Disclaimer: Seriously, do you think I own anything at all?

A/N: So, despite the pitiful lack of support I am charging forth with this story! I promise, it WILL be done by the end of the month (I'm participating in NaNoWriMo during November and don't want to have loose fics lying around).

Several Months Later

Miz groaned as his cell phone went off, waking him up after what seemed like only a few hours of sleep. Eyes still closed, he fumbled around for it, knocking his watch and various other items off the nightstand in his search. Just when his fingers finally brushed it, someone grabbed it out of his hand.

"Hey, Mickie," Jericho said as he answered the phone. Miz pulled the pillow over his head to try to block out the sound of his friend's too-awake voice.

"Miz? Well, he's not exactly awake yet." Jericho glanced over at Miz as he talked. "So anyway, how're you doing?" Miz leaned over and tried to grab the phone, but Jericho took a step back just out of his reach. "Oh, really? No, I hadn't seen that… Well, I'll pass the message on to him. Yeah, nice talking to you too. Bye."

"What was that about?" Miz asked around a yawn as he finally started to get out of bed.

"Mickie got a new copy of her script today. I guess there's a scene between the two of you." Jericho smirked. "A romantic scene."

"Really?" Miz asked with forced interest as he began looking for clean clothes.

"Yeah, and from what she said it sounds like some trashy romance novel rip-off."

"Lucky me."

Jericho didn't pick up on the fact that he was completely serious, not sarcastic. "Hey, at least it's Mickie and not one of the other Divas. At least with her it won't be awkward or anything. You guys will do the scene and probably laugh about it later."

"Yeah, probably."

Jericho frowned, having finally picked up on the fact that his friend was acting strangely. "Hey, are you alright? If the storyline really bothers you that much just get Stephanie to rewrite it or scrap it before the show tonight."

Miz shook his head. "No, it's fine. Listen, I need to go talk to Mickie. I'll catch up with you later, alright?" He dashed out of the room without waiting for a response.

Mickie was pacing anxiously in the lobby and started slightly when Miz made his presence known. She motioned toward the hotel café and said, "Let's grab something to eat while we talk, okay?" Miz nodded and followed her instead to an out-of-the-way corner table. Immediately after they had placed their orders she asked, "So have you looked at the final script for tonight yet?"

"No, I haven't had a chance, but Jericho said we have some scene together that looks like it's out of a "trashy romance novel", as he put it."

Mickie laughed. "It's a bit sappy, but not that bad." She pulled a copy of the script out of her bag and tossed it to him. "Here, read it."

It was a short scene and though Miz wouldn't admit it, it was pretty good. He had been worried that Stephanie would either reject the idea or write it horribly when he suggested it a couple of weeks ago, but it seemed like things were pretty good so far- except for Mickie's reaction.

"Not that bad," he agreed. "So what's the problem?"

"It's just that it's with you! I mean, I don't want this to make things weird between us or anything. I don't want this to ruin the friendship we already have, you know?"

Miz reached across the table and grabbed her hand, squeezing it comfortingly. "It won't ruin anything, I promise. Besides, the scene isn't really written out so if you ever feel like it's too much just end it one week, okay?" He cared about her too much to put her through this if she really didn't want to do it, but at the same time he really wanted her to give the scene a chance.

"Sounds like a plan then." She finished off the last of her soda and stood up. "Oh, by the way, the scene calls for you to shower me with gifts. What am I getting?" She was grinning as she spoke and Miz knew she was joking- mostly.

"First, it's only written that you get one gift each week," Miz pointed out with a chuckle. "And second, even if I knew I'm not going to tell you."

"Aw, come on, why not?"

"Because I want it to be at least partially a surprise," he said with a slight grin as he stood up as well. "Besides, you'll see it tonight anyway."

XXXXX

Jericho watched Miz pace around the motel room, looking up the numbers for various floral shops on his cell phone. "So let me get this straight," he said slowly. "You need to give Mickie roses tonight."

"Yeah. Red roses."

"And yet you can't find a shop that will sell them to you?"

Miz sighed. "It's not that. It's just that I don't want to give a regular bouquet of flowers."

"Does it really make a difference?"

"Yes, it does."

Jericho waited for Miz to elaborate, but when it became obvious that he wasn't going to he prompted him. "Because…?"

