A/N: Requested by Rhiannon Leigh Black. She & I sort of have a fic trade type thing going on. Anyway, I had a lot of fun writing this, and I hope you guys enjoy. Robin, you know I'm not that good at mushy, but I tried for you.

Inspired by "Invincible" by Crossfade

It was hard to remember life before him. It seemed like before she'd met him, before he'd came into her life, she had just been going through the motions. Relationships are complicated indeed, and Rynne Janine had definitely had her fair share. It just seemed like every guy she met ended up being an asshole in the end. The problem was that they were always able to deceive her at first, then show their true colors when they knew they had her hooked.

Her last relationship, with Phil Brooks, alias CM Punk, mirrored that perfectly. When she met him, the guy seemed so charismatic, funny, and a bit of a smart-ass. It wasn't until about six months into their relationship that the true Phil emerged. He became possessive, jealous, and verbally abusive. He also became demanding, and insisted that Rynne keep him informed of where she was at all times.

Most girls would have given in to his rather unreasonable and, quite frankly, petty requests, if only for the fact that he was a very famous, very skilled professional wrestler. Rynne, however, was not like that. For one thing, she was well-established in the music world, and had been long before she met Phil. She didn't depend on or expect anything from him, and when he became the jealous boyfriend from hell, she gave him an ultimatum—change or watch her walk out the door. Of course he refused to change, so she left.

Not long after that, the redhead and her band signed a deal with TNA, where they would perform at one of their PPV's. In addition, one of their singles would be chosen as the official song for the PPV. It was a pie deal, one that none of them had been able to refuse. Once the deal went through, Rynne found herself appearing at the Impact Zone on several occasions.

Naturally, she had to get acquainted with the roster and staff, and one of the first people she met was Chris Sabin, one half of the Motor City Machine Guns.

Rynne liked him right away. He was funny, witty, charming, polite, and a bit shy—in short, the complete opposite of Phil. There was an instant attraction from the moment they locked eyes, but because she'd been hurt so badly in the past, Rynne pushed it away. She and Chris became good friends, but in her mind, that was all they'd ever be. She felt that her past was a huge obstacle that would hinder her chances of ever being in a relationship again. So every time that Chris tried to bring up the possibility of the two of them going out on a date, the redhead either flat out ignored it or changed the subject.

Luckily, Chris wasn't the kind of guy that gave up. He was nothing if not persistent, and was determined to get an answer from the woman, whether it was positive or negative. He enlisted the help of both Alex and Rynne's friends, and they immediately began plotting, despite the fact that Rynne threatened to beat their asses if they did.

But their attempts proved to be futile, as Rynne flat-out refused to go out on a date with Chris once he was able to approach her. Tina, who was one of Rynne's closest friends, tried to convince her to give Chris a chance, because she knew that he was a good guy, but her friend just wouldn't give in. No one knew it was because she was afraid of the relationship. Not of Chris himself, but of how to act. She wasn't used to guys treating her well, actually caring about her opinions, and allowing her to just be her. However, Chris was all of those things and so much more, and it frightened her. She didn't want to screw things up further.

Rynne was walking into catering a couple of months later when she happened to see Chris sitting at a table, by himself. She smiled as she expertly maneuvered her way through the crowd of people that were gathered in the small room and made her way to Chris' table. Without saying anything, she sat down and took her sandwich out of its wrapper.

"Don't give up your independence unless it feels so right. Nothing good comes easily, sometimes you gotta fight."

Surprised, Chris looked up into the eyes of the smiling woman, and cocked his head.

"Nice. How'd you know I like 311?" He paused and laughed before he continued. "Okay, I think pretty much everyone knows, but how'd you know that I like that song?"

"Oh, it was just a guess. A really good one, it seems," Rynne replied with an equally bright smile. "Plus it's also one of my favorites."

Chris sat back, a bit thrown off. This girl liked 311? She was just full of surprises.

"You like 311?" he questioned in disbelief. "Take me home, I'm yours!"

Rynne shook her head as she took a sip of her Pepsi.

"No, not at all, but I knew you did," she said. "I memorized all the words just a few minutes ago." She raised an eyebrow again and said, "And that's nothing like me. At all."

She wiped her mouth.

"I like you a lot, Sabin. Consider yourself special."

He blushed and lowered his eyes.

"Wow. You sure have a strange way of showing it." He ran his fingers along the pattern on the table. "Do you do that with every guy you like or am I just the exception?"

Rynne hung her head in shame.

"I guess I deserve that," she answered quietly. "Look, it's not an excuse, but I haven't had the best experiences with guys. Actually, they've pretty much all been assholes to me, so after the last relationship, I just gave up."

"Oh." Chris looked up. "So, what made you change your mind? What's so special about me?"

"I really don't know," the redhead replied thoughtfully. "The fact that you tried so hard to prove that you weren't a total douchebag like the others is part of it, I think. Plus Tina really likes you, and if you're okay with her, then there has to be something special about you."

"I'll have to thank her later," Chris laughed. The two grew quiet again after that, with Rynne breaking the silence a few months later.

"You have to understand, I was raised to be totally independent," she explained. "I never felt like I was missing anything in my life. I wasn't the girl that wanted to get married because her friends were." She fiddled with her hair. "And when I met you, that all changed. You shook everything up..I don't know how to explain it."

She sighed as she struggled to find the proper words.

"This is all so new to me. It's going to be rough for you at first, but I promise, it'll get better."

Chris stood up, drank the last of his pop, and crushed the can, before smiling wickedly at the woman.

"That's all right, I love a good challenge. I'll domesticate you yet."