AJ wakes up early Tuesday, turning to look at Mike fondly. He's sleeping heavily, his hair mussed and lips parted sweetly. She smiles before slipping out of bed, moving over to look out at the side of the house. There are birds and rabbits, squirrels and maybe a neighborhood dog, running around and she chuckles softly, resting her hand on the cool pane of glass. She tilts her head and sucks in a breath as the now familiar pain stabs up her neck, subsiding slowly once she shifts her position. She had been pondering it for awhile, though she hadn't found the strength to tell anyone yet. Trying to act like everything's normal, she hadn't even mentioned it to Tamina the week prior, but now... She's pretty sure she's done. She'd been so many things- valet to GM to diva's champion, and now... Turning around, she looks at her husband and smiles softly, crossing her arms loosely over her chest, lost in thought.

The only reason she hadn't said anything yet was because of everything Mike's been going through with Sandow, but now... she thinks it's best he knows. Slinking back up the bed towards him, she hovers over his mouth and whispers, "Mike..." He stirs and releases a breath, rolling over onto his side, but she grins a little and leans in, kissing his cheek and trailing over to his ear. "Mike... mi carino, please wake up."

He does wake up at this, knowing that she only calls him mi carino rarely. "AJ?" he asks, voice thick with sleep. "You alright?" He wraps an arm protectively around her and pulls her closer, looking up at her.

"I'm fine, I just have something I need to talk to you about," she says softly. "And I want to do it before the others wake up." He stares at her, his eyes looking almost translucent in the early morning sun, and it hurts to say it, but she manages it, watching his face fall as he digests yet another blow. "I will always be by your side," she promises him. "I will always support you, come thick or thin. I will always be Mrs. AJ Mizanin. I just can't work for that company anymore. They claim they'll change, but if they do, it's just temporary until the heat dies down, and then they're right back to the way things have always been. I don't want to live like that anymore. You understand, right?"

He nods brokenly, pulling her closer and kissing her. "Yes, sweetheart. I understand. I just want you happy, and if this accomplishes that, then I'll... I'll be ok with it, with time." She cups his face and kisses him back, sighing softly when he strokes her back. "How long have you been thinking about this...?"

"A while, I guess," she admits. "I... saw how worried you were about my neck injury, and I just thought... I'd wait until after Wrestlemania, see how I felt, and things are still the same and I just... don't want to do it anymore." Sitting up, she peers into his eyes with a loving smile. "I didn't want to tell you when you were still trying to figure out things with Sandow, but... I also don't want you sideswiped by the news. I want to tell WWE higher ups after Smackdown."

He nods and sits up too, holding her close. "Whatever you need, sweetheart."

The next couple days pass quietly, AJ's decision bonding them even closer together as they face the last week they'll spend together as wrestlers for the same company. Mike is still grim, but determined, and he barely blinks when 'fans' on the street mock him, or he's tweeted insults regarding Wrestlemania and Raw. Alex and Alicia are still around, their presence a comfort to them both. and he can almost forget that Mizdow isn't there, but muscle memory still causes him to turn to bark orders at the man, or even just make a comment to him, just to remember that he's not there. AJ is worried, he can tell, and he feels terrible for making her look at him like that, especially with everything on her mind right now, but he just can't shake it. She massages his back, kisses his shoulder, tries anything she can think of to distract him but when she's asleep or out running errands, he finds himself wandering back to the laptop, watching Wrestlemania again and again. It's imprinted in his memory, the ultimate betrayal of Mizdow eliminating him and quitting, but nothing is as bad as Mizdow taking his theme music, his finisher. As if taking all of the fans isn't enough, now he's trying to be Miz, and it just can't happen.

"It won't happen," he mutters. "I won't let it happen." He rewinds the video and watches it through again, gritting his teeth. He's still sitting there, eyes glued on the screen, when his cell phone goes off. He grunts and answers it without looking. "Hello?"

"Is this The Miz?"

"Yes. Who's calling?"

"This is Samuel from WWE Films," the voice on the other end of the line explains. "Do you have a few moments to talk?"

