A rare day off. Both Finn and Sami had the exact same day off. How this miracle of minor proportions occurred, no-one was quite sure.
Sami honestly couldn't believe it, even as he happily pottered around the kitchen making pancakes for his and Finn's breakfast. Well...by the time Finn actually deigned to make an appearance, maybe it would be more like breakfast for dinner. Finn had taken great delight in switching off the alarms on their mobile phones the previous evening, and for the first time in approximately aeons Finn was having a lie-in and no power on this earth was moving him until Finn was good and ready.
Except for, perhaps, the tantalizing scent of Sami's freshly cooked, homemade pancakes.
"Please tell me you're bringing those through to the bedroom, Sami," Finn's voice eagerly echoed throughout the apartment.
"No, Finn, I'm not cleaning up any food crumbs off our bed or any jam and syrup you happen to dribble everywhere," Sami's reply was firm and Finn was fairly certain there was a glare being directed into the pancake batter, "Either get your lazy butt outta that bed and come eat with me, or I'm having one heck of a cheat day."
Finn sighed, just about ready to concede defeat, "You could put them on a tray?"
"And you could be eating cold, soggy cereal all by yourself whilst I eat these warm, heavenly, fluffy pancakes..."
Sami Zayn wins. Flawless victory.
Finn sighed dramatically as he swung his legs off the side of the bed, "Can I at least bring the duvet with me?"
"No. Dribbly syrup and jam, remember?"
"Dammit..." Finn groaned, slipping his feet into his R2D2 slippers, "These better be the greatest pancakes in the world, Sami Zayn..."
"You got lucky..."
Sami grinned at Finn over his cup of coffee, the Irishman's face contorting into pure food induced bliss. Finn had almost immediately commandeered the maple syrup out of spite, but given the absolute joy it must've been giving Finn's taste buds Sami found he could live with the boysenberry.
"Why do we even have boysenberry jam?" Finn asked, wrinkling his nose up as Sami happily slathered the jam over his pancakes, "…scratch that, what the Hell is a boysenberry anyway?"
"It's like the unholy alliance of about five different berries," Sami grinned, "So it's almost like having my five-a-day in one go!"
"No, Sami, you're not getting away with that one."
"Spoilsport. So, now that you're actually gracing the day with your glorious self," Sami chuckled at the withering glare being thrown in his direction, "Do you want to actually do anything today, or were you really just going to pretend to be a bed bug for the duration?"
"Uhm..."
Before Finn could further elaborate, there was a sharp knock on the apartment door. Sami tilted his head in its direction, a slightly confused look on his face.
"Well...we didn't buzz anyone in, so it must be one of the neigh..." Sami trailed off as he turned back to look at Finn, only to find himself staring at an empty couch, "...bours...Finn, what the actual Houdini are you pulling on me here?"
A voice Sami could only presume was Finn's echoed from behind the couch, "I'm not coming out until I know it's not the cougar from across the hallway waiting to pounce!"
Sami shook his head in bemusement, "Y'know, Cindy's not quite old enough to be considered a cougar..."
"I DON'T CARE WHAT WILD CAT SHE IS! MAKE HER GO'WAY!"
Sami chuckled to himself, walking over to the door and having a precautionary peek through the peephole.
"It's fine, Finn," Sami smiled widely as he unlocked the door, "It's just J&J from down the way."
Sami opened the door to welcome his guests, Jenny and her two-year old son Jack. Jenny had moved in to the apartment complex not long after Sami had, and the two had shared moving-in woes and 'no plates or microwaves so takeaways it is' together. In Jenny's arms was her currently fast asleep son, Jack. Jack had been born soon before Jenny had moved in...Sami had wondered at the time about Jack's father, but felt it impolite to ask.
Turned out he was just in Europe on business at the time. A bit of a relief that turned out to be.
"Heylow Jenny, come on in! What can I..." Sami trailed off as he noted a rather distressed look on Jenny's face, "...uh, help you with?"
"Oh, Sami...sorry to bother you...I know this is probably your only day off for the next forever..." Jenny looked over Sami's shoulder at the couch, where Finn Bálor had just poked his head up from behind it. He waved meekly in her direction, "...uh, hi Finn?"
"Ignore him, he thought you were a puma," Sami chuckled at the indignant sound being shot at him from Finn's direction, "What's up, Jenny?"
"Oh, Sami..." She sniffed, "My dad's been taken into hospital! I've no idea what's going on, just been told I have to get on over there...I don't want to take Jack in there, y'know, just in case it's serious."
