Flames

Night of Champions, part 1

"Talk about an early birthday present." Seth had his daughter on his lap and his new World Heavyweight Championship was draped across Roux's legs; she was tracing the design reverently. He didn't even flinch when he caught the flash of Becky's camera out of the corner of his eye. The picture of Roux reaching for Becky's SmackDown Women's Championship was one of his favourites, and he had eagerly awaited the chance to have a similar picture of her with one of his hard-won titles.

Becky showed him the photo quickly before setting her phone aside and snuggling up to his side. "Good thing there's nothing waiting for you at home. It would be hard to compete with this."

"You say that every year," Seth replied, "and every year you're wrong." As far as he was concerned, this was enough of a gift: being with his wife and daughter, having them with him while doing his dream job, being trusted and respected enough to be the first to hold a new title at the pinnacle of his profession. Previous generations of wrestlers would be on the road for weeks at a time, missing precious time with their children, and he was grateful he would never have to make that choice. "I have everything I could possibly want."

"I notice you never say no to coffee," Becky pointed out. "Or Chicago Bears shirts. Or... other things."

Seth kissed her cheek. "Because I enjoy coffee and I always need more shirts. As for other things...." He ran a thumb along her jaw and frowned when it came away bloodied. "You went to Medical, right?" When his wife nodded, he added, "Then why haven't you washed your face yet?"

Becky rested her head on his shoulder. "Too excited. I wanted to see you win."

Roux craned her head back and looked up at her mother. "Wash your face," she echoed, reaching up and patting Becky's cheek.

"You've been told." Seth wrapped an arm around Becky's shoulders and kissed her again. "There's probably only half an hour or so before Kevin and Sami are on...."

"I know. I just... let me bask, okay?" Becky gazed down at their daughter as she played with Seth's new belt. "You're going to need to expand Black & Brave soon," she teased. "You're not going to have enough room on the walls."

"Not after you get one of those shiny new women's titles that are coming out," he replied. Thus far, Bianca—Asuka, by the end of the night—and Rhea hadn't swapped titles yet because WWE was redesigning and finally renaming the women's championships. The erstwhile RAW Women's Championship was going to match Seth's World Heavyweight Championship and he couldn't think of anything better than having matching belts with his wife, both in the ring and on Black & Brave's wall.

Roux perked up at the prospect of the wall getting a new addition. "When are you getting one, Mama?"

"What a little taskmaster!" Becky laughed, kissing her daughter's head. "I just had the tag team titles! Let me have a break, would you?"

Seth glanced down at Becky to gauge her reaction, but she seemed happy enough. The loss to Trish tonight was part of a bigger storyline and she understood that, but he knew she found the stagnation of the women's division frustrating. "Mama has lots of time," he agreed, tickling Roux's belly. "And we have plenty of wall space."

"Maybe we should start putting some of your art on the walls," Becky added. "You could draw a new belt for me."

"As long as it's not a spinner belt," Seth laughed. "No one needs that again." When he heard a knock on the door, he gently transferred Roux over to Becky's lap, careful not to let the title fall. First new belt christened with sticky toddler hands, he thought as he glanced down at it and saw smudges. "Come in," he called out. They were in a small private locker room so they could have some privacy, but he knew as a newly crowned champion, he was going to be in demand.

One of the senior producers poked his head in. "Hey, Seth. Hey, Becky." His smile widened when he looked at Roux playing with the new belt. "Hi, Roux! Do you like your dad's new belt?"

Roux nodded, patting the belt where Seth's side plates would go. "It's pretty!"

"It is. He has to take it away for a little while, though," the producer added, "so we can take his picture. But then he'll be back."

Becky waved a dismissive hand. "Oh, you can keep him. Just bring the title back."

Laughing, Seth stood up and kissed his wife. "Love you too." Then he crouched down and kissed Roux's cheek. He wasn't sure if she would be willing to part with the title so easily, but after he gave her a hug, she let him take the belt and sling it over his shoulder. "Be back in a bit." Turning to the producer, he added, "We'll be done before the tag team title match, right?"

The producer nodded. "Should be. As far as I know, they just want a few promo shots for the news release and the website."

"Good. Then I'll catch up with you ladies later." Seth blew a kiss to Roux before following the producer. "I'll have to clean up the belt a little bit," he warned as they walked to the photography area. "I'm guessing toddler fingerprints don't photograph well."

"Don't worry about it," the producer assured him. "We'd be shining it up for the photos anyway, and anything that doesn't come off can be edited out later." Then his smile widened. "I'm really glad you got this moment, man. You deserve it. I know that's a cliche by this point, but...."

Seth shook his head gently. "No. Thank you. I appreciate it. Truly. I try not to take this for granted anymore." He knew the company could have just as easily gone with someone else: Cody Rhodes was an obvious choice, but there were definitely other worthy contenders, like Finn and Sheamus. This was another seal of approval, and he knew better than most that those didn't come around all that often.

The photographer smiled when he saw the belt too. "I see someone's already coming for your title," he remarked, taking the belt and spreading it out on a table. After wiping the metal with a cloth, he held the title up to the light, tilting it back and forth. "Should be okay. We'll see."

Seth smiled as he took the belt back and went over to the photography backdrop. "If I'm not careful," he joked, "Becky will be coming for it too. I might be the first champion to lose his belt in a match that's literally in his backyard."

"Are you sure R-Truth didn't lose the 24/7 Title at home once?" The photographer paused to think. "He had it so many times...." Stepping back behind the camera, he added, "Maybe I'm thinking of when Liv went to Black & Brave?"

"Could be. I think I'll keep my defences limited to in the ring," Seth declared, draping the title over his shoulder. Photo shoots were never his favourite part about being a champion, but he handled them better now. The steps were so automatic that he could let his thoughts drift a bit. The title was heavy on his shoulder, but it was more of a buoy than an anchor. It was a symbol of his success, his drive, all the hard work he had put in over the years—and yet he had finally reached that peculiar pinnacle where he didn't really need it. His career stats spoke for themselves; he didn't need inflated numbers and reigns to make himself relevant. Now that he had a wife and daughter, he had everything he needed; anything else was just a bonus.

"Ready when you are."

Seth smiled and cackled and hammed it up through a series of shots, catching the glint of the new title out of the corner of his eye. His future was bright and always had been; the only different was that his present was just as good, if not better.