A/N: Just a one-shot in honor of AJ's epic return to WWE! She looks great and kicked butt and it's nice to see the Diva's title back in good hands and I am very much looking forward to an AJ/Paige feud. Also this goes without saying- I own nothing just the ideas.
Missing You
AJ arrived backstage at Raw for the first time in just over three months and she was surprised by how little had changed. It was no secret that the WWE was struggling and sure there were a lot of missing faces and not just the talent but even backstage crew workers weren't spared in the recent firings. AJ wasn't surprised when most of the Diva's barely greeted her as she entered the Diva's locker room. They knew she was back and was going to be reclaiming her rightful spot at the top of the Diva's chain. During her absence a few girls tried but no one could really fill the void left by AJ and upper management made sure the rest of the girls knew this. Naomi and Alicia were giving nice pushes but with AJ back they realized they were going back to MainEvent and Superstars shows.
Even Trinity who was always nice AJ didn't seem thrilled to have her back. She received a brief congratulations on her marriage but that was it. Tamina was out until next year most likely and Vickie was gone so there went the two women AJ traveled with the most. She was truly on her own but she wouldn't let it dampen her mood. The only thing on AJ's mind right now was mentally preparing herself to be in front of thousands of people again. She knew she'd get the 'CM Punk' chants and possibly worse but she was focused and driven and that's all that mattered.
Not long after arriving and getting settled she was told to meet Mr. McMahon in his office. She wasn't sure what this was about, she was hoping it wasn't about Punk because she had made it clear she wouldn't be their middleman and both parties respected that. Once AJ stepped inside the office she was greeted by a broad smile from the Chairman.
"AJ!" He cheered walking over to her and pulling her into a surprising hug "Welcome back"
"Thanks" AJ replied shyly pulling away
"You look great" Stephanie beamed, AJ hadn't even noticed Stephanie was in the office as well "And congratulations on your marriage"
"Thank you" She smiled taking a seat "And thank you- both of you for keeping that private and not reporting on it"
"No problem." Vince said with a wave of his hand "Congratulating you was only one reason we pulled you in we have some pretty exciting news for you"
"As you know Paige is still Diva's champion" Stephanie started off "That's going to change- tonight"
"Me?" AJ asked stunned. She knew the title would eventually end up back on her tonight but not so quickly
"Yes you" Vince smiled "Unfortunately a lot of the girls just haven't stepped up to the plate and that included Paige. The longer you were gone the more it proved how much this division needs you."
"You're also going to be working as a face for now on" Stephanie added "Tamina is gone and honestly we don't think you need anyone with you onscreen anymore. You can hold the title on your own"
"We're going to have you confront Paige during her promo tonight and just like she congratulated you, you'll do the same, have a match and get a quick win" Vince told her
"This is amazing" AJ said with a large smile "I really wasn't expecting this"
"We're really excited to see you work with Paige" Stephanie said to her "Working with you maybe she can pick up a few things. We like Paige but she's lacking in some departments"
"We're hoping you could give her a few pointers" Vince said to her
"Absolutely" AJ assured them
"Obviously we're expecting CM Punk chants" Vince informed her and she just nodded "Please just talk over them as much as possible and Paige has been instructed to do the same."
"I will" AJ promised
"Good luck tonight" Vince said with one final smile and shaking her hand "I look forward to watching you tonight"
"Have fun out there" Stephanie added then AJ left the office.
As soon AJ stepped out of the office she was over excited and needed to tell someone about this news. Of course none of her friends were here so anyone back here was out. She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and found a familiar number…
"Hey" Punk answered
"Hi" she said happily
"How's it going?" Punk asked "Tell me you hate it and miss me and want to come home. I'll come and get you right now"
"I do miss you" She said to him "And as far as the hate that all seems pretty one sided…as usual"
"Ah so no one rolled out the red carpet for you?" Punk teased "Forget them. They're just jealous."
"I'm getting the title back tonight" AJ informed her new husband
"Seriously?" Punk asked her
"Yes I just got out of a meeting with Vince about it" AJ said to him "Are you surprised I'm so valued?"
