#shoman

CHAPTER ONE

Catering backstage at “Monday Night Raw” was packed and buzzing with excitement. It was one of those “go-home Raws” preceding a major pay-per-view that sent minds and hearts racing. Celeste and Shiloh sat next to each other, cackling between bites of food, in their own little world. They would each be involved in major storylines, as they had been for the last few months. The cousins had made for unique and profitable attractions in WWE, due in part to their involvement with main-eventers Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins and the coterie of stars they ran with. While they were nervous about what awaited them tonight, their anxieties were always allayed in each other’s presence.

“Did you see his face when she—?!” Cece started.

“—YES! What the fuck was that?!” Shiloh picked up.

“They have zero chill!” Celeste exclaimed before taking another fork full of her chicken breast.

“That’s life for the fuckless I guess...” Shiloh tucked into his salmon.

Taking in the cafeteria-style room, Celeste silently assesses everyone she sees. There were friends, foes, exes and almosts all swirling around in a current of excitement. Her boyfriend Seth had already eaten his prepared meal and was in “gorilla” preparing to open the show. Roman, Shiloh’s tag partner, wasn’t present either. That wasn’t a surprise, since Vince McMahon monopolized most of his time at “Raw” tapings. Not that Celeste minded Reign’s absence: their relationship was contentious, to say the least. Before she could roll her eyes at the mere thought of Roman, she meets the blue-eyed gaze of Finn Balor a few tables away. Had he been looking at her the whole time?

Balor grins at her and gives a deceptively innocent wave. The man from the “Emerald Isle” of Ireland was a bundle of contradictions: smaller in stature than most of the WWE roster, he was nonetheless “shredded for the Gods” as Shiloh once put it; for a man nearing 40 years old, his face, body, and attitude were all shockingly youthful; while most of the world would describe his social media posts as downright adorable—to say nothing of meeting him in person—he had a devilishly naughty side to his personality that could bring anyone to their knees. It had and would continue to bring Celeste and Seth to their knees on multiple occasions.

“Cece—HELLOOOO! Earth to Celeste!” Shiloh gently shakes her shoulder. “So you’re just gonna fall into the matrix mid conversation?”

“What? Huh?” Celeste tears her eyes from Finn’s and looks dazedly at her cousin. “What did you say?”

“Obviously nothing THAT important. Who the hell were you staring at? Is it that bitch?” Shiloh scans the room with daggers in his eyes.

“Wait, which bitch? No—no bitch.”

“Oh,” he responded, half disappointed. “Who then?”

Celeste swallows hard, hesitation catching in her throat. She’d never really pictured telling him what had gone down between Seth, Finn, and herself. Though they were closer than most siblings, this wasn’t the kind of information one readily discussed with family. “I...it was...” she looks in Finn’s direction but he’a vanished.

“Girl, are you okay? Did you see a demon or something?”

“YES! I mean—I saw Finn. Finn.”

Shiloh shifts his eyes back and forth and raises a brow. “O-kay...y’all are friends, you see him all the time. You and Seth are like the Peter, Paul and Mary of wrestling.”

“Right, yeah, we are...”

“And? You’re acting weird. Is there something I need to know? Do I need to go Alec Lightwood on his demon ass? My crossbow is on ready.”

“No! It’s not like that, for real. We’re good.”

“Are y’all...too good?” Shiloh’s expression is exaggeratedly suspicious.

Celeste couldn’t find her words. Was she really about to—COULD SHE tell him?

“CECE NO! I know Seth is a cornball but he’s a good dude and y’all love each other and he’s like my big broth—“

“I’m not cheating on Seth! I would never do that! We—“

“Well what is it then?”

“We—we’re—“ she grabs Shiloh’s tight T-shirt and pulls him towards her. Whispering in his ear, she finally says “We’re poly. Seth and I are both in a relationship with Finn.”

Shiloh’s face as he pulls back from her could only be described as ‘SHOOK’. “YA’LL ARE—THE THREE OF Y’ALL ALL—AND SETH—hold on—“

“DON’T TELL A FUCKING SOUL, LOH—not Renee, not Naomi, especially not that bitch Rom—“

“Okay, you gotta stop calling him that. He—“

“NOBODY.”

