Seth sauntered down the ramp the following week on RAW. He enjoyed the out pour of boos as he made his way to the announce desk. He reclined in the chair next to JBL, adjusting his headset.

"We're joined here by the WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins," Michael Cole recited the lines, "Seth, would you like to tell us why you're out here?"

"Well Michael," he scoffed as Sasha's music started and she emerged from behind the curtain, holding her title, and her head, up high. "If you hadn't noticed, Sasha Banks seems to have a little bone to pick with me."

"She called you out last week on RAW,"

"She interrupted me is what she did. And you don't interrupt the King."

"Sasha seems to think she's the Queen," commented JBL, "but you both don't seem interested in ruling side by side."

"No." Seth watched intently as Sasha started a brutal beat down on Summer Rae.

"I have to say Seth," Michael Cole prodded, "I don't totally understand why you came out here to watch her match"

"She slapped me, right in the middle of my ring."

"So what? You've taken bigger hits haven't you?"

"Michael, Sasha Banks wanted my attention, yeah? Well she's got it."

Sasha looked over at him as she tied Summer up in the ropes. She winked before slamming her knees into Summer's stomach. He felt his face flush as the commentary team pointed it out to the audience. She pinned Summer in the middle of the ring and held her title up, staring him down. He got to his feet, trying to keep the cool across his face, and held his up as well.

"I'd certainly say she's got your attention Rollins."

XXX

A knock came at the locker room door as Sasha packed up her gear.

"Yeah," she called, not looking up from her bags.

Seth opened the door and leaned against the wall.

"Hey. Nice work out there,"

"Ha thanks," she glanced up, her curls bouncing lightly.

"So are you trying to play with the crowd, or just rile me up?"

"If you get that riled up over a wink, you have a bigger problem than me."

"Ha ha ha. Alright, alright," He sat on the other side of the bench, "Listen I was hoping we could talk shop soon and try to pound out what we can story wise?"

"Yeah, that'd be really helpful. I think I'm tagging along with the New Day boys so we won't make it to El Paso until morning, but maybe tomorrow before the show?"

"That's like six hours, that'll be a nightmare in the back of the New Day's van."

"Hey now, not all of us are making enough to afford that monstrosity of a tour bus."

"Well yeah but…"

"I've done just fine on less sleep." She stood up, riffling through her handbag looking for her phone.

"Why don't you come with me?"

"With you?"

"I got plenty of room, like you said it's a monstrosity. I'll cook, and we'll talk, and then you can actually get a full night's sleep. You'll feel better for it, I promise."

She paused, biting on her lip, and trying to read his expression. "Yeah, okay."

XXX

"You eat chicken, right?"

"Uh, yes," Sasha dropped her duffle bag on the couch and slipped into the dining booth.

"Alright I was thinking a teriyaki skillet, it'll be like 20 minutes?"

"Okay, sure. I didn't know you cooked."

"When I bought this thing I figured I might as well buckle down and learn. It's a lot better than all that frozen stuff," he said to her over his shoulder at the stovetop.

"Yeah it gets to me sometimes."

"So what do you want to do?"

"Hmm?" she blushed a little, and that made him grin.

"For the program?"

"Oh, well in a perfect world, we'd run this through the fall, ending with a co-main event where I'd go over-"

"Of course," he scoffed.

"The thing is, I'm worried about pinning too much on booking that we can't control."

"Smart. But I say we go for it. Attack it straight on. They'll only give us as much as we earn."

She nodded, "Alright, then I should be the one provoking you, she's the one who has something to gain."

"Definitely. It's not hard to get in his head. You should come out swinging and I'll react."

"I love playing the aggressor," she said with a smile, she was in her element.

"Are we, uh," he looked back at her again, "gonna use the tension or no?"

"The tension?"

"I'm just saying, you went there."

"I did not go there. You just read into it too much."

"Okay fine, but are we gonna use it? Trips said it himself, we've got chemistry"

She sighed, "I don't wanna cheapen it."

"Okay."

"But,"

"But?" he looked over his shoulder, smirking.

"I also don't want to leave story on the table. This has to work, Seth. I need this to work."

"I'll do whatever you want. But I think dancing around it won't take away from the core and it'll give people what they're expecting."

"Uh huh, nothing to do with flirting with me on camera?"

"Nothing at all Banks, nothing at all." He smiled to himself as he finished dinner and passed her a plate with another wink. "It'll be fun."

They sat talking through everything they could think of, every possible angle and every potential roadblock. Pages upon pages of Seth's softcover notebook were filled by the time they ran out of things to say. He looked over at his phone and realized the time.

"Oh shit, it's 2am."

"That explains why I'm so exhausted. You satisfied Mr. Storytelling?"

"For now. Um so, that's supposed to be a pull out," he nodded over to the sofa between the kitchen and the bedroom. "But honestly I've never tried it…and I don't have extra sheets."

She laughed and rolled her eyes at him, rifling through her duffle bag for pajamas.

