Backstage at Ring of Honor felt... different. It seemed that everyone was somehow aware of what tonight would bring.

Tonight was the third night of the annual 'War of the Worlds' event, which combined NJPW with ROH and there was never a dull moment to be had. But the vibe in the locker room felt more… electric, than usual. Something in the air spoke of change and progression and loss.

Brenna knew exactly why.

Adam had grown in ROH. He had started years ago in the company, had made a name for himself in the company, held titles in the company.

And now he was going to walk away from it all.

It was just a little over two months in this exact building where Adam and Brenna had decided to give their relationship a genuine go. And it was just a week less than that since their Las Vegas tryst. Things were going well, all considered. Surprisingly, they had found it easier than anticipated to meet up in each other's cities when not on shows. Though of course locker rooms still provided their most common rendezvous spot.

After tonight, that would change. There were two more days, one more TV taping, that Adam was to be a part of ROH. This was his last ROH PPV. This was the last big one officially.

This was Adam's last night in The Bullet Club.

"Hey, kid." Brenna looked up from where she'd been zoned out looking at her phone, finding Christopher Daniels sitting down in the chair beside her.

"Hey," she replied, pretending to click off her phone, even though it hadn't even been on. Brenna uncrossed and then again crossed her legs, adjusting herself in the beige and black sleeveless color block dress.

"Hiding out?" he questioned.

"No, just waiting to be called upon to do my part tonight."

"Yeah? Then why are you all the way back here?" Brenna looked around the area, noticing a few people at the distant end of the hallway moving about. She hadn't really realized she'd placed herself in a less busy area of the arena, away from the locker rooms. When she'd left the downstairs level of locker rooms, she had just wandered a bit, until she found a place to sit down that was quiet.

"Wasn't on purpose," she insisted. "I'm just staying out of the way."

"So…should I start sending birthday cards to Pennsylvania?"

"Not a chance," Brenna stated with a roll of her eyes to which he laughed. "We're just gonna keep doing what we do, and see where it all takes us."

"Brenna Marlow, just going with the flow? You have changed," Christopher teased. Immediately she punched him in the arm, scrunching up her face towards him. He sold the hit, rubbing his arm and laughing, which she tried not to smile at.

"With the year I've had, it was bound to happen," she pointed out, and the joking nature faded away with her words. "Guess I had to learn the hard way I can't always have control, and you can't always plan for everything."

"Yeah, but you can still plan enough," he replied. "Don't change too much on me, alright?"

"No promises," Brenna smirked. With his own look towards her, he stood back up to leave. He reached out towards her hair, and she anticipated what he was going to do, throwing her arm up to block him and push him away. She did not want her side fishtail braid messed up. "Go be old somewhere else!"

"Mean," Christopher declared. She blew him a kiss, and with a chuckle, he finally turned and left. Brenna watched him walk away for a moment before looking back down at her phone to check the time. It was just under a half hour to bell time, and she figured it was a good time for her to head back to the production area. Adam was a part of the pre-show meet and greet, along with the Bucks and Briscoes, so she knew she wouldn't be seeing them just yet. She hoped everyone was getting along.

The last she'd seen of Adam tonight had been almost two hours ago when they'd had some dinner together, along with the Bucks and Marty. The conversation had steered clear of the plan for tonight, and Brenna knew the boys had done that for her benefit. Everyone was walking on eggshells around her, she could tell. Tonight was a big change for her as much as it was for Adam, and it seemed that everyone was still handling her a bit with fragile gloves.

Coming upon the production area behind the curtain, she slid up to stand beside Kevin and Ian. Conversation flowed easily, going over match listings for the night, any last minute changes, and segment plans.

When a hand came to rest lightly against the small of her back, she startled just a bit, causing the person to laugh lowly, and Ian and Kevin to smirk.

"Easy, Bren," Adam's voice soothed her. "Just me."

"I hate when you fucking do that," she reminded him, turning to give him a short glare as he stood beside her.

