Canary and the Coal Mine

This is Randy. Leave a message and I'll get back to you.

"No you won't, " I muttered as I hung up, jamming my phone back into my pocket. I'd been sitting on the curb outside the hotel for almost an hour now, waiting for that insufferable jackass.

Since Raw, I'd barely spoken to Randy. He called me Tuesday afternoon to tell me he was leaving for the next town a day early, and then last night, asking me out to lunch.

Which we should have been eating as I sat there, scowling at the Miami scenery. I'd blown off an afternoon with Brie and Nikki to sit outside the hotel and sulk. And really, I wasn't trying to whine as much as I was.

I'd just been looking forward to spending some time with him away from the ring. He hadn't answered me all day, but he'd had time to post a gym picture on Instagram. As petty as it sounded, I couldn't decide if I was more hurt or irritated. He had time to post a stupid picture, but not text me back?

I'd contemplated calling Randy for the fourth time when a shadow fell over me. I tipped my head back and found myself staring up at Dean. He looked almost as surprised to see me as I was to see him.

"What're you doin'?" he asked; I let out a huff and leaned back against his legs.

"Waiting for my lunch date. You?"

"Talkin' t'you," he said, giving a smirk. I snorted, and crossed my arms over my chest, scowling straight ahead. "You okay?"

"Peachy."

"Y'look pretty pissed off for a peach," he pointed out; I tipped my head back onto his knees to look up at him again.

"I've been sitting out here for an hour. I'm starving and getting more annoyed the longer I sit here."

Dean hmm'd and shook his head.

"It's a real shame y'got plans. Me an' the boys are headin' out for Chinese."

My stomach rumbled at his words and I let out a groan. He chuckled and nudged me gently with his foot. I reluctantly sat up, thinking he was leaving, but he came around to stand in front of me.

"Y'wanna come? We got room in the car."

"I do," I started. "I just... If Randy comes to get me -"

"Call him again. He don't answer, you come with us. Deal?"

Dean raised a brow in challenge, and I smirked up at him, pulling my phone out. He crossed his arms and stood patiently in front of me as I called Randy. Twice. Both times it went to voicemail.

"Sound's like you're ours," Dean declared, holding out his hands to me. I took them and let him pull me to my feet. Our hands lingered together for a moment as he guided me back onto the sidewalk.

"Sounds like it," I agreed; worry swam through the back of my mind. If Randy came to get me and I was off with other people... But you know what? It was an hour later and he couldn't do me the decency of answering his damn phone. He could have fun at the gym.

I let Dean lead the way back through the hotel. He guided us to the back exit where I saw Roman and Seth leaning against the wall, waiting. Roman smiled at me as I came up to the boys.

"Well look who it is," the Samoan began, giving me a hug in greeting. As we pulled back, Seth crossed his arms.

"What, you're not mad at us still?" when I raised a brow at him, he added, "About your big angry friend?"

"Ryback?"

They all nodded.

"Oh. I'm mad," I assured, and when the three of them tensed, I shrugged. "But what happens in the ring, stays in the ring. I'll deal with you jerks tonight. But for now..."

"For now you want Chinese," Dean guessed, and I nodded quickly. He chuckled at me and rested his hand on the small of my back to guide me after the others. "C'mon. Let's get some grub."

-x-

As I scooped the peppers onto the side of the plate, I caught Seth eyeing me with a look of both disappointment and annoyance. I slowly sat my fork down and flicked my brows up.

"What?"

"Those’re like, the best part of the stir fry!"

"They're too hot!" I objected; he scoffed. "I don't do good with spicy stuff!"

"You're such a baby," he informed me, reaching over and snagging one, then popping it in his mouth. I made a face as he chewed and swallowed. "See? It's not -"

He let out a cough, and then gasped. He coughed again, face starting to turn red from the heat of the pepper, and he reached for his water. Roman snagged it away and held it up out of reach, smirking at his brother.

"Roman!" Seth wheezed as his eyes watered. "Not funny!"

"You sayin' Jamie's not a baby for not eating them?" he mused, moving the cup higher. Seth coughed and glared at him. "You gonna take it back?"

"Fine! Fine! Okay!" he wheezed, shooting me a look through his watery eyes. I grinned and then, after a few more moments, nodded at Roman. He handed the cup back and we watched as Seth drank it desperately, giggling to ourselves.

Dean sank down into the seat next to me, takeout boxes in hand, eyeing Seth curiously as he finally surfaced from the cup. Water was dripping down his chin and his face was still bright red.

"They tried to kill me," he rasped, and instead of showing sympathy, he leaned over and high-fived Roman, then high-fived me.

"Should'a finished you off. More leftovers for me."

"Dick," Seth muttered, wiping his face before going back to his water. As Roman and I continued to giggle, my phone lit up with a new message. I grabbed it quickly, hoping to hear from Randy; Dean looked over as I stifled a sigh.

It had just been Nikki asking what colors I was wearing that night so she knew what nail polish I needed. Dean leaned onto my arm and propped his chin on my shoulder, watching me type.

"Pink?" he asked, making a face; I turned and gave him a scowl, pointedly ignoring how close we were. No matter how much my stomach fluttered.

"Got a problem with pink, Ambrose?"

"Makes his thighs look big," Roman pointed out, grinning as Dean flipped him off. He and Seth scraped their food into their containers; as I went to do mine, Dean grabbed my plate.

"Here," he said, handing me the container. He shoveled my stir fry into the box for me, and then stacked our plates. A smile toyed on my lips as we gathered our things to leave. For the big, bad wrestler I'd known Mox to be, he was a softie at heart.

Dean carried my leftovers for me as we followed Roman and Seth to the car. Princess Sparkle was still complaining about the pepper, and blaming me for it.

"You were the one that felt the need to show off" I pointed out, climbing into the back with Dean. "No one made you eat them."

“You knew I’d try and prove you wrong! You set me up!”

“You really tryin’ to say she’s pulling psychological warfare on you?” Roman laughed, giving his brother a look of disbelief. Seth nodded vigorously. As the two of them bickered in the front, I pulled my phone out again and dialed Randy’s number.

This is Randy. Leave a message and I'll get back to you.

"What, lover boy ain't answerin'?" Dean asked, watching my expression as I tucked my phone away and shrugged.

"Doesn't look like it. He's probably just busy or something,” I muttered, trying not to be as hurt as I was. Dean went to say something, but Seth turned in his seat to give me a smirk .

