Before we head into the epilogue, I'd like to say thank you to some people. Most of all to kawx on AO3, who basically held my hand all the way through this. Thank you so much, without you, posting this would have been very, very different 3
Also huge thanks to Fantooome, LunaticFringe'sAngel-LA15 and ambroserollinsgirl, and to Cheery and Ruby on AO3 for all the support, and of course to everyone else who left comments for me. You are lovely, thank you so much!
Going back did not turn out to be that easy. Seth, Dean, Roman, Daniel and their families all holed up in their hotel rooms for the night and tried to gain access to someone who might be in charge the next morning, only to get officially suspended. "Until further notice," the assistant who had the bad luck to deliver the message told them. They were not released from their contracts. But it felt like this was just a matter of time. There was nothing left to do but go home and wait.
They all met again about a week later at Monica's funeral. Daniel had made sure with Carolyn that they would be welcome. So he stood at the graveside, holding Brie's hand, Roman with Galina next to him, Seth and Dean on the other side. There were few other people, mostly women around the same age; co-workers, Daniel suspected. And Detective Moore was there, a little way off, on his own. Carolyn later told Daniel that Paul Heyman had respectfully asked if he could attend, but she had turned him down. "I can forgive Dean for running," she told Daniel, "And Monica would have. He was kind to her. I can't forgive Paul for covering for her killer. Not yet, at least. But the gesture counts, too."
Carolyn also held the eulogy, told stories about her dead friend. About the good times they had. About the trouble she had gone through, how she was stubborn and proud sometimes, warm and loving the next moment. Again, Daniel was reminded how eerily similar some of her personality was to Dean's and he could see that Seth noticed, too. Eyes down, face calm, he saw his hand press Dean's until the other man's fingers turned white. Life can be short, Daniel thought.
When it was all over, Detective Moore shook Carolyn's hand and nodded at them all before leaving. Daniel nodded back. Their legal troubles still loomed over them, but he found that since they had left the police station, his anger at the man had slowly evaporated. The detective had made mistakes, but so had everyone during this insane weekend. All together, they had somehow managed to find out why the woman they were laying into her grave now died, and that was what mattered in the end. They could not bring her back, but at least she would get some justice.
It was the last time Daniel saw Roman, Seth and Dean for another week, until one evening, his phone beeped repeatedly to show the arrival of a whole series of pictures.
"Two weeks. Sometimes I really can't believe them," Daniel said, shaking his and smiling. Brie looked over his shoulder at the pictures. "Nah, it fits," she said. "It just always has to be all or nothing, right? But you'd think they would have invited you after all that happened!"
Daniel scrolled through the pictures: Seth and Dean in their tuxes, kissing, exchanging rings, hugging Jojo, then a selfie in which Roman had tried to capture everyone of the small gathering. "Nah," Daniel smiled. "It's their own thing. It's all good the way it is."
He remembered the text message Kevin Owens had sent to him immediately after Wrestlemania. "I'm sorry for what I said," it read. "It wasn't wrong…" Daniel had written back. "Doesn't mean it was right to say it." was Kevin's response. Daniel had left it at that.
Brie kissed his hair. "You know you are too nice for your own good, right? And I can't believe Seth didn't fix his hair first!" She smiled and went back to her computer, continuing to work on her latest project.
Brie had not yelled at him when he had come back from the police station. Not told him what an idiot he was for taking a risk like that. While he was away, she had started to make a list of potential lawyers for him, compared prices, called people for info. When he had brought her up to speed, it took her less than an hour to hire a public relations team that would work for all of them.
Only when everything had been organized, the kids were fast asleep in the next room and they had gone to bed, Brie had started crying and didn't stop for hours. Daniel could do nothing to comfort her, no apology, no promise never to do anything like this again made a difference. It had been difficult between them for a while, but with all the time they could spend together now, the ice had melted again. They had not discussed what would happen in the unlikely case that WWE would call and ask him to wrestle again, though. So Daniel tended to the garden, spent time with his children, and wondered about the future.
