Post by Icon Lord Leon Corbin on Mar 16, 2015 6:17:33 GMT -6
EMT: No, water isn't going to help much. Just keep blinking. You need to flush it out from the inside.
Icon Corbin: I can't fucking see!!
Minutes after Anniversary Armageddon and EMTs had managed to get the World champion backstage. He was drenched, a concoction of sweat and alcohol, the stench of it driving him mad but not as much as the fact he still couldn't see. The spray in his face had left him without the use of his sight, his nose running and an uncontrollable cough that was really starting to hurt his abdomen while his face was a lovely shade of red from all the burning. He sits hunched over, clutching at his stomach while his face showed a level of anxiety. He couldn't see and his sense of smell was leaving him but he could almost feel the alcohol seeping into him like a poison. One of the medical staff kneels in front of him, trying to calm him down but he's getting nowhere.
Part of her was raging, a storm brewing just beneath the calm surface. Willing, ready and able to unleash enough pain and spite on a certain young man, to remind him how badly he’d just fucked up. Going to check on Munin had been a mistake, she hadn’t seen Tamer and if she was honest, hadn’t gone too far out of her way to find him. She may have been dropped onto them both but her immediate concern was for her sister. She had already showered and dressed, her skin bearing the subtle hue of someone who had been stood under hot water for too long. Watching the EMTs try and work on her husband was a strange experience. Lingering in the doorway her rage left her detached. Closing her eyes, taking a deep breath and slowly counting backwards from ten, she attempted to let it go. Feeding that particular monster wouldn’t be productive right now. So true to form, and like the good guy she fought so hard not to be, she deliberately made her presence known. Her ribs were hurting, if she thought about it they felt broken…..if she thought harder she could remember the last AA that had left her with broken ribs. That had been dress alteration number one. Eyes sweeping the room she could see the explosion waiting to happen. The EMT crouched in front of Leon offered her a look. It was one she knew well and had often used herself. It was a silent cry for help, as a professional you could only do so much. Taking his place, she rests a hand on Leon’s knee.
Eva: Well……..you look like shit.
Icon Corbin: Evalyn?!
He extends his arm, feeling out for the woman and resting a hand on her face once he finds it.
Eva: Unless you know of any other stunning and deadly current IC champs…..
That was going to be a sore point for a while. She didn’t believe a single match could prove that anyone was the greatest anything, but it had been a hard fought match and in her mind Munin should have won. Still she kept her voice light, her fingers moving to the hand on her cheek. Around her the EMT’s did their best to resume their thankless task.
Eva: What’s the damage?
Icon Corbin: The bitch pepper sprayed me in the face and saturated me in drink, that's what. Who the hell does that?!
Who indeed? He sniffs hard, then starts to cough again, wincing every time his stomach tenses. Standing up she moves so the EMT can take her place.
Eva: Well…..
Icon Corbin: How long does this shit take to wear off?!
Eva: Depends how potent it was to begin with. With most folk an hour or so, though you’ll be snotty for a fair bit longer.
Icon Corbin: For his sake it better be quicker because for every minute this continues the worse it's going to get for him. Fucking hell...
He tries to resist wiping his water-y eyes, seeming to oblige the orders of the medical team in his presence.
Eva: With all due sweetheart, unpleasant at this is. It could have been worse.
Icon Corbin: Is that supposed to make me feel better? Besides, it is worse. That twat Marcus...
Rolling her eyes, it becomes apparent why she never stuck with nursing. Her compassion for people was short lived.
Eva: Is this where I hear “I told ya so?”
Icon Corbin: It's the last thing you need, tempting as it is. I've always known that bitch was no good.
Eva: You think everyone is no good. Seriously, you don’t like anybody.
Icon Corbin: That's not entirely true but with him, it's different. What he did t-
He's stopped suddenly by another coughing fit, leaving him lying on his side on the bench, struggling to breathe. He couldn’t see her face, but she couldn’t hide the concern in her voice.
