~~~
Your body's warm but you are not
You give a little not a lot
It could be love until we kiss
You're all I want but not like this
I'm watching you dissapear
But you, you were never here
~~~

Joanie sighed emptily as she rolled away from Hunter wishing sleep would come to claim her as mercifully as it had her partner. Lately though, sleep had been evading her leaving her to dwell on she and Hunter's relationship. Or lack thereof. The sex had been amazing like always, but lately it seemed to be the only thing between them that could cause any real reaction. Sure they still talked and laughed like they did in the beginning, still shared the loving looks and touches. If you asked anyone who knew them they'd tell you that the two were still deeply in love and would be getting married in a few short months as planned. Joanie looked at the ring on her left ring-finger and smiled sadly. She knew the truth just like Hunter did.

They weren't going to make it to the alter.

Though the interaction between them hadn't changed the emotion behind it on Hunter's part had and she could feel it. She still loved him with all she had inside of her and she didn't know how to stop the distance that was slowly creeping between them. The light in his eyes was gone when he smiled at her now, his laugh seemed false and forced. When she touched him she knew he felt no electricity like he had three years ago. He felt almost nothing for her anymore and try as he might, he couldn't hide it from her.

It had ripped her heart out when she first came to the realization that her relationship with him was ending, that their engagement would never be seen through, that she would eventually have to live her life without him. She'd blamed Hunter, herself, their career, their friends, their parents, everything. She'd gone around and about it in her head for months until she finally stopped blaming and started accepting. It was ending and there was nothing either of them could do about it. As much as she loved him, she wouldn't try to make him stay where he didn't want to be and she wasn't going to stay in a one-sided relationship either. They both deserved more than that.

So that's where they were now, both knowing it was over and both trying not to feel as bad about it as they did. The only thing holding them together at the moment was the unwillingness to go ahead and have the talk. They no longer spoke of the impending wedding, the plans for the new house stopped being discussed, they didn't even debate over which family they were going to spend Thanksgiving with next month. They both knew that there was no point. They wouldn't still be with each other in a month and if they did happen to drag the relationship on through the holiday season they'd spend it with their own families not together. It would be her fist Thanksgiving without him after sharing three with him and she knew it would be a sad occasion. Christmas would be even worse.

As she lay in bed beside him she tried for the millionth time to pinpoint exactly when everything had fallen apart, but she couldn't seem to find the turning point. As the expected frustration began to well up inside of her for not having a reason for the failure of her relationship, she came to a realization. She finally discovered that she couldn't find the turning point because there wasn't one. The change hadn't taken place all of a sudden, there was never a change at all, they'd been doomed from the start.

There had been signs from the beginning, signs that she'd probably viciously ignored at the time because Hunter had seemed interested. Then as the relationship progressed she'd lost all sight of any warnings or misgivings and fell head over heels with him. Looking back, she'd probably been in love enough for the both of them and hadn't noticed that he wasn't following in her footsteps. It was harder to see then because there were other distractions, namely Shawn. When he was around it was hard for him not to take most of your attention so she and Hunter's relationship woes were easier to put on the back-burner. But when the Texan left that's when she began to feel the change in her fiancé.

That thought struck something deep within her, something she'd been burying for three years now. For some reason she couldn't stop herself for thinking of it now, for running away with it and jumping to conclusions that weren't really as irrational as she'd always tried to tell herself they were. When Shawn was around he and Hunter were inseparable but she'd told herself it was just a Kliq thing, there was nothing to worry about. The little touches, the lingering glances, the secret looks and borderline flirting, it was all part of their special friendship. Hunter had asked her to marry him, he spent every night in bed with her. That had to count for something.

Now that she thought about it, it had never mattered that Hunter had proposed, or that he'd never cheated. She'd lulled herself into a sense of safety and denial because she'd had Hunter and Shawn hadn't. She'd let herself grow comfortable with Hunter and Shawn's relationship because of a golden band around her finger and a warm body next to hers at night. She'd allowed herself to ignore the fact that her fiancé and his best-friend were in love with each other and that she'd never stood a chance against it. Looking at it now the proposal had probably come out of reluctance to just break up with her and the faithfulness was probably more out of loyalty than love. She'd just been something in the background, a nice little distraction in Hunter's heart since he couldn't have Shawn.

She and Hunter had really been over months ago so the thought of him being in love with someone else wasn't bothering her too much, especially since it was Shawn. Instead she found herself feeling almost guilty for standing in their way. Clearly she couldn't do for Hunter what Shawn could and above all else she wanted to see Hunter happy. The longer she let their sham of a relationship drag on the longer all three of them would be miserable.

Having made her decision she gently eased out of bed and pulled on the t-shirt Hunter had thrown on the floor in their haste to the bed. She dug through her bag and found a pair of shorts to slip into before walking over to Hunter's side of the bed and slipping the diamond ring from her finger. She placed it on the bedside table and was pulling her hand away when soft fingers gently gripped her wrist. She looked down into sad eyes and felt tears prick her own.

