We Won't Say Goodbye

Dean sat unmoving. His hands were curled into fists and pressing against his mouth and all he really wanted to do was just lie down and sleep for ten years, but… he couldn't. Not when he was trying to figure out just exactly what Seth's words meant.

"What do you mean it's not over?" Brie had broken the silence when no one else would.

"Hunter knows everything."

"Define everything."

And he'd explained it all. Exactly what Triple H wanted, exactly what he didn't want to hear. "He wants to fight Ambrose. In the cage. And if he wins, The Shield is back under his control."

"He couldn't control The Shield the first time around, what makes him think he can do it now?" was Paige's response.

"What if he loses?" Meredith slowly asked.

But Seth shook his head. "He didn't say. He doesn't expect to lose."

And now Dean was sitting pressed up against the window, pressing the temple of his head against the cool glass. He needed the distraction, needed the soothing to try and get rid of the pounding.

Triple H didn't expect to lose. And Dean knew, he knew the stories of the man, the thirteen and zero streak he had in the cage before he'd shifted it off to Dean like he was a protégée. He couldn't remember the amount of times he'd won, stopped counting after they'd made him fight against Daniel Bryan.

His eyes shifted to where Brie was curled against Roman's back. He'd killed her husband and she could still be in the same room as him. But she hadn't so much as looked at him.

Maybe she was trying to avoid lodging a bullet between his eyes.

He didn't blame her.

There were a lot of despicable things he'd done under Triple H. Yet, he didn't feel it like Roman felt it, he didn't have the guilt. There had been a metaphorical gun placed at his head the moment Kane hadn't killed them all those years ago, he'd been fighting in order to survive. He didn't understand why Roman couldn't see it that way.

"Hey."

Dean's eyes lifted at the sound of Meredith's voice. He watched as she sat opposite him, knees drawn into her chest, arms keeping them close.

They'd raided the rest of the building and had found a couple of tattered sweaters and shirts, and there was a massive grey sweater that hung on her small frame, but she didn't look as cold as she had when they'd first arrived.

"I couldn't sleep," she murmured as she finally broke eye contact, turning to look out the window. "Figured if you were leaving tomorrow I'd spend some time with you."

He frowned then. "How do you know we're leaving?"

A sad smile tugged at her lips. "I can see it in your eyes. Even if you have to go alone, you're not missing that fight."

His eyes slid shut when he remembered how perceptive she was.

Because she was right. He was going to destroy everything Triple H had ever worked for, even if it destroyed him while doing it. There was no other way for this to end, everyone knew it. He had a responsibility— he had to do right by his brothers, he had to do right by Meredith. They'd showed him a family. Now he had to make sure they survived.

"Tell me how you know Paige."

He didn't bother to open his eyes, but he could tell that she was staring at him questioningly. She seemed to understand then that he needed a distraction.

Her sigh was quiet. "There was this guy that worked with me, the same one that asked for the punching bag. His name was Zak, he was this British guy, absolute piece of work, but he was funny. Paige is his younger sister. She would come and go every time The Authority needed a repair, she'd drive in with Orton and catch up with him and when the car was done, she'd drive back out with him. It was only a few times, but… she's not the kind of person you can forget easily."

That was true— he'd only met Paige twice, but she had this energy of I don't give a single fuck about anything and he liked it.

Dean slid his lids back open and spread his legs, held his arms open. "Mer…"

When she looked back at him, she smiled. The mechanic shifted and settled into his arms, her head fitting snug under his chin, fingers knotting into the jumper he'd found.

"You come back to me, okay?" Meredith breathed shakily into his chest. "I don't care how you do it, you just come back to me."

He pressed a kiss to her hair. "I promise."

She deflated when she heard how hollow it sounded and Dean knew right away that she hadn't expected anything else.

Meredith turned her nose against his chest, pressed her ear to where his heart was beating beneath scarred skin. His calloused hand traced along the material over her arm and even through it, he could feel her skin raising under the feathery touch. But then he moved it up and curled his fingers around her chin. Gently, he tilted her chin up until caramel was staring into slate blue and his eyes were burning, hers wide and— he saw the want swirl through them.

His hand shifted to grip the back of her neck. "I'll come back to you," he whispered. "I promise."

And then he was kissing her, pressing his lips into hers, wrapping a strong arm around her waist to keep her close. Another "I promise" was breathed into her mouth and she shifted on him, threw her legs over his so she was straddling him, deepening the kiss. A groan sounded at the back of his throat as she twisted her hands through his hair, tugging unapologetically, and the grip of his hands on her waist was bruising.

But just as quick as it had started, the embrace turned into a tight hug, Meredith pressing her face into his neck and breathing out shakily and she held him.

He never wanted to let go.

XxX

Light was shining in from the window and he groaned, shifted an arm over his face. He could sleep for another year before he was ready to wake up again. But as soon as the light hit his face, as soon as there was a dull pink glow behind his lids, his brain was back in action.

He'd thought they'd never been able to survive, he'd thought that they wouldn't make it out with all of their lives in tact.

There was a silent agreement the night before between himself and Roman, even when nothing had been spoken. They'd both seen the look in Dean's eyes and they weren't about to let him go to war without them. So Today, they'd set course back for Vegas.

So instead of sitting and waiting for the others to wake up, Seth slowly pushed his eyes open and rubbed at them, sat up with a groan.

Against the window, Dean and Meredith were in each other's arms, his brother's head resting against the window, Meredith's against his warm chest. Near the stairwell was Roman and Brie— their backs were to pressing together, but somehow they were still curled into each other.

And that left Paige. He glanced across to where she'd been sleeping, but with a start realised she was gone.

