Prompt fill for LeahMarie: Do you think you could write a chapter in Let Them Hear It about the night Seth almost got speared by the steel cage coming down? I can just imagine Roman being all worried and upset with Seth taking a risk like that, you can add in maybe Dean freaking out because he was watching it on TV from home.
Sorry, but Dean didn't really fit in. Hope you still like it.
September 8th, 2014
Roman Reigns vs Randy Orton
He just closed the door behind him, has only been able to take off one shoe when there's a knock interrupting his much needed wind-down time. Seth groans and wobbles over to the entrance, not even bothering to check through the peephole who wants a piece of him at this ungodly hour.
There aren't that many people who would disturb him in his room, but he does hope that it's Kane. He really has no intention of seeing Randy or someone of the Authority again. Once a day is already too much for him.
The man barging into his room as soon as he opens the door is even more welcome than his tall ally. But the fact that Rome's standing right in front of him means he followed his car, like some creepy stalker. Must run in the family.
If Roman is here in person, he came to give him another lecture. God damn, why can't people just talk on the phone anymore? At least then he could feign to listen. There's no escaping when he's in the same room as his brother.
He doesn't even get a hello or I'm fine; even after everything you did to me earlier, Roman just shoves his smartphone at Seth's chest and he is barely able to catch it. What is he supposed to do now? He really has no patience to do one of their little games, still feeling like he needs to throw up because of what happened inside that cage tonight.
Beating up Dean is one thing – he always threatened Seth to never hold back or else he'd expose him –, but surviving that feud just to orchestrate more vicious attacks on his second brother is maybe more than he can take.
All Seth wants to do is focus on destroying Hunter and Steph, not driving his family into an early grave.
He looks down at the small display and squints his eyes. A video is ready to be played and it seems like it's a wrestling one. From the match earlier. How the hell does everything that happens always show up on the internet in a matter of seconds? Have all these people posting this nothing better to do?
'That was stupid,' his big brother chides him, drawing the curtains close even though they're in the middle of nowhere, the only company the countless bright stars shining down on them. He misses nature's very own chain of lights the second Roman robs him of it.
He has no clue what his friend is talking about, why he deserves to be put down again, so he watches the material, a frown taking over his face when he sees a tiny version of himself trying to glide back into the ring the very moment the cell came down.
It didn't seem very dangerous to him and he was right there, but the video does make it look like he almost got speared by the cage and those black spikes. Seth can't even be angry at a very eager fan anymore, the footage captured by one of WWE's cameramen.
He opens his mouth to say something, to defend himself – because this really wasn't a big deal – but Roman is not done with him yet; showing the big brother concern Seth loves to see on any other day, but tonight it shouldn't be Rome worrying about his brother's condition.
Randy, Kane and Seth beat the crap out of him inside that cage. Hell, he even jumped down on him and here his friend is, only concerned about his well-being.
Maybe it's not so bad for their own friendship that Dean isn't around these days, so all three of them have time to think about all the stuff standing in their way.
Oh, for the love of– he just reminded himself that Dean no longer travels the world with him, by now resting at home in bed – he got released from the hospital last week after being there for nine whole days, thanks to his cinderblock Curb Stomp –, hopefully not too mad at Kane and him interfering in the match and beating Roman up with a chair and all that.
'What were you thinking?' Okay, wait a second. There's no way Roman searched for the video on his own afterwards, so how– oh, what a traitor.
'Dean,' he mutters under his breath, feeling very betrayed all of a sudden, asking himself how his brother was able to send Roman a link in the first place. He can't even rely on Dean's incompetence to handle his own phone anymore. What has the world come to?
'Yes, Dean,' Roman snarls, snatching his mobile out of Seth's hands. 'He told me you almost got impaled by the cage tonight.' So, in other words, Dean didn't find the video, he just... what? He was concerned because Seth had been lightheaded? Or he just likes to sell him out, as some kind of childish payback.
Thinking about this more thoroughly, he prefers the version where Dean watched RAW and nearly fell out of his bed, since he tried to scramble closer to the screen, too immersed in the action taking place on the show, knowing how much can go wrong inside a cage, even with all the careful planning they did beforehand.
'Rome,' he grins, walking into the bathroom to finally take out his contacts and put his glasses back on. Every time he does that he has to sigh relieved, because he realizes anew how they make him feel comfortable and at ease. They're a little shield he can take on and off whenever he pleases. 'Nothing happened. Didn't even graze me.'
