Flames

Of Messiahs and Men, part 2

First and foremost, I'm a fan. It would be hard to find a professional wrestler who didn't share that sentiment. Until the recent spate of ex-MMA fighters and bodybuilders arrived, wrestling wasn't a fallback profession: it was something you chose, something you fought and bled for, toiling for years to catch your big break. Seth was no different. He still had ticket stubs and old merchandise, memories of watching pay-per-views with friends and trying to emulate his favourite wrestlers. He knew what Roman meant when he said it would be weird to not be backstage, but in a way Seth was looking forward to watching WrestleMania in its entirety at home, at the same time as all the fans. It had been a while since he had simply enjoyed a big-scale wrestling show for what it was, for what it was meant to be. Watching himself might be a bit surreal, but that was part of the wrestling experience; the whole sport was larger than life, bordering on absurd at times, so why shouldn't he—an avowed agnostic—claim to be a messiah? Why shouldn't Becky, whose driving mistakes were well known, get a custom semi for her entrance? It was all about the show and if WWE couldn't put on the show it had meticulously planned, the company was putting its all into doing the next best thing.

"Your match is starting!" Seth called out. Becky had gone into the kitchen for another beer and she returned with a can for each of them. "Did they tell you which ending they're going to use?" He assumed she retained her belt, if only because she wasn't acting like she had lost her best friend.

Becky shook her head as she snuggled back against him. She got cold every time she got up off the couch, but she also steadfastly refused to change out of her Stone Cold tank top. "Worried about leaks, most likely" she laughed. "That's probably why Nattie's on the pre-show tomorrow. Did they tell you anything about yours?"

"Just that they're going with one that has the restart in the middle." In all honesty, Seth didn't want to know. He already knew all the possible outcomes, but he liked the idea of the ultimate result being a surprise even to him. Initially his focus was solely on the match, but Seth quickly realized Becky wasn't as engaged as she usually was with her rewatches. "Hey." He shook her leg gently before grabbing his beer. "What's wrong?"

"I just can't shake the feeling that the match would be better with an audience," Becky sighed. "I know the crowd's not sold on Shayna yet, but I think we could have got them invested."

"If the feud continues," Seth assured her, "you will. You helped Lacey get over and you livened up a match with Natalya with virtually no lead-in."

"Thanks." Becky didn't brighten up much even after her win, though; she seemed far more interested in Sami Zayn's match with Daniel Bryan. "How long until Cesaro or Shinsuke betray him, do you think?"

Seth jerked a thumb to the living room window. At that time of day, people were usually out walking their dogs or kids were running to or from their friends' houses; now a car drove past maybe every half an hour. "If things were normal, maybe another month or two?" The SmackDown tag team ladder match was next, altered because Miz was sick, but Seth was still impressed. "Imagine the pops this would be getting with a live audience," he marvelled. "It would be insane." It wasn't his style of wrestling, but he could definitely appreciate the artistry and hard work that went into it.

Becky's mood perked up after Seth's match was announced. "You never even let me see your gear," she wheedled. "You saw my fancy truck and my jacket—"

"I wanted it to be a surprise." Waiting until she had set her beer back down, Seth cuddled her close again. "Roman thinks you'll like it."

"Oh, so Roman gets to . . . see—" Becky's tirade trailed off before it ever really began, her gaze riveted to the screen as Seth walked out to the ring in his white messiah gear. "They let you wear all white again? I thought Vince hated it." Seth expected her to turn and kiss him senseless, but she was too busy watching his ring entrance.