"Half of why I do it," he admitted.

"You done with the signing?"

"I am. Gonna go down to the locker room and get ready with the guys. Just wanted to see you first," Adam explained. Brenna could feel her cheeks warm a bit, not so much at his words, but at them being said in front of her colleagues, so casually. It was still a bit unfamiliar for her to have their relationship for all to see. She'd obviously never dated a coworker before, and it was a learning experience.

"Sounds like a plan," she stated. "Try not to suck tonight."

"I will do my very best," he confirmed with a stiff nod of his head before a wide grin took over his face. When he leaned down to kiss her, she couldn't help her own smile from forming after he broke away from her. "See you later." Her response was to kiss him again.

"Later," Brenna echoed as she moved a bit away from him, allowing him to leave. When she looked back at Ian and Kevin, she found Cary was also standing with them. All three had matching grins on their faces. She rolled her eyes. "Oh, fuck off, all of you."

"What! It's just nice to see you happy," Kevin defended the three of them, Ian nodding.

"Let's just focus on work, please?" Cary, thankfully, took her lead and began to explain to her about the opening segment that would be introducing the G1 special that NJPW was going to have in California.

Soon enough, the PPV started. The dark matches went well, and from there the show officially began. Brenna felt like she lost track of time as she sat to the side, watching match after match. Ian announced the matches for the first half of the night, which allowed her to actually enjoy some of the show.

And then it was the second to last match.

It was truly show time. Adam had requested that she be the one to be the announcer for his match. He said he wanted her to be a part of his night officially.

Brenna had to swallow to get rid of the catch in her throat as she announced his entrance into the arena.

Watching him walk down the ramp and aisle, all swagger and confidence, dressed in his standard leather jacket and wet hair, resonated with her.

Brenna spared a short glance at Adam as he made his way towards the ring, understanding he was far more focused on his opponent for the night, and the after-match plan. After sliding through the ropes, Brenna set the mic down on the commentary table and picked up her cell phone. She missed the way Adam looked at her as she walked away, waiting until he was standing on the edge of the ring to go back up the ramp. Her eyes remained head of herself as she walked into the back behind the staging, Adam's music playing around her.

She didn't pause while passing any of the workers or any of the locker room that were mingling around watching the monitors.

She didn't notice the quick look Jay Briscoe gave her. Or the longer sympathetic gaze she got from The Young Bucks.

It wasn't until she reached the back parking lot did Brenna finally feel like she could breathe again.

There was probably about 20 minutes until she would need to head back in. She knew the match was allotted around 15 minutes of action, and then about 5 minutes for post-match chaos, give or take. Brenna planned to spend all the possible minutes she could far away from the ring. It was maybe dumb to outsiders but she knew it was the only way she'd make it through the rest of the show.

As much as she wanted to be the supportive girlfriend, she couldn't reconcile watching her boyfriend for all intents and purposes move on from such a huge part of his career, of their lives. It was bittersweet in so many ways, and she would rather not have her emotions on display for everyone to see.

The fact that she was in a back parking lot of an arena, hiding away, wasn't lost on her either. Somehow back parking lots at arenas had become a common setting for moments in her life and relationship with Adam.

Brenna passed the time on her phone, looking at reactions on Twitter to the show so far, scrolling through Instagram mindlessly. It seemed like the minutes went by slowly, as she did everything in her power to focus elsewhere than what was going on in the building behind her.

When the time had ticked down far enough, she headed back in. As she walked closer to the main floor, she could tell based on the sounds that the match was over. Soon enough she heard Kenny's voice loud and clear, which confused her because she knew he wasn't present. By the time she came to the production area, having slowed her walk, she looked at a monitor to see Adam laid out in the ring.

The monitor she was looking at cut away to a video package promoting the next match, and she was thankful for that.

A minute later, Adam was walking back through the curtain, to the applause of the production team. Cary and he embraced, and she watched as words were whispered between them. Adam shook hands with and accepted words from a few of the other workers before his eyes came to her. She couldn't pinpoint the emotion he was showing, but it was a lot.

