The silence that stretched on after he finished talking was absolutely agonizing. Seth was trembling, staring into Roman's eyes, pleading for him to believe him. Roman had to. If he did, he could probably convince Dean to sit down and hear him out and finally they'd understand-

"You've got to be fucking kidding me."

Seth went rigid.

Roman's calm stare was gone in an instant, the man looking like he'd been slapped in the face as he glared at Seth, gripping his vest tighter than before, trying to restrain himself.

"I told you to make it good, and you give me that bullshit? Do you think I'm an idiot?" he growled. Seth suddenly felt smaller than he actually was. He sputtered, trying to find something, anything to say. He didn't have to; Dean was more than ready with a response.

"Oh, that's exactly what he thinks, Roman. Remember what he said out there? He was our 'brains', we're so lost without him, ain't that right puppet boy?" Dean sneered, looking down at the man in distaste. Seth didn't respond this time. He only looked sorrowfully back into Roman's eyes. Had these have been normal circumstances, the older man would've caved, told Dean to lighten up, and they'd all be fine.

Seth didn't even entertain the thought of that happening now.

"If you're going to beat the hell out of me, do it. I give up. Neither of you are gonna listen to me"

Roman scoffed, finally moving, sitting on the coffee table in front of Dean and Seth. His hand grabbed his jaw out of Dean's grip. Seth noticed-with his heart in his throat-how the Samoan's grip was firm, but still not as hard as Dean's was. It made him want to cry that the man was still holding back on him, even after all he'd done.

Holding back physically.

Doesn't mean he'd hold back verbally.

"You stabbed us both in the back, Seth. We loved you, and you did this, and you expect us to believe a word you say?"

Seth stared pathetically back at him, feeling like he'd been slapped in the face.

"L-loved?"

Roman scoffed and Dean snorted from behind him. "You don't honestly think you deserve to be loved by us anymore after what you've done, do you?" Dean growled. Seth's lips parted, but he couldn't find the words to speak. There wasn't anything to say. Randy was right, the boys didn't love him anymore.

"Fuck it. Dean, let him go. We need to get back to the hotel and get some sleep. We got things to do in the morning. I'm done wasting my time" Roman stood, hardly sparing Seth a passing glance as he turned and walked out, slamming the door. Seth had a feeling the man wanted to do more, to say more. He sighed, feeling Dean growl in disapproval from behind him as he snatched the tie from his wrists, kicking him to the floor.

"Roman may still want to go easy on you for whatever reason, but I won't. Out there, I'll rip you apart every single fucking night. Enjoy your pampering. I hope it was worth it" He sneered before he turned and stormed out.

Seth laid there for a moment before he laughed quietly, pulling himself up off the floor. He was sore as all hell but that was nothing compared to how he felt emotionally. Randy was actually right about something. They didn't want him anymore.

They didn't love him anymore.

Seth dressed quickly, putting on his glasses when he felt tears rolling down his cheeks. He left quickly, phone tightly grasped in his hand as he got in his rental, pulling out and leaving the arena behind him. He was lucky he managed to get to the hotel safely with his blurred vision, but he did, and the first thing he did was request a separate room.

He was being forced to room with Randy but after the night's events, he refused to go back to that room. He didn't feel like putting up with the other man's dog-like inquiries as to why he was taking so long to get back and where he'd been. He just needed silence.

Seth gratefully accepted the keycard to his new room and headed for the elevator. It was closing when a foot caught on it and another person entered with him. Seth looked up and couldn't help the sigh of frustration that left his lips when he saw who it was.

"Where the hell have you been? Randy says you weren't in your room."

"I'm a grown ass man, Hunter, I don't have to answer that"

"I saw Roman and Dean come in not too long ago. I hope for your sake you didn't say anything to them. You know what will happen-"

"Know what, Hunter? I don't fucking care anymore" Seth pushed himself off of the wall and slammed his palm onto the emergency break button, bringing the elevator to a sudden halt. Seth turned and glared at Hunter.

