Being summoned by the god of love Amor is not a bad thing. As his helpers, the Amoretti often go to his chamber to receive assignments or instructions about the humans they need to match up. This time, however, Seth has a feeling it's not going to be something positive. But he takes a deep breath and opens the tall, beautifully adorned door, entering the chamber. As soon as he sees who are inside, he knows he's in trouble.
Seth finds Amor in the middle of the room, his face rather somber. But he isn't alone. By his side stands the goddess of love and beauty. Venus. Seth has only seen her twice before, but her presence is still as intimidating as he remembers. Her eyes are brilliantly blue, reminding Seth of the ocean. Her hair—like her son's—is glowing like the purest gold. Seth bows his head to her then to Amor.
"You would like to see me?" he asks, looking at Amor.
"Actually, I would like to see you," it's Venus who replies.
By Jupiter, this can't be good. But he politely nods. Venus eyes him for a moment. "I notice that you have been disobeying orders more than once. You didn't pair up people you were supposed to."
Glancing at Amor who watches in silence, Seth says, "That's because their personalities didn't match, so the love wouldn't last long anyway. We all know how fleeting mortal love can be."
"They were fated to be together for a reason," Venus begins to sound impatient. "No ethereal being may interfere with fate. Not the gods and goddesses, and definitely not you."
Despite himself, Seth knows when to keep his mouth shut. Besides, she is right. It's a strict rule to not interfere with a human's fate. But still, it's against his instinct to match up two people when he has a feeling it's not going to work. That's why he always observes them before doing anything. He doesn't know how he's going to get away with this one, though, when Venus herself is here to chastise him.
"Since my son is too soft on you, I have to put you in your place," she says again, making Seth's eyes widen. "What is your latest assignment?"
It takes a long second for Seth to realize that she asked him a question. "To—match a man in North America called Roman Reigns to his best friend Dean Ambrose."
"Very well." She nods. "You will carry on with the assignment. But, you will not do it as an Amoretto."
Seth blinks, doesn't quite understand what she just said. Amor, on the other hand, looks uncharacteristically worried. "Mother, I don't think—"
"You will do it as a human," she goes on, ignoring him. "That means without your powers, and you'll be affected by the things that affect humans, such as emotions, hunger, illness, pain, and time."
"No… Venus, please," Seth protests. "It's impossible. How am I supposed to make them fall in love without my powers?"
A smile crosses her beautiful face. "Amor said that you're the brightest of all the Amoretti. You will figure it out," she says, before adding, "And you better figure it out. Because you can only go back here after you complete the assignment. Otherwise you'll have to live the rest of your life as a mortal."
No, this can't be happening. Seth turns to Amor, wordlessly pleading with him to do something. Amor is like a father to him; surely he can't let Seth be trapped on the earth and die as a mortal, can he? But the god of love looks forlorn as he lets out a sigh. "I'm sorry, my child. You have to do it."
It sounds like a death sentence to Seth. But his pride prevents him from begging. If they expect to see him break down, they'll be disappointed because he won't. He takes a deep breath and nods, despite the fear that he'll never see this place again.
"I'll do it."
Seth's first day as a human is a disaster. He despises the weight of his body, and how he can no longer travel to any destination he wants by thoughts. The constant hunger is another irritating thing about being human. But Seth is not a complainer and complaining won't help him. The name Amor gives him is Seth Rollins. According to his passport he is a 27 year-old American. Roman Reigns works as a manager in an office furniture showroom, and the last thing Amor told Seth was that he's going to work there, starting tomorrow. Seth was hoping they'd give him some more time to adapt to the human life, but well, there's nothing he can do about it now.
"Oh Seth, I'm sorry this happened to you," he hears a familiar voice say.
Seth turns around to find two of his fellow Amoretti in his new place. Summer sighs, looking forlorn, unlike her normal bubbly self. Antonio, on the other hand, looks as calm as usual, but there is concern in his eyes.
"Are you okay?" Summer speaks again.
As okay as his human body allows him after being cast away. "I'll be fine," Seth replies, doesn't want to make her even more worried. "It's just another assignment." He heads for the refrigerator and opens it, taking a green apple out. At least he has enough food for a few days—and hopefully he'll figure out how to do grocery shopping before the food runs out.