Eva: Should he be having this much trouble catching his breath?
EMT: It is a side effect and I suspect the spray may have been laced with some CS but he should be okay... It'd be much more of a concern if he was asthmatic.
Nodding, she sits down on the bench, careful to avoid aggravating the red faced Lord. He wheezes but eventually fights enough to get his breath back, the EMT watching him closely as he pulls over a towel after some tapping around and wipes his nose on it.
Icon Corbin: Ach!
It wasn’t the most disgusting thing she’d seen him do, and with four children snot was a given. Yet she still cringed. Her head rested against the wall behind her, her arms folding across her chest. She’d prevented the tantrum, her work here was pretty much done. The remnants of that particular coughing fit subside and he slowly sits up again.
Icon Corbin: You must be feeling pretty pissed off right now. I don't even need to see your face to know that.
Eva: Do you remember how you used to tear around arenas, bleeding everywhere and turning the air blue as you shouted, screamed and cursed your way through the place? The one that comes to mind right now is Raide but I’m sure there were others……NOW I see why you did that.
Icon Corbin: And I'd be doing that now if I could see where the fuck I was going!
Eva: Then let’s count ourselves lucky for small blessings……I am in no mood to be being your voice of reason.
Icon Corbin: And I am in no mood at all. Question is, what are you gonna do now?
Eva: Well once I’m done being the concerned missus, I’ll go home, wind down and let myself calm down before I act on my less than pleasant thoughts. Realistically I want to speak to Munin and Tamer.
Icon Corbin: That's probably a good idea. Can you take me home?
Looking from him to the EMT she shrugs. She’d been allowed painkillers, albeit a limited and very controlled dose. Shrugging a short while ago would have been an unpleasant experience.
Eva: I don’t know, can I?
EMT: I'd say so. He should regain his sight within the next half hour at most as long as he keeps blinking vigorously. As for the breathing, he is just going to have to wait that out but his body seems to be keen on expelling it. For the skin on the face, please, Leon, don't try to wash it again, you'll just send it deeper.
Eva: Alright, you can tell me how you’re not going to stoop to this level and do something far worse to him at the next show on the drive back.
Icon Corbin: What...?
He pulls himself up, his eyes squeezed shut and fishes around to find his bag that is handed to him. Flailing some more, he finds his wife's hand and takes it for guidance.
Eva: How are you intending to retaliate?
Icon Corbin: I...don't know...Right now is probably the worst time to ask. Right now I could actually kill the little fucker and laugh about it...
Leading him into the maze of corridors she falls to silence, without her heels to thunder through the halls, Leon’s wheezing sounded louder than ever. He stops for a moment, propping himself up against the wall and holding his chest.
Icon Corbin: I've...been sprayed before...what the fuck is in this shit?!
A good cough seems to clear his chest enough to keep going again.
Icon Corbin: Evalyn...? Kolic...that's really affected you, hasn't it? You can talk to me, you know...
Eva: It’s cool, we both know trusting people never works. Just took a little longer to go tits up this time is all……It won’t happen again. My neck’s a little stiff, but otherwise fine and I have painkillers……….and I’m not leaking snot everywhere. So yeah, could be worse.
Icon Corbin: He was supposed to be your friend...
Eva: Yep, and we’ve both done worse to our friends, lovers, family. Nobody is immune to this bull.
Icon Corbin: Except that's not the way he ever portrayed himself. Guy's a wank-ach!!
There's that coughing fit again. Stopping while he regains his breath she slips her arm around his waist to support him.
Eva: Guy’s been abandoned and screwed over by everyone he’s trusted at some point. Both me and Tamer have let him down more than once. If he wanted to give me a kicking he’d have been more than justified in that. He’s not a bad guy…….He’s just made a stupid choice. Happens to the best of us. There’s a small part of me that wants to retaliate, but that’s not who I am, not anymore. I’d rather know why……That’s the bit that gets me y’know?
