As luck would have it, Miz is summoned to Main Event that Wednesday for a match. A match, he comes to find, against Fandango. Which means Summer Rae is around. And not very many others... He licks his lips and ponders this opportunity, a smirk forming across his face. "Well, well, what do you know?" His only issue is that there aren't many divas at the arena this week, just Summer Rae and Emma, and he highly doubts after Raw that either of them would be dishing in the hallways like Alberto had been lucky to run across the week prior. But still, it's too good of a chance to let slip through his fingers so he doesn't lose hope. After all, Valentine's Day is coming up, and he'd much rather have this all put behind them by then than continue having to break AJ's heart with this lie.
Alberto is at the arena as well and they nod at each other when they come across each other in the halls, but other than that, they stay in their own corners. Ricardo and Alex are both here, something Mike has missed- getting to spend time with both men in one place for a decent amount of time, but the former ring announcer is exploring catering with Alberto, which leaves the former NXT rookie and pro to prepare for their individual roles in the show quietly. For a few minutes anyway. "So," Mike mutters, taking a sip from a bottle of water while Alex is looking over notes for his commentating duties. "Alex, mind helping me with something?"
The younger man looks up, blinking a couple of times. "Uh, yeah, sure, Mike. What's up?"
"I know as commentators we tend to wander around and talk to people, try to get a scope of their feelings before a match." Mike watches as his former protege nods curiously. "Have you talked to Summer Rae yet?"
Alex thinks for a second and shakes his head. "No. I guess I should, huh?"
Mike coughs. "Well, here's where my favor comes in..." As he talks, Alex makes a couple of quick notes, nodding through-out. Mike watches from the locker room door as he leaves, walking confidently through the halls like he's not about to go do recon for the former WWE champion. Summer Rae isn't that far away, Mike can watch them from the doorway, but he can't hear their conversation, forced to just stand and watch while the dancer glares him down but answers a few questions before prancing away, crying "BABY!" as soon as Fandango makes an appearance.
Alex quickly rejoins him and shakes his head grimly. "Mike, I don't think it was her."
Mike stares at him in disbelief. "What did she say?!"
Alex swallows and glances around before leaning in closer to him. "Apparently the information she spread to the Total Divas had nothing to do with you, Maryse or AJ." He licks his lips and takes another quick look around. "She, uh, she told Naomi and Cameron that after JoJo and Justin Gabriel broke up, she turned her attention to JImmy Uso." Mike looks dumbfounded at this and Alex laughs weakly. "Yeah, I know. Well, it went over as well as you can imagine. So Naomi and Cameron went to the producers of the show and said if they didn't cut JoJo, they'd be walking. And when the girls were asked who they thought would be interested in being in the show, well, all of them answered Summer Rae as recompense for alerting them of what JoJo was apparently doing. She seems pretty proud of herself, so she quite readily told me all of this. She's a gossiper, yes, but not the one we're looking for."
Mike releases a weak breath, his hopes that it would all be over soon crumbling at his feet. "So she really didn't have anything to do with the rumors about me and Maryse...?"
"Doesn't look that way." Alex claps him on the back. "Sorry, man."
Mike nods dumbly as he collects his things and leaves to do commentary, an ugly grimace forming across Mike's face. He hates this, wants the truth to come out already, be handy and ready to drop into his lap so he can tell AJ that he knows the truth now, that she should watch out for a particular diva and they can move on... but no, of course not, nothing can ever be that simple. He crumples the still full bottle of water in his hand, not minding as the plastic gives and sends a geyser of water all over. "Time to go," he declares, tossing the abused bottle into a corner of the room, storming off towards the ring to dispatch of Fandango as quickly as he can.
Santino and Emma joining Alex and Tom at commentary doesn't distract him from his goal, though he does oblige the newbie by trying her dance for a moment when Fandango is down and out on the mats, hurting. He pays for this a little later, however, when Fandango sends him shoulder-first into the turnbuckle, leaving him panting and gasping against the pain. This leaves him vulnerable as Fandango continues to target his arm, leaving him aching and desperate to find some weakness- someway to get Fandango to leave his throbbing shoulder alone already. When it finally comes, he almost misses it because of his own pain but just catches it and traps Fandango in the figure four, twisting and pulling until the dancer taps desperately in attempt to protect his legs, Mike leaning against the turnbuckle and holding his arm as he struggles to catch his breath. Alex is looking up at him, a worried look in his eyes even as he continues to commentate. The worry on his face fades when Mike nods subtly at him to say he's ok, a small smile forming on his lips before he turns his attention back to Tom and the papers scattered along his desk.