He climbed to his feet noiselessly, made his way past Roman, his legs pushing him towards a soft thudding that echoing through the stairwell and emanating from a few floors above him.

There was a smirk that tugged at his lips when he heard the feminine grunting.

"Fuckin' door," she was muttering, "who the fuck locks their door in the middle of a flood, what the fuck is wrong with this people…"

When he stepped from the stairs and into the new level, Paige was halfway down the hall, slamming her shoulder into an unmoving door.

"Need some help?"

She jumped at the sound of his voice and let out a little yelp, placed a hand at her heart, sent him a little glare that had him smiling even wider. "Fuckin' warn someone before you scare 'em next time, yeah?!" Paige took a deep breath and motioned back to the door. "This thing won't give in. I've checked all the other ones, but this is the only one that's got a locked door. Which makes no fuckin' sense, because who the fuck locks their door in the middle of a flood?"

Seth found himself laughing at her outburst and motioned for her to move away. When he slammed his shoulder into the door with some strength behind it, the lock gave way and snapped off, the door flying open.

"Better?"

Paige shot him an appreciative grin, then pushed past and into the pristine looking apartment.

"Could've fuckin' slept in here last night," she said to herself. "Look for some clothes, you were shaking all night."

His brown eyes found her darker ones and he pursed his lips, nodded his head. She was right. So he walked into the first room he could see and headed straight for the standing wardrobe, rifling through what looked like hand me down clothes. Fingers locking around a large black top and a worn in hoodie, Seth pulled the material on quickly, zipping the hoodie up with trembling hands.

He hadn't realised until Paige had mentioned, but he was still fucking freezing. The fire had helped, definitely, but it didn't last for long once they were all out.

When he walked back out into the main living room, Seth's brown eyes locked on the way Paige was rifling through the cabinet, pulling out all sorts of foods and ingredients, chucking most of them in a large pile and a few in the smaller pile on the bench. She must've felt his gaze, looked up.

"You should go get the others, I'll get something organised for some food."

He was almost out the door when he turned back to her. "Hey, uh… thank you. For everything you've done for me."

A smile curved at her lips. "Anytime, hot stuff."

XxX

Roman had never been one for long goodbyes. Or goodbyes in general.

While Dean had swept Meredith into his arms and kissed her, hugged her as tightly as he could, he smiled. They were right for each other. Meredith was his rock.

And obviously Paige had felt a little left out and pulled a shocked looking Seth into a quick kiss. Roman had to hold back his laugh when Seth's reaction had been wide eyes and a gaping mouth. She'd said something along the lines of 'I felt left out' and then laughed when he didn't reply.

So Roman stood to the side and waited for his brothers.

"You know, I'd never have thought that you'd willingly go back into that city."

He turned his eyes down to where Brie was leaning on the wall next to him. "I'm not going willingly."

"We could all just run away right now, never look back. There's six of us— we'd easily survive in these buildings alone, we could keep it on the down low. Stealthy is healthy."

There was a gentle grin on his face. "I'm not letting Dean go back there alone."

"Never thought you would."

He thought the conversation was over, but then her hand was on his arm, her head ducking to catch his eyes. "You keep them safe, okay? Do whatever you have to do. And don't let Hunter or Stephanie get into your head, because you're better than that. You beat them at their own game and then you all come back, you hear me?"

"Dunno what I'd do without you," Roman lightly teased.

"Honestly, you'd probably be dead by now."

He snorted at that and threw an arm around her shoulder, pulled her in to his chest and pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. "Seriously. Thank you."

"Thank me when you get back."

—

A long road stretched out in front of them.

Roman was in the passenger, Dean at the wheel, Seth in the back.

The silence in the car was deafening. He remembered when their banter would be the best part of his day, but there was nothing to say when they were heading towards their destruction.

He dragged a hand down his face, across his beard.

There was no plan. They were going in blinded. There was a very good probability that they were walking right into a trap and that Hunter would get what he wanted without actually having to fight for it, but what choice did they really have? It was either go back or get captured. All three of them were ready for this stupid game of cat and mouse to be over and done with.

Roman had only just settled into his seat when Dean slammed on the brakes, throwing them all forward, and he pushed a tattooed arm against the dash in order to save her snap of his head.

"Dean!" Seth shouted angrily. "What the fuck, man?"

But he was silent, staring out the window with something close to fear dancing through his eyes.

When Roman followed his line of sight, the blood in his veins turned to ice.

In the middle of the road, maybe fifty metres away, there were figures of two men that stood out against the desert.

The hulking shoulders, the way he bounced back and forth on his feet. The man standing beside him in a suit, hair pulled back into a bun, arrogant grin on his face and his arms crossed in front of a protruding belly— he knew them. He knew them without even seeing the features of their faces. He'd know them with his eyes closed.

Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman were standing right in front of their car.

The Beast and his advocate had found them.

as i said last time- we're powering to the end! once this is finished, i'm thinking of writing another AU. less apocalyptic, more modern, another Dean/OC but with Seth/OC as well... would you guys read?

to the beautiful people who reviewed quinzel harley (it's a pretty cool line, isn't it? hehehe i will probably write it once this is done! hope you enjoyed the fluff in the mean time!), Nangel4 (what can i say, i'm a mean writer huehuehue. don't think Hunter realises just exactly who he's put himself up against... thank you for the words, hope you enjoyed this update!), and next-to-nerdy (HAHA okay i'll check out the movie then! Weird history between Paige and Meredith, but not bad... and i know, all our babies are in the same place for once! hope you enjoyed this one!), thank you so much for the kind words and let me know what you think about this update! bit less gritty, bit more fluff and stuff... it's a nice inbetween, i think!

xx