Roman limped his way to the trainer's room, holding onto his ribs tightly, waiting for the pain to cease. He wanted nothing more than to go and get changed, head back to the hotel room and lie down, forgetting everything that had happened tonight but he was worried about Seth. The younger man had been practically broken in half when he'd been slammed through that table and honestly, Seth didn't have a good history of being thrown through tables, their first ppv being proof of that. So instead of heading to the locker room he continued past it and walked up to the trainer's room, not bothering to knock and simply walked in. As he walked in he noticed Seth was alone in the room, lying on one of the trainers tables. He had his vest and shirt stripped off, no doubt so the trainer could check his ribs. His eyes were closed but he could see the pain across Seth's face clearly. He knew the smaller man was in pain, that much was obvious. Walking up to his tag team partner he touched his shoulder gentle, his heart breaking as big brown eyes open, laced with tears. He offered Seth a weak smile, knowing the physical and mental impact this match had on all of them. Dean was already beating himself up over them losing, deciding to head back to the hotel alone because he needed some space. This was more than a feud; this was their lives right now. It was about their careers, their stability, their beliefs in their own ability. This meant more than anyone other than the 6 men involved could understand, and losing tonight was... indescribable.
"You okay?" He knew he wasn't but honestly in that moment Roman had no idea what else to say. Seth nodded his head before wincing, not convincing Roman in the slightest that he was okay.
"Right, wait here, I'll get our stuff in the car and then we'll head back to the hotel okay? Dean kinda wants to be alone right now so you're rooming with me tonight. I'll be back soon, don't go anywhere okay?" He tried joking, failing to try and make light of the situation. In all honesty he was scared - he and Seth hadn't shared a room since they'd broken up. It was no secret back stage that Roman and Seth were a thing, or at least they use to be. They were like the perfect couple, they were so happy. And then one day, out of the blue, Roman came home to find Seth's stuff gone. No explanation, no reason. Seth was gone. He'd shown up at Raw the Monday after acting like everything was normal, like he hadn't broken Romans' heart, like they'd never been in love. It hurt, so much, but he couldn't stand the thought of leaving Seth alone, in pain and without a room to stay in.
He walked as fast as he could back to the locker room, ignoring the looks he got as he grabbed both his and Seth's bags and walked away without saying a word. He grabbed a hoodie out of his bag before putting both of them in the boot of the car and returning to the trainer's room to grab Seth. When he returned he noted Seth still lying down but this time holding onto his ribs, his eyes clenched shut. Roman suspected he'd tried getting up himself but had only served to hurt his injured ribs more. He didn't say anything; he simply walked over to Seth and pulled him up gently.
"Be careful okay? You're already hurt I don't want you doing any permanent damage. Now, assuming you don't want to put your swat gear back on I brought you this. Lift your arms up as high as you can without hurting yourself okay?"
Seth decided not to argue with Roman, he really was in pain, so he did as instructed and allowed Roman to help him into the hoodie. He recognised it as one of Romans', and he knew he'd worn it on the way to the arena because it still smelt like him. Roman couldn't help but smile lightly when Seth got the hoodie on, it was far too big on him and the sleeves came down past his hands; it practically dwarfed him and made his already slender frame look even smaller. He looked adorable in Romans' hoodie, but then again he always used to look cute in Romans' clothes, whether it was cold so he borrowed Romans' jacket or he'd spent the night and wore nothing but one of Romans' t-shirts to breakfast, he always looked good in his older lovers clothes.
Shaking his head to rid himself of his thoughts he helped Seth off the bed, trying to ignore the way Seth's hand lingered on his arm and put it down to him being unable to stand. Seth had dumped him, what other reason would he have for having a lingering touch? And yeh he noticed the way Seth took a deep breath when the hoodie passed over his head, but Seth had always had a thing for the way his clothes smelt, not like it meant anything right? Fuck he was over thinking things far too much. Trying to ignore his mind he went to move forward, but as Seth let go of his arm he fell, Roman catching him just before he hit the floor.
"Damn baby boy you need to be careful, why didn't you tell me you couldn't walk?"
