A/N: To anyone who takes the time to check out this story today, thank you for doing so. As always, thanks for all past reads/reviews/faves/follows as well, as they mean a great deal to me. Enjoy.


Paul was on a mission, but Stephanie jogged up behind him and caught his wrist. Together, they halted at the halfway point to Seth's locker room. Circling around to the front of his body, Stephanie slipped her hands around his waist and hugged him to her, a rarity for them while standing in the middle of the hallway. For the most part, they tried to avoid public displays of affection in order to prevent people from seeing Paul as someone who received preferential treatment simply because of who he was married to. Work was intended to be strictly business.

This time was different, though. Stephanie, using her womanly charms to calm him, leaned in and kissed a curved line that began at his jaw and traveled straight down the side of his neck. His posture slumped and she smiled against his skin, thankful she still had what it took to help relieve his tension at a moment's notice. Stephanie picked her head up and lifted her chin, gazing up into his uncertain eyes, which were still trained on Seth's locker room door. "Honey?"

His eyes narrowing just a bit more, Paul replied, "You know what they're doing in there, don't you?"

"Well, no, I don't know for sure."

"Get real, Steph," he snorted.

"What?" she asked, raising her shoulders. "Just because it's what we were doing back when we first got together doesn't mean it's what they're doing. I don't even know for sure that Renesa's ever been physical with Seth in that way. She hasn't told me, and I feel like that's something she would confide in me about if it had already happened. I get the impression their relationship's more innocent than that. I think it's just a crush, like puppy love, kind of, and they're just wanting to spend time together and hang out."

Paul stared down at her and shook his head slowly. He spied a passing worker in his periphery, waiting to speak until they were completely out of earshot. "You're crazy if you don't think this is more than that. Don't you see the way they look at each other, the way they just have to sneak off every two seconds to be together? I know what Seth is doing, because I was that guy not so long ago, might I add. I'm going to get her and bring her back to the meeting right now."

He tried pulling out of Stephanie's grasp, but she held him tighter, turning her head and pressing the left side of her face into his strong chest, his firm muscles bulging against her cheek. If they weren't in public, she would have loved to rip his clothes off right then and there, but that was also beside the point. "She's an adult, Paul. She makes her own decisions, and like you told her earlier, if she wants this time to be different, then she has to make that happen. Nobody else can do it for her. You have to let her go, and if she messes up, then it's on her. Not anybody else."

"I watched that kid grow up. She may as well be my daughter, and I'm not standing back and allowing her to squander such a huge opportunity because of a guy who's only after one thing."

"And how many people thought that about you?" Stephanie asked, raising her head as her eyes pierced his. Paul was in a trance, unable to look away, to focus on Seth's closed locker room door. He only had eyes and ears for his wife right now. "Dad already told you before, there were tons of people who stopped trusting you after it came out that you and I were together. These were people who had liked you before and had good relationships with you, but the second they found out you were with me, they got all suspicious and thought you were trying to hurt me or do something underhanded. You're doing the same thing to Seth that people did to you back then, and do you really think that's fair?"

"We were different, though. I fucking loved you, and I still do. I've always loved you, ever since we got TV-married on Raw in Las Vegas. You invited me out for a drink after we filmed the segment, and you were so fucking cute. You had the most adorable sense of humor, and you kept smiling at me and making conversation so I wouldn't feel awkward. I never knew, up until that night, that I needed someone exactly like you in my life," Paul said, choking up a little. He cleared his throat and tried to pull himself together, but Stephanie saw through the attempt and cupped his left cheek, stroking his skin with her thumb. "With you, I instantly felt like I mattered, like I belonged, and I've never lost that feeling for a second. Even now, the way you look at me, the way you always want to hold my hand when we're walking together, or the way you just, I know I already said it, but you look at me with so much love."

"Because I love you, mister," Stephanie said. She tugged on his tie to pull him in, and they shared a sweet kiss. "You're my man."

Paul nodded and kissed her forehead. "And you're my woman. Always."

"But, hon," Stephanie segued, "what I'm trying to say is that just because it might appear, on the surface, that Seth is only after one thing, that doesn't make it true. Renesa's beautiful in every way possible, and it's not a stretch to believe that Seth sees something in her and wants to be with her. They could very well be in love, and you can't police them for it. You can't follow after Renesa or send Seth away when they're trying to talk, and especially not when you told me you promised Renesa that you wouldn't be overbearing again."

"I just feel like she needs extra guidance. She's losing herself in Seth, and it's not okay."

