Content: tiny bit of angst and lots of fluff
Classification: Stephanie McMahon/Chris Irvine (Jericho)
Spoilers: RAW 3/25/02
Disclaimer: Steph, Vince and Chris belong to themselves, and the storyline’s
WWF property. No copy write is infringement intended and nothing herein is mean
t to reflect the actual individuals.
Distribution: Want it? Just ask.
Author's Notes: It's a behind the scenes fic so I'm
using his real last name, because well...just 'cause.
She stood on the balcony, letting the cool night air rustle her long dark hair, not even bothering to brush it out of her face as it fluttered in front of her eyes, partially obscuring the view before her. She’d been on a thousand balconies, seen a thousand cityscapes against a thousand dark starry skies; this balcony, this view was no different. Yet it was. A long sigh tore itself from her throat and she finally raised a hand, tucking the errant chocolate colored strands behind her ear and taking in the sight that lay before her. It looked the same as all of the others, but it wasn’t like the others, if for no other reason than it would be the last she’d see.
Tearing her eyes from the expanse of the dark skyscrapers and the even darker sky, she gazed down at her hands that were gripping the balcony’s railing tightly. She wanted to stay there, on that balcony forever. Ok, so she didn’t really want to stay there, but she didn’t want to go back into her hotel room. She didn’t want to see the open suitcase lying on the faded comforter, waiting to be filled with her things. She didn’t want to see that suitcase, didn’t want to face the reality it represented. She didn’t want to face the reality that she would be leaving the next morning.
Granted, neither packing nor leaving her current hotel would be anything new to her; even boarding the plane to fly to a city she hadn’t spent more than two days in for the last four months would be new. No, traveling from city to city, hotel to hotel was not new to the young woman; she’d been doing it for years. The thing that was new about this trip would be that fact that it, like the view before her, would be the last she would experience. At least the last for a long time.
A tear slipped from under long dark lashes, trailing slowly down her pale check and the brunette whipped it away almost violently. She would not cry. Sure, she had yelled and screamed, kicked and scratched, but that had been for the cameras. This was not, and she would not let herself fall apart, not now, not yet. Strange, that she had no problem acting the spoilt little bitch in front of millions of people, but she couldn’t stand the thought of crying in the dark solitude of her room’s small balcony. But her performance the night before had been something she’d had to do, it was only fitting that she went out with a screech and a sneer, after all. At least in front of the cameras. But now? No, now she would leave with her head held high, and she couldn’t do that if her eyes were red and puffy from a long crying jag. And that was exactly what would happen if she loosed her hold now, because if she were to start crying she knew she wouldn’t be able to stop. So it would have to wait until she was home once more; home for good.
Her grip on the metal railing tightened even more as she bit down on her lip, swallowing the sob she felt growing within her. She’d made her decision; there was no going back now. And when it came down to it, she didn’t want to, not really. But she was still leaving, and she wasn’t coming back. At least not for at least a year or two anyway. She allowed her head to fall forward, the long mocha-brown locks following, forming a curtain around her face, hiding it from the night. A noise from within the room behind her drifted out through the half closed sliding glass door but she didn’t raise her head or turn to face the person she knew would soon be joining her in the dark, shadowy quiet. She merely closed her eyes and waited.
A moment later, the curtains she’d left flittering in the light breeze rustled a little louder as someone swept them aside and stepped out onto the balcony. Two footfalls sounded as he came up behind her and she felt strong arms wrapping around her waist, pulling her back against a solid chest. She went into the arms willingly and mirrored them, placing her own arms over the ones already around her, entwining her fingers with the ones that belonged to the two large hands she knew so well. The brunette leaned back against the comforting wall of muscle, settling her head back against the waiting shoulder that, as always, was at just the right height for her to do so. She knew that if she were to turn her head slightly, she’d be able to press a kiss to the neck of the man that held her with such gentle strength. But her head remained still, her eyes still closed to the face she knew was tilted down to look at her and the sparkling sapphire pools she knew were fixed upon her.
The two stayed like that for some time, simply standing there, holding each other, taking in one another’s presence. Then a deep voice pierced the silence, drawing her eyes open at last, and cobalt met sapphire. "It’s getting late; don’t you think you should come in now?" She shrugged, giving into temptation and pressing her lips to the smooth skin of his throat before pulling back, her head still lolling on his shoulder as she let her gaze return to the rooftops spread before them and the starry blanket above them.
"I always liked the view from the upper floors of the really tall hotels. When I first came on the road I’d spend at least twenty minutes on my balcony each night, just looking at it all. Then it all got so routine, the traveling, the hotels, the arenas...I stopped. I’d just fall into bed at night, never even opening the curtains so I could look through the doors. I’d forgotten how beautiful it was, how peaceful. And then we started coming out before bed and I remembered...I don’t want to forget again."
