Disclaimer: All characters used are property of the WWE, and I do not own any of them. This story is one of fiction and has never, nor will ever, happen. This was not created with the intent to harm anyone.
Warning: implied/referenced homophobia, insecurity, self appreciation issues, pining, infidelity
A/N: So, this hasn't been exactly what I was hoping for. Nevertheless, I hope you all enjoy it and leave feedback. I tend to be able to write more of a certain story when I keep getting positive feedback, so I'd appreciate if you could keep them coming.
That was one heck of a Pay Per View, eh?
Chapter Three:
Even if Fastlane is a minor Pay Per View, AJ was pretty damn excited for it. From the first bell to the last, he was anxious for every match. Even his own, which went off without a hitch and was pretty damn good.
Chris hugged him after the match and said that they just stole the whole damn show, so it was definitely a success.
However, nothing was more exciting, for him at least, than the main event. Sure, it wasn't a title's match, but it was a Number One Contender's match with two of his friends, one of which he's interested in as more than a friend, and a bona fide beast. What's not to get hyped up over?
And the outcome - oh God, he was so happy! A lot of people said it was predictable, but he honestly loved it.. Maybe he's a little biased, but whatever. Who cares?
Or, he was pretty happy until he learned that Roman was dealing with a nose injury. AJ's been pretty blessed with not suffering too many injuries, which is astonishing considering his wrestling technique involves being in the air a majority of the time, but even he knows how much it sucks to hurt your nose.
Even worse? Roman's going back home until after Roadblock. Which means AJ won't get to see him, won't get to spend time with him like he has everyday this past week.
In the back of his mind, he knows that's a good thing. A really good thing. It leaves about two weeks for him to get past his ridiculous feelings and actually enjoy their blossoming friendship for what it really is. He feels bad every time he wishes it was something more, that they could kiss instead of just talking.
That Roman would make love to him then hold him all night so he wouldn't feel alone anymore.
He's pathetic and time apart will be able to fix that. Hopefully.
But AJ will still miss seeing the Samoan. That also means he'll have to go back to riding with the Dudleys or by himself, unless Chris forces him to come along, because there's no way in Hell he's going to third wheel his ex like that. He loves Seth to death, and he wants to spend time with him and Dean, but he's not going to do that. Nope.
He just really hopes Roman gets better soon. He's going to miss seeing his friend.
"You look like you're in pain. Are you okay?"
The sound of Roman's voice startles him- of course, he just had to be thinking about the man at the moment he finds him - but he recovers quickly.
"You're the one who's injured, and you're askin' me if I'm alright," AJ shakes his head. This guy is just too damn nice sometimes, not that he's complaining, "How are you doin', though?"
"It's a little tough to breathe right now, but I'll be alright," Roman replies, "Being able to spend time with my daughter is going to be great. I've missed her so much."
AJ's heart plummets to his stomach every time Roman brings up his daughter. It's a reminder that he is, in fact, straight and nothing will change that no matter how hard he wants it to work out between them.
"Have I showed you a picture of her before?" Roman asks, and AJ shakes his head. He quickly pulls his phone out and unlocks his screen, "Her name's Joelle, but my family calls her JoJo."
AJ looks at the picture - and dies, "She's - she's absolutely beautiful."
He's always been a sucker for kids, especially since he's not going to have any of his own, but JoJo - or, he should say Joelle since he's not family - Is different. Not just because she's Roman's child, not entirely, but her smile is so bright, and her eyes sparkle with a mix of euphoria and innocence.
"Thank you, I appreciate that," Roman says as the smaller man gives him his phone back, "If you want, you can come visit us. She'd love to meet you."
Fly down to Florida to meet his daughter? Spend time in his house? Have some actual alone time with him whenever she isn't there?
The idea does sound appealing...
But it'd be counterproductive.
"No, I can't," AJ replies. Disappointment flashes in the Samoan's eyes, and it mirrors in the slight downturn of his lips, "She's your daughter, you deserve to spend some time with her. I don't wanna be intrudin' on that."
"What's with you and always thinking you're intruding on people?" Roman asks, the disappointment being replaced by amusement and hope, "She's gonna end up getting sick of my smothering after a few days, anyways ." He steps forward, putting his hands on AJ's shoulders, "Besides, I want you there."
