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Roman wasn't an angry guy.
Despite being a paid fighter for a living, Roman Reigns was usually a happy go lucky, calm, and sweet guy. Even after fights with his opponents, he would get his hand raised, and tell the ref to make sure they were okay afterwards. Seth always asked him how he could manage to get up the rage needed to take down his opponent so quickly, when at home he was like a harmless bear, barely even raising his voice when he needed something... or even when they argued...
But that all changed... last night.
The sheets crumbled as Roman plopped down on their bed. Seth had been there just this morning, telling him he loved him, as Roman kissed his sweaty body. The scent of him still lingered on Roman's sheets, the smell of their sweat, love and the taste of him still fondly stained on Roman's tongue. He ran a frustrated hand through his black locks and then tossed a pillow at the wall.
It wasn't supposed to be like this. He shouldn't have said what he said to Seth, but it came out before he could stop it. He looked over at his nightstand, the picture of he and Seth smiling at each other in India, glaring back at him as Roman fought the memory... of what happened just last night.
"Seth?" Roman called out as he took the keys out of the door. It was slammed behind him, and his keys were hung up on the rack. His shoes came off and placed by the door, before he walked towards an amazing smell. Seth obviously hadn't heard him come in so Roman thought he should just surprise him. He saw Seth in the kitchen, talking to someone over the phone. Roman was planning on wrapping his arms around him but suddenly he heard Seth say:
"Yeah, I can't wait to see you too, Finn."
Finn?
As in... Finn Balor?
Roman's heart stopped when he heard the name. The same name he hasn't heard in three long years. Finn. The guy he stole Seth from. The same guy who found out where Roman trained, came up to him, man to man and told him that one day, Seth would come back to him. Roman stood there, listening to Seth laugh and talk to Finn in his flirtatious tone. He stood there and listened to Seth talk to the one guy Roman's ever been jealous of. The one guy he was afraid could ever make Seth come back. Seth hung up then started to dice the red potatoes. At first Roman contemplated on just reacting to this calmly... but he couldn't get the way Seth laughed in his head, or the way he told him, "can't wait to see you too."
Roman's rational factor was being tossed out of the window as he crossed his arms, and cleared his throat. A startled Seth dropped the knife out of his hands and turned around to see Roman standing there, with his arms crossed in front of him, and the most stoic look on his face.
"Romie!" Seth said coming over to him, "I missed you, how did it go with Dean?" Seth tried to touch his partner, but Roman just pushed away from him, confusing Seth a bit, "Romie?" He asked as he stepped forward again, "What's wrong?"
"So about... how long have you been fucking Finn behind my back?" Roman asked, with anger lacing his words.
"What?" Seth breathlessly laughed, trying to come closer to his boyfriend, "Ro, I would never cheat on you. I love you."
"You love me, yeah." Roman didn't know why he didn't believe it. Seth did love him; he's love him for four years now but right now Roman couldn't see reason. Nothing would make him believe that Seth loved him at this current moment or that the way he laughed at Finn's words were nothing more than friendly, "Is that why I just caught you flirting with him over the phone? Telling him you can't wait to see him? How long has this been going on Seth? Tell me the truth. I think you owe me that much."
"The truth?" Seth scoffed at this accusation. He was in nothing but an apron and Roman's big shirt and he honestly thought he would cheat on him? "Roman the truth is that I haven't spoken to Finn in years. He said he called to just catch up and wanted to see me. I'm not fucking anyone but you. I can't believe you would fucking suggest that I would cheat on you... we've been together for four years why would I cheat now?"
"I don't know..." Roman shrugged, "I mean you cheated with me. Why not on me?"
The moment the words came out of his mouth, Roman regretted it. He could see Seth's eyes swell, almost immediately with tears as he looked at him. Seth's lip trembled then his apron was tossed off of him before he ran off towards their room.
"Seth!" Roman ran after him, catching up to him in the closet, in the midst of changing clothes. " Look, baby I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. It was stupid of me to say. I don't know what the fuck I was just thinking. I know you'd never cheat on me."
"Fuck you." Seth spat back as he put on one of his tight tee shirts, "You said it for a reason. Maybe it's because you honestly think that I would so easily hop on Finn's dick... because I'm the whore you ended up with... right?" Seth's tight skinny jeans were placed on his body, then his cap, and some sneakers.
"You're not a fucking whore Seth don't ever call yourself that." Roman tried to grab him but Seth took his hands off of him, and pushed him away. "I said I was sorry! I got heated because I know he still carries a flame for you. I'm sorry okay? Where the hell are you going?"
"I'm leaving. I can't be here with you right now." Seth began to walk out but Roman followed, hot on his heel.
"So that's it?" Roman yelled from behind him, " We fight for the first time in almost a year and you just fucking walk out when things get rough? You leave because of one stupid comment I made? What the fuck happened to talking shit out huh? Why can't we just talk about it and move on?"
