Dario Cueto's temple has, actually, surprisingly enough, become a sort of home for Morrison. He'd sweat, he'd sacrificed, he'd bit and clawed and scratched his way back into relevance here and although, outside of Star and perhaps Puma, he doesn't have many friends here, he enjoys it. It's creatively open, unlike how stifled he'd felt in WWE for so many years. His meeting with Alberto the week prior had, yes, shook him up a bit, but he's determined not to let it undermine his successes to this point. So, eager for a way to enter the Trios tournament, he listens from out in the hallway while Puma and Konnan discuss Puma's tag partners, one of which apparently will be Hernandez.
Determined not to seem worried, Morrison steps into the room and announces that he will be Puma's second partner. It's clear as soon as the words leave his lips that Konnan hates the idea, disgust and distrust pouring from his dark gaze, but Puma knows Johnny, perhaps even respects him, so he shakes his hand. For this reason, John (and Hernandez) will be by Puma's side for his match against King Cuerno later on this evening, as will Cuerno's partners for the Trios tournament, but John's mind is elsewhere once this piece of business is handled.
Leaving the training room, he ventures down the hall until he comes upon Sexy Star. She's fidgety, eyes darting here and there, her fingers anxiously running through her hair, trying to unknot parts of it that had apparently gotten tangled up in the straps of her mask. He smiles a little and joins her, cupping her hands for a moment and kissing her palms before gently untangling her hair, aware of how painful such a thing can be. She holds still patiently as he focuses on the wisps of her blonde hair, only undoing her mask a time or two to get it free of the clasps, careful to ensure that it remains on her face. When he finally finishes, he leans in and kisses her and she sighs gratefully against his lips. "Gracias," she murmurs, her English still broken, though he's trying to help her with it now and again. "I was trying to... eh, prepare for this match, but... I suppose I was too shaky."
His arms are warm when he hugs her close and she clings to him, worried. Worried that Pentagon Jr. will try to finish what he'd started the week before, or that something else may go wrong. She likes Super Fly, the two of them bonding after the week prior, and the thought of having to compete against him leaves her with a squirmy sensation that something's off about all of this. But there's no time to think further about it as her match is starting. She kisses John once more before making her way to the ring.
He's still standing there, watching, when Dario Cueto, of course, makes his way to the ringside area and announces that this will be no ordinary match. No, it will now be mask vs mask. John's heart drops as he considers. Either Star loses her mask, or she is forced to take her new friend's mask, which is one of the most terrible things a luchador could do to the other. But there's nothing to be done for it, so the two competitors face off. They fight aggressively, neither wanting to lose the symbol that means so much to them.
Finally Star wins and John feels like he can breathe again- until he sees the turmoil she's in, trying to pardon Super Fly from taking his mask, but he insists, all but pleading with her just to do it. She walks over and painfully, slowly, pulls the mask from his face, turning away in disgust with the situation, with Dario Cueto, with herself. But Super Fly, his face visible to all in the temple for the first time ever, holds no blame for her, gaining her attention, and the two of them hug in the middle of the ring. It's a sweet moment and John's relieved for it... until Pentagon Jr. appears, throws Star out of the ring roughly, and proceeds to break Super Fly's arm.
John is still frozen in the hall, watching the monitor blankly as Star gets her feet back under her and rushes into the ring, too late to help but there to support, and protect Super Fly from any further damage as Pentagon Jr. leaves the ringside area and glares at them. The trainer comes then and, between the two of them, they get Super Fly backstage safely, but it's clear that Star's control of her emotions are wearing thin. He follows the concession quietly as they walk Super Fly to the trainer's room and, as soon as he's settled to be examined, Star escapes the room and immediately buries herself in John's arms.
He holds her and murmurs to her, stroking her hair, before the main event announcements begin to echo through the temple. She realizes too, apparently, because she pulls away and wipes at what of her face she can reach under her mask. "Go," she says shakily. "I'll be here when you return." Cupping his face, she kisses him- he kisses back, not minding that her lip is trembling and her skin is damp with more tears.
He kisses her forehead and nose, staring down at her tenderly before heading out to help Puma. It all goes quickly, he does what he can, and finally Puma successfully defends his title. He congratulates his tag partner, pointedly ignoring Hernandez, before going backstage as fast as he can. Star is still standing outside of the trainer's office, looking lost, and John hugs her from behind, relieved when she recognizes him by touch alone, and sinks into his arms. "Let's go home," he urges her softly.
She nods and he kisses her neck before trailing his hand down her arm, curling his fingers around hers and leading the way to the exit.
-x
Still reeling from his loss against Swagger on Main Event, Mike spends Wednesday wandering around the town, trying to get his head back on straight. He wants to do something for Smackdown, especially with Marine 4's release coming up soon, but he can't decide what. He's gone in a loop around the hotel he's booked in before turning back, staring up at the tall building, when it hits him. One thing he can do to honor his wife, and still do what he needs to do to promote his movie.
