Author's Note: I didn't plan on writing anything Roman/Seth related, but then I just started writing this earlier today and then a small, five-chaptered story began forming in my head. This takes place between December 21st-25th, and I'm hoping to post a new chapter every day, possibly taking place on each day, with each chapter interlinked to the previous one, but I can't make any promises. Each chapter will begin with a flashback, so there's no confusion, and hopefully, should be around 3000 words. Either way, I hope you enjoy :)
"What is one thing you hate about Christmas?" He asks, taking a sip from the warm mug of hot chocolate that Roman had prepared for him, a small smile on his face as he swallows the liquid and watches the older man ponder his question for a few minutes. If you had told him when he first joined the WWE that he would end up in a relationship with a man that had essentially become his best friend, he would have arched his eyebrow at you and stated that he was already in a happy, loving relationship with his fiancee. But somehow, the two of them had started having troubles and Seth had found himself running towards Roman, who not only experienced similar troubles with his own relationship at the beginning of their shield Days, but was also the only single man Seth could call himself close to.
He's in Roman's bed, blankets wrapped around his waist, Roman's sweater on his body to warm him up as Roman arches an eyebrow at him with his own small smile. Christmas is a week away and while Seth knows both of them are done their shopping, Seth finds himself curious about Roman and Christmas in general, especially since it's their first Christmas together.
Roman is next to him in the bed, feet wrapped around his as he looks upwards and Seth is about to nudge him gently, wondering if maybe the other man got lost in his thoughts - something that, when Seth learned about, he found incredibly adorable - only to stop when Roman looks at Seth and breathes lightly, opening his mouth.
"The way people try to…" he pauses here, clearly searching for the right word while Seth leans forward, wondering how the statement is going to be completed.
"The way people try to take advantage of others. I mean, sure, you have your sales, which aren't really sales, but you also have scams and general rudeness, alongside more thieves coming out of the woodwork. Christmas is meant for family and happiness and all around treating people better, even though you should be treating people well anyways, and then those things happen and I just… hate it." Roman's voice is soft but passionate and Seth knows he can get lost in the man speaking, can get lost in his voice when he tells a story but he finds himself blushing as the words are comprehended. While he understands where the other man is coming from, and he most definitely agrees, he feels a little bit of shame in himself for not thinking about those things when he answered his own question about his least favorite thing about Christmas, a simple 'the crowds' enough for him.
"It's a good reason," he whispers, clearing his throat and nudging Roman before taking another sip of the hot chocolate, a small moan escaping from his mouth at the taste of the liquid and how rich it is. The silence between the two of them is comfortable, but Seth can't help but notice that Roman is continuously looking at him, and it causes him to move around, feeling slightly uncomfortable before he lets himself smirk at Roman.
"Find something interesting to look at, or-?" He teases, finishing his drink and placing it on the nightstand next to the bed quickly before looking towards a laughing Roman with an arched eyebrow.
"I'm actually wondering if you want to each open a present now and then wait for the morning," Roman whispers, arms wrapping around Seth's waist, and Seth feels a thrill shoot through his body, though he finds himself not sure if it's because of the idea of spending the night with the man, something he's still getting used to, or because of his arms wrapping around him.
"I see no reason to not open a gift now," Seth whispers, tongue darting out to wet his dry lips as he reluctantly pulls away from Roman's warmth and leaves the bed, going to the small dresser where his gift is hidden. When he finally gather's the gift, he smiles while jumping back onto the bed, moving his body back under the covers as he hands Roman the small gift, arching an eyebrow as he takes his own gift from Roman.
"You go first." He whispers, teeth biting down on his lower lip, nerves rushing through his body as he watches Roman remove the wrapping and then open the box. His heart stops when he sees Roman stare at his gift, and Seth wonders if maybe it's too soon, maybe Roman's not ready, but then Roman places his hand in the box and pulls out a key and looks at Seth with a wide grin and Seth knows that Roman is happy.
"I figured, since we briefly mentioned it, maybe you could move in after the season," Seth responds softly, thanking the gods that the room surrounding them is dark due to the night sky and the lights on low.
"Of course I'll move in with you," Roman responds and Seth grins up at him, leaning forward to kiss him softly before grabbing his own gift from Roman and unwrapping it, slowly, just to tease the other man, since he knows how much Roman enjoys watching people receive their gifts.
When Roman lets out a small whine and nudges him, Seth chuckles softly before finishing the unwrapping, arching an eyebrow at the small jewellery box in front of him, opening it with curiosity before his heart stops at the chain in front of him, attached to an all too similar ring he's seen from Roman's side of the family. Eyes beginning to water, he looks up at the older man before looking back down and taking the ring into his fingers, looking at the Samoan etchings on the ring as he gulps.
