Flames

What's Old is New, part 1

"You sure you want to do this tonight?"

Seth recognized the voice, of course. He had spent enough time with his Shield brothers—though never really enough—that he would never be able to forget their voices. But ever since becoming the Tribal Chief, Roman didn't tend to spend much time in the locker room, or backstage at all, really. Sometimes it could be for his health, depending on how his treatments were going, but Seth knew there was also a simmering animosity towards him and his status and Roman simply chose to avoid it as much as possible. His absence didn't lessen it by any means, but Seth was sure it probably prevented some ego-driven scuffles backstage.

He stood slowly and stretched, and not only to make Roman wait for a reply. The European tour had been a blast, but it had also been tiring. "Why? Because it's a double taping?" SmackDown was being taped right after RAW to give everyone a long weekend for Independence Day, and Seth supposed it spoke to his tiredness that one of the producers had to explain that to him.

Roman's eyebrows rose. "I was referring to your anniversary, actually. Hope you didn't forget that too." Laughing, he added, "Maybe your Italian vacation was really as bad as Becks was making it out to be."

"Nah. Just tiring, running around with Roux. Running after Roux. That girl will be so shy and then all of a sudden she's fearless." Seth shook his head. "I don't get it."

"Kids," Roman said simply. "No two are ever the same—even twins. Especially twins. And trust me, I know a little more about that now."

"You mean you didn't figure it out from watching Jimmy and Jey?" Seth leaned in and gave Roman a hug. "How are your kids, by the way?"

"Good, good. Joelle's going to UMiami, so that'll be a change. The boys are all gonna miss her." Then Roman chuckled. "Not as much as Galina will, though. Now she's definitely outnumbered." He paused when Seth's phone chimed. "You need to get that? Is it Becks?"

It was, and Seth knew Roman wouldn't mock him for being a 'wife guy', not when he was one of their staunchest supporters backstage. He had also been quite vocal about telling Seth not to fuck this relationship up in the early days. "Yeah. Just let me check in quick."

Roman plucked the phone from his Shield brother's hand and hit the call button, stepping just out of Seth's reach. "Hey, Becks. Yeah, he's here. I'll pass you over in a second. I just wanted to apologize in advance. I know it's your anniversary today. Congrats on putting up with him for... how many years is it now?" Then he chuckled. "Yeah, the dating counts. So seven? You deserve a medal for that." He turned the phone away from his mouth, turned to Seth, and said, "You better have got her a good gift, bro."

"Feel free to hang up!" Seth called out. Even though Roman had brought the phone back into position, Seth could still hear Becky laughing.

"Anyway, like I was saying, I wanted to apologize," Roman continued smoothly, leaning against the wall and smirking at Seth. "I know it's your anniversary, but I gotta put in some work today, so your poor little husband is going to be all flustered. Hope that doesn't ruin your post-show plans too much." Becky must have said something funny, because Roman burst out laughing and wiped at his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, that's fair. Okay, hold on and I'll pass you over." Then e went over to Seth and handed him the phone. "You definitely married up, my friend."

"Just because I gave up on counting how many times you've said that," Seth replied, "doesn't mean you have to keep saying it, you know." He still laughed, though. Becky made his life better every day, and he considered being called a Top Wife Guy a badge of honour. Considering how male wrestlers—himself included—acted not all that long ago, he thought it was refreshing to see a new crop of guys who took pride in being good partners and fathers. Clearing his throat, he brought his phone to his face and said, "Sorry about that, Becks. What's up?"