A/N & Disclaimer: Firstly, I wanted to say this is a previous fic I worked on for another fandom and decided to transfer my idea over to this fandom. So, any similarities you may think you're seeing, you may have read it elsewhere under another penname for another fandom. (theskyiseverywhere on 1DFF. ha ha...) Anyway! New fic, yes. I love this, and as I'd lost my mojo for my other version, here's this version. Hope you enjoy and please tell me what you think! - georgia. x
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Seth swung his legs over the side of the bed as he let his hand feel around for the button of his alarm clock. The sound was loud and shrill and it felt like someone was driving a chainsaw through his skull. He'd been on the night shift for the past few nights at the bar and was scheduled to be on the night shift for the next couple of weeks.
He didn't dislike them, they were a heck of a lot more interesting than those in the afternoon but they were so tiring and he always had to be up for college the next morning. He sighed loudly as the alarm stopped but the pounding in his head continued. His head felt a little better knowing he wasn't going into College today, but he did have to go to the coffee shop all morning and then the bar in the night.
Sometimes Seth regretted taking on two jobs, but he always felt better when he got his pay checks at the end of the month and he found he had much more money than most of his friends and that was without help from his parents. He got up from his bed running a hand through his tangled hair and padded through his flat to the kitchen. He flicked on the kettle and placed a tea bag into his favourite mug.
When people asked Seth why he only ever used the mug with the chip in the side and the Winnie the Pooh print on he never told them it was because he won it for him at a fair in Vegas or that the chip was from a heated argument. He'd simply tell them he's always liked that mug.
The steam rose from the kettle as the button clicked, signalling that the water was ready. He poured it into his mug and stirred until the transparent liquid had turned a murky brown. Seth added a small amount of milk and a spoon of sugar before taking a satisfying sip.
Willow, his four year old German Shepherd was sat in the corner of the kitchen, looking up at Seth with her wide brown eyes. Seth placed his mug on the counter carefully before walking over to the cupboard and pulling a tin of dog food from the shelf.
After feeding Willow, Seth did his usual routine of showering and then calling his boyfriend and his best friend. His boyfriend Randy had made him promise to call him every morning after his flat got broken into about four months ago. He knew why it got broken into, and that it wouldn't happen again, but Randy didn't so he did it just to give him piece of mind. He also had to call his best friend Archie just because Archie liked to hear all about what happened at the bar and how many fit guys there were.
After a few rings Randy picked up the phone.
"Hey babe," Seth inwardly cringed, he hated being called babe. There was one person who could call him babe, and it wasn't Randy.
"Hey Randy."
"Everything ok this morning?" He asked, just like he did every morning.
"Yeah same as always, just wanted to remind you that we have dinner with my dad this evening," Seth said, sipping the rest of his almost cold tea.
"Oh god yeah, what time should I come over?"
"I have work at half eight so around six? Dad's got work too so obviously he won't be late either. And remember, no mentioning anything about fights at the bar. You know my dad doesn't like me working there, he doesn't need reasons why."
"Yeah, I'll remember this time. Anyway, I gotta go babe, I'll see you around six?"
"Ok, see you then."
"Bye, love you."
"Love you too" Seth whispered as the phone call disconnected. Of course he cared for Randy, but the love just wasn't there.
Seth wiped a hand over his tired face before shoving his mobile phone into the pocket of his black jeans. His work attire for the coffee shop consisted of all black, black trousers, black top and black shoes. In all fairness, Seth hated the colour black. But he did like the way the darkness of the colour accentuated the brightness of the blonde patch in his hair.
He grabbed his bag, opened the windows and put the safety locks on and then slipped out of his flat, locking the door behind him. Seth walked through the building waving to the neighbours he liked and ignored those he didn't. The air outside was warm but also fresh, the sun was beating down upon the Davenport streets making even the old, decrepit buildings look nice.
The coffee shop he worked at was a few blocks down the street from where his flat was, so even when it was raining it wasn't much of a hardship to walk to work. The sun had brought out even the oldest of people onto the streets, and he could tell that he would have his work cut out for him at the shop today.
Seth pushed through the back door of the shop and could already hear the busy shop bustling with people ordering smoothies and chilled coffees to enjoy in the warm weather. He hung his bag up on his designated peg, clocked in and then made his way up front. Immediately the heat of the coffee shop hit him, and the sight of all the people queuing for coffee almost took him off his feet. But in true Seth fashion he pulled on his apron and started to serve the customers instantly.
Archie, Seth's best friend, was running around frantically trying to get the orders out as quickly as she could.
"Thank fuck you're here Arch, I don't know how much longer I'd be able to cope!" Archie said above the noise, shoving a heat protector around a cup and passing it to a customer. As Seth began to get through the customers, the shop began to die down and the coffees and smoothies were ordered less and less. The lunch time rush was beginning to die down to a point where Seth and Archie could have a small conversation between themselves.
"So, did anything interesting happen at the bar last night? You didn't call me this morning!" Archie pushed, resting her elbows on the counter. Seth sighed and leaned his back against the counter so he was facing the opposite way that Archie was.
"No, just a usual busy night, and I didn't call you because I had to ring Randy to tell him I was ok and then I came here straight away." Seth said, folding his arms across his chest. Seth looked at Archie to see her reaction, but found her with wide eyes and her mouth hanging open.
"Archie are you ok-"
"GET DOWN." Archie hissed, pushing Seth down onto the floor by his shoulders harshly.
