Mike purses his lips at Sara Louisa. Teases his fingers down her stomach gently, watching her eyes track him with a soft smile. "Silly girl," he says, finishing with her fresh diaper and throwing the old one away before snapping her onesie back together and picking her up, supporting her against his shoulder as he wanders around the room, humming under his breath. AJ is still asleep so he makes sure he's quiet, determined that she gets as much rest as possible while he's home.
He's in the middle of another circle of the room when he hears a knock at the front door and winces, relieved that the person didn't press the bell. Soothing a fussy Sara Louisa, he course corrects and walks down the hall, peeking out of the peephole before swallowing hard, staring down at his daughter's dark head momentarily before unlocking and opening the door.
Maryse Ouellet is standing there in her golden glory and he gapes at her, still awed by her beauty even after all of these years. He hadn't seen her since that whole rumor nonsense that caused more trouble between him and AJ and he's not sure what to think about all of this. Adjusting Sara, he opens the door further. "Maryse? Are you alright?"
She gives a weird nod-shake motion before glancing at the baby, eyes softening a bit before facing him. "May I come in?" she asks, the years diminishing her accent a fair amount. He nods, stupefied, and guides her in, closing the door and turning towards the couch with the baby. She takes a chair and watches as he adjusts Sara comfortably in his arms, turning towards her. "Fatherhood suits you," she sighs, shifting awkwardly in her seat. "I heard, I am... so happy for you and AJ."
He smiles awkwardly, sensing that there's something more than the baby that she's here about, but he waits. Strokes a hand along Sara's soft cheek and watches as she dozes off against him. A sight that he'll never get tired of seeing. "No offense, Maryse, but AJ is asleep down the hall," he says quietly. "What do you need?"
Maryse swallows, clearly bracing herself for something... but before she can speak, they hear footsteps heading their way and both look up in time to see AJ freeze in the hallway, staring at Maryse. "Oh," she says softly, self-consciously patting at her sleep-mussed hair. She's wearing one of Mike's shirts and boxers, with no makeup, and she's never looked more beautiful to him, but he understands.
He gets to his feet and walks over to her, greeting her with a soft kiss before leading her to the couch, hoping to give her enough confidence by presence alone to not feel ashamed in her own house despite Maryse's near flawless appearance. She takes the baby from him as soon as she's settled down, cooing down at Sara's sleeping face, before turning back to look at them. "I was just asking Maryse why she was here," Mike tells her softly. She nods and they both turn expectantly towards Maryse.
The woman looks even more nervous now, folding her legs at the ankle and taking a breath. "This is a bit... of a hard thing to word. May I have a glass of water while I think?" she asks, peering from Mike to AJ. "Please?"
Mike nods, quickly standing up to get it for her. Not wanting to leave the women alone for too long, he pours a bottle of water into a glass and returns, handing it to her before offering a second glass to AJ, who refuses it with a faint shake of her head. He shrugs and downs it instead before turning back towards Maryse. "Go ahead," he says, certain that he's not going to like what she's about to say.
Maryse closes her eyes and puts her glass down on a coaster on the table in front of her. "I thought after I left WWE that I could start a clothing line, but it didn't go far... then I thought I had enough savings to keep me going until I could get my real estate dealings going strong, and maybe supplement it with movie roles. Unfortunately, it didn't last as long as I expected, and..." She wipes at her face, looking more stressed out and tired than Mike's ever seen her. "I need help." She stares from Mike to AJ and back. "I need help getting back into the business. You're the only one I trust, Mike. Please..."
He stares at AJ, peers down at their daughter, before turning back to her. "What do you need me to do? I can talk to Vince, or-"
"No," she says, gazing at him helplessly. "Eh, I know this is the worst possible time, your family is beautiful and your little girl is precious, but... let me be your wife again."
AJ sputters and Mike sits up straighter. "Maryse-"
"I mean just on TV!" she says, twisting her hands together. "You see, I can't even explain myself properly." Releasing a breath, she groans. "I will help you in a match or something, I will... re-introduce myself, I'll make it so they can't say no to me. Please? It's an awful thing to ask, I know... I just... I need to do something, or I'm going to lose my house and everything else that matters to me."
She looks desperate, choking on thin air, and dammit, it pulls at Mike's heartstrings. He glances at AJ before facing Maryse once more. "Mind giving us a minute to talk? Take a walk, try to calm down. I'll come find you."
