Flames

Mad About You, part 1

 It was probably a sign that Becky had spent too much of her adult life on the road, but she hadn't found the coast-to-coast aspect of the early days of her relationship with Seth that bad. In fairness, it was probably easier from her end: since so many of the events were on the east coast, it didn't look too suspicious if she was flying to Chicago. Seth also had several of his wrestling friends make guest appearances at Black & Brave, so they were able to sneak time together that way as well. Having him come out to LA was a bit more noticeable, but since he also trained with Joshy, it didn't raise too many eyebrows.

At least that had been the same country, though. At the moment, he was in Perth for Crown Jewel and the rest of the Australia tour, and she was still in the States. Their good friends Joshy and Jen were getting married that weekend, which was bittersweet in so many ways: Joshy was part of the reason they had eventually gotten together, and it felt wrong to be celebrating his wedding without Seth being there. Having Roux there to distract her helped, but Becky still felt oddly adrift.

"Mama?" Roux rubbed her eyes with both hands. "How much longer 'til Dada wrestles?"

Becky glanced at the clock and sighed. The time difference between Perth and Los Angeles was 16 hours, and it was one of the few times she wondered if staying in Davenport would have been better. It would have only been an extra two hours, but in the wee hours of the morning, that could make a world of difference. "Oh, sweet girl. Not for about four or five hours, I don't think. Australia is a long way away." She scooped her daughter into a hug.

"But Australia's that way," Roux insisted, pointing vaguely at the living room window. "So why isn't it earlier there and later here?"

Becky didn't have the slightest clue how to explain time zones to her drowsy daughter, let alone on the scale of the difference between Los Angeles and Perth, so she stood up instead and carried Roux to her bedroom, grabbing her phone en route. "I know you want to watch Dada's match, honey, and we'll watch it in the morning, I promise. We can watch it while we're having breakfast."

Roux perked up a bit at that. Meals were normally screen-free events, so the thought of watching something while having breakfast was intriguing. "Promise?"

"I promise," Becky repeated. "And we'll call Dada before you go to bed so you can wish him luck. He'll like that." Once she settled Roux in bed, Becky checked her phone and went to a time-zone conversion app. It was before Crown Jewel was set to start, but Seth could be busy with interviews or the pre-show; she just had to hope he could spare a few minutes. She tapped in his number from memory and smiled when he answered on the second ring. "Hey, hot husband. Are we interrupting?"

"Never, love of my life." Seth's voice sobered a bit. "Roux's still up?"

"She wanted to watch your match," Becky began, "but sleep is winning the fight. She wants to wish you luck, though. Hold on." She switched the phone to video and held it out to Roux. "Here's Dada."

"Dada, why can't you fight earlier?" Roux whined, eyes already drooping with sleep. "I want to see you get the new belt."

"I know, sweetheart," Seth said gently. "But you and Mama can watch later. And maybe by the time you watch, I'll be awake and you can call me and tell me what you thought of it, okay?"

If Roux had been more awake, Becky knew the call would have dragged on, but her daughter gave in relatively quickly; she didn't even ask Seth for a bedtime story. "Night, baby," Becky whispered, tucking her daughter in and turning off the light behind her. Once she was back in the living room, she sighed. "Sorry. I wasn't going to let her stay up too much longer anyway, but I thought talking to you might help."

"Worth a shot. Give my love to Joshy and Jen tonight, will you? This afternoon?" Seth shook his head and laughed. "You know what I mean. I wish I could be there...."