He makes his way backstage to wait for Alex to finish so they can leave, Alberto's match against Zack Ryder next. Thankfully, Zack hadn't taken too much offense to his words on Monday- the last thing he needs is someone else mad at him for his big mouth on commentary. But still. He sighs, tired, and sits down to wait and watch. Mike looks around for Ricardo, but he's been keeping to himself, spending more time with Alberto since Monday, and Mike vows to figure that mystery out as soon as his thoughts aren't so overwhelmed by this AJ situation. "Things have to return to normalcy soon, right?" he mutters to himself, scrubbing his fingers through his hair. "Yeah, right," he sighs. "Things haven't been normal since John left the WWE. It's just that even more is off-kilter now..."
Mike isn't at the arena for Smackdown that Friday, something that AJ is almost relieved for. She loves him, yes, thinks she probably always will, no matter what he does or say next, but it's nice to have a break from him, not having to risk running into him backstage, bring up all of her lingering pain and confusion. Especially when she has a match against Nikki Bella, which goes back and forth for awhile until Brie and Tamina start fighting on the outside, Nikki accidentally sending AJ right into Brie when she's on the apron, sending her flying to the floor. AJ can't see her from this angle, but can hear Nikki calling for her sister, regrouping enough to grab Nikki and twist her around into the Black Widow, waiting patiently until she taps.
She laughs and brushes her hair out of her eyes in the post-match interview, talking up her lengthy title reign, and dominance of the divas division before leaving Renee Young behind, Tamina by her side as she downs part of a bottle of water. Pausing, she stares down at it, remembering how Mike had made sure she kept hydrated following her scare overseas months ago, shaking her head. Even when he's gone, he's all I can think about... Leaving the unfinished bottle behind, she turns to Tamina. "Let's get out of here," she says lowly.
Tamina nods solemnly, following her to her locker room where they grab their things and head for the rental car. Once back at the hotel, little is spoken between the two as they quietly get ready for bed, AJ looking forward to returning to New Jersey the next day. But sleep doesn't easily come to her as she stares up at the ceiling for hours until finally she dozes off restlessly, just to be woke up an hour later by the alarm, their flights to Washington and New Jersey both close enough together that it makes sense to leave for the airport together. "I'll see you soon," she tells her enforcer once they have to go their separate ways to wait for their flights. "And Tamina?"
"Yeah?"
AJ smiles slightly, surprising Tamina by hugging her. "Thank you for everything. I know I'm not easy to get along with right now, but... you're great."
Tamina blinks a few times before hugging the shorter girl back. "Of course, you're welcome," she responds, a bit subdued.
AJ nods and pulls away, abruptly turning and skipping away to her gate. As soon as she's seated in the plane however, her exhaustion hits her all over again and she closes her eyes, groaning slightly. She just wants to be home in her own bed... but even that will be tainted, because Mike won't be with her, or on the phone talking to her, or anything... Pressing her fists into her eyes, she tries to breathe steadily, even though she feels more and more like hyperventilating.
How she keeps it together, she's not sure, but after what feels like months spent up in the air staring blankly at the blue sky out of the window, since she can't even get on Twitter without risking seeing something to do with Mike, they land in her homestate and she eagerly gets off of the plane, collects her bags, and finds her car, driving back to her apartment. As soon as she's inside, she collapses in the doorway and lets her bags fall where they may around her as she stares blankly at all of her things. Mike's movies are in prime position in the middle of her DVD collection, taunting her with their presence... She wants to scream, cry, trash everything as she had done many times in the past, but this breakup is different. She's not mad, she's not driven to insane actions, she's just... she's just sad. Especially since his explanation to her about why he's doing what he's doing. For her, to find out who the possible rumor spreader may be. Or so he says, anything. She wants so badly to believe him, because the alternative is too painful...
Unable to stop herself any longer, she pulls her phone out and accesses twitter, staring at her timeline for long, tense moments. Mike hasn't tweeted in awhile, and her fingers immediately enter another handle that she won't allow herself to follow, but checks now and again nonetheless. Maryse's tweets, full of beautiful jewelry, and clothes, and shoes, and... everything that a girl like AJ cares very little about, feeling ridiculous in comparison with her pigtails and sneakers, blue jean shorts and hardly any makeup when she's outside of the WWE... She sits up when a certain tweet, sent only minutes earlier catches her eye, the picture especially.