"I have to get out there," she stated, indicating with her head she meant the ring. "Glad you survived."

"Another one down," Adam confirmed. With a smile, Brenna put a hard kiss to his mouth and then quickly left the area.

One more match to announce and the night would be done.

It went by fast, with Daniels retaining his championship. As he walked passed her to go back up the ramp, he did, in fact, ruffle her hair up a bit.

"Jackass!" she shouted after him, causing many of the fans around her to laugh. As the fans started to clear out of the building, Brenna left the floor along with the announce team and other workers. When she got into the back, she was immediately surrounded by the chaos of packing up. After making sure her mic pack was secured away, she went down to her own dressing area to change out of her dress and heels.

And then, that's where she stayed. She knew Adam would have post-show interviews, moments with the locker room to enjoy. It was important to her that he got time with "the boys". She was going home with him, so she'd have her time then. But tonight was the end of an era for him, and she wanted him to take as much time as he wanted to enjoy it.

Brenna passed the time by taking off her show makeup, which was always thicker and tougher to get off. She packed up her bags, making sure nothing was forgotten. After dressing down into her sweatpants and a t-shirt, she sat down to play games on her phone.

"Hey! There you are." Brenna lifted her eyes from her phone, taking in Adam's appearance. He was back in jeans and a flannel, all traces of his wrestling persona gone

"Hey," she replied, locking her phone, setting it beside herself on the empty folding chair. "You done for the night?"

"I am," he confirmed, coming into the room, shutting the door behind himself, leaning back against it. "You alright?"

"Yep." Adam's eyebrows went up a bit at her quick response. "…tired."

"Keep talkin'." With each step he took further into the room, Brenna felt her emotions that she'd tried so hard to shove deep down, surfacing. As soon as Adam reached her, and moved her phone to sit in the other chair, she was entirely focused on keeping her breathing even. If she focused on that, she could control the rest of herself.

"Just…been a hell of a night," she quietly stated.

"Did you watch?"

"No." Brenna continued to look away, not wanting to see his face at her answer.

"…why not?"

"Didn't want to." She knew she was being aloof, and her reasons for hiding away in the back were probably somewhat childish, but she couldn't help herself.

"We talked about this…."

They had. More than once, actually. More times than Brenna really remembered.

After the meeting in Florida a month ago, it had been discussed regularly between them. Sometimes in small anecdotes, sometimes at full-length. What would happen if Adam changed promotions, if he didn't. How it could change his career, the pros and cons. The impact it would have on them, as a couple. If they could manage long-distance, or needed to be together more often than not.

Brenna could still remember the last conversation they'd had about it when she was at his place a couple weeks ago, sharing beers in the darkened living room at night.

"I talked to Kyle today." Adam's statement wasn't necessarily out of the blue, but it was. They hadn't been talking at the time about anything, instead watching the TV playing Conan O'Brien's talk show.

"How's he doing?"

"Says alright," he replied. "He and Maddie sound like they're gonna try to have a family soon."

"Aw! Good on them," Brenna stated, taking a sip from her bottle. "It's gotta be nice with him home and all more than before."

"Yea," Adam agreed shortly. "He uh, he was telling me though that may be changing in a couple months though."

"Oh?" Brenna quirked an eyebrow, looking over towards Adam. While she was curled into the arm of the couch, he was in the recliner a foot away beside her.

"Sounds like he's thinking about going about some other avenues he hasn't been down before." Adam's words were vague to the casual ear, but to Brenna, a tried and true wrestler, she knew exactly what he was saying.

"I'm not surprised," she finally said, shrugging one shoulder. "Kyle's kind of in the same boat as you. He's done a fuck ton, and it's only right he gets a chance to see what else is out there, see what kind of life he can make for himself. And especially if he and Maddie wanna have kids. That consistency will mean a lot."

