Author's Note: This was just a little something I wanted to add to the Sheamus archive in response to the contest I created. The prompt I chose was the third one: A summer romance starts between Characters A and B, but eventually comes to an end when both have to say goodbye to one another. The pairing I chose was Sheamus/Naomi, because there just isn't enough stories with these two but one. All of the characters are written under their real names including Cameron (Ariane Andrew). Enjoy, guys.

Parting Ways

"Girl, just admit you and Stephen have something going on."

Admit that he was the reason she looked forward to work even more than she should've? No thank you. The last thing Trinity needed was a reminder as to why the budding thing that accumulated over time between the resident Irishman and herself was nothing more than an addiction that needed to be stopped just as quick as it started. No one besides Ariane knew of the tiny fling going on, though Trinity still wouldn't 'fess up to the fact they'd been seeing much of each other well over a month now. The former Tough Enough contestant could see it from a mile away that there was more to her friend and the Native of Dublin; it was written all over her tag team partner's face.

The way her face lit up when he passed their way spoke volumes on the situation, as she never gave him more than a two-second glare before it all started. They didn't talk much in the halls either - the most they got out of acknowledging one another was a head nod, then kept it at that. However, as of late, when they did chat, Ariane couldn't help but study her mannerisms while they delved in conversation. The Diva had a look on her face that was very similar to when she was in the ring: there was nothing forced or half-hearted about it. Sometimes, when Trinity thought she and Stephen were in the comfort of their own presences, the younger Funkadactyl would have a peek at their conversation from the corner of the backstage area. Of course she would hear one of those infectious laughs from Trinity, which Ariane knew only came out when she was exceptionally close to that person. Stephen obviously one of them.

Their attraction honestly started off as nothing more than a few friendly instances; the first one came about throughout the course of their trip in Seattle. Both were scheduled for an autograph signing at one of their local game stores, yet the drive to the signing to be delayed to the incoming rain shower. The weather delayed the event for about thirty minutes, leaving the pair two exchange a few words along the wait in traffic. Chilly air seeped it's way into the inhabitants of their limo, gaining a brisk shiver from the cocoa-skinned Diva. Stephen took notice of her form not long after, and without saying a word, slid his jacket off in the form of an offer.

A smile crept upon his pale features the moment he took in the scene of the younger woman in his jacket. No one had to tell him just how beautiful the Diva was - he already knew that himself, but there was something about a woman in a man's clothing. Maybe it was the way the hem of his jacket rested along the outline of her breasts; could've been the way her body took well to the fabric. He was a bigger man, although the garment seemed to fit lovely on her frame that wasn't petite in the slightest. Okay, so he realized he was staring now. Big mistake - but in spite of it all, she gave him her gratitude, followed by a small in return. The woman clearly didn't notice the Irishman checking her out.

At the time, she didn't know him as well as the others on the roster, so making the assumption that he was indeed admiring her back in that limo was one of the last things on her mind. And with that, she simply took his gawking as nothing more than a sweet gesture, much like the offering of his jacket. But it was not long after the signing in Seattle that she realized that she'd grown an attraction to him too, courtesy of the night out that involved a group of Superstars and Divas doing karaoke.

He got up on stage all high and mighty as if he were the next Michael Bolton, ready to belt out a mind-blowing chorus with his choirboy lungs. They'd expected him to be serious, standing there up on that stage as if he ran the building, but he was anything but the second that microphone reached his freckled lips. His eyes closed one good time, and alas, comedy hour had officially began. And who was Trinity to pass up a good laugh?

The way Stephen captivated the crowd during his rendition of David Bowie's "Fame" was almost reminiscent of what she saw on the monitors backstage as he made his entrance to the ring. Everyone was into it - even the bartender who every now and then stopped what he was doing to get a chuckle or two out of the Irishman. Stephen favored a little boy on that stage; his charm pulling the audience in every moment a word dripped from his lips. He came off the stage to one of the biggest applauses of the night, while a few ladies in the house whistled at the handsome lad making his way to the group of co-workers. His thick arms instantly engulfed a few of the wrestlers into a hug, his mouth opening wide for that signature "silent roar" of his that always found their way into photos.

His blue eyes surveyed the figure sitting directly across from his gaze. Trinity. The Diva was all smiles from his little number up there, hands still clapping for his poor excuse of a David Bowie hit, though it was nonetheless a kicker for everyone who witnessed. The Irishman followed up with a smile of his own, making her blush, instantly. The boyish charm was definitely at it again. Didn't help that he was rather adorable, either. She observed his features, making out the little freckles that align his face, how full his bottom lip was, and the little soul patch that lie nestled underneath. Now she was staring. She licked her full-lips in shame; drawing back to keep from staring at the handsome man any longer.