Mike's talked with Samuel before, about his casting for Marine 3 and Christmas Bounty. His brain starts to niggle as he realizes that more likely than not, this phone call is about to make him a liar with his wife, considering he'd just told her a couple days ago that he has no plans on leaving to film a movie. "Um, yeah, sure, man, what's up?" He stares at the TV for a moment before turning his back decisively on it.

"Well, we have this role for another Christmas movie and after 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment watched clips of you from Christmas Bounty and looked at the promotion stuff we'd sent them, they agree that you'll be perfect for it. Paige will be your costar, so you won't be the only WWE superstar there. We're thinking if she has any problems, you can be there to help her through it, so it'll be a win-win for all involved. What do you think?"

Mike closes his eyes, aware that he can't pass the opportunity up. He's too used to saying yes to whatever the WWE needs from him, and helping AJ's frenemy and Ricardo's girlfriend out in her possible time of need sounds like a good course of action. If anything, she'd definitely be easier to handle than Summer Rae ever had been on the Marine 4 set. "I need to talk to my wife, but I'll get back to you later today, alright?"

"Alright," he says. "That's fine. Talk to you soon."

"Yeah, soon." He hangs up and stares at the wall, suddenly disinterested in reliving what Sandow had done. He worries about AJ's reaction, especially with her future up in the air now that she's decided to retire. He huffs out a breath and lounges back, digging his fingers into his eyes. He hears the car door slam when she arrives a few minutes later and tenses up, tracking her footsteps as she walks towards the house, unlocking the door and unloading bags of groceries and whatever else on the counter and in the fridge.

Done, she walks into the living room and snakes an arm around him before clicking the laptop shut with the other. "Hello, husband," she hums against his lips as she settles in his lap and kisses him. "Are you still watching Wrestlemania footage?" When he shakes his head, she stares at him, eyebrows raised. "Oh? What, then?"

He squeezes her around the waist and presses his forehead to hers. "You remember a few days ago when I said I had no plans of going to film a movie?" Her eyes narrow immediately and he sighs. "I just received a call, I don't know much about it yet but it's another Christmas movie..." His hands trace circles against her ribs and she closes her eyes, leaning into him. "Paige will be involved in it too."

She looks at him, her lips downturned into an adorable, sad little pout. "I'll be losing my husband when I have the most free time I've had in... a really long time?"

He sighs and kisses her. "I haven't accepted the role yet, if that makes you feel any better. I wanted to talk to you first. But I think I should do it, if only to help Paige with her first big movie role."

AJ huffs out a breath and nuzzles into him. "Why do you have to be such a good guy? Huh?" She strokes his face before leaning in and kissing him again. "Fine. I can give you up for a little while for that reason... just please, call when you can. I'll miss your voice."

He smirks at her. "Is that all you'll be missing?"

She rolls her eyes. "No, obviously not." Draping her arms over his shoulders, she looks coy until he pulls her flush against him, giggling slightly as he trails down her jaw with his lips and teeth.

-x

Outside of assisting each other a couple of times after their more brutal matches, John hadn't actually seen much of Alberto in Lucha Underground locker rooms, though their past in WWE had been weighing on Morrison more and more. He's not the same vulnerable, injured individual he was back in those days, and Alberto isn't the same man either. He's supposedly about honor and glory now, without Ricardo by his side, and John can only imagine how the two of them would burn the building down in a pure, fair, one on one match... but Del Rio seems distracted by Texano, disinterested in wrestling any others.

When he runs into Alberto backstage in the bathroom after beating Angelico, he can't help but mention this, a smug little smirk on his face as Alberto glowers at him, tension growing between them at this slight towards him. "Just messing with you, bro!" John offers, his face relaxing as he laughs. Though Alberto's tension eases, it's clear he's still annoyed as he mentions forgetting Morrison's sense of humor... just like he'd forgotten Morrison himself. John's about to say something about how it didn't seem Del Rio had forgotten him that much when he was peeling Alberto off of the floor after getting demolished by Texano a few weeks ago, but before he can formulate the response, Alberto moves and wraps an arm around him, sneering at John in the mirror. John reminds him pointedly that he's the face of the company... the company that Alberto works in.

Alberto's smirk grows. "Exactly," he says, close to John's ear, clapping him on the chest before turning and leaving the room, John staring at himself in the mirror blankly, not sure what exactly happened, how their current ease had been ate up by past WWE tension, after all of these years, the holidays they'd spent together for Ricardo and Miz's sakes seeming meaningless after all of that.

