By Smackdown, Mike has had a little more sleep, finding himself somewhat stable and able to cope through the general craziness of the WWE locker rooms, even with Sandow rushing around doing things and talking loudly, causing a lot of people that they come across to glare at them- and not just because of Mike's obnoxiousness for once. He smirks as the combination of the two of them cause people to clear the room even clearer, which essentially gives Mike the illusion of having his own personal locker room as he stares at himself in the mirror and makes sure his face looks fine.
He and Sandow have a tag match later on, so he only half-listens to the show until AJ comes out to do commentary during Summer Rae vs Paige. Her and Paige's seemingly mutual fixation on each other is borderline worrisome, Mike trying not to think too seriously about his wife and Ricardo's girlfriend's recent tweets, not to mention their actions towards each other, but still... He watches as Paige beats Summer with the Black Widow, just for Layla to try to attack her, which prompts AJ to run in and pull the save with the Paige Turner, which adds to his discomfort as the two divas circle each other, staring intensely.
But AJ apparently shakes it off by the time she sees him again, because she once more only has eyes for him, smiling and wrapping her arms around his neck before leaning up for a kiss. "Good luck out there," she tells him. Both of them ignore Sandow next to him, who looks as though he's expecting similar treatment, as Mike nods and kisses her again. "I'll be here waiting for you after you win."
He grins down at her and squeezes her sides before pulling away and leading the way to the titantron, keeping his thoughts regarding Sandow to himself as he tries to mimic Mike down to the last shift in position. But he can't ignore Ziggler as easily, or his so-called stunt double, Mike steaming at the mockery of what he had started when injured and decided to keep doing when he'd seen just how convenient it was to have a second nearby, willing to take attacks for you. His eyes narrow as he watches Ziggler and R-Truth- sorry, R-Ziggler, make their way to the ring, his former tag partner oddly fluid as he repeats Ziggler's actions.
When they lose, Mike grits his teeth and barely speaks to Sandow as they stumble their way backstage, AJ greeting him sympathetically and stroking his hair out of his eyes as she tsks softly, trying to sooth his agitation. She leads him back towards catering to get him a bottle of water while Sandow follows yet again, all of them stopping when AJ sees Nikki in the process of an interview. She interrupts, not surprised when Paige comes along on the other side and the two of them explain that this triple threat match at Night of Champions is really about them, not the Bellas or their weird family drama. AJ smiles cutely at Paige before turning and skipping off, back to her husband. She smoothly rests her hand in his and squeezes his fingers lightly before standing up on her tiptoes and kissing him, sighing softly against his lips. "Come on, Mike, let's get you that water," she says, her eyes slowly trailing over to catch Paige's as she watches them with an annoyed expression on her face, title belt held tight against her shoulder. AJ smirks slightly and skips alongside Mike as he obligingly follows her, unaware of that exchange.
-x
Mike feels restless during the weekend. Between Ziggler stealing his stunt double idea, and this weird vibe he keeps getting from AJ whenever Paige comes up in conversation, he finds it harder to sleep than he did when locked in an unending cycle of jetlag and constant media events. Not wanting to disturb AJ, he leans over and lightly kisses her before dragging himself out of bed and leaving their hotel room, cell phone in one hand and keycard in the other. He's still dressed in shorts and a tank top, the things he'd fallen asleep in, but he doesn't really care- it's an obnoxiously late hour, he doubts many people will see him outside of hotel staff, and to be honest, that's the last thing on his mind right now. He even avoids the elevator, content to walk down the four floors to the lobby, planning on sitting and staring out at the dark, quiet street until exhaustion weighs him down again.
His plans are derailed, however, when he realizes he's not the only one with these ideas. Alex is sitting in the exact spot Mike had decided to claim, a cushy chair that looked just perfect for his late night ruminations. He rolls his eyes and ventures over to his former NXT rookie, dropping a hand on his head and ruffling his hair, causing him to jump and flail about, before regaining his wits. "Hey! Mike!"
"Shhhh," he chided him, smiling over at the hotel concierge apologetically. He drops down on the chair arm, content enough to stare out at things from that vantage point, though he doubts it's as comfortable as where Alex is sitting right now. "Why are you up?"
"Could ask you the same thing," Alex grouses, smirking up at him. But he quickly loses his good humor when Mike stares at him stolidly. "Alicia. I think... she has something going on with Slater, and I... have no right to say anything."
Miz lifts an eyebrow in surprise. "How come? I thought you guys were pretty hot and heavy, unless something's changed I'm unaware of."
Alex licks his lips, stares out at a few cars drifting lazily by. "Yeah, I guess you could say that. We were... supposed to be... fun. Just enjoying ourselves, nothing serious. But... I think I love her, and now she's hanging around Heath so much, and... I don't really blame her, I'm on the panels so often, she probably gets lonely, especially when she's not booked in matches that often..." His voice drifts off hopelessly and Mike glances at him, frowning.
