Post by Dean Harper on Jul 9, 2023 15:55:50 GMT
The camera shows Dean sitting on the throne, title thrown over the back as he sits leaning forward with his hands on his knees.
“There is something about the first match I have after beating my father to a bloody pulp in the center of the ring being to win the title that seems… anti-climatic.”
“I get it. You were a guy here from the OG days. You’ve done podcasts and commentary and all that shit. You’ve worked backstage and in the ring. And people love you. You got dedicated fans. And that’s great. You’ve maybe not had the big moments like other guys but you’ve certainly been in a couple good matches.”
“So why the fuck are you here with me? Like, goddamn, did you piss someone off backstage? Did you steal the last turkey sub from catering? Did you sleep with someone’s daughter? Maybe it's just bad timing. Maybe its all about wanting to prove you still have what it takes to make it in the ring.”
Dean rubs his face, “But I don’t think about you. I don’t consider you. I honestly had to be reminded of who you were. I was expecting to face a challenge. Not someone trying to recapture their glory days. The mood I’m in… shit, I haven’t been this unleashed on my rage since Spike Kane and Shea O’Hara fucked up. So when I say this isn’t going to end well for you, I want you to understand that I am going to fucking unload on you.”
Dean sits back on his throne, “I’ve got a lot of rage and nowhere else to direct it. So when I come and beat you into a goddamned bloody pulp, understand it’s not personal. After the week I’ve had, I am so not in the mood for this.”
“This week you’re prey. But you’re not one of the motherfuckers who deserves this. I have no problem with you throwing yourself in the way of my misplaced rage, but just because you’re not one of the ones whose throat I want to rip out with my bare hands doesn’t mean I’m going to go easy on you. Nor does it mean that I’m going to be too distracted by my anger at others to annihilate you. My therapist always used to say that I should visualize my problems, so I’m just gonna go ahead and pretend that you are the manifestation of problems. Sound good?”
“You likely have your reasons, but I’m not interested. I’m not invested. I don’t care about you. So while you might be a tremendously talented wrestler? I’m not the one who goes soft just because you don’t deserve it.”
“But as I said before. I’m not in the mood for your act, and this isn’t a circus, it’s an arena. I’m not a trained lion, I’m a very angry, vengeful man with dangerously close to nothing left to lose… and it's nothing personal. It’s just business.”
Damien was sleeping and had been for a little while. It was meant to be a date night. It was meant to be eating dinner and joking around, romance, and fun. But instead, they were eating dinner in silence. The itch in Dean’s brain had started with the first glass of wine. Warren was keeping secrets. Maybe it was all in his head, it felt like it likely was all in his head. They had disagreements but it was fine. Things were fine… but what if they weren’t fine? “Want to try something?”
Warren was not a drinker. Experience enough with one demon had made him cautious about tempting anymore into his life. It was easy to abuse substances to cope with everything this career and this fucked up life put people through. Spike had been no stranger to it, even Emma had been recently let go as the head women’s trainer at the PC after students reported her drinking during work hours, Ciara was her replacement, and Warren wasn’t sure if it was temporary or permanent. “That’s a loaded question, love, especially from you,” Warren said softly.
“Honesty hour.” Dean smiled leaning forward, “Complete honesty with no white lies and no bullshit. For an hour. Ask and receive honesty. Guaranteed. But we both have to do it. Want to play?”
“Okay, but don’t yell at me if I say something you don’t like.”
“Same to you.” Dean forced a smile, “And go.”
“I want you to include me more in Damien’s life, Angel shouldn’t be his only influence. I know he’s your dad and all, but…the man isn’t exactly mentally stable enough to be a good parental figure in my opinion, I mean look at what he drives you and Sabin to.”
"I won't stand in the way of you and Damien building a relationship. Anything I can do to help you build it I will. I…"
Warren knew Dean was holding something back, could see it by the subtle flicker in his eyes when Angel was mentioned, Warren didn’t understand paternal love quite as well as he should have, one father figure beat him, and the other practically disowned him for not living up to every expectation he had of him. That Dean would be so obsessed with attaining a father’s love did not settle well with Warren. “I know you have more to say, so please don’t treat me like a fragile thing, just because I struggle with being seen a certain way, as the complete opposite to both my fathers doesn’t mean I’m made of glass.”
"It's not...I know you don't approve of everything Dad does. I know you don't like how...obsessive I've been about him lately. And maybe I'm fucked up and don't know anything. But I do think he does push me to do my best.” Dean shrugged his shoulders while he tried to figure out how to say what he wanted to say, “ I do think he loves me. Loves Damien. Loves you too, in his own way."
