You Were My Picket Fence

-May 19, 2014; London, England-

"Spending two days in the same city. This is heaven," Tessa sighed in relief as she dropped down onto an empty crate. "Honestly, I never want to travel again."

"You might want to look into a new career then," Nikki laughed, waving to Tessa as she continued down the hall. Tessa waved back before relaxing onto the crate and closing her eyes.

Visiting so many cities in Europe had been a great experience and Tessa knew to be thankful for the opportunity but it had already taken a lot out of her and they were only half way through the tour. Time off was going to be almost non-existent for the foreseeable future, with only the promise of 2 days off here and there even after the European Tour. As much as she cherished sleep, Tessa hated the idea of missing out on a show. If it were physically possible she would be doing both the legs of the tour.

"You two are together then?" Tessa's brief nap was interrupted by Colby, who was standing in front of her. He seemed to have gritted his teeth and worked his fingers through his hair enough times that it didn't even looked brushed.

"Us two?" Tessa asked, shrugging her shoulders at him. She was sick of people assuming she knew what they talking about.

"You and Zayn," Colby spat causing Tessa to push herself back in to the wall. "Rumours and photos are going around that you had a cute little date around Birmngham yesterday."

"We had some time and I've never been there before. Everyone has been sightseeing," Tessa defended herself. Colby didn't have to know that she'd had more fun in one day that she had in years. He didn't need to know that all her old feelings had come back tenfold. "What does it even matter? I'm not allowed to have friends?"

Colby took a step back and stared right at her, "Lunch with Cena?"

"Nikki invited me to be a replacement Bryan," Tessa said, pushing off the crate and onto the hard ground. "Rami was there when she asked me, she didn't want to be rude. How's Leighla?"

The question caught him off guard and Tessa was glad for it. She had leverage over him if she ever needed to use it and, while she wasn't usually in the business of blackmail, she knew that it could be worked to her advantage. He didn't say anything at all, just stared at her for a few moments breathing deeply through his nose before he decided that it wasn't anything worth getting into.

Tessa watched him walk away; waiting until he had turned the corner before she decided that it was time to find Rami and Curt who were no doubt preparing for their match. Sami Zayn was scheduled to win the Intercontinental Title from Fandango and, as always, Tia would be at ringside. Little acting would be required.

-Live on Raw-

Chants had broken out, loud and contagious enough that Tia couldn't help but join in. She clapped her hands above her head, encouraging the London crowd to continue the 'Olé!'s as Sami Zayn again gained the upper hand in the match.

On the other side of the ring Summer was fuming, watching her boyfriend being tossed around like a rag doll through countless kicks, punches and throws dished out by the challenger. She screamed every time a hit connected and was frequently reaching under the bottom rope trying to return some sort of fight back into Fandango.

It worked momentarily, Fandango managed a few clotheslines that sent Sami to the mat but it didn't last long. The momentum allowed the challenger to execute the Blue Thunder Bomb which led into a pin and the Intercontinental Championship changing hands.

He froze in the middle of the ring, staring down at Fandango as his mind tried to comprehend that he had won. The referee was trying to get him to stand so his arm could be raised into the air in an official declaration of victory but Sami Zayn wasn't going to move.

Tia ran up the stairs, the clanging of her high heels on the steel drowned out by the uproarious cheers, and had entered the ring before he was even on his feet. She dropped to her knees beside him and wrapped her arms around his neck, whispering proud, congratulatory words into his ear.

The referee, having given up trying to raise his arm, handed the belt to Sami Zayn who was yet to move from his sitting position on the match even though Tia was also trying to encourage him to get to his feet. It was surreal for everybody involved – it wasn't the big title but it didn't matter because everybody knew that he deserved every win and every title that came his way.

-Backstage; Live On Raw-

Sami Zayn stood beside Josh Matthews, the Intercontinental Championship hanging over his right shoulder and his left handing resting on Tia's left waist, above her Divas Championship. Tia was resting her left hand over his, playing with his fingers absentmindedly, her right hand was tugging on the bottom of her title.

