Work Text:
"Just to be clear, I am in no way responsible for what our boy does to you," Roman says, drumming his fingers against the passenger window.
"It can't be that bad, right?" Seth asks, gripping the steering wheel tight enough for his knuckles to turn white.
'Wouldn't be the first time he's gotten mad for something small." Roman shrugs.
"You're mad too." Seth can feel the energy pouring off Roman. "I don't know why you're mad."
The second he finishes the sentence, Seth realizes he's said precisely the wrong thing. He understands why they're angry. He also knows being insolent will only make it worse.
Oh the joys of being in the dog house...
"Hope you like the guest room," Roman says harshly.
The rest of the drive home is spent in eerie silence.
Seth knows he's in trouble. They've never kicked him out of the bedroom before. It's just not what they do. It had always been a possibility- a negotiated consequence for only the most serious offenses. Seth had just never imagined he would be the first one to experience this 'punishment'.
"Ro-" Seth starts to speak.
"Don't want to hear it." Roman holds up a hand to silence Seth. "You made your bed. Now you get to lie in it... alone."
Seth's head begins to throb in the familiar rhythm of a tension headache. He doesn't get them a lot but when they happen, they can be absolutely crippling.
Normally, Seth can rely on Dean and Roman to help him when the headaches start. Today, he's on his own.
Luckily, he's close to home when the headache starts. It gets worse, growing close to severe by the time he gets home. He stumbles out of the car, bypasses Dean and heads straight to the guest room. He needs darkness, rest and Ibuprofen if he has a chance in hell of not being incapacitated for the next 48 hours.
The past 48 hours have been a roller coaster. Winning the titles, dealing with Roman being merely cordial, Madison Square Garden, learning to tag with that idiot and now being iced out of the bedroom while dealing with a headache.
All he wants is for his boys to hold him and tell him it'll all be okay. That the past week has been merely a nightmare and they'll wake up to find everything will be fine.
The door slowly opens.
"If I was cruel, I would turn the light on," Dean comments, standing in the doorway.
"Well, thank you for not being a total asshole." Seth knows he sounds harsher than he should have. He's hurt. He's angry. He's in pain. Part of him just wants to lash out and make someone feel as badly as he does.
"Everyone gets one." Dean's voice is deathly still. "Snap at me again and I can't guarantee I'll be so nice." With that, he slams the door.
The sound echoes through the room and reverberates off of the inside of Seth's skull. It makes his stomach churn with nausea.
I deserved that. he thinks, willing his stomach contents to stay down.
He manages to fall into a fitful sleep, despite the throbbing in his head.
Seth wakes a few hours later. He's still nauseous. His head still hurts bad. And above all that, the bed is far too empty.
"Fuck," he mumbles, trying to will his head to stop pounding. He can't deal with anything right now.
Seth stumbles to the ensuite bathroom. He can't manage to turn the light on, knowing it will make him sick.
He comes back to find someone has left a bottle of water and Ibuprofen. He's not sure which partner has granted him this simple kindness but he's grateful.
He swallows the pills with a sip of water. His stomach rebels for a second but ultimately settles down.
These headaches rarely happen, usually brought on by stress and tension. When they do occur, it's just usually a matter of time and rest.
"Dean, I am so sorry. I never meant to hurt you," Seth mutters. "I could never replace you." He jams the pillow over his head, trying to get the pain to cease. He's also trying to get the feelings of loathing and contempt to leave him alone.
Just when he thinks his head is about to burst open, he finds the door opening.
"Hey, sit up." That voice- it's Dean. "Clearly you need me right now."
Seth forces himself to a sitting position. He tries to ignore the wave of dizziness threatening to take over. He finds Dean sitting next to him, holding him with his good arm. Seth finds that he sinks into Dean's grasp, pressing his head against his chest. He drinks up the comfort as it's offered.
I don't deserve him. I just hurt him worse than I could ever have imagined hurting him and yet, he comes to me when I need him most. Seth thinks. Dean's running his fingers through Seth's hair and whispering platitudes of comfort.
Dean keeps whispering and combing. It's more than Seth would have given him if the situation were reversed.
"How can you be so nice to me?" Seth asks, finding his voice. "You are more of an adult than I would be."
He hadn't meant to replace Dean. He'd owed Kurt a favor so he couldn't exactly say no when Kurt wanted to cash in. He hadn't even liked tagging with Jason.
"I'm a bigger person?" Dean shrugs to the best of his ability. "I was listening to Roman snore and then I had a mental image of you, lying alone in pain."
Seth curls up tighter on Dean. For the first time since he'd gotten home, he can feel his headache easing.
Dean's touch must be magical.
That's the only thing Seth can figure.
"You do realize Roman's going to kill us when he wakes up?" Seth questions.
"You leave the Samoan to me," Dean says, staring mischievously at Seth.
"Brat," Seth teases, laughing until it causes his headache to spike.
"Only sometimes." Dean laughs. "So, about Monday..."
That weird feeling of dread returns.
"Hope you know I expect my tag team partner back when the time is right."
"You're okay with it?"
"No, not particularly but hey, it is what it is. Not like you two are fucking." Dean narrows his gaze. "Don't get any ideas."
"I am happily one of three. Well, technically, three of three, according to my bracelet."
"Good!" Dean exclaims. "I'll kick ass one-handed if I need to."
The door to the guest room creaks open.
"Why did I wake up alone?" Roman's speaking softly- a sign he's trying to be respectful of Seth's headache.
"Oh. Sorry. Know he was being punished but you're also not an asshole." Dean sighs. "Come on- he doesn't feel well."
Roman's gaze softens before he glares again. He's doing his best to stay 'authoritative'.
"This doesn't mean you're out of the dog house." Roman settles into the bed so Seth's in the middle. "I don't want to be an asshole."
Seth feels the pounding ease to a dull throb. It would appear that his boys had the magic touch.
"Love you." Seth faces both Dean and Roman, slowly moving his head back and forth.
"Love you too," Dean says with no hesitation.
There's a silent exchange between Dean and Roman. Seth knows this because he can feel the energy shift.
"Still mad at you but I can admit I love you too." Roman sounds irritated but also loving. "We'll figure it out but in the meantime, love you too."
Seth's not normally the one in the middle. It should feel strange but it doesn't. It works. The energy coming from Roman and Dean help to ease his headache.
As he settles back to sleep, he finds it more peaceful and restful than it had been before.
Life was not easy but it was infinitely easier to get through with Dean and Roman by his side.
Seth sighs happily. He's content in his partners' arms.
He can do this but he'll need help. Just as Dean will. Just as Roman will.
Crazy situations can rock a world. They change the predictable. They change everything, forcing people to adapt.
The three of them together can help the crazy situations become manageable.
That's just how it has to be. What more could they do?
-fin-