Conveniently enough, AJ and Ricardo are on Axxess at the same time on Friday night, thankfully on other sides of the room, considering Ricardo's been stuck at a table with Vickie Guerrero, but Mike hangs around, wandering backstage and taking in the atmosphere, peeking out now and again at his wife and friend as they continue on with their signings and taking pictures with the fans. He's not surprised when Del Rio eventually joins him, raising his eyebrows at the other man until finally security begins cutting lines off, the two hours set aside for the individual superstars to complete their signings passing by surprisingly quickly for all involved. Some fans look far from happy at having to turn away, but they accept it, despite grumbling to themselves as they go.
Mike watches as Alberto wanders over when Ricardo leaves his table and joins them backstage, Mike turning to hug his wife as she skips up to him, carrying some things fans had brought her. "Good haul this session?" he asks her, staring down at the various things she's juggling before scooping some up to help her keep from dropping them on the floor.
"Oh yes," she mutters, relieved as he grins down at her. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she kisses him and sighs. "Thank you."
"No need," he shrugs, walking side by side with her to the car. As he loads the backseat up with her things, she hops up on the hood and waits for him to join her, wrapping her arms loosely around her waist until he sits next to her and pulls her closer, staring up at the night sky. "So, Hall of Fame tomorrow, and then the big day." She nods against him and he rubs her arm gently. "Are you feeling ok?"
"Yes," she hedges. "No." They sit in silence for long, painful moments before she shrugs. "I don't know."
He sighs and kisses the top of her head. "Well, I'm here for you, sweetheart. Things are going to be fine. For both of us." As he trails kisses down to her lips, she nods, still struggling to believe his words, no matter how sincere he is upon saying them.
They're all jittery, especially after the Hall of Fame concludes and it dawns on them just how soon Wrestlemania is sneaking up on them. Mike holds AJ and stares up at the stars from the roof of the hotel, releasing a faint breath as she clings to her Divas title with a worried look on her face. Not far away, Alex, Ricardo and Alberto sit quietly, clearly lost in their own Mania ponderings.
After a night of very little sleep, they all arrive at the arena and Mike leads AJ to her locker room, hoping with everything in him that it's not for the last time, while Alex wanders off to interview the crowd lining up outside for the preshow and Ricardo begins to prepare for the many hours he'll be at the Spanish commentary table, Del Rio not far away doing what Mike will have to do soon, prepare for the upcoming battle royal. Which comes up faster than he'd expected, his barely having ten minutes to pull his gear on and try to warm up before it's time to go to the ring, leaning in to kiss AJ before he does so.
"Good luck," she murmurs against his lips.
"Thank you," he tells her softly, kissing her again before walking out determinedly. Unfortunately, it doesn't get him too far. He's the twelfth eliminated, staring up into the ring in shock before he has no choice but to turn around and walk back up the ramp, valiantly ignoring those around him as they whisper and sneer to themselves. Thankfully, AJ's match is held a good deal after the battle royal so, after the match is done and he's numbly teased fellow eliminated competitors Zack Ryder and Dolph Ziggler briefly in what has to be a web-exclusive, he returns to her locker room, barely glancing over at where she's talking with Tamina before he slumps down on her couch, digging his fingers in his hair. "Hmph," he sighs as she pats Tamina on the arm and goes over to him, resting her hand on his face before sitting in his lap, softly kissing him.
"I'm sorry you lost." She sighs as he nods against her, tipping his face up to kiss him more thoroughly, in an attempt to distract him. "It's gonna be ok."
"Yeah," he mumbles, digging his fingers in her back as she pushes him against the couch cushions, deepening the kiss. His thoughts continue going a mile a minute, however, as he ponders just how close filming Marine 4 is, and the thoughts of leaving her should she not walk out still divas champion tonight. He doesn't doubt in her ability, but it is thirteen other women. After being in the ring with twenty-nine other men, he knows a little bit of what it's like, so he can't help but worry for her.
