Flames

Cat and Mouse, part 1

"Hey, did you know that Sasha dyed her hair bl—?"

Seth didn't get to finish his question, though, because Becky covered his mouth with both hands. "Don't tell me," she said. "We're avoiding each other until I go out to confront her. We don't want to mess with the energy." He had suggested sitting in the viewing area while she was waiting for her cue, but Becky had steadfastly refused.

"That sounds like the whole 'it's bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding' thing," Seth replied, pulling her hands off his face so he could kiss her.

Becky was laughing as she broke the kiss. "Don't worry. She's already married." Chuckling, she buried her face in his shoulder. "Oh, your face just then. . . ."

As she passed by, Dana Brooke couldn't help giggling. "You don't have to worry about Becky leaving you for Sasha. Charlotte, maybe, but not Sasha."

"Thanks for that, Dana," Seth called out as she kept laughing on her way to Catering. "That's very reassuring."

Before Becky could reply, a backstage crew member hurried over to her. "You're up in five."

"Thanks." Becky gave Seth a parting kiss and squeezed his ass for good measure. "See you in a bit. And don't worry about Charlotte. From the way she talks about Andrade, I doubt she's trading in her papi any time soon."

"That's totally reassuring too. I appreciate it. Really." Seth pointed back at the viewing area. "I'll just hang back here and talk with Roman and remind him that he's my friend and find out what all this clandestine 'Florida' business is about." As he raised his hands to make air quotes, he almost hit a passing intern. "Please say it's nothing to do with Big E."

That earned him one of Becky's booming, unbidden laughs, the ones he loved most because it meant he had managed to take her by surprise. "Fuck no. The next time WWE goes to Ireland, I'm warning my ma so she can go on vacation." Then she gave Seth a wink that made him laugh because she usually ended up closing both eyes instead of just one.

Roman wasn't in the viewing area, so Seth settled in on his own, watching Sasha return to a huge pop from the audience. It was business as usual, with Sasha comforting a grieving Natalya, but then there was the cheap shot and the wig was off, unveiling the newly blue hair he had been trying to describe to Becky. After Sasha got a decent beating in on Natalya, Becky ran down to confront her, and even on screen, Seth could tell how much going up against one of her fellow Horsewomen transformed Becky.

Sasha was slated to get the better of Becky in the spot, so Seth did his best to watch the chair shots with an open mind, but some of them seemed awfully close to Becky's head. "Tables have turned, huh?" He looked up to see Sami Zayn standing behind him. "Now you know what she felt like watching you get pummeled by Lesnar."

Seth hadn't thought of it that way. Lesnar was always something of an unknown quantity; Sasha, on the other hand, would never deliberately hurt another competitor, especially not one of her fellow Horsewomen. "After the concussion last year. . . ." He didn't bother to finish. Sami knew how devastated Becky had been about missing her singles match with Ronda Rousey, and the worry of another concussion always loomed large, especially after some of Lacey's stiff punches.

Sami clapped him on the shoulder. "I know. But we gingers are tough—including the dyed ones." He winked at Seth—an actual wink, not like Becky's adorable attempt—and moved on to sit by Braun Strowman.

As soon as Sasha started heading up the ramp, Seth rose and moved towards the aisle. Maybe it would make him look like an overanxious boyfriend, but he didn't care. As soon as he spotted Sasha's bright blue hair, he walked towards her; she probably had promos to do, but those could wait for a minute. She slowed when she saw him and he wondered what his expression looked like. "Hey, Rollins." She held up her hands in surrender. "I know that one shot went a little wonky, but Becks said she was good."

Seth let out a puff of breath and rubbed at his eyes. "Thanks. I know you wouldn't . . . yeah. You know." Trying to describe the gauntlet of feelings he had just gone through was too difficult, so he just shook his head. "Welcome back, by the way. Back with a vengeance."

"You know it." Then Sasha flashed him a wicked grin. "You're welcome, by the way."

"For?" Seth's eyebrows dipped as he frowned. "For beating my girlfriend with a chair?"

"Weren't you the one who said she gets a little feisty if she hasn't had a good fight?" Sasha's eyes had a devilish glint to them. "You've been letting her top you way too often, I think."

Seth's eyebrows rose so far and so quickly from the frown he was surprised he didn't pull a muscle in his forehead, but Becky's arrival spared him from having to think of a reply. "Welcome back, Sasha." Even though a referee was trying to herd her towards Medical, Becky stopped and hugged her friend.

Sasha pushed hair out of Becky's face to examine her forehead. "Sorry about that one. I didn't get you too hard, did I?" After planting a kiss on Becky's temple, Sasha pulled her back into a lingering hug. "God, woman, did I miss you!"

"Same." Becky let out a long breath and shut her eyes as she wrapped her arms around Sasha.

Still speechless, Seth watched the two long-time friends melt into their hug, murmuring and laughing as they swayed in place. Then he realized how long it had been since she had been around one of her fellow Horsewomen. Her feud with Charlotte had been last fall, and then she had been out for the early part of the year. Wrestlemania was a blip, and then Charlotte and Bayley were both on SmackDown. Over on RAW, Becky was the odd woman out—until now.

Sasha noticed him struggling to speak and she laughed. "I was just telling Seth he's been letting you top him too often." She smiled as she took a step back, but kept her hands on Becky's shoulders. The referee hovered at the edge of their reunion, but obviously wasn't in a hurry to interrupt them. "God, you're such a bottom for me, Lynch. Fight me, Sasha." She raised her voice to a high, plaintive whine. "Sasha, come fight me."

"Better than posting about butterflies," Becky countered, glancing over at the waiting referee. "I missed you, you dope. Let me go to Doctor Jail here quick and I'll catch up with you after." Then she seemed to remember Seth and she gave him a kiss. "Both of you."

"I'll go with you," Sasha offered, looping an arm around her waist. "I'm sure Vince will have some words about my chair work. Later, Rollins."

Seth watched the referee sigh with relief, probably glad that he hadn't had to force either woman along, and Sasha and Becky followed behind him, arms around each other's waists as they talked. Even as she minded her head, Becky was more animated, more enthused with her storyline than she had been for a while, and Seth understood why. Charlotte was her best friend and their long-simmering feud brought the best in both of them. Ronda Rousey might have lacked charisma, but her star power buoyed her along, and that coincided with Becky becoming 'The Man'. Even her brief battles with Asuka had been underscored with respect. Then Lacey Evans had killed much of her post-Wrestlemania momentum and Natalya had essentially been a placeholder. A feud with Sasha, though, would have almost the same amount of emotional baggage as her battles with Charlotte had, but heightened by blistering attacks, both personal and physical. Becky would be pushed to her limits, but that was when she shone the most, and he couldn't wait to see it. It would be a wonderful way to cap off one year and start the next.

"Earth to Rollins!" Judging from Roman's amused tone, he had been trying to get Seth's attention for a while. "What's this about Becky topping you too much?"

"Don't you start too." Now that his brain seemed to be forming sentences again, Seth shook his head. "Not unless you're going to tell me what 'Florida' is code for."

Roman looked genuinely confused. "No code, man. I just want to hang out with you two outside of an arena, that's all."

Seth nodded slowly, then motioned for Roman to walk with him. "Well, if you've got a couple minutes, I need some advice. . . ."