To The Stars - 19. November, 2018

Thursday, November 1st

It was terrific to be back in Ohio, but Diego was already missing having a bed to himself. Every night since the plane landed, Julian snuggled up to his left side and slept so soundly that he left a smear of drool on his father's chest. Jilly spent the first night sleeping in Daddy's other arm, but she was considerably more independent and went back to the bed she would have shared with her brother afterwards. Nina, though, she was aloof and cool with him. It hurt. She was still so upset that he would leave her for so long. She was intentionally trying to make him jealous by sleeping with Audrey instead. It was working.

Julian had always been a tumultuous sleeper. Diego took more hits overnight than he did in a main event cage match, that was for sure, and he struggled to get to sleep. In fairness, it wasn't just that his son was driving his feet into his father's balls as he gently snored, it was that he was still thinking about recent events. The tornado that nearly took him away from his children for good. The long overseas trip that also took him away from his children. Being afraid to live in his own house because someone had it out for him. The way Sean had completely shut Diego out of his life and blocked his social media accounts and phone numbers. The way Lance seemed to make him happy. Diego looked at his phone repeatedly, wondering if he dared to engage Lance in a conversation this late, but unable to make himself do it.

He moved to the last text conversation he'd had with Sean. It was a string of apologetic, needy messages from the sweet-hearted Cherokee boy that Diego had ignored because he was angry with him. Now, he could not reply to the conversation. Sean despised him. And rightfully so, he thought. I screwed everything up for him. It didn't seem like Sean told their friends, at least. Even Oliver. Julian made a content noise and shifted in his sleep, before sighing and nuzzling closer. Diego's heart warmed, and he moved onto his side to cuddle his little boy closer. I need to spend more time worrying about him than I do about Sean. Audrey was right. It's time I focus on my family. With that promise to himself bringing him peace of mind, Diego finally nodded off to a peaceful sleep until morning.

"Hello, Marshmallow!" Diego greeted his eldest girl when she came out dressed in her school uniform, ready for her breakfast.

"Hello," Nina would never blank him while Audrey was in the room, but she would not stop sulking.

"Are you ready for school today?" Diego scooted across so he was sitting next to her. Audrey shot a look of pity from the stove where she was scrambling some eggs for everyone's breakfast.

"Yes," Nina replied shortly before she folded her arms.

"Why don't you and I do something together when school is out?" Diego asked, desperate to mend the rift between them. "A movie, maybe? Or we can go to Bounce!"

"Okay, but only if we can go on Saturday!" Nina decided, and Diego's heart fell.

"Sweetie... I have to work in Sacramento this weekend," he admitted reproachfully, and she tutted at him. "That's why I want to see you while I'm home."

"Then I don't want to see you!" Nina snapped at him, dismounting from her chair at the table and storming off. "Just go away again."

"Nina!" Audrey called after her, before giving Diego one of her looks.

"What? I have responsibilities!" Diego defended himself as his daughter slammed her bedroom door.

"You have responsibilities to our daughter as well," she declared, slamming the wooden spoon down on the counter next to the stovetop. "She's not three anymore, Diego. She knows you're choosing your job over her, and it won't be long until the twins realise that as well. Now get over here and take over. You can start by cooking your children breakfast this morning."

With that, she left the eggs on the cooker, and Diego realised she was serious and would happily leave them to burn to teach him a lesson. He shot a brief look at Jilly and Julian, who were sleepily watching the television further down the room on the couch. Where Jilly still harboured a tendency to boss around her brother and bully him, she was not nearly as violent as she used to be. I wonder if Troy has a sister who makes him her bitch as well. He sighed and cautiously approached the stove. He knew the basics of cooking, but there was no question that the eggs and toast for the three kids were mediocre at best. He placed three plates up on the table for three hungry kids and took his seat. Why does she make me cook when I could order anything we wanted? It's stupid. Still, the twins either did not notice or care. Diego had to stop Julian several times from shovelling too much into his mouth and gullet at once, lest he spat it back up or vomited. One day he's going to choke himself when I'm not around, he thought. It was something that always worried him.

"Are you excited to go back to Mommy today?" He asked Jilly. Her hair was getting long, and she was getting taller by the day, he was sure.

"No," Jilly replied. "Mommy's boring."

I'm sure she is, now that she doesn't have her favourite hobby of beating up our son, Diego thought bitterly. She has no job, no interests and only the small weekly income from the government now that I've put an end to her crap.

"What about you Juli? Do you miss Mommy?" Diego asked this question every once in a while. A horrible creature or not, she was still his mother.

"Mm-mm," Julian shook his head as he crammed toast into his mouth with his hand. Christ on the cross. He'd been trying for ages to get Julian to use utensils consistently, but the boy didn't seem to be all that sharp.