AJ can barely breathe with how close Roman is to him. His heart is beating so hard in his chest that he'd be surprised if no one else could hear it.
"Unless you don't want to, of course. I ain't gonna force you to come if you -"
"I want to," AJ interrupts, "I just... are you sure it's okay?"
The black haired man smiles, "I am one hundred percent sure that it's okay."
"Then I'll be there."
"Great," Roman slides his hand down to AJ's bicep before giving it a small squeeze and moving it away.
This man is going to be the death of him.
"Anyways, I gotta go to the airport," Roman says, though he looks a little reluctant, "I'll see you soon, though, right?"
"As soon as I can," Seeing as Roadblock is in two weeks, and he'll probably be on it, he's probably going to have to drive down there within the next week to have the rest of it off to focus on whatever he's going to be doing there.
"I can't wait," Roman says. They both stand there, just sort of looking at each other. For whatever reason, the Samoan doesn't seem to want to leave. Not that AJ does either... but they can't stay in this stalemate forever. In what will probably help himself out in the long run, because forcefully separating himself from his crush is definitely going to be good for him, he decides to be the first one to say goodbye -
Then Roman hugs him.
What.
The.
Fuck.
He thought just having Roman's hand on his shoulder was enough to make his heart beat like crazy, but having their bodies pressed together - full on contact, no space between them - and having those muscular, tan arms wrapped around him jacks its beat up so high that it's probably a health hazard. AJ wraps his arms around him, laying his head on the taller's man shoulder. He gets a good whiff of the man's scent, a natural musk mixed in with cologne - gah, it's downright intoxicating.
AJ doesn't ever feel like moving.
Then Roman breaks the hug and just walks away, leaving AJ high and dry. He can barely stop himself in time from pulling the younger man back to him, to hold him even closer and never let go. AJ uses every ounce of strength left in his body to not run after him, not to call for him to come back.
Roman's retreating form has long since left, but he feels frozen in place, lost without his ray of sunshine to guide him.
Why is he so pathetic?
"AJ!"
What's with this kid and always finding him?
The brunette clears the back of his throat, brushing his hair behind his ears, "Seth, hey."
"You riding with Dean and I?"
"No, I already made plans with Jericho," AJ says. Seth frowns, clearly disappointed with this answer, "I don't wanna," he pauses. He was going to say intrude, but... "be a third wheel to y'all, 'specially since I'm your ex. It'll weird. 'Sides, I'm sure y'all've been appreciatin' the alone time."
"Well, yeah, but what if he gets bored of me?" Seth questions, his voice small.
"Do y'all love each other?" Seth nods, "Then he ain't gonna get bored of ya. You're a real catch, Seth, he's lucky to have ya, and I'm sure he knows it."
Seth purses his lips, "You need to stop being so nice all the time."
"Never," AJ says. He spots Jericho out of the corner of his eye, and he gestures over his shoulder, "I gotta go. See ya later, okay?"
"Fine, fine," The Iowan waves him off. AJ quickly jogs up to Chris.
"Heya, partner," AJ says. Chris smiles when he sees him and they instantly start chatting.
The ride to the hotel isn't bad, nor is rooming with his on-screen rival, but it's almost... weird now. It's not that he doesn't enjoy Chris's company, he does. The Canadian is a very nice, intelligent, funny man who he easily gets along with, but...
He's not Roman and that's not okay.
It takes less than a week, but AJ does manage to get two days off for "personal reasons". The first day is a Thursday which he'll spend the first half of getting down to Florida, but he'll spend the whole day there Friday before getting back on the road the next morning.
He's as excited as he is nervous.
He's excited for obvious reasons. He gets to spend practically two whole days with his crush. Which, while probably not the smartest idea, is going to be great. He likes Chris a lot, he really does, but it's just not the same as being with Roman. So, maybe if they spend a day together, it'll make travelling with Chris tolerable.
He's nervous because, what if Joelle doesn't like him? What if she takes the wrestling thing seriously as sees him as the guy who stood toe to toe with her dad at the Royal Rumble? Although they did fight alongside each other shortly thereafter. It's crazy to think about it now with everything that's happened... Or what if he makes things awkward with Roman? Sure, he's been able to behave himself in public, where he's trained himself to always stay in check because he doesn't want anyone to know about his sexuality (yet). But that doesn't compare to what happens behind closer doors, when he lets his guard down and just relaxes. What if he can't control himself and says or does something that ruins their friendship? His crush is bound to pass any day now, it's only a matter of time, and he'd hate to throw it all away just like that.