"Ooh, yeah, that'd traumatize a kid something awful," Sami winced; only barely noticing Finn walking up towards them from his peripheral vision, "So...you want a lift in, or...?"
"Actually, I was kinda hoping you could look after Jack for me for a few hours?" Jenny pleaded, "I know you probably had plans for your day off, but...I don't know who else to ask!"
"It's fine!" Finn interjected himself, "We'd be happy to look after the little fella for a while."
Sami gulped, "We would?"
"Absolutely!" Finn grinned, "Do you have a baby bag or something? Supplies? TOYS?!"
"Of course..." Jenny smiled warmly, "Could you take him for a second, I'll go and get everything. Thank you both, so much!"
"It's not a problem!" Finn smiled as Jenny handed Jack over to Sami, who fumbled with the toddler for a moment before settling down, "He'll be in good hands...right, Sami?"
"He will?"
"You just worry about your da," Finn ignored Sami's panicked squeak of a response, "Let us know if you need anything else?"
"Yes, of course!" Jenny managed a small smile as she helped Sami prop Jack up a little better, "You ever gonna figure out how to hold a kid properly, Sami?"
"Uh..." Sami tried to put a reassuring smile on his face, "...maybe?"
"Maybe?" Finn sounded completely unconvinced, "I mean...you must've had loads of practice before with Kevin's kids?"
"...well, there was this one time he asked me to hold Owen..." Sami grimaced at the memory, "Held the poor kid like he was a bomb all ready to explode. Kevin was less than impressed and basically banned me from child holding ever since."
"Well, time to get some more practice then," Finn grinned as Jack began to stir in Sami's arms, "Baby bag, Jenny?"
"Right, sorry," Jenny sighed, "Mind's a-muddled. I'll be right back."
"...maybe we should've discussed this a bit first?" Sami sighed, trying to keep Jack level in his arms, "I'm really not that good with kids."
"Sure you are," Finn smiled reassuringly, "You've dealt with me for the better part of two years, right?"
"That's not really the same thing, though?" Sami looked down at the child resting in his arms, "He's...gonna be depending on us, Finn."
"You're the most dependable guy I know, Sami, I trust you with a lot of things I wouldn't dare let anyone else near," Finn soothed, "Jenny wouldn't have left him with us if she didn't think we were capable."
"But...what if I drop him?" Sami began to shiver slightly, "Can't just put him back together like a Lego model. Oh, what if he gets sick or something? Would our insurance cover that? Maybe he won't even like being around us and cry for his mum all the time..."
"Ssh, Sami...it's okay. You know Jack likes you, you've been around him for his whole life...Sami, can you take a few deep breaths for me?" Finn gently began to rub the back of Sami's neck, "I thought you'd love having a kid around...I mean, you're so good with the younger fans. I'm sorry that I just barged in to say we'd do this."
"I know, you saw a friend in trouble and just wanted to help," Sami sighed, "I'd have ended up saying yes anyway...just really nervous, s'all."
Finn frowned, "Because of what Kevin said?"
"Because he's an actual tiny person and I might actually break him..." Sami sniffed, "Could...you take him for now? Please?"
"Sure, here we go..." Finn slipped his arms around Jack with practiced ease, barely jostling the toddler, "Hey, still sleepin'. Good boy."
"Good...yeah, great," Sami let out a breath of relief; "I'll...go and get the stuff from Jenny. Just need a moment to get my head in gear for this."
"Sure..." Finn replied somewhat distantly, Sami almost missed Finn looking at the child in his arms with unguarded wonder as he left. His breath caught in his throat at the look, and Sami found he had to get out of there just a fraction quicker than before…
Sami had hoped getting away from the baby for a second might have calmed his nerves slightly, but as Jenny presented him with a comically oversized bag filled with baby supplies he could feel the butterflies flitting around once again. He managed the bravest face he could for Jenny as she headed off to the hospital; after all she was the one going through the emotional maelstrom right now...
He chuckled derisively to himself, and couldn't help feeling a little foolish for even thinking he was the one in a bad situation when one of his friends was going through something much worse.
Sami stood outside the apartment door for a minute, taking a few more deep breaths and remembering Finn's words from earlier.
"Okay, Sami, it'll be fine..." He muttered to himself, "Jack likes you. He shared his dessert with you that one time. Then again, baby desserts taste awful and he probably just wanted rid of it. Focus. He just needs to be fed and burped and changed occasionally...can't be that difficult...just a smaller version of Finn. Yes. Right. Standing here talking to myself in the middle of the hallway. Yikes."