Releasing a breath, he goes out and wanders the temple until he finds Dario's office, aware that Star is inside, having a meeting with the man. He waits outside, replaying his meeting with Alberto over and over when Dario's door opens and Star comes out, a pensive twist to her lips. He pulls away from the wall and greets her, his smile strained. "What'd he say?"

"I'm in Trios match," she says slowly. "With Pentagon Jr. and Super Fly." Morrison stares at her, eyebrows raised, and she smiles, leaning forward to kiss him. "It'll be alright. I'll be alright." Somber, she examines him. "How are you?" Her lips twitching up into a mischevious grin, she tilts her head at him thoughtfully. "Should I be jealous?"

He drops his head against his chest and wraps an arm around her, pulling her close against his side. "No. Definitely not of Del Rio. It was just old issues between us showing up again, don't worry about it." She nods and wraps her arms around him, staring deep into his eyes as he reaches up to card his fingers through her hair, wishing he could release her mask and stare into her face properly, but aware that this isn't the place. "I'll see you after your match?"

"Si," she agrees, reluctantly letting go of him and going to find her tag partners.

John watches as she goes, a worried look on his face as the match begins. They do make a good team, Pentagon, Star and Super Fly...but Big Ryck and his new teammates are just a little better, gels easier... and they eventually eak out the win, which sends Pentagon over the edge, about to break Super Fly's arm when Star rushes in and saves him, throwing him out of the ring and away from Pentagon. But this puts the deranged man's focus on hers and Morrison's insides squirm uncomfortably as Star returns, Super Fly brushing past them and ducking into the locker room, gripping his arm.

Morrison waits until he's gone before turning to Star. "You're in danger," he tells her, aware that she has to know this already. "Pentagon Jr., he's going to-"

"He's going to..." She shrugs. "Try to hurt me. I am aware, John. But I will be fine." He looks like he wants to say something, demand she allow him to help her, but a rigid kind of resistance is his answer, her fingers cool as she grips his face and stares into his eyes. "Johnny, I enjoy spending time with you, I believe we have a good thing here. But I need no man to protect me, I never have and I never will. I would never disrespect or embarrass you by hindering your career in an attempt to help you, no matter how much I worry for you. Por favor, grant me the same favor."

He sighs and nods. "I'm sorry, Star. I just... don't want to see you hurt..." He gently grips her arm and lifts it to his lips, lightly kissing it.

She shivers under his ministrations and nods. "I know, Johnny. I know, but it is the business we are in, si? I'll be alright." She kisses him and smiles up at him. "Believe in me."

"I do," he whispers.

"Then that's all I need," she sighs before slipping her hand into his, guiding him down the hall towards the exit, eager to return to his apartment so they can have some time to themselves without worrying about who might be lurking around the next corner, eager to attack or insult them.

-x

Paige had had a match on Main Event, but AJ hadn't been booked for either show, which is just as well, considering. Even so, she stays backstage and keeps Miz company until his match against R-Truth. After Santa's Little Helper had been announced on Twitter the day before, he'd seemed calm, confident, but one glance at the match board, his name across from Truth's, had derailed all of that, returning him to the anxious, angry man he'd been since Wrestlemania. Considering his and Truth's past, she doesn't blame him, gnawing absently on her thumb nail as he leans in, kisses her quickly, and heads out for the ring.

The match is standard; Miz wins with a Skull Crushing Finale, but afterwards, as he peers out at the crowd, possibly trying to figure out why they're reacting the way they are, Sandow appears and hits him with the Skull Crushing Finale, leaving him sprawled out in the middle of the ring, gaping up at the ceiling as his former assistant puts his sunglasses on and smirks smugly. AJ gapes at the monitor, suddenly seeing everything Miz had been afraid of the last few months. Yes, it had started as paranoia, perhaps, or a lack of self-esteem, but now... now everything he'd been saying is coming true and she hates it. Hates him. It makes her feel even worse for leaving Mike to face WWE without her now. She skulks around the curtain until Sandow makes his way backstage, some of the smugness wiping off of his face when he spots her.

