~*~brighter than the sun~*~

"I didn't think anyone could be as whipped as Sethie over there," Dean jerked his thumb behind him where their two-toned friend was currently massaging tanning oil into his girlfriend Nikki's shoulders. "But you've gone and proved me wrong, Reigns. Tofu, seriously, man?" The Ohio native scrunched his nose in disgust while eying the fermented soybeans suspiciously.

"Stop looking at it like its Hunter with his sledgehammer." Roman shook his head, grey eyes still trained on the pool where Brie – in an enticing green bikini – was leading Talia and her friends in a game of volleyball against his Pops and Uncle Afa and older brother Matt. "It's not gonna bite your ass, it's food. Jesus." He grumbled, shoveling a large piece into his mouth.

"Food?" Dean raised an incredulous eyebrow. "Since when? What next? Are you gonna tell me all about the benefits of compost? Cause Flower Child Moon Sunset over there," He gestured toward Brie who had Talia on her shoulders, letting her get a better vantage point for her serve. "Already tried that and I felt like I was back in high school, bored out of my mind."

"Man, don't talk to me about being whipped, all right? Look where you are right now; Talia's birthday party, and it ain't cause you didn't want to disappoint her. You're here cause Emma made sure your ass was gonna be no matter what."

Dean's eyes grew dark as he glowered at the Samoan. "Blond…" He stopped himself before the rest of his nickname for the Aussie could come out. "She's not my mother. She doesn't tell me what to do. And for your information, I am here because I didn't want to disappoint your kid. Her eyes got all big and her lip started wobbling when she asked if I was gonna show, and you know I can't handle that shit."

Roman shook his head, knowing grin curling at his full lips. "Keep telling yourself that, Ambrose, but we both know you're lying through your teeth. You knew Talia invited Emma; just like you knew she'd be in a bathing suit the whole time. You can't fool me, man."

"Get away from me." Dean shoved Roman in the shoulder making the big man laugh. "Go play with your kid or somethin'."

"Seriously, Lunatic Fringe," Nikki's tone was breezy as she sauntered by, fluffing her hair. "You need to stop staring at Emma like you're gonna eat her out in front of everyone. You're at a seven year old's birthday party. Pervert much?"

"At least I didn't give my boyfriend a blowjob in the pantry, Tits McGee." Dean shot back.

"What the hell, Nikki?!" Roman growled. "This ain't your beach house in San Diego! This isn't even my place, it's my parents! Jesus Christ, what are you sixteen?! You and Seth couldn't keep it in your pants for a couple hours?! Not even Jimmy and Naomi are that nasty!"

"We made sure to lock the door." Nikki was surprisingly unapologetic, shrugging her slim shoulders as she continued making her way toward the pool.

Seth was hot on the brunette's heels or at least he was until Roman reached out and tugged on his arm, stopping his momentum. Even from behind his sunglasses Seth could tell the big man was glowering.

"Come on, Rome," The two-toned man wheedled, lips curling into a satisfied smirk. "It's not like you and Brie haven't had sex somewhere you weren't supposed to or shouldn't or whatever. In fact," He waggled his eyebrows. "I know you have. And I'm sure Nikki would be all too happy to let you guys use the beach house even after I tell her about how you guys had sex in the pool. Hey, Nikki…"

"Shut your mouth, Rollins." Roman cut him off. "Just keep your hands off your girl till the party's over. It's not like your dick's gonna fall off if you don't."

After releasing Seth, two arms were suddenly wrapped around Roman's waist and a happy giggle was in his ear. Then there was a loud smacking kiss to his neck as Brie murmured, "Stop standing around. Matt's being a big baby about losing to a bunch of girls. You should help him out. Or the next time it's our serve, I might hit him in the face with the ball."

Roman laughed twisting so he and Brie were face to face. He brushed a piece of her wet hair behind her ear and gave her the cocky grin that he used in the ring. "You sure you want me helping out Matt and my Pops and Uncle Afa? I got a mean serve, and I know you hate losing."

Brie arched a pointed brow as she put her hands on her hips. "What are you trying to say, Reigns? That you're some kind of ringer? Cause we're not talking about football. This is volleyball."

"Let's settle this in the water then, Bella."

