Alright so I probably have 101 reasons as to why this is so late, and well I'm really sorry. Real life caught up to me and with November being NanoWriMo month I was laser focused on that leaving me a tinsy bit forgetful. Sorry ;_;

Also, the beginning of this chapter does get to be pretty dark. Nothing happens, but there is a trigger warning here...it is implied that non-con happens, so if you're a bit weak to that you can probably skip over the beginning of the chapter. You have been warned. With not much else to say...

Enjoy! :D

Part 3

Seth woke up with a jolt. The sudden and hasty movement caused his ribs to ache. He let out a small groan. He had bruises there from the morning and on top of that Sheamus had hit him hard in the same spot. It was bad enough he had to wrestle in a shirt and feeling constricted in his movements, and now the pain just felt like insult to injury.

The brunet peeled the loosely draped arm off his waist and sighed. Already he was fighting back the tears from the amount of physical and emotional pain he was in. Quietly and slowly he dragged his aching body to the bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror becoming quickly disgusted. There was the yellow bruise around his eye, the one just on his jawline, and then there were the smaller ones on his neck, all just one painful memory after the next. Still Seth fought back the tears.

Carefully, he brushed the fresh bruises around his neck with the pads of his fingertips. He and Jason had been going over the details of the match to help move the story along with their rivalry The Bar. He was going one on one with Sheamus, with both their tag partners to manage them from the outside. The discussion was going fine when suddenly his boyfriend had snapped, quickly turning around and backhanding him in the side of the head. Stunned, he had felt Jason back him up against the wall and threw his hands around Seth's neck. He hadn't even realized what was happening until he started feeling the air from his lungs begin to fade away. The echoes of his pleas and cries burned through The Architect's mind.

Seth turned on the faucet and hovered his head over the sink to splash some water on his face. In reality he wanted to scrub his eyes clean of the image that lied before him: a hollow empty shell of the person he used to be. He looked down at his shaking hands, "I deserve this. This is karma for everything that happened. I turned on my brothers...no amount of reunions or forgiveness will ever make up for what I did, and worst of all...I still couldn't protect them." he thought to himself. After all the time, Seth regretted.

Before his throughs could continue Seth found arms around his waist and a chin his shoulder. His heart suddenly sank into his stomach. Stricken with fear he hadn't had the will or the energy to want to squirm out of the man's grip. His whole body could only shake as he felt lips on his neck ravishing the sensitive areas. He closed his eyes trying to pretend it was someone else, anyone else, but his mind was so warped that all he could do was fear what should be a sweet gesture.

"It's time to come back to bed Seth." said the darker skinned man both softly but with authority. That's what his life had become.

But Seth didn't want to, if he had his way he'd be miles away from this man right now. "I'll be back in a minute. I was in pain and couldn't sleep, I wanted a breather," explained Seth even more quietly and clearly shaken. He tried his hardest not to sound like he was defying his boyfriend, he just wanted to tell him the truth.

It was obvious that Jason didn't like the answer he was given. He took a strong grip of Seth's hair and wrenched his head back forcing Seth to look at him with his neck bent at an awkward angle. "I told you to come back to bed." Jason said again louder with more malice in his voice. Seth swallowed the lump in his throat, he knew what that voice ment. Tears were already prickling at the brunet's eyes.

Seth felt the grip on his hair grow tighter and his head suddenly slammed up against the wall leaving him dazed and barely conscious. He could hear faint and angry words from his boyfriend all at the same time being dragged by his hair back towards the bed. The last thing he felt during his half conscious state was being thrown back onto the bed, and his sleeping pants being hastily torn at.

The tears that threatened his eyes finally poured out from his being…

Roman found himself laughing at the different comments being thrown about at him for being in the wrong locker room. On top of that he was being tormented by the New Day about how they were still bitter about losing at Survivor Series against The Shield. He knew of course it was all in good fun and they were just glad someone from the red brand came to check out how things were ran on Tuesdays nights. The Samoan felt a small spark of relief and happiness brought about to forget even just for a little while about everything going on with him on his own brand.

After taking time to get to know those who were new to the main roster, Bobby Roode and Shinsuke Nakamura, he caught up with Chad Gable as he was getting ready for his match. Surprisingly, the conversation went smoothly between the two as Roman asked him to meet up after the show to talk about Gable's former tag partner. He could tell already something was severely wrong as the younger athlete's expression became visibly livid after just mentioning him. The Samoan had already prepared himself for quite the earful.

