Just a little something that seeped out of my fingers tonight. Nothing special, but maybe you'll like it nevertheless :3

"You coming with us for a drink?" Seth asked quietly, the brown eyes begging him to say yes.

Going out for a drink with Seth. And Randy and Dave, Hunter… But he wouldn't. He was too sore, too damn exhausted, wanted too much to creep into a bed to find some peace and quiet.

"No, man, not tonight. I just want to hit the hay," Roman groaned as he carefully loosened his shoulders, his back screaming in complaint, and he groaned once more as he bent down to grab his duffel bag.

From the corner of his eyes he watched as Seth wrapped his arms around himself, whispering: "You're angry..."

Straightening up very slowly, Roman bit back another groan while willing a smile to his lips that was sure as hell weary, but honest.

"I'm not. It's a storyline," he assured, smoothing a hand over the two-toned hair. "Stop worrying and have some fun, okay?"

"Rome…"

"Stop. Worrying. I'm okay," he sighed. "We're okay. Okay?"

Many okays. And although right now he wasn't feeling okay, at least they were okay. They really were.

His hand dropped to his side and he turned to leave and the last thing he saw was Seth lifting his hands to clasp the back of his neck, dipping his head back while those eyes closed. A part of him wanted to go back and hug him, but the bigger part of him just wanted some rest. They were friends, brothers, and this fucking storyline wasn't changing that…

Dean had been waiting at his car, leaning against the hood slightly hunched, his arms more wrapped around himself than having them crossed over his chest. The chairs had left their marks on him, too, but those weren't as bad as the ones the hits had left on Roman. Get in, I'll give you a ride, Dean had said and he'd had no complaints about that.

The ride was silent and more than once he was drifting off as exhaustion caught up with him, but even the leaning against the cushioned car seat was painful and so he shifted in the seat again and again, trying to give his back a rest somehow. Dean gazed over to him every once in a while, didn't say anything though and Roman was grateful for it. Sometimes Dean could be surprisingly emphatic. Only when the car came to stop in the driveway and the motor died down, Dean broke the silence.

"Must be hurting like bitch," he muttered, his familiar rough voice giving away how tired he was himself. "Doc gave you something for it?"

"Yeah, some ointment," Roman mumured back.

"Oh, oinment, great. And how are you supposed to get that stuff on your back?"

Carefully shrugging his shoulders, Roman opened the car door and more or less fell out of the car then. He wanted to sleep. Just… sleep…

"Dunno. Thanks for the ride, man."

He didn't come far before Dean appeared on his side, taking the duffel bag away from him. There was no let me help you and there was no thank you. It wasn't necessary. Silence fell again as they made their way to the front door, kept them company as they walked up to Roman's bedroom and stayed as they stepped in there. There was a slight limp as Dean walked beside him and maybe the past two days had left more damage behind than his tough bro wanted to admit.

No… it sure had. And not only bodily. For the world The Shield had cracked, had been torn apart. In real life nothing had changed. But still… the mere thought that Seth wasn't part of The Shield anymore made Roman feel… naked…

He heard Dean mutter to get get out of his clothes and his ass into bed, but getting out of his clothes turned out to be a struggle with him ending up sitting on the bed, while Dean helped him to get rid of his shoes and clothes and although he didn't say it, he was thankful for it. He might have ended up sleeping fully clothed if not. His whole body fucking hurt like hell and he couldn't stop the low, pained moan that slipped past his lips as the other man oh so carefully pulled the shirt over his head.

Eventually he sat there in only his boxers, staring at the floor right in front of him, while Dean dug through the duffel bag for the ointment.

"Lie down," his friend comanded softly. "Let's get some of this on your back, big man."

I must look even worse than I thought, Roman sighed in his mind and shifted to do as he was told, lying belly down with his face buried in a soft pillow.

The matress bounced as Dean climbed onto it and crawled closer to him and Roman almost had to laugh at how gentle and careful the other man's touch was as he spread the ointment on his sore skin. He'd known this man for so long now, still he never ceased to surprise him. Like now, with a touch that was more a caress than anything else. It felt good... After the shit of the past two days, this simple touch was better than any painkiller. He sighed, the tiny sound getting lost in the pillow. The soothing caress and Dean's mere presence beside him were lulling him, slowly pushing him towards sleep.