At some point during Undertaker vs Brock Lesnar, Del Rio slips into the room to wait for the show to end so Ricardo is free to leave, Mike and he exchanging glances before nodding briskly at each other, the Mexican wandering over to the other side of the room to watch the match away from the others. He had been eliminated towards the end of the match, and Mike wonders which of them is smarting most- himself for being kicked out so early, or Del Rio for getting eliminated so close to victory. They're all distracted from the match on the TV, most expecting Undertaker's streak to live on to 22-0, 25-0, 30-0, 100-0... which they all pay for, when the three count is abruptly granted to Lesnar, Undertaker laying defeated, motionless on the mat. Mike stands up with little to no warning, the only thing keeping AJ from tumbling to the ground being her arms laced around her neck but she slowly hops down and turns to face the TV, mouth parting in shock. Even Del Rio looks floored and a little pale as they watch Undertaker leave, the line of commentators- Ricardo in his brilliant white suit among them- standing up to applaud the man in a sign of solemn respect, among the stupified, numb crowd.
"Dammit," Mike whispers, his hands frozen at his side as AJ clings to his shirt with one hand, her title with the other. "I can't... It..." He swallows, feeling like the world had suddenly shifted on its axis, gravity had failed, up was down and down was up. The streak was one of those rare things, Undertaker hadn't been wrong the week before when he'd compared it to death and taxes, though there was something almost comforting about the streak's constant presence in those invested in wrestling's lives. Except, of course, for those trying to defeat it. A life without the streak is unfathomable to him.
He's still dazed when AJ and Tamina have to leave for the Invitational, Mike barely with it enough to kiss her back, though he does remember enough to mutter against her lips, "Good luck, sweetheart. I'll be right here when you're done." She nods and swallows convulsively, kissing him again, before leaving quickly, Tamina by her side. He watches closely, relieved when Tamina stands back to back with the divas champion in the middle of the ring, until everything begins to break down inside, all of the divas fighting while Vickie watches until, a little awhile later, AJ gets her hands on Naomi and locks in the black widow, holding it in until she taps desperately, AJ's eyes lighting up as realization dawns on her- she had survived, she's still divas champion. As Mike had said, things were ok. She was ok.
She skips right into his arms and nuzzles close to him, the weight of her title belt digging into his ribs as he hugs her and kisses the top of her head, overwhelmed by the happiness coming off of her in waves. She's so gleeful, she doesn't even say anything derisive as Daniel achieves his long withheld dream and finally, finally regains the WWE World Title, standing tall as Wrestlemania ends to tens of thousands of people chanting YES! YES! YES! Mike smiles, glad for his former NXT rookie, but even happier for the woman in his arms, despite the weight of the loss of the streak still blatant in every movement he makes. This will make leaving for Vancouver in a few days easier... and hopefully will give her something to focus on once he's gone. But, of course, first he has to tell her. He swallows and closes his eyes, leaning down to kiss her gently, smiling against her lips as he vows just to enjoy the time they have left together before he has to go.
The next night, they all converge in the divas locker room yet again, the place becoming something like home for them all over the last few months. AJ has some time late in Raw to talk about her win, but the others have nothing scheduled outside of Ricardo's interviews and Alex's time on the pre and post shows, which is fine for Mike. He's still pondering how exactly to explain to her that he's leaving on Wednesday... to begin filming with Summer Rae, no less. He sighs and closes his eyes, idly stroking her hair when she peeks up at him, her words silenced as he kisses her intensely, nails digging into his chest as she shifts and presses tighter into him, falling into a sense of peace as she enjoys herself for the first time since that terrible Vickie Guerrero had announced the invitational. It just confirms her staunch belief that none of the divas in the WWE can defeat her, all lacking in skills in comparison to her.
Ricardo and Del Rio both come and go as they please, low Spanish mutters underlining Mike's focus on his wife, but he doesn't pay much attention until he hears Justin Roberts announce RVD's return to the WWE, looking up at the monitor before searching the room. Ricardo and Alberto are standing side by side and Mike lightly pulls away from AJ. "Ricardo, you ok, man?" he wonders, well aware of how it had been the final nail in Ricardo's time as a ring announcer when RVD had left him in the lurch, like so many others in that time period.
"Si," the younger man says simply, Del Rio patting him on the shoulder as RVD defeats Damien Sandow.
