RELATIONSHIPS
Thank you to Shanynde on A03, who wanted to see something where Dean tells the other two that he and Renee got married. Hope you enjoy it!
"So, Renee and I got married a few days ago."
"What?" Seth exclaimed in surprise, his foot slamming down on the brakes of the car. The vehicle coming to a complete and sudden stop. Seth's wide eyes stared at the auburn haired man in the passenger seat before a primal growl came from the back.
"Damn it, Rollins!" Roman spat, rubbing his forehead where it had slammed against the back of Dean's seat. Having been fast asleep, he had had no time to brace himself when Seth stopped the car. "What in the hell did you stop for?"
"Because I swear that Ambrose just said that he got married to Renee a few days ago." Seth replied, gesturing to Dean with one hand and guiding the car to the side of the road with the other.
"Motherfucker." Roman grumbled, checking his hand for blood.
"I did." Dean nodded, rummaging through Seth's backpack, looking for some sort of snack. "Thought you guys should know!"
"And you thought that 11:30 at night while we're driving down some deserted highway in the middle of nowhere was the right time to drop that bomb?" Seth raised an eyebrow, grabbing his backpack away from Dean and tossing it in the seat behind him.
"Yeah." Dean casually shrugged his shoulders, "Well, tell you anyway! Uce was still asleep back there when I said it, so…"
"Sometimes," Seth shook his head, "Sometimes, Ambrose, I wonder how that brain of yours operates." With a sigh, he glanced in the rear view mirror. "You all right, Big Dog?"
"Yeah." Roman waved off, "You know us Samoans and our hard heads, brother. Just wasn't the best wake up call." He smiled as he passed a half empty bag of beef jerky up to Dean. "You and Nee actually did it, huh? Congratulations, bro! You go to one of those 24/7 wedding chapels in Vegas?"
"Nah, we had it in the backyard at like 1 am." Dean replied as Seth directed the car back onto the road. "Called some of our friends and an all-hours pastor and boom! Got it done! Blue was my best man…well, dog."
"That sounds like the most Dean Ambrose style wedding you could have had." Seth laughed, "Congratulations, man!"
"Thanks." Dean smiled, "I mean it wasn't, you know, a destination wedding on a cruise ship that was like 10 years in the making, but…"
"All right, all right." Roman replied, putting a hand up at the reference to his own wedding. "It was everything Galina wanted and you and I both know that she deserved that much for putting up with my dumb ass for as long as she has. Plus, you know, it was a Disney cruise, so JoJo enjoyed it too." A smile crossed his face as he thought about his wife and daughter. "That's my job, isn't it? Do what I can to make both of my girls happy?"
"Yep." Dean nodded before turning to Seth with a huge grin on his face. "So, let's see here…"
"Don't even start!" Seth warned, not taking his eyes off of the road. "I'm serious, Ambrose! I don't want to hear it."
"I'm just saying, man!" Dean continued to smile, holding his arms out innocently. "Uce is married and now I'm married. That just leaves you, baby bro!"
"Yeah, remind me not to tell my mom about you and Renee." Seth shook his head, "She's already on my case about finding a nice girl and settling down."
"I wasn't going to say anything, Uce," Roman winced slightly for his friend, "But you should know that she's got my mom involved now. Keeps asking me if you've found yourself a girl yet and wants me to tell you that she knows a couple of girls at her church that would be perfect for you."
"We should have never let Shield Moms become a thing." Seth chuckled.
"Speaking of moms, mine seemed happy when I told her." Dean shrugged.
"You told her?" Seth raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, you know that we've been working on our relationship, right?" Dean nodded, "Nee and I had lunch with her the last time we were in town. They seemed to get along. So, I called her the day after we did it. Told me that she had always hoped that I'd meet someone like Renee."
"Yeah, you definitely deserve it." Roman agreed, shifting in his seat.
