Flames

SummerSlam 2019, part 2

In some ways, SummerSlam felt like Wrestlemania turned upside down. Becky had the first match on the main card, while Seth would be in the main event, and though her wait wasn't nearly as long as his had been in April, at least now she could understand—and more importantly, believe—that Seth hadn't minded waiting for the main event. Her match with Natalya had been utterly refreshing after months of feuding with Lacey Evans, and it wasn't just because of the respect factor; Natalya might not be incredible on the microphone, but she brought skills and experience in spades, and their history added a bit of heft to an otherwise rushed feud.

The spectre of Ronda Rousey, though, was looming, especially now that Heyman was at RAW's helm. Becky was half surprised that the match with Natalya wasn't just a cheap way to have Ronda make her return, and she kept waiting for Ronda's music to hit even as she was making her way up the ramp. As she passed Paul Heyman in the back after she had finished her promos, she started to turn and confront him, but someone grabbed her arm and steered her away. "Hey, Becks. Don't kick his ass just yet. He's a Becky Lynch guy, after all." Roman smiled down at her. "Seth's in a meeting, so I thought I'd bug you for a bit. Vince is still deciding whether I'm going to have a spot tonight," he explained.

The thought of one of the biggest stars not having a match at a major pay-per-view seemed ridiculous, but Vince had been making a lot of strange decisions as of late. "Sucks if you don't," she replied, giving him a quick hug before they continued on. With her official work done for the night, there wasn't much for her to do aside from watch everyone else's matches; having Roman for company would be a nice way to distract herself from worrying about what Lesnar might do later.

Roman just shrugged. Maybe it was his battles with leukemia or simply his nature, but he always seemed to take things in stride. "It would be nice to have a match," he agreed, "but I like just hanging out backstage with everyone too. After the Wild Card rule is abolished, I won't get to see my RAW buddies as much." He slung an arm around her shoulders. "Unless they'd finally get their asses down to Florida. . . ."

"You know what it's like trying to get time off when you're a champ." Becky mock-staggered under the weight of his arm. "Why do tall people have such heavy arms?"

"What happened to Becky Two Belts? My girl used to have a title on each shoulder and she never complained." Laughing, Roman steered her towards an empty sector of the viewing area. "And it's not my fault short people make such good leaning posts."

Becky laughed too, reaching up to squeeze his hand before they both sat in a quiet corner. "I guess my shoulders could use the practice. I'll either have to win the UpUpDownDown belt from Seth or the 24/7 Title from . . . whoever has it this minute."

"Or you can find a tag partner and go for the Women's Tag belts," Roman pointed out, stretching out his long legs. "You and Naomi would be a good fit."

"You mean the woman who's constantly telling me to get pregnant?" She said it with a smile, though. Ever since she became The Man, Becky had felt a chill between her and a lot of the other female wrestlers, but Naomi had never stopped being her friend.

Roman smiled and put his arm around her shoulders again. "You know she means it with love. She wouldn't say if she didn't think you and Seth were good together." His gaze dropped to Becky's hands for just a second, but it was long enough that she caught it—or it had simply been happening so often that she was watching for it now. "Sorry, sorry. It's a habit. I figured with all the scrutiny you two got, you might try to do things quietly. Just do some Justice of the Peace thing and then have a big party later."

Becky was quiet for a moment. What Roman had described wasn't far off what she might want for a wedding, in all honesty. All the pageantry could look beautiful, she had to admit, but it wasn't something she needed. She would rather have the main moment be just for her, her spouse, and close family. It was bad enough that people knew how to look for evidence of marriage licenses online; she wanted to preserve what privacy she could. "Even if you couldn't be there," she assured him, "we would let you know."