"So what, you’re gonna go gossip and paint nails with your girls?"

"Thought I already was," I threw back; Roman and Dean snorted as Seth’s face scrunched up into an annoyed sneer before he turned back around. I gave the back of his head a cheeky grin as I added, "Brie and Bryan are having a 'date day' and Nikki and John are doing things I don't want to be a part of. If you wanna just drop me at the hotel -"

"What, we ain't good enough for your company, cupcake?" Roman challenged; I gave an unamused frown and sighed,

"You don't get enough of me in the ring?"

"S'nice to hang out without havin' to put you through tables an' shit," Dean informed me, giving a shrug when I glanced at him in mild surprise. Roman was nodding with Dean; Seth was still scowling.

"If I'm not getting on your nerves yet then sure, why not?"

Seth gave a dramatic groan and Roman started listing off all the annoying things I'd done since Survivor Series. As I laughed, I spared a glance at Dean. He had a genuine smile on his face, like he was happy with my decision. When he caught me smiling back he cleared his throat and immediately put a scowl on before turning to look back out the window.

Mine stayed with me the rest of the drive.

"So day with the Shield translates to grocery shopping?" I asked, following the boys into the store. Roman grabbed the cart as both Dean and Seth split for separate aisles, bickering about who got to pick the flavors of ramen noodles. I fell into step with Roman as he offered a shrug, glancing down at me.

"Three big, strong men go through a lot of food in one week," he pointed out. I scrunched up my face and ticked off on my fingers as I listed,

"So that'd be you, Dean, and you again?"

Roman snorted and shook his head, letting one of his real smiles peek through.

"What you got against Seth?"
"Nothing," I assured, studying the aisle as we browsed lazily. "It's not my fault he's so easy to rile up."

Roman gave me a 'huh, good point' face as we paused at the cookies. He held up a box of chocolate chip and began to study it intensely as I turned and looked around. The package at my eye level was a thing of the 'heads or tails' oreos. Half black cookie, half blonde cookie.

"Oh my god," I gasped, snagging them and grinning so wide it hurt. Roman spared me half a glance from his own cookies and asked,

"What's wrong?"

I held them up and laughed,

"It's Seth!"

Roman busted out laughing with me, snagging the pack and then laughing harder as he studied them. I doubled over, tears in my eyes, which just made Roman laugh even harder.

"Oh my fucking god," he wheezed, letting me take the pack back. "That's fucking hilarious!"

"I need to find Dean!" I gasped, racing down the aisle. I whipped around the corner and spotted him a few rows down. He looked down at me, bemused, as I scampered up to him with the cookies behind my back.

"What’s that look for?"

"Have you seen Seth?" I giggled, earning a frown and a slow shake of his head.

"Uh, no… Why?"

"Because I have," I sniggered, pulling the cookies out. Dean let out a bark of laughter, which only intensified as Roman came around the corner, still wiping tears out of his eyes. Dean looked over my head and snorted as he tried to stifle his snickering. I spun and grinned up at Seth, who looked a healthy mix between confusion and worry as he came towards us.

"Uh, what's goin' on?"

"Hey Oreo!" I teased, and the boys behind me howled with laughter. Seth immediately glared at me and in defense I held up the cookies. He gaped and snatched them out of my hands.

"This is what you guys are - really? This isn't even funny!"

"Half blonde, half black," I told him between giggles, pointing at his hair. He narrowed his eyes at me, and I grabbed the cookies out of his hands. "Think you mixed up 'fashion statement' with 'late night snack', Oreo."

"Don't call me that, and don't put those in the cart!" he snapped, reaching for the bag as I went to drop them in. I hugged them to my chest and swatted his hand away. He went to grab them again and I danced out of his reach, ducking behind Dean. I pressed against his back, clinging to his arm as I peeked around and sandwiched the cookies between us.

"They're good!"

"Go get regular oreos then!"

"They aren't the same!" I argued, ducking back as Seth moved for me again. Dean actually sided with me, putting his arm out and knocking Seth back away from me, earning an exasperated glare from the scowling cookie.

“They don’t taste any different from other oreos!” he chided, moving at me again. Dean crossed his arms and kept a firm barrier between us as I held tight to him.

"They so do! Roman, tell him."

"Subtle differences," the Samoan informed his brother, giving me a swift wink as he steered the cart back down the aisle. Seth went off on a tangent about psychological warfare again as he followed.

Dean reached around and looped an arm around my shoulders, tugging me out from behind him. For a brief moment I was tucked into his side, my own arm wrapped over his back, leaning into his hold.

Neither of us pulled apart right away, and neither of us seemed to mind. I could smell the faint hint of laundry detergent on his hoodie, mixed with his aftershave. His arm flexed around me, and I almost literally drooled at the thought of his muscles wrapped around me.

But a moment later we were both pulling apart, smiling briefly at each other before we headed off after the others.

Smackdown was in full swing by the time the four of us got into the building. We’d had to double back to the hotel twice - once for my bags, once for Seth’s deep conditioning facemask treatment he’d forgotten.

Yeah, I wasn’t letting him live that down.

“You gonna stay outta our way tonight?” Dean asked, smirking at me as we
headed down a back hall; being seen with the Shield probably wouldn’t be the smartest thing for me right before Royal Rumble.

What with them beating up my friends at every chance they got. I still had a score to settle for Ryback.

“I think you’ve got us mixed up, Ambrose.”

“Do I, darlin’?” he asked, running a tongue over his teeth as he and the boys studied me. We came to the end of the hall and I began to back up, heading in the direction of my friends.

“I don’t have time to argue. I gotta go find Randy,” I said as I began to back down the hall, giving the boys a smile. “I’ll see you guys later.”

Dean shared a mischievous look with the boys that made me pause before I rounded the corner. I raised a brow as Dean said slyly,

“Bet we can find him first.”

My eyes narrowed as the boys started to back down the hall going the other
way. They paused at the opposite corner, all three sets of eyes locking onto me in a challenge. Oh, it was on. At the same time we all spun on the spot and took off in opposite directions.

Sheamus looked up as I skid into the break room, looking around wildly. He met my eyes and gave a questioning look.

“You seen Randy?”

“Haven’t, lass. Sorry,” he added as I let out a huff of frustration. I managed a quick smile of thanks before I spun and took off. The three locker rooms I passed were near empty, and the few superstars I burst in on hadn’t seen him either.

