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Dean felt sweat running down his temple as soon as he set foot inside that warehouse, the hot air inside hitting his cheeks, probably turning them red from the heat.
Florida summers were no joke, nor something to be taken lightly.
The temperature outside, if you walked through the streets under the blazing afternoon sun, could cause anyone to faint from heatstroke.
But even that was nothing compared to the little hell that the walls of the old FCW warehouse held. If the outside temperature was bad enough, then the sweaty, testosterone-filled sauna that warehouse became during the summer was even worse, with no a/c and no windows big enough to ventilate the hot air that boiled in that indoor hell.
And the pheromones. Oh, God, the pheromones.
The entire building became a cocktail of pheromones during the summer due to the unbearable heat and excess sweat produced by more than three dozen wrestlers —alphas, betas and omegas— crammed into the same ring.
Horrible. Just horrible.
“Ambrose,” a couple of alpha colleagues greeted him as he passed by them.
Dean simply nodded in their direction, without stopping to greet them properly or even smile at them, as he continued on his way to the locker room to change out of his street clothes and into his ring gear.
There was no point in pretending to be polite to these people anyways. After all, Dean already knew very well what most of these guys thought of him. Many didn't even bother to lower their voices when complaining about Dean's attitude and quirky personality.
Well, fuck them.
Dean wasn't going to change just to please a bunch of jerks who thought they were more important than him just because they kissed the asses of the upper management of this place when everyone here was just as much of a failure as he was.
“Damn, they should at least install some fans around here,” Seth's whiny, nasal, and terribly unbearable voice was the first thing Dean heard when he entered the locker room, although for the first time he agreed with his bitchy ass.
Someone had to do something about the terrible temperature in this place, damn it. But still, Dean decided to tease him a little to start the day off right.
(Fighting with Seth was probably his favorite activity of the day).
“What's up, princess? Can't handle a little bit of heat?” he said, not bothering to say good morning first.
The other alpha quickly turned on his heels to face him, placing his hands on his hips and giving him an annoyed look.
“Bold of you to say that when you look like you just stepped out of a sauna,” he teased, with an arrogant smile on his lips.
Dean snorted, walking over to his locker to throw inside the backpack he was carrying and take out his ring boots.
"Dude, the sun out there is insane, and it's only 10 in the morning!" he grumbled, starting to take off his clothes in front of Seth —who didn't even bat an eye at his abrupt nudity, too used to the life on the road and the routine of sharing locker rooms with a bunch of strangers every day— to slide into his trunks and put on his knee pads. “I don't even know if I'll be able to finish my warm-up exercises without passing out.”
“And I'm supposed to be the dramatic one,” Seth huffed, as he sat next to him on the bench to tie his own boots properly, completely ready to start the day. “If you can't handle a little bit of morning sun, I think you should…”
Seth didn't finish his sentence, abruptly closing his mouth as he stared towards the locker room door with heart eyes. Dean, of course, turned around to see who or what had stolen Seth's attention and almost rolled his eyes when he saw that it was Leakee, because of course Seth would forget how to speak whenever he laid eyes on him.
And it wasn't that Dean didn't understand why because, damn it, he did. Leakee was, maybe, the prettiest thing in that whole stinky warehouse, with that perfect long hair falling over his shoulders like soft curtains and his huge body equipped with chiseled muscles that made him look like some kind of Greek god, but at the same time with a certain softness in all the right places that made him look just… delicious.
Leakee was an Adonis. And Dean suspected that Seth was a little more than just in love with that dude, if it wasn't already obvious at this point.
Again, he totally understood. Cause Dean used to steal a couple of glances at Leakee too; after all, he had eyes and good taste and knew when someone was incredibly beautiful and hot. But even so, Dean loved to indulge in judging Seth for becoming a complete dumbass who only thought with his dick every time Leakee was in the same room, unable to hide his crush on the boy even if his life depended on it.
“Hey, Leakee,” Seth greeted him immediately, smiling brightly at Leakee when he watched him sit on the next bench, “Good morning” he added, slipping past Dean to get a little closer to the other guy.
Leakee lifted his gaze from his own backpack —probably looking for his ring gear so he could start dressing too— and smiled shyly at both of them before whispering a soft “morning” and turning his attention back to his own business.