“OKAY, damn!”

“SWEAR IT. Swear it on grandma’s grave.”

“I. SWEAR. I would never betray your confidence. If I’m lying I’m dying,” he says, making the Sign of the Cross.

Celeste exhales heavily and sinks into her chair, relieved but embarrassed. “Okay...I’m trusting you.”

Shiloh nods silently, clearly awash in his own thoughts now. “Okay. But on the real, like...who...like—which one of them is the top?”

“Loh!” Celeste exclaimed blushing “Really? That's what you want to know?”

“I mean, that's not all—I want to know how the fuck that happened.”

Loh and Cece were interrupted by one of the men in question walking up to their table and taking a seat next to Cece. “I can feel my ears burning, love,” he said with a small smile.

Cece looks down, blushing. “I told Loh about the three of us,” she whispers. Finn laces his fingers with hers under the table, out of sight of the rest of the room.

Finn directs his laser-sharp blue gaze to his girlfriend’s cousin “Is there a problem?” He asks lightly.

Shiloh cocks his head, pondering whether that was a loaded question or a veiled threat. “‘A problem’? You think I’d have a problem with WHATEVER my cousin chooses to do in her personal life?”

“It’s a simple question, Shiloh.”

Celeste could feel tensions rising between the two men but the anxiety it produced prevented her from formulating the words to stop the argument.

“You don’t know me to question my character like—“

“Why are ya so defensive? You don’t know me, either. But I’ve been in this business a lot longer than you and ya oughta respect—“

“I ain’t gotta respect shit, Rainbow Brite!”

“Loh—“ Celeste starts.

“That’s real cute, fella. Ya pull that outta ya ‘Burn Book’?”

“Finn-“ she tries again.

“Oooh, a ‘Mean Girls’ reference! That’s not basic as fu—“

“BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP!” Celeste bellows, snatching her hand out of Finn’s and raising both of hers skyward. Her cousin and her boyfriend both stare at her, startled. Antics with Shiloh aside, she was always the picture of cool professionalism. But Finn and Loh had their own barely suppressed issues that frequently rose to the surface as cutting insults. While they treated it as a bitchy game of oneupmanship, it hurt Cece deeply to see two of the men she cared most for disrespect one another so viciously.

The entire room had fallen silent and was now staring at them. “The two of you are acting like fucking children and I’M OVER IT!”

“Love, I—“

“Cece—“

“STOP.” Her voice cracked as tears welled up in her eyes. “Just stop.” She bolts up from the table, turns heel and jogs out of the room before anyone can see her cry.

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Chapter Two

Shiloh sits knees-up on the locker room bench while the crew sets up for he and Roman Reign’s segment on “Monday Night Raw”, scrolling through his Instagram feed. He was a natural at getting his lines down in a hurry and delivering them convincingly, so he wasn’t feeling the least bit nervous. In fact he was trying to keep himself from getting bored while Roman practiced and practiced...and practiced. The bigger, older man paced back and forth mumbling his lines to himself. Between double taps, Loh tries to reassure his partner and co-Tag-Team-Champion. “I think you got it down, Romey-Rome,” he says, not looking up from his phone.

Roman snickers at him and continues to pace. “Don’t tell me how to work my process, kitten.”

Shiloh drops his arms dramatically, phone still in hand. “Roman,” he glares at him, “you’re abusing that stupid pet name. You realize that, right? It’s worse than that stupid ‘Shoman’ hashtag.”

“MEOW?” Roman teases. One crew member chuckles, then another and another until the whole room has a laugh at Loh’s expense.

Shiloh glowers around the room, laughs buffoonishly, then scowles. “Y’all are so easily amused.”

Roman stops pacing, looks down at Loh with mock sympathy and continues to jab him. “Don’t be so...CATTY, Loh-Loh.” He sticks his long, sharp tongue out and bugs his eyes like a battle rapper who just sonned his opponent. The room erupts in chuckles again.

Shiloh rolls his eyes so hard he can see his own brain. “Where’s a measles outbreak when you need one?”

