Flames

Big Time Becks, part 1

"Does your husband know you're wearing that?" Roman looked faintly flustered and he couldn't quite meet Becky's gaze. "No, that was a stupid question. If Seth saw you in that—"

"He hasn't seen it yet." Part of Becky wanted to watch Roman flounder, but she took mercy on him. She knew how much work it took to control his composure when he was in Tribal Chief mode and she didn't want to knock him off his game.

Roman's eyebrows spiked up. "He hasn't seen it at all?" He gestured vaguely at her all-black outfit. "I mean, I'm trying to look respectfully, like the kids say, but Becks...."

Becky couldn't hide her grin. She had been working out while she was pregnant, as much as she could while still staying safe; not long after giving birth, she started back on her regular exercise regime. Her self-conscious thoughts had by no means disappeared, but she knew if she wanted to raise a daughter who was positive and confident about her appearance, she needed to be a good example—and that had to start with how she thought about herself. "Not heel enough?" she laughed, looking down at some of the straps. "I thought it was a nice little homage to Lita."

"Emphasis on little?" Roman shook his head incredulously before giving her a hug. "I mean, damn, you look good and you know it, but...."

"Good thing it's hot under the lights, right?" Becky shifted the title on her shoulder. The top of her outfit covered about as much as most of her sports bras, but it left much of her back bare, and she had to keep herself from whirling around every time something touched her shoulders. A series of straps gave the Lita-like thong effect before vanishing into her matching pants. It was a definite departure from her regular look and she still wasn't completely convinced she could make it work, but Roman's stunned reaction gave her some hope. "And I won't be out there for long."

Roman raised an eyebrow. "Once Seth sees you," he remarked, "you won't be in that for long."

"Once Seth sees wh—?" Seth's voice dropped along with his jaw when he turned the corner and saw Becky. "What?"

Becky shot him a dazzling grin before doing a slow turn. "I wanted to keep it a surprise," she explained, "so I had Troi send it separately from your coat." Now that they were both using the same stylist, it had become somewhat more difficult to keep surprises like this one, but it was worth the awe-filled expression on his face. People had warned her that the fiery passion in her relationship would wane once she was pregnant, but she had found the opposite; now the only trick was finding time to sneak away. "Your coat covers so much," she added, grabbing his thick lapels as she went on tiptoe to kiss him, "so this balances out some of your drip."

Roman cleared his throat. "And it's a good thing his coat is long and bulky, because it can hide...." He waved his hand vaguely until Seth smacked his arm.

"She needs a coat!" When Seth tugged at his cuffs, Becky almost expected him to take his coat off and wrap it around her like a shroud to hide her from view. "Like that yellow one you wore before WrestleMania to mess with Shayna, but... but bigger so it covers more and—"

"I already have one lined up," Becky replied, grinning as she rocked back on her heels. Since Roux was with Naomi, she was enjoying the chance to tease Seth more than usual. "A red one."

Seth was trying to keep his gaze locked on hers, but it kept drifting down. "You need more than one. You need a whole damn rainbow of jackets if you're going to dress like this...."

Laughing, Roman reached over and pulled Seth's coat shut. "Keep your eyes in your head and your tongue in your mouth and... other things where they're supposed to be, bro. Because right now, I'm pretty sure you should keep that coat on."

When Seth whirled on Roman, Becky had to step out of the way so she didn't get hit in the face by his coat. "You're not helping!"

"We're also in the middle of the corridor," Becky pointed out, realizing that some of the backstage crew were starting to stare. Back in the early days of their relationship, the backstage workers had been pretty good about purposefully ignoring them, but it had been around a year and a half since she and Seth had both been actively wrestling. With all the roster upheaval going on in WWE, she didn't want to overstep her bounds just yet.

"Fine." Seth glanced around, spotted a quiet side corridor, and looped an arm around Becky's waist. Since her whole middle was almost bare, his hand touched more skin than fabric. "You know I love the crop tops at home," he muttered, "but if you keep dressing like this for work, you're going to make it really—"

Becky grinned up at him. "Hard to concentrate?" she said pointedly. She knew Seth loved her no matter what she looked like, but she still relished the fact that she could make him flustered with a simple choice of outfit.

"I was going to say difficult." When they were far enough down the side corridor, Seth stopped and grabbed Becky's hand, guiding her through a small turn. "What do these little side zippers do?" he asked, voice low as he ran a finger over one of the closures.

In all honesty, Becky wasn't sure. She hadn't had enough time to examine the outfit before they arrived at the arena. "Probably just decoration," she guessed, letting out a long breath as Seth's hand drifted down her chest to her bared abdomen.

"And the straps?" He slid his fingers under one of them, running his knuckles along her skin until he reached one of the connecting rings. "Is this...." He gestured vaguely at her outfit with his free hand. "Is it all connected, or do the pants go over it or...?"

Becky shrugged lightly. "I thought you wanted me to cover up," she said with a hint of teasing, "so why does it matter?"

Seth ran his fingers along the top of her pants, dipping them just under the waistband. "For science?" he managed, voice still rough. "And I'll need to know how to get it off without damaging anything...."

"I can change here before we head back to the hotel." The teasing note in her voice got warmer. "I'm sure someone will watch Roux while I get dressed." The gleam in Seth's eyes was dangerously tempting, at least when they didn't have a lot of time to spare, but she welcomed it wholeheartedly. So many of her friends who were moms warned her that her sex life would change drastically after having a kid: The spark fades away, you know or You'll be too tired or any number of other cautionary tales. Nearly nine months since Roux's birth, Becky was happy—and relieved—that very little of her relationship with Seth had changed. They couldn't have sex on the spur of the moment as much anymore, but they had found ways to compensate for that, and Seth had made it crystal clear that he thought she was gorgeous no matter what kind of shape she was in.

"Or you could wear it back to the hotel—with a coat," Seth added quickly, looping an arm around her to bring her close enough to kiss, "and I could figure out how many of those zippers are decorative." He shook his head with a mixture of wonder and exasperation. "Damn Troi, man. Stylists are dangerous."

"Don't I know it," Becky replied with a grin. The suits Troi found for Seth weren't specifically sexy, but just as she was finding new confidence in her body after giving birth, so too was Seth feeling more comfortable about dressing up and expanding his fashion horizons—which made trying on their outfits for each other fun in more ways than one. It had felt strange to keep this one from him, but it was worth his reaction. "I have this in yellow too," she added, "and a choker jacket to go with it."

Seth's eyes lit up. "Do I at least get to see that one before we get to the arena?"

"We'll see." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a backstage assistant approaching them. "I'm on soon," she said, giving Seth a quick kiss before stepping away. "See you soon." She took a deep breath as she followed the assistant to one of the staging areas to do last-minute preparations. When they had first started dating, stealing a kiss from Seth before going out to the ring could make her stomach flutter, but now it helped Becky steady herself. Playing a heel was going to be difficult, especially after she had spent so many years building a connection with the fans, but she knew she wanted a challenge when she came back. Her wrestling career might only last a few more years, after all, and she wanted to try everything she could before she left. Seth's reaction was just the boost she needed to get through the show, as well as a promise for the night to come—at least once Roux was asleep.