Déjà Vu

AN: Earlier this week, Captain was worrying her pretty little head about the stability of the Roman and Dean brotherhood because of the events on RAW. I mean, I can't really blame her there. Those events were pretty powerful... And to make things worse, no one was writing any hurt/comfort based on that RAW. And I might have accidentally gotten her hopes up when I went on a insomniac-writing binge and wrote some random crack... The poor woman thought I was writing some hurt/comfort. Not the case at all. Like at all. Buuut, she expressed interest in writing some herself, called Eye of the Hurricane, and I said I was teasing the idea of a Roman centered angst piece and the end result sees us as having these companion pieces.

Another AN: This fic is part of the "Shattered That Dream" universe. The order for these fics goes: Atlas, Shatter That Dream, Fear of Being Forgotten, Déjà Vu, and Eye of the Hurricane. They are all stand-alone pieces, but still exist within the same realm, so captain and I encourage you to read them!

Disclaimer: One day, maybe I can claim ownership to these characters...but not now. WWE owns anything recognizable. I only enjoy writing about them.

"I'd never do that to you, Roman. We're brothers, and I'd never betray you like that."

Roman practically collapsed onto the locker room's bench. The weight of what had happened with Dean made him feel too heavy to remain standing.

It had been such a typical encounter at first. Dean came to his aid after an ambush. How many times had that happened before? Countless. It was a common enough occurrence around here. The situation was all too familiar of being ambushed by whoever the Authority's villain of the week was.

However, after beating off the Dudley Boyz, instead of a friendly arm thrown around his shoulders or a hug from Dean, he found himself forced into the set-up for Dirty Deeds. For a split-second, his heart sputtered to a halt and his mind blanked while his eyes glazed over in confusion. It was only by instinct his arms pushed off of Dean and his feet carried him backwards, establishing a few feet in between them.

Confusion. It encompassed his mind. What was Dean thinking? They were family! How could he attack him? After everything they had been through, how could Dean just throw it all away? Roman had even just told Heyman, he and Dean were brothers no matter what because they threw themselves into the line of fire every night. Roman hadn't been expecting to be in Dean's line at all, at least not tonight.

He knew Dean wasn't seriously attacking him. Roman ran his hand through his hair. He understood at a fundamental level what Dean's point had been. The logical side of his brain pointed out Dean wanted to make sure he was going to be on guard, on his toes as they headed into Fastlane. Dean Ambrose was not just going to lie down and let him win; no, he had to earn it. Roman remembered Survivor Series and the all-out brawl the two of them went through for the championship then, but it hadn't been nearly as nasty as this clash at Fastlane was going to be. No, they were able to walk away and remain brothers after Survivor Series; Roman wasn't sure if they would remain brothers after Sunday.

While, logically, he could understand that Dean hadn't meant anything malicious by his actions, the emotional side of him, the more human side could not begin to understand what had possessed Dean to pull this stunt on him. The memory was too familiar, too painful as it began to play in Roman's mind.

It felt a lot like déjà vu.

He was at the mercy of his brother's attacks…only it wasn't a Dirty Deeds. No, it was a steel chair hitting him in the back while he was turned away.

Seth had been his brother. However, their bond hadn't prevented him from betraying The Shield, his brothers.

The shock, the hurt, the moment trust died… He could remember vividly how it felt to have the steel chair smash into his back, powered by the force of someone's cowardice, their lies, and their deceit. To hit someone who trusted you so completely that he would feel comfortable to walk forward and leave his back virtually unprotected while you were armed… Trust was dead to him. The only exception was with Dean, but the stunt Dean pulled really rattled his trust. All Roman could think was it felt like déjà vu.

How could Dean even think about pulling a stunt like this? He had to have known what kind of memories it would bring to the surface. Dean had to have known Roman wouldn't be able to only think of his actions impartially. When Roman had realized Dean was just about to hit his finisher on him, he suddenly wasn't in 2016 anymore; instead, it was the RAW after Payback in 2014.

It was the RAW after Payback in 2014, and their little brother was standing over him with Triple H's arm around his shoulders after mercilessly beating him and Dean down. Seth wore a sinister smirk across his face as Triple H continued to scream about having a "Plan B" at him and Dean.

It just felt like déjà vu.

But it shouldn't feel like déjà vu. He and Dean had an understanding. They would never let things end with betrayal. It was June 3, 2014, the night after the betrayal.

"Nooo!" Someone in the crowd screamed. A loud smack could be heard when the steel chair made contact with Roman's back, and Roman's body crumpled. He could still feel the hot sting of pain in his muscles from where Seth the Traitor had delivered the blow.

Roman paused the video right as the cameraman zoomed in on Dean's shocked expression. His blue eyes were impossibly wide with disbelief, and his mouth was open as though he wanted to speak but was unable to do so. He could see a million emotions flashing across Dean's face: horror, hurt, confusion, as he tried to comprehend what was happening.

Watching a replay of Seth's actions didn't grant Roman any sort of clarity. There was not sudden epiphany making him understand what had happened. And it definitely didn't make him feel any better, if anything it made him feel worse about what had happened the previous night.