"I don't give a rat's ass what you do. They hate me. I'm sure that's all according to fucking plan, but you ruined my fucking life, Hunter. And for what? This feud? Fuck this feud! I have to get my ass beat every week or assist in beating down the two people I love for this bullshit. It would be different if I could tell them, but you're a sick fuck and took even that away. I hope all of you motherfuckers are happy with ruining my life. Must be real fucking funny to you. Well, Hunter, I got a joke for you too" Seth slammed the button once more, lurching them both upwards as he turned his back on the blonde leering at him.

"I fucking quit."

"You're bluffing. You can't quit now. You're Mr. Money in the Bank. There's no way you can just walk out on that" Hunter crossed his arms, sounding more amused than upset. Seth's fists clenched at his side, the elevator stopping on his floor.

"Fucking watch me." He huffed, walking out of the cramped space.

"This isn't your floor. You and Randy are two floors up."

"Go tell your lackey to go fuck himself, too" Seth threw over his shoulder, flipping the man off. He heard Hunter's laughter as the doors began closing.

"Cute tantrum. See you in the morning, Rollins."

Seth continued his trip to his new room, throwing his bag onto his bed and heading to the bathroom. He removed his glasses and looked at himself in the mirror, cringing at how bloodshot his eyes were. He looked away, unable to even look at his own reflection for too long. He started the shower, making sure it was blistering as he washed away the dirt and grime of the day.

He wished he could wash everything away.

When he was drying off, he suddenly stopped, hearing his phone from the next room.

'Sierra, Hotel, India, Echo, Lima, Delta

S.H.I.E.L.D'

Seth nearly tripped over himself as he darted to his phone. There was a very real possibility that it was Dean or Roman calling to continue tearing into him, but the fact that either of them would call made him unreasonably happy, even if he felt like he had no right to be.

"Hello?"

"Uncle Colby!"

He blinked.

Okay, not Dean or Roman.

"J-Joelle? Jo, what are you doing up, it's midnight!" he stated after looking at the alarm clock on the nightstand. He heard the girl click her tongue.

"Mommy told me I could call to say goodnight."

"Jo Jo…does Daddy know you're calling me?" Seth inquired after a moment's hesitation. He heard the girl shift on the other side as she made a small 'nuh uh' sound.

"No. I wanted to talk to you. I miss you. I don't know what's happening, but you need to make up with Daddy and Uncle Jon so you can all play together nicely. We can all have a tea party!"

"I don't think the four of us can ever have a tea party ever again, Jo. They both hate me for what I did."

"Daddy says its bad to hate and that you should give the people you love second chances when they do something bad. You all need to play nice, okay?"

Seth had to pull the phone away from his mouth as a pathetic whimper left his throat. He felt a fresh wave of tears come to his eyes. He could only imagine how much he'd made the little girl cry with his actions.

"I-I'll try, baby girl. You need to get to sleep, okay? Gotta get that beauty rest, princess"

"You're right! Goodnight, Uncle Colby! I love you. Mwah!" The girl made a kiss sound on the other line before she hung up, barely giving him the time to respond before the line went dead.

Seth stared at his phone for a long time after that, idly turning it in his palm long after the screen timed out, plunging the room back into darkness. His heart was beating heavily and he tilted his head back against the headboard, feeling like he was being smothered.

He was going to leave. Hunter and Steph could keep their briefcase, Randy could go fuck himself. None of it mattered anymore. He'd go back to Iowa with his head hung in shame and try to find something else to do. Try to move on.

His eyes got heavier and he began nodding off.

His last thought was that he knew he wouldn't be able to move on from this.

*DR*

The next morning, Dean and Roman were the first ones in the gym, working off some of the previous night's frustrations by brutalizing punching bags and running, eyes glaring straight ahead of them. Even when other people began to fill in around them, the two continued on, pushing their bodies to the limit.