Photo shoot in Manhattan! Cold but beautiful here... xxoo The blonde woman is standing in front of an advertisement that AJ has seen quite a few times whenever she's driving through New York for WWE business. "That's it," she whispers to herself, kicking her bags aside as she scrambles to her feet and runs back to her car. "Please still be there..."
It takes a few hours to get from New Jersey to Manhattan and AJ's afraid that this is going to be some fruitless attempt on her part, but as she arrives, there's still cars all over the place and she hopes- wishes- pleads with anything that may be listening... Dashes from her car through the blustering freeze to the building she'd noticed in the picture, knocking hopefully. When a man answers, she stares up at him, blinking away snow. "Excuse me, is Maryse Ouellet here?"
He eyes her suspiciously before rolling his eyes. "Not again," he mutters with the air of a put-upon agent. "I told her not to post pictures of where we're shooting at... Silly girl, just asking for trouble..." Turning his focus back to AJ, he shakes his head. "Sorry, hon, non-personel aren't allowed, you won't be getting an autograph or anything else today. Drive safe." But before he can shut the door on her, she lunges forward and wedges her lithe body into the gap just in time. "Hey!" he sputters, amazed by her stupid brazenness. "Girl, you're going to-"
"I need to see her," she explains as loudly as she can, hoping that someone else overhears and comes to investigate- maybe even Maryse herself. "I'm AJ Lee, I worked in the WWE with her-" a bit of a stretch, but she doubts this guy knows that... "-I have some questions about Mike Mizanin!"
The surly manager's eyes widen as these words seem to click with him as he examines the girl in a different manner, putting the pieces together. "Wait here," he tells her as he opens the door enough to let her in out of the cold. "I'm serious, if I see you've moved at all, I'm calling security."
She lifts her arms in supplication and looks around curiously at the various things scattered around the building for the photo shoot as he walks hurriedly off to find his client. She's only just started to warm up when she hears the familiar sound of ridiculous high heels clicking her way. Turning slowly, she comes face to face with the one and only Maryse, thrown for a moment by her impressive beauty. "Oh," she breathes, suddenly understanding why, perhaps, someone like Mike would choose someone like Maryse, if he was lying yet again to her with the rumor story.
Whereas AJ was hoping that Maryse would be some nasty, venom-spewing diva, she's warm and welcoming, drawing AJ into the building and running off an impressive wave of French and English to the manager, who nods in understanding and rushes off to do whatever she'd told him, while AJ's head is still spinning from all of this. "Let's get you out of this cold hallway so I can look at you properly," Maryse's accented words finally register with AJ, as she draws her into a room where there's soft lighting and nice, warm air filtering through. As soon as the door is shut behind them, she holds the girl at arm's length and looks her up and down, adding to AJ's dazed discomfort. "Well," she says softly. "Aren't you a pretty little thing?" But there's no derision behind her words, her smile sincere and soft. "Poor girl, you must be freezing, this winter is dreadful." She finds a thick blanket and shakes it out over AJ, rubbing her arms carefully before stepping aside to try to figure out the heating system.
"I'm ok," the diva's champion finally manages to say, floored by the French beauty's nonstop actions. "Please- please stop, I just- I came here to talk, I'm really fine. Nice and warm, see?" She flaps her arms under the blanket as if that proves anything, and Maryse turns to look at her, AJ feeling more and more foolish and young the longer she sits here. Clearing her throat, she tries to sit up straighter, look less like an abandoned child in a strange place- even if that's exactly what she's feeling like.
Maryse lets the moment go, however, and sits down across from her. "Alright, what did you wish to talk to me about?" she asks, feeling a sharp sense of deja vu as she looks at AJ, remembering how her conversation with Mike had started in a very similar fashion not that long ago.
AJ looks down for a moment before forcing her head back up to look the French beauty in the eye. "Mike told me... that the reason he's done all of this is because there's a rumor going around, that someone may be trying to distract me so they can take my title from me and he's upholding this lie because he wants to figure out who's so determined to see me lose the title." She swallows and grips the blanket tighter, wishing she had remembered to bring her title with her, feeling oddly naked without it. Imagines it laying on the floor of her apartment with the rest of her abandoned luggage... Shaking her head of these wayward thoughts, she turns her attention back to Maryse. "I want to hear your version of the story. Is he lying again? Are you two pretending, or are you truly getting married?"
