Like a House Of Cards (Teo & Downfall)
Aug 21, 2022 12:24:08 GMT -5
CJ Phoenix, Downfall, and 1 more like this
Post by Teo Blaze on Aug 21, 2022 12:24:08 GMT -5
It was the kind of morning that makes you want to go back to bed. A grey, dreary kind of morning, where pedestrians shield their heads from falling rain while darting between traffic. The kind of morning that almost seemed to beg for conflict, for something to just go wrong.
And on a morning like this, where should we find Action Wrestling's Cruiserweight champion but in a small diner, just off the main street. Beneath the sterile hum of a fluorescent light, the man gently stirred his coffee, looking over the patrons. Every one of them had woken up, ready to go to their job for the day. He could tell from the looks on their faces and the cigarette smoke in the air that not one of the construction workers, office jockeys, or janitors was looking forward to their day.
He could relate.
It wasn't that this was anything new, he'd been forced to work with enemies before after all. But he could never get used to it. It was unnerving, frightening even, knowing that someone would just as easily stab him in the back as raise his hand in victory.
But then, after all, what choice did he have?
‘What choice did he have’, was also on the mind of Daniel Fehl as he made his way, checking his phone for the address. Why this, specific diner, on this dreary morning? He couldn’t say… and there was a deep brooding to him as he passed, impatiently, through the busy NYC street, thinking that he just wanted to get back to Nihonmachi, complete the renovations on the dojo, but he kept being pulled away.
And, true, he was missing a record heat wave, a string of suspicious fires springing up all over Japantown, but something stirring in him called him back (home?)... yet the conventions of the job were bringing him here, to meet the Cruiserweight champion on his own terms… but, again, what choice would there be?
Hooding his eyes with the flat of his hand, he spies the diner across the street, banging the button at the crosswalk.
The bell over the door jingles merrily as he enters. And, he tilts his head, curiously, as he spots Teo Blaze, sitting by himself, calmly shuffling what looks to be a deck of cards in his hand. Moving through the diner, he comes around to the foot of the table, and stops there, letting Teo look up and feel him loom there for just a second.
"Teo."
"...Downfall." As if not deciding to be formal, or friendly, but still, Teo holds an inviting hand for him to sit. Daniel does.
Downfall, all business, tilts his head. "I think it's fair to say... we have little in common here, Teo. I almost wanted to say we have no business with each other, but that isn't true... You might look at me, and my actions as of late and see bitterness, rage, even question if you can trust me past our line of eyesight, but we both have All-In in common... and we both have this week. We both wanna win."
"I'd say we have that particular trait in common with the rest of the roster."
"Don't get smart."
"What I'm saying is that I doubt that we were placed in this match with an expectation of working together."
Downfall looks at him quizzically as he sits in the booth. A waitress approaches.
"Coffee, Black. Bottom of the pot, here since opening black."
Teo raises an eyebrow at the order as his partner looks at him expectantly. He reaches into his pocket and removes a worn deck of playing cards.
"A team like this, Downfall, is like a house of cards. Built well, it is sturdy. We work together? We'll make something special. Either of us gets aggressive?'
"Collapse."
"Exactly. I want to test your control, Downfall. See if we can work together."
Teo removes the pack and slides it across the table.
"A house of cards. What do you say?"
Deciding to play along, while still, to an extent, reflecting that he came a day early to attend this meeting, Downfall picks up a few of the cards; His face seizes with a barely-contained annoyance as the two cards he's steepled together as a base collapse in, but he sets them upright, and as he does so, visibly begins to get into the zone.
His eyes bore into the cards on the table with a pinpoint intensity, and his voice sounds tight, almost thick with contempt. "Out of everyone in this match, Kidsgrove's the one I have the most history with. What gets me about Kidsgrove's that he's remained the exact same dundering idiot who's completely blinded himself to the complicity he has in his own perceived image."
