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B.O.B. D · (12-13-2019)

DING! DING! DING!

Ned Kaye stood outside the house of his former rival turned Tag Team partner, Big D, his finger on the doorbell. The ringing reminded him of the timekeeper's bell, a familiar sound he'd heard many times before going to war with his newest ally. Saturday night would mark the first time the two would be on the SAME side once that bell rings, and it could possibly be the greatest debut a Tag Team could EVER have.

"Neeeeeed!" Big D exclaimed as he opened the door. "Welcome to my humble abode!"

"Thanks for inviting me." Ned responds with a bit of a forced smile and a halfhearted wave. It's clear that his thoughts are elsewhere, but D doesn't seem to notice at first.

"SOOOOOOOO what do you think?" Big D asks, bringing attention to the shirt he's wearing. It's blatantly homemade, as it's a plain black color with the word 'Apex' painted across the chest in white letters.

Ned scans his eyes over his partner. "I didn't know you were a fan."

"Fan?!?!" Big D scoffs. "I believe the word you're looking for is MEMBER. With us teaming, plus Robert helping me and Chris Page, I figured it was only fitting."

"Sorry to break it to you, but you're not a member, Daniel," Kaye responds flatly. Big D's mood(as it had so many times before) abruptly changes at Ned's words, causing him to do his best Hulk Hogan impression and rip the shirt off with one mighty stretch of the fabric. Ned allows D to have his moment before speaking again. "So, how do you want to prepare for this match? I've been floating around a few ideas, but nothing concrete."

"It's funny you mention it," Big D responds, snapping out of his mini-tantrum. "I was actually JUST studying some tape when you showed up."

"Maybe we have more in common than I thought," The Notorious One lightens his demeanor a little. "So, what are you reviewing; Lacklan's last loss at Lethal Lottery? Their tag title victory?"

"Not exactly," D replies with a grin, before motioning for Ned to come in.

The two head into the living room, where a video IS playing only not one Ned would've expected. On the TV is a hardcore lesbian porn of a blonde, white woman licking a black girl's ass while dildoing her with a massive fake penis.

"Do you just... live like this always?" Ned asks, shaking his head slowly, as his head falls into his hand.

"No...............usually my wife's home," D answers with a shit eating grin. He then turns his attention to the TV. "You think Kenzi ACTUALLY makes Sarah do that?"

"Y'know, I don't give any thought to it." Sighing as some of the moaning on the TV gets louder, Ned vaguely motions towards the TV, eyes still averted. "Could you turn that off?"

"Fine!" Big D sighs before reaching for the remote and obliging. "But I think we're missing out on some valuable information......"

"Look, you can live up to your nickname in your own time, but when I'm here, I'd like to try to work together and that's never going to happen if you figuratively, and literally, jerk yourself off."

Big D stares at Ned, a blank expression on his face. Ned looks a little unnerved, pondering to himself why he agreed to this in the first place. After another moment of uncomfortable silence, D let's out a gigantic laugh and pats Ned on the back.

"THIS is exactly why I chose YOU to be my partner," Big D laughs. "No Nonsense Ned, just wants to win. Who WOULDN'T want someone like that having your back?"

Ned gives a few weak chuckles of his own. "I can imagine a few people."

"More than a few, Ned," Big D says before extending an arm in the direction of a recliner. "Have a seat, buddy, mi casa, es su casa. Would you like something to drink? A snack, perhaps? The wife baked brownies this morning, tastes good with a scoop of ice cream."

Ned slouches down in the chair, visibly antsy. "I'm not really in the mood for anything." He thinks for a moment, massaging his temples. "Well, maybe some water."

"Damn, Ned, my wife is gonna be SOOOOO upset when she hears you rejected her brownies," D says with a look of disappointment. "She made them specifically because she knew you were coming over. Guess all her hard labor was for nothing, huh?"

"Fine, you can get me a brownie, too." Ned reluctantly accepts, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Damn, Ned, you need to chillax a bit," Big D says, heading into the kitchen. As he grabs his guest's refreshments, D hollers into the living room. "One brownie never lost anyone a match, neither did a little bit of porn!"

"It never WON anybody a match, either," Ned mumbles as Big D comes in with a bottle of water and a plate with a gigantic brownie on it.

"I heard that," D says as he drops the bottle in Ned's lap, before handing him the plate with a fork. "You strike me as someone who needs a fork to eat a brownie."

Ned goes to cut a piece of the brownie with the utensil, but stops at Big D's words. He looks at D, who has a grin so wide his teeth are showing and eyes are closed, before handing the fork back to him. Big D takes it and sets it on the coffee table, making his way over to the couch.

"Listen, Ned," Big D begins as he sits down. "We're gonna have to work as a team in order to have ANY chance of walking out of Savage with those belts. But, considering they're the Tag TEAM Titles, you already knew that, huh?" Ned's mouth is too full of brownie to respond, so he just nods his head and takes a sip of water.

