With the more personal choices made, the next few days are spent looking at flowers and decorations for both the reception and the canopy on the beach that they'll be getting married under. There are so many options that it makes AJ and Mike's head spin, both relieved when John steps in and suggests that he handle the reception half of it all, since it's his apartment. AJ understandably hesitates over this but Mike convinces her, trusting in his best friend to do a decent job.
When they travel to Smackdown, Mike doesn't have a match but AJ has a rematch against Cameron, the two of them sitting in each other's arms while Ricardo and Tamina stand quietly nearby, watching the show. Alex is off somewhere in the arena, preparing for his time on the post-show panel. Mike struggles not to laugh in respect of Ricardo's grimace as Del Rio's flirting with Vickie Guerrero fails to give him the night off that he'd clearly wanted, the woman instead putting him in a match against Sheamus. "Just what the world needs, another rematch between those two," he mutters into AJ's hair, smiling as she giggles faintly.
The match is what everyone expects- until Christian interferes and causes the match to go by DQ when Sheamus has Del Rio held in a Cloverleaf, the post-match attack that Del Rio attempts also failing as he gets hit with a Brogue Kick that sends him rolling clear out of the ring. Ricardo watches the now dark screen for a moment before excusing himself to go check on his former employer.
Mike sighs, vowing to check on him a little later, AJ snuggling into his arms deeper causing all intentions to get up and follow him to fade away. Besides her match is soon and it's clear she's anxious, only his presence helping her keep it together. So he stays, watching quietly as she leaves, hating himself just a bit for not being able to follow her considering what the Total Divas still think about them. He toys with the fake ring, giving everything a few minutes before leaving as well, wandering down to the gorilla to watch as she competes against Cameron, Tamina pulling her out of the way when Cameron tries attacking her in the corner. The ref, however, spots it and ejects her to AJ's displeasure, though it's not enough to keep her from defeating the Funkadactyl.
Mike smiles at her as she walks by, dark eyes glances towards him before he turns and walks in the other direction, knowing that she'll be alright for a few minutes as he finds the trainer's office and peeks inside to find Del Rio and Ricardo sitting, talking lowly in Spanish. When Mike steps inside, they both quiet and look over at him, Ricardo's face lighting up slightly despite Alberto's displeased look. "Good to see you conscious, Del Rio," Mike tells him, not bothering with pleasantries as he sits down in a chair next to the cot. "It'd be hard to ask you what I want to if you couldn't even open your eyes."
Del Rio rolls his eyes and crosses his arms over his chest. "What do you want, Miz?"
"Heh, this may or may not help your mood any, but hey, may as well try." He smirks and waits, drawing out Del Rio's torture before he finally says what he'd been pondering for awhile. "AJ and I are getting married on March 19th, and since Ricardo here's going to be in the wedding party, it'd feel wrong not to invite you as well, I suppose. So what do you think?"
Ricardo looks as surprised as Del Rio feels, the Mexican aristocrat glancing over at him before he faces Mike. It's clear that Ricardo would like him there, Alberto only able to guess that the rest of the invitations would be going to Miz and AJ's families, Alex, John, and whatever divas AJ could stand enough to invite. He releases a faint breath, chasing another look at his best friend, before he nods. "Si, very well, Miz. I will be there." It's clear that it's all for Ricardo as the two men shake hands, and that's fine.
Mike stares out of his hotel window, biting his lip with a grimace as he takes in the snowy Moline, Illinois, sighing quietly. A little later, however, his face lights up as his phone rings, drawing him out of his thoughts. He answers without looking and smiles slightly. "Hey, sweetheart."
"Hi," AJ breathes, sounding about as happy as he feels to finally be hearing her voice. "I miss you. It's so cold here..."
He nods, resting his forehead against the pane of glass separating him from the elements. "Here too." They were booked on separate tours this weekend, which is doubly frustrating considering they're only a few hours away from each other, on either sides of the state. "But soon we'll be in Chicago for Raw, and I'll hold you until you're warm again... how does that sound?"
"It sounds like heaven. I can't wait." They sit late into the night, staring out of their individual windows until they both doze off with their phones in hand, listening to the other breathe until their sleepy murmurs fade away into nothing.
When they reunite the next morning at the hotel in Chicago, AJ spots him in the halls of the hotel they'd selected to stay at and takes off at a running start, Mike only just noticing in time to reach out and grip her as she jumps into his arms, an ecstatic look on her face. "Mike," she breathes as he kisses her, beaming.
"AJ," he sighs, kicking the hotel door open and bringing her inside. As she snuggles against him, he smiles and settles in on the couch, listening to her complain about her loss to Natalya at the houseshow, grousing over the other woman's determination to be Diva's champion. As soon as she talks herself out, he leans over her and nuzzles against her, smiling. "Let's try not to worry about that right now... I said I was going to warm you up, and I have yet to accomplish it, so..." He kisses her thoroughly and beams when she stops trying to talk about all of the other divas with their eyes on her as they head towards Wrestlemania.
Raw itself is quiet. Alex is yet again on the post-and-pre-show panels and Mike is glad for him, that he's found something to do, someway to keep his name out there even if he's not competing for... whatever reason. Ricardo is off somewhere with Del Rio and this leaves Mike and AJ, with Tamina grimly lurking around, to entertain themselves. Especially after they realize that neither have a match or anything else scheduled on the evening's Raw. This gives Miz the incentive to suggest something to his fiance, his words warm and soft against her ear. "What do you say we do some exploring around Chicago? See what they have to offer for wedding bands... or any other thing you want to explore regarding our wedding..."
She gapes at him, her eyes gleaming. "You want to go shopping? In this weather?"
He takes in the surprised look on her face and grins as well, nodding. "Yes, sweetheart. I do, because I want this wedding to be everything you want it to be, and maybe Chicago will help us figure more plans out. What do you say? Want to?"
She swallows and fiddles with her title, glancing down at the beautiful band around her finger, the diamond interlaced by their birthstones. Mike already has great taste but she can tell by looking into his eyes that it's important to him. "Yes," she sighs, squeezing his hand. "Let's do this then."
He grins at her and kisses her deeply before dragging her out of the locker room towards the exit.