Hopefully he'll be fine...
The ride to Roman's house from the airport wasn't too long, so he just took a cab to avoid going out of his way to find a Rent-A-Car service.
Once outside the man's house, the nerves start to come out more, practically overshadowing his excitement. But he told Roman he'd do this, so he will. Taking a deep breath, AJ musters up the courage to walk up his driveway and knock on the door.
It's opened not even a second later, and Roman is on the other side of it, smiling brightly. His eyes are so full of a joy and excitement. He quickly closes the distance between them, wrapping his arms around AJ in a quick yet breathtaking hug.
"I wasn't sure if you were actually coming or not," Roman's voice reflects his relief, "I realized a couple days ago that I never gave you my number so you could call."
"I didn't even think about that." His subconscious, who tends to be smarter than he is, probably made him forget about that small detail. After all, he'd probably just spend most of his time texting the younger man, and he's not really even that much of a texter.
"Well, give me your phone then, dork," Roman says, sticking his hand out. AJ blushes, pulling his device out of his pocket and handing it over. The Samoan gestures him inside.
AJ tentatively walks in, observing his surroundings. It's a beautiful looking house decorated with nice furniture and family photos. The place isn't used much due to Roman being on the road and his ex wife and daughter living in another place.
Still, it looks great. And big. Very big.
It's a shame only two people live here... maybe if there was a third...
"Here you go," Roman says, breaking his thoughts. AJ grabs his phone, smiling at the new contact.
Ro, followed by a winky face, accompanied by a very attractive picture that he's probably going to spend too much time looking at.
"Does this mean I should start callin' ya Ro?" AJ asks, unable to stop smiling.
Roman chuckles, "You can call me whatever you want."
Well, in that case...
No, no, no. That's definitely not what he meant.
"Follow me to the guest room so you can put your stuff down," Roman orders, "Then, hopefully, my ex will get here so you can meet my daughter."
AJ nods as he follows Roman up the stairs. The walls have their own pictures, too, but they're mostly hand made. Finger paintings, noodle art, and hand turkeys, all signed with a sloppy JoJo at the bottom. If he wasn't already smiling, this would give him a whole new reason to.
Roman puts his bag in the last door on the left and invites him inside. Directing him to the nearest bathroom should he need it, along with directions to other places in the house.
"What if she doesn't like me?" AJ suddenly asks, chewing on his bottom lip. He should probably be listening to Roman talk, but he's been worrying about it the whole time. Even moreso now that she's going to be home soon. After all, Ro's daughter is the most important person in his life. If she doesn't like AJ, then who knows how much longer their friendship would last? He'd have every right to break it off if he wanted to..
"It's okay if she doesn't. She didn't like Seth at first, either, but she warmed up to him," Roman replies, shrugging, "But you don't have to worry about her not liking you 'cause she is absolutely going to love you. No doubt about it."
AJ gives him a skeptical look. Sure, all of his friends' kids have liked him, but that doesn't mean she will. Besides, to them he really is AJ Styles because they know him, they've watched him on TV for years, and they cheer for him every night. But Joelle, she doesn't know him. She may be one of those who boo him or are confused with his presence, wondering why everyone makes a big deal over him.
"I like you, a lot, and that's the only thing that matters when it comes to us," Roman says, causing AJ to inhale sharply.
That's everything he's been waiting to hear, but it's not what Roman meant, and it stirs up something weird inside of him.
"You okay?" Roman questions, putting a hand on the shorter man's shoulder. The touch burns through his shirt, going through his skin, and lighting up his insides. AJ looks down at the hand, wondering how it could have such magical powers to do all of that. He lets his lip slide out from between his teeth before looking up.
Except now Roman is even closer to him, eyes a shade darker, and slowly leaning down...
AJ's breath hitches as he waits for the inevitable touch of their lips. God, he's been waiting for this for so long...
The sound of the door knocking breaks the moment and causes Roman to quickly take a couple steps back. The tension (sexual tension, that is) that was there just a moment ago suddenly broken, cut into microscopic pieces, and has now left them both feeling awkward.
