OOC: Formatting later tonight.


There's a blue light in my best friend's room
There's a blue light in his eyes
There's a blue light, yeah,
I want to see it shine

Nashville, TN
The Bloom Household
1996

Holly Bloom-Cooper sat next to the kitchen window in her parents’ home. It had been a tough few months since she and Steven began separating, primarily for the kids. She had always attempted to put her family above her own needs, but Steven had never done the same, let alone made her feel like a real partner in a team for several years. He was completely absorbed in his career, submerged to the point of drowning. She had met other wrestlers in her time with Steve and not one other was as deeply entrenched in the culture and business as Steven was. It was like a pure obsession, a compelling nature that had forced him into that life. Had he been alone or, hell, they were still just a couple like they had been, maybe that’d be okay. But they had brought two beautiful children into this world and yet Steven would always find some way to put his head up his ass when it really mattered. She loved him, but it was a struggle to love him. One she couldn’t handle anymore. She heard a tiny voice break her concentration as she looked outside the window.

“Mommy?” It was her daughter, Victoria. The little girl tugged at her mother’s pants leg. “Somebody’s at the door.”

“Oh,” Holly managed to get out, taken aback by the suddenness of the news, trying to think of how quite to respond while preparing to go tell whatever solicitor to buzz off, “Thank you for telling me, Tori. I’ll go see what they want.”

Holding herself somewhat as she reluctantly walked towards the front door, she took a deep inhale and opened it up, only to see a very familiar face in a rather lame UPS disguise, her daughter having been her small shadow, making the situation all more difficult. On the doorstep stood Steven Cooper, a poorly fitting delivery boy costume on his body as he held a box that he quickly shoved into her arms.

“Delivery for the Bloom-Coopers!” Steve said, putting on an unconvincing fake voice. Holly sighed as Victoria giggled, seeing her father look like a massive doofus making for some instant comedy. Holly, however, wasn’t laughing.

“Steve, could you please go? Now isn’t a very good time-”

“I was just thinking maybe we could talk a littl-”

Holly slammed the door in his face. She had grown numb to this sort of routine considering he had been doing this every week prior for the past couple of months. Little Victoria or William would get a real kick out of his antics, but it was just another gallon of stress for Holly in an ocean of discomfort. She didn’t care for it to say the least.

Two weeks later, Holly had found herself in a much similar position, only having been prepared for the impromptu pizzaboy on her doorstep. Every single time he showed up, he pleaded for a short talk with Holly. It wasn’t much more effort than he usually put in, but it was something. The two parents let their children devour some of the three boxes of pizza Steven had brought in order to have a short conversation, the one Steven was so desperate to have. It was nice to talk a little bit with him, but an unsettling worry that he was just trying to court her again began to simmer to the surface before she eventually just said it.

“I hope you don’t think pulling this shit is going to make me get back with you.”

Steven’s ears perked, him chuckling the suggestion off a bit as he watched his children in the other room. “Oh, it ain’t nothin’ like that, Hol.”

She turned her head, a little confused. “Then, why do you bother?”

“Well,” Steve struggled out, “every time I head here… I get to see them a little bit and that… well, that’s worth it some days.”

“Where are you staying, Steve?”

“In my car.”

Her jaw dropped at his blunt answer, but she didn’t admonish him or make a point out of it being an awful thing. He had to already know that.

“I’m about to have to go off,” he added, “there’s a show tonight.”

“Steven, if you need money, we can figure something out.”

“Oh, no,” he waved her suggestion off, heading towards the front door and waving goodbye to his kids. “I’ll be fine. I got plenty.”

Steven stepped outside, quickly scurrying to his car and looking at his near empty gas tank before driving off towards the gig, a big speed bump causing his head to strike against the roof of the car as he drove off.

-----

An Uber headed for Avalanche HQ
2021

A bump startled Steven Cooper awake from the back of the Uber he had gotten late in the night. Turns out he was in the wrong place all along, having screwed up the Clue plans with some strange television program made some madman for kids. He had been thinking about his children a lot recently with his cancer diagnosis weighing heavily on his mind. He took a deep breath, his thoughts turning to the meeting he had had with William a week or so ago. No amount of high ratings had made that conversation any easier, nor did it bring more than the slightest of solace to him and his son. If Will reacted poorly… how would Eobard? He knew he had to say something sooner than later, but the clock was ticking and he didn’t have much time left. All it did was put a pit in the center of his gut. One all too familiar. Avalanche HQ was getting closer and closer. Only a few miles away now.

-----

Brookridge, TN
Mac’s Diner
2021

Steven looked upward, gulping down an uneasy breath back to the pit of his stomach. He sat in a small booth towards the corner of the tiny, local diner. The call he had made to his wife in order to arrange this whole thing was stressful enough, but nothing compared to this uneasy feeling that lingered over him. She wasn’t too surprised that Steve was dying, nor did she sound too torn up about it, but he wasn’t expecting anything else. She had happily married some banker whom she travelled the world with every few years. The life she had shared with Steven was long over and it was the last thing she had a desire to unearth. That’s just how Holly was, however, the last thing Coop wanted was to try and guilt her into seeing him before he passed. No, no, he called her because she still regularly spoke to their kids and while Tori hadn’t responded with much interest to see ol’ dad one more time, Will at least agreed to give him the time of day. It hadn’t taken much effort and time to arrange the meeting, but that didn’t prevent it from being an immensely stressful situation for Steve. He hadn’t really spoken to Will in years, partly due to his son’s wishes and partly because he hated the idea of William having to focus any bit of thought on his father. The boy had his own life, his own future and Steven had… well, Steven had wrestling and Eobard Stone. That’d have to do.