"No I'm surprised they're making a good decision" Punk retorted seriously "You deserve it"
"Do I?" AJ asked him "I've been out three months"
"And you were missed. The division barely survived" Punk pointed out "Go out there and kick all kinds of ass. I'll be watching"
"Thanks" She smiled into the phone "Did you get any sleep?"
"You know I can't sleep without you" Punk reminded her "I'll sleep on Wednesday when you're back"
"Great sleep one of my few days with you away" AJ teased
"You'll be sleeping with me" Punk said to her "I seriously miss having you around I don't even know what to do with myself"
"I'm sorry" she frowned
"Don't be sorry we knew you'd be going back eventually." He said to her coolly "I just have to get used to not sharing my blankets and hearing your snoring"
"You really do miss it" AJ laughed
"Mrs. CM Punk!" someone shouted behind AJ
"Who the hell is that?" Punk asked hearing the voice over the phone
"It's a friend of yours actually" AJ smirked turning around to face the other returning face
"Is that him?" Chis Jericho questioned and she nodded and watched as Chris yanked the phone from AJ "Where the hell are you man? I came back and now we're just waiting on you!"
"Not in the cards for me Chris" Punk laughed
"Fine but if you change your mind I want your first match back" Chris warned
"You got it" Punk promised "Now put my wife back on the phone"
"Your wife" Chris just laughed into the phone "I'll have to get used to that and also share some embarrassing road stories with her"
"Trust me nothing will scare her off" Punk laughed "But keep an eye on her for me"
"Will do, hope to see you around man" Chris finished off and then passed AJ back her phone
"He's surprisingly not the first one to refer to me as Mrs. Punk this evening" AJ informed Punk "Do you think they'd let me change my name from AJ Lee to AJ Punk?"
"The fact that they're letting you wear your rings out on TV is shocking enough" Punk said to her
"My rings have been catching the eyes of a lot of people" AJ said glancing at her wedding band and engagement ring
"The diamond is so big how can people not look at it?" Punk mocked
"I need to get going" AJ informed him "I have to get my shirt ready for tonight"
"Alright call me when you're done" Punk said to her "And if you need me I'll just be sitting on the couch….watching infomercials"
"How about you change the channel because the show just started and you watch me" AJ instructed
"What time do you go on?" Punk asked her seriously
"I'm the last segment before the main-event" AJ told him
"I'll tune in at 10:40" Punk promised
"I'll quiz you" AJ warned
"I'll be watching I swear. Maybe it will help me sleep tonight" Punk said to her
"Ok I love you" AJ said to him
"I love you too" Punk said before he heard her hang up.
After walking past the curtain with the Diva's title in her arms for the first time in three months she was feeling good. Of course she wasn't expecting anyone to really congratulate her as most of the locker room usually did when a new champion was crowned. Usually she'd have Tamina at her side and before that Punk greeting her as she headed back to the locker room but tonight she only had her championship and for right now that was good enough.
"Welcome back" John Cena smiled towards AJ as he passed her quickly. AJ just nodded a 'thank you' and kept walking towards the locker room. As soon as she stepped in the other girls were already packing up for the night and mumbled there own half hearted congratulations. But AJ kept her smile firm and didn't let the other girls see how they were getting to her.
"AJ" Paige said walking into the locker room "I am so sorry about earlier"
"Sorry for what?" AJ questioned
"When all those Punk chants started I kind of froze" Paige told her "It was a mistake and won't happen again" AJ offered the rookie a smile
"It's fine" AJ assured her
"It's really not" Paige argued
"I don't mind the chants" AJ pointed out to the younger Diva "It's the execs that do. You made a mistake and you froze. The crowd was really loud tonight they'll get over it"
"I've never heard a reaction like that before" Paige admitted "The fans have really missed you"
"Or they miss someone else" Cameron smirked from across the locker room causing a few of the other girls to giggle.
"Yea I didn't hear AJ's name being chanted" Nattie whispered but was loud enough for AJ to pick up on it. AJ decided to take the high road though and let it go.
"I look forward to working with you" AJ told Paige with a smile before grabbing her bag and leaving the locker room.
