Disclaimer, etc., in part 1. Thanks to those that have reviewed so far.

Prompt for this part was #131, it's over.

Remember, this was written as three related one-shots, so they won't flow from scene to scene like a usual story would.

Three - Moving Forward

"It's over," she whispered, the diva stretched out on the bed in her hotel room, her hands pressed over her eyes. The day she'd been waiting for since right after WrestleMania had finally come and - according to the clock - was also gone. It was well past midnight now, technically the next morning, the first full day in a new era of the WWE. An era in which Triple H had managed to force John Laurinaitis out of control. An era in which SmackDown and RAW once again each had its own general manager. Mick Foley for RAW, Edge for SmackDown. And from here on out, she would be acting as a liaison between the two brands, dealing with the talent exchanges that would continue, making both shows into 'supershows'. If she chose, she would also be a competitor again, though she wasn't sure how she felt about that. She loved to wrestle, she loved to be in the ring, but she was worried that anything she got as a competitor would somehow be seen as favoritism since she worked with Mick and Edge.

Eve jerked slightly at the sound of a sudden knock on her hotel room door, the woman pushing herself up from the bed and grabbing her robe, wrapping it securely around her before heading toward the door, not at all sure who it would be. After all... Since Triple H and Stephanie had made it clear that she'd been working for them all along, that she'd just been playing a role when working for Laurinaitis... Since they had made it clear that part of the reason they'd been able to get rid of him had been because of the information she'd provided... Well, suddenly everyone seemed to like her again. In fact, several people had come up to her and told her how they'd known that she wasn't really working for Laurinaitis, that she'd just been playing him... Funny how so many people had suddenly known it all along once the truth was actually revealed.

"We can go back to normal now, right?" she whispered to herself, thinking of the way Kelly had come up to her... She'd just walked away from the blonde, not wanting to deal with her. And really, after the things Kelly had said about her, the way the woman had just assumed the worst - even making stuff up and claiming she'd always been a bad friend - well... Who would really blame her for not wanting to be all buddy-buddy again?

Taking a deep breath, Eve glanced out the peephole, frowning a bit as she saw who was there... Biting her lip as she contemplated whether or not to answer. But then again, if she didn't answer the door, there was no guarantee that he would go away, and there was a distinct possibility that he would end up causing a scene. It was just sort of his way. So, with a bit of a sigh, Eve unlocked the door and pulled it open, leaning against the frame as she looked at CM Punk.

"You gonna let me in?"

"I'm trying to decide if that's a good decision or not," she whispered, then blinked in surprise when he brought his hand out from behind his back, holding out a rose to her. It was white, with dark pink at the edges of the petals, the flower not quite in full bloom just yet. "Punk..."

"It's just a flower, Eve. I thought you might like it. Can I come in? I promise to behave myself," he told her, and the diva pressed her lips together before stepping back, holding the door open to allow him entrance. He smiled a bit as he stepped into the room, then held the rose out to her again. This time, she took it from him, allowing him to close the door while she went and grabbed an almost-empty bottle of water, going over and filling it with tap water before using it as a makeshift vase for the flower.

"I didn't expect to see you tonight. Or... Anyone, really."

"Why not? You're the hero of the day," he told her. "You fed Triple H and Stephanie information for weeks, put up with everything everyone said about you... And now, thanks to the information you provided, we're all better off. We've got Mick Foley and Edge as the General Managers of the shows. Two guys that are pretty much legends in the business. Edge is the youngest wrestler in the Hall of Fame. Mick was even commissioner before... for awhile. He did a good job of it, too."

"Being the hero of the day - or whatever - doesn't change the fact that... Do you know how many people that, now that the truth's out, now that it's over... They came up to me, telling me how sure they'd been that I was always on the right side? That they knew I couldn't really be working for Laurinaitis." She shook her head. "The same people that liked to run around making implications as to how it was that I'd gotten the job in the first place. John Cena came up to me and told me 'no hard feelings'. I told him that when people start chanting 'hoeski' at him every time he walks out to the arena, then we'll be even."

"Vindictive. I like it."

Eve rolled her eyes. "I guess I'm just not always that good at the whole 'forgive and forget' thing. Besides that... I guess that, technically speaking, I did play him. I mean, I wanted him to hate me, and I made sure that he did. Still, it would have been nice if he'd apologized for calling me a bitch to my face. Which he called me right around the time he started the whole hoeski thing. That John Cena... always so respectful of women."

CM Punk tilted his head slightly as he watched the diva, the man sitting down on the arm of the couch. "You know... Now that the truth is out... A lot of people will expect things to go back to how they were. With you. Before the whole mess with Cena and Zack and Kane and you joining up with Laurinaitis. They'll expect you to be the girl you used to be."

