After what happened in the bedroom Seth felt awkward with Roman. He wasn't surprised his stupid plan failed, he was half expecting it, just not this early. Roman got off the bus before him, but Seth was so lost in thought that he tripped getting out and fell into Roman. Roman steadied him and held his hand as they walked into the restaurant. He felt shy holding Roman's hand, it had been so long since he's felt an affectionate gesture like this that it made him feel warm inside. He knew that it was only to make their cover story seem real, but he wanted to enjoy these feelings for as long as he could. He couldn't help but notice how big Roman's hand was holding his, and it made him feel small and safe.
It was pretty empty in the restaurant, so they pushed a bunch of tables together to make one big table and they all sat together. They ordered and made small talk until the food came. Roman noticed how quiet Seth was, but couldn't think of how to draw him into the conversation.
After their food arrived, Xavier asked "How did you two meet?"
Roman saw that Seth had a mouth full of food and couldn't answer. "We met at the gym." Roman said.
Dean looked at him and asked. "You do crossfit?"
He saw Seth smirk out of the corner of his eye. "Nah, I only made it through one lesson before I saw it wasn't for me." he turned to look at Seth. "I saw this pretty boy and went over to talk to him, and the next thing I know, we're on a date."
"You have to understand that we're a little confused." Dolph said. "Seth never told us he was with someone and he hasn't even dated in 2 years."
"Not since that bitch broke his heart." Dean said. "She treated him like shit."
"She wasn't that bad." Seth mumbled.
"Not that bad?" Dean yelled and everyone in the restaurant turned to look at him. Xavier tried to calm him down. "She was constantly putting you down and acting like a princess. She insulted all of our playing, your singing and your writing and to top it all off, you caught her fucking a roadie in a supply closet." Dean said looking more sad than angry. "And you still would have taken her back if she asked. Thank god she had the sense not to, or I might have killed her."
Roman was shocked by the information overload and he heard a small sniffle coming from Seth. He could tell Seth was sensitive and he wanted to comfort him so he put his arm around him. Seth looked up at him with a small smile and Roman held him a little tighter.
"Anyway," Xavier said after everything calmed down, "We're glad you and Seth found each other. He deserves someone that really cares for him."
"Yeah," Dean said with a smile, "But since you're a man we won't go easy on you. You may be stronger than all of us, but if you hurt him, the three of us will team up to kick your ass."
Roman saw Seth smile at that. "Don't worry, I won't hurt Seth." he said with a smile. "He's stuck with me."
They finished lunch with a lot of friendly banter and piled back on the bus for the next few hours. Roman and Seth sat on the couch and watched Xavier play video games while Dolph and Dean went to their bunks to lie down. After a while Roman noticed that Seth had fallen asleep with his head on his shoulder so he carefully moved his arm and put it around him. Seth snuggled deeper into Roman and Roman put his head back and closed his eyes, eventually falling asleep too.
Seth slowly woke up feeling safe and warm. He opened his eyes and saw that Roman had his arm around him and was also asleep. They were alone in the room so he guessed that Xavier must have gone to lay down in his bunk. Seth knew that he should move away from Roman, but he was warm and he smelled so nice that he didn't want to. He put his arm around Roman's waist and snuggled into him, laying his head on his chest, listening to his heart beat. He closed his eyes and relaxed.
A few minutes later Dean bounded into the room and yelled out, "Get up motherfuckers, we're here!"
Roman groaned and held Seth tighter. "He's so loud, tell him to be quiet."
Seth chuckled and sat up straight, slipping out of Roman's arms. "You can't tell Dean anything, he does what he wants."
Dean, Dolph and Xavier walked to the door and Roman and Seth followed. They walked to the entrance where Glenn was waiting for them. Since Glenn was almost 7 feet tall, he preferred to drive his own large SUV on tours, insisting that it was more comfortable so he usually arrived before the band did.
They all walked into the dressing room to wait while the roadies set up the stage for sound check.
Roman pulled Seth aside. "I'm going to go do a safety check." he said. "Do not go anywhere alone, not even the bathroom. I'll be back soon, but you should tell Glenn about our cover story before he says anything."
"Okay, I'll be a good boy. Don't worry." Seth said with a smirk.
"Why do I get the feeling that you can't be good." Roman teased.
"Because you're smarter than you look." Seth teased as he reached in his pocket. "You need this badge if you plan on going out and getting back in. It tells people that you are a member of our staff." Seth stood on his tip-toes as he put the lanyard that held the badge over Roman's head to drape around his neck. He gently moved Roman's long soft hair out from under the lanyard, not noticing that Roman was staring at him.
"See you soon." Seth said as he stepped back.
"Be safe." Roman said as he patted Seth's shoulder.