How could this have happened? One of the people he trusted above all hit him with a steel chair to his back. His little brother had betrayed them...him. How long would it take for Dean to stab him in the back, too? Dean was always the unstable one, the wild card. For some reason, Seth had been able to get him to function as part of a group. Without Seth's influence, would the destructive force of a hurricane, known as Dean Ambrose, fly completely off the handle and leave Roman by himself to lick old wounds that he thought had since been healed? Roman stared at the paused Youtube video on his phone, wondering if he was just torturing himself. He tossed his phone down on his uncomfortable hotel bed and buried his head in his hands.

Roman was so preoccupied with his thoughts he didn't even notice the bathroom door had opened and Dean was watching him from the doorway.

"You know, I was thinking," Dean's voice drawled out.

Roman startled slightly at the sound, and he looked up at Dean. Dean threw a lopsided smile at Roman and plopped down on the other bed, so he was facing Roman.

Roman studied Dean, who had a strange, almost serene expression on his face as he looked down at his hands. Then Roman realized Dean was examining Roman's phone; the Lunatic had picked it up and was looking at the paused video. "Dean?" Roman wondered about this strange mood Dean was in. He wasn't enraged by the mere thought of Rollins, right now anyway. Maybe Dean's anger had just run out for now regarding Seth, but Roman knew better.

"The Shield Implodes?" Dean questioned, reading the video title in bold, black letters encapsulating the screen.
Roman shrugged and attempted to adopt a poker face. "It's what they're calling it."

Dean continued to stare at the screen."I guess it makes sense. His actions didn't really affect the rest of the company- not yet at least, so then using something like "explodes" wouldn't work. He's a destructive weasel, but he's careful, calculating, and manipulative. We were the only ones caught in the destruction, so I guess "implodes" makes sense."

Dean shook his head, finally looking up from the screen which had encapsulated him and handed Roman back his phone. "I don't know how you can watch that crap."

"I thought watching it would make me understand what happened."

Dean tilted his head in confusion. "Did it?"

"Not even a little," Roman admitted sadly while he ran a hand threw his hair.

"Well, that's probably a good thing. If what he did makes sense, then you're probably going to start swinging chairs at people."

Roman cringed. He wasn't sure if it just was too soon for a reference like that, or if it was the thought of attacking Dean with a steel chair bothering him. Or the fact he would have to live with his guilt when Dean looked at him the same way he had looked at Seth in the video.

"Roman, I wanted to talk to you about something, and I think now's as good a time as ever. I know what people say about me. I'm bat-shit crazy. I'm a lunatic. I'm unstable. You can't trust me. I head the whispers, and some of it's true."

Dean paused and took a deep breath. "Some of it is very true. I am… But I wanted you to know you can trust me. You and me, we're family, and I'm not just saying that. You're my brother. And just the thought of stabbing you in the back makes me sick, right here." Dean gestured to his left side of his chest. "I'd never betray you, brother. I'd never betray you like that."

Roman felt guilty for even entertaining his insecurities from earlier. "I know, Dean, I couldn't betray you either, little brother."

Dean leaned forward from his position on the other bed and hugged Roman tightly as they tried to find comfort in each other.

Roman shook his head.

It felt like déjà vu.

Just like how Seth had been the Shield's glue, Dean was his support. He was his very foundation and his cornerstone since the dissolution of the Shield. In the Shield, Seth kept them together and on the same page; in many ways without Seth, there was no Shield. However, glue isn't intended to be a cure all/ fix all. It doesn't last forever. With stress and with age, it can crack, and it can deteriorate until one day, it will just crumple away entirely. But on the other hand, the same could be said for support beams, for cornerstones, for foundations. Maybe over time, the weight and the pressure would become too much. The support would begin to form hairline fractures. You can't see them at first because they are small, virtually undetectable to the naked eye. But after more time and more pressure, the cracks deepen and widen. Suddenly, you don't have a sturdy foundation anymore. Suddenly, it's wobbly, unreliable, and unstable. With this unhinged nature, the foundation would never be able to withstand the gale forces of a storm. The first gusts of a hurricane would crumble the foundation until nothing but a pile of rubble remained. Better than most, Roman knew you can't always predict when a storm forms. Better than most, Roman knew you can't always predict people's actions, even when it was someone as close as a brother to you. Once you think you know, you'll realize you really never did. One day, you'll turn your back to your own brother, and he'll shatter your trust. He'll stab you without having the decency to look you in the eyes. He'll kill your ability to trust.

But who is he kidding? Roman always had a soft spot for Dean. He was one of the few that Roman let into his confidence. Dean knew what betrayal felt like. He experienced it firsthand, too, which is why Roman felt comfortable building his foundation onto Dean. He could always rely on Dean to watch his back for him (because God knows that's where he was last stabbed…). But maybe that's what Dean was trying to communicate to him with the Dirty Deeds.

Maybe that's what Dean's real message had been to him all along. It wasn't merely a "Be quicker than that, Brother" but a "Watch your back, brother, because I won't anymore. You really are one vs. all."

The more he thought about it; the more worried he became. The thoughts left a bitter taste in his mouth. They left a twinge of guilt in his chest for doubting his brother. More pungent than those thoughts was the sense of déjà vu.

:) And there you have it! I've never really written Roman; he's kind of difficult to channel, so please give me some feedback on how I did. And go read Eye of the Hurricane.