**A/N**

This is my first one-shot written for DivaliciousDooL. I tried my hardest on this, and even though I don't know all that much about you, I just threw some details in that would make the story work, like the meaning behind your tattoos and since I don't know how old you are, I just made you drinking age! It's kind of roughly written, but that's to be expected of my first one shot. So Mara, tell me what you honestly think of it, and I hope y'all enjoy it!

-Megan

Just the Way You Are

Mara was walking around the backstage area after helping Natalya get ready for her match. She loved the Canadian Diva like a sister, but she was seriously OCD about how her hair and makeup was done. Mara had gotten so frustrated that she almost told the Diva to do it by herself, but instead she finished and just walked away. She also chose to walk away because she loved her job as a makeup artist for the WWE and wouldn't change it for the world. Her work also kept her mind off of her ex-boyfriend, who she had caught cheating on her while she was on the road. Given that it had been several weeks, it still stung deep down.

Being so wrapped up in her own little world, Mara wasn't paying any attention to where she was going. All of the sudden she found herself running into a hard body and falling down with a loud 'thud' as she landed flat on her ass; her medium length, dark chestnut brown hair flying all over her face to where she couldn't see. Letting out a groan of pain and wiping the hair out of her face, she looked up to see who it was she had run into. To her surprise, it was Randy Orton who was still all sweaty from his recent match against Wade Barrett, which he won of course.

"Oh shit, I'm so sorry. I didn't see you there. Are you okay?" he asked as he extended a hand to help her up.

"Yeah I'm fine thanks." Mara said as she took his hand and stood up.

Without letting go of her hand, Randy was surprised at how tall she was. Most of the women that walked around backstage were about a foot shorter than he was. To him, it was refreshing to not have to look so far down at the person he was talking to; a nice change of pace. Looking into her eyes, he couldn't look away, her eyes were hypnotic.

"Randy, are you okay?"

Her heavily accented voice suddenly jolted him out of his own thoughts. As he took a small step backwards, all while keeping her hand firmly in his, he realized that he had never seen her before.

"Uh…yeah, I'm good. I'm sorry, but I don't think that we've met. Are you a new Diva that they just called up from developmental?"

"Ha! That's funny, but no I'm not. My name is Mara and I'm one of the makeup artists for the show." Mara said with a laugh.

"Oh, my bad; I didn't know. To be honest since I don't really need one, I've never really paid too much attention to the makeup artists." Randy said with a laugh. Hearing her laugh, it just kind of came out; it was contagious.

"It's okay, I won't take it personally."

Mara looked down at their hands. To her it was a weird feeling. At his touch she could feel a tingling sensation travelling from her fingers up to her shoulders; it caused her to shiver slightly.

"Good, so this may sound a little bit forward, but what are you doing now that the show is over?"

"Right now, I was just planning on having a hot date with my bed. Other than that, nothing; why?"

"Would you like to go out and have a drink with me? It's my way of making it up to you for practically plowing you down."

"Yeah sure, I'd like that a lot."

"Great, uh give me about ten minutes to get changed and I'll meet you in catering." Randy said with a smile as he finally let go of Mara's hand and turned on his heel to head to his locker room. Once the contact was gone, she instantly longed for his touch again.

After packing up her things, Mara made it to catering and sat down. Not long after her butt hit the hard plastic did Randy walk in. Greeting her and asking if she was ready to go, they walked out of the arena towards his black Chevy Tahoe. Throwing everything into the backseat, they headed down the road to a little hole in the wall bar. When he found a parking spot, Randy quickly got out of the SUV and ran around to Mara's door to open it for her. Placing a protective arm around her waist, the WWE's Apex Predator led her inside. Ordering their drinks, a beer for Randy and a ginger ale for Mara, they found a secluded little table in the back.

"Okay, I'm intrigued about your drink choice. You look older than twenty one, so age can't be a factor."

"You've caught me. Back home in Africa I would go out and party with my friends. Then one day, it just didn't seem fun anymore. Now don't get me wrong, I drink on certain occasions but other than that I just choose not to." Mara explained when they sat down.

"I didn't know that you were from Africa."

"Well I got my work visa not too long ago, and since I'm new, no one really has been asking much about me."

Mara then laid her arm down on the table to scratch an itch on the inside of her elbow, which gave Randy a perfect view of the tattoo on her wrist. He was surprised; to him she didn't look like the kind of girl to have any tattoos.

"I like your tattoo. What is it; it's hard to see in the dim light." Randy said as he squinted his eyes for dramatic effect.

"It's a small feather. It's sort of a memoriam for a dear friend of mine that passed away while we were still in high school."

"That is very touching. Do you have any others?"

"Yeah, I have a butterfly on my upper back. Why do you look so surprised that I have tattoos? I mean, come on you are covered in them."

"I know, but a lot of them don't mean anything. It's obvious that yours have some meaning."

"They do. The feather for my friend and the butterfly is symbolic of change. The change in my life being that I left home to pursue my career within the WWE and that has lead me to where I am today."

Randy was impressed. He had never met someone so down to earth. Add in the fact that she had some tattoos, that just made her that much more attractive to him. Taking a deep swig from his beer, for some courage, he took Mara's hand, sending the shockwaves throughout her body, and looked deep into her eyes.

"I'm beginning to like you, just the way you are." He said sweetly as he leaned in and gently placed a kiss on her soft lips.