Hey guys, once again I'm back with an entirely brand new story! My Roman muse started kicking me in the head so I didn't have a choice but to start a brand new Roman story! Definitely helps that he's my favorite member of the Shield as well...oh well, enough of the intro and pleasantries. Hope you all enjoy this brand new story and chapter!
Chapter One: The Takeoff
Anxiety. Discomfort. Eagerness.
These three words and more could have been the perfect words describe the mixture of feelings that Roman Reigns was completely feeling right now. Sitting on the flight, he had been cooped up in his seat, leaned back and all just waiting patiently for this flight to take off. It was supposed to have left at 5am on the dot, but apparently due to the disastrous winter weather, the pilot informed him and the rest of the fliers that takeoff would not happen any time soon.
Upon hearing this news, the powerhouse of the Shield had taken it with a grain of salt. Really, travel delays happened all the time, so as often as a WWE Superstar traveled, this wasn't exactly news to him. However, upon sitting in the same plane, lounging for hours, and doing nothing, his boredom had gotten the better of him.
Pulling out his Galaxy Android phone, he placed it in position for him to began taking selfies. Yes, it had reached that point of boredom, but what was a guy to do? "Can't believe that we've been here since five this morning," the Samoan complained.
"Five?!" came a startling deep voice behind him. Unfortunately, Roman had already snapped the pic and upon looking at it, turned around to see his fellow colleague and friend Big E Langston with a hilarious looking paranoid face. "E, nice to see you. Didn't expect to see you on this flight," Roman commented.
Big E simply laughed a bit and shrugged. "Neither did I, but apparently Mother Nature has some wonderful plans in store for us this winter, wouldn't you say?" Roman smirked and nodded his head, swiping quickly on his screen as he went through some pictures.
"Yeah you're right, but let's make it to Hawaii first in one piece. Lord knows I need that climate right now," he said, sliding back into his comfort seat. Big E leaned over his seat, looking into Roman's phone. "Oh yeah, you Samoans don't stand a chance against this kind of frosty weather, do you? Don't worry my man, I got you."
The Intercontinental champion scoured the plane for flight attendants before his eyes landed on one. She seemed to be in her mid-20s and Big E figured he could turn on the charm. His awkward, weird, Big E-only type of charm that only he seemed to possess, of course. "Excuse me miss? Could you come here for a minute?" The woman's eyes immediately locked with his, and she came dashing right over. "Yes, Mr. Langston? What can we do for you? You know we'll do anything," she said with realistic enthusiasm.
The powerlifter couldn't help but smirk at that. "Yes you can actually. My friend Roman here is from the tropical type of climate and I don't want him turning into a blue popsicle, so can you make sure he gets all the warm foods as much as possible?" he said, as the flight attendant looked to Roman.
Roman looked back at her and flashed her a very genuine smile, adding, "could you do that for me doll? I'd really appreciate it." She seemingly nearly melted into his mere comments as her reaction nearly exuded with that of a fangirl's.
"Oh yes absolutely Mr. Roman Reigns! And you as well Mr. Langston! We'll do our grade-A best to service you!" she said, before taking off into the pilot's pit. As soon as she was out of their collective sight, the two bumped fists. "Works every time," Big E smirked as Roman nodded in agreement. At least they were going to get some serviceable treatment.
2 Hours Later
Finally, the plane was underway and in the skies. It seemed to be braving the winter storm pretty well, and Roman was holding up as best as possible. He imagined the lush greens and island shores as well as the coast water being within his grasp once more. All because he was going to a wedding. It wasn't just any wedding however; it was the wedding of his cousin Jon Uso and his soon to be wife Trinity Knight. Weddings were a huge deal in the Anoa'i family tree and nearly everybody turned out into droves.
This special wedding was scheduled to take place in Hawaii, and Roman couldn't have been even happier about that choice. It gave him a chance to get away from his issues he had been having with his teammates in the Shield. Months ago, when they aligned with the Authority, it seemed as if the Shield was as strong a unit as ever. Now however, was a different story it seemed.
Dissension seemed to begin slipping through the cracks when Roman put on a quite an MVP-worthy dominant performance at Survivor Series; scoring four eliminations and gaining the victory for his team single handedly. The doubt continued into the month of December at the TLC PPV, when Roman had an injured eye, and accidentally speared Ambrose, costing them the 3 on 1 handicap match against CM Punk. Roman claimed it was nothing, as did the other Shield members but everyone could see quite clearly the problems were starting to persist.
