"Be careful," AJ tells him lowly, pressing soft kisses to his neck as she lounges against his back, peeking over Mike's shoulder at his phone. He has a match during Smackdown, teaming with Sandow against Sheamus and Ziggler, and he's not that worried about it but he can see why she might be, especially after what HHH had said. After what had happened to Ricardo and Alberto, they all are a little more tense than normal, just waiting for the next shoe to drop, something bad to happen to any one of their careers, such as they were. Sometimes he wonders if it'd be a good thing- Alex could perhaps hit the indys, compete like Ricardo is now with matches almost every weekend, and multiple training sessions through the week to challenge him, Mike could have more time for movies or find a niche in a place where he wasn't considered a utility player, but WWE had been their home for so long, he can't imagine leaving it either.
He sighs and rolls over, resting his hands on her back as she drops her head against his shoulder and rains her kisses down there instead. "I'll be ok, sweetheart. You'll see. Besides, the Authority are rarely around on Smackdown... just Kane, and I'm getting better at avoiding him. Usually anyway."
She hums and shrugs. "I guess you're right," she whispers, sitting up to look him in the eye. "I know you wish you still had your locker room, but in some ways, just having mine is good too, because it means they don't know where to find you as easily... It seems safer... you know?"
He does understand, although not having the Intercontinental title is still a raw ache deep down inside. Even so, he keeps these thoughts to himself and strokes her arm gently, kissing her. "I know. Anything that gives you peace of mind is alright in my book." He smiles at her as she giggles and brushes her hair aside, nuzzling closer to him while her fingers drift against his chest. "You be careful tonight too, alright? Keep an eye on Alicia and Paige..."
"I will," she promises, her voice taking on a dark tone as she nips at his lips lightly. "Don't worry about me."
Even so, he can't help it, his mind on her through most of the day as he wanders the arena. Alex and Alicia aren't that far away, lost in each other and their new couple bliss- yes, they'd been together awhile by now, but it always feels different when both parties have labeled the relationship as commited. He can't help but smile, remembering those days. Nonetheless, he has to talk to them, so he wanders over and waits patiently until Alex notices him and pulls away from her, flushing slightly. "Hey, Mike."
"Hey, Alex." His cool blue gaze shifts over. "Alicia. Sorry to interrupt, but I need to talk to you." He crosses his arms over his chest and raises an eyebrow at the diva. "I doubt I really need to say this, but Alicia, you're not welcomed in AJ's locker room anymore. Sorry, Alex. Just how things have to be for now." Alex doesn't seem surprised and Alicia doesn't seem to mind so Mike quickly moves onto the next order of business. "Alex, as I'm sure you remember, it's Morrison's birthday and we'll be doing something as soon as all of our schedules clear up a little bit, but for now, there's going to be a Skype session in about an hour so if you can make it there, great. See you then."
He can't help but feel a little tense as he walks off, but it's how things have to be for now. He's not going to allow AJ to be overshadowed by Alicia or Paige, especially not in her own locker room. Not when she's champion, or any other time, if he can help it. He's all too aware of how that sucks, and he doesn't want it for her.
Once everything is set up, there are two screens waiting on Mike's laptop and he grins at Ricardo, happy to see his friend looking at home and comfortable in his bedroom at Alberto's. A third screen quickly forms and Morrison's face appears, glancing at them all as an easy-going grin crosses his face. "Hey, it's my annual Skype birthday party! What's going on, guys?"
"Happy birthday!" Alex, Ricardo and Miz all call out at him, almost in sync. He laughs as Mike pushes Alex aside a bit and takes over their screen. "Hey, old man. We don't have a lot of time because Smackdown is starting soon, but we wanted to at least make sure you weren't pouting over there thinking we had forgotten you."
John rolls his eyes at him and smirks, sitting back. "No, I was just over here thinking about how much you all are probably missing spending my special day with the birthday boy. Hey, A-Ri, Ricardo."
"Hola," Ricardo greets him as Alex waves from the small corner of the screen that Mike is allowing him to keep.
"Dammit, Mike!" his former NXT exclaims, finally pushing back and taking a more even portion of the screen back as Ricardo and John laugh at them.
"I can't say I miss that too much," Ricardo says with a laugh, though it falters quickly and he looks away, clearly secondguessing what he'd said almost as soon as it'd left his lips. Shaking himself off, however, he turns back to the screen to find the others staring back at him sympathetically. It's still fresh for all of them, his not being in WWE anymore, and he doesn't want to make them feel worse about his abrupt leaving. Forcing a smile, he turns his attention back to John. "Hey, I've been meaning to ask, John, and this seems like as good a time as any... I'm heading to California for a few days when I compete at Vendettapro and I was wondering if you'd mind my dropping in and staying with you."
"Sure man, that sounds great. It'd be good to see you again, we'll have to try out some new yoga stuff I've been experimenting with... maybe do some parkour too. I'll try to be mindful of your shins this time."
"That'd be nice," Ricardo laughs. "I look forward to it then."
