Chapter 21:

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.

Dean glanced at his phone, groaning when he saw that he still hadn't received a text back from Seth. It had been just over a week since he had heard from the younger man and it had made him feel a little nervous and apprehensive. All he knew was that Seth and Roman had spent the last weekend away together and then all of a sudden, their messaging had stopped abruptly. All he'd received was a text that simply said 'I don't think I can see you anymore.'

He slid his phone back into his pocket, trying not to think too much on it. He knew that there was no point dwelling on it since he didn't want to get caught up in the feelings that were starting to appear. He knew it was foolish, that feeling of his heart racing every time he saw Seth, that feeling of having something he'd always wanted. He shook his head, glancing over at the clock on his bedside table. He really should be getting ready to take his wife out for lunch, not dwelling on somebody else that clearly had finished with him.

He walked over to his walk in wardrobe and pulled out a long sleeved, powder blue button up shirt. He grabbed the first pair of dark coloured jeans that he could find, opting for a semi casual look today even though he knew Nikki would be made up to look like she was going to the Academy Awards. He shrugged that thought off, trying to focus on getting himself ready before he went to pick her up from the hotel that she was staying in.

He pulled on the jeans quickly, buttoning them up before he grabbed his shirt and slid it over his broad shoulders. He did up the buttons and walked over to the mirror, checking himself out before he was satisfied with his reflection. He reached for his cologne, squirting a liberal amount of the expensive scent onto his neck and wrists. He was now ready to leave.

He walked back over to his bedside table and grabbed his wallet, sliding it into his back pocket. His keys were downstairs in the kitchen. He glanced onto his bed, the two mounds of fluff still nesting there. He sat down on the edge of the bed, Crowe's head instantly lifting, his yellow eyes opening to look at his owner. In the blink of an eye, Crowe had jumped up and was sitting on Dean's lap, his paws kneading at the strong muscles.

Dean ran his hand across the top of Crowe's head, the scrawny black cat purring as he did. "I'd love to stay but I've got to see Nikki." He said quietly. He watched Solomon's head pop up, his eyes definitely looking nervous. Dean reached over and patted the fluffy, brown and white cat's head. He watched Solomon's eyes flutter shut, his face somewhat at ease as Dean rubbed at his cheeks. He gently picked Crowe up off his lap and placed him on the bed. "Be good." He said to them, patting them each once on the head before he left the room.

He walked quickly downstairs, heading straight to the kitchen to grab his set of car keys before he went to the front door to pull on his shoes. He glanced down at his left hand, making sure that he'd put his ring on, knowing full well that Nikki would rage at him if he didn't have it on. He slipped on his shoes before he stepped out of his house, pulling the door shut behind him as he walked over to his car. He'd decided to bring the large black Range Rover today.

He clicked open the door and slid inside, starting up the engine before he was on his way. He didn't like this car nearly half as much as he liked his Bentley but he knew that this was Nikki's favourite car and he could never deny giving her what she wanted. That was probably why he was in the current predicament that he was. Although he had denied her the one request of her staying in his house. He was nowhere near ready for them to live together again like they had previously. So he had shelled out more than enough money for her to stay in one of the most expensive hotels in town.

He made it to her hotel in no time at all. He could see that she was already waiting outside. She was dressed in a royal blue, tight dress with sky high, black heels. She had on her oversized Dolce and Gabbana sunglasses and her black Hermes bag, both of which he'd bought for her on previous birthdays. He pulled up at the curb and stopped the car while she moved into the passenger seat.

Nikki's eyes lit up as she looked over at Dean although you couldn't see from underneath her sunglasses. "Hi husband." She beamed at him.

"Hey." Dean answered with a slight eye roll. He slid the car back into drive and continued the short drive to the restaurant that they'd be having lunch at.

"C'mon Dean. You could at least pretend that you're happy to see me." Nikki countered. She reached into her bag and pulled out her compact mirror, checking out her reflection before she applied just a little bit more lipstick to her already well done lips. "Think about how lucky you are to be married to someone like me."

"Yeah, you remind me every damn day how lucky I am to be married to you." Dean shot back, his eyes focused on the road.

Nikki pulled off her sunglasses to get a better look at Dean. "Is everything alright?"

"Everything is fine." Dean snapped the last word, showing his discontent.

"Oh." Nikki's lips curled into a large grin. "Something happened with your little boy toy, didn't it? Maybe Romie found out all about you two?"

Dean just gave her a look that said that he was definitely over this conversation. "He's not my 'boy toy' so don't even use that word."

