Disclaimer: The author is in no way, shape, or form in any form of association with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), any of the wrestlers mentioned in this story, or anything else. I just wrote the thing. Please enjoy.

From the outside looking in, people would think they had no desire to be near each other, that their energy had all but run out. There just wasn't quite as much time spent at each other's throats as there had been before, now that Seth appeared to be focused solely on John Cena, while Dean was more than somewhat focused on whatever happened to cross his path that day. That was when the cameras were on; when they were off, and outside of it all, they were still wholeheartedly devoted to each other. They'd spend every moment they could together without a care in the world, and even if they were on different tours, they'd make sure to at least text each other - despite Dean preferring when they called each other, even if it was only because he still didn't get the hang of texting.

Things had been going well, even with the few sputters that they had had in the past. During their time spent together for over 3 years now, Dean was beginning to fear what life would be if he didn't stake his claim, so to speak, and Seth ended up leaving. Of course, the idea of Seth leaving sent panic through him, despite the fact that they've been through some of the worst things imaginable and still managed to stay together. There was this off bit of fear in his mind that sends strikes through him every time he thinks Seth might be looking somewhere that wasn't towards him. He wasn't stupid, he knew that Seth had a right to make his own choices and if he chose to leave Dean, it would be his right, but that didn't make it any easier. That's why, recently, Dean ended up going off on his own and well hidden from the public eye to get something that would forever change their relationship: a ring.

It had taken forever for Dean to look through the rings. He had never been one to buy jewelry, so he went in not knowing what to look for. It had been an afternoon spent well into the evening in a little shop looking at rings. Gold rings, silver rings, platinum rings, rings made of things he didn't even know existed, rings with stones, rings without stones, rings with pretty designs, rings with everything. Then there was the fear that Seth wouldn't even want a band. Traditionally, the man was the one who proposed marriage. What if Seth took Dean proposing as an insult? And when he finally chose a ring, they asked if he wanted something engraved in it. Needless to say, he left with a headache.

So, a ring is what Dean got. A ring that he hopes Seth would like. A ring that he hoped would mean something. That's actually what has been causing the most problems in their relationship. When Dean doesn't know what he wants to do, he tends to get a bit agitated. With his agitation comes snapping and he tends to argue a lot more when he's agitated. So, technically, the fact that Dean wanted to take the next step in their relationship is what was causing it to go down the drain at a steady pace.

They were both in the hotel room that they shared after a show and they were arguing, again. It was about something entirely too petty that Dean should feel ashamed about, but his agitation is driving him insane. Seth doesn't know what he has the power to do to him. He doesn't know that everything about him makes Dean's head spin and makes his heart beat just a tad faster. He doesn't know a simple touch could drive Dean completely insane. He just doesn't know. (Which is good. Seth has too much power as it is. His ego would explode if he knew about this.)

"I'm so done with your shit, Ambrose!" Seth is shouting at him, just the softest hint of genuine hurt in his voice. Dean did that. He made his two tone beauty sound like that because he decided to go completely off the wall and shout, 'You just don't understand how much I've put into this!' Seth continues, "I don't have to deal with you treating me like this. We're not in the arena, we're not in the ring, we're in the hotel room and I don't have to deal with you talking to me like I'm some kind of dog."

That's not what I'm trying to do, Dean desperately wants to say, somewhere in his mind, but right now, he's just frustrated because the box in his pocket is weighing down on him like the contents were bricks instead of a ring and he just wants Seth to smile again.

"You're done with my shit?" Dean bites out, but he understands; he's done with his own shit too. "Whatever, Rollins. What-the-fuck-ever. Be done with my shit. It's not going to get us anywhere!"

"It might not get you anywhere," Seth sneers out in a harsher rage now, his cheeks tinting with all of his negative emotions, nostrils flaring some, his eyes taking on that fucking kicked puppy look. "It's going to get me out the door!"

The words strike fearinto Dean immediately – that fear he mentioned earlier; the fear that comes when he thinks of Seth leaving – his breath catching in his throat as Seth is already heading to grab his suitcases. This was unexpected; thishadn't happened before tonight. Seth must really be done with Dean's shit. Dean can't even blame him, not really, but he can certainly try to stop him.

