"Are you sure you are okay to do this, Bex?" Natalya asked. Her hands were wringing in front of her and her voice betrayed her anxiousness.
Becky rolled her eyes, "Natty, I used to babysit real life children when I was wrestling in Canada. I can handle your cat." This didn't seem to help Natalya's anxiety about it. But Natty took a deep breath and seemed to force herself to be calm and gave Becky a smile.
"Thank you for doing this. I know it's just for the night, but trying to fit in all this time with TJ while we are in town for RAW plus the doctors appointment in the next town over is a little much." Becky waved her off with a scoff.
"Natty we're friends; best friends. Have been for years, I'd do anything for you. Watching 2pawz is gonna be a breeze. Go meet TJ for dinner, enjoy yourself, and tell him that I hope the doctor's appointment goes well in the morning." Natty gave Becky a brilliant smile before turning to her cat, 2pawz, who was on top of his climbing tree.
"You be good for Becky, okay? No funny business." Becky thought it was hilarious how serious Natty was about her cat. She loved the woman to death but when it came to 2pawz Natty could be the epitome of a crazy cat lady. It was very rare for Becky to not be the quirkiest one in a friendship, but Natty somehow was able to outdo her when it came to her cat. Then again, they'd been friends since Becky was around eighteen; their friendship was different than a lot of their other ones outside of each other.
2pawz just looked at Natty with that bored expression that all cats have for a full minute before Natty accepted this as agreement and turned back to Becky. She moved in to hug Becky and they held each other tight. Becky knew how much TJ's injury was affecting Natty so if the hug lasted a little bit longer than usual Becky would attribute it to comfort for the upcoming medical exam. Natty finally stepped back out of the hug and gave Becky another blinding smile before they said their goodbyes.
As the door shut, Becky sighed and looked around the foyer of Natty's home. She'd been here plenty of times before for girl's nights and to stay over when they were in a nearby city and Natty would insist she didn't need to pay for a hotel. It was a beautiful home, way nicer than Becky's dirty apartment in Orlando. She always felt like she might mess up the organization that Natty had for her place or break something in here. Now she had to find a way to entertain herself until Natty got home tomorrow at noon. Then they would drive over to where Smackdown was recording, and then hit the road together again after that.
Becky finally decided she would see what Natty liked to watch on Netflix these days and see if she could fill Natty's queue with obscure shows that she liked that would inevitably suck Natty in until she herself was obsessed with them. It was a tried and true method that had worked on Natty countless times before.
She turned to where 2pawz had been to check on the cat, that's what she was here for anyway, only to find the cat no longer there. She felt a bit of panic creep up on her, but she calmed it immediately. "There is no need to freak out Becky, cats do this all the time. This is his house after all. Just don't leave doors open and feed him and you'll be fine." She made sure to breathe one more time before heading into the living room to turn on the television.
Her mini freak out had been totally justified. Natty loved her cat, and Becky knew it was a major sign of trust for Natalya to let her watch 2pawz. She quickly found the remote and flicked the television on. She was standing behind the couch, her back facing the stunning kitchen that Natalya gushed about at work. From behind she heard a faint sound. She ignored it, but it sounded again, this time more clearly.
"Meow." She turned around, expecting to find 2pawz on the floor by her feet, wanting attention or food. Hell, the cat had his own Instagram Becky wouldn't be surprised if he wanted to take a selfie. What she found was even more horrifying than Instagram. 2pawz was on top of the kitchen counter, Natalya's immaculate kitchen counter, sitting next to an empty glass cup. Her eyes widened as they connected with 2pawz's eyes. If you asked her later, she would swear there was murder hidden in their depths. He stared at her before looking at the glass cup. He placed his paw gently on it's base and pushed. It slid along the counter until it got to the edge of the table. There was a good amount of distance between where Becky was standing and the counter in the kitchen. She could have walked over there, or ran, but she was afraid any sudden movements would cause 2pawz to spaz out and shatter the glass right then.
"Oh nonono kitty. Let's not break mommy's dishes. Becky would be in big trouble." She didn't know why she was talking in third person. She'd seen Natty do it a ton with her cats through the years and it seemed to work. Her tone, however, was like that of a negotiator in a hostage situation. 2pawz didn't look like he cared if Becky was hit by a bus let alone be blamed for a broken glass. He stalked towards the edge of the table where the glass sat precariously. Becky put her arms up to try and stop him with some latent force power she might have unlocked in that stressful moment. No luck, however, as 2pawz barely paused in his leisurely stroll.
