Just warning you now- this is slash, so if you don't like that sort of thing, there's a beautiful back arrow on your page that you can use. Everyone else- hope you enjoy.

Summary: After leaving them in a match on Raw, Seth Rollins didn't speak to Roman Reigns or Dean Ambrose for the next several months until he sent a text requesting to see them, and because of what's happened since then, Roman has to wonder whether or not he actually wants to see him after all this time. Slash, one-shot.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the story idea, and I don't make a penny off of this (or I'd be doing it a lot more often, trust me).

Potential Warnings: There are some mentions of attempted self-harm/suicide, so if that bothers you, I'd just play it safe and not read it.

Last Author's Notes: This is partly based off what happened on Monday night, when Seth left Roman and Dean during the match, but it happens several months afterwards, about mid-October. The idea just wouldn't leave my head, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I'm still feeling a bit reluctant about posting this, because it's my first attempt at publishing any slash or one-shots. So while I welcome constructive criticisim, please don't hang me out to dry if it doesn't meet the usual slash standards. Or any other standards for that matter. XD

"Damn it's cold," Dean muttered as he followed Roman closely down the path.

Roman nodded mutely, his hands in his coat pockets. He surveyed the area around them; the trees were decked out in their autumn finery; the leaves were varying shades of gold, brown, orange and red. Some of the leaves had already fallen to the ground, and they crunched underfoot as he and Dean walked along the path, their color in bright contrast to the clear blue of the sky overhead.

"Remind me what we're doing here again," Dean muttered, his breath misting in a cloud in front of him as he huddled under his jacket, pulling it tighter around him.

"Seth said he wanted us to meet him here," Roman reminded him as he looked back down at the cracked pavement beneath his boots.

"Oh yeah." Dean's voice was emotionless, but Roman glanced back over his shoulder and saw that the other man's expression was pained, as if Seth's name was a knife to his heart.

And Roman knew that was probably the case. Back in the beginning of March Seth had abandoned them to the Wyatt Family, and the Shield had been broken. Roman had been sad to see the end of the team, but he had been excited to start a new part of his career.

The way the Shield had split though hadn't been ideal. Despite their on-screen differences, Dean and he had been paired up, supposedly united by the betrayal of Seth, while Seth moved on to start his own singles career. Roman didn't have a problem with Dean, and he knew Dean was fine with him, but Dean had hoped that he would be paired with Seth at the end of the Shield. At the very least Roman had expected Seth to remain on good terms with the both of them after the split. But after he left the match that fateful night, he hadn't spoken to them except to plan a match here and there; he'd cut himself off from the duo.

Roman could have moved on eventually, simply recognizing it as the loss of a friend. It wasn't that easy for Dean though; Dean and Seth had, up until that point, had a relationship that Roman still couldn't claim to understand. At some point in their teaming in the Shield their friendship had exceeded those normal boundaries and entered that of a relationship, and Roman knew that Dean had been extremely happy, and Seth appeared to have been as well. The relationship was nearly five months along when the Shield had fractured, and it had killed Dean when Seth walked away without explanation.

That had left Roman to pick up the pieces left behind in Seth's wake. Dean had been inconsolable for weeks, and Roman had found him crying in his sleep many times, clutching at the empty spot on the bed where Seth had previously slept.

Eventually Dean had reached his breaking point, about mid-May. Roman had gotten a call from the police that they'd found Dean passed out in the middle of a street, so drunk that he'd fallen unconscious. Roman had gone down to the police station, extremely relieved that nothing worse had happened; Dean would end up having a horrible hangover, but Roman was just glad that his tag team partner hadn't ended up in the hospital. He had taken him back to the hotel room to detox for the night. He had put Dean in one bed and gone to sleep in the other, but he was awoken less than an hour after falling asleep. Dean had stumbled out of his bed and fallen onto Roman's bed, landing in a heap on Roman at the same time. Roman had managed to sit up and ask Dean what he was doing, but Dean wasn't listening, simply muttering about how no one could love him, saying that Seth had proved that plenty well. He'd started crying, his inhibitions washed away by the alcohol. He had looked absolutely distraught, and Roman couldn't help but take pity on him. He'd pulled the other man close, letting him cry into his hair until there were no more tears to be found. Dean had still been muttering about how no one could ever love someone like him, and Roman had seen it plain as day on the other man's face that Dean intended to do something that would he would probably regret later, or not live long enough to regret.

So Roman had found himself at a crossroads, wondering how he could prove Dean wrong and keep him from Death's door. He had stared down at the other man's face; his eyes were red and puffy from crying, and several tears were still drying on his cheeks. He had taken one deep breath before taking a jump off of the proverbial cliff.

Dean had let out a small gasp of surprise as Roman leaned forward, pressing his lips to his in a gentle, reassuring kiss. He had been quick to reciprocate though, and had clung to Roman like a life preserver ever since, the new relationship keeping him afloat when the problems with Seth had threatened to drag him under.

It hadn't taken long for the relationship to cross lines that Roman thought he would never cross, but he had found himself wanting to do whatever was necessary to let Dean know that, despite his doubts, someone could love a man like him.

