Our Story (Whatever it was)

by Besaster

Dean and Seth sit down to talk about things that never happened and would never happen again. Their story, whatever the hell it was. Starts at the end of 'Overwhelmed'. From FCW to today. Dean reflects on the obstacles to get to the top, his fears and the good times as he finally lived his dream. Part 2 of the 'As Long As We Know The Truth' series. Ambrollins, Deanee.

14. Chapter 14

Summary:

Everybody turned in surprise at Seth, who was gaping at his papers like he'd won the lottery. He didn't release his grip on Dean's arm.
"Oh, this is something I thought I'd never see, our Seth with a smile, what a thing of beauty!" Dusty teased the high flyer. "You've come such a long way boy, enjoy it," he said with an honest smile.
There was no need for Dean to look down at his photocopies and see what made Seth break his usual grumpy silence and claw at him for dear life. When he looked at Dusty, his eyes caught on something written on the whiteboard.

:.

Chapter 14

Tuesday, October 10th, 2017

4:50 AM, Seth's hotel room

"Some things never change. Do they, Seth?" Dean teased, his eyes following Seth's movements as he changed into a pair of shorts, the ripples of his muscles in movement. "If anything, your ring boners have only gotten worse over the years."

Seth shot him a tired glance and hummed absently, ignoring Dean before he crawled back into the bed.

Sitting against the headboard, Seth pulled the covers up to his chest, drawing his knees closer to his chest as he rested his chin on top of the duvet. He looked strangely numb, lost in his thoughts.

Even in his drunk state, it hadn't escaped Dean that Seth had been silent for a while.

Until the moment they spoke about the fateful night where Dean tried to kill him during their first match together, both had been going back and forth, Seth adding to the story all the time. But something had changed on his face then, and he just sat there listening to Dean.

"Wanna get some sleep, dude? We can continue tomorrow if you want," he offered, wobbling a bit as he stood up and stripped down to his boxers, keeping his shirt on.

Seth shook his head, visibly shivering when Dean pulled the covers up and mimicked his position. "Nah, I'm fine," he muttered, covering himself further. The air conditioner was on, but it felt chilly, or maybe it was just the alcohol.

Both men sat there in tense silence for a while. Dean knew something had changed in the air, but he wasn't sure what or why.

Dean wasn't sure if he wanted to know anyway.

He straightened up against the headboard at the feeling of a cold hand tentatively squeezing his knee. "Dean?" the hesitation was clear on Seth's voice, something unreadable settled in his eyes. "Have you ever wondered-" he removed his hand slowly, sliding it down to the mattress as he sighed deeply, finally daring to speak his damn mind. "I mean, you ever thought maybe things have not always been the way you think they happened?"

Caught off guard by his friend's words, he just stared at him for a long minute.

Dean averted Seth's gaze, feeling his sight blur and a self-deprecating smile take over his confusion. "Y'think I'm delusional?" his words drawled lowly, taking on an aggressive edge. "That I make shit up?"

He felt the mattress dip and warmth emanating from his side from Seth scooting closer. Not enough to touch but close enough to feel his body heat.

Another tired sigh from Seth as he shook his head. "I'm not attacking you, dude, but-" he said hurriedly. "I was there too, y'know? And some things just didn't happen the way you remember them. That's all I'm saying."

Dean observed him, his drunk mind seemingly unable to process where Seth was going with his statement. He tried to obtain some answers on the worn out brown eyes scrutinizing him, but they only told a mix of sorrow and whatever the hell Seth always looked at him with.

"Hey, c'mere Deano," said Seth softly, reaching under the covers again to tug at Dean's arm and urge him to edge closer.

Drunk, drained, and lost as to what else to do, Dean complied, his side pressing against Seth's. It felt somewhat comforting just to sit there next to him, his body heat seeping into his skin. Dean shifted his arm and rested his hand on Seth's thigh. He had to look away from his sleepy smile, overwhelmed by the affection he perceived but couldn't allow himself to read or accept.