"Because I didn't want to seem weak, I'm tired of being weak." He tried to ignore the 'baby boy' comment, it was something the Samoan used to call him when they were together, but fuck he missed that name.
"What do you mean? You're not weak Seth you never have been."
"Just forget it okay? I just want to get back to the hotel room and get some sleep." His heart cracked slightly at how dismissive but saddened his ex lover was. He didn't know what Seth was talking about, he'd never been weak, but obviously the two toned man didn't want to talk about it, so he dropped the subject. For now anyway.
"Well one thing's for sure you can't walk by yourself, grab onto me, I'll help you."
"I'm fine, I can do it myself, I don't need you looking after me." As determined as he sounded he didn't have Roman convinced, and as soon as he tried taking a step forward by himself his knees buckled and he nearly fell again, Roman managing to catch him just in time.
"Fuck it, that's it." Without another word Roman lifted Seth into his arms, carrying him bridal style to the car despite Seth's protesting that he could do it himself. Half way to the car Seth gave up and settled for wrapping his arms around Romans, burying his face into the older man's neck to keep warm as he grumbled about how unfair it was. Roman couldn't stop himself from smiling momentarily, enjoying the feeling of Seth pressed against him. He missed this. When he finally reached the car he set Seth down on the floor, keeping one arm wrapped around his tiny waist for support and grabbed his keys with the other. He helped Seth into the passenger side before he climbed in behind the wheel, finally setting off to the hotel. This was gonna be fun.
SIERRA HOTEL INDIA ECHO LIMA DELTA
When they eventually got to Romans' room he set the younger man on the bed after, once more, carrying him to their destination. Seth had complained the entire time but given the fact the elevator was broke and Roman was on the 12th floor, he had no intentions of watching Seth limp up and then fall down every single flight of stairs on the way up, carrying him was a lot easier. He sat but Seth's feet and started undoing his laces, ignoring the confused look Seth was giving him.
"What are you doing?"
"Well baby boy you've got two options, either I can help you get changed or you can stay in your swat gear all night. Unless you think you can undress yourself in this state? But given the fact you can't even stand up for 2 seconds on your own something's telling me that one isn't an option, so what's it gonna be? Besides, not like I've never seen you half naked before."
Seth decided not to argue, because after all Roman had a point. There was no way he could bend down at the minute to untie his shoes, and sleeping in his swat gear wasn't an option. He pouted slightly, looking down at his feet and wriggling them slightly. He felt like a child as Roman started undoing his shoes, he couldn't wait to get back to normal. Thankfully the trainer had told him there was no permanent damage and he'd be back to normal in a couple of days, he just had to take it easy, but he hated not being able to look after himself in that moment. His breath caught in his throat slightly after Roman removed his shoes and socks, hands finding his belt buckle next. He bit his lip to keep from speaking as the other man undid his pants, pulling them down his legs quickly. He helped Seth to remove his hoodie as well, leaving him in nothing but his boxers. He did everything he could to avoid looking at Roman in that moment; still trying to process the fact his ex had just undressed him completely. Fuck he shouldn't be here; Roman taking care of him was doing nothing but tugging on his heart strings.
He was pulled out of his musings as the older man came back into the room after having stripped himself of his gear and replaced it with some loose sweatpants, his hair let down to flow freely around his shoulders and no fucking shirt. It was like he was punishing Seth for being an asshole. Fuck. He was carrying a t-shirt and a bottle of some sort, but Seth couldn't take his eyes off the perfect abs in front of him, he'd always been obsessed with Romans' body. It was like a work of art, and Seth missed the days when Roman used to let him worship it for hours. So caught up in his memories he almost missed Roman speaking.
"Turn around and lie down on your stomach. I know your back's hurting; I can see it in the way you're sitting. Come on, I'll make you feel better, I promise."
"Rome I really don't think... but then again." A pointed look from Roman stopped him mid way through refusing and he did as instructed, with some difficulty, lying down on his stomach. He waited in anticipation, but couldn't help the moan that escaped him as he felt Romans' cool hands against his skin. Roman remembered from their time together that this was the best way to relieve Seth of some of his back pain. Every time he fought he got knots in his back, and massaging them out always relieved some of the stress and gained him back some of his mobility. Of course back then the massages used to end a little differently but Roman tried not to think about that as he dug his fingers into Seth's back, carefully working out the knots. He tried his damndest to ignore the moans escaping from Seth, the way his hips grated against the sheets. Seth was a natural born tease and probably didn't realise how provocative he was being in that moment. Once he'd worked out all the knots in his back he instructed Seth to roll over, intending on massaging his sore ribs.
