"It's weird," Mike mumbles, face half buried in the crook of his arms as he lays sedately on a beach towel, the soft laps of the ocean and AJ's steady breaths against his neck working together to make him sleepy. She is too, apparently, if the soft murmur she gives in response is any indication, and he smiles for a moment. "How... quiet WWE is now. I mean, there's so many people there, but... it's just empty now. Alex is always busy, Del Rio and Ricardo are gone, John is distracted with his movies and side-projects. Even when I'm surrounded by a dozen people in the halls, I still feel... kind of alone there." This wakes her up some, her fingers lightly brushing against his sun-warmed skin and he shakes his head. "At least I still have you, sweetheart. Even if we are stuck in separate locker rooms again now."
She sighs and snuggles closer to him, pressing open mouthed kisses between his shoulder blades. "I'm working on fixing that... and I know you are too..."
He rubs her arm and nods. "When we do, I'll never think that having two locker rooms is a hinderance again. I'll just embrace it and maybe we can alternate rooms or something... Better to have an embarrassment of riches than none at all."
She giggles and whispers more soft kisses against his skin. "What you said," she breathes, tickling his slick back with each exhale. "I'm sure we'll think of more creative things to do with two rooms once we do have them back..."
He smirks and rests his head back against his arms, allowing her to continue her ministrations uninterrupted.
-x
The few days they get in California to rest, regroup, recover- even without seeing Morrison because, yet again, he's busy with filming something else- isn't enough. Miz is called in to see Kane, assuming it's to do with his request for another rematch for the Intercontinental title, one that preferably doesn't end in a count out this time, but the tech he'd sent to get him coffee is being slow in finding a place that has the pumpkin spice latte he's been craving for a long time. I mean, hell, if the stores have Halloween things out already, why doesn't the coffee shops have my damn favorite drink too? Should've been his first clue that things weren't going to go his way tonight. But he had always been optimistic, choosing to believe that things, in the end, would be ok, so it's both somehow no surprise and a huge disappointment when he gets off the phone to find Kane staring at him like he's a thorn in his side, his disdain much clearer now that he doesn't have a mask to hide behind anymore. He tries anyhow, mentioning something about his rematch hopefully, but knows by the look on Kane's face that that's not why he's here.
Sure enough, Kane places him in a rematch against Roman Reigns, mocking him by calling it a sequel, like it's something to joke about, his potentially suffering yet another injury to his moneymaker, but really, what can he do? Grimacing to himself, he leaves and storms back to the main locker room, pointedly looking everywhere but at the few competitors scattered around the room, getting ready for their own matches or whatever worthless endeavors they have going on at the moment. His only comfort is that this means he's yet again main eventing Smackdown- which of course he is, where else does he belong but main eventing everything?- but even so, the show drags. He watches quietly as AJ causes Paige to lose another match to Natalya, his lips twitching slightly as his wife toys with the divas champion, and her title, pressing a kiss to it before leaving it behind, skipping away happily as Paige watches on, infuriated.
They meet in the hall as another recap plays, AJ stroking her fingers against his face, examining him quietly. "You'll be ok," she tells him quietly.
He nods, grimly kissing her before pulling away reluctantly and going to face off, yet again, against the former Shield member. For a wild, insane moment, he thinks he maybe has a chance when Orton comes out, but it doesn't stop Reigns' rampage. Miz is defeated within minutes, staring up at the bright lights for a few moments before he rolls out of the ring and awkwardly crawls to the ramp, his sunglasses held protectively in his hands. The sounds of Orton and Roman brawling echoes around him but he ignores it, caring more about his own wellbeing than whatever those two insane people are doing. Should've known better than to think Orton would be any sort of actual help, especially considering what he's done in the past... A wild moment of reflection- standing before his parents, getting beat down while his mom cried- bites into his brain and he snarls, stumbling backstage and struggling to catch his breath, ignore the pain throbbing through him.
He's almost in the main locker room once more, wanting nothing more than a warm shower to ease away his aches and pains, when familiar hands snake up his chest, stroke his flushed skin. "Mike," AJ whispers, leading him away from the door and back down the hall. He tries to resist without hurting her, but she's strong for her size so he finds himself outside of catering before he's prepared, his wife's fingers digging into his palm. He sighs and looks into the room before glancing at her, unable to resist being curious. "Why are we here, sweetheart?"