Maryse's lips twitch with sympathy as she takes in the tired, nearly broken look in the girl's eyes and she shakes her head. "My story is the same as Mike's, AJ. Honestly, we hadn't seen each other for three years until he showed up at my door to tell me about the rumors going around about us." Leaning forward, she finds AJ's hands in the folds of the blanket and squeezes them gently. "To tell you the truth, the idea of continuing the lie to figure out the identity of this person was all my idea- I supposed it would be the best way to figure out who exactly was trying to hurt you, AJ. It was a gamble, I am aware, but I am somewhat an expert of just how terrible the divas can be in the WWE. Mike was reluctant to continue the story, but ultimately agreed with me. I apologize profusely for any pain we may have caused you, but he truly did have your best interests at heart."
They sit in the same position for long, tense moments afterwards, AJ's eyes locked on Maryse's, until finally the girl's shoulders start to shake, hot, heavy tears pouring down her pale cheeks as she finally sobs out all of the pain she'd held onto the last month. "I believe you- I believe him," she wails, crumbling even further as Maryse releases her hands and quickly moves across to hug her tightly, murmuring in soothing French as she breaks apart in the older woman's arms. She digs her nails into the soft fabric of Maryse's clothes, beyond caring if she's ruining the item despite the fact that it probably costs more than she receives from the WWE in a quarter year. "Why did I doubt him? He's never... never..." she cries harder, her words becoming indescipherable. "He's not like the others. He would never purposely hurt me like Daniel, Kane or Punk, Cena or Dolph... Why do I keep comparing him to them..."
Maryse strokes her hair and rocks her back and forth soothingly, making soft tsking noises. "He understands," she tells the girl softly. "He loves you so much, I am in awe that the immature man I knew back in 2010 has grown up, so quickly. And that's partly because of you." Neither say anything for a bit, digesting these words, when Maryse gently pulls away, brushing her hair out of her eyes so she can look her in the face. "If I may make a suggestion?" AJ nods hesitantly and she smiles, reaching over for the box of kleenex. "Let him finish. Allow him the time to figure out who spread the rumors... give yourself a bit more time to think and weigh all that you've accepted tonight. He wants to do this for you before he moves on from it, or else I am unsure he'll be able to forgive himself for encouraging all of this by his thoughtless joke on commentary."
AJ stares up at her, tears still dripping sluggishly down her face as she pointlessly pats at her cheeks with the tissues, considering even more time lost with her love when she just wants to find him and make up for everything they'd put each other through the last few weeks. "Al- alright, I'll try..."
Maryse smiles at her, patting her shoulders. "I promise you, AJ, everything will be alright." She checks the clock, her eyes widening almost comically. "Ah, it is past dinner time. I always lose track of time at these photoshoots, they can be so lengthy." She stands up and finds an expensive looking shawl that perfectly compliments her form-hugging dress before turning back to the subdued girl. "What do you think? Shall we hit the town and find somewhere to eat?" AJ looks floored at this prospect, her lips parting as if she's about to say no, but Maryse waves her off and laughs softly. "I promise, it will be fine. We have much in common, don't we, the two longest reigning divas champions? And..." Her smile gentles as AJ slowly stands, eyes darting a bit before resting on Maryse's face. "If you feel like it, we can share silly stories about Mike. Unless it is too soon, it's completely up to you. But I insist, you came all this way to see me, the least I can do is find a decent place for us to eat before you return home. You live in New Jersey, oui? Mike mentioned it to me when we last talked..."
They walk side by side out of the building and into the fancy car that's waiting for the woman, AJ feeling unbelievably small and unimpressive next to Maryse, floored further by how little it seems to matter to the model as she continues to talk as if it's an every day occurrence that she, in her expensive clothes fresh off of a modeling gig, would share a meal with a girl who had gotten off of a plane just to drive hours to confirm whether her paranoid jealousy was worthwhile or not. But, no matter how uncomfortable she feels, she knows the truth now. Mike really does love her, and had been telling the truth this whole time. It's a bittersweet reality, guilt blending perfectly with the relief she now feels. I owe him so much, she thinks as Maryse sweet talks a maitre d at the restaurant she had selected, the man eyeing AJ distastefully before reluctantly leading them to a table for their meal. Hang on, Mike. Everything will be ok now.
