Her Authority

twenty five

Seth sat in a chair, wearing Marina's hat as she had her hair braided. He scrolled on his phone as he waited for her to be done. Marina was excited because she was defending her title against Naomi at Extreme Rules that weekend. It had been forever since she wrestled Naomi and leading up to the match, Marina only wrestled at house shows and not on TV. She wanted the title to feel special and suggested that it only be defended at pay-per-views. The separation between her and The Authority on screen went over well, due to her ability to individualize herself after Wrestlemania. Seth looked up from his phone, smiling when he saw her.

"You look so fucking good," he chewed on a piece of gum while he smiled, "are you on commentary again?"

Marina sadly nodded, "I wish that they let me wrestle on TV. I don't understand why they wait for the live events."

"Do you want to go home and practice on a free day this week?"

"I wouldn't hate that," she shrugged, "I feel like you have an alternative plan though."

"I may or may not want to meet your parents," he pursed his lips.

"Colby," she sighed while he leaned forward in his chair, "I don't know."

"If you don't want to, that's okay," he placed a hand on her knee, "I know you want to take things slow, but I want to talk to your dad."

"Why?"

Seth traced the tattoo on the side of her calf, "I want to apologize to him."

"You don't owe him an apology," she shook her head as her hair was finished, turning to the hair dresser, "I apologize for him. He can be very dramatic."

Erin, the hair dresser, laughed it off, "it's okay. I know how rumors spread sometimes. I won't repeat anything."

Marina signed 'thank you' as she grabbed Seth's hand and walked to their dressing room. She closed the door behind them, pivoting to find him still wearing her hat as he sat on the couch. Her eyes rolled while she crossed the room to remove the hat from his head. She stood in front of him before opting to sit in a chair across from him.

"I didn't tell my parents about you," she confessed, not once averting her eyes from his, "I told my sister, who told my brothers but not my parents. I love the idea of you meeting my parents, but there is a high chance that Justin will say something to my dad if I show up with you."

"Why didn't you tell them?"

"Because I didn't think we would be okay after," she glanced down at her hands, "so I didn't think that it mattered."

"What were your siblings' reactions to it?"

Marina shrugged as she leaned back into the chair, "they all acted like protective older siblings at first," Seth listened to her as she spoke, "then Will told them that I started seeing you again."

He anxiously tapped his foot, "she and I had a conversation."

Marina moved to sit next to him, "you did?"

"You were asleep on the plane to New York so we talked," he tied his hair back into a bun, "she told me how she was struggling to understand why you went back to me. I told her that I was struggling with the same thing," she looked at him as he admitted his feelings, "I told her that I am in love with you and that I would do anything to take back how I treated you."

Marina picked at her nails while she continued looking at him.

"She said that she could tell how much I care for you," he rested his arm on the back of the couch as he leaned back, "and asked me for my number so that we could keep in touch. I was confused as to why she wanted my number, but then I realized that she believed me."

"She trusts you?"

"No," he shook his head before combing her hair behind her ear to see her face better, "she believes that I regret lying to you. I think it'll take a while for her to trust me, but she told me that she wanted what you wanted. That if you being with me was something you wanted, then she wanted that for you."

"She knows I wasn't just an affair to you," Marina explained as she leaned back.

"You were never going to be just a side character in my story, Mav," he shook his head while looking at her, "I just handled everything poorly and it bit me in the ass."

Marina caught his eyes when she glanced over to him, "that's what James said when he found out. He called me and told me that he watched how you interacted with me on TV each week. He said that if you were lying about how you felt, it would show on screen and it didn't."

"The amount of times Joe teased me about my segments with you," Seth chuckled, "he said he didn't know if he was watching wrestling or a romantic comedy."

Marina smiled, "James told me that he supported me with everything and that he wants to meet you."

"Oh god," Seth ran a worried hand down his face.

"They still don't love that you lied to me which makes sense," she brushed some fuzz from his shirt, "they aren't your biggest fans, but they want to get to know you."

"What about your other brother?"

Marina's face cracked before she bowed her head, "he isn't talking to me right now."

"Because of me?"

Marina shrugged, "not entirely. He called me weak for accepting your apology and said that if I respected myself, I wouldn't go back to the person who used me."

Seth tensed up and Marina noticed. She reached up and combed through his beard allowing their eyes to meet again. Her hand cupped his jaw as she caressed his cheek with her thumb. Their foreheads met as she pivoted her body towards his.

"I don't regret anything," she promised as her other hand cupped the other side of his face, "I wouldn't be here if I did."

Seth pulled her towards him so that she straddled his lap, "I hate that I lied to you."

"I know, bud," she leaned back to take in his face.

Her hands trailed down his chest as he absentmindedly traced circles on her hips under her skirt. His attention stayed on her eyes as she tucked her hair behind her ears. Seth moved his hands to either side of her face, pulling her towards him. She wrapped her hands around his wrists as the tips of their noses touched. 

"I want to kiss you," he whispered as his thumb brushed against her skin.

Marina nodded as his hands dropped to her waist and her hands rose to his face. Their mouths connected, causing Seth to sigh in relief. She smiled while they kissed, forcing Seth to break the kiss and peck her lips. He desired so heavily to see how happy she was with him, not fully believing that she was making the right decision. As he leaned back slightly, Marina left a peck on his nose before resting her hands on his shoulders.

"I wouldn't hate doing that again," Seth shrugged, earning a shove from Marina.