The good thing about moving was that it left little time for worrying. Roman had helped to clear out Dean's place and put all the stuff they wanted into the moving van. "Why on earth would you take that fucked-up old bed with the broken bedpost," Roman had grunted after hoisting it into the van. Seth blushed. "I might be able to fix that once we're in Iowa…" he muttered. "Really?" Dean looked up from the box he was shifting. "You have that? And you kept it?" He pulled Seth into a long kiss. Roman didn't ask.
Everything had been kind of a blur to Roman since he had seen his brothers again through the glass door at the police station. They were back with him, finally together, even married in front of his eyes just a few days ago. Everybody happy and healthy. He knew what his suspension would mean financially and he felt vaguely guilty that he did not feel all that bad about it. After that terrifying weekend, he just felt grateful for the freedom, the time he would have with his family, with his friends.
He found a pillow and threw it, hitting Dean in the back of his head. "Stop it, now, before I have to get the garden hose!" Hearing them complain and bicker in return was music to his ears.
Dean's phone arrived just before they left Vegas and Seth's waited for them in Iowa. He switched it on, but then put it in a drawer and went back out to help Dean with his stuff. He wanted all the messages to come through so he could look at the whole mess at once when Dean had gone out of grab some food.
The first things that popped out were the missed calls from his Crossfit contact. Seth felt his heart slump. Holding the WWE suspension in his hands had been painful and he was not sure if he could do the "We're sorry, but we need to release you from your contract" – talk. He let himself fall back on the bed just when the phone rang again. Nicole from Crossfit. Again. But there was no helping it and he knew it.
"Seth! I thought I'd have to send a mail pigeon or something!" She didn't really sound like she was going to give him the "You're fired" talk. "Got my phone back from the police literally an hour ago…" Seth said. "Oh. Of course. Well, let's cut to the chase, how long are you suspended from WWE?" "Indefinitely." He ran a hand across his face. So now she would start the "I'm sorry…" part. But she didn't. "Hm, that should give us at least three months, right? Probably more?" Seth stared at the ceiling, but it didn't make sense. "Sorry, what?" he said after a while.
"Okay, Seth, you've got a lot on your plate, with what happened at Wrestlemania and getting married – oh, damn, forgot, congratulations, of course! – But your contract with us is pretty clear – we take the backseat towards your responsibilities at WWE, but currently you are not working for them and not injured, that means we could finally do some more time-consuming pieces with you. The board is thinking of a web special with workout videos, maybe some live-chat events… we need you at the headquarters to discuss details. Fly you in Monday?"
Seth let her voice wash over him, confusion mounting. "Nicole…" he finally managed. "You know I might still be charged with obstruction of justice?" "We would make room for court dates, of course," Nicole replied. "No, well, I mean… doesn't that bother you? And that I married another guy…" Nicole sighed at the other end of the line. "Seth, I see that WWE is pissed, I mean, you did not show up for work and all, but so far, you never missed a work commitment with us, so that's not really an issue. The obstruction… well, it's not like you didn't have a good reason. I think if we did popularity polling, you'd top the numbers you got right after coming back from your knee injury. And Dean, I mean, I think I remember that he hated Crossfit, but if he wants a guest spot… we could pitch something like a special workout for people with a chronic injury. Hm… there might be an angle there… but let's discuss this Monday. You're back in Iowa? I'll send you the flight details. See you then! Oh, and one thing – we need to fix your hair. See you Monday!" She had hung up before Seth got another word in.
"Bad news?" Dean asked from the doorway, take-away dinner in hand. "No…" Seth replied, still confused. "Apparently, I still got a job. Crossfit wants to see me Monday…" "Should have known they can't do without their Crossfit Jesus," Dean grinned and Seth rolled his eyes. "Don't call me that." But Dean had already dropped the food and moved on top of him, throwing the phone on a chair and pinning him on the bed. "Means we'll have to use the weekend well, right?"