In the weeks following, Punk would face the Shield members one on one, besting both the psychotic Ambrose and the risk taking Seth Rollins in singles competition. However, when the self proclaimed Best In the World stepped into the ring with Roman, they put on a show for the ages, and when the dust finally settled, Roman emerged from the battle as the last man standing and the clear cut victor to further spread the doubt that the Shield could still stick together.
Finally, when the Royal Rumble had arrived, Roman Reigns had one clear cut goal in mind: win the Royal Rumble and go on to headline WrestleMania XXX to become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. And oh so close did he come; he put on a memorable, impressive, record-breaking performance, eliminating 12 WWE Superstars, including the legendary Kevin Nash, Dolph Ziggler, and even Sheamus to name a few. He even eliminated both Dean and Seth; albeit Dean attempted to eliminate him earlier in the night. Payback was a bitch right?
Now, as he stared out into the white sky, he closed his eyes out. Were the Shield's days really numbered? He always said that from the day any superstar signed with WWE, their goal should be rising to the top and becoming the number one superstar in the company. Clearly, you couldn't do that when every single thing you do was a team game right? All he could do was hope and pray that his path would be made clear soon...really soon. Maybe a talk with his dad was in order. He was going to be in Hawaii for the wedding as well.
Another question that Roman pondered, although not that often, was the thought of his love life in the future. Given, as a WWE Superstar, you didn't really have time for that kind of stuff; but when the opportunity presented itself, you had to go out and take it. Whether it was a romance with a fellow wrestler, or having a wife and maybe kids at home while you travel the globe, having a romantic life outside of wrestling was a tough thing to do indeed.
Again, not the top priority on his mind right now, but the thought was still there. The sound of the pilot's voice coming through the intercom interrupted his thoughts as he listened. He could now see the lush islands below in Hawaii and that grin couldn't help but slide onto his face as he realized he was in paradise. Apparently the same thought had ran through Big E's mind as well as he seemingly woke up from his nap alert as can be, taking in the wondrous view.
After the pilot finally landed the plane on the runway, the Samoan stood up to grab his bags, nodding his head at the ever so grateful flight attendant, repaying her with a folded piece of paper, a special autograph placed in there just for her. Her day had officially been made.
Stepping off the plane, Roman waited for the rest of the WWE stars who were attending the wedding to hop off the plane. Along with Big E attending, some of the Total Divas cast members were attending, as was Daniel Bryan, Alicia Fox, Sheamus, Titus and Darren, Cody and Brandi Rhodes, and even the Divas champion AJ Lee shockingly enough. The rest of the Shield didn't make the trip, but in a way Roman was relieved about that.
Titus whistled at the glowing sun and the heat beaming on his bald head as he took in surroundings. "Well damn, I just might have to get me a timeshare somewhere out here. Maybe a condo or something because the weather here is simply gorgeous man!" Roman slyly grinned and nodded his head in approval.
"I hear you man. Always thought about taking up residence here myself sometimes. Now I just remembered why," he replied thoughtfully. The rest of the group nodded in agreement, except for AJ. "Eh, I don't see what's so special about this place. It just seems like the slightly warmer version of Florida with an island feel. Big deal," she said, rolling her eyes as she began rolling her bags along.
"Remind me again why you're here?" Roman asked, pulling his bags along as well. He didn't need snappy attitudes; especially not on the day of his cousin's wedding. AJ coldly looked at Roman with an empty stare before sighing and starting with a response. "Because your cousin/my bodyguard Tamina made me come. I just came to show my support, if that's what you want to call it," she said, shrugging and mockingly backing off. "That good enough for your tastes handsome?" she teased not so subtly.
"Baby girl, you don't even know," Roman replied, shrugging it off like it was nothing. He began to move forward with everybody else, no one in the mood to deal with AJ's antics for the time being.
"Can't wait for that wedding cake!" Big E shouted, making everybody laugh and breaking the awkward silence. Roman was thankful for that; today was going to be a long day and he wanted to make sure everybody had a good time.
Down By The Beach: The Wedding of Jonathan Fatu and Trinity McCray
The setup was absolutely gorgeous and beautiful; Roman wasn't afraid to admit that in the slightest. The benches were all set, the backdrop was as well, and everybody was finally starting to arrive, dressed up in their Sunday finest. Big E was the first to greet Roman.
"Roman, tell me how I look bro," Big E said, stepping back and flashing his dress jacket. Roman chuckled a little bit. "You look like a 5 star general man," he said. Big E's eyes widened once more, saying "Five?!" before offering his elbow to Alicia Fox, who gladly accepted it and took their seats. Turning around, Roman's eyes widened at the sight of Tamina, who was completely dressed up for this special occasion.
