09-24-2022, 07:04 AM
When Aaron showed up to compete in the gimmick battle royal at Rise to Greatness, he never went in planning to win. While many others in that match likely had that goal, he knew full well that he hadn’t wrestled in roughly half a decade and hadn’t planned on ever stepping back into a ring for any reason. He’d kept up with working out, mostly to slowly but surely rebuild his knee and shoulder after the damage done to them, but it was never to the same intensity as when he’d train for an upcoming match. The goal was to show up, give the affair his best shot and leave having finally satisfied the dormant desire for proper closure in the wrestling business with one final match.
In that regard, Aaron thought he’d succeeded as he headed to the back following his elimination at the hands of Ricky James.
And then Ricky himself was the next competitor eliminated, and his actions following that were something that Aaron just couldn’t ignore.
Now, Aaron wasn’t blind to things that went on in SCW after his retirement. Considering his kids had been raised around the business for their first few years of life and became genuinely interested in their father’s former career once they were old enough to truly understand what wrestling actually was, seeing an episode of SCW Breakdown playing in the living room on Wednesday nights was a common sight. He was familiar with Ricky and Lucy and had a lot of doubts about how much Ricky truly believed in the political agenda he was portraying and how much of it was Lucy being a puppet master of sorts.
Considering that Lucy had helped Ricky reclaim his ability to actually use that name the night before on the pre-show, not to mention she was actively trying to reassure him after he’d been eliminated that it was alright, it was a no-brainer that when Aaron’s conversation with Robin Brooks at the Gorilla position was interrupted by Ricky’s actions that he ran out with her to make sure that no further damage was done.
In that moment, Aaron could feel those dormant instincts for the business reawaken, and the desire for in-ring justice was too great to ignore.
“What are you all still doing awake?”
When he returned home after the pay-per-view, he was surprised to find that his wife and kids were still up despite the late hour his flight had touched down. Luke and Celeste wasted no time barreling into their father with hugs while Nym simply chuckled and gave him a gentle kiss.
“I’m sorry, mon amour,” Nym chuckled, “but they refused to sleep until you got home. I think they’re a little too excited from seeing you wrestle again.”
“You kicked so much ass, dad!” Luke proudly yelled, to which Aaron just snickered.
“Luke, what have we discussed about using that kind of language?” he scolded. Luke turned his gaze to the floor and mumbled an apology while Celeste giggled.
“But seriously dad, you did great,” she said as she turned her gaze away from her brother and back up to her father.
“I’m glad to hear you kids are proud of me,” Aaron said softly. This was quickly replaced by a grin and a lot more confidence in his next words. “Not bad for someone who hasn’t done this in a while, huh?”
“Like you never left the business in the first place,” Celeste agreed.
“Does this mean you’re going to wrestle more?” Luke asked.
Aaron’s eyes went wide and he bit his bottom lip at the question. He had planned on the gimmick battle royal being a ‘one and done’ and the desire for proper closure on this chapter of his life would finally be resolved. The more he thought about what had happened with Ricky, though, the more he knew he couldn’t just ignore it. Sure, there was a chance SCW could handle it, but would it really change anything the next time Ricky set foot in the ring? What was stopping him from making a whole thing out of this, much like how he’d been on the other end of it when Rudy Powell was holding his name—and effectively his career—hostage?
“Sorry you two, but this was it for your father. One last match to get it out of his system,” Nym suddenly cut in, and Aaron breathed an internal sigh of relief at her bailing him out before he got lost in his own head over the matter.
“Aw man!” Luke cried. “I really wanted to see dad wrestle more aside from those old matches. I could rub it in everyone’s faces at school how great a wrestler he is and how he can beat anyone in SCW today.”
Aaron exhaled a small laugh at this before looking down at his son with a gentle smile. “That’s a nice thought kiddo, and I’m honored that you think so highly of me. That said, I haven’t wrestled in years, and that battle royal was full of mostly people in that same boat. If you put me up against anyone who’s competing for SCW regularly these days, I’d likely get my ass kicked no matter how much I pushed myself to be ready.” His eyes slowly narrowed at this point as he remembered how his son worded the praise. “Luke... please tell me you’re not trying to pick fights at school again...”
“Of course not!” he declared.
“He would have fought this one kid after school on Friday for talking about how much he thought you ‘sucked as a wrestler’ if the teachers weren’t watching everyone leaving like hawks after the last bell rang,” Celeste cut in, and Luke immediately turned to glare at her over the betrayal.
“What, I can't stand up to someone who’s talking trash about our dad?” he demanded to know. “And why do you need to be such a goody two-shoes and rat me out?”
Aaron just sighed and rubbed his temples. “Luke, I appreciate you wanting to defend my honor, but people are allowed to have their own opinions. If I got that upset over what people thought of me in the ring, I’d have quit wrestling much sooner and who knows where my life would’ve gone.” Luke was looking up at his father in awe of this wisdom, and even Celeste was paying close attention to his words. “That’s no excuse for you to be picking fights with other kids. I’m an adult and I can take care of myself, and your sister is just trying to keep you out of trouble. I don’t want to be getting a call from the principal because you threw hands with someone over a few words and risked your education doing something dumb.”
