Chapter 7: Warmth

Becky stumbled through the curtain, Nia Jax's music blaring behind her. She rolled her shoulder and it stung with pain.

"Becky, can I get a word?" Renee Young ran up behind her, "Nia Jax just beat you for the second time since SummerSlam, what's going through your mind?"

She stopped and looked at the commentator, "gee, thank you for remindin' me Renee."

"Well what do you say to the people who have commented that you've been in a bit of a rut since that big win against Natalya and Alexa Bliss?"

"I don't care Renee! I don't care what Graves says or what Twitta says or what you say. I care about winnin', so I need to find a way to do that again."

Renee shouted thank you as Becky stormed off. She ignored Carmella trying to tell her good match, and even Triple H trying to grab her attention about some marketing.

"Not now, Hunter," she said, rushing for the locker room door, desperate to get away from the chatter and the sound of Nia's music coming from the monitors.

The locker room was empty save for a few bags and makeup carts. She sat down on a bench and held her head in her hands. Becky hadn't won a match since SummerSlam, on TV or in a house show, and it was taking its toll.

A knock came on the locker room door, Hunter again.

"Becky can I come in?"

"Yeah aiight."

Hunter always looked strange in a suit, somewhat out of place. His face was concerned and he locked the door behind him.

"Are you alright?" He sat down on the bench across from her, "you seem distracted."

"Yeah well, that happens when you lose all the time, don't it?"

Hunter frowned, he was silent for a moment and then asked, "How are things at home with Finn?"

"Why?" she shot back, starting to unravel the braids in her hair. What has he heard?

"Well sometimes," he tilted his head, "watching someone achieve their dreams is hard if we aren't achieving ours."

She shook her head, "it's not an issue."

"Shawn and I have had some rough patches when one of us had a title and the other didn't. It didn't mean I wasn't proud of him."

"Hunter," She combed out the frizzy strands of the braid, "I said it's not an issue."

"Okay." Disappointment was all over his face, but he got up anyway. "You just let me know if you want to talk about anything."

It felt good to get out of her sticky ring gear and put normal clothes. There was no way she was dressing up and hitting the bars. She was wrapping her hair up and out of her face when her phone started to buzz. On old picture lit up the screen, one from back in Dublin. They were both so young, and Finn's statue was tiny compared now. She hit decline.

Alexa and Carmella walked in, talking about the main event that was in progress.

"Hey," Carmella said, looking her over, "not in the mood to go out?"

"Nah I'm exhausted, and my flight's early tomorrow. I'm just goin' back to the room and orderin' room service."

"That's literally my favorite," Alexa chimed in, checking her hair in the big mirror. "I get an angry text from Buddy every time the bill shows up on our credit card."

Carmella laughed and Becky forced a smile. The phone lit up again with a voicemail from Finn. She sighed and held it up to her ear to play the message. She could tell Finn was walking quickly as he recorded it, and she struggled to hear him from the background noise.

"Hey Bex…it's Finn, obviously heh, uh I'm at the airport. Got called to go record a podcast down in LA, so I'm gon' go down for tomorrow mornin'. I don't think I'm gon' stay the extra night ,though, so I'll be back tomorrow night… I guess see you then…Ah yeah I caught the end of your match on the car ride, don' get discouraged, you were lookin' good. You'll get 'er… Anyway I just didn't want you to come home to an empty house. Aiight…bye." The phone beeped and her heart dropped slightly. Finn was really what she needed right now.

It was strange walking through the apartment door to an eerie silence, but after a while she began to enjoy the day alone. In the early evening she made her way down to the fitness center and had a long, zoned-out work out. She was convinced that she just needed to train harder, and if she kept running, if she did another set, that would make the difference. There must've been a small part of her that knew it was a mental block, but she kept pushing anyway

By the time she slumped her way upstairs, her head was pounding and every muscle was sore. The adrenaline had worn off and she was just left with the pain shooting through her body. Collapsing on her bed with an icepack on her forehead, she turned off the light before her migraine worsened.

A storm had broken out, rain was pouring outside her window, and lightning was flashing by the time she heard the front door open.

"Hey!" He shouted into the apartment. She groaned in response.

His footsteps creaked on the old flooring, her eyes were closed but she could feel him hovering at her doorframe.

She pulled the icepack off, squinting, "hey Finn."

"Migraine?"

"Yeah…"

"I'll leave ya…"

"No that's aiight," he hesitated for a moment, "really."

He closed her door behind him and carefully made his way through the dark room to her bed. Sliding in next to her on his stomach, he moved a strand of hair away from her face.

"What's up with you?" He asked quietly.

"Jus'... in a rut that's all…" she shook her head.

"You've been actin' real strange since SummerSlam."

"I know. I'm just…off."

Lightning flashed outside the window, in the light she could see the worried look on his face.

"Are we aiight?"

"Why wouldn't we be?" Her heartbeat was getting faster.

"I don'…I dunno, you just seem distant. You'd tell me if you were upset about somethin', wouldn't ya?"

"There's nothin' Finn…everythin's fine."

"Okay," he leaned down and kissed her forehead, it sent shivers up her spine to feel his lips again. It was hardly the first time that he'd kissed her platonically, on the cheek or brow, but felt different after being with him that night. It made her eyes swell up a bit.

"Sorry," he said genuinely, looking at the tears forming, "I just wanna help…"

Her lip was quivering now, and she could feel him reading her mind, all those insecurities and frustrations. He tilted his head and smiled sadly. She started to feel tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Ah Bex…" He brought her in to her arms, running his fingers through her hair. The warmth of his body seeped into her, and she realized how much of a chill she'd be holding on to. Softly he whispered, "It's gon' be okay…you're okay…"

She was sobbing now, and just they lay there until she seemed to run out of tears.

"Sorry," she hiccuped, pulling out of his embrace and pushing back her hair.

"Don't be," he said even softer than before. "Do you wan' me to leave ya alone?"

She didn't speak for a moment, then sighed, "Actually I… will you stay? It's silly, really, but…"

" Gimme some room." She scooted towards the wall, and he pulled off his sweatshirt, dropping it to the floor. Slipping under her comforter he whispered, "Goodnight, Becky."