Oops, I did it again XD While I'm still at home I wanted to publish this. If you won't hear from me for a while it's cause I sought out help because my condition is getting worse with each passing day. Don't worry, it's (hopefully) only a mental thing but when your head is poisoning you from within, it's not a walk in the park either. Anyway, here's the monthly edition or something like that =)


Extreme Rules 2015
01:33 am

After his Last Man Standing match Roman had carried himself backstage with his head held high – after all, he had just won a huge fight that hopefully heralded the end of this annoying feud. Roman has bigger fish to fry, one of them being his own little brother.

But as soon as he'd been in the safety of Dean's presence, he'd ditched the tough act and collapsed right into his brother's arms.

'Well done, big guy,' Dean had said before hauling him to a quiet room to watch Seth's title match. Roman has to admit that he was out of it for most parts of the cage fight. His eyes had followed the events in the ring, but his mind hadn't been able to comprehend anything.

He just wanted to crawl into a bed and sleep everything off.

And there he is now, lying flat on his back, drinking in the calming quietness. He's beyond exhausted but he knows that sleeping isn't in for him as long as there's still one third of them missing. Dean sits on the used couch, bitting his bottom lip and rubbing over his shoulder, eyes glued to the door.

They're both expecting a knock announcing their brother's arrival any moment now. What they didn't expect was Kane dropping Seth off.

'Thanks for keeping an eye on him tonight,' his best friend murmurs while hugging his boyfriend close to his chest, taking the title with his free right hand. 'Thank you for helping me get on his nerves lately,' Kane returns the favor and Dean tips two fingers against his head as some kind of weird salute.

'My pleasure, man.' Kane had asked Dean for some advice to intimidate Seth and make him look like a fool and his brother eagerly tossed some ideas around until they settled on the other verbally threatening their friend, reminding him over and over that his big win is nothing more than an illusion. That he alone wouldn't have achieved anything.

Since Dean didn't stop him from cashing in at Mania he clearly thinks differently but Roman assumes that he's still not over Seth using his Authority buddy to eliminate him and win the Money in the Bank ladder match himself. And it's balm for the soul whenever someone speaks the truth in front of the fans.

As if he's able to get another tiny bit of closure every time it happens.

Kane's gaze wanders towards him and the man nods briefly, showing his respect for Roman's achievements at Extreme Rules before announcing another miracle his baby brother was able to accomplish. 'Please do not ask me how he did it, as I have no idea, but he tricked Hunter into taking the week off, so I would have the power of deciding who may get a title shot at Payback.'

Okay. Won't Orton have something to say about this too? He surely isn't done with Seth yet – especially since that sneaky buffoon used his own finisher against the man; after banning it from the match. Cocky son of a bitch. 'I will let the WWE Universe decide and there will be an option to pick a Triple Threat match,' is all Kane needs to say.

Dean turns around slowly – Seth still leaned heavily against him –, waving the title around in the air with a gleeful grin lighting up his face. 'Look who doesn't want to be alone with The Viper.' That's what Dean takes from these news? Typical.

Roman can't stop himself from grinning back at his brother and tries to get up to shake Kane's hand but the man steps into the room and to the bed, so he doesn't have to move. Quite frankly, Roman isn't sure he'd have been able to get up anyway. He's as dead beat as Seth looks.

'Speaking of, you can Chokeslam him some more in the future,' he says to his brother's ally and for the first time since arriving Seth moves voluntarily on his own, throwing him a death glare. 'Don't listen to him,' comes the raspy, slightly angry remark and Kane leaves them to their own devices, bidding his farewell obviously amused.

'I'm gonna drag Catwoman's ass into the shower now. You stay here and look all dashing till we're back,' Dean orders with a wink and both of them vanish in the bathroom. His brother doesn't close the door for some reason, but since Roman has stopped trying to understand how Dean ticks, he won't question it.

Chilling in bed sounds way better anyway.

He thought he'd have to listen to them whisper secretively and shamelessly have semi-slow, affectionate shower sex but Dean makes sure to include him into the conversation they're having, tending to both his brothers' physical and emotional wounds at the same time. Over the past couple of weeks he easily mastered the art of balancing this delicate act.

'See how it all turns out just the way I want it to?' Seth mentions cheekily, yet his voice is barely louder than the running water. Roman can hear the body wash being uncapped and Dean pouring some of it on his hands. For a second, he wonders if his brother jumped into the shower too or if he remained standing outside. In the end, it doesn't matter.