"I've maintained since my very first meeting where he tried to cast me in an unconvincing cowboy movie, complete with ill-fitting chaps, that Kidsgrove's perception of himself is as someone who piously works for the greater good, and you'd better be wise to accept his help, or he'll wash his hands of you. Even now, I'd imagine, he's trying to convince Serenity that if she just follows his lead on this, he's going to hold the key to victory.
But it's not true, never has been. For starters, that capriciously arrogant attitude, I know better than you and if you refuse my help, you're the lowest-level scum of the world, breeds the contempt people have for him and perpetuates the perception people have of him as out-of-touch. But more than that... where has Kidsgrove being going so right in his career that his word should be the piper's tune we follow after? Kidsgrove has taken to counting how many days in this year until he finally turns it up, turns it on... becomes a new man...
And every time..."
Almost symbolically, the stacked line of cards are knocked over by the flick of a finger.
"His fits and starts aren't the result of someone turning over a new era in their career or overcoming their shortcomings. They're just that, inconsistent amounts of effort by a man too short-sighted to ask the question of why everyone calls on his attitude. And he doesn't even have the wherewithal to research his opponents or glean a bit of insight as to why they're where they're at on a weekly basis."
He's setting cards up again, but now, his manner is, almost, reflective.
"Kidsgrove's big moment of triumph, winning one over a Cassidy Adler who's entire MO is that he barely even cares to learn an actual wrestling hold... and yet, for Sam, it was such a cathartic comeback that it absolved his long season of mediocrity... it erased his extended period of self-flagellation where he punished himself for his sins in front of the whole world, taking away the girl at ringside and the flashy entrance. It never was the music, or Zooey, or any ring jacket you could ever wear that makes someone win matches. It was grit, a decision deep inside to make something of yourself. And even now, i don't think Kidsgrove has learned that."
Downfall leans back, satisfied with his progress, and holds out a hand to Teo. The Cruiserweight Champ studies Downfall's work with a careful eye, focusing on a particularly strong area for the next card. He feels its weight carefully, leaning over precisely, and for just a moment, it occurs to him how much it would annoy his partner if he knocked down the pile intentionally.
The potential look on Downfall's face was tempting, but Teo would be damned if he would let that cause him to crack. As he carefully place the next card on the ever more shaky pyramid, he reflected.
"And of course we have Serenity Holmes, don't we? You know, I knew her father. Fought him on more than one occasion. I see the resemblance, and I'm not just talking physically.
That Holmes blood runs hot, and it runs deep. She's determined, she's intense. But she just can't control herself. She is the utter definition of hot and cold. When things are going well, she's over the moon! Brash, cocky, and yet focused like a laser beam. Truth be told I think if she could maintain that attitude, she'd be a dangerous threat."
The tower wobbles momentarily, but Teo steadies it with a deep breath.
"But she can't, can she? Daddy's temper is a curse as much as it is a blessing. When things aren't going well, she gets mad. She devolves into a whiny, entitled brat who thinks that the rules don't apply to her. Lest we forget her little tantrum at Independence Clash? She could have walked away from that match with her head held high, but she didn't, did she? She took the first cheap shot that she saw on Alice, practically tried to end her career!
That kind of thing doesn't make a person strong. Anyone can lash out emotionally, can hit a surprise shot. But you have to temper that emotion with self control."
As if to illustrate his point, Teo places another pair of cards almost effortlessly, as Downfall raises an eyebrow.
"Serenity just doesn't have that. It's not in her character. Makes her easy to exploit, to take advantage of. She's spinning in circles, directionless, and it's her own fault. We all saw her true colors, and now we know that she can't be trusted. She can't be relied on. And she doubles down on that every time a microphone goes to her mouth.
She's like a whiny child in a grocery store that has never been spanked, you know? She wants Captain Crunch right now! And if she doesn't get it, she'll yell, and scream, and make everyone around her miserable.
And just like that child, she thinks that she's the one in control, thinks that she has all the power because she can throw a tantrum. While everyone around her just rolls her eyes and waits for her to go away.
She will never get what she wants that way, but she refuses to do anything different.”