“He’s never shown it, most he mentions is when he’s taking shots at me for being a Kane. I just don’t have the relationship with him that you do. I doubt I ever will, not least because I can’t imagine Tara as my mom, even if Spike was married to her once. Sometimes I think he resents me and you even being a thing because in his eyes I am little more than another bastard son of a rival, Angel thinks you deserve better and he’s probably right, to be honest.”
"Hey, don't talk shit about my husband like that." Dean reached across the table for Warren's hand. "I don't think he feels that way about you. You don't have to see Tara as a mom as she’s like my stepmom. We could try and build a family connection with them if you want. I know it's easier for me but if it would help I can put some inroads there."
“To be completely honest Tara and Sabin rub me the wrong way, remind me too much of Spike in how they are obsessed with being seen as definitive legends in this business with no equals, consumed with representing a wrestling legacy.” Warren sighed. ”And if I don’t have to deal with that, I’d rather not…unless you want me to for your sake.”
"Oh…Okay... I won't force you to come to family dinner or anything. Are there any other relationships I have that you resent?”
“I’m sorry, If it’s too much, we can part ways. I mean I don’t want to make every family gathering we ever have awkward for the rest of time. What we have is nice but maybe it’s not the kind of perfect love I know you’re searching for. You’re more like Vivienne in that sense than you realize.” Warren smiled. “You deserve someone who actually fits into your family, that’s not me. I’m the black sheep of every family I try to belong to.”
A long pause, as Warren considered his next words carefully.
“If we should split up, I will respect you and give you a divorce without a fight. I won’t however make you choose between me and them.”
"...I've never said I wanted a divorce. Do...Do you want a divorce?"
“I don’t know, I've considered it. Sometimes I feel like just walking on out of here because I don’t belong…but we’re married now, I figure you at least deserve to know this time.”
It felt like the air got sucked out of the room. "I...appreciate you not just up and leaving this time. I've felt...like something was off for a while. I just...I thought… Is there anything that we can do to fix this? Or is it just...like...a band-aid on a gunshot wound? Wasting time while our marriage bleeds out?"
“Honestly…I don’t know, all I know is I'll never fit into the Blake Dochetery side of the family as well as you have, and that doesn’t seem fair to have hanging over our marriage forever, does it? I mean we could try therapy but what if none of it works?” A deep sigh as long-held-back resentment poured from Warren. “I mean every time I see Tara I just want to slap her, that’s always going to be awkward. I know it's cliché to hate your in-laws but that’s where we are apparently.”
Dean wasn’t used to hearing things like this from Warren, had no idea he felt like this. "Why do you want to slap her?"
"Ever meet one of those people you just want to punch, you have no idea why. That’s essentially Tara for me."
Dean rubbed a hand through his hair. "Have you been holding this inside the whole time? Or did you just notice this?"
“I know Spike hated her, maybe it’s something in my blood. Honestly, I held it in…for you. After all, we can’t choose our family can we…?”
"Is it because she shit-talked eternity?"
“That might be part of it…but I don’t think that’s all of it. I guess I should try and fix that too, see what’s going on with her and Abby. If only I could convince Dawn to come and mend bridges with me. I know you don’t really get it, but you haven’t spent as much time with her as I have. I know she took me away for a while but I’ve seen sides of her nobody else has."
Dean pulled his hand back as Warren hadn’t taken it, "How long have you been unhappy? If you felt like this for a while, why did we get married?"
“Because I thought it was the right thing to do, that my love for you would conquer all my fears and anxieties. Now though, I’m not so sure just being in love with you is enough. I love you, I do, but I also feel like with my memory issues and shit, you keep me wrapped up in cotton wool as best you can, and honestly whilst I appreciate the intention, it’s suffocating. Sometimes I just want to let loose too, find that fierce spark that drew us together again…if it hasn’t died out already.”
“Do you want to come back to wrestling? I’m not stopping you. If that and getting in therapy would help salvage this, I want to try it.”
“Sure, therapy is probably a good call regardless.” Warren smiled. “As for wrestling, maybe we could try a brief tag team run again, I mean if Angel can do it as World Champion, why can’t we? We probably need a new name though, it’s probably long overdue we stopped defining ourselves by the shadows of the dead.” Warren said. “I can’t promise more than that, at least not whilst I’m still unsure if this can be saved.”
