"So close...so damn close..."
WrestleMania weekend…it should have been the greatest weekend of his wrestling career so far. 14 years…14 long years of training, of hard work and determination, of being told he wasn't good enough, being told he wasn't serious enough, being told he was too happy to be a professional wrestler...14 years leading up to this historic weekend. Every moment leading up to this weekend had been worth it, being unsure if he could handle competing without the safety-net of the mask, the shoulder injury, the months of rehab, the worry that he'd never be able to wrestle on the same level ever again…even Kevin's multiple betrayals…but as the hot water from the shower cascaded down, soothing the aching joints...it was all a harsh reminder to Sami Zayn that he'd given everything he'd had to give twice this weekend, and had come away with nothing but aches and pains both times.
Okay, that wasn't exactly fair.
William Regal entrusting Sami with Shinsuke Nakamura's first match in NXT was a huge honour. Regal had gifted him one hell of a farewell present, and he had been determined to leave NXT on a high.
In a strange, roundabout way, he really had.
He'd given Nakamura his absolute best, and stood toe-to-toe with the King Of Strong-Style and came away relatively unscathed. Yes, he had lost the match, and he'd probably hear bells ringing in his head for at least a fortnight…but the reception he'd received from the audience afterwards made it impossible to feel like the loser. The "thank you, Sami" chants had reaffirmed everything good about his time in NXT...the incredible matches he'd been involved in, the respect he had earned from the NXT fans, everything he'd given to help put NXT on the map had not only been worth it on a personal level...it had been appreciated by the fans and his peers.
He barely had a chance to cool down from the incredible high of his match and the aftermath before he could only watch on in horror as Bayley lost consciousness to Asuka's cross-face chicken wing. The disappointment in the crowd may have made way for cheers eventually, but Sami couldn't quite echo the sentiment. Bayley's road to the top had almost mirrored Sami's own, and watching his friend lose her title due to referee stoppage brought back bad memories of his own fate as NXT champion.
Bayley tried to keep a brave face on as everybody consoled her, but Sami knew from harsh experience that there were no words that could make her feel any better. Sami had simply drawn her into a hug and let her hide away for just a while, until Carmella arrived to take over Bayley cheer-up duties.
"Be sad today, nobody's gonna dare hold it against you, unless they want their eyes scratched out," Carmella had offered, "...but when we get back to the Performance Centre on Tuesday, we're gonna make sure you're ready for your rematch whenever it happens."
The three had stayed together for the rest of the show, waiting for Finn's showdown with Samoa Joe. Sami hadn't seen Finn since they arrived at the building earlier…Finn had been away all day, tapping into the demon persona and mentally preparing himself for his upcoming war with Joe. Sami wasn't even sure if Finn knew about Bayley's loss, let alone his own…Finn had too much to worry about with Joe anyway, and Sami wouldn't let himself be an unnecessary distraction. There was a very strong possibility that Finn would be fighting for his life tonight, let alone the NXT Title…and when Sami had admitted to the girls that he didn't think he could watch the match alone they had both stayed with him without complaint.
The chainsaw was rather unexpected, all things considered. Sami was half-expecting an angry text from Dean demanding to know when and/or how Finn had stolen his prized chainsaw. Dean certainly wouldn't have given it up so easily, it was practically an heirloom from Terry Funk after all.
It didn't take long for Sami's heart to leap to his throat, as Joe was busted open within a minute of the match starting. Joe was a dangerous enough opponent without bloodlust being a factor. Both Sami and Bayley simultaneously winced as Joe finally seemed to lock in the Coquina Clutch, Sami covering his mouth to avoid shouting expletives in front of the girls. When Finn flipped himself back over the turnbuckles to get the pin, Sami breathed the largest sigh of relief. Finn was still champion...Finn hadn't been choked out...
Finn was okay. He'd survived.
If Sami had held on to Finn a little tighter in bed that night out of pure relief, Finn was gracious enough not to mention it. Finn just held Sami as close to his body as he could, letting Sami feel his heartbeat and warmth from his partner.
And now...wow. Just opened WrestleMania. Another huge responsibility, but at least this time Sami didn't feel like the responsibility was his alone to bear. Mostly because he was too busy trying to ensure Kevin didn't leave the AT&T Stadium with the Intercontinental Title. He'd taken a lot of punishment in doing so, but knowing it was him that caused Kevin's final downfall in that match was victory enough. There'd be other Intercontinental Title matches...once he'd settled things with Kevin once and for all.
Besides, if anyone truly deserved a WrestleMania Moment, it was Zack Ryder. Sami could appreciate the hard work, effort and patience Ryder had put in, and it was nice to see that sometimes it's all worth it in the end.