"Good, good," Big D continues. "Nobody thinks we're gonna win. Whether it's our opponents, or the fact we've never teamed before; EVERYONE from Vinnie Lane to the Las Vegas bookies are expecting the 5'2 Mafia to retain."

"Then we've gotta give 'em a reason to believe otherwise," Ned interjects, before finishing off his brownie.

"Exactly," D agrees. "Sounds like we're getting on the same page, now."

Ned gives a faint smile, before opening up his water bottle and finishing it. "Could I trouble you for another?" he politely asks. "I'm really thirsty all of a sudden."

"It must be hittin' you already," Big D replies as he gets up and heads back into the kitchen.

Ned looks a little confused. "Wha-what do you mean?"

Big D comes back with another bottle, a suspicious smirk on his face. "The weed," he says, handing the water to Ned.

"Fucking excuse me?"

"The weed.........in the brownie........that you ate........... it's kicking in," Big D responds as if it was no big deal. "I knew you wouldn't eat it unless I made up that BS about my wife making them."

Ned bolts up and gets in his partner's face. "Are you kidding me?! What kind of sick joke is this???"

"You were being WAYYYYYYYYY too uptight, man," D responds with a shrug. "I figured Tag Teams that get high together, win Championships together. What's the harm in that?"

"I've NEVER been high before!" Ned exclaims, throwing his arms up in disbelief. "What the hell am I gonna do?!"

"Oh, I don't know!" Big D says sarcastically. "Maybe we should go get your stomach pumped?"

Ned glares at him, not amused by his mocking tone. "I'm gonna kick your ass!........" He takes a step towards D, but stops as the THC begins to hit him even harder. Ned plops back down into the chair, still annoyed but too high to do anything about it. "........once I'm sober." Big D let's out a laugh, as Ned lays his head back and closes his eyes. "Look, Daniel, tonight is anything BUT the night for this."

"Well, Ned, that to me sounds like it's the PERFECT night for this!" D responds with a pat on the shoulder. "Loosen up, you're already high, might as well enjoy it!"

Ned puts his hands over his face and let's out a deep breath. "Maybe you're right."

"I AM right!" D replies, proud of himself. "Ned Kaye's first high and I get to be here for it!"

"You CAUSED it!!!!"

"True." Big D let's out a laugh. "So, what does high Ned wanna do?"

Ned sighs, loosening up a bit. He digs deep in his stoned brain for an idea. After a moment of thinking, he finally makes a(somewhat stereotypical) suggestion.
"Pink Floyd?"

Ned had finally managed to let loose, leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed, and enjoying the music he suggested. Big D sat on the couch opposite his partner, jamming out to the tune he'd never heard before.

"Damn, Ned," he says, as if realizing something for the first time. "This song is TOTALLY about us!"

Ned, keeping his eyes shut, simply nods his head and speaks in a stoned tone. "Yeah, man, it kind of is, huh?"

"No, dude, it IS about us!" D reiterates, trying to sound like some sort of philosopher. "These guys KNEW that in 2019 you and me would climb a mountain that people think is too steep, but would be able to overcome!"

Ned thinks for a second, before shrugging off his partner's ridiculousness. "I think you're trippin', man."

"You can't trip on pot," D informs Ned, who obviously didn't mean it literally. "Unless it's laced or something."

Ned drinks half of his fifth Fiji water, before revealing something to D. "You know, as much as this does bug me, I am kinda glad you drugged me, bro."

Big D laughs, almost knocking over his Powerade on the table. "What?! I didn't know someone in APEX needed to get let loose THAT bad."

Ned chuckles, staring off into space a bit. "...You should be glad you're not a member. It's not all it's cracked up to be."

"Really? How so? I can only imagine what having that kind of company would've done for MY career when I was your age."

"It's just..." Ned hesitates on his answer. "Imagine being apart of a group of people far more accomplished than you and everyone you compete with tells you that you don't deserve to be under their banner.... That you haven't, and never will, earn the spot you have. It's torture, D. And the worst part is those around you, your friends, are telling you that you're fine and to not listen to others."

"But I'm not-... it's not fine. Because every time you fail yourself, you feel like you've hurt those who chose to believe in you. You might be a bad guy from time to time, Dan, but that's not the only reason why I was reluctant to team with you. You believe in me, Daniel, and I don't know if I can bare letting yet another person down because I couldn't cut it."

Big D nods, responding somewhat softly. "That's alot of baggage to carry. So, do you just preach all that "supporters make me strong" shit orrrr...?"

"No, I mean it. If it wasn't for the fact that I genuinely make this planet brighter for some people, I probably would've left years ago."

"Left wrestling?"

Ned stays quiet.

