Flames

Deci-mates, part 1

 "You're helping me?" Becky looked up at Natalya while she laced her boots. She should have been to Creative by now, but a call from home had delayed her and now she was running behind. "Does that mean you forgive me for kicking your dad's knee all those years ago?"

Natalya laughed. "You know he adored you. He always thought you were going to go far. I wish we could have worked together more while he was alive." Then she grinned. "And it's not really to help you. It's to hurt Maxxine. Natalya elevates, but Nattie decimates, remember?"

Becky had been following Natalya's matches outside the WWE and hoped the change in persona would help her back on RAW. Natalya had been a constant in the women's division, but rarely given the opportunities or credit she deserved. Still, it was hard to think of her as Nattie when she was used to the friend she had known for decades. "So will that make us deci-mates?" she quipped.

Natalya rolled her eyes. "I didn't think Big Time Becks did puns."

"I can't be all-caps all the time," Becky replied, sitting back. "It gets exhausting."

"Carrying the IC Title on your shoulder must be exhausting too. Do you need help with that?" Natalya laughed as she sat beside Becky. "I''ll be there more to screw over Maxxine than to help you, but maybe we could be a tag team—"

"Don't you dare say tag team of convenience," Becky interjected. "I get enough 'Becky Hogan' remarks. I don't want 'Becky Flair' ones too."

Natalya held her hands up. "Just saying. I'd love to have the tag team titles. I wish they'd been around when Beth and I were a team."

Becky paused for a moment. She was a veteran in the business, but somehow it felt like Natalya had been in it even longer and with far fewer accolades. Natalya deserved them, of course, but she had the misfortune of coming up in an era that still prized a woman's sexiness over her strength. "They should still have some for the NXT girls. We shouldn't have only one set for three brands. At least the Women's North American Title is doing better than our US and Intercontinental ones seem to be."

"If you're feeling bad about Maxxine having a short reign," Natalya replied, "don't. You did your best to make her look legit. You did a lot for her, and I know she's grateful. She's just... not quite there yet."

Glancing at the locker room door, Becky sighed. As much as she wanted to help elevate as many women as she could before she inevitably retired, they had to put in the work too. Maxxine had a good heart, but like Natalya said, she wasn't ready for the spotlight yet. The women's mid-card titles were already on shaky ground; if Maxxine had retained until WrestleMania, it could drain any momentum the title had. "I know. But it's partly my fault. It was my idea. I thought it could shake things up a bit, especially since we're working around AJ's schedule at the moment...."

Natalya patted her shoulder. "I'm sure AJ will be back after the Rumble. Then you two can really go at it. I can't wait!"

"I hope we can make it work." If Becky didn't sound like her normal confident self, she thought her hesitance was at least deserved. She and Seth had lost to Punk and AJ at WrestlePalooza in an underwhelming match, and then AJ had bested her again in the WarGames cage. It was hard to call yourself the best in the world with a straight face when someone who hadn't had a professional match in over a decade could beat you twice. "We have a lot of work to do if we want to carry the feud to WrestleMania. A lot of fans have given up on it."

"If anyone can do it," Natalya said firmly, "it's you." She gave Becky a hug before standing up. "You've got this. See you out there."

"Thanks. Hey, Nattie?" Becky waited until Natalya turned around to continue. "Do me a favour?"