Flames

Uncaged, part 2

FLAMES will probably be on hiatus now until Becky's status is clearer.

When Becky had been pregnant, Joshy and other trainers they knew had devised workouts that were safe for her to do but also engaging and fulfilling. Seth tried to approach his rehab workouts with the same mindset. It certainly wasn't unfamiliar territory, but it was still frustrating to know how limited he was. At least he had a goal in mind: his return to the ring, so he could challenge Damian Priest—or rather, according to the current plans from Creative, have Priest challenge him—to a title match at Money in the Bank. Becky was working out like usual, but as far as he could tell, her potential contract from WWE was still in her inbox, so he wasn't sure what her workout goal was. "Becks, what are you doing?"

Confused, Becky gestured at the bike beside her. "Cardio?"

Seth towelled off his face, using the brief moment of cover to mutter to himself. "You know what I mean. Your contract. What are you doing with your contract?"

"Oh. Well, context matters, love." Becky got on the bike but didn't start pedalling yet. "I don't know. Hunter said he's going to call it a hiatus if it comes up in interviews. I'm working on that children's book I'd started, so I should finish that...."

"But you want to go back, right? To WWE?" He went over to her bike and leaned on the handles. They were in Joshy's gym and he had given them the run of the place while he and his fiancee had taken Roux for a walk with their dogs. "I mean, I just re-signed. If you wanted to go somewhere else," he added, trying not to let frustration seep into his voice, "we could have discussed that."

Becky shook her head. "WWE's always been your dream. I'm not going to mess with that. I want to do more there, but if I can't...." She shrugged and kicked at one of the pedals until it spun around. "Then I have to go where I can do what I want to do, I guess."

The thought of being in WWE without his wife was almost unfathomable. "What about Roux? If you go to AEW, we'd have completely different schedules...."

"Not necessarily," Becky countered. "Dynamite's on Wednesdays. I could say I only want the weekend shows. You're normally on house shows, so...."

"So we'd get to see each other for two days a week? I know some couples do it—Malakai and Zelina, Rhea and Buddy—but they don't have kids." Seth went over to her side and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Are you... serious? Actually serious?"

"I don't know." Becky's voice was small, as if she were lost in thought. "I want to stay. I thought I was making a difference, and for a while... I'm pretty sure I was. Now we're back to the women hardly getting any match time. And then you hear about what other companies offer as incentives...." She rested her head against his chest. "I don't know. I mean, no, I'm not seriously considering it, but WWE also has to realize they can't keep taking the women for granted. There are too many options now."

Seth thought about offering to talk to Hunter, but he knew that wouldn't help. A big part of Becky's hesitation was how the women were being treated, so having a man—yes, her husband, but still—be able to swoop in and close the deal when she could not simply highlighted the problem. "Is there anything I can do to help?" he asked simply.

Becky tilted her head back for a kiss. "Stay on track for your return so I can see you model more glorious outfits," she replied. "Ever since I gave up Big Time Becks, I'm pretty sure Troi's got too much spare time on his hands. You'll have to pick up the slack."

"I know he has some white outfits in mind," Seth allowed, "so you should like that. And one's apparently Cruella de Vil inspired."

"Nice. Roux will like that." Their daughter's Disney Princess phase was apparently on hold for her Disney Animals phase, and they had lost track of how many times Roux had watched Robin Hood. "And you know I won't complain."