Dean nodded, “As long as we try… if it’s not worth it, I won't keep you here against your will.”
“There is something about the first match I have after beating my father to a bloody pulp in the center of the ring being to win the title that seems… anti-climatic.”
“I get it. You were a guy here from the OG days. You’ve done podcasts and commentary and all that shit. You’ve worked backstage and in the ring. And people love you. You got dedicated fans. And that’s great. You’ve maybe not had the big moments like other guys but you’ve certainly been in a couple good matches.”
“So why the fuck are you here with me? Like, goddamn, did you piss someone off backstage? Did you steal the last turkey sub from catering? Did you sleep with someone’s daughter? Maybe it's just bad timing. Maybe its all about wanting to prove you still have what it takes to make it in the ring.”
Dean rubs his face, “But I don’t think about you. I don’t consider you. I honestly had to be reminded of who you were. I was expecting to face a challenge. Not someone trying to recapture their glory days. The mood I’m in… shit, I haven’t been this unleashed on my rage since Spike Kane and Shea O’Hara fucked up. So when I say this isn’t going to end well for you, I want you to understand that I am going to fucking unload on you.”
Dean sits back on his throne, “I’ve got a lot of rage and nowhere else to direct it. So when I come and beat you into a goddamned bloody pulp, understand it’s not personal. After the week I’ve had, I am so not in the mood for this.”
“This week you’re prey. But you’re not one of the motherfuckers who deserves this. I have no problem with you throwing yourself in the way of my misplaced rage, but just because you’re not one of the ones whose throat I want to rip out with my bare hands doesn’t mean I’m going to go easy on you. Nor does it mean that I’m going to be too distracted by my anger at others to annihilate you. My therapist always used to say that I should visualize my problems, so I’m just gonna go ahead and pretend that you are the manifestation of problems. Sound good?”
“You likely have your reasons, but I’m not interested. I’m not invested. I don’t care about you. So while you might be a tremendously talented wrestler? I’m not the one who goes soft just because you don’t deserve it.”
“But as I said before. I’m not in the mood for your act, and this isn’t a circus, it’s an arena. I’m not a trained lion, I’m a very angry, vengeful man with dangerously close to nothing left to lose… and it's nothing personal. It’s just business.”
Damien was sleeping and had been for a little while. It was meant to be a date night. It was meant to be eating dinner and joking around, romance, and fun. But instead, they were eating dinner in silence. The itch in Dean’s brain had started with the first glass of wine. Warren was keeping secrets. Maybe it was all in his head, it felt like it likely was all in his head. They had disagreements but it was fine. Things were fine… but what if they weren’t fine? “Want to try something?”
Warren was not a drinker. Experience enough with one demon had made him cautious about tempting anymore into his life. It was easy to abuse substances to cope with everything this career and this fucked up life put people through. Spike had been no stranger to it, even Emma had been recently let go as the head women’s trainer at the PC after students reported her drinking during work hours, Ciara was her replacement, and Warren wasn’t sure if it was temporary or permanent. “That’s a loaded question, love, especially from you,” Warren said softly.
“Honesty hour.” Dean smiled leaning forward, “Complete honesty with no white lies and no bullshit. For an hour. Ask and receive honesty. Guaranteed. But we both have to do it. Want to play?”
“Okay, but don’t yell at me if I say something you don’t like.”
“Same to you.” Dean forced a smile, “And go.”
“I want you to include me more in Damien’s life, Angel shouldn’t be his only influence. I know he’s your dad and all, but…the man isn’t exactly mentally stable enough to be a good parental figure in my opinion, I mean look at what he drives you and Sabin to.”
"I won't stand in the way of you and Damien building a relationship. Anything I can do to help you build it I will. I…"
Warren knew Dean was holding something back, could see it by the subtle flicker in his eyes when Angel was mentioned, Warren didn’t understand paternal love quite as well as he should have, one father figure beat him, and the other practically disowned him for not living up to every expectation he had of him. That Dean would be so obsessed with attaining a father’s love did not settle well with Warren. “I know you have more to say, so please don’t treat me like a fragile thing, just because I struggle with being seen a certain way, as the complete opposite to both my fathers doesn’t mean I’m made of glass.”
"It's not...I know you don't approve of everything Dad does. I know you don't like how...obsessive I've been about him lately. And maybe I'm fucked up and don't know anything. But I do think he does push me to do my best.” Dean shrugged his shoulders while he tried to figure out how to say what he wanted to say, “ I do think he loves me. Loves Damien. Loves you too, in his own way."
