After a rough few days of rehab for Tamina, Mike can't tell who's happier for a bit of a break come the weekend- her, AJ or himself. But either way, they all are glad for an excuse to relax on the couch, AJ curled up close to Mike to watch Money in the Bank on a laptop propped up on Tamina's coffee table. Tamina dozes off halfway through it, Mike's fingers stroking through AJ's hair as they watch the divas championship match quietly. He catches glimpses of Ricardo here and there and smiles whenever Alex is shown on the panel, analyzing the various matches.
He's pretty sure Tamina is getting a little weary of their company, wanting some time to herself to continue her recovery, so he assumes that they'll be leaving before long, wondering when exactly AJ will be ready to return to WWE. Not that he wants to rush her, but he misses traveling with her, and the thought of returning to the road once again while she continues to remain alone in California eats at him, his breath sighing out of him as he leans in and kisses her softly on the forehead. She smiles up at him, shifting closer, turning her attention back to the Money in the Bank match happening in the ring. He pays attention, if only to keep track of what's going on whenever he returns to the ring, hopefully sooner than later. "I love you," he mutters into her hair.
"I love you too," she whispers back, leaning up to kiss him. The pay per view's forgotten for a moment, his Marine 4 co-star Summer's voice causing him to wince until AJ pulls away long enough to mute the laptop before returning to Mike's side with a dangerous smirk, digging her nails into his jaw warningly as she continues to kiss him, both careful to be quiet as Tamina sleeps on a few feet away.
The next morning, Mike wakes up to AJ's warmth, her hair tickling his flesh. He stares up at the ceiling as she presses wet kisses against his tanned skin, breathing heavily as she takes advantage of his sleepy laziness, beaming down at him when she finally makes her way up his body. "Good morning," she murmurs against his lips, nibbling and kissing gently.
"Morning." He rests his hands on her lower back, grinning down at her. They nuzzle against each other, enjoying the early morning quiet, when he sighs softly. "Sweetheart, we need to talk." She leans up on her elbows and stares down at him, eyes gleaming lovingly and he almost changes his mind, stroking circles against her soft skin. "I get the feeling that Tamina is tiring of our staying here, or at least me, and I want to try to get booked on Raw again. I know I might not have much of a chance, but..."
She sighs and grazes her fingers up his chest, smiling at him. "I'm sure you'll do fine... but about that, I need to talk to you about something too." She sighs and kisses his throat, murmuring softly. "I've been thinking. Especially after last night. Watching Naomi and Paige compete... I want back in that ring, Mike. I want to feel the success wrapped up in post-match soreness, I want... to pay Paige back for what she did, I want to win my divas title back." She sighs, closing her eyes as Mike's touch ghosts over her neck, instinctively trails down the track marks honoring the date she initially won the divas title. "I want to travel back with you to Raw, I want... I want my career back. I want my locker room back. I want to... I want to travel alongside you again, and be surrounded by all of your ridiculous friends again. I want things to be the way they were after our wedding."
He smiles at her, kissing her nose. "I want that too, sweetheart. You're sure you're ready?" She nods at him, eyes shining as he cups her face and searches her. "Well, you look ready," he concedes. "I wish I could say the same for myself. I'm not packed, I have to..." But as he sits up, she hugs him tight around the middle, straddling him with a familiar smirk on her face. "AJ... Sweetheart, if we're going to get this show on the road and get us both packed, we need to move..."
She laughs and shakes her head. "Not really," she tells him softly, pressing her finger to his lips. "I packed us both up last night... and booked our flight. So, everything's set up, we just need to be at the airport in a few hours. Which means we have all of the time in the world..." She drapes her arms over his shoulders, lacing her fingers together as she presses against him. "What do you think we should do?"
He grins up at her, letting his hands drift, explore. "Hmm, well, you do deserve some sort of a reward for all of your sneaky hard work... I'm sure we can think of something." She gasps and giggles as he pulls her flush against him, kissing her hungrily. "We should make the most of this time, because... we're gonna be so busy soon, I guess this'll be the end of the honeymoon..."
She shakes her head, breaking the kiss gently. "Hardly, Mike. Our whole lives are gonna be an unending honeymoon." She beams up at him and traces his lips with her fingers before resuming the kiss, slow, soft and passionate, shivering as his fingers trail down her sides.
He chuckles into her mouth and nods, liking the sound of this.