Eve wrapped her robe more tightly around herself, shrugging her shoulders slightly. "But I'm not that girl. I mean... Not everything is an act. I mean, I was never working for Laurinaitis, but... I'm the one that decided to drop John and Zack. That was me. I cost Teddy Long his job as General Manager of SmackDown on purpose. Of course... When I admitted my reasons to Stephanie, she didn't seem all that surprised. She'd had concerns about Teddy Long's behavior with the divas before this. Made it easier, actually. I'm pretty sure they thought they would have to make me all sorts of promises to get me to work for them and hand them over information on Johnny. Instead... I was more than happy to help. John Laurinaitis underestimated me, and I don't like being underestimated. Makes me cranky. So... I signed on with Triple H and Stephanie and, well... Did what I did. But the stuff with Zack and Cena and even Teddy? That was me. I did that."

"I know you did. And for some reason? I find that smart and devious streak makes you even hotter," the wrestler said, and Eve let out a short, surprised laugh.

"Punk... You don't really-"

"I came here because I wanted to talk to you. I know I kept my distance for the past month. That night you came to my hotel room and told me the truth about who you were working for... I didn't want to screw things up for you. I knew that if someone saw you with me... If it got back to Laurinaitis... It could mess things up. For you, for Triple H and Stephanie. And given what ended up coming out of it all? I would have really been pissed off with myself if something I'd done had stopped that from happening. I mean... Who wants to answer to a guy like Laurinaitis when they can answer to Edge or Mick instead?" he asked, and Eve gave a slow smile.

"I can think of a few people," she replied, thinking of the reaction of David Otunga - Johnny's former legal counsel and now just a member of the RAW roster - when the news had come down that the board was removing John Laurinaitis from power and replacing him with two men that most assuredly didn't want the yes-man lawyer as a part of their staff. He wasn't the only one that had been horrified by the news... Del Rio had been particularly cranky about it. And while Teddy Long had originally been all smiles at the information that John was no longer the general manager of both shows, that smile had been wiped away when Teddy had been informed that he wasn't going to be in power, either. He hadn't taken that well at all... And while the fact that he'd propositioned Eve hadn't been brought up - Triple H had respected the fact that she'd wanted to keep that bit quiet - it had been made quite clear that his behavior toward the divas was a big reason he wasn't getting his job back.

"Yeah, well, they're all bastards, so it's nice to see them suffer," he said, then grinned at her. "See? I can be vindictive, too. That's why I like that you have the quality. We can be vindictive together."

"Punk-"

"Anyway... I didn't want to mess things up for you. That's why I stayed away from you. It wasn't because I wanted to. It was because I felt like I needed to. And coming here tonight? Was because I wanted to see you. I wanted to talk to you. Not the girl that everyone thinks you are. That they think you'll go back to being now that this mess is all over. She was nice enough, I'll admit. But I came here tonight to talk to the woman that practically yelled at me in a hot tub a little over a month ago. I came here to talk to the woman that showed up at my hotel room a week later and asked me not to tell. The woman that let me kiss her - without slapping me for it - and told me the truth. That's who I came to see. I'm hoping that's who you really are."

She pressed her lips together. "I... Everything I told you those two nights... It was the truth. It was... All of it was me. Or at least a side of me."

"I know it was. And I liked that side. I liked that you let me see it," he said quietly, rising to his feet, coming over to stand in front of her. He reached out, his hands sliding up and down her arms as he looked at her, his dark eyes focused on her green ones. "I don't expect you to go back to being the smile-y diva you used to be. I expect you to be the woman that you've been being. Tough, smart, and sexy as hell."

"I'm standing here in my robe. Not very sexy."

"It is to me. Although... I got to admit... I keep having these flashbacks to you in that blue bikini you were wearing in the hot tub," Punk told her as he stepped a little closer to her, smirking down at her... Then leaning down to capture her lips with his own. Unlike the month before, this time Eve didn't reach out to push him away, instead sliding her hands up his chest, then wrapping her arms around his neck, his arms coming around her waist as he drew her up against him. He groaned low in his throat as she used her teeth to tug lightly at the piercing in his lip, the man's hands settling at her waist before he slowly eased her back, looking down at her. She smiled up at him, then glanced over at her suitcase.

"You know... I actually have that blue bikini with me," Eve informed him, and he grinned as he took a step back from her.

"Oh, really? What a coincidence. Also a coincidence? This hotel has an indoor pool that's open all night. Complete with hot tub. If you're interested," Punk told her, and Eve bit her lip, then smiled at him.

"I'll meet you there in twenty minutes."

"I'll be waiting."

The End