Seth hadn't imagined being out of work to be so fucking busy. Even though the PR team and the lawyers had told him to lay low, the Crossfit-engagements alone meant that he was hardly at home more than when he was still working for WWE. He worried how Dean would adjust in their new home all on his own and he was glad that the PR team suggested that Dean should do some charity work. "Kind of pre-emptive community service," they had said and the lawyers agreed that it could only help.
Dean had easily chosen a homeless shelter downtown and when they both managed to be home at the same time, he would tell Seth about the people he met, the conversations he had. Dean told their stories with his whole body, glowing eyes and so much compassion that Seth felt himself getting slightly jealous. "You really like it there, don't you?" he said softly when Dean had finished his latest update on the events at the shelter over dinner.
Dean picked up on his meaning immediately. Seth knew he would. "Yeah, but it's not like having a good match. Nothing is." Seth nodded. "I know." "You can't beat that high. The exhaustion, the fun…" "But it's still… good, isn't it?" Dean shrugged. "It's… special to help with those people. Hear their stories. Okay, some of them behave like assholes, but if you can talk them down and then understand why they're so mean to others, maybe even make them be better for a little while… yeah, it's good, too. Useful." Seth nodded. "You wonder if I could be there permanently, don't you? Get a real job there?" Dean asked and Seth smiled an embarrassed smile. "I'm pretty transparent, right?" "Only to me," Dean answered, kissed Seth softly and pulled him over to the couch.
"Maybe… who knows. Can't hurt if I ask them about it. What I would have to do, and stuff. But I've been thinking about something else, too…" Dean said, playing with Seth's hair. "I mean, I wonder if I quit too early trying to be a manager or commentator or something… at some promotion…" he trailed off. WWE had not contacted them at all. Seth knew that the chances of coming back were getting smaller and smaller. "I mean," Dean continued, "Maybe I was too stuck on trying to be an actor, I should be ready when you are picked up again, in case they want me for a story. I know I can't wrestle full-time, but maybe I could be your manager. I would have to practice what I can do with the bum shoulder…" "Well, conveniently, you married a guy who owns half of a wrestling school," Seth grinned.
He moved on top of Dean and kissed him again. "You think that's okay, babe?" he asked softly when they had to stop for air. "Be my manager, watch me wrestle when you can't?" There was a subtle shift in how Dean's body felt under him and when he looked up, there was a familiar, dark glint in Dean's eyes and a smirk on his lips that went straight to Seth's cock. He felt Dean's fingers curl into his hair and slowly increase the pressure on his scalp. "Oh, I'm sure you'll show me just how grateful you are back in our room…" Dean purred into his ear and Seth shuddered. He let Dean guide his head down.
With all that was good with his new life, Seth found that the silence from his old colleagues, his old life, hurt. When he opened his messages, there was nothing from any of them after the end of March.
Even before they had left the hotel, they had shot a little video on Roman's phone, apologizing for what had happened. They had sent it to the whole WWE group, but after their suspension, they got kicked out and never got an answer. They had also used the rest of their cash money to buy huge bouquets of flowers for Paige, Bayley and Sasha. According to all sources, they had hit it out of the park with their match, but of course that would not be what Wrestlemania 36 would be remembered for now. Of all the things Seth felt bad about, this ranked pretty high. But this gesture also remained unanswered. Seth had decided that he would have to wait for them to forgive him.
They tried to avoid WWE news as best as they could, tried to spend the little time they had together with nicer things. Still, some things were so big that they could not be missed. Stephanie kicking Hunter out of the WWE management, separating from him. Hunter being charged with bribery. Brock's trial being delayed and delayed all over again. The press starting attempts of character assassination on Carolyn, now key witness since Paul's confession at Wrestlemania was obviously inadmissible. Her job and her past made it easy for them. It made both Seth and Dean so angry that they only asked Daniel for updates when they felt they could stomach it.