"Okay, I understand that, but the thing is, she's already got a father. She doesn't need another one," Stephanie said. "And besides, she's an adult, and not even Dad can fully stop her from seeing someone she wants to see. Renesa's a smart cookie, and she handles herself well, and she can figure out whether or not a relationship is going to be good for her. We have to let her work through that herself."

Paul checked his watch and grumbled. "She's going to be late for the meeting. Mark my words, she will walk back into that conference room at least five minutes late."

"And if she does, then that's on her," Stephanie shrugged.

"So you don't even care?"

"Of course I care. She's my sister; I care," she replied. "I also know when to give someone the space to run their own life, and now's the time. This is her second chance, and I want to see her do good things with it, but only Renesa can make that happen. She's the one who controls her own destiny, not us. We have to trust in her abilities to conduct herself in a way that's going to give her a positive outcome. And if she doesn't, if she comes back complaining to us that she doesn't fit in here or that this job doesn't feel right to her, we can be the ones to say, like, 'Hey, you got your chance and you blew it.' I mean, I'd never be that outright harsh with her, but basically, in a nutshell, that would be our response. She has to take responsibility and learn that there are consequences for her actions. It's all a part of life."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Why does it bother you so much?" she quizzed. Paul said nothing, so she nuzzled the tip of his nose against her own, asking, "Hm? What is it that's really getting to you?"

"I just don't want to see Ren get hurt."

"And what else?"

"She's basically like my fourth daughter. I feel like I need to protect her."

"And what else?"

"Nothing else."

"I think there is something else," Stephanie added in a singsong tone. She kissed along his jaw again, and when she reached his ear, she brought her lips to the opening, whispering, "Is it because you just like to control every aspect of everything?"

"I don't like control."

Stephanie scaled back and scoffed. "Sweetie, you try to do it to me all the time. I just don't let you get away with it, but I'm letting you know, there is a part of you that always wants to be the puppet master and make everything turn out his way."

Paul rubbed the back of his head. "Do I, really?"

"Yes, really."

"Oh, my bad."

Stephanie laughed and finally let go of his waist, checking her own watch as she used the other hand to move some hair away from her face, tucking it safely behind her ear. "I should get moving. I wanted to grab, like, some chicken and green beans or something from catering before I go back in for our next meeting. Can you promise me that you'll go find something to do and stop staring at Seth's door? They'll be okay, Paul, no matter what's going on behind that door. I mean, he's not hurting her, so anything they're doing isn't negative in any way. Just let them live and let them make their own decisions, the way we always wanted people to allow us to make our own when we were that age."

"You were already married to me when you were that age, plus we had Aurora."

"Okay, so then I was even younger when we were doing that," she said, jerking her thumb in the direction of Seth's door, "so that helps my case and proves my point even more. I was younger than Renesa when we were making those decisions and I turned out just fine. We both turned out fine, and we have three of the brightest, most beautiful children that could ever have been produced on planet earth by any married couple, so there's that, too."

"You're right," he said, actually cracking a smile this time. "Thanks, babe."

"Anytime."

"I just don't want to see her throw her future away. This business is not only her future, but it's our future, and it's the future of all of our children, including hers someday, when she finally has them. Vince won't be able to run this thing forever, and when the time comes that we have to step up to the plate, we need as many family members as we can get who are willing to help. I don't want to see us fail because people are getting sidetracked and stuff."

"I know, but she's one person, and if she decides this isn't for her or she passes up this opportunity, there will be other people to come along and fulfill her duties. That's what I'm saying. It'll be okay, and it'll all work itself out somehow."

"But if we put some random person in Ren's place, it's not going to be the same having an outsider work for us as it would be to have a family member there."

"Right, but that's not our decision to make. We can't control her life," Stephanie said. "For all we know, our girls won't want to work here, and if that's the case, you can't freak out on them and try to control their lives, too. You just have to let it be, okay?"

"Okay."

"All right, well, I need to go grab some food, so I'll see you back in the conference room in just a bit."

"Cool."

"It'll be okay, sweetie pie. Love you."

Paul leaned in for a kiss and joined their lips a few extra seconds when she tried pulling away. When they fully parted, he demanded another kiss, and Stephanie giggled, pressing her mouth to his once more. As she walked away, Paul called over his shoulder, "Love you too, baby."

Paul watched her walk away, then cast a final glance at Seth's door and his watch, shaking his head as he reluctantly turned and strolled away.