She smiles faintly and says, "Well, I was watching earlier when that tech failed at getting your coffee... so I thought I would bring your coffee to you."
He gapes, unsure what exactly she means, when she leads him inside and sits him at a table where a mug filled with pale brown liquid waits for him, spices sprinkled on top of the whipped cream just visible. He glances at her once more before lifting it and sipping from it carefully. It's just the right temperature and it tastes a lot like what he usually gets... Realization dawns, followed by fresh affection for his wife, and he grips her, dragging her into his lap where he holds her close, kissing her. "Now, sweetheart, when did you become a pumpkin spice latte aficionado, hm?"
She giggles and squirms against him, sighing softly when he shares some of the drink with her, relieved to find that it does taste pretty good. Tilting her head back against his neck, she lightly kisses his jaw and shrugs. "When I knew how badly you wanted it, but couldn't get it... thought it would cheer you up."
He nods, his hand resting against her bare stomach, softly stroking. "It definitely did just that, sweetheart," he murmurs, kissing the side of her mouth where some of the whipped cream is lingering.
She grins and sighs as he alternates between sipping from the drink and kissing her, not minding at all who may be watching them. "I love you, Mike."
"I love you too," he whispers against her skin, tracing circles against her abs as her breathing stutters.
-x
Thankfully this week's events are held in California, only a few hours' drive from their home, which becomes even more of a blessing when Mike feels his knee give during a live event match against Ziggler. He hisses and bites out a curse, struggling to stand, fight back, but unable to as Ziggler hits him with the Zigzag and defeats him. He stumbles up the ramp, barely able to put weight on his leg, and finally chooses to motion to a trainer, who rushes over and helps him to the back, each step fresh, stabbing agony. He's breathing heavily by the time he actually makes it past the curtain, AJ's hands immediately resting on his shoulders as she stares up at him, worried. "I'm ok," he tells her wearily, smiling halfheartedly as she grips his arm and takes up the other side, supporting him as best as she can while the trainer gets them back to his office, helping him to settle on a nearby cot.
While the trainer bustles around, collecting supplies, she settles in next to him and rests her head on his chest, listening to him breathe, his heartbeat. "Maybe we should cancel our plans with Alicia and Alex," she mumbles thoughtfully. His hands pause in her hair, stroking it out of her eyes, and she glances up at him. "If your knee is bad, you shouldn't be walking around so much... especially at Disneyland, Mike."
"No, let's just wait and see what the trainer says," he mumbles, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I'll be ok... if not, maybe we'll find me one of those motorized scooters... I'm a movie star, y'know. They have to accomodate me if they want my business." She gasps, then giggles slightly when he trails his hand down her side, tickling her briefly. It seems to take a lifetime until the trainer concludes his examination, finally ceasing poking and prodding Mike's knee, his faint little grimaces and groans eating at AJ as she tries to distract her husband with soft touches and faint kisses against his pain-flushed skin, nuzzling closer to him when he grips the side of the cot and grits his teeth, eyes closed tightly.
Finally the trainer removes his hands from Mike's knee, the pain subsides, and AJ stops looking like she may kill the man. "There doesn't appear to be any tears, or strains, or anything too serious, but it'll be tender for awhile. So we'll keep an eye on it, I'll examine you once more tomorrow before Raw, and if anything changes, we'll take it from there. For now, I'm going to wrap it for you, and I'd ice it and take pain killers as needed for a couple of days. If you need anything, call me." He stalls by the cabinet and glances at them, lips twitching slightly. "Disneyland should be fine, as long as you don't push it and rest when needed."
AJ gapes after him as he turns his back on them, rustling through his supplies, and Mike releases a breathy little laugh, finding her hand and gripping it. "See, sweetheart, I told you. Disneyland tomorrow is on, because I know how much you wanted to spend the afternoon with Alicia and Alex."