Roman rubs the back of his neck, "I'm gonna.. go get that. You can stay here if you want." He doesn't wait for a confirmation before turning around and going down the stairs, using his long legs to get down there faster.
AJ rests his head against the wall, closing his eyes, "Get it together, Allen."
"Remember to take her to school tomorrow and Monday," the sound of a woman's voice floats upstairs, "I'm actually inviting over some family for a barbeque then, and you're welcome to stay."
Must be Roman's ex wife...
Which is just another reminder that he's straight and was not about to kiss AJ. Nope. It was his mind just playing tricks on him.
"Nah, they never really liked me anyways," Roman replies. How can someone not like him? "And she'll definitely be going to school, ain't that right?"
AJ runs his hands through his hair, preparing himself to go out there and meet his fate. He takes a deep breath and waits for the door to shut.
Then it does and he feels like his legs are frozen into spot.
"You're better than this, Allen," he tells himself, "She's just a little kid anyways, and kids love you. You'll be okay."
He's been reduced to a blubbering mess who talks to himself. Great. Just great.
"AJ STYLES?! WHERE?!"
"Upstairs, cutie pie. And be nice, he's daddy's special friend."
Daddy's special friend? When did he earn that title?
Sighing, because he wants that to mean what it doesn't, he exits the room and is greeted by a high pitched squeal of excitement.
"Hi," AJ says, crouching down to her level. He expects to get a shy handshake, but is instead nearly tackled to the ground in a ferocious huge.
Roman snorts, "And you thought she wouldn't like you."
AJ gives him a look as he continues hugging the small child.
"Why wouldn't I like you?" Joelle asks, taking a step back, "You're the guy on TV who does all the cool flips! And daddy thinks you're pretty."
AJ blushes, "Does he?"
"Yeah, he says it all the time," Joelle says, playfully rolling her eyes, "Oh! You should come in my room and play with me!"
Without waiting for an answer, she turns around and runs into her room. AJ watches her go before standing up, bushing off his legs.
"So, you think I'm pretty?" AJ asks teasingly, smiling up at the Samoan. He means it as a joke, but if Roman actually thinks he's pretty, then...
"Don't listen to what she says. She's just a kid who doesn't know what she's talking bout," Roman replies, much to the smaller man's disappointment.
"Are you sure? 'Cause Joelle seemed -"
"I thought I told you to call her Jojo."
AJ is surprised by the sudden interruption, and his brows furrow together, "Ya said that family calls her that."
"That means you, dork," The Samoan says, smiling, "Did you really think that I would invite you to my home if I didn't consider you family?"
AJ blinks rapidly, trying to prevent his tears from building up. He's never really been part of a family before...
"I know y'all are old, but you don't have to be slow, too," Joelle - JoJo- says, poking her head out of the room. She stomps forward and grabs both of the adult's hands, pulling them to her room.
JoJo commands them to sit down by her tea table as she pulls out her dolls. She names herself both Queen and King, because it's her Kingdom and she does what she wants, with AJ being a knight and Roman being a servant.
As they play along to her little fantasy, AJ looks between them both. He thinks that, even if nothing ever happens between himself and Roman, that he could get used to this.. until Roman finds himself another woman, of course. Then he'll have to let it go...
That's definitely going to hurt, but it's not like he's never had his heart broken before.
"Babe, who are you talking to this late at night?"
Seth glances over at Dean, who had his phone out and was clearly testing someone. It definitely isn't Rome because their brother needs his beauty sleep and it's never two in the morning. It's not that Seth's jealous, he's not, but there's no sane person who'd be up this late and he doesn't want his boyfriend talking to crazy people.
"Christian."
"Christian?" Seth repeats, brows furrowed in confusion. He wasn't aware they even talked to each other, let alone had each other's numbers, "About what?"
"He's helpin' me with the next phase of Operation Streigns," Dean replkes, acting as if it were no big deal, "Them two dopes won't ever figure it out on their own, so we're gonna help 'em out."
The next phase? Like... becoming best friends? Seth thinks they're capable of accomplishing that feat on their own but... whatever. He likes missions.
Seth finally parks in front of the hotel they're staying at for the night, "What do we gotta do?"
"That's what we're talking about now," Dean replies, "Got any suggestions, Mr. Architect?"