"Oh, it's on."

"You bet your fine ass it is."

Before Brie could turn on her heel, Roman had his arm around her slim waist, lifting her off the ground as she shrieked. "Roman, don't you dare." Her voice was high and she was twisting and wriggling, trying to get out of his hold as he continued walking toward the pool. "Put me down. Put me down right now."

He just laughed before throwing her into the pool and then jumping in after as Nikki shouted, from where she was laying, "If I wanted to get wet, Roman, I'd be in the pool!"

"Don't whine, Nikki," Brie rolled her eyes, splashing Roman as he reached for her leg underneath the water. "It's just water. It's not like you're going to melt."

"You never know she just might." Dean laughed to himself while Nikki flipped him off, and Emma who was right by his side, feet dangling over the edge of the pool shook her head. "Don't be mean." She chastised, nudging his shoulder with her own.

"Chill, Blondie." He slung his arm around her shoulder. "That's just what Tits McGee and I do. Being nice to each other or whatever would mean the apocalypse is around the corner or some other crazy shit is about to go down."

"You don't only have to be nice to me." She spoke softly, looking at him through hooded lashes and he swallowed thickly, her big brown eyes always did this, made his stomach churn and his palms get sweaty, and it was so stupid it's not like he was a freaking teenager; he was a grown ass man, damn it.

One tiny blonde Australian chick wasn't supposed to do this to him.

"I'm not just nice to you," He huffed, folding his arms across his chest. "I'm nice to other people, too. Like Roman and Seth. Just cause I'm not itching to be Flower Child Moon Sunset and Tits McGee's triplet or whatever, doesn't mean I'm only nice to you."

"Flower Child Moon Sunset?" Emma laughed and Dean could feel his insides getting twisted and fuck, Roman was right, and it sucked.

Dean swallowed, his eyes drifting down to the inviting slope of Emma's neck, which lead to her pert breasts and he knew he shouldn't stare, but he since when did he care about being appropriate? Though, he wasn't nearly as bad as Seth and Nikki who if they were out here alone, would most likely be having sex. Those damn horny fuckers.

Emma didn't seem to notice and just as he brought his eyes back up to hers, there was a tug on his arm. Looking over his shoulder, he found Talia – wrapped in a towel with a black background and decorated in colorful peace signs – leaning close to his ear. He gave her his signature lopsided grin; silently thanking whoever that it was her and not one of her little friends. She was the only kid he was comfortable being around.

"What's up, Sunshine?"

She stood on the tips of her toes and whispered, "Daddy and Brie told me to tell you to man up and just kiss Emma already. It's obvious," She giggled under her breath, sable eyes twinkling. "You like, like her. Like a lot. I bet she wants you to kiss her. She looks at you like Brie looks at Daddy."

Before he could say anything, the little girl scampered off, and if there weren't kids around he'd walk right up to Roman and punch him in his stupid face. He sighed heavily, pushing his fingers through his messy curls and just as Emma turned in his direction, their noses bumping – because sitting down they were closer in height – he could feel his heart stop in his chest and then the next thing he heard was, Roman's mother, Patricia yelling about cutting the cake.

"C'mon, Blondie," He reached for her hand, pulling her to her feet, ignoring the little sparks that shot through his fingers and all the way up his arm from feeling her smooth skin. "Let's go watch Sunshine blow out her candles."

Neither acknowledged that he didn't let go of her hand, even after, Talia had blown out her candles and was opening her presents.

"You have it so bad." Alma, the eldest of the Reigns siblings teased the youngest, bumping her baby brother with her hip as she followed his line of sight to where Brie was helping their mother clean up as the party had wound down.

"Don't even try to argue, bro." Matt's voice could be heard next as he came into the kitchen, Cassandra, the sibling closest to Roman in age right behind him and saying in a sing-song tone, "Roman and Brie kissing in a tree…"

"Ya'll are lucky Pops would still beat me if I started wailing on all of you." Roman grumbled making his way outside while they burst into laughter.

"He's all scowly." Brie murmured to Patricia when she saw Roman coming their way. The older woman laughed, shaking her head. "Alma, Matthew and Cassandra were teasing him." There was a knowing tone in her sweet voice. "Most likely about you, honey. They can see their baby brother has it so bad for you."

