Miz is preparing to travel on to Las Vegas for Main Event when he receives another of those dreaded emails. "This is to notify you you're not needed for Main Event, but HHH has requested an edition of MizTV to begin Friday Night Smackdown. We'll see you then," he reads aloud, frowning at the screen. "What the-?" He'd commentated pretty much every episode of Main Event since its inception, only missing one here or there for overseas tours or when he'd actually wrestled on it, so this makes no sense to him. He narrows his eyes as he continues to drive to the city, trying to accept that he won't have anything to do the next couple of days, his inate need to be busy all of the time vehemently opposed to this.
Only a few of them are usually needed for Main Event, so most of the others are off doing their own thing- Ricardo and Alex in Florida, and AJ in New Jersey. It had sucked to say goodbye to her at the airport, Mike not wanting to let her out of his sight so soon, but he'd been comforted by the thought that he'd stay busy preparing for commentary, and then sight see a bit until she arrived for Smackdown. Now he has no idea what to do... until there's a knock on his hotel door, his eyebrows lifting towards his hairline as a keycard is entered into the slot. Knowing it could only be one person, he stands as Alex Riley enters the room, his smile a little forced and a lot sheepish. "Kid? What are you doing here?" he asks, blinking in surprise. "I thought you were going to stay in Florida a few days, help Ricardo settle in."
"That was the plan," he admits, settling his bags down. "But... um, I received an email this morning..." He swallows, looking anxious. "Um, don't get mad, Mike, but they asked me to do commentary for Main Event."
Mike stares at him, this not really registering with him for long, tense moments. "What?" he finally asks dumbly, eyes wide in his face as he tries to digest this. "They... but..." Alex winces and walks up to him, squeezing his shoulder sympathetically as he sinks onto the bed. "I don't get this. I've done it for months now and... I mean, no offense Alex, but they- they asked you to do it instead? Why?"
He sinks down next to his former mentor, sighing. "I think... considering everything, it's probably HHH's way of punishing you. You did come really close to speaking out against him on Monday. More so than Ziggler or Show..."
Mike groans, scrubbing at his face as he remembers the mysterious part of that email about there being an edition of MizTV scheduled for Smackdown this week. "Of course... of course... Dammit!" he snaps, kicking at the bedside table so viciously that it tips and rattles, only just falling back onto all four legs after a few seconds of gravity trying to send it toppling to the ground.
"Hey," Alex whispers, nudging him. "Hopefully it'll just be for this week, huh? He'll get distracted by other things and you'll be back where you belong next Wednesday."
"Hopefully," he echoes on a sigh. "Whatever. How's Ricardo doing?" They discuss the ring announcer for a while, raiding the minibar in the process, until Alex has to go to the arena a couple hours later. "See you," Miz tells him, working his way through a box of Junior Mints.
"Bye," he says, visibly feeling poorly about having to leave the other man behind while going to do what's essentially his job.
"Hey, Alex?" Mike calls before he's out the door, smirking a bit when his former NXT rookie peers back in at him. "Don't worry about me, have a blast out there, yeah?" This puts a grin on Alex's face and he nods, shutting the door behind him. Mike sighs and picks at his nails, grimacing. He's well aware of how much A-Ri enjoys commentary and he hadn't wanted to rain on the younger man's parade but he misses sitting out at that table already.
Nonetheless, he turns the TV on when it's time and watches as Main Event starts, Alex grinning next to Josh Mathews. The show's relatively standard, Mike not interested in much until Kofi Kingston comes out to wrestle Fandango. He watches this a little closer, smirking as Alex and Josh discuss what he had done on Raw to the dancer. He has no problem with Alex on commentary until the kid compares John Morrison to Fandango, Mike's eye twitching as he considers that. "Hell no," he mutters, grimacing. "There is just no way."
He's laying in wait when Alex returns, looking almost nervous as he enters the hotel room, staring at his friend. "So did you watch, Mike? How did I do?"