She glares down at him. "If you even come close to injuring yourself worse because of this, I'm not going to nurse you back to health." She crosses her arms over her chest and turns away from him but he snags her around the midsection and sits her in his lap, AJ huffing and struggling only slightly, knowing that it's pointless as she doesn't want to risk hitting his knee, and that he'd probably hurt himself even more trying to catch her if she did get away from him. He presses warm kisses against her throat and neck, hands massaging her midsection until she melts into him with a soft sigh, her eyes closed. "I just don't like seeing you hurt, Mike," she whispers, tracing her fingers up and down his forearms.
"I know," he sooths. "But hey, the doc says it'll be ok, and if you're not gonna trust the doc, then who will you trust?"
She rolls her eyes. "My own instincts..." He tsks in her ear and she tips her head back against his shoulder, peering up at him. "They haven't led me wrong yet." Shifting, she kisses him and he cups her jaw, deepening the kiss until all of the remaining tension drains out of her.
He pulls away slightly and smirks, staring into her dazed eyes. "As good as you look in anything, I'm really glad you went back to wearing the short jean shorts," he shares, teasingly resting a hand on her bare leg as she rolls her eyes at him, gripping the back of his head and bringing him closer for another searing kiss that allows him to ignore the random bursts of pain originating from his knee and helps her to forget most of her worries, if only for the moment.
Mike wakes up the next morning to throbbing pain in his knee, hissing slightly. AJ is sprawled out next to him, her nose pressed into his throat, an arm snug against his chest, and ordinarily he'd smile and marvel at his wife, but his knee is just nonstop agony, stiff and sore, and for a moment he thinks the trainer was wrong, that it's torn or broken or who knows what, but AJ stirs and cups his face, speaking through the fog of firey hot discomfort, and then disappears. She returns with an ice pack, pain killers, soft touches and soothing whispers, and before he can completely lose it, his knee feels... almost normal again. The ice and pain killers work together to ease the swelling, take away a substantial amount of the pain, and she tsks at him, softly patting away the sweat that had beaded on his forehead while they waited. "Sorry," he mutters, hating waking her up in such a fashion, but she shakes her head, straddling him and cupping his face to ensure that he'll pay attention to her.
"Don't apologize, Mike," she tells him warningly. "I would've rather you wake me up sooner on your own than have me jerk awake to find you frozen and gasping in pain next to me." Her eyes soften as he stares up at her, his eyes wide and such a soft shade of blue that she's immediately swayed, shaking her head. "But don't worry about it right now, the only thing that matters is that you're ok." She stretches across his chest and, meeting his lips, kisses him softly, careful not to jostle the ice pack off of his knee as she presses exploring kisses against his jaw and throat, collar. His soft groan vibrates through her and she smiles, hovering over his face once more as he looks up at her. "Promise?" When he doesn't answer immediately, she digs her knees into his hips to get his attention, their eyes once more locking.
"I promise," he mutters, sighing as she leans in and kisses him. "AJ-"
"Shh," she whispers. "We have plenty of time until we're supposed to meet Alicia and Alex... trust me."
"Always," he tells her quietly, watching her as she smiles and kisses his neck and collar, lazily trailing down his chest. No matter how they spend their time, though, he knows AJ is going to worry so, as soon as she risks leaving him alone to take a quick shower, he finds his phone and dials a familiar number, listening to it ring. Finally there's a click and a breathless greeting and he smirks. "Hey, drop the yoga and come meet me, AJ, Alex and Alicia at Disneyland. Yeah, in about an hour. C'mon, are you really going to leave me to limp around there on my own? It'll make my wife feel better..." He smirks, nodding. "Damn straight, see you then."
Every slight movement hurts, jostles his knee, but he toughs it out, determined to have fun today. They don't have a lot of time before Raw, but they're all determined to get as much in as they possibly can before they have to drive out for that event. Alicia and Alex are whispering and kissing in the backseat, AJ focused on driving, trying to avoid potholes and any other disruptions in the hopes of having a smooth driving experience, so this leaves Mike to his own thoughts and worries. He wants his title back so bad, but if his knee gets worse... He shakes his head, glancing over when AJ takes his hand and squeezes it, smiling over at him. He has to grin at her, her clear love for him always making everything feel just a little bit better. He lifts their intwined hands and kisses her knuckles before allowing her to go back to driving, some of his morose thoughts waylaid thanks to just that brief moment.