Doing so made her drop her purse. The Irishman was quick on his toes following the instance. "I got it," he proposed. His large hand scraped the handbag in a hurry; eyes meeting the young woman's yet again. Trinity felt her heart thump in her chest. This was Stephen, someone she never paid attention to no more than a few seconds on the regular, yet here he was making her feel odd as hell.

Later in the night, the group found themselves saying their respective goodbyes as they made their way to their hotel rooms. Trinity however, stayed behind in the lobby with Ariane, deciding on whether they wanted to hit the gym for the night before they were back on the road. The next show would be one of their live events, which always guaranteed a lengthy Diva's match if they didn't have one at any of their taped events. The Divas at least wanted to be prepared for what the evening would bring in their match against the Bella twins. As they stood in the lobby debating on their plans for the night, a familiar figure made their way past them, bringing an uneasy sensation to rise in the pit of Trinity's stomach. Butterflies...Stephen was giving her butterflies, and she didn't even know why. After the first instance of such a feeling came around, it would be one of many more to come. And to this day, he still gave her those butterflies.

He always did.

The incoming waves hitting the pier was just one of the few things that was able to somewhat settle her mind, but not too much. She'd practice this day for weeks now, not sure as to how she would finally break the news to Stephen. As of yesterday, their fling had been about for two months - the casual love affair developing not very long after Trinity suffered a concussion at the hands of a botched dive on Brie Bella. Stephen was more than helpful that evening, lifting her spirits up when she wasn't so sure about herself after she was reprimanded by none other than Stephanie McMahon. Her partner in crime, Ariane wasn't around to give her the pep talk she always gave if things got tough, but Stephen was able to fill that void just for one night. Aside from the occasional ill feeling Stephen always gave her the moment his presence entered the atmosphere, the Diva was able to see another side of the Irishman. More than she did back in Seattle.

They were both positive their impulses would end once August rolled around, however after one brief meeting, another two came right behind. Every now and then, Trinity would find herself in his room. She would check to make sure Ariane was asleep on the far side of their room before traveling up or down a few floors to see him. The rush of sneaking around intrigued her; the images of him pulling her into a long, hard kiss startled her. A man wasn't supposed to make a woman feel as good as he did, and for that Trinity couldn't help but feel as if this arrangement would surely end soon enough. Stuff like this was too good to be true.

Their meetings never involved activities such as sex, so the relationship was more than that. The most intimacy they had were a few kisses here and there, brushing of the skin, and fingertips lacing into a union. Stephen didn't know how they got to this point of whatever they could call this fascination between one another, but one thing he refused to call this was a fling. To Trinity, it was indeed one since they weren't even a couple, though to Stephen it was anything but.

He'd grown feelings for the cocoa-skinned woman; the challenge was expressing that other than in actions other than a few kisses or face-stroking. Neither of those elements stated how he genuinely felt. The Irishman was sure he thought their relationship (if you could call it that) wouldn't last long, as he did. And he was right. Yes, they were crazy about one another, although he wasn't very certain if that would be strong enough to keep this going any further. Stephen had never known about her delving into any relationship, so what exactly made him different from all the rest? As far as he knew, their seeing each other was nothing more than ball of joy that would come to an end when Trinity got bored with him. If only he knew...

Trinity gazed at one of the photos saved in her phone's library. The favorite in the album had to be a shot of her and Stephen from the Summerslam Kickoff Party last week. No one besides Ariane still knew of them, which was fine since they didn't want the company big brother watching over them. Backstage was known for finding out things in less than a day or two, so they refused to be the talk of the company. To avoid such, the most they did was keep their interactions at a minimum.

"You wanted to see me?"

His accent made her flinch on point.

The Florida native turned on her heel, making sure not to make too much eye contact. She scratched her forehead thinking that would spare her some sort of time in order to think of what she possibly wanted to say to Stephen. Before she arrived at the pier, she'd rehearsed everything in her hotel room; Ariane giving her a little pep talk despite the fact it wouldn't change anything. There was nothing to feel excited or even optimistic over what she set out to do. Trinity's eyes met Stephen's for the first time since he'd arrived on the wooden fixture, his mind bleeding the worst possible outcomes.

"Yeah, I wanted to see you," she paused. "I don't-," she gulped back a thick lump of spit. "I don't think we can keep this going, Stephen..."

His eyes shut close just as quick as she stated such words; a pang of hurt tearing at his heart. So this was what she called him for? To call it quits on something he should've known would would end with due time. How he could he had been so stupid to think she called him around for anything but? After the kickoff party, she'd said not two words to him since. And he knew she was avoiding his phonecalls also. He at first assumed her phone could've been on silent yet she wasn't picking up. Other thoughts came to mind like perhaps it'd been damaged by water, anything other than her flatout ignoring his messages or check-in's.

