Disclaimer, etc., in part 1.

Part Thirty

Rollins frowned as he looked at himself in the mirror, the man shaking his head and taking a step back... Arching a brow when he caught sight of Dean in the reflection, the man sitting down in a nearby folding chair and smirking at him. He turned to look at his teammate.

"What?" he wanted to know, figuring that the smirk on Dean's face meant the man had something to say to him, and Ambrose shrugged.

"Nothin', man. I was just wondering if me and Roman should give you a curfew or something," he said, and Seth responded by flipping him off.

"Up yours, Dean. And I thought you liked Eve-"

"Dude, I do. I mean, I don't know her very well at all, but she seems pretty cool. She stood up for herself with the whole Kaitlyn thing, she didn't freak out when she realized that I was the one that caught her on the stairs, and she managed to bust up Zack Ryder's face. All in all, I'm pretty sure she's by far the most likable diva in the company. Pretty bad-ass, too."

"I'm so glad you approve."

"Plus she no longer seems afraid of me and Roman, which for you is a plus, since we hang out together a lot," the man continued, stretching his long legs out in front of him. Looking up at the other man, he arched a brow. "I'm guessing you told her what I overheard tonight, huh?"

Seth snorted. "Not my best moment. How'd you guess?"

"Maybe by the way she went after Layla in that mixed tag tonight? Well, before the mixed tag," Ambrose replied, smirking as he spoke. "If I ever get put in a mixed tag, I want her to be my partner. I think she'd actually team with me, too."

Rollins shrugged. "Maybe. But I don't think any of us will be needing a partner for a mixed tag any time soon," the wrestler replied. "On top of that, I think Eve has enough problems of her own without adding any of ours to it. She's got the whole thing with Kaitlyn, which I think we all know won't be over even if she beats Kaitlyn next week. Kaitlyn won't be able to go after the title herself, but that won't stop her from trying to make sure that someone else takes it... You know, to put her back in the running as a possible contender."

"Seems to me that Eve's a smart lady, and she's probably already figured that part out herself," Ambrose said, and Seth nodded.

"True. But it's not just Kaitlyn. I still... I worry about Ryder going after her again."

"Well, we took him out of commission for a couple of weeks, and none of us mind going after him again when he gets back. But the thing is... She busted him up pretty good on her own. Yes, she had a couple of bruises from it, but he was the one that ran from her, and she made him bleed. He knows she's no easy target. She'll fight back. Cowards like Ryder don't want someone that will fight back... And he already knows she can outsmart him, too. Look what she did last year at WrestleMania. She played the guy like a fiddle, or whatever the hell they say, and then she humiliated him on the biggest stage of them all. I guess after she proved she was too smart for him, he decided to play the bully... And she fought back. A lot of bullies will run away when you fight back."

"And some will come back even harder," Seth muttered, then shook his head. "Ryder's more of the coward than anything else. And an idiot, given the fact that he kept showing up for shows in a damned wheelchair when Kane was going after him. I just kind of want to get a few more shots at him."

"Understandable. I mean... You have a thing for Eve. He went after her. She handled herself, yeah, but you still want to get in some hits of your own. I get it. But we have to be careful. I mean, you know Roman and I aren't opposed to putting him back on the shelf again when he comes back because we talked about it already, but if we pay too much attention to anyone in particular... People might start to wonder about our motives."

"They're already wondering about our motives," Seth replied. "Plenty of people are thinking that we're somehow connected to Punk, what with the way he's ended up successfully defending his title a couple of times when we've interfered."

"Hey, that first night was just our grand entrance. The second time? Call it payback for that bastard Ryback tossing you through those tables at TLC," Ambrose said, and Seth nodded.

"I know. But a lot of people don't see it that way. But whatever. Anyway... I figure I need to be careful with this. I don't want to drag Eve into any of our potential messes. She's the divas' champion and has the whole mess with Kaitlyn to deal with, and I'm pretty sure that Teddy Long has it in for her, and then there's the stuff with Ryder that is hopefully over now... I don't want to draw more attention to her."

"But you do want to go out with her."

"I do want that," Seth muttered, then looked over at his friend. "You think I'm crazy for this?"

"Asking out Eve Torres? I think you'd be crazy not to. If I didn't know she was interested in you, *I* might make a play for her," Ambrose said, then snorted when Seth gave him a look. "Dude, I'm not going to. I'm just saying you have good taste. Now get your ass out of here. The show's over, and I'm pretty sure you have a date to go on."

"I guess I do. You and Roman-"

"We'll take care of your stuff. No worries. Well, you know, unless we decide to go through it-"

"I have a lock on my bag."

"I'm good at picking locks."

"It's a combination lock," Seth replied, shaking his head as Ambrose made a rude gesture. "I need to go meet Eve."

"Don't stay out too late."

"Fuck off, man."

"And watch your language, young man," Dean continued, clearly enjoying himself. "And don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

"Dean, I know you. I'm not sure there's anything you wouldn't do. Or anything you haven't done."

"Not true. While I have done my share of things that may or may not be illegal, there are various criminal acts that I have never attempted, nor do I intend to do so," he said, and Seth gave a roll of his eyes as he headed for the door.

"I'll keep that in mind."