Miz looked up from his phone. "Because she's my friend, she's not really a rose-bouquet girl, and because I have nothing else to do before the show."

"And this is just a storyline," Jericho reminded him.

"Yeah, yeah, I know…" Miz muttered. He finally found another florist that was nearby and dialed the number. "Hello, I'm looking for a rose arrangement that's a bit different from the traditional bouquet, do you have anything…?" He paused. "Really? That sounds great! When should I pick it up…? Okay, thank you!"

"I take it you found something?"

"Yup." Miz grinned. "Underwater roses."

The start of the show was quickly approaching by the time Miz left to pick up the arrangement. The floral shop was located only a few blocks from the hotel and wasn't too hard to locate. The bell above the door jingled as he walked in and the only employee in the store looked up from their work. "Can I help you?" she asked politely.

"Yeah, I'm here to pick up a rose arrangement."

"Oh, you must be the underwater roses," she said as she walked over to the cooler and began looking inside. After a few moments she pulled out the arrangement.

"That's perfect!" Miz said as soon as he saw it. The roses actually were underwater in a tall, glass cylinder, with the stems pushed into the decorative stones that littered the bottom of the container. The varying heights only added to the charm, making it look like a forest of roses was growing.

As the employee rang up his purchase she said, "This may sound crazy, but you wouldn't happen to be one of the WWE superstars, would you?"

Miz resisted the urge to roll his eyes. It's just my luck to get recognized in a damn floral shop. "Would it help if I told you I'm awesome?" he said, trying not to make it sound as sarcastic as he wanted it to be.

XXXXX

"Can I talk to you for a moment, Miz?"

Miz turned around, not too surprised that Stephanie wanted to talk to him but shocked at how cold her voice sounded. "Yeah, sure. Is something wrong?" he asked as he followed her a discreet distance away.

"You tell me," she snapped. "What's this I hear about Mickie not knowing that you suggested the new storyline? If I had known you wouldn't tell her that I never would have agreed to it!"

"Stephanie, it's okay. She knows that she doesn't have to go through with this if she doesn't want to, and-"

"And what? You love her, so it will be alright in the end?" She chuckled humorlessly at Miz's shocked look. "I knew the moment you started talking to me about this, Miz."

"Oh" was all he said. He cleared his throat. "You aren't going to tell her, are you?"

She shot him a dark look. "Don't push it," she warned. "But no, I'm not going to. I just want you to think about what would happen if she found out you suggested this. Or have already forgotten everything you guys went through because of 'storylines'?"

Miz stared at her in shock as she walked away. That last comment had been low- and yet he had the sinking feeling that she was right.

"Hey, we're up next. Ready to go?" Mickie asked as she joined him.

"Hm? Oh, yeah, sure," Miz said quickly, pushing all thoughts of his conversation with Stephanie from his mind. "Let's get this over with, shall we?"

The cameraman signaled that they were about to start and Miz and Mickie took their positions. As soon as the camera was rolling, Miz walked up to her as she was talking to Kelly Kelly. "Hey, mind if I cut in for a moment?"

"I'll catch you later Kelly," Mickie said before turning to face Miz. "Good to see you, but what do you want?"

"Well, I noticed you were upset after losing your title last week, so I thought I'd get you something to cheer you up." Miz put on a show of looking around for the gift. "Uh, hold that thought." He walked out of line of the camera, returning a moment later with the roses.

"Oh, they're beautiful!" Mickie gushed. "Thank you so much! I love them!" She kissed him lightly on the cheek before turning and walking away. The camera paused for a moment on Miz, before turning off.

"Thanks guys, that was great," the cameraman said as Miz and Mickie walked away.

"Here, I suppose you need these back," Mickie said, holding the roses out to Miz.

"No, they really are for you," Miz told her with a smile. "I mean, you probably won't be able to take them on the plane but you could keep them until then."

Mickie's face lit up at his words. "Really? Thanks! I was completely serious before, they really are beautiful!" She hugged him quickly. "I have to run, but I'll catch you later, okay?"

Miz nodded and watched her walk away. Everything had gone according to his plan and yet, somehow, it wasn't quite what he had hoped it would be.

A/N: Check my profile for a link to a picture of the roses mentioned here!