AUTHORS NOTES:

This was written for the amazingly talented xthefirestillburns one shot contest, luck of the irish. i do not own any of the superstars mentioned within, regrettably, and i'm not making any money off this. I do however, own Elena Cruz, my original character.

Word count: 3006

Genre: angst/romance

Couples: ADR x OFC & OFC x SHEAMUS

Writing Prompt I Chose:Prompt 2: Character A deals with the struggles of balancing two relationships; one that consists of casual sex with Character B and the other that happens to be a more serious relationship with their current partner.

There is a bit of a twist, however, while it is a serious relationship and yes, she is cheating on ADR, there's more to it than meets the eye. And Sheamus started of with the least noble of intent himself. ;p

*Reviews are loved and appreciated, I just hope I did the prompt, the contest AND Sheamus justice, really. *

PROLOGUE:

HER SIDE OF THE STORY

Everything has a beginning, a reason for happening if you will. The way this endless fascination with Sheamus started, for her, was no different, really.

It wasn't just pure and simple boredom, it wasn't just unhappiness that came from being ignored by her own lover, Alberto Del Rio, or the fights they had, it was something deeper.

The man was too cold with her. Sure, he had passion and sure, when they'd started out, it'd been magical. She realized quickly, however, that to him, she was nothing more than a possession, something to be looked at, placed on a shelf again when he was done, or he was bored with her.

After 4 years of it, she was getting a little more than tired of his on again and off again, hot to cold.

She'd always be just a possession to him. Just like his money, the cars, everything that made up the Mexican Millionaire, really.

Maybe that's when she really took a good hard look at her 4 years with him. And maybe that's when she really saw him for what he was, and realized that passion and love, real love, well.. It was something she couldn't and wasn't willing to live without.

HIS SIDE OF THE STORY:

He watched her standing ringside the way one might watch it's prey. At first, it'd been simple curiousity, but lately, with the feud between himself and Alberto Del Rio heating up, it'd turned into something more.

Anyone could look at the lass and tell she wasn't happy, that she was badly neglected, that to Del Rio, she was just another 'toy'.

The diamond gleamed from around her neck, and he wondered if the bastard bought her all the jewelry to make up for the way he treated her, or if he really thought that expensive and nice things equalled love.

For some reason, the Mexican struck him as that type of man, he really did. Perhaps that's what made her damn near impossible to get off his mind.

Their eyes met, and for a split second, before he brogue kicked Alberto Del Rio directly in his over styled thick black hair, he could have sworn he saw a slight smile play upon her full lips.

The match ended and the referee raised his hands in victory, he'd won by pin. As he walked past the full figured Latina, he gave a cocky wink in her direction.

LATER ON THAT NIGHT

"That at the arena, Elena.. What was that about?" Alberto asked her as she reapplied her makeup, got ready to go out to an expensive restaurant he'd picked for the evening, even though truth be told, she honestly hated this kind of stuff.

She knew he did it for appearances at this point, and it really was starting to annoy her to no end.

She wanted it back to the way it'd been before he came to the WWE, back when they were still on the Mexican circuit, when he was too proud to live off of his father's name and money, when they just went and grabbed some chalupas from Taco Bell and sat in the park and ate them, watched the sun sinking lower in the sky.

She wanted the feeling she'd gotten earlier back at the arena, when Sheamus, the man her lover Alberto currently hated more than anything, winked at her.

She wanted to feel alive again.

"I asked you something, Elena." Alberto tried again as he watched her eyes, he knew her mind was a million miles away now, he knew she wasn't happy with something, they had this far away gleam in them again.

She was listening but she wasn't hearing him.

He sighed and rolled his eyes, as he picked up the diamond necklace from the expensive marble counter in their hotel suite's bathroom, and slid it around her neck as he kissed the top of her head and leaned against her from behind.

She looked at him in the mirror and then said quietly, "It was nothing, Alberto." as she tried to get her racing heart back down in her throat. She shouldn't be feeling like this, not about another man at least. She'd wanted this, she'd known how cold he could be when they first started out, and she'd told herself then she could handle it.

Now, however, she wasn't so sure.

Now she found herself frustrated by the situation she was in presently, and lately, she felt like he ignored her more than anything, that she wasn't important to him anymore.

"It better have been nothing, Elena." he said calmly as his hands gripped her waist tightly, his eyes took on an angry cast. She looked at him, her eyes widened in slight fear as she nodded quietly.

"Did you have to do that to him, te amo?" she asked, referring to Alberto's backstage attack on Sheamus earlier in the night. She asked gently, but the question was one that she demanded an answer to.

She'd never seen him behave that way before, she'd never seen him just lash out at someone like that before, even if he was mad enough to spit nails.

And tonight, not only had he went too far with the attack, he'd seemed to be enjoying it to some degree.