"I guess this is it then?"

The regret in his voice nearly tore her heart in two. God how she still loved this man. "I guess it is."

"Joanie, I…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

She gently touched his cheek, her voice strangled as she spoke. "I know you didn't and it's not your fault. Sometimes things just don't work out the way you want them to." He next words were surprisingly easier for her to say than she'd thought they would be. "You love him, Hunter, and he loves you and there's no way I can compete with that. I wouldn't even know where to start."

Her statement hung between them heavily before Hunter broke the silence in a barely audible voice. "I never cheated on you. I never touched him like that while we've been together and I swear that's the truth."

"I know, I never thought that. You're too good for that."

Again silence stretched between them this time neither knew what to do to break it and it became smothering and oppressive. Not able to stay in the room any longer Joanie slowly eased her wrist out of Hunter's grip and sighed heading for the door.

"Joanie!"

She didn't want to turn around but she knew she didn't have a real choice in the matter. Hunter had always held a power over her like no other man and she couldn't even pretend that wasn't still true. She turned and found him sitting up in bed regarding her with something like desperation in his posture.

"Yeah, Hunt?"

"I did love you, you have to believe that. This whole thing with you wasn't just something to do, or something to pass the time. At one point you were all I could think about. When I proposed to you I really intended to marry you and live happily ever after."

"And then what? I wasn't as good a substitute anymore?"

"You were never a substitute. Even when I first started realizing exactly what I felt for Shawn and how long I'd actually been feeling it, I never used you as his substitute. When me and you were together I only thought of you. I tried to ignore how I felt about him and make it work with you, but the deeper I fell for him the more out of love I fell with you."

Joanie was aware of the tears running down her cheeks and she wiped at them gently. Hearing those words had done more for her heart than Hunter would ever know. To hear him say that he'd truly loved her, that he'd had all intentions of being with her forever and that he'd fought to make things work out between them had quelled the small amount of bitterness she'd felt building inside of her.

"Thank you. I'm glad you told me that, maybe now I won't have to kick Shawn's ass."

Hunter was speechless until he registered the smile in her voice. "Are we okay?"

"We're fine," she said walking over to the bed and giving him a tight hug. "You better make it work with him though, Hunter, or I'm gonna be pissed."

"You should probably go head and kick my ass then. Him and Rebecca are getting pretty close now, I think he's gonna propose to her."

"What?" Did Hunter really not know how Shawn felt about him? "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," he sighed miserably. "Even if he wasn't with her it really wouldn't matter. He doesn't even know I'm alive."

"Does he know how you feel?"

"No, he doesn't have a clue. I'm not gonna bother to tell him either."

Joanie was struggling with whether or not she should go ahead and tell both of them. In the end she decided that they'd just have to figure it out all on their own. "I think you should at least try to talk to him. All he can do is accept you or reject you."

"It's the second one that has me scared shitless," he said with a small laugh.

"And you play such a hard-ass on TV," she said ruffling his hair. "It'll work out, Hunter."

"I'm glad you think so. Are you staying here tonight?"

She hesitated for a second before her common sense kicked in. "No, I don't think I should."

"I understand," he said with a smile. "You got somewhere to go?"

"There's only a whole roster of wrestlers on the next three floors, I figure someone will let me in." At Hunter's hesitant look she sighed dramatically. "At any rate I think I'm just gonna go beat Kid's door down. He's probably the only one who won't try to baby me and ask a million questions when I tell him me and you split up."

"I think you're right," Hunter said hiding a smile. Sean had had a crush on Joanie for awhile now and he was convinced that no one knew about it. He was right though, Hunter was the only one who knew. If anything, he'd be happy to see the two of them together. Sean would look out for her and treat her right. "Still friends?"

"Always," she said pecking him on the cheek before giving him one last look and heading out the door to find Sean's room.

~~~
It's only your shadow
Never yourself
It's only your shadow
Nobody else
It's only your shadow
Here in the room
Arriving too late
And leaving too soon
Leaving too soon
~~~

Rebecca sat in the living-room of she and Shawn's house and watched him play on the floor with their son. Cameron was about three months old now and the complete apple of Shawn's eye. In fact the infant was the only thing in the house that Shawn paid any attention to these days, unless of course a Kliq member happened to stop by for a visit. A light came into her husband's eyes that she'd never been able to put there, and that was if Sean, Kevin or Scott were the ones in the house. When Hunter came by she was treated to a light show of damn near spectacular proportions.

