Things change quickly in wrestling. They all know it, they mostly embrace it. It makes life interesting, it keeps them on their toes. Paige and Alicia's rocky relationship has once more swung into friendship, the two of them booked in the same five divas match at Wrestlemania's pre-show. Sitting side by side on a rental car outside of Raw's arena, Paige is telling Alicia about Ricardo's return, how good it was to see him, watch him wrestle in Florida once more. Then Alicia says, "I think I want to divorce Alex."
Paige immediately stops talking. Gapes at her, tries to formulate a response. "What's he doing?"
"He's not doing anything per se," she sighs. "It's just... he's changed. I mean, I'm not that shallow that I'd leave him just because of his looks, but..." Her voice drops to a whisper. "He kind of scares me now. There's this... wild look in his eye... It's been growing in him since his knee injury, maybe before that. I wanted... to be a good wife for him, but I think we just moved too fast. We started as a ... sex-only kind of thing, you know?" She closes her eyes at the memories, when things were so simple and easy. "Even us dating was fine. It was just... after we moved in together that it started to fall apart... and then the wedding."
Paige reaches over and rubs her back as she buries her face in her hands. "Foxy..."
"I wanted to love him, I really did. He was so sweet at first, kind of silly and patient with me even when I was in one of my moods. But now... I'm so busy with all of the drama leading up to Wrestlemania, and Total Divas, and he's wrapped up in this... NXT stuff he has going on, we barely talk and when I see tweets from him... they always seem so angry and just... not the man that would hold me at night and share his deepest secrets and hopes with me, you know?" She swallows and sniffs, turning to stare miserably at Paige. "How does it all go so wrong, so quickly?"
"I'm so sorry," Paige whispers, reaching over to hug her. "I'm not sure what to tell you, just... you need to do whatever makes you happy, you know? If this marriage is... is toxic, then maybe a clean break, even if it's just for awhile, would be best for both of you."
Alicia nods miserably, resting her face on Paige's shoulder as Paige strokes through her new, brown extensions. "Thanks, Paige," she breathes out. "I probably won't make a decision until after Wrestlemania, but it's nice to know I have you to talk to again." She squeezes Paige tight around the middle and grins when she lets out a "oof!"
-x
Mike isn't happy when he returns home on Friday night, having lost in another tag match on Smackdown because Owens kept abandoning him. He stomps up the drive, all but slamming his key into the lock, before entering the house and immediately releasing a breath, most of the tension leaving his shoulders. The house smells like baby soap and AJ's perfume and he can't be angry while surrounded with the sounds of his month old baby cooing and fussing from the bedroom, AJ's soft words greeting him as he stands in the doorway, watching them.
"... think daddy's home," she says. "You wanna get up and help me look for him?" She's just lifted Sara from the folds of her basinett when she looks over and realizes Mike is right there, eyes brightening. "Never mind, sweetie, daddy's right here," she chuckles as he walks up behind her and takes Sara from AJ, kissing her nose softly.
"Hello," he greets the baby before leaning in to kiss AJ slowly, hand resting against the chain of the necklace he'd given her the week prior. "I'm so happy to be home."
She nods at him, reaching out to rest her hand over his. "I saw Smackdown. Owens is an awful tag partner."
He chuckles and takes the baby out to the living room for some tummy time, settling her on the blanket they'd set up just for this. She presses her tiny hands in the soft fabric, pushing herself up wobbly, and he rests a hand on her lower back, making faces at her until she rests back down against the floor. She's still not entirely strong yet, but he's sure she'll be rolling over on her own soon, sitting up and preparing to crawl. AJ's across from them, smiling softly, when Mike glances at her. "Sara Louisa's first Wrestlemania season," he says softly. "Next year she'll probably be old enough to come to one... and it'll be in Florida, so she can stay with Sofia and the others..."
"Yeah," AJ sighs, running her fingers in front of her little girl's face, chuckling as she tries once more to push herself up. "You think when she's older, she'll want to be a wrestler too? I'm not sure how I feel about that. It's such a hard world..."
Mike leans in and kisses AJ on the side of the head. "If she does, we'll be there for her. She won't have it like we did, struggling to learn, to find her place. We'll help her see the hard, and the good, parts of the business, and let her make her own decisions. That's really the best we can do, you know?"
AJ nods. "I do. It's just hard to imagine her in that world, in pain and overwhelmed by it all... but I guess that's where our experience comes in to help, huh?" She finds his hand and squeezes it while watching Sara grow more and more control over her upper body.
"Exactly," Mike whispers, gripping her chin and drawing her closer for a kiss. "No matter what, Sara Louisa will be fine. We'll make sure of it."
-x
Mike loses in a six man tag match on Raw, but it's fine. He'd kind of wanted that loss, mostly because it meant Kevin Owens felt like he'd had the last few times he'd tried to team with the man. He can't help but smirk when he realizes that Stardust had followed him, had barely hesitated in leaving Owens behind as well. It'll be every man for himself come this Sunday, but for now, they have shared interests, and that's all Mike could ask for.
He's just made it back to Alberto's locker room, about to take a shower, when he realizes his phone is ringing. He goes for it and finds that it's Alex. Grimacing to himself, he answers it. "Hello?"
"Mike, is Alicia around?" he asks immediately, no preamble or attempt at politeness.
"No?"
"Good. Look, I think... I mean, I don't know, but I feel like she's... she's going to leave me," Alex confesses. "Things have been strained lately, and I just... it feels like we're reaching a breaking point and I don't know what to do. She likes this other guy and things just aren't getting better."
Mike sits down heavily. It's unfortunate, sure, but considering how Alex has changed, and not for the better lately, he almost couldn't blame Alicia. Maybe, with some time and distance, Alex could get his head back on straight, be the man that Mike had once called a friend, but right now, he doesn't see how it's possible. "I don't know what you want me to do," he finally says in a defeated voice. "It's her choice, man. I'm not saying she's going to, but if it happens, well..."
"Can't you talk to her? Something?" Alex begs.
"She's your wife, man. I don't know what's going on between you two." Mike sighs. "Look, I'm sorry. I hope things get better, but I have to go." Alex is suspiciously silent as Mike prepares to end the call. "Take care of yourself, man." When he ends the call, it feels like a goodbye and Mike grimaces, hating all of this. Squaring his shoulders, he releases a breath and turns his focus onto Wrestlemania.