Finally, after about two and a half hours of nonstop exercise, the two decided to take a break, sitting together and leaning heavily on a wall, downing bottles of Gatorade as they tried to catch their breath. Neither man said a word, and perhaps it was better that way. Where Dean would prefer to bring up the current state of events, Roman would prefer to not say a word, try-and fail-to pretend like Seth was never a third of their relationship. That they didn't love him.

Nothing was further from the truth.

Dean was finally about to break the silence with something completely irrelevant when they heard voices from just around the corner.

"Hunter, the kid never showed up to our room last night"

It was Randy, and the statement made both of the men tense in anger. Neither really wanted to entertain the thought of Seth moving on from them, especially not to Randy. The man had a notorious track record when it came to sleeping around with new talent and dropping them at the drop of a dime. Dean growled lowly, ready to stand and pounce on both men when Roman snatched him back down, bringing a finger to his lips and motioning for him to listen.

"I knew he wouldn't be. I ran into him last night when he got back. He's still not over the breakup. Some kids can be so stubborn, I swear."

"You ran into him? Where was he going? Don't tell me he went crawling back to those two. It'll be ruined if they find out."

Dean was still growling in anger, but Roman caught the end of the sentence, leaning closer to the wall, feeling a small sense of dread washing over him.

"Settle down. He just got another room. I'm sure the two of them wouldn't listen to a damn word he'd say anyway. He must've been feeling some type of way yesterday. The kid was going on about how he was quitting and going back to Iowa."

Dean's growling stopped abruptly and Roman ran a hand down his face, jaw set. He looked back at Dean and noticed the man was just as shocked as he was. He opened his mouth to say something when Randy's raised voice cut him off.

"He what?! Why the fuck are you still smiling? None of this shit is effective if the kid doesn't stay and help us keep those two at bay."

"I'm smiling because Seth is just throwing a temper tantrum. He's upset he can't tell the other two that I'm using him and I broke up whatever love triangle they had going on. Whatever it is, I don't care. I'm not worried anyway. He has the briefcase, there's no way he'll walk away from a damn there guaranteed title opportunity. He's better off here than he ever was with those two. Once he finishes pouting and gets over this lovesick Twilight bullshit, he'll fit right into his role. As of now, we need to come up with a plan to take care of Cena…"

Their voices faded after that and the two men sat in an even tenser silence than before. Roman turned back to look down at Dean and he noticed the man had his head tightly held in his hands, fingers curled into his short hair, pulling as he ground his teeth together. His leg was bouncing uncontrollably, and Roman could practically hear the gears turning and the puzzle pieces clicking into place.

Seth really wasn't lying.

Roman gently moved his hands over Dean's, uncurling his fingers and pulling them out of the slightly smaller man's hair before he hurt himself. He set Dean's hands down and pushed his knee down in a silent attempt to keep him calm. He knew Dean. The man was ready to destroy everything and everyone at the moment, and Roman wasn't too far off.

They had been lied to, but not by Seth. The story was still much too hazy, but all the two knew for sure was that Seth wanted no real part in what he was doing. That was enough to make both of them feel like shit.

Dean's eyes widened and he shot up, startling Roman.

"He's gonna quit. Roman, he's gonna fucking quit!" Dean barked. It hit Roman just as hard and the ex-football player shot up as well, both of them darting out of the gym.

*S*

Seth was nearly done stuffing his things back into his suitcase when his phone began to chime once more. He clicked his tongue, answering the video call. He smiled sorrowfully and answered it, looking down at the phone.

"Good morning, Jo. We got to keep this short, okay? I need to finish packing."

"Packing? Where ya going? To the next arena?" the little girl tilted her head and Seth looked away, drumming his fingers along his knee.

"No…no, I'm quitting. I'm going home."

He kept his gaze down, not wanting to see the undoubtedly heartbreaking look on the small child's face. She stammered for a moment before she found her voice.

"Uncle Colby, you can't quit. Daddy and Uncle Jon love you very much, they told me!"

"They don't love me anymore, Jo Jo. You see what I've been doing. They don't love me and I don't deserve to be loved by them anymore."