Sami allowed himself one more deep breath before opening his apartment door, trying to keep quiet as Jack was asleep when he left.
The soft giggles that filled the apartment suggested that was probably no longer the case.
Sami wandered into the living area, and had to stop short at the sight that awaited him. Finn had relocated back to the couch, bouncing a happy sounding Jack in his arms. Finn was waving his stuffed Finn the Human toy in the air, just keeping out of Jack's reach. The toddler seemed transfixed by the strange looking thing hovering in the air, and giggled madly every time Finn gently bopped him on the head with it.
It was the sheer joy on Finn's face that had caught Sami the most off guard. Finn was gleefully laughing along with Jack, not only totally at ease being around the young child but actually being happy about it. Sami could suddenly understand why Finn had been so amazed when the younger NXT fans had cheered for him, and why he had been genuinely shocked that they liked him in any way.
"I was so used to people hating me in Japan, was prepared for the same treatment over here…but now little kids want to meet me for their birthdays, they even dress up like me and want to pose along with me! That's unreal, Sami! Isn't that incredible?"
Sami was surprised to find himself blinking back tears. He almost felt like he was intruding on something extremely personal for Finn, an intimate glance at a side of Finn he wasn't aware existed before now. Did any of Finn's brothers have kids? He had taken Jack in his arms so easily…
…was this something Finn wanted in the future?
"Sami? You alright, love?"
Sami shook his head quickly, trying to clear the thoughts away as he heard Finn calling for him. Finn had paused momentarily in his game with Jack to look over at him…a slight frown on Finn's face the only indication that he'd figured something might be wrong. Before Sami could answer, a little squeal sounded from the couch.
"'ami?" Jack started shuffling in Finn's arms, obviously trying to see where Sami was, "'ami 'ere, 'inn?"
"Yep, he's just over there," Finn adjusted his hold on Jack to turn him around to see Sami. Jack clapped his little hands together upon seeing him, and Sami couldn't help but smile bashfully at the reception he was receiving, "Sounds like you've got a fan here, Sami."
"Yeah…" Sami set the baby bag down beside the couch, before sitting himself down beside Finn, "Hey kiddo…hope you're okay with hanging out with us today."
Jack probably didn't understand the words, but judging by the wide smile on his face he might just have understood the context. Jack raised his arms towards Sami, making little grabby hands in his direction, "wann 'ami."
"You okay with that?" Finn asked gently, the memory of how terrified Sami seemed earlier still fresh on his mind.
"…well, it'd be rude to deny my number one fan's request, wouldn't it?" Sami put on a brave smile as he reached over to take Jack from Finn.
"T'aught I was your number one fan?" Finn grumbled good-naturedly.
"Jack's been a fan of mine all his life, Finn," Sami chided him playfully, trying to get both himself and Jack into a comfortable position, "I think he just ekes you out?"
"You win this round, kid," Finn grinned as Jack stuck his tongue out at him, "Troublemaker."
Sami couldn't help but laugh despite his nerves. The joy radiating from the two kids in the room was particularly infectious.
"Right, so…" Sami gently tickled Jack on the tummy, smiling at the giggles he received in response, "Uh…what now? I mean…do we just sit here taking turns with Jack or…?"
"Hmm…" Finn scratched his chin thoughtfully, "Well, it's a nice day out…maybe we could go for a walk or something? Get some lunch? Ooh, we could get ice cream!"
"We don't have a baby buggy, though?"
"Sami, we routinely throw around men nearly twice our size for a living," Finn grinned cheekily, "I think between us we can carry a toddler around for an hour or two...plus he can probably walk a bit on his own?"
"I suppose it would be better for him to be out in the fresh air…" Sami mused, "Could you check the bag for sunscreen…maybe look out some baby food or something? I dunno if Jenny's fed him or not…wait, will he be on solids now? What do you feed a two year old?"
"Relax, mom," Finn smiled at the confused look on Sami's face, moving off the couch to rummage through Jack's baby bag, "Guess I'll get to be the fun parent today, right Jack?"
"'ami's fun!" Jack giggled, shuffling closer towards Sami's embrace.
"The jury has spoken," Sami chuckled at the huffy look on Finn's face, "Well, if we're going out you'd better get dressed. I don't think Jack would appreciate being led around by a man in Star Wars slippers."
"Only 'cause he's too young to watch it yet," Finn grinned as he held up a bottle of sunscreen, "I'll have him properly educated in no time when he's older."
