The small announcer runs up to The Shield enforcer: wrapping himself around his boyfriend as their bodies collided together. The feel of Reigns' strong arms holding onto hips, pulling him closer: it felt like home. The backstage was settling down as workers began to leave and the crew began the packing and cleaning up to move onto the next city.
The announcer begins talking immediately; congratulating Roman Reigns on his victory with Seth Rollins, continuing into a tirade about how wonderful he was on Raw. How his main event match was the highlight of the entire show, as it should have been. With a hand over his lips, Justin is hushed by his lover.
Roman chuckles softly as he moves his palm to the announcer's face, caressing his cheek before leaning down to kiss him. Roberts lips were delicate, skillful and nothing but pure bliss.
He sighs softly, smiling and looking him over before making the request he had in mind: the conversation he actually wanted to have. Before Reigns wanted to hear any type of congratulations on himself, something he didn't particularly care for anymore, he wanted to know all about Justin Roberts and how his weekend had gone, how his night had gone and if anything crucial had happened that he should know about.
If so much as one of those brown argyle socks went missing, Roman Reigns wanted to know about it. Justin's laugh is beautiful, even when it's directed at him, he's okay with it - he likes it, more importantly.
There had been so few times when Roman went to sleep with a smile on his face. He slept like a rock. No matter how hard Rollins or Ambrose had tried to wake up the big man, he was dead weight, deaf to the entire universe; he could only get up under his own power, and seemingly so, by the gentle nudges of his lover beside him.
Justin smiles timidly, and although he had nudged Roman until he had awoken, he still went about nervously asking the man if he had woken him up. A response to anyone else would have probably been met with a fight, a screaming match easily won, or a concussion perhaps; for Justin, he's met with a gentle kiss and an arm wrapping around him to pull his small body ever so close.
Roberts quietly admits that he was unable to sleep, and couldn't help but wake up Roman. There was so much that he had forgotten to say earlier when they had met after Raw had gone off the air and they met backstage. Reigns rolls over onto his side, his eyes adjusting to the darkness. He quiets the frantic paced voice into a more relaxed one, free of anxiety.
He sighs peacefully and rolls onto his back, pulling Justin who had been sitting up down onto his chest. He plays with his lover's hair, free from the jell he used to style it, freshly washed and subtly scented from the coconut shampoo that Roman was certain was the unspoken nod to his heritage.
The enforcer makes himself even more comfortable with Justin on top of him, not fully realizing just how much the older man actually had to say now that he had no more than a couple hours of sleep to recharge. Where Seth Rollins had failed to keep him interested in the words he was saying for more than a few seconds, the raspy voice getting on his last nerve with every rambling comment, Justin's voice was calming, the mere sound and pitch of his words was relaxing; it had this ability to actually make him happy. That was just so rare these days; so uncommon that it in fact dropped so suddenly when Justin brought a new topic to the surface: the constant time they spent apart; that he was only waking him up because he was afraid Roman wouldn't be there when Justin had woken up himself.
Reigns sighs heavily; he makes some false comment that he was never truly that far away from Justin, and although it's merely a lie, somehow it sounds a little better. Like receiving a holiday card, where the words had no real basis, but still made you feel better. The thought counted, at least.
He brushes his fingers through Justin's soft hair and lets him know the news he had been saving up for a while; he was finally working on moving out of the place he had been sharing with Seth and Dean; that his commitment to the announcer was not on the horizon any longer, it was real, here and now. He even had a box or two with his things packed up inside it.
The ring announcer stares at him, sitting up just a tad, hovering over him and staring down at his lover; having never truly expected to hear those words. He's in complete shock.
Things had always gone bad for his relationships; and nothing had ever taken off the ground for the thirty-three year old. He had wanted as much of Roman as he could get; and perhaps he did come off as too eager, too clingy, too… something: something that made everyone leave… but not Roman. The darkness conceals the happiness in him that had brought tears to his eyes, he wipes at them in the most subtle of ways just before he's pulled back down and kissed with such deep passion that he couldn't help but let out a soft moan and writhe just a tad on the man's leviathan-like body.
Roman looks over him to the best of his ability, the only light sources had come from under the hotel door in the hall, as well as the clock's green illumination on the dresser. There was nothing like seeing his older boyfriend in person, he starts simply as he moves the conversation forward. Seeing him on the computer was fine, it was… okay; better than nothing, to put it bluntly.
The photos they exchanged were fine, too.
He had to have that Skype chat, that phone call, anything at to see or hear him, it was the one thing he needed before he was able to sleep at night: to know that the only man he wanted to love and protect was safe from harm. He could never let a day go by without seeing his love in some way. The idea of coming home, to a real home, a home they shared, something with pictures of them on the walls and maybe an extra bedroom or two for advanced planning, it made everything that much more real.