Mike sneers, sitting up on his bed as Alex sits across from him, waiting anxiously for his verdict. "I'd have given you an A+ until the last ten minutes or so. Did you really compare Morrison to Fandango? Really?"
Alex winces. "Um, don't tell him I said that?" he offers sheepishly.
"Oh, no, I think he deserves to know," Miz says, smirking. "Don't you? Hey, John, Alex thinks Fandango is the new you."
"I didn't say that!" Alex sputters, looking horrified. "Mike!"
Miz laughs loudly, it turning quickly into a cough as Alex smacks him in the midsection with a pillow, winding him. "Dammit kid!" he snaps, grabbing a pillow of his own and whacking A-Ri in the face with it. They continue on for nearly five minutes until Mike's pillow all but disintegrates in his hands, both men freezing as they stare at each other.
Both begin to crack up. "Ok, I think we should stop here before neither of us have any pillows left to sleep on," Alex says once they can breathe again.
"Yeah, I guess. Truce?"
"Truce," he agrees with a smile, vowing never to compare Morrison to another superstar again- at least within hearing range of Miz.
Unfortunately, Friday goes badly. Mike had had nagging uncertainty about the whole MizTV as urged by HHH, but he'd been determined to go in, do his job. The only true plus about the whole situation is AJ arrives early in the day, her eyes lighting up when she finds him waiting outside of her locker room, the two immediately drawn together. "Hi," he greets her, brushing some of the hair out of her face as she leaves Big E back in the shadows of the hallway, leaning up to kiss him. He runs his hands down her arm, smirking softly against her lips until she pulls away, eyes gleaming.
"Hi." They stand there, still not fully believing that things had finally worked out, that they're here, like this, now. After so long, so many painful twists in the past year, neither had thought it was possible... but what do you know, give them a couple of weeks in California, and everything shakes out in the best way. She rests a hand on his merch shirt, examining the wording on it before sighing. "I don't think they have anything scheduled for me tonight, probably scared of what I'd say after Monday..."
"Seems to be a lot of that going on lately," he murmurs, unable to stop touching her as his fingers graze the side of her face. "You're here anyway? Not that I'm sorry to see you or anything," he adds quickly, not wanting to further her self-confidence issues, "but you know, you could've stayed at home... got some rest... had some fun..."
She smirks at him, stroking the small scar on his brow from where Kofi Kingston had landed a brutal kick months back. "No," she says softly. "I really just wanted to see you. So I'm here." Her fingers trail lower, brushing against his lips, and she grins when he leans into her touch slightly, eyes dark and fixed. "What are you doing tonight, anyway?"
He closes his eyes for a moment, not wanting to risk discussing this where anyone could be listening. "Come on," he says, taking her by the hand and leading her into her locker room, sneering when Big E glowers over at him as he shuts the door behind them. Leading her over to the couch, he sits down and waits as she curls up next to him, both of them pausing again at the realization of just how well she fits against him. Why did it have to take us so long to get here? he thinks soberly, brushing his fingers through her hair again, unable to stop touching her. "I received an email a couple days ago, HHH wants me to do an edition of MizTV with Dolph and Big Show on it." Her fingers freeze against where they're trailing circles against his chest and he sighs, pressing a faint kiss to the side of her head. "I think he wants to use it to get more ammunition against us all. Especially after Monday."
She pulls away from him and shakes her head, skin pale and eyes wide. "No, no, Mike- I know you have a lot of thoughts and feelings about this whole situation, but you can't- you can't get yourself fired now...not after everything, please. I can't lose you now." She kisses him, her every movement fueled by desperation, and he grips the back of her head, kissing her back just as intensely.
"Hey, hey," he finally whispers, pulling away from her. "Look, I've been fired before, ok? I always find a way back in. I'm crafty like that. But you need to trust me." He pulls her in for another kiss, leaning his forehead against hers after a few moments. "I will do everything in my power to not get fired, yeah? I have too many people here who care about and need me to just up and ditch them when everything's so up in the air... and besides." He taps her nose gently, watching her eyes flutter. "Even if I was out of the WWE, you'd not get rid of me that easily. We would find a way. After everything, you think I'd let you go, now that I finally have you?"