"Well look at you Tamina. Didn't know you had it in you," he crossed his arms, smirking as Tamina checked herself to make sure she looked okay. Turning her eyes at her cousin, she playfully glared at his gaze. "Keep it up cousin; you know I still got it in me to kick your ass," she commented. Roman held his hands up in defense as their mutual cousin Jey Uso also happened to walk by and enter the fray.
"Don't worry Ro, I got your back man. She's only got like six years and an inch on you," he said, sticking out his tongue and laughing hard, making Roman double over just a bit. "You're right Jey," he said, laughing before catching sight of the other guests coming down the beachside hill, among them AJ.
"Oh joy, family bonding time. It's not like you guys can't do that on the road right?" AJ said, immediately souring the mood between the cousins. Roman raised an eyebrow at Tamina, knowing that since she was the bodyguard of little ol' AJ, she had to put up with nearly all of the Divas champ's shenanigans.
As AJ skipped to her seat, Roman slowly walked over to Tamina and whispered in her ear. "Need me to spear her?" Tamina smirked a little before shaking her head. "Not yet. I got this cousin," she said, before turning on her heel and following AJ to her seat. Roman nodded before heading over to the front row and taking his seat.
The ceremony went beautifully planned, with both Jon and Trinity finally able to join together in holy matrimony, kissing and spreading their passion throughout the island. Jey started a "Tap That Ass" chant for Jon, only for his twin brother to flip him the bird as they ran off into the sunset. Roman clapped his hands together; happy for his cousin and at the same time happy for his family. They had gained a new addition and Roman was more than happy about it. Trinity was a sweet and lively person and Jon couldn't have gotten someone any better(and he couldn't have been any luckier according to Jey).
Eventually, nightfall began to cast its shadow upon the island shores of Hawaii, and everyone began to drive or walk back to their hotels, preparing themselves for the flight in the morning. Tomorrow, they would go back to being WWE Superstars, back to the busy lives they lead, and the problems and goals that they all had to set out and solve, and accomplish as well.
For the powerhouse of the Shield, that meant going back to hearing questions about there being cracks in the Shield. That meant preparing for war with the Wyatt Family, the demonic, cultist-like group who cost the Shield a chance to enter the Elimination Chamber match to compete for the WWE World title. When you stepped on Roman's dreams, he was going to make you pay.
This Samoan was ready for war, as were his comrades Dean and Seth. He definitely trusted them, but would that be the story coming out of the Elimination Chamber PPV? Only time would tell. His feet soaked up the shore line sand as his ears perked up at the sound of someone behind him. "What can I do for you Black Widow?" Roman asked without turning around, still acknowledging her presence.
AJ awkwardly bobbed her head back and forth, looking in every direction before speaking. "Tamina said you need to take your ass to bed, or else you're going to wake up cranky as a Samoan savage," she said, mocking him with a zombie face.
Still not turning around, Roman addressed her once more. "Why would she send you then?" he asked out of curiosity. "Don't worry about that Roman," was all AJ said, before starting to turn away on her heel. That was, until that strong hand of Roman's reached out and grabbed AJ's wrist.
"You sure to do like to talk a lot of trash. I think I know where you get it from," he said, staring AJ down into her cold, brown eyes. AJ wasn't fazed in the slightest, but that didn't mean Roman was going to back down either.
"I learn from the best, what do you expect?" she responded brashly. Roman shook his head in disappointment. "Well guess what sweetheart, I've beaten the so-called 'best', or did you forget? And while he's sitting on his ass at home, I'm taking on the best competition each and every night, owning the moment and owning the ring. I'm the future star of this company, whether you know this already or not so take notice," he warned. As he started to walk away, AJ began to cackle evilly.
"You're setting yourself up for failure and disappointment, and you don't even know it. Those buddies of yours, the 'Hounds'? They're gonna turn on you at the right opportunity, and you won't even see it coming," AJ warned. She then softly added, "trust me I know."
"Well I say you're crazy, as usual. I've got a war to prepare for, a war that I know for certain we're going to emerge victorious out of," Roman said confidently. With that, he released AJ's wrist and walked back to his own hotel, leaving AJ to shake her head.
Samoan pride. A useful tool to have, and also the source of a downfall.
Well guys, tell me what you think! I'd love to hear your thoughts on this story! Read, review, and favorite! Thanks again for reading! Chapter 2 will be on the way shortly!
-Ronnie