Luke nodded in response, and Aaron wanted to think he understood. He was a good kid and never meant any harm, but he was always eager to jump to the defense of others even if doing so only got him into unnecessary trouble. It was something he’d picked up from watching whenever his father had done that in wrestling after he’d essentially devoted the last few years of his career to the Liberation Dogma and carried on with it even long after Brayden had left the business, and while doing that in the ring was one thing considering someone had to step up and do the right thing most of the time, beyond the ropes there were always better options for doing just that without having to literally fight somebody.
As Aaron glanced up, he locked eyes with Nym and was a bit surprised to find her expression unreadable. Normally whenever he was lecturing either of his children about something, he’d catch her gazing at him fondly as she saw him prove why he’d been the man to ultimately capture her heart and lead her into the kind of stable life she had never once considered to be possible before they first crossed paths in VWA so long ago. Something about this look, however, was eerily familiar to him, but at the moment he couldn’t quite put his finger on when he’d last seen it. It still sent a shiver down his spine, and he quickly returned his attention to the twins.
“You know, while we’re on the subject of you two doing things you’re not supposed to, you both should be asleep right now,” he told them. “I know I’m tired from wrestling again after so long and then the flight back, but I’m pretty sure you both still have school tomorrow and you’re going to have a long day with how little sleep you’re actually going to get at this rate.”
“Your father’s right, kids,” Nym added. “I was nice enough to let you stay up with me to wait until he got home, but now it’s time to rest. You’ll have plenty of time to talk with him more about everything after you get home from school.”
Luke and Celeste both groaned in protest, but their parents were not budging on this. Nym began trying to herd them off to bed so Aaron could be free to finish bringing his bags in, but while she was gently prying her husband free of their hugs, she leaned in close and spoke low so that only he could hear her.
“I know you’re exhausted, but don’t go to bed just yet.”
As Aaron carried his bags to their bedroom and started changing into his pajamas, he pondered that message and especially the tone she’d used. Normally, such a line would have been said in a seductive manner that easily implied some ‘late night fun’ between the two of them once the kids were finally down for the night, and even as worn out as he was Aaron knew better than to argue with Nym’s virtually insatiable sex drive. In this instance, however, she’d used a tone that was treading more into the territory of “I’m upset and we need to have a serious talk now,” and he couldn’t help but be concerned.
She hadn’t spoken to him using that tone in a long time… not since the argument over why Aaron wouldn’t just take time off to heal and insisted on competing after she’d watched him get virtually dissected before her eyes in the last appearance she ever made in a wrestling company. He’d almost lost both her and the kids out of that mess, and he was dreading where the conversation Nym wanted to have tonight may go now.
“Alright, they’re finally down for the night,” Nym called as she entered the room, finding that her husband was already laying in bed. She glanced over to the untouched bags and tilted her head. “Not going to unpack?”
“I’ll worry about it tomorrow,” Aaron told her. “My muscles still ache from wrestling for the first time in several years.”
“Fair enough,” she replied with a nod before sitting on the edge of the bed, the look in her eyes growing more serious. “Is there something you want to tell me, Aaron?”
Aaron couldn't help but grow more worried at that. These days, she only ever called him by his actual name when she had something she really wanted to talk about with him and she wasn't in the mood for any fun and games. It had been so long since she'd called him anything other than her affectionate nickname of 'Puppy' or something that referred to him as her husband or the kids' father when she was talking to someone else that he could easily feel the pit forming in his gut over where this was going.
“What do you mean?” he still asked, his legitimate confusion evident.
“You know we ordered Rise to Greatness and watched it live,” she stated. “The kids were so excited to get the chance to watch you compete live one last time. They watched you get eliminated by that salaud Ricky, and while they were disappointed they also couldn't help but get excited when they saw you come back out to defend his manager after what he did to her. You did the right thing Aaron, and I can't blame you for it... but unlike the twins, I've been through this with you before. I know how your mind works, especially after you really took to that whole mindset that came from the Liberation thing and teaming with Brayden for so long. You're right about Luke not needing to pick fights with people over things just because he wants to do what feels like the right thing... but you're going to take your own advice... right?”
Realization struck Aaron like a ton of bricks at that moment, and he really should have known that Nym would've picked up on that. She stood by her husband every single time he'd taken the fight to someone because they started an issue that was better off resolved in the ring fair and square as opposed to whatever underhanded method they were trying to utilize for their own benefit. She'd been front and center when everything he stood for had been thrown back in his face by Kestral before she put on a technical wrestling clinic that tore his body apart to a point that not even some of his more violent matches over the years had achieved, all while mocking her and trying to make her throw in the towel on his behalf because everyone knew he would never give up of his own accord. His refusal to let her get away with it as well as the other fires he'd tried to help put out during VWA's dying days had created a rift in their relationship that almost cost him everything, and Nym was justified in fearing that she was seeing the signs of him walking down that road again.