Dean let out a loud giggle, earning himself an instant elbow from Seth, but even that didn't stop him from teasing his friend.
He couldn't help it. It was so funny to see Seth make a fool of himself every time Leakee showed up, only for Leakee to smile at him once and then ignore his noisy annoying ass for the rest of the day.
Seriously, it happened every single time, every morning for the past four months since Leakee first walked in and Seth laid his eyes on him.
And it wasn't even because Leakee was rude or cocky, seriously, the guy was probably the most polite and friendly person in the whole building, but he always seemed too focused on his own business —and Dean respected him for that, because he was the same— to notice that he had a whole grown ass man openly flirting with him.
“'C'mon, Seth, I'm sure tomorrow he'll say more than two words to you,” Dean teased, patting Seth on the head as they both headed for the locker room door to give Leakee some privacy.
(Oh, cause Leakee was also shy, and didn't like to dress up in front of other people. Something about not being used to that because he didn't have experience with the wrestling mindset or something like that).
“You've been telling me that for weeks,” Seth grumbled, with his big doe eyes filled with sadness.
Dean giggled again, before looking at him with deadly serious eyes.
“Exactly.”
That earned him another elbow to his ribs, but Dean laughed anyway.
Seth was so, so, so funny.
[...]
“Ambrose, Rollins, Leakee, get into the ring now.”
Dean shot a confused look at Seth —who was standing next to him, finishing his warm-up stretches— but Seth simply shrugged before walking toward the ring, climbing in with the grace of a damn cat.
Dean rolled his eyes. Of course, Seth Rollins would do anything, even climb into the ring in a flashy way, to get even a glance from Leakee if he had the chance.
Still, Dean followed him and climbed into the ring too —though he did it like a fucking normal person, thank you very much—, leaning against one of the turnbuckles to admire Leakee's huge body sliding into the ring next to them.
And if his eyes drifted to the end of Leakee’s tanned back to steal a quick peek at his butt, no one could blame him. Because Leakee had perhaps the biggest ass of anyone there, and his tiny trunks did nothing but make it more prominent.
“Well?” Seth asked impatiently, looking at his mentor, Joey Mercury, with an arched eyebrow.
(Dean sometimes, just sometimes, understood why Seth got complaints about his attitude. The alpha could be a little arrogant shit when he wanted to be. Although Dean would be damned if he admitted it, because despite everything, he really liked that bastard, and if he had to defend him for being a little bitchy, then he would. It was the two of them against the world. Always).
“I want to see you wrestle. All three of you,” Joey explained patiently, as he looked at the three in the ring with a curious expression, as if he was about to discover something important. “All versus all. You know, no disqualifications because it’s a triple threat. You have five minutes to get ready before we start.” the beta commanded.
Seth looked at Dean with a furrow across the ring, obviously confused, but this time it was Dean's turn to shrug.
He really had no idea what Joey had in mind by putting them all together in the ring so abruptly. Dean had expected the original plans for today to go ahead —which involved him wrestling Leo Kruger or something like that— but he supposed he would have to trust Joey's vision and adapt to the change of plans.
Still, the addition of Leakee was not something... common.
Because Seth and Dean had already faced each other many, many times in the ring, both in training days and during the small televised shows that aired on weekends. They had gone from hating each other to death and being probably the biggest rivals on the circuit to being very, very close friends. Also, they were more than used to working together and knew each other better than any other duo in this locker room. In fact, Dean believed that you couldn't talk about him without talking about Seth and vice versa, that's how intertwined their names were.
But with Leakee included... everything changed. This was, in fact, the first time Dean would share the same ring with him. Of course, he had seen him wrestle against other people before, and, well, he was quite athletic despite his huge size, but you could still easily see the inexperience and insecurity of someone who had just joined the business, with no previous experience.
From what he had heard, Leakee had been a football player before coming here, so Dean assumed that this simply hadn't been his first choice.
Fair enough. Not everyone grew up being a freak obsessed with wrestling like he did, but in the end, they all ended up finding their love and passion for the sport in their own ways.
“Ready?” Joey asked, sitting at ringside, as a referee climbed into the ring beside them.
Dean simply gave a firm nod, looking intently at his two opponents. Seth smiled openly at him, showing his teeth, as he jumped lightly in his own corner. On the other hand, Leakee looked at them both with such concentration that Dean was sure he could see the gears in Leakee's head turning if he looked at him for more than five seconds.