"Not off the top of my head, no," Seth says, shaking his head. He doesn't see what could possibly make them best friends besides more one-on-one time. None of this makes a lot of sense.
But he likes missions, so.
"It'll be easy.. once we figure out what it is," Dean smirks confidently.
Seth still doesn't see the point in this... but it'll be fun!
The night is fairly uneventful, as far as AJ's homoerotic fantasies with Roman are concerned. He helps JoJo with her homework while Roman makes dinner, and he washes dishes afterwards because, even though he's a guest, he feels obliged to help out in someway.
He has the faintest suspicion that he was being stared at the whole time, but Roman was probably just looking at his daughter... Yeah, that makes more sense...
The next morning JoJo is at school, and AJ expects more awkward occasions, like that one from yesterday, to occur. Surprisingly, nothing strange happens. They spend the morning shopping for groceries, which was very relaxing, before going back to the house and, as the kids would say, 'just chill' (they do say that, right? Eh, oh well).
JoJo comes home, and she's a big ball of excitement. Chattering on and on about her day, it's quite adorable. She could barely refrain from telling all her friends that AJ Styles was at her house, because she wanted to have him all to herself, and they would've came over and never left had she did.. or so she says.
AJ's never considered the thought before that JoJo has friends who happen to also be into wrestling. Her father is the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, after all. That must give her huge bragging rights.
Thankfully, they aren't old enough to be a part of the IWC, so they haven't read all the horrible things people say about Roman Reigns and started to believe them. He'd hate for the poor girl's heart to be broken because of some of the cruel things people say.
The afternoon isn't much different than the night before, except that Roman gets a call from the pharmacy about something for his nose and has to leave. He keeps apologizing to AJ for having to just up and leave like this, but AJ totally understands. Roman needs his medicine to get better, and he definitely doesn't mind watching his daughter for a little bit.
While Roman is out, actually, they work together to make dinner. Just some simple tacos, they don't take very long, but JoJo was proud of her work and boasted to her dad the moment he got home.
She goes to bed not long thereafter, claiming that her phenomenal day - pun intended - has worn her out, and a Queen like her must go get some beauty sleep. Not that she needs to be anymore beautiful, but, you know.
While Roman reads her a bed time story, AJ sits in the kitchen and plays on his phone. He sees he has a text from Karl saying they'd be there sometime next week. It makes him freeze for a moment. In his lust filled haze, he totally forgot about Karl and Doc coming to the States. The text is accompanied with a winky face, which probably means they'll be continuing their little... agreement over here. It'll probably be good for him to be with someone else, especially since it's only a Friends with Benefits arrangement. It might even make him forget all about Roman once and for all.
AJ sends him a quick text back saying that he's missed his friend's company, especially Karl's, if you catch his drift.
Maybe all of this is just because he's sex deprived and his body is just going towards the nearest attractive single guy and yearning for it.
Granted, Karl isn't exactly the best guy to be going to help him with that issue, but it's better than trying to form an actual relationship.
"I didn't get the chance to thank you earlier," Roman says, suddenly coming into the kitchen. AJ instantly locks his phone and puts it on the table, "So, thank you for being such a great friend."
Friend, right. That's all he is.
AJ shrugs, "Don't sweat it, any would've done the same thing."
"No, not really," Roman says. He grabs AJ's hands and pulls him onto his feet. He wraps his arms around the brunette's shoulders, pulling him close. He should be accustomed to this show of affection from the Samoan, and he shouldn't react so crazily every time.
Yet here he is, once again struggling to breath as his heart furiously beats, threatening to burst through his chest like in the cartoons when the character sees another pretty character.
Or in that one episode of Supernatural, but that wasn't a pleasant sight.
"I'm really happy you came out by the way. I've enjoyed having you here more than I thought I would," Roman says, slightly pulling back to look down into the southerner's eyes, "Which is saying something considering I've been pretty excited about this for days."
"Thank you for havin' me over, I love it here. Maybe we can do it again sometime," AJ replies, "if ya ain't busy or ya wanna do it again, that is."
"I can't wait," Roman smiles, "You know, JoJo's gonna be in Dallas for WrestleMania weekend. She'd love to see you there."