Roman sucks his teeth and gives his own eyes a roll. “C’mon, now—what would you do without me?”

“Get over.”

“Oh shit,” the segment producer gasps. It’s Roman’s turn as fodder as the whole room laughs at his expense.

“You’ll really be ‘over’ when I end your ass,” Reigns retorts. Shiloh was right: he WAS “over” on his own, which was why he’d been paired with the ever-controversial and inexplicably polarizing Roman Reigns. They both knew it, even if Vince McMahon hadn’t put it in those exact words. Neither talent had expected the two of them to “click” the way that they had. The chemistry was instantaneous and soon sent tongues wagging. And it was a good thing, too, as the suggestion that he needed the pretty and petty ex-commentator to garner favor with WWE fans initially bruised his considerable pride. Still, that didn’t keep his partner from “busting his balls” when they had their playful tete-a-tetes.

“Bae-bee, even the ‘Big Dog’ couldn’t ‘end’ this ass, no matter how big a hole he dug in it,” Shiloh fires back suggestively.

Before Reigns has a chance to recover, the cameraman enters the room and professionalism takes the day. Roman goes through his lines in head one last time but keeps his eyes on the grinning, triumphant Loh.

*******

Vince McMahon greeted "Shoman" as they walked through the Raw stage curtain into gorilla. The expression on his face was inscrutable. Neither sweaty, tenderized performer knew what to make of it. His mouth was pulled into a tight, toothless smile but there was no mirth to his general countenance, and his eyes were darting back and forth between them. Roman absentmindedly places a hand on his partner's bare shoulder. Loh took a deep breath, eager but not exactly excited to hear what the boss of bosses had to say. "Gentlemen..." McMahon starts, "...you're 'Trending' again. Congratulations."

"Oh wow..." Roman feigns happy surprise. He wasn't much of a social media. Though he understood that "impressions" equaled money for the company, he didn't much concern himself with the opinions of others. At least, he wanted to believe wasn't concerned.

"Yeah? That's awesome, huh?" Loh gently nudges Roman.

"Y-yeah, awesome. Are we in the top 5 or something?" Roman attempts with a little more effort.

"Josh?" McMahon nods in the direction of the young, suited man standing beside him.

"You're--well, 'Shoman'," he says with finger quotes, "is the number-one trending topic worldwide as of half an hour ago. 'Roman' is number four and 'Shiloh' is number three. Impressions have grown every week and it appears you've reached critical mass. Congratulations."

"HOLY--" Shiloh catches himself, eager not to appear unprofessional in front of Vince. "Thank you. And thank you, Mr. McMahon. This whole thing was your idea."

"Well, I had a hunch and I followed it. You two have made it a success of sorts. Let's have more of your...well, whatever one might call it. 'Chemistry', perhaps. Have a good evening. See you in the next town." McMahon nods, dismissing them.

*******

Fans had gathered behind the fences at the back of the arena, eager to see their favorite Superstars off and hopefully grab a word or two. When Shiloh and Roman walked out into the cold night air, screams and cheers shattered what had been a relatively peaceful atmosphere. Both men were shocked by the response. Though Shiloh had gotten used to the cheers after his character transitioned from a pure heel to a "tweener" to a solid fan favorite, it had never been like this. Roman was used to mixed reactions inside arenas, though most of the fans who booed him were too intimidated to be rude to his face. However, any boos being hurled his way at this moment were drowned out by the fervent cheers. Loh smiles and waves accordingly. Roman looks at them distrustfully, then at Shiloh for confirmation, then waves once he feels comfortable. They throw their overnight bags on either side of the rental SUV's backseat, exchanging bewildered expressions before closing the back doors. Roman hops in the driver's side while Loh gives one last round of waves to his--or was it THEIR?--fans. "OK, Princess Kate, get in the car. We gotta get on the road," Roman cautions. Shiloh obliges him a few seconds later, climbing into the passenger's side with a giant grin on his face.

"You gotta give the people what they want, Romey-Rome. Don't be mad, be blessed."

Roman side-eyes him but can't help grinning at his pure expression of ego. As he starts the engine, he asks "Is that your 'Housewives' tagline? 'Don't be mad, be blessed'?"

