Title: Five Times Eve Put Roman in the Friend Zone (and the One Time He Figured Out Why)

Author: Karen U/revivingophelia

Pairing/Character: Eve Torres, Roman Reigns, appearances by various others

Disclaimer: no one you recognize belongs to me

Rating: PG/K+

Summary: the title pretty much says it all

Spoilers: set in the summer of 2014, in a world where Eve is the new RAW GM.

Warnings: some mild language

Sorry about this. It just sort of happened.

He smiled slightly at the sight of the new RAW General Manager, then hurried forward as he realized that the files she was currently carrying were about to fall out of her hands. He got there just in time, catching the stack before it could fall over, helping her to steady it. She blinked up at him in surprise, then offered him a smile.

"Thanks. I think I was just about to make a mess," Eve Torres said with a shake of her head, the former diva - and now person of authority, though it didn't seem she was part of The Authority - wrinkling up her nose in a way that he found far too adorable.

"No problem. What is all that, anyway?" Roman Reigns questioned, making sure that she had everything under control before he stepped back, giving her a little space.

"Personnel files, actually. For people in NXT. Even though the roster isn't split any longer, we still run two sets of house shows. I'm in charge of one set of them, and I was told that I could use some NXT talent to round out the card for them."

"RAW General Manager *and* in charge of half the live events? That's a lot to put on one person."

"It's not like I don't have experience in working in the administration, though," Eve replied, and Roman nodded, knowing that was true. After all, she had been part of Laurinaitis's regime (though Roman hadn't been on the main roster for that), and she'd also been Booker T's assistant on SmackDown for a time... And it seemed liked she been the one to do most of the work back then anyway.

"Point taken," Roman said after a moment, then gave her a smile. "Still, it's a lot of responsibility."

"It is. But I'm up to the task," Eve told him, then held up the files that were still balanced in her arms, though a little less precariously than before. "I should really be going. I've got work to do. But thanks for the catch."

"No problem. You know, everyone has to relax sometime... Maybe after the show tonight, we could go and grab a drink?" Roman asked her, watching as the woman froze for a moment, her eyes going a little wide in surprise... But then the expression was gone, and she was giving him a smile.

"Actually, I have plans tonight. Naomi asked me to join her and Jimmy and Jey and a few others to grab something to eat. I'm sure you would be welcome, too, if you wanted to come. You know, as friends," Eve said, a little more emphasis than Roman would have liked on the word 'friends', and the man shook his head.

"No, that's cool. I should have asked earlier. Maybe some other time?"

A slight smile. "Maybe," the new General Manager said before ducking down the hallway... Roman watching after her until she was gone.

"I think this place would be better if I was drunk," Eve said as she looked around at the blinking lights hanging all over the club they were in. The place was divided into several different rooms, and this one, with its twinkling lights and fake snow and what appeared to be sprigs of mistletoe all over the place, appeared to be stuck in a perpetual winter... More specifically a perpetual Christmas. Thankfully, they drew the line at decorations, because the music was normal, and Eve wasn't entirely sure that she could take it if they were playing Christmas music, especially in early July.

"I think it's kind of amazing. But that could be because I *am* drunk," Nikki Bella declared, and Eve shook her head, taking a sip of her Diet Coke, then shooting a look at the current divas' champion and rolling her eyes, causing Paige to laugh.

"It's not so bad. If you like this sort of thing," the younger woman said diplomatically. "It's very... festive."

"That's one way of putting it," Eve muttered, looking up at the twinkling lights. Still, it was better than the first room of the club they'd been in... That one'd had strobe lights that had been bad enough that Eve wouldn't have been surprised if they'd induced seizures in people before. Paige and Eve had taken one look at the lights, looked at each other, then cringed and dragged Nikki back out of the room... Nikki had then proceeded to lead them up the stairs to this room, the woman insisting on staying once they got there. Paige had decided to make the most of it by getting a mug of the peppermint hot chocolate that the place had to go with the winter theme and, given the fact that the woman had been asked for her ID upon ordering it, it was obvious that the drink still managed to have some booze in it, so Eve had stuck with Diet Coke while Nikki had ordered something fruity and highly alcoholic.

"Hey, look, Naomi's here!" Nikki chirped suddenly, the diva standing up and waving at the other woman, and Eve immediately looked over, noting that the other woman was indeed on her way over, Jimmy Uso in tow... And Roman Reigns trailing behind him. Not too surprising, really, since Roman had recently teamed up with the Usos to take on the Wyatt family and the men had seemed to get along then.