Icon Corbin: You're making excuses for him. The same way you accuse me of making excuses for Davina, you are making excuses for Kolic. He knows what he is doing and has clearly planned for this event. Don't you see it? He planned this.
Whether she was trying to believe the best in him because he had been a friend, or whether she genuinely was just making excuses she still shot her husband her best death glare. Didn’t matter that he couldn’t see it, he’d feel the damn thing burning through him. Moving him on she squirms to reach the car keys in her back pocket.
Eva: Don’t put him on the same level as Davina……..Nobody deserves that.
Icon Corbin: No, but then she never pretended to be your friend, hit you and continued to talk down to you like you're some fucking idiot. She was a cunt from the get go. I'm not sure what's worse.
Eva: Yeah…..point made. Now can we drop this before I feel inclined to drop you?
Icon Corbin: For now...
It was a small mercy but one she would accept for now. He was bloody insufferable when he felt justified in something. He’d been waiting for this one for years. The car park was mostly empty, it made it easier to locate their non-descript rental car in what was usually a sea of non-descript rentals. Following her where she led him, he wraps his hand around her arm, shaking his head. His face was still burning and it wasn't easing yet whatsoever. Unlocking the car, her eyes narrowed on him. This was out of her area of expertise, pepper spray rarely came up as an issue back home.
Eva: Do you want me to go get one of the medics?
Icon Corbin: No. I just need to get out of this stupid fucking place.
With an entirely humourless smile, how often had she heard those words? She opens his car door for him, leaving him to figure out how to get in himself. Her own door slams as she slips into the driver’s side. He fumbles about, sliding into the passenger side, tears streaming but he can't afford to wipe them away. He buckles himself in and throws his head back. Leaning over him to pulls his door closed, she settles back. She’d been wearing heels when she drove in here. In her converse she was a few inches shorter, adjusting her seat she starts the engine.
Eva: You can think of something convincing to tell the kids on the drive back.
Icon Corbin: Or not. There's nothing I can say that can be convincing.
Eyes ahead of her as she pulls out of the carpark.
Eva: Pfft, hey kids, that wrestling lark we talked about doing? Yeah, well sometimes it involves folk being sprayed with dangerous chemicals and doused in alcohol. Which by the way fucked with daddy’s head……….Yep, you’re right. The truth sounds fantastic……I hate AA……..they never end well.
Icon Corbin: Maybe we should stop off elsewhere for a while, give this crap a chance to wear off so I have no explaining to do.
Bringing the stereo to life as an impatient distraction while sat at a traffic light, “Love is a battlefield” picked up where it had stopped on the way into the arena.
Eva: If that’s what you want. Where would you like me to take you?
Icon Corbin: Anywhere just...not a bar okay?
Eva: Yeah, cause I want to see how quickly you’d lose your shit surrounded by alcohol.
Exhaling heavily and immediately wishing she hadn’t her hands tense on the wheel.
Eva: Right, your options appear to be…….kitschy coffee shop, or corporate burger place. I can get coffee in both so I don’t really care.
Icon Corbin: Coffee shop might be more inconspicuous?
She shrugged, forgetting he couldn’t see her and making a turn into a huge car park.
Eva: If you’re getting out, you can wear a hoodie or something.
Icon Corbin: Well, you're packing my hoodie you keep stealing so...
Eva: Married remember, we share everything and you’re just jealous ‘cause none of my clothes fit you.
Unzipping his hoodie and slipping out of it, she drops it on his lap. It was a bit of luck she’d actually thrown a vest on underneath it. Laziness knew no bounds when you were going straight home after a hard match. She had her own hoodie of course, it just wasn’t as comfy as his……despite being the same. Knowing she'd parked, he unbuckles and slips into his hoodie. He loved the damn thing even if he had it for the best part of eight years when he got it in Japan. He zips up and opens the door to leave the car.
Icon Corbin: That doesn't always stop me...
