Flames

MANniversary, part 1

Becky was so used to sleeping on Seth that she wasn't sure why she even bothered having a pillow on her side of the bed anymore. He was still asleep when she started to wake, which was rare; he was usually the early riser of the two, if only because he normally had to nudge her if he wanted to get up for breakfast. It gave her a fleeting chance to admire his face when it was utterly peaceful, bathed in sunlight. When she shifted some of her weight onto her elbow, though, he started to stir. Opening one eye, he looked at her blearily. "You better not have my phone," he murmured, pulling her back down to his chest.

"Don't you want to take some I-woke-up-like-this selfies in bed like Charlotte and Andrade do?" She laughed against his chest. She hadn't even been going for his phone—at least not right then. He was planning something, though, and she had been trying to find hints as to what. "I'm sure the internet would love it."

"Ha." After glancing at the bedside table to make sure his phone was safe, Seth tightened his arms around Becky and snuggled deeper into the covers. "Charlotte's usually wearing something though, isn't she?" He ran a hand down her bare back to prove his point. "You're just trying to look for hints on my phone. Nice try."

Becky tried her most winsome pout. "But . . . but if it's a pug. . . ."

"I wouldn't pick out a dog without having you there." Yawning, Seth stretched a bit, rolling his shoulders while still cuddling Becky. "So stop looking and stop asking, or you aren't getting anything. Fuck, Irish, you must have driven your mother crazy at Christmas."

Settling her head on Seth's shoulder again, Becky laughed. "Just at Christmas? More like all year long, really. Poor woman. With all I put her through, you would have thought she'd have jumped for joy when I moved to Canada to wrestle."

Seth was quiet for a moment, letting his fingers sweep along Becky's back, almost as if he were tracing his own bushido tattoo there. "You're still staying here while I'm in Saudi?"

Becky nodded, letting her eyes drift shut. Seth was just far too comfortable for his own good. "Yeah, if it's cool with you. It's easier with the time zones for calling and stuff."

"Yeah, I'm cool with it. If you want to have some of the girls over for a party," Seth added, "feel free. Just let me know when it is so I know when to call you."

"So you don't show up on the video chat totally naked, you mean." Becky raised herself up enough to kiss him. "But I'll ask. I know Charlotte already has plans, but Sonya was saying she'd like to introduce her girlfriend to more of us, so they might want to come. Sarah and Liv are always fun, and Carmella will probably be missing Corey, so. . . ."

"Were you and Bayley and Sasha still dressing up as the SHE-ild?" He stretched out the E sound until Becky kissed him again.

"Bayley wants to, last I heard, and since Charlotte's not coming," Becky added as she settled back down against him, "we don't have to worry about not having someone for her to be. So we just have to decide who's who. Since Roman won't be here, I'll have to postpone being Mera until next year, I guess."

Seth raised an eyebrow. "Well, your pick should be obvious."

"Of course." Becky nuzzled his neck as she grinned. "Roman's the obvious choice. Or do you think Dean would be better?" When Seth shot her a look and started to tickle her, she tried to squirm free. "My hair's more his colour, but Bayley's more in lunatic mode right now." Then she pretended to take a moment to consider. "Then again, all your clothes are already here, so you would be the easy choice."

"Easy?" Seth's chuckle seemed to echo through her collarbones. "You think I'm easy?"

"No. I know you're easy." Becky kissed her way as far down his chest as he could while he still had his arms around her. "I'm glad you only have the one match there," she said softly, knowing her voice was muffled against his skin. Seth would have happily wrestled both with Team Hogan and in his title defence, because he believed in being a fighting champion. "I know how stoked you were to be on Hogan's team, though. . . ."

"Another time." There was a hint of wistfulness in his voice, but nothing despairing. "WWE still has a lot of years left in their Saudi contract, and you know they love the legends over there. Better to be safe, right?" He raised her left hand to his mouth and kissed it. "I have plans to consider now, you know."

"Plans? What plans?" She booped his nose and quickly pulled her hand away. "I thought the ring was just a souvenir from Hawaii. You mean I'm not getting a ring every time we go on a vacation?"

"Don't even." Seth squeezed her until she squeaked, then pulled her on top of him. "Now are you going to let me go have breakfast?"

Becky poked his ribs. "You pulled me up here," she countered. "If you didn't want me on top—"

Before she had a chance to wiggle her hips down a bit and tease him, Seth had slid out from underneath her and pinned her down. "Then what?" His mouth was right by her ear, and his growl sent a shiver straight down to her toes.

"Then. . . ." It was hard to concentrate when he was pressing against her, his beard rough against her shoulders. "Um. Then you should find out which games Asuka is good at so I can practice. I'll have to defend U2D2 soon."

"Later." Seth started kissing his way down her back, and Becky let herself enjoy the distraction. She would have time to investigate when he was gone. This, on the other hand, was something she was definitely going to miss, so she had to partake as often as she could before he left.