She looks like she's about to cry, lunging forward and kissing him again. "You'd better not," she groans against his mouth as his hands splay against her lower back, holding her in place.
Leaving her behind in her locker room is the hardest thing he's ever had to do, but he knows he's to start the show off so he has no choice, uncomfortably aware that HHH is actually here tonight, his sharp gaze following Mike all the way out to the ring.
Inviting Big Show and Ziggler to the ring, he makes weak attempts at getting them to talk, relieved when Big Show only half-heartedly says that Monday was one of the hardest things he's ever had to watch, shaking his head futilely. They'd been tag partners a long time ago, so to see him so shaken is weird, leaves Miz unsettled more than anything else this past week had. He tries to turn his attention to Ziggler, sneering internally at the thought of actually wanting to hear what the man has to say after months of just wanting the man to shut up, but the Showoff only suggests they let Big Show finish his thought, Mike growing more and more uncomfortable with the tense silence of his guests.
It grows worse however, when he starts to say that he's outspoken, familiar music hitting and grinding the already slow proceedings to an utter halt as HHH comes out. He hesitantly requests to ask H a question, but immediately gets shut down, adding to his annoyance. HHH tries to continue his rhetoric from the week prior that it's just business, not personal, but Mike doesn't believe him, the two behind him aren't buying it, and the crowd definitely doesn't understand as he says again that Orton is the future of the WWE.
HHH's uncomfortably truthful comments about him and the WWE title adds to his annoyance, it taking everything in Mike to stay quiet, his lips so thin that it's almost painful. When H says he's going to give Mike a chance against Orton tonight, the Most Must See superstar grows slightly intrigued at the prospects- until it becomes clear that it will be far from a fair fight when H sticks Dolph in a match against the Shield again and puts Big Show at ringside to do nothing but sit and watch the proceedings. It only grows worse when he tells Mike his match is now, leaving him no time truly to prepare as his opponent comes out.
Despite the lack of warning, he doesn't give up, fighting back as well as he can, until he truly starts to gain the advantage, hitting a clothesline on Orton in the corner. The WWE champion volleys briefly but Miz wiggles free from the ropes and regains his footing, slinging Randy over the top rope clear to the floor below... just for SIERRA HOTEL INDIA ECHO LIMA DELTA to echo through the arena, his growing momentum shrieking to a stop as he watches on, lips parting worriedly while the three men who'd been feared by most in the WWE for almost a year now makes their way down to the ring. Thankfully, they don't actually try to enter the ring, but the distraction had been enough, Orton quickly taking advantage back. Before Mike can wrap his head around having to compete the rest of this match with those three men standing guard at the ramp, he finds himself outside of the ring, Orton taking pleasure in returning the favor of slinging him over the top rope where he falls between the Shield members.
They still don't touch him, merely watching as Orton continues to beat him down. They return to the ring and Miz finds another burst of energy, targetting Orton's leg enough to even succeed at getting the Figure Four locked in, but the WWE champion finds his way to the ropes and he has no choice but to break the hold. It ends quickly from there, Orton leaving the ring for a brief breather before slipping back in and hitting an RKO that leaves Miz vulnerable to the pin. He stares up at the lights, dazed and breathless at how quickly it'd all gone down, when he feels the ring shaking, The Shield appearing over him and beginning to beat him down. He tries to curl in on himself, defend himself as best as he can, trying to focus on AJ waiting for him backstage, figure out a way out of this, his eyes locking briefly on a helpless Big Show- when Daniel Bryan's music hits and The Shield and Orton scatter, the bearded man hitting the ring with a steel chair and equally as steely determination.
Miz rolls out of the ring with a groan, not wanting to get caught up in that, hitting the floor bonelessly. Big Show joins him immediately, large hand on his sweaty shoulder. "Hey, man, are you ok?"