"We can't talk about it because I'm fucking hurt Ro. I'm hurt that we've been together for so many years and yet... you'd think that I would ever... break your heart." Seth held back a tear as he looked at him, then he opened the door... and left.
Roman hasn't heard from Seth all night or day. It was 8 am now, and he still had no idea where Seth was. He called, texted, yet no response. The file Dean had given him sat unopened on Roman's nightstand, as he tried his best to stay up and wait for Seth to return.
~
Meanwhile, in Brooklyn, Seth sat on his friend's couch, sipping green tea. His legs were crossed as he looked idly at the blank tv screen. He checked his phone, over 45 messages and calls from Roman. All of them saying he was sorry. Seth left them all unanswered as he sat back against the couch, and thought about the man he loved so much.
"So... Roman's an asshole." His friend Marek said to him as he sat on the couch next to Seth, "I told you, he was no good. You were way better off with Finn. At least he loved you unconditionally."
Seth shook his head at his friend and sighed, "Roman is the sweetest guy on the planet. Yeah, he beats men up for a living but he's not like that at home. He's attentive, smart, kind, sweet, and loves me more than Finn or any guy before him ever did."
"But you told me he called you a whore..." Marek said confusedly. "Seth, that's inexcusable."
"It's not like that, he didn't use the word whore. He just... said something I know he didn't mean. But it still hurt anyway. He apologized but I didn't want to hear it. I was just... so pissed off in the moment. I had to go... but I do miss him... already and it's only been a couple of hours."
"Then let me ask you a serious question," Marek took the mug out of Seth's hand and placed it on his coffee table. "If you miss him... what the hell are you still doing here?"
Seth smiled at his best friend, then sat up to put his shoes back on. "You're right. I need to go home and talk to Roman. I should be where my heart is." Seth said before he kissed his friend's forehead, and bolted out of the door.
Roman's body physically couldn't stay awake anymore. He fell asleep around 9:30 am, when he realized Seth wasn't walking through the door anytime soon. Roman slept for about an hour, before he woke up to Seth's body on top of his, giving him kisses to the back of his neck.
"Romie..." Seth whispered, completely naked behind him, "I'm sorry. I missed you."
Roman turned around, voice and body still half asleep as he pulled Seth in and held him close to his heart. "We can talk about it when we wake up, for now let's just... sleep baby."
So sleep they did... for 9 full hours.
When they both woke up, it was 6pm, and neither of them wanted to get out of bed. The light in the room was dimmed, and so were the expensive curtains Seth had brought last year. Roman's eyes opened first, to a still sleeping Seth. He touched the stubble on his face, caressing it gently then kissed his sleeping lips softly. He couldn't believe he had almost lost this man over one stupid comment, one that he would've regretted for the rest of his life. His lips stayed on Seth's forehead, waking him up at the same time. Seth yawned, then looked up to see Roman staring at him, with a mass amount of guilt in his gray eyes.
"I'm so fucking sorry baby." Roman told him, caressing the small brown hairs at the front of his head, "I love you so much, I know you'll never cheat. I promise, I'll make it up to you... if you forgive me?"
Seth smiled softly, taking the hand that was on him to his lips, where he kissed his tired palm. Roman breathed out heavily as Seth came closer, laying right on his chest so he could hear his heart beating. "I'm sorry too. I know you love me, Romie… I know you didn't mean it. I just don't like fighting with you. You're my guy… the man of my dreams, don't doubt my love for you again okay?"
Roman nodded and smiled as his arm wrapped around Seth's full body, embracing and caressing him like a protective lion over his cub. They wrapped themselves around each other for what seemed like eternity, before Roman spoke. "Babe… I almost forgot." He reached over his nightstand and handed Seth the file Dean gave him. "Dean had a lot of solutions, but I told him that before I gave him answer, I would talk to you. This file, is option one out of three. Wanna discuss it now that we're okay again?"
Seth took the file and opened it, seeing a girl's photo. Her name was Bayley, she was a fighter like Roman, had a background in wrestling too. It said that she was almost in the same predicament as Roman, she was gay, looking for a cover. She had a sweet smile, and looked really cute in an off-beat way. Seth closed the file, then placed it on his side of the bed. He sat up on top of Roman, letting the sheets fall down his shoulders in a pool around his waist.
"Romie I love you. I love being with you, and you know I never cared about if you're out or if you're closeted. And I also don't care about those other two options. Nothing and no one should force you out of the closet. You can come out, when you're ready. For now, I love you enough to say fake date this girl at your hearts content, and then come home and fuck me all night."
Roman smiled as he looked up at Seth. Four years ago, he met him in a bookstore, and decided that day, somehow, someway he was going to make Seth his. Now it was four years later, and he was on top of him, naked, telling him that he loved him, closeted or not, stupid or not... he loved him. Roman felt his heart swell, as he touched Seth's sides, and tore the sheets away from that bare lower body. His hand ran up thick, hairy thighs and he squeezed him, in remembrance, in lust, in love. Seth smiled back at him then leaned down and kissed his lips. Roman grabbed him, wrapping his love in his arms….