A bitter smile graced her lips at that thought. She wasn't an idiot, she knew when someone wasn't in love with her. She also knew what love looked like and it was so obvious with those two that everytime Hunter and Shawn were in the same room you could see the love floating around in the air between them. If she were a dramatic woman she'd have thrown a fit and demanded that Shawn never see the other blonde again. But seeing as how she was a sensible, level-headed woman with a strong sense of self-preservation she didn't do anything as drastic.

No, if she did that she'd just be wasting breath and she'd probably be divorced by the end of the week if she pushed the issue hard enough. Everyone knew how close the Kliq was and trying to come between it would be like trying to ice-skate uphill. Instead she'd forced herself to come to terms with what was happening in her life. She was married to a wonderfully sweet man who was a sensational father, a great lover, rich enough to give her and their son the life she'd always dreamed of and just happened to not love her at all. Sure her life could be better if she were in a loving marriage but it couldn't get much better than it already was. What was love when she had financial security, a devoted father for her baby and a man who would play the part of loving husband in public? Many a woman would kill for what she had and she knew it. So, in the end she came to the conclusion that a loveless marriage would be better than being a divorcee searching for a man with a decent job who would accept and love both her and Cameron equally.

Having reached that decision earlier in the day she'd been spending all her time trying to find a way to explain everything to Shawn. She knew he felt guilty about being in love with Hunter and not her. She saw it in his eyes when he looked at her, or in the way he'd go out of his way to please her in bed. While she wasn't complaining about their hot nights she didn't want him to continue to torment himself with something that she was okay with. He really was a great man and he didn't deserve that.

"Becca?"

She blinked and looked over at Shawn who was now standing holding a sleeping Cameron. "Hmm?"

"I called your name twice, what were you thinking about?"

"Just some stuff. Uh, are you putting him upstairs?"

"Yeah," the Texan said smiling gently at his sleeping son. "He's out like a light."

"Good…cause we need to talk."

A slight frown graced his lips at her serious tone. "What about?"

"Just go put him in his crib and meet me on the deck, Shawn."

She could tell he wanted to say something else, ask more questions. Instead he just nodded and started up the stairs with their child. She watched the way he carefully cradled Cameron to his chest as he made his way upstairs and her heart ached at the tender sight. He really was one of the best men she'd ever known in her entire life. All the more reason to give him what would make him happy.

She smiled to herself as she went out to their deck in the backyard and waited on the porch swing. A few moments later Shawn appeared through the back door and took a seat next to her.

"What's this about, Rebecca?"

"Shawn, you know that things between us aren't as…conventional as other married couples. We're not as close as we should be. Things aren't really the way we let people think they are."

"What are you saying?"

"That maybe we should stop trying to pretend that we're this loving couple and be honest with each other about what is and isn't between us anymore."

"Are you leaving me?"

"Shawn-"

"Because I won't let you take my son from me. He's the most important thing in my life and if you so much as try to-"

"Shawn! Calm down, no one's gonna take Cameron away from you. It's hard enough to find a father who'll take care of his children let alone love them the way you love Cam. It'd be the cruelest thing I could ever do to either one of you."

Shawn gave a sigh of relief before taking her hand in his. "Then what? If you're not leaving then what is all this?"

She hesitated reaching for the right words. When she could find no other way to put it besides straightforward she took a breath and looked down at their joined hands. "I know that you don't love me and that you never really have. I know that you're in love with Hunter and the only reason you're not with him is because of me."

"What? Rebecca that's not-"

"Please don't lie to me, Shawn. We've always been straight up with each other so don't start the lies now. You can't fool me, I see it every damn time he comes into our house. You get this smile on your face and this light in your eyes and you're just…happy. You're in love with him."

"I've never cheated on you," Shawn offered weakly. "I wouldn't do that to you, no matter what I feel for him."

"Why?" It's not that it would have mattered much if he had been sleeping with Hunter anyway, she was about to give him permission to, but she had a genuine curiosity as to why he hadn't done it already. She'd been sure that they'd been sneaking around with each other.

"You're the mother of my child."

Rebecca considered that statement. At face value it seemed like a vow of love and loyalty, but she saw through to the true meaning. "Right, I am the mother of your child. And since I am, you're scared that if you were to cheat on me with him and I found out, I could divorce you and take Cameron." Another thought made itself clear. "That means that you've thought about cheating on me with him, maybe even planned on it, but the risks were just too high. If it weren't for Cameron you would've been sleeping with him months ago."

Shawn looked away from her then. "So what are you asking me to do?"

There was a hard edge to his voice that she could hear perfectly. Now that his thoughts of cheating on her were out in the open, he was waiting for her to tell him not to associate with Hunter anymore. And, just as she'd expected, he wasn't going to stand for it if she did. As far as he was concerned he'd given his word not to cheat on her with his best-friend so if she tried to force him to stay away from the other blonde completely she'd be asking way too much. He'd be happy to know that she wasn't going attempt it.

"I'm asking you to continue to be a great father to your son and to do whatever else makes you happy in the process."

