Karma

AJ was in her apartment packing up the rest of her things. Punk had already been in Vegas for two weeks. She didn't want to leave until she gave a true notice to Joe and fully pack up her place. Punk was planning on keeping his place but AJ could do without the extra expense. She was also still uncomfortable leaving her father who said he was fine with her going but she was still worried to leave him. After packing everything up she headed over to the pet store to say one final goodbye to Celeste before her flight in the morning.

"You've said goodbye four times already." Celeste laughed when she saw AJ walk inside.

"I know." AJ sighed. "I'm just really going to miss this place."

"Cold feet?" Celeste asked her.

"No but it doesn't mean I won't miss the only place I've ever called home." AJ insisted. "I also promised Punk I'd drop his set of keys off at the gym for him."

"Miss him?" Celeste smirked.

"Of course I do." AJ sighed. "It's been two weeks. It's the longest I've gone without him in the last two years."

"Cute." Celeste teased.

"He keeps sending me pictures-" AJ started.

"Ew, TMI AJ." Celeste said scrunching up her face.

"I was going to say of the house." AJ said glaring at her. "I'm a little jealous."

"You won't be for long you'll be there soon enough." Celeste pointed out.

"I'm worried about my dad." AJ blurted out.

"Stop worrying about him." Celeste said to her. "He should be worried about his only daughter flying across the country to live with a man she's only dated for what? Four months?"

"You think it's too soon?" AJ asked her.

"No." Celeste said to her. "But your dad barely knows him."

"He knows that Phil will take good care of me." AJ said quietly.

"You said you guys will be back a lot." Celeste pointed out. "Don't worry and in the mean time I'll check in on your dad for you."

"You mean that?" AJ asked her and she nodded. "Thank you!" She said throwing her arms around her.

"Now get going because you have an early flight." Celeste encouraged.

"Alright." AJ said to her. "Don't be too rough on the new girl." She warned her about her replacement at the shop.

"We'll see about that." Celeste teased her.

AJ walked into the gym hoping to see Dean right away but instead it was Tommy who approached her.

"Dog face." He teased and AJ rolled her eyes. "Just a joke." he said to her. "So how's the big super star doing?"

"He's good." AJ said folding her arms and looking around.

"I heard you're moving to Vegas with him." Tommy noted.

"I am." She confirmed.

"He must really love you." Tommy added and she didn't respond. "I suppose you both have me to thank for all of this?"

"You?" AJ asked.

"You guys connected on my date." Tommy reminded her.

"We had been friends for years before that." AJ also reminded him. "You've done nothing but insult me and piss him off."

"He only asked you out originally to annoy me." Tommy told her.

"Why do you care? You don't like me." AJ asked him.

"This is a brand new you." He said noting how her appearance had dramatically changed since dating Punk.

"Sorry to disappoint you but I'm still the same girl." AJ told him. "And you are clearly the same man. You can keep me hassling me to get under Phil's skin because you're jealous of how much better he is at everything than you are. But I suggest you get it out of your system because I'll be gone by tomorrow and Punk won't even remember your name in a few more weeks."

"His personality is rubbing off on you too I see." Tommy remarked mockingly. "You may think you're hot shit because he thinks it is but trust me he's going to crack. He may be great here in the small circuit we run in but in Vegas he's just a small fish in a big pond."

"He's going to prove you wrong." AJ remarked smugly. "He'll prove every doubter wrong."

"He's not that good." Tommy informed her.

"He's the one who Paul Heyman signed on." AJ shrugged. "He only works with the best and that says something and even you can't deny that."

"AJ hey." Dean greeted walking over. "Punk told me you'd be stopping by."

"Yea, here you go." she said reaching into her purse and pulling out his keys.

"Leaving tomorrow huh?" Dean asked her.

"I am." AJ said to him happily. "Early actually so I'm going to get going."

"I'll give you a ride." Dean offered.

"That's ok I want to have one last nice walk in the neighborhood." AJ said to him. "It's a beautiful night."

"Are you sure?" Dean asked her.

"I'm very sure. I'll see you around." She said and he gave her a hug. "Thomas." she said bitterly then walked out of the gym.

"She is not what I expected." Dean chuckled admiring the young woman then walking away.

"AJ!" a voice yelled as she had just walked by the Pet Store.

"Ugh." She groaned.

"Wait up!" Tommy yelled jogging up to her.

"I have nothing else to say to you." AJ said as he caught up to her and walked at her quick pace.

"I haven't been fair to you." Tommy agreed. "At least let me walk you home."