"Congratulations, Sami Zayn! How are you feeling?" Sami beamed at the question; he pulled Tia closer to him and leaned in slightly to the microphone.

"I don't even know what to say. This is what we come here for, you know? You come here to win and I won gold. I'd say that's pretty fantastic." He paused but before Josh could pull the microphone away, he continued, "Dream job, dream girl and championship gold. What more you could you ask for?"

Tia smiled at him, her grip tightening on Sami's hand as she did so.

"Do you want to say anything about what happened tonight?" Josh asked her and Tia took a deep breath.

"I am so proud of him right now. There have been other titles, other celebrations," she stated slyly, alluding to his past as El Generico, even if it wasn't supposed to be mentioned. "But this is in the big leagues. Even if he does lose the title, we always have this moment. And this moment is pretty perfect to me."

Sami used the arm around her waist to pull her directly against him, chest-to-chest. He kissed her, tongue and all, keeping her close. She moved her hands up to his shoulder and kissed back just as passionately.

"Live television, here, guys," Josh Matthews said, interrupting their moment.

"Sorry," Tia apologised as she pulled back from Sami, his hand still resting on her hip.

"I can't help it. I get a little distracted sometimes." Sami's hand playfully squeezed Tia's ass, causing her to jump slightly and squeal.

"I'm going to let you two go," Josh said, a laugh in his voice. He spoke directly into the camera, ignoring the happy couple, "Your new Intercontinental Champion, Sami Zayn!"

-Off Air-

"You didn't just break the fourth wall there; you smashed a goddamn hole in it. 'Other titles, other celebrations', Christ." Rami pulled his arm from her waist and let his new championship hang by his side.

"Says the one rehashing promos from early 2007," Tessa retorted, stepping back. She couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye. That kiss hadn't just been for the screen, it had been for 5 years of unresolved feelings. Rami had felt it too. She knew him too well not to notice the surprised way he squeezed her hip when she returned the kiss so forcefully.

"You remember that, huh?" He asked her while he scratched the back of his neck. The question was so she didn't walk away so soon. He looked at her face. He could tell she was avoiding looking his way.

"I don't think I'll ever forget it," Tessa said quietly, shuffling her feet. "A month and a half we'd been together. You win the title and cut a broken English promo calling me your dream girl, saying you'd never been happier. You don't know what that does to a 20 year old girl." As she thought back to that Saturday night at Pro Wrestling Guerilla her cheeks began to burn and her heart began to swell.

"I knew exactly what I was doing," he told her. Rami put his finger under her chin and lifted her head so she was looking him in the eye. "I was telling you that I loved you. I wanted you to have to no doubts that I was in it for the long haul. A 22 year old guy and a 20 year old girl who by all means should be over in a year or two, I didn't want to be that. I was ready right then and there to marry you, Tessa."

"Rami," Tessa sighed. She looked away from him again, taking a few steps back. She took a deep breath and, in a shaky voice, said, "I would have said yes if you'd asked."

She quickly glanced up at him and her heart constricted when she saw the way he was looking at her. Everyone always knew what Rami was thinking, he never tried to hide it. He was looking at her like he was still in love with her, like it was that night all over again. Like he'd just won the PWG Heavyweight Championship for the first time and she was the only person he wanted to see; like Tessa was the only person Rami wanted to celebrate with.

The tense air shattered into a million pieces, each of them slowly and individually driving into Tessa's body, when Dean Malenko made himself known by clearing his throat. Rami looked like a deer caught in the headlights but Tessa did her best to make it seem like he had interrupted nothing.

"They're looking for you," Dean told her. "They want to start the photo shoot."

"Yeah, of course," Tessa nodded slowly, looking to Rami. He nodded, too. She smiled at Dean, "We'll be there in a second."