The apple is quite sour as he bites it, making him cringe. Antonio and Summer exchange pity looks. "The showroom where you'll work is only across the street," Summer says in a reassuring tone. "Amor is still looking out for you."
Seth knows he is, despite what his mother did. Amor loves all the Amoretti like his own children. But, of course he can't defy Venus. "I know."
They stay for a moment longer, and by then Seth has eaten two more apples. It's odd how quickly he's getting used to the sourness. Either that or he's just hungry.
"We have to go," Antonio tells him. "We'll come back to check on you." Next to him Summer nods.
The apartment feels ten times emptier after they left. Seth keeps glancing at the clock on the wall. Is it just him or the time passes really slowly? He's seen humans watch their television, so he picks up the remote control and turns it on—pressing a few wrong buttons until the television is on. As he flips through the channels he wonders if humans really think these programs of people arguing interesting. Finally, he leaves it on a channel about jungle animals in Brazil. That's better. Now he just has to figure out how to use the microwave oven. Sighing soundly, he makes his way to the kitchen.
It's going to be a long day.
"Here's your locker. The four-numbers combination lock is in the information letter you've received, but you can customize it," a man called Aiden explains. "Every employee can use the pantry on their breaks. Do you have any questions?"
"No," Seth says. He won't change his lock because nothing in his possession is that valuable—as well as because he doesn't know how, jokes on him. Humans seem to value their possessions very highly from what he's seen. "Thank you."
Aiden gives him a nod. "Alright, you can come to me or the manager Roman if you have problems or difficulties," he says. "Welcome to Keller's."
When he's left the locker area, Seth places his phone (which he barely can use) in the locker. Then just as he's about to close the door, the other employees start to arrive.
"Hey, you're the new guy," a dark-haired girl says. "I'm Peyton, and this is Billie." She gestures at the other dark-haired girl beside her. "That's Kofi, and Xavier."
Seth is thankful she makes the introduction easier. "I'm Seth. Pleased to meet you."
The girls giggle a little, probably at how polite he sounded. Seth reminds himself to learn to speak more like them. Amoretti can speak and understand every language known to man, though he doesn't know if he still has that ability now that he's human. As he makes sure his locker is locked, he sees from his peripheral vision that Billie is mouthing something like 'he's so cute' to Peyton.
"I heard from Aiden you're gonna be in the desk and chair section with me," Xavier says. "Come on, I'll show you where things are."
Seth nods; he likes his friendly voice and kind smile. He follows Xavier out of the locker area, walking down a long corridor until they reach the display room. It's a huge area that's neatly divided into sections. Xavier walks him through the ordering system, how to fill the order form and stuff. It doesn't seem too hard—but the problem is Seth hasn't had time to read and memorize the products. And he's supposed to help people choose the right thing. But these are just tables and chairs; it can't be that hard. If mortals can do it, then so must he.
Right?
It turns out helping humans choose chairs isn't as easy as he thought. Seth has gone through probably ten chairs with a woman who clearly shows that she likes none of his suggestions. The customers before her were three women who seemed to be mesmerized by him and bought his lackluster explanations about some tables. But it's not the case with this woman.
"So which one is better?" she sounds more impatient as the time goes. "This one's softer but I don't like the backrest."
Seth honestly has no idea which chair is better, since they all look the same to him. But he has to come up with something. "But I think you can adjust the backrest."
"Can you show me?" she says. He doesn't miss the challenge in her voice. She clearly has lost faith in him.
Seth discreetly looks for Xavier but he's on the other side of the room, talking to another customer. Now what in Jupiter's name is he supposed to do? When she sees that Seth is hesitating, she huffs and calls a man who's walking by.
"Excuse me, do you work here? Can you help me pick a chair for my home office?" she asks him, much to Seth's surprise. He did not expect that. "This gentleman isn't really helping, if I'm being honest."
The man stops and walks closer to them. When Seth recognizes him, his human heart skips a beat. Out of every possible person, it has to be Roman Reigns who witnesses his incompetence. This is definitely not the first impression Seth wants to give him.