"I don't have a lot of guests in here! You're, um, you're welcome to bunk with me if you want to," his face turned red as she made eye contact with him, "The bed's huge, won't even need to touch. I wear clothes, promise."

She paused for a moment, biting her lip, "okay."

He kept to the far side of the king sized bed. She was more than an arms length away, but that didn't stop his heart from speeding up as she climbed under his sheets. He shook it off, turning away and closing his eyes. They must've driven right into a storm, because suddenly thunder boomed above them.

"Fuck." He buried his face in his pillow.

"What? You're not afraid of thunderstorms are you?" The smile in her voice was unmistakable.

"No! They just make it hard to sleep."

"Uh huh."

"And also can kill people, look it up."

She laughed, "I love the sound of storms in bed. I mean, not like in bed, just like…in bed."

'Riiight." He turned over to face her, watching her laugh as her tangled hair fell over the pillows.

Lightning flashed again, and he looked over at the bus window, sighing heavily.

"What's up? You seem far away all of a sudden."

"I uh… Jenna called. Last night."

"Ex-fiancé Jenna?"

"Yeah."

"Oh…"

"She wants to get coffee next time I'm home…"

"Are you going to?"

"I don't know." He looked over at Sasha, her eyes were soft and sympathetic. "Do you think I should?"

"Seth, I couldn't possibly tell you what to do here."

"I know, I know, just…what do you think?"

"Honestly?" She sighed as he nodded, "I think you owe her that much."

He got defensive immediately. "She got her revenge just fine. I almost lost my job."

"Oh you did not, you're the OG Triple H guy, he wasn't going to let you go over-" she trailed off.

"Nudes?"

Even in the darkened room, he could see her blushing, "yeah, that. Look, I'm sure there was plenty of blame to go around, there always is. But you're kind of the most at fault."

"You barely even know what actually happened," he shot back, grumpily.

"You asked for my opinion," she reminded him sternly, "And I think you owe her a cup of coffee, hear what she has to say."

He let out another sigh. "She never called. When I got hurt. I was in the same town as her for nearly 6 straight months. Nothing. Just silence."

"I'm sorry. You think she knew?"

"Yeah she knew. We have all the same friends. Even ran into her at the grocery store early on, with my mom nonetheless."

"Oooh."

"Yeah it was…mad awkward. I don't know if she really didn't care…but she sure acted like it."

"That's rough…"

"But you still think I should get coffee with her, don't you?" he met her gaze from across the bed.

"Yeah, I do."

"Okay. Then I will."

XXX

She was restless most of the night, it felt good to have a real bed, but she'd gotten accustom to the backseat of vans. Tossing and turning, she found herself rolling into the middle of the bed, knocking into Seth. He'd tried to stay on the edge in the beginning of the night, but was probably very used to having it all to himself. He stirred in his sleep, groaning and turning over to his stomach, an arm falling around her waist. It surprised her, but she scooted closer, feeling his breath on her skin. In his sleep he held her tighter, nuzzling his head by her neck. The ends of his beard tickled her shoulder, and she closed her eyes peacefully.

They awoke in the early morning when the bus came to a halt. She opened her eyes to find his arms still around her and their heads still just a few inches apart. He yawned and his eyes fluttered open.

"Oh…hey, morning" He chuckled lightly as his eyes scanned her up and down, becoming aware of their positions.

"Hey um," she sat up and pushed her hair to one side as he pulled his arms away from her.

"I'm not quite sure how that happened," he smiled slyly as she blushed heavily, "that wasn't my intention."

"Yeah, sure."

"You smell nice though," he said as he propped himself up on his elbows.

"Thanks," she rolled her eyes. "Um… you were right. About there being a lot of lonely nights. I didn't realize how much I missed that."

He rubbed her shoulder gently, "I know. I know, Banks." Seeing that her lip was quivering, he leaned up to kiss her on the cheek. "We should get going."

They checked into the hotel and rode the elevator up, not speaking. As he rolled his suitcase out of the elevator, he glanced back at her, smiling sweetly.

"See ya later, Banks." The doors closed and Sasha let out a big sigh and a bit of a laugh. It was stupid, she knew it, but whatever there was between her and Seth, it felt…solid.

When she snuck into her dark hotel room, she tiptoed into bed, trying to not to wake Becky who had left from the show sooner. Curling up in the sheets, the bed suddenly felt massive and empty.

XXX

"Have a good night?" Becky asked with an eyebrow raise, she sat across from Sasha at hair and makeup, getting her intricate braids put in.

"Yeah, I mean, fine. He's actually an okay chef."

"He cooked you dinner?"

"Well, yeah, not like, that. Just like he was making dinner and made me some."

"Uh huh. Where'd you sleep?"

"What?"

"Just askin', where'd you sleep?"

"On the pull out couch. What's with the third degree Bex?"

"Oh I had to ask, ya know that." She grinned.

"Nothing happened."

"Alright I believe you."

"Good."

