Distribution: Ask first.
Notes: More of Hiss and Purr. Kat fights for what she wants.

"I wish you would react," Ray said as they rode to the hotel in the back of Shane's limousine.
"React?" she asked, looking away from the window to Ray. "Do you want me to cry, to rant, to rave, to scream?"
"Take your pick."
"I won't do it. I just won't do it."
"Why the hell not? I'll bet it'd make you feel a lot better than you are right now."
"You think?"
"Baby, not only do I think, I know."
"Why don't you react Ray?"
"Me? What the hell do I have to react to?"
"You think you're slick Ray? Boy, you and I all but shared diapers. You ain't slick. Not in my book. You think I didn't notice how for every question you asked me about life on the road with the WWF as a dancer and as a writer, there were two questions about Stephanie McMahon, about the men she liked, the men she dated? Come on now Ray."
"So what? She's a pretty girl."
"You have something like a hundred and fifty pictures of her saved on your laptop. Hell, you have it so bad for her you ordered a designing program so you could make bad wallpapers of her."
"You were sneaking around on my computer?"
"Yes."
"So what? She's a pretty girl."
"Please Ray. Kid the world, don't kid me. You like the girl. A lot."
"And now she's taken."
"She's not in love with Steve," Kat said.
"Kat, they're going out. I pretty much got that from her own mouth."
"And she is not in love with him. Trust me. If she were, she would have gotten in touch with me. That's the kind of person Steph is. Guilt would have racked her so bad she would have flown to Switzerland to tell me about it. She's going out with Steve. I don't know why, but it's not because she's in love with him. I can tell you that much."
"You seem awfully sure of yourself," Ray said, looking at her set face.
"I have to be."
"Why?"
"Because I don't want to admit defeat Ray. I know I fucked up bad with Steve. I know that very well. But admitting that he's with someone else? With one of my best friends? No, there's got to be a reason for it."
"A reason?"
"Maybe he's trying to hold on to a piece of me through her, I don't know. But I am not willing to give it up."
"And if it's true? If their feelings for each other are not a fluke? What if they're in love?"
"Well, you and I find ourselves a couple of hot looking people who'll make them drool and fuck them senseless."
Ray chuckled and pulled Kat into his arms. He felt her wrap her arm around his waist and hold on to him with everything she had.
And he felt her tears soak through his shirt.

"They're in the front row," Shane told Stephanie. "They're talking and laughing as if nothing happened."
"She hasn't said anything to you?" Steph asked her brother.
"Nope. She came in with Ray, both of them smiling and laughing, doing the not a care in the world thing."
"Maybe Ray was right," Steve said, patting his girlfriend's hand, "maybe she has moved on."
Stephanie turned to Steve and tried to smile at him while she wondered if Ray had moved on too. Oh but she didn't want him too. She wanted him to still want her. Even if she had been dating Steve exclusively for the past four months, she still wanted Ray to pine for her. She didn't want him to move on. Moving on was fine for Kat. After the way she'd left Steve, she had to move on and let him do the same. And yet...
Stephanie took a deep breath. Deep down inside, she understood why Kat had left. She probably would have left too, specially if she had to face all the reconstructive surgery and extensive months of grueling physical therapy, not to mention dealing with the trauma of the accident and of the loss of her child.
"Steph," said Hunter, coming into the office. "It's time. You too Steve."
"You ready hon?" Steve asked her.
"Yeah."

Out in the ring, Stephanie went on berating Lita and her Hardy Boyz while Kat and Ray watched from their front row seats. More than once, Kat saw Steve turn her way and eye her very generous cleavage. She smiled at him every time and even waved at him.
"You're being evil," Ray told her as he chuckled at Steve's increasingly red face.
"I'm determined."
Kat went on flirting ruthlessly with Steve who, in the ring, could do nothing but suffer Kat's subtle invitations in silence while staying in full heel character. Finally, the segment ended and he stalked backstage to find Shane.
"Do something with her but take her off ringside!" he told him. "She's out there to make me lose my mind and so far, she's fucking winning."
"Are you all right?" Stephanie asked him, touching his arm, made rock hard from the tension.
"I'll be fine. As long as your brother escorts Kat away from ringside."
"I can't do that without raising questions. And Steve, you can work in this company with your ex-wife and your ex-girlfriend's ex-boyfriend but the second your ex-girlfriend shows up for one show, you want me to escort her from ringside?"
"Yes! Now will you do it, or will I?"
"I'll see what I can do."
"Thanks. Stephanie, I'll be getting ready for my match."
"I don't like this," Shane said as Steve stalked off. "I mean, if Kat's still affecting him..."
"Don't Shane. Steve was just shaken. He'll be fine."
"Fine for what?" Shane asked himself after Stephanie walked out of his office.