I skirted the diva’s locker room for now; Randy wouldn’t go there without me, and I didn’t have time to explain what was going on to Brie and Nikki. Instead, I ducked out into the parking garage and made a sweep through the busses. Just in case he’d come looking for me there.

Coming up empty again, I let out a snarl, and rushed back inside. I was low on time; Shield were experts at finding their targets, and I was clearly not the next Sherlock Holmes. I sprinted down the hall, eyes set on the interview room ahead of me. I was running out of places to look -

“And he’s going to that special place -”

I nearly fell over trying to come to a stop. Stumbling and slumping against the wall, I skittered back to look up at the monitor I’d just passed. Randy was just getting to his feet, eyes on Cesaro, ready for an RKO.

The ring! He was in a match! My heart soared, and I peeled off down a side hall headed for gorilla. Because if Randy was in the ring and Shield found him first… I glanced at another monitor as I rounded the corner. Randy was bent over, waiting for Cesaro to get to his feet. I still had time.

As I rounded the last corner, ready to rocket up the steps and onto the stage, I heard Cole say from behind me,

“This is the second time Shield has ambushed Randy Orton!”

What?!

I whirled and stared at the screen in disbelief. He’d been just fine a second ago! Now he was curled in the corner of the ring as the boys towering above him kicked at his back and ribs. Dean bent and grabbed his leg, and Seth grabbed his arm, hauling him into the center of the ring. Roman threw his head back and let out an OOOO-WAAAA as the other two lifted my boyfriend up onto his shoulders.

Shit!

I cursed under my breath as I sprinted out of backstage, racing down the ramp. The crowd was cheering for me, trying to urge me on as I raced for Randy. I wasn’t quick enough, though. The second I reached the ring, the Shield powerbombed the Viper into the mat.

Fast as I could I climbed onto the apron and vaulted the top rope. Roman stayed standing over Randy to keep him down as Dean and Seth turned to me. The boys shared a dark grin as they advanced on me, trapping me against the ropes. It was Dean that moved to stand over me, slick smirk on his face as his eyes burned into mine.

“Beat ya,” he breathed; I fought the shiver at the top of my spine and scoffed.

“I saw him first!”

“How come you’re second to the party?” Seth sneered, coming up beside me and tugging on my hair. I swatted his hand away and turned my glare onto him.

“Back off Oreo,” I threatened, earning a scowl from the disgruntled cookie. Dean smothered a snort and I turned back to him. “I won. I saw him on TV. How do you think I knew where to go?”

“Oh, you ain’t out here for Orton,” he informed me, running a tongue over his lips. This time the shiver couldn’t be held back.

“What am I here for then, Ambrose?” I challenged, and to my surprise he shivered too. He moved impossibly closer and grabbed the rope on either side of me, boxing me in. I tried to hold my ground, but as Dean leaned down I had to inch away. Either that or kiss him on live TV.

“You got a sixth sense for me. You came out ‘cause you miss me kickin’ your ass as much as I miss kickin’ it, darlin’.”

For several seconds I couldn’t think of a comeback. My mind was shorting out as I stared up into his clear blue eyes. He caught my stumble and smirked wider, leaning himself against me. His chest pressed against mine and his arms closed in on either side as his stubbled cheek brushed over my jaw. His lips grazed my ear as he whispered,

“See y’round, Finch.”

And just like that he pulled off of me and backed up for the far side of the ring, grabbing Seth and Roman as he went. The boys threw me victorious smirks as they climbed out of the ring; I held still until they’d cleared the barricade, and then rushed to drop to Randy’s side.

“Hey,” I murmured, shaking him as I slid an arm under his shoulders. Randy groaned and slowly sat up, letting me hold him in place for a few moments. “You okay?”

“Fine,” he growled, pulling away from my touch as he struggled to his feet. I was up in an instant, grabbing his arm and towing him upright. The second he was vertical, he pulled out of my grip and struggled through the ropes. Stifling a sigh of annoyance, I followed my disgruntled boyfriend up the ramp, ready to steady him if he lost his balance.

He didn’t stop as we reached backstage, hobbling down the steps of gorilla before taking off towards his locker room. He didn’t say a thing until we were both inside and I’d shut the door.

“You wanna tell me what the hell that was?” he growled, back to me, shoulders low and tense as he stared at the lockers. I kept myself tucked to the wall by the door, instincts telling me to give him space.

“I’m sorry,” I said quickly. “By the time I found out where you were -”

“Don’t give me that bullshit! You left me hanging out there while you were
busy flirting with the fucking Shield!”

“I wasn’t flirting!” I said before I could really think about it. Was that flirting? I had no idea. Apparently I did it a lot without realizing. Except this time I really hadn’t had any intentions with the boys in the ring, no matter how close Dean had insisted on getting…

“You weren’t helping me either!” He threw out, cutting into my thoughts as he turned to stare me down.

“Randy, I didn’t even know you had a match!” I argued, throwing my hands up. “You haven’t talked to me all day! If you’d just said something, I could’ve gone out with -”

“Well you were there at the end, and a shit lot of good that did me, huh?” he spat, giving me a venomous glare. I didn’t even have time to be hurt at his words as my temper flared.

“How about next time I just let you get your ass kicked by yourself?”

As I turned to leave, his hand caught my wrist. When I didn’t turn to face him, he let out a heavy sigh and tugged me back to turn around. I gave him the most heated glare I could, and he softened his expression.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t take it out on you Jay,” he said gently, letting his hand trail up my arm. I pressed my lips together, trying to hold my anger, but we both knew I was a sucker for his puppy-dog eyes. “It’s just been a long day, y’know?”

So sue me, after a day without talking, waiting to hear from him and sulking all day, having him be sweet to me was too enticing to pass up. When I nodded, Randy took a step forward and gently moved my back to the wall again.

He gave a soft, slowly kiss to my jaw and let his lips trail up to my ear. I knew exactly what he wanted, but I made myself hold still as his hands came to rest on my hips; maybe this time kissing would be enough. Maybe he’d actually follow what he’d told me and stop himself.

Teasing I didn’t mind. The kissing, the light touches, the innuendoes, I was okay with that. It was the thought in his head that told him we’d go farther that ruined it for us. Because if he could just be content with this a little while longer, let me get used to this -

He pressed himself against me and I felt his hard cock digging into my hip. My thoughts shivered to a stop as my breath hitched; seriously, Randy?! As I tried to shrink back and pull away, I felt him smirk against my skin, getting the wrong idea from my reaction.