"She's gonna get sick of me," AJ jokes. They both burst out laughing, "But I'll be there, and I'll definitely be spendin' some time with y'all."
"Great," Roman grins, but his eyes show nerves for some reason, "But since we're on the topic of seeing each other, I was thinking that maybe we could -"
The sound of a phone buzzing cuts him off. AJ turns around to pick his device off the table and unlocking it, reading the text from Karl.
KA: & uve missed having this dick in that sexy ass of urs right? ;)
AJ's cheeks heat up, burning a bright red, and he sends a 'maybe' before tuning the sound off and sliding it back into his pocket.
He really doesn't need to be thinking about having a dick in him when Roman is this close to him.
"Boyfriend?"
"Somethin' like that," AJ replies, not thinking it over. Sure, he and Karl have a thing, but it's never going to go past just sleeping together.
"Oh, I, uh, I didn't know that."
As AJ looks back up at Roman, he sees the same thing in those beautiful eyes as he hears I'm the Samoan's voice: hurt and disappointment. It makes AJ's heart shrink, but he's confused as to why Roman would even care.
Maybe he's upset that AJ didn't tell him, considering Roman has gone out of his way to be so nice to him, including inducting AJ into his family. But, in his defense, it's not like he's even been thinking about Karl since he got here...
"Anyways," AJ says, clearing his throat, "What were you sayin' before?"
Roman shakes his head, "I.. I don't remember. Probably wasn't all that important."
"Okay then," AJ raises his eyebrows. It had seemed pretty important, but if Roman says it isn't, then he has no reason not to trust the man.
"You never told me who you were fighting at Roadblock," Roman says, trying to change the subject and get rid of the uncomfortable silence.
"I actually don't know yet," AJ replies, "I figured it'd be somethin' to do with Chris, but he's got Swagger that night."
Roman's eyebrows knit together, "Swagger? He still works here?"
"Gosh, don't be mean," AJ can't help but chuckle, but he still smacks the Samoan playfully on the chest. Just because someone isn't featured as much as others doesn't give someone the right to joke about their employment. What they should be joking about is Vince's brilliant idea that a Canadian crowd is going to cheer All American Patriot over someone who was literally born in Canada. Chris would have to insult every little thing about that city for that to happen.
Roman grabs the hand AJ used to slap him with and holds onto it, his hand nearly engulfing AJ's smaller one. He entwines their fingers together, pressing it against his chest - right where his heart is.
"I'm not mean to you, and that's all that matters," Roman says, his voice low. He slowly leans in, pressing his lips to one of AJ's cheek bones, "You know, whoever he is, I hope he treats you right and makes you very happy, because you deserve that.. And if he doesn't, I'm sure there's someone out there waiting to snatch you up."
The Samoan gives their conjoined hands a squeeze before letting it go, and AJ's hand flops down to his side. He can't take his eyes off of Roman's face, not that his brain is working very much at the moment.
"Anyways, I'm going to take a shower before going to sleep," Roman says, backing away from him, "Sweet dreams, AJ."
AJ doesn't trust his voice enough at the moment to say anything back, he settles for a small nod of the head. He waits until Roman leaves to plop down into a chair, finally able to get off his shaking legs. He feels completely rattled right now.
What the fuck even just happened?
Trying to distract himself, he picks his phone up and sees he has two new messages.
KA: nuh uh, don't you lie to me aj
KA: I hope im not disappointing you, but I was thinking maybe we wrap this up? since we're in the states now, I can have better access to my wife, you know
That's.. unexpected, to say the least. Not that he cares. If Karl wants to just be with his wife, he's totally fine with that. He knew it'd end sooner rather than later, anyways.
AJ: why would u be disappointin me? she's your wife
Sighing, AJ puts his head in his hands. He hears the water turn on from upstairs, and he tries not to think about Roman up there... naked and glistening with water...
AJ: what day r u getting here? I think I really need to get laid
He quickly sends the message before thinking it over. It's what he needs mostly likely. Even if it's just for the night..
KA: do you now? japan wasn't enough for you? ;)
KA: Tuesday after Roadblock
That's... that's not for another week. Oh God.
But that's okay. He's not going to see Roman for the next week. Heck, they won't have any contact outside of the occasional text to make sure they're doing okay, and to make sure Roman is healing properly.
He'll be okay.
Hopefully.