Flames

Love & War (Games), part 2

"Finally come around to join the dark side, huh?" Bayley plopped down on the locker room bench beside Becky. Becky's presence at SmackDown wasn't exactly supposed to be a secret—most people assumed she was going to be the fourth member of the Bianca's War Games team—but she wasn't supposed to be super visible backstage either. Then Bayley glanced around and snorted. "What? Your Mini Me's not here? We don't want you if there's no Roux. We thought you were a package deal."

Becky rolled her eyes as she hugged her friend. It had been a while since she had been on the same roster as one of her fellow Four Horsewomen, and she missed Bayley most of all. "None of us are ready to fight her yet. She's scrappy."

"Well, look at her parents," Bayley replied. "She was hardly going to be some meek little kid who just sat in the corner." Patting Becky's shoulder, she added, "Next time you guys are out in Los Angeles, if you're up for company, let me know and I'll pop in. Only to see my girl, of course. You and Seth? Eh."

"Yeah? Well, we're only letting you in if you bring Mercedes," Becky teased, bumping her shoulder against Bayley's.

"I can arrange that. Might even be able to include a dog or two if you play your cards right." Bayley gestured to the door. "So... you and Charlotte?"

Becky shrugged. "We've been trying to talk on and off for a little bit. It's... a work in progress," she admitted. "There's still a lot of baggage, but there's also a lot of good memories too." She paused for a moment. Combining work and friendships was always complicated, but especially so for wrestlers, who were usually in competition with each other, whether directly or not. It wasn't always a matter of ego, as so many pundits liked to claim. In the women's division, there were only so many titles to go around, and as soon as you set your sights on one, you were bound to ruffle some feathers. "I don't think we'll ever be best friends again." It hurt to say and it felt like a failure to admit, but Becky had too much going on in her life to not be practical. "But maybe we could still be good friends and that might have to be enough."

Bayley leaned against Becky's shoulder. "But I'm still the favourite auntie, right?"

"I don't know. Jen dressed up as a vampire for Halloween," Becky pointed out, "so I think she took a jump in the standings. I'll have to check the leader board."

"Is that right beside Roux's height chart?" Bayley teased. "So you can see how long it takes her to get taller than you?"

"Oh, trust me, I don't need to keep track of that. She is. I'm sure she'll be the first one to let me know when it happens. She'll make sure everybody knows." Becky grinned. The height difference between her and Seth was one of Roux's favourite things to comment on, and Roux was now determined to get taller than her mother.

Bayley laughed. "I'll have to get her some new dinosaur leggings for Christmas if she's had a growth spurt. Can't expect my girl not to have dinosaur leggings! What size does she wear now?"

Before Becky could answer, the locker room door opened and Asuka and Kairi walked in. "Becky!" Asuka hurried over, her ring coat flapping behind her like patchwork wings. "So good to see you!" As she hugged Becky, she glanced around. "Where's my Roux?"

"Roux, Roux, Roux." Becky sighed. "Next time I'm just going to send her and I can stay at home, maybe catch up on some sleep...."

"Okay!" Bayley bounced to her feet. "I could take her for ice cream after the show and Asuka always has video games to play and Kairi could—"

"I am happy to see you." Kairi stepped in to hug Becky as soon as Asuka moved to the side.

Becky smiled. Kairi still looked so small, but there was a steely determination in her gaze now. "It's so good to see you," she said as they hugged. "I'm glad you're back."