Cute.
But when the bell rang, Dean didn't hesitate to step in close and land a punch to Leakee's jaw that had him stumble on his feet for a good two seconds.
And apparently, Seth had thought exactly the same thing as Dean about dealing first with the big guy, because he hit Leakee with a superkick that made him drop to his knees with a thud in front of them both. After sharing a brief glance, Dean and Seth jumped on Leakee to hit him at the same time, trying to get rid of him so they could focus on finishing each other later.
From there, the match descended into chaos.
The three of them got into a mess of punches, kicks, submission holds, and all kinds of technical moves, pulling out all of their best stuff like they needed to prove something, prove that they were ready to move up and debut on the main roster once and for all.
It was intense. Dean couldn't even count how many times he had tried to pin Seth or Leakee for the three count before one of the other two kicked out to break it.
And the heat, oh, fuck. The heat was only getting more unbearable. Dean felt his entire body covered in sweat, dripping down his skin and into his eyes, but even that didn't stop him.
He had to win. He needed to win.
Dean got back up from where he had fallen (outside the ring, after a suicide dive from Leakee) and looked around the ring, finding Seth lying on the mat in a corner —after getting out of the three count when he got hit with Leakee's finisher— his chest rising and falling heavily with each breath and his sweat-drenched hair stuck to his forehead.
Then he looked ahead, fixing his eyes on Leakee's body and feeling his breath catch in his throat for a second.
The guy was there all face down and ass up, panting erratically as he tried to catch his breath, probably too exhausted because he wasn't used to matches as long as this one. His tanned skin glistened like honey thanks to sweat, his curly hair was a complete mess and his eyes were tightly shut, unaware of the hungry look Dean was giving him.
He looked... Damn, he looked so fucking beautiful.
Dean was concerned by that thought, but he couldn't stop it. There was something raw, something vulnerable about Leakee's appearance at that moment that heated Dean's blood like lava. It was as if seeing Leakee all wrecked, panting, and flushed turned on a switch in Dean's brain and, as a result, turned on something in his most primitive instincts as well.
It was almost like watching him in... heat.
Without taking his eyes off him, Dean slowly climbed into the ring, watching closely as Leakee's cherry-red lips parted slightly with each exhalation, or the way his Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed, but above all noticing the way his thighs trembled every time he tried to get up off the mat.
However, just as Dean was about to catch Leakee in a headlock, Leakee's beautiful, big brown eyes opened wide in alarm, catching Dean in the middle of his attempt to put his hands around his neck. And then, Dean's senses were hit by a wave of... pheromones.
It was like being hit by the shockwave of an explosion. An explosion of scent. A different scent, one he had never smelled before, not even on hot days like this when everyone produced more pheromones than usual.
This was a sweet but slightly sour scent at the same time, the kind you find after drinking a glass of orange juice on a hot day. It was refreshing, it was delicious, and it was extremely addictive.
But above all, it was omega. There was no doubt about it, those pheromones were from an omega. Since when was Leakee an omega? Dean had sworn he was a beta.
“Leakee—”
“Leakee!” Seth's voice exclaimed in surprise.
Apparently, Dean hadn't been the only one to notice Leakee's sweet scent.
Dean shot the other alpha a reproachful look, but it was too late. Leakee had furrowed his brow in confusion before realization hit him like a truck.
The omega's face contorted into a grimace of horror, and he stared at Dean with wide, frightened eyes when he realized that Dean was trying to get his hands near his neck, looking like a deer caught in the headlights.
“No, Leakee, I wasn't trying to...” Dean tried to explain, but Leakee didn't stay to listen.
Without saying a word, Leakee bolted out of the ring, running towards the locker room as if fleeing from a ghost and locking himself in there alone. Dean stood frozen in place, simply listening to Joey go after Leakee as he tried to process what had happened. After several long seconds, the muffled voices of the rest of the wrestlers began to fill the silence, but Dean didn't dare move from his spot.
“Leakee's an omega?” Seth asked, sounding just as surprised, if not more so, than Dean felt, as he sat down next to him on the ring apron.
Dean simply nodded, still feeling the scent of sweet oranges permeating his memory.
Well, that hadn't been the ending he had expected for that match.
[...]
