Alrighty, so in light of Ted announcing that he won't be renewing his WWE contract... yet never once said he was retiring from wrestling... I have a new little ficlet for y'all. ^_^ Enjoy!

Everyone saw it coming. It was just that no one wanted to admit to it. Ever since his first injury in 2012, Ted DiBiase was barely used at all. He never complained. In fact, he was happy to spend extra time with his wife and infant son. There was rumors going around that he had actually asked to be use sparingly. So when it came time to renew his contract, and he declined, no one was surprised. On his last day, he sat in catering during Monday Night RAW. There were many tear-filled goodbyes throughout the night. However, there was one person who had avoided him the entire night. As the show was about to end, Ted made his way to the locker room area. He hugged a couple of the Divas before heading into the men's locker room. A few of the guys were just finishing up and left the room, saying their goodbyes as they walked out the door. In the end, there was just one man in the room with Ted...

Cody Rhodes.

It had been years since Ted and Cody had teamed up, but they had remained friends behind the scenes. While Ted began to slip away into the lower depths of the ranks, Cody had been on a steady rise. The less Ted was being used, the more he began spending time at home. Which meant less time for them to spend together. It wasn't intentional, and their friendship had remained intact. It was just that it wasn't nearly as strong as it once was.

Cody was sitting on a bench in the far corner of the room, looking at the floor. He knew that Ted was in there, and he knew that they were alone, but he quietly sat there, not saying a thing. He didn't want to say goodbye. It was almost as if he wanted to believe that if they didn't say their goodbyes, that Ted wouldn't leave.

Ted walked over to the younger man, whom he had worked with for many years, taking a deep breath and letting it out in a sigh. He placed a hand on Cody's shoulder, biting his lip before speaking. "Didn't your daddy ever teach you that ignoring something won't make it go away?"

Cody looked up with a frown. "Yeah, I know. I just don't want to let you go."

Ted closed his eyes, letting out an exasperated sigh. "Code, you know that I'm just leaving the WWE for now. I can still be in your life."

"Why though? Why are you leaving?" Cody frowned, running his hands over his short hair as he stood up. "Why are you leaving me?"

A smile came across Ted's face with Cody's last sentence. For a long time, he has suspected that there was something more to the friendship. Instead of saying anything, he walked up to the younger man, placing his hands on either side of his face. He looked into Cody's eyes for a moment before leaning in, pressing his lips to those of the other man in the most passionate kiss he had ever given another person. All words that either of them could say to each other was left in that kiss. After pulling away, Ted bit his lip. He turned and walked away, leaving the locker room and the arena without a single word to another person. His true feelings left in the open air, right there in the locker room where he left Cody standing in shock.

Yes, I know. It's really short. I feel that it did it's job, though. It can be the predecessor to a full fic to be written in the future. I just can't do another one right now. This just needed to be done right now. I hope that you liked it! The song is by 98 Degrees. Yes, I know, I'm showing my age here, but it's perfect. Please R&R!