Things only turned around when Paul, who had stayed mum since Wrestlemania, suddenly offered a full, unsparing confession of everything he and Brock had done during this weekend. Press now turned on him, suggesting it was mostly done for his own advantage, but when they talked about it, all four of them felt that wasn't true. "Maybe it's wishful thinking…" Daniel told them during a video call, "But I think his remorse is real. Before, there was nothing really gained from a confessing, Monica stays dead, but now he can at least get Carolyn off the hook. She's been trying to stay tough, but there's just so much you can take when you know your son will hear all about it at school… She wouldn't have stopped, though. But I'm glad she doesn't have to, now."
There were other news that made them a little more optimistic. Shane and Stephanie's huge interview about the health of their father. Their pledge to make sure that WWE would be a safer, fairer place from now on. As far as Seth could tell, it helped. Ratings were up. Reports seemed mostly friendly, supportive. It made Seth happy and sad at the same time, happy for his co-workers, sad it only happened now, without him. And even though the press was almost unanimously nice about him, Dean, Roman and Daniel, he knew there were no guarantees now what his future would hold.
Dean woke Seth up on his birthday unnaturally early, especially considering when they had finally fallen asleep. "Are you okay?" Seth asked sleepily. Dean scoffed at him. "Just because I'm up before you? Got a surprise for you, sleepyhead. Get dressed. Get your pretty ass downstairs." "We said we wouldn't spend money on gifts…" Seth half complained. "I didn't," Dean said, almost jumping up and down now with impatience "And it's not really a gift. C'mon now, you'll like it, get up…" Seth got dressed hastily, followed Dean down the stairs. "Front door," Dean instructed and Seth felt Dean's hands over his eyes just when he wanted to open the door.
"Where are we going?" Seth asked. "Nah, who's being curious?" Dean teased. Seth closed his eyes and let himself be slowly guided by Dean, but after only a few paces, they stopped. "Ready?" Dean asked. "Mhm…"
Dean pulled away his hands and Seth saw his car in the driveway. It gleamed in the early morning sunlight and for a moment, Seth thought it was some weird kind of inner-city mirage. "Ta-da!" Dean shouted. Seth moved forwards, put a hand on the hood. "It's real alright," Dean laughed. "Told you, not a gift as such. But the lawyer called last week, said they had come to an agreement with the lawyer of the other guy – you get your car, he gets his, we all sign that no-one is going to drag anyone else to court or ever talk about this again – I got the documents inside. So, Happy Birthday!" He turned Seth around and kissed him.
"Let's get away," Seth whispered. "Take her for a spin…" "Something wrong?" Dean asked. "No. It's perfect. But I don't… I don't want to spend today looking at my phone and no-one calls. Let's keep the phones home and just drive. What do you think?" "Whatever you want, babe." "And I could finally teach you how to drive with that gear-stick…" Seth smiled. "Look who's feeling brave," Dean muttered.
They spent the day on the road, driving around randomly to places even Seth did not know, only stopping for food or gas or when they saw something they liked. They would see Roman, Daniel and their families for a shared birthday dinner the next weekend. This day was just for them.
When they came home late, Seth felt the tight knot in his chest again. "Would you maybe…" he said softly "...look at the phone first?" Dean nodded and picked it up. A big grin split his face immediately. "I guess you'll need to charge it first. Almost empty from all the notifications."
And there they were, his old friends, his co-workers. Short messages, longer ones, little videos. Congratulations on his birthday, his wedding. "We miss you". Seth's first tear hit the screen before he realized he was crying. "See? Some things just bounce back to normal," Dean said, hugging him from behind, watching the videos, reading the messages.
Seth stopped scrolling when he reached a voice mail from Hunter. His thumb hovered over the play-symbol uncertainly. "Am I feeling that lucky?" he asked Dean. "Dunno…" the other man said. "But even Hunter is not going yell at you on your birthday. I think." Seth sighed. "Okay… let's give him a chance."