“You've got nothing to worry about, sweetheart,” Aaron told her after a moment as he leaned up to peck her on the lips. “I learned my lesson after that whole ordeal and everything that it almost did to our family, and I'm not going to make those same mistakes again.”
“Promise?” she asked him, hopeful that she wasn't about to live through that nightmare all over again.
“Promise,” he confirmed, and she finally relaxed enough to let him pull her down onto the bed so they could snuggle up for the night.
Despite saying he learned his lesson, however, Aaron's brain couldn't resist focusing on Ricky James that night and everything that was wrong with what he'd done. Considering that Ricky hadn't been a part of SCW's roster for quite some time and outside of the battle royal the only person focused on him was that sleazeball of a lawyer who was holding his name hostage, he couldn't help but be bothered by the fact that the odds of anyone wanting to deal with Ricky about it were limited to those in that match, very few of whom were even active in SCW anymore. Sure, management could actually discipline Ricky over it, but would it truly change anything?
Something had to be done, and Aaron was starting to feel like he was the only one who actually would be willing to take on the task.
A lot had changed since the last time Aaron was in SCW, or the wrestling business in general for that matter, but he was starting to realize that his thoughts might have been a bit clouded by his previous experiences when it came to trusting management to handle things efficiently in regards to certain issues.
He was familiar enough with recent events to know that his line of thinking wasn't completely wrong given what some in SCW managed to get away with, from names he remembered from when he was active in the company that didn't surprise him up to newer faces he only knew from checking in on the company every now and then. But he had to give credit where credit was due: Shaun Cruze was certainly doing a damn good job of trying to keep everything in line, and suspending Ricky James for his actions at Rise to Greatness was certainly the right call. Granted, it meant Aaron had kind of traveled out to Philadelphia for no reason now, but he didn't want to leave anything to chance.
In his mind, it was better to take a stab at helping to resolve the problem than just letting it fester until something did happen.
The endeavor wasn't entirely fruitless, though. Aaron had talked with Shaun behind closed doors and given his contact info, and Shaun completely understood where Aaron was coming from on the matter. He promised Aaron that he'd talk with higher-ups regarding the situation and see what they could do as Ricky wasn't going to be suspended for too long, and Aaron would be the first to know once he had an answer. The possibility that he was going to return to the ring one more time to show Ricky that actions have consequences and he wasn't just going to get away with what he'd done to Lucy was very likely, and at this point, it was simply a waiting game.
Unbeknownst to Aaron, he'd already lost another waiting game he was playing without fully realizing it, and now he was about to find out the penalty for this unforeseen failure.
When Aaron had gotten back home following this latest SCW-oriented trip, he was a little surprised to find the house empty. Granted, it was early enough in the day for the twins to still be in school, but Nym not being around was a surprise since she'd told him she didn't have any plans for the week aside from the shopping they'd already taken care of together before he left. He did find a note from Nym on the kitchen counter explaining that she'd be out if he came home and she wasn't there to meet him, but Nym's normally neat handwriting was messier than usual, like she'd written it in a rush because she didn't want to be here when he got home, and it had him on edge.
Maybe he was reading too much into things, but Aaron had learned a long time ago to trust his gut when it came to certain little details he'd picked up on over the years.
Even still, there was nothing to be done until Nym came home and he could find out what was going on, so he decided to spend some time in his office working on a few projects he'd admittedly been neglecting because of the traveling. Throwing himself back into writing proved to be the perfect distraction as he felt a calm wash over him while he filled out the document in front of him with words, and for a little while, he started to believe he may have just been overthinking things and getting worked up over nothing. Roughly a half hour later, Nym finally returned home, and when Aaron turned to greet her he found the words dying in his throat as it became apparent very quickly that she was pissed.
“I really should have waited to go get a massage until after this...” she muttered to herself before closing the distance. “Aaron, mon amour... what the hell is wrong with you?”
“What are you talking about?” he replied, clearly missing whatever unspoken fact Nym thought was blatantly obvious for this conversation.
“You know, I remember hearing you often say a long time ago that you never made promises you couldn't keep,” she told him, jabbing her finger into his chest to punctuate a few of her words. “So why would you promise that you wouldn't put me through this again only to turn right around and break it barely a month later!?”
Aaron thought for a moment before he recalled the promise he'd made to Nym after Rise to Greatness about not repeating the mistakes that tore a rift between them once before. That had to be what she was talking about as he couldn't recall any other promises he'd made recently about anything, and yet that didn't seem to alleviate his confusion at all. Nym seemed to pick up on the fact that he wasn't picking up on what she was talking about, so she continued.