They had just passed their five month anniversary, if it could be called that. Dean had started getting antsy as the date approached, clearly remembering that then was when his last relationship had come to a crashing halt. It had gone by without incident though, and Roman had been relieved when Dean started to relax again.

Then the message from Seth had arrived on both of their phones. It had caused a fresh wave of grief to swallow Dean, just when Roman thought he was finally moving on. What made it worse was that Seth wanted to see them, and Roman didn't know if that would be healthy.

Dean had made the decision in the end, saying that meeting with the other man might provide him with a sense of closure. Roman found himself fretting over the opposite; what if Seth was willing to take Dean back, and Dean went willingly? He was terrified that he may have pushed himself past his normal boundaries to have a relationship with Dean for no reason.

But here they were walking through the park where Seth had requested to meet them, every step down the path harder than the one before it. He tried to hide it from Dean though, not wanting to let the other man know just how much this was bothering him.

He was good at his hiding his emotions though—maybe too good; Dean followed in his wake, looking worried but noticing nothing from Roman. They followed the path in front of them in silence, Dean trailing just mere inches behind Roman.

Roman stopped abruptly as they rounded a corner in the path, the golden-leaved trees parting to reveal a small pond reflecting the bright blue color of the autumn sky. Sitting on a rickety-looking wooden bench by the waterside was Seth, his back turned towards them as he stared out at the pond, his two-toned hair glowing brightly against the backdrop of the water.

Dean had nearly run into Roman when he stopped, but he peered around the other man, his whole body tensing as he spotted Seth as well. He anxiously looked up at Roman, who gave him a reassuring smile, hoping it would help Dean relax.

It had its intended effect, because a small scowl crossed Dean's face before he stepped out from behind Roman, striding down towards the man on the bench, his walk more confident than Roman had seen from him outside the ring in a long time; he always seemed brashly, arrogantly confident when the cameras rolling, and Roman wondered for a moment if Dean was working in character at the moment to keep from breaking. Regardless, he hurried after him, catching up just as Dean tapped Seth on the shoulder, his hands leaving his pockets for the briefest of seconds.

The small tap was enough to get Seth to turn around though, and Roman saw that his expression was guarded as he stood up to talk to the two of them. "Roman," he greeted the Samoan. He turned his head, hesitating a moment before speaking. "Dean." He seemed unsure of how to continue because there was another pause; Roman could hardly believe that this was the same man that he had spent so many months bantering with, when practically the only silence had been when they slept. Now though Seth seemed unconfident, his pace of speaking slow. "How have you two been?"

Roman had to suppress the urge to throttle the other man. How could he just ask how they were, after doing what he had done, after leaving without a word like that? "Been better. Been worse," he finally managed to say, his eyes bouncing over to Dean, wondering how the Cincinnati native was going to react to the usually harmless question.

Dean appeared torn, looking angered and saddened at the same time. "Same here," he muttered after a moment, taking a step closer to Roman for reassurance. "You?"

"I suppose the same thing's true for me," Seth said uncertainly, shuffling nervously from foot to foot.

When he hesitated once more Roman spoke up. "Why did you want to see us Seth?" he asked bluntly.

"I…I wanted to say I'm sorry for just walking away like that," Seth stuttered, looking nervous about being put on the spot.

"You're sorry? He's sorry," Dean commented caustically, his anger apparently winning out over his misery. "Do you have any idea what that did?" he snapped harshly. "You leave like that and you have the nerve to show up and say you're sorry."

"Hey, I'm trying!" Seth shot back. "At least give me that!"

Roman forced his way forward as Dean started to move. He planted a hand on Dean's chest, pushing him back, away from Seth. "Not here Dean."

Dean hissed in frustration, glaring daggers at the man who had suddenly dusted off Dean's angry side. "Where then, Roman? He left us. You left me!" Dean's face, while still angry, was despairing as he looked past Roman to Seth. "You left me without ever giving me a reason. You left me thinking that maybe, just maybe, you might come back. You didn't even have the guts to tell me it was over."

Seth looked pained, as if each one of Dean's words was a physical blow. "I…I didn't know how to tell you," he admitted slowly. "I wasn't sure how to end it."

"Why did you have to end it in the first place?" Dean asked softly.

Seth looked uncomfortable. "We were getting ready to split up the Shield…"

Dean interrupted. "But we still could have been together. Everyone knows what goes on in the ring is scripted; they wouldn't have cared if we had stayed together."

"I know Dean," Seth said, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "But since we were getting ready to split up the Shield, I knew I was headed for a singles run. If anyone caught on to why we were still spending time together after that… It would affect my career somehow. I couldn't risk my career; you know how hard I've worked to get here. I couldn't just throw it all away." His voice pleaded with them to understand.

Dean did not look shocked by Seth's reply, but he did look disappointed. "I was willing to risk that for you," he said quietly, his blue gaze unblinking. Seth couldn't meet his eyes, and he was unable to respond. "You didn't even have the courtesy to tell me it was over though. I had to spend months waiting to see if you even wanted to be my friend anymore. And you shut out Roman too."