Raw is in LA this week and Mike sighs as he opens the door of his home, smiling slightly to find that it's for once far from quiet. The worst part of his breakup with AJ was being stuck here, for hours, listening to the stillness and the lack of people, so he had avoided it as much as possible, staying with John whenever he wasn't off filming his movies, or doing whatever else it is that John's gotten involved in in the last year. Either way, that's definitely not a problem this week as he drops his bags by the door and wanders around, not having to go far- Alex, Ricardo and Del Rio all are sitting in his kitchen, the former ring announcer and his former NXT rookie getting to their feet immediately. "Mike, took you long enough," Alex chuckles, wandering over and hugging him. "Flight problems?"
He shrugs. "Isn't there always this winter? Hey, Ricardo. Del Rio."
"Hola," the younger man says as his former employer echoes him in a more subdued fashion, focusing on his phone. Ricardo smiles, a forced little twitch of his lips, before joining them. "So John isn't around this week?"
"No, he's apparently filming some scenes for a movie in Morocco." The three of them pause, considering this, before Mike chuckles and drapes his arms around both men's shoulders. "It's good to see you both though."
"Good to be here," Alex grins.
Mike nudges Ricardo slightly and nods over to Del Rio. "What's going on with him?"
The ring announcer licks his lips, looking over at the older man as something... sad... crosses his eyes- both Alex and Miz notice, but say nothing as he shrugs. "Just some business he's considering. He'll let it be known when he's ready."
"Alright, man. Well, I'm starving, are we ordering in something to eat or what?" he asks, distracting himself from Ricardo's wrought emotions and Alberto's odd distraction that remains throughout the night. They all find a place, by some miracle, that will deliver and has enough of a variety of food that even the Mexican aristocrat can't complain. After they finish eating and watching a very bad movie that is so off the grid he can't even find a title for it, content to spend the time with Alex lambasting every mindnumbing second of it while Alberto and Ricardo talk lowly in Spanish across the room, the four of them go their separate ways to get some sleep.
Upon trading his street clothes for a tank top and some shorts, he sinks into bed and looks up. Even with Alex in one room and Ricardo and Del Rio in another, it's not right. His bed is cold and sad, and California as a whole just seems empty when Morrison isn't there. He closes his eyes and tries to force himself to fall asleep, without much luck.
He's cranky the next morning when he does get out of bed, the other three already preparing to leave for the Staples Center for Raw. He blurrily follows their example, ready about at the same time as the rest of them and following them groggily to the car, murmuring something he hopes resembles a thank you when Ricardo hands over a to go cup of fresh coffee, sipping slowly from it as Alex drives them to the arena. Alberto makes himself scarce as soon as they arrive and Mike, slightly more awake, takes in Ricardo's woeful gaze as he watches him leave.
The board of scheduled matches tell the tale- out of all them, only Del Rio has one- against Ziggler. Ricardo stares glumly at the list until Miz wraps an arm around his shoulders. "C'mon, man. It'll be alright. Let's go find something to do, huh?" LA is home to both of them, even if Mike hails from Ohio, he'd always felt more at ease in California with its warmth and grandeur, so it's not hard to find something fun to do, even if it's just a walk around the arena, taking in all of the various spots where they've both had good and bad memories at over the years. Mike finds the locker room he'd had the summer prior when hosting Summerslam and they both pause, Ricardo resting his hand on the door of the neighboring room that Alberto had been in as World heavyweight champion, shaking his head at how scared he had been in those days.
Moving on, they share stories of different events here, Ricardo recalling when he'd first met Alberto as one of many who had come here to try out to be his ring announcer, not expecting to even get a chance when he saw all of the other wrestlers who showed up to try. Thus he had been shocked when the influencial Mexican, growing bored of all of the others and their tiringly similar styles, had actually noticed him at the catering table, not minding that he was in the process of working through a slice of cheesecake and ordering him to attempt his ring announcement right then and there. He had never thought, three and a half years ago, that he would've ever gotten the role, but somehow Del Rio had seen something in him and chose him out of all of the others for a one-night trial period, enjoying the younger man's introduction skills so much he had made the decision that very night to keep him around on a permanent basis. Of course back then neither of them could've guessed that it would've last as long or resulted in them becoming best friends, but it had, something that Ricardo is relieved to say had held throughout all of the pain and disappointments of the past year, despite Alberto's terrible plan and everything that came with it.
