A/N: Thank you for all of the reviews! A very happy 2013 to you all :D
His chance meetings with AJ the past week fresh on his mind, it's a somewhat defensive Mike that sits behind the commentary table during Wednesday Night's Main Event, beyond relieved that the Raw Recap aired midway through the show has all to do with Alberto Del Rio running over Santa with his car and nothing at all about AJ spending the night with Dolph Ziggler, holed up in that locker room. At least until Cole, for whatever reason, compares Miss Piggy to AJ and Mike's head almost explodes, an awkward silence passing across the commentary table.
Finally he spits out something about how he'd never make out with AJ, and Cole seems incredulous at this. Growing all the more uncomfortable with this line of conversation and hating himself for falling into this trap, Mike just says that he likes to make the first move, uncomfortably aware of the fact that it had been only a week since AJ had kissed him and he had enjoyed that. Not that it's an exclusive club, by far, but still... he hadn't had a reason to complain. Even if he'd known it was probably dictated by one of her many mood swings, and she was right back with Dolph a minute later.
When he finally gets off of the commentary table, he's relieved and almost makes a beeline for the exit. Twirling his keys around his finger, he takes in deep breaths of the chilly December air as he walks towards his car, his all-over-the-place thoughts quickly derailed when he realizes that someone's standing by his car. And not just any someone, AJ Lee. He stops and stares, taking in a deep breath. "What did I do to deserve this?" he sighs, finally forcing himself to move again as he walks up to her, quickly scanning the side of his rental to ensure she'd not done anything to damage it. "AJ."
She tilts her head and stares at him, smirking slightly. "So Mike, I heard you on commentary." He swallows slightly as she seems to be in one of her ever-changing moods again, staying quiet since he's not sure what exactly to expect from her. As always. "And I heard you tell Cole you'd never make out with me..." She slips closer to him, a coy look on her face, and he takes in a deep breath. "So I'm just wondering... what you thought that was that we did exactly a week ago?"
He looks almost sympathetic as he peers down at her, a sneer overwhelming his face as he opts to ignore his brain reminding him that he'd decided to avoid her, to not let it go this far. Just as loud is the memory of her pressed against him, kissing him almost roughly, and he can't help but want more. "Oh, sweetheart," he all but coos. "You thought that last week was making out? No, no, that was you blindsiding me out of jealousy." As he walks closer to her, her expression changes again, grows more wary as he begins to corner her in against a support pillar. "And besides, what I said to Cole was I like to take charge when it comes to that sorta thing." Pressing a hand against the cool concrete on either side of her, he leans closer until they're nose to nose. "This is making out."
He pauses only long enough to peer into her eyes and, seeing nothing that even resembles no lurking in their dark depths, goes for it, his lips against hers as he lazily presses a hand against her hip, holding her in place but allowing leniency just in case she wants to go. She may have expected the kiss, but definitely not the intensity behind it as he pours everything he has into this one moment- teeth, tongue, lips, energy, determination- and she gives as good as she gets, her fingers scraping up his scalp to tug at his hair until they're as close as two people can get, her body sandwiched between him and the pillar, the freezing concrete contrasting with his warm skin pressed against her and leaving her wanting more. It feels like it lasts a lifetime and only a few seconds all at once as he teases her with a ghosting touch up her side, causing her to arch even further into him until they're both groaning softly, blue eyes pouring desperately into brown. Withdrawing from her is almost painful but has to be done as he regretfully eases his mouth away from hers, letting his face rest on her shoulder for a moment before, pressing a soft kiss to the skin there, he pulls away completely and leaves her on wobbly legs against the pillar. "That's making out," he just manages to say, mist pouring from his lips with each rapid exhale as he realizes anew just how cold it is, before returning once more to his car.
She's still standing there, hesitantly touching her lips when he starts the car up and pulls out, his headlights washing over her as he peels out of the parking garage and in the opposite direction of the hotel the majority of them are staying at. He needs to clear his head in a big way, and doing so by driving around for awhile seems like the perfect way to accomplish that. "What was I thinking?!" he demands of himself when at the first red light, slapping his fist against the steering wheel. "Stupid, stupid, stupid..."