Although they had arrived early, lines are still outrageous, but Mike had thought ahead, buying VIP tickets for all of them. "Where's our tour guide?" AJ wonders, blocking the sun from her face with her hand as she gazes around.
Mike is looking around too, but not for the guide. He frowns, wondering if Morrison had ended up in the wrong place, but finally he spots him, the sun glinting off of his crystal coated sunglasses a dead give away. "You still wear those things?!" he demands, unable to stop himself as his former tag partner joins them, smirking at Mike.
"Damn straight I do," he says, laughing as Mike rolls his eyes and hugs him, glad to see him. John slaps him lightly on the back before pulling back and looking down. "So, blew your knee out, huh?"
"Not that dramatic, but yeah, it's messed up," he admits, grimacing. "That's why you're here. If I don't feel like walking, you can carry me."
"Uh, yeah, no, even I'm not willing to do that," he laughs, shaking his head. "Hey, guys."
AJ looks shocked to see him, only just saying a quick hello before their tour guide joins them, and as he runs through various information- rides that are operational, rides that aren't, whatever else, she curls her arm around Mike's waist and snuggles close to him. "You were planning that."
"Yes, I was," he mumbles, leaning in to kiss her. "Figured having one more set of hands available might make you feel better about exploring Disneyland with your half-lame husband..."
She rolls her eyes again and leans up to kiss him. "You're not lame... not in that way, anyway." He gasps and looks offended until she reaches up and kisses him again. "I love you, Mike, and I just don't want anything bad to happen to you."
"I know, sweetheart." He smiles down at her. "But we should pay attention or the tour guide might get twitchy at us ignoring him." She laughs softly and nods, turning her attention back in time to catch the very end of his speech.
"So," the man says, clapping his hands together. "Where are we going first?"
Mike expects one of the others to speak up, let their voices be heard, but instead all eyes- including the tour guide, whose name tag reads Jesse- rests on him and he blinks, not knowing what to choose while put on the spot like this. "Uh," he says slowly, pondering the places he and AJ had put on their lists of definites before his injury. "Autopia."
AJ seems less than thrilled with this choice and he secondguesses himself as soon as the words leave his lips but what's done is done so they make their way to the ride in Tomorrow Land, Jesse telling them stories about various parts of the park that they pass on the way. Upon arriving at the ride which is something like bumper cars on a race track, they split up, AJ and Mike in one car, Alicia and Alex in the other, and John riding solo in the third. Although each bump and jostle sends sharp pain up Mike's knee, he takes a lot of joy out of slamming into his friends' cars and chortling over the scandalized looks on their faces when they realize who's targetting them yet again. By the end of it, AJ has relaxed just enough to cheer when they pass the finish line a little bit ahead of Alicia and Alex, neither of the newlyweds opting to acknowledge that John had been ahead of all of them.
Even so, Mike's limp is obviously worsened and AJ insists they go down the monorail system then so he could sit and rest for awhile, watching Disneyland pass by them. Once this is done, John suggests they try Space Mountain next and, once they find it and get on, Mike has to smile when Alicia screams somewhere behind them, AJ gripping his hand with each significant drop, her lips pressed tightly together. Once they're off, he kisses her and soothes her hair out of her eyes, tsking as she pouts up at him, requiring more kisses clearly, which he provides.
Alex's choice is Buzz Lightyear's AstroBlaster so they go, and even the girls have fun at this one, all of them shooting at anything that moves, laughing and arguing playfully at whose target is up next, until Alicia comes out of the ride with the most hits of them all, jumping into Alex's arms and almost smacking him in the back of the head with her gun when she tries to kiss him. Mike and John try and fail to hold back on their laughter as Alex glares at them, Alicia already out of their car and running ahead to her activity of choice, the Starcade, which is a space themed arcade. As she and AJ play a fighter game, John, Mike and Alex take turns at competing in a racing game, John typically winning all of them, to Mike and Alex's chagrine. They eventually refuse to play him any longer just to trade wins again and again until Alicia and AJ tire of the other games and join them, Alicia's touch distracting Alex and allowing Mike to win twice in a row, finally breaking their tie.