"Grab some chairs, we'll make some room," Paige declared as the other made their way over, and they quickly did just that, Eve standing to grab another chair and shift hers over, freezing when Nikki suddenly let out a joyous whoop.

"Eve's under the mistletoe. Jimmy, you're closest, you have to kiss her!" Nikki declared, and while Naomi arched a brow at that - because it was obvious that Nikki appeared to already be drunk - Jimmy just rolled his eyes and leaned over, pressing a kiss to Eve's cheek.

"No big deal between friends," the man said with a shrug before he stepped away, going to sit by Naomi, the group doing some more shifting, and then...

"Ooh, now Roman's under the mistletoe... Eve, you're next to him, you have to kiss him," Nikki stated, and while Naomi muttered something about ripping down the mistletoe, Eve turned to look at Roman.

"No big deal between friends, right?" she intoned, repeating Jimmy's words from a moment ago before leaning over, her hand coming up to touch Roman's face... And then she kissed his cheek, turning to Nikki as she sat back. "Happy now?" she asked, the group falling into conversation then, none of them really noticing the way that Roman kept looking at Eve, just the smallest bit of disappointment on his face.

She stood with her back against the wall, her arms crossed over her chest as she glared angrily at the man in front of her.

"If you don't give me the match I want-"

"You'll what?" Eve broke in. "Ruin my show? Well, if you try that, I'll just put you in a handicap match against... Well, I'm sure I can find plenty of people in the company that would like to have a shot at you. You aren't very good at making friends, Randy. I'm sure you've noticed that by now."

"I want a title shot."

"I gave you one. I gave you a one-on-one shot for the title to make up for the fact that you never got a rematch after you lost it at WrestleMania," Eve tossed back. "And in case you've forgotten, you lost that match because you're a hothead that managed to get disqualified."

"Then give me a no-DQ match for the title," he demanded, and Eve arched a brow at him.

"Earn another title shot, and I might do that. Not for you, but because the fans deserve an actual end to the title match. But until then... Tough luck for you," the RAW GM said, not backing down when Orton reached out toward her, his hand just starting to curl around her arm as someone else slammed into him, shoving him against the wall.

"Don't even think about touching her," Roman Reigns ground out, his expression angry as he pressed his arm against the throat of the other man. Orton glared at him in return, reaching out to shove him away, then rubbing at his throat.

"What's it to you, anyway? Why do you care?"

"Maybe because he's a real man and not a jackass," Eve muttered, glaring at Orton. "You want a match tonight? You've got one. You'll find out who your opponent is when you get into the ring. You win that match, and I *might* consider putting you in the tournament that I have planned to determine the new number one contender. You were going to be in it anyway, but now... You have to earn it. Starting tonight. Now get the hell out of my office."

Orton glared at her, looking like he wanted to take a step toward her, but apparently the presence of Reigns was enough to keep him from doing so, the man just giving her a death glare before heading out of the room, leaving Eve and Roman alone. Reigns looked over at the woman.

"You okay?"

She tucked some hair behind her ears. "I'm fine. Orton was just being his usual self... Which is never pleasant," the woman said, shaking her head with a frown. Roman started to take a step toward her, but the woman took a step back, heading to her desk, and Roman frowned as he looked at her.

"You know, if you need someone to face Orton tonight... I'd be more than happy to," he said, and Eve looked up, blinking at him in surprise for a moment, then giving him a smile.

"Thanks for the offer, Roman. You're a good friend. And I appreciate the help just now. But I've actually got someone else in mind for who Orton will be facing tonight. And trust me, he won't be happy about it."

"Oh. Well... I guess I should leave you alone. I'll, uh... See you later?"

"Sure. Oh, and Roman?"

"Yeah?"

"That tournament for the next number one contender? You're definitely going to be in it."

He gave a quick knock on the door of Eve's office, going over in his mind what he was going to say to her as he stepped inside the room... Then froze as he realized that Eve wasn't alone in the room. The woman was standing behind her desk, looking down at some paperwork, and Seth Rollins was standing on the other side, his arms crossed over his chest. Flicking a look at the door where he was standing, Eve quickly straightened up, then gave both men a measured look.

"There will be no knock-down, drag-out fights in my office. Do I make myself clear?" the RAW General Manager questioned, her tone stern, and Rollins actually smirked slightly at that, the man holding up his hands.