"No, no, wait, wait, Seth, let's talk about this," Dean is hurrying to say, but his tone is too soft because he doesn't want to keep yelling; he just wants them to talk about this. He doesn't want Seth to leave. He moves to stand in Seth's way of the door as the two-tone tries to head out the door without hearing what Dean had to say. "Just hear me out."

"Hear you out?" Seth snorts out, eyes still furious, hand with that fucking gold briefcase that's caused so much trouble in the past in it rolling some like he's preparing to hit Dean. "I don't need to hear you out, Ambrose. I've been dealing with this shit for no good reason for the past month. And now you're wanting me to hear you out? No. Fuck that. In general, fuck you."

The words anger Dean, but the anger is stomped out when Seth pushes past him and Dean hears the lock on the door. If Seth walks out, there's a good chance that he would come back, but there's also a good chance that he wouldn't come back and that box in Dean's pocket suddenly feels like it's deadweight.

"Seth, please, wait-" Dean tries again, his voice softening, almost in defeat, but he watches as Seth's hand touches the knob and he can't do it anymore. "Marry me."

Time freezes in that moment. Seth's hand stops with the knob barely turned, Dean's heart is suddenly beating like he had just ran ten miles without stopping; the air suddenly thick.

"What did you just-" Seth starts out slowly, but his hand is leaving the knob and he's turning around and Dean feels as if his spirit is lifted. So much lighter and with so much relief that he's almost natural that he drops to one knee, his hand digging into his pocket. His eyes are locked on Seth's as he does this. He realizes the flickering of emotions on Seth's face are between shock, delight, a bit of fear, and uncertainty. Not the best combination, but what was Dean expecting?

He finally manages to pull the box out, the sight of rich, royal blue appearing from the confines of Dean's pocket. As he flips it open, he watches Seth's eyes flicker down to it; hears the small thud of the briefcase as Seth lets go of it. Inside was a simple gold band with three small diamonds embedded in the shiny mineral. Three, it was a symbol, wasn't it? And perhaps gold was a symbol too. The gold they both craved in the company; the gold of Seth's briefcase. Dean could only hope that this gold, this ring, would be worth more than that briefcase that's on the floor now.

Dean is still looking right at Seth, but he waits until Seth looks up from the ring and back into his eyes to ask, "Will you marry me?"

"How… how long have you had that?" is what Seth answers with instead, waving to the ring and Dean glances down at it and gives a small shrug, shifting some on his knee.

"Around a month?" He offers softly, glancing up guiltily at Seth afterwards because he's positive he's going to be able to make that connection.

"This is what's been causing you to be a fucking dick?" Seth asks in a bit of disbelief and Dean hangs his head in shame. "God, you better be lucky I love you. Gimme that thing."

Dean's head snaps back up again as Seth comes closer, a growing smile on the bearded man's face. His heart skips before he's grinning back and standing up, pulling the ring from the box and grabbing for Seth's hand.

He watches his own hands as he slides the ring onto Seth's finger and can't stop smiling as he glances back up to Seth's face. Seth is examining his own hand for a moment before looking at Dean and grinning back wider.

"So, you gonna stop being so pissy?" Seth asks in a murmur and Dean shrugs, looking at Seth's hand again and lacing their fingers together.

"I guess I could, but it always led to some amazing make-up sex," Dean responds with a crooked smirk. Seth's smile fades some, though remains enough, as he gives Dean an annoyed look. Dean's only response is to give a wide grin and plop a kiss onto Seth's lips. "Lighten up, Princess. No more pissy. I got that marriage thing off my chest. Now, how about we get to consummating the engagement?"

Seth gives a soft snort of laughter. "Any excuse," he mutters, but he's already pushing a grinning Dean towards the bed.

Sorry for being gone so long, guys. I had some really bad mental issues that lead me to just losing all motivation. I will try to write more once again!

Reviews are hugs! c:

~Ash