Eleven

"So you're a free man for now?" Seth asked as Dean nursed a Jack and Coke at Asylum's bar later that night.

"No," Dean replied. "I'm still in a relationship, Seth."

Seth pouted. "What a shame."

Dean stared at his phone. Still no call from his boyfriend. "Maybe I should have followed him."

Beside him, Corey nodded. "Yeah. Why didn't you?"

"I don't know. I mean I have Asylum to run and maybe he'd like some privacy. Besides it's not as if his parents like me. I'm not Polynesian. It's a big no-no."

"But you guys love each other."

"We do but I don't think it matters to them. Anyways, I hope things work out between his dad and him. It'd be a shame if his father passed on and they parted on bad terms."

"I'd go if I were you," Seth said. "I mean I don't see why you should sit here and sulk while your boyfriend is hitting it with some hunk on the beach."

Dean shot his friend a dirty look. "Seriously, Seth? He's not like that."

"I thought you gave him a free pass."

"I did but-"

"But nothing. You know how it is with these Polynesian people."

"Seth, firstly that's racist and secondly, what do you mean by how it is?"

"They've got huge sexual appetites. Adding on to the stress he'll be facing, you know he'll be banging some island boy."

"Where did Roman go to again?" Corey asked, sipping a martini.

"Florida," Dean answered.

"I love Florida," Seth cooed. "We should go there for vacation and Dean can crash the family reunion."

"I don't know, Seth," Corey said. "Roman might be offended. This is actually a sensitive time for his family and him."

"Dean, what do you think? You know you can't last a week let alone a month without him. Paul can run Asylum in our absence."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Paul's on hospitalisation leave."

"Not quite."

The three men saw their manager walk in with Brock behind him. Dean cast a nervous look at Corey who laughed quietly. "Aren't you supposed to be resting, Paul?" the tattooed man asked.

"I was bored staying at home," their manager replied. "So what's this I hear about running Asylum in your absence? Where are you guys going?"

"Florida!" Seth cheered.

"Seth!" Dean protested. "We never agreed to-"

"Dean, do you miss your boyfriend?"

"Of course, I do. But-"

"Then we're going to Florida. End of story." Seth's face suddenly fell. "I hope we don't catch him in the middle of a tryst or something. That'd be awkward."

Dean gulped.

"Oh knock it off the both of you," Corey jumped in. "Look, as much as I hate going to Florida, Dean, if it bothers you so much, maybe you should go and visit Roman. I mean we can all stay in a hotel or something."

"The thing is I'd have to tell him first. I mean who knows what other plans he has-"

"That's so old school, Dean," Seth replied. "Surprise the man."

"But you just said we may walk in the middle of his tryst."

"Hmmm…"

Corey was gawking at both of them. "You two are really something. Dean, you're right. Call him. Who knows where he is. I'll see if I can get us a flight and a hotel."

"Tonight?" Seth suggested, hopeful.

"Tonight? Don't we have to pack?"

"Get us a midnight flight. We can go home and get our passports, some clothes…"

Dean pressed Roman's name and got his voicemail instead. "It went straight to his mail. Guess it'll be a surprise."

"Yes!" Seth cheered again.

"Seth, you're really excited about this, aren't you?"

"Honestly, I just want to bang some chicks on the beach."

Corey came up to them. "Got it. Booked us a flight on American Airlines, twelve fifteen. Right. Go home and pack your stuff. Dean, I guess you can keep trying to get Roman too."

Dean looked at Paul. "Are you sure you're fit to run this place? I mean-"

"Go." Paul patted him on his back. "Everyone knows how bad you have it for him. I'm kind of surprise you weren't suggesting to him to bring you along."

"I wasn't thinking except saying the right thing," he admitted.

"Maybe the right thing would have been to stand by his side."

"But his parents hate me."

"Maybe when they see how much you love him, take care of him, they'd be okay."

"Maybe."

Roman was exhausted upon returning home. The seat during the flight was uncomfortable and his arm was knocked by the trolley cart a few times.

Then there was his father.

From the moment he entered the house, his father had glared at him and asked his mother curtly why did they allow strangers inside their home.

Rosey told him not to pay heed.

His mother, however, was quick to set up his room and serve him dinner despite grumbles from his father. "So how have you been?" she asked, serving him mashed potatoes on his plate of chicken pasta.

"I've been okay," he replied. "I'm doing good."

"Are you still dating that white man?"

"Mum…"

"I'm just asking."

"Yes, I am. We bought a house together in a nice neighborhood. I'm taking a break from school and he's busy managing this club he's opened."

"You mean he's no longer performing?"

"Well, he's been approached a few times but he's turned the label down." Roman looked at her dead in the eyes. "He did it for me. He missed being away from me and he decided that he had done it all."

"Mmm does he miss it though?"