Four minutes before her scheduled meeting, Renesa let out a shuddering breath and raised her head a couple of inches off Seth's chest. There was plenty she had wanted to discuss, but Seth insisted they wait until after the show. He had someplace he wanted to bring her, he had said, so instead of a discussion about the letter or anything else, he had led her over to the sofa and pulled her down on top of his body, holding her close. Kissing and stroking her hair. Running his palms up and down her sides.

She didn't want to leave him, but she also couldn't be late, so Renesa pushed off the sofa cushions and stood, yawning as she stretched her arms above her head. "I'll see you later."

"Just meet me out in the parking lot after the show, okay?" he insisted. "Don't come to this locker room or else Hunter might see you and blow a gasket. Just meet me out in the parking lot. I want to take you to see the water. There's a nearby beach park I know of, and it's breathtaking to see, especially at night with the moon out."

"I have a lot to say," Renesa said.

Seth stood up and went to her, cupping her cheek. "I know, Renny. So do I."

"I have to go."

"Yeah, you told me. Go ahead," he said. Then, he asked, "Want me to walk you over?"

"Do you think that's a good idea?"

"Probably not, but I'd go with you, if you wanted me to."

"It's okay," she said. Renesa checked her watch and her eyes widened as she pressed her lips into a crooked line. "I'm just gonna jog over, because I'm seriously about to be late, and I can't afford to mess up like I did before. I'll see you tonight."

"Tonight," Seth repeated. He gazed after her with longing as she rushed out the door, letting it swish shut behind her. He shoved the note into his back pocket and smiled.

The line was blurred. Seth and Renesa weren't a couple, but they weren't yet completely broken up. They weren't just friends, but they weren't quite lovers, either. Space was a must, yet somehow they kept closing that gap. Sex was a relationship enhancer, yet they had no relationship to enhance. Somehow, though, they still found themselves in situations they couldn't quite ease out of.

After the show Vince, Paul, and Stephanie had all made it a point to tell Renesa how proud they were of her. She had been on time to all of her meetings, had contributed sound ideas along with her peers, and had helped to run a solid show. She had also worked well alone in her office, they had said. It felt good, receiving pats on the back from the people whose opinions she cared about most. At long last, she had done something right, and it only encouraged her to keep moving forward.

That was the last she had seen of her family before she slipped out of the arena unseen and wandered into the parking lot, not knowing where Seth was waiting until he beeped his horn and flashed his headlights. When she breathed out, her exhales created tiny fog puffs in the crisply cool air, and Renesa pulled her sweater tighter. She picked up speed, and when she was only a few feet away from Seth's rental vehicle, he hopped out and helped with her bags, loading them into the backseat. By the time he was through, Renesa was already in the front passenger seat with the door closed, so Seth ran around and got in.

He shut his door and replaced his seat belt, leaning across to kiss her cheek. Renesa turned his way and kissed him back. When she pulled away, he said, "Thanks for coming. It means a lot to me."

"Oh, it's no problem. I'm glad to be spending time with you."

Seth put the car in drive and began pulling out of the lot, keeping his eyes open for throngs of fans that might block his route. So far, all was clear. "I, uh, was planning on taking you to see the water still, but if you want, we can start talking now because it's a little awkward to just sit in silence until we get there, you know?"

"Yeah."

Renesa had opened her mouth to continue, but Seth brought his right hand down lightly on her left arm, which was resting easily at her side. "Before we do that, you hungry?"

"A little bit," she answered. Renesa's stomach grumbled, almost as if on cue, and Seth chuckled.

"Sounds like more than a little bit. We can stop and eat first."

"No, no, I'd rather talk first, actually," she said. Then, catching his soft gaze, she added, "I mean, if that's okay with you."

"If we're talking instead of eating, then I'll just start," Seth said. He fumbled in the dark for her hand, so she helped him out by leading her hand up to his. Their fingers naturally threaded themselves through each other's, and she smiled at him, easing her head onto the headrest and closing her eyes. She wanted to take in every bit of what he had to say, because it would help her better understand what she was doing wrong. And by the looks of it, there was plenty she had messed up on. Seth steered the wheel using only his left hand and cleared his throat. "I just want you to know, I appreciate the effort you put into the letter."

"Thank you."

"No, thank you," Seth responded. "I was really fucking pissed at you this weekend, and especially today. I rode in with Cesaro, and he was trying to talk me down because I was fuming. When I got your letter, though, it changed everything. I mean, it changed nothing, but it also changed everything at the same time."

"How so?"