"…so what if I did the same?" Adam's gaze moved to meet hers, his fingers trailing along his beer bottle.

"That's your call," Brenna replied. "I've said that for a while now. You need to do what you want. What you think will play out the best for you."

"You do keep saying that," he agreed. "But you…you matter too in this situation. And I want you to tell me, honestly, from your heart, what you want for us."

"You're crazy," she deflected, both of them knowing she was doing just that.

"Bren…." With his gentle chastising, Brenna looked back towards the TV. She could feel his eyes still on her, however. "Baby, please, just…just tell me your…your ideal. What, uh, what you'd want to happen for us."

"Whatever keeps us together regularly, at least our known version of regular," Brenna answered, not looking towards him.

"If I have to move, will you work with me on that?"

She hoped he didn't see the way her eyes closed tightly as she took in a sharp breath. It was a question she knew would come eventually, but she hadn't anticipated it now.

"Adam…."

"No, I know that tone. No, Bren," he declared. "Tell me, right now, up front, if I have to be gone more than I'm close, will you work with me on that?"

She didn't know what to say. She knew he was referencing Florida without saying it, but it was all still so hypothetical.

Adam and she had come so, so far in a few months. Going from a confused hatred, to an understanding, to a supportive relationship. It was hard to say, at least for Brenna, what she wanted or expected. This was still very new, uncharted territory.

When Brenna had gotten in this relationship, it had been a risk for her. Letting go of her past, of her pain, it wasn't easy. Trusting Adam, taking his history in stride, defending themselves against people she loved…. No one would call it an easy road. And just went she thought maybe things were smooth sailing, there had to be a hiccup in the plan. A big hiccup, at that.

That was life though, wasn't it?

Adam was most certainly not renewing his ROH contract, while she was still expected to continue her ring duties and occasional wrestling. He had talks with others, possibilities, but nothing solid lined up. It was all hypothetical and day by day, and how could anyone plan with life like that?

"Can we just cross that bridge when we come to it?" she questioned, looking towards him from under her eyelashes. "God dude, we've barely settled into ourselves as it is."

"People get married in less time than we've been together."

"So you wanna get married?" Her eyes met his fully, as she lifted her eyebrows in challenge.

"OK, smart-ass, I get it," Adam conceded, causing her to relax her face. "I just… we've worked too hard to get here, for me to fuck it up. I don't want to fuck it up. We made a deal, no secrets, no hiding shit. I need you to be open with me on this."

"I am being open," she argued. "I want you to do what you want. What you think will make you happy. Just…I want you to think it all through for you and do that. I'll be here. We'll figure this out, whatever it is. We've figured it out so far. I think we can keep that up."

"Why can't you just tell me what you want?"

"I am!" Brenna responded with force. "I want you to be happy. To choose what you want. The rest of it, us, whatever, we can work on it, figure it out. I haven't put in this much work, this much struggle, to just walk away from you for now."

Adam didn't say anything at first, allowing Brenna to move her gaze from him, taking a long drink from her beer as she did so.

"I'm not trying to argue with you," he finally spoke, his tone soft. "I just… your opinion means a lot to me. It always has."

"And I appreciate that," she said. Chewing at her lip, she decided to give him somewhat what he was asking for.

"Do I think going into WWE is a crap shoot? Most certainly. You either get to do good there or you don't. There's no middle ground. It happens or it doesn't. And you can't predict that. It seems you can't have a lot of control in it either. But, if that's what you wanna try, if that's what you're up for, then I won't tell you not to.

"And if instead you want to take time away from it all, and do random indie shows, and just kind of have a calm life like Kyle's been doing, I'm here for that too. It's not like I'm leaving California anytime soon. Whether I fly from there to here to see your or somewhere else, it can be arranged."

Adam just nodded slightly, and Brenna turned back towards the TV, effectively ending the conversation. Her beer was empty a moment later.

