"Dean."

He called out.

"Dean?"

The young boy was blank until he felt an unfamiliar touch, tugging at his sleeve.

And he snapped out of it, flinching, his body instinctively dragging away from the sensation rapidly, "Huh?" His breathing quickened a bit, but thankfully not enough to alert the individual before him.

"Is everything alright?" Then came that familiar sound. Its touch as unknown as the galaxy, but its sound as known as the skies.

"Yeah- yeah." Then teen rubbed at his cheeks lightly, still a bit disoriented.

Roman frowned, gray eyes dull even under the artificial room lights. That was new. They'd always seemed to hold so much; an infinite, bottomless ocean. They held nothing but concern then, preoccupation washing over them rapidly, leaving a vast behind, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, yeah. I spaced out for a second." He blinked rapidly, trying his best to come back from that sudden blur.

Reigns only nodded. Seemed blackouts were a common thing to the boy. This wasn't the first time he'd been present to witness one, and it worried him. Seemed he worried too much when it came to Dean, or Seth.

And boy was he still worried sick about Seth. How was he? Was he still sick? It was almost a week since he'd been to school, only the weekend left until then. He'd thought about him all week, the only time those thoughts left him alone being when he was in tutoring, and he knew it had everything to do with Dean. The rowdy teen was proving with each passing day what a good distraction he was, from anything. He suddenly wondered if Seth was one too.

The man nodded to himself upon realizing the answer and chuckled, loud enough for Dean to hear.

The teen raised his eyebrows in acknowledgement, "What's so funny?"

Roman shook his head rapidly, smile taking a bit more to dissolve, "Nothing."

Ambrose's expression did not change. He did not buy it, but he was still dizzy from being brought back to reality so suddenly. He just decided to leave it alone this time, instead opting for a quick, "Ok."

Reigns continued on, the following silence lasting too long for his liking. He did not want to explain himself as it usually happened when he was with the boy, "So, Dean." He took advantage of the bell ringing and the classroom clearing out in large, heaping waves as an opportunity to give the teen his graded work. He walked over to his desk and shuffled around in the large drawers, the usual.

The boy on his part began putting his things away hurriedly, as if the realization that classes were done for the week had barely hit him. He wasted no time however, dumping as much stuff as he could into the small backpack. Roman ignored how fast he was moving, how fast he seemed to want to get out of there. Tried ignoring how with every breath the younger individual took, the thought of not being able to see him for two whole days came fast approaching, threatening to smack him right in the face. A thought he definitely did not want.

Instead, he placed a sheet of paper on the teen's small desk just as he was about to go for the door. He stopped right in his tracks, confused expression drawn onto his face, "What is this?" He asked.

"Your quiz." The teacher spoke proudly, having a hard time keeping his excitement within him.

He still looked puzzled as could be, it was near adorable, "What quiz?"

Roman rolled his eyes but chuckled, "The quiz I gave you guys last week." Ambrose picked it up and eyed it intently, eyes squinting as he focused, most likely scanning to see how many he'd gotten wrong this time. Reigns' grin grew even more as he spoke, "You got none wrong Dean."

This was the first time since the bell had rung that Ambrose had given him a glance, a full one, baby blues meeting his eyes intently, "Huh?"

"You got them all right man! An 'A'!" He patted the boy on the shoulder, causing him to flinch suddenly but Roman ignored it, his hand staying where he'd placed it.

"Holy shit." Dean smiled proudly, too surprised to do or feel anything about the sudden weight of Reigns' hand still on his shoulder.

"I'm really proud of you Dean!" This time he squeezed lightly, prompting the teen to shuffle his shoulder away awkwardly from the touch, forcing the man's hand down onto his side. He masked his sudden surprise and light embarrassment by clapping them together, "That's awesome Dean. I am really glad. You improved so much!"

The teen eyed his paper some more, looking for something, anything to distract himself. Then he found it, "Wait a minute." He pointed at one particular problem and spoke, "This one's in pen."

He gave Roman the sheet which he didn't look at. Already the teacher knew what he meant, "Yeah."

"You corrected it huh?"

"I didn't even notice it."

"Bullshit."

"Okay. Maybe I did." The older man frowned, now realizing he should've used pencil, "Consider it a freebie."