Dean's gaze went back to Seth when he felt an elbow nudging his side and the tickle of warm breath against his throat. "By the way, stop talking like you don't know what ring adrenaline is."

Disregarding Seth's words and the playful nibble on his jaw that made his lips part in a grin, Dean went back to their story.

Had he been an honest man, he would have admitted that was easier than focusing on the things he always felt radiating from Seth when they were that close.

But he was a liar, and Seth was there ready to call him out on it.

:.

Monday, 18th July, 2011

08:45 am, FCW Building, Tampa FL

The Summer SlamaRama show had disrupted the usual class and meeting schedule in FCW due to it being a special event.

Instead of the Wednesday the week before a taping session, the usual briefing meeting with management took place on Monday, leaving the promotion with just four days to arrange everything. The whole tv roster had been summoned to the classroom at 9 am to start working on it as soon as possible.

Dean arrived early and took a seat in the classroom, lazily sipping on a black coffee. He made no effort to stifle the yawns that made his head sink against his shoulders and his eyes water.

Only Johny Curtis, Mike Dalton, Naomi, and Erick Rowan had arrived so far, and they all looked as ready to go back to bed as he felt.

Yawning loudly again, Dean didn't notice the presence next to him until he felt rather than heard someone flop heavily on the chair next to his.

He blinked the sleep away, slightly startled as he gazed to his side.

"Good morning to y'too, Seth," his taunting tone lost any possible effect as another yawn swallowed his voice. Dean reached up to cover his mouth as he yawned, scrubbing his eyes dry afterward. "I take it you're not a morning person?"

Seth gave him a weird look, amused or maybe just grouchy before he averted his gaze. Dean vibrated with silent chuckles as Seth rose to his feet and dragged himself toward the coffee machine, coming back soon with two cups instead of one.

Just when he was going to sit down again, he seemed to think it better, his gaze searching for a seat further in the room.

Dean watched him with mild curiosity as he finally sat down again on the same chair. Seth placed one cup under his seat and nursed the other in his hands, slightly fidgety. There must have been something fascinating about his coffee, or probably not, but he just wouldn't look up from it.

Bored since Seth wouldn't react to his taunting, Dean spotted Roman Leakee, who just arrived into the classroom. He motioned for him to take the seat next to him with a flick of his hand. They made some small talk about their Sunday, catching up after the SlamaRama event as they waited for everybody to arrive and settle for the meeting.

The room slowly filled and soon Dusty came through the doors barking an excited good morning.

Once the greetings and morning groans died down, Dusty and Regal took their seats. Meanwhile, Joey Mercury set coffee and tea for them and Prichard on the table.

"Good morning again, kids," Dusty began, beaming as his eyes ran through the roster. "I know it's early and you'd rather be sleeping, me too, believe me. So I'll try to make this entertaining for you so we can start working immediately."

"Can we work on going back to bed?" Bo Rotundo butted, sticking his tongue out childishly at everybody for a collective laugh.

Dusty pointed at Bo. "Well, son, most of this guys will. But you, I'm afraid you'll have a lot of work ahead this week," he stated playfully as a response to the champion's groan.

"As I was saying, well. First of all," The American Dream stood up with a fatherly smile, eyeing the whole roster. "We want to thank you guys for working so hard on the SlamaRama event. All of you participated in some capacity, promoting and building everything up the previous weeks and during the event itself, which was an incredible success. So congratulations kids, you did a great job, we're so proud of you!" Regal and Mercury immediately joined him on a round of applause toward the students.

As he sat down again, Regal regained the roster's attention, silencing the cheers and comments. "We are indeed, and you should feel proud of yourselves. But the show must go on, and we need to set our sights on the tv taping we've got coming this Thursday."

"Most of you will be off on Thursday," continued Dusty, lifting a finger at the general complaint. Everybody wanted to work the tv tapings for obvious reasons. "But we encourage you to come watch the shooting; it's gonna be an extraordinary one. You may not appear on screen, but it will change everything going forward for you and those who come to FCW after you."

The room filled with indistinct muttering as all the students tried to guess what was going on. Dean listened to Roman make his guess as a small knot set in his stomach, making his skin tingle.

