Sami had meant it when he told Carmella that he was willing to wait and sort out the feelings skanking through his brain regarding his probably-not-so-secret crush on his roomie and best friend, Finn. He honestly had.

Then Bayley had come along and insisted they both go on blind dates that week.

WHY WOULD SHE DO THAT TO US?!

Okay, fine, Finn owed her big time for being the wheel-girl on his trip to get Sami's album. Why else would Finn, an admitted introvert, even agree to go out on a date with someone he had potentially never met before in his life? I mean, Bayley probably didn't know any serial killers or clowns…but still!

Finn had been pacing up and down the entire apartment all day; worry etched all over his face as the seconds ticked down to his date that night. Discarded clothes littered the floors, mostly jeans and pants…Finn only owned one proper dress shirt (or, the one style of dress shirt, Sami honestly wasn't sure sometimes), so at least he knew what he was wearing up top. Sami decided to wait until he had come back from dropping Finn off to pick everything up…at least it would give him something to do whilst he fretted over whether Finn would be okay, whether Finn would have a good time…whether Finn would actually like this mystery date person.

Noooooo….okay, forget about that scenario prompto.

Eventually Finn had retreated into his bedroom to finish getting ready, leaving Sami alone to not think about blind dates and other such nonsense. He was most certainly not wondering if Finn was having the same kind of traitorous thoughts regarding Sami's date on the 14th. Sami sighed, looking up at the clock on the wall…nearly time to leave if Finn was going to make it to the park in time.

Finn's bedroom door was slightly ajar, but Sami knocked politely seeking permission to enter Finn's second personal domain. It never ceased to amaze Sami that Finn had managed to procure two different havens in what was once Sami's apartment alone. Stupid Lego Den.

"Finn, you about ready?" Sami called into the room when no answer presented itself, "Nearly time to go."

Silence.

"Finn, I swear if you've escaped out the window or something…" Sami muttered, entering Finn's room to see what kind of state Finn had gotten himself into. Finn was sat at the end of his bed, hunched over looking down at the floor, and oh dear that was definitely the sound of dry-heaving; "It's that bad, is it?"

"I'm going out to meet a complete stranger in a supposedly romantic setting," Finn moaned, lifting his head up to look back at Sami, "Phone Bayley, tell her I'm dying of the lurgy or summat."

"Okay, first of all, I will not lie to our friend about your well-being, and I am insulted that you even asked me to do that," Sami sighed, moving to sit on the bed beside the despondent Finn, "Second, how many single people does Bayley know in Orlando anyway? There's a good chance it's somebody from NXT that you know."

Finn sniffed, "…you're supposed to be on my side."

"I'm always on your side," Sami began to soothingly rub Finn's shoulder, "Just saying that there's no way this will be as bad you're expecting."

"Easy for you to say, you could sweet-talk a rock into liking you."

"Trust me, I'm not looking forward to my date either," Sami sighed, moving to kneel behind Finn on the bed, "We do this, couple of hours of our time, get Bayley off our backs and then we're home free. If worst comes to worst, text me and we can make up an emergency situation or something…c'mon, you're tense as all heck right now…"

Finn was about to question Sami's change of position, but immediately felt all words fade away as he felt Sami's thumbs begin to gently massage the area between his shoulder blades.

"What are you dooo-oooh, that's good," Finn tried not to embarrass himself by making any obscene moans under Sami's ministrations. In that moment, it was the most difficult thing in the world to accomplish.

"Well, it's an attempt at a massage," Sami began to move down Finn's back, shifting from using his thumbs to the palms of his hands, "…is that okay?"

"Sami Zayn, we have been in Orlando together for over two years, WHY am I only receiving this slice of heaven for the first time right now?"

"I guess that's a yes on the 'okay' then," Sami smiled gently, "This can't be the first time I've given you a massage."

"I think I would remember, oh fuck yes right there, my body being turned to mush like this if it'd happened before."

Sami continued to focus on the spot that had caught Finn's attention, "Huh. I dunno, then…maybe I was worried you'd think it too intimate or something? Didn't want to cross any boundaries."

"Fuck the boundaries, you are resigning from NXT and becoming my personal masseuse," Finn moaned as Sami hit a particularly sensitive spot, "Effective immediately."

Sami chuckled lightly, "I can't do both?"

"Mmmmm…fine," Finn groaned, "Oh…uh…Sami? I think I'm good now…you can stop. Please."

"That was sudden, you sure?" Sami leaned back and began to move off the bed.

Finn coughed, a slight flush on his cheeks, "Yeah…uh…gotta get ready…you're distracting me."

"Well, if you're sure…wait…" Sami tilted his head at Finn…wait, what is that, that's a trick of the light…just the way his pants are sitting, don't mention it, ignore it… "Is that…?"

THAT'S NOT IGNORING IT, HOLYCRAPBONER.

Finn moved to cover his lap just a second too late.

"Yeah, uh," Sami stammered, "I'll just…yeah, leave like five minutes ago."

"Yeah! Good idea," Finn looked in the exact opposite direction of Sami, "…uh, close the door behind you on the way out?"

"Yes! Fine! Whatever you say," Sami all but ran out of Finn's room, closing the door behind him slightly harder than necessary.


WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT THING THAT ACTUALLY JUST HAPPENED?!

Sami all but threw himself down on the couch, completely dumbstruck over that thing that actually just happened. He'd give just about anything to not to have to think about it…but, well, that was something that was difficult to ignore. Sami tried to process it in his head, but everything just seemed so improbable that he wondered if he'd just had one Hell of a lucid daydream.

…there was no way he'd just done that to Finn. How had Sami caused that kind of reaction out of Finn Bálor…former Armani model in Japan, Mr. Abs for Days, man with dat arse…

How had Sami had done that to Finn…Sami, the scruffy ginger, dad-hat wearing, average Joe…

Okay, no, stop. Finn is literally about to leave on his date. It's probably just adrenaline. Sami scrubbed his hands down his face, trying desperately to get that image out of his head. Luckily, or perhaps not so luckily, Finn chose that moment to emerge from his bedroom. His face was still flushed, a faint sheen of sweat on his forehead being highlighted by the lamps.

"Right, all ready now," Finn had plastered a smile on his face, but his eyes belied the actual storm brewing within, "I'm really sorry about that…"

"It's fine! Happens to everybody! Not your fault!" Sami knew his smile was just as fake as Finn's, but what else could you do in this kind of situation, "You okay there? You look…uh…"

"Oh! Yeah, it got really hot in here all of a sudden," Finn sheepishly turned away from Sami, "So…uh…you still okay to give me a lift to the park? Maybe I should walk…could use the air…"

"I don't think you'll make it in time if you walk now," Sami sighed, moving to get up off the couch, "It's fine, we can roll the windows down or crank the air-conditioning up or something."

"Okay…" Finn still seemed unsure, "If you insist…"

"Yeah, course I do," Sami grabbed his keys from the bowl by the door, "Least I can do after…"

Sami had never experienced an awkward silence quite like the one that permeated the room at that very moment.

"Could we…just…never mind, It can wait…let's go, Sami," Finn eventually said.

"Okay…later…later is good…I guess…"

One problem at a time.


Notes: Prompt was Sami Zayn/Finn Bálor - "Do you…well…I mean…I could give you a massage?" chosen by cherryheartswrasslin on Tumblr.