It was lunchtime, about halfway through the week at the Performance Center. Finn microwaved one of his prepared meals, and glanced around the lounge. Becky was sitting on the couch with Sasha, laughing. She tipped her head back, and it made him smile, he loved it when she did that.

"Hey Finn,"

He looked over, Bayley was smiling, opening the fridge to pull out a Tupperware.

"Hey, ya wanna get in here?" he asked as it beeped.

"No rush if you need another one,"

"Nah that's okay, go ahead" he pulled it out and peeled off the film.

"Thanks," she popped the leftovers in the microwave. "That ancient grains?"

"All the rage over here huh?"

"Yeah, did the health food craze make it to Japan?"

"Nah, but they kicked my ass harder," he laughed. There was a moment of awkward silence between them before he spoke again, "Hey, um, are we cool?"

"No, not really," she sighed, "but we'll get there."

"Okay. Have a good one, Bayley,"

"You too, Finn," she smiled, taking her lunch over to Becky and Sasha.

Finn sat at the high counter, eating by himself. The other girls left to get started downstairs, but Becky lingered back, taking a seat next to him.

"Hey there."

"Hi," he smiled, "I was gonna come over, but ya seemed busy."

"Ya could've, no one woulda minded. Least of all me." She smiled.

"Listen Bex, Friday was…" he blushed, "well it really made me happy."

"It made me happy too."

"So what're ya doin' Saturday night?"

"Laundry and America's Next Top Model, probably."

He chuckled, flashing that toothy smile, "how about you postpone that and let me take you out?"

"Where?"

"It's a surprise."

"Well ya gotta tell me what to wear."

"I'll text it to you,

"Alright," she smiled and nodded.

"7:00?"

"It's a date."

He grinned and slid off of his seat, hoping the rest of the week would speed by.

XXX

Early Saturday evening, he'd just walked in the door of his little shack when his phone rang.

"Hello?" he pushed the phone in between his ear and his shoulder, putting bags of groceries down on the kitchen counter.

"Are ya gonna tell me what to wear or not?"

"Hello Rebecca," his voice was thick, "not callin' to cancel on me, are ya?"

"Well if I don't know what to wear," she teased.

"Oh don't," he chuckled, putting away his groceries, "I had to go get food for the week, I woulda texted you earlier."

"Excuses, excuses."

"What are my options?"

"Your options?"

"Might as well have a bit of fun, huh?" he smirked, rearranging his fridge to make room.

She sighed but he could hear the smile in her voice. "Are we goin' somewhere fancy?"

"Nah, it's casual."

"Outside?"

"Inside," he closed the fridge and sat on a recliner in the living room tipping his head back. "Nothin' special, just somethin'… low cut."

"Low cut? That a requirement for this activity?"

"Just a special request, love."

"Well I might feel generous. We'll see."

"Yeah, we'll see. I'll pick you up?"

"Lookin' forward to it,"

He chuckled and hung up. He glanced at the clock, he had enough time to jump in the shower before he had to go get her. Under the hot water he could feel his heart beating out of his chest thinking about his plans for the night. She wasn't really the romantic gesture type, but it might just win her over.

In the mirror he combed the long top of his hair cut and looked over himself in the mirror. He sighed, sure the health food craze was helpful, but there were also three McDonalds between his house and the Performance Center. There were a few things that could make a man like Finn give into his impulses. Beautiful women were one, fries and a vanilla shake were another. That plus the less stiff in-ring work, it seemed like his body looked different every time he looked at himself.

He grabbed the shirt he'd wear for their date, a simple stripped button up. His eyes caught on his torso, and he laughed. Just a few sort weeks ago Becky was going wild for those abs. Yet he couldn't help seeing how they were starting to fade away from what they'd once been. Sure, his body was still in pretty good condition, he knew that, but it was a physical reminder of how hard the adjustment had been. He shook his head and buttoned up the shirt, after all who wanted to keep the company of a guy whining about how his 8 pack was looking more like a 6 pack these days? No one. She loved his confidence, and that's who he wanted to be for her. Not some insecure jackass with control issues.

Stepping into his shorts, he tried to think instead about how beautiful she'd look tonight. He couldn't wait to see her eyes light up and her head tip backwards as she laughed once she figured out what he was up to.

Ringing her doorbell later than night, he pushed his hair back again, his heart beating faster. She opened it at he licked his lips instinctively. A soft airy tank top floated over her body, low on her chest where just a bit of lace poked through from underneath.

"Hi,"

"Hi yourself," the corner of his mouth turned up. "Ya look beautiful."

