Flames

Looking Sharp, part 1

Becky had been fortunate enough to have her share of surreal moments throughout her wrestling career, and Seth considered himself equally lucky to have been there for many of them—first as her co-worker, then as a friend, gradually as her boyfriend and then fiance, and now as her husband. He would always be proud of everything he had accomplished during his career, but he knew Becky had endured far more to get where she was. She had been able to travel the world and meet so many amazing people, many of whom she was still friends with decades later, a rare feat in the business. During her pregnancy, whenever she doubted that she would be able to return to the ring and be as good as she was, she had consoled herself with the fact that if she were forced to retire, she'd had a damn good career. But they both knew still had plenty of memorable moments left in her, and she was determined not only to do her best, but to bring out the best in her competitors so the women's division would never be an afterthought again, even when she was gone.

Somehow, all that ambition and creativity had led to... her haircut being recorded to use as fodder for her feud with Bianca. At least that was the plan. Audra, her hairstylist, had agreed to allow cameras to film the majority of the process, and Becky already knew what kind of hairstyle she wanted. The only problem was that Roux was fascinated by the process and was determined to be involved. Seth was trying not to laugh at Roux's frustration, which made her sound like a hissing wolverine, and he had to keep adjusting his grip on her so she didn't wriggle free and run to the stylist's chair and try to climb up on Becky's lap. "This was much easier when you were a baby," he remarked, kissing Roux's head.

"Want Mama!" Roux insisted, squirming in his arms. Audra had blocked off part of the salon for the filming and they made sure they scheduled it for a time when the salon wasn't open so she wouldn't lose any business. There were still plenty of things around that a toddler shouldn't be touching, so Seth was doing his best to keep Roux out of harm's way. Keeping chaos out of Roux's way, however, was damn near impossible.

"Mama's getting her hair made pretty," Seth replied, hoping they were out of the microphone's range. The segment would be edited down to a matter of minutes, of course, but he didn't want Roux's commentary to add extra work for the video department. When Roux continued to struggle, Seth sighed and did his best Chad Gable impression. "Shoooosh! Shoooosh, please!" Roux had become strangely fascinated with the Alpha Academy leader as of late and took great joy in running around the house telling everyone and everything to shoooosh. Seth had made the mistake of playing with the mute button on the television remote while she was shooooshing everything in sight, and she had spent the next few days convinced she had the power to make the television be quiet. "A-Thank you!"

Roux shot him such an indignant look that Seth almost laughed. "Dada shoooosh!"

Becky turned around in the stylist's chair carefully, not wanting to dislodge the foils in her hair. "They aren't filming right now," she called out. "I could use a hug break."

Roux crinkled her nose and Seth was sure if she had been able to say Told you so!, she would have. "A quick one," Seth relented, setting Roux down on her feet and grabbing her hand. If they weren't careful, she could dash away in seconds and cause all sorts of havoc. "And no touching Mama's hair, remember."

"There's my Roux!" Becky had a big grin, but she didn't reach for Roux quite yet. Roux had seen her with her natural colour of hair and her trademark flame orange, but they had always been careful to keep her away from the dyeing process for safety's sake. Seth wondered if she would start crying since Becky's head was nearly completely covered in foils, but Roux still held out her hands eagerly and Becky hoisted her onto her lap. "It won't be too much longer, I promise. And then we'll take Kevin to the dog park so you can play."

"YAY!" Roux bounced so happily she almost tumbled off her mother's lap, but Becky caught her easily.

"But when Audra comes back," Seth added, crouching beside the chair so he could put his chin on the arm rest, "what do we do?"