Eva: Don’t I know it….
Waiting for his door to slam she locks up, moving to stand beside him. She could have probably got away with pretending she wasn’t her for the night. Her hair was pulled back in a plait, her makeup light enough to cover the bruises and look almost natural. With her red converse, black jeans and Kindred vest she could have passed for just another wrestling fan. The huge man beside her with the streaming eyes and still in his PVC wrestling attire? He’d give her away.
Eva: Alright, I’ll resist the urge to describe the tackiness to you in intense detail. I will warn you though, there are people in there and you might draw a crowd.
Icon Corbin: It'll be this streaming tears crap. Gimme a tissue.
Eva: Check your pocket, there’s a pack in there. See, I’m thoughtful and shit.
He checks the pockets, pulling out the pack and rushes to get a tissue to dab his eyes. He grunts as he dabs his face as well. Holding onto his arm she leads him towards the coffee shop, at the same time she pulls her phone from her pocket.
Eva: Don’t worry sweetheart. Anyone recognises us, they’ll probably just assume we’ve had a domestic. I’m gonna give Will a call when we get in, let him know were running a little later than expected.
Icon Corbin: Good. Get him to let you know when the kids are definitely settled. I just hate them seeing me like this.
Eva: Yeah, let’s just hope your daughter doesn’t pretend to be sleeping.
He mutters, then searches the other pocket of the hoodie, pulling out his wife's sunglasses and sliding them onto his face carefully. Pulling open the door and ushering him through she shook her head. There were a few people in here. For the most part they were polite enough to look away from the blind, drunk, stripper and his overly stressed aide. With their backs to the couple a small group of GZW fans huddled around one of the white tables. Their voices carried in the small shop, the buzz from attending a live event mingling with plans to get home. Careful to steer Leon in the opposite direction she finds a table “out of the way” enough to not draw attention. They were already getting some pretty harsh side eye from the girl behind the till.
Eva: Wow…..erm, paper flowers and everything. You might be glad that you can’t see shit.
Icon Corbin: Paper? It better at least be 3D and not that flat shit!
Eva: You’ve found me in worse coffee shops over the years….
Icon Corbin: They're flat...
He huffs, feeling around for the table he was guided to and takes a seat, looking around the room but still seeing nothing at all. Not a bad thing with some talking amongst themselves about how disgraceful he was for being such a shameless drunk. Although it was a given they’d probably said worse about the man over the years. The alcohol wafting off him mixed with the freshly brewed coffee smell in a rather unpleasant way. Everything was rather unpleasant when you found yourself with a headache. Comfortable numb was wearing off, the painkillers only able to sustain it for a short time. Shorter these days than it used to be. The thought hit her almost guiltily. The fans in the corner were still engrossed in trying to figure out buses.
Eva: I’m gonna go grab a tea or something, you want anything?
Icon Corbin: Strong coffee...to sober me up!
It was as if he could feel the stares, knowing what people were saying. That or his selective hearing was being selected to listen out for anyone who had something to say about the man. He couldn't see it but he received a few gaping mouths.
Eva: Aye, followed up by a very cold shower and plenty of Metallica played at ear shattering levels for the impending hang over. It’s probably all still clinging to that bloody beard y’know. I told you that going Viking was bad for your health.
Icon Corbin: You met me with a beard, woman. Don't even act like this is a new thing.
Eva: Beards are one thing, you’ve taken it to the level of letting some small furry mammal nest on your face.
Taking his hand and sliding her phone into it she gives it a brief squeeze. In a world where kicking someone’s teeth in was a day at the office, this counted as playful banter for them. It was a brief distraction from whatever dark clouds they’d carried with them from the arena.
Eva: Call Will, he’s on speed dial, emergency contact and the last person I called. You can pretty much mash the keypad and get through. I’ll go be overly pleasant to the coffee bird. Always tends to throw them off….
Icon Corbin: Alright, love.
