BEFORE Crimson (because I forgot to post it...-_-)

[Icon Lord Leon Corbin]

The next morning and thankfully the GZW referee didn't really recall too much from the night before so after some discussion and Leon satisfied Trystan could be trusted to go about his usual business again, the Ring of Honor Icon had returned home. Outside the house, he slips out of the vehicle, pointing his keyfob at the car door and heads up the path to open the door. It's strangely quiet, the usual playful shouts and banter associated with four small children was completely absent. The only real noise was coming from the bedroom, the shuffle and bang of someone moving things around with less care than they should. Naturally, that's the first place he heads, straight up the stairs and opens the door to the room to find his wife rummaging through the cupboards, on her hands and knees and with a pile of make up in front of her she fixed him with a tired stare. She hadn’t slept well, if at all.

Eva: You! Have you had my bloody lipstick? The wine one, not the chilli one.

Icon Corbin: What? You know I don't use yours, Evalyn.

Eva: Shit…..

She hated losing things, though she also hated organising things neatly. It was a terrible combination. Part of her didn’t believe him, it was gone so he MUST have taken it. Though she was more than a little certain that was her grumpiness talking. For everything they shared, make up wasn’t one of them. Tidying away her things, begrudgingly so, she offers him a smile.

Eva: How was your sleep over?

Icon Corbin: The sleepover part was okay, it was everything before really...

Offering her a smile in return, he glances over at the dresser and wanders over. Kneeling down, he picks something small up and has a look, tossing it over to the former HKWF champion. It was the very lipstick she was searching for. She caught it easily, with a look that indicated the bloody thing had appeared just because he was there. She had looked on the dresser…….twice.

Eva: Yes things weren’t looking too good when he was in the bar to be fair. What happened?

Icon Corbin: He had a meltdown, very uncharacteristic. Three bottles of Jack he bought. THREE. He'd gotten through half of that. He was being an utter bitch at every opportunity to me and I only hit him because when I tried to take the drink off him, he was getting aggressive. i didn't hit him hard, just enough to put him on his arse, then I got rid of the rest of the drink, chucked him in the shower and put him to bed. He doesn't remember much of it, thankfully. Just has a sore head today.

Eva: Sounds familiar…….Did you wake him up with Metallica full blast and some aggressive hoovering?

Pulling herself to her feet she swipes her mascara off the bed where it clearly didn’t live, but she’d left it anyway.

Eva: Did he actually talk to you though?

Icon Corbin: Kinda? I thought he was upset about Joy moving on but it's clearly all about his daughter. That and I think he's quite unhappy. He pretty much wished himself dead at one point and burst into tears not long after that. I've never seen him cry. Ever. It was so weird, Evalyn.

Eva: Understandable though. That little girl is his life.

Icon Corbin: She really is. Don't know what Joy is even playing at but she's in her own world, definitely. He should never have bothered with that crazy bitch.

Eva: Hindsight’s a wonderful thing sweetie. She didn’t seem so crazy to him at the time.

Icon Corbin: Classic Trys, though. Looks for love in all the wrong places.

Eva: Hmm…….he’s pretty much screwed isn’t he? You don’t fuck with a Fortune.

Icon Corbin: Pretty much. It's not as if he even fucked with a Fortune for this to happen by the sounds of it. I know that man. It's not his style. But if she's adamant in her position, there's not a lot he can do. It would probably be easier for him to just let the kid go, distance himself altogether.

Eva: What would you do in his position?

Taking a seat on the bed with her makeup and her mirror she shoots him a quick glance before turning her attention to her tired eyes. Emo panda would have to be the look of choice today. He watches her apply her makeup. One of those little things he liked to do but never really mentioned.

Icon Corbin: Depends. I'm a very different person to him. I don't know. I say he should distance himself but I know it'd eat away at him. It'd be one thing if he didn't know about her but that's a luxury he doesn't have. He's a loving person, just waiting to give it someone, you see that when he's with Secret.

Eva: I know…....What can we do?

Icon Corbin: What are the options? If he wants her, he'd need to fight just like I had to with Luce. No one else can really do that for him.

Eva: I don’t even know…….See, this is why Mam was so pissed you were a wrestler. Nothing good comes from mixing business and pleasure. She was right n’all. When things go tits up with the kinda folk who smack each other silly for a living, they go well and truly tits up.

Icon Corbin: All we can do is be there for him, I suppose.

Make up done, she actually puts it away before resuming her seat. She felt more like her normal self again, less exposed than she had since last night. Running a hand through her hair she looks up at him.

Eva: We need to talk about Luce.

Icon Corbin: I can see you've hardly slept. What has she done?

Eva: That better be because you know me so well, and not because I actually look like shit….

Icon Corbin: You never look like shit to me, lover. But what did she do that we need to talk about her and that you've lost sleep?

Sensing some level of urgency to her request, he takes a seat beside her, giving her his full attention.

Eva: Davina’s been calling again. It’s upset her, confused her…..and shit. I don’t even know. I don’t know where her head is and that scares me. She’s asked if she can go see her.

Icon Corbin: What...?

His tone lowers by a few octaves at the mention of the woman not only calling again, but getting inside their daughter's mind to ever consider wanting to see her. He takes a moment to process the thought.

Icon Corbin: In detail, please. What's going on?

Shaking her head she pushes her hair behind her ears. No longer looking at him, she took a deep breath.

Eva: She’s been telling her things. She wouldn’t tell me how long she’d been calling for, or how many times….but she knew things. She fell asleep last night after crying herself tired. She couldn’t talk through the tears. Davina had her convinced we didn’t want her after having the twins……That I’d hurt her…..a whole lot of shit with just enough truth to make it ring true. I admitted that I’d cut the bitch…..She said she wished I hadn’t stopped.