"Oh............I see," D says in a somber tone, understanding what Ned meant. "Well, I can tell you this: doing THAT would disappoint your believers alot more than losing a match........"

"Well, what about YOU?" Ned asks. "What happens if we lose Saturday? Are you gonna attack me, end our partnership before it even began?"

Big D chuckles. "Ned, I don't think you would've teamed with me had you ACTUALLY thought that was a possibility." He opens his Powerade and takes a sip, as Ned lets out a big ole yawn. "Besides, it's not like you can let me down any worse than Donovan Blackwater, right?"

Ned gives an awkward smile before yawning, again, his eyes slowly drooping shut. He opens them abruptly, but can't fight the sleepiness overcoming him. Big D shakes his head, but rather than wake him up or throw water on him, he grabs the Rams blanket covering the back of the couch, and drapes it over Ned. "I'll give him an hour or so to sober up, that way he's safe to drive."

Big D puts his hands on his hopes, thinking about the conversation him and his friend just had. He never imagined someone like Ned would EVER consider suicide an option. One of the main reasons he picked Ned as his partner was his fighting spirit, his ability to never give up, even when Big D HIMSELF would. It made D feel bad, but also motivated him to get Ned his first Championship even more.

Big D goes over to his desk and grabs a joint out of the top drawer. He heads towards the kitchen, but stops and looks at his sleeping teammate. "Can I trust Ned in here by himself while I smoke a joint in the garage?......." He thinks for a second, before giving himself a light palm to the forehead. "Of course I can!"

Big D heads into the kitchen, and to the backdoor. He slips on his shoes and heads outside, making his way to the garage. As he heads in, he looks at all the replica Championship belts he put back on the shelves after his Thanksgiving tirade. They DID mean something to him, despite him saying otherwise. If it wasn't for those Titles, he may not be where he is today. He was moreso upset with his recent Title runs, knowing holding them at this point in his career means nothing.......... even the Tag Team Championships. BUT, he knew what it would do for, not only Ned's career, but his confidence as well. And he wanted to be the one to give that to him. Not Vinnie Lane, not Lux; not even ROBERT MAIN....... Big D. For once in his career, D wanted to help someone in a way nobody ever had for him. Ned accepted his offer, the least Big D could do was reward him for it.

"Sarah Lacklan says Ned Kaye is boring..........." Big D begins, lighting his joint. "I wonder how much time she's actually spent with him? Probably not as much time as she spent counting out his promo minutes like they even matter. Someone who spends as much time on Twitter as she does has NO room to criticize others for what they do with theirs!"

"Boring is a matter of opinion, and quite frankly, no-one gives a shit about Sarah's. To her, being depressed is boring, something that shows you exactly the kind of person she is. But what do you expect from someone whose day gets completely ruined just by seeing an elderly person. Some people, myself included, might say SHE is boring. I mean, who REALLY wants to shop for a thousand pairs of shoes and watch her bitch on Twitter every minute of the day?? Her and Kenzi are on there so much, you gotta wonder how they EVER find time to train!"

"Lacklan criticizes Ned for the level of competition he's faced, some he's lost to, but she's forgotten that his career is only just beginning to blossom! Seeing as how her wife's career started, I'd say Ned's doin' alright for himself. It's not like he lost for an entire year or anything.......... As for who he's faced, she should know as well as anybody you can only fight who's put in front of you! Whether he won or lost, Ned fought with the heart of a warrior EVERY time!!!! Lacklan can't see that because she's too busy having her face buried in her phone and in Kenzi's ass! For someone who's lost to the likes of Ruby and Robbie Bourbon, you'd THINK she'd leave people's pasts out of it."

"If Sarah thinks her career is at an all-time low NOW, just wait until Savage is over. The 5'2 Mafia are gonna be transitional Champions for the best Tag Team XWF will ever see: Notorious B......I........G. Lacklan's gonna be so desperate after we've defeated them, she's gonna have to dig up her War Games MVP Title shot just to keep relevant. And that ain't no story, it's the Cold Big D Truth!!!!!"

Big D smoked his joint and thought about the match to come. Sarah was so focused on Ned, she couldn't even criticize D. She was smart in doing so, as talking shit about the man she claimed deserved an Anarchy Title a month back would've made her look dumber than she did at Lethal Lottery. Not that Big D thought she was smart, her obsession with Ned's Promo time puzzled him. At the end of the day, talk was cheap and the only thing that mattered was whatever happens INSIDE the ring. This wasn't for the Federweight Championship, it was the Tag Team Titles. Sarah and Kenzi didn't have any more of an advantage than they did. And THAT had Big D believing they could do it. Notorious BIG was gonna be flyin' high come Saturday Night Savage.

Threaded Mode \| Linear Mode Notorious BIG Flyin' HIIIIIIIIGH
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