"Have you tried asking her how she feels?"
"There's no point to it, I know how she feels," Alex mumbles, staring down at his hands. "She's always been fine with us being... casual. I'm not about to force her into something she's not comfortable with, or tell her something that will ruin what we do have. I enjoy spending time with her too much just to waste it because of what I'm feeling not jiving with what she's feeling."
There's a great many things Mike would like to say to this, and he can only imagine how AJ would feel about it all, but it's nearing four in the morning, and he can barely think straight, much less try to offer relationship advice to the other man that would make sense, or at least not make things worse between them. So he quietly rests a hand on Alex's shoulder and squeezes before they both turn to watch and wait for either their need for sleep or the first signs of the sun rising in the distance to make themselves known.
-x
Raw does nothing to ease Mike's feelings. R-Ziggler is still a thing, Mike and Sandow having the unfortunate luck to run into him and Dolph doing... whatever the hell it is they do in the halls outside of catering, and AJ continues to toy with Paige in a vaguely erotic way. He watches the tag match from outside of the main locker room, his eyes narrowed as he wonders if this is how it seems to Alex when he sees Alicia and Heath together, and what exactly Ricardo might be thinking. Although, considering his training schedule and how busy he has been with matches in Puerto Rico and everywhere else, he may not even know... The thought makes Mike uncomfortable, if perhaps the younger man will be blind sided by what his girlfriend is getting up to now that he's out of the company. He releases a sigh and rolls his eyes skyward, wondering why all of the relationship drama is happening all at once.
AJ mocks Paige by skipping around the ring while the divas champion skips around a downed Brie Bella and Mike watches as the two women stare at each other, until finally AJ bores of this and turns, skipping up the ramp to exit the arena. She continues skipping until she sees him, her eyes lighting up. She joins him and throws her arms around him, not bothered by the loss her so-called team with Brie Bella had just endured. It hadn't been her with her shoulders pinned to the mat, so he's not that surprised to see her cheerful. He hugs her back before pulling away, lightly cupping her face and searching her eyes. She looks confused for a moment before realization dawns on her and she shakes her head, smile growing a little. "Don't be jealous," she murmurs to him, not so secretly enjoying being on the other side of this situation for once. Not that she would ever want him to feel some of the pain she has due to relationships, it's just a refreshing change. "I'm merely playing with the little moppet... I still only have eyes for you, mi carino."
His eyebrows furrow in confusion even as some of the tension leaves him. "Ok, good to know, but you know how my Spanish is... what, pray tell, is that?" Her only answer is a giggle as she slips free from him and skips away. "AJ! Hey- AJ! That's not fair, sweetheart!" He chases her playfully around, catching her sometimes and tickling her, trying to get her to confess, until they run out into the cool night air, Mike's smirk turning smug as she turns slowly to find that she's cornered against a chain link fence that meets with the side of the building. It's shadowy and he can only just see her as he advances, taking away even more of the light, but she doesn't seem to mind, his hands sneaking past her to curl around the links as he leans in and stares her in the eye. "What's it mean, sweetheart?"
She stares up at him, shaking her head slowly, and he sighs, mollified briefly when she kisses him, her hands brushing under his white jacket. It's this sharp reminder, her skin rasping against the fabric, that causes him to remember abruptly and pull away with a curse. "Mike?" she asks, eyes now wide as she watches him collect himself hurriedly.
"Sorry, sweetheart, I forgot Sandow and I have a rematch against Ziggler and Truth." He turns and kisses her before rushing back to the building, leaving her leaning against the cool chains with a pout on her face. He makes it just in time and ignores Sandow's rambling discourse about how a stunt double can only do so much, especially when the lead actor is tardy, and-... "I'm here now, calm down," Mike snaps, immediately gaining Sandow's full focus and his silence. They make their way to the ring, watching derisively as Ziggler and Truth follow. Although the match goes back and forth, it ends no differently than the first match on Smackdown between the four men had- Miz's team loses, Ziggler standing victorious over him.
Sandow struggles to help him backstage, AJ waiting to greet them, and she kisses Mike sympathetically. "It's ok, you'll get them next time," she tells him, stroking his face. He merely blinks at her grimly and she sighs, leaning closer to him to whisper into his ear. "Mi carino means 'my darling'."
He leans back and stares down at her, his eyes soft as he smiles, his fingers lightly tickling her palm before he curls his fingers around hers and lifts her hand, kissing it softly. "I see. I like it, sweetheart." She beams up at him, both of them once more ignoring Sandow as he scowls at getting left out of knowing what exactly she just told Mike.
-x
Mike is booked on Main Event, yet another tag match against Ziggler and Truth, but this time, he's focused and determined. This time, they walk out the winners, Sandow's exuberant ramblings echoing down the hall not enough to dampen his good mood as he kisses AJ with a pleased smirk on his lips. Next up, Night of Champions... and regaining what's mine...