The tower has begun to wobble, and buckle under it's weight. Disgusted, Daniel's lip curls a little. "This exercise isn't quite working, Teo."
But Teo just grins at him, enjoying the competitive sparring and collaborative effort. Sighing, he selects another card, and, carefully, brings it up to the top of the pyramid.
He frowns, "But Serenity, now... there's a name that gives me pause. Not because she's especially accomplished, or even in possession of any of the pieces she's going to need to get where she needs to go, jesus christ what 18-year-old would be? But there's, almost a wistful feeling that it didn't need to be this way."
His eyes, faraway, turn into something hard and not kind. "I knew a Serenity, not long ago... just about her age group. And that Serenity was running away from a hard life... when she fell in with me, I was in a different place; I was a different man. But when I see this Serenity, she's just starting out on a road I wish I'd never embarked on... and there's so much wishing that I could warn her away from this path. Because I understand it clearly. Being the child of a beloved (in my case, very despised) wrestling personality, and wanting to honor them while still creating their own path... it's one I'd get right off the bat. And I'd warn Ren away from it, tell her it's ultimately not worth it..."
His smile comes on quickly, like a cold front. "But she's made her bed, and now, she's showing how unready for all of this she is... and how stupidly, she'll fall in with anyone that will feed her attention. How's the romantic liasion with Holden Ross serving her? Such a tragedy, to see a well-meaning young girl get taken under the wing of a pathetic, knuckle-dragging predator such as her, but if it bore fruit for her, it would be a net gain, right? Except there's nothing Holden has managed to teach her. Their alliance didn't serve to make them even make a dent in the rankings of a list of teams that were thrown together at the last minute, and all we've gotten out of it are a few tryst scenes that are skin-crawlingly uncomfortable once you pare the distance between an 18-year-old and a jowly, 40-year old felon loser."
He's paying particular attention to the card he places on the top of the structure, but when he cuts his eyes to Teo as he lays the card down, the gaze is intent.
"The reality is, Serenity is the weakest link because she is malleable... Serenity isn't experienced enough to know she's being led off a cliff. For crying out loud, her entire existence has been sheltered, trained under her Daddy Holmes' camp, won each and every accolade under his umbrella. You want to know, nine times out of ten, how hard many fledglings fall when they get booted out of the nest?"
Teo's gaze is intense as his partner gestures for him to continue the pyramid.
"I can imagine. But falling out of the nest when you're young? There are worse fates. At least it's quick. Not like Sam Kidsgrove."
"Oh, don't get me started" Downfall interjects as Teo lays down another pair of cards.
"You know, Sam Kidsgrove is no doubt a first draft hall of famer, and a great guy too."
"Not how I'd describe him."
"You didn't let me finish. The Sam Kidsgrove of 2022 however, is not that guy. Every hall of famer has their skid, and I daresay that we're seeing Sam's in action. He has done everything that there is to do in this company, yes, except win that world title. And now he's being faced with a simple question of whether he is good enough to climb that mountain.
And it's affecting him. All-In is his chance to control his destiny, it's everything he ever wanted. But he's got tunnel vision. It's making him desperate. It's why he was able to topple Cassidy, but fell against Jill. He has it in his head that people will never respect him, never truly remember the name Sam Kidsgrove unless he gets that world title around his waist.
The irony of course is that he has nothing to be insecure about. Any one on that roster would kill to have Sam Kidsgrove's career. The Hollywood Elite, the United States Title Reigns, the iconic feuds!
But that's not how Sam sees himself. He can only see how far he has to go, and refuses to acknowledge how far he's come. He gets into his own head every single time. And that is why Sam Kidsgrove knows he will never be World Champion without that briefcase. That's why it means so much to him. Because it would seem to grant control, the chance to pick his spot. Because right now? He's adrift. Going from opportunity to opportunity, and losing more than he wins. Because he just doesn't know what he wants.
That is dangerous, especially in a match like this. Because his three opponents, and I'm including his partner in that list, are laser focused on their goals. We all want it, for our own reasons of course, but Sam Kidsgrove needs it. And, hell, there's a part of me that says he probably deserves it.