"Look at you, picking out taglines! I've trained you so well," Loh answers back smugly. "You complain the whole hour but you be paying attention."

Roman scoffs and shakes his head. "Thank God we got this pay-per-view on Sunday so I don't gotta hear 'Shade!' and 'Read!' fifty-thousand times."

"You say that like I don't have the Bravo app and you won't hear all about it on Monday."

"Whatever. Speaking of apps, pull up Twitter and see why we're trending so high."

Shiloh sends his apology text to Celeste, who he hadn't seen since she fled catering during his argument with Finn Balor earlier that day. He wanted to know whether they were still on for the weekend's "Girls Night" slumber party with Naomi and Renee. "I thought 'a hound didn't concern himself with the opinions of stray cats' or whatever you tweeted the other day. Those cheers got in your head didn't they?" Nonetheless, he himself was curious and pulled up the app immediately.

"Something's different now. Even with Vince hooking us up I haven't gotten straight cheers like that. I didn't hear a single boo."

Loh snickers. "You just said we 'hooked up' and the word 'straight' in the same sentence." He taps the magnifying glass icon and sees for himself that "Shoman" is indeed the number-one "Trending Topic" with "450.6K" total tweets. "God damn..."

"What is it?"

"Half-a-million tweets, that's what."

"Shit..."

Shiloh taps the topic to see the actual tweets. The top tweet is from, to his extreme chagrin, Finn Balor. It reads "Sho-MAN, LOOK AT THAT BUM! #Shoman" followed by a peach emoji and a looking-eyes emoji. Loh's attention is drawn to the GIF attached to the tweet, which is a capture of the two of them walking to the ring for tonight's match against Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre. It's a slowed down depiction of Reigns allowing Shiloh to ascend the ring steps before him, then--seemingly--taking in an eyeful of his tag partner's ass and smiling slyly. He's so shocked that he drops his phone in his lap.

"What--" Roman takes one look at his face and alarm bells sound in his head. Shiloh remains silent and doesn't look at him. Traffic is slow enough that he can safely take his eyes off the road, so he grabs the phone off of Loh's lap and takes in Balor's tweet. His jaw tightens as his fury begins to rise. Shiloh looks at him now, concern and fear in his eyes. Finally he mutters "I'm gonna kill that motherfuck--" He's cut off by the sound of his wife's ringtone blaring from his cell phone.

Tag List

@crossfit-princess-sethie-boo

@bigequation

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Tag List

@crossfit-princess-sethie-boo

@bigequation

@mersers-moonypadfoot-prongs

@cutiepieseth

@wildmindedbeauty32

@beautytrinity

@booksandbeanie

@surfdudemm

@hotunromancablenpc

@aleca85

@bakugokatsvki

@royalbelial

@brattybattybaby

@siraarxn

@finnbalorbae

@thatwrestlingfan91

@theprogresskid

@steampunkprincess147

@twinkletwinklegreekgod

@ajleesbuttlicker

@bethyl4life123

@ihtscuddlesbeeetchx3

@rcarmelle

@blue-sky124

@klimt-child

@crxshxr

@omghydrogen

Prologue

Shiloh "Loh" Campbell stands ringside with the hood of his jacket pulled up, watching his tag partner, Roman Reigns, rehearse his singles match with Shiloh's ex-boyfriend, Sami Zayn. It wasn't the first time the two young veterans had been booked against one another but it was the first time they'd squared off since Zayn and Campbell had ended their relationship in kayfabe and in real life.

Even though the moves were rehearsed and the outcomes predetermined, watching wrestling was always a tense experience for Loh. From a young fan, to competing for a spot on commentary, to managing Sami and becoming in-ring talent himself, "sports entertainment", as his boss Vince McMahon coined it, always drew a lot of emotion from him. Obviously, this particular match drew more out of him than others.