He left the room and the tension returned, neither entirely sure what to say. Tessa breathed in through her nose and took a few small steps towards Rami, who closed his eyes. He opened his mouth; surely about to tell her she couldn't do what she was about to.

She cut him off with a light peck on the lips.

It lasted seconds before she stepped back, turned on her heel and made a hasty exit.

Her stomach was throwing a fit. She held onto the front of her shirt, right in front of her stomach hoping to make herself feel less constricted. She was suddenly feeling very hot, like she was about to explode but she did her best to hide it when she walked through the door and saw Frankie fiddling with his camera lens.

"Oh good, you're here!" He hustled her in front of the camera. "Where's the champion?"

"He was just behind me," Tessa told him, squirming when he tugged at her hair. He took her title away from her, telling her that they would do without it for the first bit.

Rami entered the room, his title hanging over his shoulder. Frankie called him over.

"We'll do your solo shoots later, get Tessa out of the way. Okay?" Frankie asked Rami who agreed before being shoved beside Tessa. "All you gotta do is act in love just like you do on television." Tessa smiled meekly at Rami. "You can do better than that, Tessa."

Rami's left hand returned to her waist and he held her close to him a huge smile on his face. Tessa lifted her right hand and held onto Rami's left shoulder, using it to balance herself. She felt Rami's hand move to the small of her back and a small blush rose to her cheeks.

"You're naturals," Frankie commented causing Tessa to take a slight step back. Again she avoided looking at Rami, her attention just need to remain focused on the camera. "Just have fun."

Tessa remembered her first photoshoot with WWE. It had taken nearly half an hour for her to be comfortable in front of the camera and that was only after Eva had come in and helped her out. It felt much the same; she was back to staring awkwardly into the lens with a stiff body.

When Rami moved to stand behind her, Tessa looked over her shoulder and frowned slightly. The Intercontinental Championship appeared in front of her waist.

"What are you doing?" she asked him slowly, feeling it being clasped.

"Having fun."

Rami let go of the belt and Tessa felt all of its weight dropped, it was noticably heavier than her championship. She grabbed onto the top of it, pulling it up slightly, and the flash went off.

Tessa glared at Frankie but was quickly distracted as Rami ran from behind her and pulled the Divas Championship of the table, throwing it over his shoulder. There was no holding back her giggles as he strutted back to my side, proudly displaying the butterfly.

The shoot was much the same after that, as she finally loosened up: shots with Tessa holding the Intercontinental title out of his reach, shots where they were pressed up against each other, shots that made it look like they were really in love.

"Great, Tessa!" Frankie exclaimed, stepping out from behind the camera. "You're done here for the day, thank you for finally letting go."

Tessa smiled at him and walked from the white screen. It wasn't until then that she realised she was still holding onto Rami's hand. She smiled at the familiarity of his touch, just as she had been the entire night. It felt like home.

Walking out the door, Tessa looked back at him quickly and saw that he was watching her. She smiled as her cheeks tinged pink.

"What are you smiling about?" Naomi asked as Tessa walked into catering.

"Nothing," Tessa shrugged as she placed the butterfly onto the table and pulled outside a seat opposite Brie, Nikki and Naomi.

"That smile is not nothing. That's mischievous. You're up to something."

Tessa fell down into her seat and admitted, "I just kissed Rami."

"Pay up!" Nikki yelled, standing up abruptly. "I knew she'd make the first move!"

"I'm proud of you, Tess – happy for you – but you just cost me 50 bucks," Brie sighed. "I'll give it to you lat- No!" she shouted quickly. "Wait! That was for TV! It doesn't count!"

"But it was after that." Tessa wasn't bothered by the harmless bet – growing up she and Jimmy had made bets about almost everything – but she could not get over what she had done. "I mean, that wasn't a fake kiss... That happened and I kissed him quickly before the photoshoot."

"That's going to be a hot shoot," Naomi laughed, ignoring the twins as they started bickering over whether the kiss had to involve tongue or not to be considered a win. "You just left him there, didn't you? Are you running away?"