But these kinds of things? It doesn't matter who deserves it. The deserving watch as the determined climb that ladder. The deserving lament their failures as the determined hold opportunity high. Losers cry about what they deserve! Winners know that they have to earn every single inch!"
Teo's emotions are high, but his hands remain steady as he places the last two cards atop the pyramid, a grin on his face as he does so.
"You see, Downfall, a tag team like this? It is a house of cards, and between Kidsgrove's mental baggage and Serenity's temper, they're guaranteed to collapse."
How long their back-and-forth jousting as they mutually work at building the house of cards has gone, he wouldn't have been able to say, but when he takes a moment to see it, he has to admire the craftsmanship, and, begrudgingly, admit there's some method to his partner's madness... even though the ceiling fans overhead are buffeting the cards with treacherous cross-breeze, the tower they've built remains standing.
He's, almost darkly tempted to blow out a puff of breath and send them tumbling; It's the bad wolf in him. But, instead, he looks at Teo.
"It's... something," he says out loud, which is all the credit he wishes to verbalize. Nonetheless, Teo's look is satisfied.
"I don't imagine Serenity and Kidsgrove being able to work together to pull off something like this," Downfall says.
"You can say that again. See? We don't have to like each other to work together."
"Yeah yeah, I get the metaphor. And I'll be goddamned if I'm the reason we lose this match. You'd never let me live it down."
"I'd expect nothing less. But I needed to know that you wouldn't let any mental baggage get in the way this week."
"Yeah, yeah... Wait, mental baggage?"
"Oh, nothing specific. You just never know."
Downfall smirks, holding his tongue. Teo wasn't exactly the picture of mental health himself, but again, time and place.
But as he stood up...God damn it, he just couldn't help himself.
"Oops!"
Downfall "accidentally" bumps his hip into the table, anticipating the look on Teo's face as the cards tumbled.
But they didn't.
The house of cards wobbled, buckled, but...it stayed standing.
Downfall incredulously looks at Teo, who is grinning smugly.
"Yeah yeah, I get the metaphor. Miss, I'll take that coffee to go."
Downfall walks to the counter as Teo smiles into his own coffee, the scene slowly fading to black.
And on a morning like this, where should we find Action Wrestling's Cruiserweight champion but in a small diner, just off the main street. Beneath the sterile hum of a fluorescent light, the man gently stirred his coffee, looking over the patrons. Every one of them had woken up, ready to go to their job for the day. He could tell from the looks on their faces and the cigarette smoke in the air that not one of the construction workers, office jockeys, or janitors was looking forward to their day.
He could relate.
It wasn't that this was anything new, he'd been forced to work with enemies before after all. But he could never get used to it. It was unnerving, frightening even, knowing that someone would just as easily stab him in the back as raise his hand in victory.
But then, after all, what choice did he have?
‘What choice did he have’, was also on the mind of Daniel Fehl as he made his way, checking his phone for the address. Why this, specific diner, on this dreary morning? He couldn’t say… and there was a deep brooding to him as he passed, impatiently, through the busy NYC street, thinking that he just wanted to get back to Nihonmachi, complete the renovations on the dojo, but he kept being pulled away.
And, true, he was missing a record heat wave, a string of suspicious fires springing up all over Japantown, but something stirring in him called him back (home?)... yet the conventions of the job were bringing him here, to meet the Cruiserweight champion on his own terms… but, again, what choice would there be?
Hooding his eyes with the flat of his hand, he spies the diner across the street, banging the button at the crosswalk.
The bell over the door jingles merrily as he enters. And, he tilts his head, curiously, as he spots Teo Blaze, sitting by himself, calmly shuffling what looks to be a deck of cards in his hand. Moving through the diner, he comes around to the foot of the table, and stops there, letting Teo look up and feel him loom there for just a second.
"Teo."
"...Downfall." As if not deciding to be formal, or friendly, but still, Teo holds an inviting hand for him to sit. Daniel does.