Dean nearly choked on his water bottle when he saw who was walking straight towards him. And he knew the person was coming towards him because there was no one else —apart from Seth, but he was in the showers— in the locker room at that hour other than him; everyone else had left long ago.
Leakee.
He was dressed in casual clothes, of course; after all, a whole week had passed since the incident, and Leakee hadn't shown up at the warehouse to train since.
Dean almost feared that Leakee had quit and would never see him again.
“Ambrose,” Leakee greeted him once he was in front of him, though his serious expression did nothing to calm Dean's nerves.
“Leakee, what's up, man?” Dean replied, trying to sound cool and hide how nervous he was feeling.
Since when did Leakee make him so nervous? Damn, it was only a matter of time before he started acting like a dumbass around him just like Seth did.
“I just came to apologize. For that day,” Leakee said, scratching the back of his neck as he looked at the floor. “I didn't mean to scare you.”
Dean looked at him with wide, surprised eyes.
“What are you talking about? I should be the one apologizing,” Dean exclaimed, his cheeks red with embarrassment. “I bet you thought I was trying to get my face near your neck, and, uh, I swear that wasn’t it! I just wanted to put you in a sleeperhold to make you tap out,” he explained.
The panic he had seen in Leakee’s eyes that day had made him feel so, so guilty. And the guilt had only grown over the next few days when Leakee didn’t show up for training.
“Oh, no, don't worry, I—I didn't think that about you, not at all,” Leakee assured him, his serious expression finally turning into a small, shy smile. “I just panicked when I realized my suppressors had failed like that in the middle of a match,” he sighed, looking embarrassed.
Dean allowed himself to sigh quietly then, feeling the anxiety leave his body for the first time in days. So Leakee didn't consider him a lunatic alpha, good, he had been genuinely terrified of that possibility.
More relaxed, Dean allowed himself to smile back at Leakee, but just as he opened his mouth to say something else, Seth's loud ass made its presence known.
“Ambrose, you idiot, are you going to take a shower? I'm not letting you climb into my bed if you stink like—” Seth stopped abruptly when he noticed Leakee's presence, blushing to the roots of his hair. “Oh, Leakee!”
“Hi, Rollins,” Leakee said, waving his hand shyly. “Uh, should I leave? I didn’t mean to bother you.”
“Don’t go!”
“No, you’re not bothering us.”
Seth and Dean looked at each other immediately, with their cheeks red as they realized they had shouted in unison, both sounding terribly pathetic.
“Are you sure? I don't want to... interrupt,” Leakee murmured, looking suspiciously at both alphas.
And no wonder. Seth was wearing only a towel around his waist to cover his nakedness, and Dean was wearing only his trunks. Both were scantily clad, and they had been the only ones in the locker room before Leakee arrived. That was very compromising for two alphas.
“You're not interrupting,” Seth assured him with a nervous laugh. “I'm just... going to get dressed, I'll be right back,” and he ran back to the showers.
Dean rolled his eyes, lamenting how stupid Seth could be whenever a certain omega was around.
Omega.
“So... you're an omega,” Dean whispered, sounding as casual as he could.
“Yes,” Leakee laughed, pointing to the patch covering his scent gland at that moment.
“I—I didn't know, I thought you were a beta,” Dean confessed, tapping his collarbone rhythmically, a tic that usually revealed his nerves.
Leakee looked at him confused.
“What?”
“I mean, I'd never smelled your scent before, so I assumed…” Dean tried to explain himself.
Leakee chuckled, looking pretty amused by Dean's assumption.
“Oh, right. But I use scent blockers and suppressants because I don't like how strong my pheromones get after exercising or training, not because I'm trying to hide that I'm an omega,” he clarified, shrugging. “I'm not ashamed of it, in fact, I'm pretty proud of it,” he said, with a smile so big and bright that Dean felt a little dazzled.
Damn, Leakee was gorgeous.
“You're so cool,” Dean sighed, suddenly starting to understand why Seth had such a big —and embarrassing— crush on him.
Leakee huffed, looking away to hide the redness in his cheeks.
“I'm not cool, I'm just—uh, I'm just trying to prove that omegas can run this place too,” he said, twirling the strand of hair that had come loose from his bun.
Dean felt his chest fill with affection and couldn't help but take a step forward, moving closer to Leakee to get a better look at him.