Roman's grey eyes are fixed on Seth for a long second before he turns to the woman. "I would always suggest contoured backrest, ma'am, since it offers a better support as well as being more comfortable," he says. His voice is deep and confident, yet it's also gentle. It's the kind of voice that will make people stop and listen. "And a good chair shouldn't be too soft. The foam must be dense enough to support your weight evenly."
Her face lits up as she points at the white chair that she previously didn't like because it was 'too white'. "This one then." Her smile becomes wider when Roman nods approvingly. "Alright, I'll take it. You've been very helpful, thank you."
They both look at Seth who realizes he has to write the order number. He mumbles an apology and writes down the chair's serial number on his order form, then he gives it to the woman. She already strides towards the checkout counter before he explains about the pick-up spot at the back of the showroom. But well, he guesses she already knows.
Roman unfortunately is still there, never taking his eyes off Seth. Amoretti don't find mortals intimidating, but Seth has to admit that something about Roman makes him slightly nervous.
"Seth, right? Do you have experience with office furniture before?" he asks.
"Not really—no."
Roman is watching him, but his face is unreadable. "Where did you work prior to here?"
What should Seth tell him? But luck is on his side this time, because the blond girl behind the checkout counter crosses the room and quickly approaches them. "Excuse me, Roman," she says, before turning to Seth with an annoyed frown on her face. "You wrote the serial number wrong. The system didn't recognize it." Her nametag reads Alexa.
Okay… maybe luck isn't on his side after all. Seth apologizes once again and takes the paper from her, writing down the real number, rechecking it three times to make sure it's correct. Things couldn't possible get worse, could they?
Roman draws in a deep breath after Alexa went back to the checkout counter. "Who interviewed you again?" he asks, before answering his own question, "right, Hunter did." Seth simply nods. He knows Amor can plant any memories on human's mind—as well as erasing them.
"I'm not gonna be hard on you, since today's your first day," Roman says. "But I expect you to do much better once you get the hang of it."
Feeling a surge of relief, Seth gives him a genuine smile. "I won't let you down."
Roman looks at him for one more second before nodding and walking away.
For the next weeks, Seth is working hard to adjust himself to the human life. He spends all his free time reading and memorizing their products, something he's sure humans will find boring. But well, he has to do something to kill the time anyway. At work he quickly becomes close to Xavier, Kofi, Peyton, and Billie. After the incident with the wrong serial number, Alexa has seemed to decide that Seth isn't worth her time. But it's fine, it doesn't bother him. He knows humans don't always get along with each other.
Seth finds out that Xavier lives nearby, and he kindly takes him to grocery stores, much to his relief since he can't live off apples. So, he's got a lot of frozen meals that only need to be heated in the microwave. It's smart and makes his life easier. Xavier says they don't taste that good, but Seth doesn't mind. It's not like he has other options.
He gets another pleasant surprise one day, when he finds out that he hasn't lost his ability to speak any human language. They have a customer who only speaks Spanish, and Xavier who doesn't know Spanish is pretty frazzled. Before he calls Zelina for help, Seth overhears them and asks the customer what he's looking for. It turns out he can't find a specific filling cabinet.
"I didn't know you speak Spanish," Xavier exclaims after the customer left. "How many languages do you speak?"
"Just a few," Seth says, can't tell him the truth unfortunately. "German, Spanish, French, stuff like that," he names the languages that he knows are popular and not unusual.
Xavier looks at him in awe. "That's awesome, man," he says. Seth merely gives him a smile. It must be Amor looking out for him again; there's no way Venus would be that gracious and let him keep that ability.
Seth also has improved in his job as a consultant. He has memorized the products enough that he can help the customers find what they're looking for. Not always, of course, but at least now he's not clueless about their products. On top of that, he never makes more mistakes while filling the order forms. Though Alexa still looks like she expects him to screw up the next order.
But most of his colleagues are nice to him. He hears from Billie that Peyton has a huge crush on Tye from the warehouse, and it evokes his matchmaker instinct. If he still had his powers, he would give them a little help. Unfortunately, he can only do it the human way.
"What's the problem?" Seth asks her during a lunch break.
Peyton lets out a deep sigh. "I want to ask him out, but if he rejected me I would die." Though he's sure she doesn't mean it literally.