He was certainly a better option than the Miz, at any rate.
Sami shivered; he had been so lost in thought that he'd barely noticed the temperature of the shower water had lowered. Sami quickly washed the grime and sweat from the match away before the water temperature became something akin to typical Canadian weather. He'd spent too long gathering wool; the gang was waiting for him in catering.
Finn was waiting for him in catering.
Sami smiled to himself as the he washed away the last of the suds. He'd feel much better after seeing Finn and the others. WrestleMania weekend wasn't over quite yet, and there was still time for him to make more precious memories. He grabbed the towel and headed back to the lockers, eager to get dressed and meet up with his friends.
It wasn't difficult picking out his group of friends in the busy catering section. Between Cass towering above everybody (even sitting down) and Becky's bright hair colour, he had no problem making a beeline for the group. Finn was deep in conversation with Becky, and Sami was happy that Finn and Becky had gotten a chance to catch up this weekend. Finn had been so thrilled for his protégé making her big WrestleMania debut that he almost forgot that it was also his own boyfriend's debut on the grandest stage of them all. Becky was the first to see Sami approach, and she smiled warmly at him before gently nudging Finn and pointing delicately in Sami's direction.
Finn's eyes widened slightly, and he was soon up like a shot heading towards Sami. Before he knew it, Finn had his arms wrapped around Sami in a tight hug. Sami sighed happily, loosely draping his arms around Finn's shoulders and hugging his partner right back.
"You're okay, right?" Finn whispered to Sami, slight panic in his tone, "That frog-splash on the ladder…thought he'd broke you in two."
"I'm fine, Finn. Think I'll get away with a few bruises," Sami pulled back slightly to press a gentle kiss on Finn's forehead, "Got my own back, and then some."
"Now I know why you were so worried about my Ladder Match with him," Finn sighed, leaning forward into Sami's embrace, "So proud of you."
"I didn't win, though?"
"You made sure Owens lost, and helped set the standard the rest of the show has to follow," Finn smiled proudly at his partner, "That's nearly as good in my book."
Sami looked at his partner, feeling all giddy inside. "Fair enough then, thank you Finn."
"Hey, Bálor? You gonna hog Zayn all day? He ain't goin' nowhere, let the rest of us get our congrats in."
Sami felt Finn stiffen in his embrace as they heard Enzo calling over. Sami pulled back slightly to look at Finn, who looked a lot less upbeat than he had just a few seconds ago, "You okay there, Finn?"
"Yeah s'fine," Finn did not sound the least bit convincing, "C'mon Sami, let's sit down."
Finn kept a tight grip on Sami's arm as he led him over to the table. Sami frowned slightly at his partner, but before he could say anything else he'd been enveloped in a big hug from Bayley and Becky. Sami managed to endure the round of congratulations from his friends with only a minor blush and slight embarrassment.
"Hey, everybody's here now right?" Enzo announced, looking around the table before nodding in approval, "Good, 'cos me and Cass got a huge announcement for you."
Almost everybody's attention went straight to Enzo. Only Finn seemed to notice that Cass had pulled Carmella into a slightly tighter embrace, and that neither seemed to be quite as excited about Enzo's big announcement. Then again, it was hard for anyone to be as exuberant about anything compared to Enzo Amore…
"Tomorrow, the big guy and I are gonna make our long awaited debut on Raw."
Most of the group cheered. Finn instead shared a quick look with Carmella, who nodded slightly in his direction. He suddenly understood all too well why Cass and Carmella were holding on to each other as if their life depended on it.
"That's amazin' you guys," Becky was the first to speak up after the brief ruckus died down a little, "You'll drive that crowd crazy tomorrow."
"Yeah, calling you up to deal with the post-WrestleMania crowd, smart move. At least that way they'll cheer something," Sami grinned over at Enzo, but his grin faltered as he looked over at Cass and Carmella.
Oh.
Oh no.
The unspoken question was finally brought up. Bayley had moved a little closer to Carmella, placing a hand on her shoulder, "So…uh…you're gonna be with them tomorrow, right?"
Carmella snuffled slightly, wiping her eyes gently before replying, "No…it's just the boys."
"Oh, that sucks," Becky winced, "Can't believe they don't want you all up at the same time. You're perfect together."
"It's fine, really…I know I'm not ready yet," Carmella tried to smile, but her eyes betrayed her true disappointment. Carmella turned to face Bayley, who looked absolutely crestfallen for her friend, "Besides, I promised we'd get you ready for round 2 with Asuka…not letting my best girl down like that."
"Did they just drop this on you today?" Sami asked Cass, mostly because he was more likely to get a straight answer out of him.