Shawn's eyes snapped back to hers, confusion making them brighter than they were a few moments ago. "What?"

"You heard me. If Hunter makes you happy, then you be with him, just make sure that Cameron comes first."

Shawn looked as though he'd just found himself in an episode of The Twilight Zone. "What?"

Rebecca couldn't help but smile at his confusion. It was adorable. "Look, I care about you and you care about me. We may not be in love with each other but we are friends and we have a beautiful baby together that we couldn't love more. A divorce would just be messy and unnecessary. We'd end up splitting custody of Cameron which would be really hard on him especially at this age and it wouldn't serve any real purpose other than that. I mean, it's not like we can't stand each other and can't bare to live in the same house, so we wouldn't be happier if we lived apart. It's not about money either. I'd come out about the same if I were getting alimony payments and child-support as I would if I were living with you. And it's not like you'd be any more broke or rich either way around it."

Shawn nodded his agreement. "So what do you suggest we do?"

She took a deep breath before offering her proposal. "I think that we should stay married, but just live like we're roommates. I can move to the spare bedroom either at the end of the hall or the one downstairs and that'll just be that. You can see whoever you wanna see and the same with me. This way we're both happy and we're both still in Cameron's life. He can grow up in a stable two-parent home with parents who love him."

Shawn was silent for a long time before he stood and began to pace in front of the porch swing. Rebecca sat back and watched nervously awaiting his answer. If he decided not to go with what she'd suggested then she didn't know what else they'd do. Anything else would just make things harder for them to both be equal partners in Cameron's life.

"I love my son, Rebecca," he whispered suddenly.

"So do I. That's all the more reason we should do this the easiest way possible. If we all stay in the same house then he could be with both of us all the time instead of spending the weeks with one and then the weekends with the other. Shawn you know this is a good idea."

"Wouldn't it confuse him to see both of us with other people? He's just a baby now but what about when he gets older? When he goes over to his friends' houses and sees how their parents are?"

"When he gets old enough we'll explain it all to him or come up with something else, but right now it doesn't matter. He needs both of us to be consistent in his life."

He swung around and looked straight into her eyes. "You'd really do all of this for me? You'd rearrange your life just so that I can be happy with someone else?"

That put a soft smile on her face. "Not just anyone else. If I didn't know Hunter loved you just as much as you loved him I'd never do anything like this. Plus, it's not like I'm really losing or rearranging anything here, Shawn. The only thing that's going to change is the fact that we won't be sharing a room anymore. All I've ever had of you was a shell. Hunter's the one who gets the real thing. When you smile at him you really mean it and when you touch him there's something there. We never had that and we never will."

"I'm sorry."

She smiled wistfully. "Sometimes I am too, but only because I don't think I'll ever find a man to love me who's as good a person as you. I couldn't have found a better father for Cam though…or a better roommate," she added with a slight laugh. "Things just didn't work out for us and it happens that way sometimes. You'll be happy with Hunter though and I'll find someone."

Shawn plopped down on the swing beside her and regarded hr with a look of awe on his beautiful features. "I can't believe this is happening."

"It's not that big a deal, I promise," she murmured taking his hand again.

"Yes it is. Everything I've ever wanted is getting handed to me on a silver platter. I'm gonna be able to try with Hunter, I'm gonna have my son in my life, and I'm gonna get to do all of that and still have a relationship with you that isn't…"

"Romantic?"

"Hostile," he corrected with a laugh. "I've never wanted me and you to be on bad terms. You're a wonderful woman Rebecca and I'm glad Cameron has such a great mom."

"You always did have good taste," she said with a playfully arrogant toss of her hair. "Coming from this gene pool Cameron's gonna be just plain gorgeous."

"I can't believe I found a woman this much like me," he groaned. "With us as parents our son is gonna grow up with one of the biggest egos in the world."

"Along with one of the biggest hearts," she said with a tender smile for their son.

"Yeah, especially if he takes after his mama," he said giving her a soft look. "Thank you so much for doing this for me."

"What else was I gonna do, pretend I didn't notice how miserable you were when Hunter wasn't around? I think not."

"There aren't words for you, woman," he said putting his arms around her and giving a gentle squeeze when she wrapped her arms around him as well. They were interrupted when the back door opened and Hunter's voice trailed off in the middle of calling Shawn's name.

"Oh shit, I'm sorry guys. I thought it was just Shawn here. I didn't see your car in the driveway, Becca."

Rebecca slowly pulled away from Shawn and gave him a reassuring look when a small trace of panic shone in his eyes. She then turned to Hunter with a warm smile. "That's cause it's in the garage, silly."

The blonde looked flustered and Rebecca couldn't help but chuckle a little as he searched for words. "I'll just…uh…I'll go do something for awhile and come back in a few hours or something so I'm outta your way."