“You know that Celeste and Luke like to watch SCW every Thursday night since it's the only place you were part of that's still operating, and you and I both know they want to try and break into the business themselves once they're older. So imagine my surprise when I sit down to watch a little bit with them because you were on a business trip and see you backstage at this show, on camera, trying to set up another match for yourself! I didn't question what this 'business trip' was about because I trusted you, and now I'm standing here trying to remove the dagger you left in my back!”
“OK, I think we need to take a few steps back here because there's clearly been some miscommunication,” Aaron said while trying to gently take Nym's hands, though she quickly jerked them away and almost seemed angrier at his choice of words.
“So now you're telling me that you didn't promise that you'd just let this whole thing with Ricky go,” Nym growled, “or that you didn't promise me that the gimmick battle royal was a one-and-done affair because you know as well as I do what the doctors told you that finally got you to hang up your boots for good. Hell, I only brought that up because I thought it would give you the closure I know you were thinking about on your career, but clearly I made a mistake in doing so!”
“My exact words that night were that I'd learned my lesson and wasn't going to repeat my past mistakes,” Aaron responded, his tone gaining a bit of an edge to it now. “I didn't just throw myself into this blindly like I've done trying to step up in the past Nym. I actually went to the person currently in charge and discussed the matter, and you probably know from watching the show that Ricky James is suspended for what he did. Yeah, he won't stay suspended, but what happens next regarding that isn't my decision.”
“I just don't understand why you feel the need to be hypocritical about this!” Nym yelled, and Aaron was a bit taken aback by this considering she hadn't even yelled or screamed at him the last time they'd been at odds with each other. “When you came home that night, you told your own son not to pick fights with people just to be the hero, and now you're going out of your way to do just that!”
“First off, leave Luke out of this because he's got nothing to do with whatever you think this issue is,” Aaron warned her. “And second-”
“Considering what you're doing affects both him and Celeste, I'm not the one who's getting them involved in the first place,” Nym interrupted.
“This has nothing to do with our kids at all Nym! Hell, it doesn't even have anything to do with you and barely has anything to do with me!” Aaron tried to explain, though he certainly wasn't helping his case by getting heated in his own right as he rose to a stand. “You think anyone else is going to deal with Ricky once his suspension ends and make sure he realizes he crossed a line and any issues he has should rightfully be resolved in the ring? As much as I respect Robin for getting him to back off while I checked on Lucy, I honestly don't see her or anyone else coming back for a little longer to teach him a lesson, nor do I see anyone else on the SCW roster caring enough to tackle that task because odds are they'll be more focused on whatever other issues come up between each other while he's out of the picture entirely. If I don't do this, then who will?”
“You shouldn't even have to at all, that's the whole point and it's flying right over your damn head!” Nym argued as she put her hands on her head in frustration. “And that's saying something coming from the one who was always seen as the 'brainless bimbo with the bombshell body' in our relationship by literally everyone who knew we were a thing in the business!”
Aaron's jaw dropped at that, and he'd admit that it became a struggle to form any sort of response. His first instinct was to immediately make it clear to Nym that she was far more than that self-deprecating label she just gave herself, especially since they'd both heard terms like that and far worse over the years before they fully settled down and their family grew. He was finding it hard to latch onto that instinct and let go of an argument he didn't even want to be having in the first place because emotions were running high and Nym wasn't listening to him, which was making it difficult for him to respond in any way that didn't come off as heated on his end. When he did finally get his bearings in the wake of this, Nym had seemingly recomposed herself enough to start storming off, only to stop in the doorway and glance back at him.
“I'm going to go pick the kids up from school,” she said, her voice shaky and her anger barely restrained, “and I'm going to take them out somewhere for a little while so I can try to forget about what you're up to. I'll be sleeping in the guest room while you're busy throwing yourself back into this spiral again, wondering why I just had to open this proverbial Pandora's box again. If you actually come to your senses about this, you know where to find me. Otherwise... maybe I should call up my sisters and do what I should have done the last time you decided to walk this path.”
“Nym, wait-” Aaron started to say, reaching out for his wife, but Nym had wasted no time in slamming the door shut behind her. He quickly re-opened it and tried to stop her, but by the time he caught up, she was already in her car and driving away from the house.
He was left to stand on the porch and watch as the car drove away, his gaze simply locked in that direction for a few moments before he very slowly turned to head back inside. He ended up returning to his office as his body went on autopilot while his mind attempted to process exactly what had just happened, and once the realization set in that he was somehow ended up reliving the same scenario that had given him nightmares for years after the fact because of how close he'd come to losing everything he held dear, he ripped the mouse free from his computer and hurled it at the wall.
“Fuck!”
Breathing heavily as he looked down at the shattered accessory he'd now have to replace, Aaron slowly sank to his knees and clutched his head, desperately trying to figure out exactly where he'd gone wrong and how he could fix all of this.