"I'm not!" Tessa protested with an undertone of laughter. "He has the solo shots to do and then he needs to shower."

"Or he doesn't," Nikki grinned, cutting back into the conversation as she looked straight over Tessa's head.

The champion turned her head and was surprised to see Rami moving towards her. He reached her in three long steps, taking her hand and pulling her upright. In front of everyone, with no hesitation, Rami let go of her hand and wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her slightly off the ground and holding her to him. Their lips met and Tessa's arms automatically moved past his neck, crossing them so he couldn't pull away.

"Well, holy shit!" Nikki exclaimed but neither Tessa nor Rami heard her as they desperately held onto each other, apparently intent on making up for 5 and a half years of lost time. Breathing was not important, beard burn was irrelevant, all that mattered was their lips on each other's and their tongues searching for familiarity.

"Okay, you two," Brie said, standing up and tapping Tessa on the shoulder. "People are staring; you might want to take it elsewhere."

Tessa sighed when Rami pulled away. She let her heels fall back onto the floor before she promptly squeezed her eyes shut, Brie's words really sicking in. Her cheeks flushed red and she turned her head to the ground in the hopes that no one would notice. In the back of her mind it registered that Brie was asking Nikki for the money from their bet and that almost everyone else in the room was talking to each other in not-so-hushed whispers. In the forefront of her mind was that Rami was still very much standing in front of her and, if her senses were correct, he was looking at her intently.

Opening her eyes, she slowly lifted her head, still blushing, and smiled meekly at him. He wasn't smiling at her, though his eyes suggested nothing but warmth before one broke out on his face.

"You're not busy right now?" he asked and Tessa shook her head, her teeth biting into the inside of her bottom lip. He extended his hand to her and she looked down at it with slight hesitation. He wiggled his fingers indicating that he was waiting for her to take it. It shouldn't have felt so personal since she had been holding his hand for weeks on television but when their hands touched and their fingers entwined, Tessa's heart nearly exploded out of her chest.

Rami led them from catering without so much as a glance over his shoulder at their shocked co-workers and they were soon in a quieter but no less secluded section of the arena.

"I didn't mean to do that in front of everybody," he said, scratching the back of his neck with his free hand – the one that wasn't still holding Tessa's. "I was going to wait until we were back at the hotel but I'm really not that patient."

She nodded at him. Her brain was working overtime trying to pump out any words other than 'why?' which resulted in an inability to move anything other than her head. Her hand was being squeezed and she looked up at him with a small sigh.

"It was a bit out of nowhere, huh?" he asked warily and Tessa couldn't help but laugh sarcastically.

"You really didn't notice did you?" she questioned, feeling utterly hopeless. "That we've practically been acting like we're together? Have I just imagined all the looks and the touches and the coffees and the everything?"

It came out much more exasperated than she had intended, even if it was exactly how she felt. Retracting her hand from Rami's, Tessa put both arms behind her back and shrugged her shoulders up to her ears. The action had been intended as casual, something to move the conversation on without him responding. It looked much the opposite, especially because Tessa's eyes were starting to cloud over.

"It doesn't even matter." Tessa managed a weak smile as she spoke, "Honest, don't even worry about it. I'm going to go back to the girls, okay? I'll get a ride with someone else and see you back at the hotel, yeah?"

"T, what are-"

"It's nothing, okay? I guess I was thinking about everything too much," she smiled at him again and pulled off a much more convincing shrug before she walked back into catering.

Naomi, Nikki and Brie all looked at her with raised eyebrows, expecting something that they could gossip about. Tessa offered them nothing except a small shake of her head.

