Summerslam Week 2019 was in the books, the second biggest pay per view event of the year was done as was all the spectacle around it. Smackdown Live had just finished and in the hallways near the locker rooms, Finn intercepted Bayley, who seemed a bit out of sorts.
"So, you're taking your time off now?" the typically chipper hugger commented casually, her expression clearly displeased, but with what, he wasn't entirely sure.
"If you think I'm going to let two months go by without seeing you, you're wrong, Pamela Rose." He made a gentle attempt at reassuring her.
"What happened to drawing the line at ring names, Fergal?" she immediately pointed out an agreement they had reached in their early days at NXT, a boundary he'd set early on in their friendship.
"Does it really matter anymore? We've gotten plenty personal over the years, and there's no one I feel more comfortable with now." There was a nonchalant shrug accompanying Finn's boyish smile.
"I'll be busy defending this title." Bayley pointed at the belt over her shoulder. "And I'll be in Asia a whole bunch next month."
"I'll find time to see you. I'm just really burnt out and I need to reassess where I'm at, career wise. It's just a few weeks away from the grind." For a moment, he spoke outside of his ring name and his character and he knew that would reach his best friend.
"I know..." Bayley let out a barely audible sigh before she added, "You better come back for Survivor Series. I can't carry the Blue Brand on my own." She let out a playful smirk, the underlying sadness of being without her best friend was pushed to the background.
"I'll be back in plenty of time for Survivor Series, I promise, Bay." Finn had reverted back to their previously agreed ring name use, trying to lighten her mood as he nudged her side playfully with his elbow.
"Good, because any longer and I would miss you too much. I always do." Bayley left her thoughts unspoken for a moment before she finally said, "And hopefully you'll be around if they do another Evolution."
"I wouldn't miss it for the world, especially if you're on the card." The tone Finn took was somewhere between reassuring and firm, to which Bayley could only respond with a nod.
The two of them hugged it out, not in the high energy crazy rolling on the floor sort of way they did before, but in a tender, loving way two best friends would. Finn let himself linger for an extra moment before he added, "I'll see you in a couple of weeks at the next house show. I'm going to spend some time with my folks for a while."
Bayley simply nodded as she reluctantly pulled herself away from Finn's embrace.
"Have a good night." Finn's last words reached her ears as he released her.
Bayley watched Finn walk off before she herself walked off to find the car that would take her to the airport.
YOU ARE READING
Spaces Between
FanfictionHe needed the time off to go home and recharge. She needed her best friend back. Little did they know that the key to filling the spaces between them was in the things they were holding back from each other and from themselves. What happens when...
