Ohio isn't as relaxing as Mike had hoped. For one thing, Ziggler is also there to support the Cleveland Cavaliers, and for another, WWE reps insist on having photo shoots with them and Flair. AJ stands off to the side, paying very little attention to any of it, and Mike feels horrible as he forces a smile on his face, trying not to glower over at Ziggler every time he speaks, his voice grating through him. Thankfully, NXT is touring in the area and Ryder joins them at some point, distracting Dolph from being quite as much of a nuisance towards he and AJ.
While they're off with Mike's dad, taking a picture, he cups AJ's face and draws her up to him for a warm kiss, ignoring his mom's cooing noise down the bar. "Thank you for being so understanding, I had no clue he was going to be here too when I asked if you wanted to come."
She smiles up at him, tugging at his shirt. "It's ok, husband. You both come from Ohio, of course he would be here when WWE has a series of events scheduled for this area. I expected it." She draws his arms around her and leans against his chest. "I hope it hasn't ruined your time off, though."
He doesn't say anything for a minute and she peeks over her shoulder at him, looking a little worried. "No," he finally murmurs, kissing her cheek. "You're here, I'm having a good time with my parents, that's the important thing."
"Damn straight," she smiles, kissing his hands. He stands behind her, listening to her and his mom chatter a bit about her book, the subjects she's touching on in it, while watching Zack and Dolph argue while playing darts in the corner, his dad a few feet away. They won't be staying for long, because of Smackdown the next night, but still. It's nice to be here, not having to think about WWE and his lack of a meaningful match at Money in the Bank.
They stay at the bar an hour or two more, laughing at Zack's boasting as he beats Dolph in darts for the third time, before heading back to his mom's house. AJ curls up against Mike's side and yawns lazily, tracing circles up his arm as he brushes his fingers through her hair. "Kinda weird not being in California despite knowing Ricardo's going to be there, huh?"
"He's gonna be in northern California," Mike mumbles. "Too far away to come stay with us even if we were there."
"I know, I was just thinking it's a first." She leans up and kisses him before closing her eyes. "Good night, husband."
"Night," he whispers, blinking up at the ceiling. Sleep isn't that hard to find usually, but tonight, for some reason, he just can't get there. Maybe because he's back at his childhood home, the memories of his parents and the divorce still fresh in his mind whenever he's here, or because of having to spend so much of the time with Ziggler after their confrontation in the parking lot- which thankfully hadn't been repeated in front of AJ- but whatever the cause, he's red-eyed and grim when he has to go to the airport the next morning to fly out to Louisiana.
AJ had opted to remain here, spend more time with his mother, since Mike would be back on Friday, and he kisses her softly before slipping out of bed. She stirs but doesn't wake up so he quietly dresses and leaves the room, making a quick pot of coffee. The smell will have the house awake soon, but he has no time so he leaves most of it behind, taking only a few sips from a mug before rinsing it out and ducking out of the back door, the caffeine enough to keep him awake on his way to the airport.
He orders another coffee when he arrives, depending on it to sustain him through the flight, where he ends up sitting next to Ziggler. They say very little, Dolph wearing earphones and listening to some ridiculous music that Zack must've recommended, while Mike catches up on social media. Neither even blink at having to share a rental car, Dolph taking over driving as Mike ducks into the passenger side and tries to catch at least a little sleep, the caffeine not doing well enough of a job to keep him awake any longer.
He's only just dozing when Dolph pulls to a stop, Mike groaning and sitting up straighter, squinting out at the arena. They do exchange a glance but it's still this side of animostic so Mike gets out of the car, grabs his bag, and walks towards the arena, ignoring Ziggler as he walks up behind him. They both stop to read the match board and Mike stops short, realizing that he has a match... against Ryback.
He stews while Dolph laughs behind him, finally speaking. "Good luck with that one." He slaps Mike hard on the back before walking back down the hall, humming.
"Son of a bitch," he sighs, going to get ready. His loss is no surprise, and afterwards he's just glad he didn't get trapped between Big Show and Ryback yet again. He's still holding his head when he hears Alicia talking loudly, snapping at Paige for speaking for her the week prior.
He follows their voices, watching as Alicia storms off, Paige staring after her incredulously. She spots him and smiles wearily. "I thought we were building something of a truce... guess not." Joining him, she looks him up and down. "You doing alright?"
"Yeah, just sore," he comments. "Something you get used to after wrestling Ryback."
She nods somberly, remembering Ricardo's stories. "Glad you're alright then."
He smiles wearly at her. "Alicia, huh?" She nods grimly and falls in step with him as they approach the locker rooms. "Well, good luck. If I can survive Ryback, you can her. Don't worry about it."
"Poor AJ, she leaves and all of sudden I keep fighting her best friends." Paige awkwardly brushes her hair out of her eyes. "Does that make things weird for you at all?"
Mike shrugs. "Not really, I think she understands for the most part. At least us guys, we have the tag titles, IC, US, and world title to fight over. You women, you only have one belt. It makes the field a lot smaller, right?"
She nods. "That's true. Well, I'm glad neither of you hold it against me. I don't ask for this, but when someone tries to step into my way, I have to teach them a lesson. It's just the way things are."
Her words stick with him the next few days as he returns to Ohio for Money in the Bank. Saturday is spent quietly, helping AJ and his mom prepare a meal, and then sitting around playing cards with them and his stepfather, smirking whenever he beats them. AJ fondly rolls her eyes after the fifth round that goes to him, swatting his arm. "I think he's cheating," she declares, slipping her hand up his sleeve to look for cards.