She got up from the swing and walked over to him placing a gentle hand on his smooth cheek. "Don't be ridiculous, Hunt, he's all yours." She could tell Hunter had caught something deeper in the friendly words, but he couldn't get exactly what she was saying to him. Wanting to make the situation pretty clear she turned back to Shawn and smiled. "I'll just leave you boys out here and start moving my stuff to the spare bedroom. I decided to take the one down here cause it has all the windows. I don't think I'll need any help but if I do I'll just give a yell. See ya later."

She could feel Hunter's perplexed look as well as Shawn's glare as she passed their visitor and walked into the house closing the back door behind her. It was dark out by this time so she turned on the low lights that surrounded the deck and pool thinking it would set the right mood. She'd always thought the lights were pretty romantic on a starlit night like this. With a smile for her own brilliance and the satisfaction of doing a good deed, she started up the stairs to get her clothes from she and Shawn's closet.

*

When Hunter looked back to Shawn he saw the older blonde glaring with narrowed eyes at door his wife had just walked through. Then suddenly those blue eyes were trained on him with nervousness written in them plain as day.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Uh, you wanna sit down?"

"Sure," Hunter said sitting down beside him on the swing.

Now, the swing was average sized but they weren't exactly small men so there wasn't much free room. When Shawn shifted and spread his legs a little his thigh came to rest against Hunter's. The resulting electricity had Hunter's pulse racing and his mind racing even faster than that to come up with something to say that wouldn't make him look like either a complete idiot or a horny blonde.

"What was Becca talking about when she said she was moving her stuff?"

Shawn stiffened beside him and Hunter wanted to groan. Apparently he'd gone with 'complete idiot'.

"Uh, we're not sharing a room anymore. She's moving downstairs."

"Oh, I'm sorry man. I didn't mean to bring it back up. I didn't know you two were having problems."

Shawn chuckled a little then. "No, it's not what you're thinking. We're fine we just…we came to an agreement."

Hunter couldn't help but ask. "What agreement?"

"We're not in love with each other and we never really have been. We're basically just friends, but we have a son together who needs both of his parents. We decided that we'd just live together as roommates and raise him together instead of going through a messy divorce and splitting custody. It's better that way, he'll have a whole family and we'll be happy with whoever else we're with."

"You two are gonna stay married but you're…you're gonna see other people?"

"Yeah," Shawn said quietly studying Hunter in the warm glow of the low lights. "It really works out when you think about it. We have a baby together so it looks better to people if we're married and everyone around here seems to think we're the perfect couple. I need a wife to keep my parents off my ass and the same with her. Plus if I ever come back to the ring a happy marriage would look better to the fans, especially after the first divorce."

"So it's for appearances only."

"Yeah. It looks good on the outside and we can still be with the people we really wanna be with."

"There's already someone else you wanna be with?"

"There's always been someone else. I was never able to really love Rebecca because there was another person in my heart."

Hunter's heart began to beat rapidly even as he tried to tell himself not to get too excited. He had no way of knowing whether or not Shawn was talking about him and it would be stupid to get his hopes up for nothing.

"Oh," he murmured trying for nonchalance. "Uh, who is it? If you don't mind me asking."

Shawn opened his mouth and nothing came out. He silently cursed himself for being so scared. This was just Hunter, the same man who he'd known for all these years, the same man he knew he could trust with his life. There was nothing to be afraid of…Except for maybe finding out that he'd never be able to trust the blonde with his heart.

"Shawn, it's okay. If you don't wanna tell me that's fine," Hunter cooed in a reassuring voice as he gently rubbed his friend's back.

When Shawn registered those words he knew he had to tell the younger man how he felt. Hunter was the sweetest person he'd ever known. He was considerate and funny and so damn gentle that it made Shawn's chest hurt. He wanted this man to be with him, to be there with these same gentle touches and reassuring words for the rest of his life.

"It's uhm…it's you, Hunter."

A long silent moment stretched on wherein Hunter must've blinked about fifty times. "It's me?" Shawn nodded unable to answer because he was holding his breath. "No, seriously, it's me? You wanna be with me?"

The light slowly began to die in Shawn's bright blue eyes as Hunter moved farther and farther away from the answer the older blonde wanted to hear. Unable to hear Hunter's rejection, no matter how gentle it would be, he began to speak saying any and everything he could to make Hunter stop talking.

"Yeah, but don't worry about it. I know you don't feel the same way and I won't ever make it an issue. I don't wanna lose our friendship or anything so it'll be just like it's always been. Things don't have to be weird between us. Not to say that things are weird between us now, because they're not. I don't feel weird and I hope you don't either because I love you and things shouldn't be weird between us. Shit, and when I say I love you, I mean like a brother you know? Even though you know I really do love you like that I'm not trying to hit on you right now or anything. I just…If you want we can just pretend this never-"

"Shawn," Hunter interrupted quietly, "you're babbling."