Mike doesn't expect much when he arrives at Raw that night. In the weeks past, he had barely been glanced at by members of The Authority, which had left him bitter and jaded, willing to stay across the country in Vancouver, Washington with his wife, just to avoid that self-esteem killer for a week. He doesn't mind that there's nothing special to wear in his bag, he doesn't mind that his gear is crumpled and he's running low on wrist tape. He doubts he'll need it... but he keeps his head held high anyway, if only because AJ is on his arm now as they arrive side by side and this more than anything makes it all worth it. She looks around with a growing smirk, raptly taking in all of the activity and whispers as she walks past various superstars and divas. He chuckles as she giggles softly, leaning into him.
The only bad part is that they can't stay together as she disappears into the divas locker room after leaning up to kiss him, promising to be out in a minute. He misses her private locker room too now as he leans against the wall next to the sign for the divas, watching people go back and forth. Hears the murmurs, feels the buzz about a returning WWE champion, and his eyes widen. Maybe? He leaves the wall and finds the schedule board, skimming it... and finds penciled in around the start of the third hour Returning WWE champion talking segment. He gapes at it, feeling a familiar tingle down his spine. Maybe The Authority finally realized I've been here this whole time. This is their way of apologizing for everything? He remembers the look in Stephanie's eyes as she'd called him a utility player, some doubt dampening his mile-high hopes, but he fights that back down, not wanting anything to ruin this moment.
When he returns to the divas locker room, AJ exits a minute later, now dressed in her chopped up merch shirt and short blue jean shorts, his eyes scoping her form as he rests his hands on her sides. "Hmm," he mumbles. "I've missed this look on you." She giggles and rolls her eyes at him as she leans up on her tippy toes to kiss him, his fingers rubbing circles against her hips. "Come here a minute, look at this." He turns her around and leads her towards the board, resting his chin on her shoulder as she skims it, glancing up at him in confusion. "Returning WWE champion," he recites to her, smiling as she returns to reading the scrawling words. "Think they mean me?"
There's a little uncertainty in her gaze that matches his own but she quickly shakes it off, leaning up to kiss him. "Well, who else would be awesome enough to matter?" she asks with a soft smile. "Meanwhile, I see where I'm needed." He glances at the board and finds that Paige has some promo time a little later in the hour after what he assumes is his scheduled time, leaning his forehead against hers.
"Happy returns all around then," he whispers, pressing closer to her as he kisses her intently, both grinning happily.
His only problem is... well, of course, he has nothing proper to wear. The suit he has is not only wrinkled but also not sharp or special enough for his big return. He looks around the locker room desperately for some idea, eyes dropping on Alberto's bag abandoned across the room. Del Rio isn't being used tonight, apparently, and Ricardo had dragged him out to catering to distract him after greeting Mike with a cheerful hug. "Well, we're probably close enough in size..." He frowns and wanders over, unzipping the bag and peering inside. Everything is folded and neat, unlike his own bag, and he sighs. "I wish I had a Sofia of my own... or Ricardo, whoever makes sure that his crap is like... this. Type A people, gotta love 'em." He finds a nice looking suit and pulls it out, making sure not to disturb everything else as he lifts it up to look at it. "This would work, I assume."
He's just holding it up to himself, staring at his form in the full length mirror, when he hears a sharp exclamation in Spanish, turning to find Alberto staring at him, eyes wide but brows furrowing in anger. He gulps and stares down at the suit, looking back at him. "Er..." Ricardo inching into the room gives him an opportunity, Alberto glancing over at his former ring announcer in disbelief. "Look, I've been in Washington for the last ten days helping AJ and Tamina, I didn't have the chance to go to California before I came here. I don't have anything decent to wear for my segment later on. If you let me borrow this, I'll dry clean it, I'll do whatever you want, but I just need something to wear, and I doubt you're going to need it tonight. Please?" It sucks, leaves him feeling like he's begging, but he is pretty desperate. And the suit does look good, brings out his tan and his eyes.
Alberto's expression hasn't changed, however, Mike's hopes being dashed yet again, but Ricardo turns to him, snagging his sleeve and tugging slightly. Speaks to him lowly in Spanish, Mike's high school Spanish not enough to follow their conversation as Alberto stares at his best friend, shaking his head slowly. But his lips are twitching, his brows relaxing, and Mike thinks Ricardo might be getting through to him when Del Rio rolls his eyes and brushes past Ricardo, digging around in his bag carelessly before he finds a small, grey scarf that he tosses at Mike. He then snags the handles of his bag, escaping to the corner of the room to check his remaining clothes. Ricardo releases an amused sigh before sidling up to Mike, shaking out the scarf cheerfully. "This goes with the suit," he explains. "Sofia bought this for Alberto, but it's not quite his style. He doesn't want to hurt her feelings, however, so he makes sure to keep it packed. She will be happy to see it being put to good use, especially once we explain your dire need." He smiles up at Mike.