"Yeah, we only found out…maybe an hour ago?" Cass replied grimly, "It's tough…been waitin' for the call-up for so long, and now I hafta leave my girl behind for it. Nothin' I can do 'bout it."
"We did our best to convince 'em otherwise," Enzo added, "But no dice."
Sami nodded grimly, briefly turning to look at his partner. Finn hadn't said anything this entire time, and had barely reacted beyond holding Sami's arm tighter, "That's awful…I mean, at least Finn and I got about a couple of month's warning…"
"Not that it made it any easier," Finn's response was barely audible.
"Of course it didn't," Sami agreed, "But…man, not even 24 hours…that's harsh. I feel for you guys."
"At least you'll still have Bay and the Finn-man over there In case you get too down," Enzo noted, with Bayley nodding enthusiastically in agreement, "And between me and the Zayniac over there, we'll keep Cass out of trouble."
"Don't expect me to try and keep Enzo out of trouble, though." Sami grinned brightly as Carmella finally managed a laugh.
"Thanks Samuel," Carmella tried another smile, a little more genuine this time. She looked over at Cass with a reassuring nod, "Our phone bills are gonna rocket 'cause of this."
The group attempted to move on to more uplifting topics. It took Finn a while to relax again, but between Bayley's enthusiastic gushing about the plans for all the girls' big WrestleMania entrances and Becky doing her best to keep everyone in a good mood with bad puns, Finn had soon lessened his death grip on Sami's arm. He'd noticed Sami looking quizzically in his direction a few times during the course of the conversation, but Finn simply smiled as best he could at his partner which seemed to work as a temporary reprieve. It wasn't long before Becky's phone sounded an alert. She checked it quickly, and her eyes widened. It was just about time for her big match.
"That's my summons. Gotta go. Ooh, I can't believe it's almost time," Becky had to stop and take a few deep breaths, "Aww, am I really ready for this? Yeah, course I am. Ha. Y'all gonna wish me luck?"
"Like you really need it," Bayley smiled brightly, giving her fellow Horsewoman a big hug, "You'll ace it out there."
"Right, course I will. Okay," Becky exhaled one last time before standing up, "Headin' off for final warm ups…then it's on…uh, Fergal, any last minute words of encouragement would be greatly appreciated right about now."
Finn blinked in surprise at being addressed, but when he saw Becky's pleading expression he quickly stood up and walked over to his former pupil, "Hey, you. You'll be great, trust me…I've got all the faith in the world in you. All of us, we know you're ready for this. You've earned this moment, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
Becky nodded firmly, before Finn brought her in for a quick hug, "Right, well, things can't possibly go wrong after a speech like that. Thanks Fergal. For everything."
"Hey, I only helped you get started," Finn smiled softly, "Everything else, all you. So, so proud of you. Now go win that shiny new Women's title."
Becky nodded again, smiling in return. With a quick wave, she headed off to make her final preparations. Finn sighed softly, returning to his seat beside Sami.
"She'll be fine, don't worry about her," Sami whispered to Finn, who had almost immediately cuddled in a little closer to Sami, "Is that what's been bothering you? Worried about your star pupil?"
Finn shook his head against Sami's shoulder, and a slight sniffle aside he remained quiet. He was relieved when Sami held on to him just that little bit tighter, relieved that Sami wasn't questioning why he was suddenly so clingy.
"Right, we gonna go catch the match?" Bayley clapped her hands enthusiastically, "I've been looking forward to seeing this all weekend."
"…could you all go on ahead?" Sami asked, not looking away from Finn, "Just want a quick word with Finn."
Oh, damn, Finn sighed sadly as he was left alone with Sami…of course he'd noticed something was up.
"You've been really distant with everyone up until now, and you barely noticed Becky was panicking a bit until she said anything to you," Sami's voice quivered slightly, the worry evident in his voice, "Is something bothering you? Did one of us say something wrong? Was it something I did?"
"Sami…no, it's nothing you did. Please don't think that," Finn struggled to formulate the words, exhaustion suddenly threatening to overcome him, "Just something Enzo said…it's silly…could we not talk about this here?"
Sami frowned, "…there is something we need to talk about, though?"
"Yeah…" Finn bit his bottom-lip, "Uhm…you don't have anything else scheduled for today? No interviews or meet-ups or anything?"
"Nothing scheduled, no," Sami looked at his partner curiously, "Pretty much just hanging around to see the ladies kill it in the ring, and to see whatever outlandish costume you'll be wearing in Hunter's entrance."
"So…nothing work related, then?"
"Nothing work related, no," Sami confirmed, worry still etched in his voice, "Finn…is there a reason you're asking that?"
