A/N: Roman's POV! :)
Roman waited a few moments to make sure Dean was asleep. He smiled, brushing Dean's hair out of his face. He'd always considered himself Dean's older brother. Dean hadn't had the best childhood ever, and Roman had always been there to pick up the pieces.
He would readily admit that he'd had a crush on Dean when they were younger, but Dean had never expressed an interest in him, had never expressed that he was anything other than straight. So Roman, stubbornly standing with him through everything, was left to pine.
And then came Randy. Dean had started watching wrestling when he was seven years old, and had relentlessly tried to get Roman into it as well. Roman, however, hadn't gotten into it till nearly three years later, and the first match he ever watched was Randy Orton and Triple H vs. the Dudley Boyz.
He still remembered turning to Dean, eyes wide, and asking who the tall man with tattoos was. Randy was everything Roman could want in a guy and every type of famous that made it impossible. It sucked, but at least he had a crush that distracted him from Dean.
The fact that Dean was straight had always made Roman feel a little bit better, that small, comforting voice in the back of his head that said that Dean wouldn't go for any guy, that it wasn't just him.
And then there was Seth. Roman saw it the night Seth debuted. 2012, November in Indianapolis, and Seth had come rushing in like a bat out of hell and beaten Ryback and Cena for CM Punk to keep his title, and Dean had his eyes glued to the screen. Three years later, Dean swore he was straight, swore he just liked Seth's wrestling. Dean was lying, but Roman knew the truth. He was just waiting for Dean to admit it.
It hurt Roman, just a bit, to see Dean react that way. But it only took a few matches with Randy involved, and Roman hadn't looked at Dean twice.
They both had impossible crushed; they'd both known it. And so, while their relationship was purely platonic, they'd always been closer than most.
Roman had liked it that way. But when Dean had admitted to having Seth's number, a thought, a small thing in his mind had sparked. Seth knew Randy. He'd forced the thought down, telling himself that Dean didn't even had Seth's real number, that it was a joke, and that even if it wasn't Randy didn't know Roman existed.
And then it wasn't a joke. And Roman's hope soared just that little bit more.
He was happy for Dean. He really was. And the second Dean realized what he truly wanted, the second he stopped lying to himself, Roman wanted to be there for it.
At the same time, he had to tell himself constantly that he couldn't, wouldn't, take advantage of Dean having Seth's personal number. Not even at the expense of talking to Randy Orton.
So he'd resorted to watching over Dean's shoulder all day; every time he'd pull out his phone Roman was there. It was more for a laugh than anything else, but when he saw that Seth had mentioned him, for the second time no less, Roman could hardly control himself. And when Seth had texted Randy's number, well, Roman was surprised he hadn't throttled Dean.
There had, admittedly, been that small seed of doubt in his mind, that the whole thing was a trick, but it had vanished the second he'd sent his first text.
Randy Orton
New Message: Sunday, March 29, 2018
6:43 PM
RR: Hi.
RR: Um, I'm Roman.
RR: Seth gave me this number.
RO: Roman?
RO: Yeah, I've heard a lot about you. ;)
RR: All good, I hope.
RO: Of course.
RO: So, how old are you?
RO: Whoa. That sounded bad.
RO: Sorry.
RR: No, it's fine!
RR: Um, I'm 19.
RO: You're in college?
RR: No...
RR: I may or may not have been held back when I was little.
RR: I'm a high school senior.
RO: Oh, okay.
RR: Why do you ask...?
RO: I was just curious.
RO: Told you it sounded bad.
RR: Maybe a little.
RR: ;)
RO: Ouch.
RO: Gtg, sorry.
RR: Oh...
RR: Text me later?
RO: For sure.
RR: Promise...?
RO: Promise. :)
And then WrestleMania began, and Roman had almost, almost, forgotten about Randy for the time being.
Once he was sure Dean was asleep, Roman pulled out his phone and stared at his texts. He didn't understand how it was possible that both he and Dean now had their crushes' personal numbers.
Roman was still as doubtful as ever. Sure, he had Randy's number. And that was great. That was... beyond amazing. But it didn't mean Randy liked him. Hell, Randy was straight as far as Roman knew. So right now, Roman didn't have a chance. He just hoped that would change.
A/N: I hope you liked this chapter. This is my favorite and, in my opinion, best chapter to date. So enjoy! Also it was long. Be proud ;)