The next night after Smackdown, Seth, Roman and all their friends went out to a nearby bar to celebrate Seth's return. They partied late into the night and Seth was really drunk. Roman was fairly sober and was helping Seth stagger back to their room. He pulled out their room key while Seth leaned against the wall quietly humming a tune. He opened the door and gently pulled Seth's arm to lead him into the room and Seth stumbled and fell, almost hitting his head on the wall before he managed to catch him.
"Jesus Seth. Be careful." he said worriedly.
"It's not my fault." Seth pouted. "My legs forgot how to work."
He rolled his eyes and tried to get Seth to walk into the room, but he almost fell again. He grumbled and picked Seth up in his arms to walk Seth to his bed. He felt Seth snuggle into his embrace and shook his head in amusement. He put Seth down gently on his bed and helped take his shoes and socks off while Seth removed his shirt. He turned to put Seth's shoes by the door along with his own.
"Stupid pants holder wont open." Seth mumbled in frustration. "Help me Rome."
He turned around and saw Seth trying to get his belt open. He went to help Seth and tried not to laugh at how hard Seth was struggling. He swatted Seth's hands away and opened the buckle, as well as the button and zipper. He watched as Seth tried to shimmy out of his tight pants and finally laughed when Seth gave up when he couldn't get them all the way off. Seth pouted up at him so he finally grabbed the denim and with a few hard tugs, managed to get them off. As he pulled the blankets up over Seth, he noticed the scar on his knee from the surgery and gently ran his fingers over it before continuing to pull the covers up over Seth and tucked him in.
"Goodnight Seth." he said as he shut off the light next to Seth's bed.
"'Night Ro." Seth said slightly slurring his words. "You're the best best friend ever."
He smiled and got ready for bed and shut off the light next to his bed. Seth's gentle snoring soon lulled Roman into sleep.
An hour later he was awakened by Seth trying to crawl into his bed. He didn't say anything, but moved over and held the blankets open for Seth to climb in. Seth smiled sleepily and lay down with his head on Roman's chest and his arm around Roman's waist and Roman wrapped the blankets around both of them.
"Missed you Rome." Seth said as he snuggled deeper into Roman's chest.
"Sleep, we have a long drive tomorrow." he said settling his arm around Seth's back.
"'Kay." Seth mumbled as he started to drift off again.
Seth woke up the next morning with a pounding headache. It took him a while to notice that he was lying bare skin to bare skin with someone and the realization had his eyes shooting open. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the beautiful face of his best friend, knowing Roman would have taken care of him. He shut his eyes again with a quiet groan as the light from the window felt like it was searing his brain. His head hurt and he felt slightly sick, but he was wrapped up so tightly in the blankets and Roman's arms, that the warmth was comforting. He lay there trying to remember how he'd ended up there, the last thing he remembered was watching Dolph dirty dancing with Nikki.
"I know you're awake." Roman's deep voice rumbled out. "How do you feel?"
"Like crap." he answered. "I'm just trying to remember what happened last night. It's all a blank after Dolph and Nikki's little performance."
Roman laughed. "Trying to remember if I took advantage of you?"
He scoffed, but his heart beat a little faster. "Yeah right."
"We left about 10 minutes later and came back here, although it was kind of like watching a comedy act with you trying to get your pants off." Roman said grinning.
"Damn skinny jeans." Seth grumbled. "They make you look good, but they're a bitch to get off, especially drunk."
Roman laughed and got out of bed and grabbed a bottle of water and some Tylenol and gave them to Seth. He took both and had a few big gulps of water.
"We have about an hour and a half before we have to get on the road, so we should hurry up and get some breakfast." Roman said grabbing his things and heading for the bathroom.
Seth sighed and slowly sat up.
Roman turned to look at Seth with a smirk on his face. "Trust me Seth, if we had been together, you would never be able to forget it." Roman continued on into the bathroom shutting the door.
Seth just sat there in complete shock, blushing furiously while the butterflies returned to his stomach.
The next few months went by in a flurry of activity. He had a few excellent matches and was the proud new Intercontinental Champion. His friendship with Roman was as strong as ever and he'd only had a few more strange episodes with Roman. They both had a few days off before the next tour started and Seth couldn't wait to spend some relaxing days at home.
He opened the door to his and Roman's hotel room and heard Roman talking loudly on the phone.
"What do you mean I can't stay with you this week." Roman said. "You're my family and you know I have nowhere else to go."
Seth was puzzled by what he heard. 'Wasn't Roman going home to his wife and daughter this week?'
"Yeah, yeah. I get it." Roman said in frustration. "Thanks for nothing."
Roman turned around and saw him looking at him.
"What's wrong Ro?" he said concerned. "Who were you talking to?"
"None of your business!" Roman yelled at him making him jump.
He stepped closer to Roman. "This isn't like you. You know I only want to help."
Roman sat down on the end of the bed heavily and put his head in his hands. "Sorry."
"It's okay." he said sitting next to Roman and putting his arm around his shoulders. "You can tell me when you're ready. I'll always be here for you."
Roman put his head on Seth's shoulder and sighed. "My wife and I got a divorce a few months ago. I've been staying with various family members when I get time off because she got to keep the house and I have nowhere to stay this week."
Seth was shocked into silence. ' How could this happen? No one loved his family more than Roman.' "Why didn't you tell me?"
"You were so excited about getting ready to come back that I didn't want to bring you down." Roman explained. "And then, I was just so tired of seeing the pity on everyone's faces when they looked at me, and I didn't want you to look at me like that."
"I understand that, but I feel like I let you down because I wasn't here for you." he said sadly.
"You could never let me down Seth." Roman said patting his knee. "You're my best friend."
They sat in silence for a while before Seth passed Roman his phone. "Change your plane tickets and come home with me. We'll have a guys week."
"Thanks man. You're the best." Roman said as he made the arrangements.
When Roman was finished Seth asked. "If you don't mind my asking, why did you guys get divorced?"
"She was fed up with me being on the road all the time, said I was a bad husband and father."
"That's a terrible thing to say." he said angrily. "You love them more than anything. Doesn't she know that everything you do is for your family?"
"Yeah well, I get that she's lonely and needs me around more, but she wouldn't compromise and insisted on the divorce." Roman shrugged. "My parents are pissed at me and keep trying to guilt me into going back to her. They don't understand that she's the one that doesn't want me."
"That sucks." he said sadly. "What about Jojo?"
"I get one overnight visit with her a month." Roman said sighing as a tear ran down his face.
He grabbed Roman in the tightest hug he could, a tear running down his own face for his friend.
"Seth, you're crushing me." Roman said quietly.
He loosened his hold on Roman and Roman finally hugged him back.
"No more sad talk after this." Roman said. "Tired of feeling bad."
"I agree." Seth said blinking back more tears. "But if you ever need to talk..."
"I know where to find you." Roman finished with a smile.
Their guys week was great. Seth was determined to make Roman have fun. They went out to football games, went drinking, had barbecues, played video games, watched movies and went swimming. They even managed to get some wrestling in after their workouts. Roman was finally starting to act like himself again and Seth felt even closer to him.