Eleven

"What do you mean by illegal? Like you go to abandoned lanes and stuff?"

"Abandoned roads actually," Dean corrected him. "Bikers from all over go there to compete. There are races every two months."

"Have you won any?" Roman asked.

"I never lose."

"Is that how you got the thirty five thousand dollars?"

Dean looked at him in surprise.

"Yeah I counted," his boyfriend added.

"No. I got that by saving."

"Dean! There's no way a garage can pay you so much. Tell me the truth."

"Why is it so important?" the auburn haired man wanted to know. "Can't you just use the money for your career? No one's supporting you financially, Roman. You won't have time to work at Joe's Cuppa anymore. "

"It matters to me. Trust is important, Dean; I need to know."

He sighed. "You're never going to let this go, are you, Roman?"

"No."

Dean looked out the window. "I sold Ambrose Asylum."

"Are you serious?!" Roman sounded sad. "Dean, why? I never asked-"

"I know you didn't but, Roman, everyone in there is waiting for you to fail at this singing career and I'll be damned if you do. I want you to succeed to prove them wrong. That money can also help you with your expenses."

His boyfriend's voice was cracked. "She meant a lot to you."

"You mean a lot to me." He looked at his hands. "I'd appreciate if we never talk about this again."

There was a moment of silence. "I promise you that when I make it big, I'll buy you a new one." And with that, he turned on the ignition and drove them back to campus.

Roman could not believe that Dean would sell his bike… his beloved Ambrose Asylum. Steve had given it to him as a birthday gift and now she was gone… No one had done so much for Roman before.

Not even his parents.

He loved him. Roman knew he did. No one would randomly sell their vehicle for someone.

Dean loved him.

The realisation made Roman feel alive. Somehow he had managed to make the Lunatic Fringe fall for him. But should he be celebrating? Dean loved Chris too.

But Dean wasn't a playboy back then, the grey eyed man reminded himself.

His boyfriend was fixing them a quick lunch out of some cold cuts they had bought along the way. Roman watched with admiration how Dean moved about in the kitchen. Having foster parents who were not caring certainly helped him…

He caught Dean spraying Cheese Wiz into his mouth.

"That's unsanitary," Roman teased. "Don't spray it on my sandwich."

"Why not? We can share germs…" Dean offered.

The Samoan man laughed. "No thank you. So after lunch, I'll be calling the demo studio to make arrangement to record."

"Is there any date you're keen on?"

"Not any in particular. Why?"

"Just asking." Dean put down the knife he was using to slice the loaf. "I have a race coming up this Saturday night."

"Oh." Roman hoped he could catch him in action.

"Ummm… that's me inviting you to the event."

"I'd love to see you race. I've never been to a race before." A thought entered his head. "How are you going to race when Ambrose Asylum-"

Dean grinned. "I have another bike at Steve's just for my racing."

"Does she have a name?"

"She is called Dirty Deeds. For obvious reasons."

"We can do the dirty deed now." He pulled Dean into his arms. "On your floor…"

Dean cocked his head. "After our lunch."

Maybe it was Roman's dorky laugh or his warm smile or the way his eyes lit up when it was something that excited him… either way, Dean was hooked on him.

They watched Inferno but got distracted in between, kissing one another passionately. Not exactly a makeout movie but it was hard to ignore Roman especially when he was pouting. His boyfriend's soft lips against his neck - his soft spot near his right collarbone - and whispers of endless love and eternal flame was enough for him to beg him to take him there and then.

"When did you started racing?" Roman asked him after their wild sex.

"In the middle of freshman year," Dean revealed. "I had a certain incident that happened to me and I happened to borrow a bike from Steve-"

"Dirty Deeds?"

"Yeah. He wasn't using her; just modifying her parts and so I asked him if I could borrow it. He said yes. I wasn't thinking. I just rode and the next thing I knew, I stumbled upon this place with lots of people. The guy who ran it asked me if I wanted to join and I said yes. And I've been going ever since."

"That incident… did it have anything to do with your scar?"

From the way Roman spoke, it was as if he knew. "Yeah."

"I love you, Dean. You know that, right?"

"I do."

"And I know you love me too. You don't have to say it if you're not ready. I just wanted you to know that I understand."

He sat up. "Understand what?"

"Why it's so hard for you to open your heart. Seth told me."

"Roman-"

His boyfriend's kiss interrupted what he was going to say next. Dean was a crumbling mess in his arms as he feverishly returned the kiss. Roman knew how he felt and he didn't make him feel like he was weird for doing so.

He truly was a rare gem.

The knock on the door interrupted them. Dean rolled his eyes. He knew from the knocking that it was Seth. "Hold on, babe. It's Crossfit Jesus."

Dean quickly put on his shorts before opening the door while Roman scurried to the bathroom. "Alright, Seth," he greeted his friend. "What is it?"

Seth blew his nose with a handkerchief. "I saw Dolph with another man."

This was going to be a long day. Dean shut the door and stared at his friend. "When?"

"This morning! He was chatting up that asshole, Baron."

Baron Corbin was one of Dean's previous lovers. There was no relationship between them except just sleeping around until Dean got bored. "Huh. I thought Baron wasn't his type."

"So did I. Until I saw them together."

"Maybe Baron needs Dolph to take photos-"

"What?!" Seth shouted.

Dean gave Seth a bewildered look. "Of his band. Jeez, will you let me finish my sentence?"

"Look, Dean. Dolph is not the only photographer on campus."

"That may be true, Seth, but his work is good. I got him to shoot Roman for his demo."

Seth sighed. "I yelled at him."

"Why would you do that for?"

