A/N: per the suggestion of ringaroundtherollins, I decided to write a small reaction story after the Fatal Fourway at Payback 2015.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that seems familiar. WWE and the Superstars own the characters/gimmicks.

Chapter One: Seth Rollins

Seth sat in his locker room, calming down after the emotional main event of Payback. The match had been grueling. J & J Security had tried to follow him into the room but he had sent them off with a withering look and a threat not to bother him. Joey had replied with a quick "yes boss," and hurriedly pushed Jamie in the other direction, fearing what would happen if they stuck around too long.

Nothing good ever came from a fatal four way when a wrestlers health was involved. But for Seth, the biggest disappointment had been the possibility of reconnecting with his brothers being dashed right in front of him. What did he expect, he had betrayed them, swung a chair at Roman's back and curb stomped Dean on a pile of chairs. He knew they had been hurting from the night before and he had done it anyway. And for what? The title that he had around his waist. Seth's head dropped to his hands as he tried to compose his thoughts.

Was it worth it? He asked himself that every day since it happened. Was having the title worth the looks of sheer disgust and hatred he got every time Dean and Roman saw him? He didn't know anymore. At first he could live with it, he had his title and he was the Authority's golden boy. But as time went on, this became less clear. Dean and Roman had left a hole in himself that the Authority couldn't fill. Yeah he had Triple H, J & J Security, Stephanie, and the rest, but they couldn't replace what he had when he was a part of the Shield, nothing could. What the three of them had was special, they started out as three separate wrestlers and they became brothers in all but blood.

Things began to feel right again when they hit Orton with that triple powerbomb. He thought maybe they could re-unite and Dean and Roman could join him and the Authority. Even if Triple H and Stephanie weren't happy with it at first, he knew he could get them to see the benefit of adding Dean and Roman to the mix. It's not like the Shield hadn't helped the Authority before, at least this time bigger titles were involved, they could have all been singles champions. But Dean and Roman weren't having any of it, he guessed. They weren't drinking the kool-aid as Dean probably would have said.

Seth could have hit himself, what possessed him to think that Dean and Roman would join the Authority after everything that had happened? He missed them, dammit he missed them like crazy. He missed Dean's inability to sleep straight through the night and his tendency to cuddle if you got to close. He missed Roman's constant mothering, wondering if he was keeping hydrated enough during a workout, was he eating enough, making sure he got enough sleep. Yeah they annoyed the hell out of him sometimes, but that's what brothers do, they drive each other crazy.

Seth let out a sigh as someone pounded on the locked door of his locker room. "Yeah?" he called out wanting them to leave as soon as possible so he could continue to stew on what if and could haves.

"It's Stephanie," a feminine voice called from behind the locked door. Seth couldn't keep his boss out, not if he wanted to keep his title or his job. He could get away with sending J & J away from him but Steph and Hunter were a different matter entirely. He scrambled up and headed to the door, unlocking it with a quick flick of his wrist.

"What'd you need, Steph?" he asked forcing a smile to grace his face as to not reveal the lingering feelings of despair and regret show.

"Just wanted to see how our still WWE World Heavy weight Champion was doing," Steph said with a sly grin on her face, almost as if she could read Seth's mind and see all those dirty little thoughts swirling around.

With the false smile still in place, Seth was quick to reply with an "I'm doing great, I still have my title and I got to beat the crap out of those three idiots." Forgive me guys he though immediately afterwards. He hated having to say all these negative things about Dean and Roman, but what could he do, the Authority had him in their grasp now, and there was no escape.

"Good," Steph said smiling even wider, "I was worried there was a problem when you sent Joey and Jaime away."

"No, no problem," Seth said perhaps a little quickly. "I just like being alone after a match and those two make it hard to concentrate and unwind." He finished, hoping to recover from his quick answer.

Steph smiled and nodded, "That's what I like to hear, hope there won't be any more problems from those two."

Seth didn't know which two she was talking about, Dean and Roman or Joey and Jaime, but he wasn't about to ask and dig a hole even deeper. Steph said a short goodbye and exited down the hall. Seth all but slammed the door shut behind him, making sure to lock it before he let out the breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding.

It will all be worth it in the end, just you wait and see, he thought to himself in an attempt to reassure the decisions he had made. Seth couldn't help but let the few tears that had gathered in his eyes roll down his cheeks. He didn't have the strength to hold back the pain that he had brought upon himself.

He knew he had no one to blame but himself for this feeling of absolute loneliness. However he refused to let it consume him, wiping away the tears, he made a promise to himself. He would make the best out of this situation that he had managed to find himself in, he would be the best WWE WHW Champion he could be, and eventually one day he would make it up to his brothers, even if it took years.

Seth's last thought before grabbing his things to leave for the next show was forgive me guys, I know I fucked up but one day I'll make it up to you, I swear.