Flames

SummerSlam 2019, part 1

Second only to Wrestlemania week, SummerSlam was the most intensive time of the year. The signings, appearances, meet-and-greets, and other functions all took more time than the actual events, and the wrestlers barely had time to sleep, let alone work out and get prepped for their matches. So naturally that was when Xavier decided to hold another UpUpDownDown tournament. "Seriously, man?" Seth rubbed at his eyes as he entered the green room. SummerSlam was in Toronto, so it only one time zone off Davenport; there were no unusual customs or foreign languages to worry about either, but he was still exhausted. His Chronicle filming had just finished, at least, so he would have a sliver of privacy back.

Becky tossed some candy from hand to hand, trying to look innocent and failing miserably. Seth was convinced you couldn't have a jaw line as sharp as hers and look angelic. "You could always forfeit," she suggested with a small smile. "I mean, no one's saying you have to compete."

"You're just saying that because you don't want the competition," Cesaro countered, squeezing a stress ball to exercise his fingers.

Glancing over at R-Truth, Becky shook her head. "I know I don't stand a chance at beating Joe. The 24/7 title, though. . . ." She shot R-Truth a wicked grin that made him scoot back in his chair and hide the belt behind his back. "I mean, if Kelly Kelly can win it and Maria can win it, I think my chances are pretty darn good."

"You stop thinking that way about my baby," R-Truth demanded. "Kelly Kelly was . . . she was wearing a bikini, right? That's distraction techniques right there. And Maria had help from her baby. Two against one? That ain't fair. Everyone knows those stem cells give you an advantage."

Leaning back in her chair, Becky laughed. "It's Irish green, though, Truth. It's meant to be. I hardly got to be Becky Two Belts long enough to get my t-shirt worn in."

Seth nudged Becky's chair to the side to make room for his own. "Nope. It's time for Seth Two Belts now," he declared, cracking his knuckles in preparation. "This belt today and the Universal Championship at SummerSlam; I have it all planned out."

Xavier shook his head as he went to the gaming room to double-check all the connections. "That has no ring at all, dude. None. You need a better name."

"Well, I'm going to be in the tournament until the end," Seth replied, "so I have plenty of time to think of one." Smirking, he leaned over and kissed Becky on the cheek. "And after you're eliminated, you can start thinking of one for me too."

Cesaro laughed as Becky edged her chair closer to his, mock glaring at Seth. "Right now, I think 'Seth Who Sleeps Alone' might be the front-runner." Laughter and low hoots erupted all around them until Xavier poked his head in and shushed them all before starting the official live feed and setting the stage for the tournament.

Becky was the first called into the gaming room and Seth tried to give her ass a friendly pat, but she easily dodged him, all without spilling a drop of water from her glass. AJ Styles was next, followed by Cesaro and then R-Truth, 24/7 belt in hand; if they were relying on a webcam like Xavier had said, the screen wasn't going to be able to fit them all pretty soon. Seth was called last—or second to last, once Xavier had remembered Baron Corbin was there as well. Even though Seth sat right behind Becky, she made a show of mostly ignoring him until the game play began and they had to switch seats.

As Seth predicted, Becky was eliminated in the first round. She enjoyed video games well enough, but she wasn't very good at them. As she shuffled out of rotation, she leaned over his chair and whispered, "If you win that belt, I'm totally stealing it. No shame."

"You can try." Seth tilted his head back for a kiss. "But first you can think of a name—"

"No." Becky was laughing as she said it, though, and she gave him a quick kiss before moving to the back of the room to watch the rest of the matches. She was the only woman in the tournament, but it didn't seem to bother her; she got along well with everyone there, even Corbin, and in no time at all she was commiserating with the other players who had either been defeated or hadn't played yet.

By the time Seth made it to the final round against Samoa Joe, he felt like his thumbs were going to fall off, but the prospect of having more belts than Becky and teasing her about it was far too tempting. "I'd make a joke about pressing buttons," Becky whispered against his ear before giving his shoulders a quick massage, "but I don't want to share that with the rest of the class."

Well aware that he was on camera, Seth settled for twitching an eyebrow and promptly refocused on his match against Joe. Who ever thought arm wrestling was a good video game anyway? After what seemed like an eternity of button mashing, he was finally victorious, though his shoulder muscles were disagreeing—loudly. Not long after Samoa Joe knelt and passed the belt on to Seth, R-Truth made a hasty retreat. "I saw you eying my baby, Lynch," he said, pointing at Becky. "You never know who might be a ref in disguise." He glanced around at the other competitors as if any one of them might be wearing a referee's jersey under their street clothes. "I'm getting outta here."

Becky gave a mock pout. "But my Red misses her twin. Having a younger cousin to play with would make her feel better." Then she turned to Seth. "I suppose that one will do," she added, grinning as she pointed at the UpUpDownDown belt. "Even if it does look like the feral love child of the Divas belt and the Hardcore Championship."

"Blasphemy!" Xavier bellowed. The live feed was already cut, but there was still plenty of equipment to disconnect. "U2D2 is a glorious product of the aesthetic of the 1980s, widely considered to be the best decade in the history of humanity, thank you."

Seth rolled his shoulders back and forth, trying to loosen them up. "Good games, everyone. See you tomorrow." He tried to put an arm around Becky's shoulders, but it hurt to raise it that high. "Please tell me our hotel room has a tub."

Becky tugged on the strap of the UpUpDownDown belt, pulled it out of Seth's hands, and cradled it to her chest. "I can carry that for you." It should have been a sweet, considerate offer, but Seth recognized the glint in her eyes all too well.

"You know that whole 'Possession is nine-tenths of the law' thing isn't literal, right?" Seth settled his arm around Becky's waist as they started making their way back to their suite.

She simply gave the belt a gentle pat. "But look, she likes me. You can have her back after I win the 24/7 Title. Sound fair?"

Seth laughed, pulling her closer to him and almost knocking off her baseball cap. "You know as soon as you would get the 24/7 Title, it would be as good as mine. I have no problem keeping your shoulders down for three seconds."

"You'd need a ref, though," Becky pointed out, "and I'm pretty sure WWE cameras have to be there, so sex doesn't count." She gave the belt a kiss before rising on tiptoe to kiss Seth as well. "So let's get U2D2 back to meet her cousin, and then we'll see what we can do about your shoulders. You're not going to be able to beat Lesnar if you can't move from the waist up."

Seth was too sore to argue, and the prospect of a massage—and everything that usually followed—in a hot bath held more allure than basking in his victory. He could reclaim his belt tomorrow; he would just have to keep it locked in his bag over the weekend so Becky couldn't adopt it as her own.