"I want to go to your house!" Jilly announced, loudly enough to embarrass her father. "I don't like this house!"

"That's a bit unfair, Bean," Diego reached over to rub her back the way she liked. "Aunt Audrey's being a legend letting us stay here while Daddy has work done on his house." Crazy fan or one of Zoey's henchmen? He wasn't sure, but without proper security, he did not want to stay there.

"It's too small!" She complained, and he rolled his eyes.

"I've spoiled you," he admitted, offering a smile to her. "In a week or two, we'll have a nice, big fence and a secure gate to keep bad people away. Then on a warm day, we'll go and have some fun in the pool. Would you like that?"

"Fine!" Jilly folded her arms. "But I want my toys!"

"Then use the magic word, and I might bring some of your toys next time you visit!" Diego bargained with her.

She might have Oppositional Defiant Disorder, but that doesn't mean she can get away with being a brat, Doctor Bandyopadhyay told him during one of their earlier visits. He was grateful to the Psychiatrist and the weekly sessions. Sometimes he'd speak to Jilly alone, and sometimes Diego would participate. He learned more about her triggers and how to handle her when she was hostile and vindictive. She was always going to be difficult, Doctor Bandyopadhyay feared, but being proactive as soon and often as possible would make a world of difference. It was already showing.

"No! I want my toys now!" Jilly frowned at him. Well, Diego thought, there was still a long way to go.

"Bean, that's not how you talk to people," Diego reminded her calmly but firmly. "If you want your toys, then ask nicely, and we'll swing by the house so you can bring some of them with you."

She scowled at him, and then she reached over to smack Julian over the side of the head. Predictably, Julian began to cry, half-chewed scrambled eggs and toast falling out of his mouth onto his lap.

"Why the hell did you do that?" Diego shouted at her, forgetting all the training and lessons Doctor Bandyopadhyay had taught him the moment she struck her brother. Immediately, Julian dashed from his seat and jumped up on Diego, hiding his face in his father's armpit as he wailed. Diego couldn't help but dislike both of his kids at that moment. Julian was such a wimp, and Jilly was such a bitch. Audrey and Nina returned as Diego looked with contempt at his youngest daughter, and she had her arms folded, meeting his gaze.

"Please don't ask," Diego begged his ex-girlfriend, turning red.

"I don't need to," Audrey replied, giving Julian a comforting kiss on the head as she passed him.

"I wish Jilly would go away forever," Nina complained about her sister right in front of her as she sat by the rapidly cooling eggs her father attempted to cook and picked up her fork. "I hate her."

"I hate her!" Julian agreed, his voice muffled.

"I hate you too!" Jilly shouted.

It was difficult to hear that. Nina and Julian would both be happy never seeing Jilly again. He knew that, and he knew Audrey was less than fond of her. He'd thought about it a lot before he took her to Doctor Bandyopadhyay. Just leave her with Zoey and she's no longer his problem, right? Well, he couldn't do it in the end. Pain in the ass or not, she was his little girl and he couldn't lose another kid. Nina and Julian were close. While the older of the two loved violence and pretending she was a wrestler, she was so gentle with her little brother and doted on him. Jilly... complicated everything.

"What was that?" Diego asked Jilly when he took her to the spare room that he currently slept in.

"I hate you," she threw the pillow, but Diego's reflexes won out and he caught it.

"Enough of that. Why are you so angry?" Diego asked her. Doctor Bandyopadhyay asserted that she was allowed to express her emotions, even anger, and Diego needed to understand and validate her feelings. "What's upset you?"

Jilly looked at him with her hazel eyes. She was so fair in complexion compared to her father that sometimes he wondered if she was his at all - but when compared to Julian, there was absolutely no denying that she was. Can two different men father fraternal twins? It took a long time before she was ready to speak, and Diego waited until she was.

"I don't want to go back to Mommy's house," she huffed, folding her arms and picking up the other pillow. Diego steeled himself in case she decided she hated him again. "I want to go to our house."

"We will, baby girl," he reassured her, but he wasn't sure he was brave enough to do that until the house was secured. "When I come and get you on Tuesday, we'll go back to the house. Mommy loves you, and she wants to see you. I thought you liked it there."

"Well, I don't want to see her! She always cries and she never spends time with me!" Jilly's idea of calmly getting her point across was to shout. Always. Absolutely her mother's daughter. But when she wasn't in the throes of a tantrum, she was sincere. Diego believed her when she spoke about what it was like in Zoey's household.

"Is it Chase's fault?" Diego asked innocently, reaching over and brushing her long, chestnut hair over her ear. Jilly let him, indicating that the tantrum was over and done with.

