A request from wAcKiEjAcKiE826, and my second one-shot today - if you haven't read my other one, it's called First Impressions, and is a Cody/Michelle.
Anyway, hope Jackie and everyone else enjoys this!

SHOOTING FROM THE HIP

"Can I get you anything, Maria?"

"I'll have a vanilla latte," The redhead smiled, handing Chloe a note. "Thanks sweetie,"

The interviewer was called Chloe Simons, and maybe it was just her leopard-print high heels that won Mara's favour, but so far, the former diva liked her. Chloe was respectful of Maria's answers, and hadn't made her expand on anything she felt uncomfortable with. Since leaving the WWE, Maria had done a hell of a lot of interviews, and this had been her favourite. She liked that Chloe asked about so much more than just wrestling; her upcoming music career, her charity work, her appearance on Celebrity Apprentice.

Sat in a Starbucks in Maria's hometown of Chicago, Chloe was interviewing Maria for ; a celebrity lifestyle website that crossed over a bunch of different topics. It was a refreshing change to talk about something other than headlocks and Phil Brooks.

"There you go," Chloe placed the mug down in front of Maria, before settling back down into the sofa. The blonde interviewer placed her rested her feet against the edge of the table, showing off her smooth calves and enviable-heels. "Now, that interview wasn't so hard, was it?"

"Actually, no, it wasn't." Maria nodded, smiling. "If I were you, I'd have asked me a lot more personal questions."

"Well, I guess I'll have to do that off tape," Chloe pointed to the small device which sat on the table, before leaning over to press a button on it. "So, relationships in the WWE," She shot Maria a look, suggesting the redhead should elaborate.

Maria chuckled, realising what she'd just brought up. "What do you want to know about them?" A soft smile formed on her face. "They're difficult, and they never work."

"How so?"

"We're busy. All the time. It's impossible to make time for other people...lovers, for example. I mean, if you're not working a house show, or a fan-interaction activity, then you're tired from working a house show or a fan-interaction event. You want to sleep, not sleep with someone." Maria rolled her eyes, before pausing completely, something she tended to do, as she thought of the right way to phrase her next sentence. "Wrestling...it's not the healthiest way to keep a relationship alive."

"You know from experience?"

Surely this interviewer had done her research, and knew about her relationship with Phil? "He was a wrestler as well, and he's called Phil." Another pause. "We met in Ohio Valley Wrestling – one of the development territories – and we fell for each other straight away. Nothing complicated really. He was moved to ECW, and I was moved to Raw, and we just...grew apart. We never saw each other, and when we did...it just wasn't the same as it was before." Maria yawned slightly after telling the story. "Man, I'm tired," She giggled, "I had an appearance at a charity event last night, and-"

"Did you date any wrestlers before or after Phil?" Maria instantly regretted bringing up this subject, as she could tell that Chloe was intrigued.

"Nope," She rolled out her shoulders and stretched her arms so they were high above her head, yawning again.

"You sure about that?"

Arching an eyebrow at the interviewer, Maria still had her arms stretched in the air. "What makes you think that?"

Chloe gestured towards the exposed skin of Maria's hipbone where her t-shirt had risen up. A tiny black inscription read 'John Cena'.

Laughing, Maria let her arms fall back down, as she leaned back into the sofa. "You're observant; anyone ever tell you that?"

"I'm a journalist, and I may not have much wrestling experience, but I know who John Cena is." Chloe smiled, now slipping off her heels and curling her legs underneath her. She was going to get comfortable for this. "So tell me about this."

Maria had never spoken about John before; not to her closest friends, not to her family, and certainly not to someone she'd met two hours prior, but there was something about Chloe that comforted Maria.

"Maria?" Chloe rested a hand on my knee. "You don't have to say anything if you don't want to. I mean, it's just me you're talking to-"

"No, no, it's fine." The redhead quickly shook her head, before tipping her head back, as if to tip away any possible tears. John Cena was a delicate subject she rarely touched upon. Instead of doing what she knew she should have done – thanked Chloe for her time and left, never returning to that Starbucks – Maria curled her legs underneath in her, mirroring Chloe, who prepared herself for what was looming.

"Oh my God, Maria, wake up!" The redhead was awoken from her sleep by her younger sister Janny jumping on her bed and shaking her until she opened her eyes. Now residing in Los Angeles, whenever Maria came back to Chicago, she stayed at her parents' house in her old bedroom.

"What?" She sat upright and rubbed her eyes until everything went into a clearer focus. That whole moody teenager stereotype didn't apply to her younger sister; Janny looked as upbeat as ever, and was primped and preened for the day ahead. Much the opposite of the elder sister, who's hair was in a sleep-messed plait and a make-up-less face.

"Your interview is up!" Janny exclaimed, clutching her laptop in her hands and thrusting into Maria's grasp. Maria was struggling to function with what was going on.

"Have you read it?"

Janny nodded, excitedly. "All I can say is...wow."

Maria began reading. "'Former WWE diva Maria Kanellis spills the beans on relationship with WWE superstar, and not the one you're thinking of!'" She gasped. "Chloe told me this was in confidence!"

"She's a journalist, Ria, they're all swine," Janny elicited some bitterness, her eyes finally leaving the screen so she could look at her sister's tired, confused face. "But I can't believe you didn't tell me about John. We tell each other everything-"

"This was different." Maria returned to her pausing habit, wondering how on earth she'd explain this to Janny. Her sister was eighteen, and certainly wasn't an idiot. "We had something really special; we didn't need to tell anyone else about it."