Their relationship had not been that deep; but things got serious quick, and Roman was the kind of man who knew what he wanted.
The kiss he receives from Justin is different.
It's softer and barely there.
Reigns has a hard time reading the way his lips felt; unsure what to make of the feelings between them in the moment; and he had certainly hoped that he had not come off as this massive, controlling, overbearing presence.
Their relationship was still quite new, and fresh. They had no need to feel each other out anymore; but maybe some things did need a slower approach.
Saying goodbye was the most dreadful feeling in the world; it had felt much worse than the few times he had almost lost his Tag Team title - and he would have given up that piece of leather and metal right back to the tag team he had won it from if it meant not leaving Justin alone another night.
The silence is broken when Justin's skilled voice speaks up, giving Roman the reassuring words he really needed to hear, even if they had been heartbreaking all the same: he was the one Justin was waiting on.
He grabs him in his muscular arms, holding him a little too tight until he loosens up at the muffled breath against his skin. Starting to ramble on, Justin apologizes all over again for talking so much and the big man's laugher is no longer present, instead taking a more serious tone when he admits that he would even watch a match to hear his voice when they were kept apart on the road.
Justin laughs softly and Roman compliments him before they both fall into a lull of silence. Roman coughs to clear his throat, running his fingers through his own long hair, sighing heavily; now was time for the awful news. The news he had wanted to put off for as long as possible, but breaking it to him would have been worse if he left abruptly after breakfast.
He cups Justin's face in his hands and brushes his thumbs against his soft sun tanned skin. Roman, and the rest of The Shield had been booked at a house show, as well as an overseas interview with some insignificant Superstars that had not come to mind, nor had he cared to share who they were.
Getting onto the plane in the morning and arriving back some time for Smackdown seemed like another death sentence to threaten their relationship; being in the same business had meant a mutual understanding of their travel needs, but Roman had a certain breaking point. Roberts had not even the ability to come see him away on his flight; a meeting with the ringside staff after breakfast stood in his way. He kisses Justin's forehead and assures him that he would not go a day with out thinking about him, wanting to see him and hear his voice.
Justin looks skeptical and Roman can see it on his face now that his eyes have adjusted to the lack of light in the room. He stammers around the traveling part and mumbles something about Rollins that Roman doesn't quite catch the first time around; when he finally does, he's a little shocked, more than anything else.
…Justin Roberts was jealous, not just of The Shield, but of Seth Rollins in particular; he saw something in the way Roman looked at the man and it becomes the enforcers turn to look skeptical, he shakes his head and thumps him lightly on the head with his palm; hopefully knocking a bit of sense into him.
Seth may have been pretty - very pretty, and Roman resents saying that out loud while trying to assure Justin not to worry: the announcer was the only man in Reign's heart, there was simply no other way to put it.
He watches the older man sit up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. He puts a hand on his shoulder and inaudibly pouts at the depressed sigh his touch was met with, he too sits up and moves his body to sit closer to him, pulling him into his lap and resting his head on Justin's shoulder.
Although there had been mutual understanding of their travel needs, there was nothing about that knowledge that made it come any easier; getting up and going in the morning, making your partner feel cheap. There was so many things wrong with being apart.
Roman kisses the soft skin behind Justin's ear and massages at his hips with his fingertips. He begs Justin to be strong, for both of them and the idea of a house together sounds even better every time he says it. Roman moves Justin, laying him down in the sheets and kissing him sweetly.
Roman watches Dean carefully as he leads Justin away from the rest of The Shield. He purposely points out that Seth had been all over CM Punk's manager the entire morning. While he loved the announcer with all his heart, he understood they were just slightly mismatched; however, nothing was stranger than the people his best friends had fallen in love with… Fandango beside Dean, who was checking them out of the hotel, his little dancing toy filing his nails that had to be switch-blade sharp, if the scratches littering Ambrose's body been any indication. Dean's obsession with the dancer was relentless; and Seth simply felt powerful with Heyman's love directed toward him.
Justin turns Roman's head gently, making the 6ft3 man look at down at him. Reigns can see the look on his face, being afraid of losing him was unthinkable, and while he had nothing to be worried about in losing Justin Roberts to anyone, there was a certain amount of narcissism in the older mans idea that everyone was after his man. Justin was his one and only, there would never be a second option, no one better in the world. Roman had always been faithful; there was no one else on his mind, even when Seth was drunk and gotten a little too close for his comfort.
Dean coughs behind his back, Roman turns slowly and quirks his eyebrow at him - it was very clear that he was busy embedding the memory of Justin's ass into his hands and exploring every inch of his mouth and throat with his tongue. The blush on Roberts' face was turning him on, too; public displays of intimacy was becoming one of his lover's favourite things.
