punishment time! also, some other progression! i promise the slow burn is worth it you guys, lmao, so read on!


Detention. Fucking detention.

The worst-case scenario had been much worse than the suggestion Dean had made earlier: suspension had been the original decree, but Coach Angle had quickly jumped to Roman's aid, even if it meant throwing Dean under the bus. That was not part of Roman's plan. He didn't want that to happen.

Dean only managed a shrug, which raised more questions than answers.

Principal Helmsley had assuaged the deal, giving Roman 4-weeks detention. Coach, although he was still a little cross, agreed, assuring Roman that it was only a small bit of practice he'd be missing. With a little extra effort, he could make that up easy. It didn't relieve the anxious feeling in his gut, but it loosens it a bit, releases some of the pressure building up, the whine of a deflated balloon.

That left the other serving of punishment, which had definitely roused Dean from his uncaring, aloof behavior.

Coach had led Roman out of the office before anything had been said, but Dean's scream of "Suspension?!" could have been heard for miles. Of course Dean, being the one that had the alcohol on the premises, would have to deal with all that crap. Roman didn't get to hear anything else after that, but when he saw Dean later, he wasn't exactly steaming from the ears. A little dejected, sure, but not angry.

He can't even imagine what's going through Dean's head right now...


The only thing going through Dean's head after this morning is 'fuck William Regal'.

If not for him, Dean would probably be expelled, and would have to face the wrath of his fucking stepdad, that much was true. But, because of Regal, he's gonna have to deal with being stuck in in-school suspension for 2 months. How he worked that, even Dean didn't know, but when he really thinks about it, he's sure it's because the old man pities him. That's probably it, because other than that one bit of humanity, the guy was practically ice-cold when it came to Dean.

As far as he's concerned, he got off pretty scot-free. Not like his mom knew he stayed after school, nor did his stepdad care, but such was life. At least he didn't have to deal with detention and missing anymore work than he already had this year.

That would have been the biggest blow to this whole punishment deal, but he supposed he'd have deserved it.


The worst part of all of this, for Roman, wasn't that he was going to be stuck in a classroom for an hour, staring at a wall or working on homework. It wasn't even that he was going to miss the first leg of football practice. Perhaps the worst part was that, instead of having a chance to explain to his mother and father what happened and keep the peace himself, his parents were going to hear about this from the principal's mouth first. Over the phone.

And to any normal kid, they might prefer that the school handle the conversation, but Roman was no normal teenager. Anything he had to tell his parents he preferred to tell them face-to-face. He didn't like feeling like he was hiding behind someone else when he screwed up, and he had no issues with taking responsibility.

But this one issue, his first detention that could have been a suspension, he'd have preferred to own up to it on his own terms instead of the school handling this for him. And his father ... well, Pop would hold his tongue on the phone, would ask his many questions to find out exactly what happened and who were involved, but as soon as Roman returned from practice that evening, he would pretty much hear it.

Or, the worse option: he'd hear nothing.

When it comes down to it, detention is the lesser of two evils, so he manages to shrug off the nagging feeling of guilt and carry on with the rest of his day. The rest of his day flies by, with lunch in-between being a good break for him to release some of the tension in his shoulders with a daily excursion with his cousins in the front courtyard. A lot of it was spent laughing at the jokes Jimmy told him, or listening to Jey talk about the newest, juiciest gossip going around the school.

Those two were the epitome of fun.

In his final few classes, Roman is much more awake, less like he's watching someone live out his life for him. That happens sometimes, when his everyday monotony gets the better of him, but his cousins know how to ground him again. He takes his notes and listens to the teacher drone on about how many chapters he had to read overnight, and before he knows it, the final bell rings.

Getting up from his desk, he picks up his books and books it out of the classroom.

In the meeting this morning, Mr. Regal had said that he would be holding detention in the music room upstairs. So once Roman made it to his locker and packed his backpack with all of his books, he went right there.

At this point, he thinks running into Ambrose is just a thing he's going to be doing now, because no sooner does he start his trek does he see him coming down the stairs from the second floor. His expression is how Roman felt earlier, a little tired, not really there, but once Roman meets his eyes it's like everything connects again.

This time, Roman doesn't feel annoyed, and he welcomes the company as Dean walks beside him, his pace much more relaxed than Roman's. He takes that as a sign to slow down.

"We gotta stop runnin' into each other like this," Dean says, but it doesn't sound like he wants that at all.

Roman, for the first time since they met, cracks a little grin of his own. "At this point, I'm starting to wonder if you're following me."

All Dean does is laugh - this harsh sound that makes Roman want to clear his own throat - before he sticks his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "Could be the other way 'round. You my stalker or somethin'?"

"Yeah, right," Roman chuckles, a much nicer sound in his own ears, before he digs his elbow into Dean's arm. "Sounds like that's more wishful thinkin' than anything. Only time I ever see you is when you're comin' right at me."

Dean doesn't say anything. He's got that grin on his face, though, and Roman decides it's not the worst grin he's ever seen.

He'd actually venture to say that Dean Ambrose wasn't the worst looking person.

"So, what's your punishment?" Roman shouldn't be curious, but he is. He's never really had anyone in his social circle get themselves into this much trouble. It's kind of refreshing. "I'm pretty sure everyone within a mile radius heard you screamin' in the office, by the way."

Dean shoves his hands into his pockets. "In-school suspension."

"Holy shit," Roman says, dragging his hand down his mouth, scraping against his goatee. "When's that gonna be over?"

"Couple months. 'pparently, enough people in the office pity me enough not to expel me on the spot, but it don't matter."

"It doesn't?" Yeah, he had to accentuate the proper grammar, but it's more a teaching opportunity than a teasing one. Dean doesn't catch on, just bounces along to a rhythm only he can jive to, head bobbing every now and again. "It should matter. Colleges will see that."

"That ain't any issue I gotta deal with."

Nodding his head in understanding and taking the abrupt ending to anything else he could say, he clutches the strap of his backpack with one hand and flaps his other one in front of himself, as if wiping away the rest of his words. "Well, in any case, I have detention to get to. See ya around?"

"Prob'ly. You gonna be around later or somethin'?"

"I mean," Roman rubs the back of his neck, "I have football practice immediately after. If you want, you can stick around and I can drive you home?"

The look that crosses Dean's face immediately makes that flutter of anger glow in his gut. Like that's the last thing he wants, but is also something he definitely wants but is ... not afraid, but definitely something close. Roman takes the initiative. "Stay after anyway. If you wanna ride, cool, if not, also cool."

That calms Dean down somewhat and he nods. "'kay. Cool. Should I like, go wait, or-"

Roman grins. "I don't think you can come with me. Pretty sure Mr. Regal will catch on that you're not in detention."

The echoing grin, albeit more subdued, that Dean's got on his face at that is enough that Roman considers it a silent victory, and he casts him a mock-salute before tearing off in the direction of the stairs to head to detention.