Mike nods slowly, running his hands reverently over the scarf, the entire thing taking on a new meaning for him. "I'll wear it with pride," he promises, grinning at Ricardo. "Thanks for interceding on my behalf, man." He claps Ricardo on the shoulder and moves to get ready, time slipping through his fingers. As soon as the suit jacket is resting comfortably against his shoulders, Ricardo helps him wrap the scarf around his neck, nodding when it looks right. "What would we do without you, Ricardo?" The ring announcer shrugs sheepishly, and Mike nudges him. "Hey, I haven't worked out the 4th of July details yet, I have to see if I can pull John away from his Boone the Bounty Hunter filming for awhile, but you're definitely invited, alright?"
Ricardo's eyes light up. "Gracias, Mike. It sounds like it'll be a great time."
"I think so, yeah." They sit side by side for a few minutes, watching the show, until Mike gets too jittery to sit still. "Alright, well, it's time."
"Good luck," Ricardo tells him, both of them ignoring the muffled huff from behind them.
"Thanks." He takes another deep breath and turns to leave, instinctively stepping back as he finds AJ waiting outside of the locker room. "Oh, hey, sweetheart," he greets her, his hands instinctively drifting towards her bare midsection as she hugs him. "Come to see me off?"
"Yeah." She kisses him, trailing her fingers through his spiked hair. "Have I mentioned I love your hair like this? At least that place in Vancouver that Tamina suggested did a good job."
"A time or two," he tells her. "But feel free to say it as often as you want." She shivers as his fingers trail against her warm skin. "I'll see you soon, alright?" She nods and he steals another kiss before reluctantly pulling away and going to the ring. His entrance is amazing, hinting towards the movie star that he's become with two successes under his belt and a third on the way. He talks about Marine 4, absorbing the hate and disdain aimed at him, unsurprised at the continued disrespect even as he sneers at the fans. He's just finished explaining how he'll be WWE World Heavyweight champion again when the lights die out. He looks around, not sure what to expect. The Shield isn't a thing anymore, the Wyatts normally announce their arrival before they appear, and he can't think of any other reason that the power would go now except that maybe someone at the arena forgot to pay their bills, or things are cheap and broken here. He paces forward a few steps, wondering how long his time in the ring will be ruined, when the titantron starts to flash with a familiar video and he shakes his head in disbelief.
Chris Jericho. Interrupting his scheduled time. But the longer he watches him hype up the crowd on his way to the ring, the more he realizes. Returning WWE champion. Not me. Of course not, why would it have been me? This suit from Sofia, the special entrance I paid the production people off to do, all of it for absolutely nothing... He glares with all of the hatred in him as Chris enters the ring, speaks to the crowd, continues to belittle him with his mere presence. He wants to scream, rage, tear the Canadian to shreds. And he tries, oh God, he does, but he only gets a few words out when he feels the world tilting, his face impacting with Jericho's knees. He collapses to the mat and lays there a few seconds, dazed, before rolling out of the ring. He pounds the floor a few times, his fist stinging as he considers rolling into the ring and- "We're here." He freezes, eyes widening as he peeks up at the titantron, watching as the Wyatts walk to the ring slowly. Let them handle it, he decides, staying low to the ground as he crawls around the ring, up the ramp.
His face is throbbing, he's humiliated. He makes it to his feet as soon as he feels that he's a safe distance from the Wyatts, his eyes locked on the ground as he makes his way backstage. His slow, shuffling steps stop when familiar sneakers break into his line of sight, hands resting on either side of his face. He sighs and leans into his wife, accepting her comfort. "That sucked," he mumbles into her hair.
"I'm sorry," she breathes against him. "You're gonna be ok, Mike. It's all going to be ok." She strokes his hair, pressing gentle kisses around his face, finds his lips and softly melds herself against him, stroking his back.
"I'm glad you're here, if you weren't..." His voice trails away as she stares up at him, worried. He nuzzles into her and groans. "I feel so stupid."
"Oh, don't," she breathes. "Mike, you're not stupid."
"You know what they say about those who assume." He sighs and pulls away from her, trudging back towards the locker room, but she grabs him from behind, pressing herself flush against his back, trailing her hands under his jacket. "AJ..."
