A/N: so here we have chapter seven. and finally, AMBREIGNS. they've managed to finally get somewhere. it's quite small, but their new budding relationship gets properly explored next chapter. everything in this chapter is a little here and there, but it needed to be jumpy for everything to slot together. i'd just like to take a moment to say thank you for the kudos and messages i get on this, its lovely. but i'd also like to ask if my readers are actually enjoying this. because although i write for myself, when i get reviews, it's usually just 'update' ((thanks to cynical echo for a lovely review on a few of my stories)) and sometimes it feels like it's not actually being read you know? i'm sorry if this sounds like i'm moaning, but i just want to make sure you guys are enjoying it. so please, if you are, tell me so because it makes me happy. thank you. and as always, my tumblr psychrollins is open for prompts, rants and whatever.
/
Roman lets his fingers trail over the warm skin of Dean's arm, and a little smile curls at the corners of his lips. Dean looks so peaceful when he's asleep; it's a nice change to the look that Dean seems to always have nowadays, a look of pure torture. Dean tries to deny it, but Roman knows he still hears that voice in the back of his mind.
They've taken to sleeping in each other's rooms, now. It's a complicated system, making sure that the night guards don't find them out of their rooms but they make it work. It's safer this way, not completely safe, but at least Roman can sleep a bit easier knowing that he's right next to Dean if Seth tries something again. It's been a few days, maybe, since Dean got out of the infirmary and they haven't seen Seth since. Roman's not sure why but not seeing him makes him feel uneasy. At least if he can see him he sort of knows what he's up to, not knowing where the little two toned psycho is scares him.
They haven't seen Tamina, either, and it makes him question whether she really wants to help them or not. But whatever, Roman's going to make sure that he gets Dean out of here even if it kills him. He's gonna' get AJ out too, he's going to make sure his two friends are safe, no matter what price he has to pay. It's weird how the three of them have become such good friends in such unlikely circumstances. And Dean, he can't even begin to describe his feelings for Dean. It goes way past wanting to keep him safe, he wants to protect him. Every time he looks at Dean he feels his heart flutter a little, even with that hideous scar on his cheek. Dean's beautiful, and Roman wants to preserve that, shield him away from harm.
Dean shifts on the bed, his eyes fluttering open slowly. Dean smiles, his baby blue eyes lighting up. "Hey."
Roman cracks a smile and reaches out to push some curls away from Dean's face, "Hey."
"I had a dream about you." Dean says as Roman threads his fingers through his hair.
Roman grins, "Yeah? Good or bad?"
"I dunno good maybe? We were at a school and I guess we were buddies. And eh, Seth was there too. But we didn't talk to him, and I kept telling you how hot he was. You just laughed at me, like you wouldn't stop laughing at me. You thought it was cute and I called you an asshole." Roman laughs softly, though his heart twists a little at the thought of Seth and Dean being attracted each other while he's just there.
"Felt really real, though; like I sort of remembered it more than I dreamt it." Dean whispers, sighing at the feeling of Roman's hands in his hair.
Roman shrugs, "Maybe it was a memory? I mean, AJ did say we all knew each other before whatever this is. Maybe there was a time when we were at school and you did think Seth was hot."
Dean scrunches up his face, "That little shit tried to fucking kill me, like, twice! He can fuck off if he thinks I'm going to call him hot ever again," Dean scoots closer to Roman, "But you know, you could have been an asshole." Roman shoves his arm lightly before letting his hand travel to Dean's face. The pads of his thumb gently caress Dean's cheek, feeling the gentle scruff of Dean's stubble against his skin. He leans in slightly, raising an eyebrow as if to ask for permission. Dean nods slightly and Roman feels his heart pounding in his chest. Dean's so close he can feel his warm breath on his lips, he curls his hand around Dean's neck and finally presses their lips together.
It's slow and tentative to start, Roman's not sure if he's ever kissed a guy before. He's not even sure if he's ever kissed anyone before; he can't remember anything from before waking up in this place. Everything's new and different but this feels right, like he's been meaning to kiss Dean his entire life. Maybe he has, maybe in the life they've left behind he should have kissed Dean. But he'll probably never know, all he knows is that kissing Dean here and now is the most wonderful thing he's experienced, as far as he knows. Dean's lips are surprisingly soft and warm, and his hand is curled into his t-shirt.
Roman slips his hand down to Dean's hip and pulls his body flush against his own. Dean lets out a moan, letting Roman slip his tongue inside Dean's mouth. He rolls over onto his back and pulls Dean on top of him, his hands travelling down Dean's back to grab at his ass. Dean grinds against him, rolling his hips and threading his hands into Roman's hair. Roman breaks the kiss, panting hard and resting his forehead against Dean's.
"God, I could kiss you all day." Roman says after a moment's breath, Dean grins, pecking Roman's lips.
"Don't kiss God, kiss me you asshole," Roman rolls his eyes and steals another kiss. "But you know, I think we have a bit more time before everyone wakes up..."
"Better put that time to good use then, right God?"