"Yeah," he grunts, trying to shake the cobwebs loose. "Ow." He's never been more relieved for Daniel Bryan in all of his life, well aware of just how badly The Shield beatdown could've ended up if given anymore time. He's sore enough already as it is. He guesses that the four men leave pretty quickly because a minute later, Daniel joins them, steel chair still at the ready. Blinking at him, Mike struggles to sit up, Show assisting him. "They gone?"
"Yes," he says unironically, leaning the chair against the apron to lean down by him. "You alright?"
"I'll live. I just- I need to get out of here," he mumbles, wanting nothing more than to see AJ right now, assure her he's fine. Big Show pulls him to his feet like he weighs nothing, Miz thanking him once his head stops spinning from the rapid change in position.
"I'd help you backstage, but as you know," the giant says, his eyes glum and weary, "I've been ordered to remain at ringside. Daniel, can you...?"
The two men stare at each other, their longterm issues stemming from NXT still there under the surface, but Daniel ultimately nods. "Sure, I can help him backstage." Big Show nods in relief before dragging Miz's arm around the shorter man's shoulders, making sure they're somewhat sturdy before stepping back and returning to his chair, Daniel steadfastly easing Mike backstage.
He swallows when Daniel tries to walk right past an obviously waiting AJ Lee, shaking his head. "Wait, no- wait." He breaks free and almost loses his balance, Bryan just grabbing him before his knees completely buckle. "AJ-"
Daniel looks from her to him and back, rolling his eyes. "Oh, what, you two are together now?" He snorts and laughs derisively, Mike suddenly wanting to kick his ass... if he wasn't currently stuck using him as a crutch... but he slowly sobers up, having much bigger things to worry about than his ex's latest romantic entanglements. "Well, have fun with that," he spits, gingerly sliding Mike's arm off of him and transferring him to the Divas champion's care.
"Jackass," Mike grunts once he's out of hearing, resting his head on top of AJ's. "I'm ok," he promises her as she looks up at him, eyes shining with worry. "Just need to check in with the trainer. Alright?" She nods and begins to walk him in that direction, Mike forcing himself to take back some of his weight, reminded yet again of just how petite AJ really is as she struggles without complaint to keep him upright.
The trainer, however, checks him over thoroughly, not wanting to miss anything just in case. He'd already had to deal with a fair few injuries that had thankfully been minor thanks to The Shield, Orton and HHH, but he doesn't want things to spiral out of control just in case. AJ is still pressed against his side on a cot while they wait for the trainer to come out and release him when Ricardo comes out to introduce RVD for his match against Damien Sandow, Mike smiling a little at the flourishes to the announcing that the younger man has included. They watch together as RVD defeats Sandow within a few minutes, Ricardo entering the ring to congratulate the other man, when Del Rio's theme music hits.
Mike closes his eyes as Alberto immediately begins insulting Ricardo, calling him a traitor and select other things in Spanish that makes AJ whistle in surprise next to him, and although the ring announcer seems more angry than sad, Mike has no doubt that underneath it all, he's smarting, though he'd never allow his former employer to see it. As soon as the trainer gives him the all clear, he stands from the cot and wraps his fingers around AJ's hand, tugging her upright. "Come on, let's go." He smiles at her. "Ready to meet my friends?"
She tilts her head, pursing her lips at him. He leans in and softly kisses her, grinning as she sighs, leaning into him. "If they act like Daniel did-"
He shakes his head. "No, I promise. They won't, AJ." He squeezes her hand gently, tangling their fingers together. "They know how much this means to me- how much you mean to me." She stares up at him, a surprised, beautiful smile taking over her lips. "Yeah, um. So ready?" She nods and he leads her down the hallway to the main locker room, pausing only long enough to look inside and make sure everyone is mostly decent before he welcomes her inside, ignoring some of the scandalized glances thrown his way as a few of the superstars quickly get out of dodge, remembering all too well what happened the last time AJ Lee had found her way into the male locker room.
