fandomweekly | #190 A Prideful Wish For A Life Long Gone (Punch-Out!!)

Theme Prompt: Wish - 190
Title: A Prideful Wish For A Life Long Gone
Fandom: Punch-Out!!
Rating/Warnings: PG-13 / none
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 640
Summary: Don Flamenco laments his past lover, as well as his lost fame. (Takes place after Contender fight, but before Title Defense.)

Flamenco stared, empty-eyed, at his phone. An outside observer would’ve noted how he has been staring at it for at the very least an hour. His screen showed only one thing - a number, a number of his beloved Carmen, that had long left him for someone else. He didn’t dare to call her, and simultaneously, really wanted to.

His life hasn’t been the best since he lost the Major Circuit Champion title to Little Mac. Everything was dreamy, grey. He saw no point in a life with no love, no romance. If he could wish for one single thing at this very moment, he’d wish for Carmen to come back to him. Embrace him once more, wrap her gorgeous, slim hands around him and kiss him on the lips, whispering “I love you”, as he holds her tight and softly smiles back. He missed the warmth, the beauty of casual mornings, as they’re both groggy and barely awake, but still, look at each other with lukewarm gaze, simply so happy to see each other first thing in the morning.

Don decided against calling her, figuring he would come off as annoying and creepy. He knew exactly what she’d say. “Leave me alone!”, “Find someone new to obsess over already!!”, “Come back to me when you stop being such a loser who loses to a 17 year old kid!”. She only likes winners, you see.
Then perhaps, if he actually did win, and take his honor back, she’d love him again? A rematch isn’t a rarity, and he knew that one day, he will get another attempt at this. His dedication to Carmen is beyond everything, above life itself. He was willing to go as far as he needed to go to bring her back.

But… What if she already had someone? What if she already found the one that already treated her better than Don ever did? No… That’s impossible. Even if she did find someone, Flamenco was sure - no one could ever come close to him in how much he loved her. At the very least, that’s what he liked to tell himself. He couldn’t dare to allow himself to believe that there is someone better than him. It was really just his pride talking - even though by now, he should be having none.

And even then… Now that the topic of pride had come up in his head, Don realised - what he really wished for is that in that damned boxing match, he had not lost at all. It would’ve fixed all of his problems. Carmen would’ve been here, he would’ve still been champion and maintained all of his fans… no ridicule, no loneliness crushing him every single day. Flamenco was willing to go for a rematch and decimate Little Mac once and for all, at any cost. His real wish was to win back his pride, his fanbase, his Carmen. She was only, and only, his.

They always say, be careful what you wish for, and yet, is this desire all that selfish? Is a man’s desire to feel fulfilled in life so sinful and awful? Would it really cause the entire world to fall apart? As if Little Mac’s own little wish to become the World Champion hadn’t destroyed the lives of every opponent he came across. Flamenco liked to think he took it the hardest, and he wouldn’t be too far off the mark. His life did come apart, piece by piece. The intense, ardent red rose had withered into the deceitful, longing black. Darkened aura resonated deeply with his thoughts. Mac had caused the flame inside Don to give out and turn to ashes. If anyone had to be careful what they wished for, it was Little Mac.
Because now, he got himself a very fierce, bitter opponent.
Flamenco will win. At any cost.