Self Destruct (Roman Reigns Dark Fiction)

10. Back in the Ring

FRIDAY AFTERNOON.

THE BIG NIGHT.

"Not too tight." Roman winces as I brush his hair back. I loosen my grip while wrapping a band around his neatly brushed strands. He taps his foot nervously, and I spray any fly always molding them down with my finger. Our hotel room looks like it was hit with a tornado from all of the preparation we'd been doing in the morning; as well as sex. He gets out of the chair once I secure a nice bun at the top of his head. He checks his hair in the mirror, and before he can pull it out I stop him.
"You look fine. I'm not redoing it for the 5th time." I rub his back to ease his anxiety. I grab his jacket off of the bed putting it around him. It's snug against muscles as I zip it up to his neck. I fight the urge to go for another round while taking in just how good he looked. A knock then rings loudly, and I can tell by the sporadic rhythm it was his manager. He turns looking down at me, and I hold his face.
"You got this." I whisper as the knocking turns into banging. Roman rolls his eyes, and he goes to answer the door finally. When he swung it open, Paul almost fell to the ground in a panic.
"There are already dozens of paps at the front entrance. We have to go now before people find out you're showing up tonight." He pushes past me getting his things. I take offense to his dismissive behavior grabbing the handle of 'my' medicine bag from him.
"This is mine actually. I can take it." I tug at his tight grip causing his eyes to widen. He looks to Roman who gives him a nod to let go. I grin while pulling my hood up to hide my face as we leave. Paul stays behind so we can sneak through the garage undetected. We get onto a private elevator pressing the button to go down. I find myself being just as nervous as he is, and the thought of such a large public event made me nauseous. We held hands the whole way down only for him to let go abruptly once the doors open. We duck behind cars and trucks as our SUV waits by the exit gate. Thankfully, there are no paparazzi around to catch us, and the driver honks his horn to get us to hurry. Once we reach it, we shuffle into the back seat finally able to relax for the short ride to the stadium. Roman takes my hand again kissing the back of it for good luck. I cuddle up to his arm which was met by occasional glances from the rear view mirror. The gate opens, and we pull out causing the crowd of cameramen to rush down in hopes of catching a glimpse of whoever was in this blacked out vehicle. As they do so, the driver floors it onto the main road avoiding the bright flashes. My heart pounds from the rush of commotion, and I kinda enjoy the chaos.

—

FRIDAY NIGHT.

We talk in a hush tone the entire car ride. I make the most of these private moments together with Roman knowing I would barely see him while in the arena. We drive around the back, and another giant gate opens to let us in. There's a camera crew waiting patiently as we ride into the building. I can hear the crowd of fans cheering all the way from backstage. They didn't even know who would come out of the car only that it was a surprise appearance. The car stops, and Roman taps my leg signaling me to get in the passenger seat. I climb over with my things so the cameras won't see me. First Paul, who followed us in his own vehicle, comes around the corner holding his championship title over his shoulder. The screams get even louder, and erupt into mayhem as Roman steps out proudly. I try to watch from the corner of my eye, but the driver pulls off once he closes the door.
"I'll take you to his locker room." He offers, and this highly anticipated moment felt anticlimactic from my view.

—

LATER.

The live feed of Smackdown plays on a large television, and I watch waiting for something interesting to happen. Or more so, waiting for 'him' to make an appearance. Waters and protein snacks were the only items available to keep me fed as I sit on the large leather couch. It was only 45 minutes past 8pm, and Roman was set to show up to the ring at a later time. After the second commercial break, I pull my phone out to find something more riveting to keep me occupied. There were already dozens tweets and articles detailing Roman's 'surprise' return to smackdown. Soon, him and Paul rush into the locker room joining me.
"Once he finishes his match. Your theme will cue up and you go out there-" Paul goes over the game plan, but gets shut down with just a look.
"I know what to do.." Roman responds sternly as he compulsively ties his hair back up after taking it down again. I then turn back to the tv to see one of his promotional scenes play because of the delayed feed. His acting skills were impressive to the point where I couldn't even recognize him as the Roman I personally knew. Majority of his talking points were designed to antagonize Seth into accepting their inevitable match. The shot then cuts back to the ring, and Seth's theme song begins playing. A mix of cheers and boos echo coupled with his slow walk down the ramp. I feel grossed out seeing him be so revered and loved by fans; knowing he was just a sleazy low down asshole in person. I turn away from the television not wanting to watch him while he gets announced, but Roman stares with his eyes super glued to the screen. He can't wait to get back into that ring almost shaking in anticipation for the finale of the match. Another wrestler enters the stadium afterwards, and they begin their match up with the ringing of the bell. I attempt to pull Roman's attention away so he can focus on himself better. Letting out a deep breath, he starts to hype himself up in preparation. We go back to our quiet whispering in order to avoid any ears hearing us.
"I'll be alright." He softly speaks as I fix his collar. I can feel Paul watching us from behind my back, and I painfully resist the urge to kiss him right here. A crew member then comes in interrupting us.
"6 minutes till pin.." he gives Roman his cue to head towards the ring. I find my seat as him and Paul leave out of the locker room.