"What the fuck?" Seth said, trying to get up from the floor, but Archie's grip was too strong.
"Just stay down there, don't move!" Archie hissed again, glaring down at Seth.
"Alright Archie? Nice to see you again," As soon as Seth heard that voice, he knew why he was on the floor. That voice, it was him. Deep, accented, and it brought back so many memories.
"Roman, when did you get out?" Archie asked, trying to keep her voice level and strong.
"A few days ago, good behaviour."
"Well that's great, what would you like?" Archie said, faking him a smile. Seth's heart was beating more than double time as the conversation grew longer.
Roman Reigns, Seth couldn't begin to describe what he felt towards him. It was a mixture of pure love and pure hatred.
He'd met him at College, it had been his first day and of course, he'd gotten lost. Roman had been the only person to ask him if he was ok and points him in the right direction. After that, they'd become firm friends. But Seth had quickly learned that there was more to Roman Reigns than just long black hair and tribal tattoos. He had a bad side, one that you'd never want to go get into. But he'd fallen for him anyway, even though his father hated him immensely.
Around the small streets of Davenport Roman was known for drugs, theft and fraud. But even though Seth knew all of this, he couldn't make himself love him any less.
People warned Seth about him before he was with him and people warned Seth about him while he was with him. But Seth couldn't see Roman's bad side; they were so blinded by each other. So in love that all the dealing, all the stealing didn't matter to them. They had each other.
Until Roman dealt to an undercover cop. That was when everything fell apart. Roman got arrested and sent to prison. Everything was ok to start with; Seth visited him and promised him that he'd always love him no matter what he did. But his dad told him otherwise, he wasn't allowed to visit Roman and he was to never speak of him again. He was to move on, erase him from his life.
It took some time, five years to be precise; but that's exactly what he did. Seth stopped visiting Roman and he met someone else. Deep down inside of her, he still loved Roman. More than he's ever loved anyone. But his dad was right, it wasn't good for him and he had to move on.
But now here he is, hiding behind the coffee counter because he's back.
"I'll have two black coffees please," Roman said. Seth had to physically hold himself onto the floor; he wanted to see him so badly. To see how much he'd changed, but he knew he couldn't.
"That'll be three-pounds-fifty please,"
Seth heard the money being exchanged before there was a deep rumble of someone clearing their throat.
"Ah, how's Seth?" Seth's heart jumped in his mouth at the mention of his name, the way he said it still sent shivers down his spine.
Archie shuffled awkwardly beside him, obviously not knowing how to answer the question.
"He's, doing good." Archie sighed, unsure of whether to tell Roman that Seth had a boyfriend even though he and Roman had never officially split up.
"He's moved on hasn't he?" Roman's tone was hard and cold and he looked like he wanted to throw his coffee on the floor. Archie looked at him through sad eyes and nodded her head slowly. Roman sighed loudly and waved goodbye to Archie before exciting the shop. Archie tapped Seth on the shoulder that then stood up, shaking slightly.
"Well that was awkward." Archie huffed out, running his hand through his hair. Seth licked his dry lips in an attempt to say something, but he made no sound. Roman Reigns was out of prison and he had no idea what to do.
"So, how's the studying going kid?" Seth's dad asked before shovelling a forkful of steaming lasagne into his mouth. Seth swallowed his food as well as the lump in his throat that had been there since this morning before he answered.
"It's going really well, my Professor thinks my writing could get published one day, and he thinks I'll have finished the course before anyone else," Seth explained, trying to smile. His dad gave him an impressed look, and Randy gave him a warm smile next to him.
The room fell into a comfortable silence as they ate. Seth hadn't seen his dad and sister for quite a while, so it was nice to be able to see and talk to them, despite the sick feeling in his stomach.
"Word on the street is that Roman Reigns is out of prison" Seth's sister Ivory said, smirking as she swirled her tongue around her fork. Seth's fathers head shot up, his face contorted with an angry glare at the mention of the name.
"Nobody in this household is to go near Roman Reigns, do you two understand me? He doesn't need an invitation back into our lives and that is that, we do not speak of him again, ok?" Both siblings nodded their heads and continued to eat. But Seth could feel the elephant in the room; he could practically hear Randy screaming out for someone to tell him what importance this 'Roman Reigns' was to them. But no one was going to.
FOUR DAYS LATER
Seth grabbed another beer for the guy in front of him and racked up a tally in his head of how many he'd already drunk, it was around seven, but who was he to tell him he'd had enough? He was bringing in good money; it was in his interest to keep the drinks flowing. The man gave a grateful nod of his head as he took the pint politely and sipped on the head of froth. It was nearing the end of his shift and it had been one of the busiest all week.
"Seth you can get off now, you've worked hard for ages and I think I owe it to you to let you off twenty minutes earlier." Paul, his boss, said coming to stand beside him and taking over cleaning the glass he was working on.
"Oh, ok, thanks Paul." He said, giving him a small wave as he made his way out back. He grabbed his jacket and beanie, putting them on as he made his way out of the bar. When he stepped out into the street, the cold air hit his cheeks instantly causing him to pull his jacket around him tighter and lifting the hood up over his head.
"Seth fucking Rollins, long time no see." Seth froze, his feet nailing themselves to the ground. He turned slowly to where the voice had come from; he could see a figure leaning up against the wall. They were holding a cigarette that was glowing in the dark. Although he couldn't make out his face, he knew exactly who it was. His voice was like no other, instantly recognizable.
"R-Roman?"
"That's right sweet cheeks, I'm back."