"No thanks." She said to him but he insisted on walking with her.

"I'm really not this big jerk." Tommy told her and she groaned knowing she'd be stuck with him for the entire walk. "And you're right I only asked you out to piss him off."

"So he liked me back then?" She asked.

"I don't know how romantic the feelings were but he did think you were always pretty." Tommy said to her and he could see her smile slightly. "I personally feel you could probably do better." he teased.

"He's great." AJ said softly.

"A real prince charming." Tommy said sarcastically. "I just really hope he doesn't let you down in Vegas."

"He won't." AJ said with hesitation.

"I'm making moves too." Tommy told her and she just nodded as she continued to look straight ahead. "I'm looking for a manager and getting a lot of calls."

"That's good." she said politely.

"Maybe Punk and I's paths will cross again." Tommy noted.

"Maybe." She shrugged.

"Afraid I'd beat him up?" Tommy asked with a laugh.

"Nope." AJ said to him. "He's the best in the world."

"Did he tell you that?" Tommy asked amused.

"No. I just know." She said as they reached her building.

"Again I want to apologize to you I haven't been fair to you." Tommy said as they halted in front of her building.

"Its done. We'll never see each other again anyway." AJ said to him.

"And I am very sorry for calling you a dog." Tommy said to her.

"And making those posters?" AJ asked.

"He told you about that?" Tommy asked nervously.

"Yea he did." AJ said looking up at him.

"I'm not a bad guy." Tommy said to her. "I just do stupid things sometimes. You are a very sweet girl and I wish you the best."

"You too." She forced out.

"Tell Punk I said I'll see him real soon." Tommy smiled.

"Sure thing." She said walking into the building.

Before she could step in Tommy lightly tugged on her arm and pulled her into a hot wet kiss. AJ was so stunned she didn't know how to react until it was over and left her speechless.

"Real soon." Tommy added with a wink then walked off leaving her stunned.

Punk was straightening up the large apartment in preparation of AJ's arrival while Paul watch amused.

"The place is clean." Paul laughed.

"I've been bored out of my mind since I've been here." Punk said to him.

"I would take that personally." Paul said looking down at Larry.

"He's missed her just as much as I have." Punk said to him.

"I'm excited to see her too." Paul admitted and Punk just glanced over to him, he still wasn't a big fan of all the attention he gave to AJ. "And it's a perfect day for her to come in, you're done training and tomorrow starts the weekend and you're off. You can show her around town."

"Maybe Sunday we'll leave the apartment." He smirked.

"That's a shame because I wanted to take you both out to eat tonight." Paul said to him. "Best restaurant on the strip."

"Tonight I kind of just want to get her adjusted and catch up." Punk said to him.

"Tomorrow night?" Paul asked.

"Yea ok." He said reluctantly.

"If you still want your privacy with her I can meet up with her on Monday when you're at the gym." Paul said to him. "I want to go over some job opportunities."

"What kind?" Punk asked curiously.

"Well you know I have a website-" Paul began.

"You want AJ to be featured on your Heyman Hustle site?" Punk asked with a laugh.

"I think she'd fit right in. She has this innocent glow that men will love." Paul said to him and Punk seemed displeased. "Unless of course you don't approve?"

"She can do whatever she wants." Punk forced out as fairly as possible.

"That's good because any added publicity to her only helps you." Paul said to him. "So I'll speak to her Monday."

"No we'll do dinner together Saturday." Punk said to him not wanting him alone for AJ for whatever insane reason.

"Great." Paul cheered. "Shouldn't you get going?" he asked looking at his watch.

"Her flight lands at 6." Punk said to him. "It's only 4."

"Rush hour." Paul pointed out.

"Yea I should get going." Punk agreed.

"Anything you need done here while you're gone?" Paul asked him.

"No-" Punk started but there was a knock at the door.

Punk opened the door to find his excited girlfriend waiting on the otherside.

"Missed me?" she asked jumping into his arms and wrapping her legs around his waist.

"So fucking much." He muttered against her ear. AJ moved her face and gave him a deep kiss.

After kissing for a few moments he closed the door and placed her on her feet.

"What are you doing here so early?" he asked her. "I thought your flight was at six?" he took the bag hanging off of her shoulder from her.

"It was but I couldn't sleep at all last night and just headed to the airport and switched flights." She said to him. "I wanted to surprise you."

"I am surprised." he smiled.

"Hey AJ." Paul greeted giving her a hug. "I'm not staying just saying hello." he said pulling away. "Dinner tomorrow night." he said to them and Punk nodded.

