Disclaimer: I do not own the WWE or the Shield.
Yet another Monday Night Raw had come and gone. Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins, formerly a nearly indestructible three-man tag team, began to make their way to their respective hotels. After Seth had metaphorically stabbed the two others in the back, they hadn't considered themselves on friendly enough terms to continue their tag team, once a rather literal Shield from injustice. Now, there was just pain and borderline insanity.
However much the three former Shield brothers despised spending any length of time together in one place, Fate had other plans for them. Terrible gusts of wind raised the usually peaceful snow into a raging torrent, making driving near impossible. Dean gripped the wheel tightly and clenched his teeth. He, for one, was not going to let this beat him.
Roman, who was seated next to the proclaimed Lunatic Fringe, peered uneasily outside. As someone who had spent a large portion of his life in Florida, he did not trust his own driving skills to get him safely through snowy conditions. Dean, however, had been born and raised in Ohio, making him quite used to these situations.
The rental car rumbled over the snow-covered streets. The plows had not cleared them yet, making conditions unstable and slippery. Somewhere down a dark road bordered on one side by a ditch and multiple trees, they came across a marooned vehicle. Someone stood outside in the snow, trying to flag them down for assistance.
Dean was not in any mood to stop and help anybody. But, as stated previously, Fate had other plans. The stranded car's flashing hazard lights distracted him and he inadvertently turned the wheel just enough to produce a response from the tires. Unable to find purchase, the car slid and wound up with one tire stuck hopelessly in the snow-filled ditch.
Now angry at the driver of the stranded car, Dean stormed outside to give them a piece of his mind. Roman, however, stayed behind, but was ready to jump out and save the stranger should Dean become too violent.
Striding purposefully through the blizzard, Dean approached the stranded driver. "Do you see what happens when you don't drive carefully?" he snapped. "Because of you and your bright lights, I'm stuck here too!"
"Dean Ambrose," the supposed stranger growled, sounding distrustful and terribly familiar.
"Rollins," Dean spat. "Should have known it was you. If I still had the choice, I would leave you here to slowly freeze to death."
"You're stranded here too," Seth retorted. "Admit it. We're stuck in the same boat."
"This is all your fault!" Dean shouted. "If you would have watched the road, we wouldn't be here right now."
"I didn't know the road curved here," Seth explained heatedly. "The snow was too heavy."
"Please," Dean snorted, "You can't blame all your problems on the weather."
Roman saw the verbal fight intensifying outside and decided that then would be a good time to step in. He exited the vehicle and approached the scuffling duo. "Guys," he said, "That's enough with the fighting. We're all stuck here. If anything, we'll need to coexist peacefully for a few hours until help arrives. Is that too much to ask?"
"You brought Roman with you?" Seth cried. "Really?"
Puzzled at this statement, Roman was about to question as to who this person was. Before he could, however, the hazard lights briefly illuminated Seth's face. The answer to his unasked question then became quite clear. "Seth got stranded here?" he enquired.
"Yes," Dean hissed. "Just my luck."
"So, now what?" Roman asked.
"Well, if we don't want to freeze to death," Seth mused, "We'll have to stay in the cars until help arrives."
"Okay," Dean snapped. "But don't expect me to get into a car with you." With that, he stormed off and reentered his rental car, slamming the door behind him.
"I should go calm him down," Roman said, following the Lunatic Fringe. Having expected nothing less, Seth shrugged and climbed back into his own rental vehicle.
The former Shield stayed like this for almost half an hour. Nothing besides the snow stirred outside the two marooned vehicles. In fact, the scene was almost peaceful. Then, the battery in Seth's rental car suddenly died, leaving him in the frigid darkness.
Seth tried to do everything he could to stay warm without joining the other two in their functional car. He wanted to make sure there were no other options available before he faced the awaiting wrath of Dean Ambrose. Unfortunately, the cold cruelly seeped in through the windows. He knew he wouldn't be able to last more than ten minutes before being degraded to nothing more than a humanoid ice cube.
After checking for any blankets in the back seat and trunk one last time (to no avail), Seth trudged unwillingly towards the other idling vehicle. He tapped hesitantly on Dean's window, signaling for him to open it. Dean noticeably rolled his eyes, but did as asked. "What now?" he snapped.
"The battery in my rental died," Seth replied sheepishly.
"And?" Dean enquired, eyebrows raised.
"Could I come in?" Seth asked, looking ashamed to be asking Dean for aid.
"I'll think about it," Dean said curtly, closing the window. Immediately afterwards, he turned to Roman for advice.
"Do you have any idea what Vince will do to you if you let him die out there?" Roman questioned.
"Fine," Dean groaned. He rolled the window back down. "Get in the back," he commanded. "But only because I don't want to be faced with murder charges after we get out of this." Seth, for once, was happy to comply. A tense silence filled the air once the car door shut behind him.
"So," Roman asked, eager to break the silence, "How has everyone's day been?"
"It was great, thanks for asking," Dean retorted. "It would still be great. But somebody went and got us stranded in the middle of a blizzard." He turned and glared pointedly at Seth.
"It's not my fault you lost control of your car," Seth grumbled.
"This isn't even my car!" Dean exploded.
"Shut up, both of you!" Roman shouted, causing the other two to wince. "If I hear one more argument, I will throw you out into the snow and lock the doors." He glared at each of them in turn, smirking with satisfaction as they recoiled from his intensely irate gaze. "Apologize," he demanded sternly.
"Sorry," the other two men mumbled.
"Don't either of you remember any of the good times we had?" Roman enquired. "Before WrestleMania 30?"
"Yeah, of course," Dean countered. "I just don't want to talk about it."
"Sure you do," Roman said playfully, gently nudging the grumpy Lunatic Fringe. "It'll help pass the time."
"He's got a point," Seth noted.
"Fine," Dean sighed, sounding defeated. "Tell us a story."
To be continued…
Yes, this story has been released ridiculously late. Initially, I was going to post this in February. Obviously, that didn't happen, so I'm putting this out there now. Enjoy.