For the longest time
Roman wanted to get some sort of revenge on his former Shield brother for what
he did simply because he couldn’t believe the younger male would do such a
thing. During their time in the Shield the two men along with Dean Ambrose
dominated the roster, everything was going their way, and just like that in the
blink of an eye Seth ruined it. The
truth was there was still part of him that wanted to hurt the Iowan, but then
that was a part of him that was proud of everything the younger male had accomplished
since the split.
Truth be told he
thought their friendship was over, beyond repair, that was until he heard the
man mention someone having his back. Was it him? All he could think about were
the recent times where the male came out to help him. He stood back watching
everything take place on a monitor backstage, eyes glancing toward the curtain
once Seth stepped toward the back, hands going up slightly at the sound of the
other’s voice. “Ay, man I didn’t say
anything. Calm the hell down.”
There it was again,
that want to be there for the other. But instead of saying anything he remained
silent.
He arches an eyebrow, not expecting that response. It catches him completely off guard, so much so that he opens and closes his mouth a few times before turning his head and beginning to jump on the spot. He’s nervous, something he hasn’t felt in so long, and that’s probably because he doesn’t know what’s going on,or what could happen, and it’s a feeling he’s beginning to hate after pretty much being spoon-fed by The Authority.
“But you were going to right? Say something? Because like, I would deserve it,” he adds, eyes widening slightly before he groans and begins to smack his head against the wall in frustration with himself. After a few moments, he stops, looks back towards Reigns and frowns, wanting to know why the man was still here, not kicking his ass just yet or even walking away in disbelief.
With the ebb and flow of nervous energy going through him, Seth looked around the hall and continued to move his legs, waiting as patiently as he can for an answer, even if it’s one he does want. He can hear the noises of the stadium surrounding them but at the same time, it almost seems more muted than ever, and he can’t help but wonder why, not willing to loo at the older man just yet.
He. Went. There. If it wasn’t bad enough that fans were tweeting rude comments to her even when she didn’t say those things about Seth and his work ethic. The situation had nothing to do her so it wasn’t fair that her name kept getting brought into this. Nattie was fuming, angry exhales leaving her nose but no words being said. So what did she do?
SMACK!
Her right hand couldn’t go across his left cheek fast enough. HARD. “YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE! DON’T YOU FUCKING DARE PUT MY FAMILY’S NAME IN YOUR MOUTH AGAIN, DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME!?” Nattie swore, tears streaming down her face. “I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE THINGS THEY’VE SAID ABOUT YOU BUT I WILL NOT TOLERATE YOU OR ANYBODY ELSE DISRESPECTING THEM! I DEFEND YOU, I FUCKING STOOD UP FOR YOU!!!!”
He moved his jaw back and forth, rubbing the cheek where she hit him, eyes wide as he glared at the woman in front of him. He never minded Nattie, actually liked the Hart in comparison to all of her other family members, minus Tyson, but he had just heard the news, or really, had just read the news and he was so damn tired. He was tired of always being gossiped about by her uncles, tired about being called unprofessional, and he had just let it slip, not realizing what he was saying until the slap.
“I’m sorry,” he breaths, in and out, closing his eyes before letting out a growl. “but maybe if your damn fucking uncle didn’t always have my name in his mouth like a god damn ring whore, I wouldn’t have let the words slip!” He snarls before cringing back. “Shit, i’m sorry, again.” He adds before shaking his head. “But I don’t think you realize how frustrating this is, Nat. Constantly being called unprofessional, a risk, injury-prone,” he whines slightly, pinching the bridge of his nose.
So many things changed in the last week, and only now, standing behind the curtain and waiting for her music to hit, did Nikki finally understood it. Her sister destroyed her relationship with John, which he didn’t really fight for. He just let he go, covering it all with “soul - searching” for them both, but she knew better. When Brie actually found the courage to tell her the truth she got mad. But when she confronted John about it all, he simply said that he wasn’t ready to change anything. She didn’t cry, oh no, they all won’t get the pleasure to see her crying over this. And when Stephanie approached her a week before SummerSlam she accepted the offer with a smile on her face.
“You can look but you can’t touch” blasts through the arena, as she steps out onto the ramp, a chorus of boos following, only bringing a smile to her face. Last night she knocked out her twin sister, allowing Stephanie to pick up the win, and truth be told, it felt good. While she walks down to the ring, the brunette observes the people, that stand there, waiting for her. Hunter is smiling at her, but she still remembers how he looked at her boobs the night before, making her want to cringe. If only Stephanie knew what her husband was like, but that’s not her place to tell. Kane and Randy look as if they’re bored out of their mind, and then there’s Seth. The usual look by now - black suit, that stupid briefcase in hand and that annoying cackle of a laugh, that reaches her ears as soon as she steps through the ropes and moves to give Stephanie a hug.