Kane is still overseeing things backstage when he approaches him that night. "Hey, Kane. I have an idea for the show tonight." He's still tense after the divas overwhelmed him on Monday, mismatched eyes locked on him. Mike takes a breath, steeling himself to not get freaked out by his anger. "I would like to host a MizTV segment to advertise Marine 4 tonight," he says quickly. "If you have time for it, that is."
Kane rolls his eyes and stares down at the sheet, impatiently scribbling it onto the sheet. "Fine, it's scheduled," he says blandly.
"Thanks," Mike exclaims before quickly ducking out of the room, not wanting to risk Kane's wrath. He digs his hands in his designer jean pockets and releases a breath. AJ had given him MizTV when she'd been general manager, and he had despised it at first, but now... now he looks forward to it with bittersweet fondness, queuing up Marine 4 clips and overseeing the set being prepared when it's time. He's anxious and a little worried, but the movie's good, he's proud of his acting in it... even with Summer Rae trying to steal his spotlight as well.
He's standing in the ring when the show comes back from commercials, smirking around at the crowd. He's talking up Marine 4, all of his accomplishments leading up to it, when Summer Rae interrupts. He grimaces at the sight of his so-called costar, trying to dissuade her from talking so he can continue properly promoting the movie, but she's as greedy and annoying as she was on-set. They bicker for awhile, going back and forth about Mizdow, Miz's ire raising when... Mizdow himself comes out and Miz stares him down as he approaches the ring.
It's a weakness not many know of- Miz hates being alone. Inside the business, out of it... Not that he's great at keeping certain friendships, but after he had betrayed Morrison, he'd been paired with Daniel Bryan in NXT, then Alex, of course. Daniel had taken himself off of the show within weeks, and Alex, though being more successful and having more longevity as Miz's cohort, had eventually gone his own way as well. Big Show, Truth, and now Mizdow... So many tag partners or associates had come and gone, it gives Mike a headache to think about. But with Morrison, Ricardo, Del Rio and now AJ out of the business, it leaves him with very few people he truly trusts.
Although Mizdow had been an annoyance the last couple of months, Mike's feeling strangely vulnerable right now, Summer Rae sneering at him, so when his former personal assistant steps up to him, glaring at him, Mike decides to let bygones be bygones. Offers him his job back, as long as Mizdow apologizes and shakes his hand. He's surprised when Mizdow takes his hand, shaking it, and a grin spreads across his face as he nods gleefully, looking smugly out over the crowd... until Mizdow's apology registers with him and he looks blankly at the man as he says something about 'doing this sooner', pulling Miz closer and slamming him down, his ears ringing from the impact. He scrambles out of the ring, struggling to focus as Mizdow yells out at him. He's halfway up the ramp when he turns back around and realizes Mizdow and Summer are staring at each other and... and... "Ew!" he gags, turning and escaping that nonsense as quickly as he can.
He's only just made it a few steps past the curtain when he realizes Tamina is standing off to the side, her arms crossed over her chest and a dangerous look on her face. Mike gapes at her before coughing into his fist, realizing that he's not the only one angered and disgusted by Mizdow's actions right now. Deciding to give her space, he skirts past her and enters the locker room, relieved to drop onto the bench and bury his face into his hands. He had been oddly happy when Mizdow was apologizing, thinking that perhaps things would go back to normal and he'd at least have someone on his side, but things are never that easy.
He sighs and unfolds from the bench, wearily grabbing his bag and sorting through things when there's a knock on the door. He looks up, confused, before opening it to find Tamina standing out there, her lips pursed unhappily. He stares at her for a moment before snagging his bag and lifting it from the floor, following her outside. She's quiet and he's not sure what to say so the drive back to the hotel drags on awkwardly until his phone rings. "Hello, sweetheart," he greets his wife, not too surprised to see it's her calling.
"Are you ok, husband?" She'd obviously been watching, worried but giving him time to get things sorted before calling him.
"Yeah," he says, rubbing his face gingerly. "I think I have a new roommate too," he adds after a moment, glancing over at Tamina. She does nothing to negate this assumption, eyes locked on the road while she passes a car that's going too slow for her tastes, and he smiles. "I'll call you when we arrive at the hotel, alright?"
"Ok, talk soon."
He hangs up and looks over at Tamina once more. "Thank you." She glances towards him, nodding clippedly, and he returns his focus to the road ahead as well, somehow comforted by letting her take control of things. Tamina may not be talkative but it's definitely a step above loneliness.
-x
After lengthy travel and some live events, Raw is held in London England. Miz stares towards the arena, breathing in the crisp April air, picking at his scarf. Early in the card is the Divas battle royal for a number 1 contendership towards the title and he watches it wistfully, wondering how AJ would've done... when it comes down to Paige and Naomi. They fight but Paige gets the upperhand and eliminates Naomi, taking the #1 contendership. He's happy for the girl, listening to her post-win interview while he ties up his boots- he's scheduled in a rematch against Sandow, which he's not looking forward to much at all after last Thursday when his hopes had been dashed yet again-, when the audience starts to react negatively to something.
