So I thought I'd have a try with this pairing as it's always lurking around my mind and as odd/unlikely as it seems... well, I write other odd pairs, so why not? After seeing Cesaro come out and the mention of Heyman not being there, this fic idea followed. So enjoy! I should also mention just for this that Summer's little thing with Layla and Dolph Ziggler never happened, but the two of them were still there to distract Fandango from his match (which he lost to a Zig-Zag.)

"I don't know about you, but I for one would call that a success," Summer Rae spoke with cheer in her voice, the woman holding out her hand to Layla and bringing her in with a spin. This was becoming their regular greeting.

"Absolutely. He shouldn't count on getting off with what he did to us that easy," Layla laughed almost wickedly, turning her attention for just a moment to the screen backstage where she saw an embarrassed and confused Fandango gathering himself and exiting the ring.

"You know, Lay, it's great that we're finally seeing eye-to-eye."

The older woman nodded with a smile. "Me too. I think we make better dance partners than he ever did."

"Tell me about it, that man is so damn clunky on his feet." The two of them laughed. Admittedly, they both had noticed how he'd often miss a few of their arrangements and steps which was probably just him getting ahead of himself. Sometimes Summer wondered if he'd just prefer to go solo - he sure has hell had the ego to make sure that he wasn't being outshone.

Layla leaned down so she was able to see herself in the mirror at the table and teased the ends of her hair. She then picked up the first tube of gloss she saw, it didn't matter, and applied another layer before bringing herself back up to face Summer. "Tonight just proved how much he needs us, as much as he hates to admit it."

"Duh, he's a total flop by himself. There's no doubt he'll have someone else on his arm by the next show now that we're not there to give him the attention, though." She turned to look at the British woman. "As we both know."

Layla considered her words and thought for a moment. The want to ridicule and torment him in front of everyone was clearly a mutual feeling and would definitely be something they could do if they worked together. Tonight proved that even Fandango can be distracted, and that those distractions can cost him a lot. The woman smiled as she thought back to the look on his face as they appeared right before him during his match against Dolph Ziggler. The match that he lost. "I think we should continue to give him the attention."

"Why would we do that?"

"He's clearly still enamoured with us both, so why don't we take advantage of that? Mess with his head, drive him a little crazy. Let's embarrass him."

The smile that sculpted Summer's face was all the confirmation Layla needed. "You know? I think that just might be the perfect plan. We'll grab every bit of the spotlight he wishes he had."

Layla was back to stepping with rhythm and gradually moving away from Summer. She gave her a wink before turning to walk away. "I'll call you tonight for the deets," was what she called back to the blonde Diva.

Summer eventually made her way over to the catering area to pick up a bottle of water. All this plotting against Fandango was proving to be thirsty work. The mind games and little appearances during his matches right now were just a taster of what he was in for, and she knew herself and Layla were going to have a blast.

She took out a bottle from the small glass fridge and was relieved to find that it was ice cold; usually she would just have to settle for one barely chilled as the fridges were constantly being refilled. Not much of a surprise what with how stuffy the arenas could get, regardless of the wrestlers themselves being less than half clothed.

The woman walked down the hall with an aim to get back to where her things were so she could retrieve her phone when she was suddenly pulled from her thoughts. Just ahead of her, she heard what seemed to be a curse of sorts and a loud cracking thud on the ground. Frowning, she moved to get a closer look to see that it was a phone that had hit the floor, and the man that stood there with a hand on his head had appeared to have thrown it in temper.

Had she not been close enough to him for her to notice that he had seen her, she would have swiftly walked away without a word by now. But he had seen her and he knew that she had just watched him react tactless.

As much as Summer knew it would be best to walk away and leave him be, he hadn't been rude to her by telling her where to go or giving her a dark glare to indicate that he wanted no means of interaction whatsoever, he just looked upset. And the woman couldn't let that go.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly approached him. "Is everything okay?"

"Me? It's nothing, just... Paul isn't here." Cesaro frowned, bending down to pick up the phone he had thrown down, checking it for any damage. Luckily, it was fine. It just meant that he'd have to control himself next time.

"Not returning your calls, huh?" Summer asked with sympathy in her voice. "Maybe something came up, I'm sure he'll be here in time for your match."

He shook his head. "I don't think that will be the case. There's no reason why he shouldn't be here, and if there was he would tell me. It's something else."

"Do you have any idea what it could be?"

The Swiss man looked up at her just then, noting the concern and curiosity on her face. "It's not what, it's who."

He said nothing after that as the woman before him waited for a response. It was almost like he was expecting her to click onto what he meant. She eventually caught on and after some thought, it came straight to her. Summer bit on the inside of her lip nervously. "Brock Lesnar."

