Author's Note: So we've come to the end of the story. Maybe. I'm kicking around the idea of an epilogue for it but haven't made my decision yet. Anyway, thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed! Any outtakes and banners can be found on my blog, pm me if you're interested :)

"Betrayal is never easy to handle and there is no right way to accept it." - Christine Feehan

September 22, 2014 1:15am

Dean glared at his companion, gaze burning intensely as he watched him slowly pick through his salad before spearing a single fucking piece of some fancy type of lettuce with his fork. Blue eyes narrowed as he watched the two-toned traitor chew the leaf with exaggeratedly deliberate care. His fingers drummed agitatedly against the small table top, annoyance growing as the two-tones bastard repeated the agonizing steps but with a piece of grilled chicken this time. This had to be approaching the world record for longest time to consume a damn salad. It didn't take someone forty-five minutes to finish a bowl of lettuce, vegetables and about half a chicken breast.

Especially Seth. He had spent too much time with the other man not realize that this was not how he normally ate. It was nothing more than a stall tactic and a poorly disguised attempt at one at that. The so-called architect probably figured that by taking his sweet ass time that when he was finally done, Dean would say that it was too late for them to have this conversation. That he was free and clear to go on his way to Memphis and get to escape without being dragged down this pothole filled road.

Live to gloat about all the ways he'd screwed them over at the Smackdown tapings.

Too bad that wasn't going to happen.

Despite what some people said, which was mainly the authority and their little lapdogs, Dean wasn't crazy and he sure as hell wasn't stupid. He was used to people underestimating him and assuming that he was nothing more than a loose canon. Actually, he liked that they did and used it to his advantage. Because it was far from the truth as you could get. No, he wasn't a planner but there was nothing he wouldn't do to get what he wanted.

Seth should know that better than anyone but since he was drinking the authority's kool-aid, he had apparently forgotten that. There was no way in hell that he was going to allow the little weasel to slink away without answering for the things he did. After everything that happened, he was owed that much. He was through waiting and wondering, this was going to end now. That was why he still had possession of the sellout's car keys and wallet.

No way for the scumbag to get out of here without forking over some answers for those valuable commodities. If Seth tried to lie or just flat out ignored the questions then he had no problem chucking those items out of the damn window of this hotel room. Since his room faced the back of the building and there wasn't a lot of light there. Not a lot of pavement to be found back there either. Be a hell of a lot of fun to watch the other man have to root around in the dirt and shrubbery below in the murky darkness.

It would probably take him hours to find them, if he managed to pull it off at all.

Of course, that all depended on the golden boy surviving past the next couple of minutes. The longer it took him to finish that damn salad, the harder it was for Dean not to reach over, grab that fork and jam it into the traitor's neck. His fingers were twitching impatiently to do just that. It was taking all his willpower not to give into the urge. But he didn't know how much longer he could resist.

Clearing his throat pointedly, he smirked at the way his former stable mate tensed at the sound. Good. He should be worried about what was going to happen. Because there'd be no going easy once the questions started. "You about done with that?"

"Uh," Seth was practically squirming as he pushed his mainly eaten salad away. "I-uh-guess so."

He sat back, folded his arms across his chest and nodded curtly. "So go ahead and explain it to me man. Make me understand why the hell you've done the things you've done."

"I don't know if I can do that."

"Why?" His gaze narrowed, "You don't got a problem running your mouth in front of the camera's. Shouldn't be an issue when they're off."

"I meant that I don't know if I can make you understand."

"Try me."

The two-toned haired man flinched but took a deep breath and forced himself to make eye contact. Looked like it was the last thing he wanted to do. "I wish I could tell you that I had a better reason for breaking up the Shield than a guaranteed shot at the title, money and power but I don't."

"Yeah, I don't buy it." And he didn't because it was didn't make sense. Seth was talented, one of the best in the ring that he'd ever seen. He had the look and ability to make it on his own, without any help from the people in charge. "Doesn't feel right."

"Sorry but it's the truth." One shoulder raised in a lifeless motion of a shrug. "You know how many guys come through here and never make it past the mid-card? Or how many end up getting stuck in teams for the rest of their careers?"

