Prince Puma, along with the help of his mentor Konnan, and Konnan's buddy, Hernandez, beat the living daylights outta Cage. And Johnny Mundo watched every second of it, never once taking his eyes off the little TV backstage in the locker room.
When he saw the state the young luchadore was in after the fight and the cameras were turned off, Johnny came out and helped the medics take Puma backstage where he would then be iced and taken care of.
The young, cat-like fighter was now backstage in an old training room that seemed to have been turned into a restroom of some sort. He way laying on an old, beat up couch that felt like heaven compared to the ring's mat where he had been constantly thrown down onto earlier that night by the maniac who was dressed like some sorta Dominatrix straight outta some kinky porno that Johnny most certainly didn't watch. Ever.
Johnny sat back and allowed the medics to inspect Puma's body and check for any vital injuries. After feeling around his body and asking what hurt and only getting nods and shakes of the head in response, the two medics wrapped icepacks in small towels and placed them on his body where it hurt -which was basically everywhere- and cleared out of the room.
They had given Johnny instructions on when to change out the icepacks on his achy body and apply fresh ones, and Johnny made sure to memorize it all.
After a few minutes of silence, Johnny decided to ask Puma something he's been meaning to ask his friend for weeks.
"Hey, Puma, I've been meaning to ask you about something for a while now.. actually, a few weeks, and I thought that now would be the perfect time since you just kicked Cage's ass and all. Uh, I'm rambling now aren't I?"
Judging by the roll of the eyes and slight smile he got from Puma, he was most definitely rambling.
"Uh, I'm just gonna come out and say it. Would you like to go out for some pizza? To celebrate you defending your title for what- the third time?"
Puma merely blinked in response.
"It's fine if you don't-"
Puma shook his head, almost as if he had been lost in thought before. He nodded and gestured down at his body that was covered in thawed out icepacks.
It took a moment for Johnny to catch Puma's drift, and when he did he felt like an idiot.
"I-I forgot.. yeah, we can just order-in. We don't have to go out, it's just that I wanted to do something special for you to celebrate your big win."
Puma smiled in response and with his hands signed 'thank you' in sign-language.
Johnny gave a thumbs up in response.
"Your welcome buddy." He sat down beside Puma -being careful not to accidentally knock any icepacks off him- and grabbed his phone off the small coffee table. "You want plain cheese or pepperoni?"
Puma blinked twice in response.
"Pepperoni it is." Johnny went to his contacts and called his favorite pizza place- Papa John's. Funny, I know.
After the allotted 'thirty minute' wait, which felt a hell of a lot more like 45 minutes, their pizzas were in front of them and they were starving.
"Lemme help you out there, buddy." Johnny took the ice packs off Puma and sat them on the ground then helped him into an upright position.
The younger luchadore extended his hand toward the pizza box and sighed loudly, giving up completely on trying to get to his munchies and leaning his aching head against Johnny's clothed shoulder.
"Oh, sorry." Johnny grabbed Puma's pizza off the coffee table and set it on his lap. Puma squeezed Johnny's leg and the older man silently prayed Puma hadn't heard the sharp intake of breath that followed the action.
They dug in and didn't stop to breath until their pizzas were finished and they felt as stuffed as Thanksgiving Turkey.
"Oh my god, that was amazing." Johnny moaned and licked his fingers clean.
Puma rolled his eyes and tapped Johnny's hand.
The older man immediately got the message and handed the younger fighter some napkins to clean off his greasy fingers and the mouth-hole of his mask.
Johnny thought it a bit odd that he never took the thing off. Not even to shower.
"Well, I think it's time to reapply ice to your injuries. Which is basically everywhere at this point."
Puma vehemently shook his head and tried to hide in the corner of the beat-up couch, but Johnny was too quick and gently stopped him before he could fully hide from him and the deadly cold icepacks sitting in the cooler in the corner of the room.
"C'mon, Puma. Work with me."
Puma shook his head and pouted, looking like he wanted to cry. This is a story Johnny would tell his children. You know, if he actually wanted any.
"Please?"
Puma looked thoughtful for a moment, but in the end still firmly shook his head.
"I'm gonna ice you, and you're gonna thank me tomorrow." Johnny said as he walked across the room and grabbed what looked to be seven icepacks.
Puma shook his head again like a petulant little child. He looked so young curled up in the corner of the couch, Johnny observed.
"Yes you are. You're gonna be all like 'oh Johnny thank you so much, I love you,'" but in like sign language or whatever, because you don't talk."
Puma rolled his eyes and swatted and scratched at Johnny's hands as he tried to ice him.
"Dude. Would you please quit scratching me?" Puma looked at least a little bit remorseful and quit scratching poor Johnny, who was only trying to help.
"That's better, Puma. It's not nice to scratch your friends, ya know."
Puma pouted and took a steadying breath as Johnny began to place the icepacks on his aching body. By the time he placed the fifth ice pack on Puma's body, the poor kid was practically crying from the cold biting at his heated skin.
"Sorry, but unless you wanna be crying like that for the rest of the week- I have to ice you."
Puma stuck out his tongue and tried to find a more comfortable position to lay in, but found that there was none.
"Just think of it this way, Puma. If you just wait another twenty-minutes for all the icepacks to thaw out, you can leave this dump and go home."
Puma looked sad for a moment before pulling himself together and shrugging. Johnny only dwelled on what that could've meant for a moment before placing the last two icepacks on Puma's body and sitting down on the floor beside the couch, his hand holding one down on a particularly bruised spot on the kids ribs.
Around thirty-five minutes later Johnny threw out the melted icepacks and gathered up his gym bag. He was waiting by the back exit for Puma, but the young luchadore didn't seem like he was quite ready to leave, for reasons unknown to Johnny.
"You're not coming?" Johnny hiked the large bag further up his shoulder and waited patiently for Puma's response.
The young luchadore shook his head and moved closer to Johnny, looking as if he wanted a hug but was too afraid to make the last two feet that would close the distance between them.
Johnny smiled sadly and wrapped an arm around Puma's back, pulling him into a tight embrace that lasted just a little bit too long.
"See ya tomorrow, Poom-Poom."
Puma quickly pulled out of the warm embrace to scratch Johnny's arm.
"Ouch! Did you just scratch me?"
Puma nodded innocently, not showing the slightest bit of remorse for his violent actions.
Johnny broke into a laughing fit after he realized what he said to make Puma bring out the claws.
"What? You don't like your new nick-name?"
Puma shook his head firmly and growled.
"Okay, okay. Jeez, put the claws away, Poom-Poom."
Johnny laughed as Puma tried to swipe his fingernails at his arm again, but couldn't because he had already opened the exit door and was on the other side of it.
"Coffee? I'll pick ya up at seven. In the morning. Bye, Poom."
Johnny ran out to his car before Puma had the chance to confirm or decline Johnny's invitation.
Whether or not Puma would like to admit it, he was glad he had a friend like Johnny.