Sending an overly sweet smile in Seth’s direction, she takes the mike from the tech guy and steps in the center of the ring. The music dies down but the booing continues, and she couldn’t help but smile wide. “So, will I get those “You sold out!” chants or are they saved only for Cruella here?”, one eyebrow lifts up, as she looks at the crowd and points to Rollins, who’s standing beside her. She could hear Randy let out a small chuckle somewhere behind her, same happens with Kane. “Because you guys, are becoming way too predictable. You can say whatever you want, chant whatever you want, the point it - I DON’T CARE. No one will ever understand what I’ve been though, and it’s not like I expect you too. So now, I’ll step aside and let mister Rollins do all the talking, or should I say “gloating” about how he defeated his arch enemy Dean Ambrose all by himself last night”. With that, Nikki stepped to the side, doing a mock curtsy in front of Seth, and made her way to stand beside Randy, who seemed quite impressed by her actions.
He watches her carefully, wondering how she’ll handle the crowd, wondering if she’s truly up for this and able to do this. Within seconds though, she proves him wrong and he leans his head down so that she doesn’t realize he’s smiling at her terrible insult to his horrendous hair. He’s heard worse, definitely, and being called Cruella is absolutely nothing in comparison to other things he’s been told when it comes to his two-tone. He arches his eyebrow when she mentions how predictable the crowd is.
She’s right about that, for sure, but he definitely can’t help but wonder what else she wanted to say because he could tell she wanted to say something else. He just didn’t know what, and she was a puzzle he wanted to learn more about.
When he finally hears her get him back to the spotlight, he smirks and struts towards the center of the ring, arching an eyebrow towards the woman when she notices Orton eyeing her. He feels like he should warn her, feels like he should tell her about the drugs and prostitutes but instead he turns towards the crowd and with a cackle, begins talking about how he eviscerated Ambrose, and how he’ll be going after Reigns next, getting rid of the once upon a fabled Shield, how the poor people out there can deal with the disappointment over not getting the faction back, how it was a waste of time.
The time goes by fast, fast that when he’s finally backstage, he watches Orton head towards Nikki and without a thought, drags her away, towards a hidden room, not caring that the woman is pissed.
“Shut up,” he growls, “unless you want to become Orton’s whore backstage,” he adds, eyes narrowed as he looks at Nicole, waiting for her to nod or something.
He glares at the older man, crossing his arms in front of him all while trying to ignore the pounding in his chest. He hadn’t meant to say the words that had come out of his mouth while in the ring, hadn’t meant to say that he had someone who had his back. Because he didn’t have someone, and he was perfectly okay with that. But Kevin kept pressing, and Jericho kept laughing, that it just came out and Seth knew if he took it back, he’d be mocked into high hell. And he should have known, of fucking course, that Roman would mock him, would be one of the first to do it.
Not because Roman was mean, not at all, but because Seth deserved it, for everything he had done to his once best friend. But it had taken him by such surprise, maybe because he had just finished thinking about the old days, when he and Roman were best friends, maybe because that’s what had made him say he had someone who had his back – not that he’d ever admit it – that Roman walking up to him, probably to begin mocking him - well, it brought him back to Earth, definitely.
“What?” He snaps, running his hand down his face as he looks towards the Samoan and tries not to let the goosebumps appearing on his upper arms effect him. He knows his question isn’t as harsh as he wants to be, know he’s unnerved and showing some form of weakness, but he’s surprised, it’s allowed, right?
He begins to get impatient, wants to get out of here and hide and act like he didn’t think about his past friendship with Roman and say someone had his back on national television. Wants to hide so he doesn’t have to face Roman, who probably knows, that bastard.
He walked the halls of the building, smug smirk in place as he stared lovingly at the championship on his shoulder. Everything he had done the past year was worth it for this beauty. He had no regrets, no care for the boos and the hatred he could feel from is former brother when he has the championship in his hands. He strokes the plate lovingly, eyes upon the gold until he hears his name being said up ahead and he looks towards the blond Canadian with another smirk.
He took one thing that one of his brothers loved. Why not take another thing that another brother loves.
“Renee, how are things?” He asks, smirk falling into a semi-real smile. He never minded Renee, always enjoyed talking to her, flirting with her. This could be very interesting.
“Are you here to interview me about my win, Renee?” He asks with a cackle, throwing his head back lightly before looking back towards the woman and shifting just a bit.
He stood tall in the center of the ring, hair tucked back into a nice little bun. The suit he was wearing was pressed firmly against his body as the Authority stood around him. All around him, the fans shouted and booed, their displeasure with his most recent actions cleared, but the Authority wasn’t in the ring for him – not this time, at least.It bothered him a little, but he let it slide, especially when he could hear the beginning rifs of the song.
“You can look but you can’t touch.”