"It needed to be done, yes.. Didn't you want this for me, Elena? Did you not want a World Heavyweight Champion for a future husband, te amor?" he asked as his lips found her neck, he bit down into the soft skin lightly, as he looked up at her.

"Not like this, Alberto."

"He's just a peasent."

She looked at him as she muttered something to herself under her breath. Lately, he seemed to think anyone who wasn't the two of them was beneath him somehow, his attitude was also beginning to alarm her.

'He's just stressed, Elena. It's just stress, this whole thing will end and he'll go back to the Alberto you knew before all this, the man you loved.' she told herself mentally, as she realized that she seemed to spend about 90 percent of the time lately, telling herself this, and every day, it seemed like the man got colder, darker.

Tonight had really scared her, she'd actually avoided him after he'd attacked Sheamus, and as a result, she'd had a run in with the man himself, just 3 minutes after the attack ended.

She bit her lip as she thought back to their encounter back at the arena.

-Earlier That Night -

She stormed into catering, grabbed a soda, stood in line looking at the food that she knew she was hungry enough to eat, she just didn't know if she had the appetite to do so, currently.

From behind her in line, rough large hands made their way to her hips and she felt warm breath on her neck as she heard him say quietly, "Admit et, lass.. Yer tired of bein a life sized doll.. You want a man who's going to take you down and play with you more tan once or twice a bloody year. Ah have seen yeh lookin at me. Saw yeh wincin like hell during that little fight in te hallway too."

She didn't turn around, but she did ask in concern, "Sheamus? Shouldn't you be in the medic's office, maybe?"

"Saw yeh come in 'ere, had to tell yeh tat, lass." he stated as he turned her around, for a moment, he just looked at her as if he wanted to say something more, but he didn't know if he should, or if it'd piss her off.

Even as he walked away, the memory of his hands on her skin and his lips so close to her ear remained burned into her mind, and she found herself curious, wondering if he saw the way she was treated, how many others did.

She sat down at a table, wordlessly, picked at a cheeseburger and scowled to herself. What she was feeling for the man was all wrong. She loved Alberto... Didn't she?

Alberto watched her from across the table as they sat eating the expensive meal. He cleared his throat, once, twice, maybe three times, and finally, she looked up at him.

"Where is your head at tonight?"

"Nowhere, Alberto, I'm fine."

"Did you not like the Dolce & Gabana thing? The dress?"

"No, I liked it, I just.."

"What?"

"It seems like you don't even touch me anymore, Alberto. And you hardly ever tell me you love me anymore.. Do you still love me?" Elena admitted in a rush as she looked at him, shocked at herself for letting the thought out of her mind.

He looked at her then asked, "Is there something you're not telling me? Is this about that peasant again? Of course I love you, te amor, don't be a silly girl. Maybe you should skip the chocolate cake. Breaks you out." as an attempt to change the subject

Elena glared at him as she shook her head, hurt that he'd even assume that she was messing around on him, after all they've been through.

"The fact that you'd even think that, Alberto.. And I wish you'd stop saying things like skip the cake or suggesting I see your trainer.. If you really loved me.." she trailed off as she sipped her wine, looked out the window, sulking.

Mentally, Del Rio made himself a vow, he'd get the message across to the Irish peasant loudly and clearly on the 1000th episode of Raw, when the man was least expecting it, in three weeks. He'd make sure that Sheamus knew that Elena was his, once and for all.

It wasn't exactly a secret that Sheamus was after Elena, or that he had been for a little while now. He made no secrets as to how much he wanted her, and this was really what kickstarted the situation between himself and Sheamus.

Alberto wasn't going to let anyone take what belonged to him, what he felt was his.

But Sheamus wasn't going to back down, either.

"Take me back to the hotel, Alberto."

He smiled and held out his hand, lead her out to the car and helped her in. He could tell that whatever was bothering her, wasn't going away anytime soon. Perhaps if he fought harder, tried his best to completely decimate the man..

Back at the Hotel

He lie there sleeping, and she tossed and turned, the conversation with Sheamus from earlier, on her brain. Standing, she slid on a silk robe, and then her low rise pale gray satin pajama bottoms. Maybe if she went for a walk around the hotel's indoor garden, she'd finally feel sleepy.

She'd just walked into the garden, and sat down on a bench when she felt a rose slowly travel down the back of her neck as Sheamus hopped over the back of the bench.

He sat there a moment, quietly staring at his hands, not speaking.

"Couldn't sleep, eh lass?" he asked finally,as he looked at her without all the makeup, without all the damn jewelry, her hair actually down now, not halfway up, halfway down.

Elena bit her lower lip, looked around and then said quietly, "No."

"Did yeh think about what ah said, earlier?" he asked, curiously as he leaned in and looked at her, waiting on an answer, his green eyes shining with a jovial mirth almost.

"I can't stop thinking about it.. But this.. It's wrong. I can't.." she murmured as she found herself leaning in as well.