"Eh, I really don't, Uce." Dean argued, glancing back at his friend. "I mean she really is too good for me, but she seems to want to stay, so…"
"Because she sees the same you that the Big Dog and I see." Seth shook his head, "Don't be so hard on yourself, man!"
"Believe that!" Roman nodded in agreement, "So, probably too soon, but do you think you and Nee will have kids one of these days?"
"I don't know, man." Dean replied after taking a drink of water. "I mean, we agreed that right now, we're both too busy to look after anything besides Blue. We have talked about it though, and she definitely wants them, but I'm not sure about it, you know?" He paused momentarily. "What about you and Gal? You planning on having any more?"
"You're kidding, right?" Roman chuckled, "Man, Lina wanted like 12 kids when we first met!"
"Jesus." Seth winced.
"Yeah, I'm hoping that I've managed to talk her down over the years to about 5 or 6 maximum." Roman continued, "Yeah, I'm open to having like two or three more, but it's going to be a while before that even happens. Still got our hands full with the twins!"
"5 or 6." Seth repeated before shaking his head. "That is still a lot of kids, brother! Are you even going to be able to retire?"
"Probably not." Roman shrugged his shoulders, "Might be Galina's strategy though: keep me working so she doesn't have to deal with me for a couple of days each week, right? Nah, I'm just playing. Really though, she and I both come from big families, so we want to keep that going."
"Big families." Dean scoffed, looking back at his friend. "Man, I don't think that there is a family bigger than yours, Big Guy! And that's not even counting the whole blood brothers deal with the Maivia clan!"
"What can I say? We Samoans like to multiply. Yessir!" Roman replied before joining in the laughter the two men in front of him had started.
"So," Seth said a few moments later when the conversation in the car had died down. "I guess that I should tell you guys that there IS a girl back in Iowa."
"Really?" Dean teased, "Only one girl in the entire state? Huh! You'd think there'd be more."
"Oh, bite me, Ambrose." Seth rolled his eyes as Dean and Roman laughed. "No, I mean there's a girl that I've been kind of seeing whenever I make it home. I wouldn't say that she's my girlfriend yet though. We've only gone on a few dates, so…"
"Still in the Do I Like This Person phase." Dean nodded, pulling a bag of chips out of his bag. "She hot?"
"I think so." Seth shrugged, "I've got a picture of her on my phone. I'll show you later."
"So, you do her yet?" Dean said through a mouthful of chips.
"Hey!" Roman admonished from the back seat, "Number one, that's not an appropriate question to ask, and number two, don't talk with your mouth full!"
"Your Dad Side is showing again, Uce." Dean replied after swallowing, prompting Roman to roll his eyes.
"No, we haven't done it yet." Seth said, trying to steer the conversation back on track. "Geeze, we've only gone on a few dates! I haven't even kissed her yet."
"Taking it nice and slow." Roman nodded, "Just don't take it too slow, all right?"
"Yeah, I don't plan on it, Uce." Seth reassured, "It just feels different this time. Like maybe Sarah…"
"Oh, Sarah!" Dean interrupted, making a tsk noise. "Dated a few of those. Crazy. All of them."
"Could be the one." Seth continued, ignoring Dean who was dodging an attempt by Roman to smack him in the back of the head. "But, you know, I thought that about my last few relationships and look what happened there."
"You got to go through some bad apples to find the good one." Dean remarked as Seth pulled the car into the hotel parking lot. "Well, as much fun as it's been discussing the ins and outs of relationships with you two like a bunch of teenage girls, I believe that the hotel bar is still open and you both still owe me at least one congratulatory drink for getting married."
"Strange." Seth frowned, turning the car off. "I don't remember agreeing to that. Do you?"
"Nah," Roman shook his head, "But if he goes and gets a luggage cart for us, I might buy him one or two." He paused for a moment before calling out after Dean, who had hopped out and was racing into the lobby. "And for God's sake, don't try to ride the luggage cart like a skateboard this time!"