Ricardo, Alex and RVD are in the corner of the room, the ring announcer merely nodding now and again at whatever the three of them are talking about, Alex looking intently at him as RVD stretches between two benches, the very sight of it first hand making Miz's legs hurt. "You're right," he says as Mike and AJ join them. "I know, it's just- a part of me is still adjusting. But I know I'm not a traitor, no matter what he claims."
Miz winces, wishing that he'd been able to help in that particular conversation, but the conclusion they'd reached without him seems promising anyway so he softly clears his throat, grinning when all three of them look up, Alex's eyes widening almost comically as he catches sight of AJ. Ricardo merely grins, as if he'd suspected such a thing, and RVD only blinks at them before changing his stance slightly, leaning forward. "Hey, guys."
"Hello," Alex finally manages, eyes locked on AJ as she grips Mike's hand tighter. "Um, Mike-? You know AJ's behind you, right?"
It takes everything in Mike not to roll his eyes, or swat his former protege upside the head, but ultimately, he finds the patience just to nod. "Yes, Alex, I know AJ's behind me." He tugs her forward to stand next to him and wraps an arm around her, staring at them warningly, unsure how they're going to respond to the news, considering her track record, the things they'd done to each other, the weird foundation this relationship was being built on. "We're together now."
"Oh," Alex all but squeaks as Ricardo grins up at him, still seeming unsurprised.
RVD is the first to actually speak a whole sentence. Well, sort of. "Congrats!" he calls from his twisted up position, AJ grimacing as she takes in how painful his stretches really look first hand.
Ricardo chuckles softly before standing. "I figured, since we hadn't seen much of you since Monday... I'm happy for you both," he says, smiling at them.
"Thanks, man," Mike breathes, grinning at the ring announcer, remembering how he had perhaps been the first one Mike had really talked to about her in depth when Big Show had knocked him out all of those months ago, reflecting on how oddly fast things can change in this business. He then turns his attention to Alex, wondering how he's going to respond, if he's going to as he continues to stare at the girl, lips parted in lingering shock. "Shut your mouth, Alex, flies may get in," he deadpans, growing weary of the unending silence that's only adding to AJ's discomfort.
"Maybe this was a bad idea," she mumbles, trying to pull away and leave. Mike clings to her, however, eyes locked on Alex as something finally clicks with his former rookie.
"I- I, wow." He shakes his head, making it quickly to his feet. "Sorry, I just- wasn't sure this would ever-" Cutting himself off again, he surges forward and hugs Mike tightly. "Long time coming, huh?" he mutters against him, grinning widely. When he pulls away, he turns to AJ, who backs up a bit, overwhelmed by his sudden reaction. He calms down then, though the grin remains. "I'm glad it all worked out," he finally says warmly, clapping Mike on the shoulder. "You have a good guy here."
"I know," she says, flushing prettily as Miz smiles down at her, his blue eyes intent in a way that makes her knees weak. "Thank you." She glances at the men before her, brows furrowing as she takes in Mike's friends for real, seeing that underneath their individual quirks, they truly care for him, are happy for his happiness. She can't remember the last time any of her so-called friends had ever felt like that for her, not when she'd thought she was happy with Daniel or Dolph, not when she'd won the divas' title...
Something clicks within her, leaving her a bit breathless. I guess this is what true friendship looks like. She glances at him with a smile, remembering how dedicated he'd been to getting John his job back, the memories no longer as jagged and painful. After all, they had led her here, to this moment. And it goes both ways. She smiles as he wraps an arm around her, holding her close as he talks with his friends. If he's that loyal to his friends and them to him, I can only imagine... She rests against him, feeling secure for perhaps the first time in her whole life.
That Monday, Mike stands outside of AJ's locker room, waiting patiently for her to answer her door. As soon as she does, he smirks at her. "Well, lemme see." Her lips twitching, she turns slowly and he carefully collects her hair, holding it away from her neck with one hand and looking down at the lines marking the date that she'd won the Divas title. It's unique, he must say, and strangely suits the girl, his warm fingers ghosting against the black ink marking her skin. As she shudders at his touch, he leans down and presses kisses against the still sensitive area, sighing when she turns to look at him, eyes hooded. "I like it," he whispers, gently freeing her hair from his hold and watching as it cascades back across her shoulders and down her back.