Dean's there to pick up the pieces, no matter what.

'Well, Kane helped a lot and Randy dinged you up pretty good, but yeah, nice first title defense. You chicken.' In the last month Seth had let them in on his plan to free Kane from the grasp of the Authority – not without adding a little drama, of course – while also concentrating on keeping Orton at bay.

Since his main focus oddly lies on the Kane part, Randy was able to catch Seth off guard on more than one occasion. But his baby brother is a very proud champion; underhand methods or not. After accepting why Dean had single-handedly decided that Seth was ready for this challenge he blossomed in his role as the snobby, spoiled, cowardly, petulant and childish heel, enjoying the crap out of every promo and match he has.

Dean always watches him backstage with that particular glint in his eyes; something akin to pride, yet it's tragically sad at the same time. His best friend still hopes that Seth will have a chance to retain his title and fight his wars alone because he is that damn good and he wants the whole world to see.

'Man,' Roman listens to Dean change the topic, 'I was waiting for Kane to double-Chokeslam Chip an' Dale for ages. Was about damn time.' These two guys have taken so much damage thanks to Seth and they still look up to him as if he hung the moon. They'll be completely crushed when his brother decides to abandon them.

A moping grumble rings out in the bathroom and Roman has to strain his ears to catch the next words. 'Let me guess: you enjoyed the one he gave me the most.' Like Seth really needs to ask that.

From what Roman remembers, Dean had been livid during that match, cursing and vowing to kill Randy for real if he ever dared to hurt the light of his life again. Roman even had to hold him back at the wrist – fuck if he knows how he did that – when Orton hit Seth with the DDT from the top rope.

Dean hates that move ever since The Viper injured their brother with it when he was part of the Evolution and The Shield had still been intact.

He can imagine the huge smirk on his friend's face right now, knowing that they both savor every time an ally of them takes it all out on Seth. Because then they can be sure that he won't get hurt too much and it's so damn satisfying to see him pay for some of the crimes he committed.

'So, how was my SKO? Never said I wouldn't use it.' Roman and Dean chuckle at the same time, both of them congratulating him for being such a cunning jerk. 'I liked the Curb Stomp better,' his brother admits after a while in a gravelly voice, seriously mourning the loss of Seth's signature move. Even though he was on the receiving end of so many of them.

Seth tries to cheer their friend up by replying, 'But my new finisher is a homage to yours.' Always with their lovey-dovey stuff in front of the whole world. Roman has long since given up on holding them back, only protects them quietly from the shadows whenever they run the risk of stepping out of line.

He has to grin when the past Smackdown and their tag team match flashes through his mind again. Seth had called the double impact he had with Dean a belly-to-belly kiss. Sure looked like they broke some ribs but as long as the two of them have fun, Roman encourages them to have their moments.

It kinda broke his heart though when Dean – confused and disoriented – crawled towards Seth to make the tag because it's still firmly etched in his muscle memory to seek out his little brother. Seth came running to them as soon as the show was over, pecking his boyfriend on the temple while murmuring repeatedly, 'Soon, I promise.'

'And I already rewarded you for being so fucking predictable,' Dean replies, voice torn between reprimanding and joyful. They're all more or less patiently waiting for Seth to come up with a name for his modified snap single underhook DDT. No matter how many times he's turned a blind eye Roman will throttle his brother himself if he'll choose something like Holy Deeds or One Hitter.

'Ro, you still with us?' He turns his head towards the bathroom and grunts loudly as an answer. To be honest, he'd rather listen to them chit-chat than having to use his own brain. It's so peaceful with all of them back together; he's almost able to pretend that they never parted ways.

'Can you help Kevin get on the bed then?' Seth pleads and Roman blinks confused, heaving himself up to look at the floor. Ha. He didn't even see that Kane brought Seth's dog too. 'Yeah,' he groans, feeling every bone in his body scream in pain when he picks the excited Yorkshire up.

'Good boy,' Roman murmurs, patting the newest addition to their family while closing his eyes to enjoy his brothers' absence some more. When they'll come back, they will surely pester him to stir so they can treat him, making sure he didn't injure himself tonight.

And then, when that is done, they will cuddle up to him while Kevin will sleep between his legs like usual and Roman won't be able to move for the rest of the night. He's not complaining, God no, but right now he's ready to pass out. He also still needs to come up with a way to justify Kane putting him in the poll on Raw.