“I’m so pent up…” his hands slid up under my shirt, over my bare skin as he paused at the bottom of my bandeau, fingers toying under the elastic. “Maybe my beautiful girlfriend could give me a hand? Or a mouth -”

“Randy,” I said quickly, squirming out of his hold and batting his hands away as they tried to follow me. He let out a low, irritated growl and moved after me again. We bumped into the lockers and he was on me instantly, hands tugging my shirt up as his lips attached to my collar bone.

“Randy, stop!” my hands came up and pushed against his chest; he stumbled back a few steps and let out another snarl of frustration. His eyes were burning, raking over me as he wiped at his lips. Like he was contemplating coming after me again. I held my ground, ignoring my heart hammering painfully in my chest.

He saw the fear in my stance and made a face as he shook his head, turning away from me. Guilt began to churn in my stomach; he was my boyfriend. Was I being unfair? Was I stupid to actually be afraid right now?

“Guess I’m getting too carried away again,” Randy threw out bitterly, running a hand over his head as he turned away from me. Frustration burned in my chest, aching as I watched him grab his towel and stalk towards the bathroom. “I’ll just take care of myself. Like always.”

“Randy, wait,” I called after him; the bathroom door shut with a thud and cut me off. I muttered a string of curses under my breath as I turned and stormed out of his locker room.

It’s his own damn fault, working himself up like that, I justified. He knew my limits; if he couldn’t hold himself back and respect them, he should know better than to lead himself on. It wasn’t like I was making him tease himself.

The farther I got from his locker room, the more the guilt began to burn. My anger churned into a sick, cold slosh in my chest. Because I knew better too. I knew he couldn’t handle his own teasing and I shouldn’t let him play around with me like that.

You’re just letting him get mad at you. This is your fault, I realized as I slipped into the diva’s locker room. You know what you’re doing and you keep doing it. No wonder he gets so mad.

It was all I could do to keep from sulking as I dropped onto the couch between Bryan and Nikki. It took me a second to realize it was the wrong combination on either side of me, and I looked between the two of them for a second.

“Where’s Brie?” I asked, glancing at Bryan; I swung my head around and eyed Nikki. “And John?”

“Brie’s napping on John’s bus,” Bryan explained; Nikki elbowed my side and pointed at the TV. John was pacing the ring, in the middle of a heated promo.

“God I just love seeing him all worked up like that,” she gushed, putting a hand to her chest as she eyed the flat screen with hunger. “Don’t you just want to jump him?!”

“I can assure you I’ve never felt that desire,” Bryan answered, earning a snort from me as Nikki huffed.

“I was asking Jamie.”

“You seriously think I’m gonna have a different answer?” I scoffed, and she made a face that said, you never know. A grimace of disgust slid over my face and I actually shuddered. “I don’t ever want to think about Papa John like that. That’s just gross. No.”

“I’m just trying to cheer you up,” she sighed, shifting to curl up against me and wrap an arm around me in a lazy hug.

“Why do I need cheering up?” I asked cautiously; I thought I’d been pretty damn good at avoiding the look of frustrated angst I felt creeping up on me. Nikki shrugged and tightened her hold just a bit.

“You seemed off when you came in. We just figured you’d be upset about Randy being jumped by Shield.”

Panic swept through me. Did they know about me and Randy? Had she somehow figured out we were dating? Did she know I was freaking out over my boyfriend because I was terrible at dating and -

“I know we don’t really care for him, but he’s your friend,” Bryan added when I didn’t reply; I glanced to him, still mildly panicking, and he offered a small smile. “We get it. You don’t have to hide that from us.”

“Thanks,” I managed, swallowing down the panic and forcing a smile, immediately falling into their assumption. The whole ‘friend’ thing had totally slipped my mind. I could sulk about Randy and it wouldn’t be questioned; sign me the hell up. Nikki smiled against my arm and gave another squeeze. Even when she didn’t know exactly what was going on, she knew when I needed a hug.

“You know what’ll cheer you up?”

I hmm’d and glanced down at her, raising a brow. She gave a devilish smirk and wiggled her brows at me.

“Wanna go find Damien and Cody?”

I was off the couch in an instant, pulling her with me as we stumbled for the door. Bryan let out a groan and looked back at us.

“Don’t encourage her, Nicole!”

“Too late!” I called back, all but sprinting out of the locker room, Nikki’s hand in mine. “Okay, just past nine. They’ll both be in the break room eating dinner.”

“How do you know this?” my best friend asked hesitantly. “Never mind. I don’t want to know.”

“You don’t,” I promised, all but flinging the door of the break room open. The only person inside was still just Sheamus; he looked as perplexed as he had earlier.

“Still looking for Orton?”

“No,” I hedged, ignoring the pang in my chest at his words. “You seen Damien and Cody?”

This time, he nodded and pointed to the screen.

“They’re out harassin’ the Rock. Diggin’ themselves into a hole again.”

My heart actually jumped and I turned to Nikki, hope on my face. She caught on immediately and groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Do you have to?”

“I need to. I can’t walk away from this.”

Nikki hesitated for a moment longer, then dropped my hand and moved away from the door, gesturing for me to leave.

“I won’t hold you back from your dreams,” she teased, and I threw my hands up in the air in victory. I turned to go the opposite way of the stage, but Nikki snagged my hand.

“What, you’re not gonna go out there?”

“Not without shaving cream and glitter I’m not,” I scoffed, and Nikki rolled her eyes. As she headed back to the locker room, I made a detour to the wardrobe room.

It wasn’t my fault they hadn’t found my bag of contraband. It was so much easier storing my pranking stuff somewhere John couldn’t find it and scold me about. I snagged a few things, hid the bag again, and took off for the ring.

“So let me make a suggestion,” Cody sneered on screen as I reached gorilla. “Why don’t you get out of this ring before you don’t have any choice?”

Damien was sitting on the ropes, holding them apart for the Rock to leave through. The veteran wrestler began to chuckle, looking between Rhodes Scholars as he lifted his mic.

“So let the Rock get this straight. You saunter down the ramp, you get in this ring - the people’s ring - dressed like this, dead caterpillar on your lip-“

The crowd erupted and Cody whirled to defend his facial hair as Damien puffed up his chest, ready to defend his friend.

That was my cue.

“That wasn’t funny!” Damien hollered, looking around at the crowd as I came out onto stage. The fans spotted me and cheered louder; the tag team in the ring was oblivious, but the Rock glanced my direction.

