Hey! I didn't forget about this or A Thief's Salvation. I just had a bunch of setbacks that took a lot of my time and creativity away from me. Things were rough for a while, but they seem to pick up and I hope I can update these stories quickly.

I did get inspired from redsandman99's The Way for the beginning of this chapter.

Anyway, hope you like it and hope you stay on the ride til the end.


Instead of the alarm waking AJ the following morning, it was an intense pounding in his head. He groaned as he held his head in a poor effort to make it stop. God, what the hell happened last night? He took Dean to Raw to execute the plan against Roman and then they went to the hotel bar for some drinks. That was i-wait. Something was off.

As he got more awake, he noticed the thing he was laying on didn't feel like a mattress. More like…a human body. As he sat up slowly, he looked down…seeing a shirtless sleeping Dean Ambrose below him.

D-Did they…? Well no. AJ then noticed that Dean's pants were still on and that he himself was fully clothed. But…the idea seemed to be there…right?

AJ got off the sleeping champion, heading for his bag for some ibuprofen and water. Once he took a pill, he grabbed a change of clothes and headed for the bathroom. Maybe a shower will help.

As he was showering, that's when some more memories came to him. Not too detailed, but he remembers pulling Dean towards their room, kissing him hard before shoving him onto the bed. It was all bits and pieces but-

Wait…kissing him?! AJ…kissed Dean?!

…Crap.

He didn't want the first kiss to be a drunken one. Goddamnit.

After finishing, he headed back into the room, seeing Dean wide awake and sitting up.

"Hey."

"…Hey."

"…Feel okay?"

"…Kind of? What…happened last night?"

AJ gulped. Should he tell him the story? Would seem fair to do so.

"…After Raw, we went to the bar for some drinks. At some point, we…kissed and came up here. I don't remember much myself. I remember entering the room, kissing you, taking your shirt off and shoving you on the bed. My guess is that we passed out before more could happen."

Dean slowly nods at AJ's story, blushing.

"Come on, we should start getting ready."

Dean gets up, walking to his own bag for clean clothes.

It feels…so awkward right now. AJ feels he should say something, but what though? He thinks anything he says will make things worse.

Right as he zipped his bag, he hears a soft voice ask the burning question.

"…Why…did that happen…last night?"

AJ turned to look at the confused yet worried face of his crush. That look on his face, like he's scared of the answer. He blushed as he walked over and sat next to him on the bed. Might as well let everything out. No sense lying.

"…I…I guess it's my thoughts…coming to life?" he tried. "I…I've liked you for so long I…guess the alcohol gave me confidence? I'm sorry, I'm not very good at this sort of thing."

"…I'm not either." Dean blushed. "So uh…you like me?"

"…Since Mania really."

"…Same…"

"What?"

"I…like you too. Since after Mania at the bar I…couldn't get you out of my mind."

AJ smiled brightly, reaching over to hold the other man's hand. This wasn't a one-sided thing and Dean doesn't seem scared of the concept of them dating.

"We'll go at your pace okay?" he told the World champion. "If I go too far let me know."

Dean nods, "Of course. Gotta take care of the champion."

AJ chuckled, kissing Dean's forehead before standing. "Come on, we have a long day ahead of us."

Dean smiles, standing and grabbing his bags.

What a way to start the morning.


Backlash: September 11th, 2016

Dean was stretching somewhere near the gorilla position, getting ready for his upcoming match. He was excited to work with AJ again. Main eventing a pay-per-view for the World title. They were going to tear the house down.

Roman wondered back into his mind as he stretched. Sure, he didn't appear on any more Smackdown shows after the one, but…he can't help shake the feeling he will appear here. He did cost him the Universal title a few weeks ago. He'll have to be prepared.

The match itself was nothing short of phenomenal. The two have that chemistry, they work well together. Dean…really liked working with AJ. Being this close to him.

They were so even. He can't lock in Dirty Deeds while he kicked out of the Phenomenal Forearm and AJ can't lock the Styles Clash. AJ also used the Calf Crusher but Dean was able to get to the ropes to break the hold.

They were doing whatever they could to each other. They fought in the crowd for a bit, they were both countering each other's moves. The crowd was really into the match, duel chanting both their names and 'This is awesome'.

It was towards the end of the match. Dean trips AJ on the ropes as he's going for another Phenomenal Forearm and gets him to the floor, following it up with a Suicide Dive. Right as he turned to get AJ to his feet, he was speared to the ground. He heard the bell go off, but couldn't react much as whoever knocked him over punched away at him.

He smelled…a familiar smell. Too familiar.

Roman.

Before he knew it, he was being tossed all over the place. The steel steps, the ring post, the barricades, anywhere within the area he was thrown or smashed into. He could hear Roman mumble to him as he grabbed Dean's hair and lifted him slightly off the ground.

"This is the end for you. I will take away what you love. Know your place you little pest!"

He was too weak to block the incoming attacks as Roman slammed one of the steel steps into his chest. Over and over Roman wailed the weapon to Dean's body. Dean felt so helpless, so small against his former brother. This was someone he trusted with his life, someone he went into battles with and considered an ally even after the Shield ended.

Never in his life had he thought Roman would be this sadistic.

Never in his life would he suspect Roman to try and end his career.

Never in his life would he think Roman would hate him.


Backlash card and results:

Baron Corbin beats Apollo Crews

Usos beat Hype Bros to qualify for the final of the Smackdown Tag title tournament

Miz(c) with Maryse beats Dolph Ziggler for the IC title

Bray Wyatt beats Randy Orton

Heath Slater and Rhyno beat Usos to become the first Smackdown Tag Team champions

Becky Lynch beat Alexa Bliss, Carmella, Natalya, Naomi and Nikki Bella to become the first Smackdown Women's champion

-Eliminations:

-Nikki pins Natalya after the Rack Attack 2.0

-Naomi pins Alexa after the Rear View

-Carmella pins Nikki with a roll-up

-Becky pins Naomi after the Bexplex

-Becky submits Carmella with the Dis-arm-her

Dean Ambrose(c) VS AJ Styles ended in a no contest for the WWE championship