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Wrestlemania 35, part 1

First match, again. But just like at last year's Summerslam, Seth didn't mind. Last summer, he had willingly stayed behind to watch Becky's historic turn against Charlotte. Just thinking about it made him chuckle. If only he knew then what he did now. Maybe he did, on some level. He and Becky had been close friends for years, after all. How many times had she gone to him for advice or out of frustration for how her career was going?

And now here they were, together, bookending the night. Brock Lesnar was—kayfabe or not, Seth didn't know and didn't particularly care—upset that the Universal Title match wasn't the main event, and thus he wanted to go first. Fine by him. That just meant Seth had the rest of the night to enjoy the other matches and maybe catch a bit of sleep so he would be sure to be awake for Becky in the main event.

As if the thought had summoned her, there was a quick knock on his locker room door and then it opened just a crack, Becky's hand sticking out to wave. "Can I come in?" she asked.

Seth laughed as he finished lacing up his boots. "Not like there's nothing you haven't seen before," he replied, watching her as she came in. Since her match was hours away yet, she was still dressed casually, face free of make-up to make it easier for the prep squad to do their work. "Hey." He stood and pulled her close, resting his forehead against hers. "Not long now."

"You'll be amazing." She cupped his face in both hands and gave him a slow kiss. If there was anyone else who understood his drive to succeed, it was her. When she pulled back, she pointed at the bench. "Need a hand with your bracelets?"

"Please." Seth sat back down and simply enjoyed watching Becky as she unwound the cuffs and got them ready. It felt strange to have so many of the new-relationship infatuations when he had already known her for years, but now the context was completely different. As he held out his left wrist for its bracelet, he gently squeezed her hand. "Hey. We never really finished our conversation about being backstage tonight." There were always cameras on hand, photographers and videographers alike, but Wrestlemania was WWE's biggest event of the year; you could barely move backstage without running into a camera and the pre-show wasn't even done yet. The bosses liked to chronicle all the big moments, especially when newly crowned champions arrived backstage with their titles. If it had been a lesser event, there probably wouldn't have been much fuss about Becky congratulating him or vice versa, but Wrestlemania pictures were bound to get out. Since they weren't public about their relationship yet, they needed to decide how they were going to proceed.

"I know. I just barely got some time away from the WWE24 camera guys to come visit you." Becky tried to hold back her sigh of frustration as she finished tying Seth's left bracelet, patted his wrist for good luck, and motioned for his right.

"We don't have to do anything here, Becks." Now that his left hand was free, Seth used it to stroke her leg while she worked away on the other bracelet. "I know you're happy for me, and I hope you know I'm over the moon for you. We can celebrate later, away from the cameras."

"We could," Becky echoed slowly, taking her time with his right wrist. When she finished, she let her fingers linger over the laces before bending to kiss his hand. "But we're not going to be able to keep it a secret forever. We both know that. Maybe this is the time. I don't know." She sat beside him and rested her head on his shoulder. "What do you think?"

"I think," Seth smiled, kissing her head, "that when you're done, we're gonna get out of here and have the best celebration of the night, away from all the damn cameras." He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to his side. "But if you're sick of the cameras, I totally get it. I'll follow your lead."

"Thank you." Becky started to stand and give him a quick kiss, but he drew her down onto his lap. She relaxed against him gratefully, gracefully, trusting that he wouldn't let her fall. It took her three tries to stop the kiss and pull back, and her eyes were dizzyingly dark as she gazed at him. "Careful. You don't have time to finish what you're trying to start."