She's at least a foot shorter than him but it doesn't stop her from walking up to him and staring up at him angrily. "You're proving him right of everything he's said about you the last few months," she tells him coolly. His eyes are dark and unreadable beneath the tinted frames and this angers her further. She holds her hand out. "I gave him those sunglasses. You're not allowed to wear them. Give them to me now."

He shrugs and does as she requests, dropping the frames dismissively into her palm. "I will gladly leave him alone if he does the same to me," he tells her.

"Using his theme music and finisher is far from leaving him alone, Sandow," she responds, turning the glasses around in her hand to make sure he hadn't broke them. "Neither of those are yours. Return to using your pompous music and wearing your ugly gear, using your own pathetic moves. Stop trying to take the things my husband's worked so hard on."

"The crowd likes it better when I do it," he tells her, smirking callously as he walks past her.

She turns and stares at him, shaking her head. She considers telling him that she's leaving, that Mike will be alone soon, and this is the last thing he needs, but she holds her tongue, certain that Mike wouldn't appreciate it. "Tamina can do so much better than you," she calls after him instead. He stops, shoulders tense, but soon continues to walk, his head held high. When Mike is helped backstage, AJ runs up to him and cups his face, searching his eyes. He looks far from happy, but not the broken man she'd encountered on Monday night either. "Husband?"

He nods blankly and she reaches up, placing his sunglasses back where they belong. He smiles down at her and hugs her, murmuring into her ear. "Thank you, sweetheart."

"Any time," she whispers back. She kisses him and nuzzles against him. "It's time, Mike. I have to go talk to Kane so he can alert the Authority." She stares into his eyes. "Will you be alright here alone?" He nods glumly and she kisses him once more before pulling away and walking down the hall, her head held high as she knocks on the office door and lets herself in when Kane orders her to enter. She peeks over her shoulder at Mike and smiles before closing the door behind her.

He sighs and stares down at the floor, unsure how he'll be able to handle the business, or what his future will be like now without her through all of the hard times of the life of a wrestler. He's scuffing his wrestling boots against the floor when she finally appears, leaning up on her tippy toes to stare into his eyes. "Done?"

"Yeah. I still need to talk to The Authority but that can be done over the phone tomorrow. Let's get out of here." She grips his hand and walks side by side with him to the exit. When she stops a few feet from the car, he slows too and turns to watch her stare back at the building, the last time she'll look at an arena as a WWE competitor. He squeezes her hand and waits until she has her fill, turning to follow him to the car.

He drives them home and they quietly get out of the car, turning to look at each other. Their houseguests will be leaving soon, but for now... "Are you going to tell them?" he asks her softly. She doesn't say anything for a moment, finally nodding, and he wraps an arm around her waist as she enters the house.

Alex is sitting in the dimly lit living room, Alicia painting her toenails at his feet, when they arrive, and AJ releases a breath, knowing that it's time. She settles across from Alicia, smiling at her until she looks up. "Hey, girl, what's up?" she asks, a wide grin on her face until something clicks... the tension in Mike's shoulders, AJ's own oddly forced grin, or... "Is something wrong?"

"Well, I guess it depends on how you look at it," she says slowly, watching out of the corner of her eye as Mike sits down next to Alex on the couch. She reaches forward and takes Alicia's hands, careful not to ruin her polish as she squeezes them gently. "Mike and I have discussed it and I've decided... considering everything, I've done all I want in this business. I'm retiring from WWE, Foxy. It's time for me to find the next chapter in my life."

Alicia sits there, her lips parted and eyes dull as she takes this in. "No, but... I mean, you seemed so happy after Wrestlemania. Why now? Are you sick? Or- or... I thought those tweets with Bayley were just a joke, were-"

AJ laughs roughly and shakes her head. "No, no, I'm not pregnant. I mean, not yet. Who knows, that could end up being the next chapter of my life, sure, but we haven't discussed it yet." She smiles up at Mike before turning her attention back to Alicia. "I was happy because I knew that I could still go out there, do what needed to be done, and be successful. I just wanted to prove it to myself one last time, especially against the Bellas. I'm sure the Divas division will be fine without me. You all deserve an opportunity and with me out of the way, you'll hopefully get that chance.