"Dean, I thought he was cheating on me. I need to win him back."

"What did you have in mind?"

"Go on a double date with us?"

Dean wondered if Seth even knew what he was saying. "Seth, how is going on a double date going to solve this? Take him out on a real date."

"But if he sees how loving Roman and you are, he'll be wishing he had the same thing with me."

"For the record, I think you're insane."

"But we're best friends."

Roman came out of the shower wearing a t-shirt and basketball shorts. "Hey, Seth."

"Hey Roman," the two toned man greeted him back. "I need Dean and you to go on a double date with Dolph and me. If anyone can fix things, it's the Shield."

Dean had to laugh. "You're calling us that? The Shield?"

"Yeah why not?" Seth answered.

"And I'm the dork? Look, Seth-"

"We'll be happy to do it," Roman said, a warm smile on his face. "What time and where?"

Seth was evidently thrilled. "Seven at The Silver Room."

Dean groaned. "The Silver Room? Really, Seth? I don't do restaurants."

"Yeah well, you don't have a choice. Besides, you'll have to learn to love it. You can't keep bringing Roman to karaoke bars and whatnot."

"You-"

"See you!" His friend couldn't have exited the door fast enough.

Dean gave his boyfriend a look. Roman actually looked sheepish. "It's for a good cause," the Samoan man explained.

"And the good cause being…"

"Seth's love life."

He shook his head, a smile on his face. "What am I going to do with you?"

"You can do me, actually."

"Gladly."

To say dinner was awkward was an understatement.

Roman found that both Dolph and Seth were avoiding looking at one another as much as possible. Beside him, Dean took a swig of his Corona. "Nice place. I'm glad they served Corona."

Seth gave him a reproachful look.

"So, Roman," Dolph said. "I'm editing the photos. They should be ready earlier that I thought."

"Wow. Thank you, Dolph." This was good news. Besides the photo, there was still a small biodata he needed to work on. "I appreciate it."

"No problem."

Roman squeezed Dean's hand and his boyfriend's eyes immediately fell on Seth who was playing about with his lobster roll. "So… Dolph… what's next?"

"Well, I'll be sitting for my LSAT so we'll see how it goes." The blond chewed on his steak thoughtfully. "Congratulations on your job though."

"Thank you. I can't wait to start."

"So what will Seth be doing while you're studying?"

There was silence immediately. Smooth, Dean, Roman thought. Seth closed his eyes, probably wishing that Dean hadn't said that. "Maybe we should order dessert-" the singer suggested.

"I'm not one for beating about the bush," Dean said. "Seth made a huge mistake thinking Baron and you were banging one another and I for one agree. It would have been a mistake; I got bored with him in a matter of months."

Dolph laughed. "I heard about that." He looked at Seth. "Baron's not my type."

"Baron's no one's type," Seth said softly. "He's self absorbed."

Tyler's words echoed in Roman's head: "Lots of guys have tried but failed, Roman: Cody Rhodes, Sami Callihan, James Ellsworth, Seth Rollins… who else am I missing? Oh. Right. TJ Perkins, Chad Gable, Heath Slater and even Baron-"

"Babe?" Dean asked. "You want to share our dessert or split it?"

"Share."

As if on cue, Tyler walked in with Johnny Curtis, a Political Science major who was also Roman's roommate. His eyes met Roman's across the restaurant and he made their way to the table.

"Hey, Ro," his best friend greeted him. "Didn't know you were back."

He mentally reprimanded himself for not calling Tyler. "Yeah I was busy. Tyler, this is Dean… my boyfriend. Dean, this is Tyler, my best friend."

Both Dean and Tyler stared at one another for a moment before looking away. "Uh I'll see you later, Ro," his best friend said before dashing off to Johnny. Roman raised an eyebrow. That was weird and so unlike Tyler.

Dean looked nervous now. "Ummm I think I'll skip dessert..." He stood up quickly. "See you at the dorm, Roman." He quickly rushed off.

Roman stared after him. What was going on? First, Tyler… now Dean?

"What was that?" Dolph asked.

Seth's eyes averted Roman's quizzical ones. "Seth?"

"It's not my place to say…" the two toned man squeaked.

"Seth, please. Don't tell me that they both dated before."

"Slept together actually."

Roman couldn't believe it. That was why they both looked awkward around one another. "When?"

"Oh… just before he dated me."

Was that why Tyler tried to deter him from pursuing Dean? Did Tyler want Dean too? Stop it, he scolded himself. He's your friend. "They weren't in love or anything, were they?"

Seth shook his head vehemently. "Absolutely not!"

The Samoan man placed some notes on the table and excused himself to return back to the dorm. Dean's eyes were glued to the small TV broadcasting Dr Oz. "Baby boy?" Roman said as he locked the door behind. "You left so quickly-"

Dean's eyes widened at the sight of him. "Yeah… I uh wanted to catch Dr Oz."

"Dean."

His boyfriend sighed. "Ro-Roman… there's something I have to tell you."

"Is it about Tyler?"

"Did Seth tell you that too?"

"Well, I asked him." He sat down beside Dean. "It's okay, Dean. You didn't know me back then. There's no way I can be unhappy with you."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"It's different with you," his boyfriend assured him. "I don't use that word a lot. Trust me. But I feel with you I got it right and I want this thing between us to work."

Roman held his hands. "I want that too."

"I know that you want to hear me say it but I can't seem to… I feel it though."

Roman smiled; that was the closest Dean came to saying those three words. "And you won't have to unless you're ready."

A/N Thank you for the kind reviews, favorites and follows. :-) So who's excited for the Wildcard Finals?