"How do you know he would reject you if you haven't tried?"
"It's 50-50," Peyton insists.
"Well, as for now it's 100-0," Seth tells her patiently. "What's the chance of him knowing you're interested if you never show it?"
Before Peyton opens her mouth to protest, Billie interjects, "He's right, you know. The other day he smiled at you and you just walked away. Girl, honestly?"
Another sigh leaves Peyton's lips. "I need coffee," she says, rising to her feet. A moment later she comes back with a paper cup in her hand. "Bill come on, our break's over." Billie nods and stands up. After discarding the cup in the trash, Peyton turns to Seth. "You still got time, right, Seth. Can you refill the coffee? See you later."
Billie gives him a smile and then they both disappear behind the door, leaving Seth alone in the pantry. Did she say he should refill the coffee machine? Well, he supposes he can... He saw Kofi do it once, although at that time he didn't really pay attention. Opening the cabinet, Seth sees bags of—coffee beans and ground coffee. Now which one is it for the machine? Maybe both can be used; why else would they have both? He takes a bag of ground coffee and moves towards the machine.
The lid must be at the top somewhere, that's where he saw Kofi open it. Carefully, Seth observes the top of the machine. He finds the lid, but he's not sure how to remove it. He doesn't want to ruin the machine, Jupiter forbid. After fiddling with it for some excruciating seconds, he manages to take the lid off. But before he can open the coffee bag and fill the container, he hears a voice from behind him.
"Hold on a second."
That voice still does things to Seth, making his heart beat faster. He turns around and finds Roman looking at him, with a half amused expression on his face.
"Are you about to fill it with ground coffee?" Roman gestures at the bag in Seth's hand.
Seth blinks, and replies in a tentative tone, "Yes." Is he… wrong?
Roman eyes him for a second before opening the cabinet and takes the other bag out. "Well, you shouldn't. It's an espresso machine, only espresso beans go into the container. Ground coffee will damage the grinder," he explains. Then he rips open the package and pours the coffee beans into the machine. "The ground coffee is for the other machine, for people who don't want espresso."
"Right," Seth says in a small voice, feeling his face a little warm. Something he never experienced before.
"You don't like coffee?" Now Roman sounds genuinely curious.
Well, Seth's passport says he comes from Iowa, and he doesn't know about Iowa people's coffee habit. "I—haven't got much of it," he says, and it's not wrong. He did try the coffee once and it's really bitter.
Roman places a cup and presses a button on the machine. It buzzes, and a moment later liquid flows into the cup. It's pale brown instead of dark. "If espresso is too strong, try this latte macchiato," he says, giving the cup to Seth, who reluctantly accepts it.
It smells good for starters. Seth lifts the cup to his lips and gently takes a sip. It's hot, but he quite likes the taste of coffee and milk, and the distinct smell. Then he notices that Roman is watching him with a faint smile on his face.
"It's good," Seth says, looking up to meet his gaze. "Thank you." He feels something weird in the pit of his stomach as he sees the smile.
There's silence for a moment, until Roman's phone rings. He pulls it out of his pocket and says, "Sorry, gotta take this." Then he turns around, pressing the phone to his ear. "Hey, Dean."
Seth's eyes slightly widen. Dean as in Dean Ambrose, the person he's supposed to be with? Seth doesn't want to eavesdrop but it's important to know where he stands. So, he takes another sip of his coffee, while discreetly looking at Roman's back.
"Nah, of course I didn't forget," Roman says, adding a little laugh. It sounds good—really good. "I'll see you later, yeah."
From the sound of it they're going to meet up later. Well, it's a good thing, right? Seth doesn't know why he's not as thrilled as he should be. The more time they spend together, the higher the chance that something will happen between them. Right? He's too caught up in his thoughts that he doesn't notice Roman ending the call and turning back to him.
"Try not to mix up the coffees again, will you?" Roman tells him, a smile playing on his lips. Like before, the smile makes Seth feel somewhat weird. He can only nod, doesn't quite understand why he's feeling what he's feeling.
Humans and their confusing emotions.
A few days later Seth is alone with Billie in the archive room, trying to find an old file of a discontinued desk. He decides to throw caution to the wind and ask her about Dean. He supposes she knows more about him, considering she's Roman's secretary.