"A lot of guys who were in teams or the mid-card went on to have win singles titles and have damn good careers. Would've been the same with us."

"It didn't feel like I was being noticed. Roman's got the look, you have the charisma. Between you two, I get lost in the shuffle. I didn't bust my ass to get here and not make it to the top."

"Neither did I." He chuckled, a bitter sound. "That was why everyone always assumed that I would be the one to break up the Shield. But if you wanted to go it alone, all you had to do was come and tell us."

"I was scared. I didn't want to risk coming to you guys and absolving everything only to fail on my own. I was terrified that they'd say that they didn't see me as a potential world champion but saw me as an intercontinental or tag team level guy. That would have crushed me."

"Guess you were worried about nothing."

"But then I was presented with the opportunity to have everything I ever wanted, everything I had worked for and I took it."

"And if you had it to do over again…"

There was a long, thoughtful pause. A million different emotions flickered across the younger man's face in that time. But he seemed to deflate and spoke the words that they had both been dreading. "If I was guaranteed the success then I'd probably do the same thing."

That hesitation before the answer had said so much. Dean felt like there was more there, a lot more, but he knew that he wouldn't get anywhere with that right now. Because it felt like Seth was still lying to himself or at least, denying the whole truth. Until he was ready to face it then they'd just keep going around and around. "Who's genius idea was it to drive my head through cinderblocks?"

Direct hit.

Seth seemed to pale slightly before he found his voice to answer. "I didn't come up with the idea."

"So who did?" His impatience was getting the better of him. "Triple H? Stephanie?"

"No."

"Kane?"

That really didn't even have to be answered verbally because the answer was written all over his face. But after a visibly rough swallow, he confirmed it aloud. "Yeah."

"And when he told you about it, you thought it was a great idea? Had you jumping for joy?"

"It wasn't like that."

"Then tell me how it happened and don't spare any detail."

"I was so tired of Triple H and Stephanie on my back about their plans and cashing in my contact. But you kept coming at me and screwing everything up. Kane said he had a way to get you off my back for a while but he never said what it was. So I agreed to it without really thinking about it or questioning what the plan was."

Dean shifted, hands curling into tight fists against his elbows. He wouldn't hit him yet. But he could feel that it was most likely going to happen at some point. "When did you find out about this brilliant idea?"

"A little while before Raw went on air." His coloring had turned slightly greenish. "He brought me out to ringside and showed me the set up, told me what to do."

"Ah, so that's when you thought it was the greatest idea since sliced bread."

"No," The architect looked nauseous. "I was horrified."

"You were horrified?" His hands were killing him from being clenched so tight. "If you were horrified, like you claim you were, you wouldn't have done it. You would have found a way to slither your way out of it like the snake you are."

Seth shook his head vehemently, "I didn't want to do it but I had to. It was too late to back out or take a different approach."

"But you did it Seth." Dean stated flatly, his calm words belying the anger coursing through his veins at that moment. "You stood on top of that announce desk and jumped, curb stomping my head into those cinderblocks without caring about what it could have done to me. Then you celebrated what you did and don't bother denying it because I've seen it on the net."

"I cared, a hell of a lot more than I wanted to." He proclaimed in a tone that shook. "But I couldn't let anyone know that. I had to act like it didn't matter, that everything was business as usual."

That earned a scornful laugh, "Didn't want to disappoint mommy and daddy? Wanted them to be proud of exactly how much of a pathetic, weak sheep they turned you into? Scared that they'd take it all away from you if you showed any remorse? Thought that since you had their backing to do it that you were in the clear."

"I didn't know what would happen once it was done." Seth sighed, "I wasn't thinking about anything like that. I was just trying to figure out how the hell it had come to that."

He leaned forward, thumbs tapping a frantic beat against his forearms. "So why did they end up punishing you for doing what they wanted? Surprised they didn't buy you a car or some other shiny fucking trophy."

"They didn't." The admission was quiet. "Vince is the one who suspended me the next day."

"But instead of scurrying away and hiding out, you showed up where I was." His lips twisted in a disdainful sneer, eyes hard. "Figured it was the perfect opportunity to finish me off, huh?"

