Mike stares blankly at the schedule board, his brows furrowed. He barely notices footsteps behind him until a hand rests on his shoulder, turning slowly to look at who's touching him. "Oh, hey," he says dully.
Ricardo and Alex exchange glances before looking back at him. "Hey, Mike, are you ok?" his former NXT protege asks, glancing past him at the board.
"Never better," he sighs, squeezing Ricardo's shoulder. He always feels bad complaining about things when neither men have been on TV in months except for commentary or pre-show responsibilities, but still.
"Nothing tonight, huh?" the ring announcer asks anyway, frowning as he peers at the board. "I'm sorry, Mike."
"Maybe I should try to become a backstage interviewer," he says with a shrug, smiling at Ricardo. "Torment people I don't like, all of that good stuff."
He laughs. "Yeah, it can be fun, I suppose. Especially when I'm interviewing someone who doesn't speak Spanish... I can say whatever I want, and pretend like I've said something else when I translate it into English..."
"Oh, come on, you wouldn't do something like that," Alex teases him.
Ricardo merely smirks, following them through to catering. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, Mike, Alberto's not being used until Smackdown either, they keep texting him that the card's booked full, so he's just staying at home and training for Money in the Bank."
Mike shakes his head, not fully understanding how even someone with a pay per view match still can't get booked. "I guess it does, a little, heh," he mutters, clapping Ricardo on the shoulder as they go to get some food before Alex has to go start his time on the preshow panel. "Are you going back to Florida after Raw then?"
"Eh, I think I might hang around for Main Event and go home on Wednesday," Ricardo says simply, staring up at the catering options pointedly.
"Gee, I wonder why," Alex teases him, Mike's lips twitching up into a smirk. "Lemme guess, a certain British diva is booked?"
Ricardo groans. "Not you too..." Alex laughs and squeezes his roommate's shoulder, Mike relieved to see that they're still getting along alright. He had wondered for awhile there... but Alex's various issues seem to have worked themselves out, thankfully. Things move so quickly, there's no point truly in holding onto bitterness or animosity. As he had learned with John all of those years ago, you never can tell how long someone's going to be around in this business.
After that unsastifactory Raw, Mike drops in on his parents for individual short visits on Tuesday, giving them both framed wedding photos that AJ had worked on after the honeymoon. "I'm sorry you couldn't be there, Mom," he tells her, kissing her cheek.
She pats his chest and smiles at him, analyzing the picture intently. "I'm sorry too, your father and I would've loved to have been there but I understand, with your schedules it had to be done pretty quickly... it looks beautiful. AJ is absolutely gorgeous." She reverently places the photo down on the table nearest to the couch, making sure it's visible to the entire room.
"She would've liked to be here with me, but her friend Tamina just had knee surgery, so she's taking care of her. When she's back on the road with WWE and we're touring close to Ohio, we'll work out a week or so that we can come visit you all."
"I would like that," Mike's mom agrees. "I'm glad you're here either way." She squeezes his hands, staring down at his wedding ring as she brushes her fingers against the cool rose gold band. "I bet AJ's ring is beautiful."
"I like to think so," he chuckles, hugging her. After a quick lunch with her and a short visit to his father's sandwich shop, he's back on the road, going the opposite way from home to surprise AJ in Washington, amused that they will soon both be in yet another Vancouver.
The look on her face when she opens Tamina's door makes it all worth it as she throws herself in his arms, giggling when he spins her around a couple of times before settling her back on the floor, cupping her face as he kisses her deeply. "I missed you," he tells his wife between kisses, laughing when she pulls him down to take away some of his height advantage. She's obviously reluctant to move away to talk, her fingers scraping through his hair until he lifts her up and holds her close, his hand splayed warmly between her shoulderblades to hold her in place.
Finally she pulls away and rests her forehead against his, grinning down at him. Her eyes gleam as she leans closer to him, sighing happily. "Did you come to help me nurse Tamina back to health, hmmm?"
He tilts his head against hers, pondering this for a minute. "Yeah, sure, we can go with that," he tells her, finding her lips again and swallowing down her giggles as she digs her heels into his lower back. He carries her inside and shifts, kissing her neck and throat lazily before settling her down on the couch, trailing his fingers against her lips before he finally pulls away. "Ok, I think we need to calm down for a minute. Tamina wouldn't like us continuing our honeymoon on her couch, I think. Whether we're in another Vancouver or not..."
AJ laughs and curls her fingers in the collar of his shirt, pulling him in for one more kiss before nodding reluctantly. "You're right, I know. But I'm still so happy you're here. I've missed you."
"I've missed you too."
She sighs and pats the couch next to her, curling into his side once he sits down. "Tamina's asleep right now, the pain killers and antibiotics really exhaust her. She'll be allowed to start rehab slowly in a couple of days, but until then, she's really restless and a little cranky. I get it though, especially for someone like her. I'm just glad she's going to be ok."
"Me too," Mike murmurs, stroking her back. He thinks about everything Tamina had done for AJ over the last few months, smiling down at her. "I'm sure having you here has helped her."
"I've tried," she sighs, kissing his chest lightly. "I'm so tired though. She was in a lot of pain the first couple of days, it was kinda hard to watch."
He kisses her forehead and remembers John after his neck surgery, Alex after his hip and elbow surgeries, knows all too well the helplessness in seeing your closest friends like that... "Then sleep. I'll keep an ear out for her. If she needs anything, I'll take care of it until you wake up." He strokes her hair softly. "You're not alone anymore, sweetheart. Close your eyes." She nods faintly and follows his urging, his soft repetitive motions against her scalp, his warmth, his steady presence, sending her right to sleep. He smiles down at her, thrown once more by just how much he loves her, with every breath, every heartbeat. He leans in and lightly kisses her forehead. "Everything's going to be ok, I promise. Tamina will heal, you'll return to WWE, and we'll go visit my parents, and have a great 4th of July with all of our ridiculous friends... you'll see."