As Seth turned to lie flat on his back Romans' eyes drifted to the tent in his boxers, not surprised in the slightest - there was a reason their massages used to end on a more intimate note. As he started rubbing over Seth's ribs gently the younger man opened his eyes, and Roman couldn't help but stare into the big brown orbs looking up at him. His fingers still against the hard muscle, and before he could stop himself he leant down, lips brushing against Seth's, moaning lightly at the familiar softness. It seemed to be happening far too suddenly - he'd gone from caring for Seth, to trying to ease his pain, to making out with him. When he realised what he was doing he pulled back, Seth trying to follow for a moment before his mind caught up with him. What the fuck were they doing? It was over, it had been for months. Yet neither of them could deny the attraction between them, and as hard as it was to admit it Roman was pretty damn sure he was still in love with the two toned man.
"Why?" there was hardly any room between them, Roman could still feel the warmth of Seth's breath across his lips. He'd waited so long for an answer, and now Seth couldn't run away like he had done so many times before.
"Why did you leave? I thought we were happy? What did I do wrong?" he'd honestly never felt more vulnerable in his life, but his emotions were ready to bubble over and for once he couldn't keep them in check.
"You didn't do anything wrong."
"So why did you leave?"
"Because you deserved so much better." Roman felt his breath leave him as he looked down at the man beneath him, shock taking over his body? Better? How could anyone be better than Seth? The guy was practically perfect. As if reading his thoughts Seth expanded on his answer, each word leaving Roman more shocked, his heart breaking as the younger man spoke.
"I'm the reason we lost the titles, you had to keep carrying me because I wasn't good enough. You deserve someone better, someone who won't cost you matches, someone you can be proud to be with, someone who isn't so pathetic and... Weak."
"Seth?"
"Yeh?"
"That's complete and utter bullshit." That wasn't the answer Seth had expected and his jaw dropped slightly. What was Roman talking about, he was being honest. Roman deserved so much better how could he not see that?
"Baby boy, I know you still care about me, and if you love me as much as you used to tell me you did, and if you really want what's best for me, you'll shut the fuck up and kiss me. Honestly, what's 'best for me' is the thing that makes me happy right? And the thing that makes me happy is a cute little two toned hair, big brown eyed, ninja flipping hottie with a tiny waist and an ass like you wouldn't believe. But honestly baby, there's nothing wrong with you. You're perfect. People lose matches all the time, hell Cody lost to his man and got fired, they're still together right?" he hoped to god Seth was listening to what he was saying, because if Seth had left him purely because he had no confidence in his own ability then this had to be the first step in making him realise how perfect he really was.
"I'm sorry, but I didn't hear anything after 'kiss me'."
The smirk that crossed Romans' face couldn't be any wider as he leant down, brushing his lips against once that would soon belong to him again. He knew Seth, he knew once he got an idea in his head it took forever to change his mind, but he'd be damned if he let him walk away again. He moaned lightly, pressing his lips against Seth's slightly harder as the smaller man kissed back, only breaking the kiss to gasp and grab his ribs.
"Fuck! You okay?" he only received a glare from his partner and he couldn't help but laugh quietly, hoping Seth wouldn't notice.
"Alright baby, guess we can make up properly when you're all healed up, but for the rest of the night I'm gonna take care of you, the way a good boyfriend does." With a quick wink and a peck on the cheek Roman got off the bed, moving to go and find an ice pack for Seth's ribs. Seth remained lying on the bed and, for the first time in he didn't know how long, smiled genuinely. Yeh he and Roman had a lot of stuff to work on, he still had no idea why the older man would want to stick with someone like him, but for now he was going to enjoy being pampered by his 'new' boyfriend. Maybe this feud with the Wyatt's wasn't such a bad thing after all.