It didn't take long for Prichard to come in with a massive stack of photocopies. He first handed one to the managers before he went on to hand it out to the wrestlers. Joey approached the whiteboard and began scribbling the planned schedule.

Dean hadn't even looked at his booklet when a loud gasp and a hand clawing at his forearm distracted him from his conversation with Roman.

Everybody turned in surprise at Seth, who was gaping at his papers like he'd won the lottery. He didn't release his grip on Dean's arm.

"Oh, this is something I thought I'd never see, our Seth with a smile, what a thing of beauty!" Dusty teased the high flyer. "You've come such a long way boy, enjoy it," he said with an honest smile.

There was no need for Dean to look down at his photocopies and see what made Seth break his usual grumpy silence and claw at him for dear life. When he looked at Dusty, his eyes caught on something written on the whiteboard.

FCW TV #150 - FCW 15 Title: Seth Rollins (c) vs. Dean Ambrose

15:00 Time Limit - Draw

FCW TV #152 - FCW 15 Title: Seth Rollins (c) vs. Dean Ambrose

20:00 Time Limit - Draw

Dean stared at the words for a few moments, letting their unspoken meaning sink in, his eyes meeting Seth's and sharing his delight.

He still had a job, the feud was finally going to be launched, and the layout for those matches surpassed any of his expectations. Management trusted him and things were just becoming real, tangible.

He couldn't get any luckier.

Sinking into the back of his chair, Dean broke Seth's grip which was starting to get painful.

His colleague looked like he was going to jump out of the seat at any moment. Seth's energy and grin were infectious, and he found himself smiling back when their eyes met again. Both buzzed with enthusiasm and whatever it was that emanated from Seth that he didn't care to analyze. But still, he somehow felt it as well, whatever the fuck it was.

"We understand and share your excitement regarding this feud, gentlemen," Regal broke the moment with a proud smile. "But if you don't mind, we have three shows to discuss and a lot of work to assign to Bo."

After the general chuckle at the jab at Rotundo died, Dusty and Regal spent the following few hours going through the whole debriefing, as usual, breaking down each segment and match. Every wrestler added in their input and questions, giving valuable feedback to management and their colleagues about how everything sounded.

Dean just listened, still floating in his little bubble of realization. He felt like he could graze success with his fingertips, yearning to grasp it so it finally became real.

Who didn't shut his mouth was Seth, who for once seemed to have a lot to say and spent a good chunk of time going back and forth with Dusty. He voiced his ideas and questions about the booking cockily, almost demanding.

It would be fair to say he expressed himself with intelligence and an eye of what would be best for the business. Dean had seen glimpses of it before but hadn't fully comprehended how far it went until that moment.

Regal and Dusty seemed delighted with his feedback, and he could only agree with them. The kid knew what he was doing.

By the end of the meeting, Prichard announced that as from the following week, Dean would join the tv roster for wrestling training. The teacher mocked him, apologizing for separating Dean from his beloved newbies, and promising he would allow visits from time to time if he missed them.

People began to leave around lunchtime, once everything was spoken of. Some of the guys lingered to chat in small circles or ask questions to the managers.

Dean stood talking with Roman, who seemed ecstatic with everything going on.

"Man! How cool is this?" Roman's grin miraculously didn't split his face in two. "I'm winning my match, you have your feud finally, and you're gonna train with us!" He said clapping Dean on the arm.

"You look happier than me, dude," chuckled Dean. "But yeah, lookin' forward to it. The newbies are gonna kill me before I get a chance to move with you guys though."

Roman laughed good-heartedly. "I can only imagine, just hope you don't talk the same shit when you train with me," he teased, hands on his hips and a wiggly eyebrow raised. Both cackled awkwardly. "But I think you'll have enough issues getting along with Rollins as it is."

Dean shrugged. "Nah, don't worry about the little fucker, got him und-" his words were cut by the same person he was talking about jumping on his back, the arms around his throat almost choking him. "Oh god, instead of an opponent I got a fuckin' koala," he whined rolling his eyes at Roman, shoving Seth off his back. "Da fuck, Seth?" he asked amused as he turned to see Seth bouncing on the spot, beaming.