By the time Nym finally returned to the house with the twins in tow later that night, he was no closer to an answer, and everyone was left to suffocate from how thick the tension was. Luke and Celeste didn't know exactly what had happened between them, but they had a pretty good idea and weren't too keen on history repeating itself.
Whether or not they could actually do anything to stop it, however... only time would tell.
In that regard, Aaron thought he’d succeeded as he headed to the back following his elimination at the hands of Ricky James.
And then Ricky himself was the next competitor eliminated, and his actions following that were something that Aaron just couldn’t ignore.
Now, Aaron wasn’t blind to things that went on in SCW after his retirement. Considering his kids had been raised around the business for their first few years of life and became genuinely interested in their father’s former career once they were old enough to truly understand what wrestling actually was, seeing an episode of SCW Breakdown playing in the living room on Wednesday nights was a common sight. He was familiar with Ricky and Lucy and had a lot of doubts about how much Ricky truly believed in the political agenda he was portraying and how much of it was Lucy being a puppet master of sorts.
Considering that Lucy had helped Ricky reclaim his ability to actually use that name the night before on the pre-show, not to mention she was actively trying to reassure him after he’d been eliminated that it was alright, it was a no-brainer that when Aaron’s conversation with Robin Brooks at the Gorilla position was interrupted by Ricky’s actions that he ran out with her to make sure that no further damage was done.
In that moment, Aaron could feel those dormant instincts for the business reawaken, and the desire for in-ring justice was too great to ignore.
“What are you all still doing awake?”
When he returned home after the pay-per-view, he was surprised to find that his wife and kids were still up despite the late hour his flight had touched down. Luke and Celeste wasted no time barreling into their father with hugs while Nym simply chuckled and gave him a gentle kiss.
“I’m sorry, mon amour,” Nym chuckled, “but they refused to sleep until you got home. I think they’re a little too excited from seeing you wrestle again.”
“You kicked so much ass, dad!” Luke proudly yelled, to which Aaron just snickered.
“Luke, what have we discussed about using that kind of language?” he scolded. Luke turned his gaze to the floor and mumbled an apology while Celeste giggled.
“But seriously dad, you did great,” she said as she turned her gaze away from her brother and back up to her father.
“I’m glad to hear you kids are proud of me,” Aaron said softly. This was quickly replaced by a grin and a lot more confidence in his next words. “Not bad for someone who hasn’t done this in a while, huh?”
“Like you never left the business in the first place,” Celeste agreed.
“Does this mean you’re going to wrestle more?” Luke asked.
Aaron’s eyes went wide and he bit his bottom lip at the question. He had planned on the gimmick battle royal being a ‘one and done’ and the desire for proper closure on this chapter of his life would finally be resolved. The more he thought about what had happened with Ricky, though, the more he knew he couldn’t just ignore it. Sure, there was a chance SCW could handle it, but would it really change anything the next time Ricky set foot in the ring? What was stopping him from making a whole thing out of this, much like how he’d been on the other end of it when Rudy Powell was holding his name—and effectively his career—hostage?
“Sorry you two, but this was it for your father. One last match to get it out of his system,” Nym suddenly cut in, and Aaron breathed an internal sigh of relief at her bailing him out before he got lost in his own head over the matter.
“Aw man!” Luke cried. “I really wanted to see dad wrestle more aside from those old matches. I could rub it in everyone’s faces at school how great a wrestler he is and how he can beat anyone in SCW today.”
Aaron exhaled a small laugh at this before looking down at his son with a gentle smile. “That’s a nice thought kiddo, and I’m honored that you think so highly of me. That said, I haven’t wrestled in years, and that battle royal was full of mostly people in that same boat. If you put me up against anyone who’s competing for SCW regularly these days, I’d likely get my ass kicked no matter how much I pushed myself to be ready.” His eyes slowly narrowed at this point as he remembered how his son worded the praise. “Luke... please tell me you’re not trying to pick fights at school again...”
“Of course not!” he declared.
“He would have fought this one kid after school on Friday for talking about how much he thought you ‘sucked as a wrestler’ if the teachers weren’t watching everyone leaving like hawks after the last bell rang,” Celeste cut in, and Luke immediately turned to glare at her over the betrayal.
“What, I can't stand up to someone who’s talking trash about our dad?” he demanded to know. “And why do you need to be such a goody two-shoes and rat me out?”
Aaron just sighed and rubbed his temples. “Luke, I appreciate you wanting to defend my honor, but people are allowed to have their own opinions. If I got that upset over what people thought of me in the ring, I’d have quit wrestling much sooner and who knows where my life would’ve gone.” Luke was looking up at his father in awe of this wisdom, and even Celeste was paying close attention to his words. “That’s no excuse for you to be picking fights with other kids. I’m an adult and I can take care of myself, and your sister is just trying to keep you out of trouble. I don’t want to be getting a call from the principal because you threw hands with someone over a few words and risked your education doing something dumb.”