Seth now looked at Roman, who met his brown eyes without wavering. "Are you mad at me too?" he asked the bigger man.

Roman shrugged, the motion slow. "Mad? No. Disappointed? Yes. You left both of us without a word, as if we hadn't spent nearly a year teaming together, traveling together. To be honest, it didn't seem like you cared."

"I did care," Seth protested.

"No you didn't," Roman cut him off. "If you had cared you would have attempted to contact us at least once in the past six months. Like Dean said, you didn't even bother to tell him it was over. Do you have any idea what that did to him? The slightest clue?" His words were forced out through gritted teeth, and his hands were clenched tightly in his pockets.

Seth looked over at Dean, his gaze now searching. He shook his head after a moment. "Not a clue," he admitted in defeat. He hesitantly met Dean's gaze.

Dean stared at him. "I thought about ending it at some point," he spoke quietly. "I thought that since you left without a problem, my mother was right all along—no one could love someone like me." Seth's expression was horrified, and he started to speak before Dean overrode him. "I thought no one could love someone with me, so I figured that no one would miss me. One night I drank until I could hardly walk straight, but the pain was still there. I wandered out into traffic, hoping someone would hit me and end the pain." Roman looked over sharply; Dean had never told him how he'd ended up in traffic that night. "Roman came and got me from the police station after the cops found me passed out in the road. And he eventually proved to me that I was wrong, that my mother was wrong. Someone did love me."

Seth's eyes widened, and he looked at the tag team as if in a new light, noting how Dean seemed to gravitate towards Roman, how Roman hovered protectively just in front of Dean, his hand still resting on Dean's chest, keeping him from doing anything rash. "Are…are you two together now?" he managed to ask after a moment.

Roman nodded, removing his hand from Dean's chest now, which allowed Dean to move closer to him, the gravity analogy seeming oddly appropriate. "I realized that Dean was in a bad place. And I realized I was willing to do anything to make sure he knew that at least one person loved him. And I'm still willing to do anything it takes to make sure he's happy—even if it means my career." He tried to keep the judgmental tone out of his voice, but Seth flinching let him know he'd failed.

"Look, maybe this was a bad idea," Seth said with a sigh, glancing out across the blue and gold reflections on the pond. "It's obvious that you two aren't going to forgive me, so... I'll just go." He started to move past Roman and Dean, heading for the path that ran through the trees.

Roman put his hand out, stopping Seth now. "No. That's what got us into this mess in the first place, was you 'just going.' You can't run away from it forever Seth. You're going to have to realize that after what you did we can't just forgive you and let it all be water under the bridge. At the same time…" Roman was the one to hesitate now. "If you hadn't done what you did…I may not have ended up realizing what I felt for Dean."

Dean looked up in surprise, not having put the connection together. A look of calm appeared on his face as he gazed at Seth, who now spoke. "I suppose I should have realized that you wouldn't be able to just forgive me after that." Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair. "Can we at least go back to being friends then?" he asked hopefully, and Roman could see that it was Seth's last attempt; if Dean denied him here, Seth was walking away again, only this time for good.

Dean hesitated for a moment, obviously unsure of how to answer. He spoke quickly though as Seth started to walk away. "You'll have to earn our friendship back, but… we can give it a shot."

Seth stopped where he stood turned around, a look of absolute relief appearing there. "Thank you," he murmured. A noise of surprise escaped him as Dean pulled him into a hug.

"I missed you," Dean mumbled against the other man's hair before he released him and going back to stand by Roman.

"Maybe we could have lunch in that diner across the street from here?" Seth suggested hopefully.

Dean looked to Roman for confirmation, and the bigger man nodded. He was fine with it, if it made Dean happy. Dean nodded. "Go ahead. We'll meet you there in five minutes," Dean told Seth.

Seth nodded in acceptance, turning away to start up the path into the trees. "See you there," he called, the look of relief still present.

Dean waited until the other man had disappeared around the bend into the colorful trees before he came close to Roman, pulling the Samoan into a hug, resting his head on Roman's shoulder. "Thank you," Dean murmured softly.

"For what?" Roman asked in confusion.

"For keeping me alive, for everything you've done for me—for all the things that may have made you uncomfortable…" He stopped speaking as Roman gently placed one finger on his lips, silencing him.

"I did every one of those things because I love you," Roman whispered, kissing Dean on top of his head. "I meant it when I said I'd be willing to do anything for you."

Dean went back to resting his head on Roman's shoulder. "I love you Roman."

The words were quiet, nearly muffled by Roman's shoulder, but they sent a thrill of happiness through Roman. It was the first time he'd heard the words from Dean, and at that moment he realized his fears about Dean leaving him for Seth were unfounded; apparently Dean and he were both equally committed to their relationship. He tilted Dean's head up so they were level. Roman then captured Dean's lips for a kiss, not caring who saw, because for Dean he would do anything.

A/N: I would appreciate any feedback you could offer me in reviews so I know what I'm doing right/wrong/etc. Hope you all enjoyed!