There was no way in hell that he was moving. Things were finally going right for him. He was with Roman and Dean, he had a good group of friends, he had one more year left with Roman. Moving would fuck everything up. Here Seth was, thinking they were finally settled. They'd already moved when he was in second grade, and it was hard enough back then. Seth didn't want to imagine what things would be like if he moved at 16. Especially when he actually had things he was attached to. People he was attached to. He couldn't move.

Seth let out a soft breath through his parted lips, not even realizing he'd had his mouth open. "Moving?"

"Seth, baby, I'm so sorry-"

"Are you kidding me?" Seth wanted to raise his voice. He wanted to scream and kick and have a god damn temper tantrum right there in the middle of the kitchen. But he couldn't. "Why now? Why ever? I thought we were okay."

His mom sighed heavily, leaning against the counter. "I can't work two jobs anymore. Okay? I love you, and I love it here, but we can't afford it. Your grandparents have a big house, and they found a job I could have..."

Seth shook his head frantically, willing the stinging in his eyes to go away. "No," He breathed out. "No, no, no, no, mom, we can't go back to Iowa."

"We don't have a choice," His mom looked down, briefly, then back up at him.

"When?"

"Late August, maybe early September," She answered. "You'll get a little less than a month in school."

There was no point in arguing. Although it was soft, Seth's mom's voice held a tone of finality that always led to him losing. He could feel his hands shaking. The lump in his throat was hurting. Shaking his head, Seth turned around and ran up the stairs. He slammed his door once he was inside his room. If he hated anything, it was his mom seeing him cry. He was supposed to be the strong one.

He didn't know what to do. Dean and Roman were running rampant in his mind, but he couldn't just tell them. Of course, it wouldn't be fair to them seeing as he was moving in less than a month. Seth could feel his heartbeat speeding up again. His cheeks were wet - fuck, he was crying. His eyes flickered over to his phone, and for the briefest of moments, he thought it was a bad idea to grab it.

He called Roman anyways.

"That tickles, you little shit," Dean chuckled, watching as Roman mouthed a lazy trail down his stomach while his long fingers traced random patterns on Dean's hips.

"You love it," Roman shot back, his pouty pink lips finally reaching the waistband of Dean's shorts just as his phone rang. "Can you grab that?" Roman asks, giving Dean a pleading look as he catches an eyeroll.

"Better be real fucking important if I'm missing a blowjob for it..." Dean grumbled, reaching over and grabbing Roman's phone from the nightstand. "It's Seth."

"Go ahead and answer it," Roman waved his hand dismissively, his mouth returning to Dean's lower stomach.

Dean did just as he was told, but was greeted my Seth's frantic breaths upon answering. His heart started beating a little faster as he sat up, Roman following. The older teen's own eyes were wide with worry. "Seth?" No answer, just heavy, fast breathing. "Seth, answer me." Again, nothing.

Dean quickly handed the phone to Roman. "Seth?" The same look of fear that Dean had felt was plastered on Roman's face. "Seth, baby, what's wrong?"

"I'm moving," Seth quickly gasped out, his voice wavering and cracking and making Roman realize that he was crying. "I'm moving, fuck, I'm moving-"

"Baby, listen to me," Roman's voice was almost too calm, but it was good for Seth. "Can you calm down? Should we come over?"

"Please."

Roman huffed out a quick "bye" and hung up the phone. He grabbed Dean's shirt from the floor and tossed it to the younger teen, searching around for a pair of socks for himself. Dean's face was a perfect picture of fear. It broke Roman's heart to see him like that. Actually, it kind of broke his heart to see Seth and Dean be anything less than happy, but he wasn't dwelling on that. Roman grabbed a random pair of socks (that most likely weren't his), and took Dean's hand before exiting his room.

"He said he was moving, Rome," Dean stopped at the top of the stairs, and Roman turned around to look at him. "He's leaving."

"Hey, hey, we don't know that for sure," Roman walked back up the stairs and pulled Dean into a tight hug. "Don't get all worked up."

Dean nodded and followed Roman down the stairs without another word. Roman, though, could practically read his mind. The way Dean loved was different than the way Roman loved. It came naturally to Roman, which sucked on most occasions, but it took a lot for Dean to actually care about someone as much as he cared about Seth - and Roman, for that matter. Roman had discovered that early on in their friendship; Dean kept everyone and everything at arms length, never wanting to get attached to anything that could leave him. But when he finally let his guard down, it was like a whole new person being introduced. A new, beautiful, kind person every time. Dean was made of brick walls, and Roman wanted to break them all.

Fifteen minutes later, Seth's mom was letting Dean and Roman into the house while giving them a sympathetic smile. She knew exactly what was happening. She knew Seth was freaking out. It wasn't right. Upon walking into Seth's room, both teens had to stop and stare at him for a few moments. He looked exactly like Roman had imagined; tummy heaving, cheeks flushed and wet with tears, bottom lip quivering as he caught sight of his boys. Dean let Roman go forward first, knowing that the older teen was better at the whole consolation thing.

"Hey, hey, it's alright," Roman sat on Seth's bed and gently pulled the younger teen into his lap, letting him bury his face in his neck. Dean climbed in after him, placing a gentle hand on Seth's back. "Just calm down, you're alright, baby."

Seth rested his face on Roman's shoulder, blindly reaching back to grab Dean. He felt the blue-eyed teen's hand on his waist, and calmed down. He just needed his boys. Not the stress, not the sadness, he just needed to be with Dean and Roman and he'd be okay.

"What's with this moving stuff, Seth?" Dean asked, watching as the youngest teen's eyes filled with tears once more.

"I'm moving," Seth breathed out, wiping the stray tears away. "To Iowa."

Roman tensed. Dean noticed, and placed a hand on his shoulder. Seth, meanwhile, just cuddled a little closer to the bigger boy. "When?"

Seth looked down. He started playing with the hem of Roman's shirt, worrying his bottom lips between his teeth.

"Seth."

"End of August."

It came out in a soft little whisper, but it filled the room like a flood. Seth didn't look up. Dean let his head fall forward and rest on the back of Seth's neck, letting out a soft breath. Roman, meanwhile, was - Roman. He was looking at Seth's door, and anybody could've seem that he wanted to say something. Problem was, there was nothing to say. Nothing could've been changed. It hurt to admit it, but Seth knew it was the truth. Roman couldn't be the valiant warrior all the time, could he?

"If I have to, I'll shove you in my suitcase and bring you to Georgia with me," Roman carded a hand through Seth's hair and kissed his forehead. "You'll get to go to college with me next year."

Maybe he could be.

"Fuck that, he's going under my bed," Dean mumbled, pulling Seth against him. "He's small enough."

This was how it should've been. Between them, with them, everything was better. They were stark contrasts to each other, but it was a perfect balance. Dean's abrasive nature could be softened in an instant by Roman. If it came down to it, Dean could calm Roman down like it was nothing. Not to mention, they both cared about Seth. It was the way it should've been, all of them together, balancing each other out, softening those rough edges.

And now, it was ending.

woo! short, late update because i'm kinda losing my mind over how awful i am and how bad this is. my plot bunny ran away from me, and somehow the writing bug just left me too, so there was nothing helping me write. but, i'm back now, and i'll be updating just a little bit of your heart soon. thank you for reading!