Dean woke up way too early. Again. He really needed to stop doing that, it was getting really annoying.
It was still dark outside so he turned his pillow over and lay back down, only to be hit with the sudden urge to go check on his dog. Dean didn't have a dog, but it was really early and his brain wasn't alert enough to remember that fact.
He padded downstairs with his eyes basically shut. He made his way towards the back door, but then he saw the kitchen and went there instead, forgetting all about the dog. He opened the fridge and blinked wearily at its contents for a minute or two. He was looking at the almost empty jar of mayonnaise when his ears perked up and he realised that there were people in his house. Lots of them. Shouting and screaming and talking and… oh wait, that was just the television.
Why was the television on?
Dean closed the fridge door and walked slowly towards the living room, grabbing a spatula and holding it out in front of him, just in case, When he looked around the corner, he dropped the weapon with a sigh of relief when he saw the wide eyed face illuminated by the TV light.
"Enzo." He sighed, "What the hell are you doing up, I was about to beat you half to death."
Enzo looked up at Dean with a start.
"Shit, sorry!" he fumbled with the remote and hit pause, "did I wake you?"
Dean yawned as he shook his head, "No, I was already up." He walked further into the living room, "What are you watching anyway?"
He went to stand behind the couch Enzo was on . When he saw what was on the TV, he froze mid-yawn.
"Dude," he said slowly. "What… what are you doing?"
"Uh," Enzo looked from the paused screen, to Dean, and back to the screen, "Just watching TV."
Dean blinked at the screen. It showed Enzo himself on an episode of RAW, backstage and on the floor, surrounded by medics and Kurt Angle and… and Big Cass.
Dean recognised it as the first attack.
"Just watching TV?"
"Is that okay?" Enzo asked, ignoring the real meaning behind Dean's question, "I mean, you said to make myself at home so… so I thought I'd just watch some TV."
Dean blinked again, "Uh.. yeah sure."
Enzo smiled and turned back to the TV and hit play.
Dean opened his mouth to say something. Anything. He knew he had to say something, but he had no words. He was pretty sure that Enzo wasn't watching this out of boredom, and he was also pretty sure that this… whatever it as that he was doing, wasn't good. So as he watched Enzo sitting on the edge of the sofa and staring intensely at the TV. Dean knew that he should probably be doing something to stop him.
Instead, he turned on his heel and all but ran out of the living room and back up the stairs.
He'd just get Roman. Roman would probably know what to do.
:::
Roman was sleeping peacefully ad dreaming about the perfect burrito when a yell shocked him awake. He sat up with a start, banging his head on something hard in the process.
"Ow!" came a yell. The same yell that had woke him up.
Roman stared wide eyed at Dean on the edge of the bed, rubbing his head and mumbling, "every damn time."
"Dean!" hissed Roman, "What the hell?"
"You gotta wake up!" Dean hissed back.
"Why?" Roman glared.
"Because Enzo!" hissed Dean, as if that explained everything.
Roman blinked at him, "Yeah, I'm gonna need a little more than that."
Dean sighed as if he was talking to a child, "Enzo's watching TV."
"Well good for Enzo," Roman mumbled, laying back down.
"He's watching old tapes of him and Cass."
That sure caught Roman's attention. He sat up slowly, "What?"
Dean nodded, "Yeah."
"Why… why is he doing that?"
"Hell if I know. Why do you think I'm waking you?" he stood up and made towards the door.
"Right," Roman rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he swung his legs over the bed and stood up to follow Dean.
"Dude," Dean sighed, "Put some pants on."
Roman looked down and blushed, "Right."
:::
When the two of them got to the living room, Enzo was in the same position Dean had left him in, except this time, the TV showed him and Cass in the ring just before a match. Enzo didn't even seem to notice as they just stood there, eyes going from him to the TV. He was too busy… watching. Concentrating. As if he was looking for something.
"Enzo?" Roman said quietly.
Again, Enzo jumped as if the voice startled him, "Hey." He looked from him to Dean, "I did wake you didn't I."
"No no," Roman shook his head, "No, not at all. We were already up," he lied, "What, uh… what are you up to?"
Enzo looked back at the TV. Cass was spelling out SAWFT as Enzo jumped and danced around him.