“He’s never shown it, most he mentions is when he’s taking shots at me for being a Kane. I just don’t have the relationship with him that you do. I doubt I ever will, not least because I can’t imagine Tara as my mom, even if Spike was married to her once. Sometimes I think he resents me and you even being a thing because in his eyes I am little more than another bastard son of a rival, Angel thinks you deserve better and he’s probably right, to be honest.”
"Hey, don't talk shit about my husband like that." Dean reached across the table for Warren's hand. "I don't think he feels that way about you. You don't have to see Tara as a mom as she’s like my stepmom. We could try and build a family connection with them if you want. I know it's easier for me but if it would help I can put some inroads there."
“To be completely honest Tara and Sabin rub me the wrong way, remind me too much of Spike in how they are obsessed with being seen as definitive legends in this business with no equals, consumed with representing a wrestling legacy.” Warren sighed. ”And if I don’t have to deal with that, I’d rather not…unless you want me to for your sake.”
"Oh…Okay... I won't force you to come to family dinner or anything. Are there any other relationships I have that you resent?”
“I’m sorry, If it’s too much, we can part ways. I mean I don’t want to make every family gathering we ever have awkward for the rest of time. What we have is nice but maybe it’s not the kind of perfect love I know you’re searching for. You’re more like Vivienne in that sense than you realize.” Warren smiled. “You deserve someone who actually fits into your family, that’s not me. I’m the black sheep of every family I try to belong to.”
A long pause, as Warren considered his next words carefully.
“If we should split up, I will respect you and give you a divorce without a fight. I won’t however make you choose between me and them.”
"...I've never said I wanted a divorce. Do...Do you want a divorce?"
“I don’t know, I've considered it. Sometimes I feel like just walking on out of here because I don’t belong…but we’re married now, I figure you at least deserve to know this time.”
It felt like the air got sucked out of the room. "I...appreciate you not just up and leaving this time. I've felt...like something was off for a while. I just...I thought… Is there anything that we can do to fix this? Or is it just...like...a band-aid on a gunshot wound? Wasting time while our marriage bleeds out?"
“Honestly…I don’t know, all I know is I'll never fit into the Blake Dochetery side of the family as well as you have, and that doesn’t seem fair to have hanging over our marriage forever, does it? I mean we could try therapy but what if none of it works?” A deep sigh as long-held-back resentment poured from Warren. “I mean every time I see Tara I just want to slap her, that’s always going to be awkward. I know it's cliché to hate your in-laws but that’s where we are apparently.”
Dean wasn’t used to hearing things like this from Warren, had no idea he felt like this. "Why do you want to slap her?"
"Ever meet one of those people you just want to punch, you have no idea why. That’s essentially Tara for me."
Dean rubbed a hand through his hair. "Have you been holding this inside the whole time? Or did you just notice this?"
“I know Spike hated her, maybe it’s something in my blood. Honestly, I held it in…for you. After all, we can’t choose our family can we…?”
"Is it because she shit-talked eternity?"
“That might be part of it…but I don’t think that’s all of it. I guess I should try and fix that too, see what’s going on with her and Abby. If only I could convince Dawn to come and mend bridges with me. I know you don’t really get it, but you haven’t spent as much time with her as I have. I know she took me away for a while but I’ve seen sides of her nobody else has."
Dean pulled his hand back as Warren hadn’t taken it, "How long have you been unhappy? If you felt like this for a while, why did we get married?"
“Because I thought it was the right thing to do, that my love for you would conquer all my fears and anxieties. Now though, I’m not so sure just being in love with you is enough. I love you, I do, but I also feel like with my memory issues and shit, you keep me wrapped up in cotton wool as best you can, and honestly whilst I appreciate the intention, it’s suffocating. Sometimes I just want to let loose too, find that fierce spark that drew us together again…if it hasn’t died out already.”
“Do you want to come back to wrestling? I’m not stopping you. If that and getting in therapy would help salvage this, I want to try it.”
“Sure, therapy is probably a good call regardless.” Warren smiled. “As for wrestling, maybe we could try a brief tag team run again, I mean if Angel can do it as World Champion, why can’t we? We probably need a new name though, it’s probably long overdue we stopped defining ourselves by the shadows of the dead.” Warren said. “I can’t promise more than that, at least not whilst I’m still unsure if this can be saved.”
Dean nodded, “As long as we try… if it’s not worth it, I won't keep you here against your will.”
Well howdy there pardner.