“Oh, I can't smell you,” Dean murmured disappointedly, though seconds later he gasped in horror when he realized he had said it out loud and not just in his mind.
Leakee looked at him sheepishly through his eyelashes as he raised a hand to his neck to rub the patch covering his scent gland.
“Sorry! Forget that,” Dean exclaimed, cursing himself mentally.
Damn, he was really starting to sound just as dumb as Seth, huh?
“It's okay, it doesn't bother me,” Leakee assured him, letting out a nervous giggle and batting his eyelashes slowly.
Oh, didn't omegas usually flirt like that? No, he must be imagining it.
“Are you sure? I don't want to make you uncomfortable,” Dean laughed, as he began to rock anxiously on his toes, unable to stand still for two seconds.
“Yeah, uh, I don't usually wear it when I'm not training, but it was really hot today and I didn't want my scent to become annoying,” he confessed, still stroking the patch on his neck with his index finger.
Dean opened his mouth, but just as he was about to say something about how it wouldn't be a problem, Seth appeared behind him.
“You smell amazing, no one would mind if you let them smell it more often,” the other alpha said, his voice extremely serious and honest, causing both Dean and Leakee to jump in their places in surprise.
“Oi, man, you can't say that” Dean muttered through gritted teeth, as he swung his elbow to hit Seth in the ribs.
Damn, this alpha didn't know anything about being discreet, huh.
But, to their surprise, Leakee didn't seem upset by Seth's compliment. Instead, he looked at both alphas with his big brown eyes full of curiosity, as if he were suddenly considering something he had never thought of before.
“Sorry about Seth, sometimes he doesn't know when to—” Dean's voice trailed off as he watched Leakee remove the patch from his neck, allowing his pheromones to float freely through the air. “...shut up.”
Oh.
The surprised gasps of both alphas echoed throughout the locker room as the sweet scent of oranges reached their noses, sounding like a pair of cartoons because of how ridiculous they were being. Luckily, Leakee didn't seem bothered by it and instead let out a pleased chuckle before tilting his head to the right, exposing his scent gland.
Dean and Seth stared at him open-mouthed.
Leakee wasn't usually this bold. Of course, when he wrestled, he moved and acted with the confidence and arrogance that every wrestler should possess when performing, but outside the ring he was pretty quiet and reserved, almost shy.
But now he was standing there, exposing his neck to two alphas with whom he had barely exchanged words over the past few months.
Dean would have made a joke about it —as he always did when he was nervous and needed to take control of his emotions— but the scent of sweet oranges had him completely mesmerized. He could feel Leakee's pheromones filling his lungs with every breath, as if Leakee were invading his entire system, occupying every space inside him until he took root in his brain.
Omegaomegaomegaomegaomega.
“You smell so damn good,” Seth said, breaking the deep silence that had invaded the locker room.
“Yeah?" Leakee asked, a pleased smile on his lips, before stepping forward to get a little closer to them both. “Do you want to come here and scent me?”
Seth didn't even bother to answer, simply pushing Dean aside and taking a step forward, burying his face in the curve of Leakee's neck.
Dean stood there with his mouth open, unable to believe what was happening. Although his instincts, on the other hand, were scratching at the base of his skull insistently with desperate growls of:
Scenthimscenthimscenthim.
But he was too shocked by the oddness of the situation to move from his spot, choosing instead to watch with wide, surprised eyes as Seth began to rub his cheeks gently against Leakee's neck, scenting him just as the omega asked him to do.
Oh.
Omegas didn't let just anyone near their necks unless they were alphas they considered good mates to bond with, so...
Did that mean Leakee was interested in Seth?
“Hey, are you just going to stand there doing nothing?” Leakee asked, with a slightly defiant tone.
Correction. Did that mean Leakee was interested in Seth AND Dean?
“Leakee...” Dean whispered, swallowing hard.
“You can call me Roman. Leakee is just my Samoan name,” the omega said, and Dean blinked, a little dazed.
Damn, this omega was definitely interested in them.
With hesitant steps, Dean approached Seth and Leakee —Roman, his name was Roman— looking at the omega for permission before pressing his nose against the opposite side that Seth was scent-marking with concentration.
Sweet orange juice. Fresh lilies. A hint of musk, too.