"I'm just watching." he said.
Roman nodded, "Mind if we join you?"
Enzo blinked, "Uh…"
"Great." Roman smiled. He sat down on Enzo's right, Dean going to the other side so they sat with Enzo in the middle.
They just sat there, and Enzo went back to the TV. The remote was fixed in his hand, and after every segment he'd rewind or fast forward and stop when he saw himself and Cass.
Enzo and Big Cass just before a PPV.
Enzo and Big Cass after Cass's 'attack'.
Enzo and Big Cass backstage after a loss.
Enzo and Big Cass backstage after a win.
Enzo and Big Cass backstage with Charley Caruso.
Enzo and Big Cass on an interview with Michael Cole.
Enzo and Big Cass after Enzo's second attack,
Enzo and Big Cass on NXT.
Enzo and Big Cass at Wrestlemania.
Enzo and Big Cass debut on RAW.
On and on he watched and Dean and Roman just watched with him. Dean was seriously starting to regret having each and every episode of every WWE show recorded.
Dean was the first to break the silence on the couch, "What are you looking for?" he asked.
Enzo shrugged, "I'm just looking."
"What for?" asked Roman.
For a long time, Enzo didn't say anything and the two thought he wouldn't answer. When he finally spoke, his voice was so soft they almost didn't hear it.
"I'm trying to figure out when he started to hate me."
Neither of them had anything to say to that.
Dean swallowed hard as he looked at the heartbroken man next to him. His own heart was breaking for the poor guy as he just kept watching.
"Enzo," said Roman softly, "Come on man, don't do this to yourself."
Enzo just shook his head, "I'm alright, really. I just… I wanna know, you know?"
He switched from each segment of him and Cass looking for a sign. Looking for any kind of change. Looking for anything that would tell him when his brother started to hate him.
He stiffened when he got to Payback 2016. Enzo and Big Cass verses The Vaudevillians. Enzo watched himself get tossed out of the ring and sprawled unconscious on the floor. He watched the refs checking on him and he watched Big Cass standing over him, trying to get him to wake up. The worry and fear was etched clearly on his face.
Enzo found himself thinking. Was that really worry? Was that look on Cass's face really worry for his friend, or was he annoyed that Enzo's injury had just cost them the match? Was he just pissed that Enzo had gotten himself hurt again? Was he mad that he'd now have to go to the hospital again?
Enzo watched as he was wheeled to an ambulance, Cass walking behind the bed with his hands on his head. He watched himself getting loaded on and he watched Cass stay behind, and Enzo watched him cover his face to wide his fear from the cameras. Was he just really angry that he'd lost a chance at being a champion. Again? Because of Enzo?
"It wasn't your fault you got hurt Enzo." Enzo was surprised when Roman spoke. It was only then that he realised that he had been thinking out loud and they had heard all his worries.
"It's somebody's fault." he answered after a while, "And I'm always the one getting hurt so…" he shrugged.
He fiddled with the remote again, and stopped on an episode of Smackdown while Enzo was still off and Cass was by himself.
The crowd was chanting, We want Enzo!
Was that it? The crowd chanting for Enzo when he wasn't around. Or chanting for Enzo when he was around. They seldom chanted for Big Cass. Was that it? Did Cass resent the fact that Enzo's name was always the one being called? Enzo had never thought about it like that before. Maybe it really was his fault that-
"Come on, it's not your fault that you're better liked." Scoffed Dean, "If anything it's his fault for always having that stick up his ass."
Enzo just looked down, he'd done the talking thing again without knowing.
In the next segment they watched, Enzo was back. It was the rematch. Enzo and Big Cass verses the Vaudevillians. Again, he was tossed out, but this time, not bad enough to cause real damage. That hadn't seemed to make a difference to Cass. They all watched in complete silence when Big Cass lost it. They watched him destroy Simon and Aiden for laying their hands on Enzo. For trying to hurt Enzo again. Was he just faking that? Maybe he was faking it.
But then they saw the hug Enzo and Cass shared in the middle of the ring afterwards, the Vaudevillians sprawled outside the ring.