Downfall, all business, tilts his head. "I think it's fair to say... we have little in common here, Teo. I almost wanted to say we have no business with each other, but that isn't true... You might look at me, and my actions as of late and see bitterness, rage, even question if you can trust me past our line of eyesight, but we both have All-In in common... and we both have this week. We both wanna win."
"I'd say we have that particular trait in common with the rest of the roster."
"Don't get smart."
"What I'm saying is that I doubt that we were placed in this match with an expectation of working together."
Downfall looks at him quizzically as he sits in the booth. A waitress approaches.
"Coffee, Black. Bottom of the pot, here since opening black."
Teo raises an eyebrow at the order as his partner looks at him expectantly. He reaches into his pocket and removes a worn deck of playing cards.
"A team like this, Downfall, is like a house of cards. Built well, it is sturdy. We work together? We'll make something special. Either of us gets aggressive?'
"Collapse."
"Exactly. I want to test your control, Downfall. See if we can work together."
Teo removes the pack and slides it across the table.
"A house of cards. What do you say?"
Deciding to play along, while still, to an extent, reflecting that he came a day early to attend this meeting, Downfall picks up a few of the cards; His face seizes with a barely-contained annoyance as the two cards he's steepled together as a base collapse in, but he sets them upright, and as he does so, visibly begins to get into the zone.
His eyes bore into the cards on the table with a pinpoint intensity, and his voice sounds tight, almost thick with contempt. "Out of everyone in this match, Kidsgrove's the one I have the most history with. What gets me about Kidsgrove's that he's remained the exact same dundering idiot who's completely blinded himself to the complicity he has in his own perceived image."
"I've maintained since my very first meeting where he tried to cast me in an unconvincing cowboy movie, complete with ill-fitting chaps, that Kidsgrove's perception of himself is as someone who piously works for the greater good, and you'd better be wise to accept his help, or he'll wash his hands of you. Even now, I'd imagine, he's trying to convince Serenity that if she just follows his lead on this, he's going to hold the key to victory.
But it's not true, never has been. For starters, that capriciously arrogant attitude, I know better than you and if you refuse my help, you're the lowest-level scum of the world, breeds the contempt people have for him and perpetuates the perception people have of him as out-of-touch. But more than that... where has Kidsgrove being going so right in his career that his word should be the piper's tune we follow after? Kidsgrove has taken to counting how many days in this year until he finally turns it up, turns it on... becomes a new man...
And every time..."
Almost symbolically, the stacked line of cards are knocked over by the flick of a finger.
"His fits and starts aren't the result of someone turning over a new era in their career or overcoming their shortcomings. They're just that, inconsistent amounts of effort by a man too short-sighted to ask the question of why everyone calls on his attitude. And he doesn't even have the wherewithal to research his opponents or glean a bit of insight as to why they're where they're at on a weekly basis."
He's setting cards up again, but now, his manner is, almost, reflective.
"Kidsgrove's big moment of triumph, winning one over a Cassidy Adler who's entire MO is that he barely even cares to learn an actual wrestling hold... and yet, for Sam, it was such a cathartic comeback that it absolved his long season of mediocrity... it erased his extended period of self-flagellation where he punished himself for his sins in front of the whole world, taking away the girl at ringside and the flashy entrance. It never was the music, or Zooey, or any ring jacket you could ever wear that makes someone win matches. It was grit, a decision deep inside to make something of yourself. And even now, i don't think Kidsgrove has learned that."
Downfall leans back, satisfied with his progress, and holds out a hand to Teo. The Cruiserweight Champ studies Downfall's work with a careful eye, focusing on a particularly strong area for the next card. He feels its weight carefully, leaning over precisely, and for just a moment, it occurs to him how much it would annoy his partner if he knocked down the pile intentionally.
The potential look on Downfall's face was tempting, but Teo would be damned if he would let that cause him to crack. As he carefully place the next card on the ever more shaky pyramid, he reflected.
"And of course we have Serenity Holmes, don't we? You know, I knew her father. Fought him on more than one occasion. I see the resemblance, and I'm not just talking physically.