"But I bet you wish he was, don't you?" Nikki probed. "I bet you wish you had Seth properly. Not just as some side salad."

"Nikki, just stop." Dean tried to dismiss her as he pulled into a parking spot that was across from the restaurant. He turned to look at her once he'd killed the ignition in the car. "You don't know anything so just stop. It's none of your business anyway."

"Oh, it's plenty of my business." Nikki cut in. "If you're fucking some other dude, then it's all of my business." She paused for a moment. "We are married in case you forgot so it's high time you started acting like it."

"What the hell do you mean by that?" Dean asked sharply.

"I want you to stop seeing Seth. Right now. And never again." Nikki answered quickly. "You're supposed to be giving me a baby, not fucking other dudes."

Dean's eyes narrowed. "You can't make me do anything."

Nikki pulled out her phone and scrolled through her contacts. She didn't stop until she reached Stephanie McMahon's number. Her finger hovered over it. "I could just tell her all of our marital problems Dean and then that would be the end of your career."

"Get out of the car and let's go the lunch." Dean snapped at her, stepping out of the car and slamming the door shut.

Nikki eased her way out of the expensive car, her grin so large it was almost vertical. She knew she'd won this round easily. She scampered around to the side of the car where Dean was standing, brooding angrily. She held her hand out for him. "Aren't you going to hold my hand?"

Dean shot her a look before he grabbed her hand, his grip tight as he walked across the street towards the restaurant. They walked up to the front door, Nikki slowing as she walked up the stairs. They were greeted by the friendly waitress at the front desk and shown to a secluded table right at the back of the nicely decorated steak house. He couldn't even pretend to be jealous when he felt the staring gaze of the men in the restaurant as they deliberately checked out his wife. He couldn't care less what other men looked at.

Once they'd taken their seats, the waitress took their drink orders before she allowed them to look over the menu. The tension was thick and obvious between them, the silence engulfing them as they both tried silently to decide what it was that they would be ordering.

Nikki was the one who spoke first, the menu smacking hard against the table. She watched her husband's blue eyes look up at her with the mildest of interest, his eyebrow cocked up slightly. "Are you really going to just ignore me?"

"Are you really just going to threaten me?" Dean shot back. "It's not my fault I'm just not attracted to you."

"Listen here you little cocksucker." Nikki's voice was sharp as she leaned forward close enough so that only he could hear her. "I've waited long enough while you've fucked around with that pretty boy of yours. You'd better have gotten rid of Seth by the end of the week and you'd better have gotten me pregnant by the end of the year otherwise we're going to have some problems."

"What if I tell you that I've changed my mind?" Dean asked. "I don't think I want kids ever."

Nikki's brown eyes narrowed. "You promised me."

"I can go back on my promises." Dean pointed out. His blue eyes not blinking as they locked with hers in an intense stare off.

"I'll fucking blow the cover on your secret life if you do." Nikki challenged. She wasn't going to lose everything she'd worked so hard for this easily.

"Do it then." Dean shot back. He noticed how suddenly nervous she was. "You won't fucking do it."

"Neither will you." Nikki countered. "You always give in to what I want."

Dean had his mouth open to respond when he glanced up to see Seth walking through the restaurant to a table that was relatively close by to them. Seth was with someone he thought he recognized but he couldn't quite place. The younger, long haired brunette just so happened to glance over to where he and Nikki were seated, his whole world coming to a halt in a matter of moments, their brown and blue orbs connecting. They always had so much chemistry and now was certainly no different.

Nikki followed her husband's line of sight, her brown eyes landing on Seth. She smirked. "Speaking of boy toys, look who it is."

Dean tore his gaze away from Seth and looked back at his wife. "I need a smoke. Order me a steak and salad when that waitress gets back." He placed his menu back onto the table and stood up abruptly. He could feel Seth's gaze staring into the back of him as he towered over his wife.

"How do you like your steak?" Nikki balked at him. She was a little lost for words.

"You're my wife. You should know that answer." Dean answered before he walked out of the restaurant.

He stepped out into the still warm, late autumn sun and made his way towards his car, knowing exactly where he'd left his cigarettes. He'd barely made it to his car when he heard his name being called out from behind him. He turned around and was greeted by the face of the man who had been ignoring him for the past week.

"Seth." He breathed out. His heart was racing hard in his chest from just one moment.

"Hey." Seth's voice was equally as quiet.