Seth nearly cringed at how pathetic he sounded to himself. Joelle huffed, tapping the screen to get his attention. She had her arms crossed, bright eyes now glaring at him, cheeks puffed out.

"Well, I love you. Wanna know how much? Thiiiiiiis much!"

The small Samoan stretched her arms wide, a brilliant smile on her face this time. Seth couldn't help but to smile right with her.

"I love you this much, Uncle Colby. I know Daddy and Uncle Jon love you this much, too. Except their arms are a lot bigger…" she trailed off before she smiled into the camera. Seth doesn't notice the tears rolling down his cheeks until Joelle leans closer to the camera, frowning.

"Don't cry, Uncle Colby. I love you"

"I love you too, Jo Jo. I'll call you again a bit later. After my flight, okay?"

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"Okay…bye bye!"

The call ended and he let out an airy chuckle as he turned back to his luggage. He considered leaving his new gear behind, and as he was taking it out, he heard Special Op fill the room once more. Blinking in confusion, he grabbed his phone once more.

"Jo, what's wrong? I told you I'd video chat with you later after I got off my flight-"

"Seth! Where are you?!"

Seth nearly dropped his phone as he jolted in alarm, Roman's booming voice startling him. He stared at his phone with wide eyes before he hesitantly brought it back to his ear, throat dry.

"In my hotel room…why?"

"Give me the phone…don't give me that look, give me the damn phone!"

There was a shuffle before Dean's gravelly voice came into focus.

"Where is that? What floor?"

"Look, I get it, you don't have to come and beat the hell out of me again, I won't be a bother to you two anymore-"

"What. Fucking. Floor?"

Seth was a bit taken back at the low growl. He swallowed thickly and sighed. Might as well give them one last chance to make him pay for what he'd done.

"Fifth floor. Room 528"

The phone went dead immediately after and Seth gently moved his suitcase aside, pushing it underneath his bed so nothing of his got damaged in whatever confrontation was about to occur.

He heard the men stampeding towards his room before he heard the frantic knocking and he took a breath to steel himself, opening his door and holding his hands up.

"Look, take your shots and whatever, but I've got a flight to catch-"He barely had the time to finish the small request before Roman came crashing into him, nearly knocking him over as he held his face, holding him tight as he kissed him hard, stealing his breath away. Seth's eyes grew, and he stared back at him with wide eyes, not daring to move, lest he wake from whatever day dream he was having at the moment. He jolted when his door slammed shut, an out of breath Dean tugging him out of Roman's grip (with some difficulty, as if the man didn't want to let go) and crushing him with a hug, a few of his joints popping in protest. His heart was pounding, and he looked between the two with wide eyes.

"I…what?" he stammered. Dean looked him in the eyes, brows knitted up.

"Tell us what they've got against you that's making you do this."

Seth suddenly looked more guarded, body tensing as he stepped out of Dean's grip and backed away to the other side of the room, not stopping until his back pressed against a wall.

"You didn't believe me less than twenty four hours ago…why are you really here? To fuck with me? Just hit me then, don't come in here kissing and hugging me when you know you both hate me!" Seth barked. Dean rubbed his shoulder idly and Roman clicked his tongue, nodding slightly.

"Seth, we're sorry"

"What?"

The word came out high-pitched, laced with disbelief. He shook his head, sliding to the floor, head tightly clutched in his hands.

"Stop it! Just stop it! You said it yourselves, you hate me. I'm scum. You don't love me anymore. D-Don't come in here and confuse me like this. You don't need to apologize! I do…I…" Seth choked slightly, turning his head away as a sob ripped from his chest. He shook nearly violently, heart heavy. It was worse this way. They should just hit him and get it over with.

He hardly noticed Roman approach him until the man was down on one knee in front of him, lifting his face and gently thumbing away the tears. Seth pressed his back more against the wall, looking more like a caged animal. Roman didn't move any closer, but he continued to gently caress his face, staring at him with the soft gray eyes he'd come to know. Slowly, Seth let out a shaky breath, cheek pressing against Roman's rough hand. Dean took this as a good sign and slowly got to his knee beside Seth as well, choosing not to touch him.