"You did that on purpose." Alex blinks as Alicia slinks around him, a bright grin on her face as she hugs him.
"So what if I did?" she wonders, leaning up to kiss him, the others laughing as he blanks on any possible response, his hands resting on her lower back as she smiles aginst his lips.
Jesse then sees them to Fantasy Island, where the girls gasp at the various boat rides scattered around, Mike shaking his head when AJ immediately draws them to the Storybookland Canal Boats. It's nice, he has to admit, to sit and drift with her in his arms, taking in their surroundings reflected in the water. His knee also feels better after the bit of rest, Mike feeling up for some more walking as Alex drags them to the Alice in Wonderland ride, clearly for Alicia's benefit as she sits in awe through the whole thing, only speaking up once through it, to recite the "We're all mad here" line with a childlike kind of glee. AJ looks up at Mike and grins, kissing him when he squeezes her side, resting her head on his shoulder as the rest of the ride passes them by.
"Your turn," Mike tells her softly once the ride is over and they're back out in the sun. "Where we going now, sweetheart?"
She looks around, biting her lips, and slowly grips his hand, drawing him over to the one thing on their list that he'd been surprised by the most. The King Arthur Carousel, which even he has to admit has impressive details on each of the horses. "Come on, guys." Her pleading look followed up by Mike's warning glance- injured knee or not, he's paying so they know better than to argue or insult his wife, so John and Alex gives in and selects horses, the group of them quietly taking their places. It's not bad, even if it makes him feel like a little child again- not that that's a bad thing, but it puts a smile on his wife's face and that's the important thing.
"My pick!" Alicia cheers once they're off of it, her eyes shining as she runs over to the Mad Tea Party, which is like a Tilt-a-whirl, just in tea cups ALA Alice in Wonderland, Mike and John looking curiously at Alex.
"What can I say, she really likes the book," he shrugs. "But don't get her started on what Tim Burton did to it with his remake." He stuffs his hands in his pockets and joins her at the ride, waiting for their turn to get on, pressing a kiss to the top of her head as she giggles and looks around, clinging to him. After asking if it's allowed, all five of them end up in one cup, making it run even faster due to the weight, and Alicia giggles as they all crash into each other with each turn or shift of the cup, Mike grimacing slightly when his knee begins to ache again. AJ notices and looks pointedly at John, whose turn is next, and he nods to show he'd observed as well.
"My selection is in Frontierland, is that alright?" he asks Jesse, who nods, leading them back to the railroad system that takes them from land to land.
Mike sinks into a seat with a sigh of relief, AJ immediately claiming the seat next to him and handing him more painkillers, brow furrowing when he doesn't even argue, downing it with a bottle of water that Jesse had provided. "How bad is it?" she asks him, resting her hand on his jaw and forcing him to look at her. "Should we leave?"
"No, I'll be ok," he refuses. "We don't have that much time left here, anyway. I'm not ruining the day for the rest of you, or wasting my money. Come on, sweetheart," he tells her, kissing her fingers. "I'll be alright."
She narrows her eyes at him but nods, letting go of him and staring ahead blankly. "Fine, but if the trainer says you're not... In fact, no I don't care either way, no matter what the Authority thinks, you're not wrestling tonight. You can get a, a stunt double or something... that's what famous movie actors do all the time, right?"
He stares at her for a long moment, lips twitching up into a wide grin before he leans in and kisses her, feeling a lot lighter all of a sudden. He had been pondering what to do at Raw as well, and she'd just given him his answer. "Great idea, sweetheart. And I think I know just the person who would be willing to do it... he just better not mess up my jacket..." His ponderings are distracted when they arrive at Frontierland, Jesse leading them to Morrison's idea- the Mark Twain Riverboat. AJ is relieved that it's something else he can relax during, leading him up to the upper levels once they're on it and finding a bench seat for them to sit on and still be able to see the different attraction on the trip, testing his tolerance out by resting her hand on his knee. Relieved that he doesn't cringe or grimace, she gently massages him, glad that the painkillers seem to have kicked in while they were on the railroad heading here, hoping her attempts at making him feel better will hold him until they leave.
