Flames

Clash, part 1

Becky knew the saying went something like You don't know what you've got till it's gone, but she had never seen it that way. Maybe it was because she had walked away from wrestling and stayed away for so many years; she knew absence did make the heart grow fonder, but also more wary. For her, it always hit home when something—or someone—came back into her life. She'd never really had a chance to feud with Sasha during her latest stint on RAW, because she had been entangled with Charlotte and Ronda. After Wrestlemania, when her path could have finally crossed with Sasha's again, Sasha left and management dumped Lacey Evans in Becky's lap. It felt like it had been months since the Four Horsewomen had really been together, so the past few weeks had spoiled her.

The match against Sasha at Clash of Champions had been invigorating, and Charlotte's impromptu save the next night was a nice touch—and set the groundwork for several potential feuds. It was the promise of the Hell in a Cell match, though, that had Becky shaking with excitement as she went with Charlotte to the parking lot. Andrade was waiting for Charlotte there, letting her have some extra time with Becky, so they walked slowly—or, in Becky's case, bounced. "I finally get a proper Hell in a Cell match! Finally!" She couldn't stop grinning as she drummed her hands on Charlotte's shoulder. "I'll have to watch your match with Sasha to get some ideas. . . ."

"Rewatch, you mean. For . . . what, the fiftieth time?" Charlotte teased, hugging Becky's arms close to her body to make her stop and slow down. "And stop smacking me, Becks. You're going to leave a bruise."

"Never." Becky hugged Charlotte's arm instead. "Sorry. I'm just excited."

"I know. And I love it." Charlotte wound her free arm around Becky and rocked her back and forth in a gentle hug. "I'm so glad you're finally getting all these opportunities. You've more than earned them, and you've always deserved them." Then she stepped back and tapped Becky's left hand. Since she was done with her in-ring duties for the night, Becky had put her engagement ring back on. "And you deserve that too, but if you keep calling Seth your best friend," she added, softening her warning tone with a wink, "I might have to have some words with you. Or him."

"I heard my name." Both women turned to see Seth approaching, bag in tow. "Only good things, though, right?"

Charlotte narrowed her eyes. "I was just telling her that if she keeps calling you her best friend in all these interviews, I might have to do something about it." Then she laughed and kissed the top of Becky's head. "Okay. I've kept my papi waiting long enough. I'll catch you later, Becks. If you want some Hell in a Cell advice, just let me know."

"I will. Say hi to Andrade for me." When Becky could see Andrade leaning out the driver's side window, she waved. Then she threw her arms in the air as she turned, almost hitting Seth's in the face. "Hell in a Cell match!" she exclaimed, jumping up and down.

Seth laughed as he rubbed his jaw. "Not even an apology," he said, bending down for a kiss.

"Well, I didn't actually hit you," Becky pointed out, patting his cheek, "so there's nothing to apologize for. I'm just excited. I get a Hell in a Cell match! And against Sasha! Not Lacey or Ronda or whoever."

"You'll be amazing, like always." Then he glanced over her shoulder. "You ready to head out?"

Becky nodded. "I just left my bag in the locker room, but it's ready to go." She slid her hand in Seth's and started walking, pulling him along. "You're getting Bray, right? That should be incredible." When Seth didn't answer right away, Becky tugged on his hand. "Or not?"

"Huh?" Seth shook his head. "Yeah, the match with Bray will be great. I'm just thinking about the draft coming up. If they have you drop to Sasha, you were technically on SmackDown before Wrestlemania. And if I drop to Bray. . . ."

"Worried about going blue?" Becky leaned against his arm. WWE did their best to keep established couples together, so she wasn't overly worried about them being on different shows. And SmackDown had always felt like her post-NXT home. She didn't mind Raw, but that was more because of the people there than anything.

Seth pulled her close and kissed her forehead. "You know how much I like red. . . ."

"Good thing Eva Marie's gone then," Becky quipped, "or else they'd put me in a feud with her." She didn't pull her hand away, but she did move a step to the side before adding, "But there is all this drama going on about the father of Maria's baby—"

Letting go of his bag, Seth grabbed Becky around the waist and lifted her. "Careful, Irish, or you'll be calling Charlotte to come back and give you a ride. . . ."

"God, no." Laughing, Becky tried to squirm out of his grip. He'd let go if she asked him to, but it was more fun to try first. "I'd be done with that mami–papi stuff before we even left the arena." When she couldn't get good enough leverage to break Seth's hold, she changed tacks and kissed him instead, working her way up from his neck to his mouth.

As the kiss deepened, Seth's arms gradually loosened so he could adjust his grip on Becky and bring her in closer, letting her free her arms to wrap around his shoulders. "That's cheating," he murmured when they stopped to breathe.

"Your mouth was right there," she countered. "That's cheating." Becky kissed him again as he lowered her to her feet and then she cuddled into him, ducking her head under his chin. "You think they're moving us to SmackDown? I haven't heard anything aside from Brock being on the first episode on Fox. . . ."

Seth shrugged before grabbing his bag in one hand and Becky's hand with the other. "I don't know. I've whispers here and there, but it seems kinda dumb to hype up you versus Sasha and me versus Bray just to move us over to SmackDown, don't you think? Especially if the whole Wild Card thing is ending?"

"It does," Becky agreed slowly as they started to walk again. "And then there's the rumours about Brock and Ronda. . . ." She didn't even want to continue with that train of thought. While she had no problem fighting Ronda again—though preferably one on one—both Brock and Ronda could suck all the momentum and intrigue out of a rivalry without even trying; Sonya must have been one of the few MMA athletes who could make the transition to WWE well. "Other than that, moving over to SmackDown could be a good thing. New opponents and all that." Then she poked him in the side. "Get a different colour in your wardrobe."

Seth just shook his head. "But if I start to like blue, then you'll just point out that Sasha has blue hair now. . . ."

"It would get me away from Lacey Evans. . . ." Becky raised an eyebrow. After the summer-long feud against Corbin and Evans, Seth would have to be happy to see less of them for a while.

"Unless they move her over too." Seth stopped in front of the women's locker room door. "I'll wait here," he said with a wink, "so we don't get in trouble again."

"Won't be long." As Becky ducked into the locker room, she almost wished she hadn't been so prepared; it would have given her more time to think. The prospect of being moved over to SmackDown was clearly weighing on Seth, but she wasn't sure why. The days of SmackDown being the B-show were long past, no matter how often it was brought up in rivalries. Sure, Seth would miss his friends on Raw—she would miss hers too—but they both had plenty of connections on SmackDown as well. Maybe I should ask Roman, she thought as she grabbed her bag and headed back to the door.

"All good?" Seth smiled as she came out, but she could still feel a strange tension in him when he kissed her.

"Yeah. Let's go before you try to dump me off on someone else," Becky laughed. "Although riding with Sarah and the Viking Raiders could be fun. . . ." Seth started talking about an upcoming event for his wrestling school and while she listened, Becky was plotting ways to figure out what was bothering him. She wasn't used to seeing him with his confidence shaken. More than that, though, was the realization of how intertwined their careers had become. It was the nature of the business, but whether it was natural for a relationship was something they'd have to figure out, and soon.