The Irishman opened his eyes, "You don't think we can keep this going? So that's why you've been ignoring me, huh?" His Irish accent dripped from his lips in a monotone manner, not nearly showing the life it usually had when he spoke. A faint chuckle expelled in the air, "You know I told meself thought I was just overreacting, that you wouldn't call me up for something like this. Not yet at least. Guess I've should've prepared soon, right?" His cerulean-blues flicked over to the scene before him - the lush waters of Ballast Point.

"Stephen, don't be like that." Trinity reached for his arm, only for the Irishman to snatch away in return. The anger in his body was boiling by the minute over his obliviousness, as well as the younger's woman lack of communication. Maybe if she'd just mustered up the courage to talk to him when he called the first few times around he would slightly be able to slightly handle her decision, but she didn't, and that changed everything.

"Don't be like what? I have every right to be just a little angry when you think everything is fine between you and the person you care about the night after having such a good time together, only to be fucking played like a fool when they don't want to talk to you!" His lips coiled together in such rage, leaving the woman standing before him to tremble in fear. She'd never seen him this angry besides what appeared on television, and honestly, she couldn't blame him for his explosion. The only thing she could do is stand there like a sore thumb as he fumed in pain. "What are we still standing here for? Yeh don't want me, nor or we in an actual relationship."

Tears were starting to sprinkle her cheeks; now wasn't the time to cry, for this was her doing. "You know that's not true. And you're exactly right, we're not in one, so why are you making this harder than it should be? Neither one of us agreed this would last as long as it did." She cursed at herself for even allowing that to get out. The woman closed her eyes for a moment to gather a better expression than the one she just proposed. "I just don't think it's a good idea either of us pursue this any longer. What are we getting from it?"

"I don't know, but did you just wake up the other to decide this wasn't a good idea? I know, I know. I have no right at all to be angry about what I've should've already known, but to completely ignore me until you felt you were ready to call me up. Come on, Trinity." He ran his hand across his red beard, letting another chuckle fall from his lips. "Something inside said maybe, just maybe you were willing to take that chance of starting a relationship, cause I know I was but now that I know you don't, and that all of this was some fun to kill time. Am I right or wrong?"

"It was more than just some fun to kill time, and you know it, Stephen. You don't think this is hard for me?" Trinity perched her arms on the wooden railing before lowering her head. "I didn't even want to feel this way about you. I thought all of this, all these feelings I have would eventually fade with time the moment this all came to an end. Every morning I'd wake up looking forward to something new you would share with me, or the little things I didn't realize about you that I didn't know the day before. Like your lisp...or how you tend to squint your eyes like a little boy when you're happy."

Stephen took a few steps forward, bringing his body a little closer to hers. His voice was now a soft whisper, "So why are you willing to walk away from something we can have?"

"Stuff like what happened all these months is just too good to be true. I can't even focus on work half the time because I'm thinking about you all day. And even when I can think long enough to work, I just shouldn't feel the way I do. I literally wake up happy as hell going to work way more than I should. When people talk to me I can't even a normal conversation, because my mind is elsewhere. It's like I can't function because my main focus is you."

"Okay, so you need a break, that's fine. I'm willing to wait so you can clear your-"

Trinity shook her head, "Stephen, you don't get it. There won't be any breaks, because there won't be any us...I have a job to focus on. I can't do that if I'm too busy thinkin' about when the next time I'll see you again or how many hours is it until I'm back in your room. Sometimes I think I like you way too much, and I need to just stop it. Altogether." The dancer brushed her hair back, hating herself for going through with this, but knew it was for the best. Her brown hues met Stephen's blue one's. "It's time to let it end. For good. You stay on your side of the fence and I stay on mine."

The native of Dublin wiped the moisture from his eyes, clearly not wanting to say goodbye to the darker woman just yet. He wasn't going to pressure her into something she couldn't be apart, nor could he say much else to change her mind, and that ultimately killed him inside. So yeah, she returned the same feelings as he did - still, that didn't make him feel any better about the circumstance; actually it made him feel worse since her feelings for him was too much for her to bear. He wanted her too be happy too.

"I understand," was all he said; nodding to give the woman some reassurance. The only thing that could be heard from the Irishman were his footsteps pulling away in the distance, followed by the whimpers that accompany his soft weeping. Trinity watched his distraught frame shuffle down the pier, taking in the scene one last time before she allowed her emotions to take over, also. Come Monday she would see his face, they would mostly likely wish to avoid one another, and of course pretend as if nothing ever happened between them, although it would be a challenge for them both - especially for Trinity. Giving up her addiction was over; coping with it would be a different story.