This boatride is shorter than she'd expected, but by the time they get off, it's close to noon and she looks around at the group of them. "Jesse, is the Big Thunder Ranch nearby?" she enquires, turning as he points towards the very attraction she'd been looking forward to since Mike's knee had started giving him problems again. "Let's eat there. All you can eat BBQ, what's better?"
"And it's a petting zoo!" Alicia squeals, eager to see all of the cute animals.
"Guess we're sold on it then," Alex says, John following them over to it.
"More sitting," Mike teases AJ as they look at the BBQ options and she shoots a glance at him.
"Yeah, that's what guys with injured knees should be doing, not dragging their friends all over Disneyland," she tells him. "I want you to go sit down and not move, I know you're feeling better but I don't want you to push it. Alright?" As he makes a face at her, she stands up on her tippytoes and kisses him. "Please?"
"Fine," he grouses, doing as she'd urged, settling in at a table and waiting for the others to join him. Once they're all there and their various orders are placed, he raises the mason jar that contains lemonade and glances around. "Cheers. To Disneyland."
"To Disneyland," they all echo cheerfully, lifting their own drinks before drinking to the impromptu toast.
The meal itself is decent, consisting of barbecued chicken and ribs, coleslaw, beans and cornbread, but the company is better, Mike content to sit and watch as his friends laugh and talk, Alex and Alicia snuggling close to each other as she teases him with a forkful of meat just to eat it herself. AJ and he exchange knowing smiles, AJ squeezing his hand before trying one of the pieces of cornbread. He's about to take another bite of the chicken when he hears Ricardo's name and looks up, finding John also staring curiously at Alex. "What'd you say, A-Ri?"
Alex hesitates, looking around at them all, before glancing down. "Uh, well, I guess Del Rio suggested Ricardo move back in with him. He hasn't decided, but..." He coughs and clears his throat. "You know, I guess he'll let me know before the next month, so we can go to the landlord and fix the lease, but... hm."
Mike's hands tense against his silverware, not thrilled with the news either. "Do you think he'll go back to Del Rio?" It seems ludicrous, after everything, but Alberto had changed since last August, even Mike can't deny that. His failed plan, as it were, had brought about various attitude adjustments, no pun intended, in the Mexican aristocrat, and though Miz is glad for Ricardo, he's not sure if moving back in with Del Rio is the best idea.
"I'm not sure, I wouldn't be surprised if he did. Things are kind of... tense at the apartment, Paige is always in and out and I think Ricardo wouldn't mind a little extra privacy, space." Alicia is staring at him, a knowing look in her eyes, and he reaches over, squeezing her hand and lifting it to his lips, kissing her knuckles, smiling when she relaxes a bit.
"Hmm, maybe I should talk to him," Mike mumbles. "Not that I can blame him for wanting to be closer to Del Rio right now, I guess. They're both out of WWE, of course they want to support each other." He glances towards John, smiling guiltily, and opts to change the subject, relieved that most of them are done eating, AJ helping him to pick at the second plate since she'd gone a little overboard in trying to keep him in his seat for longer than five minutes. "So, who's up for the petting zoo right now? Hmm? Come on, let's go." It's ridiculous, and hilarious, walking around petting goats and sheep and other farm animals, watching his friends do the same, and although this situation with Ricardo, and his title, AJ's feud with Paige, and everything remains in the back of his mind, he finds himself laughing when a young goat randomly kicks Alex, not hurting him but surprising him, the expression on his face incredible, more so as he notices Mike laughing at him.
To make it up to him, Mike glances at the time on his phone while they're on their way out. "Ok, guys, time's going by pretty quickly, so I'd say we have time for one more round of what to do... AJ, sweetheart, sorry to say, your last choice was the ranch." She pouts but shrugs, turning to look at Alex as he ponders his choice.
"Well, I know we did the Buzz Lightyear shooting game ride, but Mike if you think your knee's up to it, I wanna try the Frontierland Shootin' Arcade." He grins as they all turn to look at the sign in front of his choice, AJ's eyebrows raising. It looks like a western set up and she can almost see John and Mike's fingers itching from here to correct earlier's loss to Alicia.