Luke nodded in response, and Aaron wanted to think he understood. He was a good kid and never meant any harm, but he was always eager to jump to the defense of others even if doing so only got him into unnecessary trouble. It was something he’d picked up from watching whenever his father had done that in wrestling after he’d essentially devoted the last few years of his career to the Liberation Dogma and carried on with it even long after Brayden had left the business, and while doing that in the ring was one thing considering someone had to step up and do the right thing most of the time, beyond the ropes there were always better options for doing just that without having to literally fight somebody.
As Aaron glanced up, he locked eyes with Nym and was a bit surprised to find her expression unreadable. Normally whenever he was lecturing either of his children about something, he’d catch her gazing at him fondly as she saw him prove why he’d been the man to ultimately capture her heart and lead her into the kind of stable life she had never once considered to be possible before they first crossed paths in VWA so long ago. Something about this look, however, was eerily familiar to him, but at the moment he couldn’t quite put his finger on when he’d last seen it. It still sent a shiver down his spine, and he quickly returned his attention to the twins.
“You know, while we’re on the subject of you two doing things you’re not supposed to, you both should be asleep right now,” he told them. “I know I’m tired from wrestling again after so long and then the flight back, but I’m pretty sure you both still have school tomorrow and you’re going to have a long day with how little sleep you’re actually going to get at this rate.”
“Your father’s right, kids,” Nym added. “I was nice enough to let you stay up with me to wait until he got home, but now it’s time to rest. You’ll have plenty of time to talk with him more about everything after you get home from school.”
Luke and Celeste both groaned in protest, but their parents were not budging on this. Nym began trying to herd them off to bed so Aaron could be free to finish bringing his bags in, but while she was gently prying her husband free of their hugs, she leaned in close and spoke low so that only he could hear her.
“I know you’re exhausted, but don’t go to bed just yet.”
As Aaron carried his bags to their bedroom and started changing into his pajamas, he pondered that message and especially the tone she’d used. Normally, such a line would have been said in a seductive manner that easily implied some ‘late night fun’ between the two of them once the kids were finally down for the night, and even as worn out as he was Aaron knew better than to argue with Nym’s virtually insatiable sex drive. In this instance, however, she’d used a tone that was treading more into the territory of “I’m upset and we need to have a serious talk now,” and he couldn’t help but be concerned.
She hadn’t spoken to him using that tone in a long time… not since the argument over why Aaron wouldn’t just take time off to heal and insisted on competing after she’d watched him get virtually dissected before her eyes in the last appearance she ever made in a wrestling company. He’d almost lost both her and the kids out of that mess, and he was dreading where the conversation Nym wanted to have tonight may go now.
“Alright, they’re finally down for the night,” Nym called as she entered the room, finding that her husband was already laying in bed. She glanced over to the untouched bags and tilted her head. “Not going to unpack?”
“I’ll worry about it tomorrow,” Aaron told her. “My muscles still ache from wrestling for the first time in several years.”
“Fair enough,” she replied with a nod before sitting on the edge of the bed, the look in her eyes growing more serious. “Is there something you want to tell me, Aaron?”
Aaron couldn't help but grow more worried at that. These days, she only ever called him by his actual name when she had something she really wanted to talk about with him and she wasn't in the mood for any fun and games. It had been so long since she'd called him anything other than her affectionate nickname of 'Puppy' or something that referred to him as her husband or the kids' father when she was talking to someone else that he could easily feel the pit forming in his gut over where this was going.
“What do you mean?” he still asked, his legitimate confusion evident.
“You know we ordered Rise to Greatness and watched it live,” she stated. “The kids were so excited to get the chance to watch you compete live one last time. They watched you get eliminated by that salaud Ricky, and while they were disappointed they also couldn't help but get excited when they saw you come back out to defend his manager after what he did to her. You did the right thing Aaron, and I can't blame you for it... but unlike the twins, I've been through this with you before. I know how your mind works, especially after you really took to that whole mindset that came from the Liberation thing and teaming with Brayden for so long. You're right about Luke not needing to pick fights with people over things just because he wants to do what feels like the right thing... but you're going to take your own advice... right?”
Realization struck Aaron like a ton of bricks at that moment, and he really should have known that Nym would've picked up on that. She stood by her husband every single time he'd taken the fight to someone because they started an issue that was better off resolved in the ring fair and square as opposed to whatever underhanded method they were trying to utilize for their own benefit. She'd been front and center when everything he stood for had been thrown back in his face by Kestral before she put on a technical wrestling clinic that tore his body apart to a point that not even some of his more violent matches over the years had achieved, all while mocking her and trying to make her throw in the towel on his behalf because everyone knew he would never give up of his own accord. His refusal to let her get away with it as well as the other fires he'd tried to help put out during VWA's dying days had created a rift in their relationship that almost cost him everything, and Nym was justified in fearing that she was seeing the signs of him walking down that road again.