"Hey, I've got nothing planned. If Roman can behave himself, so can I. But if he throws a punch, all bets are off."

Roman arched a brow. "Not here to cause trouble. Though I have to wonder what you're doing in here," the man said, glaring at his former Shield teammate, and Rollins let out a short laugh.

"What am *I* doing in here? This is the GM's office. She called me in here to tell me what my match is tonight," Seth replied, and Eve cleared her throat, drawing the attention of both men back to her.

"That's true. I'm starting the tournament for the new number one contender tonight and, after some consideration about who has the win-loss record to earn a spot in it, I've decided on the first round," she said. "Seth, you'll be facing Bad New Barrett tonight."

"I can handle that," he said, then shot a look at Reigns. "You know, I know why I'm here, but I have to wonder why it is that you're in this office." He smirked. "Unless there's something I don't know about."

Eve arched a brow. "Roman's a friend. Something that, given the way you've acted lately, you know nothing about. Now, I put you in the tournament because you deserve it, Rogue, but now that I've told you what your match assignment for the night is, you're welcome to leave."

"Did you just call me Rogue?"

Eve smirked. "A gender-swapped version, I suppose. I mean, you've got the hair, and your new ring gear is basically an X-Men uniform."

Rollins shrugged. "I was always more of a fan of Magneto, myself," he replied, heading for the door, then looking back at them. "Just friends, huh?"

"Some men are capable of being just friends with a woman. Roman is one of them," Eve replied, and Roman stiffened slightly at the look that Rollins was sending him because, despite everything that had happened, the younger man still knew him far too well.

Seth laughed. "Whatever you say," he replied, then slipped out the door, leaving Roman and Eve alone... Eve turning her attention to the big man.

"Why did you stop by tonight?" she asked. "I didn't call for you, and your first-round match for the tournament isn't until Main Event tomorrow night, so..."

Roman cleared his throat, figuring it would be a bad idea to tell her the real reason he was stopping by when she'd just been so clear about the fact that they were just friends. "Nothing, really... I, uh... Just curious to know who else was in the tournament, I guess. Now I know at least two others in it. Including Rollins."

"Like him or not, he had the wins to put him in it. And so did you. As for everyone else in the tournament... You'll just have to wait and see. Is there anything else?" she asked, and he shook his head.

"Not right now."

He took a deep breath, the man hating that he felt a little nervous. It was stupid, really; he was never nervous. Especially when it came to women. If someone had told him that the thought of asking out the RAW General Manager - on an actual date, not just something that she could quickly designate as just being 'friends' - would make him nervous, he would have laughed at them. But here he was...

Shaking his head slightly, Roman made his way toward the door to her office, a stutter in his step when he saw her door swing open. He frowned slightly when he saw Dean Ambrose emerge, but then he shook it off, realizing that Dean was probably just finding out about his match for the night... Ever since Dean had been the one put in the match against Orton the night that Roman had found Orton being an ass to Eve in her office, Ambrose had been in a bit of a feud with the older man... Likely because Dean had rather gleefully gotten himself disqualified in that match thanks to a bunch of chair shots he'd unloaded on the Viper. And while Roman would have liked to have been the one to take on Orton himself, he understood why Eve might have chosen Dean instead. The guy was kind of crazy and could be very dangerous when unleashed... Plus, he really didn't like Orton.

As Ambrose headed off down the hall, Roman watched his old teammate for a moment, vaguely thinking that he should try and get together with him again soon. They saw each other at work, yeah, but despite their whole thing about still being brothers, they didn't hang out with each other very much anymore at all... Which kind of made Seth's assertion that he'd destroyed the Shield to be true. Once Rollins was gone, Roman and Dean had gone their separate ways, too.

"Worry about that later," Roman muttered to himself, then headed for the door to Eve's office, giving a quick knock before entering the room... She turned quickly at the sound, a wide smile on her face that he thought faltered for just the briefest moment before she got it under control.

"Roman. Hi. How are you?"

"I'm fine... It's just, uh... I kind of heard a rumor that someone's having a birthday. Namely you," he said, and she gave a bit of a shrug.

"Not until Thursday, actually."