Large, wet tears are pouring down Alicia's face as she throws her arms around AJ and hugs her tightly. They sit there for long, painful moments as Alicia sobs, hating losing another friend. AJ sits patiently, hugging her and murmuring until she calms down and pulls back, wiping at her face with trembling hands. "You'll still come to my wedding, right?"

AJ gapes at her before cupping her face. "Of course I'm going to be at your wedding! You think just because I'm leaving WWE, I'm going to stop being your friend? Oh, Foxy, as long as you're in this crazy group, you're stuck with me."

Alicia cries a little more, nodding happily. "Good, good. You're one of my best friends, AJ," she admits, smiling shakily as AJ wipes her face with gentle thumbs.

AJ beams at her before hugging her, looking up to find a deep look of pain on Mike's face, his weak smile not enough to rid his blue eyes of the haunted look. She aches for him but also knows that he'll support her no matter what.

The next day is slow, but eventful. Alex and Alicia return to Florida, return to their lives, and Mike sits in the living room and listens to AJ on the phone with The Authority, finalizing details of her retirement. It seems to take a lifetime but go by within minutes, and it hurts, each word spoken another bit of proof that she'll soon be staying at home while he travels on from Raw to Smackdown to house show to PPV to movie filming to... His eyes prickling with tears, he turns away from her and stares out of the window, unable to stop his emotions from showing. He knows she knows because she shifts over to him and wraps her free arm around him, trying to offer a quiet kind of comfort even as she finishes the call to the offices.

"Thank you for everything," she breathes into the phone. "Goodbye." Hanging up, she tosses the phone somewhere and wraps her other arm around him, his tears splashing against her flesh finally causing her to cry too as she realizes as well that it's over. She's no longer a WWE Diva, she's just AJ Lee-Mizanin, once more. "This is harder than I thought it'd be," she breathes into his neck, unsurprised when he moves, turns around in her arms so they're face to face.

He pulls her in, hugs her properly, and kisses the side of her neck as she sniffs and cries quietly, letting out the last few months of uncertainty and pain. "You should call people," he tells her faintly. "Tamina... Paige..."

She nods, feeling around for her phone, but he finds it first and she kisses him thankfully, dialing Tamina's number. It's clearly not entirely a surprise to the woman, though she sounds disappointed that they won't be working together when she officially returns from her injury. "Honestly, I expected it some time soon," she confesses. "You haven't seemed happy in awhile, AJ. And I knew... you were thinking more about settling down and starting a family. You can't do that while being divas champion."

She nods, peeking over at Mike's face as he holds her. He doesn't seem to hear what Tamina just said, though she wonders if he'd guessed yet. They hadn't discussed it, Sara Louisa always a presence in their life- the possibility of what could be- but Mike knows her well, and it's not hard between her Tamagotchi tweet, and joking around with Bayley... "Yeah," she murmurs. "That's definitely something I'm considering." AJ pulls away and kisses Mike slowly before twisting around in his arms and looking down as his hands rest protectively over her waist just like Bayley's had only a few days ago. Her eyes soften with affection, imagining the moment that she actually hears those words, how he'll react. But first... "Tamina? Can you do me a favor?"

"Anything."

"When you return... can you keep an eye on Mike for me? Make sure he's doing ok, and that Sandow isn't too much of a jackass to him?" She rests a hand on top of his and smiles when he holds his breath, peering down at her. "Please?"

"Of course. I'll do it gladly," Tamina agrees.

"Thank you." They talk for awhile longer, AJ then realizing just how late it is. She curses upon checking the phone and realizing that WWE had already tweeted about her release. She quickly tells Tamina she has to go, hanging up and dialing Paige's number. It rings in for a few minutes before clicking in.

"Hullo?" Paige's voice is shaky, she sounds like she's been crying, and AJ immediately feels like a terrible person for not calling sooner, for spending so much time talking to Tamina and not considering how hard this might hit Paige, especially after their Wrestlemania victory.

"Hello, my British muffin," AJ offers, relieved when Paige actually laughs brokenly. "Are you ok?"

"Not really," she admits. "AJ, why the bloody hell didn't you tell me? I know we were frenemies, but I could've kept it to myself until you were ready to take that step... If I had known, maybe..."

