Maybe it wasn't the smartest decision he'd made. But then Seth Rollins had a history of not making the smartest decisions in his life. However, settling down in his living room with a bottle Jack Daniels to spill out his thoughts and emotions seemed like the best idea at the time. He'd deal with the hangover and emotional overload tomorrow.
Besides, Kevin wouldn't repeat a word he said.
He scratched his beloved dog behind the ears and smiled when the Kevin curled up on his lap. He took a drink from the bottle in his hand and stretched out his long legs crossing his ankles. He leaned back against the couch and stared up at the ceiling.
The hardwood floor was beautiful but kinda uncomfortable to sit on. Maybe he should get carpeting? Or some nice throw rugs?
He suddenly laughed, and Kevin raised his head to stare at him.
"Just a random thought about home furnishings, buddy," Seth explained. "Nothing really important." He took another drink and felt warmth slowly moving through his body. It felt good.
"I fooled him, you know. Ambrose thought I'd left the arena, but I didn't." Seth looked down at Kevin with satisfaction and chuckled. "C'mon, Ambrose! You should know me better than that!" He nodded to himself. "Yeah, he shoulda known better."
He sat the bottle on the floor next to him and put Kevin against his chest. "Wanna know a secret, Kevin?" When his dog licked his cheek, Seth hugged him. "It felt good…really good to get my hands on him," he whispered. "All the things he said…he did…it felt really good."
He hugged Kevin then put him down on the floor. "Too good," he admitted. "All the time I took to try and make amends…put things right…I'd forgotten how good it was to fight Ambrose." He looked down at Kevin who was sniffing at Seth's feet. "Does that make me a bad person, boy?" He shook his head. "Nah, I didn't think so."
He reached down and put Kevin back on his lap, watching in amusement as Kevin curled up. "Wanna know another secret?" He took another drink. "He thinks I don't know what he means. But I do." He nodded in satisfaction. "Yes indeed! The Architect knows exactly what he's talking about."
Seth lowered his voice as though about to impart the secrets of the universe to his dog. "It's The Betrayal." He frowned when Kevin didn't respond. "You know. The Chairshot Heard 'Round The World."
Kevin gave a soft yip, and Seth nodded in satisfaction.
"Yep. That's the one. Bastard said he forgave me, but he really didn't." Seth took another drink. "Probably had it planned all along," he muttered. "Sure didn't think he had that kind of patience." He idly patted Kevin who settled against Seth's chest for a nap.
"He played me, Kevin," Seth sighed. "Played me real good. And doesn't regret anything. And he talks about the Shield being rotten to the core," he snarled. He leaned his head back on the cushion of the couch and stared up at the ceiling again. "Sure, we did some bad things. And maybe we were rotten. But those are some pretty subjective terms to be throwing around, you know? All depends on who's lookin' at it."
Seth closed his eyes with a sigh. "And that doesn't mean we stayed bad, right? Whatever 'bad' means. After all, I redesigned, rebuilt, and reclaimed." He slowly raised his head. "Yeah, I did all that. And I fought for redemption and apologized. So, I'm not sure what it is that I'm supposed to be answering for! Now he's got a title match with me at TLC, and you know it's gonna involve chairs because…well, he never got his revenge. Even though I offered, you know, to let him hit me with a chair. But he didn't." Seth gently patted Kevin. "Guess it wasn't on his terms then, huh?"
Seth took another drink then stared at the bottle for a few seconds. Then he slowly capped the bottle and set it aside. "You know what, Kevin? Time for me to start thinking like The Architect with a belt to defend and not like a betrayed brother."
Kevin sleepily raised his head and stared at Seth before giving one sharp bark.
"Hmm? Oh, Moxley? Yeah, he's gonna be tough. But I'm tough, too, Kev. I'm The Man, you know." He suddenly grinned. "No matter what Becky Lynch says." He nodded to himself. "Yeah, not sure how much is Moxley and how much is Ambrose right now." He sighed. "Guess it really doesn't matter, huh?"
He sat quietly for a few moments then squirmed around and pulled his phone from his back jeans pocket. Silently thinking for a moment, he then quickly typed.
'Burn it all down if you can. What you burn down I will redesign. I will rebuild. And I will reclaim. Everything. Happy Thanksgiving.'
Seth cackled as he tossed the phone over his shoulder onto the couch cushion. "That ought to get his goat."
He was startled when his phone began to ring. For a second, he thought it was Ambrose calling to blast him. But then he recognized the ringtone and smiled.
"That's Roman, buddy. You wanna talk to Roman?"
Kevin's head shot up, and he jumped from Seth's lap to the floor.
Chuckling, Seth twisted around and grabbed his phone. "Hey, Roman. Happy Thanksgiving, man."