Flames

Tethered, part 2

Becky didn't think it was going to be a good day on RAW, so she was probably looking for things that proved her point, but in the end she wasn't wrong. Her tag match partnering with Charlotte against Asuka and Kairi Sane was mercifully changed—into a match against the Iconics. As she and Seth looked over their scripts, she muttered a few choice curses in Irish. "Why don't I get to do anything with the invasion? Are they worried I'm going to get injured again?" As Survivor Series neared, the debate about whether Nia Jax's punch launched her as 'The Man' was ramping up again, and all she could think about was the match she had missed against Ronda Rousey one on one. Would the past year have gone the same if that now-historic punch hadn't happened? It was impossible to say and she didn't regret leading the SmackDown invasion of RAW for a minute, but she wished she were more involved this year.

"You went and made yourself The Man," Seth replied, "and now they have too much invested in your beautiful face." His frown made it evident he wasn't pleased with his night ahead either. "Another non-finish? I hate this."

It couldn't have been along the lines of his spots with Brock, because Seth actually let her peek at his script. "Well, I guess that means Charlotte and I won't have to fight it out over the result." She leaned in to rub Seth's shoulders, digging in her thumbs. "You and Andrade always have great matches, though."

"When we're allowed to." Seth leaned back into her hands for a moment before sighing and straightening up. "You're up first, so you should probably go get ready. Have fun."

Becky leaned in and whispered something in his ear to make him smile. "Fun is for later. Have to get work out of the way first." On her way to the women's locker room, she spotted a familiar face and smiled. Even if he was going to be part of the SmackDown invasion, it was always nice to see Cesaro. "Hey! Did you miss us?"

"Always. With Sheamus out and us on separate brands, how else am I supposed to learn Irish?" Then he held up his phone. "You call the belt U2D2, right? I don't suppose you have it here?"

Becky shut her eyes and let out a snort of frustration. "You can't be serious! You come to me on this, the day of my forty-seventh forced interaction with Charlotte, and issue a challenge? That's low, Big Tony."

Cesaro chuckled. "While I appreciate the Godfather reference, that changes nothing." Then he showed her a text thread he had going with Xavier Woods, organizing the match. "You're a fighting champion, Becky. I know you are."

"But . . . but . . . Becky Two Belts!" Xavier had asked to her to keep the belt handy in the coming weeks so she did have it in her bag, but Becky knew she didn't stand much chance against Cesaro. "And Samoa Joe was supposed to give me lessons and I barely had any because of his injury! I practiced a bit at Seth's but he's all Stop mashing the buttons! and freaking out about his controllers."

"After I win," Cesaro declared smugly, "you can challenge me for a rematch any time you like. You have my word."

Becky continued reading down the text thread. Some of the back and forth was technical—how to set up the camera and the stream and so on—but then she saw the game and she groaned. "Mario Kart? Seriously? Driving games are the worst!"

"That's the challenge," Cesaro said with a shrug. "I'm on near the end and I think you're on first, right? Mic work and a match, probably a short promo?" When Becky nodded, he pocketed his phone. "Then I'll get stuff set up and we can have our match in between, unless you're busy."

Seth would probably want some time to talk, but the UpUpDownDown challenge shouldn't take too long if Cesaro was going to have everything ready to go by the time she got there. "Fine. But I want a coffee after. And a good one. All fancy. Foam art and everything."