Affection (Dean Ambrose/AJ Styles FanFiction)

Secrets revealed - Part 3

The day had been normal so far. AJ went to the gym, went to work, won his match and made some new friends.

He was still concerned for Dean, which shocked him a bit, because he had only met him once and they didn't exactly talk to each other. The vacant look on Dean's face just made AJ wonder what was really going on.

Dean must be going through a lot of problems right now. Things that were worse than tiredness and stress. It was the only way to explain the hurt look in his eyes.

AJ was on his way out of the arena when he heard the unmistakable voice of a long, lost friend. Seth. His laugh was easy to recognise. A slight cackle with a squeak at the end.

AJ turned the corner to see Seth stood next to Triple H. No, he was up close to Hunter's body, his hands around the CEO's neck. It was a very flirtatious pose. It looked as if the two men were acting out a scene from a love movie.

As unusual as it was, AJ knew that it was real. It was easy to tell that the two men were no longer friends. They were more than that. Partners, lovers.

Just as AJ was about to walk away, back towards the exit, Hunter leaned in towards Seth and placed his lips onto the younger man's. AJ was in shock. The sight he was seeing explained a lot.

Seth must have left the Shield in order to be with Hunter. Maybe it was a way to show his love for the older boss. It made sense. Seth was a young man who would do anything for the person he loved, including betraying his closest friends. Hunter had him wrapped around his finger.

The first thing AJ did, once he finally left the arena, was travel to the hotel and find Roman's room. For some reason he wanted to tell the Samoan about what he saw. Maybe Roman would realize that Seth meant no harm. He was just deeply in love.

AJ thought about telling Dean, but decided against it. He wasn't in the right mindset at the moment. Hearing Seth's name would probably upset him even further.

It turned out that Roman was sharing a room with Dean, so the two older men stepped out into the hallway and closed the door.

"So, what's up man?" Roman asked, leaning against the door.

"Well, I saw something today and I thought that maybe you should know about it. I was gonna tell Dean, but he seems too upset at the moment."

"Just spit it out, dude." Roman laughed.

"On my way out of the arena I saw Seth." AJ sighed.

"Ok, and?" Roman was confused as to why AJ was telling him this.

"He was with Hunter and, well, I don't know how to say this in any other way so I'm just gonna say it how it is." AJ rambled. "They were kissing."

At first there was silence, but then Roman began to laugh.

"Really? Man, I didn't see that coming." 

"I guess, but he's always been into older men. You should have seen him in the indies, he went through all the oldies." AJ laughed.

"Wait, hang on a minute." Roman said, with a questioning look on his face. "You're an oldie, compared to Seth, did you two ever... y'know?"

"Oh um, no, I mean - nothing serious, just like um. Anyway, back to the point." AJ stuttered.

"You totally did." Roman smirked. 

"Shut up." AJ felt really awkward. "Look, I think the reason why Seth 'broke up' the Shield, was because he was head over heals for Hunter. I don't think he was doing it to hurt you guys. He was just in a love trance. Still is."

"It makes sense." Roman sighed. "But it doesn't really change much. I'm still mad at him."

"That's understandable."

The door to the hotel room opened and Dean made his way into the hallway. He looked rough.

Dean had known that AJ was in the hallway and he wondered whether or not he should apologize for the previous day. He had straight up ignored the older man, which was very rude. AJ probably thought he was a jerk.

When he opened the door, the look on AJ's face made it seem like him and Roman were talking about stuff Dean wasn't supposed to hear.

"Hey Dean, you feeling better today?" AJ asked, a concerned smiled on his face.

"Um, yeah." Dean mumbled, looking at the ground, hardly heard by the two older men. "Sorry for yesterday."

"What do you mean?" AJ asked. Dean hadn't done anything wrong. He had nothing to apologize for.

"For like, ignoring you and stuff. Sorry."

"Don't worry man, you don't have to apologize for that. Everyone has their off days. There's nothing wrong with wanting to be left alone." AJ smiled.

"Um thanks. S-see you later." Dean waved slightly, entering the hotel room and closing the door behind him.

After a few seconds, AJ got the courage to speak.

"Seriously Roman, what's wrong with Dean? I'm worried about him, I've never seen anyone this upset before." AJ asked.

"Honestly, I don't know." Roman sighed. "Ever since Seth ditched us for the Authority, he's been off. He won't talk to anyone, apart from a few small words. I think he had a thing for Seth, y'know? They were alway really close."

"Man, that sucks. Now that I think about it, Dean could be going through heartbreak."

"Maybe, but we won't know for sure unless he tells us." Roman replied.

"Yeah. Well, I better get going. It's late." AJ sighed. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah, see ya." Roman smiled, heading back into the hotel room.

Dean was once again laying silently in his bed, not moving. He didn't want to talk. He didn't want attention.

Roman was really starting to worry for his friend. He had never seen him like this before. He was once the light of the party, the crazy, eccentric, Dean Ambrose. But now he was only a shell of his past self.

"Goodnight, Dean." Roman whispered, turning off the bedside lamp and closing his eyes. He was once again met with silence.