Adam had stopped pestering her after that, realizing she wasn't going to change her stance on the matter. This was his life, his career, and he had to do what he wanted and felt was best. She couldn't stop him or influence him overtly. She had to support him and his dreams. Because for all she knew, his career might outlast their relationship.

But either way, she did want the best for him, wanted him to be happy with his choices for his life. Of course, that didn't mean she loved what he had decided on.

"Sweetheart…."

"Don't, Adam," she replied, finally turning for her eyes to meet his. "Let's just go. I don't want to be driving too late." Standing up, she went to reach for her phone where he'd set it. Adam took the opportunity to grab her hand in his, pulling her between his legs.

"Sit," he ordered, tugging on her hand to bring her closer. With a sigh, Brenna followed his direction, setting herself on his leg, perpendicular to him. He let go of her hand, sliding his arm around her back, his fingertips resting on the skin of her hip just beneath her shirt.

Brenna leaned her head onto his shoulder, her eyes closing when he turned to kiss her forehead. His lips lingered there for a moment, his breath warm as it ghosted on her skin. For some reason, it was this action that made the tears start to prick at her eyes.

"I'm being stupid," she mumbled.

"You're being my girlfriend, or at the very least a good friend," Adam argued. Brenna couldn't help but smile slightly at his words. She blinked a few times rapidly, attempting to keep her tears contained.

"It's just… it's stupid," she repeated, lamented. "It's not like I'm not seeing you ever again. Obviously."

"But it's going to be maybe less, or take a lot more effort to do that."

"This is just… this is how we met, ya know? And everything that's gone on with us, I dunno. I guess without this stupid fucking company it wouldn't have happened."

"We have a lot of memories here."

"And like, I know how much this place means to you. And I'm so proud of you and all you've done and to just walk away…I don't know. I just want everything to be so great for you no matter what."

"Again, you're a really great girlfriend."

"Stop validating my crazy," she demanded, making him chuckle softly.

"You're not crazy," Adam countered. "I agree with you on all of this. So I guess if you're crazy, then so am I."

"I mean, that would explain why you're with a girl who straight up decked you once," Brenna conceded, trying to keep her smile hidden.

"Nice, baby. Thank you for that reminder," he stated plainly. Brenna couldn't help the giggle that came next, lifting her head from his shoulder so she was able to look at him. He too was smiling, his eyes gliding across her face, taking her in. "I'm kind of looking forward to having free time to be with you."

"Me too."

"We are very much planning a vacation."

"Oh, we are?"

"We are," Adam confirmed.

"And where are we going?"

"That part is up for discussion," he replied. "But I'm thinking somewhere quiet, just us, where we can just… be."

"I will not die in a cabin in the woods for you," Brenna said seriously.

"Stop watching so many horror movies."

"I can't! I love them!"

"And then you have nightmares, and all these paranoid thoughts, that I have to do deal with," Adam reminded her.

"Oh, you can handle it just fine." He looked at her for a moment before kissing her lips softly. Brenna reciprocated the action, bringing her hand up to his face, holding him close to her. They broke apart a moment later, remaining close, each of their breaths mingling warmly with the others.

"Let's go," Adam whispered. "Wanna be home with you."

"No complaints here," Brenna agreed. She stood up from him, going to grab her bags. Adam immediately took her suitcase, which she had learned to not comment on. He wanted to be helpful to her, and she had to swallow her protests and just let him.

"Hey, you remember two months ago when we were here?" Adam asked casually as they made their way through the hallways.

"Mmhmm," Brenna murmured, wrapping her arms around his free one, walking beside him.

"We haven't done too bad since then, huh?" He glanced over and down at her, a playful gleam to his eyes.

"Me and you."

"Me and you," Adam concurred. With a bashful smile, Brenna looked forward again as they headed towards the door to leave. It was uncertain what was going to be happening in the next few weeks, but it was nice to have Adam with her to figure it out.

Everything looks different now.

All this time my head was down.

He came along and showed me how to let go.

I can't remember where I'm from,

All I know is who I've become.

That our love has just begun like….