"Hell yes," Mike nods eagerly, grinning as they head in that direction, Alicia and AJ exchanging exasperated glances. But it really is fun for all of them, shooting lazers at the various targets that pop up and this time, John wins, with Mike only a couple of hits behind him, and AJ does better than Alicia and Alex combined, which makes her happy. Mike wraps an arm around her and holds her close, kissing her slowly before turning to look at the others. "Alright, what next?" They all look a little clueless, running out of ideas. "I guess I'll decide then." He smirks and turns to Jesse. "I want to try out the Haunted Mansion in New Orleans Square."
"Oh, but Mike-" AJ immediately protests, not in the mood for anything haunted after so long of being in the sun, having fun.
He shakes his head and smiles, poking her lightly. "It's a seated ride, sweetheart, and you can hide against me if you get scared."
She starts to look aggravated at the smug look on her husband's face, turning to an uncertain Jesse. "Onwards to New Orleans Square, then, Jesse." Thankfully, it's not as bad as she'd feared, only a couple of things along the way making her jump or want to bury her face in Mike's chest and never move again, but his warm presence helps keep her steady, though it's a relief to all of them to be back underneath the blue sky once it's over. "Now what?" she asks faintly, almost afraid to find out.
"Splash Mountain!" Alicia exclaims, this being her final selection of the day.
"Oh dear God, no," AJ groans, slapping her palm against her forehead. Mike smiles down at her and kisses her nose, leading her after Jesse as he guides them to Critter Country and the ride Alicia wants. It's actually kind of fun, riding the log-shaped ride as Disney songs play, their eyes going this way and that as characters show up on the walls. And then the end, the final, large drop out into the sunlight, which causes all of them to scream.
Mike thinks that AJ's contains some not so subtle threats, but he can't tell over the wind rushing in his ears as they land safely at the bottom and depart the cars slowly. She immediately curls up in his arms and he grins, stroking her hair. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"
"Shut up," she mumbles into his chest and he laughs, giving her a moment before turning to look at his regrouping friends.
"I'll be right back," Alex gulps as Alicia grips his hand and drags him back towards the ride, all of them exchanging glances. They're back within minutes and Alicia gleefully passes around pictures, including giving one to Jesse. "So they sell pictures of that final drop off of Splash Mountain, and this is ours. So who doesn't want to remember this moment with all of us looking like that?"
Mike chuckles, staring at the picture. "It's charming, I'll be sure to put it in our scrapbook," he says, only half teasing, glad to have some momento of their day. "Alright, guys. Last thing of the day goes to Morrison... what'll it be, John?" The responding grin on his face leaves Mike sure that he won't be thrilled with whatever the answer is this time. A few minutes later, he sees he's right. "Canoeing," he mumbles. "Really? Really?" Morrison's laughter echoes all around them as they reluctantly oblige, joining a group of other people on one of the boats. The trip is languid, lazy, and even though Mike's pretty sure it's the same path that the earlier boat rides took, it looks different in the later afternoon, and he can't complain. Not to mention AJ looks beautiful in the sunlight, her eyes lighting up when she turns to grin at him, Mike's hand slipping from the paddles temporarily to hold hers. He hadn't wanted to paddle, unsure how his knee would take to it, but when John and Alex had immediately begun to do so, he'd gone ahead and helped, his pride demanding it. He's glad that he'd done it now, the steady back and forth motion of the paddles in his hands somehow adding to the experience.
When they finally dock, it's time to tip Jesse and say farewell to their helpful tour guide, then for all of them to go their separate ways, Mike sighing as he faces John. "Well, back to reality I guess. Hey, we're gonna come watch your stand-up thing tomorrow. Try not to lose, or I may feel the need to heckle you."
"Oh yay," John intones. "Well, make sure your knee doesn't turn to dust tonight, and I'll see you two then."
AJ rolls her eyes and wraps an arm around Mike's. "I'll make sure he's in one piece. Because he's not wrestling tonight, right?" She stares up at him warningly.
"Right," he says finally. "I apparently get a stunt double tonight. Should be fun."