"I suppose it's now his turn for Paul's accompaniment."

Summer found his humbleness almost unreasonable. He was accepting of the fact that his own manager had ditched him without so much as any warning. Sure, she had seen that he was pissed about it, but it seemed that his anger was just in the heat of the moment and he'd now come to terms with no longer having a manager. "You shouldn't have that kind of attitude, though. He was your manager and you trusted him. Were you really expecting this?"

Cesaro shrugged and gave a disingenuous smile. "To begin with, no. I was so excited to be working with Paul when he offered. He's an excellent manager and I knew Lesnar would still be a big factor, I just assumed that Paul would stick with us both what with Brock not being here as often."

Summer had sat herself down on the crates that were next to her whilst Antonio had talked. She'd listened and had taken everything he had said in, and while she respectfully disagreed, she understood why the man felt like he did. He was a very respectful person and it was really showing right now. He had also been nothing but courteous towards her, too, which couldn't be said for many others. "You were close with him, weren't you?"

"I'm a very big fan of Paul," he smiled. "It was truly an honour to have been taken under his wing. He has all the experience in the world in this company and he himself told me he could make me a big star. Of course, I wanted to be the one to prove myself and work up the ranks. I didn't expect things to be handed to me and I think he understood that. He insisted that I follow his lead, so I did."

"I have to admit, you guys together looked like a force to be reckoned with," Summer told him, and he chuckled, seating himself down on the steel chair behind him. The two really did look comfortable and deep in conversation, mostly because they actually were.

"I've heard that from many. I think Paul was hoping that I would be holding a championship by now."

"That's a given," Summer scoffed. "Most of his other 'clients' seemed to have held gold, funnily enough."

Cesaro looked at her with a curious smile. "Do you not like Paul Heyman?"

"Of course I do," she reassured, making sure he didn't take it the wrong way. "I just get the feeling that he rushes into things and tries to make stars too fast. I mean, guys need time to grow and flourish," she looked back up at him a little embarrassed. "I mean, I know, what would I know, I'm just a Diva-"

"No, not at all, I agree wholly. I too believe that true success take time and work, you're right. That's the approach I take."

Hearing that was enough to make her visibly blush right there. He was being such a gentleman, but that was no surprise, everyone else backstage had nothing but good to say about the man. He reminded her a lot of Daniel Bryan - an amazing talent yet still so humble and kind. Summer understood that she didn't exactly give off the same impression, but that was just because of the Fandango situation. She herself knew that she was a well needed aspect of the Divas Division and she worked damn hard, even if that hard work wasn't showcased on screen. "You're a future World Champion. With or without a manager."

"Well thank you," he said, looking more than flattered. "There's no stopping you from being a female champion, though."

"You don't have to say that."

"I do. You should proudly voice that when you please. You're strong and you're beautiful. And you're a star in the ring."

If this man didn't ease up now, she was almost sure she would be frantically blushing and giggling like a school girl right in front of him. Right now, Summer just decided to take it as a normal complement which was likely how he saw it. "How would you know about my in ring skill? I'm practically showcased as nothing more than a valet."

"Hey," he leaned forward in his seat, smiling. "I never miss a moment of NXT. It's my favourite show, as you know. And I know a good wrestler when I see one."

"Thank you, Cesaro. I guess now I'm the honoured one. Or flattered, at least," she laughed, and he gave her yet another one of his distracting smiles, this time more of a coy one.

"Not flattery if it's true."

Before Summer could get out another word, an official approached the two of them. He looked far too busy to care about or even notice that the two had been sat talking for quite a while now, and his attention stuck to Cesaro anyway. "Cesaro, you're up in five," he said, the man then rushing back off after getting a nod from Cesaro.

"That's my cue," Cesaro told her, standing up with a few stretches. He looked down at his phone and sighed. "Still no sign of Paul."

Summer slid off the crates to stand and smoothed down the dress she wore. "You don't need him tonight, you'll be perfectly fine."

"It was nice talking to you," he told her, the man picking up the bottle of water that Summer had put down and handing it to her. She smiled in response, noticing how her hand briefly touched his when she took the bottle.

"It really was."

After giving her a wink that was enough to turn her knees to jelly, he turned and walked away. She knew she couldn't just leave it like that and hope to cross his path again one day, so she called him before she had the chance to back out. "Hey, Cesaro."

He stopped immediately and looked back at her. The look on his face gave her the impression that he was hoping she would ask him something, and she noticed that, and it brought a smile from her. "So, I'll see you again soon, right?"

"I'd like that a lot." His face lit up upon her mentioning that, and she returned a beaming expression all the same.

Maybe she had a lot more to discuss with Layla than they initially planned.