When one of Roman’s punches appears to connect with Sami’s jaw, Shiloh winces. Reigns gives an apologetic head nod and a muffled “Sorry” to his opponent. Sami grabs his jaw, clearly rocked by the shot, but just shakes it off after accepting the apology. Loh smiles in acknowledgement of how apologizing isn’t Roman’s strong suit; the thirty-three-year-old had revealed himself as a much more complex man than his twenty-two-year-old partner had ever expected. He’d gotten to know him in ways beyond the friendly or the professional.

Loh takes his eyes off of the action in the ring long enough to spot his first cousin and fellow WWE on-camera personality, Celeste Dowling—affectionately known as “Cece”—sitting behind the crowd barrier in one of the floor seats. She was flanked by Seth Rollins, her boyfriend of four months, and Finn Balor, THEIR boyfriend of three months. They had gone public with their polyamorous relationship days prior. Shiloh had suspected feelings existed between Balor and Cece and Balor and Rollins but hadn’t imagined just how mutual those feelings were. Had their relationship been revealed a mere week or too earlier, Loh would’ve been the first to congratulate them, even though he found the configuration a bit strange. Not that he should judge, considering his current circumstances. However, though they had been the best of friends, seeming more like brother and sister than cousins, they weren’t on speaking terms now. Indeed, despite feeling the impetus to wave at her from the short distance, Shiloh merely stared at her for a few seconds then turned his head back to face HIS two men.

He’s confronted with the sight of Roman staring in the direction of Rollins, Cece, and Balor. Loh couldn’t see his face but he could feel him glowering. The three of them glowered back at Reigns, though there appeared to be more hurt in Seth’s eyes than anger. It wouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that Rollins was suffering due to this latest estrangement from his Shield brother.

“You three do everything together, don’t you? Your periods sync up too?” Roman shouts. The crew, talent and suits in the arena all stop what they’re doing and look back and forth nervously at them.

“I think your ‘Big Dog’ needs a walk and a belly rub, hon—uh...Loh,” Sami whispers to him from the corner of the ring closest to him. This was one of the rare occasions where the mouthy former commentator was at a loss for words. He’d prayed that Roman wouldn’t allow the events of the other night to effect their professional lives, but Shiloh should’ve known that “The Big Dog’s” pride wouldn’t let him accept what’d happened. And Sami’s big puppy dog eyes weren’t helping his thought processes either, to be honest.

Balor stands up from his folding chair and shouts obscenities at Roman. Shiloh can’t make out the words, so figures he’s shouting in Irish, as he’d been known to do.

“Speak English and face me like a fucking man this time!” Reigns shouts back. “No bitch-ass sneak attacks here, motherfucker,” he points to the ring canvas.

A red-faced, bug-eyed Balor approaches the railing, looking more like his “Demon” alter ego than his usual pretty boy self. Celeste stands up and grabs his arm but he just snatches it away. Rollins shouts at him to calm down but their boyfriend is a man possessed.

“NAH! LET LUCKY CHARMS GET HIS LIGHTS KNOCKED OUT AGAIN! C’MON BITCH,” Roman taunts.

“Roman, chill!” Shiloh shouts before sliding into the ring. “Stop it! We’re at work!” He grabs a massive shoulder with one hand and a bear’s paw of a hand with the other. “Please?” He begs.

Reigns’ expression softens for just a moment, in recognition of Shiloh’s presence. “Get out of the ring. Shit’s about to get ugly. I don’t want you to get hurt. Don’t get involved.” His words are too low for anyone but Shiloh to hear but they come through loud and clear. He was determined for this calamity to happen but not at the cost of Loh’s safety.

Loh moves to face his partner, standing in between him and Balor’s warpath. He can hear the guardrails shaking and more people shouting for Finn to stop behind him. “PLEASE don’t do this,” he pleads. “You don’t have anything to prove! That night is in the past—LEAVE IT THERE.”

Tag List

@crossfit-princess-sethie-boo

@bigequation

@mersers-moonypadfoot-prongs

@cutiepieseth

@wildmindedbeauty32

@beautytrinity

@booksandbeanie

@surfdudemm

@hotunromancablenpc

@aleca85

@bakugokatsvki

@royalbelial

@brattybattybaby

@siraarxn

@finnbalorbae

@thatwrestlingfan91

@theprogresskid

"The Diaz Brothers"

Team: Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu