Chapter Six: You Got That Smile That Only Heaven Can Make
When the movie ended, John and Roman went back to John's house. After greeting John's family and brothers, the duo head to John's room. Once the door is closed and locked, they lay themselves in standard position on John's bed: John sitting up against the headboard and Roman's head in his lap. John runs his long fingers through Roman's jet black hair. It was in a bun today, but John's already pulled the elastic from the locks. He's always liked Roman's hair down.
"Love you." John says softly. And dammit, if it still doesn't make Roman's stomach flip every time he hears it. "You know what I really love about you?" Roman looks up at him, awaiting the answer. "I love that even after us being together for 4 years, you still blush every single time I tell you that I love you."
That only makes Roman blush more. "It's because even after 4 years, you still make me feel like I did when you first kissed me."
John can't help but lean down and kiss his boyfriend. He pecks his lips twice for good measure. "Still feels like the first time to me."
Roman smiles brightly. But after a few seconds, he's laughing. "Jesus John, you make me feel like a girl."
"Well, you are the girl in this- ow!"
"I hate it when you say that!" Roman laughs.
They sit in silence for a few moments, just sort of enjoying being in one another's presence. In one another's embrace. It's the most comforting and beautiful place they could ever be. But after a while, Roman speaks.
"John?"
He hums a light reply. "Hmm?"
"Why are you so worried about what happens with Dean and Seth? I mean, I know that you and Dean don't get along and I know that you hate what he does, but you really seem adamant about Seth having nothing to do with Dean."
It takes a few moments for John to really think about the question Roman is asking him. He's based it on instinct up until this point; based it on the fact that Seth was far too immature to really understand the consequences of getting too close to Dean. But was that it? Or was there more to the story?
"Don't you just kind of feel the need to, you know, protect the kid?" He says at last. His fingers pause in Roman's dark hair as he tries to piece together his thoughts. "He's so innocent, Roman. He's only 17."
"That's not really that young. We're both 18."
"Yeah, and Dean's 19. Seth's a kid, and it would kill me if Dean took advantage of him and I just stood by and let it happen."
Roman has to sit up now because he knows what's going on. A huge smile is plastered on the Samoan's face because he knows.
"Seth's your new Daniel."
Daniel Bryan was John's best friend. They'd known each other for only a few years, but they'd clicked the day that they met. They had a friendship like Roman had never seen before, even surpassing that of his own friendship with Dean. Daniel would do anything for John, and Roman knew that, but man, John would have died for Daniel. Daniel Bryan meant everything in the world to John. Roman always knew that it was because Daniel was smaller than the three of them, and John felt this intense need to protect and watch over him.
Like Seth, Daniel Bryan was also very passionate about wrestling and attended classes with John on Fridays. Daniel had moved from Washington State to Ohio to live with his grandmother so that he could attend Hunter Helmsley's training program NXT. For the 3 years that Daniel lived in Ohio, he was at the top of NXT. A fan favorite. A constant title holder. Until Daniel suffered a rather serious neck injury and was immediately taken out of his grandmother's care and sent back to live with his parents in Washington.
John was devastated. Devastated to the point where it was hard to get him to even speak. Roman feared that John would never recover from the most important platonic relationship he had ever had. It was almost as if Daniel gave John a sort of purpose in life. Anyone could see that John was a natural born leader and protector, and Daniel gave him the opportunity to use those assets. So when Daniel left, John was left empty.
That is, until now. At least, that's what Roman sees.
John frowns and gets out of the bed. No one's mentioned Daniel's name since he left sophomore year. He leans his body against the door of his room and sighs. "No he's not."
"Yes, baby, he is. You know he is. He looks up to you the same way that Daniel used to look up to you. You jump at any minor threat to Seth, just like you used to do with Daniel. You guys get along, you click, you have everything in common, just like you and-"
"Okay okay I get it Roman!" John yells, a little more than upset by Roman's theory.
Can John even consider it a "theory" when he knows that he is absolutely right?
"You're right, okay? You're right." He makes his way back to the bed and this time, it's Roman who takes John into his lap and runs his fingers gently through his blonde hair. John sighs once more, trying to get himself together. "Daniel was my best friend, Roman. He made me feel like I was larger than life. Like I was everything to him."
Roman smiles a small smile, and kisses John's forehead. "You were everything to him, John. He loved you. Still does."
"I know. It's just hard not having him here anymore, you know? And I just… I…"
John doesn't even need to finish his sentence, because Roman knows exactly what he wants to say. They've had this conversation too many times, although Roman wishes that they didn't have to.
"Baby boy, what have I told you? It's not your fault that he got injured."
"I told him that I'd protect him, and I didn't. I made him that one promise and I failed him." John looks up at Roman, and he sees the objection in his boyfriend's eyes. But he knows that Roman won't argue, not now. Roman knows that John needs this time to get it all out, and to explain himself. "I don't want the same thing to happen twice. I really like Seth, man. I really do. We get along so well, and I already feel so damn protective over him. I don't want anything happening to him. And it's really nothing against Ambrose, it's just that he happens to be the biggest threat to Seth right now."
Roman nods in complete understanding. "I get it. And I admire that about you, John. You have the biggest fucking heart, and you don't even know it. You're incredibly selfless." Another kiss to the forehead. "I love you."
A kiss to the lips. And another. And another. "I love you too."
…
Tuesday morning, Roman is surprised to turn the corner and see Seth at his locker. The teen's eyes are glued to his phone and there's a worried frown plastered on his face. When he approaches, he decides to play it off.
"Waiting for me? How sweet." Roman says, leaning against the lockers and facing Seth. Seth forces out a laugh, but doesn't immediately look away from his phone. Now, Roman's frowning as well. "Everything alright?"
Seth finally looks up. "Everything's… Have you seen Dean?"
Roman chuckles. "Oh Dean? Don't worry about him, he's always late to school-"
"No, I mean… Have you seen or heard from him since yesterday?" Seth's eyes are frantically scanning the hall at this point. He'd been trying to get ahold of the dirty blonde since the incident at the bar, but to no avail. It was really starting to bother him; he didn't want to lose Dean. Not when they were just beginning to get so close.
"Why?" Roman asks. "Seth, did something happen between you two?"
Seth's eyes go back to Roman and yeah, he can tell that something happened between them.
"We hung out yesterday, and I don't know what happened Roman! We were having so much fun and we were talking and laughing and playing pool, and I don't know, maybe I said something and he freaked out and he ran off and I haven't heard from him since!"
Roman sort of has to laugh, because Seth's face is beginning to turn red. He puts his hands on Seth's shoulders in an attempt to calm him. "Breathe, kid. It's fine. Dean's weird, alright? He gets weird over dumb shit, but he'll get over it."
"You sure?" Seth's voice is small and fragile, and it gives Roman a glimpse at what John's been getting at this entire time. He's just so innocent and delicate. Roman smiles.
"Positive. I've been dealing with Ambrose my entire life. I know him better than anybody."
…
Roman and John are talking at their lunch table when a tray is haphazardly thrown onto it. They both look up in surprise. It's Dean.
"What the hell Dean, where have you been?" Roman asks. Dean casually sits across from the couple and begins tearing into his chicken sandwich.
"What'dya mean?" Dean's reply is muffled from his mouth being full. Bread and chicken bits fly from his mouth and land on the table, and John rolls his eyes at Dean's lack of couth.
"You know what I mean. Seth's been looking for you all day."
Dean doesn't look up from his sandwich. "Looking for me?"
Now Roman rolls his eyes. "Yes, you. He's all freaked out about something weird happening between you guys when you hung out yesterday?"
John chokes on the chocolate milk he had been drinking. After coughing a bit, he points an accusing finger at Dean. "I knew you two ditched us!"