She arrived at the hotel before Rami did after convincing Dolph Ziggler that she had no other way of getting there than to ride with him and Zack Ryder. Neither of them had let it go without asking questions about why she couldn't go with Rami – which is exactly what she had been hoping to avoid by choosing them over the girls – especially after the little show they'd put on in front of everyone. Tessa's answer of "Because." was met with wide eyes and both of them looking at each other to mouth 'okay' rather sarcastically.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Tessa firmly ignored the door as it opened and continued to ignore Rami as he tried to greet her.

"You really need to talk to me here, T," he told her, leaning on the end table across from her, his hands gripping the edge. "I can't say I expected this reaction. Certainly wasn't hoping for it."

"The first real conversation we had since I got here," Tessa said, staring at her hands, "we were in Hershey and I decided that I had to talk you to about what I did. I told you I still loved you. You didn't even blink. How can you pretend that you didn't know what you were doing?"

"What was I doing, T? I can't think of anything that wasn't normal."

"That's the problem!" she exclaimed, raising her hands near her face. She continued speaking rapidly, "You're acting like we never broke up. You talk to me like you did when we were together. You touch me like you did when we were together. You do it all so casually-"

"That's all normal for me," he cut her off, his voice even but soft. "I don't even think about what I do when I'm around you."

Tessa squeezed her eyes shut, feeling them fill, yet again, with tears. She opened them and took a few deep breaths before she decided that she could speak without her voice failing her. "You know that that isn't fair, right? I've been trying so hard to pretend that you're just my friend and you turn around and hold my hand, or you tell me all about your family, or bring up some old, dumb story about something I did back when I was 20. I have to constantly remind myself that I'm not allowed to be in love you anymore."

"Wait, what?" he asked, taking a few steps toward the bed and kneeling before her. "You're not allowed to be in love with me? Who told you that?"

"I have no right to be," she remarked, confused. "After everything I did to you-"

"Don't tell yourself that you aren't allowed to do something if you can't help it, habibti."

Tessa whimpered and covered her face just before a sob shook her entire body. Rami's fingers touched hers lightly and he slowly moved her hands from her face, reaching back up to wipe away that tears that were falling down her cheeks.

"We need to get this crying thing under control," he said lightly, smiling softly at her. "People are going to start thinking you just leak."

"We should tell them that," she muttered, looking up towards the ceiling, trying to fight any more from falling. "If I have a leak then they won't think I'm a 27 year old cry-baby."

Rami laughed and, despite crying, Tessa couldn't stop herself from joining. He stood up, tugging her up with him before he wrapped his arms around her body and fell backwards onto the bed, both of them still laughing.

"I still love you," he said abruptly with comfortable sigh, Tessa lying across him, his arms holding her close. "More than a few people think I'm crazy but I can't help it."

The lack of expression Tessa had on her face as she lifted her head clearly worried Rami, causing him to furrow his brow, loosen his hold and open his mouth to speak. She quickly smiled, pushed herself up a little higher and leant down, kissing him slowly. He smiled against her lips and retightened his arms around her waist.

She pulled back cautiously and moved off of the bed timidly, her smile becoming a little unsure. Her eyes didn't leave Rami as she reached up behind her to unzip her top. The sound filled the silence, too loud to just be a zip, and the material slipped down her arms onto the ground.

Her fingers disappeared into the waist of her pants and she pushed the faux leather down her legs, bending at the waist. As she stepped out of them, her eyes flickered back up to Rami and saw that he was taking slow steps towards her.

Before she could move her arms to cover her stomach – a habit she had had for years and had never been able to break – Rami was taking hold of her wrists and holding her arms up and away from her body.

She sighed as he let them go but let them hover in midair. He kissed her lips tenderly, then her chin, the hollow of her throat and continued in a straight line until he reached the band of her panties. Never had she been happier to be wearing a set that matched.

"Do you really want this?" She asked him quietly, her eyes not leaving his face as he stood up to full height.

"Of course."

Tessa moved forward fluidly, her arms seemingly melting over his shoulders and around the back of his neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her so that their bodies were flush against each other. She smiled at him briefly before kissing him, content on never breathing again if it meant that their lips would never part.