No. No one was that good an actor. No one was that good at lying. At that moment, Cass had been looking out for Enzo as only he could. He had genuinely cared, Enzo knew it.
What the hell had happened?
Why did Cass start to hate him?
Dean and Roman glanced at each other over Enzo's head, identical looks of pure sadness for the man between them. He was still talking under his breath. His voice breaking after every few words. He kept rewinding after the hug. He watched it on a loop over and over again, still muttering under his breath. From the light of the TV, they could see that his face wet with silent tears.
At this point, not even Roman knew what to do.
Slowly, so as not to startle him, Dean reached over and took the remote from Enzo's hand. He paused for the last time and switched the TV off. They sat in the slight darkness, Enzo still looking at the black screen and Dean and Roman looking at him.
Out of pure instinct, Roman shifted a little closer and drape his arm softly over Enzo's shoulder. Enzo tried to resist, but he found himself relaxing into the hold. Dean placed his hand on Enzo's leg and patted it softly at random intervals in what he hoped was a comforting manner.
Enzo was grateful for their comforts. But it didn't do much to stop the steady stream of tears that were now falling from his eyes. He was still staring at the TV. The screen was still blank, but in his mind, he could still see himself and Cass in that ring. Cass holding him close with the comfort only a big brother could give.
He rememberd what that hug felt like. It felt like 'I won't let anyone hurt you again'. It felt like 'No one's gonna touch you while I'm around'. It felt like 'I love you.' And now it was gone.
Cass had ripped it away like it was nothing.
"You guys should go back to sleep." Enzo whispered.
"No we're good," said Dean, "We'll just sit here."
Enzo shook his head, "No you should go. Thanks for staying here so long, I know you're tired. Really, I'm okay."
Dean started to protest again but Roman stopped him with a look. He understood that he just needed to be alone for a bit. Roman squeezed Enzo's shoulder softly as he stood up, "Try get some sleep okay?"
Enzo nodded, "Yeah."
Dean stood too. He was reluctant to leave, but he followed Roman nonetheless. Once they were far enough from the living room, Dean whispered.
"He was crying again."
"I know," sighed Roman.
"He's really beating himself up about this." He shook his head.
"I know," sighed Roman,
"I really hate that Cass guy," he snarled.
"I know." sighed Roman.
"He's real sad, man."
"I know." sighed Roman.
"Well, what do we do?"
Roman sighed and looked at Dean sadly, "I don't know."
:::
As hard as it was to sleep afterwards, exhaustion took over Dean and Roman, and when they woke up again the sun was fully up and they were a lot less tired. Dean was almost content, but then he started hearing sounds downstairs again. And smelling new smells. Yes, there wasn't definitely a strange smell coming from downstairs. Well, not strange exactly, more like... pleasant. Which still counted as strange in his house.
Dean rolled out of his bed, not bothernig to put on a shirt, and followed his nose down the stairs. That smell was... glorious. It smelled like food. Good food. Good food cooking. Someone was cooking good food. Dean hadn't smelled something like that from his kitchen since the last time Roman's mother had come to visit.
Dean followed his nose all the way to the kitchen, where he saw Roman in the doorway looking just as surprised as Dean felt. He quickly went to stand next to Roman and his eyes widened at what he saw. Enzo was bustling around the kitchen, running from the stove to the counter to the fridge and back again. When he saw the two at the doorway, he grinned.
"Morning!" He said without stopping, "I made breakfast."
Dean and Roman looked at Enzo, and then at each other, nad then back at Enzo.
"You cook?" Dean couldn't keep the surprise out of his voice.
Enzo shrugged, "It's just breakfast. Thought I'd do something, just as a kind of thanks, you know?"
Dean looked back at Roman, "He cooks?"
"Yeah."said Enzo."I got bacon, eggs, some bread rolls, croissants, pancakes, waffles, the works. Oh, and there's some mufffins in the oven right now, should be ready in a minute."
Dean looked around the kitchen as Enzo pointed at all the things he listed. He shook his head at himself.
"He cooks."
"Come on, sit down." Enzo motioned them towards the kitchen table, where they sat down still looking a little stunned, "Give me a minute I'll set everything."
Dean and Roman sat down at the scarcely used table and just watched in awe as Enzo placed mountains of food in front of them.