"…do you think we could leave early?" Finn murmured, so quietly to ensure that only Sami would hear, "Like…right about now?"
"Now? But…you can't miss Becky's big moment, you just told her how proud you were of her and everything," Sami didn't even bother hiding his surprise, "She'd be crushed if she knew you weren't watching! What could be so important that you'd even think about missing that!?"
Finn sighed, "…yeah, you're right. Sorry…of course I can't miss that. God, that was selfish of me to even ask."
"Okay, hold on a second," Sami had taken out his phone, starting to compose a text, "I'll make you a deal. Hunter's probably busy getting ready for his match with Reigns…probably won't want to be disturbed. I'll shoot him a text to check if we can leave, and until we get a response we'll go and watch Becky's big moment, okay?"
Finn took a second to think about Sami's offer, "Okay, that…that sounds good, yes."
"However, the second we're back at our hotel room, you're going to tell me exactly what's going on in that head of yours. Not gonna lie, I'm really worried right now…about you, about us…not like you to clam up like this."
Finn dropped his head, shame filling him for making Sami worry like this, "I'm sorry…it's your big weekend and I'm ruining it…"
"Finn, it's not just my weekend. It's all of ours," Sami drew Finn in for a tight hug, Finn immediately reciprocating. The familiar scent and warmth immediately calming Finn down, "It's fine. Whatever the problem is, I'll do whatever I can to help you, okay? Chin-up, let's go watch your girl shine out there."
The match was just as good as expected, but everyone watching on the monitors backstage let out a groan of despair when it came down to Ric Flair's interference being the game changer. Sasha tried her hardest to break free of his grip, but Becky just couldn't hold on in Charlotte's Figure-8 any longer. Finn cursed under his breath, the disappointment palpable in the air. Sami noticed his partner's displeasure, and quickly wrapped a comforting arm around Finn's waist.
"Okay, I don't want to rag on a legend or anything…" Bayley sounded about as angry as she ever got, "…but I'm so annoyed! Charlotte's better than that! She doesn't need anyone's help to win matches…how long is she gonna let her dad drag her down like that?"
"For as long as it means she keeps that title, I guess," Carmella shook her head, "I know you have all the respect in the world for Charlotte…but looks like the fame has gone to her head something fierce."
"Yeah…the Flair thing sucks…but such a great match, though!" Sami smiled softly, "I hope this is the start of something really great for the division. Becky was great, wasn't she Finn?"
"She was amazing Sami…all three of them were," Finn's voice wavered, "Did you see Becky's eye…looked like she caught a nasty blow."
"Yeah, I noticed," Sami grimly confirmed, "You want to make sure she's okay before we go?"
"…yeah, 'course I do," Finn pursed his lips; "Hunter hasn't got back to you yet, has he?"
Sami began to check his phone, but before he could confirm or deny Finn's question, a booming voice echoed from behind them.
"Zayn! Bálor! A word!"
Sami and Finn both grimaced at the tone of Hunter's voice. They hurried over towards their boss, fearing the worst. He didn't look angry, but you never could tell exactly which Hunter you would be dealing with at any given time.
Hunter waited until they had approached. He addressed Finn first, his tone softening to one of concern, "Zayn says you're not feeling too good? Bad enough to request to leave early?"
"…yeah, maybe all the excitement of the weekend has caught up to me…or maybe something I ate? Feeling a bit woozy. Unless you really need us here…"
"It's fine, you and Zayn can head off whenever," Hunter pulled out an electronic organiser, making a few notes, "I need you to be in top shape heading back to Florida, so go on and get as much rest as you can before the flight tomorrow."
"Thank you sir, I really appreciate this," Finn hoped his sigh of relief went unnoticed.
Hunter nodded, before turning to address Sami, "Zayn, you take care of him for me, you hear?"
Sami nodded firmly, "Always."
"Know I can count on you," Hunter clasped a hand to Sami's shoulder, "Right, I'll let everyone know you're leaving early. You both did great this weekend, really proud of both of you."
"Thank you sir, we really appreciate this," Sami shook Hunter's hand, before the COO headed back towards his private suite…back to getting ready to face Roman.
Finn and Sami both let out a sigh of relief, the tension of facing their boss fading at his approval.
"Didn't think he'd actually take the time to give us the news in person…thought he'd have nothing but Reigns on the brain," Sami mused, "Wow, that's really humbling, actually."
"Yeah…" Finn agreed solemnly, "…think we can go see Becky now? Need to make sure she's okay before…"
"Before we can go make sure you're okay, yes," Sami slipped his hand into Finn's, giving the Irishman's hand a comforting squeeze, "Let's go to Medical, then."