"Yeah," Jilly leaned against his arm, and he pulled her into a hug. She was a weird kid - violently swapping between loving him and wanting to kill him.

"I'll speak to Mommy today, okay?" Diego promised, the prospect of parleying with that woman sour in the back of his throat. She's the mother of two of my kids. She's my problem whether I like it or not. "But you can't hit your brother, Bean. You know that. Why did you do it?"

"I dunno," she shrugged.

"You can come out when you're ready to apologise to him," he told her firmly. "One day he's going to hit you back." That'll be the day, Diego thought. Julian always ran from his sister the way the dalmatians ran from Cruella De Vil. It took Jilly fifteen minutes to get bored enough to offer an insincere apology to Julian, who was intimidated enough to forgive her immediately. Twins. Never again. No more kids.

When it was time to take Jilly to Zoey's house, Diego's loathing of her had turned to concern. Was Zoey depressed about losing one of her children or was there something disturbing going on? Jilly wasn't happy about coming back, that was for sure. The frown didn't leave her face.

"Oh? I didn't think you were supposed to be here," a younger man with blonde hair and a crooked nose greeted him at the door. "Where's the social worker?"

"Legally I'm allowed to be here," Diego told him coldly, disliking him on sight. "Are you Chase?"

"Yep. Hey Jill," he greeted her with a ruffling of her hair, but Jilly was hesitant to enter the house. "Thanks for dropping her off."

"Is Zoey home?" Diego asked him, using his finger to raise his sunglasses to the top of his head so he could look this fellow in his blue eyes. "I want to talk to her."

"Well, she ain't ever wanna talk to you again," Chase shrugged coyly. "I reckon you should split."

"Zoey!" Diego impatiently called past him, and Chase's face darkened, but he did not attempt to stop him.

"Ugh, what do you want?" Zoey slipped out from behind the door to the next room. She didn't look so well. "Hello, darling! Come inside."

"I'm not here to fight if that's what you're thinking," Diego claimed, beckoning with his head. "I think we should have a quick chat about the twins, that's all."

"Then speak to the social worker you sicced on me!" Zoey snarled, and Jilly's grip on her father's hand tightened.

"Please?" Diego humbled himself, and the expression on her face softened and turned into doubt. "Just a moment, then I'll get lost."

"What is it?" She slipped out of the front door and shielded her eyes from the sun. Diego took pity on her and offered her the sunglasses from his head, but she squinted at him instead.

"You mind, amiga?" Diego asked Chase, who looked to eavesdrop. "This concerns my kids and their mother. Not you."

"Sure," Chase disappeared inside to Diego's relief.

"Go inside, Bean!" Diego kissed her on the head. "I'll see you in a few days, okay?"

"Fine!" Jilly stomped her way inside. What a temper.

"What's this about?" Zoey demanded, awkwardly leaning against the door frame. "You come to gloat or something?"

"No," he shook his head. "I'm... worried about you. Is everything okay with you? Do you need anything?"

"Not like you care," Zoey mumbled, her tangled hair and tired eyes telling the tale. "I had to sell my car just to keep the place."

"You're clearly not okay, Zo," he cut the chase, so to speak. "What's going on? Is he... mistreating you in some way?"

Zoey immediately looked back inside the house to see if Chase overheard, and that confirmed what Diego had suspected for a while now. What the hell goes on with this woman? He abuses her, and she takes it out on our kid. Is that it?

"Zoey, if I'm right, then I can help--" Diego began, but she turned away.

"I don't need anything from you. Just piss off," Zoey cursed and went back inside.

"If you change your mind, and I hope you do, then give me a call. Anything," Diego whispered to her, and she paused for a moment.

"Why the hell would you do anything for someone like me?" She asked, her voice trembling.

"Believe it or not, I don't like it when guys abuse their girlfriends. Especially when it involves the mother of my children," Diego replied, but Zoey shook her head.

"Bull. Isn't that how you lost your first kid?" She shut the door in his face.

That remark badly wounded Diego. Trust Zoey to dig up the darkest skeleton in his closet and throw it in his face, especially when it was the deep regret of his past that fuelled his desire to help her in spite of their hostile relationship. As he drove back to Audrey's house, remembering how and why he lost Troy in the first place brought back Audrey's constant reminders that Nina was beginning to slip through his fingers too. Well, I'm not going to let that happen, he thought as he worked up the courage to make that phone call.

"Olá, Silva!" Michelle's husky voice greeted him cheerfully after three rings. "What can I do for you?"

"I won't be able to make it to Sacramento this weekend," Diego told her. "The whole family has a pretty bad stomach bug, and I don't think I'll be good to go tomorrow night. Sorry."