A bell rang to signify the opening of the diner’s door. Though his appearance had changed dramatically with age, a dirty blonde goatee covering his face, Steven immediately recognized his son. If not for the nerves, Steve would have shot up to greet Will, but it seemed inappropriate given the baggage and the circumstances. Instead, he merely gave a wave of acknowledgement as Will walked in and waited patiently for the younger man to make his way to the booth. William doffed his jacket, taking a seat across from the elder Cooper, an uncomfortable silence hanging in the air between them before Steve cut through it with some chit-chat.

“So… how ya been, kiddo?”

“I’ve been alright,” Will replied, taking a look at the menu, “Yourself?”

The Trooper shrugged, unsure how well he was supposed to take the expenditure of his mortality on such a costly illness. “I ‘spose i’m fine enough.”

“Good, good.” Will continued to survey the menu, carely inspecting it for something worth eating at this hour.

Steven attempted to focus on his own menu, but the act of eating was secondary to sharing this brief time with his son. Steve was on borrowed time and he only had so much to share himself. Clearing his throat somewhat, he attempted to ask another question, trying to break through the fortress that sealed this potential conversation within.

“Well, anything big going on with you lately?”

Will pondered the response for a moment before ultimately deciding to answer.

“My wife and I just found out that we’re gonna be having a baby.”

Steve’s face lit up a bit, excited by the nature of the news, though the reality of not having an opportunity to be a grandfather to Will’s coming child regardless of the cancer wasn’t lost on him. That was without addressing the real fact that had been illuminated by this news: Steve didn’t even know Will was married.

“A boy or a girl?”

“Don’t know yet.”

Steve chuckled, teasing his son a little, “Well, maybe if you get a little fella you can name him after your old man.”

“Maybe,” The younger Cooper replied. It was his way of politely dismissing the notion entirely.

His smile disappearing, Steven chose to try and focus more on figuring out something to eat before annoying the young man too much more. As the quiet between them maintained itself for a few moments, several words from William dissipated it easily.

“So, I saw that you’re wrestling on TV again.”

“Oh-uh, yeah! It pays well enough and it’s nice to get a bit of respect after years in the business.”

“Uh-huh,” Will passively replied, his focus on something different, “well, I just noticed that you’re wrestling with a partner and it reminds me of a lot of the plans you had for us when you thought I might follow in your footsteps.”

Steven sighed, the nerves he tried to swallow down finally escaping from him as he tried to explain. “Look, it isn’t like that at all-”

“He’s my age, Dad. You’re not fooling me.”

“That had nothing to do with me and Eobard being partners.”

Will raised his voice a bit, clearly having been frustrated for quite some time.

“Can you cut the bullshit, Dad? I reached out to you for God knows how long and all I got were a few nice phone calls here and there, but you’ll gladly be some surrogate father to this guy just to avoid seeing your family!”

“I might not have reached out much, but I paid child support every time! I would have been there at your damn wedding, but I don’t remember being sent an invitation!”

“How many band practices or recitals or graduations did you miss because you just decided you’d go do something else? Why do I have to give you a chance over and over again?”

“Maybe because I’m your father!”

“Did you give your Dad a second chance?”


“Now, don’t do that. That’s not the same.”

“Is it not? Please explain how it isn’t!”

“That man was a monster, William! He broke and beat me in ways you won’t ever understand and that’s a good damn thing!”

“SO, is that why you were absent all the time? Because you were afraid you might actually succeed where he failed? You can’t tell me you’re not capable of it when you can do it for some… wrestler!”

“I told you it’s not like that! Besides, I reached out this time and you can’t stand that I did!”

“You only reached out to me because you’re dying!”

“THAT’S RIGHT!”

Steven slammed a fist onto the table, feeling tears start to well up as an uncomfortable silence fell over the diner, prompting the two Coopers to calm down and readjust their volumes. Steve placed his head in a hand, pinching away the water in his eyes, attempting to find the right words.

“Look, I know I’m never gonna make up for years of bein’ away, but I just want to have one lunch with you where we can walk away without feelin’ a pit of venom in our stomachs. Is that too much to ask for?”

“...I don’t think so,” Will began to pull his wallet out of his pocket, keeping his eyes set on the menu after getting frustrated.

“What are you doing, kiddo?”

“I figured I’d pay for lunch. It’s the least I could do considering everything going on.”

“No child of mine is paying for my bill, WIll,” The Trooper chuckled a bit, making sure he had his own wallet on him before making such a stand. The two prepared to get an order ready for when the waitress finally made it to their table, Before she had come by, however, William lifted his head, looking to his father.

“So, what kind of treatment are you planning on?”

“Treatment?” Steven had thought about such a question for quite a while, but he had come to an answer, “I’m not getting any. I’m just gonna ride the wave until my tide comes in, y’know?”

“Dad, you don’t have to do that. You can go and get treatment and see your grandchild when they’re born. Hell, I can see about you having dinner at my house at some point. You don’t have to wrestle yourself into the grave.”

Steven looked up, staring his son in the eyes.

“William, are you happy?”

“Of course I am.”

“Is your sister happy?”

“Yes.”

“Are you going to love that kid with all of your heart and soul?”

“Absolutely.”

“Then that’s all I need to know. The last thing I need to do is float around and get in the way of your life and potentially disappoint another kid.”

“So, you’re decided?”

“Yeah, I ‘spose I am.”

The waitress walked over to their table, asking them for their orders. The lunch was pleasant but brief and after a half hour of catching up and talking a little more, William left the diner and Steven sat alone for a few moments before he got up and left.

-----

There's a ship that sails by my window
There's a ship that sails on by,
There's a world under it
I think I see it,
Sailing away