Planning to never, ever… let him go.
Two days later.
Seth was nervous.
He sat down in Starbucks, his iced cold brew with milk sitting firmly on the table as he waited for Finn to show up. After some convincing, and a lot of sex, Roman was a little less apprehensive about Seth meeting Finn again. He sat back in his chair, and sighed as he looked at his screen saver. It was him and Roman on Seth's birthday. He took Seth to Paris for an entire week, and when they were over there, they walked across the champs-elysees and kissed in front of the Eiffel tower. Seth was so caught up in the memory of Roman fucking him against a clear glass window in Paris, that he didn't even notice Finn walk in.
"Seth!" Finn said loudly, getting his attention. "I missed ya." Seth smiled at him and gave him a hug, one that he noticed Finn hold on for a little too long for. They eventually pulled away, and sat down in separate chairs, looking at each other with smiles on their faces.
"So I haven't seen ya since last year, at the farmer's market. I figured, I'd call, catch up, see how you're doing!" Finn clasped his hands together a little too excitedly, and leaned forward so he and Seth could look at each other.
"Well…I'm doing really well. I'm still working out all the time, and my publishing company is going so well, I barely I have to come in these days, I'm actually happy with my life right now. I stay fit, work, and I'm getting a dog soon too!"
"Right, right…" Finn nodded, "And... how's it going with Roman?"
Seth immediately lost his breath as he heard Finn mention Roman's name. Seth never told him he was with Roman. In fact, he cut off all contact with Finn once they broke up. He looked around nervously, trying to play it off like he didn't know what Finn was talking about. "Roman… who?" Seth asked back softly.
"Are you playing dumb Seth? That's so unlike you," Finn said back, a dangerous smile still on his face. "I guess that's all he has reduced you too huh? A guy who has to play dumb, pretending like you aren't in a relationship with him for the sake of his career?"
Seth swallowed slowly, then shook his head, unable to listen to Finn for much longer, "You don't know what you're talking about." He spat back.
"I don't? I know you were fucking him while you were with me, I think the very least you can do is drop the pretenses. I mean, I let you go because eventually I grew tired of boring sex with you day in and day out, but I guess it's not like that with your big hunk of an MMA fighter is it? You couldn't wait to hop on his dick once you saw him in your store that day with his black eye." Finn laughed at him, "Your dangerous Samoan badass who had to steal you away by offering comfort and sweet nothings to get in your pants. And what do you do now besides let him fuck you? Do you get to go out? Does he claim you in public? No. and he never will. You left me, a great guy for one who only uses you for his dick."
"Shut up!" Seth said in a whisper-yell combination. He couldn't listen to any more of this. "Fuck you Finn! You don't know me or my life with Roman!"
"Ooh…" Finn laughed a little louder now, then sat back to show Seth his phone. He pressed the play button on the audio, letting Seth hear his own voice in playback mode.
Shut up! Fuck you, Finn! You don't know me or my life with Roman!
"Would you look at that Seth? It looks like I got proof that you and Roman are butt buddies after all." He smirked, as Seth sat back, distraught. He had no idea Finn was recording. This is what this conversation was about. He never wanted to talk to catch up…
He wanted to blackmail Seth.
"Finn please... this is my life… you can't… you can't play that recording to anyone." Seth pleaded with him, while his hazel eyes swell with tears.
Finn didn't offer any sympathy as leaned forward in his chair so only Seth could hear. "And I won't Seth. I promise." He lured him in, with fake sympathy, "I won't play this recording for anyone... as long as you do two things."
"I'll do anything," Seth sobbed softly, "Just please, don't play that recording."
"That's exactly what I wanted to hear, that you would do anything, because my dear Seth, you're gonna have be willing to do anything, for me to permanently delete this. Are you ready to hear what I want from you?" Seth nodded, hopelessly, " Good, because one, I'm gonna need a total of one hundred grand in cash and two… I want you to break up with Roman... for good."
Seth's heart dropped as he heard Finn's clauses. Money he could do... but he'd never break up with Roman. He loved him too much. He... just couldn't. "I won't do that. I love him…" he cried, "He loves me. He won't believe me if I just… end it. Please… I'll give you the money, but not this, Finn please."
"Once upon a time, you told me you loved me too. But I followed you one day to his house. He kissed you right on the stoop, and then brought you inside with his hands on your ass. Break up with him, Seth, and make it fucking hurt or this tape gets released along with four-year-old pictures of you and him in questionable positions. Have a good day, Seth." Finn winked at him one last time, before he exited the café.
Once he was gone, Seth sat there in shambles, crying and trembling as he picked up his phone. He knew Finn wasn't bluffing. He would release that recording and whatever pictures he had, ruining Roman's career and Seth's life. He had to do this. He loved Roman too much not too. So he found Roman's name in his phone and sent him a text that would no doubt... lead to him ending it all.
Roman… we need to talk. – Seth.