"That is a terrifying thought…" Sami laughed as Finn threw a stuffed giraffe at him. It landed neatly on Jack's tummy, and he squealed in delight as he tried to grab his toy, "Hey, watch your aim! Tiny child in the splash zone!"
"Oops, got a little carried away there…" Finn replied bashfully.
"Dressed. Go get."
Sami sighed as Finn rushed off to to get ready to take Jack out for the day, not realizing until a moment later that it meant he was now completely alone with Jack. A small bubble of panic began to rise in Sami's chest as he nervously looked down at the child he was going to be partially responsible for for the next few hours. Thankfully, Jack seemed preoccupied with the toy giraffe and whether or not it would fit entirely in his mouth.
"Well, you…look, I'm really sorry if I end up being really bad at this," Sami shook his head softly, "You know, I've never really been around small kids all that much? I mean, apart from Owen and Élodie…and that's kind of a no-go subject these days…"
Sami let out a small puff of air before continuing.
"Haven't really thought about kids all the much, really…not since…" Sami pursed his lips together, "Well…since I figured out that I wasn't going to be a good Muslim boy by marrying a nice girl and providing lots of grandkids…my mum's still a bit sour over that, but don't tell her I said that if you ever meet her, okay? She's been really supportive, y'know, respectful of all my weird and wonderful decisions?"
Sami chuckled lightly, watching Jack trying to stuff the giraffe into his mouth from a completely different angle. He was persistent, Sami had to admit to himself as he gently took the giraffe from Jack, before the beady eyes went anywhere near his mouth, "Finn's definitely a weird one, though. Good weird, I mean. Like, he's never mentioned kids before…he's certainly excited about having you around today, though. Not that I'm not excited too…just…I 'unno, wasn't prepared for this? I mean, all I thought I'd have to worry about today was jam stains…"
Sami blinked as he saw Jack scrunching his nose up, "Aww, sorry kiddo, didn't mean to get all philosophical on you…don't worry, we'll all have a fun day out," Sami gently beeped Jack on the nose, and Jack's face unscrunched itself back into a smile, "Promise."
"Ready!"
Sami smiled to himself at Finn's announcement. Making sure he had a firm grasp on Jack, Sami eased himself up off the couch to see…
"Finn…what the…" Sami forced himself to stop short, remembering the young child in his arms was probably listening intently, "…what…are you wearing?"
"Like it?!" Finn grinned, standing with his legs slightly apart and both hands clasped behind his back, "It's the prototype for Noam's new T-Shirt! He sent me an advance print! Isn't it awesome?"
To say Sami was dumbstruck at what he was witnessing would be an understatement. Sami knew Noam Dar had an almost equal fascination with Star Wars that Finn did, but Sami had no idea just how much Noam felt about the franchise until now. There on the T-Shirt, in a similar pose to the one Finn was striking, was Jar-Jar Binks dressed up like Noam…with the caption 'Dar Dar Binks' to the side. Sami probably would've appreciated the pun more if he hadn't been rendered absolutely mystified.
Jack's eyes widened at the sight, before he burrowed his head into Sami's chest, "…scary…"
Finn's grin immediately faltered, "He doesn't like it? But…it's cute! I thought it'd be really kid-friendly…it is cute, isn't it Sami?"
"Uh…it's a nice play on words?" Sami offered, very weakly, "…nice colours?"
Finn sighed sadly, "…I'll go change then…prob'ly shouldn't wear it in public 'till it's officially released anyway…"
Finn skulked off back to their bedroom; leaving Sami to low key breathe a sigh of relief. He glanced down at Jack, the toddler still hiding his face away in Sami's chest, "It's okay kiddo, the affront to humanity is gone."
Jack lifted his head up slightly, a frown still on the youngster's face. Sami smiled reassuringly, "Thanks for backing me up on that shirt, by the way…to think a two-year old would have better fashion sense than an ex-Armani Exchange model."
"I HEARD THAT, SAMI ZAYN!"
Jack chuckled brightly at Finn's irate retort, "'inn silly."
"He sure is!" Sami grinned, "My silly Finny."
Finn eventually re-emerged from the bedroom, not totally giving up on the Star Wars themed ensemble. He was now sporting his "Rey&Finn&Poe&BB-8" T-shirt, with a slightly bemused look on his face as he regarded the pair of goofballs in front of him.
"Well now, if the pair of ya are done mocking me?" Finn rolled his eyes and walked over towards Jack's baby bag, "Where are we gonna go today?"