"Shut up and kiss me, asshole."
xXx
As she presses the replay button, Tamina's insides swirl. She feels sick, she doesn't want to watch this anymore but she needs to memorise every detail of the sick footage. She needs to see the exact moment that everything happens. Roman goes down first, hitting his head on the window sill. Tamina had expected Roman to be the last to go down, seeing as he appeared to be the biggest out of the three of them, and the fact that he's the first confuses her. Seth's the second to go, going limp in Dean's arms. His movements mirror Roman's, though they're slightly less violent. Dean seems to be able to hold on a lot longer than anyone else, he tries to scream and shout, but finally succumbs after a hard struggle.
There's a five minute lag in the tape before men in white overalls enter the room and drag Roman, Dean and Seth out of the room. Tamina hits stop on the tape for the final time and stands up straight, collecting herself. It had taken her a while to locate the exact tape from the day that the three boys were admitted, but she'd gotten there eventually. It's another small piece to the puzzle that is their admittance, and sheds a little bit of light on what might actually be going on. From the tape, Tamina can see that there was something going on between Dean and Seth, which may be why Hunter put the chip inside of Seth. But Tamina still has no idea why Hunter would want to manipulate someone so badly, to the point of getting them to kill someone.
Tamina removes the tape and shoves it back where it came from and gathers up her papers. She needs to talk to Dean and Roman, and Roman mentioned AJ, so talking with her too will give her a good idea of how well the counteract worked before. She's on her way to her office to put her files back in the cabinet when she comes across Hunter. He very rarely comes out of his office, so it's strange to see him walking down the main staff corridor.
"Ah Tamina, how nice to see you, how are you?" Hunter puts on a big smile, big enough for Tamina to know that it's definitely fake.
"I'm OK sir, thank you. How are you?"
"I'm good thank you, glad to have you back at work. Though don't hesitate to ask if you need more time off, I know how hard it is to lose a loved one."
"Thank you sir, I appreciate it." Hunter gives a slight nod of his head before heading off down the corridor. Tamina watches him round the corner before heading to her office.
After speaking to Roman and Dean individually, Tamina knew she had to speak to them all. So yesterday she'd gotten permission from Vince to start holding group therapy sessions, so that way she'd be able to speak to all three of them without anyone ease dropping or suspicions being raised.
Tamina grabs her notebook and heads towards the ward, her mind spinning at a thousand miles an hour. Everything seems so complicated; everything that she's managed to find out in the past day hasn't made any sense. Finding out what the others know will hopefully help.
She finds all three of them sitting together in the common room, huddled on the wall seat locked in conversation. Seth's not in the room and Tamina takes that as blessing. She clears her throat before calling out all three of their names in full and asking them to follow her. They understand pretty quickly and shuffle from their seats over to her. They follow Tamina silently all the way to a room with the words 'Dr. William Regal' written in black bold lettering on the frosted glass. Tamina unlocks the door and flicks on the lights, ushering them inside before checking the halls to make sure no one is around.
AJ, Dean and Roman take a seat in front of the large oak desk and exchange worried glances. Tamina takes a few glances around William's office and a soft smile curls across her face, despite the small pang of sadness in her chest. She pulls down the blind and steps across the room to sit behind the desk.
"Sorry about the formality of this," Tamina starts, "But I needed a way of talking to all three of you without being questioned. You especially," Tamina points to Dean, "are quite the patient. Hunter has quite strict rules on whom doctors can and can't talk to." She explains, sifting through some of William's old files.
"I called you all in because having spoken to you individually, and reading through some files, it's clear that there's something other than the norm going on here." Roman scoffs and lays a protective hand on Dean's thigh. "AJ, I'll start by asking you some questions. Roman said that you remember stuff from before, what exactly is it that you remember?"
AJ shifts uncomfortably in her seat before looking up at Tamina, "Well, I uh, I can remember how I got in here. I uh," AJ looks down at her hand and fiddles with her bare ring finger, "I remember my boyfriend, and how he was meant to meet me the day I came here." Tamina feels her heart speed up a little, AJ can remember. The counteract worked, the selective memory wiping that Hunter had made sure of doing had failed.
"And how exactly do you remember getting in here?"
AJ's brow furrows in confusion, looking towards Roman for some sort of guidance. He gives a simple nod of his head and AJ turns back to Tamina. "There was a house, a really old house in the middle of a field. Phil and I were meant to meet there, and I was early. So I decided to take a look around the place, it didn't seem like much until all I heard was screaming and then I remember hitting my head before waking up on a hospital bed." Tamina nods her head, her eyes flickering towards the picture of her and William on the desk. A lump forms in her throat, William never intended for anything like this to ever happen.
"The reason you remember, AJ, is because I gave you something that blocked the synapses in your brain for a period of time, stopping the memory wiping all patients are subjected to. You were originally Patient O; you were going to be the one that they tested on. But William Regal and I managed to stop that, and as a result of that you can remember everything about your old life that other patients can't." AJ's mouth falls open slightly; Tamina can see the wave of emotions spreading across her face like a fire.