"Seth, hey," Hunter's voice said. He sounded uncertain. It didn't suit him at all, Seth thought. "It's Hunter. Calling to wish you a happy birthday. All the best for the next year. And, belatedly, congratulations on your wedding. I'm… very happy for the two of you." There was a pause and Seth wondered if that was all Hunter had managed, but there was still recording time left. Finally, Hunter started again: "The last message I left for you – I'm sure you know by now I tried to take it back. I don't know if that makes a difference to you. But I just wanted to tell you again I did not mean it. Nothing of it. I… have made serious mistakes that weekend. And before. And… we all have, I think… but that's no excuse. What I mean is… I… I've had to think a lot about mending things lately. There's much here that is broken. I'm not sure all of it can be fixed. But I'd be very happy if our friendship could be, some time down the road. Until then… I hope you are well. And I wish you all the best. Happy birthday."
The call ended. Dean found his voice first. "Wow, I think I never heard Hunter ramble before." "You think he means it?" Seth asked. Dean's arm hugged him tighter. "Well, it's not one of his over-practiced promo speeches; it might actually be from the heart? Who knows…" "You know, I noticed this happily-married thing makes it so much harder to stay mad for long…" Seth leaned back and let Dean kiss him. Hunter could not hurt him anymore.
Seth spent the rest of the evening replying to the messages of his friends, but he did not know what to say to Hunter.
Kevin's call came the next day. "Hey Sellout, how are you?" Seth was greeted cheerfully. "Great," Seth answered automatically. "How are you? Family?" "Good, everybody's doing well. Thought I wait to say happy birthday, didn't want to get stuck in line. And now that I'm actually allowed to talk to you…" "Allowed?" Seth asked. Some of the other wrestlers had said something like that in their messages, but no-one explained. "Yeah, allowed. WWE told us we were not allowed to contact you, that was… Monday morning after Wrestlemania. You didn't wonder why no-one called you before?"
"I just thought you're all still mad at me," Seth answered honestly. Kevin laughed. "Yeah, maybe that too, but, come on. We have a lot of bad habits, but we're not that prone to holding grudges. Nah. We were just not allowed. But now, since management is proclaiming the new age of WWE, where everything will get better, we had a vote, and, congratulations, you're not anathema anymore."
"A vote?" Seth asked. Kevin sighed. "Believe it or not, times they are-a-changin at WWE, or something like that. WWE is seeing the light on quite a lot of things. We get more say, injuries are taken more seriously. Staff treated better. It's… a much nicer place now. You know, less totalitarian regime, more actual workplace. And they told us we were allowed to vote on some things, so we thought we try to overturn the rule that we can't contact you. Went through easily, with your, Roman's and Daniel's birthday all in one week. First logical step to getting you back on the roster, I think."
"I'm happy things got better," Seth said softly "But that will never happen, Kev." He was not sure if he could allow himself that fantasy. "Come on," Kevin said. "I don't mean to be cruel, for once, but the ratings we have right now are because of all that drama during Wrestlemania. And because especially the woman pulled off another great match during Raw after Wrestlemania." "Come for the drama, stay for the sports entertainment?" Seth guessed. "Yeah, pretty much. And ratings are pretty good and stable since, so we did something right." So at least something good had come out of all this, Seth thought. It did not balance the scales, Monica was still dead, but at least some things moved forward. Without him. But, forward.
"Still, they're not going to take us back. Two months, no word at all…" Seth said. He could almost hear Kevin shrug. "It's not exactly like a wellness policy violation where you know exactly how long you will be down. 'Throwing a Wrestlemania match' is not in the catalogue. You'll just have to wait and see. But we want you back. Maybe punch you first, but then have you back around. And the fans, too, of course…"
"Really?" Seth asked. "You're really not watching, are you?" Kevin said. "The fans shout your names. Every fucking show. Every time something is not quite that good, it's "We want Rollins, we want Ambrose, we want Roman, we want Bryan…" Last show, I told them to stop that shit and cheer for people who actually show up for work. The boos were great." Seth could imagine Kevin's wide grin. "You can't go by what the fans chant, we both know that," Seth said. "Anyway, thanks Kev," He could not help but smile. They still called his name. And Dean's, too! That meant even more to him.