He got there and again turned his evil gaze towards Becky. He tilted his head, seeming to consider her, before placing his paw on the glass once again. Becky tensed up, as he pushed it off the counter. Becky sprinted, faster than she has ever run towards the ring. She slid and caught the glass right above the ground. Her momentum sent her further and she felt her shoulder impact the side of the counter. Luckily, it was wood and would suffer no harm. She slid down until her butt hit the ground and sighed, staring at the glass in her hand with relief. She could always pay Natty back, but this was one of her closest friend. Someone she couldn't imagine her life without and Natty trusted her with protecting her house and her cat. She'd put her body on the line for Natty any day. She just didn't think it would be in this way.
She let her head fall back and look up to the lights in the kitchen, until a shadow blocked one of them out. 2pawz was there looking down at her. Looking as innocent as sin. She glared at him and he just stared back. Soon his shadow left her view and Becky pulled herself up to find where this glass was supposed to go. Hopefully, somewhere where 2pawz wouldn't be able to even look at the damn thing. She finally found the proper cabinet and placed the glass cup safely back. She closed the cabinet door and rested her forehead against it, safe and sound.
"Meow." Her eyes shot open as all the muscles tensed up in her back. She slowly turned around to try to locate 2pawz. She found him on the kitchen table this time, right next to the glass centerpiece. She cursed Natty for having so many breakable objects in her house and began to slowly creep forward towards the kitchen table. Clearly, a challenge showed in her eyes because she saw 2pawz's head tilt again as he placed his paws on the centerpiece. Ready to shove it off the table. Her eyes narrowed at the devil cat. He wanted to play, that was fine, because Becky was here to win.
TJ had joked about going back to a house set aflame by the pure energy that usually poured out of Becky Lynch. Natty had swatted his shoulder for that, but secretly she was a bit worried. Becky could be a bit crazy sometimes and 2pawz wasn't always super happy with new people. Sure Becky had been over before, but Natty had always been there while those two had interacted. She shook off her pessimistic thoughts. She believed in Becky, she trusted her above almost anyone else. Becky would pull through for her. So when Natty and TJ had pulled into the driveway and seen their house still standing, she threw a major victory smirk at her husband who just smiled and rolled his eyes. He was in a good mood after a very positive doctor's appointment and a very, very nice evening with his wife.
They got out of the car and made their way in through the garage door. Natty was pleasantly surprised when 2pawz met them at the door. He brushed up against her lovingly and audibly purred. Natty smiled and crouched down to pet him. After several moments to say hello to her lovely little fur baby she went in to find Becky. She found her almost immediately, the orange hair really helped with that. Becky was sitting at the kitchen counter, in the same clothes she had on yesterday, looking exhausted but hyper vigilant. Her eyes scanned across the room, taking in all the different sectors and seeming to take stock of the items in each of them. She had dark circles under her eyes and her make-up was smudged. Her hair was more wild than usual, some of it stuck to her face. She turned her tired eyes to Natty, and Natalya really tried to contain the smile that she felt bubbling up when she saw Becky's eyes light up.
"Oh, you're home!" Becky bounded up out of her seat looking absolutely manic in her exhaustion.
"Becky, didn't you get any sleep?" Natty asked worriedly. Becky sometimes called her mom when she got too concerned like this, but Natty didn't care in this moment. Becky looked like she could keel over any moment.
"Not really." Then seeming to catch herself, she tried for an almost convincing smile. "Me and 2pawz got really into a show on Netflix. Stayed up all night." She shot a half fearful half challenging look over Natalya's shoulder. Confused, Natalya turned around only to see 2pawz sitting on the counter. She furrowed her brow and turned back to Becky who had a full glare on her face and was mouthing something in 2pawz's direction, but upon seeing Natalya turn around brought out her tired smile.
"Yeah…" Natalya said, without much confidence, but before she could continue TJ came back from upstairs and congratulated Becky on not breaking their house. Becky then tried to give a snappy comeback, as she always did when her and TJ got into their verbal sparring matches, but she was so tired she gave up trying to think of a comeback and just accepted what he said with what seemed like relief. Natalya smiled in sympathy. "Why don't you go take a nap. I'll wake you up before we have to leave for Smackdown. I'll drive." Becky looked at her with relief and thanks. It made Natalya feel like the most important person to Becky, and being that person for such a genuinely nice woman like Becky was the best feeling ever.
Becky looked like she was trying to say something to get across how thankful she was but in the end just settled for flopping a tired hand on Natty's shoulder and squeezing half heartedly before dragging her tired body upstairs to the guest bedroom. Natalya watched her go up the stares, making sure she didn't fall asleep halfway up and fall, before turning her stare back to 2pawz who had not moved from his spot on the counter. "What really happened here last night?" But then TJ's voice sounded from the living room, stopping any answer she could have gotten from her cat.
"Uh, babe?" She gave a last searching look at 2pawz before calling back to her husband.
"What?"
"Why is the kitchen table centerpiece under the couch?"