"What group of guys goes and sees a movie together anyways?"
"Don't you two start." Roman growls. Both men return their attention to their respective trays. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but Seth's gunna be all over you when he sees that you finally showed u-"
"Dean!"
Dean's breath hitches at the sound of Seth's voice. He knew that he wouldn't have been able to ignore the kid all day, but he somehow held onto the hope that he wouldn't have to deal with him. At least not today.
"Dean, hey." Seth's out of breath by the time he reaches the table. Dean tries to act as casual as possible when he turns and looks up at him.
"Hey, kid. What's up?"
Seth glances over at Roman and John before sitting down beside Dean. "Are you mad at me?"
"Mad at you?" He repeats. Seth nods. "Uhh, no?"
"You don't sound sure."
"Why on earth would I be mad at you?"
Seth sighs, clearly frustrated. "Why'd you run out on me yesterday?" He asks. "Oh, and by the way, you left me with the tab, and I didn't even drink anything."
Instead of giving an answer, Dean just laughs. He doesn't know why, but he does. He punches Dean in the arm to regain his attention.
"Stop laughing! I'm being serious."
"Wanna come over after school?"
Seth's slightly taken aback at the question. He furrows his eyebrows.
"What?"
Dean grins that little half grin that Seth's beginning to know him for. "Yeah. I need help with my math homework." He takes another bite from his sandwich. "Got a test coming up, you know? Derivatives."
Seth's look of confusion only intensifies as he looks over to John. The blonde shrugs in reply, admittedly just as lost as Seth.
"Okay?"
"Great!" The bell rings and Dean collects his trash and stands up. "See you then, Rollins."
The table is silent for a full minute before Roman starts laughing.
"Fucking Dean."
…
Seth knocks on the door of Dean's house and waits. He's still confused about everything that's gone on with him in the past 48 hours. He's been acting erratic, even for Dean Ambrose; Seth can tell that much. He wants answers, and Seth tells himself that that's why he's here.
"You made it! Come on in."
As he walks in, Seth notes that Dean's acting far more chipper than he's ever seen him. He follows Dean into his room and sits on his bed once he's there. He looks around the room as Dean closes the door. Doesn't notice when he locks it.
"So, you realize that I'm no better at math than you, right? I'm a wrestler, not a scholar."
Dean lays on the bed next to where Seth is sitting and looks up at him. He's got this look on his face that Seth hasn't seen from him yet. It's cocky and… He can't really put his finger on what else. But it's different. He knows that much.
"Right. Then what do you wanna do?"
Seth looks around the room, not knowing what to say. "I don't know. We could…" His voice trails off as his eyes spot something in the corner of Dean's room. He points to it. "What's all that?"
What Seth points at is pair of blue bowls, one filled with milk and one filled with dry cereal. Dean's face flushes the second he realizes what Seth's talking about. He completely forgot.
"That's for Moxley."
The younger teen looks down at Dean. "Moxley?" He repeats, and Dean sighs.
"Guess I couldn't keep the secret like I wanted to. Moxley!" He calls. Seth hears a low meow, followed by the jingle of a bell. Suddenly, a small, black and white kitten appears from under the bed. Seth gasps, a smile on his face.
"That's the kitten! The kitten I saw last week!" Seth exclaims. Dean can't help but laugh at how excited he is. "I thought you said it wasn't yours?"
Dean's laughing fades away, and is replaced by more blushing. "He's not. Well… He wasn't. But, you know… You thought he was so cute and shit. And I knew that you felt bad that he was all by himself. So… You know…"
"Wait a second." Seth's on his knees now, hovering over Dean. He's only inches away from his face, and Dean can feel himself sweating. "Are you telling me, Dean Ambrose, that you kept this kitten because of me? Because you knew that I wouldn't have wanted it homeless?"