"Seth feels really bad about the whole thing, ya know?" Dean said quietly as his hand smoothed over Roman's back, stopping his drift towards a peaceful blackness. "He thinks you're angry."

"He told me and I told him that he doesn't need to worry," Roman replied as quietly.

A soft snort.

"We're talking about Seth here. You know him. He won't stop being worried just like that." For a moment the hand on his back stilled and he heard a muttered ah goddamn, before the hand resumed its task, even more gentle. "This looks bad, man…"

Fuck yeah, it looks bad and fuck, my fucking back is killing me, he thought, pressing his face deeper into the pillow.

He didn't say it, because he didn't want to snap at Dean. It wasn't Dean's fault. And it wasn't Seth's fault and he really wasn't mad at him. The thing was… the pain the past days had left behind was bad enough, but it covered a much worse pain. One he never would have expected to feel… sitting in his chest.

"He's out with Randy and Hunter," Roman sighed, the pain in his chest becoming brighter again and he knew he was being silly here for being… for being jealous, scared, for feeling lonely when there was no reason to.

"Yeah, I know," Dean said slowly, a question lying in his words, the unspoken your point being? very much audibly underlining it.

"He will hang out more often with them now, I guess," Roman added instead of saying what he actually meant.

Like, I'm scared that he will drift away…

A hum and then… silence again.

Then the mattress bounced again as Dean put the bottle aside. A thud followed as shoes fell to the floorand there was the rustling of clothes. Roman didn't move, just kept lying there, the grey eyes heavily lidded… staring into nothing, while Dean made himself comfortable beside him. The duvet was spread out over him and a hand settled on his hip, giving it a tender pat.

"Don't worry, man," Dean murmured wearily. "He can't live without you."

A tiny smile tugged at Roman's lips as he reached out to those words, let them wash over him.

"Us," he mumbled.

Another pat on his hip.

"Did he tell you that he got death threats?" the other man sighed heavily.

It took a moment until the message sunk into Roman's tired mind. Within the blink of an eye it shoved him from falling asleep into being wide awake as he understood and the shock made him forget about the pain for a moment, as he pushed up to brace on his forearms, seeking Dean's gaze.

"What?!" he said in utter disbelief, staring at the man lying beside him with wide eyes for a long second, before his eyes snapped over to the door and he was about to get out of the bed to go out and find Seth as a hand closed around his biceps.

"Stop freaking. He's out with Randy, Hunter and Dave. I guess that's enough big, bad men around him to keep people from killing him. But you guys should talk."

His eyes stayed glued to the door and it fucking felt like a mountain was weighing down on him. His heart thudded against his chest… Death threats? A wave of fear and deepest worry rolled through him and… why hadn't Seth told him about it? Maybe… maybe Seth had tried to tell him and he had just been too caught up in his own misery to notice it?

Fuck…

"I shouldn't have told him to go out…" he whispered, feeling the hand on his biceps tighten its hold.

"Huh, yeah, I bet he wanted you to tell him not to go," Dean puffed, shifting to slip deeper under the duvet. "He will be okay. Now get some sleep, you need it."

He heard a muttered Reigns as he didn't react and while he stared at the door and stayed unmoving, bracing on his forearms, the pain came back. The hand on his arm moved to close around his chin, gently urging him to look at Dean and as he reluctantly gave in, he was met by a soft smile and equally soft eyes. And he couldn't remember a moment before when Dean had looked at him like that.

"He will be okay, big man. Right now I'm much more worried about you. Come on, give yourself a break…"

The hand moved again, from his chin to the back of his neck to pull him down gently. It stayed there, warm and calming, as he settled back on his belly, gazing at his friend. His brother. He wasn't used to this side of Dean, because their relationship had never been soft. With Dean and him it had always been more the you'll survive, so get your ass up-kind of relationship, always caring about each other, but hot like the relationship he had with Seth. This now, it was new. And this very moment… it was what he needed.