"Is Roman seeing anyone?" He tries to make his voice sound casual.
Billie's hands stop moving on the files. She turns to him, her dark eyes look interested. "Oh, Seth, you like Roman," she exclaims, sounding excited.
Seth doesn't correct her, because he can't say his real intention. "So—is he? I heard him talk to someone called Dean the other day."
"No, he's single but doesn't really mingle," Billie says, chuckling at her own joke. "With how much he works, I'm not surprised. As far as I know, Dean is his good friend; he owns a diner on Baymeadows Road." She gives him a wink. "I think you have a good chance. You guys will look so cute together."
Seth can't help laughing. "Billie, you're way ahead. I was just asking a question."
Billie taps his back in a friendly manner. "It's okay, Seth. Almost all the new employees had a crush on him," she says.
Well… he can't say that he's doesn't expect it. Roman is close to being perfect, by human standards. Seth shakes his head then continues to look for the file.
Seth glances at the clock on the wall. It's almost 9 PM, and everyone has left hours ago. He decides to stay that late to learn about the new products. He has the catalogue at home, but it's much better to look at the items. Well, it's also better than being alone at home. Sometimes Xavier, Kofi, and the girls ask him to have dinner with them after work, which is quite fun. Billie even has showed him the diner where Dean Ambrose works. She seems to take Seth's question too seriously.
When he walks past Roman's office he notices that the light is still on. He heard from Billie that Roman often stays in the office until very late. But as he looks through the half opened door, he sees Roman lay his head on the desk. His hair has escaped the neat bun he normally wears. Something is wrong. Instinctively, Seth steps closer and enters the room.
"Roman? Are you okay?" he asks in a gentle voice, doesn't want to surprise him.
Roman slowly lifts his face. He looks pale. "Seth… what are you still doing here?"
"I was checking the new arrivals. Don't worry about me, are you okay?" Seth carefully places his hand on Roman's back, between his long, black locks.
"I have a headache," Roman says, with a wince. He massages his temples with his fingers. "Can't drive home like this."
Seth tries not to notice how soft Roman's hair is under his touch. "Don't you have some medicine for the headache?"
"I have aspirin. But I can't take it on empty stomach."
Well, that's a problem. But as he racks his brain for what he should do, Seth remembers something. "I have an apple in the fridge," he says, already moving before Roman says anything. "I'll get it for you." He half sprints to the pantry to get the apple and a glass of water, and then comes back to Roman's office. "Here you go."
For a moment it seems like Roman is about to say no, but he nods and takes the apple. "Thanks." Just one bite of the apple and he scrunches up his face. After a few bites he stops eating, but then he takes a deep breath and eats the rest of it. Seth watches as he takes an aspirin and swallows it with water.
"Sorry, it's quite sour," Seth tells him. He guesses humans prefer sweeter apples.
"Do you like that?" Roman is still wincing, but his face isn't as pale as before. "The only way you can eat those is by using them for apple pie. My friend Dean makes good pies, but even he would need a ton of sugar for your apple."
Well, he must have felt better when he can crack a joke. Seth's lips curve into a smile. "I'm used to it."
Roman watches him for a moment before saying, "You're a peculiar one," his tone soft, almost fond, making something in Seth's stomach flutter.
"You should call a taxi and go home," Seth says, forcing himself to shift his gaze to Roman's computer screen. Roman looks really good with his hair down, and if Seth looked at him for too long his mind would wander to ridiculous places, like thinking about running his hand through the hair. Ridiculous as well as dangerous.
"So should you," Roman replies.
Seth looks back at him and notices that he doesn't wince in pain anymore. "It's fine. I live across the street."
"Alright," Roman says before picking up his phone. Seth listens as he talks to the taxi service. "He'll be here in ten minutes," he says after ending the call.
Seth nods. What should he do now? Should he wait with Roman until the taxi arrives or should he just go home? Well, he guesses he'll stay, in case Roman still doesn't feel too well.
"You're not from around here, are you?" Roman asks, opening his drawer and placing the files on his desk inside. Seth already regrets his decision on staying.
"No, I'm from Iowa." He doesn't know why Amor chose Iowa out of all the other states. But well, there's nothing he can do about it now.