The dirty blonde sits up and scratches at the back of his neck. That's another thing that Seth's beginning to notice about Dean; his nervous scratches. He smiles, because he knows that Dean is embarrassed. The fact that Dean kept the kitten and was never going to tell Seth meant that he wanted to do something nice for him, but didn't want to be cause doing it.
"Dean," his smile grows when Dean refuses to look at him. "that's the sweetest thing anyone's ever done for me, you know that?"
"Yeah, well, I mean, it's really not that big of a fucking deal, Seth." He says nervously. But before he can come up with something more to say, Seth's pulling him into a hug. And if the previous night at the bar freaked him out, this was enough to send him into cardiac arrest. The feeling of being so intimately touched in a non-erratic way was something of an anomaly to him.
But for the hug to come from Seth, it was something else entirely. He was just so soft, and quite frankly, it pissed Dean off. Guys weren't supposed to be that soft. He wasn't supposed to enjoy feeling Seth's silk skin against his own. He wasn't supposed to feel drunk off of his intoxicating scent. He wasn't supposed to grip him tighter, pull him closer.
He wasn't supposed to feel disappointed when Seth let him go.
"Moxley! Come here Moxley!" Seth calls to the kitten. He jumps onto Seth's lap and purrs softly, rubbing his body against the hand that Seth offers. Seth smiles as he admires his fur coat: he's solid black with white around his nose, ears, and on his paws. It was sort of a funny juxtaposition, Seth noticed. This kitten was so soft and gentle, while Dean was hard and rough around the edges. He isn't too sure how Dean's going to get along with Moxley, but he sure as hell is excited to find out.
"He likes you." Dean points out. But is he really shocked? Everyone who meets Seth seems to fall in love with him. He has this infectious personality: always smiling and laughing. Always so kind and caring.
"He's so cute!" Seth giggles, picking Moxley up and kissing his nose. Dean can't help but smile. The picture before him, it's… It's adorable.
"Well damn, if I would have known you'd be this happy about him, I would have told you the day I took him in."
"What day did you take him in?"
Oops. Dean really shouldn't have said that, because now he has to reveal another thing that he wasn't ready to tell Seth about. Again, his nails find their way to the back of his head.
"Uhh… Last Saturday…" He mumbles, hoping that maybe Seth won't hear him. Maybe Seth will just drop it all together. But the look on Seth's face tells Dean that he had no such luck.
"That's the day I came over. The day I… You took him in that same day?" Rather than wait for a reply, Seth touches his nose to Moxley's and whispers, "He loves you already."
Dean rolls his eyes. "I don't love him."
Seth covers the kitten's ears with a look of mock disgust directed towards Dean. "Don't let him hear you say that!"
Dean shakes his head with a grin. "You're dumb, kid."
"Actually," Seth says, getting up from his spot on the bed. Moxley jumps from his lap and onto the floor beside him. "you're the dumb one here, mister. You do know that you can't actually give cats milk, right? That's only on tv." Seth glances over at the two bowls again. "And feeding him cereal? Really?"
"Well how the fuck am I supposed to know how to take care of a cat? I don't know anything about cats."
Seth extends his hand out to Dean as an offer to help him up off of the bed. Dean looks at his hand hesitantly for a few moments before accepting it, trying to make the contact last as little as possible. He can't handle touching Seth any more than he has to. Not after what that hug did to him.
"It's a good thing I know a thing or two about cats. Come on, let's go to the store."
Dean shakes his head. "Can't. Don't have any money on me."
Seth grabs Dean's wrist and pulls him out of the room, Moxley happily trotting along behind. "Hey, I practically convinced you into taking him in. We're in this together, right?"
Dean blushes, but he smiles. "Right."
A/N: Title from the song Next To You by Chris Brown ft. Justin Bieber
Oh, and I also have to give props to a story I read once (don't remember the name of it) that featured Dean with a cat named Moxley. Think she was a girl though. But anyways, thanks to that story for inspiring this story's Moxley!