I’d never talked to the legend before, but something told me he’d be up for harassing the men he was in the ring with. I lifted my own mic as I started down the ramp, tossing the shaving cream as I went.

“You’re right, Dames, it wasn’t,” I agreed; he whirled so fast he almost fell over. “It was hilarious!”

Cody’s face leveled into an unamused scowl as I climbed the apron, but Damien began to back away, pointing a shaking finger at me. When I hopped over the top rope, he actually shrieked.

“Get away from us! Get away! Back!” he scolded, swiping his hand at me like he was shooing a dog. I glanced at the Rock and nodded at the robed man in front of us.

“Sorry to interrupt. You mind if I…?” I tossed the shaving cream again and then gave Cody a wicked smile. He actually gasped and took a step back. The Rock swept his hand out in front of him in invitation.

As I turned to face them, Damien jumped between myself and Cody and held up a hand to keep me back.

“Jeanette! Jeanette, no. Let's be civil. I know it's hard for a person of your… disadvantage –"

With a shrug, I lifted the can and sprayed shaving cream in his face. He let out an ungodly shriek and leapt back into Cody, flailing wildly. Cody gave a shout of alarm and barely caught his friend before he hit the mat.

Rock and I burst out laughing as we watched the display. He gave me a nod of approval as I turned my attention to Cody now. The mustached man jammed his own finger at me now, but this time, Rock stepped in.

“Look, man. I just gotta say something. I mean, sweet tap-dancing Jesus, what is on your face?!”

"I am an adult!” Cody exclaimed, gently stroking his facial hair; Rock and I grimaced. “And if I wanna grow a mustache, then I can grow a mustache!"

“Yes, you can," I agreed. "But that still doesn't explain what's all over your lip!"

Cody let out a wordless shriek, diving at me in a blind rage. Rock was between us instantly, catching him in the beginning of a rock bottom. As Cody flailed, the Rock motioned for me and then nodded at the can in my hand. Smirking, I ran forward and emptied the rest of my can all over Cody’s face, then jumped back as the Rock slammed him down onto the mat.

Shaving cream flew up everywhere, covering both our shirts - and Damien’s robe. Having just got the cream out of his eyes, he looked down and gasped in horror.

“My robe! You heathen!”

Rock eyed me as I reached into my back pocket and pulled out a tube of bright pink glitter.

“You’re alright, kid,” he laughed as I pulled the lid off. He stuck out a hand. “The Rock.”

“Jamie Lawless,” I said, shaking his hand briefly before we both turned to Damien. “Here, Dames. Let’s accent those wrestling shorts!”

“No, Jeanette! Don’t you -”

As he moved for me, I threw the entire container of glitter at him. He was absolutely coated in bright pink sparkles, made worse by the shaving cream still on his face. As he shrieked again, the Rock dove forward and slammed him into another rock bottom.

As the crowd cheered and Rock’s music played, I turned to my new-found partner in crime and gave a two-finger salute. He gave a respectful nod and then turned to the crowd as I hopped out of the ring, my mischief completed.

As I got backstage, I had expected to see Nikki waiting for me. Instead, Bryan was leaning against a far wall, watching me with an exasperated smile.

“I told you glitter makes everything better,” I said to him, grinning wide. He snorted and reached out to wipe a smudge of shaving cream off my shoulder.

“Was that completely necessary?”

As I opened my mouth to reply, commotion behind us caught our attention. We turned to see Damien and Cody limping down the stairs, coating in cream and glitter. They didn’t even notice us as they passed, muttering something about heathens and slimy injustice.

“It definitely was,” I noted, watching them leave. As Rock got backstage, he gave me his own salute before heading down a far hallway. “Plus, I made a friend!”

“You sure did,” Bryan assured me, rolling his eyes. “But you do know you’ve got a match in like five minutes, don’t you? ‘Cause getting ready for that may have been more important than harassing Rhodes Scholars.”

“A match? Since when!?”

“Since the show began?” he guessed, giving me a look. “Didn’t you look at the schedule?”

“I got here late, and then the whole Randy thing,” I trailed, tossing the empty can of shaving cream and the empty tube into a nearby trashbin. “Well, shit. Who am I against?”

I hadn’t even warmed up today! I mean, unless you counted circling the building in a sprint looking for Randy… I glanced down at myself and quickly wiped the shaving cream off me. Bryan was right. If I was up against a formidable opponent, I should have been getting ready.

And then 3MB’s music hit.

When my head snapped up, Bryan let out a laugh at my expression.

“Man, you should’ve seen your face! What, you think you’d be up against Big Show or something?”

“I’d actually prefer that! I mean, I finally start getting matches each week and it’s against freaking 3MB?” I groaned, dropping my head back as Bryan patted my arm.

“This is karma for constantly harassing the other superstars. I’ll see you after the match,” he told me, guiding me towards gorilla; I gave him an unamused scowl as he ruffled my hair and headed back to the locker room. As my music hit, I took a deep breath and did one last check for shaving cream before I jogged up the steps. I burst out onto the stage and was greeted by a barrage of cheers.

“And his opponent, from Ouray, Colorado weighing 117lbs… Jamie Lawless!”

As I danced down the ramp, I paused to slap a few high fives and observe the boys in the ring. Sure, I’d be facing one, but everyone and their grandma knew it’d end up being a 3-on-1 by the end of it.

And Randy was griping that I didn’t help him, I thought bitterly to myself as I hopped onto the apron, vaulting into the ring. Where’s MY backup?

3MB smirked at me from their corner as I turned and readied myself for the fight. The bell rang, and the ref motioned for one of them to come forward. Heath flipped his hair out of his face and sauntered forward, grinning dangerously at me.

“Let’s see how tough you really are, princess,” he sneered, stalking forward and beckoning me towards him. Steeling my expression, I shot forward and moved to intercept him. Heath leapt back, hit the mat, and rolled out of the ring before I’d managed to get a hand on him.

As he backed up with Jinder and Drew on either side, I threw my hands up.

“Slater! Get your pathetic ass back in this ring!”

“Language, Lawless,” the ref warned, putting a hand on my shoulder to move me from the ropes. All the while, 3MB continued their stupid laughs and sneers from the ramp.

“Think I’d waste my time on you?” Heath guffawed, elbowing his friends as they made faces at me. I jammed my hands on my hips and turned to the ref.

“I’m getting him back in this ring,” I warned, and the ref shook his head.

“Not a chance. You start a brawl outside the ring, it’s a disqualification!”