"See, the thing is I know he does. And I've offered to go on tour with him but he doesn't want that. He's worried about me adapting to the lifestyle."

"That means he doesn't trust you."

Roman sighed and shook his head when his father walked in. "No, Dad. It mean he cares and worries about me. Him giving up his career was a huge sacrifice."

His father sat down beside him. "Tell him to go back on the road. You don't need to be the reason why he stopped."

"Don't you think I've tried? But Dean's always been headstrong. What he wants, he gets. And he wanted me to be happy."

"Your lover is an interesting character."

"He's my boyfriend, dad."

"Manu's in town. You should look him up."

Roman cheered up immediately. Manu Bennett was his friend all the way till the end of junior high when he had to move to Washington due to his mother's promotion at work.

"Eat some more, baby," his mother said, scooping up more potatoes onto his plate.

"If your so called boyfriend cared about you as you said, why isn't he here?" his father pressed. "Why are you even here, Roman? As I recalled, you didn't want to see us."

"Rosey told me about-"

"So? Does it even matter? We're dead to you, remember?"

"Dad, come on. That's not fair. You were so hard pressed about Dean not being Polynesian but the reality is that he loves me."

"Oh he loves you, does he?"

"Yes, he does," Roman answered firmly. His father was merely looking for a fight and he refused to be baited. He pushed his plate aside. "I'm not hungry, mum. I'll see you tomorrow."

His father grunted.

Roman could hear his mother nagging at his father who was surprisingly quiet. He closed the door of his old bedroom behind him. He smiled at the posters on his wall of BB King and The Platters. Always a weird one, his father had once commented.

Taking out his cellphone, he realised that his phone was still in airplane mode. Dean must have tried calling him but could not reach him. When he tried to call Dean, he got his voicemail. Odd. Maybe he forgot to charge his phone.

He scrolled down his phone for Manu's number and sent him a text: Guess who's back in town? This guy.

A minute later, Manu replied: Don't you mean the guy?

Roman chuckled: That too. Heard you're back as well.

Oh yeah. Wanna meet up for coffee tomorrow say 10am?

His fingers quickly replied: Okay. Usual spot.

Putting his phone aside, he sighed. It was going to take a while to get through his father. Maybe a month wasn't going to cut it either.

"Which part of Florida is Roman from?" Seth asked as he sipped the Jack Daniels he ordered on board the plane.

"Ummm Pensacola," Dean mumbled.

"I got us rooms at Hyatt Place Pensacola Airport," Corey added. "Reviews were good on TripAdvisor. Did you manage to get Roman?"

Dean shook his head. "No."

"Guess it'll really be a surprise."

Dean was starting to hope Seth's words didn't come true. You and your big mouth, he chided himself.

"Cheer up, Dean," Corey consoled him. "I'm sure he'll be thrilled to see you. Do you have his address?"

"Yeah he gave it to me before he left."

"Great. So we'll show up at his door," Seth proposed, "and then surprise him with a gift basket or something."

"Umm Seth, aren't you supposed to be banging chicks on the beach?"

"That can be done later. No rush, Dean."

Except when they finally made it to Roman's house at eleven in the morning, his father was staring at them with pure disdain.

In particular at Dean.

He wasn't even trying to hide it. Dean held out the fruit basket but the man refused to accept it. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I'm here to see Roman… and ummm you too," Dean replied.

"Roman is not here," his father said. "He's out with Manu."

Manu? Who the heck?

"I can wait," the auburn haired lead singer said.

"Yes you can except I don't want you in my house. Why did he choose you?"

Seth laughed. "I'm pretty sure they chose each other, old man."

Corey nudged the lead guitarist.

"Look, Mr Reigns," Dean started. "I didn't come here for an argument. I came here to support your son."

Roman's father crossed his arms. "Oh. Did you now? My son doesn't want your support. He has Manu for that."

"Manu again? Who the fuck is Manu?"

"His good friend."

"Like I said, I'll wait."

"You're a stubborn headed man, aren't you? Like Roman said, what you want, you get. But not this time. You can want my son all you want but you're never getting him."

Dean smirked. "Yeah okay but FYI I've already gotten him. I've gotten him in a lot of places: in the living room, on the bed, in the shower, on the dining table-"

"How dare you?!"

"How dare you! I came here, all civil and ready to mingle and you're acting like a complete douchebag instead. So excuse me for not caring about your opinion on what Roman and I do - which is one another - a lot."

"You have a rude boyfriend!"

Dean turned around and found Roman looking at him perplexed. There was a Polynesian man with short black hair dressed in a blue t-shirt and black jeans. This must be Manu. "Ummm surprise?" he told his boyfriend.

Alone in the privacy of Roman's bedroom, Dean scratched his neck nervously. "Not exactly what I had in mind when I saw you. I… uh… wanted to surprise you. Well, I actually tried calling you a few times but I couldn't reach you."