“You've got nothing to worry about, sweetheart,” Aaron told her after a moment as he leaned up to peck her on the lips. “I learned my lesson after that whole ordeal and everything that it almost did to our family, and I'm not going to make those same mistakes again.”
“Promise?” she asked him, hopeful that she wasn't about to live through that nightmare all over again.
“Promise,” he confirmed, and she finally relaxed enough to let him pull her down onto the bed so they could snuggle up for the night.
Despite saying he learned his lesson, however, Aaron's brain couldn't resist focusing on Ricky James that night and everything that was wrong with what he'd done. Considering that Ricky hadn't been a part of SCW's roster for quite some time and outside of the battle royal the only person focused on him was that sleazeball of a lawyer who was holding his name hostage, he couldn't help but be bothered by the fact that the odds of anyone wanting to deal with Ricky about it were limited to those in that match, very few of whom were even active in SCW anymore. Sure, management could actually discipline Ricky over it, but would it truly change anything?
Something had to be done, and Aaron was starting to feel like he was the only one who actually would be willing to take on the task.
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A lot had changed since the last time Aaron was in SCW, or the wrestling business in general for that matter, but he was starting to realize that his thoughts might have been a bit clouded by his previous experiences when it came to trusting management to handle things efficiently in regards to certain issues.
He was familiar enough with recent events to know that his line of thinking wasn't completely wrong given what some in SCW managed to get away with, from names he remembered from when he was active in the company that didn't surprise him up to newer faces he only knew from checking in on the company every now and then. But he had to give credit where credit was due: Shaun Cruze was certainly doing a damn good job of trying to keep everything in line, and suspending Ricky James for his actions at Rise to Greatness was certainly the right call. Granted, it meant Aaron had kind of traveled out to Philadelphia for no reason now, but he didn't want to leave anything to chance.
In his mind, it was better to take a stab at helping to resolve the problem than just letting it fester until something did happen.
The endeavor wasn't entirely fruitless, though. Aaron had talked with Shaun behind closed doors and given his contact info, and Shaun completely understood where Aaron was coming from on the matter. He promised Aaron that he'd talk with higher-ups regarding the situation and see what they could do as Ricky wasn't going to be suspended for too long, and Aaron would be the first to know once he had an answer. The possibility that he was going to return to the ring one more time to show Ricky that actions have consequences and he wasn't just going to get away with what he'd done to Lucy was very likely, and at this point, it was simply a waiting game.
Unbeknownst to Aaron, he'd already lost another waiting game he was playing without fully realizing it, and now he was about to find out the penalty for this unforeseen failure.
When Aaron had gotten back home following this latest SCW-oriented trip, he was a little surprised to find the house empty. Granted, it was early enough in the day for the twins to still be in school, but Nym not being around was a surprise since she'd told him she didn't have any plans for the week aside from the shopping they'd already taken care of together before he left. He did find a note from Nym on the kitchen counter explaining that she'd be out if he came home and she wasn't there to meet him, but Nym's normally neat handwriting was messier than usual, like she'd written it in a rush because she didn't want to be here when he got home, and it had him on edge.
Maybe he was reading too much into things, but Aaron had learned a long time ago to trust his gut when it came to certain little details he'd picked up on over the years.
Even still, there was nothing to be done until Nym came home and he could find out what was going on, so he decided to spend some time in his office working on a few projects he'd admittedly been neglecting because of the traveling. Throwing himself back into writing proved to be the perfect distraction as he felt a calm wash over him while he filled out the document in front of him with words, and for a little while, he started to believe he may have just been overthinking things and getting worked up over nothing. Roughly a half hour later, Nym finally returned home, and when Aaron turned to greet her he found the words dying in his throat as it became apparent very quickly that she was pissed.
“I really should have waited to go get a massage until after this...” she muttered to herself before closing the distance. “Aaron, mon amour... what the hell is wrong with you?”
“What are you talking about?” he replied, clearly missing whatever unspoken fact Nym thought was blatantly obvious for this conversation.
“You know, I remember hearing you often say a long time ago that you never made promises you couldn't keep,” she told him, jabbing her finger into his chest to punctuate a few of her words. “So why would you promise that you wouldn't put me through this again only to turn right around and break it barely a month later!?”
Aaron thought for a moment before he recalled the promise he'd made to Nym after Rise to Greatness about not repeating the mistakes that tore a rift between them once before. That had to be what she was talking about as he couldn't recall any other promises he'd made recently about anything, and yet that didn't seem to alleviate his confusion at all. Nym seemed to pick up on the fact that he wasn't picking up on what she was talking about, so she continued.
“You know that Celeste and Luke like to watch SCW every Thursday night since it's the only place you were part of that's still operating, and you and I both know they want to try and break into the business themselves once they're older. So imagine my surprise when I sit down to watch a little bit with them because you were on a business trip and see you backstage at this show, on camera, trying to set up another match for yourself! I didn't question what this 'business trip' was about because I trusted you, and now I'm standing here trying to remove the dagger you left in my back!”