Mike watches him for a few moments longer, surprised to find that there is some level of acceptance in his stance, the months perhaps working to take some of the sting away from all that had gone wrong for him in October. He knows that RVD and Ricardo had exchanged a couple of tweets over the last few months, and perhaps his renewed friendship with Del Rio had helped him heal the rest of the way. He vows to talk to him before he goes to Vancouver, just to make sure of his assumptions, but now, when they're surrounded by so many people, and Ricardo is still in and out doing interviews and whatever else he does to help backstage, isn't the time. So he turns his focus back to his wife, talking with and absorbing as much of her as he can in preparation for his having to leave in less than thirty-six hours, until it's time for her to leave with Tamina to address the losers of the Divas division.
Her speech is simple, hard hitting. Reminds everyone how she had given the divas as a whole almost three hundred days to prove her wrong, and they had all failed. He's smiling a little at her renewed confidence when a strange, unfamiliar theme song plays, a dark haired diva that he thinks looks slightly familiar from NXT, from Axxess, from the hallways of both Wrestlemania and tonight, walk down to ringside. "Paige," he mutters to himself, listening as she congratulates AJ, which seems to infuriate the divas champion. Mike can understand, he also hates being interrupted... but then AJ slaps her and challenges her to a match, the younger diva explaining that she's not prepared, just for AJ to put her title on the line. "Uh oh," Miz whispers, wondering if perhaps his wife's returned confidence may end up being a bad thing, after all... and sure enough she loses the title in a hurried fashion to the girl, Mike's eyes widening as her screams echo into the locker room from the monitor. This room isn't theirs to inhabit any longer. He swallows and wonders what to do first, having no true choice as Paige will have every right to this room now, and will probably be here to claim it within minutes. Grabbing his things and AJ's as quickly as he can, he throws them in their bags and collects everybody else's, struggling under the weight of it all as he carries the different pieces of luggage out, relieved when Ricardo and Del Rio arrive a minute later, taking their bags from him, Ricardo also claiming Alex's.
This leaves him with his own, AJ's and Tamina's, but he doesn't care as the ring announcer barely has a hand on the two bags before AJ's disbelieving screams rock through the hallways, Mike's head shooting up immediately. He leaves the others behind, following her distressed cries until finally he finds her, dropping their bags at Tamina's feet and rushing to his wife. "AJ," he whispers. "Sweetheart..." She sobs and screams as his arms circle her, drawing her into his chest. Mike winces but refuses to move even as she pounds against his shoulders and midsection, losing it more and more as time passes. He strokes his fingers through her hair, trying to wait it out, but it seems unending, various superstars and divas walking by and gaping, or laughing, just to move a little faster when he glares heatedly at them.
She finally forces herself away from him and glares up at him, tears still pouring down her face. Before he can ask why she's looking at him like that, she tosses her cell phone at him. "Make him stop tweeting her congratulations! He's your friend, supposedly, so- make, make him stop!"
He frowns, reading the screen hurriedly, and swallows, closing his eyes. Ricardo, who had apparently known Paige since before her NXT days, had been hyped for both her debut and her winning the title, which AJ had clearly taken offense to. "I can't do that, sweetheart. They've been friends awhile, of course he would congratulate-"
"I DON'T CARE," she screams right in his face. "MAKE HIM STOP!" But the fight leaves her then and she slumps in on herself, sobbing harder. "Make it all stop, Mike." She's tugging carelessly at her bracelet, and he suddenly realizes- the butterfly charm is what she's tearing at, sobs shaking her thin frame until finally he takes her hands and gently unclasps the bracelet, pulling the offending piece off of it and stuffing it in his pocket, reclasping the now diminished bracelet back around her wrist.
She still cries, though lesser now, and he gently lifts her up, carrying her over to where Tamina is standing. "Let's get out of here," he tells the subdued enforcer, who nods quietly and follows him out of the arena.
She sobs through the night, held tightly in his arms, reaching out for a title that's not there whenever she does slip into sleep for brief periods of time before the loss shakes her awake once more. He aches for her.
She's numb and pale the next day, barely reacting the entire flight back to Los Angeles, and Mike worries quietly about telling her he'll be leaving the following morning, but it needs to be done. He holds her hand and leads her to their car, driving them to the house. It's still up in the air what exactly she's going to do with her New Jersey apartment, Mike content to let her decide in her own time, aware that everything's been moving so fast that there hasn't been much time to talk about anything other than the actual wedding plans, Wrestlemania, and his movie, much less make many more huge decisions. And now, with her title loss, well... he's not looking forward to possibly taking one more thing from her.