Dean felt a growl rumble in his chest as he smelled that scent directly from its source, able to pick up every note, every detail of Leakee's pheromones.
And he would have stayed there forever, like an addict, completely drunk on that fragrance, if Leakee hadn't gently pushed them away by the chest, forcing them to move apart.
“Omega,” Seth tried to protest, in his usual whiny tone, but Leakee silenced him with a soft hush.
“I have to go, silly alpha,” Leakee laughed, stepping back, away from them.
Dean instantly missed the warmth of his skin.
“But...” Seth tried to protest again, earning a defiant look from Leakee.
“Don't be a brat,” the omega scolded severely, causing Seth to pout. “I have to go, but I'll be back for training tomorrow,” he assured, covering his neck with one hand. “I missed this week because I was going to the doctor to try better suppressants, but I've found the right one now.”
“Suppressants, of course,” Dean muttered, almost disappointedly.
Leakee laughed.
“Yes, suppressants. You two have to ask me out first before you earn the right to scent me again,” Leakee said, an arrogant smile on his lips.
Seth and Dean froze in their tracks.
Leakee wanted to date them!
Damn, weren't they the luckiest alphas ever?
"You want us to—?" Seth gasped loudly in shock. "But you never showed interest when—"
Leakee laughed, looking shy and embarrassed at the same time.
"Never realized I had two alphas interested in me" Leakee confesed, biting his lower lip. "If I knew..." Leakee gave them both another flirty smile. "But now I know, and I want you to do something about it. I already made the first move, omegas from my culture usually make it, but now it's your turn, alphas"
Dean tried to say something, anything, but only clumsy babbling came out of his mouth. Again, that seemed to amuse Leakee, who just winked at them before starting to leave the locker room with the look of someone who had gotten their way.
Oh, that omega had them right where he wanted them.
“Oh, my God, I'm going to faint,” Seth almost shouted, once they were alone again.
Dean nodded silently, agreeing. He was going to faint too, what the hell?
“He smelled so good,” Dean whispered, almost incredulously, still unable to believe what had happened. “Damn it, come on, I need a hand.”
And Dean took Seth's hand, dragging him back to the showers.
[...]
“We're going to mate him, right?” Seth asked, slowly standing up and wiping the cum dripping down his chin with the back of his hand.
Dean looked at the other alpha, breathing heavily, still trying to recover from the intense orgasm he'd had, as he held his knot with one fist.
“I don't know,” Dean confessed, leaning his head against the shower tile. “I mean, I've been avoiding him all this time for a reason, you know?”
“And what's that reason?” Seth asked, looking at him confused, as if he couldn't believe Dean was actually hesitating to claim the hottest omega on the fucking circuit after what had happened that afternoon.
“Seth, Leakee's family is kind of like wrestling royalty. And I'm just... me,” he muttered, sounding distressed. “I'm the poor, starving kid from the indies, the one who fought in death matches just to make a few bucks. I—I don't think I'm the right alpha for him.”
“Cut the crap,” Seth growled, pushing Dean's chest hard. “You're the coolest alpha I know, and an even better wrestler. You're talented, handsome, and your cock is huge, wich is important if you ask me. So stop being an idiot and don't scare that gorgeous omega away like you tried to scare me away, you hear me?”
Dean stared at Seth silently, feeling the other alpha's naked body press against his, filling him with warmth.
“You only want me to do it because you don't dare to do it first, you damn coward,” Dean teased, but still wrapped one of his arms around Seth's waist, hugging him even closer if that was possible.
“Shut up. I've been pining for him for months.” Seth laughed, resting his forehead against Dean's. “I want him, alpha. Can we mate him and make him part of our pack?”
Dean stayed silent, contemplating the idea. Last year, before he arrived at the FCW building for the first time, and before his name was Dean Ambrose, he would never have considered having someone by his side. Much less having two, having a pack to belong to. He had been alone for a long time, living resentful and angry at life for making him unable to keep people by his side.
For a long time, he considered himself a failure as an alpha.
But now...
“Yes,” he finally replied, closing his eyes. “Yes, Seth, that omega will be ours. Leakee—Roman will be our omega.”
He would be. Dean had a gut feeling that assured him that one day that omega would have his mating bite and would be the mum of his pups.
And his gut feelings almost never failed him. He just needed to wait.