He wanted to scoff. It’s been the theme for so long now, and Seth knows how true the one Bella believes it to be. But what she’s going to have to realize is that, when it comes to The Authority, every one can touch, every one can look. Even if she doesn’t want certain people to touch. Or look. She’ll have to deal with it. He looks towards Paul, Stephanie, and the rest of the authority, and is thankful that he no longer feels bile rising up like he did when he was with his bro— with those idiots. It seems like forever later when the twin finally arrives at the ring, dressed to the nines like Stephanie probably told her to be. Which means she’s accepted the offer, accepted to join them.
Which means, it’s time to let the show on the road, finally.
“Nikki Bella,” he cackles, stepping to the side and gesturing to the center for her spotlight.
Joe didn’t even realize it at first that he was following Colby. Maybe it was habit, like second nature to trail after him like that. He was more focused on a mental self-examination. That match was a rough one to come back to and once he realized who he was following, he wished he wasn’t. He knew how it went after a match that the younger male didn’t win but by the time he thought about turning around, Colby spun on him. Doing his best to mirror the scowl on that handsome face, Joe quickly failed. “Fine,” he grumbled. “You don’t have to worry about me.” He stood up a little straighter, holding in a groan when the sharp pain in his ribs reminded him it was there. “See, just fine.” Turning away, he walked slowly, trying to correct his limp and practically biting a hole in his bottom lip to avoid making any sound of pain.
It was impossible not to roll his eyes at the older man, especially when he realized that said man was covering up his injuries for some odd reason. It sure as hell didn’t take him long to catch up to the Samoan, not with how slow he was hobbling. “You act like I don’t know you better than that,” he states once he’s next to Joe’s side, “Like I didn’t help nurse you better some nights. So how ‘bout you answer me truthfully, yeah?” Colby finishes, his voice lifting into a frustrated growl. Not wanting to have Joe in more pain than he was, Colby put his hand on his shoulder and moved him carefully so he was sitting on top of one of the drums against the wall, crossing his arms in front of himself with a huff.
Joe withdraws his hand, but he can tell something is up. If Colby wants to keep whatever it is to himself, then that’s okay, he won’t push. After all, Joe’s been hiding his crush on his friend for the past four years, so it’s not like he has any room to talk.
“Yeah, food sounds great.” It’d almost be like a date.. He shakes his head to clear that thought, looking out at the road. A small part of him hoped that maybe all this time apart had allowed him to get a tighter grip on his emotions.. but it seems as though the opposite has happened. “I doubt there’s any place open that isn’t just a shitty fast food place, though.”
Colby found himself chuckling, knowing just the place where he could take Joe that wasn’t junk food or fast food. “Actually, I know a perfect place,” he grins, turning towards the older man and winking before focusing on the road once more. It’s quiet for a few moments as Colby drives, his heart racing as he wonders if this is like a date before he shakes the thought off. Of course it wasn’t. He wouldn’t be that lucky.
A few moments later, he’s pulling up to the rare sushi bar in this place, looking towards Joe with a proud grin, excitement coursing through him. It wouldn’t be the same as Japan, of course, but it would do for now. “What d’ya think?”
“Hey, you better watch yourself,” Joe chuckles as he puts his bag in the trunk before going to the passenger side. He pulls out his phone and shoots his friend a quick text before turning it on silent. Tonight was just going to be about the two of them, and no one else was going to get in the middle of that.
“He’ll have to be. It’s just you and me for tonight, baby.” He turns his head to look at Colby, and his brows knit together. The younger man sounded a little off, and Joe knows him well enough to know that the smile on his face isn’t a normal one. The sudden change in attitude has him a little concerned. He puts a hand on Colby’s shoulder. “Is.. everything okay?”
Colby smiles at the other man, starting the car. He knows he needs to act normal, just like he used to when they were all partners together. “Yeah man, just wonderin’ if ya wanted to get something to eat? I’m actually pretty starving.” Colby grins, letting it fade once he looks away to look towards the road. He knows he can’t let Joe realize his actual feelings, but having not had to pretend in a while has gotten Colby out of touch with it.
“I’m sure there’s somewhere around here we can go if you’re hungry,” Colby ends up adding, turning towards Joe with a small smile, turning towards the main road and letting out a breath.
A grin spreads across Joe’s face as Colby agrees to spend the night with him. It’d been way too long since they’ve actually been able to just have a moment together, even before Colby’s injury. Honestly, just being in the Iowan is one of his favorite places to be.
“Can I, please? I hitched a ride with Jon here.. I think.” Or it might have been one of his cousins. Either way, Joe doesn’t know where they are. He should probably text them to let them know where he is and he won’t be needing a ride back. “Hopefully he’ll fine without me.”
Colby lets out a grin as he hears Joe try and remember who he hitched a ride with. “Classic Joe,” he adds with a chuckle, waiting for the other man to put his bags in his trunk before closing it and walking to the driver’s side door and getting in.
Once he finally starts the car, he drums out a little tune onto his steering wheel before taking a deep breath, trying not to feel a small lump of jealousy of Joe’s mention of Jon. “Well, I imagine he will be,” he replies with a tight smile.