It was almost surreal that he felt like he was in the same situation on the last day he had seen Seth. He found himself waiting at another late night coffee shop. Roman sipped on his drink quietly ignoring the looks he was getting. From how they were staring and talking it was obvious that they were fans. He flashed them a quick wave leaving the two women a giggling mess as they exited the restaurant. He sighed, as much as he liked the attention and keep the fans smiling he wished it under other circumstances.

Roman stood up as Chad approached the table. The two exchanged a friendly hand shake before sitting across one another in the booth. The Samoan let out another sigh, all his mind could do was flashback to his last encounter with Seth. The silence was thick around them as Roman tried to collect his thoughts. He couldn't let out too much information, he was already taking up the other man's time for his own personal investigation.

Chad was first to break the silence. "You wanted to talk to me about Jason? I'm assuming this also has to do with Seth." Roman simply nodded. That cut out a lot of the middle man and him trying to dodge around the heavier subjects.

Roman looked down at his clasped hands on the table with his brows furrowed. "Why did American Alpha break up? Was it just because of Jason being Kurt's son or was it because of something else?" The raven haired man innerly apologized to Chad not trying to bring up old wounds.

The younger male looked intensely at the glass of water the waitress had placed in front of him. With the way his brows were furrowed he was obviously thinking hard about how to answer Roman's question. He picked up the glass he was staring at and took a long drink from it. Just thinking about it left his throat dry. "Back in NXT, things were a lot different…" he started quietly. Finally his gaze returned to give Roman his full attention. "When we were in developmental, I was the one that used to get all nervous being out there and he was the incredibly confident one, but we carried one another's weaknesses."

"I saw you guys in the tapings, you were both flowing...graceful even. I admit I was mesmerized. You guys were incredible." Interjected the Samoan, giving the praise a genuine smile. Chad gave him a smirk with his words.

"When we were called up to the main roster, suddenly things had changed. The larger crowds, the louder noises...suddenly he had become the one that was nervous wreck. I had to motivate him just to step out there every night. More and more Jason slowly became so closed off, even to me. I noticed our style began to slip, and our confidence begin to dwindle. Even after we won the belts, it felt like there was no recovery. He didn't want to talk to me, or anyone...he wouldn't listen. It was like he became overwhelmed in dark thoughts, and there was no reaching out to him. Every night we began to fight, and then we started staying in separate rooms. When the two of us finally came to blows, it was apparent to management it was time to seperate us, I didn't think they'd stick us on opposite brands however. I still wanted to watch his back, like maybe somewhere there was the spark of the old Jason Jordan. I've been worried about him ever since they moved him...he's got no one there to watch over him." Chad had let out a huge sigh. It was obvious that he still saw Jason as a friend.

However, Roman had begun to piece everything together. Jason didn't just get violent because Seth was vulnerable...he already was because of the pressure he felt being moved up to the main roster. Without someone else there to help relieve the new added pressure from being lined up for a huge push it was suddenly like he had snapped, and the only thing he knew how to do was lash out. The older man nodded signaling to the younger athlete that he understood everything that had been laid out in front of him.

He somewhat felt what the other man had gone through. After Dean's injury it was hard to get Seth motivated as well. His younger brother didn't want to risk hurting anyone else he cared for. Maybe what Jason saw in Seth was the same thing he saw in himself. He saw weakness in his younger brother. A weakness that he felt he couldn't control. But when he saw he could have some control over Seth, that's when the beatings began. He saw The Architect as a form of his own weakness that he wanted to be rid of. Roman understood everything now and the final piece of the puzzle was in place.

Not only did Seth need saving, but Jason needed some sort of mental help as well…

The Big Dog cracked a smile through all the ongoing thoughts. "Thank you Chad," he said reaching out to shake the younger man's hand again. "You don't know how much of a help you've been."

The younger male reached out to shake hands with him again, before leaning back into the booth. "Just tell me one last thing. Did something happen to Seth?" Roman suddenly froze. Well at least the kid had a good head on his shoulders and was trying to be honest. He didn't think the younger athlete was stupid, he just wasn't expecting him to figure it out so fast. The Samoan simply nodded, the tension between the two of them was thick again.

"I'm not gonna ask you not to hurt Jason, because he more than likely deserves it if he really has been hurting Seth. So my only favor I ask of you is to not only help your friend, but help mine too. Beat some sense into him for me."

Roman could only stare at him blankly...did he just receive a blessing to beat the hell out of Jason?

The Big Dog spent the next day helping out Smackdown with their next house show since he was there. As a payment to helping him, he decided a fun tag match with Chad Gable would help put some eyes on the younger star. Once the show was over, he instantly headed back out to his own brand for their next show. Upon arriving he learned from the girls that Seth had missed yesterday's and today's shows due to a possible concussion.