Seth hit him with the stack of photocopies. "C'mon don't tell me ya aren't excited about this? We got it, Dean! This is gonna be fuckin' awesome."

Before Dean could say anything, Roman patted his arm in compassion, laughing. "I can see how under control you got the diva, good luck with that," he patronized, giving Seth a weird look before turning back to Dean. "See you at the restaurant, or do I wait for you?"

Dean cast a sideways glance at Seth, who just stood there awkwardly looking at them, left out. There was something in his face he couldn't read, but Rollins was obviously not invited to join them.

He shrugged and grinned at Roman. "Sure, dude, I'll catch up with ya in a minute," he said mimicking Roman's hand gesture as he left.

Once the Samoan was out of the room, he turned his attention back to Seth. "Da fuck, Seth? What's with you invading my space lately? One would think ya can't get enough of me," he inquired playfully.

"Nononono- Seriously?" Seth groaned, going back to his familiar scowling self. "Last time I checked, it was you w- know what? Nevermind," he sighed tiredly. "Don't know why I fuckin' bother. I thought ya'd be as excited as I-"

Dean cut him with a laugh. "Dude, I doubt anyone gets as excited as you do," he emphasized the words with a clear intention. "I'm scared of what ya may try to pull on me next time."

It was fun to rile Seth up, and apparently, it always worked. At least for a moment. Long enough to amuse Dean every single time.

Seth stood closer to him, something gleaming in his eyes. Whatever it was, Dean didn't want to know. "I think it's ya who wants me to pull something, but I'm not interested," he hissed before stepping back. "Anyway, I just thought we should talk about this," he said raising the booklet again.

"Well, I know ya can't get enough of me but gotta go now, some of us got friends waitin', ya know?" Dean suddenly flinched when he realized the effect of his words on Seth.

Dean felt a pang of guilt at the sight of brown eyes cast down, Seth's shoulders rolling down and his lips into a tight, angry line. "Seth?" he hesitated as his colleague turned around to leave.

Seth froze on the spot, slowly gazing back at Dean. He didn't attempt to hide his disappointment.

"We can meet tomorrow when you're done training to go over the booking if ya want," he offered with a tight grin. "The smoking is on me, but keep your excitement and your hands to yourself, okay?"

A small, reluctant smile crept through Seth's lips and eyes. And Dean didn't care about whatever that was, but something still nagged him the wrong way about pushing Seth away like that.

Sometimes, the guy just seemed to want to bond with him. If there was something that Seth appeared to show in all their interactions, it was that he liked Dean.

The idea of developing a friendship with him didn't sound that bad.

:.

Notes:

I'm going through some difficult times, and that's kept me from writing OSWIW as quickly as usual. I've felt unable to angst and have been trying some different things in the meantime.
If you're interested, you can check out 'Sometimes' for some shameless FCW times smut (NOT related to the ALAWKTT universe). Another option is the light-hearted AU 'Barcodes & Swipes', where Seth has an intriguing Tinder Super Like from NXT's main heel while he works at a convenience store to pay his wrestling lessons, getting ready to take the NXT tryouts at the end of the year ;)
Anyway and back to OSWIW, I hope this chapter, which sets us up for their first FCW tv match coming in Chapter 15 makes up for it. We even went forward to 2017 for a bit, yay!

What are your thoughts on this? The only benefit I get out of writing this is my own enjoyment and (hopefully) yours, so please feel free to let me know what you think -comments are open to guests too-! What you liked, what you didn't or hated, what you think will happen or anything you want to share with me. Are there any parts of their story you'd REALLY want to see through this series? Let me know; I may deliver at some point!
Remember you can also drop me a line on Tumblr (Besaster) if you want to and that I keep posting previews, updates, old FCW interviews and pics, and little random bits on the process of writing this mammoth of a series and everything else that's coming.
Thanks for staying with me, see you VERY soon :)