“Says who?!” I demanded, staring at him in disbelief. The ref scowled at me and tugged at his jersey to make a point.

“Says me. Now keep it in the ring, or else -”

The mat shivered, giving me just enough of a heads up. I whirled towards the ramp just as Heath jumped to his feet, lunging for me. On instinct I spun and planted a hard heel kick to his chest, sending him hard onto his back.

As Jinder and Drew rushed for the apron, I jumped over the gasping ginger and slammed into the ropes, making them leap back.

“Three on one, lets do it!” I challenged, holding my arms out. The other two hedged away from me, sharing questioning looks with one another. Keeping an eye on them, I backed up to Heath and dropped down. Scooping a leg, I leaned myself back over his chest, smirking at his ‘backup’.

“One… two… three!”

The bell rang, and I let his leg drop instantly. Seriously? My entrance had been longer than that! I shook my head as I laughed, getting back to my feet and staring down Drew and Jinder.

There was movement behind me; I tensed and turned, ready to be jumped. Heath, however, wasn’t even on his feet. Still whimpering from my kick, he dragged himself past me to the apron. Drew scooped him up and the three of them backed up the ramp as I gave a two finger salute.

“It was almost unfair, putting Slater into a match with Jamie Lawless,” Cole laughed on commentary. JBL snorted and said,

“Well, if you ask me, she’s lucky she caught the band on an off night.”

“Off night my ass,” I called to JBL, earning an alarmed look from the old wrestler as the ref gave me another warning on language. After throwing my hands up to the crowd, I vaulted the ropes and jogged backstage myself.

“Eager to get back to your mischief?” Bryan laughed, passing by me with Kane. We slapped high-five as we passed one another; Kane gave me a fleeting sneer.

“Me? Mischief?” I feigned, turning to grin at my best friend. “Speaking of, you guys need one more?”

Kane made a noise that sounded almost like a snort of amusement, shaking his head as he stalked up the steps and headed onto stage.

“What he said,” Bryan told me, giving a cheeky smile before he followed his angry red tag partner onto stage. With a dejected huff, I turned around and made my way towards the locker room.

Okay, so maybe a part of me missed being Team No-Less. Sue me. What was better than teaming with your best friend and kicking ass?

Making up with my boyfriend, I mused, veering down a side hall and taking the short cut to his locker instead. Again we’d barely spoken all day, and now we were in a fight. I hardly saw him as it was, and maybe if we could just talk instead of freakin’ argue…

I leaned on the wall beside the door and gave a few hard knocks. After nearly a minute, I knocked again and leaned closer.

“Randy? It’s me. Can we talk?”

Nothing.

Tentatively, I pressed my fingers to the door and eased it open just a hair. The bench his bag was on earlier was empty. I carefully leaned inside and glanced around; totally empty. I let the door shut with a thud as I turned to leave.

Dean was leaning on the wall across from me.

“Orton left a while ago,” he informed me; I fought to keep the hurt off my face as I shrugged my shoulders.

“I figured. Just thought I’d check before I packed up.”

“Guess you weren’t listenin’ last time. You’re a shit liar, darlin’,” he told me, beckoning me to follow with a quick jerk of his head. What else did I have to do? I jammed my hands in my pockets and followed him down the hall.

“What’ve I got to lie about?” I asked, sneaking a glance up at him. He did the same to me and answered,

“We really gonna do this?”

“I’m not doing anything,” I pointed out simply. “Except, y’know, recovering from my 3-on-1 handicap match I just won.”

Dean actually let out a bark of laughter and shook his head as I feigned hurt.

“That was more of like a half’a one-on-one, Finch.”

“What, no congratulations?” The smirk that came over Dean’s face made my heart skip a beat, and I had to look away before I got lost in it.

“You beat Heath Slater. You really braggin’ about that?”

“Eh,” I made a face a face of agreement. “Good point. So how about I brag about fighting off the Shield?”

Dean snorted and glanced down at me in amusement. I gave a cheeky smile as he shook his head.

“You didn’t fight us off, Finch. We showed you mercy and left without kickin’ both your asses.” As I made a noise of disagreement, Dean nudged my arm with his. “So now that you beat around the bush, you gonna tell me what’s up with you an’ Orton?”

The smile faded off my face and I felt my shoulders sag just a bit. Dean came to a stop and tugged me back as I went to keep walking. I kept my eyes fixed to the ground and heard Dean let out a sigh.

“What happened?”

“I screwed up again,” I admitted, finally getting off my chest how I’d been feeling all night. Now that Dean was in on the secret, he was pretty much the only one I could vent to. “I let him get carried away and then I shut him down.”

Dean hmm’d and then guided us over to a crate along the wall. He hopped up onto it and patted the space next to him in invitation. Slightly less graceful, I scrambled up and settled next to him. Our thighs rested against each other, and his massive arm pressed up against me; subtly as I could, I leaned against him. He was comforting; he eased the frustration and the guilt running around my head and let me just think.

“So, you tellin’ me he got himself worked up an’ now he’s pissed it didn’t go further?”

“Yeah,” I said meekly, twisting my fingers together in my lap. “I know better. I know he’s having a hard time holding back, and I shouldn’t lead him on like -”

“Finch,” he cut in, voice sharper than I’d been expecting. My head snapped up and I met his gaze; he looked angry, but not at me. He reached out and took my hands in one of his, stopping my fidgeting. “You ain’t leadin’ him on.”

“I let him kiss me, and we flirt back and forth -”

“Leadin’ him on would be gettin’ him in bed an’ then just walkin’ away,” he argued, shaking his head. His thumb started a slow rhythm against the back of one of my hands. “You been up front with him about how far you wanna go. If he’s gonna be a fuckin’ idiot and get himself goin’, that ain’t on you.”

“He’s my boyfriend,” I started, and Dean’s face darkened.

“Don’t fuckin’ matter. That don’t give him the right to do whatever he wants with ya. An’ it don’t give him the right to be a fuckin’ dick to you when he gets upset.”

“I just… he told me before we started dating that I lead him on. And I had no idea I was. So now when he says stuff like that, I can’t help thinking it’s true. That I’m just being a jerk to him.”

Dean was quiet for a couple moments, eyes fixed on the wall ahead. He kept his hand folded over mine, thumb still running over one absently. He let out a slow breath and finally said quietly,

“Orton’s a grown man. He’s old enough to know his own limits, an’ you were upfront an’ gave him yours. If he ain’t strong enough to control himself, that’s his own fault. Trust me when I tell ya, it ain’t you leadin’ him on, darlin’. It’s him bein’ selfish.”