"Roman, I hope you don't mind," he said as he worked, "I took your car to go get all these ingredients and stuff because, no offense Dean, but your kitchen was a ghost town."
"Dude," Dean whispered, "Can we keep him?"
Roman found himself nodding as he looked lovingly at the pancakes in the middle of the table.
When Enzo finally sat down, he grinned, "Well,what are ya waiting for? Dig in!"
And dig in they did. Roman had originally come down with the intention of maybe talking to Enzo about the night before, but he had been majorly distracted by all this's food, and like any hungry man, talking became the last thing on his mind.
"Dude," he said after swallowing a chunk of sausage, "This is amazing."
Enzo smirked, "I know right."
Roman rolled his eyes with a snort and Dean hummed his appreciation through a stuffed mouth. He wasn't really in the position to do any talking either. They polished off every last scrap, save for some leftover muffins, and swore to work it all off at the gym later.
"I haven't had a breakfast like that in forever," sighed Dean. He turned to Enzo, "You got any other tricks up your sleeve you wanna share?"
Enzo thought for a moment, "I can burp the National Anthem."
Roman made a face, "yeah, maybe later."
Dean laughed and leaned back in his chair, "Alright, what's on the agenda today?"
Before anyone could answer, Enzo's phone rang from his pocket. He took it out and smiled, and for a second, Dean and Roman looked a thing each other, fearing that it was Cass. But their worries were squashed when Enzo answered.
"Hey Kurt." He grinned, "You get my message?"
On the other end of the line, Kurt Angle was rubbing his head, "Amore. Yes, I got your message."
"Great!"
"No Enzo. Not great."
"Why not?" Enzo frowned.
"You verses Big Cass at Great Balls of Fire? Is that the best idea?"
Enzo sighed. Why did people keep saying that?
"Enzo I get that you're mad okay? I've been in this business long enough to know what betrayal feels like. You want to get him back, I get it, but-"
"But you think he's gonna roast me alive in that ring, right?"
There was hesitation on the other end of the line and Enzo sighed again.
"Your concern is touching Kurt, really. But I want this match, okay? I need this match. Please, make it happen."
Kurt Angle sighed heavily on his end of the line, "Alright, fine. But I want it known that I'm one hundred percent against this."
Enzo chuckled lightly and thanked the GM before hanging up. When he did, he saw Dean and Roman look at him suspiciously.
"I heard the words 'match', 'Cass' and 'Great Balls of Fire'," said Roman slowly.
Enzo stood up and started to clear the table, "Uh huh."
"Enzo,"
Enzo pointed at Roman's plate, "Are ya finished with that?"
Roman just stared him down, "Enzo."
"Yeah you look finished," he took Roman's plate.
"Enzo you can't be serious."
"'Bout what?"
"You can't fight Cass!" He exclaimed.
"Sure I can." said Enzo.
"No! No, that's a terrible idea. Dean, tell him what a terrible idea that is."
He crossed his arms, glaring at Enzo, and waited for Dean to agree with him. When there was nothing but silence on his end, Roman turned to him.
"Dean."
Dean sighed, "I dunno Rome. Maybe it's not such a terrible idea."
Enzo grinned in triumph, "See? Dean's on my side."
Dean scoffed, holding up his hand, "Slow down there kid, I never said it's a good idea either. Just...maybe it's necessary."
"Necessary?" snorted Roman, "you know what else is necessary? Keeping your bones intact."
Enzo frowned, "You think he's gonna break my bones?"
"He threw you down a ramp Enzo!"
"Exactly!" Enzo threw his hands up, "He threw me down a fucking ramp."
Roman blinked, "I'm sorry you're gonna have to elaborate."
Dean nodded, "Yeah, I didn't get that either."
Enzo sighed and then sat back down heavily, "Look, I've been doing some thinking since last night. Well, this morning actually. And I'm tired of wondering what I did wrong. I do a lot of things wrong. All the time, I know that. But that don't mean it's okay to treat me like shit, right?"
Dean nodded sternly, "Absolutley."