“OK, I think we need to take a few steps back here because there's clearly been some miscommunication,” Aaron said while trying to gently take Nym's hands, though she quickly jerked them away and almost seemed angrier at his choice of words.
“So now you're telling me that you didn't promise that you'd just let this whole thing with Ricky go,” Nym growled, “or that you didn't promise me that the gimmick battle royal was a one-and-done affair because you know as well as I do what the doctors told you that finally got you to hang up your boots for good. Hell, I only brought that up because I thought it would give you the closure I know you were thinking about on your career, but clearly I made a mistake in doing so!”
“My exact words that night were that I'd learned my lesson and wasn't going to repeat my past mistakes,” Aaron responded, his tone gaining a bit of an edge to it now. “I didn't just throw myself into this blindly like I've done trying to step up in the past Nym. I actually went to the person currently in charge and discussed the matter, and you probably know from watching the show that Ricky James is suspended for what he did. Yeah, he won't stay suspended, but what happens next regarding that isn't my decision.”
“I just don't understand why you feel the need to be hypocritical about this!” Nym yelled, and Aaron was a bit taken aback by this considering she hadn't even yelled or screamed at him the last time they'd been at odds with each other. “When you came home that night, you told your own son not to pick fights with people just to be the hero, and now you're going out of your way to do just that!”
“First off, leave Luke out of this because he's got nothing to do with whatever you think this issue is,” Aaron warned her. “And second-”
“Considering what you're doing affects both him and Celeste, I'm not the one who's getting them involved in the first place,” Nym interrupted.
“This has nothing to do with our kids at all Nym! Hell, it doesn't even have anything to do with you and barely has anything to do with me!” Aaron tried to explain, though he certainly wasn't helping his case by getting heated in his own right as he rose to a stand. “You think anyone else is going to deal with Ricky once his suspension ends and make sure he realizes he crossed a line and any issues he has should rightfully be resolved in the ring? As much as I respect Robin for getting him to back off while I checked on Lucy, I honestly don't see her or anyone else coming back for a little longer to teach him a lesson, nor do I see anyone else on the SCW roster caring enough to tackle that task because odds are they'll be more focused on whatever other issues come up between each other while he's out of the picture entirely. If I don't do this, then who will?”
“You shouldn't even have to at all, that's the whole point and it's flying right over your damn head!” Nym argued as she put her hands on her head in frustration. “And that's saying something coming from the one who was always seen as the 'brainless bimbo with the bombshell body' in our relationship by literally everyone who knew we were a thing in the business!”
Aaron's jaw dropped at that, and he'd admit that it became a struggle to form any sort of response. His first instinct was to immediately make it clear to Nym that she was far more than that self-deprecating label she just gave herself, especially since they'd both heard terms like that and far worse over the years before they fully settled down and their family grew. He was finding it hard to latch onto that instinct and let go of an argument he didn't even want to be having in the first place because emotions were running high and Nym wasn't listening to him, which was making it difficult for him to respond in any way that didn't come off as heated on his end. When he did finally get his bearings in the wake of this, Nym had seemingly recomposed herself enough to start storming off, only to stop in the doorway and glance back at him.
“I'm going to go pick the kids up from school,” she said, her voice shaky and her anger barely restrained, “and I'm going to take them out somewhere for a little while so I can try to forget about what you're up to. I'll be sleeping in the guest room while you're busy throwing yourself back into this spiral again, wondering why I just had to open this proverbial Pandora's box again. If you actually come to your senses about this, you know where to find me. Otherwise... maybe I should call up my sisters and do what I should have done the last time you decided to walk this path.”
“Nym, wait-” Aaron started to say, reaching out for his wife, but Nym had wasted no time in slamming the door shut behind her. He quickly re-opened it and tried to stop her, but by the time he caught up, she was already in her car and driving away from the house.
He was left to stand on the porch and watch as the car drove away, his gaze simply locked in that direction for a few moments before he very slowly turned to head back inside. He ended up returning to his office as his body went on autopilot while his mind attempted to process exactly what had just happened, and once the realization set in that he was somehow ended up reliving the same scenario that had given him nightmares for years after the fact because of how close he'd come to losing everything he held dear, he ripped the mouse free from his computer and hurled it at the wall.
“Fuck!”
Breathing heavily as he looked down at the shattered accessory he'd now have to replace, Aaron slowly sank to his knees and clutched his head, desperately trying to figure out exactly where he'd gone wrong and how he could fix all of this.
By the time Nym finally returned to the house with the twins in tow later that night, he was no closer to an answer, and everyone was left to suffocate from how thick the tension was. Luke and Celeste didn't know exactly what had happened between them, but they had a pretty good idea and weren't too keen on history repeating itself.
Whether or not they could actually do anything to stop it, however... only time would tell.
![[Image: yC0vuyj.png]](https://i.imgur.com/yC0vuyj.png)