Touring through Europe was one of the most whirlwind type of experiences in Ryan's life, there was so much to do and very little time to do it in. Ireland, the UK, Germany, Italy; it felt as if they were leaving just as they had arrived. The beginning of the day was usually filled with public appearances, followed by an hour or two of down time that the roster usually put towards getting some time in the closest gym they could find before a house show. It wasn't all bad, however. Travelling with a certain someone who's ability to speak five languages wasn't just a part of his gimmick certainly came in handy. It was just a shame they didn't have any time to take in anything aside from arenas, airports and wherever the wrestlers were sent for appearances.

The last stop before heading back to the US was Paris. The main event was the Real Americans and Wade Barrett against the Usos and Sheamus. Watching Stu and Stephen beat the hell out of each other was always fun to watch, especially with the added England versus Ireland air that hung over them whenever they clashed. With the added high flying style of Jimmy and Jey the trio of baby faces gave the heels a run for their money, but in the end dirty deeds and underhanded shenanigans won the day.

While the final show had gone off without a hitch, the same couldn't be said for the weather. America had been caught in the sudden grip of an arctic snap, besieging at least half of the east coast through to the mid west. With a lot of them due to fly into New York just about everyone's flight was delayed or cancelled. On the plus side there were far worse places in the world to be stranded in than the capitol of France. It also gave Ryan the opportunity to tick visiting The Lourve and see some of Van Gogh's famous artworks off her bucket list while they were here. His work and the use of vibrant colours had always intrigued the creative side of her, fuelled even more by sad story of his life that the long dead artist historically endured before it all ended in such a violent manner. After double checking she had what she needed in her bag she set off, poking around on a travel app on her phone to make sure she knew how to get to where she wanted to go.

"Plans already in motion, I see."

She looked up at the familiar voice and smiled. "I guess you could say that."

As always, Ryan couldn't help but think that Claudio looked good. Dressed in charcoal grey pants and woollen jumper under a heavy, mid length black overcoat and a deep red scarf hanging loosely around his neck for a small splash of colour with a black flat cap fitted snugly on his head. All of it was very form fitting, almost as if it had been tailor made for his frame. No-one could deny that the man had style.

"Something wrong?"

"No," she replied mildly. "I'm just wondering if you're doing some moonlighting modelling for winter fashion while we're here."

"Is that jealousy I detect?" he teased. "Am I no longer allowed to have any other photographer take my pictures?"

"Well it is written into my contract that I get first shot at anything you do."

Oh crap, she hadn't meant to say that. It just sort of... slipped out. Where was this damn elevator?

Claudio cocked a brow at the sudden revelation. Now that was interesting, why would she have such a clause? He couldn't help the spread of a slow small smile, if the sudden shifting of weight from one foot to another while tapping the call button a couple more times was anything to go by it was something he probably wasn't supposed to know about. Or didn't want him knowing about. With a light chime heralding its arrival the stainless steel doors slid apart and the pair stepped inside. To prevent the awkward moment from settling in he decided to change the subject and keep the conversation moving. "So, just what were you looking up directions for?"

"The Lourve," she replied, relieved that he didn't seem to want to chase up the details about the conditions of her employment. "After that, I'm not sure. Probably play it by ear."

"Care for some company?"

"You're not sick of me yet?"

"That's an impossibility."

"Well I'm not going to argue," she replied with a grin. "You can play translator."

"After you," he said and they headed for the elevator. "Paris awaits."


"OK, I take back what I said about skipping this one."

"Glad I could get you to change your mind."

Claudio leaned up against the railing while watching Ryan mess around taking a few shots of the city laid out before them below. The afternoon had gone well with minimal interruptions from people who recognised him. After the visit to the art museum she had been quite content to simply follow his lead and the pair ended up at a couple of other landmarks before arriving at the biggest one of them all; the Eiffel Tower. With evening setting in, endless street and building came alive with countless lights until the sky itself glowed.

"Why such an aversion to having your own picture taken?" he asked after hearing the final click of the button. Colby had told him about the overreaction when Joe had tried to take a snap shot and he had been mildly curious about it ever since.

"Just a quirk I developed as a kid." she replied, playing it off like no big deal. They had been having a good time and it really didn't need to get derailed over her personal hang-ups. "Besides, there are far more interesting things out there to take photos of then little old me. Like those two over there, they're adorable."

He shook his head a little, barely casting a glance at a young couple huddled together on the opposite side of the platform, the girl resting her head on the shoulder of the young man by her side. She did not just say that. "I'm going to have to disagree."

"Is that so?"

"It is." Pushing off the railing he held his hand out, motioning for the camera in her own. "Do you trust me?"

"Maybe," she replied cautiously and possessively holding the object out of reach, fairly sure she didn't want to follow where this was going.

"Maybe? It's a yes or no question. How did you get to maybe?"

"I'm special like that. Beat of my own drum and all."

He watched as she peered down over the edge for a moment, looking as if she was seriously debating if 'accidentally' dropping a camera worth over a grand off the Eiffel Tower just to get out of a picture was an option. He got the distinct impression that the more he pushed the deeper she would dig her heels in, so dropped it altogether.

"Sooo, in an attempt to avoid being hit by the Awkward Express, any objections in finding something to eat? I'm starving," Ryan suggested after a few seconds had ticked over, just wanting to keep things moving.

"That sounds like a plan," he agreed. "Anything in particular?"

"As long as I can avoid the frogs legs and a plate full of snails, I'm happy."

"Come on, where's your sense of culinary adventure?"