"You don't have to apologize for it anymore. We overheard Hunter and Randy talking about this…whatever this is. We're here to listen, tell us what they're doing to you" He requested gently. Seth looked warily at the two of them for a moment before he bowed his head down.

"They said….they said they'd terminate both of your contracts if I didn't turn against you. Randy and Hunter made me keep quiet about it…I tried…I tried to tell you." He whispered. Roman stared at him and Dean's jaw ticked in anger. The Authority was doing what it did best, using the workers within the company as pawns and holding their contracts over their heads to get them to obey. Any and all who didn't wasn't simply fired, no, they targeted their relationships with other wrestlers within the company, whether it be romantic or otherwise.

Strike the psyche before the body.

Seth started crying, staring silently at the floor. It was Dean who lifted his face this time. "Don't cry anymore, Seth. If it makes you feel better, you can get your hits back and more. We deserve it for being so fucking stupid in the first place and not realizing you were being used" he offered. Seth stared at the both of them for a moment before he threw himself into their arms, squeezing their necks hard as he pressed himself against the both of them. Dean wheezed slightly while Roman wrapped a strong arm around Seth's middle, burying his face in the two toned man's hair.

"We love you, Seth. We're sorry."

Seth squeezed them tighter and Dean grunted, gently pushing the smaller man off so he could pick him up instead, carrying him to the bed. Roman followed soon after and the three fell into a pile at the center of the bed, with Seth in the middle, of course. They lay in that silence until the two toned man broke it.

"What do we do now?" he whispered. Dean hummed thoughtfully and Roman closed his eyes, rubbing his arm idly. "We continue the way we've been. Now that we know what's really going on, we can refrain from actually murdering one another out there. We can't let them know we know and it's a bit too late for you to turn on them. Just play along for now." He told them both, reaching down to grab Seth's hand when he felt the man tense up.

"I can…I can try and break them up from the inside. Hunter is fully convinced I'm the new poster boy, Stephanie is right there with him, Kane doesn't really care much for me and-"

"And Randy's going to make me rip him limb from limb if he puts his hands on you again" Dean growled out. Roman grunted in agreement and Seth turned to him, looking up into his eyes for a moment before he leaned up and kissed him, keeping one hand on his cheek as he stroked his face. Dean relaxed into the kiss, grunting in disapproval when Seth broke it, nestling comfortably between the two of them. The emotional rollercoaster had him tired all of a sudden.

His phone chimed from the bedside table and Roman reached for it, seeing it was a reminder for Seth about his flight to Iowa. Hesitantly, he handed the phone to the drifting man and Seth yawned, looking at the notification with half lidded eyes. He grunted, putting his phone on silent before sliding it under his pillow, resting his head back on it, not saying another word as he drifted off.

Dean and Roman smiled over the top of his head, both holding him a bit tighter.

*Summerslam*

"I love you, brother"

Seth panted shakily, wiping his brow as he swallowed down an entire bottle of water before moving to dart out of catering. He slammed right into Randy, who smirked down at him.

"Good, I'm glad I ran into you. You should probably get a bottle for me for when I completely destroy your ex. How about a kiss for good luck?" he questioned, and it comes out in a low purr. Seth's eyes narrow and he considers hitting him with his briefcase before he decides against it, straight up pushing past him and walking away. He ignores Randy's chuckling and continues his way down the hall, gently rasping on a door more towards the back of the arena. There's silence for a moment before a low, 'come in' is heard from the other side.

Seth slipped inside, closing the door silently before looking across the room.

"You weren't supposed to tell me that…and you weren't supposed to kiss me" he murmured. Dean ran a hand through his hair, shrugging. Seth frowned and came closer to him, sitting in his lap and tilting his head.