Instead of being angry, in typical Ambrose fashion the kid smirked it off, "Why are you giving me freebies now? Why are you always so nice to me?" His tone was light, clearly teasing once again.

Then, he had an idea. Something stupid, maybe. Sometimes, stupid ideas were ones that worked best, "Tell you what." He walked over to his chair once again, grabbing his coat and readying his suitcase, randomly shuffling papers inside it mirroring what Dean had done earlier. He paced back towards the teen and stood in front of him, "Why don't I tell you about it over some ice cream?"

This was so stupid. Dean knew this was a bad idea from the moment he'd heard the man ask. Even stupider, however, had been his response.

Yes?

Yes, he wanted to go for some ice cream with his calculus teacher?

Sure he really wanted some ice cream, food was his first love, but why? Did he really want to go somewhere with this man?

No.

And what if he took him to some bad ice cream place?! What if the ice cream was dry and stale?!

Hell no.

That would be an abomination for sure, their little date ruined forever.

Date.

He scoffed at the mere idea. Not that he thought Reigns wasn't good-looking or anything, clearly he was. Just, who would've thought he would be spending his Friday evening with his teacher? A teacher.

Who would've thought.

He shook his head lightly, starring, still in thought through the passenger window of Roman's 2010 black Charger. Fitting car. Nice car, he thought. Clearly something suited for Roman. The interior smelling of leather and men's cologne, a nice combination; very clean, very cut.

"And we're here." He glanced over at Roman who only had a tiny smile on his face, enhancing his good features.

Damn, beautiful, beautiful bastard, Dean thought.

This was also his favorite ice cream place in town, the best one there was. Okay, maybe this little teacher-student date didn't have to suck so bad. Though he nearly puked at the mention of the word "date".

They both got out of the vehicle, Roman fiddling with the little square apparatus in his hand. It took him a while to get the hang of it, a few seconds until the car beeped out in response. Alarm activated.

"You don't know how to work the alarm?" The teen chuckled dryly and smirked.

His teacher frowned, "I just got it."

"It's nice." He regretted the compliment a little, but what the hell. It was a very nice car. Low and sleek, anything a guy could ever want.

"Oh." Reigns looked back at the piece parked out in front of the shoppe but continued walking. He spoke as they both walked inside, Dean in front, "Yeah."

Both individuals scanned the big, colorful menu board behind the register. Dean stared tentatively at all his options despite already knowing what he wanted, wondering if Roman would pay. He'd invited right? He had to pay, it was the rules. Not that anyone had ever paid for him.

Still, he couldn't help but wonder. Hating himself a bit more each time for it, the little tinge of guilt leaving its nasty trail in his gut.

Was he… embarrassed? Embarrassed to be bought ice cream? He had no idea what that uncomfortable feeling at the center of his stomach was but he almost had to admit to himself that this was weird. Well, he already knew that. This was pretty fucking weird but why was he feeling uncomfortable? Why was he almost guilty?

"Dean?" Again the man regarded him, stared at him so attentively as he usually fucking did. He made the boy feel as though he was being examined or something. Him on a surgery table. His brain tugged at each side, looked at from every angle. He hated that. People usually looked at his surface, one short look and they were scared, running away from him as fast as they fucking could. Roman? Roman looked for more, at his mind. He picked at it all looking for what? He didn't know, but it was pretty damn uncomfortable. Why didn't he run away like all the others? "Dean."

He called again and this time the teen knew he had to respond, "What?" Fuck.

"Are you alright?"

This time his eyes found the man. He tried his best not to let on that he was shaking lightly, "Yeah- yeah man why the fuck wouldn't I be?" The assistant behind the counter only cleared her throat awkwardly, clearly not knowing what to do, or think. He spoke before she had time to muster anything up, "I want the mint chocolate chip on a waffle cone."

Roman chuckled, "That sounds nice." No sarcasm there.

"Yeah." He responded, still a bit shaky.

What the fuck was up with him?
The older individual turned to the young girl in the bright blue hat and shirt, she immediately shrunk a little at his gaze. Good, Dean thought. At least he wasn't the only one affected by those eyes.

"I'll have that one, just a scoop. And…" He faded on, scanning within the various flavors on the freezer in front of him, "The, uh, butter pecan."