After spending most of the night in his hotel room, pacing, he makes the trip onwards to the city Smackdown is being held in. He'd decided that things couldn't get much more ridiculous, and he'd had more than enough of letting people get away with attacking him- like The Shield- so he contacts Booker T, who is agreeable to setting up a match for him against Dolph Ziggler. Uncomfortably aware that Dolph probably has no clue about the moments he's had with AJ the past few weeks, he wonders how far he can push the envelope before his opponent gets suspicious of them.
He's got the advantage before turning his attention briefly to the girl, blowing a kiss at her- and it's this that's enough, as he turns around right into Dolph's attack, and finds himself staring up at the lights again as he's covered and pinned, too dazed to really accept what had just occurred. The trio on the outside are heading back up the ramp, AJ all over Dolph yet again, when Mike wearily slumps against the ring ropes and motions for a mic. All celebrating comes to a stop when he begins to speak into the mic, his lips tugging into a cocky smirk. He can barely sit up, much less keep his eyes open but he somehow watches her on the titantron, slurring out one last taunt, aimed more at Dolph than her. "Doesn't matter who you're with on New Years Eve, AJ... we all know the year's gonna end in a bang," he says, eyes fluttering shut for a moment before he forces them open once more. "Happy New Years, sweetheart."
The beatdown that follows doesn't surprise him, Big E. Langston quickly leaving him lying yet again. His eyes are just fluttering open when he sees AJ and Dolph come together on top of him, kissing intensely and Mike can't look away, no matter how much it leaves him feeling disgusted and cold. He barely remembers making it back up the ramp after that, reality only returning to him once he comes face to face with a sympathetic Alex Riley. "Get me out of here," he chokes out, relaxing only a little as the younger man obligingly supports him back to the locker room.
Even sitting on the bench, catching his breath, feels like heaven and Miz groans as he relaxes, wanly smiling over at Alex. "I bet you didn't think my dramas could become even more ridiculous upon your return, huh?"
"Not really, no," he smiles back. "Can I get you anything?"
"Nah, thanks though. I'm ok." They sit quietly for awhile, Mike rubbing gingerly at his back, when he glances towards the door, feeling jittery with shame and embarrassment. Even here, when the locker room is relatively quiet and mostly empty, he still feels like all eyes are on him. "Y'know what, I'm going to go for a walk. Clear my head." He feels like he's been needing to do that a lot lately, but when Alex offers to come with him, he shakes his head. "No, it's ok. You stay here and do your own thing, I just need some time to myself. I'll be fine," he adds when the younger man looks at him worriedly.
"If you're sure..."
"I am." Mike claps him on the back before venturing out into the hallway. Relieved not to see or hear AJ or Dolph anywhere nearby, he continues on his path towards the exit, gingerly rubbing at his still painful neck and back. The whole night had sucked, really. The only little bit of fun he'd had had been antagonizing AJ and even that left him feeling beyond low in the end, the two of them leaving him laying to go do... who knows what. He sighs, finally seeing the exit sign flashing, but something stops him a few feet away. The trainer's door is open slightly and he hears faint, painful sounding murmurs from inside.
Pushing it open a bit more, he peers inside and finds Ricardo Rodriguez laying on a cot, all alone, his fingers twitching now and again as he stares blankly at the ceiling overhead, the only sign that he might be approaching consciousness again being the soft sounds he keeps making. Blue eyes widening in sympathy, Mike enters the room and hesitantly walks up to the table, staring down at the man who'd shown surprising courage for such a soft-spoken, anxious creature by interrupting 3MB and trying to stop The Shield from attacking Tommy Dreamer in the same 24 hour period. He'd had Big Show as a partner, and he knows all too well how the KO punch feels, much less for a ring announcer who maybe gets in the ring once every three months if that.