"How did it start?" Janny sat upright, excitedly.

"One night after Raw," Maria smiled at the memory, "It was the show where we had the kiss, and it all took off from there. We couldn't keep our eyes off of each other, and he asked me out after the show. We went on a date, and that was it. We were besotted by each other; we took off and I didn't hit the ground for a while. It was one of those whirlwind romances that feels like it's moving at the speed of light, and you can't stop it, but the truth is, you really don't want to, because the ride is better than anything you've ever experienced in your life."

The youngest Kanellis was entranced.

Finally, Maria's speech slowed down. "Y'know how they call Jeff Hardy the charismatic enigma? That title should be given to John Cena." She pulled her hair out of its plait and shook out the loose red waves. "He's just so...charming-"

"Not to mention hot."

"-And the best part? There's no bullshit with John because he'll tell you where you stand with him. He doesn't mess around, and that's best for everyone."

"So what happened?"

"I was drafted to Smackdown and his popularity only escalated." The redhead shrugged sadly. "Like I said in the interview," She paused to read off the page, "'Wrestling...it's not the healthiest way to keep a relationship alive.' We didn't have time for each other and whatever we had just stopped."

A sad silence came from both sisters, before Janny piped up, "Can I see the tattoo?"

With a sigh, Maria lifted up her silk nightie she slept in, revealing the tiny tattoo which sat on her pant line.

"Does he know about it?" Janny asked, pressing her fingers to the bare skin, inked with the champ's name.

"Of course, I'm not some crazy stalker chick." Maria laughed, looking down at the ink proudly. "He has one saying 'Maria Kanellis' in the exact same spot. Why else do you think he wears his boxers so high?" Soon enough, the moment was ruined, as the sound of Maria's buzzing cell phone interrupted the girls. She walked over to her bedside table, and opened up the new message.

"Who is it?"

Maria handed her little sister the phone.

"'We need to talk'" Janny read aloud.

Wasn't it just a perfect coincidence that Raw happened to be in Illinois at the same time as Maria?

There was nothing Maria could do, except sit and wait impatiently in the cafe for John to arrive. He suggested they meet at the Starbucks where Maria and Chloe's interview had taken place, but she was quick to brush that place off – too many bad memories – and instead suggest a cafe nearby to the hotel where the roster was staying in. Nervously, she tore off the tops of sugar packs, pouring the contents onto her coffee saucer. She hadn't touched her cup of coffee at the fear of puking it up with nerves.

A couple of times, she'd felt her heartbeat speed up as the door of the cafe opened, making the bell above the door chime, but it never was.

If only she could've gone back in time; gone back to the day of the interview, and taken back everything she'd said. If only when Chloe asked if Maria wanted another drink, the redhead would've responded with a 'Thank you very much, but I'd better get going' and left Starbucks. She could've ended up with a scandal-free interview and she could've gone about her stay in Chicago in peace. There'd have been no controversy, and-

Maria had been so caught in her own thoughts, she hadn't even notice John come into the cafe, search the room for her, before catching a glimpse of her red hair and sitting in the seat opposite her.

"Hi," That was all Maria managed to say, as well as offering up a weak smile.

"Hey," He was dressed simply, as usual, but it worked for him; all he needed was a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. His handsome face looked sleep-deprived – probably due to Maria's confession, but he didn't look angry or upset, like she'd expected him to.

"I told the reporter that stuff in confidence-" Maria began.

"You're too nice for your own good; you know that, don't you, Maria?" John grinned, rubbing the light stubble on his face.

"You forgot to shave, didn't you?" Maria said softly, before scarcely reaching across the table to touch his cheeks. "You're a terrible spokesman for those Gillette commercials-"

"Do you still love me, Maria?"

If that didn't make things uncomfortable, nothing would. Maria continued to tear at her sugar packets until she finally looked up at John. "I don't know, John."

"I've spent a long time trying to get over you," He admitted, taking the sugar packets out of Maria's reach because he was beginning to become frustrated by this irritating habit. "And I thought I was over you-"

"Like I said, the interview was private-"

"Do you miss me, Maria?"

"I occasionally think of you fondly-"

"Maybe you should stop talking," John cut Maria off. "Let's cut the crap, cut the maybes and tell each other the truth, because if we're gonna make things work, then we need to be straight with each other."

"I didn't envisage this taking place in a cafe-"

"Shut up, Maria."

"Exactly!" The redhead smiled. "We cancel each other out; I can't get out a sentence without making it sound like some cheesy song lyric, and you shoot straight from the hip. You're the simplest guy I know, and let's be honest, I'm a total fruit loop. But when we're together, we make it work." The redhead paused. "Do you want to make it work?"

"I don't know, Maria-"

"Now who's waffling," Maria rolled her eyes, finally drinking her now stone-cold coffee.

"What I do know, is that I'm not over you."

"So where do we go from here?"

Chloe Simons sat down at her work desk, feeling exhausted. It had been a long day, and she'd been on her feet most of it, reporting on her latest article. She pressed the button, activating her answer machine.

YOU HAVE ONE NEW MESSAGE.

"Hi, Chloe? This is Maria." Chloe had been expecting this. "As much as I'd love to tell you what a conniving bitch you are for printing what you told me was in confidence, I actually have a lot to be thankful for. I'm in a cab on the way back to John Cena's hotel room, and if you didn't get the memo, we're gonna have sex. So I guess your scheming didn't pay off, did it? Karma's a bitch, much like you."

Chloe grinned; looks like her matchmaking paid off.

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