"Right. And Cass has been treating me like shit. I mean he kicked me in the face, he knocked me down, he threw me down the fucking ramp, and not to mention all the shit he did when he was being 'anonymous'. It's about time I make this a fair fight, right? I need to fight back. I can't be the guy who gets beat up every week and doesn't do nothing about it."
He looked at the two men across him, willing them to see that he meant this. He meant to fight.
"He's right Ro," said Dean.
Enzo thanked him with his eyes, and then they were bother looking at Roman.
He sighed heavily, "You're gonna get hurt, Enzo."
Enzo shrugged, "Yeah. Probably, yeah. But I get hurt all the time, and I always get back up."
Roman still didn't look convinced, "Come on Roman." Said Enzo quietly, "I need to do this."
Enzo wondered for a moment why it almost sounded like he was asking for Roman's permission. He wondered again why he waited with baited breath for him to grant it.
Roman sat back in his chair, "Alright. Alright, fine."
Enzo grinned, "Great." He stood up again to start packing up, "Now, what do you want for lunch?"
:::
An hour later, the three of them were in Roman's truck off to buy more groceries for Dean's kitchen, which, as Enzo had said,was a ghost town. Enzo had insisted on cooking again, and Dean had been all for it. Roman protested for a few minutes before the idea of another hot meal won out.
While Roman drove, Dean checked his phone.
"The show's in Phoenix next week." He said, "That's a five hour drive from here, give or take. Unless you guys wanna fly."
"No." Roman said quickly, "Five hour drive sounds great."
Dean smirked, "Sorry Rome, I forgot about your fear of flying."
Roman gave him a sideways glare, knowing full well that Dean hadn't forgotten, he just liked to mock him.
From the backseat, Enzo raised his eyebrows, "you're scared of flying?"
"I ain't scared!" Roman insisted, "I just don't like it."
"Okay Roman." Smiled Dean.
"I'm not!"
"Okay."
"'Course."
Roman could feel them mocking him. He glared, "I'm not scared of flying!"
"Uh huh"
"Sure."
Roman grit his teeth in frustration, but he let it go. Which was the mature thing to do. Because he was the mature one. When he stopped the car, he slammed the door unnecessarily hard when he got out, which only fueled Dean and Enzo's mocking smirks. His mood improved, however, when he saw a Taco Bell in the distance. He went straight for it and sent the other two to go on without him.
"Well now you know three things about Roman," Dean laughed when they were alone.
"Yeah?"
"Hates losing, hates flying, loves Mexican food."
Enzo laughed, "That's good to know."
Once they were inside,Dean let Enzo take the lead on the shopping because he knew more about food. Actual food, not the hot pockets and microwaveable stuff Dean was used to. So he followed Enzo and the shopping cart, occaasionally adding his own essentials, such as string cheese and plastic forks.
Dean was passing the cereal aisle when he saw him. A seven foot figure looming in the distance. Enzo had passed the aisle without a second glance because apparently he didn't believe in cereal, insisting that it didn't count as real food. Had he just looked, he would've seen Big Cass standing there. Right there.
Dean couldn't help the snarl that appeared on his lips. What the hell was he doing here?
"Dean!"
Dean turned with a start when he saw Enzo right next to him. By the sound of it, it wasn't the first time he called him. He must have even glaring at Cass for a lot longer than he thought.
"Yeah?"
"Dude, why are you looking at the cereal, I told you how I feel about those-" he stopped mid sentence, which told Dean that he had seen as well.
Now they were both staring into the cereal aisle at the seven footer, Enzo with lingering sadness, and Dean with barely contained rage.
Enzo was the first to turn away, taking the shopping cart with him and nudging Dean along with it. They went on shopping, Enzo concentrating a little too hard on the which bananas to take. He was content on pretending he hadn't seen Cass there at all, but then Dean stopped again. He turned to Enzo with an almost bright look on his face.
it was kind of unsettling. Especially when the look was directed at him.
"What?" He asked wearily.
"I have an idea."
Enzo blinked, "Okay."
"Its probably not a good one," Dean admitted.
"Well then you probably shouldn't do it."
Dean grinned, "Oh we will."
Enzo blanched, "We?"
Dean nodded manically, "Quick, get in the shopping cart."
Enzo paused a bit, and blinked when he saw that Dean was serious.