“But I mean, shouldn’t I be more open to him? Shouldn’t I, y’know... “ my face flushed and I had to look away from him. “I dunno, have sex?”

“Is that what you want?” he asked, voice almost so quiet I missed it.

“No,” I said, just as softly. “At least, not right now. I dunno. I can’t explain why, it just… I don’t feel right about it.”

“Don’t do any shit you don’t wanna do. Trust me. It’s your body. An’ if he really cares about ya an’ respects ya, he’ll understand that.”

I pulled my hand away from Dean’s, and felt him tense. I could tell he thought he’d done something wrong; he turned to me fast to stop the escape he thought I was making, so when I moved towards him and wrapped my arms around him, he froze in surprise.

“Thank you,” I said into his chest, taking a deep breath and letting the scent of mint-and-musk wreathe around me. He recovered a heartbeat later and looped his arms around my body, tucking me closer.

I felt his cheek rest against the top of my head as I listened to his heart beating steadily beneath my own.

“‘Course, Finch. You gonna be okay?”

“Yeah,” I sighed, reluctantly pulling away. After the crazy night I’d had, Dean’s calming hug had been exactly what I needed. His hands trailed over my arms and back as he did the same, like it was hard for him too.

Don’t go down that path, Jamie, I warned myself as we both hopped off the crate. We turned to each other and offered gentle, honest smiles.

“You can, uh, text me, if y’need me,” he offered, sounding like he wasn’t completely sure of what he was saying. I quirked a brow and he admitted, “I don’t really do the whole textin’ thing much.”

“Don’t worry old man,” I teased, giving him a wide smile; his face drew into a scowl as I headed back down the hall. “I’ll text you and bring you into the current decade.”

He flipped me off and gave wry smile before he turned and headed down the hall. I giggled to myself as I headed the opposite direction. I still had to deal with Randy’s temper tantrum, but looking forward to texting Dean made the night seem a little easier.

--

“Ugh, I missed you so much,” Nikki whined, nudging me with her shoulder as she grabbed another cotton ball. “Like, seriously. We never get time together anymore.”

I hummed in agreement as I took another bite of pie, looking between the cheesy infomercial and Nikki’s nail work.

“I missed you too,” I agreed, and then took a breath before adding, “but I think you had an ulterior motive for tonight.”

Though she never stopped cleaning off the nail polish, I didn’t miss the flicker of panic over her face. She carefully set the cotton ball down and then looked over at me. The smirk on my face couldn’t be helped.

“What do you mean?”

“Let me guess. Bryan told Brie I was upset earlier, and she thinks I’m hiding something again,” I sighed, and got my answer with the grimace that came over Nikki’s face. I groaned and dropped my head into the crook of my arm. “I swear I’m fine -”

“I know you are,” she assured quickly. “You know how Brie is. And, I mean, sometimes it does feel like you’re hiding things from us.”

Again, guilt prickled over my skin. God, I wanted to tell her about Randy. Talk to her about all the shit that kept happening between us and just freaking understand what I was supposed to be doing.

It was only after I’d been silent a few moments did I realize that I hadn’t answered Nikki’s concern, and I realized how bad that looked. Her concerned gaze was burning through me; I blew out a breath and let myself slump over in defeat.

“I’m not hiding anything from you, Nik. I swear,” I added as she gave a snort of disbelief. “I just…”

I had to ask her. I had to understand. I’d gotten Dean’s advice, but I needed my best friend. She knew what to do in situations like this. She’d been there a few times, and she knew how to handle everything a relationship could throw at her.

“Jay, you know you can talk to me. About anything,” she said gently, rolling off her stomach onto her side to face me. “I thought we agreed no more big secrets.”

What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her, I sighed to myself. Gotta give her something though…

“I know, Nik. I’ve just….” I took a breath, and then took a chance. “Can I ask you something? No questions asked?”

About a thousand different emotions flitted over her face, but she gave a quick nod. I was quiet for another few moments, and then asked softly,

“How did you know when you were ready to sleep with someone?”

Nikki let out a breath and then rolled onto her back, scooting to get closer to me. I followed her movements and we laid next to each other, arm to arm, as she thought out her reply.

“When I didn’t have to think it through,” she said simply. I rolled my head to the side to study her as she continued, “my first time, with my ex-husband, I spent like a week debating about it. And even then when we did it, I was still questioning it.”

“Well, I mean, it’s good to debate about it, right?” I edged, trying to justify the constant battle in my mind. Nikki pressed her lips together and shrugged.

“Maybe on the simple stuff, like do I want to bang him on his mom’s couch -”

“Ew, Nicole!”

“I’m just saying!” she giggled, and then rolled her head to face me as well. “But seriously. My first time with Dolph -” I made a face and she snorted. “I mean, it just happened. Nothing held me back. I trusted him, I liked him, and it felt right. It just happened. Same with John. My body just knew I was ready. I didn’t have any hesitation.”

“So you think that if maybe I’m second guessing whether I should or not…”

“If you’re not sure, don’t do it. It doesn’t hurt to wait. It hurts to do it and realize too late it was a mistake. You can’t take it back.”

“I know,” I said softly, curling a little more onto my side and letting out a heavy breath. Nikki moved closer and ran her hand up and down my arm, trying to soothe me.

“Look, you’ll know when you’re ready. And until then, I’m sure Dean respects you enough to -”

I actually let out a squeak of surprise, scrambling to sit up as I stared down at Nikki in a mix of embarrassment and confusion. She gave me a quizzical look as I gaped at her.

“What?! Dean?!”

“Well yeah,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “I mean, you’re both totally obsessed with each other. And I saw you walking with him after your match today.”

“Are you stalking me?!” I threw out, trying to pull attention off Nikki’s ridiculous assumption. I mean, it was ridiculous, right?... Right?!

“I came to look for you and saw him flirting with you on the way to his locker room,” she said simply, though I caught the almost smug look she tried to hide. “Look, I don’t judge. I mean, I actually think he’s not half bad -”

“Nicole I’m saying this once, and I don’t want to ever talk about it again,” I said quickly, running a hand through my hair as I tried to calm myself. “I am not sleeping with Dean.”

As she opened her mouth to dispute that, my phone lit up between us. We both glanced down, and my face turned scarlet. Dean’s name lit up the screen. As Nikki burst out laughing I snagged it and scrambled off the bed.