"You just need that legal bullshit cleared." Seth sighed. Roman and Daniel had almost reached an agreement with the court that they would pay a fine to charity, nothing more. But they had still no word if he and Dean would get charged. The lawyers kept saying it was less likely by the day, but that brought no relief.
"I still doubt they'll take any of us back," Seth finally said. He could not risk getting his hopes up. "Wait for it," Kevin said. "It's a good time for forgiveness over here. Did you know that Steph kicked out Hunter immediately after Wrestlemania? But now, I think they are doing couples therapy, and you can actually have them in the same room again, though Hunter has no power at the moment." It explained some of the phone call, Seth thought. Maybe he was really trying to piece it all back together.
"You didn't sign anywhere else yet, did you?" Kevin asked, suddenly alarm in his voice. Seth looked at a few sheets of paper on the sideboard. "No, I didn't…" he said. "But you got offers." "Maybe. But no good ones, to be honest. I… finally feel as if I arrived somewhere, I can't pack my things and drag Dean to Japan. And back to the Indies here… I don't know how they feel about me and Dean. And they're reluctant to sign Roman, I'll never get why. But we cost him his job, he needs to make money… if I can convince them to sign him, too…"
Kevin sighed. "Seth, I don't know if Roman or Daniel told you, but we had a… let's call it a discussion during Wrestlemania weekend. About loyalty." Seth thought about this for a second. "No, don't think they mentioned it." Kevin chuckled. "Nice of them. Maybe not my best moment, but, anyway… I still think that deep down, this is about loyalty - to all of us. Wait. Show WWE that letting us down was a one-time thing, for a good reason. For the man you love. But stay loyal to us now. Accept your punishment. Wait. Just a little longer."
"If they are serious about the health of their performers, they can't take Daniel back," Seth pointed out. "And you suddenly think that's a bad thing?" Kevin asked back. "You know what I mean. It constantly worried you. And Daniel will always find a place. I'm sure. But what about you?" "I found a place already," Seth said softly. He thought Kevin would make a joke about this, but he did not. "And I'm happy for you. But there's another place here with us," he just said. "Give my love to the lunatic. See you soon, I'm sure!"
When Seth had disconnected the call, Dean showed up in the doorway. Seth immediately knew something was wrong and he could tell what it was when he saw two letters in his hand. "They just arrived," Dean said hoarsely. "They are from the court." Seth took a deep breath. "Well, then at least we will know." Dean tore both letters open at once, still standing in the hallway, not waiting to get an opener and ripping off part of the letter in the process.
It was all legalese, of course, and Seth found that the words did not want to make sense, his heart beating so loud that he could not concentrate.
"Insignificance," Dean read out loud and suddenly it fell into place. "They are not charging us," Seth said. "Look, the letters are identical. It's over." Dean fell into him, laughing, crying, and Seth lost his balance, sending them both to the hallway floor.
"Shoulder okay?" Seth asked immediately. "Yeah," Dean whispered and pulled Seth into his arms. "Everything is okay right now. We can move on now. Look forward. Everything will be okay..." He kissed him slowly and deeply, pressing him to his chest. "Seth…" Dean whispered close to his lips. Seth looked into Dean's eyes and he could read that Dean was looking for the words again. Wanted to tell him, struggled, got scared that he could not...
"I know," Seth whispered and sealed Dean's lips with his. And he did. He tried telling him again with his kiss and felt Dean kiss him back with the same fire. He knew he would always love Dean, with words and without. And he knew could wait. They had all the time in the world.