"Are you sure about that?" Michelle asked cautiously. "If you're sick then you're sick, but you know how Slut Features is gonna react."

"Tell her she can suck my dick," Diego replied gruffly, causing his boss to laugh hysterically. "The last thing I need is to hurl my lunch mid-match. Sorry, 'Chelle."

"I'll smooth everything out. You take care of yourself and the brats," Michelle told him then abruptly ended the call. He wasn't sure if she believed him or not, but he did know that Nina, Audrey and Julian would be ecstatic when he told them he managed to get the weekend off. That brought a smile to his face.

~

Friday, November 16th

"Alright, men and boys," Michelle sipped from her mug of whatever disgusting concoction she was drinking. It looked like liquid mud with pulp and seeds. "Jerry's set it in stone. The three of you will be competing in a triple threat match for the title at the New Year's Pay Per View in the main event."

Diego's heart leapt in his chest, and next to him, both Kodeine and Jimmy gave small cheers. Yes! I've worked my whole career to main event the New Year's Pay Per View. KADA had four Pay Per Views a year, every three months or so, but none was as prestigious as the one at the end of December. It was an honour to compete at the event, and to be part of the main event... hundreds of wrestlers had come through KADA Wrestling, but only a select few had ever made it there. This would be Jimmy's fifth time to close out the year. Last year, both Diego and Sean were robbed of the main event match against then-Champion Jimmy Vause - instead, they faced each other in a filler match to put Sean over as the next challenger while Lance got the iconic spot for no other reason than he was a big name. Millions of people all over the world watched, and the arena was always completely sold out at least four months in advance. Now I'm finally getting a chance to shine.

"Three?" Lance piped up meekly. "So I'm not a part of this, am I? Why am I here?"

"I didn't forget you, my limey friend," Michelle swallowed a mouthful of gunk and grinned at him. "I'm positive you'll have parts to play, but you will not be wrestling in the actual match."

"You're the stooge," Kodeine told him bluntly. "Diego needs to look strong going in, and that means he can't take losses. That's your job."

"Well, thank you very much," Lance replied coolly, tapping his long nails on the armrest of the chair he sat on. "I know what my role on television is in the weeks leading up to the match, but I would still like to know what I will be doing on the night."

"We're not sure yet, but you'll be involved," Michelle waved him off as though to reassure him. "Bloom says we follow the dollar, and I agree that Lovecraft is money. You'll be there. It's bad business otherwise."

"Do we know who will be walking out of the building with the belt?" Jimmy asked, his deep voice carrying a serene lilt.

"We haven't decided that either, but it won't be Silva," Michelle told Diego. "Sorry, treasure, but you've had a long time in the sun and we're looking at a program between Kodeine and Vause."

Diego wasn't at all upset about the prospect of losing the Heavyweight Championship. Today marked two hundred and thirty-two days since he won it - pinning Jimmy after slamming him down on a trash can with the Silva Spiral. It was the first time he'd stood up for Lance, too, he remembered. Someone in the crowd pushed him over because of what he was wearing, and Diego was almost ready to tear the bastard's head off. Memories. The end of year Pay Per View would take place on December 28th, so Diego would have a championship reign of...

"Two hundred and seventy-three days!" Diego fist pumped the air and pointed in Jimmy's face. "Guess who'll break your record in a few weeks? This guy! Longest reigning Heavyweight Champion in KADA history!"

"Hey, that's right!" Jimmy exclaimed, pretending to be appalled. He held the Championship for two hundred and sixty-six days back in 2016. Thirty-eight weeks. Diego was going to beat him by a whole week. "I guess I'll have to live with my record number of Championship reigns."

"Smartass," Diego grinned, but he and Jimmy fist-bumped each other.

"I didn't do the math!" Michelle exclaimed, slapping her hand on the table. "Oh, Silva, you're not just a pretty face, are ya? Christ. This can make for some terrific storyline; you know that?"

"It sounds good to me. Diego and I play keepaway with the title to extend his reign further? That's another thing you can rub in Jimmy's face!" Lance put in his ideas, and Michelle seemed to like that idea.

"What do you mean?" Diego asked, not exactly fond of playing a cowardly heel on television.

"I don't know if you've heard the news Di, but you've beaten Vause twice," Kodeine reminded him with an unfriendly, sarcastic tone. Since Diego cut that promo in which he bragged about having already boasting two victories over the bigger man, the internet wrestling community hadn't forgotten it. Memes of Diego striking a sassy pose with two fingers held up had begun to make an appearance on the KADA forums - memes Diego did not find funny, but Rachel, Gloria, Lance and Oliver found hilarious. 'I don't need to study for my test; I beat Jimmy Vause twice.' Diego didn't get it. "Imagine if you focused on breaking his record by dodging title defences. You'd get nuclear heat."