"Because it showed me that even though you do things sometimes that aren't cool to do, you still care about me, and you're just all mixed up. I'm mixed up, too. I...I just want to be with you so bad, but then when we're together, I end up feeling like I want to be away sometimes, because you have a way of making me feel inadequate. And you know what? Maybe that's okay. Anybody who's ever going to be with you will be inadequate, because you deserve so much more than anyone in this world could ever possibly give."

"Colb, that's not true," she murmured, her eyes glimmering under the streetlights as they passed. She swallowed thickly. "You are good enough. You're better than good enough for me."

Seth drove to the edge of the lot, waiting for the traffic to die down so he could turn out onto the main road. Some fans recognized him, and while he was sitting still, he playfully honked his horn to acknowledge them, which earned him louder cheers. A sad smile played on his lips as he pulled away, so he lifted their joined hands to his mouth and kissed Renesa's knuckles one by one. "You're not going to be happy with me, sweetheart, but I have to say something to you, and it has to be done. It's the only way we'll ever have a chance to be together someday."

"I don't want to hear it, even though I know I have to," she admitted, her voice cracking. "I still need you."

"I'm still going to be right here, and you know exactly where to find me. I'm not going anywhere."

"Please don't do this right now. Let's just go see the water first."

"Shhh," he shushed, kissing the top of her hand this time. "It's okay. In that letter, you remember when you told me you were saving yourself for me, and that I could do with that information whatever I wanted?"

"Yeah," Renesa said. Already, she anticipated the worst. Even so, she hoped for the best.

"Well, this is me doing what I want with that info. I want to save myself for you, too. I want to be with you, but I need you to finish counseling first," Seth said. She tried to speak up, but he quieted her again. "Shhh, shhh, hold on and let me finish. We talked about this, Ren. Finish counseling and we'll see what happens. This whole thing of us finding our way to each other at the shows and spending time together, it's nice, but like I've said time and time again, you'll never get better if we do this."

"Yeah, I will. We can hang out as friends like we used to, instead of hanging out as a couple. We never fought when we were just friends."

"This letter thing is promising, though, and I think it might be a solution as to how we can still have some contact without taking things too far," he said. "What if we write each other new letters at the beginning of every week and exchange them before Raw on Mondays? That way, we'll only have one point of contact with each other in a week, and we can get out everything we need to say in the letters."

"I know we can't get back together now, but why can't we just be friends and still hang out every once in a while?"

"Because, honey, you know why. We never end up being just friends when we're together. We hang out, then we flirt, then we reminisce, then we kiss, and then it turns into sex, and the dynamic will go right back to being the way it was when we were dating. Today, I saw so much progress in how you acted. You were professional and studious, and you made sure to be everywhere you had to be on time, and you really took responsibility of looking out for yourself. You did a really good job on the show. I was so proud of you."

"I don't want you to be completely gone from my life," she said, shaking her head. "It hurts me so bad to even think about only talking to you once a week, in a stupid letter."

"It's not stupid," he insisted. "Was your letter to me stupid? No, of course it wasn't. It's a solid idea, and it would be a way for us to keep in touch until you're doing a little better. We keep going in circles and having these same conversations about the same shit, and I'm kind of sick of it. The letters would be a way to keep us from walking in and out of this revolving door that our relationship has become. It would help get us through, until the time is right for us to make our move and try things out again, and you know that's true."

"I don't want to just write a letter. I still need to see you sometimes even though we can't get back together right now."

"Oh, Renny," Seth sighed, a distinct dose of finalization in his tone.

He squeezed her hand tighter, and they spent the rest of the ride in silence, the radio drowning out most of Renesa's light sniffles as the odd tear or two escaped her. Seth was acutely aware of them, because when her first sniff hit the air, he released her hand and slipped his own around the back of her neck, rubbing her lower hairline with his thumb. His touch was always more tender whenever he knew she was upset. It felt like an eternity for them to finally exit the highway Seth had merged onto, but at last, he was headed towards a small park with pits of sand glowing beneath the stars.

The lot was vacant, which was logical for that time of night, and the water rippled beneath the soft glow of moonlight, the meager waves glistening as they swayed. Renesa kept her arms folded and looked out her window as Seth parked the car and shifted toward her. A small jungle gym sat off to the far right, and Renesa zoned in on it, thinking back to her days of dismounting swings and tearing down slides like those. She wished, above all else, that she could return to those days, back to a simpler time. Back to a point when simply loving someone had been enough to keep them around.

"You okay?" Seth asked. Renesa shook her head from left to right. He rubbed her hair some more. "Do you want to get out with me? We can take our shoes off, sink our toes in the sand, and go look at the water up close. Might make you feel better."