"Yeah, you were right this is a bad idea."
Dean was laughing now, "No, this is perfect! Quick, get in the cart!"
"I ain't getting in the-"
"Come on Enzo!"
"I'm a grown ass man I can't just-"
"Enzo come on!"
"I will not-"
"Please!"
"No!"
"But I said please!"
Enzo scoffed, "you've gotta be kidding me."
"Enzo get in the cart!" he thundered.
"Alright fine!"
The triumphant grin on Dean's face bordered on manic as he held the cart steady while Enzo climbed in, muttering about being a grown ass man. As soon as he was fully inside, Dean steered the cart almost at a run back in hte direction had come in.
"Now what's your big idea?" huffed Enzo as he sat squashed in with some groceries, pretending not to be enjoying this.
Dean didn't answer. His grin just grew as he drove the cart, going faster and faster as he went.
"Now this might hurt a bit."
Enzo's eyes widened, "Hurt? What do ya mean 'hurt'."
"Actually this will definitely hurt. A lot, actually,"
"Dude-"
"But it will be worth it.
Enzo was staring to get scared, and a little confused, until Dean turned into the cereal aisle.
That's when it dawned on him. He turned his head to where Cass still stood with a shopping basket, and back to Dean, who was speeding up with every second.
"No."
"Yes!"
"Dean no!"
Dean's only reply was crazed laughter.
"Oh my god stop!" Enzo yelled. The cart was going faster, getting closer and closer.
"Let me off!" He shrieked, "Oh god let me off!"
Dean did not let him off, so Enzo just braced himself.
When Big Cass turned, it was too late. He barely had time to gasp in horror as he turned to see the shopping cart come flying towards him, Dean Ambrose behind it with a manic grin on his face, and Enzo Amore inside it, his eyes wide and frantic. A spilt second later, he was bowled into a shelf full of cornflakes and laid flat on the floor.
Dean had been right, that had hurt a lot. But when Enzo scrambled up and stared wide eyed at Big Cass unconscious amongst a pile of cereal boxes, he realised that Dean had been right about the other thing too. It was so worth it. Despite the sharp pain in his side, Enzo found himself laughing with the clearly crazy man beside him. They laughed long and hard, neither of them even realizing that a crowd had gathered with pictures being taken and calls being made. It's only when hey saw a bunch of the shop's employees steadily advancing that they decided to move.
"We should- we should get going." Dean managed to wheeze.
Enzo only nodded, not yet able to speak, and the two of them back away from the crowd, going faster and faster until they broke into a run. Enzo looked back to see the employees coming after them, and he cursed, laughing harder and trying to run faster.
They finally made it out the doors, just as Roman was coming in, his Taco Bell clutched in his hands.
"Turn around!" yelled Dean as they ran past him. Roman opened his mouth to ask why, and then he saw the many people in uniform chasing after them, yelling for them to stop.
"What the hell did you do?" Roman yelled, having no choice but to run after them.
He didn't receive an answer, and he just followed their manic laughter all the way to the car. The three leapt in and Roman started the car and managed to pull away just as the crowd reached them.
As he drove, he looked bewildered at the other two.
"What the hell did you do?!"
Dean managed to dwindle down his laughter enough to speak, "Well... well there was Cass and- and cornflakes and... and I think we kille him!" He fell into ridiculous peals of laughter again, and Roman shook his head, seeing that that was lol the explanation he was going to get.
"Can I not leave you two alone for 10 minutes without you doing something's illegal?" He asked, exasperates.
That only made them laugh even harder, while Roman muttered about finding another place to shop.
In the back, Enzo wiped the moisture out of his eyes. He hadn't laughed like this in what felt like ages. He had forgotten what it felt like.
Dean looked back at him, feeling proud, and unable to keep the triumphant grin off his face.
:::
Hello :)
Leeh here. Thanks a lot for reading this, and a special thanks to those who are following and reviewing and favouriting! Every time I see something new I do my happy running man dance, which, if I can say so myself, is almost as good as Enzo's.
Now, I don't wanna be that girl who begs people for follows and reviews and favourites, but if you do feel like following and/or reviewing and/or favouriting, that would be great.
:)
Okay buh bye.
