Flames

Push, part 1

In a sad way, Becky was almost starting to dread the RAW episodes after pay-per-views. She used to feed off the residual rush, the hangover of excitement and energy and momentum. Now there was so much negativity and petty criticism that it was getting harder to tap into the fun. Before the show started, she had been scrolling through Twitter when Seth grabbed her phone out of her hands. "No more Twitter machine for you," he said gently. While she sat almost speechless, he took her phone into the men's locker room and returned a few moments later, hands empty. "Your phone is in my bag. It's safe, but I'm not giving it back until the show's done and we're at the hotel."

"Excuse you?" Becky stood and glared at him. "What if I need to call—"

"You're at work," he pointed out with infuriating calm, kissing the top of her head and lingering there for a moment. "Becks, remember what Charlotte said about you? That you help her not be so serious all the time? I'm trying to help you not worry. People are going to say whatever the fuck they want. Nothing you say or do will stop that. You could let them script the show and we could all do it to the letter and some people still wouldn't be satisfied."

"I know, but—" Becky's fingers started to twitch. She was so rarely without her phone, a habit from when she had first moved over to North America and would call to check up on her family. "What if I promise to keep off Twitter?"

Seth just shook his head. "If you're a good girl," he said in a mock-fatherly voice, "you can have it back when we're on the way to the hotel."

Becky gave him an arch look. "And if I'm bad?"

"Then you'll get something else." Seth gave her a long, slow kiss, one hand drifting down to her ass. "Now let's get all this shit over with and then we can go," he said, giving her ass a smack that almost rivaled the one she had given him last night.

"Fine." Becky knew her scene cue and sat back down to wait for it, but without her phone to keep her occupied, she got antsy and started edging toward the gorilla position. The thrill of hearing her music never went away, no matter what people said about her, so she focused on her song when it hit, the comforting weight of her belt. The crowd was loud; she registered that much. Whether it was favourable was another story.

They were given a bit of wiggle room with their banter, as long as they hit specific talking points and cue words, and when she focused on Seth, her irritation started to ebb. Of course, it was easy to get distracted watching him too. "But he wasn't smart enough to realize I've got the best back-up on the planet," Seth was saying, turning to look at her.

Becky been planning to give an innocent little shrug like she had at the Hall of Fame ceremony or maybe a smirk, but something in his gaze made her suddenly hesitant. Part of her was already dreading how his comment would be interpreted: What about the Shield, Seth? or Has he forgotten about Dean already? The Shield's fans could be particularly bitter. Luckily, the audience started chanting her name, giving her a bit of time to get back on track—but then Corbin's music hit.

No Baron, though, so it was the classic distraction ploy. Even as she got hit, Becky had to give Lacey a smidgen of credit: she came to fight in heels, which was no easy task. Once Becky reversed it, though, Seth tried pulling her off. Who on earth would script that? As if, given the choice, Seth wouldn't be cheering her on.

When she pushed Seth back, there was a short, strange silence in the arena—a rare occurrence when there were so many people. It was a moment of teetering balance, everyone watching and wondering which way it would tip. There was a hint of something in Seth's gaze that she made a note to ask about later, but then his grin appeared and she knew everything was okay. After last night's supposed cue, she didn't trust Creative not to give them two completely different scripts just to cause chaos.