It was the night after SummerSlam when Daniel finally made his way to the ring again. He had missed it, the noise, the lights, the electricity. The crowed yessed for him as if he had never been away and he felt happy and heartbroken at the same time. He had done this before, announced his retirement tearfully, even though he had not really believed it. Had not given up yet.
This time, it would be different, and he knew it. The smiles on the faces of two children told him all he needed to know. He had gotten overtime, so to speak. And he got out alive and reasonably healthy. But he knew he had to stop before his luck ran out. Now. Brie in the first row gave him a thumbs-up.
He tried to start his promo, but the crowd would not shut up. After what felt like ages, he could finally start. "Guys and girls, I can't tell you how good it feels to be back!" Another roar, another pause until he could go on. "After Wrestlemania, I never thought I'd stand here again. Because of what I did. But also because of what was almost done to me. There are times in a man's life…" The crowd started shouting "No, no," But Daniel went on. "…when he has to make decisions, sometimes hard ones. I retired before. And I need to retire again, at least from the inside of the ring. But now I know that I can't retire completely. That's why - Shane McMahon made me your new general manager of Raw!"
The crowd exploded in cheers. And slowly, other chants started. We want Roman. We want Ambrose. We want Rollins. "Ah, I know, I know. But that is something I can't give you," Daniel said in a sad voice. The crowd booed "But maybe, just maybe, it is just something I can't give you yet." More loud cheers.
Kevin Owens' music hit right on cue. He had all the heels on the roster with him, some arriving from behind, surrounding Daniel quickly. Daniel could see the suppressed smiles on the faces of the younger, more inexperienced heels. Kevin had the mic. "Daniel freaking Bryan," he said. "Can't you just stay down?"
The crowd hissed and booed. Daniel looked across the faces surrounding him, trying with all his might to show fear on his face and not grin madly. "You betrayed us," Kevin went on. "You threw your match at Wrestlemania for the three idiots who just think about themselves. You are no longer welcome here." Everything happens twice, first as tragedy then as farce, it went through Daniel's mind. Who had ever said that was always a bad thing? "This time," Kevin finished his promo, "Your exit here is going to be very, very final." He dropped the mic and the heels approached the ring slowly.
Outside, Roman was close to a screaming fit when Seth and Dean finally came running down the empty corridor. "Where the fuck have you..." But a look at their glowing faces and their wide, contented grins answered the question. "Oh you didn't," Roman muttered "Did we miss it?" Dean asked, panting. "Almost, but not yet. Did you tape his shoulder right?" Roman asked Seth, and Seth nodded to spare some breath. "I can't believe the two of you. I really can't…" Roman said, looking at his brothers. He remembered how close he had come to losing them. How long it had taken them to be happy together. He hugged both of them to his chest quickly and kissed their foreheads. "Never change," he whispered to them. "Never change." On the other side of the door, The Shield's music hit. They looked at each other as the door opened. The crowd went wild.
*deep breath*
This very happy ending is partially due to my mum's intervention – I told her that I think I'm over-fixing my story, and she basically said: "Sweetheart, you know what the world out there is like. This is fiction. Why not fix as much as you possibly can?" I couldn't really argue with that.
I didn't want to fix Seth and Dean's timing – that remains ridiculously awful in good times as in bad. And, sorry to probably disappoint you, but Dean will need more time to say those three words and to me, it always felt more important that Seth can cope with that and actually wait for him. (If you want, leave a comment when you think Dean will finally be able to say it. Could be fun ;) )
Also, maybe Seth will forgive Hunter some time… but not yet.
And, one last silly reference: The "Everything happens twice" quote is by Karl Marx (at least more or less).
Okay, and this one time, I'm actually going to ask.
If you made it through to here, whether you read it all or skipped through some of it: I'd be so very happy if you left me a little note. Doesn't need to be anything grand. Would just love to hear from you.
That's it from me, thank you all again. Over and out.