Flames

Bear Hug, part 1

"So we hate football now, right?"

Seth tried not to laugh as he glanced over at Becky, squeezing her hand. Football—American football, he corrected himself—wasn't her thing, but she knew how excited he had been about being able to see a Chicago Bears game in person and she had agreed to go. It meant he had spent most of the game explaining rules and plays, but since the Bears lost anyway, he hadn't missed much. "Yes. Yes, we do."

Becky nodded as they continued on their way to their car. After the game, they had been approached by several fans for pictures and autographs, so what should have been a ten-minute walk at the most had taken them over half an hour. "Big E's been helping me," she added with a small grin. "He warned me about football season. And Ihe doesn't laugh when I say it's stupid to call this sport football when only one player is allowed to touch the damn ball with his foot."

"Maybe throwball and carryball were already taken." Seth ran a fingertip over her engagement ring. Normally when they held hands, he instinctively used his left so he could keep his own right hand free, but now he liked the feel of the metal, usually warmed by her skin. He understood why she didn't wear it to events often, but that didn't stop him from missing that glimmer on her finger when it wasn't there; sometimes he had to look back at all the pictures and videos they had taken to remind himself that their time in Hawaii wasn't just an elaborate dream.

"I think tackleball is rather catchy. They could still rebrand, you know." Until her lips twitched, Seth almost thought she was serious. "Maybe if Vince had done that with XFL," she added with a smirk, "it would have done better."

"Shhh. Don't jinx it. If Vince stays busy with his little pet project," Seth added, getting his keys out of his fanny pack, "then it means he won't be messing with the show scripts an hour before we go live." He had nothing against the resurrection of the XFL; if anything, he wished Shane would follow Vince over and leave most of the WWE decision making to Hunter and Stephanie. At least Hunter gave a damn about creating a future, not just preserving the present.

"I suppose I should cheer for the L.A. team," Becky mused, swinging their joined hands back and forth. "But Seattle has dragons. And New York's logo is pretty cool. Is it supposed to be a sphinx or something?" With her free hand, she poked at her phone to try finding a picture.

Seth smiled as he kissed the top of her head. Like a lot of people who didn't follow a particular sport, Becky made her choices based on random elements: a team's logo, the colours of the uniform, or even just a player's last name. "Next game will be better, I promise." When they reached their car, he pulled her into a hug. "Thanks for coming, babe."

"Just remember that when we're in Ireland." It sounded like she meant to say more, but a muscle in her back twitched hard enough that Seth felt it against his arm.

"Hey, you okay?" Seth dropped his hands to her waist but stayed close.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Becky rose on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. "Just not used to stadium seating for hours, I guess."

Seth didn't buy that, but he said nothing as he opened the door for her, watching as she eased herself into the passenger seat. Normally Becky would pull a leg up to brace her phone as she texted, even though Seth had warned her about what would happen if the air bags were deployed. At the moment, though, she was stretching out her legs, squirming in the seat. "Seriously, Becks, what's wrong? If you're still sore from those chair shots on Monday, we can get a room here tonight and drive back in the morning. . . ."

Becky tugged on the door handle, her face settling into a scowl. "I said I'm fine. I'm not the one who's driving." She pulled on the door again and Seth let go of it just in time to prevent his fingers from being smashed against the frame.