Seth is an angel for making this possible, so Roman doesn't want to disappoint. Hopefully the fans will give him a chance once more.

He'll look out for his younger brother in the ring, just like he did at Wrestlemania, even though he was pissed that Seth stole his moment. He didn't let Brock F5 his friend and he won't let Randy RKO him into oblivion either. Roman wants to win the title himself and Seth is only too painfully aware of that.

The shower is getting turned off and a few minutes later his brothers emerge again. Dean's shirt is wet at the front, the sight telling Roman that he got his fare share of water too while making sure that Seth was clean and well-cared for. He takes it off and throws it carelessly on a chair; Seth immediately walks over to spread it across the backrest, so it'll dry nicely overnight.

Ladies and gentlemen, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose in a nutshell.

'You still wanna do this?' Roman asks curiously, pointing at the shiny title on the table and the door Kane vanished behind earlier. Seth gets what he means and rummages in his duffel for pain relieving spray and healing ointment. It's really adorable that after the hell he's been going through he still wants to tend to their wounds too.

Dean – who seems to be the fittest one of them, even with the many chair shots and God knows what else he had to endure – watches them with a fond expression on his face, holding his ribs absentmindedly with one hand before checking Seth for any cuts or bruises. The peaceful times are officially over.

'Yes. It's all I have left,' Seth answers, forcing Roman to get up so he can take his wifebeater off. Such a demanding little nurse. 'You don't need to,' Dean reminds him for the umpteenth time, fearing that Seth might come to a deadlock without realizing it.

He's the World Heavyweight Champion now and running around with a huge bull's eye on his back. Bringing the Authority to their knees shouldn't be his top priority anymore. But Seth is a stubborn idiot who wants to right the wrongs he did at all costs.

'I know,' he says, gently massaging Roman's back to find any hard spots while Dean, sitting on his knees behind their friend, rubs some ointment on Seth's neck. 'Besides, I owe it to Kane and I really don't want to upset the Undertaker.' It's hilarious that his brother is still not entirely convinced the man one day won't eat him alive.

Dean shrugs and rests his forehead on his boyfriend's shoulder, muttering, 'You call the shots, baby.' His best friend is still as ready and willing as ever to follow Seth wherever he will lead him.

They finish their examination in silence and after they're finally done, Roman feels loved and oddly constricted at the same time. Not by their affection, he's enjoying that all hours of the day, but by the various bandages Seth insisted on him wearing overnight.

He doesn't tell them that he's fine. Exhausted and his whole body is burning but otherwise he's unharmed. He suspects they have to do it – Seth more than Dean – to feel like they contribute something important to their small family. They don't need to prove a single thing but Roman knows better than to take this away from them.

He's keeping an eye on his brothers day in, day out, so he guesses it's okay if they decide to collectively lick all their wounds. It's a special kind of bond that started to bind them in the early days of the Hounds.

'By the way, renegade, what did you leave in the glove box?' Dean snickers and flops down on Roman's right side, using his armpit as some kind of makeshift pillow, answering delighted, 'Twenty bucks and a rock.'

Seth, who just tickled his dog under the chin, looks up dumbfounded, throwing an irritated glance at Roman. But he too can only take a wild guess why Dean chose those things as his apology for hijacking someone's car. 'A rock?' he can't help but utter, too interested in the answer.

It's as uncomplicated as he expected and fits Dean to a T. 'Well, it's not like we stopped at a gas station so I could buy some flowers.' Where the fuck have they been anyway? Only Dean and Harper would take a Chicago Street Fight to the streets of Illinois.

Seth had been going nuts backstage when they drove off, scared that he'd never see Dean in one piece again. The look on his face when their brother dropped down on Harper and the New Day alike was one of sheer joy and relief, mixed with a bit of exasperation at his brother's escapades.

'Did you at least sign it or anything?' 'Yeah, Seth,' Dean answers sarcastically. 'We didn't stop for the flowers but Harper gave me enough time to sign a fucking rock.' Their baby brother tries to retaliate by slapping Dean on the chest, but he misses by an inch and hits Roman's hip instead.

Ouch.

'Sorry,' Seth mumbles, caressing the stinging spot with a featherlight touch and Roman decides that he doesn't have the energy left to complain. He'll let this one slide.

