Flames

Knows Her Colours, part 2

"Another inaugural title match?" Finn's tone was as light as his chuckle as he sat down beside Seth on the locker room bench. "You're starting to make a habit of this, Rollins."

Seth straightened up and grinned. "Fancy meeting you in a match like this." Their match for the then-new Universal Title was still talked about, though it was often because of the injury Finn had sustained.

"Fancy meeting you in here," Finn countered, stretching out his arms. "I thought you'd be on your bus, getting in a bit of quality time."

Seth shook his head. "Roux's making sure Auntie Trish knows that she knows all her colours, so she's been going up and down the whole bus and telling us what colour everything is." Laughing, he added, "I love her, but I needed some adult conversation."

Finn laughed too. "So you're telling me I should expect to hear black and purple over and over while I'm kicking you?"

"No, I think I got out in time. She definitely got Becky's gift of the gab." Seth leaned over and gave Finn a nudge. "Speaking of Irish traits—is it just luck that Becky, Nikki, and JD are all on RAW? If the Gallus boys ended up here too, that would look pretty suspicious, since you had a hand in training all of them...."

Finn's grin spread slowly. "For starters, Nikki and the Gallus boys aren't Irish. Plus I don't have that kind of pull around here. You know that. If I did, we would have had a proper feud by now. But I can't say I'm mad about it. It's always a pleasure to be on the same show as Becky, and I still think Nikki can grow here. As for JD...." He gave a small shrug. "I don't necessarily think Judgment Day is the best fit for him, at least not right away. I'd like to see what he can do on his own first, you know?"

"That's fair." When it came to The Shield, most people asked Seth how he thought his career—and Roman's and Dean's—might have been different if he hadn't betrayed his brothers. It was a valid question and one he thought about even still. Far fewer asked What if The Shield had never existed at all? What if he had never been aligned with the men he now considered brothers? What if Roman and Dean had been chosen but not him? Rather than fall down the What if? rabbit hole, Seth tried to concentrate on being grateful for where he was and what he had, but it was still interesting to ponder sometimes. "Being in the right faction can make or break a career."

"Not that you know anything about that, of course." Finn double-checked the laces on his boots. "So.... how do you want to steal the show tonight?"

Seth leaned back and looked at Finn. Whenever Finn approached him, that usually meant he had something in mind already. "I'm guessing you have ideas," he said simply. "I'm open to suggestions."

Finn's smile was as sharp as a knife. "How would you feel about a little callback? Like... a powerbomb into the barricade?"

It's been seven years. Seth kept the thought to himself. Finn remembered, obviously, and Seth doubted he would ever forget. He was never happy or proud about injuring someone, but the criticism he had faced after the fact from legends like Bret Hart still stung when he thought back. Trusting Finn wasn't the problem: whether he was a prince, a demon, or just a man, Balor was one of the best wrestlers in the world. Seth was more worried that he himself would freeze up and cause the move to go awry. "You know Roux's backstage, right?" he quipped. "You wouldn't want to upset your niece...."

"I notice you played the kid card rather than mentioning your wife." Finn stood and rolled his shoulders before stretching out his legs. "Afraid Becky wouldn't come defend your honour?"

"You've probably fought her more often than I have," Seth countered. "And besides, if you upset Roux, you'll upset Becky—and the only thing worse than having one Irish girl mad at you is having two of them mad at you."