"Maybe what? You would've done something differently on Raw, or Wrestlemania?" She shakes her head. "I didn't want a big deal to be made out of my final matches. I like the way it went. And Naomi getting the win on Monday is perfect, you and her are the two main roster divas I would choose out of all of them to take my place in the division. I have no regrets, and I hope you don't either."

"No," Paige murmurs. "I guess just that I would've been nicer to you last week, I knew the elbow was a mistake, I was just so... determined for everything to go right for us at Wrestlemania, I was blaming you for something that wasn't your fault."

AJ tsks at her and smiles. "No worries, it all worked out fine. We won and that's what I really wanted for us." She snuggles back against Mike as he hugs her. "Is Ricardo with you?"

"He's at a soccer game currently," she murmurs. "We're going to Puerto Rico in the morning. Sofia's here though."

"Tell her hello, please," AJ says quietly, tangling her fingers around Mike's. "I'm glad you're taking a little vacation. The big European tour is coming up, huh?"

"Yeah, we're leaving Wednesday. I'm going to miss Ricardo a lot," she admits. "But it'll be good to see home again."

AJ nods, peering over at Mike. She also will miss her husband, painfully so, but she knows that he has to do this, that this will be their life for awhile now. Traveling and only getting to see each other a few days a week if they're lucky. And when he goes to film Santa's Little Helper, she perhaps will have a better chance at going with him to Vancouver after all, her eyes lighting up at the thought of it. This all will work out ok, one way or another...

And it does until Alex tweets about tattooing on his neck the date that she'd retired, Mike immediately raging at it despite AJ's only response to it being an eye roll. She tries to sooth him but her words do little to calm him, his anger growing as he rereads the tweet. Finally she grips his phone and holds it away from him, shaking her head at him until he leans forward and brushes her hair away, staring down at the date of her Divas title win etched in her flesh. He leans in and lightly kisses the marks, tracing them with his teeth and she shivers, kissing his shoulder in return.

-x

Tamina is backstage and she even goes out of her way to greet Mike as soon as he enters the arena, surprising him as he stops short and gapes at her. "Oh, hey," he tells her. She follows him to the main locker rooms, quiet and watchful. "I know AJ told you to keep an eye out for me, but I'm ok, really," he promises her, starting to get weirded out by her presence. "Thanks though."

Her dark eyes boring through him, she nods clippedly. "Alright, but if you need anything, you know where I'll be."

"Sure, right," he mumbles, watching as she walks towards the divas' locker room. He releases a breath and goes to look at the match board, relieved to have lost his shadow, when a hand grips his shoulder, digging painfully into the flesh there. "Excuse you, get your slimy hand off of me-" he's just demanded, turning around sharply to find Sandow glowering down at him. "What the hell do you want?"

"I'm challenging you to a match tonight," he tells him, finger pointed right in his face. Miz slaps it away, snarling up at him, before he returns it, angrily prodding Mike in the chest. "Or are you too scared that I'll reveal what a fraud you are, and have been this entire time? That your stunt double is the true star, and you're nothing but a desperate little boy pretending to be something special when you're absolutely nothing?"

Mike stares angrily at him, his icy blue eyes narrowed. "Fine," he says through gritted teeth. "Fine. I'll show you, I'll show everyone. I never needed you, I never needed Alex... I'm fine on my own!" He turns and storms off, body trembling at the rush of anger and pain he'd felt at Sandow's insults.

Tamina turns when she hears this blow up starting, watching Mike leave the scene. She walks towards Sandow and examines him, gaze far from impressed as he looks back at her. "Did it make you feel special?" she asks him. "Raking Mike over the coals just after his wife left the company unexpectedly? Not that he is, but he's feeling pretty alone right now... and I admit, he's an annoying piece of work nine times out of ten, but he loves AJ, and that was always enough for me to give him a break. You claimed to be his best friend once upon a time, and although he reacted poorly to the audience beginning to favor you, he does have a point. You never did anything to assist him, you gladly took the spotlight away from him, and made his self-confidence issues worse." They stare at each other and she rolls her eyes. "Men... Of course he has self-confidence issues, have you seen him? He's been trying to prove himself in this business since the moment he walked through those halls. This is the man who was kicked out of the locker room for months because he was a rookie and did one wrong thing, and is still seen as that Real World guy who doesn't really belong here by quite a few people, despite being here for over almost ten years. I know your road's been far from smooth as well, but you two have more in common than you realize. He did helprebuild you from the mess your career fell into after you lost your Money in the Bank briefcase, while you were doing nothing but riding him into the ground again and again. I understand why you have problems with him but perhaps you should keep all of that in mind later on. He's not perfect, but no one is, especially in this business."