Roman kisses him, demanding that Justin remember that he belongs to him: Roman Reigns - and no one else. That if someone had touched him, looked at him the wrong way, bumped into him - anything, and he would personally shove his combat boot down their throats. Justin laughs, kissing him again; as funny as Roman's comments sounded, he knew they held so much truth: his enormous boyfriend continued to destroy Daniel Bryan every chance he got.
Roman brushes his long hair out of his face, grabbing a bottle of water from Rollins as they reach the backstage area, he leans up against the cool concrete walls and sighs with exhaustion.
Reigns was distracted in the ring, and Ambrose lays into him for that, and his leader noticed almost instantly that the powerhouse was refusing to put weight on his left ankle.
The shouting match ensues quickly, Seth and Heyman getting between the two as quickly as they could rip themselves apart from their congratulatory make out session. Alternate suggestions fly quickly, and Seth's proposal of going out for drinks to celebrate another victory was taken under consideration by Ambrose, quickly approving the idea.
The Shield's leader stares down Roman for a minute longer before heading off to find Fandango; taking a step toward him, Seth's arms are around Roman's waist and he shrugs them off uncomfortably, pushing him out of his personal space with one hand.
He'd much rather be slamming Ambrose into the pavement repeatedly than going for drinks. He looks over Rollins before pushing past him, heading to their private locker room to grab his suitcase and take off back to the hotel.
There was only one thing he really wanted to do anyway.
He dumps his bags off when he steps inside the hotel room, glad that The Shield's communal sleeping arrangement ended with Seth's strange romance. He drops himself on the edge of the bed, glancing at the beside clock and sighing; Justin had to be asleep by now.
He finds the name in his phone contacts anyway, toying with the idea of waking him before deciding that listening to the cute voicemail message he had recorded, where he sounded just a tad confused and unsure about what he was trying to make the caller accomplish with their message was just as cute.
He sets the phone aside on speaker as it begins to ring, taking the moment to remove his combat boots and knead at his throbbing ankle.
Justin answers in a tired voice and it's a little evident by the way he pronounces "Hello?" that he did not bother to look at the caller ID. Roman smiles through the phone, picking it up off of speaker and making a light joke, asking if Justin had forgotten about him already, that they had been apart for so long that he didn't remember his own boyfriend.
Justin laughs and it almost takes the pain out of his leg as he stands up and walks to the window; looking out at the city lights. One more day and he could get on the flight back to the next arena, see his lover waiting for him backstage at Smackdown. He sighs with relief in the middle of something Justin is telling him and apologizes, just letting him know that he was exasperated over the distance; and stumbles over some words when he tries to tell him to not look online for any injury reports on him.
An accidental tip off.
He gets a scolding from his lover, and it makes him feel like they're already married the way Justin is reprimanding him; this time it's acceptable. He's not Ambrose.
The speech ends on a good note, a loving and concerned one before Justin quietly admits to not knowing if Roman would call tonight; he had been thinking about him all day, waiting on him. Reigns apologizes for having so much to juggle throughout the mini-publicity tour and the matches that went from one to several in the visited countries they tried to pack into their two day tour in such a short time.
Roman strips from his shirt, letting it fall on the floor as he unbuckled his black pants and stepped tenderly out of them, putting all of his weight onto one leg before he goes back to sit on the bed; a shower could wait until morning.
He comments aloud the glitter stuck to the stubble on his arms and Justin's sadness is immediately apparent. Roman sighs heavily, wishing the older man wasn't such a boy, but there is some side of him that likes the possessive, overbearing side, too. He had never felt so wanted before.
Reigns chuckles softly, although annoyed in reality as he tries to brush off the glitter just for his palm to get covered in the obnoxious sparkles. He tells Justin about the pretty blonde he signed a few autographs for and took a photo with; apparently coming in contact with wrapping an arm around her shoulder was where he had gone terribly wrong into the land of glitter.
He begins commenting that brunettes had been more his thing and waited for that to sink into his brunette's mind with a sharp "Oh!" type of response coming his way. He laughs even harder when he finally gets the response he wanted.
The sound of Justin's voice sounds more reassured and happy and Roman doesn't let his own voice interfere in him talking about his day, what he watched on TV that night, and that he had gone out and bought some boxes to start packing up his Chicago apartment for the move to Florida. Roman closes his eyes, putting the phone on speaker as he lays down in the bed, ceasing to rub at his hurt ankle and actually beginning to relax.
It was a cheap imitation for Justin actually being there with him. The announcer yawns, his voice beginning to lower and his rambling pace of voice slowing down. A few long moments of silence later, Roman realizes that the conversation had stopped and opens his eyes, eyeing the phone and chuckling under his breath.
"I love you."