That Holmes blood runs hot, and it runs deep. She's determined, she's intense. But she just can't control herself. She is the utter definition of hot and cold. When things are going well, she's over the moon! Brash, cocky, and yet focused like a laser beam. Truth be told I think if she could maintain that attitude, she'd be a dangerous threat."
The tower wobbles momentarily, but Teo steadies it with a deep breath.
"But she can't, can she? Daddy's temper is a curse as much as it is a blessing. When things aren't going well, she gets mad. She devolves into a whiny, entitled brat who thinks that the rules don't apply to her. Lest we forget her little tantrum at Independence Clash? She could have walked away from that match with her head held high, but she didn't, did she? She took the first cheap shot that she saw on Alice, practically tried to end her career!
That kind of thing doesn't make a person strong. Anyone can lash out emotionally, can hit a surprise shot. But you have to temper that emotion with self control."
As if to illustrate his point, Teo places another pair of cards almost effortlessly, as Downfall raises an eyebrow.
"Serenity just doesn't have that. It's not in her character. Makes her easy to exploit, to take advantage of. She's spinning in circles, directionless, and it's her own fault. We all saw her true colors, and now we know that she can't be trusted. She can't be relied on. And she doubles down on that every time a microphone goes to her mouth.
She's like a whiny child in a grocery store that has never been spanked, you know? She wants Captain Crunch right now! And if she doesn't get it, she'll yell, and scream, and make everyone around her miserable.
And just like that child, she thinks that she's the one in control, thinks that she has all the power because she can throw a tantrum. While everyone around her just rolls her eyes and waits for her to go away.
She will never get what she wants that way, but she refuses to do anything different.”
The tower has begun to wobble, and buckle under it's weight. Disgusted, Daniel's lip curls a little. "This exercise isn't quite working, Teo."
But Teo just grins at him, enjoying the competitive sparring and collaborative effort. Sighing, he selects another card, and, carefully, brings it up to the top of the pyramid.
He frowns, "But Serenity, now... there's a name that gives me pause. Not because she's especially accomplished, or even in possession of any of the pieces she's going to need to get where she needs to go, jesus christ what 18-year-old would be? But there's, almost a wistful feeling that it didn't need to be this way."
His eyes, faraway, turn into something hard and not kind. "I knew a Serenity, not long ago... just about her age group. And that Serenity was running away from a hard life... when she fell in with me, I was in a different place; I was a different man. But when I see this Serenity, she's just starting out on a road I wish I'd never embarked on... and there's so much wishing that I could warn her away from this path. Because I understand it clearly. Being the child of a beloved (in my case, very despised) wrestling personality, and wanting to honor them while still creating their own path... it's one I'd get right off the bat. And I'd warn Ren away from it, tell her it's ultimately not worth it..."
His smile comes on quickly, like a cold front. "But she's made her bed, and now, she's showing how unready for all of this she is... and how stupidly, she'll fall in with anyone that will feed her attention. How's the romantic liasion with Holden Ross serving her? Such a tragedy, to see a well-meaning young girl get taken under the wing of a pathetic, knuckle-dragging predator such as her, but if it bore fruit for her, it would be a net gain, right? Except there's nothing Holden has managed to teach her. Their alliance didn't serve to make them even make a dent in the rankings of a list of teams that were thrown together at the last minute, and all we've gotten out of it are a few tryst scenes that are skin-crawlingly uncomfortable once you pare the distance between an 18-year-old and a jowly, 40-year old felon loser."
He's paying particular attention to the card he places on the top of the structure, but when he cuts his eyes to Teo as he lays the card down, the gaze is intent.
"The reality is, Serenity is the weakest link because she is malleable... Serenity isn't experienced enough to know she's being led off a cliff. For crying out loud, her entire existence has been sheltered, trained under her Daddy Holmes' camp, won each and every accolade under his umbrella. You want to know, nine times out of ten, how hard many fledglings fall when they get booted out of the nest?"