Her piercing gaze still haunting him, she turns sharply and walks away, leaving him gaping after her as he tries to formulate a response to her, and fails.

Tamina watches Naomi and Paige vs the Bellas, tilting her head as the match falls apart a bit towards the end, Naomi and Paige finally succeeding, but it's later on, when the other divas go to Kane, demanding a #1 contendership match and convincing him that a battle royal is the way to go, that she's truly interested, a smirk spreading across her lips as she considers her next action.

Mike paces around outside through the rest of the show, aware that his match is towards the end of the night. Back and forth, back and forth, breathing in the dry Texas air. He misses his wife. It's not until Alex comes out to talk to him that it all comes to the forefront and he grabs him, their height difference irrelevant as he slams him into the side of the building and glares at him. "You bastard," he breathes. "I know you don't like her that much, but what the hell was that?! Were you trying to humilate her? Well, you didn't. All you succeeded at doing was pissing me off." His hand is around Alex's throat, cutting off his oxygen as his fingers scrabble at Mike's wrist. Leaning in Mike sneers at him. "The only reason AJ and I will be going to you and Alicia's wedding is because Alicia is still a decent human being, and she deserves to have the wedding she wants, including the maid of honor she wants. It'll have nothing to do with you."

He releases him roughly and turns to walk back towards the building when Alex steps forward, coughing roughly as he struggles to get air back in his lungs. "Oh come on, Mike. You're acting like I'm the only one who's ever made fun of her tattoo."

"It wasn't the tattoo, you idiot!" he yells, spinning back around and pinning Alex with his glare, so wild with pain and anger that it makes Alex stop short. "You were celebrating that she left the business! As if she was so bothersome to you that you couldn't stand to be on the road with her a minute longer... How did Alicia react to that tweet, huh? Or did she not see it because she doesn't bother to follow you, since you follow so few of us yourself?" Alex looks like he wants to say something but Mike plows on, a tone of desperation overwhelming the anger and pain in his voice. "We're supposed to always have each other's backs, you know? Not just... leaving and backstabbing each other in public. It's not fair, it's not right. But what the hell do I know? I have to go compete against my former stunt double." He grits his teeth, walking back towards the arena and leaving Alex to stew over the last few minutes, rubbing his throat.

It's hard to focus, even harder to accept the audience's derision. But Mike wins, even if it's by shifty means- uses Sandow's tights to hold him down just a little longer, until the three count is hit... He doubts it's over, he's not that lucky, but for tonight... for one night... he's shut the man down, gave himself a little bit of breathing room to recover, refocus.

His sleep that night is restless, tossing and turning and reaching out for AJ just to find nothing but cool sheets next to him, and he wakes up breathless and struggling more than once. Relieved that he doesn't have a roommate this time, he gets up and walks out onto the balcony, staring out over the Texas nightlife, the air now cooler and less stifling. He'd been alerted at the tail end of Raw that he'd been booked for Main Event so he forces himself to go back, lay down, try to get some sleep, no matter how hard it is.

Even so, he's still exhausted, far from pleased with having to compete against Jack Swagger. One glance at his face is enough to anger Mike, remind him of all he'd put Ricardo through a few years back. Especially when Mike's heart isn't in it and he doubts his own ability to make the other man pay... but he shuts up and competes, almost feeling success in his grasp when there's a flash of blue, the audience begins to freak out, and... Sandow. Sandow distracts Mike, leaves him open to Swagger's offense, and pin. He stares up at the lights as the audience mocks him and Sandow sneers from the ramp, Swagger celebrating his cheap win. Mike knows, on some level, he deserves it after what he'd done on Monday to win, but he's so angry that it doesn't matter to him.

He gingerly sits up and glares at his former personal assistant, breathing heavily. This is far from over...