Fourteen

"Not really," Roman countered to his father, his eyes on Dean. "Me being foolish would be turning my back on the best thing that's ever happened to me. That's you, Dean."

His boyfriend bit his lower lip. "Babe… I don't know what to say."

Roman didn't have to turn around to know his father was looking at him in disappointment. His bitterness at the fact that Roman had chosen Dean once more over everyone was evident when he spat out, "Then I'll be needing back every penny that was given to you."

Dean gasped and reached out for his hand. But the Samoan man merely turned around and nodded. "With pleasure," he retorted to his father.

Sika tossed them both dirty looks, striding off towards the rest of the family. A part of Roman felt saddened that things had to come to such a state but a huge part of him was determined with the decision he had made.

He turned around and grinned at Dean. "Italian?"

Dean set the two plates of homemade carbonara on the table while Roman placed two glasses of water.

"This looks delicious," Roman complimented.

"Thank you."

They made small talk about the rest of the semester, avoiding talk about Roman's family. That was until his boyfriend revealed he'd be going to the bank to transfer money given to him by his parents.

"I still have savings of my own from my part time job," his boyfriend continued.

Dean looked at his hands. "I'm sorry things had to turn out like this," he apologised. "If I had just shut my mouth-"

"I'm glad you didn't. Your faith in me with no expectations was what I needed in my life. It just came with a small sacrifice. They'll come through. Eventually they will."

"Let's hope so. I thought your father was a nice guy. I mean he was okay in the beginning-"

"Yeah before my choice of career came up. He was determined that I abide by his choice. But I don't know… after being with you… how could I? I want to see what else is out there. Mostly because I love you, Dean. It's like that Bon Jovi song: it doesn't matter if we make it or not because we've got each other and that's a lot."

"You believe in that?"

"I do. Don't you?"

Dean reached for his hand over the table. "More than you'll ever know."

"What's for dessert?"

They made love twice before watching television in bed. This was life to Dean: being in the arms of the man he loved, enjoying the small things in life. Thoughts of money plagued his mind. How was Roman supposed to survive on the menial amount of money he had left?

Unless Dean did more racing… that could work.

"What are you thinking?" Roman asked him softly, stroking his back slowly.

Dean snuggled close to him. "Nothing. Just enjoying the moment."

"How did we get so lucky? To be able to find one another and just fall in love despite the differences and obstacles?"

"I'm not sure. I'm not going to question it though."

Roman smiled, eyes on the screen showing a rerun of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. "Me too."

Pulling his boyfriend's face towards his, Dean raised his lips and they kissed with unspoken vows of love between them.

Roman wasn't sure what to expect emotionally as he stood in line at the bank with Dean by his side. He wasn't unhappy or upset about it; that ship sailed a while ago when he started to work part time.

Money came and went. His father didn't seemed to care about his happiness, so hard bent he was on Roman following his way; his way or the highway. He looked at the piece of paper he had written his calculation on and when it came to his turn, instructed the teller on how much to transfer to his father's account.

Dean's eyes were as wide as saucers upon hearing the amount; the bank teller started to type rapidly on the computer as Roman waited patiently. Dean reached for his hand and squeezed it. Roman did the same, to reassure to Dean that he was okay with this; that it was something he wanted to do.

Would he regret it? He doubt it. Roman didn't believe in regrets. Whatever the consequences were, he'd deal with it.

The teller hands him his bank book with his latest balance and asked if there was anything else; Roman declined and walked out of the bank, giddy with Dean's hand still in his. "Where to now?" he asked his boyfriend.

"Well, I say we go home and rest considering you have to record your demo tomorrow," Dean replied.

"Okay. Let's go."

They had leftovers from dinner last night before curling up in bed together again. Dean seemed preoccupied and when Roman asked him about what was on his mind, he replied the same thing as yesterday.

"We'll be okay, Dean," he said. "I promise."

"I know we will, babe."

Roman was sound asleep later that afternoon when Dean received a phone call from a blocked number. He frowned at it before sliding over the green phone icon. "Hello?" he greeted.

"Dean Ambrose?" a man with rough voice asked after him.

"This is he."

"My name is Vince McMahon and I have a proposition for you."

Dean's ears pricked with interest. "What kind?"

"I can't talk over the phone. Meet me at Mario's at ten. Don't be late."

The call ended abruptly and Dean stared at his phone. That was odd; meeting at Mario's with some dude named McMahon? How did he even know who Dean was? He spent a good thirty minutes arguing with himself if he should go and when he finally made up his mind, he decided he would make up a lie about hanging out with Seth to find out what this Vince McMahon wanted.

He didn't want his boyfriend, the huge care bear, to worry over nothing.

When Roman woke up, Dean casually informed him of his "meeting" with Seth. His boyfriend didn't seemed to take issue until he asked, "Can I join too?"

"Ummm… this is between the two of us, babe. It's confidential stuff."

"Why? How confidential?"