"Hi Larry!" AJ cheered kneeling down to greet the excited dog. "I've missed you too" she laughed as the dog licked her face.

"Ok enough with Larry." Punk said anxiously.

"Relax." She laughed standing up and wrapped her arms around his waist. "My stuff will be here in a few days."

"I've got so much space for you." he assured her.

"It's a beautiful building and the living room is bigger than my entire place." AJ admired.

"I'll give you the grand tour, you'll love the bedroom." He smiled grabbing her two hands and pulling her away as he walked backwards. "The kitchen." He nodded as they passed the kitchen. "Bathroom." He nodded towards the closed door."

"I didn't even get to see it." she laughed.

"Closet." Punk nodded to the next door. "And now the best room yet." he said pulling her inside to the huge master bedroom.

"Phil there's a terrace!" She squealed running to it and opening the french doors. "It's so beautiful." she said admiring the view of the City.

"Yea it's great." He said trying to get her back inside.

"There's a pool here?" She asked with a smile.

"Yes a pool, gym, laundry room everything you could ever need is in this building. There's even a small coffee shop on the ground floor." with that said AJ's eyes lit up.

"Can you take me there!" She asked happily.

"Absolutely." He promised her. "First thing in the morning. Tonight we're going to have a big dinner."

"Yum." she smiled as he sat on the bed but kept a lock on her hands. "What else?"

"I was hoping we could break in this new bed." He suggested innocently.

"But I want to hear all about how your training is going." She pouted cutely.

"That's dinner conversation besides I've spoke to you everyday and you know." he reminded her.

"Ok well I might have some dinner conversation of my own." She said moving onto the bed and straddling him. Punk quickly pulled her t-shirt over her and discarded it to the floor.

"Can't wait to hear about it...later..." He trailed off kissing over her torso. "...at dinner..."

After reconnecting for two hours Punk took AJ out to dinner. It wasn't upscale but it was fancier than where they usually ate (hot dog stands in Chicago).

"This place has menus." She teased picking hers up from the table.

"Get used to this." Punk said to her. "It's only going to get better."

"I'm just happy to be back with you." She said glancing over the menu.

"How did everything go with your dad and apartment?" He asked her.

"I think he's a little upset but I'd rather be here with you." AJ said to him. "I have no idea what to order." She said looking at the menu.

"Get anything you want." Punk said to her.

"How much could you possibly be making with only a few fights?" AJ asked then mentally kicked herself. "Sorry that's way too personal to have asked."

"We're living together you have a right to know." Punk assured her. "A lot." he smirked. "Being signed with Paul has it's advantages."

"I have to start looking for work." She reminded him.

"Paul is going to help you with that." Punk assured her. "We're going to have dinner with him tomorrow night and I think he has some ideas for you."

"That's great." AJ said relieved.

"Not that you have to take anything he suggests." Punk added casually.

"Why wouldn't I?" AJ asked him. "I don't have a lot of options."

"You always have options AJ." Punk reminded her seriously. "You have me."

"I know but I'm not going to live out here and not work." She said to him.

"And that's fine." Punk said to her. "You just don't have to take what Paul offers."

"Do you know what it is?" she asked him.

"I think it's some photos for his website." Punk said looking over the menus.

"Like modeling?" She asked.

"Something like that." He said still not looking at her. "Like I said you don't have to do it."

"Why wouldn't I?" she asked putting her menu down. "You just don't want me to do it."

"Never said that." he laughed. "I think I'm going to get the steak."

"So what's your problem with it?" AJ asked him.

"The girls on his page are just different." Punk said to her and AJ narrowed her eyes. "It's really not type your style and I don't want you feel pressured into agreeing to this just because it's Paul."

"Or you don't think I can model." She pointed out picking her menu back up. "I'm not pretty enough?"

"Let's not get into this." Punk warned her. "You're very pretty too pretty to do the kind of photos he wants you to do."

"Are they nude?" She asked him.

"Almost." He scoffed.

"You look at those pictures?" She asked him.

"No-" he began.

"So how would you know?" She asked quickly.

"I mean I've seen the site." He corrected nervously.

"Ready to order?" The waiter asked.

"Yes please." Punk said almost desperately. "I'll take the steak."

"I'll have the salmon." AJ added passing the menu over. "We'll stick with water."

"No problem." The waiter said walking away.

"Look, just talk to him tomorrow night and if it's something you want to do you I'll support you." Punk said to her giving in. "I don't want to fight with you."

"I don't either." She said with a soft smile.

"So what did you want to talk about?" he asked her as she sipped her water.

"Huh?" she asked innocently.