Roman slightly tilts his head. "Really? That's real far from Jacksonville. How did you know about this job?"
Seth should have known he would ask something like that. What is he supposed to tell him? "I—happen to know someone," he says. Roman seems to sense his hesitation and doesn't ask more, much to Seth's relief. He doesn't want to lie, but he can't tell the truth either. "Maybe we should wait outside?"
"Yeah." Roman rises from his seat.
"How is the headache?" Seth asks him as they walk.
Using his keycard to open the door, Roman gives him a smile. "It's almost gone," he says. When they're out of the door, Seth sees that the taxi has arrived and waited on the parking lot. "Thanks again." Roman turns to look at him.
"Don't mention it," Seth says softly.
"I'll see you tomorrow."
It sounds like a promise that makes Seth's heart beat a little faster. He inwardly tells himself it's not like that. Roman is only being polite. This is another case of a ridiculous and dangerous thought. He shouldn't forget that he's only here to do his assignment. But despite all that, he finds himself nod.
"See you."
The next morning when he's storing his phone in his locker, Seth hears Peyton's voice call him from the pantry. "Seth, come here." She sounded quite excited.
Feeling curious, Seth closes the locker door and heads for the pantry. What could make her sound that cheery so early in the morning? She's not a morning person normally. He sees Peyton and Billie in front of the opened fridge. Before he opens his mouth to say anything, the girls already pull him closer.
"Look at that," Peyton says, motioning at the fridge.
Seth is still a bit confused of what they're talking about. But then his gaze falls on a blue plate with three shiny, red apples on it. On the plate, there's also a small piece of paper with a neat handwriting that reads: For Seth. A smile slowly crosses his face as it dawns on him what the apples mean.
"You're smiling," Billie points out. "It's Roman, isn't it?"
Looking at her, then at Peyton, Seth nods. He can't seem to erase the smile off his face, he doesn't know why. Amoretti don't feel like this. And they're only apples. But you're not an Amoretto anymore, a voice in his head reminds him. Yeah… he's human, with all the complicated human emotions.
"Seth?" Billie calls him again. "Care to tell us what this means? Why did Roman give you apples?"
"It's nothing, really." Seth tells them what happened last night, about Roman's headache, and the sour apple that followed.
Billie puts her hand on her chest, a bit dramatically. "Oh that's cute," she chirps, while Peyton nods vigorously next to her. "So cute."
"Billie, they're just apples," Seth tells her. Although he's not sure whom he tries to convince more: her or himself. He looks at them in turn. "It's not a big deal."
"Sure, love, it's not," Peyton teases, with a playful wink.
Seth lets out a sigh. He isn't sure he convinced anyone.
He hasn't seen Roman that day until much later, when he's with a customer, explaining about a workspace. "If your workstation is used by you and other people, you need to keep in mind the different work habits and body sizes when setting up the workspace," he tells her. "So, you'd want to choose the furniture that can easily be adjusted." He gets a little distracted when he notices that Roman is standing not so far from them, with some folders in his hands. But Seth quickly shakes it off and returns his attention to the customer, who has decided which furniture she wants.
"Thank you for the apples." Seth walks over to him after the customer left.
Roman gives him a smile. "Sweeter than yours, aren't they?"
"Yeah, but I still quite like mine," Seth replies, a little defiantly. It makes Roman chuckle.
"You're a peculiar one," he says, there's an unmistakable fondness in his voice this time. Seth's eyes are fixed on him, can't bring himself to look away. His heart inevitably skips a beat.
Roman looks at him for a long moment before clearing his throat. "You've done much better than when you started," he says, his tone slightly back to normal. "Keep it up."
"Thank you," Seth replies. "I said I wouldn't let you down."
"You did." Roman's voice gets softer once again.
By now, Seth is used to the weird, fluttery feeling in his stomach whenever Roman is around. He knows he's treading on dangerous waters. How many times in his entire existence has he seen humans let their feelings consume them? Human emotions are strong, demanding, and uncontrollable. Even when they try to use their head instead of their heart, it never ends well. Seth can't let it happen to him, he's an Amoretto. He knows better.
But he has a human heart.