He learned that Seth had been complaining about a headache and looked unsteady as he walked when he showed up at the arena. The trainers didn't clear him to compete and it was the same thing today. Since it was Jason's day off, he had accompanied Seth back to their hotel room and were back on a plane to somewhere. The girls were unsure if they went back to Seth or Jason's home. Roman groaned having just missed them, and would have to wait until Sunday to catch them again.

Throughout the day Roman had called Seth several times to see if he'd answer but it had gone ignored every time. He instead called Dean to see how his recovery had been so far, to ease his mind a little. He chucked that his middle brother complained his ear off for an hour about sitting around and not being able to do anything. But his sitting around meant that he was able to convince his crush from the blue brand to come and spend his days off with him. It brought warmth to him that his other brother was doing fine.

After he was done with Dean he tried Seth one more time. This time he let it get to voicemail, if this was the closest he was gonna get to his best friend he'd take it. "Seth, I know your boyfriend is the one not letting me talk to you. But there's just something I need you to know. I want you to know that I know what Jason is doing to you and I want you to know that you have hope. I will come and get you Seth...I promise, because…"Roman paused to swallow the lump in his throat. "I promise, because I love you." With that he ended the call in hopes that his best friend would get the message.

For the rest of the night Roman felt on auto-pilot. He just did everything in routine, and even his match felt robotic. Normally he was a ring general, but this time he just let his opponent make all the big calls and he just followed. He had been out of it for the whole day just lingering on the message he had sent to Seth just hoping that his best friend got it.

Just as Roman was getting ready to meet up with Finn, his ride for the night, he saw his phone light up and vibrate. It was a text from Seth! The Samoan gave a sigh of relief as he unlocked his phone to read the message. It was short, more than likely typed out quick when Jason had his back turned. The words on the bright little screen he'd hold close to his heart until he could hold Seth with his own arms. "I'll be waiting." Just as he was about to shove his phone in his pocket one more message popped up nearly bringing tears to the older man's eyes. "I love you too."

The Big Dog was suddenly filled with a burst of determination…

The Samoan met up with Finn, with Sasha and Bayley following behind him. Looks like they were all riding together and Roman would be their fourth and their driver. As soon as they all climbed into the large SUV, the Irishman in the passenger's seat was the first to notice the large grin on the larger man's face. "What's gotten you in a good mood today?" he asked getting the girls' attention on him too.

Roman felt Sasha from behind Finn give him a smack on the shoulder. "I know that look! It's the love sick puppy look!" she nearly squealed at the top of her lungs. "You gotta tell me Roman, who is it?" He tried to focus on the road in front of them that they hadn't even begun driving yet, and trying to ignore the fact that Sasha was leaning in. He broke out in a cold sweat trying to distract himself in anyway he could, sadly there wasn't much he could do in a car. "Yep! It's that same goofy grin you have whenever you hang out with Seth!" shouted Sasha causing Roman to try and turn his head away from the rest everyone.

Finn, Bayley, and Sasha only laughed at his feeble attempts to hide it. "Now just to get him away from that idiot and set him up with a real man." Bayley and Roman suddenly froze giving Sasha a puzzling look. "What?" The two merely shook their heads as the Samoan finally started up the car and put them back on the road. Despite the awkward moment, the conversations kept flowing and the ride to the next town was lively.

Although his thoughts were completely on Seth, he also knew that his best friend wouldn't like it if he had cut himself off from everyone. Chad's words began to rang heavy in his mind, just remembering everything that he had to say about Jason. It was another reason why he needed his friends to help escape the harsh reality, so that when it became time to finally come face to face with that asshole Seth called a boyfriend he wouldn't be an emotional mess.

With the excitement of the New Year over it was time to settle back into the road to the grandest stage of them all, and that started at the Royal Rumble. But how could he? He needed Seth by his side first. Lately all his dreams for the last few nights have all been about his best friend and how he wanted to hold him close. He saw them getting together, going out on dates, even getting married (that idea was brought to him by Finn who mentioned they were married without actually being together).

God, Roman was in love…

He was saddened to hear that once more Seth wouldn't be cleared to compete and would be given the manager role for Jason's match tonight, he was thankful through hearsay that he'd be ready in time for the Royal Rumble. Still he hadn't gone out of his way to actively look for Seth or Jason, knowing he was gonna do something stupid in front of management and co-workers. He'd intice Jason into coming to him, to make the other male make the first move. Roman won't start the fight, but he sure as hell will end it.

