage and finally showing them that the luck was for a reason, I can actually fucking learn and that people should actually be afraid when this head finally gets in-line with my heart and shows a lot of people just how wrong they’ve been about me.”
A smirk grows...no...not a smirk...a sneer.
“Olly has only begun to understand what he is facing and I’m out to redeem myself for my mistakes from the last time. I’ve already taken my punishment enough and I am going to go into Summer Xxxtreme with so much momentum it’s gonna make all their heads spin like a top. I’m not going to trash the guy because why? What’s the fucking point? He’s hella talent and that only means that I have to be that much better. I have to be quicker, lighter on my feet and not let myself get caught and dropped like before. Believe it or not...I CAN BE TAUGHT!”
“But I also am going in stronger, I’m going in with a chip on my shoulder...and I dare him...” Miles eyes shoot forward, “I DARE YOU OLIVER! ...knock it off...if you can.”
From off in the distance we hear Carter calling out, “MILES!!! I’M FINALLY OFF THE PHONE! WE CAN GO NOW!”
Miles just looks back and smiles, “If anything...I do this for him if not for me. I’m not going to be pushed around anymore.”
And with that he begins his quick journey back for the real reason they are here...and that’s all you need to know for now.
