The match had SummerSlam had gone exactly the way he wanted it to- and expected it to. He ended up on top, again, and now he was sitting pretty at 9-Time World Champion. It wasn't a bad feeling.
As Randy Orton walked into the back, his stable was right up front to greet him. Alberto Del Rio stood applauding with that trademark grin on his face, except for this time it wasn't one of sadistic satisfaction or condescension, it radiated pride and pleasure at his friend and ally's success. Randy stepped up to him and the other man put a hand on his shoulder.
"Felicitaciones, my friend. That gold…" Alberto took a moment to pat the belt that rested on Randy's shoulder, "Is back where it's meant to be eh?"
Randy gave a crooked smile, nodded once in gratitude and the two stepped into a quick brohug.
Beside him, Cody Rhodes stood looking dapper in one of his perfectly pressed suits, and after Alberto and Randy broke off, he spoke.
"I'd say your victory surprised me Randy but-…" He flashed a smile and tilted his head a bit. "I cannot tell a lie."
"You have the best morals, Rhodes," Randy smiled in response, grasping the younger man's hand and then leaning forward for another backpat-brohug.
The Viper moved past them then, continuing down the hall and still breathing a bit hard from the match. He casually reached down to grab a towel off the bench beside him as he walked, and wiped the blood from his hand and the sweat from his head and chest. It belonged to Derrick Bateman, judging by the name scrawled on the tag. Randy smirked somewhat and tossed it to the side, well bloodied and damp from his own perspiration.
After a few moments of walking, another figure walked out from a side-hall and turned on her heel to stand in front of the World Champion, hands on her hips and a too-sweet smile on her face.
"Congratulations, Champ," Catalina White was masterful at manipulating her voice to make anything sound insulting. "I knew you could do it."
Of course, she was sincerely happy and they both knew that, and as Randy stepped up slowly toe-to-toe with her, a half-smile of his own, her own expression got more sincere.
"I have to live up to pretty high expectations, Cat," He said evenly, shrugging the belt off of his shoulder and holding it his hand.
The brunette turned her head to look past him somewhat at the reddened towel on the floor behind him, and he followed her gaze. Once he was facing her again, Catalina raised onto her tiptoes and leaned forward, sliding one arm around his neck and leaning against him.
"You missed a spot," She informed him with a voice just above a whisper, the smile shining in her eyes before she let them close and moved forward just enough, sliding her tongue across his bottom lip to clear the blood that still lingered.
Randy let the championship slide from his grasp onto the floor and he moved his arm to wrap around her waist, holding her there as he pushed forward to connect their lips. Catalina smiled into it for a moment before bringing her other arm up and around his neck, and the pair continued to break and re-collide with barely a hint of gentleness. He began to step forward and she followed by moving back until her back hit the wall, and he pressed himself against her, deepening the kiss.
Cat slid a hand forward to hold the back of his neck and after a few moments he pulled back a few inches, both of them having a need for air as their eyes reopened.
"Good to know I have your support, Catalina," Randy breathed, smirking and loosening his hold on her just slightly.
"You can count on me," She smiled up at him, and as they both lifted from the wall and turned she craned her neck up again to kiss the corner of his mouth once.
Their hands slipped easily from each other and she turned, continuing her way down the hall. Randy lifted his title and replaced it on his shoulder, and in fact everything at SummerSlam had gone better than he wanted it to.