"Roman…"

"Okay. I'll hang out with Tyler or something."

That would be odd, Roman and Tyler especially after his boyfriend now knew that Tyler and him had sex before. Roman must have been thinking about the same thing because he asked Dean, "Ummm when Tyler and you slept together, was it a regular thing or-"

"Hate to disappoint you, babe," Dean laughed. "But it was only once."

"Once? Why?"

"Because he wasn't my type."

"You have a type?"

"He was too vain. He wasn't in it to have a good time, you know? It had to be a certain angle and-"

Now Roman was chuckling. "What?"

"You heard me."

"I never would have pegged Tyler to be like that in bed."

"Yeah well people can surprise you."

"Do… do you get bored with us in bed, Dean? You've slept a fair bit-"

"A fair?" Dean threw his head back and laughed. "Babe, no need to water it down."

"You know what I mean."

"I do." He wounded his arms around Roman's neck. "Roman, I won't get bored with you because I love you and that makes all the difference."

Roman was grinning now. "You said you loved me."

"I do." A peck on his boyfriend's lips. "Are you trying to make me change my mind?"

"Wouldn't dream of it."

"Good. Because I wanna do it with you in the shower!"

His boyfriend carried him in his arms bridal style into the bathroom, singing a Michael Bolton song. Dean warbled along.

Vince McMahon had silver hair and a look that could send shiver down anyone's spine. When Dean arrived at Mario's, he found the old man staring at him intently. Beside him were two bald men decked in suits and sunglasses, their faces as stoic as their boss.

But Dean rarely got intimidated. He strode in, feeling like he owned the place as he sat down across the mysterious man who found him.

"Can I get you a drink?" Vince offered.

"A cappucino would be nice," Dean ordered.

Vince nodded before one of the two bodyguards walked over to the waiter. "I want you to race for me, Dean."

Dean's eyes widened upon that statement. That was not something he heard everyday. All the races he had been participating in were illegal. You had to be a criminal or undercover cop to know that. "What do you mean?"

"It's not really race. I have a job offer for you and I'm willing to pay you a million."

A million. A million was just what Roman and him could use to survive after graduation. Still something bothered him. "Why me?"

"I've seen you race a few times before. I'm interested in recruiting you for the task at hand."

"What exactly is this task?"

Vince cleared his throat. "I have a parcel that needs to be delivered. A rare diamond. Your job is to deliver it to an address that I will be giving you and return back with the money."

Dean snapped his gum as he leaned against his chair. "What's the catch?"

"The owner is someone I can't trust, someone I despise."

"Then why do business with him?"

Vince smiled slowly as he twirled the linguine around his fork. "Let's just say I keep my friends close and my enemies closer. You won't be the only one in this. If you want a partner for the job, I can get you one."

"Let me think about it." A part of him knew he should tell Roman the truth and asked his opinion. He'd most likely be out of town and it'd be glaringly obvious that he'd be missing. He almost smiled thinking of all the missing person posters Roman would likely be putting up.

Vince cleared his throat, interrupting Dean's reverie. "A million dollars, kid."

"I'm well aware of that. I just need time to process it."

"Well, don't take too long. I expect an answer by midnight tomorrow."

"A million dollars?" Roman repeated as he sat up in bed later that night. He had been waiting up for Dean to return for his meeting. "But how did this guy even find you?"

Dean sipped his chocolate milk before putting it on the bedside table. "He claims to have seen me race before."

"D-do you want to do it? I hope not, Dean. It sounds dangerous."

"Meh. Danger is my middle name."

"Dean!"

He sighed. His boyfriend the worrywart. "Roman, this is good money. It'd solve our financial problems."

"But this is also wrong. It has hidden agenda written all over it." His boyfriend then frowned with his jaw set in a hard line. "You lied to me. You said you were meeting Seth."

Dean had almost forgotten about that lie. "And I was wrong. I wanted to check this guy out without having you worry about me. I'm sorry. Look, babe, I really think this is too good of an opportunity for me to pass."

Roman shook his head. "I can sell my car-"

"No, Roman! You're not selling anything. I'll do this job once and we'll never have to worry about anything else ever again."

The Samoan man looked at him, dubious. "Sure."

"I'm serious," Dean insisted. "A million dollars can get us a decent apartment and help us survive for quite some time."

"At least let me follow you for my peace of mind."

"Roman…"

"You either let me follow you or I'm not supporting you."

Dean had to give Roman credit for putting his foot down though he didn't want him in harm's way. But the look on his boyfriend who had crossed his arms, his piercing grey eyes on him with quiet determination, made him relent. Not the wisest choice but… "Okay. You can come with me."

Roman nodded before pulling Dean down to nestle in his arms while filling Dean on about his day. But the truth was Dean wasn't listening.

He was silently hoping that he wouldn't regret making that choice.

A/N Think Dean is making a good choice? Thank you for your kind words, favorites and follows. :-)