Why Retribution came for Seth didn't matter in that moment. Mustafa Ali had gotten one over on Seth by attacking from behind with his pack of minions. Seth had managed to fight back enough to escape out of the ring. The men still stood in the ring but Seth had his eyes on the women of the group. Particularly one that had never been there before. Despite the mask, he could recognize those eyes anywhere.
Grey eyes staring at him intensely. Grey eyes he knew all too well. Grey eyes he would always seek out from across any room they both happened to be in. Grey eyes he once had been lucky enough to drown himself in during a night of passion.
"Odelia," he whispered.
The grey eyed woman clearly saw him say her name from afar. Her eyes turned from hard to something else for a second. Sadness maybe, or even worry and regret. He wasn't sure. She quickly disquised whatever she was feeling by running a hand through her blueish black hair.
Mustafa Ali took a step forward and just so happened to step in front of Seth's view of Odelia. Seth looked up at the man inside the ring. Mustafa beckoned his hands in the air to make Seth come back to join. Seth spun around on his heels and hurried away. Away from the ring. Away from Mustafa. Away from Retribution. Away from the grey eyes he still dreamed about.
He kept running until arms grabbed him. He took a swing at whoever it was. Luckily the man ducked the swing, and Roman's calming voice reached Seth.
"Wow, Seth," Roman said. "It's me."
"Shit, I'm sorry," Seth said.
"Don't be. I understand. I saw what happened out there," Roman said. "What exactly did happen? When did Odelia join Retribution?"
"I have no fucking idea," Seth said.
Seth leaned his back against the wall and punched his fists backwards. There was no one else to take his frustration out on so the wall had to suffer. He sighed and looked up at Roman. His big brother had to have some sort of answer. Roman always had an answer.
"It's not like you to just give up," Roman said.
There was a hint of a smirk on Roman's face. Seth punched the wall again and pushed himself away from it.
"I'm not fucking giving up!" Seth snarled. "It might be her first day with Retribution but I'll make damn sure it'll also be her last!"
"That's my boy," Roman's smirk finally appeared completely. "So what are we gonna do?"
"You actually wanna help me?" Seth asked.
"Of course, little brother," Roman said.
Roman gently punched Seth's shoulder with his fist. Just their typical guy thing. Roman and Seth always had each other's backs.
"She never called me though," Seth said.
Seth recalled the night he had spent with Odelia. It had felt so right. Almost too right. He was scared to call her so he waited for her to reach out to him first. She never did. His anxiety took over. Clearly he didn't mean as much to her as she did to him. That had to be it. He bottled up all his feelings, put on a hard facade and only ever told Roman the truth.
"You never called her either," Roman reminded Seth.
"She's too good for me," Seth said.
"Maybe she thinks that you're too good for her," Roman said.
"Come on," Seth said. "Have you seen her?"
"I have," Roman chuckled. "If you want my opinion, I think you're both scared. You're making excuses, and I'm sure she's making them too to whoever she's talking to. Apparently these days it's Retribution."
Hearing the group's name made Seth sneer at Roman.
"No more!" Seth growled. "She's not his fucking minion."
"Say that to her," Roman said.
Roman pointed behind Seth. Seth turned around and saw Odelia and Mia Yim disappear into a room together. Seth tapped Roman's chest and started sprinting towards the room. No words needed to be said. No plan had to be made. Seth and Roman were on the same page. They barged into the room. Before Mia could scream for help, Roman had caught the blue haired woman and placed a hand over her mouth. Seth was in front of Odelia. For each step she took backwards, he took one forward. They continued this walk until her back collided with the wall.
"What are you doing, Odelia?" Seth asked.
"I got a new name now," Odelia answered.
"I don't care to hear it," Seth said. "You're Odelia Firestone. The flaming hope of WWE. The wild fire burning down everyone in your path and branding those you'll never allow to forget fucked with you. You don't belong with these shitheads."
"No one else wanted me," Odelia said.
Seth stared into her grey eyes. They told the entire story. In that moment he knew that Roman was right. She felt the same way about Seth as he felt about her. She hadn't called him for the same reasons he hadn't called her. The fear of being rejected.
"I want you," Seth's voice was only above a whisper.
"You had me," Odelia said.
"One night will never be enough," Seth said.
Seth reached a hand forward and pulled the mask off Odelia. Mia started struggling more in Roman's arms and making louder noises. Her voice turned into a gurgling sound that quickly stopped. Seth didn't even need to turn his head to know Roman had silenced Mia.
"Roman?" Seth asked.
"Yeah, she's asleep," Roman answered. "Don't mind me. Continue what you were doing."
Seth dropped the mask on the floor. He ran a hand through Odelia's hair and leaned in to kiss her. Sparks were flying like they were that night they had been together. He broke the kiss and slowly pulled away.
"Why didn't you call me?" Odelia asked.
"Why didn't you call me?" Seth asked too. "I bet we have the same reasons."
"I was scared," Odelia said.
"Me too," Seth said.
"Okay, now you're on the same page," Roman interrupted. "What are we gonna do about the rest of the shitheads?"
"What plans do they have?" Seth asked.
"To attack Roman during his match," Odelia answered.
"Guess we'll have to outsmart them," Roman said. "Good thing Mia is asleep. Do we use her or not?"
"You use me," Odelia said. "Mustafa already has a massive hard on for me. Use that. Use me. He'll come running the second he sees you have your hands on me."