Swinging his head about like he was Stevie Wonder, he waits for her to leave and hits some buttons, hoping she was right as he puts the handset to his ear.
Icon Corbin: I can't fucking see!!
Minutes after Anniversary Armageddon and EMTs had managed to get the World champion backstage. He was drenched, a concoction of sweat and alcohol, the stench of it driving him mad but not as much as the fact he still couldn't see. The spray in his face had left him without the use of his sight, his nose running and an uncontrollable cough that was really starting to hurt his abdomen while his face was a lovely shade of red from all the burning. He sits hunched over, clutching at his stomach while his face showed a level of anxiety. He couldn't see and his sense of smell was leaving him but he could almost feel the alcohol seeping into him like a poison. One of the medical staff kneels in front of him, trying to calm him down but he's getting nowhere.
Part of her was raging, a storm brewing just beneath the calm surface. Willing, ready and able to unleash enough pain and spite on a certain young man, to remind him how badly he’d just fucked up. Going to check on Munin had been a mistake, she hadn’t seen Tamer and if she was honest, hadn’t gone too far out of her way to find him. She may have been dropped onto them both but her immediate concern was for her sister. She had already showered and dressed, her skin bearing the subtle hue of someone who had been stood under hot water for too long. Watching the EMTs try and work on her husband was a strange experience. Lingering in the doorway her rage left her detached. Closing her eyes, taking a deep breath and slowly counting backwards from ten, she attempted to let it go. Feeding that particular monster wouldn’t be productive right now. So true to form, and like the good guy she fought so hard not to be, she deliberately made her presence known. Her ribs were hurting, if she thought about it they felt broken…..if she thought harder she could remember the last AA that had left her with broken ribs. That had been dress alteration number one. Eyes sweeping the room she could see the explosion waiting to happen. The EMT crouched in front of Leon offered her a look. It was one she knew well and had often used herself. It was a silent cry for help, as a professional you could only do so much. Taking his place, she rests a hand on Leon’s knee.
Eva: Well……..you look like shit.
Icon Corbin: Evalyn?!
He extends his arm, feeling out for the woman and resting a hand on her face once he finds it.
Eva: Unless you know of any other stunning and deadly current IC champs…..
That was going to be a sore point for a while. She didn’t believe a single match could prove that anyone was the greatest anything, but it had been a hard fought match and in her mind Munin should have won. Still she kept her voice light, her fingers moving to the hand on her cheek. Around her the EMT’s did their best to resume their thankless task.
Eva: What’s the damage?
Icon Corbin: The bitch pepper sprayed me in the face and saturated me in drink, that's what. Who the hell does that?!
Who indeed? He sniffs hard, then starts to cough again, wincing every time his stomach tenses. Standing up she moves so the EMT can take her place.
Eva: Well…..
Icon Corbin: How long does this shit take to wear off?!
Eva: Depends how potent it was to begin with. With most folk an hour or so, though you’ll be snotty for a fair bit longer.
Icon Corbin: For his sake it better be quicker because for every minute this continues the worse it's going to get for him. Fucking hell...
He tries to resist wiping his water-y eyes, seeming to oblige the orders of the medical team in his presence.
Eva: With all due sweetheart, unpleasant at this is. It could have been worse.
Icon Corbin: Is that supposed to make me feel better? Besides, it is worse. That twat Marcus...
Rolling her eyes, it becomes apparent why she never stuck with nursing. Her compassion for people was short lived.
Eva: Is this where I hear “I told ya so?”
Icon Corbin: It's the last thing you need, tempting as it is. I've always known that bitch was no good.
Eva: You think everyone is no good. Seriously, you don’t like anybody.
Icon Corbin: That's not entirely true but with him, it's different. What he did t-
He's stopped suddenly by another coughing fit, leaving him lying on his side on the bench, struggling to breathe. He couldn’t see her face, but she couldn’t hide the concern in her voice.
Eva: Should he be having this much trouble catching his breath?