"It says, 'Always with you, in spirit, in heart and in physicality'," Roman whispers, fingers intertwining with his as Seth looks up at the man.
"This was…:
"Family heirloom," Roman confirms, lips curving upwards as he wraps his arms around Seth's waist once more, moving forward to kiss him. Seth allows himself to fall into the kiss, arm swinging upwards to wrap around Roman's neck, breaking away after the urge to breath becomes too much.
"I love it," he whispers, giving Roman an eskimo kiss before relaxing back into the bed, not realizing he had raised his body to meet Roman's.
He's rushing through his shopping at the mall, list in hand and hat hung low so no one recognizes him as who he is, when he stops suddenly at the next name on his list. With a small frown, Seth allows his gaze to lower down the page past the name he's been dreading, only for his frown to turn into a scowl when he realizes he can no longer procrastinate on buying for Roman when he sees that Roman is the last person he needs to buy presents for. He remembers, once upon a time, when he enjoyed buying for Roman and would allow himself to go nuts, buying gifts for the older man (and his kid, admittedly). But ever since his betrayal, he hasn't bought a thing for Roman - well, no, he's bought numerous items for Roman, he just hasn't given them to the other man, fear of being rejected by both Roman and even Hunter, at the time - not counting the small envelope he had hidden away in Roman's dresser, sure the older man would never find. And now, even though he and Roman have a small truce, Seth still finds himself unsure if buying the Samoan gifts would be crossing the line that Seth has created in order to avoid truly opening up to the other man, truly letting his heart have the forgiveness he craves.
With numerous people pushing past Seth, it takes him a few moments to slowly breath in deeply and square his shoulders as he looks around the crowded mall. He hates Christmas shopping, especially so close to the famous day itself, but when he came out this early afternoon, something within him felt that Amazon shopping was just too impersonal for his list. Fingers clutch at the ring around his neck, open for the world to see if they look close enough before he lets it go and hides it under his shirt, a reaction he has grown used to doing since he joined the Authority.
"Might as well attempt to begin," he whispers to himself, biting on his lower lip as he begins walking forward, looking through the stores he passes and knowing that there's no way he would ever find anything for Roman inside of them. He lets out a frustrated breath as minutes pass by, fingers removing his hat to tug on the strands of his soft hair before he places the hat back on when people begin noticing him. He can't help but think about how much easier shopping for Roman was when he was in a relationship with him. Hell, he can't help but think about how much easier this was when he knew what the Samoan had wanted for Christmas in the first place.
On a whim, he takes out his phone and scrolls through his contacts, thumb hovering over Roman's name, a pain going through him as he remembers changing it from the old name to a simple 'Reigns'. Shaking his head, he places his phone back into his pocket, letting out another breath before walking forwards some more, finding a store that has some potential and entering it before turning back around, realizing it was more so perfect for Roman's princess than Roman himself.
Another pang goes through Seth's body at the thought of her but he shakes his head and bites his lower lip, hand clenching around his phone as he wrinkles his nose at the smell of food. His stomach grumbles, a stark reminder that he does need to eat food and soon but he continues onwards, stopping by another storefront and looking inside, flurries of butterflies in his stomach. There's something about this store, he thinks, and as he steps inside, something settles within his stomach as he browses the first shelf he sees.
He doesn't know how long he's in the store, but by the time he's left it empty handed, he feels discouraged and less confident than ever, his upper teeth practically chewing through his lower lip as he grabs his phone and flips back to Roman's contact, finding a spot to sit down as he wonders if Roman would even answer. He knows, of course, that Roman probably would answer, especially since they have a very light truce going on but there's something inside of him that has Seth believing that while this truce is a thing, Roman probably wouldn't appreciate being reminded of the time they were happily in love and how Seth had absolutely ruined that between them.
Clutching the ring once more, Seth lets out a small breath and looks back at his phone, foot tapping a familiar beat as he finally allows himself to tap on Roman's name and then click the 'phone' button.
Placing the phone to his ear, Seth lets out a small sigh before removing it and ending the call, a groan slipping out as he thinks about how much of a teenager he's acting like, head slamming down on the table in front of him as his bags fall under it.