"You think you shook him up?" Ray asked Kat.
"Sure thing. I mean hell, I gave him a shot of the twin peaks and I would have sworn that if he'd not been holding on to those ropes, he would have fallen flat on his face."
"What about Steph? Won't her feelings be hurt?"
"Not if she has you to pick up the pieces."
"You know, you're quite the mercenary."
"I'm determined to get my man is all."
"You got your balls back didn't you?"
"You could say so. But Steve and I... no matter what I said before, all that noble bullshit about wanting him to be happy? I want him to be happy with me Ray, not with her."
"But she's your best friend Kat."
"Ray, why you playing Devil's Advocate here?"
"I'm trying to do that nobility bullshit you were so good at."
"It sucks Ray. I love Steve. And trust me, I get a feeling he likes me too."

Steve sat in his dressing room, watching the footage from his little in-ring segment with Hunter and Steph. The everyday fan wouldn't see it, wouldn't know how stressed he was right at the moment when he'd first seen Kat and that cleavage of hers. Damn, but she looked so good, not as full as before, but still something worth looking at.
KNOCK! KNOCK!
"Steve," Stephanie said, coming into his dressing room, "how are you doing with everything?"
"You mean with Kat being here or taking on the little Hardyz in the handicap match?"
"I'm talking about Kat being here."
"I don't know Steph. I mean, I know she was going to be out there and I thought I was going to sail right through it."
"But you're not, right?"
"No. Damn it Steph, she left me. Why the hell am I..."
"Still in love with her?"
"I wish I wasn't. I really wish I wasn't."
"Why?"
"Because she walked out on me."
"And?"
"Must you ask all the right questions?" Steve growled, tightening his knee braces.
"Steve... Ray..."
"I know Stephanie. Just like you know how I felt about Kat all along."
"God," she sighed, letting herself drop on the couch next to him, "why the fuck did we start dating then?"
"Damn me if I know. Well, I know how we hooked up. We hooked up because you and I were lonely and the people we wanted in our lives were away from us and together and we figured we were better off alone together than being alone by ourselves."
"Is that all it is then? The past four months were just about you and me being lonely?"
"Yep."
"Yeah. And hell, I liked sticking it to your father. I mean, he might think I'm an okay guy in real life but when he found out about you and me dating, you could have knocked him over with a fucking feather."
"I don't think anyone took it in stride Steve. Do you remember Hunter? That time he walked in on you and me kissing in the dressing room?"
"I'm telling you, right then and there, that boy looked about like he was taking the whole marriage thing seriously. He looked like he walked in and found you cheating on him with his worst enemy."
"It was so funny. Shit Steph, what the fuck are you kissing HIM for? He looked like he wanted to cry," Stephanie chuckled.
"Andrew... When he pinned me with that look, I thought for sure I was going to get myself a real Canadian ass-kicking."
"He was not a happy camper."
Stephanie laughed with Steve and leaned into him. He was so comfortable and nice when you got under the I'm a bad ass exterior. He was a nice guy who could be sweet and romantic. And he was one hell of a kisser.
"I'm going to miss that about you," she said.
"Miss what?"
"The kissing. You're a damn good kisser Steve Austin."
"It's the Rattlesnake tongue thing."
"That's a disgusting analogy, Steve."
"But it might be true."
"Still disgusting."
"Whatever. So... we over with?"
"Yep. Kat wants you back and I want to get a shot at Ray."
"You know, it was fun while it lasted."
"I know."
Stephanie looked up at Steve and pressed her lips against his in what she knew would be their final kiss. By the time they pulled away from each other, they were both grinning like naughty teenagers.
"That was an awful lot of tongue," Stephanie laughed.
"I wanted to give you something to remember me by."
"Your tongue?"
"Yeah. It's a gift that keeps on giving."
"I'm going to miss you Rattlesnake."
"Me too Princess," Steve said.

Word came to Kat and Ray from one of the cameramen. He quickly slipped them backstage passes and led them to the entrance beyond the ramp amid cries of envious fans. Kat had trouble from bouncing right off the balls of her feet.
"Does that mean we won?" Ray asked.
"It means we're leading but they could tie us."
"Sports analogies? What's with you?"
"We're in an arena, swimming in full blown testoterone. It fits, no?"
"No."
Kat and Ray rounded a corner and saw Steve and Steph walking down the hall coming straight for them.
"Let the games begin," Kat said, quickly squeezing Ray's hand.

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