Roman nodded, his posture tense. "Yeah my phone was on airplane mode. I forgot to switch it off."

Dean didn't like the vibe between them. "I'm sorry you saw that. I was trying to be civil to him but he was so rude and I guess I just lost it."

"It's fine."

No it wasn't. Dean could tell in his boyfriend's stance and tone. "We're going to have an argument, aren't we?" he said softly which made Roman look up at him in surprise. "I'm sorry to have caught you at a bad time. It's just that I missed you more than I had anticipated and… I'll leave you to your family. When you're in a better mood, you can find me at the Hyatt Place Pensacola Airport."

His hand was on the knob when Roman called him, "Dean, where are you going?"

"Out of your hair."

"You're so silly, Dean," Roman said, pulling him into his arms. "It's a hard time right now in the Reigns household. And I realise my dad can be rude. He's still upset we're together. But whatever. I didn't come here to argue with him about that."

"So you're not mad at me?" he asked.

"Mad at you? You being here is a relief. I couldn't have asked for a better surprise."

Dean sighed happily before Roman pressed his lips against his. "It's good to be home," he mumbled against Roman's lips.

"More than you can ever know."

Roman brought Dean out to lunch at Global Grill where they shared Spicy Tuna Sashimi. The Samoan man ordered filet mignon while his boyfriend had the chicken cordon bleu.

He ordered chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream just so that he could feed Dean.

"So," the scruffy haired rock star asked as they walked out of the grill, "you'll call me?"

"Yeah, I will," Roman replied. "I have to go and settle things with my dad. I'm not expecting much to be honest."

His cellphone rang then and he answered it. "Hello?"

"Roman?!" It was Rosey and he sounded frantic. "I'm bringing Dad to the hospital. He has a very high fever."

"I'll be right there!"

Dean was looking at him with concern. "What's wrong?"

"It's my father; Rosey's bringing him to the hospital."

"I'll go with you."

They took a taxi to West Florida Hospital where Roman learnt that his father was in the ER, waiting for admission. "Is he okay?" he asked Rosey. "What happened? He was okay this morning."

"I'm not sure," his brother replied. "Mum and him had an argument over well… you know… and then later, I found him on the couch, groaning."

Roman ran a hand through his black hair. "Damn it."

"I guess he got overly emotional. I'm not sure. Either way, let's hope the fever subsides."

They waited for an hour outside the ER where Dean bought drinks from the vending machine for all of them including his sisters who were upset at the sight of his auburn haired rockstar boyfriend once Rosey explained to them what had happened.

Dean informed Roman quietly that he'd head back to the hotel; he didn't want to cause any more anxiety than was already present.

Once a bed was available for his father, the family went up to his room where he was lying in bed, sleeping.

Roman wondered how he'd get through this without hurting his father even more.

Dean felt guilty.

If he hadn't shown up, none of this would have happened. Right now, Roman would probably have to explain and defend their relationship and who knew how badly that'd turn out.

His boyfriend wasn't going to have it easy. As long as they were both together, Roman would have to face the disapproving looks and snide remarks from his family. How could his family accept him especially after his confrontation with Mr Reigns?

He took a nap for about three hours before he received a call that Roman was at the lobby from concierge.

After a quick wash and putting on his boots, he rushed down where he found Roman looking sad. "How is he?" the rock star asked.

"He's stable," Roman replied. "They've put him on morphine though."

"This is all my fault, Roman."

"Don't say that, Dean."

"But it is. If I had just shut up and sat back home and waited for you-"

"No one could have predicted this, Dean."

"He was stressed because of me. And you're probably undergoing that too because you're dating me."

"Let them be. They'll have to accept it."

"He's your father, Roman," Dean reminded him. "You didn't come from a broken home like me. Don't let our relationship destroy the good familial ties you have with them."

"You're… you're not suggesting that we break up, are you?" Roman asked, his voice breaking.

"I think we have no choice."

"No!"

"Roman…"

"No, Dean," he said, hugging him tight. "I can't do it. I won't do it."

"Then I will. This is bigger than you and me, Roman. You know this. This is not my insecurity talking. This is me talking to you as someone who cares for you."

"If you cared for me, you wouldn't suggest this."

"Then what else are we supposed to do, Roman?"

"We'll have to lie that we broke up but damn it, I am not breaking up with you."

Dean wondered how they would get Roman's family to believe that. "Are you sure this will work?"

"It will," came Roman's confident reply. "We just need to stay away from each other in public while we're here. I'll come visit you instead."

"I hope this won't result in a backlash, Roman. Otherwise, there'd be a heavy price to pay."

A/N So do you think Roman's idea will work? Thank you for the reviews, favorites and follows. I appreciate it :-)