"Ew."

"What?" The man asked playfully, turning to Dean, eyes squinting, "Isn't that a nice combination?"

He shook his head and blew out, "Nope."

"Well you don't know what's good." He blew a raspberry, almost making the boy chuckle, "Can you believe him?" He turned to the young girl who only blushed more and smiled wider.

They both sat on the table farthest from the counters, from anyone really. The one in the corner near the bathrooms no one seemed to go into. This was good to Dean. He could eat his ice cream in peace.

And he did, getting to it like this was the last savory iced treat he would ever get to enjoy. Gulps of sweet, chocolatey heaven going down his throat, the mint cooling his tongue. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed ice cream. The very staple of human nature.

After one more spoonful, he was the one who spoke, "So…" He started, licking at the plastic baby blue spoon until it was spotless, "What was that question you said you would answer me here?"

"Why I'm so nice to everyone?" As opposed to Dean, Roman was more careful with his ice cream, eating small amounts at a time, not wanting to finish it just yet. Sweet and minty all at once. Exploding flavors in his mouth with each spoon. He was in heaven if there even was one, that little cup holding all that was good in the world.

"Oh yeah." Ambrose spoke, a soft green drop of his treat hitting the table. He gasped as if in pain, "Oh shit."

Reigns raised his eyebrows in response, eyeing the crime scene, "Wow. Even I felt that."

"That's pain man. Your ice cream falls? That's the most painful shit in the world."

"You never know true pain until that happens." He agreed, nodding, "I get it."

The teen pursed his lips and frowned as he stared at the tiny drop tainting the white surface, "Fucking hell. Anyway go on."

Still he went back to eating his ice cream as before, making Roman chuckle, "Go on with what?"

Ambrose only looked up at him, matter-of-factly, "Don't evade me now man. You know what."

"Oh yeah... man. Why I'm so nice to everyone." He rubbed at his face with both hands, smile still plastered on his face. He almost felt stupid, "I don't know. I guess it's my nature. To be nice."

"Don't start with the guessing again. It's not even a yes or no answer. Just answer the goddamn question without so many maybes."

"I haven't even said maybe."

"Or I guess. Whatever." He threw a dismissive hand at Reigns and continued on with his eating.

"Well I can't help it. Just like I can't help being nice to you." He grabbed the small cup, his large hand towering over it. Clearly this was the only answer Dean was gonna get.

"Well you're too nice. To me."

He only laughed it off, leaning back onto his chair as comfortably as he could, admiring the view in front of him.

Dean was... Dean. He could explain in a million ways how his light brown hair fell over his features, caressing at the soft bright skin. He suddenly found himself wondering how it would feel against his hand. He retracted that thought immediately. No, this was dangerous territory. To suddenly wonder.

But man, did he want to wonder.

They both left the ice cream shoppe an hour later as the sun began its descent over them. Random conversation had happened, but nothing special. Both were just very high on sugar and it all felt… good. They both felt really good. To Dean it hadn't been as uncomfortable as he thought it would be. To Roman it had all been more a lot more pleasant than he thought it could be. Who knew him and Dean Ambrose could hang out? Actually hang out.

"What are your goals right now Dean?" The man spoke as they both took a slow walk along the various shops in the plaza, Ambrose only agreeing after careful persuasion.

"What do you mean?" He asked, lightly kicking a pebble along with them, regarding the shadows their bodies cast on the concrete, examining how much different they looked from each other, side by side. Like kites dancing with each other in mid-air.

Some people would say they looked good together.

"You know…" Reigns' gaze was forward, occasionally aimed towards Dean.

"Nah. I don't." The smaller individual shook his head and continued, "There are goals for every moment, every second. I could have a goal right this second about going to sleep as soon as I get home, or come back for more ice cream. If you mean my goal right now, then that's what it is."

The raven haired man smiled to himself. Well played. He stopped a little and pointed back where they'd come from, "We can go back if you want more."

Dean shook his head, "Nah man. A gallon's my limit."

He chuckled, "Okay, fair enough." Again his eyes scanned the side of Dean's face briefly, "Long-term goals is what I mean."

"Then I don't know." The pebble he'd been kicking was now on Roman's side, the man passing it back to him with one swift strike of his polished black shoes. Geez, even his shoes were gentlemanly as hell.

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"I don't." He spat back, a little annoyed at this already. Everyone seemed to always have that question in store for him, "Do I look like someone with a plan?"

"Another fair point." Roman answered, "But I somehow feel you do."

"Nah. I'm not a one-way bird man. That one direction type shit has never worked for me." Roman's brows furrowed slightly, "I fly everywhere." Suddenly, he slowed his walk until it stopped completely, making the older man turn to him, stopping as well. He stretched a little and sighed, "I don't believe in goals. They're only any good when you commit to them. Even then who knows if they come true."

"And you never commit?"

"Not as long as I've lived. It's quite pointless really. And stupid. Everyone always wants something for their future, why can't they just live where they are?"

Roman stayed silent. He'd once had goals. He'd once believed in that long held promise that if you could think it, you could achieve it. And he was now almost feeling guilty for it.

The tone of Dean's voice somehow convinced him. Still he wasn't letting on, he wanted to know why such a young soul thought that way, "We all have a plan." A gentle breeze blew at the tiny black strands of hair that'd escaped from his bun, "Come on Dean. What about ten years from now?" He felt as though he was somehow not wording his thoughts correctly, "Where do you see yourself then? In ten years."

"Here."

"Bullshit." He noticed the teen's baby blues widening lightly. Hell, even he was surprised at using that word, so unlike him, "You gotta see something else. You like wrestling-"

"Yeah." He answered defensively, as if that was a real personal piece of his information. As if protecting a precious jewel. One Roman was now threatening.

"Then what about that?"

"What about what?" He now had his arms crossed in front of him, more as a defense tactic than anything else. His shaggy mop of light brown hair blew with the gentle wind, covering his eyes a little, each strand glowing with the sun.

He looked absolutely adorable. Adorable to Roman even then in the dimming light of day. He almost wanted to say it. Almost. The words so close to his mouth they were ready to escape, but he didn't let them. It took a lot out of him. Something that did not surprise him. He had to hold his tongue a lot when with Dean, or Seth for that matter.

"Wrestling." He opted to continue, "If you like it a lot why don't you try it. It might turn out to be your passion."

"It already is. And trying it is impossible. I would never make it." He scoffed, looking elsewhere. Eyes searching for whatever distraction he could find.

"DEAN!"

And he found it.

It came in small form. Little steps running desperately towards him. He felt a force as strong as cotton on his side. It nearly knocked him sideways.

"Max!" He shrieked, immediately thankful for his little brother's presence, "What are you doing here?" He returned the little boy's eager embrace.

His sibling pointed at something in the short distance. Both guys followed his small index finger towards a group a couple feet away. It consisted of about ten children all in the school's uniform of deep blue polos and khakis. Within that group was a woman of about thirty, tall, golden yellow ponytail and knee-length gray skirt. She seemed preoccupied talking to a town guide as he answered her towering questions about prices.

"Oh." Dean smiled down at his sibling sweetly then looked towards Roman, certainly doubting whether he should introduce them or not, "Max, this is Roman. one of my teachers."

Reigns on his part, and to the teen's surprise, granted the boy his most genuine smile, and leaning on one knee also gave him his hand to shake, "Nice to meet you Max."

The young boy smiled big, letting his hand fill a small void on Roman's, "Nice to meet you too Mr. Reigns."

Ambrose smiled nervously. He was really protective of his brother. Too protective almost that no one really knew about him.

"Dean has told me so much about you." The professor lied, something that took him completely by surprise once again. His eyes widened. Seemed Roman knew exactly how to talk to the little brothers of his students.

Then he remembered the man was a teacher. He should know these things.

"I'm the best one in the family." Dean rolled his eyes. Typical Max, always a charmer. Roman laughed, actually laughed. It wasn't in a rude, laughing at a joke type of laugh, but he was genuinely chuckling, politely chuckling. So much so that Max continued, "I'm the smartest too."

"Yeah right." Ambrose butted in playfully.

"I don't know Max, Dean is really really smart." Roman responded with an assurance difficult to ignore, but gentle enough to know he was talking to a seven year old. He eyed Dean who was also kneeling next to Max as he spoke those words.

The teen couldn't mask his creeping chuckle despite his urge to crawl into the tightest, darkest place possible.

"I am smarter than him." The little boy continued, "I'm the smallest in my class. Huh Dean?"

Roman seemed a bit lost.

"Yep." Ambrose quickly explained, "He's a year ahead. His teachers were really impressed."

"Wow, that's awesome Max. Bet you feel great being the smartest in school huh?"

"Yeah." The boy chuckled, he was taking a liking to Reigns for sure.

"Max!" They heard a female voice getting near them, "The bus is ready to take us back come on." Young Ms. Flair approached them swiftly and smiled upon registering who the boy had been talking to. She ignored Dean first, "Roman! Hey!"

"Hey Charlotte." The older man extended her the same courtesy of a smile and quick hug.

Dean wondered why the hell they spoke in first names.

"Haven't seen you in such a long time!" Her smile was obviously not going to fade, despite his on the cusp of being more as a means to be polite than anything else.

Huh, Dean thought. Granting a smile of his own at the fact that Roman didn't give those to him, or Max. Nope. They only got the best smiles Reigns offered, not forced ones like Ms. Charlotte had to make do with.

They continued on their chatter, small talk about the weather and colleagues took place. It seemed their chosen jobs also came with dozens of faces to meet and suddenly run into when in town. As if nothing.

It was obvious they knew each other because they were both teachers.

And Ambrose had now tuned them out. Small talk never being his "thing".

"You know Dean right?"

And he was brought back just like that.

"Of course!" She granted him a polite smile, kind of like the one Roman had given her.

Bitch returning the favor.

Unfortunately she was a nice person in general, not only when Roman was around so he had to be good, "Hi Ms. Flair."

"How are you? Max has asked about you all day."

"Good. Really? He never pays attention to me at home."

"Oh I'm sure that's a lie! He adores you!"

His cheeks flushed a light pink. His only reaction being to hold Max close to him, an arm around the kid's small shoulders. Max responded by leaning his head against his brother's hip.

Roman smiled at the action and once again thought about how adorable he was, "I'm sure he does. Dean must be an incredible brother, I can tell."

Ambrose could feel the color draining from his face, all being replaced by a deep shade of red. Fuck.

"Well, we gotta go now." Ms. Flair spoke, saving him from any more embarrassment, "The bus is gonna leave us if we don't." She signaled the driver they were on their way and he only shrugged and continued taking puffs of his near finished cigarette. She turned to them again, to Reigns, "So nice seeing you today Roman."

"Same Charlotte." Again with the first name calling, Dean thought, not so smiley anymore. Reigns leaned on one knee again in front of Max and placed a hand on his shoulder, "It was really nice finally meeting you Max." He looked up at Ambrose, "Be good to your brother okay. He cares a lot about you."

"I know, I will." Max nodded.

Roman once again smiled. A warm, genuine smile. The biggest one he'd given all day. And it was all Max's.

Suck on that Ms. Flair, the teen thought.

They all gave their final goodbyes, Dean and Max hugging longer than they'd been allowed. Max not wanting to leave and in near tears at saying bye to his brother. Dean feeling a knot in his throat despite the fact they would see each other in about an hour. It was always hard saying goodbye to that little fella, no matter how many times it happened or how long it would take them to see each other again. Each time highlighted by the fact that it was absolutely awful.

To Dean anyway.

"Thanks for been nice to Max. And not telling him I hadn't told you about him."

They were now alone again.

Reigns seemed shocked, "No, don't thank me." He shook his head, look serious, stern even, "Max is adorable. Seems really smart too. Really well-spoken."

"He is." He reassured the teacher, "He is really smart and funny too, though you didn't really get a taste of his humor today." Roman chuckled, "He is amazing, he really is." He sighed, looking out into the distance at where the bus had just previously turned, "That kid is my life."

"He seems to think the same about you."

Once again they locked eyes, and their moment seemed to freeze little by little in time, then all at once. Both too into it to even speak. Glued to their spots, unable to move even the slightest. This was the first moment they'd had and it was hard to let go of it.

Much harder to come back from it.

"I gotta go." Dean spoke, afraid to go into a trance again, this time with his teacher, "Gotta get home before Max does."