"Yeah!" Lance was getting excited now, and Jimmy had a smile on his surprisingly youthful face. "Oh blimey, this is an opportunity so juicy I think I'm going to drown. We can be the most obnoxious, conceited cowards in the world! Oh, they're gonna hate us!"

"I don't know if I want to be a sissy on TV," Diego shot down that idea. Nearly a year ago, Michelle paired Diego and Lance together, and that damaged his manhood. Soon after, Lance and Diego were forced into an on-screen relationship, and that took Diego's manhood down another few notches. What dangling threads he still had were precious to him. "Being a bitchy queen is working for you, but that's not who I am."

"You're getting better reactions with this gradual turn into a bitchy queen than you have in your whole career," Lance reminded him, turning to face him. "Trust me when I say that! Nobody knows your career better than I do, and I've always been such a fan, but... you haven't ever had a thrilling character before. I know I'm not a professional when it comes to wrestling, but I understand entertainment. This stoic, aggressive heel shtick is very stale, and you're going to be compared to Big Bad Jimmy who, and I don't mean to sound like a twat, does it better and has done for years. You might get lost in the shuffle again as you did last year. But I promise you that if you take a leap of faith with me and be the queen I know you can be, then the wrestling community will take notice!"

"I agree with Lance," Jimmy broke in quickly. "The best way I see things happening is if I go a bit tweener while you two are still involved - especially if Kodeine wins the blowoff match. It'll get him so over. Having us both be the same type of heel is awkward."

"I like this dialogue," Michelle nodded, taking another swig. "Good stuff, men. This is going in a direction I'm keen on, and I'll be able to sell it to the big boss no sweat."

"Cheers, 'Chelle," Kodeine was polite to her, but only because she sent him his paychecks. "I can be a proper face here. Drove me crazy trying to get over in England."

"What happens to us once we're out of the main event picture?" Diego asked, thinking to the future. Oh, he realised. I said us. Lance and me. Not just me. Man, that kid really crawls into your head and sets up shop there. "Cam and Jim go on to feud together, but what about Lansilva?"

"Lansilva," Jimmy snickered, and Kodeine had a derisive giggle to add. Diego ignored them.

"Well, you'll naturally have your rematch with the winner of the triple threat," Michelle said thoughtfully, stroking her wrinkling chin. "After that, I can't say, but you two are a big draw for the company. I don't imagine you'll get left behind."

"Tell that to Fox," Kodeine pointed out, and Diego, Lance and Michelle all shared a guilty look.

"Our Foxy's beginning a whole new character tonight," Michelle explained, and Diego raised his eyebrows.

About time. Sean had been very vocal about how much he hated portraying an empty Cherokee caricature for a very long time, yet it always fell on deaf ears. This was great news, though. According to Michelle, Sean was finishing up with the company as far as Margaret Bloom was concerned, but it sounded like Michelle managed to secure him a spot on the roster. As rocky as things currently were, Diego did not hate Sean. He was glad the young man was staying around.

"Alright, so you four are going to be working together almost exclusively from this point until the big match, and possibly a month or so after," Michelle began to talk about the plans she had for them. "Last week was alright - we had to stall while our champion puked chunks all weekend."

Diego made sure to avoid eye contact with Jimmy, Lance or Michelle, none of whom were at all convinced that he had been sick. He watched Friday night KADA live with Nina though, and it made the young girl so happy. The segment was alright. Kodeine and Chandler teamed up against Jimmy and Lance. Jimmy was a powerhouse and single-handedly dismantled both of their opponents, but Lance was growing bored stuck on the ring apron and tagged himself in right after Jimmy hit his finishing move on Kodeine. The two argued together, then Lance danced a gorgeous pirouette transitioning to a roundhouse kick that could have taken Kodeine's head clean off his body, but the ugly duckling dodged the attack and clipped Lance on the chin with the heel of his boot, winning the match just like that. Jimmy, naturally, was livid that Lance cost him a victory and threw him around for a while. Audrey was ready to piss herself laughing as Lance comically screamed apologies and begged for mercy as Jimmy became a man unleashed. It was a decent segment - it kept Kodeine relevant as a threat and further widened the gap between Diego and Jimmy through Lance. Diego was very fond of the red boy now, but he played the part of a stooge so well.

