Spaces Between

Flashback: A Boundary Set

It took him a moment to settle once he boarded his flight but Fergal finally sat back on his seat, minutes away from take off. He had arranged for a flight to Orlando to get a suitcase for his trip home, and maybe a day of rest, before another stretch of travel.

It was nice to have a moment to reflect. It wasn't lost on him that aside from working together during the Mixed Match Challenge, his friendship with Pamela had suffered as a result of their calls to the main roster. He missed how close they were able to become during their NXT days and their goofy storyline relationship back then had been the catalyst for a wonderful friendship.

As the plane taxied off the runway and lifted off, his thoughts drifted, their first encounter at the Performance Center coming to mind.

"Hi, I'm Pamela. Pam. Bayley, technically. You know, my ring name." The way she'd rambled through her introduction had been adorable, the nervous energy was apparent.

"Fergal Devitt. I...I'm still settling on a ring name." He was always a bit of an introvert and a bit shy outside of any wrestling personas, even as he had grown in confidence over the years, especially in new situations.

"Prince Devitt not working out huh?" There was a playful grin on her face as she spoke.

"You followed my career?" It had been surprising to him at first that she'd known even one of his previous ring names.

"I followed enough to know I'm a fan of what you do." The friendly tone her voice has taken could have easily been mistaken for flirting but he knew she was just being friendly to a new face.

He remembered how taken aback he had been at her response, and taking a moment to respond. But as soon as she launched into what made her such a big wrestling fan as they worked out, he knew he'd connected with a friend for life.

"This has been really nice," he remembered telling her at the end of their workout, "Really made me feel welcomed."

"It's always good to have some fresh blood. I've been here for over a year and I love seeing new faces."

"Yeah...you seem very nice and I just...this is going to sound like a weird request but do you mind if we stick to calling each other by our ring names? Just...to keep it professional and friendly, you know?"

That request had been what she'd referenced in their earlier conversation. That request that he'd immediately asked of her, that she'd complied with for so long. He never intended for it to be a long term deal, but she'd been in a relationship during their entire time at NXT and it helped to avoid crossing that line between the two of them, at least it did for him, even when they'd entertained the crowd together with a tiny bit of a storyline romance.

"Of course. Professional and friendly. That's me in a nutshell!" The response made it seem like the request had been nothing to her, even though he knew she had always taken great care to respect his wishes and honor his request, even to this day. "But you don't have a ring name yet. What do I call you?"

"You can call me Fergal for now, I suppose. At least until I get the ring name sorted out."

"So do you want to have dinner then? A good workout always makes me hungry."

"Sure thing, Bayley."

The memory had plastered a goofy smile on his face and had put him in a great mood, even on a red eye.

- - - - -

Meanwhile, on a flight to San Jose, where Pamela had been journeying to take some time to visit her family, she'd been recalling the same encounter, though entirely different moments stood out for her. The passion in his voice and his eyes was evident when he spoke about his journey on the independent circuit and what led him to Japan, leaving her drawn to him and wanting to listen to him more.

The memory itself had been a happy one, but it was one of the many moments she'd shared with Fergal that made it increasingly difficult over the years not to break the boundary he'd set, even if their farewell in Toronto could have been seen as him giving her permission to cross that line. But Pamela was a good girl, something she strived to maintain regardless of her wrestling persona, and good girls respected their friends' wishes when it came to personal boundaries.

"I like it. Finn. That's a great name."

When he'd finally settled on a new ring name and explained the meaning of it to her, she had no choice but to honor their 'ring names only' agreement. She'd become fascinated, by both the meaning behind the name and the Demon persona that came along with it. She'd had a passing knowledge of the body paint and how it helped him get into character but she hadn't known that it helped him overcome his shyness before. She'd always just assumed he was as confident as he'd appeared to be when they first met.

Back at the Scotiabank Arena, it had taken every ounce of her being to keep herself from telling him that she needed her best friend back. But from a distance, she'd seen what his time on the main roster had done to him, with his first title run as short as it was and his shoulder getting busted up during his first ever title match. She'd watched from gorilla position as he had to relinquish the title he'd fought so hard to win the previous night. She knew deep down he felt he could have done more after that huge setback but wasn't given the push he needed. If he needed time off to clear his head, she would have been incredibly selfish as a friend to ask him to give it up for her so she didn't. But sitting on that flight alone, she swore to herself that once he returned, she would tell him how she felt, at least about how they had drifted apart since their NXT days. The rest of it...she wasn't ready, and she wasn't sure if she would ever be ready.