The Big Dog was on his way to catering and make some last minute preparations for the show-"Hey!" was a shout from behind him. Roman smirked, looks like Jason played right into his hands. He was surprised it wasn't that hard. The Samoan didn't turn his back but did walk a little slower in hopes to once more bring the younger male to him. "I'm talking to you!" he shouted again. Finally he stopped to give Jason his undivided attention. It didn't take long for the darker skinned man to walk up and get in his face, that had Roman's anger boiling but he kept in control of his emotions he couldn't mess this up. "Who the hell do you think you are trying to make a move on my boyfriend?"

His eyes twitched, but still remained calm. The emphasis Jason had put into those last few words was like a hammer on Roman's head. It was like the younger male tried to stake some sort of claim on Seth, it disgusted him. The older man remained quiet and let Jason continue to get him all riled up. "Stay away from Seth if you know what's good for you. I'm the only person he needs."

Roman raised an eyebrow, was this kid really threatening him right now? "Or…" he responded drawing the simple word out. Feeling ignored and talked down to, Jason had enough and finally snapped. He raised his arm to give Roman a wild left hook. But attack was sloppy, and uncordinated...he was controlled by his anger. He caught the arm aim at him with ease.

He wouldn't stoop down to Jason's level. Roman wouldn't do anything drastic without trying to reason with him first. Still he remembered everyone's words, including the text from Seth. His best friend was being patient, he had hope that Roman would come for him. It sounded so corny in his head but that's how the situation felt. He was saving his best friend from a madman. He gripped Jason's wrist and twisted it behind him with his arm wrapped around his neck, just to hold him still. "Are you listening to what you're saying? You're treating Seth like he's a possession! I know what it's like to be under the pressure that you're under, and I had even less time in developmental. Your former tag team partner told me everything...you need help Jason!"

"What the hell is going on here!?" screamed out a shrill and very angry voice. That caused both men to break out in a cold sweat and anyone who so happened to be passing by to freeze in place. Roman looked over Jason's shoulder to see it was the one person he'd hoped to not see. Her long brunette hair, all black wear, and commanding posture made everyone obey wherever she walked, caused Roman to loosen his grip on the younger male. He almost felt like he was in luck, he wouldn't have to hurt Jason anymore than he wanted, he just let darker skinned man struggle out of his grip. "I do not tolerate fighting in my locker room. I'm suspending both of you for the rest of the week."

"Yes ma'am." said the two in unison. No matter who you were, you didn't disobey Stephanie McMahon...especially when he was pissed. She had the power to absolutely humiliate someone without firing them. It was practically a miracle that she suspended them for just the week, Roman knew she was capable of more...perhaps she was feeling merciful.

The two turned to walk their separate ways to collect their stuff. Once Jason was out of view he felt Stephanie's hand touch his shoulder gently. "Oh and Roman, please use this week to make sure Seth gets proper rest." He gave RAW commissioner a look of bewilderment. She was smiling at him despite being pissed off merely moments ago. He had almost forgotten that she too had a soft spot for Seth. He was almost as much a student of her as he was of Hunter. Roman smiled and gave her a thumbs up. Satisfied, she left the Samoan to his own devices...she really was feeling merciful, or was just as worried about Seth as he and his friends were.

Later on that night Roman was able to charm his way to letting the hotel receptionist tell him which room Seth and Jason were staying in. He was riding cloud nine knowing that he'd be getting to go home with the man he loves. He stood face to face with the door number he was given. He raised a hand to knock on the door when he heard shouting followed by agonizing screams from the other side. Somehow, Jason had beaten him back to the hotel!

He rolled his eyes and groaned, nothing could ever be easy could it. The Samoan knew he'd be paying the hotel a hefty sum for the damages he was about to cause but that wasn't important right now. Roman was overcome with an overboiling rage to drive him even further. He put forth his entire body weight against the door to get it to budge but it didn't move. He tried one more time finally being able to break the door open.

Immediately he was disgusted by what he had seen. Jason had his hand on Seth's throat with the color slowly fading away which meant that he had a very strong grip on it. His other hand was balled in a fist and was repeatedly punching The Architect over and over again. Seth's ribs and hips were littered in bruises and the was sporting a very large one just under his eye where his boyfriend had been hitting him.

All Roman saw was red, "You son of a bitch!" he screamed tackling Jason to the floor, because of the strong grip he had on Seth it sent him crashing down as well. There was no more holding back as the two rolled around on the floor swinging lefts and rights at one another connecting ever so often. "All Seth wanted to do was give you a chance! His heart! And-"

"Roman!" The Samoan was held in place hearing Seth's voice. Not more needed to be said as he could hear the rest of whatever else the younger man had to say in his head. He didn't want to stoop to Jason's level but he did anyway. His best friend's voice snapped him out of any murderous trance he was in. That was how much they knew one another, and that was how much Seth held his heart. He should be punishing Jason for everything he's done, however no matter how much he wanted it...Seth didn't and that was enough to get him to back off.

He stood to completely back off, but that didn't seem to sit well with the darker skinned male. Still Jason came at him. In one last attempt to get the younger man to back off Roman shoved him as hard as he could back causing him to crash down and the back of his neck hitting the desk on the other side of the small room, finally dazing him. Jason could only lie there holding the back of his neck groaning in excruciating pain. The Samoan turned his attentions to his best friend who only sat there with his back against the end of the bed holding his ribs.

Inspecting Seth's state made Roman want to shed some tears, the dam broke when his younger brother looked up at him with his large brown orbs and tears already being shed. He knelt down next to Seth gazing deeply and lovingly into the other man's eyes before collecting him into his arms. The Architect molded into them perfectly resting his head on Roman's shoulder. He held the younger man as close as he could burying his face in Seth's hair. "God, I love you Seth." he said slowly and quietly. Finally all his emotions were pouring out of him at the same time.

He felt Seth lift his head to give him the same loving look. The Architect reached up and grabbed the back of Roman's neck and crashed their lips together into a bruising but very needy kiss. Just like how Seth fit into his arms, so did their lips.

"I love you too." The two kissed again, but this time less hurried and more intimate. Roman caressed Seth's cheek and even tilted his head to get better access as both men parted lips to let their tongues glide against one another. The feeling of the younger man's warm lips against his was heavenly, and made him feel transcendent.

In the next week they'd come to found out that Jason had suffered a broken neck from his and Roman's brawl. Unfortunately, he had no choice but to cut a deal with the brat to save all three of their careers. Jason wouldn't rat out Roman for being the cause of his neck, but that meant he and Seth had to keep quiet about the domestic abuse. It was a victory that left a very bad taste in the mouth, and despite his new boyfriend's consistent protest...he had to agree. He agreed for Seth's sake. Roman wanted to do anything and everything that would keep Seth happy, and he knew that it was his long hard earned career that kept the younger man happy.

Every night since then Roman would hold Seth close until he had fallen asleep. It had taken a few months before The Architect trusted anyone being in the same bed as him completely. Roman respected his wishes and slept in a separate bed until Seth was comfortable again. He had been patient, and didn't push for anything from him, he just let Seth set the pace of their new relationship. However, there was still this nagging feeling that something else happened between his now boyfriend and Jason, but if Seth didn't want to talk about it he'd just wait.

For now he'd let brunet enjoy his life again, and if there was one constant through everything there almost wasn't a day that went by where Seth didn't tell him he loved him.

Jason hadn't tried to contact them or anyone for that matter. They did learn that Chad Gable spoke up to management and told them the same story he had told Roman. The higher ups forced Jason to get therapeutic help while he recovered from his injury.

Now here they were several months later…

Seth wasn't completely recovered as he still had recurring nightmares of the dark moments in his life. Sadly, he didn't think he could ever completely recover...but he knew it would get easier. Eventually the two of them had begun to share a bed, and every night since then they'd asleep in one another's arms. In the moments the nightmares would come back Roman would quietly help Seth through it. Some nights he went sleepless just so his boyfriend could sleep well, but it was worth it if Seth woke up smiling.

Roman held a huge grin as he sat behind the curtain next to Dean giving his brother a huge hug. "Everyone's gonna freak when they see the new you." he commented still shocked himself to the auburn haired man's new physique. The Samoan honestly thought Dean could probably match him in strength now, but he wouldn't let that thought get free. He was the muscle of The Shield and didn't want competition. "Welcome back brother," said Roman patting The Lunatic on the shoulders after hearing Seth's first vocal queue.

"And since I know you're gonna have the Scottish Psychopath in your corner at Summerslam..." Started Seth his voice echoing through the arena slowly getting the crowd rallied. "I oughta have a Lunatic in mine!"*

As soon as that Dean's music hit he was through the curtain and took no time tearing things up the way he used to. He saw the large grin on Seth's face in the meantime, he could tell for the first time in ages he could see that his boyfriend was having the time of his life as if their middle brother was never injured.

As long as Seth was smiling, Roman was too.

~Fin~

*Of course as we all know that isn't a quote of mine, that was taken directly from the August 13, 2018 episode of Monday Night RAW. I take no credit

So I hope you all enjoyed some dark romance from me. I normally don't write this dark, but it was a nice change of pace to do something a little different. Thanks for reading you're all wonderful people...until next time! 3

~CrisisExceed