"Tonight, Vause is gonna fight Lovecraft one on one. It's gonna be a hell of a squash match," Michelle revealed, and Lance groaned. It wasn't that weak on television that worried him - he was used to it. Happy to do it, even. Portraying him as Diego's student worked very well as he learned how to wrestle behind the scenes. It was that working with Jimmy was rough. He didn't play nice - he was safe and experienced, of course, but he was old school. "Don't drag the match out for too long - we have to make time for the Tag Team Championship match. Silva, you're gonna hit a promo - make it a good one - and Lovecraft will attack Vause from behind. Don't sell it too much - it's only a feint. While Vause goes in for Lovecraft, Silva's gonna hit him with a chair, and the two of you will beat him down until Kodes comes down to clean you both up. We'll put him over and we'll tease a face turn for Vause at the same time. It'll segue to next week when you will face off in a tag match. Should be a great segment, and you men will kill it out there."

Outside, Kodeine shuffled off in the direction of the catering hall. He had no real friends in the company, instead spending his free time with his girlfriend - a different babe every few weeks, it seemed. The other three looked at each other, and Diego could sense they were as keen to perform tonight as he was. Though he wouldn't be wrestling, being on camera was always a rush.

"We better get ready," Jimmy suggested, and off they went to the locker room.

"Oh my god!" Lance exclaimed, putting a hand to his mouth in surprise.

"Do you like it?" Sean asked, all smiles and cheer.

"Whoa," Diego's eyes widened.

To say Sean had a makeover was... understating things. His long, dark hair framed his pretty, hickory coloured face and fell to the small of his back in well-groomed curls. He wore satin pants that flared at the bottom, a shimmery violet colour that reflected the light from above. He wore similar armbands that strapped to his hands, and a belt with a large butterfly buckle. He was absolutely gorgeous, Diego thought, and the feelings came flooding right back. The best-looking man in the world. Sean. But that wasn't the only thought he had. If Sean's new outfit were red, he might as well call himself Lovecraft.

"Honey, you look like a million quid, but... what's going on?" Lance seemed to think so too, an indignant and suspicious look crossing his made-up face. "You're doing a new character, yeah? Ahm... what is your new character?"

"A narcissist," Sean shrugged, buffing out his hair with his hands and letting it cascade down his shoulders. "Conceited pretty boy. It depends if I'm a heel or face when I make it back to TV."

"Oh, okay. But you're not on the roster tonight, are you?" Lance asked, and Sean shrugged.

"I'm recording vignettes to air during the program for the next few weeks so that when I am called back up, the fans will know what's going on," Sean explained, spraying on deodorant. He was shirtless, and his fit body was drawing Diego's eyes at any opportunity. What I wouldn't give to hold that against me one more time.

"Oh... odd. See, that's exactly what they did with me," Lance was getting curt, and Diego did the same as Jimmy and walked away from the line of fire. It wasn't as though Sean would have acknowledged him anyway.

"Why is it odd?" Sean asked, lacing up the glamorous purple shoes that completed the outfit. "Anything's better than what I was doing before."

"So do something else. A conceited pretty boy is standing in front of you already," Lance was getting territorial, it seemed. That was unlike him, Diego thought as he changed into his reliable outfit. Tights, elbow pads and boots in the colours of the Brazilian flag - plus that brace he wore on the knee he injured. Jimmy wore simple attire too - trunks, elbow pads, knee pads and lace-up boots in plain colours with black trim, and Celtic crosses decorating them as a nod to his Irish ancestry. He was grateful their basic outfits didn't cause them to bicker like children. "Did Michelle actually agree to this?"

"It was her idea!" Sean defended himself, folding his arms. "She gave me the option, and I decided to run with it. Big deal."

"And you thought it was alright, did you?" Lance eyed him off, checking out every part of the shorter boy's outfit. "You didn't stop to think that perhaps there's literally any other persona you could create? That's a bit insulting."

"Excuse me?" Sean was finally getting annoyed. "You don't own the monopoly on being a gay guy in the wrestling business, Lance. I've been a gay wrestler far longer than you have, so you can drop the attitude."

"Rubbish," Lance scoffed at him, his red eyes narrow. Jimmy and Diego looked at each other uncomfortably. Do we get involved? "You may have been wrestling for a few years, but I've been a queen my entire life, and I sure as hell did not shatter all those glass ceilings so someone else can come in and capitalise on the opportunities I created!"

"Build a bridge, Lance," Jimmy finally spoke up, commanding respect with his booming voice. "It's the nature of the business. You need to settle down."

"I don't think I'm being unreasonable!" Lance argued back to him, arms folded and pout on his face. It was such a Nina face that Diego smirked. "I worked my arse off to make it here, and I turned everything this company saw in me as a burden into a positive! You remember cutting up my clothes, don't you Sean? Yeah, you don't get to copycat me, because when I was going through hell to make it a reality, you were busy trying to make me quit. You in that outfit right now is such a slap in the face."