She leans up and kisses him, breathing a soft thanks against his lips before pulling away. "So you're up next, right?" He nods and she takes his hand, walking him to the gorilla before his match with Fandango, pressing a hand to his lips when he leans down to kiss her before ducking out for his match, a smirk on her face that causes him to shiver. "No Rosa this week, it's a big improvement," she tells him quietly, trailing a finger down his cheek.
He blinks a few minutes, distracted by the warmth of her against his face, before pressing a kiss to their tips. "We've already deduced from now on I'm only going to have one dance partner, and that's you," he tells her with a soft smile, grinning when she moves her hand to pull him closer to her, their bodies flush as she presses lengthy kisses against his mouth, sighing when he pulls away reluctantly, the beginning of his theme music vibrating through them. "I gotta go," he tells her. "You gonna wait here for me?"
She tilts her head, poking her lip thoughtfully. "Maaaaaaaaybe," she comments carelessly, eyes twinkling as he huffs and kisses her again. As he walks through the curtain, she watches him go with a small smile before finding the nearest monitor and sitting as close to it as she can, eyes locked on her man as he competes very well against Fandango, not even distracted to the extent they were obviously hoping when Summer Rae attempts to cost him the match a few times, even slapping him. A low drop kick eventually leaves Fandango with a broken nose, AJ unable to help the evil smirk that forms at this.
He ultimately wins after Fandango injures his leg, allowing Mike to twist him up in the Figure Four Leg Lock, Fandango quickly tapping out to it, writhing out of the ring alternating between holding his leg and his nose. Miz feels vindicated further for all of Fandango's interruptions over the past few weeks, all but dancing back up the ramp, face lighting up even more when AJ greets him at the curtain. He laughs as she skips over to him, tilting her head when he holds his hand out to her, stopping her short. As she meets him half way, squeezing his fingers between her own, he spins her the rest of the way over to him, causing her to gasp as he wraps his arms around her and, pulling her against his chest, sways slightly, laughing.
She chuckles and grips his arms, pulling back to look at him. "You're pretty happy."
"Of course," he murmurs to her. "I have you, Fandango keeps failing against me... life's pretty good, considering..." Considering it was the exact opposite a few weeks ago, he thinks, shaking his head to keep from thinking too heavily of those days. She smiles and leans up, kissing him in agreement. "Mind hanging out with the guys a little bit? You don't have anything going on for awhile, right?" He feels like he hasn't seen a lot of his friends lately, still wrapped up in the freshness of his relationship with AJ, and he feels like a crappy friend, despite their apparent understanding of the situation, so when she nods and folds her fingers back in his palm, he can't help but feel very relieved. "Great, c'mon, let's go find 'em."
They're not far from catering this time around, which is a relief to Mike, who doesn't want AJ to have to endure more side eyeing from the male superstars in the locker room, RVD and Ricardo talking as the much more limber man stretches and the ring announcer attempts to repeat his actions, only making it part way. When he sees Miz, he stops, laughing sheepishly as he shakes his leg out and walks over to him. "Hey, Mike. AJ," he greets the girl simply.
She stares at him, looking somewhat surprised that he's talking to her, after their rocky history. "Hello."
"How's it going?" Mike asks him, lips twitching as he watches Rob continue to easily contort his body while stretching. "Damn," he mutters, shaking his head as Ricardo chuckles. Alex joins them after a few minutes, grin looking a little tense on his face as he claps Mike on the shoulder. "Hey, kid."
"Hey," he says, licking his lips. "Can I... talk to you for a second?"
"Sure," he says, blinking in surprise before turning to AJ. "I'll be back in a minute."
"Ok," she says, frowning as she stands awkwardly next to Ricardo, glancing over at Mike as he follows his former rookie to a more quieter part of the hallway.