"Okay." Was all the man said. Disappointment a bit in his voice. He started walking towards his car, motioning for the boy to come along.
"No- uh, I can walk from here. It's cool."

"Dean-"

"It's not far. It's pretty close actually. I'll walk-"

"No- Dean…"

"Seriously, it's cool."

The handsome individual walked over to where he was and this was the first time the teen really noticed his walk. It was so… graceful, almost like he was floating and it nearly stupefied him.

Holy fuck was he hot.

Too much that he had no choice but to accept, on the condition that he was to drop him off at the bus stop near his house.

"Are you sure Dean? I'll drop you off in front of your house just tell me where you live." Roman spoke as he drove, one hand on the steering wheel, the other between them. Too close, too tempting to reach over and touch.

But what the hell was he thinking? He wasn't fucking gay; much less gay for his teacher.

"Nah, man." He spoke as manly as he could. As deep as his voice could go. Only doing so to mask his extending fear of being discovered, "The bus stop is close to my house." Of Roman finding out about his thoughts. Of leaning over and kissing the fuck out of him, "This neighborhood is pretty violent." Tangling his pale hands to that jet black hair, undoing that lame bun that only added to his massive sex appeal. Not giving a damn about whether they would crash or not, "Wouldn't want you to risk the nice car." At least he would die knowing how velvety that infamous hair was.

The man only frowned, rubbing at his face once again with his free hand, the hand that'd been between them just mere seconds ago. Ambrose suddenly feeling cold.

They arrived at the bus stop moments before the sun disappeared completely, leaving another day to be forgotten.

They sat in silence for what seemed like a millisecond. Then, as Dean was getting ready to exit the car, he felt Roman shuffling behind him.

"Here."

He looked and was greeted by the strong, incredibly good scent of Roman's leather jacket. One he was handing to him.

"What?" He responded, not knowing what else to say.

"It's cold out and I'm sure you still have like two blocks left to go." His expression turned briefly sour at that.

"Oh no, it's cool-"

"Dean…" He immediately interrupted, clearly frustrated at the boy, "You already said no to me taking you all the way to your house. The least you can do for me, and yourself, is to take this and not die frozen somewhere." Okay, there was some sarcasm there, meaning he wasn't totally annoyed, "Now please, take this."

"No seriously man, I can walk like this."

"You're so stubborn. You want me to get out of the car and force it on you? I can do that." There was a pause, Roman a bit relieved to see the teen was now examining his very thin options. Meanwhile, he imagined how fun it would be to chase him down the street, another excuse to touch him because god knew how much he'd wanted to earlier when they'd been out.

"Fine." To his surprise, the teen took the jacket. Actually did something he was told for once. That gave him a lot more satisfaction than it should've. He grinned as big as he had all week, not able to help himself, "Forget me putting it on though."

"Oh come on!" He exclaimed, not loud enough to be seen as angry. He wasn't angry. On the contrary, he was pretty fucking pleased with himself. He noticed the teen smirking as well, "Also, please be careful." His tone was now as serious as could be. He tried his best not to sound concerned but what the hell? He couldn't he hide it anymore. The fact was too obvious to him at this point, and it was out. He cared about Dean. That was it. He cared and maybe it was out of his reach to do so. Maybe it wasn't his place, but screw what place he had in the kid's life. He cared because he could, "And please tell me if anything happens. Anything Dean. I'm here."

Dean's eyes widened briefly but didn't say anything else.

He just giggled as he walked. He couldn't help it. Holy fuck he'd been behaving like such a giddy chick all day.

He could feel eyes on him. Eyes that'd become so familiar in the span of a couple hours. Gray ones he already missed. Gray and deep and beautiful. Ones he couldn't wait to see again; to be trapped in them, drown in them for as long as they could hold him. He didn't mind how long.

Roman looked on, pleased, satisfied at this. Funny how such a small thing, such a small action could trigger such insane feelings. Such weird, undiscovered, indescribable feelings. Feelings he didn't know how much longer he could keep. As long as was necessary, as long as he possibly could.

This time he couldn't help the chuckle that formed on his lips when Dean Ambrose put his leather jacket on.

A/N: I really enjoyed writing this chapter. Dean and Roman's relationship develops and i think it is absolutely beautiful. I am enjoying the journey guys hope you are too!