"Hold up a minute," Roman's low voice speaks up, "You're saying they're testing on people here?"
Tamina sighs and nods sadly, "I'm afraid so."
"Is that even legal?"
"No, technically not, but the nurses here are all sworn to secrecy and paid vast amounts of money that make sure that nothing goes past these walls. Vince is also a pretty rich and influential guy, if anyone was to bring Greenwoods into disrepute, he'd find a way to get out of it. No one really knows about Greenwoods anyway, so proving something like that is difficult. We no longer have routine inspections, for a reason I am not completely sure of. So whatever happens down here stays down here, and I'm afraid you three are now a part of it." Tamina leans forward, clasping her hands together on the desk.
"What AJ recalled about the house is completely true. It's stupid, I know, and quite simply abduction, but I have no control over that. Your fates were sealed the moment you decided to step inside of that house. From there, you come here and your memory is wiped and depending on what Hunter's come up with in his sick brain, you're used for something.
AJ was originally going to be the first test subject of an emotionally manipulating chip, but I intervened. Now Seth is the subject, and sadly I wasn't here to intervene. I found the tape of you guys coming in," Tamina gestures to Dean and Roman and watches as Roman's hand strokes Dean's thigh slowly. "And it appears that there was an emotional bond between Dean and Seth." Roman's hand tightens on Dean's thigh, Tamina locks eyes with Roman and his grey, steely orbs hold a deep rooted emotion that Tamina can't read.
"Which brings me to the reason why Seth's got a problem with Dean, Hunter's put a chip inside of Seth, I haven't been able to locate where yet as Seth's under surveillance at the moment, but it's messing with his emotions. It's most likely that his memories have been wiped, but those emotions he used to feel towards Dean, whether it was a strong friendship or relationship have now been flipped a full one-eighty, meaning he wants to kill you.
I've been doing some nosing around, as much as I can without being caught, and I've found that Seth's body is not reacting properly to the chip. He's having bad physical and mental reactions, resulting in him hurting himself."
"Why should we care if he hurts himself?" Roman's voice is a low growl.
Tamina sighs; she can already tell that Roman's going to be a problem. There's something inside of him that makes him furiously protective over those he cares about, his will to forgive being outweighed by his desire to protect. "Because Roman, Seth obviously used to be your friend. He's not willingly trying to kill Dean, he's being manipulated into it. I'm going to do what I can to get the chip out, though I don't know how much of Seth's past I'll be able to recover. The counteract I gave AJ may not work on someone who's memory has already been wiped."
"Listen, I don't give a fuck if you can't save Seth, alright? He tried to kill Dean, and for that I'll never forgive him. But I'm willing to help you if it means keeping AJ and Dean safe. But don't expect me to welcome him with open arms if you ever save him from whatever this is." Roman grits out, leaning forward in his chair. Tamina swallows, suddenly feeling intimidated by him. She flicks her gaze over to Dean, who hasn't said a word since being in the room. He's looking down at his fingers, an unreadable expression written on his face. Roman's still glaring at her. No matter what Roman thinks, Tamina knows that Dean feels differently.
For her to fully understand the extent of the manipulations Hunter has forced upon Seth, she needs to understand how far the emotional bond between Seth and Dean went, and how Roman was involved. But Tamina has a feeling Dean won't say anything about Seth in front of Roman, so she scribbles a quick note in her notebook to talk to Dean later when he's alone.
Her eyes find William's on the photograph on the desk. His eyes look so full of life and she fights back tears, she knows she's taking on a lot, trying to go against Hunter's experiments, but it needs to be done. For those three sitting in front of her and their friend.
xXx
Seth scratches at his recently unwrapped wrists. His scabs are hot and itchy and no amount of scratching them is making it better. A loud sigh leaves Seth's lips as he sits up in bed. He hasn't moved all day, he can't bring himself to. If he sees Dean, well he doesn't know what he'll do. There's still this overwhelming urge to bash him over the head until there's nothing left of him, but now there's something else there, like a pull, pulling and pulling him so much that all he wants to do is be close to Dean.
The dream he'd had earlier didn't help much. Though it wasn't like a dream really, it was like an old video playing itself in his head. It felt so real, like he'd been there before. They'd been inside a bedroom, he'd figured it was his own room there were pictures of him and other people everywhere. He'd been shaking, his whole body convulsing while a sheath of sweat covered his body. There were arms wrapped around his whole body, cradling him close. There were lips pressed against his head, a soft voice murmuring that everything OK. It was Dean and Seth had never felt so safe before. He felt so at peace, tucked into Dean's warm body and having his soft smooth voice lulling him into comfort.
He'd woken up quietly, not jolting awake in a rush of fear like he'd been doing previously. The dream felt so real, like Dean really did have his arms wrapped around him. But he couldn't understand why he would? Dean hated him, Seth wants to kill him. Seth digs his nails into his wrist, breaking the broken skin even more and watching the blood bead up to the surface.
Blood illuminates the large lettering that covers his arm. Dean.
