Coming Home

“Daddy’s home!”

Two simple words, but they were more than enough to rejuvenate Lachlan Kane straight down to his soul. After a grueling trip to India that saw him board a 20-plus hour flight, arriving just in time to get a decent night’s sleep before he was up and performing for the crowds at Sin City Wrestling in Mumbai, and then turning around to board another nearly all-day flight to head back home…exhausted was a drastic understatement. He didn’t think in his entire wrestling career he had ever pulled off a travel schedule like that.

But when the Uber pulled up to his Orlando home and he wearily climbed out with his bag in hand to see his two daughters come rushing down the sidewalk to greet him happily, the fatigue left his body almost instantly. A wide grin enveloped his face as he knelt down on the ground to catch them up in his arms, kissing them on the tops of their heads as they threw their little arms around his neck.

They chattered excitedly, informing him of all the things he had missed in the time he had been away. He nodded and smiled appropriately as they all walked up into the house together, where he was then greeted by his wife Sierra. She smiled and kissed him to welcome him home, and he gratefully melted into her hug. They exchanged a silent look, and she just nodded at him in understanding before herding the girls out to the backyard to play while he made his way upstairs to the bedroom. He was barely inside the door to his bedroom before he dropped his bag in the corner of the room and flopped down onto the bed, where he fell asleep in seconds.

—-

Some time later…

The early evening sunlight streaming through the window, coupled with the sound of children’s laughter brought him out of his sleep slowly. He blinked open his eyes as he rolled over in the bed. Stretching out his arms and legs with a satisfying pop of his joints, he sat up and rubbed at his face. He looked down to see that he was still wearing the clothes he had travelled in, and he laughed to himself as he got up off the bed and walked over to the walk-in closet to change.

A few moments later, in a fresh pair of shorts and a T-shirt, he made his way downstairs and outside to the backyard where he saw Sierra sitting under the shade of a gazebo while she watched Jade and Olivia playing with bubbles on the grass. He walked up and plopped down beside her on the loveseat, and she smiled at him as he kissed her cheek. “Good sleep?”

“The best, especially since it was in my own bed,” he replied with a grin. “As much fun as India was, nothing compares to being home with my family.”

“Any plans on going back for more shows?”

Lachlan stayed quiet for a moment, his hand coming up to rub at the back of his neck as he turned his head to watch his daughters playing. “Well…”

He could practically feel the heat of Sierra’s glare on the side of his head. “Lachlan…”

“There may have been a discussion or two…”

“I swear to God, you are an absolute glutton for punishment. You’re really going to go through that whole painful process again?”

“Not right away. I told Christian that I’d take a look at my schedule and see if it would be doable.” He looked at her with the boyish grin that he knew got her every time. “But for right now, I just want to enjoy this beautiful summer night with my perfect family and not have to think about work for at least a few hours.”

Her green eyes narrowed at him, but the hint of a smile played at the edges of her mouth. “What am I going to do with you?”

“Now that you mention it, I do remember a certain text message I got from you with some ideas for this certain…vacation you’re on.” He leaned in towards her with a wiggle of his eyebrows, which finally made her burst out into laughter.

“After the girls go to bed, you absolute lunatic.”

—--------

“Damn, it feels good to be back.”

Relaxing in the backyard of his Orlando home, Lachlan Kane gave an easy smile towards the camera. His piercing blue eyes shielded by a pair of dark Ray Bans, he was dressed for the sweltering Florida heat in a light blue tank top and baggy black shorts, electing to go barefoot. He reclined in one of the lounge chairs set up around the pool at the side of his yard, lifting one of his legs to rest his ankle across his knee and clasping his hands together in his lap. “I gotta say, these months that PWE have been on hiatus have been pretty boring. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been kept plenty busy with my duties at Wolfslair here in Orlando - hit me up on socials for more details - but there’s really no substitute for the energy and electricity that being in front of a live crowd generates in your body. The absolute rush of a well-fought match, and the euphoric sweetness of victory. So when I got the news that PWE was making its triumphant comeback…well, you all know that I was first in line. Hell, I was camped out like I was getting tickets to the World Cup.” He chuckled slightly. “OK, that may be a slight exaggeration. But I was excited as all hell. And now, here we are. Right on the verge of once again becoming one of the hottest companies on the scene. The anticipation is always the best part, I find. No feeling like it in the world.”

