Ring... ring... ring...
After a few moments, a soft groan breaks through the incessant ringing of the cell phone as fumbling hands reach over and finally snag it off of the table, muffled apologies following quickly before Rockstar Spud answers the call, collapsing back against the sheets with a faint wince as his hand instinctively rests against his still tender throat. "Hello?"
"Hola, this is Ricardo Rodriguez," the familiar voice of Alberto Del Rio's associate greets Spud. "I'm sorry if I'm interrupting something..."
"No, it's fine," Spud says, his curiosity about why Ricardo may be calling waking him up. They had communicated back before Spud's relationship with the Carters had broken down, Spud trying to lay groundwork in hiring Alberto following his abrupt release from WWE, but he had signed with AAA and things had fallen apart early on in negotiations, something else Spud suspects Dixie holds against him, though he had done his level best and the older Mexican just wasn't interested. "What can I do for you, sir?"
"Oh, actually, I've been hearing that you've had a hard time of it lately and I know how that feels..." He clears his throat as murmurs in the background are heard, and Spud can only imagine what Del Rio is saying in response to this, Ricardo and Alberto's own situation the year prior strangely similar to his being fired by Ethan. Even so, he continues on. "As it stands, Alberto and I are going to a friend's place for a Halloween party later tonight and I thought perhaps if you weren't doing anything, you'd like to join us. We won't be doing much, just watching movies and handling the trick or treaters, so it'll be lowkey, but if you feel up to joining us, you're welcome to..."
Spud hesitates for a moment, allowing his mind to wander, before nodding. "I think I would like that, yes. If I could call you back in a couple of hours and confirm...?"
"Of course," Ricardo agrees easily. "There's no hurry, like I said, it's lowkey."
"Alright. Um, one more thing... if I could invite a friend of my own along..."
"Sure, the more the merrier, that's what our friends said when I suggested we invite you. There'll be plenty of food and drinks, so feel free."
"Thank you... I'll call you back as soon as I decide." They hang up then and Spud lays on his back, staring at his phone distantly, until the bed shifts and an arm curls around him, pulling him closer and bringing a smile to his face.
"Go back to sleep," the slurred voice of Ethan Carter the 3rd himself breaks through Spud's thoughts as he nuzzles against him.
"We were invited to a Halloween party, sir," Spud murmurs back to him, rolling over to face his former boss' nephew. Dixie had wanted Ethan to focus on his career without distractions, and Spud could see her point of view, although his being fired had hurt more than he cared to admit... until Ethan decided that he wanted both. To keep Spud in his life, and make his aunt happy by focusing on his career. So although Spud had been fired officially from working for the Carters, Ethan had explained to him that their relationship would continue on without any change unless they were in the halls of the TNA offices or at a live event. And that had worked fine for Spud. Considering Dixie was still recovering from her back injury, there was little chance of her actually noticing that their personal lives didn't mesh with their professional.
Ethan grumbles sleepily and presses his face against Spud's soft blond hair. "Whatever, deal with it later." He sighs and kisses the shorter man's temple before falling back asleep, Spud watching him for a moment before closing his eyes and dozing as well, Ethan's warmth and the steadiness of his breaths lulling him.
-x
"D'ya think tonight'll go ok?" Heath Slater calls from the living room, Wade rolling his eyes as he peeks out of the guest bedroom which also houses his desk. He can't really see Heath, but he knows he's there, digging around in the shelves where they keep the DVDs, trying to unearth whatever their guests might want to watch later. "Wade?"
"I heard you," he grouses, looking down as Boodah peers up at him from under his desk, whining slightly. "You know whatever it is you're doing out there has scared this dog of yours, he won't budge up from where he's laying on top of my feet."
"Aw man, I dropped a stack of DVDs earlier and he acted like he got shot or somethin'," Heath sighs, finally appearing in Wade's doorway and kneeling down to look at Boodah. "Hey, boy, c'mon, I got treats for ya out in the kitchen, you want some? Or are Brit's huge feet nice pillows? Hmm?" Boodah doesn't budge and Heath sighs, ignoring Wade's incredulous glare. "Alright, boy, let's see..." He disappears for a minute, just to return with a small bag of treats and, the instant he shakes it, Boodah almost knocks Wade's chair over with him in it in his haste to get to the food.