Resting a hand on top of his spastic fingers, Mike settles in next to him and just thinks, as if not sure what to say to the semi-conscious man. "Hey. They left you all alone in here, huh? That's not cool..." He trails off, shaking his head with a mirthless little smirk. "I know the feeling. I get left alone a lot too. Not that people mean to, it just happens I guess. Like when Morrison was fired, and A-Ri was injured." Not liking the words pouring out of his mouth, he frowns down at Ricardo. "Don't misunderstand me, I'm not blaming either of them for what happened- I know that crap just happens in this business, like you do too probably by now." He goes very quiet, very still, before finally sighing. "That might be AJ's problem too- just being left alone too much to fend for herself. I don't know, Daniel Bryan really messed her up. If I had known- what he was going to do- I would've done worse to him in NXT, I think."
He smiles faintly. "It still floors me how differently my two rookies ended up being. Daniel was pretty much the worst and Alex was the best, he's still one of my best friends." He sighs, trying to deduce if Ricardo's catching any of this, but it's more than impossible seeing he hadn't looked away from the ceiling the whole time, his body still frozen in that moment he'd ate the KO punch. "Maybe I should get the trainer, or Del Rio," he suggests, growing more worried for the younger man with each passing moment. Before he can get up and go do that, Ricardo's hands twitch harder underneath his palm and he sits still, just watching as he releases another shuddering breath.
"N- no," he suddenly groans out, blinking as some awareness returns to his eyes. "Don't."
"No?" Miz repeats as his dark, desperate eyes slowly turn to stare at him.
"Keep talking." It's a quiet request from the groggy man but Miz isn't annoyed, simply stares at the ring announcer. "Please?"
He shrugs and leans closer, wondering if maybe- somehow- telling someone on the outside, not near as close to the situation or him as John or Alex are would make him feel better, even slightly. "Alright. I guess I can do that much. If I talk to you about this, you'll not tell anyone, right?"
Ricardo blinks slowly and sighs, still barely with it but just needing to know he's not completely alone while Alberto prepares for his match against the Big Show. "Right."
"Fine then, I guess I'll take you at your word." He smiles faintly. "When John was first fired, things were just moving too fast for me to know what to do. He'd wanted me to grant him his final match, and I had, but it was seriously the worst possible thing I've ever had to do in my career." He swallows, remembering those days morosely, and shakes his head, trying to move past it. "Fast forward to AJ getting hired in as Raw GM and I'd seen her around enough after returning from Canada, I knew she was kind of easy to manipulate." Ricardo's dark eyes are still locked on him, some intrigue mixed in with pain and exhaustion, and Mike smiles wanly. "So that's exactly what I did. Worked her, tried to get her to convince the board to rehire John. And she kept telling me over and over again she was working on it, things were moving along fine, and I thought maybe I'd just fixed all of our problems, until shortly before she resigned as GM, she told me the board wasn't interested in rehiring him. I'd failed. Alex was injured, she had no power, John was nearing his first year away from the business, and I felt so helpless.
"But dammit all if, despite everything pointing towards the fact I should've cut all ties then, let her do her own thing with Cena, and then Dolph, something still kept pulling us together. Somewhere along the line of my just being in it to convince her to get the higher ups to rehire my best friend, I had seen more to her- enough that I began to feel sympathy for her, and honestly began to care, wanted to see her happy." He licks his lips. "I didn't know what to do, I still don't. She's impossible to read, her moods are so mercurial, and most times I don't know whether to expect a hug or a slap- or both."
Ricardo is still staring at him, an odd expression on his face, and finally he licks his lips, closes his eyes for a moment before beginning to speak slowly, his breath hitching every few words due to the pain he's still in. "El Patron," he muses, "started off something like that when he first hired me. It was a business arrangement, he'd told me from the beginning he wasn't sure how long he'd require my services, just until he began to be accustomed to life in the WWE. I'm not sure he liked me very much, but I always was impressed by him, in awe, I suppose. But I must have done something very right because he kept me on through the years and, despite his own temper and my failings in certain things, we grew to be friends. I used to doubt it but now when he calls me his best friend, I believe it." Ricardo opens his eyes and looks at Miz, lips twitching. "We never know who we're going to end up caring about, si?"