Making sure that didn't happen; Tessa pulled her arms away and pushed them between their bodies, unbuttoning his shirt at a teasingly slow pace. She didn't even stop to remove it, choosing to continue downward to his jeans.

Her fingers brushed the button when she was stopped. Not because Rami was moving her hands away but because one of his hands was cupping her. He applied enough pressure for her to clench her legs together and let her eyes fall shut. She had a fist in the loose material of his dress shirt when he applied more pressure and a moan left her mouth.

Rami's hand moved away from her and settled on her hip, slipping into the band of her panties. He spoke to her softly as he eyes flittered open, "You're in control, T. You're always in control."

She blinked at him slowly, nodding when he squeezed her hip to let her know he wanted answer. A deep sigh left her lips.

"It's just me, habibti," he told her. "It's just you and me."

"I don't want to ruin this," Tessa muttered, her breathing becoming laboured, releasing his shirt and stepping backward.

"What are you ruining?" He asked patiently, watching her arms wrap around her stomach.

"I can't not be your friend," she said, fighting back tears. "It hurts so much to be friends but not being near you hurts so much more."

"I promise you," he said softly, taking her chin in his hand. "I promise you that I'm not going anywhere. I love you, Tessa. I forgive you."

She turned her head away, shaking it. "You're just saying that."

"I'm not, T. I've never said anything just to get you into bed. None of it matters anymore. What matters is that we're both here right now."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

Tessa nodded slowly as she raised her arms, slipping them underneath his shirt and pushing it off his shoulders and down his arms. Rami held her face in his hands and kissed her again, slowly, passionately and she melted into him. Her heart was beating soundly, their chests rising and falling into each others'.

She was able to undo the button of his jeans without interruption and Tessa pushed them downwards as far as she could without breaking the kiss. She pushed against him lightly and Rami started stepping backwards until the backs of his legs hit the bed.

Their lips parted as he sat down, removed his jeans and moved further up the bed. Tessa knelt onto it and followed his body upwards until she was straddling his waist. While she leaned forward to reconnect their lips, she reached behind her back and unclasped her bra, letting it fall off before dropping it beside the bed.

His hands were warm – they were always warm – when they met her bare breasts, massaging them gently, instinctively bucking his hips upwards so that he was rubbing against her centre.

"I missed you. I missed you so much," Tessa moaned, burying her head into his shoulder, leaving kisses along his bare skin.

"Not as much as I missed you."

Rami's hands started to roam down her back before they slipped underneath her panties and cupped her ass. He pulled her closer and she moaned louder, feeling him grow. He hooked his fingers into the sides and slipped her panties down her legs. He lifted his hips when she copied him, pulling his briefs off once she was naked.

She squeaked when his fingers dug into her hip bones, slowly lifting her into the air. He caught her eyes, looking deep into her mind, asking a question that she had been asked many times before. Tessa nodded. All breath left her body as she was lowered onto him and her eyes shut at the pure passion that came with the contact.

As she started to roll her hips, Tessa lowered the top half of her body so that every part of her was touching him. Her eyes opened ever so slightly so that she could look at his face. The pleasure running through her body increased when she saw that he was enjoying himself just as much.

She planted her lips on his, making sure to kiss him hard so he knew just how she was feeling – nothing she had ever felt before compared – and when he kissed her back just as hard, his fingers digging even further into her skin, she knew that Rami was right there with her.

a/n This took a lot longer than it should have to write. Thank you to AeonBlue for all her help and for giving the motivation to continue. It's a bit longer than usual annnnnnnnnnnd we have progress so hopefully it was worth the wait ;)

Thanks to Imagineer1392, UntilNeverDawns, starsxhearts23, Livin on the EDGE, CarolReigns, Peachilee, KarleeDaniels, Straight Edge Queen, AeonBlue, DanniChappell and Star-Moonlight1 for stopping by! That's eleven people, gee whiz! :D