Brie flushed, looking down at the plates in her hand before shyly tucking her damp hair behind her ear. "He's not the only one."

"Oh, we know. You two don't hide it well at all." Her laughter was hardier this time around only causing the brunette's cheeks to flush brighter. "There's no need to blush. It's been a long time since I've seen my baby boy so happy, and it's all because of you."

"Yeah?" Brie spoke softly, feeling her heart flutter.

Patricia just nodded before making her way to the kitchen, carrying the leftover cake with her.

Trying to control the fluttering of her heart, Brie wasn't aware of Roman until he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tightly against his hard frame. She sighed before twisting herself, so they were face to face. Biting down on her lip, she stared into his grey eyes and with her slender fingers touched the chiseled edge of his jawline before bringing her forehead to rest against his.

"You have your Mom's eyes." She murmured, lips curling at the edges. "You got her nose, too. It's unfair you know," She pouted playfully, continuing to stroke his skin. "How pretty you are. Maybe we should get Talia to shave your head, and then you wouldn't be prettier than us."

"I ain't prettier than my baby girls." He spoke lowly, his large hand spanning her entire back and fingers slowly drifting to cup the roundness of her bottom, bringing her even closer.

"It's so weird," She laughed softly to herself. "Knowing that you're the baby of your family and how they all gang up on you like Nikki and I gang up on JJ. Just like your Mom babies you the way ours babies him. You're so not," She sighed blissfully, lips hovering over his as she let herself relax in the strength of his arms. "A baby."

"You got that right."

Their lips touched in a soft, sincere kiss, which quickly turned long and deep as her mouth opened for his insistent tongue. Her fingers gripped at the planes of his broad shoulders while he lifted her from the ground, her legs instinctively wrapping around his waist as she sighed longingly into his mouth.

They broke apart only when the burning of their lungs reminded them that air was a necessity.

And as her eyelashes fluttered, slowly, giving way to her chocolate eyes that always made his stomach twist and her lips curling into this satisfied smile he knew so well, he couldn't stop himself, the words tumbled out, low and warm like he was caressing her skin, "I love you."

Her eyes were almost comically wide, nearly rivaling Talia's when she was trying to stay up an extra five minutes on a school night or when she was begging for ice cream. Her lips trembled slightly and she blinked, like she was struggling to process what he said.

His stomach was so tight he thought it might explode. "I wasn't, it just… I…" He growled, his teeth clenching and his jaw ticking. If there was one thing – the only thing, really – he hated about the beauty in his arms, it was this. She turned him into a walking bundle of nerves, like he was back in high school and fumbling over the hot cheerleader or something. It was embarrassing.

He was fucking Roman Reigns. The powerhouse of The Shield. The next face of the WWE. Not some schoolboy who got all twisted cause the hot girl smiled at him or some shit like that.

"I just wanted you to know." He admitted, the growl in his throat being left behind.

Brie giggled lightly, fingers threading through his thick hair. Her chocolate eyes were glimmering with humor and she bent forward, tugging on his bottom lip before pulling back and saying with pride, "I like how I get you all nervous and you start fumbling around. It's cute."

He rolled his eyes. "You can call me pretty all you want, baby girl, but I draw the line at cute. I ain't cute. Puppies and kittens are cute. You and Talia are cute. But I'm all man and men ain't cute."

"The pictures of you Patricia's all too happy to show off would beg to differ. Oh my God!" She squealed, drumming on his chest with her palms in excitement. "The one of you in your little peewee football uniform is my favorite! That helmet was bigger than your head! And then there's the one of you and Matt dressed up like Sika and Afa for Halloween! Or, oh, how I could I forget the one of you in the bath…"

Roman pressed his lips to Brie's, effectively cutting her off. Her lips were only still for a moment, as she quickly gave into the kiss, his talented lips too much for her to deny, no matter how much she wanted to continue teasing him.

This kiss was hotter and deeper as she gripped his hair, keeping his mouth against hers and while he held her up with one arm, the hand of his other arm roamed freely over her back before grabbing a handful of her round bottom and squeezing tight, making her hips roll against his.

She pulled back first and breathlessly, after running her tongue along his bottom lip, murmured, "I love you, too."