"Am I dressed alright?"

"You're perfect," he opened her door for her and she climbed in the car carefully in her high shoes.

"We better not be iceskatin'," she teased, "I'm not prepared for that."

"We're not iceskatin'. You don' have any balance."

"Uh!" she broke out laughing, tipping her head back. "So where are we goin'?"

"I'm not tellin' you."

"Are we eatin'? I'm hungry."

"We can, but it might be pizza,"

"I like pizza."

"They might not have banana peppers, weirdo." he turned onto the high way, and looked over at her smugly.

"Aw really? Guess I'll make an exception."

"Good," he chuckled. "How was your day?"

"It was good, they're havin' me work more with Charlotte comin' up."

"Wow, that's fantastic!"

"Non-title."

"Aw, well, it's a start."

"Yeah, it's a start. So where are we goin'?"

"Always to the chase with ya."

"I just wanna know where you're takin' me."

"Well calm down, it's here," they pulled into the parking lot of the board walk.

"Here?"

"C'mon," he grinned at her confused look.

He took her hand, leading her into the building, while she looked around speechless. It was a dizziness of brightly colored lights flashing, the sounds of ringing and children laughing. Over in a corner, there was some commotion, and the cheers cut through the room. He smiled at her, waiting for her to respond. Eventually she looked over at him and broke out into a hysterical laugh.

"You brought me to the arcade?"

He grinned, "I brought you to the arcade."

"That's a little on the nose, don't ya think?" she teased.

"Sure, but it was one of the best nights I ever had."

"Yeah, me too."

"An' I jus' wanted you to remember, that I'm always in your corner," he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "always."

She smiled and kissed him, but he pulled away after a peck. "Oy, not in front of the kiddies. C'mon."

They made their way through the mass of people to the token machine, him handing her a handful of them.

"Skee Ball?" she asked with a playful smile.

He sighed, "you're on."

They popped two tokens a piece into the machine and it lit up. She tied her hair back in a high ponytail, smiling smugly at him. Leaning over to pick one up, Becky paused and looked over at him.

"Oh I see, that's why you requested,"

"Hey I know full well I'm about to get my ass handed to me," he said, throwing up a shot that bounced off one of the walls and promptly fell down to the 0 point opening. "Shit. I might as well enjoy it."

She giggled, leaning back down, and immediately tossed up 100 points.

"Show off."

Becky flipped her ponytail back and smiled. They ran through three games of it, her with high scores and him happy to get on the board. The tickets came spitting out of the machine and he collected them. Eventually he said enough was enough, and pulled her over to air hockey, where he could at least put on a fight.

"Ya sure you wanna do this Finn? I hate to embarrass ya," she teased, leaning over the table and placing the thin puck down.

"Yeah yeah keep talkin', love," he smirked.

She laughed as the game started, and the two of them aggressively fought for the puck. He hit it so hard at one time it spun off the table and she giggled. It went on for a while, the two of them grinning at each other smugly and laughing. She had a bit of a competitive streak, and he couldn't get enough of it. He enjoyed the banter, almost as much as he enjoyed winning.

"Ugh!" she cried, as his score came to 10.

"Haha," he grinned. "Oh don' you worry, I'm gonna put these…two, wow really, only two? Alright," he pulled the tickets out of the machine, "I'm gonna put these two tickets towards getting' ya that biggest teddy bear in this place."

"The biggest one, huh?"

"I've got some game," he smiled, pulling her over to the basketball game.

"Is that right?"

"That's right," he kissed her lightly on the lips.

Later in the night, in front of a pizza shop on the boardwalk, she was laughing hysterically. He crossed his arms and grumbled.

"The biggest one they got, ey?"

"It's not funny,"

"It's so little!" she laughed again, holding up the tiny keychain panda bear.

"Those places area rip off, that thing was hundreds of tickets."

"Finn, I love it."

"Oh don' try to me feel better."

"I love it," she repeated, attaching it to her handbag, the smiling face of the little panda staring out to the world. "See."

He chuckled and looked down at her. "What d'ya want?"

"Plain's fine, I suppose."

"Alright," he ordered a two slices of plain and two of pepperoni, handing her plate to her as she dowsed it with pepper flakes.

Down on the beach, they sat down in the sand, balancing their plates on their laps. The sun was still setting over the ocean, and she leaned against him, watching as the sky turned pink and orange.

"This is nice," she said through a mouthful of pizza.

"Nice? I was goin' for grand romantic gesture," he laughed, "did I come up short?"

"Maybe a little, but I don' mind."