"You said you had some dinner conversation." Punk reminded her. "It's dinner." He teased.

"Dinner isn't even on the table." She laughed tucking her hair behind her ear nervously. "I want to hear about training."

"I want to hear about you." Punk said leaning back in his chair. "Something wrong?"

"No." She said said shaking her head and looking at her glass of water.

"You're lying." He noted. "You know when most people lie they avoid eyes but you avoid faces." he pointed out. "What's wrong?"

"It's really not a big deal." She laughed almost obnoxiously.

"Sounds like it is." He noted losing his smile. "Talk to me. Is it about your dad?"

"No." AJ said to him. "But you know what? I should call him because I said I'd call him when I landed and I've been here hours already-" She started to get up but he lightly reached for her arm across the table and made her sit back down.

"April." He warned.

"I went to the gym last night to drop off your keys like you asked." She said to him.

"Someone bother you?" Punk asked curiously.

"Well Tommy did at first." She said to him and he nodded. "Then he walked me home."

"How chivalrous." Punk mocked.

"He told me how you-" She began.

"He's a liar." Punk reminded her cutting her off.

"So you didn't talk about how you thought I was pretty and really liked me?" She asked him.

"Well that is true." Punk grinned.

"He said he's going to get a manager and make it to Vegas himself." She said to him and Punk chuckled.

"I'm not worried." he said to her.

"Then he kissed me." She said. "And after that I went into my building and the elevator was broken and I had-"

"He kissed you?" Punk asked her.

"Yea and then after he left I went into my building and had to climb all those stairs." She said dramatically. "My legs are still sore."

"What do you mean he kissed you?" Punk asked her.

"You don't know how kissing works?" She teased but he glared at her. "And he said to tell you hi." She added innocently. "So what's been going on with training?"

"Did he hurt you?" Punk asked her.

"Of course not." She said to him. "It was over so fast."

"Because you pulled away?" he questioned.

"I didn't even have a chance to." She admitted honestly. "It wasn't very long."

"So he kissed you and you were ok with it?" he asked.

"No of course not. I couldn't sleep all night because I kept thinking about." She told him.

"You couldn't get the kiss out of your head?" he asked her.

"Not like that!" she defended. "I didn't even kiss him back." She swore.

"But you didn't pull away." Punk added.

"It was like five seconds." She told him. "It was nothing. I only kept thinking about it because I felt so terrible."

"If you didn't like or want the kiss why did you feel so bad?" he asked her.

"Why are you giving me the third degree?" She asked him. "He only did it to piss you off."

"Mission accomplished." Punk remarked.

"Phil please." She pleaded. "It was nothing. And I wouldn't have even told you if it didn't bother me so much."

"You sure you didn't like it?" he asked her one more time and now she glared at him.

"I'm very sure. He has chapped lips anyway." She teased. "We don't have to worry about him anymore anyway."

"I hope he does make it to Vegas." Punk said to her. "I'd love to beat the shit out of him and get paid for it."

"We can just forget him now." AJ said to him.

"I'll never forget him." Punk said to her.

"He only did it to bother you." AJ reminded him. "Don't give him that power."

"He can bother me all he wants but he can't use you to do it." Punk said to her.

"We're in Vegas and he's in Chicago." she pointed out. "I don't want this to ruin our first night as roommates."

"It is our first night as roommates." He smirked. "I'm happy you're here."

"I'm happy to be here but I'm nervous." She admitted. "This is all so new to me."

"Me too. I'm glad we're doing this together." He said to her. "It's going to be a long road."

"I'm really excited about your fight next week." She said to him. "Are you ready?"

"I've been ready my whole life." he told her. "I was thinking on Monday you could come to the gym? You can work out if you want the guys bring their families to the gym all of the time."

"I'm not family though." she pointed out.

"Yea you are." He said to her without hesitation. "You're all I have, you get that right?"

"It's nice to hear." She said with a smile but trying not to cry at the sweet words.

"I know we've been dating for less than a year but you are very important to me." He said to her. "I've never fallen in love like this before as a matter of fact I've never spoken like this in my life." he laughed.

"Do you ever think of all the time we wasted just being friends?" She asked him.

"I don't think it was wasted time." he said to her. "I got to you know pretty well hanging around that store."

"When you really think about it we owe it all to Larry." She said to him. "If you hadn't stolen him-"

"-rescued." he corrected.

"You wouldn't have a dog and you wouldn't be in the store so much." She told him.

"I saved a dog and got you." Punk said to himself. "I did a good deed and got rewarded. Karma does exist."