Seth looked like he'd just been punched in the gut, "No!"

"Then why the hell were you there?"

"When Triple H told me that you were still in the hospital, that you hadn't regained consciousness, I started panicking. I kept thinking of the worst case scenarios." Hands trembled as they ran through his hair roughly, snagging in their haste. "I drove from Phoenix back to Las Vegas just so I could check on your condition for myself. It was going to be a quick thing, you'd never even know I was there. Then you woke up…"

"And you saw a way to turn the situation to your advantage." It left his mouth in hiss that bordered on savage and his fist connected with the tabletop, sending several of things on it crashing to the floor. "Bet it was so easy for you. Just pretend to be the good guy and help me recover from the injury you caused. Bide your time and wait for the perfect chance to stab me in the back again."

"It wasn't like that." The protest was quick, shrill. "I wanted to make up for what I did and that was the only way I could come up with to do it!"

Dean raised an eyebrow, "Oh please, mommy and daddy probably told you to do it."

"They had nothing to do with it."

"Uh-huh."

Seth shook his head, "I was suspended. That means that they really didn't care about me or what I was doing since I couldn't be of any use to them for thirty days. As far as they knew, I had gone back to Davenport or taken that vacation that Triple H encouraged me to."

"Fine, so maybe you did go rouge on this." He got to his feet and started pacing furiously, needing to burn off some of his adrenaline. "Figured it was good to know my condition so that you could use it against me the next time we stepped into the ring. Give you even more of an advantage than you already have."

"I told you, I did it because I regretted what I did." The younger man stated firmly. "I hated that I didn't have the guts to not go through with it. Made me sick that because of my actions, your life or career could be in jeopardy. So I wanted to do anything I could to help you through it, to make sure that you recovered completely and got back in the ring."

"You mean until I got my memory back." His pacing stopped and his head tilted as he assessed the other man. "Because you had to know that once I remembered what happened that things would've gone back to how they've been since that night you stabbed me in the back."

"I knew that but I figured that we'd cross that bridge when we came to it."

Dean licked his lips, sensing weakness. "Oh come on Seth, we both know that there was a part of you that was hoping that I'd never remember. Would've made everything a hell of a lot easier for you if that happened. I'd still think that you were my friend and my brother."

He blinked, obviously thrown by that logic. "That would have been worse."

"Really?"

"I'm always going to have to live with what I did, to the Shield but especially what I've done to you. There's no escaping that." Seth looked tired, resigned. "It'll live on in infamy long after I've retired thanks to the internet and the network. But if you never got your memory back then it would have been even worse to carry that around, to look at you and know that I destroyed your life. I don't know if I could have handled that."

Blue eyes narrowed and he resumed pacing. His mind was a war zone. He hated how genuine that rat bastard sounded. It also pissed him off that he wanted nothing more than to believe him. Accept that he was sorry and that he was sincere.

But he couldn't.

Because if he had learned anything over these last few months it was that Seth didn't have a sincere bone in his body. His loyalty, friendship and caring were nothing more than a carefully crafted façade. That beneath the nearly flawless act he was a manipulator through and through. Selfish and entitled. Someone that shouldn't be trusted or taken at his word.

"Listen," There was a sigh, "I'm not expecting you to forgive me or for us to go back to being friends. That bridge has been burned too many times. I just want you to know that there was no scheme or grand plan to screw you over again. I knew I messed up big time, regretted it and was just trying to do whatever I could to try to make things better. Just wanted to help anyway I could."

"I bet."

"It's true and I want you to know that."

He scoffed, "Life ain't always fair and we don't always get what we want."

The pigment drained from Seth's face when he said that. He looked stricken for some reason that he didn't understand. "You said in the car that you occasionally only still see double. Does that mean that you're not cleared? Are you still suffering with symptoms from the concussion?"

Ah, that explained it. Guilty conscience kicking in. Well, too bad for him. There was no way in hell he was going to divulge the fact that he was symptom free and cleared to resume regular activities. Right now, the mystery of his medical status was his greatest advantage in the battle against Seth and the authority.