"Damn it," the Texan said with a wince for his nervous reaction. "Never could break that stupid ass fucking habit."

Hunter's smile was soft, amused. "Now you're swearing for no reason."

"Shoot me now," Shawn groaned closing his eyes. "I haven't changed at all have I?"

"No, and I hope you never do. Those are just some of the things that make you who you are…and a few of the reasons why I love you."

Shawn opened his mouth to say something else but the words died on his lips. He sat gaping at Hunter for what seemed like forever until the younger man laughed.

"Say something, Michaels, or I'm gonna assume something's wrong. You speechless has to be a bad sign."

"How long," Shawn managed with a growing smile.

"I've wanted you from the first moment I saw you wrestle, when I first saw you in person it was worse. I've actually been in love with you since that first night we roomed together though. That was the night you told me all about your life and your dreams and everything else. I knew something had changed then but I wasn't fully aware of how I felt until about a year ago when I saw you kiss Billy backstage. For some reason I found myself wanting to strangle him and I couldn't explain why. The more I thought about it the more sense it made. I've been in hell every since."

"That's why you and Jo called it quits?"

"Yeah. She's a very understanding woman, actually told me to make it work with you or she'd kick both our asses."

"Kid's lucky to have her."

"Yeah he is…and I'm lucky to have you," Hunter said hesitantly taking Shawn's hand and lacing their fingers. He gave the older blonde a questioning look before licking his lips and leaning down.

The second their lips touched all hesitance faded away into a feeling of complete bliss. If perfection could be wrapped up in a moment, in a single action, then this kiss on a warm San Antonio night under a full moon on a low lit deck would be it. The moment was untouchable…

The back door burst open and Joanie and Rebecca ran out screaming and shouting happily startling the couple into nearly falling off the swing.

"Finally," Joanie said with a loud sigh. "I thought I'd be old and gray before you guys finally got around to it."

"Jo?"

"I forgot to tell you," Hunter mumbled apologetically to his newfound lover, "we all came down to surprise you."

"Who is 'we all'?"

"Damn Shawn, a porch swing? I mean I knew you were a little wild and I knew you'd done some things, but a porch swing?" Shawn just groaned miserably in answer as Sean came and jumped in his lap swinging his legs over Hunter's so that he was stretched out over the two men. "Miss me?"

"No," the Texan said with a halfhearted attempt to push the raven-haired man off. As expected, Sean wrapped his arms around the older man's neck and held on for dear life while Shawn fought hard not to laugh. "What do you want Kid?"

"To see if you're really worth the five year crush Hunter's had on you."

Shawn couldn't help it. Between the seductive voice and the wiggling eyebrows there was no way he wasn't going to burst out laughing. "You couldn't handle me, Sean."

"Wanna bet?"

"No, that's okay. I just remembered you've been handling Jo just fine. You might kill me or something."

"Hunter had been handling her too and you're not scared of him are you?"

"No," Joanie said with a sickeningly sweet smile. "He can't be scared of him because he's in looooooove with him."

"I told you guys to wait in the car while I see if he's here," Hunter told Joanie with glare that lacked any real venom.

"Sean got bored. Besides if we were still out there waiting for you to finish making out with him we never would've got outta the car."

"Who's out here making out?"

Everyone looked over to see Kevin and Scott making their way out onto the deck stopping to hug Rebecca in the process.

"Yeah, and why weren't we invited? We like making out too don't we Kev?"

"When did this become a family reunion," Shawn asked falling back into the swing with his usual dramatics. "Your timing really sucks."

"Hey, no, your timing sucks not ours," Scott defended gesturing at Shawn with his ever present toothpick. "We had already planned to come see you. No one told you to put the moves on Hunter right now."

"Maybe Hunter was the one putting the moves on me," Shawn said softening his _expression along with his voice and blinking his big blue eyes slowly.

Hunter shuddered next to him. He never could resist the older man when he got like this. All blonde hair and innocent eyes. Shawn was a tease and everyone knew it.

"Oh shit," Kevin said with a laugh, "he's in Twink Mode."

"And it's damn near killing, Hunter," Sean managed through peels of laughter.

"Fuck all of you, okay?"

Shawn smiled brightly and leaned over until his lips were just brushing Hunter's. "No, not all of us. Just me from now on."

Hunter joined their lips in answer as the rest of their friends congratulated them.

*

No one noticed when Rebecca slipped back inside the house and leaned against the closed door. A single tear fell from her eye and for a second she just let it run as she fought to control the breaking of her heart. She'd known that once she let Shawn go there would be some residual feelings but she hadn't expected the reaction to be so strong. The pain was nearly unbearable.