Barely allowing her to do much else than drop her bag in the bedroom, he leaves her standing motionless in the middle of the room long enough to find her shorts and tank top, with some flipflops, walking back over to her and quietly pulling her shirt over her head before dropping the tank top onto her shoulders, letting it rest naturally against her midsection, helping her out of the jeans and into the shorts she likes to wear outside. She rests her fingers in his hair mindlessly as he kneels down, unlacing her converse and gently pulling them off of each foot, exchanging them with the flipflops until she's ready to sit outside in the hot California weather, Mike quickly changing into similar clothes before returning to his wife's side. She stares blankly up at him and he smiles sadly, cupping her face and kissing her slowly, soothingly, deeply. She sighs into his mouth, whimpering when he pulls away and lifts her up, carrying her out of the room and towards the backdoor, AJ burying her face in his throat as he walks outside, easing onto the grass with her still in his arms, settling her in his lap.
They sit there, the sun beating down upon them, the chittering of birds and animals soothing their nerves, for he's not sure how long, when he kisses her shoulder, trailing his lips down her flesh until the seams of her tank top stop his progress, until he lays her down on her stomach on the ground, leaning over her. His hands are warm and gentle as he massages her back while she stares ahead with wet eyes, sniffing softly now and again. He hates having to add to her pain, but it needs to be done, no matter how terrible the timing. He had hoped waiting would be fine- that she would win at Wrestlemania, and still have her title to distract herself with during his absence, but no of course not. Life is never that simple. He eases her onto her back and hovers over her a few minutes later, staring into her eyes tenderly. "Sweetheart," he whispers, kissing her nose and both eyelids before she opens her eyes, looking up at him. Fresh tears pour down her face and he groans, pressing his face into her collar bone and gently kissing there too. "Oh, AJ."
"You're leaving," she says dully. "Aren't you?" He tenses against her and she laughs brokenly. "It's fine. Everything and everyone leaves me. Why not you too?"
He pulls away, hurt in his deep blue eyes as he stares down at her, in disbelief that she would think so lowly of their marriage, after everything both of them had gone through just to see it happen not even three weeks ago. "No," he says, harshly. When she falters, crying harder, he takes a breath and gentles his voice. "I'm not leaving, not like that, sweetheart. I just... I need to film Marine 4, remember? I need to fly out to Vancouver tomorrow, and-"
"Tomorrow," she whispers, trying to roll away from him. "Right. With Summer Rae."
He grows even more frustrated, impatient and still aching at how easily she thought he'd just up and leave her, is still jealous that he'll be acting alongside the other diva on top of everything else. Though, his guilty conscience reminds him, you are giving her a total of twelve hours to accept all of this, no matter how temporary. He grumbles at the truth his mind is providing and scrambles to his feet, lifting her up once more and carrying her back inside, not wanting his neighbors to hear anything else as he leads her back to the bedroom and drops her into the pile of sheets, staring down at her as her lithe body bounces a couple of times against the mattress before settling, the girl still refusing to react to anything around her. He shakes his head and lays over her, pressing her deeper into the bedding as he brushes the hair out of her face and kisses her, with the same intensity as earlier though maybe with a desperation he hadn't been feeling five minutes previously. She whimpers into his mouth, it slowly turning into a faint moan while he explores her with hands and lips, her tears finally slowing to a stop as she loses herself in the moment, responding in kind to him.
Very little is said between the two of them as the sun sets, night takes over, and Los Angeles grows quieter, almost peaceful. Her face is dry, his guilt eased slightly, as they fall asleep in each other's arms, determined not to dwell on what the morning will bring just yet.
The bed is cold. It's her first thought as she stirs, her eyes still gritty from crying, though her mind feels clear for the first time since her title had been taken from her. She feels around- not for the title, no, but for her husband. He's gone too, though, and she panics, horrible thoughts that perhaps he had gone to Vancouver without a word to her, but no. That's not like Mike, he wouldn't do that to her... She doesn't think so anyway. Her mouth suddenly dry and heart racing, she's just stood up to go look for him when the bedroom door is inched open. She stares at Mike as he peeks in at her, face lighting up before he pushes the door open the rest of the way and walks over to her, kissing her softly. "Where were you?" she whispers, clutching him as if afraid he would disappear too should she let go. "I woke up and you were gone and-"
He sighs and cups her face, resting his forehead against hers. "I was preparing a few things so we can have a picnic for breakfast in the backyard... but first-" He scoops her up into his arms and carries her into the bathroom, surprising her when he settles her into warm water filling their bathtub, brushing her hair out of her eyes as she gapes at him. "Alright?" She nods, bewildered, and he smiles, leaning in to kiss her. "My flight is around noon, but first I want to spend all morning pampering you. I know the past few days have been hard, and... I feel really crappy for having to leave right now, this may not make up for that, but I'll do my best to make you feel a little better."