“What, I can’t text my friends?!” I threw out, admittedly sounding a little too defensive. Nikki rolled onto her stomach to watch me as I guardedly opened Dean’s text.

“So that’s what you kids are calling it now?” she laughed; I flipped her off as I went out onto the balcony and shut the door. With a huff, I settled onto the patio chair and curled up as I typed out my reply to Dean.

Randy hadn’t answered any of my six calls, or two texts. And as I mulled over Nikki’s words, and ran through my own doubts about Randy I’d been harboring since day one, I couldn’t help but think… what if Dean had kissed me back?

As I sent my reply and settled back in the chair, I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head. As much as I wanted to think about that, I couldn’t let myself. Dean didn’t like me that way, no matter what Nikki thought she was seeing.

No matter how bad I wanted him to.

I liked Randy. I did. And even though we had our moments - okay, a lot of moments - I still wanted to be with him. I couldn’t dwell on the past. I couldn’t think about the what-if’s or the way my heart still skipped beats when he smiled at me. I’d moved past that possible point in my life with someone that liked me as much as I liked them.

There were worse things to be than Randy Orton’s girlfriend.
--

Dean

Roman was drivin’ him up the goddamn wall.

The Samoan was hoverin’ just outside his room of the suite, watchin’ him like he was gonna burst into flames any second. Dean didn’t take his eyes off the tv or the hand off his beer. He could fuckin’ feel Roman’s disappointment; he didn’t fuckin’ care. Not anymore. They’d been up and down this fuckin’ road so many times.

“You gonna get some sleep tonight?”

“I get sleep every fuckin’ night,” Dean growled, lifting the beer to his lips. “I ain’t no fuckin’ robot.”

“No, but you’re a dick when you’re tired, and you’re moody enough as it is,” Roman threw back; Dean snorted and gave a small shake of his head. “Look, man. I’m just worried about you.”

“What’s there t’worry about? I ain’t out gettin’ high or fuckin’ shit up. I’m fuckin’ layin’ here watchin’ Cops and tryin’ to get some goddamn relaxation in.”

“You’re hung up over Jamie and she’s driving you crazy,” his best friend said bluntly. “I’m tellin’ you, you either gotta step up or step back. You can’t keep -”

“Roman,” Dean growled, dropping his head back and pinching the bridge of his nose. “I can’t do this every fuckin’ night.”

“Then don’t,” he said simply. Dean blinked at his response, and this time actually glanced up at his friend. “You still like her. She’s with Orton. So you either go after her and win her back, or you step down and let him do whatever the fuck it is he’s doin’. But whatever you pick, you gotta get yourself outta this self-pity shit you’re laying in and man the fuck up.”

Dean opened his mouth to argue, but Roman was in his room with the door shut before he could think of anything to say. Fuckin’ ridiculous. He grabbed the remote and shut off the tv, shoving to his slightly unsteady feet. He stumbled out to the balcony and made a point of slamming it shut as he went.

He wasn’t fuckin’ sulking, okay? He was just pissed. Really fuckin’ pissed. ‘Cause if she had ended up with anyone but Orton, he wouldn’t be tearin’ himself apart. She should’a been with some A-class fucker that gave her all she deserved. Like Cena. Even fuckin’ Goat Face woulda been better for her.

But fucking Orton? Dean let out a snarl of frustration and slumped back against the balcony door, sliding down to the ground. He thunked his head back onto the glass as he finished off the beer.

So maybe Roman had a point.

He went around this bullshit at least four times a day. Kept himself up thinkin’ about all the shit Orton could pull, all the ways his Finch could get hurt. All the ways this coulda been different if he’d just fuckin’ kissed her back.

Maybe she’d be sittin’ here with him, lookin’ up at the stars, laughin’ about her bullshit match with Slater. Maybe he’d be over with her an’ Wonder Twin, just sittin’ back watchin’ her laugh with her best friend.

Maybe they’d be in bed, fallin’ asleep to the sound of the Miami traffic, wrapped up in each other. Nothin’ explicit, at least not tonight. Just her an’ him, holdin’ onto each other as the day came to an end.

He pulled out his phone slowly, tipping his head back down as he tried to pull out of his thoughts. He opened it up and went to his messages, staring at the unopened text he’d been ignoring the last few hours.

From Finch
Hey, old man. How’s it going?

Talkin’ to her outside of wrestlin’, it wasn’t somethin’ he knew if he could handle. Seein’ her each week was hard enough, but talkin’ to her 24/7? It might just fuckin’ break him. The more he talked to her, the harder it was to walk away. He knew how stupid he’d been, okay? Lettin’ his girl get away from him. An’ if she wasn’t with Orton… Shit, she shouldn’t be with Orton.

Seein’ how upset she’d been earlier, that motherfucker makin’ her think she was doin’ somethin’ wrong when he was bein’ a self-centered dick? It was enough to make him lose his goddamn mind. But it made him realize somethin’ too.

He was the one she came to about her shit with him. She trusted him enough to confide in him, even over Wonder Twin. Shit, he was (to her knowledge) the only one who knew about the two of ‘em. An’ he was the only one that had the chance to protect her from whatever bullshit he’d try t’pull.

To Finch
hey finchy. doin good how r u

He hit send and sat back in the chair. He took a few slow, deep breaths an’ kept an eye on the stars above him, tryin’ not to think too hard on all the shit goin’ around his head. An’ a minute later, he had a reply.

From Finch
Not bad. Dealing with Nicole and her need to watch erotic infomercials in the dead of night. What are you up to?

Dean snorted and shook his head. He thought about gettin’ up for another beer, but he was pretty comfy. No need t’get up just yet.

To Finch
just relaxin. sure its not u wantin to watch that shit?

He could fuckin’ hear her snort of amusement from there, swear he could. He settled back against the glass, gettin’ a little more comfortable as he waited for her next reply. Every text he got from her settled something else inside him. Soothed him. Made him feel like she an’ him had this secret little world they were in, where it didn’t matter about Orton or an unreturned kiss or a whole fuckload of what-if’s.

All that mattered was the few hours he got alone with Finch. An’ the sleep he got because of it. Sure, he woke up damp and sore from sleepin’ on the balcony. An’ Roman had this smug smile Dean was about ready to rip off his face, but whatever.

‘Cause he’d decided somethin’ out last night, in that brief moment between readin’ her new text an’ fallin’ asleep before 4am for the first time in months.

He was gettin’ his girl back.