"That's all you got after a week of ignoring me? Hey?" Dean's tone was harsher than he intended.

"I didn't want to ignore you Dean but I felt like I had to." Seth started. "You are everything that I know I shouldn't have but you are everything that I want."

Dean took in what Seth was saying. It was obvious now that Seth had the same feelings for him that he felt for the younger, dark haired man. That thought terrified and excited him at the same time. He couldn't force his lips to move though to reciprocate what it was that Seth was saying to him.

"Roman is the perfect man for me. He can give me everything that I've ever wanted and what can you give me?" Seth asked sharply. "You can't give me anything but physical. I'd never be anything more to you than just a nice ass and good set of lips." He paused for a moment. "I have to do what is best for me. And what's best for me is Roman, not you. That's why I stopped replying to you Dean."

Dean took a deep breath. "You don't know what I could give you."

"I do." Seth said sharply. "You can only give me sex. I'll never hold the same spot in your heart that Nikki does. I've been through this before and I don't want to play second fiddle again."

"One more time." Dean said quietly.

Seth's brow creased. "What?"

"Give me one more time with you and then we can pull the strings. And then we can end it." Dean answered. "That's all I want. Just one more day with you. Just you."

"I don't know Dean." Seth replied honestly. "I have to do what's going to be best for me in the end, not what I want to do."

"One more day is all I ask." Dean pressed again. "Look me dead in the eyes and tell me that that's not what you want."

"It is what I want." Seth breathed out. He stepped in a little closer to Dean, inhaling the intoxicating scent of Dean's cologne. He'd missed this. His arm reached out and tentatively grabbed at Dean's arm, his fingers tightening around the older man's forearm. He stepped in closer still, almost pressed face to face, barely a few centimetres between them as they locked their gaze. He couldn't deny their chemistry, their passion. "Okay." He said after the longest of moments. "One more day."

Dean felt his heart race harder in his chest. Another intense moment that he'd had with the younger man. "Come over on Friday and I'll make it the best day of your life."

Roman slid his car into park as he pulled up out the front of Dean's large and lavish home. Today was Wednesday and it was supposed to be his day off since he was working over the weekend but Dean had asked him to come over and give his assistance on a new range of products that would be getting rolled out to the stores in the beginning of next year. Dean hadn't gone into too much detail as to what Roman's role in this little project would be but he was always ready to help.

He stepped out of his car, the sun beating down on him as he made his way up to the front door. He had an extra spring in his step today, his relationship with Seth vastly improving since their weekend away. Admittedly, the weekend didn't go exactly to plan however it ended with the result that Roman wanted. He wanted that closeness that he and Seth once had together and it was returning at full force. Seth had been giving him his undivided attention with every second that they spent together, their spark definitely resumed to where it was before they skidded along to a halt.

He lifted his hand and knocked on the door three times. He glanced out across the immaculately kept yard. He was definitely jealous of the house that Dean had, even the lavish cars that he owned. He wished that one day he would have all of this. He smiled, the knowledge that he would have Seth by his side making his heart beat a little faster.

The door was opened barely a minute later by Dean who was dressed a little more casually than he could ever remember seeing him. He was wearing a charcoal grey shirt with a red lion on top, the words 'Authority' written across it. He was also dressed in a pair of knee length white shorts with thick black stripes through them. He recognized the clothing immediately, a smug grin growing on his lips. "I see you checked out the shop. I hope Seth was extra helpful."

"Extra helpful with making me spend more, maybe." Dean laughed lightly. "Come in Rome."

Roman nodded, stepping inside of the large house. He glanced around the front room, overwhelmed by the decorations that were put up on the walls. The house was very nicely decorated and definitely matched Dean's own personal style. It still amazed him no matter how many times he came to Dean's house. "So where are we doing this?"

"I've set up the table in the dining room with everything." Dean answered. He closed the door behind Roman and led him towards the back of the house, taking a sharp turn to the dining room. The room was mostly made up of dark, mahogany coloured furniture with a rich mixture of red and gold very present in the smallish space. He walked a few steps ahead of Roman, sliding into his seat at the head of the table while Roman moved to sit into the car that was directly next to him.

Roman sat in the seat next to his boss and looked at the pieces of paper that were scattered across the nice looking dinner table. He felt his heart skip a beat when he looked at one of the pieces of paper, a blonde man staring back at him holding a power drill. Many years had passed since he had seen that familiar face but he would never forget who that was. "Is that...?"

Dean scrunched his forehead up in confusion. "Who?"