"I know it was a long way to go to say I'm sorry…"

"One hell of a make up date," she smiled, grazing her lips over his. When she kissed him, it warmed him from the inside out, despite the wind that was starting to whip around them as the darkness set in. "We're alright."

"Good," he kissed her back, harder this time, tangling his hands in her hair. "We ought to get goin', it's gettin' chilly."

He offered her hand, pulling her up as they drove back towards the highway.

"Am I droppin' you off?"

"Not if you don' want to," she smiled shyly at him.

He licked his lips, making the turn towards his house instead of hers. They pulled into his driveway, and he watched as her hair bounced behind her while she walked up to the door.

"Ya want a drink?" he asked as she kicked off her shoes in his entryway. "There's an open bottle of wine in the fridge I opened with Sami earlier the week."

"Ya two sit 'round drinking wine?"

"Had to apologize for that mess somehow," he opened the fridge and pulled out a half empty bottle of wine, "romantic, huh?"

"Super romantic," she laughed, accepting the glass from him and sat down on his couch. Sipping it, she smiled at him as he snuggled up next to her, running his hands through her hair.

"I hope you had a good time,"

"I did, really, Finn,"

He grinned as she laid her legs over him and let him draw her in closer.

"What're you smilin' about?" she teased.

"Jus' you," he said, kissing her.

"Me?"

"Yeah you," he kissed her again, a little deeper, a little rougher.

It startled her at first, but she got her bearings, putting the glass of wine on the table and sliding onto his lap. She pushed his shoulders against the back of the couch, straddling him.

"Oh fuc-"

"Shh," she teased, "ya so bloody talkative,"

"I got a lot to say."

"Sure," she laughed, pushing against him, rolling her hips over him as he groaned. She pressed her lips against him roughly, feeling his teeth has he grinned. A hand ran over the top of his hair, the other running over the back of his neck. It sent chills down his spine, and a throbbing beneath her.

"Bedroom," he groaned.

"Nope," she shook her head and laughed.

"How long ya gonna ride this out?"

"All night if I can," she grinned, pulling the thank top over her head.

His hands were on her instantly, "oh that's more like it." He rubbed her through the thin fabric, and pinched lightly. It pulled a moan out of her.

Becky held him a little tighter, her hands wandering over him. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pushing against her lips and feeling his control whither away in her grasp.

"Alright, enough of this," he said abruptly, interlocking his hands under her thighs and lifting her up.

"Ah Finn! Put me down!"

"Oh I'll put ya down alright," he grumbled as he carried her to his bedroom, dropping her on the bed and climbing on top of her.

She giggled and tipped her head back as removed her jeans and panties, followed by his own shirt. Her eyes grazed his abs, biting her lip and holding up her arms for him to take her bra as well. Running a hand down between her legs, he pushed in a finger and she squirmed, his other hand holding hers in place above her head.

"Two?" he asked gently, she nodded and as he obliged, his tone switched to that confident, assertive bedroom voice. "You wanted to ride it out," he smirked, "go ahead, then, ride them."

Her eyes caught his, lighting up with an excited, devious glow.

XXX

The low light of his bedside lamp cast shadows on his body in the darkness of his bedroom. She traced them lazily on his chest, her hair falling across her shoulder, and a leg looped with his. He draped an arm around her and pulled her in to kiss her head.

"I tell ya," he murmured, playing with the ends of her hair, "you are somethin' else."

She giggled, "pretty sure you did all the heavy liftin'…at least in the end there."

"D'ya like that? Thought I'd try somethin' different."

"I like e'rythin' you do."

"Is that right?"

"That's right. Kinda hard not to with this goin' for you…" she laughed, a finger following the lines of his abs.

"Oh with my bloated pizza belly?"

"Pizza belly?" she laughed.

"Look at it, it's gross."

"I am lookin' at it," her eyes flickered up to him. "What?"

"It's so floppy. Look how loose this is." He wiggled his abs with his hands.

"You're kiddin'."

"I'm not. I'm gettin' fat."

"Hey," she sat up a bit, "where is this comin' from?"

"It's changed so drastically since I came here ya know? I'm just watchin' myself lose my shape." His eyes looked up to hers, "I know, I know, ya don' want to hear about my insecurities."

"Actually, I do. I jus' didn' know you had any."

"E'ryone does, I suppose."

"Even you. The man with the body of a greek god."

"Now ya just fluffin' my ego."

"I'm not! I love e'rything 'bout you," she turned his head towards her. "That's the truth."

He kissed her, "How am I this lucky?"