"Listen, I know this isn't the homecoming that you wanted, or deserved, but you have no reason to feel bad. The Authority should have been more specific, should at least pay attention to something outside of the World title scene or their own pointless vendettas. Look at everything that's falling through the cracks because of them." She lightly scratches at his ribs, pressing kisses against his neck. "I'm so sorry they're too blind to see you, but I see you. And I love you. I know it's next to worthless in this situation, I wish I could do more to help you, but..."
He turns and presses her close to him, kissing her softly. "You're worth everything, sweetheart. Just holding you helps me. Never doubt that, ok? I'm just cranky and now I have to return to the locker room and face everyone, and ugh... can we just stay here for a little longer?"
She sighs and strokes his temples softly, brushing her fingers over the faint marks that Jericho's knees had left on his face. "I wish I could do something about that... Maybe I'll be able to soon." He doesn't ask, not wanting to ruin this moment as he leans into her, lifts her up and just holds her, burying his face in her hair to hide from the world. She watches the monitor over his shoulder as Paige comes out, the sight of her title belt on that British thief's shoulder gnawing at her. She kisses his cheek and softly pulls away, Mike obligingly settling her back on the ground as she turns to the gorilla position. It happens so fast, she can barely breathe through the entire thing. Confronting Paige, challenging her, taking in the crowd's response to everything she's providing in this moment. Taunting Paige when she refuses, encouraging her to accept. When the woman finally does, AJ's soul begins to sing. The match is short, simple, AJ has it as soon as the bell rings, she can just feel it. She doesn't let the opportunity slip through her fingers, rolling Paige up at the first chance she gets, and holding on with everything in her until finally, yes, yes, that blessed three count of the referee's hand pounding against the mat near her head, tears filling her eyes as she's rewarded her divas belt.
She laughs and skips giddily, picturing Paige doing what she'd been forced to all of those months ago, packing up the divas champion's locker room and leaving it all behind, forced to sludge back in the muck of all of the average divas not worthy of this belt, not worthy of AJ's prestige or anything else. She breaks through the gorilla curtain and races right into Mike's arms, laughing ecstatically as he spins her around, her belt digging into their sides as he kisses her. "Oh my God," she whispers, clinging to him. "Did that really happen?"
"Yes, sweetheart, it did." He nuzzles into her. "You have it all back now. Exactly what you deserve."
She beams and hugs him, still so overwhelmed with everything that she feels almost dizzy. "I never want this moment to end. Mike, I'm married to the best man in the world, I have my belt back, I have everything I could have ever wanted... I don't know what to do right now."
He traces her lips and shakes his head fondly. "You don't have to do anything, sweetheart, just enjoy the moment."
She nods, gripping his hand and pulling him towards a quieter part of the arena, deciding that rescuing her luggage from the divas locker room can wait. "I definitely will do just that."
He's sacked out on his stomach, his sore face still pressed into the pillow, when soft fingers graze against his ankles, trail up his legs as the bed shifts, sheets rustle. He smiles, makes a soft noise deep in his throat, as AJ's lithe form crawls up his body, sinks down to rest against his back. He sighs as she presses open-mouthed kisses and scratches at his spine, breathing against his sleep-warmed skin, cooling along the spots where her lips and tongue had just rested.
"Good morning," she whispers as he mumbles into the pillow, enjoying this particular wake up call. Better than any alarm, there's no denying. He doesn't want to move, too comfortable right now, so he doesn't, allowing her to continue exploring his back and neck. She smiles against his skin and sighs, her breath rustling through his hair and causing him to shiver. "You know, this is the perfect morning. I haven't felt this happy in a long time."
Changing his mind, he rolls over, wanting to see the happiness in her eyes, reflected in her voice. He's sleepy and the sun does little to help him, only able to squint at her, but her joy is pouring off of her in waves and it's enough as she shifts against his chest, kissing and nuzzling into his throat. "I love you, sweetheart."
"I love you too." She sits up and kisses him, pressing him into the pillows as she straddles his prone form, brushing the hair out of her face when he reaches up and holds her steady. Pulling away, she brushes her fingers down his face, wincing when he cringes. "Poor baby." She leans down and gingerly kisses his cheek, along his eyebrow, across his jaw. Every inch of him that had impacted with Jericho's knees the night before. "I owe you so much, Mike. Staying by my side after I lost the divas title, and taking care of me, not losing faith in me no matter how long I loitered over what I was going to do with the rest of my life, if I would ever return to the WWE. It couldn't have been easy for you, with everything going on for you." She sighs. "You never pushed me, you never demanded answers. You found ways to keep me busy, make me happy... with the move, with the month in Canada. I'm not sure I would've found the strength to come back here, face all of my failures here, without you."