EMT: It is a side effect and I suspect the spray may have been laced with some CS but he should be okay... It'd be much more of a concern if he was asthmatic.
Nodding, she sits down on the bench, careful to avoid aggravating the red faced Lord. He wheezes but eventually fights enough to get his breath back, the EMT watching him closely as he pulls over a towel after some tapping around and wipes his nose on it.
Icon Corbin: Ach!
It wasn’t the most disgusting thing she’d seen him do, and with four children snot was a given. Yet she still cringed. Her head rested against the wall behind her, her arms folding across her chest. She’d prevented the tantrum, her work here was pretty much done. The remnants of that particular coughing fit subside and he slowly sits up again.
Icon Corbin: You must be feeling pretty pissed off right now. I don't even need to see your face to know that.
Eva: Do you remember how you used to tear around arenas, bleeding everywhere and turning the air blue as you shouted, screamed and cursed your way through the place? The one that comes to mind right now is Raide but I’m sure there were others……NOW I see why you did that.
Icon Corbin: And I'd be doing that now if I could see where the fuck I was going!
Eva: Then let’s count ourselves lucky for small blessings……I am in no mood to be being your voice of reason.
Icon Corbin: And I am in no mood at all. Question is, what are you gonna do now?
Eva: Well once I’m done being the concerned missus, I’ll go home, wind down and let myself calm down before I act on my less than pleasant thoughts. Realistically I want to speak to Munin and Tamer.
Icon Corbin: That's probably a good idea. Can you take me home?
Looking from him to the EMT she shrugs. She’d been allowed painkillers, albeit a limited and very controlled dose. Shrugging a short while ago would have been an unpleasant experience.
Eva: I don’t know, can I?
EMT: I'd say so. He should regain his sight within the next half hour at most as long as he keeps blinking vigorously. As for the breathing, he is just going to have to wait that out but his body seems to be keen on expelling it. For the skin on the face, please, Leon, don't try to wash it again, you'll just send it deeper.
Eva: Alright, you can tell me how you’re not going to stoop to this level and do something far worse to him at the next show on the drive back.
Icon Corbin: What...?
He pulls himself up, his eyes squeezed shut and fishes around to find his bag that is handed to him. Flailing some more, he finds his wife's hand and takes it for guidance.
Eva: How are you intending to retaliate?
Icon Corbin: I...don't know...Right now is probably the worst time to ask. Right now I could actually kill the little fucker and laugh about it...
Leading him into the maze of corridors she falls to silence, without her heels to thunder through the halls, Leon’s wheezing sounded louder than ever. He stops for a moment, propping himself up against the wall and holding his chest.
Icon Corbin: I've...been sprayed before...what the fuck is in this shit?!
A good cough seems to clear his chest enough to keep going again.
Icon Corbin: Evalyn...? Kolic...that's really affected you, hasn't it? You can talk to me, you know...
Eva: It’s cool, we both know trusting people never works. Just took a little longer to go tits up this time is all……It won’t happen again. My neck’s a little stiff, but otherwise fine and I have painkillers……….and I’m not leaking snot everywhere. So yeah, could be worse.
Icon Corbin: He was supposed to be your friend...
Eva: Yep, and we’ve both done worse to our friends, lovers, family. Nobody is immune to this bull.
Icon Corbin: Except that's not the way he ever portrayed himself. Guy's a wank-ach!!
There's that coughing fit again. Stopping while he regains his breath she slips her arm around his waist to support him.
Eva: Guy’s been abandoned and screwed over by everyone he’s trusted at some point. Both me and Tamer have let him down more than once. If he wanted to give me a kicking he’d have been more than justified in that. He’s not a bad guy…….He’s just made a stupid choice. Happens to the best of us. There’s a small part of me that wants to retaliate, but that’s not who I am, not anymore. I’d rather know why……That’s the bit that gets me y’know?