"Ah, this I might need to watch," John laughs as Mike glares at him. "Don't get cranky, come on." Mike sighs when John holds his arms open and reluctantly hugs him, shaking his head.
"Idiot."
"I'm in good company," he chuckles, releasing Mike and turning to AJ. "Take care of him, yeah?"
"I will," she promises. As Alex and Alicia share their farewells with Morrison, AJ leans against Mike and walks slowly with him towards where they'd parked. "Today was fun."
"Yeah, it was. And my knee survived." He sighs quietly and glances over his shoulder, relieved to see Alicia and Alex following a few feet behind them. "Now we deal with Raw tonight, and then I have to find a time when Ricardo's not training at his dojo to contact him and see what he's thinking about Del Rio's offer..."
She runs her hand up and down his back, glancing up at him. "I'm sure whatever he decides to do, it'll be fine. As you said, he and Del Rio aren't in WWE anymore, Del Rio probably won't get any weird ideas to try to help him that ultimately backfires. Sometimes you have to worry about yourself... especially now, with your knee and everything else..."
"I know," he admits lowly. "It's just Alex and I helped Ricardo out of the bad situation the first time and I'd hate to see him go back to it and have something similar happen if Alberto gets another ridiculous notion."
"If he does, and I don't think he will, you and Alex will be there for Ricardo again, so he'll be fine. But you have to allow him to make this decision." She smiles at him and cups his hand. "Everyone ready to go to Raw?" she asks as Alex and Alicia slip into the backseat.
"Yes!" Alicia exclaims as Alex nods.
"Well, then let's get this show on the road. My husband here needs to find a stunt double and I have to go pay a visit to my little English muffin."
"We live such weird lives," Mike laughs as she starts the car up and turns towards the freeway.
Raw is about as random as it sounds. Alex leaves after kissing Alicia to go prepare for the panel, and AJ reluctantly heads for the divas locker room, Mike kissing her before she leaves. "Good luck," he tells her softly.
She taps his lips and smiles. "Stunt double."
"I know, I will, I promise," he sighs, watching her skip off towards the door, Alicia by her side. Thankfully, he's only just turned when he spots the man he'd been thinking of. "Hey! Sandow! Gotta a proposition for ya."
As he waits for Sandow to finish nitpicking his gear and change already, he watches AJ interrupt yet another Paige and Natalya match, and although Paige wins, Natalya leaves her laying and AJ goes into the ring to check on her. Mike's eyebrows lift into his hairline as AJ hugs her, a blissful look on her face even as Paige tenses up. But the former divas champion isn't done yet as AJ releases her and backs up, taking Paige's hand and lifting it, kissing it.
He laughs and shakes his head faintly, relieved to see that Sandow has finally changed into the gear, before noticing that it's time to get ready for his announcement, nudging Sandow ahead of him. "Wait at the gorilla, when I announce you, you come out. Understand?"
Sandow looks surly but nods, his arms crossed over his chest so Mike goes out and talks about going to Disneyland, then announces that he has a stunt double, calling out Damien Mizdow. He makes sure not to limp as he walks down to ringside, although it just makes his knee hurt worse, but then he spends the next few minutes sitting down, arguing with commentary and watching Sandow ultimately lose to Ziggler. But he leaves all smiles, not minding. Sandow's loss isn't his, and just further proves that there can only be one Miz.
But AJ is happy when he finds her backstage, greeting him with a hug. "Alright?"
"Yeah, sweetheart, I'm fine. But we should go back to the house, get some sleep so we're well-rested for John's event tomorrow." He kisses her as she nods and follows him outside, relieved that she's ok with driving for the third time today, his vision blurring as he stares out through the windshield at all of the passing cars. How he stays awake until they arrive home, he's not sure, but it's quick relief when he collapses on their bed, sighing softly as she brushes her fingers through his hair before going to get ready for bed. "AJ?"
"Mm hmm?"
"Love you," he says sleepily.
"Love you too," she smiles, ducking into the bathroom to brush her teeth. When she comes out a few minutes later, he's fast asleep and she pauses in the doorway, smiling and shaking her head. "Guess we really wiped you out, huh?" She crawls up on the bed and settles against his chest, sighing softly. "Good night, Mike."