"There's no way I could eat a frog," she said with an adamant shake of her head as they headed for the elevator. "They're adorable creatures, and my younger brother and I would always try and keep them as pets every time we found a bunch of tadpoles. Didn't work so well once they had all grown up and started escaping, but it never stopped us from trying."

"How many siblings do you have, anyway?" he asked out of curiosity as the started to make their way down off the iconic landmark.

"Three," she replied. "All brothers. Needless to say I ended up growing up a bit of a tomboy despite both my grandmas best efforts to keep me in a dress. Probably would have saved myself a lot of grief in the long run if I had been more girly, but I have a habit of learning things the hard way."

They stepped off the elevator and headed toward the most convenient place to flag down a cab. "What do you mean?"

"You know what some kids are like, the little bastards who really need a good kick up the arse." Her expression twisted into a small sneer as the pitch of her voice rose with a sarcastic whine. "'But Ryan's a boy's name' usually followed 'are you a boy or a girl?'."

"Ever thought of changing it?"

"For a while," she admitted with a nonchalant shrug. "But for better or worse, it's a part of who I am. Besides it would just be weird to do that now. I probably wouldn't respond to whatever it would be half the time for a start."

They found a small restaurant that wasn't too busy and Claudio helped her decipher the menu, assuring her that neither frogs or snails were anywhere on the list. What she ended up with was a safe dish with not an amphibian to be found. After he had settled the bill with the waiter, insisting it was his turn to pay, they finally headed back to the hotel. Flights were leaving in the early morning, so a few hours of sleep before that would be something most welcome.

"Just how hard is it to keep all those languages straight?" she asked after they stepped out of the cab and through the hotel doors.

"Honestly? I'm mildly surprised I've remembered as much French as I have today, I haven't spoken it in years," he replied, hitting the appropriate buttons in the elevator. "It's like anything else in life, really. If you don't use it that often the talent gets rusty."

"Well you're a lot better than I'd be," she said. "The only languages I'm proficient in are English, sarcasm and profanity."

"Ever thought of giving it a try? I could teach you, if you like."

"Yeah... you'd have a hard time with that. Unless it can hold my complete and undivided attention, I don't make the best student." She thought for a second, then smirked at an old memory. "One of the primary schools I went to tried teaching us French. One of the biggest lies I've ever heard uttered was that it would be easy to learn because it's similar to English, or something like that. Hated every second of those classes. Ended up drawing all over the work instead."

"Well, it doesn't have to be French." he said as they stopped in front of her room. "And I'm sure I could think of something to make sure you don't get bored."

"And just how would you plan on doing that?" Ryan asked while rummaging around in her handbag momentarily while trying to find the key card. She really did have to get one of those hybrid cameras one of these days, the space it would save alone would be worth the price tag.

He felt the tiniest jerk of surprise as his lips brushed against hers, but certainly wasn't objecting.

"Good night, Miss Monroe."

Ryan stood there stunned, brain trying to catch up on what had just transpired. Did that just happen? She turned and looked toward the elevator to see Claudio sporting a sly grin, finding her surprised reaction endearing just as the doors closed with a soft chime. Going back to the States just got a lot more interesting...


Jon sat in a secluded corner on his own. Something had changed and now Castagnoli was definitely winning, he was sure of it. Thanks to the Arctic snap and the bunch of flight delays from Paris it caused had practically handed it to the son of a bitch. The Lourve, The Arc de Triomphe, the fucking Eiffel Tower. Throw in Claudio's talent for languages and how in the hell was he supposed to compete with that?

God damn it...

He was momentarily distracted from movement to his left as Colby wandered over. "Someone looks happy," he commented facetiously as he sat down beside his team mate. "Are you brooding?"

"No."

Colby looked at him suspiciously, seeing straight through the bald face lie. "You're brooding. What bug crawled up your ass this time?"

"There's nothing up my ass, Lopez, or anywhere else for that matter," Jon insisted irritably.

"Then why do you look like someone pissed in your Weaties?" When he didn't get an answer Colby sighed and looked down on the production being assembled below until his eyes found Ryan, then glanced sideways to the blond beside him. Jon could swear he could almost hear the mental gears turning until...

"You're jealous."

"I am not!"

"I call bullshit," he smirked. "Claude beat you and now you're jealous. Just admit it and let go, man."

"There is nothing to admit."

"Fine, I get the hint," Colby conceded. "Just don't go doing anything stupid. Ryan is cool people, so don't be a dick and chase her off altogether simply because she doesn't want you in her pants."

He simply waved the other man dismissively. "Whatever."

"I mean it," he insisted, knowing full well how much Jon hated losing at anything. He wasn't even interested in the girl like Castagnoli was, it was just pure competition on Jon's part.

"Alright, I get it already, geez," he replied with exasperated annoyance.

Colby held up his hands and allowed the subject to drop. Either Jon was going to listen or he wasn't, and there wasn't much he could do one way or the other about it. He just really hoped it didn't turn into a mess...


Trying to continue writing wrestling themed stuff after not watching the product since April is fucking HARD! Damn near impossible. I'm not really happy with this but at the same time I'm now thoroughly sick of looking at it, so I've come to that all encompassing conclusion of fuck it, it's going up anyway. If someone wants to give me a small AU idea instead for the meantime, it would be most welcome. It may also distract from real life problems for a while, which would be a bonus.

To be honest, I'm half tempted to pull this and the other unfinished wrestling themed story down, simply because I just can't get it to go anywhere (four versions for one chapter and it still won't budge? Beyond frustrating, even more so considering it's almost finished). For now though, I will attempt to persevere!