He shakes his head, trying not to laugh as she leans closer to him. "I can prove it," he says, slipping his shirt off and leaving him in his tank top. She eyes his tanned skin for a moment before turning back to the table. "Do you believe me?"
"I guess," she says coyly, gasping when he grips her around the waist and draws her into his lap. His fingers tease against her skin, tickling her and she bites her lip, trying not to give him the satisfaction. When his lips trace against her throat, though, she loses it and shivers, giggling helplessly. "Not fair, Mike Mizanin!" Swatting him on the chest, she twists around to glare at him but her anger fades when she stares down at the bright grin on his face. "Idiot," she sighs, pressing her forehead to his and lightly kissing him. "I love you."
He smirks and nuzzles into her, kissing her shoulder. She strokes his hair and listens to his breathing, neither of them aware of what's going on around them until he peeks up a few minutes later. "I think we ran my mom off," he murmurs into her neck, laughing weakly. "Oops."
She exhales and kisses the side of his face, looking only a little guilty. "Oops indeed..."
Seeing AJ off early Sunday sucks, but it allows him to turn his focus to Money in the Bank. The week of events ahead. He kisses her outside of the gate before releasing her hand, smiling at her. "I'll see you on Tuesday."
"See you then," she chirps, turning and skipping into line, old habits dying hard. Turning towards him one last time, she blows him a kiss before disappearing from sight.
He sighs and heads off for the arena. No match is booked for him tonight, of course, but he intends on being present for Big Show and Ryback's match. Ignoring the commentary's derision at having him out there, he smirks and watches the action. Ryback appears to have even less patience for his presence, grabbing him and throwing him over the table in the middle of the match. This is the opening Mike had been waiting for, expecting. He lunges into the ring and attacks Ryback, costing him the match by DQ. He's still Intercontinental champion, yes, but Mike feels proud with his actions anyway.
Paige, unfortunately, had lost her match due to yet another round of shenanigans thanks to Twin Magic, so she seems fairly glum when he meets up with her later. They're still rooming together, and she seems relieved for it when he has Ricardo on the phone for her after she gets out of the shower. "Hullo, love," she says, collapsing on the bed and burying her face in the pillow as Mike turns to go out into the hallway to get some ice, give them some privacy.
He wants to talk to AJ before bed but his mental state is much clearer than Paige's, so he doesn't mind giving her this. Especially considering how little time she and Ricardo seem to get to spend together, their opposing schedules doing little to help with this. As he wanders down the hall, he wonders how they'll hold up.
He and AJ have their own difficulties, yes, but her main focus being writing her book leaves things a bit more flexible for them, like with the trip to Ohio this weekend. Paige and Ricardo, however, do not have the same luxury. By what Mike understands, when she's home he's doing things for the dojo, and when he's available, she has Smackdown and weekend events to focus on. Add to that Total Divas weighing on them, and everything else... He almost hates himself for thinking about it, but he can't help wondering what longevity their relationship may have.
When he returns, tired from walking in circles for at least ten minutes and with a bucket full of ice that he almost feels like dumping on his legs, Paige smiles at him, appearing guilty as she hands over his phone. "Thank you, Mike," she says, curling up on her bed and watching him as he settles in at the bottom of his bed.
"No problem." He hovers over AJ's cell number for a moment. "Ricardo doing alright? He have fun this weekend in NoCal?"
"Yeah, it sounded like he had a blast." She sounds wistful and Mike secondguesses dialing his wife. "Do you miss her a lot? Because I miss him more and more." Mike stares at her, putting his phone down and she smiles weakly. "At first, it was ok, he was happy and I understood, but now... we're both so busy... and I'm still not sure if he's as ok as he claims to be about the Total Divas situation. I don't know what to do."
There are tears in her eyes and suddenly Mike is the one with no clue on what to do. But he stands and joins her, wrapping his arms around her in a loose hug as she cries onto his shoulder. "I miss AJ every minute I'm not with her," he says honestly. "But the moments that we are together always makes it worth it." She sniffs and looks up at him. "Do you feel the same way about Ricardo?" Her nod is emphatic and he smiles. "Then you'll make it. Just gotta hang on, right?"
"Right, of course. Thank you, Mike," she breathes, slowly pulling away from him and wiping her eyes.
"You're welcome." He smirks at her. "What would you do without me?"
She rolls her eyes and laughs, inhaling shakily. "None of us would want to find out."
He grins at her before calling AJ, leaving it on speaker so they both could speak to her.
-x
The next day, he and Paige drive together to Raw, where he finds that he has a match against Big Show. He sighs and squeezes her shoulder before going off to get ready, in the proper mindset for such a match against his former tag partner. Through the night, he learns that she's challenged both Bellas to a two-on-one match, but he has no time to check in with her, too focused on his own match.
When it's time, he tries to avoid Show as best as he can, grimacing whenever he fails. Ryback is out at commentary and Show throws Mike into him, which leads into both men arguing as Miz rolls back into the ring and wins by countout. He makes a run for it, laughing as he grips his burning, stinging chest. All of Big Show's chops had done him no favors, leaving his flesh red and raw.
He's sitting in the locker room, struggling to catch his breath through the lingering pain, when Paige's match begins. She tries, really does, but with no help, she falls to their uneven offense. He feels bad for her, but there's little more he can do than meet her at the end of the show and drive her back to the arena, only just able to pull a shirt on finally over his inflamed chest. "You ok?"
She nods grimly, staring out of the window as the scenery passes them by on the way to the hotel.
He sighs softly, all too aware of how multiple unfair losses feel. "I'm sorry." She doesn't respond so he turns his attention back to the road and getting them to the hotel safely so they can sleep off tonight's various aches and pains.