"That's Tyler on this, isn't it?" Roman asked, holding up the picture that was lying on the table. He was almost one-hundred percent sure that it was his ex-boyfriend from what seemed like an age ago. "You know, my ex Tyler."

Dean shrugged. "Sure looks like him."

"I didn't know he did modeling." Roman remarked, taking another look at the picture. Tyler looked so out of place with the hardware tools in his hand, his pretty face looking so much in contrast to the heavy, manly clothing that he was wearing. Tyler was always delicate and it was almost funny to see him like that. "I guess he was pretty enough to be a model."

Dean shrugged his shoulders again. "Maybe he got there through other techniques."

Roman gave him a funny look. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, he was pretty easy to get into bed." Dean remarked. He glanced up to see the anger welling up in Roman's grey orbs. "What? I thought you were over that. It happened so many years ago."

Roman placed the picture back on the table and rolled his eyes. "Where is your bathroom? I've gotta go before we start doing this."

Dean just gave him a skeptical look and sighed. "It's upstairs, third door on the right."

Roman stood up and walked out of the room. He knew he was perhaps being a little immature, reacting like that over a stupid comment that Dean just so happened to make. It angered him so much because Dean knew how much he'd loved Tyler way back when. Dean knew that Tyler was his first love, his first real anything. And all it took was for Dean to say something clever, something seductive and Tyler was on his back, legs spread.

He wondered if there was ever any truth to his suspicions about Seth and Dean.

He tried to shrug it off, ignoring that worrying feeling right in the pit of his stomach and instead focusing on the good patch that he and Seth were currently going through. They were finally back where they should be, his trust level at the ultimate, their chemistry returned as well as everything else. He didn't want to spoil the good that they had going for them but at the same time, he still couldn't help but wonder.

He stepped into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He didn't need to go to the toilet but it was a good enough excuse. He glanced around the bathroom. It was simple, lots of white with black, plastic accessories. The one thing that set it apart was the solid bronze taps in the plumbing. He took a deep breath, his grey orbs still scanning the bathroom and that was when he saw them.

Draped across the side of the bath, almost like they were waiting for him was a pair of grey, skinny leg jeans that looked like they could have belonged to Seth. He walked across the smallish room to where the pants lay waiting. He picked them up and had a good look at them. They definitely looked like his boyfriend's size but there was no way that Seth would have even come over to Dean's house.

A thought suddenly dawned on him. That day that Seth came home in those weird, oddly fitting shorts that were nowhere near his style sprung to life in his mind. Those shorts looked like something Dean would wear. That churning feeling in the pit of his stomach had returned with a vengeance, his mind skipping through every single possible scenario that would even warrant Seth leaving his pants here.

There was none that didn't involve either of them getting naked. Absolutely none.

He placed the pants back where he'd found them and walked over to the toilet. He flushed it before he washed his hands. The whole time his mind was racing, his stomach doing back flips. It was almost like it was smacking him right in the face. He dried his hands on the expensive hand towel before he exited the bathroom, his legs almost running down the stairs.

He made it back to where Dean was still waiting, his pen poised against his notepad. He was already taking notes and they hadn't really even begun yet. He sat down at the table, Dean's eyes flicking up curiously for a moment before he went back to his work. Roman took this as his chance to charge. "You know, I thought you would have cleaned up a little bit before I came over?"

Dean glanced up, his brow furrowed as he spoke. "What are you talking about?"

Roman merely shrugged. "There was a pair of jeans just thrown across the bathtub."

"Oh, they're Nikki's." Dean answered quickly. He cursed himself mentally, forgetting that Seth's jeans were even still in his house, let alone his bathroom. "She must have left them here when she was over last."

"Nikki and Seth have the same taste in clothes then." Roman remarked. "Cause they look like something he'd wear."

Dean shrugged. "Well they must do then." He looked over at Roman, his blue orbs locking with the grey eyes across the table. "C'mon. We've got work to do."

Roman merely smirked. He knew he'd backed Dean into a corner that maybe he would never get out of. While his stomach clenched painfully, he knew he was getting closer to the real truth, not some fabrication of a terrible lie that Seth had tried to feed him.

Good patch or not, he was determined to find out the truth.

TBC

A/N: early update because you guys are awesome and this story has surpassed the number of reviews that Paparazzi got in its finished form. Thank you all. We're on the home stretch of this story with no more than 6 chapters left. Thank you to everyone for reading and reviewing! I love to hear what you all think each and every chapter. GatesVengeance x