The call doesn't last much longer, Alex and Mike needed for Smackdown stuff, and Ricardo busy with packing for weekend events and whatever else he's doing over there, so they hang up the call about ten minutes later, Mike meeting up with Mizdow out in the hall and kissing AJ quickly before he ducks through the curtain to wrestle the match.
He's a bit distracted, trying to think of a way to make their birthday thing work the weekend that Ricardo will be in California, and hoping that AJ will be alright, but it doesn't keep him from watching for an opportunity, quick to take it once it arrives and ramming a steel chair into Sheamus' midsection. Unfortunately his stunt double doesn't have the same luck as Ziggler hits Zigzag on him and beats him, Mike trying to get to him but failing as Sheamus hits Mizdow with the steel chair, shaking it at Mike as he skirts the outside of the ring, wanting to get his stunt double to safety. They're not really friends, but Mizdow had proven a valuable asset, and he finds that it helps fill the silence that he usually finds himself facing with Alex always busy and Ricardo now gone. As much as he loves AJ, he misses having friends around him as well. He'd even be happy to have Del Rio around again...
To his relief, AJ stays safe, only showing herself at the tail end of Paige vs Naomi, attacking Alicia while Paige hides behind the announcer's desk. As the apparently new best friends try to regroup on the outside once she throws Alicia over the top rope to the outside, AJ looks down at them from the ropes, an angry look on her face as Paige tries to pull Alicia back up to her feet. "I told you I'd be ok," she whispers to Mike, lightly kissing him as he rests his hands on her hips once she returns to him.
"Yeah, you did, sweetheart," he sighs, relieved that she'd proven her point without causing herself injury. "Come on, let's get outta here." She nods and he smiles, leading her out of the arena once they've collected their things.
-x
He spends the weekend considering what to do, once back in an arena within reach of the Authority, how to possibly apologize for what he'd done the week prior. Not that he would ordinarily bother, but they are his employers and he's still erring on the side of caution. So he does the standard LA thing and sends them a fruit basket. It's huge, and costs a pretty penny with all of the freshest fruit possible, but when he and Mizdow go to see what they think of it, and personally apologize to them all face to face, Kane is the only one around and he's beyond unimpressed by it all. In fact, he places Miz in a match against Sheamus, Mike's anger returning as he storms from the room. Mizdow proves his worth once more when Mike turns to find that he'd grabbed the fruit basket, hauling it back with them as they storm to AJ's locker room.
She gapes at them before silently pointing to an empty table, standing next to Mike as Mizdow carefully sets it down. The plastic crinkles as Mike sinks back down onto the couch, shoulders hunched up around his ears as he rocks back and forth, disgusted and unhappy with what's to come. AJ settles in behind him and massages his tense muscles as Damien fans Mike off, neither of them looking pleased with how stressed Miz is. "You're going to be ok," AJ promises Mike, kissing his cheek when he rests back against her, eyes closing at the steady pressure of her hands on his back. "You and the Moneymaker both. Don't worry about it. You've competed against Sheamus before, there's nothing different this time."
At her prompting, Mizdow brings the basket closer and she digs around in it until she finds some grapes, urging Mike to shift until he's sprawled out on the couch, head in her lap. She strokes his hair and feeds him some of the fruit, smiling as he relaxes even more under her ministrations, sighing when she teases him with one of the grapes, pressing it to his lips but leaning in and eating it herself before he can taste it. She giggles and kisses him, rubbing his nose with hers before leaning back and resuming feeding him normally.
They continue on in this fashion, sharing fruit and kisses until she has to leave for her tag team match with Emma against Paige and Alicia, one she's clearly not looking forward to, and he thinks he can understand why. She'd never trusted well, and with everything that Paige had put her through, she's even less interested in having a tag partner, even if it's for one night. For this reason, he's not surprised when she leaves Emma high and dry, watching her get pinned from the ramp before Paige and Alicia celebrate and hug tightly.
Mike's match goes about as well, the damage he's taking leaving him reeling and fighting just to keep his eyes open, cling to consciousness until Mizdow gets involved, taking a Brogue Kick and allowing Mike to roll Sheamus up for a quick three count, Mike collapsing out next to Mizdow and ruffling his hair with a laugh, rolling his head to look over at him, check how he is before dragging him to his feet and leading the way out of the arena. He tempers his amusement when he arrives at AJ's locker room, understanding that she's not as pleased with the evening's results, content to kiss her while Mizdow shakes off his lingering daze and collects their things, adding the fruit basket to the pile.
He's in such a good mood that, instead of making Damien carry everything, he collects his and AJ's bag, smirking over at his stunt double. "Just take the fruit basket, man. And hey, Mizdow?" When the dark haired man looks up, Mike flashes him a quick grin. "Thanks." It's a blanket show of gratitude, for having his back since his knee injury all of those weeks ago, agreeing to hang around and continue to help him since they jived pretty well from nearly the start. He feels better for having said it and grips his wife's hand with his free one. "Let's get out of here, sweetheart."
"Gladly," she sighs, following him out into the hallway as Mizdow follows obligingly behind, still looking surprised.