He lowered his raised leg back down to rest on the ground, but kept his easy posture. “But before I get into it, I’m making one thing clear - I’m coming back for my Victory title. Doesn’t matter who holds it at the end of the show, be it Ellie or Chelsea. But I promise right here and right now that I will become the first two-time champion in PWE history.” He smirked in a somewhat cocky manner. “And I don’t make promises that I can’t keep.”

He gave a cheeky wink towards the camera. “Now that I’ve gotten that business taken care of, I can turn my full attention to this swinging little shindig coming up at The Upside Down. Boy, can Ophelia and Charlie book a card, am I right? And what a way to open up our glorious return to the wrestling world. You got seven hungry competitors, all looking to put their stamp on this company and rise above the rest. We’re setting the tone for the entire show, and I know that we’re not gonna disappoint. I am gonna be honest with you all, there’s not a lot of familiar names to me in this match. I can’t say I would know any of these people if they walked right up and slapped my face…which any one of them very well may do come Monday night. All of them are fairly new faces to the company, but I hope they don’t take that to mean that I’m underestimating them. On the contrary, I know that each and every one of them is more than capable of holding their own in that ring, otherwise they wouldn’t be here. Ms. Knight isn’t in the habit of signing just anyone to a contract here, you know. She wants the very best of the best for her roster, and for that I’m grateful. Because I’m the kind of man who’s driven by the need to constantly test myself. I love all this new, fresh blood coming into our ranks because it means a whole new slew of talent for me to test my mettle against. When I finally become the two-time Victory champion, I want to know that I fought some of the toughest competition there was…and conquered it. So, let’s get into the first crop of challengers in my path, shall we?”

He held up his right hand, pinky finger extended, followed in quick succession by his ring and middle fingers. “First up, we got the trio of chums in Sabina, Mia and Peach. Playing the numbers game, that’s gonna be a tough combo to beat. But sooner or later, friendship’s gonna have to fall to the wayside if you think you’re gonna have any chance of survival in this match. It’s a cutthroat world out here, ladies, and you’re about to find out the hard way.”

His index finger rose up. “Next up, the very appropriately named Enigma. See, to look at the guy you would automatically assume that he’s a straight-up bruiser with a nasty temper. And I admit, I fell into that line of thinking as well. But the scuttlebutt around this guy is that he’s actually not what he seems. More of the gentle giant type, if you believe the rumours. A literal walking definition of ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ if I’ve ever seen one. That being said, there is no way that I’m taking this guy lightly. Hell, he could probably javelin throw any one of us out of that ring right into the nosebleeds of the crowd. Getting him over the top rope is gonna take a little bit of strategic planning, methinks. But I may or may not have a trick or two up my sleeves for dealing with him when the time comes. You’ll just have to wait and see.”

His thumb extended to count five. “And we come now to Victoria Lyons. Now, I know I said that I was unfamiliar with everyone in this match, but that was sort of a half-truth. I have a passing knowledge of her cousin Alexander from a previous company I worked for, and if this young woman is even half the competitor that he is…well, let’s just say that if I wasn’t in this match, she’d most likely be my pick to win.”

He now raised his left hand and extended the index finger there to make the final count six. “And last but most certainly not least, we’ve got a young buck by the name of Noah Ortega. By the looks of things, he’s a relative newcomer to the sport. Calling himself the leader of ‘The Lost’. Well, then may I suggest Google Maps?” Lachlan snickered a little. “Sorry, sorry, couldn’t help myself. I promise, I am taking this seriously. Regardless, he’s a man looking to leave his mark in the professional wrestling world, and he’s come to exactly the right place. PWE has been making stars since it opened, and I have no doubt that each and every person in this match will get the shine that they’re seeking.”

He lowered his hands back down to his lap, and the look on his face changed from its boyishly handsome smile to a look of pure determination and intensity. “But it’s not going to come at my expense. See, I’m a first-day star. I’ve been with the company since the doors opened. I’ve been proudly carrying the PWE flag everywhere I go. This company believed in me from the very start, they pushed me to heights I never could have imagined for myself. So when I say that I’m going to do whatever it takes to make sure that PWE - and myself, by proxy - rise to the top of the world, I damn well mean it. So make sure you’re all tuned in on Monday night, because The Scrapper is coming home, and he’s taking over.”

With a final smirk on his lips, Lachlan rose out of the chair and the scene cut out to black.