And Roman never would have found out either, because all that took place behind his back, while he was busy fighting off Orton. But it's not like he can blame Dean for almost getting a heart attack. It actually pleases him a lot that Rome is standing before him right now, telling him off because that was not part of their plan. Means they both still care.
'Shut it, I'm trying to scold you.'
That's so cute. He's really missed this and it makes him want to ask Roman to stay over; it would be good for both of them. Seth laughs, clapping his big brother gently on the belly while saying, 'You wanna ground me too, old man?'
Roman groans and rolls his eyes, but sits down on the armchair, wincing when his body protests vehemently. Seth watches his brother nursing his bruised back, feeling very bad for Curb Stomping him on the steel chair. Well, can't be helped anymore, he has to find a way to live with all that guilt somehow. It's nothing he hasn't done to Dean a million times already. Funny how it never gets easier though.
'Call him.' He sighs loudly, squeezing himself on the left armrest to lay his legs over Roman's. As if he hasn't tried that more than once since he dropped Dean off at a hospital in Vegas after their road trip – he didn't want to take a chance with his injured brother flying, so he drove all the way there before he returned to Phoenix. The result is always the same. 'He won't answer.'
Roman nods, humming a wee bit disappointed, as if he has the same problem. His friend probably has no idea how happy that makes him, because Dean and Rome share this profound, very unique, best friends forever, lets get double graves bond that makes him seethe with jealousy more often than not.
But if Dean won't even pick up the phone when his uce calls, then it means that he doesn't only ignore Seth. So it has nothing to do with him, it's just Dean wanting to have some space.
'Then text him you're okay.' Shouldn't Roman be the one insisting that he's fine after tonight? Why is their brother so worried about him when he walked out of the cell with his head held high? 'I can't believe you did that. You do realize there's a door to that cage? Kane even used it.'
He shrugs, not wanting this to be a big thing when all is well. While Seth awkwardly hugs Roman's broad shoulders and buries his nose in his friend's hair, he murmurs, 'It was a spur of the moment decision. I wanted to get in so Randy wouldn't be alone with you. He is still so pissed that he lost to you at SummerSlam and I feared he would swallow you whole. Literally.'
Roman gently shakes his head, strands of the glorious black hair falling into his eyes, exhaustion evident on his chiseled face. 'Unnecessary risk, Seth. You should know better than that.' But that's his thing. He's the risk-taker, flying down from anywhere he can – hoping to surpass the legacy of people like Jeff Hardy. And tonight, he never once doubted Roman wouldn't catch him.
Just like Dean used to when they were still The Shield. Awesome. Now he managed to make himself even more depressed because he recalled Payback and their Fallout interview. As a matter of fact, he has memorized every word Dean had spoken into the microphone, because they still make him insanely proud.
It takes a level of trust in your partner to jump out of the ceiling of the Izod center and probably gonna take out your partner as well as your two opponents. But you know that he's not gonna– Seth knows that I'm not gonna care if he lands on me. And Seth knows that if he crashes and burns, I'm gonna pick him up and drag him out of the building if he can't walk. I'll pick him up and carry him.
Listening to his brother saying that almost made him burst into tears and storm out of the building, because he already knew he would go to Hunter right after they'd have their victory beer, with the intention of turning on his family. Fake or not, he committed a sin and he's still paying for it. No, for that he will rot in hell forever.
'I knew you'd catch me,' he admits after a peaceful moment of silence, grinning lazily when Roman finally hugs him back. 'We'll always catch you if you fall. Or jump.' He knows. It's the only thing keeping him going. They would even willingly dive after him, unable to leave him alone anywhere he goes.
'I was worried.' Rome pinches him in the side, countering, 'No, I was worried.'
They smile at each other for a while, the world righting itself again, and Seth gets up to shimmy out of his clothes while Roman makes no move to indicate if he wants to stay here tonight or not. And honestly, Seth is too afraid of the answer to ask.
He puts on some comfy sweatpants and one of Dean's worn-out shirts he stole on their journey to Texas, muttering under his breath, 'It worked out.' Though he knows they got lucky that Roman didn't get seriously injured.
His brother raises his eyebrows, making a vague hand gesture at his body. 'Your buddies beat the crap out of me.' 'Yeah, it worked out for some of us.'
Roman chuckles and throws one of his boots at him, though he makes sure to miss Seth. 'You know, sometimes I think it's karma that Dean doesn't answer your calls.' Hold the freaking phone. So their brother does pick up when he tries to contact him? It really has something to do with him–
The moment he sees the smirk on his friend's face, he knows it was just a joke. Dean brushes them both aside, refusing to play favorites. 'Not funny, Rome.'
'It's a little funny.'