Chapter 20:

Rating: M

Disclaimer: I do not know any of the workers of the WWE personally nor am I affiliated with them in any way. This story is a work of fiction and I make no profit whatsoever from it.

Seth felt his whole world turning upside down, his heart racing hard as he repeated Roman's question over and over in his head. This was probably his one and only chance to be completely honest with his boyfriend whose heart looked as though it was broken. Roman's grey eyes were hooded, the orbs looking almost close to tears as they engaged in a long stare off. It felt like Roman could see straight into his soul and see all of his secrets.

He thought about what Roman had asked him and he truthfully didn't know what the answer to that question was. He still loved Roman despite everything that was going on outside of their relationship. His heart still belonged to his boyfriend even though it was slowly and surely changing its allegiance. He felt his own eyes well up with tears, the severity of the situation was rearing its ugly head right now. He wanted to open his mouth and tell Roman what he was feeling but he couldn't even do that. He felt pathetic beyond words right now.

Roman groaned loudly. "What's your answer Seth?" He pressed. He could see that Seth was close to breaking point however that didn't stop him. He felt like he'd reached the end of his tether when it came to Seth. "Are you ready to give up on this? On us?"

Seth felt the first tear roll down his cheek. His mouth felt like it was sewn shut, his stomach churning painfully as the realization started to dawn on him. With every past argument they'd ever had and this question had been brought up, he'd known that Roman hadn't truly meant it but this time he knew that his boyfriend was serious. Deadly serious.

He took a deep breath, still feeling Roman's strong gaze on him as he tried to summon the courage to actually speak. To say something instead of just standing there mutely crying. "Is that what you want?" He finally croaked out after the longest delay.

"Don't turn this around on me Seth." Roman said sharply. He ignored the pang in his chest when he watched another tear roll down Seth's cheek. He knew he had to remain strong. "I'm not the one whose done anything wrong. You're the one whose made it abundantly clear that I'm the most boring fucking person in the world."

"But I never said that!" Seth protested. He tried to ignore the tears as they rolled down his cheeks. He felt like an idiot for reacting like this. He was acting like a damn teenage girl not like a twenty-seven year old man. "I still love you Roman."

Roman groaned loudly again. He needed to get out of here and fast. He stood up. "I need some space. I'm going for a walk."

Seth watched him just up and stroll out of the room with not even a look over at him. He definitely felt his whole world crumbling around him now, his heart breaking from inside of his chest. This wasn't how he'd wanted it to end. Everything around him was up in the air right now and he didn't know what to do. He threw himself face down on the bed and buried his face into the pillows at the end of the bed, oceans of tears spilling from his eyes as his own actions finally caught up with him.

Roman kept his head down as he strolled through the hotel at an alarming pace. He didn't want anyone to see his face right now, his story etched completely across it, his heart broken into a thousand pieces as he tried to contemplate what life would be like without Seth by his side. He couldn't wait to get out of that damn lift, the woman who was standing next to him had her eyes locked right onto him with no signs of moving.

Once the lift dinged to signal that they were at the ground floor, he power walked out of it, pushing past an older lady just to get out of the claustrophobic space. He ignored the call from the reception desk as he kept walking through the hotel lobby, only stopping for the automatic doors to open for him. He stepped out into the relative darkness, his emotions catching up with him and forcing him to think about life without Seth in it.

He kept walking through the back of the hotel, around the swimming pool and not stopping until his feet hit the sand on the beach. The first step onto the sand, despite the fact that he was wearing leather dress shoes still made him feel significantly better. He enjoyed the serenity of being at the beach and when it was the dead of night made him feel better already. His feet carried him down the beach until he was only a few feet back from the water.

He stared at the black water for a few moments, the gentle rolling of the waves crashing onto the beach just soothed him exponentially. He stopped where he was and slowly dropped down onto the sand, his ass hitting the ground with a dull thud. He brought his knees up to his chest as his grey orbs looked out to the ocean. He was sitting at a crossroads of what to do. He loved Seth with every fibre of his being but this was getting too much. He couldn't help but feel his mind wander back to that first time he met Seth all those years ago.