"Bloody hell, Slater!" Wade snaps, gripping the table with both hands just to stay upright.
"Sorry," Heath chuckles, not seeing all that broken up about it as he runs his fingers through Boodah's long black fur and feeds him a handful of treats.
"I swear to God, if any of that mess gets on my floor..." Wade glowers at them.
"I'll vacuum it up, chill out, Brit. Like Boodah's gonna be the messiest thing we see tonight, considerin' all the trick or treaters we'll prolly get'n'everything else."
"I despise Halloween," Wade sighs, collapsing against his desk and burying his face in his hands.
"Liar," Heath says cheerfully, letting Boodah go and wandering over to Wade's side, kissing the top of his head. "Y'know it's the greatest holiday ever."
"I'm afraid I've got some bad news," Wade recites, startling Heath by gripping him around the waist and pulling him into his lap, glaring at him as he struggles not to let the happiness shining off of every inch of the younger man's face reflect off of his own expression. "You're bloody wrong, and everyone knows it," he finishes lamely, unsurprised when Heath throws his arms around Wade's neck and kisses him, orange hair tickling his skin as he presses against him. Wade would never admit it, but Heath had definitely given him a new appreciation for holidays he'd never cared much for in the past- Halloween, 4th of July, New Years...
"Yeah right," Heath mumbles, nipping at his bottom lip a moment longer before abruptly standing up, leaning over to catch Boodah by his collar. "C'mon, boy, let's leave Brit in here to pout and pretend like he doesn't care about the party. I promise I won't drop anymore DVDs, I got all the good ones out so people can select what they wanna watch now...!"
Wade sighs, listening to Heath talk cheerfully to the dog, before turning back to his paperwork. As soon as he knows he's definitely alone, he smiles.
-x
Zack scrubs his hands through his hair, grimacing as he looks up at the bright Floridian sky overhead, disappointed that he's only gotten through to the voicemail. "Wish you were here, bro. The weather's really nice. Though I bet it's decent in Texas too." He chuckles slightly, though even that sounds sad to his own ears. He quickly stops. "Guest room Del Rio and Ricardo set me up in is nice, and of course Sofia's cooking is always siiiiiiiiiicccccccck... so um... yeah, enjoy catering for me and uh, we'll talk soon... kick some ass on Smackdown, bro. Talk later." He hangs up and looks around, relieved that no one is around to watch as he hesitantly tries to settle himself on the nearby hammock, holding his breath every time it swings or shifts under him. Finally, he's sprawled out comfortably in it and closes his eyes, looking forward to tanning like this, asleep in this ridiculously comfortable hammock, when something brushes against his arm and he jumps up, nearly upending the entire thing.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Ricardo laughs, holding onto the netting and only just keeping it from trapping him in it. "Hey, don't pull a Heath with this thing, ok? I've had enough of my friends getting tangled up in nets the past few months. Sorry I scared you, I just noticed you were looking a little sad earlier, so I thought I'd come make sure you were ok. I didn't realize you were asleep."
"It's ok, bro. I'm ok. Just..." He drifts off, staring at a nearby tree as a squirrel rushes up it, chattering, and Ricardo smiles sympathetically.
"Dolph, huh? I'm sorry he can't be here tonight, Zack. WWE's touring schedules were always impossible when it came to holidays and all of that..." He rests his hand on Zack's shoulder and gives it a little squeeze before pulling away. "He'll be here tomorrow, right? I know it's not the same, but it'll be better than nothing. You can spend the whole weekend here before going back to Raw..."
"Yeah," Zack hums, his green eyes distant and glum even as he tries to smile at Ricardo. "Thanks for checking on me, bro. And for inviting me to stay with you all so I could go to Heath's party too. It sounds like it's gonna be a good time."
"Any time," Ricardo tells him, sensing that right now, Zack just wants some time to himself before the party. "If you need anything, I'll be inside, just come get me."
"Alright, thanks bro." He watches the former ring announcer head back inside and sighs, sinking back into the soft folds of the hammock, trying again to get some sleep. He sniffs slightly and drops an arm over his face, releasing a shuddering breath as he struggles not to feel too lonely.