After a long moment she'd collected herself enough to stand without the help of the door. She took a deep breath, wiped the tear from her cheek, and strengthened her resolve. She'd meant everything she'd said to Shawn about this being best for everyone involved. He loved Hunter, not her, and nothing was going to change that. She'd only been lying when she told her husband that she didn't love him either. It was just easier all the way around to let him think that there was no love between them at all. He wouldn't torture himself with the guilt of hurting her, and him and Hunter could really be happy together. She'd eventually get over him and find someone else just like she'd said.

Until then she'd just have to be the world's greatest actress.

~~~
Your body gives but then holds back
The sun is bright the sky is black
Can only be another sign
I cannot keep what isn't mine
Your laughter still lingers on
But you, you are almost gone
~~~

Stephanie rode around the city in her plush limo with tears pouring down her cheeks dragging supposedly waterproof mascara with them. She must've called herself every kind of idiot imaginable over the last three hours and she still wasn't through.

How could she have ever thought she'd be the woman to come between those two? Everyone had told her it was impossible but she'd ignored them. She was a McMahon after-all and the McMahons always got what they wanted. Maybe that was why this hurt so much. She'd never failed in anything she'd aspired to do in her whole life….except this.

Snorting at her own stupidity she thought back all the way to the beginning. She'd been so damn sure of herself. There hadn't been a single flaw in the plan. She'd factored in everything there was except the impossible. The impossible being that Hunter would actually stay faithful to Shawn.

She'd been the one to propose that she and Hunter get together. They were good friends and she'd been in love with him for years. She saw her opening and went for it when Vince brought up the fact that Hunter needed to start being seen with a few females. Many of the fans were convinced that he was gay since he hadn't been seriously linked to anyone since Joanie and they all knew how close he and Shawn were. It was nearly a known fact that Shawn swung both ways and the fans were guessing at the truth a little too easily.

Stephanie had caught up with Hunter after that meeting and suggested that the two of them start dating. He'd been shocked at first and then began to tell her how much he loved Shawn. She'd interrupted him with a laugh and explained that she only wanted the fans to believe that they were dating to hide he and Shawn's relationship. After some convincing and a few talks with Vince he'd agreed.

She would never forget the warning her father had given her after Hunter had walked out of his office.

~Three Months Earlier~

"Steph, what are you doing? You know the man's in love."

"Daddy, what are you going on about?"

"Young lady don't play stupid with me. What is this thing about you and him?"

"I swear to you that all I'm doing is helping him out and the storylines too. Think about it daddy, we've been looking for a way to put an end to this whole me and Andrew thing and the fans need a new reason to hate Hunter. Why not set it up for me and Hunter to have had an affair or something like that? The fans will get off his back about being gay and we'll have a new twist."

"I doubt the fans will think he's with you for real because of what happens onscreen. They're a lot smarter than they used to be."

"Once we're a couple on-screen we can start dropping little hints on the web about me and him in real life too. We can maybe get a photographer to take some pictures of us out somewhere on a date or something and let those float around. The fans will think that since we spent so much time together at work that we clicked and started dating for real."

Vince had stared at her for a long time then before murmuring, "Stephanie, it's not gonna happen that way."

She'd played dumb to the best of her ability. "What, you don't think they'll buy it?"

Vince had simply shaken his head and hugged her to him. "Fine, if this is what you wanna do then we'll have a meeting with the writers first thing tomorrow morning. I just…I don't want you to get hurt. He loves Shawn and Shawn loves him. You can't come between that."

"Daddy, I appreciate your concern, but I honestly don't know what you're talking about. I'm only trying to help everybody out."

~Present~

She slammed her hand down into the plush leather seats wishing it were something a little more unforgiving. How could she have been so damn blind? She'd thought if she flirted enough, cuddled with him enough onscreen, showed him everything he could have that maybe he wouldn't still think the sun rose and set on Shawn Michaels. As she'd found out tonight it just wasn't going to happen.

Try as she might she couldn't stop the scene from playing though her head as though she'd experienced it seconds ago instead of nearly four hours. She'd been so sure that tonight was the night, it being his birthday and everything. He'd been a little depressed earlier because Shawn wasn't going to be able to make it and she'd taken every opportunity to touch and comfort him. He was hungry for her soothing words and hugs and reassurances, responding to her like he never had before, and she thought she'd finally broken through. She just knew that when she surprised him in his dressing-room after the show with his present that he'd take the bait.

She gave a chuckle deep in her throat that was bitter enough to taste. Things didn't go as planned.

~Earlier That Night~

She'd been in the bathroom making sure she looked perfect for Hunter. When she was sure that her makeup was flawless and that there wasn't a hair out of place she smiled and slipped out of the bathroom quickly making her way to his dressing-room. She'd gone as far as to strip naked and wrap herself in a trench coat tying a low slung red bow around her hips so that it drooped over the present she'd been wanting to give him for years now. He was going to be so shocked that the sweet little Daddy's Girl could do anything this wanton and seductive. It gave her a little thrill.

