Disclaimer: I don't own anything; the OC belongs to Cody'sxFavoritexGirl.

Summary: An impromptu night in the park changes everything between Mikaela and the man she supposedly hates, Cody Rhodes. CodyOC, requested by Cody'sxFavoritexGirl, oneshot

Another request! This one is for Cody'sxFavoritexGirl, obviously, who is awesome and writes the best fics! I hope that you enjoy this one. I hope I do your character justice, since it's your OC and everything. Please enjoy!

Swing It

Mikaela gave a sigh and wiped the sweat from her brow as she made her way backstage.

Her match tonight was intense, challenging. Then again, she wouldn't have expected anything less from being in the ring with a seasoned vet such as Layla. Their program was working out remarkable well, with Mikaela garnering more heat night after night, and Layla playing out the good girl role to perfection. In any case, Mikaela was happy with her role in the company right now, and another content sigh escaped her lips.

Hardly anyone was backstage, so she made her way to the Divas' locker room without many distractions. For this, she was slightly glad. She was hoping to sneak away from the show soon, knowing that things were wrapping up with an ending segment focused around Mark Henry and John Cena, and that no one would miss her if she left a few minutes early.

Because, really, it's not as if they wanted her in the ending segment anyway. Her logic was sound, she found as she changed clothes, slipping from her ring gear to her sweats and t-shirt. She bundled up her long blonde hair into a low ponytail and shoved her gear in her gym bag.

She slid out of the locker room, hoping that she hadn't been spotted. Her hopes were completely dashed when she saw Cody Rhodes lingering outside the locker room, a leggy and unknown brunette on one arm, Damien Sandow crowing something about priorities on the other.

Mikaela fought a disgusted shudder as she moved past the three of them, purposefully bumping her shoulder into Cody's, causing him to jolt slightly backwards, and the girl on his arm squawked as the chain reaction made her spill her fruit punch on her white dress.

Not even listening as Cody called her name, Mikaela walked out the door, ignoring the sense of indignation in her chest.

Leaving early had its perks, she figured.

The night sky was a gorgeous sight to behold. Though the stars were blotted out by the countless street lights lining her path, she could still appreciate the nighttime atmosphere.

People could call her careless for walking to the hotel. She could call those people a few other words that she didn't have the gumption to think of right now. The hotel wasn't far at all from the arena, and Mikaela didn't see the need to rent a car when she could just walk. It was good exercise without going to the gym, which was something she always enjoyed.

As she made her way down the sidewalk, she tried not to think of the man she just left, as if he were nothing. When, in fact, he was the opposite. The chill of the air around her was a nice distraction from her thoughts, but only for a moment.

Mikaela's eyes scanned the area, finding a few random things to focus on. The moon, half-full. Cars zooming past, crickets chirping. She gave a sigh and kept walking, trying not to focus on him and that random girl. But by thinking that, she could do nothing but, and it caused her blood to boil.

Her feet made no noise as she walked slowly to the hotel, passing various landmarks and buildings and -

Mikaela stalled, looking to her left, and a smile crept across her face, her anger momentarily subdued.

A park, sitting innocuously in the middle of a city. Empty, abandoned, none of its usual visitors taking up space. An urge came over her, one that she did not stamp down, and she swerved to the left, walking into the park's awaiting embrace.

She glanced around at all of the park's accommodations. Slides and jungle gyms and monkey bars. Swings and merry-go-rounds and sandboxes. A smile overtook her face as she walked about, feeling a welcome nostalgia overcome her. She let her fingers trail over each bit of equipment, as if intimately familiar with them, before arriving at the one particular place that really caught her eye.

The swing set.

Mikaela sat her gym bag down beside the set and then looked at the swing in front of her. It was tempting, and without much thought, she sat down, wrapped her fingers around the chains that held the swing aloft and began rocking forward and backward, gaining height at each pass.

The breeze created by this action felt good on her still-clammy skin. It created the kind of cool-down that one rarely experienced after a match. She closed her eyes, imagining herself floating free in the sky as her legs propelled her higher, higher.

This kind of bliss lasted a few great moments until she felt the urge to open her eyes, for whatever reason.

