Flames

Lemons and Lumps, part 1

"I swear, I fucking swear...." Becky cursed everything in the vicinity: her fingers for stumbling on her phone screen, her phone for not being faster, herself for leaving dozens upon dozens of photos uncategorized. She usually tried to keep the ones of Roux in order so she could send new ones to her mother and brother, but everything else was in shambles.

"Becks...." Seth sat down beside her on the couch, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

Becky barely looked up. "Roux's sleeping. Or if she's not, her door's closed. Besides, she's heard me said some variation of fuck about a million times by now, so...."

"That's not where I was going with that," Seth replied, tilting her face towards him so he could kiss her, "but since you brought it up, it might not hurt to not swear quite so much on the bus."

Becky sighed. Now that Roux was almost three, they were leaving her with Seth's mother and stepfather more often so she had the same stability most kids had: a bedroom that wasn't on wheels, the chance to go to the playground, a sleep schedule that wasn't dictated by travel. They both missed her terribly when they were on the road, but they also knew she needed more structure, especially if she was going to attend pre-school next year. "She's not out here," she replied, craning her neck to make sure their daughter hadn't crept out to the living room, "but yeah, I know."

"Are you doom scrolling?" When Becky glanced up at him, Seth shrugged. "I've heard some of the kids at Black & Brave say it, so I asked Joelle about it when she called. She wanted a guy's opinion on something but not Roman's, because he's her dad, so they debated until they settled on her calling me."

"Aw. That's sweet." Becky set her phone down when Seth stretched out his legs so she could cuddle up to him. It was rare that they spent a night apart, but when they did, she was surprised by how difficult she found it to sleep without him there. Just his warmth and steadiness could calm her down. "I hope Roux has someone like that when she's older. Maybe Marek? Or your brother?"

"Maybe. We'll see." Seth kissed the top of her head. "And for a mom substitute...." He snorted softly. "I think you'd have half your locker room volunteering. Bayley, Liv, Bianca... and Mercedes too, of course." Nudging her phone just a bit further away, he added, "So... the doom scrolling?"

Becky groaned. It would so sound petty. Hell, it felt petty, but she couldn't help it. "I was looking for SummerSlam graphics. I could have sworn my match with Trish was made official...."

"I know you showed me that one poster a fan did up that was really good." Seth paused. "If there was an official one, I probably put it up on my Instagram. Did you want me to look?"

That made Becky smile, and she pulled him down into a kiss. Whether it was a notice about a television appearance or just an upcoming match graphic, he was always adding stuff about her to his account; most of the time, he saw the things before she did. "That's okay. If it was on one of your stories, it would be long gone." She let the kiss linger a bit, hoping it would buoy her mood, but it didn't change the facts: her highly anticipated match with Trish Stratus was no longer planned for SummerSlam. "It just sucks. Trish is a legend and if she were a man, this match would be on SummerSlam without a doubt. The female legends don't get the respect they deserve...." She wished things had been better for Trish and Lita in their prime, for Eve Torres and AJ Lee and Beth Phoenix and so many others.

"It's improving," Seth reminded her. "It's getting better—and you're a big part of that. You and Bayley. You two have legends lining up to fight you: Lita, Trish, Melina...." He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed gently. These were all rants he had heard a hundred times but, to his credit, he never complained. He supported the women's division almost as much as she did, and he had done so long before they were ever together. "When it's your time to be a legend—and Bayley's, and Mercedes' and Bianca's—things won't be so uneven, and it's because of all the work you all do."