"Something's wrong"

"Nothing's wrong"

"Dean"

"Seth"

Seth frowned in response and Dean drummed his fingers along his waist. "This storyline is getting to me. It's no big deal" he lied and Seth shook his head, craning his neck down to kiss Dean hard. Dean grabbed his waist fully, molding their lips together firmly. They sat like that for a moment before Dean turned Seth around in his lap, putting his head on his shoulder as they watched the rest of the pay-per-view.

When the time came for Roman's match, the two sat on edge, neither liking the way Randy took control of the majority of the match. Seth was nearly about to jump from Dean's lap by the end of it but the two finally breathed a sigh of relief when Roman won, the two quickly getting up and heading out of the room, going down different hallways.

Dean made his way down the hall, nearly knocking Roman down when he threw himself into his arms. Roman chuckled, holding him tight and kissing his temple. He chuckled when Dean squeezed him tighter and leaned down to his ear.

"Where's our boy?" he whispered. Dean pulled away and jerked his thumb in the direction behind him. "He's starting the car. Let's get the hell out of here" he muttered. Roman nodded and they turned, running right into an irate Viper. He leered at them.

"Enjoy your little twosome. But know I'm going home with your boy" he sneered and Dean was about to say something before Roman pulled him back, getting chest-to-chest with Randy.

"You come anywhere near him and you'll wish I put you in the hospital the first time I put you on your ass" he growled, glaring fiercely. Randy snarled in response, but Dean stepped up, cracking his knuckled and rolling his neck on his shoulders. "You don't wanna see how crazy I can get" he hissed and Randy slowly backed off, scoffing and turning to walk away, muttering to himself. Roman smirked and Dean cackled quietly, both of them heading to the parking lot after grabbing their stuff.

They found Seth in the driver's seat, jamming to his own theme, headbanging and playing air guitar. Dean smirked, standing right outside the window and putting on the craziest smile he could, waiting for Seth to feel eyes on him. He looked over and jolted, screaming bloody murder. Dean threw his head back, laughing loudly while Roman made his way past him, getting in the car. Seth pouted, waiting until Dean got in to leer at him in the rear view window. Dean smiled cheekily back at him.

The ride home was filled with a comfortable silence, each man quickly making their way to their room. Seth showered first, and when he got out he decided to set up a movie and order Chinese from the hotel. Dean was the one to get their food when it came, with Roman being the last man out of the shower. He dimmed the lights and sat down to Seth's left, putting an arm around the back of the couch. Dean leaned obnoxiously on his right shoulder until he moved back.

Seth smiled slightly, leaning against Roman and running his fingers through Dean's semi-damp hair, raising the food to his lips every few minutes.

"Seth feed me" Dean grunted and Seth shot him a flat look, ignoring Roman's light chuckling as he held some of the food down to Dean, making sure he didn't drop it on him. They shared the contents of the container like that and Seth set it on the table, leaning back and putting his hand back in Dean's hair, watching the movie.

About half way through, Roman noticed Seth nodding off and he put a hand on his shoulder. "Seth, c'mon, get up. We can move to the bed" he grunted, shaking Dean awake so he could move with him. The younger man grunted but got up, dragging himself to the bed, faceplanting onto the soft sheets while Roman carried Seth, smiling when the smaller man curled against him, not letting go when Roman moved to set him down.

Roman chuckled and maneuvered around, finally settling them down in a comfortable position. Seth pulled Dean closer and put his head on Roman's chest. "I love you" he whispered suddenly. Dean mumbled in his half-asleep state and Roman kissed him softly, holding him a bit tighter.

"And we love you, Seth."

*I've said things I'm not proud of

Done things that hurt you

I helped start this war

But you're still here to get me through.

I don't want to fight you

I swear, it hurts and scares me too.

But you're my brothers,

And more importantly, my lovers.

And in the end,

I love you with everything I've got,

And I'll always be with you*

(A/n: It's finally done. Through horrid writer's block, life blocks, and all, it's finally done. I opted out of the sexytimes this time around, but hopefully it's still everything you all hoped it would be. Thank you for reading and thank you for your patience.)