"Still pretty close. And it's not like we're on the road on Thursday anyway," he replied, then cleared his throat, squaring his shoulders a bit. "So, uh, I was wondering if you'd let me take you out to dinner this evening after the show. I know it's short notice, and it would be kind of a late dinner, but we are on the west coast, so RAW's done filming by eight, so-"

"Are you rambling?" Eve questioned, and Roman paused, flinching slightly, because yes, he was indeed rambling.

"Maybe a little."

"And you're asking me out?"

"Yes. On a date," he told her, watching as she flinched slightly, then took a step back. "Eve?"

"I... I actually already have plans, and... Roman, you're a great guy, but... I'm not..."

"You're not interested."

"It's just... I thought we were friends."

"We were," Reigns replied, taking a step back, then heading for the door... Freezing when he heard her voice.

"I didn't mean to... If you thought... I didn't mean to send you any signals."

"You really didn't. You kept saying we were friends. I just..." He shrugged, going to leave again, pausing once more when Eve spoke.

"I know that Nikki and Naomi are planning a surprise party for me tomorrow night after Main Event. Paige accidentally let it slip. And I know you were invited." She paused. "You're not going to be there, are you?"

"I don't know."

He felt like kind of a jerk. After all, time and again, Eve had referred to him as a friend. Nothing more, nothing less. It wasn't really her fault that he'd been interested and she hadn't, and it had been clear that she felt bad about turning him down... Which really wasn't fair. She shouldn't have to feel bad about not being interested in someone. She'd already ended up in a huge mess a couple of years before thanks to someone's inability to accept that she only wanted to be friends... It hadn't been fair to her then, and it wasn't fair now.

Shaking his head, Roman made his way through the hallway, having already checked Eve's office to find that she wasn't there. Hopefully, she wasn't gone already, because he wanted to let her know that he was still willing to be friends, if she was good with that. So he headed out to the parking garage, hoping to catch her there before she left, the man lengthening his stride when he saw her heading toward a car... Then freezing when he saw someone else exit the car, making his way over to her and taking her things from her.

Dean Ambrose.

Roman stood very still as he watched them, Eve laughing at something Dean said, the man taking her things from her and heading over to the car, putting them in the trunk. Ambrose was dressed in jeans, but he'd changed into a button-up shirt, his hair actually somewhat tame for the moment, and Roman couldn't help but suddenly realize that there was a reason beyond finding out his match that Dean had been in Eve's office earlier... Not to mention a likely reason that Dean had been the one that Eve had put in the match to teach Orton a lesson not too long before.

Still a little surprised by this turn of events, Roman stood quietly as he watched Dean reach out, the man tucking some hair behind Eve's ear... Ambrose then looking away for a moment, perhaps feeling eyes on them, because his gaze immediately went to Roman, and the big man froze, not sure how Ambrose would react. But his former teammate actually smiled, lifting a hand in greeting, and making it pretty clear that Dean didn't know that Roman had asked Eve out earlier that night. Eve probably hadn't told him because she didn't want to cause a problem between the two men.

"Hey, Ro. What's up?" Dean said as the other man approached, and Roman shrugged his shoulders.

"Not much," he replied, then arched a brow. "What are you two up to?"

"Well, Eve's birthday's in a few days, but I'm taking her out now. It took talking to a Bella twin to find out what her favorite restaurant here in Seattle is, so..."

"You could have just asked me," Eve said, and Dean shrugged.

"I was trying to surprise you. But you're nosy and found out anyway-"

"I found out because Nikki can be a blabbermouth," Eve interrupted, smiling at the man, and Roman swallowed hard, taking a slight step back.

"So, uh, you two..."

"For a few weeks," Eve replied. "We were, uh, keeping it quiet."

"But we figure that, with the surprise party that Eve's not supposed to know about tomorrow night... Everyone will find out then," Ambrose said with a shrug. "Nikki told me that you were invited. You'll be there, right?" he asked, and while Eve bit her lip, looking slightly uncomfortable, Roman nodded.

"Of course I will. Eve and I are friends, right?" he said, then looked over at the woman. "Be sure to practice your surprised face between now and then, okay?"

"I'll try," the woman replied, and Reigns stepped back.

"Have fun tonight, you two. See you tomorrow," he said, and Ambrose nodded, wrapping an arm around Eve's shoulders as the two headed for the car... Roman watching as they got in, then drove away, the man taking a deep breath and squaring his shoulders as he considered the fact that Eve and Dean were apparently together, but he still had a chance to be a friend to them both.

Just friends. He could handle that.

He hoped.

The End