"Why would I tell you that?" Dean retorted, "I mean, you're back with mommy and daddy, got your big red lapdog by your side. Makes you my enemy."

"Forget all that." His tone was almost pleading, "I'm not asking wrestler to wrestler."

"But that's all we are." He reminded the other man harshly. "You've said it yourself numerous times. We're not friends or brothers. Never were. All we are is former business associates which means that any conversation between us is just wrestler to wrestler."

"You know that's not true."

He chuckled mirthlessly, rolling his eyes. The bastard had spent the last few months driving the opposite point home every chance he got. How could he think that anything would have changed since earlier tonight. "No, I can't really say that I know that it's not true. Maybe once upon a time, I would've but not anymore."

Seth looked dejected but nodded an acceptance. "Ok, I guess that's fair."

Dean frowned, "Feels like there's something you're not saying. Might as well just spit it out Rollins. Don't think you'll have another chance to unburden yourself."

"I mean, you showed up at the arena tonight. Interfered during my promo and decided to get involved physically." He looked almost worried. "You just put yourself back on the authority's radar. If you're not cleared to come back and you're still injured, why the hell would you risk that?"

"You know me." His hand landed on his collarbone and started to drum a against it. "I've always liked poking the hornet's nest."

"This one, you should have left alone."

"Why?"

"Because they're not going to care if you're medically cleared or not. They're going to come after you and they're not going to stop until you've been permanently removed as a threat."

He grinned, sharp and savage, teeth practically bared. "Looking forward to seeing them try. They don't have what it takes to keep me down."

"Dean," Seth pinched the bridge of his nose, that troubled expression still on his face. "I know you think you're indestructible but you're not. Especially right now. Do what's best for yourself and don't show up to another show until you're cleared to return."

"Thanks for the fake concern but I'm a grown ass man who can take care of himself."

"I know you don't trust or believe me but…"

Dean cut him off unapologetically, "There is no but to that. I don't trust you. Period. I know that I can't believe you. Period. So I'll never make the mistake of trying to again. Period."

"I-"

"Given the chance, you wouldn't change the fact that you stabbed us in the back. You said yourself that you'd do it again if that meant you got to take the easy road." He laid it all out for him. "And yeah, maybe you were sorry for the whole curb stomping me through cinderblocks thing but you had weeks to confess the truth and you didn't. You kept your mouth shut or gave evasive answers."

Seth balked at that, "The doctors told us that you had to remember on your own."

"Ok, I'll give you that one." He studied his former friend carefully. "But after I did remember, you didn't make any attempt to reach out to me and explain yourself. If I hadn't forced your hand tonight, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now."

"If that was true then how would I know that you got your number changed again?" He looked victorious. "No one would've given me your new number either. So how could I get in touch with you?"

It was a good shot to take but unfortunately for the sellout, it missed the mark. "Nice try but I didn't get my number changed until last Friday, when I got tired of that damn receptionist from the Neurologists office calling me. Up until then, it was the same."

"Oh."

Dean shook his head tiredly, a part of him hating that the younger guy had proven him right in the end. He reached into his pocket, holding out the other man's wallet and car keys. "I think we've said all that needs to be said. You might as well get on the road to Memphis."

"Yeah, I guess that's it." Seth took his stuff and tucked them into the pocket of his hoodie, looking a little disappointed and sad. "Take care of yourself Ambrose and just consider what I said. No matter what you think, I really don't want see you get hurt again or have your career ended over this."

He followed him to the door but for some reason, he didn't close it right away after Seth stepped over the threshold even though he should have. Instead, he decided to do him one last favor as a former friend. "Hey, I know you think that you've got the golden ticket and that you're on the fast track to the top but you should really watch yourself carefully. Triple H, well, he's not exactly known for his loyalty to people. The second you've outlived your usefulness to him, he'll stab you in the back."

There was a shrug and an odd, fleeting smile. "It's not going to happen but thanks anyway."

With another shake of his head, Dean shut the door. He needed to get some sleep so he could get to the hospital nice and early to visit Roman. His gut told him that his brother was going to have his head for what he'd done.