'I rubbed it all over Harper's chest though.' Sure, only Dean can think that someone else's grease and sweat equals his autograph. They need to work on that self-deprecating attitude as soon as possible.

Seth shakes his head, unable to comprehend how Dean can consider this a gift or an apology, watching his friend get comfortable once more with warm eyes, sighing a heartfelt, 'God, I love you.' The days of Dean having a panic attack whenever he hears those words are long gone – other things fuel his nightmares now –; he has learned to take them for what they are: the mutual truth.

He still doesn't say it back very often, mostly only when Seth prompts him to or he's in a generous mood, but usually he responds to this like he does right now. 'I love me too.' Plus, he's wearing the most charming, teasing smile Roman has ever seen.

Seth knows better than to prod, so he lies down, resting his cheek on Roman's left chest after making sure that Kevin is okay on his designated spot. 'So now that you broke your anti-streak what's next for Dean Ambrose?' Anti-streak. Seth's way of describing Dean's recent Pay-Per-View losses because he refused to call it a curse.

His brother shrugs, eyes already closed, and pulls the covers up to his chin. 'I thought King of the Ring for now. Haven't really made up my mind.' Seth too doesn't miss how unenthusiastic Dean sounds, frowning at Roman without their brother seeing it.

Sure, Dean had been visibly relieved when Charles Robinson raised his hand in victory but Roman had expected him to be way more exuberant about tonight. He didn't ask his best friend what was wrong, wanting to wait until he felt like sharing his reasons, but Seth isn't exactly the most patient person on earth. If there's a problem he wants to solve it immediately.

'Okay, why are we not celebrating that all members of The Shield are still undefeated at Extreme Rules? And how come you act so nonchalant about your first singles win?' Dean scoffs grumpily, staying stubbornly silent for a while. Just when Roman thought they'd go to sleep without any answers, his brother enlightens them.

'Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I finally won but it doesn't feel like a big thing. This feud with Harper, it's, I dunno, not what I hoped for my first win. The thing with Seth was, you know, and then Bray took it all away from me and dragged my family into this. It was beyond personal.'

Roman can see where this is going, understands Dean's way of thinking. He's not sure though if he agrees a hundred percent.

'And then the IC title hunt. I started it because I wanted to be remembered as someone great, not the guy that is over with the fans but whose efforts amount to nothing. All these things meant a great deal to me.' Seth watches their brother intently, a grave expression on his face. It's evident he regrets not having any encouraging words and not knowing what to say kills him.

Seth wants to be there for his family at all times, especially now that he spends most of his days and nights away from them. Even without his baby brother talking about it, Roman knows that he'll do everything in his power to cheer Dean up.

Since he already granted Roman a match for the title at Payback – and how fitting is that? –, he'll most likely pull some strings on Smackdown. That's probably the only upside of Seth being Richie Rich and Kane in the know.

They exchange a worried glance, not sure how to properly react when Dean huffs out a sharp laugh and snuggles closer to Roman. 'Don't get all bent into a pretzel, I'm fine. I just wish I'd have won sooner, ya know?' Yeah, they do.

'Your moment will come,' Seth assures their brother while Roman murmurs, 'All that matters is that you're happy.' Dean chuckles mirthlessly and yawns, waving his hand around as if he wants to swat a bug away.

'Can't change the past anymore, so carpe diem, live in the present or whatever. Can we sleep now? You two have a busy day ahead and if I understand this correctly also a little feud coming your way. Better make sure ya end this once 'n for all,' he starts slurring towards the end, tired enough to drift off to sleep while talking.

Seth smiles at Roman and nods; he too wants to get this over with but he won't make it easy for him either. Just because they're brothers doesn't mean he will give him or Orton his title. They'll have to rip it out of his cold fingers or otherwise he won't give up on it.

Roman will finally get his redemption and the three of them can close the chapter of Seth's betrayal without ever looking back again. It'll be tough for Dean – just like it had been for him, though now that his brothers are in a serious relationship things changed for the two of them – but they'll make it through that too.

As long as they're together nothing can bring them down. The Shield – not the wrestling stable but their patchwork family – is as invincible as ever.

Seth bows his head and Roman gives him a small peck on top of his hair before he watches how those well-toned fingers search for Dean's paler ones, so they will hold hands even in their sleep. He's often suggested that he and Dean could switch position but they protested loudly, stating that he should stop saying such nonsense.

It's always been the three of them with Roman in their midst and nothing is ever gonna change that.