Renesa didn't respond, prompting a sigh from Seth. He ran his hands over his face and dragged them down slowly, letting them fall back into his lap. "Look, I'm sorry you're hurting. I really am. The reason I came to find you at work today was because your letter struck a chord with me. Up until I read it, I had been feeling like there was no hope for our future, but when I saw those words you had written, Ren, they were incredible. I felt so connected to you again, just like I always used to when we first met. I felt like we were back on the same page and you wanted the same things out of life that I did. I felt — I mean, I feel — close to you again. For the first time in a while, if I'm being honest."

Renesa faced him and he reached up with both hands, brushing over her cheeks with his thumbs even though they were already mostly dry. She managed to speak, but just barely. "I know we need to do this. I get why we have to be apart, but I feel like I can't just break off all contact except for exchanging letters. We broke up weeks ago, and we haven't even been able to avoid each other for, like, a full week, so how can we be expected to do it for months at a time? It's so hard, because I feel like you don't understand how in love I am with you. It's like torture falling in love with someone and then being told you can't have them. I don't want to go back to my empty apartment at the end of every week and be alone. It hurts so bad."

"I know."

"Then make it stop," she begged.

"I would if I thought I could, but we have to try this."

"But how?"

"What do you mean 'how'?"

"Every week, we have this same discussion, but then every week, we're right back to sneaking around together. We never stay apart, and I know we need to keep away from each other to some degree, but I don't see a need to break off all contact. So how do we do it?"

"We try harder, I guess. I know this isn't ideal, but it's for the best in the long run."

"And when you come find me at Raw next week, or I come find you, then what?"

"It just can't happen," he shrugged. "One of us has to be the stronger person and send the other person away."

"I don't want to send you away."

"I know that."

"But we can't always get what we want, when we want it."

"No, Blue Eyes, we can't."

"You should have just left the arena with Cesaro like you planned earlier today. We shouldn't even have come here together."

The blow took Seth's breath away, but he recovered quickly enough. "You don't have to try to hurt me, Ren. Trust me when I tell you, I'm already fucked up enough from this as it is."

"We're not even accomplishing anything right now, so, yeah, you should've gone with your friend."

"I know your heart's broken, and I know you're desperate to feel better so you're trying to break me in return, but I'm telling you, I'm already there," Seth said. He latched onto her left hand and placed it over his heart so that she could feel the frantic beat. "It's already broken, and if you want to help me put it back together — put both of our hearts back together — then I need you to do this. I need you to focus on counseling and just write me a letter every week. I'll write you one, too, and no subject is off-limits. We can talk about anything. If you or I want to just vent about how bad being apart hurts, we can do that in the letters, and it'll keep us connected without actually spending time with each other. You slip my letter under my locker room door, and I'll slip yours under your office door."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Fine."

"You'll do it?"

"Yeah, I'll do it."

"Good girl," he said, pulling her as close as he could and kissing her temple. "You sounded so sure about us being apart in your letter that I thought you would be okay with this."

"That was before you came and got me from the meeting, and before you held me, and before you kissed me and rubbed my hair and whispered a bunch of sweet stuff in my ear while we lay down together. You made all those old feelings come rushing back, and that's when I started second-guessing this whole arrangement. Besides, I only meant that we should stop having sex and stuff. I didn't mean we shouldn't talk at all. It's so extreme."

"Ah, I see," Seth said, letting out a humorless laugh. "I'm sorry it's not easier than this. I sure wish it was, for both of us."

"It's okay," Renesa said, looking him straight in the eye, "because all the best things in life are the hardest to achieve."

"You're right. Absolutely right, my love."

"I just want, like, if we're doing this, I want to make the letters fun. I want to include maybe, uh, pictures or something, or like, drawings? I don't know, or maybe pieces of poetry that I've written that I think relate to you and me?"

"Are you asking, or telling me?" Seth inquired. This time when he laughed, it was a real one. Now that he could tell Renesa was feeling better, it wasn't so difficult to keep the vibe positive in nature.

"I guess both at the same time. I'm not sure," she said. "What do you think?"

Seth caressed the bottom of her chin with the side of his index finger. "I think you should do whatever feels right in your heart. If you want to add stuff, I won't complain. Anything that comes from you is special to me, so, yeah, make a thing of it, keep it light and fun. We may as well stay in good spirits since this is the way it has to be."

"I agree."

"You want to go for a little walk? Go look out at the water?"

"Yeah."

"Cool," Seth said, opening his door. "I'll come around for you, Renny."

Seth jogged around, helped Renesa out and, together, they ventured through the sand hand-in-hand.