Roman walked into his Uncle's shop, not necessarily coming in to go shopping but to see Jimmy. He had to finalize some details for the weekend that they had planned. They were going to head down to Miami and just have a boys weekend, one with no strings and nothing repeated back to anyone in Pensacola. He was the only one that was single at the moment but that wouldn't ever stop his two twin cousins from getting way out of control.

He glanced around the store, struggling to find either of his cousins or even his Uncle Rikishi that owned the shop but there was no one around in the shop. There wasn't even any customers until he saw a young man with shoulder length, dark brown hair appear from around the corner. There was something about him that made Roman's heart skip a beat, his breath catch right in his throat. This guy was so damn good looking.

"Hi, welcome to Ucey Juicy. My name is Seth. How can I help you today?" Seth had a wonderful smile that lit up his whole face.

Roman couldn't help but let his eyes rake down Seth's body, his grey orbs memorizing every single part of the other man's body. He probably looked like the biggest pervert right now, just shamelessly checking out this shop assistant but as he lifted his gaze, he could see the smirk on Seth's lips indicating to him that he didn't mind at all."I'm Roman."

"Hi Roman." Seth grinned right back at him. "What can I help you with today?"

Roman couldn't deny the chemistry that was passing between them, their grey and brown orbs locked and he felt something that he hadn't with anyone else. There was just that extra oomph of feeling that no one else was able to give him ever before. "You can help me by letting me take you out for dinner?"

Seth laughed. "What if I'm not single?"

Roman bit his bottom lip for the briefest of moments. "Well. Are you single?"

Seth's smirk changed into a large grin. "As luck would have it, I am."

"How about I pick you up at 7 tonight?" Roman asked.

Seth took a few steps in closer to Roman and grinned. "Only because you're probably the hottest dude I've ever seen."

Roman opened his mouth to counter something back but was cut off when he heard a voice coming from the back of the store.

"Roman! Are you chatting up my only staff member?!" Jimmy popped his head around the corner, a large grin on his face as he walked up and gave Roman a strong, manly hug.

"Well maybe you shouldn't hire ones that look like Seth." Roman grinned back, winking at Seth who blushed in return. "And anyway, maybe you should have your fat ass out on the floor when I come to see you."

"Don't be calling me names like that Roman." Jimmy wagged his finger at Roman but the telltale grin on his face showed him that Jimmy wasn't too bothered by it at all. "What are you doing in here anyway? I'm surprised you could drag yourself away from your job for long enough."

Roman let out a dry laugh. "I came into talk to you about the weekend." He glanced over at Seth who was pretending to tidy through the racks. "Now you're cramping my style, uce."

Jimmy held his hands up in resignation. "Alright, alright. Come get me when you're done."

Roman watched Jimmy walk away before he strolled over to where Seth was still tidying through the racks. He leaned up against the rack with a large smile on his face. He could see the smile growing on Seth's face. "So. I was thinking I'd take you to somewhere with seafood?"

"I love seafood." Seth finally looked up at Roman, their eyes locking once more. "I can't wait."

Roman couldn't help the smile that grew on his face as he relived that memory. Their date that night had been the best one he'd ever had. They talked, they laughed, they got to know each other better and to top it all off, the food was fantastic. At the end of dinner, they'd spent some more time together, walking along the very same beach that he was sitting on now. They'd stopped and sat on the sand, talking for hours and just looking out into the ocean. He'd known from that moment that Seth would be his for a long time to come.

His heart sagged in his chest. He'd remembered that moment that he and Seth had shared their first kiss, the chemistry that radiated through them was intense beyond words. He remembered feeling completely whole from the first touch of their lips, that feeling of absolute love that engulfed him. He knew that Seth had felt it too, the look in the younger man's brown orbs made his heart skip a beat.

But that feeling of completeness and absolute love could be over by the end of tonight.

He took a deep breath and dropped his head down onto his knees. He didn't even know if he was able to give up being with Seth just yet. He knew he'd put up with a lot from Seth including his own suspicions about his boyfriend's alleged dalliances with his boss but he was still unsure. He was always willing to give Seth third, fourth, even fifth chances even when he knew that Seth didn't necessarily deserve them.