About the time their lips met, his hand found it's way to her long dark and wavy hair, tangling in it as he growled against her lips and then muttered quietly, "Tell me yeh didn't feel somethin then, lass and ah will leave yeh be."

Elena bit her lower lip, but didn't answer.. If she said she hadn't felt something, a spark, okay, who the hell was she kidding, really, an inferno.. She'd be lying, and she didn't like to lie, she wasn't good at lying, actually.

"Ah knew et." he muttered, smirking as he stood, held out his hand to her. She took it, warily as she asked quietly, "Where are we going?"

All he did was shrug as he practically dragged her back towards the hallway his room sat on.

As soon as the door opened, the do not disturb sign came out and locked behind them firmly. He gently shoved her back on the bed, trailing slow kisses down her neck as he caressed her curvy frame with his rough calloused hands and the rose from the garden..

* USE YOUR IMAGINATION FOR THE REST*

1000th episode, Monday Night Raw, 3 weeks later, before the show, backstage.

She glared at him from across the room. She'd overheard him talking to Ricardo earlier, she knew about his plan and she wasn't happy about it. She also knew that she wanted to end things with him tonight, she had to get away, she couldn't stay there, watch the man she once loved more than anything be consumed by darkness and greed.

So she had a plan of her own.

Her cell phone lit up and she looked at it, biting her lower lip when she read the text that Sheamus sent her, texting him back, shoving the phone out of sight quickly.

The text had read, 'It's either him or me, lass.'

She'd texted back, "Sheamus, don't do this to me, not right now, please? I'm really confused right now."

He texted back seconds later, "Well, ah'm not. If yeh don't show up after te match and stay through the night, ah guess I know where yer heart is."

He shut his phone as he sighed. This was killing him. So maybe it hadn't started out with the best of intentions, he'd merely been trying to get into Alberto's head, but somewhere along the past 3 weeks, the Irishman had fallen for the little Latina bombshell.

And now, with his ultimatium, he wasn't sure where they'd stand after tonight. He was impatient and he was afraid, nervous, all in the same time.

Elena read the text as she sighed. She had to make a decision and soon. Her past and the hurt he'd been causing her as of late, all the neglect she'd taken, or Sheamus and all of the passion and fire he ignited in her whenever they were together.

She was snapped out of her thoughts by Alberto's stiff voice as he said gruffly, "We're going to be late for our entrance, te amor." as he stood, held out his hand.

She rolled her eyes when he wasn't looking and fell into place beside him as they walked down the ramp, keeping her eyes trained straight ahead, trying not to give a wink as she passed her lover, Sheamus, who boldly whistled as they passed by, said something to her in Gaelic that he more often than not said to her in the bedroom when they snuck away to be together lately.

The match began and she sat watching, wincing and barely able to control herself as the two men faced off in the ring that night...

1000th episode, Monday Night Raw, 3 weeks later, end of the match

They walked backstage, and Elena turned to Alberto as she shook her head in disgust. She'd known he was planning something, some form of revenge, but nothing like she'd just witnessed.

Frankly, it scared her into reality. If she were going to get out of this, if she were going to cut ties to him, it had to be now. Before he got that angry with her.

The fact that he could get that angry scared her beyond fear and she hadn't liked what she'd seen out there.

One look in his eyes revealed that the Alberto she once knew was gone forever. She'd lost him.

And then it hit her.. She didn't care anymore.. What started out for her as casual sex, as an escape, a way to feel the love she wasn't getting from the man who swore to love her..

It'd turned into love.

"What?" he practically snarled as she shook her head and slipped the t shirt she wore of his up, throwing it at him.

"I know you've been sneaking around with him, Elena. Tonight was to teach him and you a lesson." Alberto said quietly, as he looked at her.

"Yeah? Well it worked, Alberto. We're done." she said calmly, a bitter smirk on her face as she tore off the diamond necklace, took out the diamond earrings and shoved them at him, before finally unpinning her long hair from the diamond studded pin.

"These are yours. I want nothing to do with them." she stated grimly as she walked away, ignoring the jeers and howls she got from her top being exposed, the red lacy bra being seen by all as she made her way down the hallway, to the medic's office.

Sheamus sat on the exam table, wondering what she was doing right now. He knew she couldn't come to see him, because of Alberto, he knew that they were just lovers on the side, friends with benefits, so he wasn't expecting her to show up.

The door shutting firmly, locking behind whomever shut it had him looking up. His jaw dropped in shock as he saw her walking towards him slowly, almost like she were in a trance.

Her hair was down, the jewelry was gone, and so was the t shirt she wore with Alberto's design on it. He groaned as he asked, "Wot, lass? Ah figured we'd be over.."

Elena bit her lip and smiling, she shook her head as she slid onto her lap and said "We, Sheamus, are far from over. You were right, te amo.. I want to be more than some man's living doll, a possession. If it's not too late?"