She rests her hand on his face and leans into him. "I already do," she breathes against his mouth as he groans, smirking. It's hard for her to let him move away, uncomfortably aware of how quickly the time is slipping through their fingers, but the soft scent of her shampoo fills the humid air before he begins washing her hair, his fingers against her scalp and the warm water soothing her tension and sadness away until she feels almost relaxed again, able to forget for a few minutes that he will soon be flying north, and her title is somewhere in Florida with that pale British thief right now.
"I love you, AJ," he breathes into her neck as he kisses the once so meaningful tattoo adorning her skin, something that now is just yet another painful sign of what she had lost.
"I love you too," she sighs, melting back into his touch as he begins to run a washcloth across her face, gently removing all signs of the tears she'd been shedding for the last couple of days. He's methodically rubbing the soapy cloth against her flesh when she shudders needily and tips her head back so she can look into his eyes, knowing all too well what she wants the most right now. "Mike."
"Yeah, sweetheart?" he whispers, gazing back at her. "Did I miss a spot?"
She laughs breathlessly and shakes her head, biting her lip as he leans in to kiss her again. "No," she mutters. "Never, it's just. I'm thinking... if you really want to make me feel better..."
His eyes darken as he nuzzles against her. "What can I do, AJ? I'd do anything."
The sincerity in his voice almost breaks the tenuous control she's regained on her emotions as she grips the back of his head and kisses him roughly, fighting not to start crying again, a flood of love for him overwhelming her anew. "We finish this bath, and we have your picnic outside," she breathes against him. "... And then I pack and come with you to Vancouver." He pulls back and looks at her. "Not for the entire time you're gone," she hastens to explain. "I don't want to distract you or ruin this opportunity for you. I just, I don't want to be away from you right now and... I really, just... I can't face Smackdown alone. Please, Mike, please. Let me come with you." Her shoulders begin to shake in silent sobs as she finally loses it, certain that the look on his face means he's about to deny her. "Please."
He shakes his head and gives up on staying dry at all, climbing into the tub and pulling her towards him, hugging her close. "Yes, yes, of course you can come," he whispers into her hair, breathing her in. "I considered asking before but I thought you might want to- to be there for Smackdown, or-" As she shakes her head vehemently against him, he nods and cups her face, leaning in to kiss her tears away once more. "Of course you can come. I would love to show you around Vancouver when I have some time away from the set." He smiles softly at her. "You know, it was just after I came back from filming Marine 3 that this whole ride began."
She nods, wrapping her arms around him before resting her head on his chest, remembering that intergender tag match when their eyes had first locked and she had been intrigued by him and his goofy smile as he'd looked at her and immediately lost the match, swayed by her. "Thank you..."
"Aw c'mon, you haven't learned yet that I'd do anything for you?" He strokes her back gently, soothing the rest of her emotions, before pulling back to look at her. "Now I don't know about you, but I'm getting hungry so let's wash this soap off and go get some breakfast, then we'll get you packed and book you a ticket on my flight, alright?"
She looks doubtful suddenly. "I hope it's not booked solid..."
He shakes his head, reaching over to cup some water to rinse her off with. "Don't worry about it, worst case scenario, I'd bribe somebody for their ticket." She stares up at him, wide eyed, and he pokes her nose. "Emphasis on the do anything for you." She smiles as he winks at her. "But if neither of us get moving, Vancouver isn't happening for anybody and Marine 4 won't go anywhere, and all of the millions of Mizfits around the world will be deeply disappointed, so let's get this show on the road."
She giggles and nods. "Alright, let's."
He grins at her, just glad to see that for now, she's forgotten about her loss in the face of this new experience by his side, vowing to keep a smile on her face the entire time they're in Canada, no matter what it takes.