-x
"Looking forward to tonight, mi valiente?" Alberto asks once Ricardo is back in the living room, leaning against him as he sits on the couch and glances through the candy he'd bought for the few trick or treaters they get every year, despite being in such a highly secure place that most families avoid. It had started with one mother and her daughter who'd been lost one year and ended up at their door, but slowly grew in numbers as word spread, Ricardo unwilling to turn them away. Which is just yet another reason why Del Rio adores him.
"Si," he smiles, nudging a few of the bags over so that he can settle more comfortably on the couch, his teeth flashing as Alberto kisses his forehead. "It should be fun." Their hands find each other, fingers lacing together, and Ricardo sighs. "I invited Spud, as you probably heard me say over the phone earlier. I know where he's at right now... although I still had you, I think he's mostly alone... or at least he feels like it, and I know how demoralizing that can be..." Alberto wraps an arm around him and holds him closer, murmuring soothing Spanish to him as he nods slowly. "I guess I just want to try to help him. At least you and I had years, he barely had a year. It's a lot of change to go through, and then you add in that he's all alone in a strange, relatively new place, and..."
Alberto quiets his rambling with a soft kiss when it seems he's doing nothing but stressing himself out, smiling fondly down at him. "You're an incredible person, mi valiente."
Ricardo flushes and looks down as Alberto hugs him, pulling him closer. Sofia joins them after awhile, examining the candy stock with a soft smile. "Hola, Sofia," he greets her. "Will you be alright passing out candy while we're gone?"
"Si," she agrees, nodding as she collects the candy to put into a bowl so the children can select which they want. "I will be fine, the children that come here to see us are sweet. Have a wonderful time tonight."
"We will," Alberto smiles. "Even if Slater is being obnoxiously loud."
Ricardo laughs, then looks a little guilty. "El Patron, he's our host tonight, be nice."
"I am always nice, Ricardo," he murmurs, leaning in to kiss him on the side of the mouth. "Don't you think?"
Groaning slightly, the ring announcer swats half-heartedly at him despite the smile growing on his face as he tilts his face so that he can kiss Alberto back.
-x
Sorry about this, Brit. Try to enjoy yourself, I'll be back as soon as I can, Wade reads aloud as Boodah looks up at him beseechingly, Wade's fingers scratching the dog's forehead. "Leave it to your bloody owner to invite a group of people over, then get told that, oh yeah, he's needed for Smackdown tonight." He sighs. "Oh, well, we'll make the best of it, huh, boy? Means more pizza for me..." Grimacing, Wade looks up as there's a knock at the door. Checking the clock, he's surprised to find that it's already a little after 4 PM. "Well, here we go..." Snagging Boodah's collar, he leads him to the door and answers it, peering out at Del Rio, Ricardo and Zack. Stepping aside, he motions them in, shutting the door solidly behind them before Boodah could get any idea to bolt into the sunshine.
"Hola, Wade," Ricardo greets him, glancing around at the various decorations leading the path into the living room- ghosts and spiders, zombies and witches. "Where's Heath at?"
"Last minute notice that he was needed for Smackdown," Wade shrugs, his eyes falling on Zack as he shrugs out of his jacket. "It appears we're in the same boat, Ryder."
Before Zack can respond, Del Rio catches Wade's attention. "I guess it's going to be quiet after all," he tells Ricardo, his attempt at whispering failing. The younger man grimaces and lightly nudges him, glancing over at Wade, whose cool blue eyes are locked warningly on Alberto.
"Come on," Ricardo breathes, gripping his arm and dragging him into the kitchen to allow Wade some time to calm down. Poking his head back in, he looks at Wade. "Oh, um, Wade, Heath told me I could invite a couple of guys so I did... they should be by in a few minutes. Er, yeah, so..." Swallowing heavily, he ducks back into the kitchen to avoid Wade's intense stare.
