Flames

Idol to Rival, part 1

"This is going to be a really hard birthday weekend for me to top next year."

Becky tried to prop herself up on her elbows, but Seth pushed her back down easily, sprawling across her legs and resting his head on her hip. He had liked doing that even before she was pregnant and in the early days when her bump hadn't been too cumbersome; when it wasn't a comfortable position for either of them, he tried not to mention how much he missed it because he didn't want Becky to feel bad. Ever since Roux was born and Becky was in better shape than ever, though, he claimed the spot as often as he could. "I better not have to wait until my next birthday for that," she chuckled, sliding a hand into his curls. She was still catching her breath, so her laughter rose and fell like the tides.

Seth pressed a kiss to her hip. "Never. You can have that whenever you want. Except maybe backstage, that is."

The mention of backstage made Becky glance over at their hotel suite door, and Seth immediately regretted it. Since her birthday fell on Royal Rumble weekend, they weren't able to celebrate as much as he would have liked, and he wanted to enjoy their rare evening alone together. "Do you think she's okay?" He could tell Becky was trying to keep her voice calm and casual, but there was a thread of worry woven through it.

"Roux's fine." He pointed at the bedside table, where both their phones were charging. "Lita has both our numbers and she promised she'd call if there were any problems. Roux's probably so busy playing with Kenz that she doesn't even miss us." With a dry chuckle, he added, "Besides, we know our girl knows how to use her voice. If she wasn't happy, we would have heard her by now."

"I know. I just...." Becky wound one of his curls around her finger and tugged gently. "This weekend has just been amazing," she said slowly, "so I guess I'm wondering when it's going to come crashing to a halt, you know?"

And there it was. On the surface, Big Time Becks was even bolder and brasher than The Man, but Seth knew some of Becky's old insecurities still haunted her. For all her success and achievements, part of her still thought everything she'd earned could be snatched away at any time. "Victory at Royal Rumble? Check." Seth drew a checkmark on her inner thigh before continuing. "Help Doudrop shine? Check. Birthday with your GOAT baby and smoke-show husband?" When she let out a sharp laugh, Seth nuzzled her hip. "Your words, not mine. I read your Instagram posts, you know."

"Right. So that's... three checkmarks, right?" Becky released his curl so she could comb her fingers through his hair.

"Right." Seth made two more quick checkmarks on her thigh before resuming his list. "Pay-per-view that didn't fall on your birthday? Check."

Becky ruffled his hair as she snuggled back into the mussed pillows. "Premium live event," she corrected him with a grin, "but go on."

Seth rolled his eyes. He understood the logic behind the rebranding, but it would definitely take a while to get used to. "Coincidence that they switch to Saturdays for... premium live events on your birthday weekend? I think not."

"My reach, my power. As the kids say." Becky mimed sliding on her sunglasses.

"And then you get challenged by your idol?" Becky didn't appear to be cold yet, but Seth still crawled up beside her, pulling the blanket along with him. She quickly snuggled up against his chest. "I mean, how's a guy supposed to compete with that? Maybe I should cancel that thing I ordered...."

"No. No cancelling. I wouldn't want to put you through the hassle. Whatever it is, I'm sure I'll love it." She scooted up just enough to kiss his neck and rest her head on his shoulder. "But if you want to be really sure, you can always tell me what it is and I'll let you know...."