She'd tried the handle and found the door unlocked she pushed it open a crack trying to make out where he was in the room She froze when she heard that unmistakable voice.

"Baby, did you really think I'd leave you all alone on your birthday? I haven't missed one since we met."

"I know, but damn you really had me convinced you weren't gonna come. I've felt like shit all day."

"That's cause you're thirty-one. It's all down-hill from here, Hunt," Shawn had laughed.

"Or up if that tent in your jeans has anything to do with it."

Stephanie's heart had sank when she heard Shawn's low growl. Her heart all out plummeted when she heard the next few sentences.

"Hunter, I don't think your wife would appreciate what you're doing to me right now."

Hunter's snort could be easily identified. "Whatever."

"Hey, I see the way she snuggles into you every chance she gets. She's possessive as hell. I don't think she'd take too kindly to this."

"You wanna talk about snuggling up to a wife," Hunter asked matching Shawn's playful tone. "Last time I saw you and Becca at Christmas you were rubbing noses and everything."

"Her parents stopped by," Shawn exclaimed with a laugh. "We could hardly act like we haven't had sex in a year. Which we haven't by the way thank you very much."

"You say that like you've done something I haven't," Hunter said dryly. "It's not like me and Steph are fucking or anything either."

"She wants to."

Shawn's voice had dropped a notch or two when he spoke those words and Stephanie had held her breath as she waited for Hunter's reaction. She heard shifting around and then Hunter spoke almost too soft for her to make out.

"Look, I don't know if that's true or not, but you know I'm not interested in her. She's a great girl and she's a really good friend, but I'm not interested in anybody but you baby. I really don't even feel comfortable kissing her and all that shit even if it is for the camera. The only person I wanna touch, and kiss, and lick, is you." There was a wet sound followed by Shawn's moan. "As soon as I can get out of this thing with her I will. I talked to Vince today and he told me six months tops then I'm out. The writers are already planning the breakup."

"You mean it?"

"Yeah. I'm tired of having to picture you just to get through kissing her."

Stephanie barely suppressed her sob then as the tears poured down her cheeks like water from a faucet. Her entire reality was crumbling around her as failure made itself known to her for the first time in her life. The following words only further drove the stake deeper into her heart.

"I love you, Hunter."

"I love you too, baby."

"Now enough about wives. I think it's time for you to unwrap your present Birthday Boy."

"Happy birthday to me," Hunter murmured with a husky ring to his voice as the distinct sounds of a belt being unbuckled rang through the dressing-room.

Stephanie found herself running down the hall towards her limo before the moans and sighs could reach her ears.

~Present~

The tears came again full force as the memory ended for the umpteenth time since it happened. Hunter couldn't even picture her while they kissed. This whole time she'd been thinking that she was doing her best to tempt and tease him and she was literally the farthest thing from his mind everytime they had to do an intimate scene. A cold realization spread throughout her body making her burn with embarrassment and freeze with a detached numbness all at once.

She'd never been able to compete with Shawn Michaels. She'd been deluding herself to try.

The ringing of her cell-phone barely pulled her out of her haze and she only deigned to answer it because it was the only thing she could do other than wallow in her depression.

"Hello?"

"Hey Steph, it's Hunter. Guess who showed up? Shawn!"

"Oh," she barely managed through the lump threatening to choke her. If Hunter noticed he didn't show it, then again Shawn was probably nearby so he wouldn't have noticed.

"He was waiting for me in my dressing-room after the show. It was like the best birthday present ever." There was talking in the background that confirmed her suspicions about Shawn being close by. It sounded like he was rushing Hunter off the phone in favor of doing something a little more fun. "Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks for being there for me earlier today. I know I wasn't the best company and it was cool of you to not bitch at me about it."

"It was nothing," she forced in little more than a whisper.

"But still, thank you. Now if you'll excuse me I gotta go celebrate if you know what I mean," he said with a sly chuckle. "Talk to you later."

The line was dead before she even had a chance to say bye.

She lowered the phone away from her ear and turned it off looking out the dark tinted windows at an equally dark sky. The black nothingness seemed rather fitting to her at the moment. Her hope was gone and in its place stood the truth everyone had always known except her. She now knew that she was going to have to snuggle and kiss the man she loved for six more months while knowing that there was nothing inside of him that felt anything for her. He belonged to Shawn.

As those thoughts presented themselves the sky tore open and rain began to pelt the lavish limo. She may have been a little more aware of the weather if she hadn't been concentrating on the breaking of her heart. The feelings of pain and loss coursing through her were immense and she couldn't help but wonder what would've happened if she'd listened to everyone else. She couldn't stop herself from wondering if she still would've found herself in this limo with her heart bleeding and her soul raw and tormented.

She'd never know.

"Happy birthday, Hunter," she whispered as the tears fell again like the rain against the glass.