She was greeted with the strangely soft gaze of Cody Rhodes.

Mikaela shouted a curse, digging her heels into the sand beneath the swing to halt her progress. Her heart was thundering in her chest, pulse bounding at her temples. She blinked a few times, as if trying to convince herself that it was, indeed, Cody Rhodes she was looking at. When the image of him didn't dissipate in what she thought was an appropriate amount of time, she exclaimed, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Cody lifted one shoulder in a shrug, closing his eyes as he did so. There was a moment in which she wished to slug him straight in his smug face, but...well, that wasn't an unusual occurrence.

"I could be asking the same thing of you."

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked, not moving from her seated position in the swing. It swayed gently, completely belittling her roiling emotional state.

"After your match," Cody prodded, but he obviously knew full well that Mikaela recalled perfectly what transpired.

"I packed my stuff and left," she said, feigning innocence.

"You know that's not what I mean."

Mikaela sighed and decided to glare at him. It was a winning tactic, she discovered long ago, when she wanted someone to leave her alone. Cody, however, wasn't budging.

"It makes no sense to me, is all," Cody said.

"So you stalked me here?"

"Not stalked," he said, running a hand over his hair. "I just saw you and decided to stop."

Mikaela looked over to the side and saw his rental car parked in the lot nearest her. "Uh huh."

"Why did you do that?"

"Leave me alone, Rhodes," she said. Mikaela was tired and unable to think of even the cleverest of responses. She opted to continue glaring at him, fingers tightening around the rusty chains of the swing. "It's none of your business."

"I believe it is my business what you do to me and my - "

"I don't care!" Mikaela had had it at this point, standing up for the briefest of moments, hands still clasped around the chains. "I don't care what you and your flavor-of-the-week girlfriend were doing!"

Cody started to smirk. He folded his arms across his chest and started laughing, that jerk. Mikaela settled a glare on him that could curdle milk. "What's so funny?!"

After chuckling a bit more, Cody tugged at his moustache just the faintest bit before settling his unbelievably blue gaze on her. "She's my cousin, Mikaela."

Mikaela looked at him and blinked. "...what?"

This caused Cody to grin wider. "My cousin. Julie."

The sense of relief that coursed through her was something that made her chest feel light. Despite the feeling of freedom that statement gave her, Mikaela couldn't let a smile grace her features. She had to keep up her front. Had to be the one in control. She couldn't let it slip that she really, truly -

"You were jealous, weren't you?"

Silence.

Cody flashed his perfect teeth at her. "Thank you for proving my point."

"I don't get jealous," she snapped, sinking back down onto the swing. Her defeated posture was quite the contradiction to her fighting words.

"Julie and her ruined dress would beg to differ."

An awkward quiet spread between the two of them.

The next moment Cody spoke, his voice was quiet and much too close. Mikaela hadn't realized she had been looking at her feet until she saw Cody's plainly in front of her own. She lifted her gaze to his and saw that his hands were holding the chains of the swing steady, his gaze even steadier. A pit of nervousness sank in her stomach, thought she hadn't the faintest idea why.

"Mikaela," he said.

"What are you - "

"I love you."

Mikaela opened and closed her mouth, looking much like a gaping fish, when he continued and her heart thundered on.

"I love you, and I wouldn't be saying this if I didn't know you feel the same."

"You...arrogant..." she tried to say.

"Tell me I'm wrong, then."

But she couldn't. She could never do anything of the sort. She'd been ignoring her feelings for him for the longest time, pretending that they were the very opposite of what they were, and here he was...saying they had been reciprocated for even longer.

She shook her head, as if trying to rid her mind of those thoughts. As if trying to find something clever to say to hurt him, to make him run from her. But she couldn't.

She had been denying this for too long.

Laughing somewhat hysterically to herself, she made herself look Cody in the eyes. "Fine."

Cody's eyes crinkled with his next smile. "Yeah?"

"I love you, too."

With that, Cody moved his hands down the chain so that they were pressing lightly against her own. His head tilted down towards hers, and their lips met in a sweet, lingering kiss with no one but the moon as witness.

End.