Don't say that, Diego thought, remembering the stinging slap in the face Sean had so happily delivered a little while ago when Michelle forced him to confess his crimes. He might just do it.

"You didn't do anything for gays when it comes to wrestling," Sean snapped back at him, his feelings hurt. "You know why? Because you are not a wrestler, Lance! You're a diva. Glorified arm candy for a real wrestler with the privilege of making a fool of yourself in the ring once in a while. Great job. We're all thankful for your contributions! But when I get out there, I'm going to do what you both didn't and can't, and that's to actually wrestle."

"Oooooh!" Kodeine, Chandler, Giorgio and several other wrestlers in the locker room where watching intently, but Jimmy shot them a nasty look and they kept their commentary to hushed laughing.

"You know what? I AM a diva, and I am bloody proud of it!" Lance gave up any intention of being diplomatic and lowered his face to Sean's. "You want to compare us? I'm game, mate. Maybe I'm not good at wrestling yet and maybe I'm 'just a diva,' but that hasn't stopped me from overtaking you in every other possible way! Look at my year compared to yours. Look at my fanbase compared to yours! Look at my contributions to the gay community and compare it to yours!" Lance snapped his fingers in Sean's face and spun on his heel, picking up his bag with him. Perhaps he was worried Sean might go through his things and destroy them again. "Oh, and one more thing. I'm on TV and you're not. When my character saves YOUR career, you can feel free to kiss my arse."

"Holy crap, she's on the rag," Kodeine quipped after Lance stormed out, making the boys in the back laugh out loud.

"Keep it to yourself, Cameron," Jimmy replied sternly, using Kodeine's real name to highlight how serious he was.

"That was out of order," Diego stated, looking over to Sean, whose confidence had been obliterated. "I think you look great, Sean. I hope it works out."

"Oh, shut up!" Sean hissed at him, slamming the top of his suitcase shut and sealing it with a padlock. "This is all your fault."

After that, the Cherokee man stormed off as well.

"Oookay," Jimmy's eyes were round as moons with surprise. "I get why Sean's mad, but I didn't realise Lance was the type to cock his leg and spray in the corner."

"Gross," Diego screwed up his nose, attaching the brace on his left knee. He wished he had the courage to wrestle without it, but he was paranoid that the injury, while fully healed, would snowball on him. Knee injuries sucked. "No, I get it. He had a horrible freaking time here thanks to us. And he is right. Nobody's ever been Lance in the wrestling industry before. He didn't need to be a dick about it, but I see his point, you know?"

"Ah well. I suppose there are things I'm just never supposed to understand," Jimmy shrugged.

Heh. You simple man.

~

Wednesday, November 28th

He saw her before she saw him. He recognised her immediately. She still looks so much like our mother, he thought. His mouth went dry, and he began to feel sick. Luiza. Nervous, shaking, scared, he approached, and when her eyes looked up at him, he covered his mouth with his hands.

"Lu?" He asked, his voice barely a whisper.

She stared at him with a coldness he had not felt in a long time. I don't blame her, he thought. I did not expect that she would want to see me at all. I let her down. I let our parents throw her out when she was still only a girl just because her heart desires the same sex. She lowered her eyes. They were so similar to their mother's. To Nina's and Julian's. I did not expect to see so much of my children in her. The thought made Diego even sadder somehow.

"Do you want me to go?" He asked after she did not speak to him.

The silence was deafening between them, so he was thankful they met by the Fortaleza beach they used to go to as children. The sound of the breaking waves and the pretty view of the ocean helped soothe him. Brought back memories of his youngest years. Poor of pocket perhaps, but the beach was always a place of joy for him. And Luiza.

"Hey, Lu?" He swallowed. Although it was a hot day in eastern Brazil, he felt cold. Too many years of repressed regret and misery had festered inside him, and he was sure it was a hundred times worse for her. "Luiza, can you at least tell me why you wanted to see me?"

She inhaled and exhaled. A few times it looked like she was ready to speak, but she stopped herself.

"You know, I have three children," Diego decided he would talk until Luiza either replied to him or told him to leave. "Four, actually, but I lost one. Troy is the eldest. I lost him because... I was too much like Papai. I've never forgiven myself, you know? I miss him every day. But then I got Nina. She's six now, and oh, Lu, she's so much like you. I didn't even realise it until just now. Not long ago, she had a tantrum and threw one of her toys at the wall... and it broke. Lost its head, the poor thing. It broke my heart. It wasn't just any toy, you know? It was Pedro. Remember the little rocking horse we had? Well, your horse. I guess I inherited it, and I gave it to Nina when she was born. She's a handful. I suppose I should have been more careful with Pedro, but... seeing her happy with him reminds me of when you used to play with him. And me.