Becky looked at the time on her phone, "I gotta get to this interview. D'ya know what seg you're on tonight?"

"Yeah, commentary on main for Seth and Cesaro."

"Haaave fun," she said, walking off.

As Becky got to the room they'd set up the interviews in, she saw Seth waiting alone and sipping on a paper cup of coffee.

"Hey Seth," She said quietly, trying not to disturb the New Day as they talked about whether they wanted to go to SmackDown or Raw.

"Hey Becky, how're ya?"

"Good, good."

"Finn doing good?"

"Yeah, last we talked."

"It was fun hanging out with him when he was on that loop."

"He's a fun lad," she said with a smile.

"Yeah, it was cool having someone around."

"Well, I mean ya got Sasha around these days,"

He nodded, blushing slightly. "Banks is great. She's a pro."

"Yeah I heard ya two made some big plans for your program"

"Mmm," he said through a gulp of his coffee, "it's gonna be fantastic."

"Where'd she end up sleeping?"

"Sorry?"

"Just curious." She shrugged. He looked like a deer in headlights for a moment.

"There's a pull out couch. I took it and let her have the bed."

"Very thoughtful."

They stared at each other for a moment, before one of the crew members called to Seth that it was his turn.

XXX

The show was winding down as Seth left the locker room in his gear and merch shirt. He walked passed a group of the Total Divas cast gathered together and laughing as a camera pointed at them. Further down the hall, Xavier, Big E and Tyler Breeze were loudly debating something, and they waved as he went by.

Triple H caught up to him as he stopped to take stock of one of the monitors.

"Seth, I'm glad I ran into you,"

"Hey Hunter, busy night?"

"I'll say. Listen, I know we were hoping to build to SummerSlam with me and you,"

"Yeah?" He didn't like where this was going.

"But we're changing the program."

"Really? I was looking forward to that."

"And we'll do it, eventually. Look," he glanced over his shoulder, "with the brand extension and everything, I just can't be on TV right now. There's too much there. Our family's delicate enough as it is."

"Yeah I get it. "

"We'll move the Shield Triple Threat up instead."

"Wait. Dean was going over in that match."

"Sorry, Seth."

"What about Sasha?"

"What?"

He shifted his weight, anxiously. "What does that do to that groundbreaking feud you wanted? We planned out three months of programming! She's about to be on commentary on my match!"

Hunter sighed, "if you can find a way, we can try to make it work. But management is more invested in the championship and brand extension than they are with that. It was bad timing I guess."

On the monitor they cut to commercial.

"I gotta go Hunter,"

"Alright, have a good match."

In guerrilla, she was waiting for her cue in sky-high heels, skinny jeans, and the red belt around her waist. He felt his heart drop into his stomach seeing her, she was so excited.

"Hey boss,"

"Ready for this?" She grinned at him, and he didn't have the heart to tell her that the program would probably be off.

"Yeah. Hey, you know, if you ever get tired of sleeping in the back of vans,"

She laughed, "it's okay, really."

"Well if you do, you're welcome any time."

"Thanks, I might just take you up on that." Her music hit and she smiled at him as she walked out to the ramp.

She settled into the commentary desk, slipping the headset on to her head.

"The lovely Sasha Banks is joining us here on commentary," Mauro Ranallo's voice came through the headset. "Sasha, how're you tonight"

"I'm fantastic, thanks. I'm looking forward to watching Seth Rollins get punched in the face."

Seth made his entrance next, riling up the crowd with his evil little laugh. He pulled off his shirt and tossed it into the crowd, flexing as he did it. Her stomach did a bit of a backflip, but she ignored it.

"I assume that's why you're out here tonight?" JBL asked, "We had Seth join us during your match with Summer Rae earlier in the week. What's your beef with Seth Rollins?"

The bell rang and him and Cesaro locked up.

"What's my beef?" she laughed, "Seth Rollins walks around this place calling himself the king. The king of WWE! Well some leader he's been, cheating, wining, crying to the authority when he doesn't get his way."

In the ring, they were chain wrestling, struggling to get the upper hand. Mauro called the spots until they got into a rest hold.

"Sounds like you think some new leadership might be in order, Sasha."

"That's exactly what I think. And with the draft coming up, I think this is the perfect time for someone to knock King Rollins off of his throne."

"Roman Reigns has a rematch against Rollins at Battleground, does your campaign extend to any World Heavyweight Champion?"

"It's what Seth Rollins represents, Mauro."

Cesaro had Seth in the swing, and when he hit the ground she visibly winced as he riled in pain. JBL looked over at her as her hand shot up to her mouth.

"You know Sasha, it seems like this vendetta against Rollins might be something personal."

She glared at him, watching Seth rally out of the corner of her eye.

"Everything is personal, John."

The bell rang, Seth had snuck in a roll up on Cesaro and was taunting the crowd. She stood, clapping sarcastically with a cold stare. He held his belt up, meeting her gaze, and winked before sauntering off. A chill ran through her spine, but she knew she'd brought that on herself.