"You would've," he says softly, stroking her back. "I have no doubt, because you're incredible, sweetheart. But I would do it all again in a heartbeat, because you deserve all of the love and patience in the world, especially when you're feeling a little lost. No matter what's happened in the past, I'll always be here for you, to support you and give you what you need."
She sniffs and cups his face, pressing desperate kisses to his lips. "I love you so much," she whispers, tears dripping down her face. "And now I'm going to support you through whatever comes. Whatever you need, to talk or vent, anything and everything," she vows. "I'm going to support you with the exact same love and loyalty that you did me. I promise."
He smiles at her and runs his fingers through her hair, sighing as she shifts against him. "You always have, sweetheart. I'd be in a lot worse shape without you."
She shakes her head, wiping her eyes quickly. "You never have to worry about that, I'm always going to be right here for you." As his hand rests on her lower back, she sighs and closes her eyes, body tingling all the way down to her toes at his touch. "Forever."
A little later, the alarm clock goes off for real and AJ giggles helplessly as Mike groans and thrashes, grabbing it and shutting it up almost violently. He sighs in aggravation and stares down at her. "I guess we need to get ready for the airport now."
She hums and rests her chin on her arm as she looks up at him, resting against his chest. "I think we have time for one more thing..." She traces circles against his bare skin and sighs. "You know those rumors online?" He nods, confused. For awhile, people had said all sorts of things about her abrupt disappearance. That she was pregnant, that she would never be back, that her career was over. They had rolled their eyes at most of them, but the laughter had caught in her throat at times as she read rumor after rumor, tweet after tweet on her status. "As stupid as some were, I couldn't help but consider, sometimes. Just leaving it all behind, accepting my impressive title reign and leaving it as my mark on the business. Starting a family with you." Her voice is soft, weak, and his hands tense against her lower back. "It would've been so easy, sometimes, just to do it. I was so sad at first, and being pregnant with your child... that would mean more than any title belt, right?"
He doesn't respond, eyes locked on her.
"I pictured our child sometimes," she muses, unable to look at him, to face what he's thinking or feeling about her admission. "She or he would have your eyes, your loyalty."
"Your smile, and sense of humor," he fills in the blanks, startling her. She looks up, surprised, and he grins a little. "I've considered it too, sometimes, sweetheart. I think it's natural, right? To imagine what our children would be like, look like. But I knew deep inside that your time in the WWE was far from over, and I didn't want to mention it and risk making you leave it all behind just because of something you thought I'd want. I do want kids, but we have all the time in the world for that. We haven't even been married five months yet. There's absolutely no rush. When we're both ready, we'll discuss it, and take things from there. For now, things are fine. Right?"
Her eyes fill with tears yet again as she nods, throwing herself into his arms. "I love you so much, Mike," she whispers.
"I love you too." He comforts her, gently brushing the tears off of her cheeks once more. "Can you picture how that little girl or boy would have us wrapped around their finger though?"
She laughs tearfully, leaning into him, considering all of it. How far they both would go to not make the same mistakes their own parents had. "We'd be hopeless."
"Not to mention their uncles John and Alex," he mumbles. "And Ricardo. Oh God, our kid would be so spoiled."
"No, I don't think spoiled is the word," she sighs softly. "Just loved unconditionally by a decent amount of people."
He thinks for a moment, nods slowly. "You're right, as always."
She smiles against his shoulder, pressing kisses to his skin. "I like the name Sara," she shares almost shyly, glancing up at him.
He pulls her back up so that they're eye to eye, brushing his fingers through her hair before kissing her softly. "I do too, sweetheart. Someday, right?" She nods and kisses the tips of his fingers as they brush against her lips, her jaw cupped in his palms as he smiles at her. "But unfortunately, we really do have to go now or we're going to miss our flight." She whines but he pulls her up from the bed anyway, running his hands down her arms teasingly. "Come on, sweetheart. We have a 4th of July party to plan. And we have to surprise Morrison, right?"
She sighs, nods. "My first 4th of July with you all, should be interesting. I just wish Tamina could be here..."
He nuzzles into her and nods. "We'll make sure to invite her to the next one, sweetheart. But I promise to make this one as fun for you as I can. We'll get whatever fireworks you want, alright?" She beams and nods, kissing him. "For now though, we're running out of time so... maybe we should shower together, conserve water and all of that good stuff..."
She rolls her eyes knowingly, teasing her fingers down his throat. "I doubt that'll conserve water or time..." But she doesn't argue any further, giggling loudly as he lifts her up and carries her into the bathroom.