She nods, hope still ablaze in her dark eyes, before she collects her things and heads outside to pace around on the sidewalk in front of their house. AJ sits there tensely for a moment, staring at their little girl. "There's no way, Mike. No way. My thinking you were with her almost wrecked us once, I can't-"
Mike scoots closer, tilting her jaw up and kissing her softly, muffling her words. He continues until her words fade entirely, her breaths panting out against his jaw as she leans towards him, mindful of the sleeping baby in her arms. "I know," he says, blue eyes fixed and troubled. "It's a stupid thing to ask of us after everything, but I look at our little girl and I hope someday, if she needs help and turns to someone to ask, they don't just throw her out without at least thinking of a way to make it all work. You know?" He takes AJ's hand and brushes his fingers against her knuckles, against the ring that he had so lovingly put on her hand almost two years ago. "I will only have one wife for the rest of my life, and that's you... but she needs our help, sweetheart."
AJ searches his face for long, tense moments, before she closes her eyes and rests her lips against Sara Louisa's forehead. "Your daddy's too sweet for his own good, baby girl," she whispers to her. Sitting back up, she frowns at Mike. "Fine. You can help her get her foot back in the company. But this charade can't last for long!"
He kisses her. Hugs her. Promises, "It won't, it won't, it won't," and gets up to let Maryse back in, telling her what he and AJ had agreed to. Maryse lights up like it's Christmas, hugging them all and whispering to Sara that she has saints for parents, before leaving in a bustle of perfume and sparkles. Mike sighs and smiles wearily at AJ, trying to prepare for what's to come after this.
Maryse is on his arm for all of Wrestlemania weekend. They go to golf games together, they dress up for the Hall of Fame, and she's as wifely as possibly can be. He tries to stomach it but he misses AJ, her mischevious smile and the sound of her voice when he's asleep... how her eyes rest on him whenever he's lost in thought about the next match, the next movie role, the next interview. It won't be permanent, he reminds himself again and again...
Wrestlemania, it had been easy to convince Maryse to stay in the crowd. His match is a ladder match with six other men and there are bodies and ladders flying all over the place, it's too easy to get injured. He's sure he's won the damn thing, sitting on top of the ladder in all of his smugness, when Zack Ryder comes out of nowhere, pushes him down, and takes it. Holds the belt high and celebrates with his father once he hits the mat.
Everything after that seems to be fast forwarded for Mike. An inkling of an awful, brilliant idea, that gives Maryse what she wants, and what he wants too... He feels bad for Zack, on some level, but the business isn't fair, so he beats him. He humiliates him. He kisses Maryse in the ring and he heads backstage with her on his arm and the title belt on the other, relieved that AJ had agreed to not watch Raw tonight.
They've barely taken five steps past the curtain when a production person comes at them. "Carrano wants to see you!" Mike smirks, as Carrano is in charge of the woman's division... but when they actually go to sit down in his makeshift office, he doesn't say much about putting Maryse back in WWE as an active wrestler. No, a lot of what he says escapes Mike's disbelievingly numb brain but it registers after a few painful moments.
"... looking to revamp Total Divas... cutting some of the women, bringing in new blood... We've been keeping an eye on you both this past weekend and we think you would both be perfect for the show... Miz, with your knowledge of reality TV and Maryse, with everything that you can bring to the table, that multi-lingual intrigue... it'd be a great step for both of your careers. What do you think?"
He swallows and, aware that being caught in this lie by one of the higher ups in WWE could leave him stripped of his title or worse, fired, intones after Maryse's excited chatter about how perfect it all seems, how she can't wait. He peers down at the Intercontinental title gleaming benignly on his shoulder and feels like throwing up.
Lasting until he gets back to the hotel and finds his phone, dials AJ's cell and waits for her to answer, hoping that she's not asleep already, is torture. When she answers, it's worse, his self-loathing growing as he breathes out, "Sweetheart, I have something to tell you... and you're not going to like it..."
He only feels worse when, after he explains the entire story, the curse that slips from her lips causes Sara Louisa to wake up, crying. When AJ hangs up on him to tend to the baby, he slumps down and buries his face in his hands, aware that he deserves everything she's going to say or do to him when he gets home.