Wade releases a deep breath and turns to look at Zack. "Make yourself at home," he offers stiffly, watching as the broski sits down on the couch and glances at the DVDs. "Heath was busy before he left, preparing the candy for trick or treaters... and DVDs for us to watch. Drinks and snacks are in the kitchen, help yourselves to whatever you want and we'll be ordering pizza for supper as soon as the others get here..." He glances out of the window, wondering who Heath possibly could've agreed to have invited over. He's leaning over to brush his fingers through Boodah's fur, his back to the door, when finally he hears someone knock and he exchanges a glance with Zack, who shrugs his shoulders before Wade answers, staring at the two vastly different men before him. He inwardly groans, recognizing Rockstar Spud from the British scene all too well, with an all-too familiar rockstar gimmick back in the day before TNA had signed him and he'd started working for the Carters. He glances at Ethan Carter the Third before stepping aside, allowing them inside too.
"Hello," Spud greets his fellow British competitor. "Uh, Ricardo Rodriguez invited us-?"
Ricardo finally pulls himself out of the kitchen, smiling at Spud before his step falters a little when he sees Ethan. "Oh, hola, Spud," he recovers quickly. "How are you?"
"I'm well, yourself?" Ricardo mumbles something alone the lines of fine, his eyes still locked on Ethan, when Spud shifts anxiously next to him. "Eh, Ricardo, do you remember when we were discussing things and you told me how you and Alberto Del Rio only pretended to hate each other for a time in the WWE...? Well, this is a little like that," he confesses, glancing up at his former employer, Ethan's hand warm on his back.
"I see. Well, I hope it works out for you," Ricardo comments, leading the way into the living room. "Spud, Ethan, this is Zack Ryder." Ethan stares at him suspiciously, as if he's reminded of something, when Alberto reappears and general introductions among the six carry on, explanations about where Ziggler and Heath are. Boodah quickly gets over his shyness and bounds right up to Spud, hopping up on his hindlegs to lick his face and knocking him over onto the couch he's thankfully standing next to. Ethan looks pissed off, about to grab the dog to rescue the shorter man, but Spud's surprised laughter stops him and he looks closer, realizing the dog isn't hurting him.
"Sorry about him," Wade grunts, grabbing him by his collar and pulling him off of Spud, who looks a bit rumpled but otherwise perfectly cheerful. "He unfortunately gained all of Heath's hyper ridiculousness as a pup and even my stabilizing presence hasn't been enough to calm him down..."
"It's fine," Spud comments, smoothing down his I'm With Spud shirt and hair, flashing a grin at the subdued look on Ethan's face. "I'm ok." Ethan had been more protective than usual since Tyrus had lost control of himself during their match and choked Spud into unconsciousness following a chokeslam in a tag match they'd had the week prior, in an attempt to continue selling their dissension for Dixie's benefit. He had apologized repeatedly but Spud hadn't blamed him, understanding- it hadn't been his actions, after all, he had stopped Tyrus as soon as he'd recovered from the outside.
Wade checks the clock before finding the pizza menu in the kitchen cupboard and laying it on the table, clearing his throat roughly to try to get everyone's attention. When this doesn't work, he turns to the one thing that always helps when Heath is ignoring him: sticking his fingers in his mouth and whistling obnoxiously loudly. Boodah barely blinks at this but everyone else freezes and turns to look at him, looking like scolded toddlers. "Time to order the pizzas," he says, sliding the menu over. As the others pour over it, he steps aside and dials the pizza place, running his fingers through his hair until finally a man answers. After explaining that it's for delivery, he runs through his own pizza order before turning to the other men. "Which of you know what you want?" Ricardo raises his hand so Wade hands over the phone to him, watching it quickly get passed to Zack, then to Ethan, Spud leaning close to listen to the conversation. Once the pizza order is finished, the phone returns to Wade and he adds orders of breadsticks and cheesesticks to the list before confirming that that's all, trading his phone number and address for the total price, after which he then hangs up with a wince.
By five, the first few trick or treaters have just begun cycling around the apartment complex, the candy bowl waiting patiently on the table by the door while Boodah hides in the bedroom, Wade quickly finding that the best part of having guests is that they like getting up and taking over the duty of passing out candy, Ricardo and Zack quickly getting into it, Spud even seeming to enjoy himself when it's his turn. It's clear when the person knocking isn't a child, however, and Wade takes this one, quickly trading money for food and even throwing in a couple of candy bars when he notices the delivery man staring at the bowl. "Thanks! Happy Halloween," he tells Wade, contently heading back to his car and dodging a few kids coming up.