Mike sighs, then nods. "Yeah, guess so." They're still sitting there silently when Ricardo painfully turns his head to look out into the hallway, where they can hear Realaza echoing through the halls. "Here, I'll turn the monitor on for ya," Miz offers, finding a remote and flicking Smackdown on so Ricardo can watch the feed of Alberto vs Big Show as it happens.
He grimaces and winces, trying to force himself up into a sitting position, when Miz helps him up the rest of the way and leans him against the wall, collecting as many pillows as he can find in the room to prop him up so he's not completely uncomfortable. "Gracias," he whispers.
"You're welcome." Mike watches for a few moments before getting an idea. "You know what, I have something to do." He checks to make sure Ricardo's not in danger of falling over and smirks at the visibly fretful young man. "Don't worry, your employer will be just fine." He leaves as impulsively as he'd come and, without allowing himself to second guess what he's going to do, storms down the hall until he finds a few of the Superstars clustered around, also watching with annoyed looks on their faces. "Hey, you wanna get some revenge against Big Show?" When they nod, all eyes turning to look at him, Miz's smirk only grows, knowing he has them and that that worried look on Ricardo's face will be short lived.
Sheamus ultimately beats him to the punch, no pun intended, attacking Big Show but getting laid out for his troubles. Just as the giant is about to leave, the entire locker room floods out onto the ramp, all of them coming together- face or heel, it didn't matter- to push him back towards the ring, Kane and Daniel leading the charge with Miz in the forefront, and as Kane holds the much larger man down, he throws a rough punch straight to Big Show's jaw. That was for Ricardo, he thinks as The Big Red Machine slings him back into the ring to be dealt with by Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio. He grins widely as, together, they leave the ruthless World champion laying in the middle of the ring.
After a brief moment spent eyeing Sheamus, which amazingly doesn't end in violence, Alberto leaves the ring and heads up the ramp, determined to make it back to Ricardo. "Hey," Miz calls out to him, stopping him in his tracks reluctantly. "Ricardo's awake. He's waiting for you."
Some of the worry easing from Alberto's dark eyes, he blinks in surprise at the man he'd never really gotten along with that well, in or out of the ring. "You were with him?"
"Briefly," Miz nods, not sure what else to say. "He's doing better." As Alberto nods and quickly resumes up the ramp, Mike smiles despite himself. I think he always liked you, Ricardo. He just didn't know how to show it all the time. Distracted when he catches sight of Dolph Ziggler still in the crowd of Superstars behind him, his expression changes, grows more glum. I wonder if the same could be said for certain other people...
Monday is New Years Eve and Mike wanders the building, thinking. His MizTV segment with Cena had begun about AJ and Dolph's stupid little toast, and had ended with a tag match against Rhodes Scholars. And they'd actually gelled well as a tag team- which, well, they had been tag champions together for all of five minutes almost two years ago, so though he doubts they'll ever be best friends, he thinks they've grown enough to possibly just get along sometimes when necessary- like now. And though he'd at first blamed everything that had happened with AJ on Cena, he knows deep inside that, if it hadn't been Cena, it just would've been someone else. Like, currently, Dolph.
Figuring that Alex would probably be there, Miz makes an appearance at the holiday party and flicks at Alex's winter hat until he turns around, about to yell at the person harassing him nonstop. He freezes when he realizes it's Mike, however, choosing instead to chuckle and swat at his friend. "Man, I was about to blast you one," he says jokingly, turning back to the table of beverages and food and passing over a drink to his former mentor. "So where'd you go after your match?"
"Just wandering around," he shrugs, half-watching as Ricardo Rodriguez, unlucky thing that he is, gets cornered by Big Show again. He winces as the large man's voice echoes over to them, his choice of competing against Ricardo audible to the whole room. "Can't catch a break, can he?"