Teo's gaze is intense as his partner gestures for him to continue the pyramid.
"I can imagine. But falling out of the nest when you're young? There are worse fates. At least it's quick. Not like Sam Kidsgrove."
"Oh, don't get me started" Downfall interjects as Teo lays down another pair of cards.
"You know, Sam Kidsgrove is no doubt a first draft hall of famer, and a great guy too."
"Not how I'd describe him."
"You didn't let me finish. The Sam Kidsgrove of 2022 however, is not that guy. Every hall of famer has their skid, and I daresay that we're seeing Sam's in action. He has done everything that there is to do in this company, yes, except win that world title. And now he's being faced with a simple question of whether he is good enough to climb that mountain.
And it's affecting him. All-In is his chance to control his destiny, it's everything he ever wanted. But he's got tunnel vision. It's making him desperate. It's why he was able to topple Cassidy, but fell against Jill. He has it in his head that people will never respect him, never truly remember the name Sam Kidsgrove unless he gets that world title around his waist.
The irony of course is that he has nothing to be insecure about. Any one on that roster would kill to have Sam Kidsgrove's career. The Hollywood Elite, the United States Title Reigns, the iconic feuds!
But that's not how Sam sees himself. He can only see how far he has to go, and refuses to acknowledge how far he's come. He gets into his own head every single time. And that is why Sam Kidsgrove knows he will never be World Champion without that briefcase. That's why it means so much to him. Because it would seem to grant control, the chance to pick his spot. Because right now? He's adrift. Going from opportunity to opportunity, and losing more than he wins. Because he just doesn't know what he wants.
That is dangerous, especially in a match like this. Because his three opponents, and I'm including his partner in that list, are laser focused on their goals. We all want it, for our own reasons of course, but Sam Kidsgrove needs it. And, hell, there's a part of me that says he probably deserves it.
But these kinds of things? It doesn't matter who deserves it. The deserving watch as the determined climb that ladder. The deserving lament their failures as the determined hold opportunity high. Losers cry about what they deserve! Winners know that they have to earn every single inch!"
Teo's emotions are high, but his hands remain steady as he places the last two cards atop the pyramid, a grin on his face as he does so.
"You see, Downfall, a tag team like this? It is a house of cards, and between Kidsgrove's mental baggage and Serenity's temper, they're guaranteed to collapse."
How long their back-and-forth jousting as they mutually work at building the house of cards has gone, he wouldn't have been able to say, but when he takes a moment to see it, he has to admire the craftsmanship, and, begrudgingly, admit there's some method to his partner's madness... even though the ceiling fans overhead are buffeting the cards with treacherous cross-breeze, the tower they've built remains standing.
He's, almost darkly tempted to blow out a puff of breath and send them tumbling; It's the bad wolf in him. But, instead, he looks at Teo.
"It's... something," he says out loud, which is all the credit he wishes to verbalize. Nonetheless, Teo's look is satisfied.
"I don't imagine Serenity and Kidsgrove being able to work together to pull off something like this," Downfall says.
"You can say that again. See? We don't have to like each other to work together."
"Yeah yeah, I get the metaphor. And I'll be goddamned if I'm the reason we lose this match. You'd never let me live it down."
"I'd expect nothing less. But I needed to know that you wouldn't let any mental baggage get in the way this week."
"Yeah, yeah... Wait, mental baggage?"
"Oh, nothing specific. You just never know."
Downfall smirks, holding his tongue. Teo wasn't exactly the picture of mental health himself, but again, time and place.
But as he stood up...God damn it, he just couldn't help himself.
"Oops!"
Downfall "accidentally" bumps his hip into the table, anticipating the look on Teo's face as the cards tumbled.
But they didn't.
The house of cards wobbled, buckled, but...it stayed standing.
Downfall incredulously looks at Teo, who is grinning smugly.
"Yeah yeah, I get the metaphor. Miss, I'll take that coffee to go."
Downfall walks to the counter as Teo smiles into his own coffee, the scene slowly fading to black.