"HHH came to talk to me," Alex tells him simply once they've stopped walking, crossing his arms over his chest wearily. "It looks like they want me to do Main Event commentary again this week."
Unlike the time before, Mike doesn't feel all that surprised. "I see. When H gets a vendetta going, he really is dedicated to it, isn't he?" he asks with a sigh. Noticing how uncomfortable A-Ri still looks, he claps him on the shoulder, squeezing his arm. "I'm not mad at you, kid. It's not like you asked for this. Relax."
"Alright," he says. "I just don't want this to come between us. Not after everything."
"It won't. I have plenty of problems with this situation, but none of it's your fault. Now come on, my girlfriend is looking lonely," Mike urges, opting not to dwell on it for too long. He smiles at being able to call AJ that, finally, walking back over to her and pulling her back against him. "Hi."
She squeezes his midsection, smiling up at him. "Hey." The four of them hang around, talking about this or that while they watch the show on the nearby monitors, things growing more and more solemn as Cody Rhodes wrestles Randy Orton for the chance to keep his job, and loses, immediately being fired by HHH. AJ swallows thickly and clings to Mike tighter, remembering how both Raw and Smackdown the week prior had scared her, it all only more horrible now after seeing it firsthand, and imagining how Cody's fiance must feel, leaving her more than a little breathless and tense.
He senses it and rubs soothing circles against her shoulders and back, leaning over to look at her. "That won't be us, ok? I told you, I'm not going anywhere for a long time to come." She smiles warily at him and he kisses her softly, brushing his fingers through her hair and down her neck, reflecting on the barely visible tattoo that adorns her skin now. "I love you."
"I love you too," she murmurs, running her own fingers through his hair. When a triple threat number one contendership match for her Divas title begins awhile later, she slowly pulls away from Mike and kisses him once more. "I requested to do commentary during this match. I'll be back soon." He nods and watches as she skips away, glancing over at RVD who is now meditating during his stretches, Ricardo who is watching the monitor alongside him, and Alex who is barely paying attention while eating a bowl of ice cream from catering, looking unabashed.
The match, however, doesn't last too long when AJ gets off of the commentary desk and rushes the ring, attacking anyone who moves, when the divas on the outside of the ring enter and she begins getting manhandled by all of the woman at once, left laying by the catty group, mocking her as they leave. Mike winces, growing worried when she barely moves, the referee trying to help her. It takes a few minutes and he bites his lip as the group of still bickering women make their way down the hallway, walking quickly to gorilla as the referee eases AJ past the curtain. "Allow me," Mike tells him tensely, scooping the girl up into his arms and smiling when she instinctively clings to his neck and buries her face against his throat. "It's ok, AJ, I gotcha. You're safe now, sweetheart." He nods briskly at the referee before walking her back to the trainer's office, settling her in on the cot indicated by the man and sitting next to her as he begins to examine her.
He remains worried until she grows more aware, able to answer the trainer's questions somewhat sensibly, groaning faintly as he prods at her. Upon finishing with the examination, the trainer moves away and pulls his gloves off, looking up as Mike immediately joins him, his lips thin and pale. "How is she?"
"She's sore, and a little out of it, but I think she'll be ok. She should tell me if she starts to feel worse, or something seems wrong, though."
Mike nods, thanking him quietly, before returning to her side. As she blinks up at him, he lifts her upperbody gently and scoots in next to her on the thin cot, holding her close. "I'm sorry," he tells her softly, pressing a careful kiss to her temple. She folds their hands together and lays there quietly, resting against him as they watch RVD vs Sandow end in another win for the highflyer, despite Del Rio's dark gaze from the top of the ramp watching everything closely, Ricardo somehow succeeding at keeping his attention on the match in the ring and not focusing on his former employer as he cheers on his current to victory.
When the three divas who were part of the triple threat match is shown in Stephanie McMahon's office, the woman sanctioning a fatal fourway at Night of Champions for AJ's title, Mike stares down at her worriedly as she hisses out a strained breath, fingers fumbling around. He quickly guesses and finds her title on a nearby table, left there by the referee apparently, and quickly lays it in her arms, watching as she clings to it. "No," she mumbles, unfortunately aware that it's going to be a huge challenge to walk away the victor at the pay per view, swallowing.