He lifted his head from his knees and looked out into the ocean. He needed to get back to the hotel room and talk to Seth. Sitting out here and contemplating a life without his younger boyfriend wasn't going to provide him closure, it wasn't going to give him clarity. He'd felt his rage subside momentarily and he knew what he needed to do.

He took a deep breath in, the salty air cleansing his soul before he stood up. He wiped the extra sand off of his ass, his hands swiping at the slippery material. He glanced out at the ocean one last time before he turned around and headed back towards their hotel. He was very glad that there was no one around as he strolled past the pools and back into the hotel lobby, successfully avoiding the woman behind reception and getting into the lift with relative ease.

He felt his heart racing as the lift whirred to life and slowly made its way up to his designated floor. He tried to keep his breathing steady as the lift stopped on his floor, the doors dinging as they opened just before he walked out. He took the first step out of the small box and felt his entire body wrack with nerves. Every step he took felt like he was running down the hallway, the sound echoing loudly in his head as he approached his door.

He stopped outside of his door for the longest of moments, his grey orbs staring at the number on the front before he finally lifted his hand up to the door and knocked three times on the heavy, white, wooden door. It felt like an age before the door creaked open and revealed a very disheveled Seth staring back at him. He took a deep breath as their eyes locked, Seth's brown orbs revealing that he'd been crying. "Hey."

"Hey." Seth responded in barely a whisper.

"Can I come in?" Roman asked. He felt guilty for even asking the question.

Seth nodded, opening the door wider and allowing his boyfriend to step into their hotel room. He felt the tension between them, his heart racing as Roman walked past him and made a beeline for their bed. He sat himself down on the plush mattress, his mind swirling with all sorts of possibilities. Roman had been gone for a few hours now and in the back of his mind, he was concerned that his Samoan boyfriend may not return. "I didn't think you were coming back."

"I had to." Roman replied, taking his seat next to Seth on the bed. "I had to find out where we stand properly."

Seth nodded again. He knew that this was coming and this was his chance to be honest. "Where do we stand?"

"That's up to you." Roman answered. "Do you still want to be with me?"

"I-I..." Seth started. He could see the pain in Roman's eyes and he knew he didn't want to hurt the older man. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to tell the older man exactly what had been happening with Dean but his lips wouldn't budge. His lips wouldn't say those words. "I still love you Roman."

"I love you too." Roman replied automatically. "But that doesn't answer my question."

"We were going to get married one day Roman. We were going to adopt kids and have this great life together." Seth said quietly.

"We can still have that." Roman responded. "We can still have everything if that's what you want."

"I-I don't know what I want in life anymore." Seth replied honestly. He took a deep breath. He could say the words that were lingering right on his lips. "I still want you though. I'm not going to lose you."

"You had better mean that Seth." Roman said sharply. "Because if you go back on this promise, then I am done for good. You got that?"

Seth nodded his head, letting out a held in breath. "Yeah. I got that."

"You know, I had such high hopes for this weekend." Roman started, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small, red velvet box. He opened up the box revealing a white gold band with square shaped diamonds placed symmetrically all around it. "Tonight was going to be the night that I was going to ask you to marry me."

Seth gasped unintentionally, his heart racing in his chest. The ring in the box was beautiful. More beautiful than anything he deserved. His words escaped him as the swirling in his stomach increased. He was the most pathetic human being around. He was sacrificing his dream life with Roman for a chance with Dean. He was an idiot.

"I've had it for over a year. I'd always planned that tonight would be the night." Roman continued. "Maybe if you'd been able to keep your phone out of your hands, it might have happened." He snapped the box shut. "I'm going to have a shower."

Seth watched Roman place the box onto the bedside table before made his way into the shower. He waited until the door shut to the bathroom before he reached for the velvet box. He opened it and stared at the ring, the sparkles catching his eye and enchanting him. He knew what he needed to do as he shut the box and grabbed his phone, sending a simple text.

'I don't think I can see you anymore.'

TBC

A/N: the plot thickens. Thanks for reading and reviewing! I always look forward to hearing what you guys think! GatesVengeance x