Wade turns to find Ricardo waiting behind him and hands over half of the stack of pizzas, passing over the rest to Zack. "You're up," he tells Spud as there's a loud, insistent knock at the door that seems to startle the shorter man. He passes by with a smirk, unsurprised when Ethan joins to help pass out candy to the growing number of children surrounding the door, echoing Trick or treat! following him into the kitchen.
Counters are covered in the pizza boxes, the smell of cheese and bread, meat and vegetables greeting him as he enters the room, immediately recognizing his. Half and half, his is a extra cheese with pepperoni and Heath's has Italian sausage and jalapenos. He's just pulled apart a couple slices of his when he notices Zack next to him, staring forlornly at his own. "What is it, ordered the wrong thing?"
"No," he mumbles. "I automatically ordered half the way Dolph eats it." He sighs and piles a few slices of his cheesy part of the pizza onto a plate and disappears into the living room, where Ethan and Spud are talking about the group of children they'd just dealt with.
Wade waits until he's gone before carefully pulling the lid of Zack's box down to keep the rest of the pizza inside safe and allows a small, knowing smirk to cross his face, grabbing a slice of Heath's pizza to add to his plate and returning to the living room as well. "Best get your pizza before more children come and think you're one of them and try to get you to go trick or treating with them," he tells Spud with a sneer.
"Oh bloody haha," he mutters before heading into the kitchen, Ethan following him after staring at Wade for a moment.
Once they're all back, listening for more trick or treaters, Wade's cool gaze shifts from Spud to Ricardo, trying to decide. "Newcomers first," he finally decides. "Go pick a DVD for us to watch while we eat."
Spud's eyes widen as he glances over at Ethan, the two of them eagerly putting their plates down before leaning over to examine the pile of DVDs. It doesn't take them long, surprisingly, their whispers soon turning into agreeable murmurs as Ethan picks up part of the pile and allows Spud to pull out the DVD they'd had their eye on. It's a ridiculous slasher flick that's something of a dark comedy, one of Heath's favorites, and Wade watches it with a distracted gaze, instinctively knowing exactly how Heath would respond to certain scenes, quoting dialogue and laughing uproariously at parts of it.
They all get up a few times through it to pass out more candy, or throw out trash from their meal, but it passes by quickly and before long they're staring at the ending credits, Wade ejecting it. He waits until Ricardo and Alberto return from handling another group of children before looking up at them. "Your turn, Ricardo," he says simply, biting into the last of his crust. He hopes that the two men will pick something from his collection instead of Heath's and he's not disappointed, the two of them opting for one of the goriest movies that he and Heath had ever seen- almost enough to put the Walking Dead to shame.
Zack has been noticably quiet, Wade finally spotting him sitting in a shadowy chair, staring blankly at the TV as the opening ads are fastforwarded through, but he seems ok so Wade leaves him alone, understanding that it never feels great to not be on the road while your significant other is, especially during a holiday. Once they reach the actual movie, Wade gets up to pass out candy to the latest knockers, tossing a Snickers bar to Zack as he passes him by. Zack's jump and small snort when he sees what the candy is makes it worth it as Wade kneels down to drop a couple of pieces of soft candy into a little toddler dressed like a bumblebee's candy bucket, smiling at her curious, wide-eyed gaze.
He's just returned to the couch when he notices his phone lit up and snags it, staring at the waiting text message. Lost to Ryback... dressed as a scarecrow... yay? Waiting for Ziggler, see you soon hopefully. He lays it back down and turns his focus back to the movie, watching as Spud stares fixatedly at it, his eyes gleaming in the faint lamplight, Ethan's arm loosely draped over his shoulders. Sitting on the couch across from them, Ricardo and Alberto are leaning against each other, murmuring faintly in Spanish as they watch the murder count rack up. Wade sighs lowly, checking his phone once more, before sitting with it in hand, trying to focus on the movie. He's pretty sure he fails because he misses a fair amount of key points in the movie, his eyes locked on his phone until finally the text he'd been waiting for arrives. He then gets up and passes out candy to yet another, smaller group of children, realizing in some surprise that it's almost 8 PM already.