Mike listens to him talk and adds in a couple memories of his own, careful to shy away from the true beginning of his and AJ's relationship not far from here, until the show begins and they go to meet back up with Alex, who had been busy with the commentary team, to watch the action from a monitor. Alex and Ricardo are talking about something, the Olympics, Mike thinks, as he stares fixedly at the screen. "I'll be back," he mutters when Santino vs Fandango starts, marching determinedly to the gorilla to yet again let his thoughts on being left off of the card be known, disrupting the flow of the match and distracting the commentary with his disgruntled words.
When he returns backstage, Alex examines him with an appraising gaze. "Are you alright?"
"I'm awesome," he mutters, rejoining them to watch the rest of the show. His thoughts, however, are elsewhere. He wants to talk to Maryse, try to figure out a way to speed things up. Valentine's Day being only days away is eating at him and he wonders where exactly Ricardo is storing AJ's bracelet, not liking the thing being out of his hands still. He quickly focuses back on the show as Ricardo gasps sharply from his side, looking up in time to see Batista waylaying Del Rio, throwing him into the barricade wall before picking him up and bombing him through the announcer's desk, where he lays unconscious until the show cuts off to commercial break. Mike blinks and Ricardo's gone, racing off to the gorilla position. "Son of a-" he breathes, glancing at Alex before both of them chase after the younger man, not wanting to risk Batista getting his hands on him should he get in his way.
Thankfully, the two men don't seem to notice each other as Dave walks by, Mike barely sparing him a glance as he catches up with Ricardo, who is peering out of the curtain as the doctors and trainers work to move Alberto out of the wreckage of the table. It seems to take a lifetime until they finally walk him back, Ricardo's hands fluttering over him as he lifts his head groggily and looks at his best friend. "El Patron," he mutters lowly, breath hitching as Mike and Alex brush the referees away, taking the taller man off of their hands and supporting him back to the trainer's office much easier than the shorter officials ever could have managed. Neither of them care for the Mexican that much, considering all he's done the past year, but it seems to take some of the worry out of Ricardo's eyes and that's good enough for them both.
Once they settle him on a cot, the trainer immediately moving to check him over, flashing a light in his eyes, Mike claps Alex on the back. "I'm going to go to catering and get some water for everyone... stay with Ricardo?"
"Of course," he whispers, stepping closer to his distraught roommate. "He'll be alright. Go ahead, Mike."
Mike nods and turns sharply, heading for the catering area. Halfway there, he stops when the show comes back on, HHH approaching Dave in the back and reprimanding him for his actions... just to place him in a match against Del Rio at Elimination Chamber. He closes his eyes and releases a deep breath. "Way to go, H," he mutters derisively. "Couldn't even let the guy regain consciousness completely first?"
He's still standing in line for the water a couple minutes later when he hears Del Rio's name for the second time in five minutes, turning his head to watch two of the catering staff examining a fancy looking box with a hungry look on their faces. "He made me freeze this for him, but I guess he won't be needing it now," one of the women shrugs with an aggravating little smile on her face. "What do you say, want to split a slice?"
His eyes narrow as he abandons the line, accepting that he'll just have to wait even longer for the water, but- "Excuse me," he says, trying to sound syrupy sweet as he looms over the two women, beyond tired of people gossiping and being petty with other people's belongings. "What is that?"
The two women blink and exchange glances before facing him. "Cheesecake," the one who had been speaking when he'd walked up answers, her grip on the box tightening as he leans in even closer, dark blue eyes locked on her worried face.
"That's Alberto Del Rio's?" She nods again, swallowing thickly, and he pulls back only a bit to give her some breathing room, space to consider his seriousness as he holds his arms out towards the box. "Hand it over, right now, and I won't tell anyone you almost stole from one of the superstars." Her eyes widen and she almost pushes it into his hands before gripping her colleague's sleeve and dragging her into one of the storage rooms, the door shutting behind them with a decisive click. Miz closes his eyes and shakes his head, looking down at the dessert as Ricardo's earlier story echoes through his mind, making him smile a little. "Even jerks have sentimental sides, what do you know," he mutters, making sure the box is stable in his hands as he returns to the line for the water.