The blue eyes closed eventually and not much later he heard Dean snore. He kept watching, saw the other man's features becoming smooth and the quiet snore and the warmth on his neck lulled him. And although the worry about Seth wanted to keep him awake… the exhaustion won finally, overwhelming him. And he fell…

X

A sharp tug at his hair woke him and pain greeted. A low groan escaped his throat as his back seemed to be more inflame with every second he was awake. There was another tug at his hair, this time not that sharp and he realized that it was Dean's hand holding a fistful of the black locks. A leg was thrown over his own from behind. He didn't mind. Dean was a messy sleeper, always ending up being totally entangled in the sheets and sprawled all over the place and occasionally all over the persons who were sharing a bed with him, too. He was used to this.

Blinking into the semi-darkness of the room he… held his breath… as he met dulled eyes, watching him. Sadness was lying in them. Those eyes were supposed to be sparkling and brown, but now they were only dark, seeming somehow empty. For a long moment he wasn't able to speak. Seth was lying there, right in front of him. Close. Because there was barely space left in the bed. One of his hands was resting between them, even closer to Roman.

"I still have your spare-key and I thought… I wanted…" Seth broke the silence then, not finishing the sentence though.

"Why didn't you tell me about those death threats," Roman breathed, letting the worry seep into his words, because he wanted Seth to hear that he fucking worried about him.

… he wanted him to know, to understand that nothing had changed…

His heart was running a little in relief and happiness that Seth had come here and because he wanted and needed to do it, he brought his hand to the one resting between them and the mere touch was calming him.

"I didn't want to bother you…" Seth murmured then, his gaze breaking away.

Tugging their joined hands closer, Roman sighed.

"You really think you would have bothered me?" he whispered, his thumb tapping the back of Seth's hand to make him look at him again. It worked. "Huh… I thought you knew that you can tell me anything, anytime."

Again Seth gazed away.

We're talking about Seth here. You know him. He won't stop being worried just like that.

"Hey, eyes one me," Roman said hushed but instead of looking at him, Seth closed his eyes and Roman wanted to smack the other man's head and hug him at the same time. "You're an idiot, Rollins. I am not angry. This is just a fucking storyline and I'm pretty sure I get to kick your ass sometime soon, too, and I don't want a show to come between us, okay? You're one of my best friends, my brother, and I don't want to lose you." Now Seth did look at him, the dulled eyes becoming a bit brighter. "It's gonna be hard enough not having you at my side when I step into the ring and it's gonna be even harder to step into the ring, knowing that it's gonna be you I'm fighting against."

He fell silent for a few long seconds as he debated with himself whether or not he should tell Seth about his ridiculous jealousy. But here he was, having the chance to make sure Seth wouldn't drift away from him. The moment was perfect, wasn't it?

"I don't like the idea of you hanging out with them…" he said just above a whisper. "And when Dean told me about the death threats… and you were out there… man, I was fucking worried. Still am…"

He trailed off, watching as there showed a glint up in Seth's eyes, leaving a twinkle behind.

"When I asked you to come with us, I hoped you would ask me not to go and hang out with you guys instead," Seth muttered, giving him a crooked smile.

Note to self, tell Dean to stop being so frighteningly emphatic.

"I should have known, huh?"

The crooked smile became a soft one as Seth replied: "And I could have said a word. Also about those idiotic messages." A heavy sigh. "We can do better than this, huh?"

Roman nodded softly, feeling his inner turmoil calming down slowly. Seth was here now. He was okay. They were okay.

"How's your back?" his friend wanted to know and there it was again, that guilt. "I hated to do that to you…"

"Hey, man, don't go there. It hurts, but I'll be okay in a few days."

And then the smile on Seth's lips became impossibly soft as he whispered: "Can I stay tonight?"

It tugged at his heart, that smile, that twinkle in those brown eyes. It had always been like this. When it came to Seth, he felt a warmth in his chest. He didn't answer, just pulled at the duvet until it covered Seth, too, never letting go of his friend's hand.

I love you, bro, he thought while they kept gazing at each other for a little longer.

It was Seth who closed his eyes first, scooting even closer. The sigh that dropped from his lips fanned over Roman's face, warm, with the faintest tinge of alcohol lying in it. He closed his eyes, too, then.

Quietness fell over the room and in that quietness, lying between those two beings he kept closest to his hear, he felt the pain fade. It was Dean's quiet snoring and Seth's soft breathing that accompanied him on his way back into the peace of sleep and the last thing he felt was the feeling of Seth's hand, twitching in his own, before his hand was pulled in to be pressed against his friend's chest…

A review or two would be love ;3