He snags another soda and some room temperature breadsticks before returning to his post, watching the last half an hour of the movie with a more focused eye this time. Ricardo gets up once it's over and peeks outside, unsurprised to find that it's quiet. "Feel free to shut the light off, Ricardo. I think the melee has ended." Wade checks at what's left of the candy, glad to find that there's some left over, tossing a bag to Spud. He just manages to grab it and looks down, immediately narrowing his eyes upon finding that there's miniatures written on it in large print. His glower grows when he glances over to find that Wade had passed over a full-sized Hersheys bar to Ethan, who is fighting not to laugh and look innocent all at the same time.
Ethan laughs despite himself and tugs Spud over, kissing him until his annoyance fades, Spud mumbling against his lips as the Carter strokes his arms. "I hate you all."
"No you don't," Ethan tells him, grinning as he pulls away and presses his forehead to Spud's, searching his eyes and finding anything but hate there. Spud merely huffs and turns back towards the DVD player as Wade selects a movie, another of Heath's favorites, though more traditional scary than humorous this time.
Wade glances around once they're through the establishing scenes, unsurprised to find the others are looking more and more sleepy as time goes by, Spud sprawled out on the couch with his head in Ethan's lap, turned towards the TV. Likewise, Alberto is sitting sideways, holding Ricardo against his chest with their fingers interlaced. Zack seems the most awake out of all of them, staring at the TV from his chair, propping his chin on his fist. He's relieved when another text is sent to his phone barely halfway through his movie, a grin crossing his face as he sits up and listens intently.
Finally, there's a knock on the door and he laughs when everyone immediately wakes up, all eyes resting on Wade. "I thought you said trick or treaters were done," Spud says, sounding almost accusatory as he sits up, rubbing his face.
"Seems like there's one more." Wade glances over at Zack. "I think it's your turn, broski," he taunts him. "Go for it."
Zack stares at him for a moment before groaning, unfolding himself from the chair. "Whatever," he sighs, wandering over to the door. "If you're over thirteen or not wearing a costume, you're not getting candy," he's just finished saying, snagging the bowl and pulling the door open when he falls eerily silent, Wade sneaking into the space between the living room and door to watch as Zack's grip on the mostly empty candy bowl slips, it clattering back onto the table as he stares at who's standing outside.
"I'm way over thirteen, but I thought you'd be glad about that?" Dolph Ziggler asks just to release a gasped oof as Zack throws himself into his arms, causing his luggage to drop out of his hands and crash at Heath's feet, the ginger looking exasperated and annoyed until he looks over Dolph and Zack and spots Wade, a grin spreading across his face.
"How? Bro? You're really here?" Zack pulls away, cupping Dolph's face and searching his features.
"Heath and Wade did their homework and figured out if we had our matches early enough we could be on the last plane out from Texas to Florida, and it only just worked out," Ziggler explains, grinning smugly as Zack tugs him in closer and kisses him intently, sighing. "Someone missed me, huh?"
Neither seem to notice as Heath elbows them out of the way and joins Wade, hugging him. "Well, we've done our good deed for the month," he announces before pulling away abruptly, eyes narrowing. "Um, why do you smell like jalapenos?! You ate my pizza! Dammit, Brit!"
"Just a small slice," Wade defends himself, turning and snagging Heath around the midsection before he can storm through the living room, hugging him from behind. "There's plenty left for you. And besides, I picked your favorite scary movie to watch... if you hurry, you can still catch your favorite part..." Heath sighs, melting back in his arms as Wade lightly kisses his throat. "Truth be told," he mumbles, "I missed you even though you were only gone for a few hours."
"I missed you too," he admits, nuzzling into Wade's neck. "I think I'll be pickin' straw outta my clothes'n'hair for ages though. Whoever's idea it was that I be a scarecrow..."
Finally the Brit releases him and gives him a light push towards the kitchen, watching his stiff progress as he quietly heads for the pizza boxes. "Go get your pizza and come back, I'll help you with that... and maybe see what I can do about your soreness..." He winces, aware of how stiff Ryback competes, especially against smaller guys like Heath. Dressed as scarecrows... He smiles faintly and turns to sit down to wait just to realize... Dolph and Zack are still lost in each other in the doorway of the apartment without a care in the world.
"OI! Idiots, get inside and shut the door or I'll make those trick or treaters come back and egg you both!"