AJ stepped onto Punk's empty bus and heard the engine start up and start to drive off. She didn't want to travel on his expensive bus but he insisted on it especially knowing she'd be pretty much on her own with traveling. AJ used to love the bus all of the sudden it was just a reminder on how alone she truly was at work. She didn't even change before grabbing her phone and calling Punk as she headed into the bedroom portion of the bus.
"Congratulations" Punk greeted happily into the phone "You were amazing out there"
"You think so?" AJ asked. She knew Punk would always be honest
"You looked great, you sounded great and you wrestled great" Punk counted off "Did you not hear that pop you got? It was amazing"
"It felt good" AJ admitted to him but he sensed her voice was off
"What's wrong? No one ran back to hug you and thank you for saving they're entire division?" Punk mocked "They're jealous AJ do not let it get to you I mean it"
"It's hard not to" AJ admitted "I miss you and I have no one to fill the void"
"First of all no one should be even trying to fill my void and if they are I'll kill them" Punk warned causing AJ to let out a giggle. He could always make her laugh
"That's not what I mean" she said still laughing "John barely spoke to me and for some reason Bryan and Brie were glaring at me equally. I suppose his recent push has gone to his head a bit or Brie and her sister have officially tainted him against me"
"What is he even doing there?" Punk asked as he quickly searched the people followed and blocked good ol' D-Bry.
"I heard a rumor he's going to be filming SmackDown tomorrow but I can't say for sure, surprisingly I'm not really in the loop" she snorted
"It's lonely right now but that will change in a few weeks" Punk assured her
"I don't think I'll make it a few weeks" AJ said to him "I'm so excited over this and have no one to share it with"
"Share it with me" Punk said to her "Gush all about it go ahead I have time"
"It's not the same" AJ said to him "But thanks anyway"
"Do not let them break you AJ. You've earned this and you should be enjoying it. You're a Brooks now and that means no one gets to bring you down" Punk said firmly to her
"Do you think people cheered for me tonight or you?" AJ questioned
"You were the one in the ring honey" Punk laughed "I'm actually surprised the chants died down so quickly they really enjoyed having you back. I can tell by the reaction in the arena and the reaction on Twitter"
"I haven't even looked" AJ said to him "How bad is it?"
"It's not bad" Punk promised her "It's mostly all positive. Absence makes the heart grow fonder"
"I think I'll stay off social media for a while" AJ said to him "Let me know if any of my colleagues tweet me"
"Nothing yet." Punk admitted "But again who gives a crap? You've got the belt and they don't. I on the other hand am having so much fun blocking people"
"Are you getting a lot of 'when are you coming back tweets?'" AJ asked
"Yea but no more than usual. Most of the blocking is 'your wife is hot', 'I hate Punk for marrying AJ'. It's actually more fun to search your tag and block random perverts" Punk said to her happily "So how's the bus running?"
"Good. It's quiet though" AJ noted
"So bring people with you" Punk suggested causing AJ to laugh
"Yea I can just picture me and Nattie braiding each other's hair and gossiping about shoes and cats" AJ snorted
"Bring Kofi along" Punk suggest "E- you've got friends there"
"I kind of feel funny bringing other guys onto the bus" AJ admitted "All I need is for a fan to see it and assume that I'm cheating on you"
"That is true" Punk agreed "Well the good news is that it's after midnight so it's Tuesday which means you'll get to come home tomorrow"
"I'm so excited!" AJ cheered "I've been gone since Sunday and it feels like forever"
"I told you we should have just stayed in Hawaii" Punk teased
"Who would support the family?" AJ teased back
"True" Punk agreed then laughed "Get some rest and cheer up"
"Ok" AJ said to him "Keep my side of the bed warm for me"
"I'm not even tired I'll probably be on the couch all night watching TV" Punk said to her "Maybe I'll just re-watch your segment and match over and over"
"Good choice" AJ smiled "I'll see you tomorrow"
"Ok be safe" Punk said to her
"Oh and one more thing" AJ said quickly "I really do miss you. Don't let all my smiles on TV fool you"
"Honey, the way you were flaunting your rings in front of the camera was all I needed to see" Punk said to her in a knowing voice "But in case I haven't said enough I miss you too"
A/N pt2- Don't worry Stay With Me will be updated in a few days as well.