When he finally returns to the trainer's office, Alberto is sitting up, leaning against Ricardo as he watches the trainer poke and prod at his back and ribs, his dark eyes fixed on the box in Mike's hands almost the instant he enters the room. "What's that?" Alex asks, taking the waters from him. Mike shakes his head quietly at him and approaches the cot Del Rio is on, staring down at him as Ricardo, following the trainer's instructions, helps his former employer settle back down against the bed, the examination of his spine complete.
"I see nothing seriously wrong, no concussion, no neck or back trauma. Some ice, and painkillers, and you should be good to go," the trainer says briskly, glancing over at the fancy box in Mike's hands before wandering off to collect the things he'd mentioned.
"So," Mike says, ignoring all of the eyes following the box in his arms around curiously. "Just heard that HHH made a match between you and Batista for Elimination Chamber."
Alberto seems nonplussed by this even as the trainer returns with the ice and settles it against his back, the older man clearly biting back a hiss as he stares up at Mike, determined not to react against either thing.
Shrugging, Mike finally turns his attention to the important matters at hand. "I believe this is yours," Miz tells the Mexican aristocrat, gingerly settling the box down in his lap. "You picked a crappy night to get knocked out, catering staff almost pilfered it."
Del Rio sneers at him but says nothing as he examines what of the cheesecake he can see briefly. Satisfied that it seems in one piece, he turns to his anxious best friend, who still looks worried for him, and smiles slightly, gaze softening. "This is for you, mi amigo," he tells him, holding the box out to him. "In honor of this being the place we first met."
Ricardo swallows, staring down at the item in surprise, before gingerly taking it from him. "Real- really?" When he realizes what it is, he laughs brokenly. "Cheesecake..."
"Si. Because no matter who's around, or what you may be doing, you're still the best ring announcer I've ever had the pleasure of knowing," Alberto tells him with a small smile.
He flushes and smiles, glancing up at his former employer. "Gracias, Alberto. And you're the best wrestler I've ever seen."
"But of course," he says with a grin, eyes gleaming as Mike and Alex groans, tired of listening to the mutual appreciation society.
"So," Mike claps his hands. "Are we getting out of here anytime soon or do I have to use a lancet to cut the cheesecake so we can eat it sometime this evening?"
Alberto glowers at him, disgusted at the prospect, and huffs out, "Who says you get any, Miz?"
"Ricardo," he says simply, smirking as the ring announcer grimaces at them.
After watching the divas match, in which AJ's team loses against Cameron and The Bellas, and having a quick slice of cheesecake once Alberto is settled back at the house, grimacing against the growing bruises along his back, Mike leaves them. He still wants to talk to Maryse, and he's sure they'll be ok without him for an hour or two. So he drives through the still busy LA streets, returning to her house once more. She's home, and awake, to his relief, lights just visible through her windows, and he approaches the front door, knocking lightly. She answers, as welcoming as ever, and he smiles at her as she invites him in.
"Mike, twice in one month," she says, intently staring at him. "Is something wrong?"
"Nothing new," he shrugs. "I just... wanted to talk to you, I guess." He stares at the calendar she has hanging on the kitchen wall and sighs. "Valentine's Day is Friday and I just... wanted to know if you could think of a way to speed things up. I thought I had a clue towards who could be spreading these rumors around, but it fell through, and I'm just... I'm lost right now."
She takes his hands, smiling, and leads him into the living room. "Sit, we have quite a few things to talk about." Once he's comfortable, she sits across from him and sighs. "AJ came to see me." He looks truly startled at this and she smiles. "She is a pretty girl, Mike. I can see how much she loves you, no matter how much pain she's in right now." She shakes her head and takes a breath. "I had a photoshoot in Manhattan and somehow she figured out where I was by a photo I posted to Instagram. I know, my manager says not to do such things as well," she hastens to add, noticing the look on his face. "But this time it worked out in our favor. We had a nice, long talk, Mike. She believes us, but I told her to give you some time to figure out who is spreading these rumors. She agreed to wait before she made any actual decision on your relationship." She beams at him as he tries to digest all of this, looking more than floored. "It's not a hopeless situation, Mike. But you're right, the sooner you figure this all out, the better. And that's where I come in, if you're willing to give one more idea of mine a chance."
He sucks in a deep breath, unable to look away from her. "Of course," he finally whispers. "What do you think I should do?" As Maryse leans in to lay out her latest thoughts on the situation, he thinks he finally sees a light at the end of the tunnel, this whole terrible situation hopefully coming to an end. He can't wait.