"Doesn't seem so," Alex sighs, downing his glass. "Where is Del Rio at times like these?"
Mike shrugs grimly. "Good question. Hopefully he'll be out at ringside."
"Yeah." They stand quietly for a bit until finally Alex elbows him. "So, AJ's big toast. You gonna be alright?"
Mike doesn't say anything for awhile longer before shrugging. "When am I not?" Noticing the disbelieving stare on A-Ri's face, he smirks. "You have to recall, Alex, I've been going back and forth with her for weeks. I expected this." Despite the still uncertain look on the younger man's face, he says nothing else and decides to get out of the room as soon as rumors about Mae Young and pregnancy starts floating around.
Well over two hours later, he and Alex are outside of the main locker room when the whole hallway fills with ridiculous buzz as Cena walks through the crowd of people, a ridiculous grin on his face. Mike stares at him for a moment before turning back to the monitor, shaking his head in disbelief. AJ and Dolph both, dressed head to toe in white, now covered in... well. He swallows and turns from the screen to look at the passing by Cena, trying to control his temper.
Unfortunately Cena turns to stare at him, his grin only growing. "Now that's going out with a bang!" And just like that, it all crashes down around him. His promo to AJ on Smackdown, how it all must look- like he'd known what Cena was going to do to her, like... like...
He takes a deep, horrified breath as soon as Cena leaves and Alex rests a hand on his arm. "Hey, hey, Mike." Once dazed eyes lock on him, Alex sighs. "Go to her, huh? Try to explain..."
"She won't want to hear me, she'll think that I- that..."
Alex grimaces. "How far did not talking get you, John or I in the past? You should at least try, Mike. It'll eat you up inside otherwise."
"What if she's with Ziggler?" he mumbles, scraping his fingers across his face, up his hair. "I don't know..."
"Catch her outside of the Divas' locker room. She'll have to clean up in there or at least stop to get her things, right?"
"I guess," Mike mumbles, finally uncovering his face and sighing with a grimace. "Why do things always go so badly so quickly?" Deciding to take Alex's advise, he turns and heads back to the locker rooms, quickly finding the divas' room. The girls are thankfully all out in the hallway, talking and laughing, waiting to catch a glimpse of AJ (from a distance), but he ducks inside and stands, waiting.
He unfortunately smells her before he sees her, the girl stepping quietly into the room as tears pour down her face and she stands there, staring at him. "AJ-" he tries to say, but she all but growls at him, causing him to stop short.
"You knew about this. You knew what Cena was planning," she whispers, sniffing. "You wanted to sabotage Dolph and my plans, and you encouraged him to do this."
Mike's words die away as hurt reverbates through him, though he'd expected something like this. "No," he tells her softly, sincerely. "I never would have done that to you."
She laughs, a cruel, broken sound. "Of course you wouldn't have. Then what was with the 'New Years will end with a bang' nonsense you were going on about on Smackdown? It's all coincidence that the man you have on MizTV and tag teamed with tonight had this all set up and waiting for me and Dolph?" She stops talking, her chest heaving with emotion. "How stupid do you think I am?"
"I don't-"
She just stares at him, her eyes devoid and blank in a way he'd never seen them before. "I never want to see you again, Mike," she tells him clearly. "Get out of this locker room right now or I'll scream."
He thinks she must be joking, staring at her for long, painful moments, but she's just opened her mouth, obviously about to follow through with her threat, when he quickly ducks around her and heads for the door, deciding to give her some time to calm down. He's almost out of the room when he turns back around. "AJ? You really did look beautiful in that dress... and I'm so sorry Cena did that, but I swear I had no idea what he was planning. I never want to see you humiliated like that." Swallowing, he shuts the door behind him and leans against it, sighing heavily. "Happy New Years to all..."
Unbeknowst to him, on the other side of the door, she sinks to her knees and just cries bitterly, still covered in the mess that Cena had caused.