I Miss You, I Need You - Don't Argue With Me

The girl pressed into the arms wrapped tightly around her, the shoulder length strawberry blonde hair that fell about her face tickling his chest slightly as she breathed, her face resting on his naked chest. Her lips curled into a kiss against his smooth skin and though her eyes were locked closed, the first remnants of sleep creeping in on her, she smiled.

"Mmm mmm," she barely murmured in response, another soft kiss touching him as she drew upon the last remnants of strength in her exhausted body to lift the hand that was draped across his stomach to nestle in the hand he held on his chest. Their fingers intertwined and he lifted them to his lips, kissing the soft skin on the back of her hand. In the tinges of light that filled the room from the glow of the moonlight outside he saw her smile deepen. "I love you, Jeff," the girl whispered, the emotion of the words brimming in her voice.

He smiled, replying with complete honesty, his southern drawl lazily expressing the depth of emotion he returned for the girl in his arms. "And I love you." He kissed her forehead, the arm he had wrapped around her waist moving up so his fingers could tangle in the soft strands of her hair. "Are you sure you're okay?" She nodded against him and he sighed softly, "It's just..."

Again she nodded, speaking softly, slowly, her sleepiness completely unrestrained, "I know." Kalli scrunched her face up slightly, her brow creasing together in a kind of lacklustre concern. "I haven't been..." She broke off, not sure how to describe the complete melancholy she had slipped into since the WWE roster had been split irrevocably into two, separating the twosome in the process. "I haven't been my usual perky self, I guess," she said in resigned sarcasm, knowing the words were a stark understatement.

In truth, she had been lost. Empty and hollow, the cold bed she adjourned to at the end of each day on the road a bitter reminder that she loved...

"I miss you," she told him softly, somehow bringing herself to battle her exhaustion long enough to open her eyes, her gaze locking on his hazel green orbs in the darkness. There was enough of a glow in the room for her to make out the worry behind the comforting smile he had directed at her, and suddenly overwhelmed by a desire to banish all concern from the youngest Hardy Boy, she lifted her head from his chest, scooting forward enough to press her lips to his cheek. He tilted his head to the side after the first kiss, their noses meeting in a loving nuzzle, both sharing a grin at the comfort they took in their closeness.

Jeff cast a gaze over the shadowy outline of her features a moment before locking his eyes on hers again, grateful for the chance to be this near to the girl he pinned for throughout each day. "I miss you too, you know," he told her. "I'm never sure you understand how much." She raised a curious eyebrow and he fought to explain, "It's just that... I think sometimes you think you're missing me, but..." he kissed her tenderly, "But you don't think I'm missing you."

She lowered her eyes, the early formations of a pout appearing on her lips. "I think sometimes I think that way. Sometimes I forget..." Kalli grinned, "If you knew the way I see you..."

Kalli pondered a moment, not sure if he would overly encourage the completely bias view she knew she had of him, but determined to be honest. "Perfection."

"I know," she explained carefully, "Which makes you even more perfect in my eyes." She chuckled lightly, "Fucked up, isn't it?"

"Hey..." Releasing the hold she still had of his hand, Kalli notched a finger under his chin, guiding his face back towards hers. "You asked me how I see you."

The girl nodded, "To you, maybe. But to me," her fingertips brushed over the slight pout of his lips, an adoring smile gracing her face when he kissed her fingers as she moved them along the line of it. "I have never loved anyone as completely as I love you. I look at you, and I wonder what you see in me, why you love me..." She broke off a moment, this time averting her gaze. "I wait in dread for a day you might realize that you like being apart from me."

The fingers that were toying with her hair pushed her face back to his in an instant, "Never," was all he said, his voice filled with a kind of conviction Kalli could not even be sure she had heard in him before.

"Kalli..." He breathed back, his warmth engulfing her, overwhelming her senses with the very depth of the passion behind it, he told her, "I'll never want to be apart from you. I hate it... I hate it now. So much. I curse the day that damn roster was split up," he whispered, "The day the WWE took you away from me."

Kissing him softly, the girl melted back down into his arms, her head tucked under his chin, her hand taking his again, "For the first time in my life, I know what the guys go through on the road. The guys that have to leave their wives, their children, at home week after week." She added brokenly, "I hate it." Her lower lip trembled with the threat of tears as she whispered, "And I want it to stop."

"Unless the split ends, or one of us wins the Undisputed or Women's Championship, that's not going to happen, Kalli." Jeff closed his eyes, kissing her forehead again, "I'm sorry." But her head shook softly beneath his chin, and curious, he opened his eyes, looking down at her, "Kalli?" he asked.

"I'll quit," she whispered, her voice wavering with emotion, the words near choking her as she tried to fight the tears in her eyes, "I'll quit for you."

"Means nothing to me compared to you." Her lips met the underneath of his chin in a loving kiss and she explained meaningfully, "All I want is to be able to do this." She squeezed him tightly, "To lay in bed like this at night with you. To talk to you... To love you..."

He kissed her, nodding furiously, his eagerness to keep her with him apparent, but the moment she had settled back down into his arms he whispered, "Tomorrow, no matter what it takes, I am going to convince your Father to get you on Raw, or to send me to Smackdown." He could hear a protest forming and he added, "Whatever it takes."

The girl giggled at the determination in his voice, "There just is no letting anything lie with you, is there?" He shook his head and she placed another kiss on his chest in response. "I try and be noble and you shoot me down in flames."

"You make me happy," she tightened her grip on him, pouring her love into every touch and caress, every kiss between whispered words, "When we're apart, all the WWE in the world won't make me smile."

The words all trailed away and soon silence engulfed the room. Content to lay in the warmth of his embrace, more in love with him than she could ever describe, Kalli McMahon settled, ready to let sleep take her again.