"You're being stupid, Rollins," he whispers to himself, going to the one photo album he's kept throughout numerous phones, hidden away and password in tact on his photobucket album, heart aching at the memories of his first Christmas with Roman, having no idea just how much everything would change. Wanting to procrastinate for a little while longer, Seth peruses his phone's internet, looking at rumor sites for a laugh, twitter for a brief moment, instagram even briefer, and then tumblr, avoiding his tag because he's not a glutton for punishment, and can trust the people he follows to not reblog anything too outlandish.
He spends ten minutes on there, reblogging photos of himself, fellow wrestlers (it's insane how many photos of Roman he reblogs, but he'll never admit to it, if asked) before he decides to truly stop procrastinating and go back to the Samoan's contact, blowing out another huff of breath before arching his eyebrow at the text message on his phone.
(SMS) Are you actually going to call me again or ….?
His heart pounds, and he didn't realize his call had gone through to Roman, can't believe he had actually forgotten the blunt manner in which Roman texts, wanting answers always, because that's just who he is. Letting out an exasperating breath over his own thoughts, Seth plays with his phone, not really pressing on Roman's number just yet, jumping when it vibrates in his hand, Roman's name coming up, causing him to scowl. How the hell does the man know him so well, still, he asks himself before opening up the text.
(SMS) Stop being scared and call me. I need to talk to you anyways.
A groan escapes from Seth at this point and he pinches the bridge of his nose, biting on his lower lip as he exits out of the text and staring at his phone, wondering why the older man needs to talk to him anyways. He knows that the two aren't close, not ever since Seth apologized to Dean and called a truce with Roman, even though he knows he needs to apologize to Roman, completely, at one point anyways.
And there truly is no reason why he could think of Roman needing to talk to him. It's not like they talk often outside of the arena's they work in anymore, and Seth knows that's mainly due to his own issues, his own fears and insecurities getting in the way. At the same time though, he can't help but wish that the reason Roman wants to talk to him is because Roman misses him and wants to go back to everything, to how it used to be, even though Seth knows how absurd that idea truly is. He's ruined things, and he's not treated the man he loves like an equal, like someone who matters, really, and no matter how much grovelling Seth could do and would do, if he could ever grow up and do it, he knows Roman deserves better, knows that is something Roman himself knows.
Really though, Seth doesn't understand why he hasn't given Roman the apology he deserves. He has his insecurities and his fears, yes, but - Roman deserves more, deserves the opportunity to receive closure. Maybe that's what Roman wants, he thinks. A small whimper escapes from Seth and he closes his eyes, letting out a deep breath before looking at his phone. He knows he's not being fair, knows that even he would want closure if he was in Roman's situation, but he can't help but feel like once that closure is given, the truce he has going on with Roman, however small and fragile it truly is, will break, and he'll be left on his own again.
Frowning once more, Seth takes a hold of his phone and is about to send a simple fine before it begins vibrating continuously, causing him to drop it in surprise and have people looking at him curiously. A breath escapes him as he flips it over so he can see the screen, not surprised at all to see Roman calling him himself, positive the other man grew tired of him waiting to grow a pair and call Roman. It brings Seth back to when they were together, and the happy times they shared before he shakes his head and lodges the thoughts and memories out of the forefront of his mind, teeth biting down gently on his lower lip as he places his thumb on the 'scroll to answer' button, indecision having him not answer the phone until it stops ringing. Feeling some relief that Roman finally hung up, Seth is about to place the phone back in his pocket before it starts ringing again and he lets out a small groan, trying not to smile as he remembers how persistent his ex-boyfriend can truly be.
"Might as well get this over with," He whispers to himself, squaring his shoulders and holding in a breath quickly before picking up his earphones from his pocket, plugging them in and placing them in his ears and then answering the phone. Silence remains for the few seconds it takes for the call to connect, and in that time, Seth finds himself feeling a range of emotions but also being sure that this is the right thing to do. While he's not ready to hear what Roman wants to talk to him about, he does know that he can stonewall the other man by talking about Christmas and gifts and what the hell do you want this year and maybe, just maybe, Roman will forget why he originally wanted to talk to Seth about or why Seth called him in the first place.
Releasing his one breath, Seth looks at the phone and, upon seeing it connect the phone call, relaxes in his seat at the table, wishing he had thought to buy food before sitting down so he could appear busy. The moment has passed though and in the few moments it takes for the phone to truly connect, Seth wonders if he's about to vomit. It wouldn't surprise him, not when it came to Roman nor his emotions but he swallows down whatever butterflies try to come up and goes through his breathing exercises, heart pounding out of control when he finally hears Roman's voice through the phone.
For moments, it's quiet, and then, like ripping off a band-aid, Seth says one very loaded word to the older man, his heart pounding. "Hi."