"When Pedro broke, my youngest girl - I have twins, too! They're four. Jillian and Julian. Don't judge. I was on tour when they were born, and their mother thought it was a cute idea. I used to call her Jillybean, but now she's just Bean so I don't get them confused. Anyway, I was holding Pedro and his head, and it... hurt me. It was the last piece of you I still had. I don't talk to Mãe and Papai anymore. It took me a long time to realise that they were a problem, Lu. Far, far too long. But anyway, Bean asks me why I don't fix it. I don't know why I never thought of that. I guess I was so scared you would reject me that it... it was never possible. I know after all this time there is nothing I can do to fix everything I did to let you down, but I... I was hoping I'd pray for a chance."

Diego took Pedro out of his pocket. He hadn't mended the toy very well. Its head wasn't on quite straight and the adhesive oozed down its neck, but it was still the same toy. Luiza looked at it, and tears crept from her face. Diego took Pedro, and Luiza opened her hand so that he could place the toy in her palm, then she closed her fingers over it.

"Luiza... I don't know what life you've built for yourself here. I don't know if you're happy or not, and I don't know why you agreed to come today. You could have told Kasey that you didn't want to see me, and I would have understood and left you alone. But... you're here. I'm just glad that the words I said to you when you left... those awful words that still haunt me in my dreams... weren't the last things I ever told you. I know nothing I do can change all that. I need to tell you that no matter what you might think of me now, even if you don't believe it, I still love you. I miss you. I'd love to have you back in my life, Lu. That's up to you, though. I have a house in Columbus, and nieces and a nephew that will love you. There's a spare room if you should ever need it... for however long. And this... is a check from me to you. Two hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars - American. Do whatever you like with it, okay? Tear it up. Burn it. Cash it and make a new start wherever you want to go or live here happily. Whatever you see fit."

"Is that what twenty-three years is worth to you?" She looked at the paper in his hand and stared at him. Her voice was much huskier than he remembered. Perhaps she was a smoker. "Two hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars?"

Diego paused. Maybe it is insulting, he thought. However, he did not regret his decision to bring it with him. If Luiza wanted nothing to do with him, he still wanted her to be free to live the rest of her life with happiness and security. With opportunity and resources.

"I can't put a price on twenty-three years," he sighed, looking out towards the waves, the paper between his second and third fingers. "I want you to be able to do whatever it takes to make the rest of your life happy."

"It's Rosalice," Luiza cleared her throat. She'd been crying. "I haven't been Luiza Silva in a very, very long time."

"Luiza or Rosalice, you're still my big sister," Diego sniffled and wiped at his eyes.

"Diego," she finally said his name. "I remember when you were born. You loved to pull my hair. And I would feed you and change you and get you to sleep. Our parents would always make me do those things because you never cried for me. And Pedro..." her hand opened, and she used the other to caress the horse's crooked head fondly. "You loved this toy even more than I did. Diego... you were my favourite person in the whole world. It wasn't our parents that ruined me when they threw me out because I am a lesbian. It was what you said to me. How could you say that? You were supposed to be mine, and you... I'll never forget it."

"Nor will I," he agreed, and he reached over and put his fingers over hers. She flinched, but she did not draw away. "Luiza-- Rosalice. I want you to come to Columbus. You don't have to do it for me, but I want you to meet Nina, Jilly and Julian."

"Diego... I don't know if I can go through this all over again," Rosalice put her smaller brown hand over his. "But I will admit... you did grow up handsome. You were such a strange looking kid."

She laughed, and so did he. For a short while they giggled together, holding hands and looking out to sea. Briefly, it was as though they were young again. Carefree and full of joy, laughing together on the shores of Fortaleza.

"I know twenty-three years is a long time for an idiot to understand the mistakes he's made, but I've managed to do it," Diego looked to her, and she looked to him. The chill surrounding her was not entirely gone, but it was better between them. "At least, enough to realise that I still have flaws to work on. If you change your mind, Rosalice, then I want you to be a part of my family. If you don't, then I want to leave you with different words this time. That I love you, and I always did and I always will.

With that off his chest, Diego stood up to leave, but Rosalice did not release his hand. He looked at her, confused and hopeful.

"You can call me Luiza, Diego," she said with a smile. "You're the only part of that name that doesn't hurt me anymore."

Thank you to everyone who reads To The Stars - especially those who leave a react and/or a comment behind ❤️
There are two December chapters planned, and that will wrap up To The Stars - but I enjoy writing this story so much, you can count on a sequel!