This being determined so quickly after she'd gotten the tattoo proving how important the title is to her seems cruel to Mike, but he has no doubts that if anyone can pull out a victory, it'd be the girl in his arms. He's still laying there, quietly trying to soothe her, when Brad Maddox comes around, once more trying to round up various superstars and divas to stand at the ramp and watch Daniel Bryan vs Big Show. Mike groans faintly, reluctantly pulling away from her again. "I'll be back in a little bit," he whispers, softly kissing her.
The match is what they expect, Show doesn't want to fight Daniel, but he has his pride and insists until he angers the much larger man, finally Big Show trying to leave just for H and Stephanie to drag him back, Shield brutalizing Daniel when he refuses to. Finally Big Show does as H requests and reels back, punching Bryan solidly and downing him, the larger man once more looking devastated at being forced into such actions. It's a grim, disgusted Miz who makes his way back to the trainer's office after Orton stands smugly over the smaller man and finds AJ sitting up, staring at him. "Hey. How do you feel?"
She shrugs. "More than ready to get out of here," she admits tiredly, pulling herself off of the cot and wavering slightly until he steadies her. "Thanks." After he collects her things from her locker room and ducks into the male locker room long enough to get his own, they walk side by side to the parking lot and he stops, brushing the hair out of her eyes and looking down at her. "What is it?" she whispers, unable to look away from his intent eyes.
"It kind of scared me when you were so out of it earlier," he admits, kissing her palm until she giggles at the ticklish sensation. "I don't want you alone tonight... Come back to my hotel room." She looks startled but he smiles, continuing to trace her skin with his lips and teeth. "I'm rooming with Alex, but he'll understand, I just want to make sure you're ok. Please?"
She swallows and finally nods, releasing a soft breath. "Alright, Mike. I'd like that." He grins down at her and pulls her into his arms, closing his eyes against the memory of her so still, so quiet in his arms earlier, the fear that he'd been drowning in as he carried her back to the trainer's office.
Alex wakes up early the next morning, yawning quietly as the sun brushes over his face and directly into his eyes, causing him to moan in disgust when he sees the hour. "Damn," he breathes, standing up and wandering over to the bathroom. He pauses when his foot gets tangled up in something on the floor and he looks down, blinking sleepily before he collects the sheets pooling off of the other bed, turning to look at Mike and AJ, the girl sprawled out across his former NXT mentor, both of them deeply asleep, looking more peaceful than he'd ever seen either of them. "Huh," he whispers, lips twitching up into a smile before he shakes the sheets back out on top of them, relieved when neither stir as he continues on to the bathroom for his morning shower before traveling to where Main Event will be held. He feels bad for leaving Ricardo to adjust to his new living situation alone the last couple of weeks, but it's out of his hands, as are many things in this business for a lot of people currently.
Back in the main room, Mike stirs as his phone beeps shrilly, drawing him out of the comfortable, warm sleep he was lost in, his blue eyes blinking sluggishly as he stares down at AJ, who's only moved to bury herself further in his arms. He smiles, lifting one arm carefully to scoop his phone up and bring it over to stare at it. Email from: WWE, he reads off with a derisive smirk. What a shock, no one else would dare to email at this hour... Sighing, he opens it up and mouths the words on the screen quietly before putting the device carefully down on the bed, wrapping his arms more tightly around AJ. "Of course, who doesn't want to go last minute on a fourteen hour flight to Abu Dhabi for media?" he mutters, closing his eyes as he realizes this means he'll not be in the country for Main Event (which he had admittedly expected to not be involved in) or Smackdown, and thus lose even more time with AJ. "Dammit," he sighs, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead as she sleeps on, already missing her.
But as he watches her, he's relieved that at least one of them is able to get a decent amount of sleep, especially considering how worried he knows she is after last night, with the fatal fourway looming over her head.