Curious, he looks up to find Naomi raging on Paige, beating her up and throwing her into the barricade again and again, kneeing her harshly in the midsection and ignoring the referee as the brutal attack continues on. He's on his feet, watching numbly as his future movie co-star is battered down and left laying, motionless, on the floor. He can only imagine how AJ and Ricardo are feeling, watching this right now- if they are, anyway, considering Ricardo trains a lot on Monday nights and AJ is currently working on a book that she'd found a publisher interested in shortly before announcing her retirement, and... Forgetting his own match, he walks quickly to the curtains and watches as referees and trainers wheel the woman backstage on a stretcher, her head held steady in a neckbrace.
She always looks pale in comparison to the rest of them with their spray tans, but now she looks grey and weak, and he swallows roughly, instinctively finding her hand in the mess of medical equipment used to stabilize her as they took her up the ramp. Right now, she's as alone as he is, her boyfriend and frenemy both in the States, and he wonders why they've never really talked before, except for a short conversation after Santa's Little Helper had been announced. He squeezes her fingers and feels a little relief when she tightens her fingers around his, his terrified blue eyes softening. He can't stay with her, waiting until she's settled in the trainer's office and they're busy doing what they can for her before determining if she needs to go to the hospital or not, before rushing out for his match against Sandow.
He falls into that old act, refusing to show everything that's currently going wrong, antagonizing the audience and sneering as Sandow walks out, Summer Rae by his side. Still using my music, and my gear, and everything else... Miz glares at him, the match starting quickly, but he's distracted, his thoughts with Paige suffering backstage and how many phone calls he'll have to make once he's done, and it opens him up to a reversal of his own smarmy victory the week prior when Sandow rolls him up and uses his tights to pin him to the mat. He pounds a fist against the mat before getting out of there, the loss nearly meaningless as he rushes through the halls and finds the trainer's office after getting turned around in his haste. Paige is still on the stretcher and the trainer is midsentence about transferring her to a nearby hospital when Miz steps up. "I'm coming with her," he says, voice steadier than he feels.
No one tries to argue with him so he's with her in the ambulance transport when her dark eyes flutter open and she mutters what sounds like Ricardo's name. "No, sorry, Paige, he's not here," he tells her, leaning forward so she can see him. "But as soon as I know you're gonna be ok, I'll call him and let you talk to him, alright?" She makes another low noise, hopefully a yes, and he squeezes her hand again as her eyes slip shut. Her nails biting into his palm is a relief and he sits back with a small smile, keeping their fingers interlaced the rest of the ride.
After hours of sitting around and watching doctors coming and going, Paige in and out for most of it, she's diagnosed with internal injuries and deep bruises across her abdomen, which Mike can only imagine against her pale skin. He approaches the doctor who'd announced this sobering news and clears his throat to get his attention. "Uh, WWE, the business we work for, is probably going to plan on flying her back to the States... is that safe? With the internal injuries, and..." He'd heard enough horror stories over years of air travel and the thought of her being alone, if something should go wrong...
"Do you have a number I can contact?" the doctor asks, his accent thick with exhaustion and Mike realizes he's probably towards the end of his shift. "I'll discuss it with the WWE doctors." He holds his hand out and Miz fumbles for a moment, pulling his phone out and finding the number of Jason, handing it over to him. He dials the number and, once Jason answers, they discuss the situation quickly. Mike can only just hear Jason on the other end, suggesting that a WWE doctor accompany Paige on the flight, and this seems to quell the British doctor's reluctance, and Mike's worry at once.
Paige is discharged in the middle of the night, but she's still weak and in pain. Mike guides her out of the hospital and they slip into a taxi that the hospital had nicely enough contacted for them. Paige's luggage is waiting for them at the airport with Tamina, who looks weary but there's a deep relief in her dark eyes as she glances Paige over, nodding at the girl as she hands the bag over to Mike. He thanks her quietly and she walks off, clearly in need of sleep herself. Mike's dragging himself but he stays with Paige, keeping her company and trying to distract her from the pain she's clearly in despite the medicine she'd been given to ease it, the both of them relieved when Jason arrives. He sits next to her and begins a standard examination. "Alright, you're gonna be fine," he tells her, resting a hand on her arm. "We'll get you back to Florida in one piece, gotta get you rested up well before you and Mike here escape away to Canada to film that movie, right?"
She nods tiredly, barely noticing as Mike tugs his phone out once more and dials a number, ignoring the terrible roaming charges that will be sure to greet him on the other side of this trip between all of the calls to AJ and now this. It's Ricardo and he sounds frantic, answering on the first ring and nearly yelling into Mike's ear. He hands the phone right over to Paige and her face lights up when she hears Ricardo's voice, some of the grey easing from her complexion as she talks to him, convincing him that she's going to be ok, and will be home very soon.
Glancing over at Mike, she smiles and mouths, "Thank you."
He nods, lips twitching.