Icon Corbin: I see...Do you want me to pay her a visit...?

Eva: No! God no…..do you even need to ask that?

Icon Corbin: Are you sure? Because I promise, this can stop very quickly if I do...

The very careful look she aimed at him said more than she would. Tired as she was, she could still do dark.

Eva: She’s still her mother. You want to explain to your child why you killed her mum?

He huffs, running his hand over his shaven head.

Icon Corbin: Alright. Alright, so what do you think we should do?

Eva: Let her see her. Let Lucy make her own call. It’s not really like we have a choice. Is it? I’ll go see the woman first.

They both knew how she was living, where and how far she’d fallen recently. She wouldn’t let her baby see that. It was usually the things you saw that hit you harder than what was said.

Eva: I’ll give her warning, make sure she cleans up her shit.

Icon Corbin: What if this is what she wants? More opportunity to dig her nails in?

Eva: Probably…but you didn’t hear how your daughter asked to see her. The fact that she asked at all?

Moving away from him she stands. Her hair still needed doing and she had no idea where she’d left her damn shoes.

Eva: I know this is probably going to be as bad for her as it was for me going to see my dad. She’s going to get inside her head, she already bloody has. That scares her, thinking she doesn’t know who we really are scares her. I will be there though, I’ll be watching and listening and sitting between them. For some reason this is important to Lucy and part of me….I dunno, understands that?

Icon Corbin: This really seems to resonate with you...

Shrugging her shoulders she steps into her heels, turning to face him a few inches taller.

Eva: I’m trying. I’m trying the hardest I’ve ever tried at anything not to be absolutely gutted at the implications. That she’s not only been able to reach my baby, but upset her to the point where she’s inconsolable. I felt so weak and powerless last night, and she was so scared. She had most of my history down to a tee, reading off the half-truths like a bloody rap sheet. My mum didn’t want me in her version though. I think I might let her keep believing that one. You? I’ve got no idea what nasty little things she could have learned about you. Yet after not sleeping and stressing, and compulsively checking on the kids every minute of every hour after I finally got her settled……..I came to the conclusion that there’s really not much more she can do. So yep, if she wants this then it’s safe enough to let her have it. Davina gets this chance…..she so much as looks at my child in a way I don’t like and she is fucked.

He stands, stepping over to her and wrapping his arms around her, holding the side of her head against his chest. He looked annoyed, empathetic and even impatient all at the same time.

Icon Corbin: Okay, we get the numbers changed again so this doesn't keep happening. As far as Lucy going to see Davina goes, I trust your judgement.

She laughed, though it was a humourless sound. She wasn’t even sure she trusted her own judgement on this one.

Eva: You should probably talk to the little one. From the sounds of it she may have some questions for you too.

Icon Corbin: I'm sure she does. Where is she now?

Eva: Museum with Will and Katrina. She didn’t want to go….I made her.

Icon Corbin: Alright. Obviously this can happen after Crimson when we're back in England. As far as seeing Davina alone first, do you want to do that before or after? Do you want me to be there?

Planting kisses along his jaw she rests her head against him.

Eva: She’s in London……it can all wait until after the show. In the meantime we need to keep an eye on Lucy. I’ve ripped out the phones…..literally. You want to fix that then you can try. We both have our mobiles. I’ve also had will change the settings on the computers. She’s not allowed to use it right now.

Icon Corbin: All that in such a short space of time? I'm impressed. When's she due home?

Eva: Yep, don’t fuck with me when I’m in damage control mode. That and I didn’t sleep. It’s easy to get shit done without kids climbing on you.

Stepping back from him she pushes her hands through her hair, pulling it back into a loose bun. A brief sweep of the room located her jacket thrown over the back of a chair. Picking it up, she checked the empty pockets before shrugging into it. It matched her skirt with its black and grey pinstripe and altogether made her appear more business than wrestler.

Eva: Will’s intending to make a day of it, since his poor wife is hungover as hell. Six kids, a busy museum full of harsh light followed by fast food…….I think you got off lightly with me, lover.

Icon Corbin: Looks like it. Where are you off to that you're all business?

Eva: Thought I’d go for a jog. Couldn’t find my trainers….

Checking her makeup in the vanity mirror she pushes a few stray strands of hair behind her ears. After the third attempt where it won’t stay put she gives up.

Eva: Sold one of my more questionable establishments. I didn’t want anyone coming here so I have to go down the street to scrawl my name on a piece of paper. Think of it as a glorified coffee run……I bloody well am.

Icon Corbin: That'd be like me getting rid of the Vicious Circle. Why would you want to sell up when it's a reliable source of income?

Straightening up and turning to check out everything else in the mirror she fixes him with a look as he stands with hands on his hips.

Eva: We don’t actually need the income. It’s just another thing I have to be aware of and deal with. It has a good reputation in the industry and I’ve taken it as far as I can or want to. Let someone else make it theirs.

Icon Corbin: Fair enough. How much?

Eva: A lot more than I paid for it. He’s worked there so I know he’s passionate. I know he cares about the employees. You should come with?

Icon Corbin: Time for me to take a shower and get changed?

Eva: Course, it’s good to make folk wait. Is this skirt too short?

He gives her the once the once over, not that he needed an excuse.

Icon Corbin: I've worn shorter...

He chuckles a little.

Icon Corbin: Seriously, it's fine. You look great.

She was still shaken up from the night before. Self-doubt was always part of that. A deep breath a nod and smile and her game face was back on.

Eva: Alright….good…..Go get yourself ready, love. I’ll call Will and check on the kids. Remind him the house phone's broke.

He was all too aware of that poker face his wife possessed but accepted it all the same. He plants a kiss on her forehead.

Icon Corbin: Won't be long, lover...