He listened to her quiet voice, his chest tightening at the melancholy tone. "You don’t have to leave right away, you know. You could stay with me on the road for a few months; you don’t have to be in the shows to travel." The argument was an old one, worn tired and thin through repetition, and like every previous attempt he’d made at convincing her, she shook her head and he knew exactly what she was going to say. But he listened anyway, hoping hopelessly that her answer would be different this time. It wasn’t.
"I...I just don’t think I could stand it- to be there, but never able to walk down the ramp, never able to step through the ropes and into the ring for fear of what might happen to me, to-. It would just be too hard...to watch you and the others out there, knowing it wouldn’t, couldn’t be me...to be so close to everything yet so far away from it all...it would just be too hard." He sighed, his breath gusting softly against her skin before he closed the small distance and kissed her temple. His arms squeezed her a little tighter as his warm lips made contact. A lone tear broke through her defenses, leaving a wet streak in its wake as it dripped off her chin, making a silent splash as it hit the ground at her feet.
His sharp eyes caught its movement, noticing how the moonlight glistened off her now wet cheek. With another, slightly louder, notably sadder sigh, he turned her in his arms so she was facing him, her arms automatically slipping around his waist as he did so. Keeping one arm banded around her, holding her to him, he gently lifted her chin with one hand and met her eyes. He immediately saw the tears that shone in them, hating the sight. "You can always come back, after...in a year or two you can come back on the road, maybe do a few guest appearances, work back in slowly until you think you’re ready to get back in the ring. You might not be able to actually wrestle much, but you could still manage someone, at least be a valet or something." She nodded, but didn’t say anything, not trusting her voice.
He felt her tremble in his arms and he pulled her closer, smiling sadly when she rested her head on his shoulder once more. After a few minutes of silence, he managed to swallow past the large lump in his throat, his voice wavering just a tiny bit as he forced himself to speak, the words rushing past his lips. "I know you said you wanted to go through with it, but if you’ve changed your mind, if you really want to stay I’m sure Vince could work something out or-" His voice cracked and before he could continue his hurried statement she pulled back, staying within the circle of his arms but putting a few inches between them, her eyes flying up to his face. The brunette tried to meet his gaze but he looked away, so she searched his face desperately for her answer instead as her hand raised, several fingers pressing gently against his lips to prevent him from saying anything more.
"I want to do this, I want this, it’s just hard...and...it hurts...but I want this, I swear, I want this, more than anything." His eyes fell shut for a moment, his breath leaving him in a gust and he looked down at her, finally meeting her eyes. His immense relief showing on his face. She smiled at him, her hand leaving his lips to cup his cheek. "I want your ring, and your name, I want that hyphen for real, not just as a part of some storyline..." Now it was his turn to smile, his lips curving up as her other hand took a hold of one of his, bringing to rest on her flat stomach. "...And I want your baby. If having all that means I have to leave the ring, for however long, I’m going to do it. I don’t like leaving, I won’t lie, it hurts, but it’s worth it. It’s more than worth it to me."
His smile grew, his hand pressing the tiniest bit harder against her abdomen, his thumb running across it, imagining how it would be in a few months- rounded with the proof of their love. He leaned forward, his forehead resting against hers, their eyes still locked. "I’ll miss you so much- miss having you there next to me when I fall asleep at night and when I wake each morning."
She offered him a watery smile, struggling to keep the tears from pouring forth. "I’ll miss you too. But I’ll visit, until my stomach is in a different time zone than the rest of me and I’m not able to fly, anyway. I just can’t stay on the road; it’d be too hard. But I will visit, and you’ll come home for breaks, and dad said he’d even arrange a few ‘injuries’ towards the end so you could have a couple short vacations. That way I’ll be able to drive you *and* mom and Shane crazy with the wacky pregnancy mood swings and the weird cravings and all that fun stuff." He grinned, capturing her smirking lips in a long, slow kiss. When he finally pulled away, they were both breathing heavily but smiling still. "At least we were able to be in a storyline together again. I really enjoyed being in the ring with you without getting called a trash-bag hoe or a slut. At least by you anyway."
Their grins widened and he drew her a little closer against him, resting his chin on her shoulder as she mirrored his position, their similar heights allowing them to do so fairly easily. Then he turned his head a bit and whispered into her ear. "I love you Stephanie McMahon; soon to be Stephanie McMahon-Jericho opps, I mean -Irvine." She pulled back just enough to smack his chest playfully, the smile on her lips ruining the fake glare she sent his way. He just laughed, the rich sound sending shivers through her as it always did, and pulled her back against him.
Snuggling deeply into his arms she repeated his earlier actions, whispering in his ear. "I love you too, Christopher Irvine."After a few minutes, she turned around, returning to their original position, leaning back into him. And as dawn broke, two pairs of blue eyes took in the scene spread out before them for what would be the last time, at least for a while. Because, as she had stepped from the ring the night before, she would step into the world today. Today Stephanie McMahon would become Stephanie McMahon-Irvine; she would become a wife, as she would soon become a mother. And in the soft light of morning, she couldn’t help but smile. She may have left the ring, but she was entering a new world, a world with the man she loved and the child they had created.
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