Icon Corbin: You're making excuses for him. The same way you accuse me of making excuses for Davina, you are making excuses for Kolic. He knows what he is doing and has clearly planned for this event. Don't you see it? He planned this.
Whether she was trying to believe the best in him because he had been a friend, or whether she genuinely was just making excuses she still shot her husband her best death glare. Didn’t matter that he couldn’t see it, he’d feel the damn thing burning through him. Moving him on she squirms to reach the car keys in her back pocket.
Eva: Don’t put him on the same level as Davina……..Nobody deserves that.
Icon Corbin: No, but then she never pretended to be your friend, hit you and continued to talk down to you like you're some fucking idiot. She was a cunt from the get go. I'm not sure what's worse.
Eva: Yeah…..point made. Now can we drop this before I feel inclined to drop you?
Icon Corbin: For now...
It was a small mercy but one she would accept for now. He was bloody insufferable when he felt justified in something. He’d been waiting for this one for years. The car park was mostly empty, it made it easier to locate their non-descript rental car in what was usually a sea of non-descript rentals. Following her where she led him, he wraps his hand around her arm, shaking his head. His face was still burning and it wasn't easing yet whatsoever. Unlocking the car, her eyes narrowed on him. This was out of her area of expertise, pepper spray rarely came up as an issue back home.
Eva: Do you want me to go get one of the medics?
Icon Corbin: No. I just need to get out of this stupid fucking place.
With an entirely humourless smile, how often had she heard those words? She opens his car door for him, leaving him to figure out how to get in himself. Her own door slams as she slips into the driver’s side. He fumbles about, sliding into the passenger side, tears streaming but he can't afford to wipe them away. He buckles himself in and throws his head back. Leaning over him to pulls his door closed, she settles back. She’d been wearing heels when she drove in here. In her converse she was a few inches shorter, adjusting her seat she starts the engine.
Eva: You can think of something convincing to tell the kids on the drive back.
Icon Corbin: Or not. There's nothing I can say that can be convincing.
Eyes ahead of her as she pulls out of the carpark.
Eva: Pfft, hey kids, that wrestling lark we talked about doing? Yeah, well sometimes it involves folk being sprayed with dangerous chemicals and doused in alcohol. Which by the way fucked with daddy’s head……….Yep, you’re right. The truth sounds fantastic……I hate AA……..they never end well.
Icon Corbin: Maybe we should stop off elsewhere for a while, give this crap a chance to wear off so I have no explaining to do.
Bringing the stereo to life as an impatient distraction while sat at a traffic light, “Love is a battlefield” picked up where it had stopped on the way into the arena.
Eva: If that’s what you want. Where would you like me to take you?
Icon Corbin: Anywhere just...not a bar okay?
Eva: Yeah, cause I want to see how quickly you’d lose your shit surrounded by alcohol.
Exhaling heavily and immediately wishing she hadn’t her hands tense on the wheel.
Eva: Right, your options appear to be…….kitschy coffee shop, or corporate burger place. I can get coffee in both so I don’t really care.
Icon Corbin: Coffee shop might be more inconspicuous?
She shrugged, forgetting he couldn’t see her and making a turn into a huge car park.
Eva: If you’re getting out, you can wear a hoodie or something.
Icon Corbin: Well, you're packing my hoodie you keep stealing so...
Eva: Married remember, we share everything and you’re just jealous ‘cause none of my clothes fit you.
Unzipping his hoodie and slipping out of it, she drops it on his lap. It was a bit of luck she’d actually thrown a vest on underneath it. Laziness knew no bounds when you were going straight home after a hard match. She had her own hoodie of course, it just wasn’t as comfy as his……despite being the same. Knowing she'd parked, he unbuckles and slips into his hoodie. He loved the damn thing even if he had it for the best part of eight years when he got it in Japan. He zips up and opens the door to leave the car.
Icon Corbin: That doesn't always stop me...
Eva: Don’t I know it….
Waiting for his door to slam she locks up, moving to stand beside him. She could have probably got away with pretending she wasn’t her for the night. Her hair was pulled back in a plait, her makeup light enough to cover the bruises and look almost natural. With her red converse, black jeans and Kindred vest she could have passed for just another wrestling fan. The huge man beside her with the streaming eyes and still in his PVC wrestling attire? He’d give her away.
Eva: Alright, I’ll resist the urge to describe the tackiness to you in intense detail. I will warn you though, there are people in there and you might draw a crowd.
Icon Corbin: It'll be this streaming tears crap. Gimme a tissue.
Eva: Check your pocket, there’s a pack in there. See, I’m thoughtful and shit.
He checks the pockets, pulling out the pack and rushes to get a tissue to dab his eyes. He grunts as he dabs his face as well. Holding onto his arm she leads him towards the coffee shop, at the same time she pulls her phone from her pocket.
Eva: Don’t worry sweetheart. Anyone recognises us, they’ll probably just assume we’ve had a domestic. I’m gonna give Will a call when we get in, let him know were running a little later than expected.
Icon Corbin: Good. Get him to let you know when the kids are definitely settled. I just hate them seeing me like this.
Eva: Yeah, let’s just hope your daughter doesn’t pretend to be sleeping.
He mutters, then searches the other pocket of the hoodie, pulling out his wife's sunglasses and sliding them onto his face carefully. Pulling open the door and ushering him through she shook her head. There were a few people in here. For the most part they were polite enough to look away from the blind, drunk, stripper and his overly stressed aide. With their backs to the couple a small group of GZW fans huddled around one of the white tables. Their voices carried in the small shop, the buzz from attending a live event mingling with plans to get home. Careful to steer Leon in the opposite direction she finds a table “out of the way” enough to not draw attention. They were already getting some pretty harsh side eye from the girl behind the till.
Eva: Wow…..erm, paper flowers and everything. You might be glad that you can’t see shit.
Icon Corbin: Paper? It better at least be 3D and not that flat shit!
Eva: You’ve found me in worse coffee shops over the years….
Icon Corbin: They're flat...
He huffs, feeling around for the table he was guided to and takes a seat, looking around the room but still seeing nothing at all. Not a bad thing with some talking amongst themselves about how disgraceful he was for being such a shameless drunk. Although it was a given they’d probably said worse about the man over the years. The alcohol wafting off him mixed with the freshly brewed coffee smell in a rather unpleasant way. Everything was rather unpleasant when you found yourself with a headache. Comfortable numb was wearing off, the painkillers only able to sustain it for a short time. Shorter these days than it used to be. The thought hit her almost guiltily. The fans in the corner were still engrossed in trying to figure out buses.
Eva: I’m gonna go grab a tea or something, you want anything?
Icon Corbin: Strong coffee...to sober me up!
It was as if he could feel the stares, knowing what people were saying. That or his selective hearing was being selected to listen out for anyone who had something to say about the man. He couldn't see it but he received a few gaping mouths.
Eva: Aye, followed up by a very cold shower and plenty of Metallica played at ear shattering levels for the impending hang over. It’s probably all still clinging to that bloody beard y’know. I told you that going Viking was bad for your health.
Icon Corbin: You met me with a beard, woman. Don't even act like this is a new thing.
Eva: Beards are one thing, you’ve taken it to the level of letting some small furry mammal nest on your face.
Taking his hand and sliding her phone into it she gives it a brief squeeze. In a world where kicking someone’s teeth in was a day at the office, this counted as playful banter for them. It was a brief distraction from whatever dark clouds they’d carried with them from the arena.
Eva: Call Will, he’s on speed dial, emergency contact and the last person I called. You can pretty much mash the keypad and get through. I’ll go be overly pleasant to the coffee bird. Always tends to throw them off….
Icon Corbin: Alright, love.
Swinging his head about like he was Stevie Wonder, he waits for her to leave and hits some buttons, hoping she was right as he puts the handset to his ear.
