"Is it awful?" AJ asks sleepily, burying her face in Mike's chest and pressing soft kisses to his ribs.
"Is what awful?" he asks quietly, kissing the top of her head as she slowly eases her way up to his lips.
"That I really want you and Maryse to be drafted to opposite brands?" she asks, just to gasp out loud as he grips her hips and slowly kisses her.
"No," he whispers to her. "It's not awful." She exhales against his lips and whimpers when he shifts their positions, blanketing her with his warmth. "I love you, sweetheart."
"And I love you, husband," she murmurs. "Raw or Smackdown, with Maryse or without, that won't change." He kisses her again and she giggles against him, her fingers tangling in his hair as she guides him further.
-x
The weekend is a mess, the week is worse. Mike watches bemusedly from ringside as Del Rio wrestles Darren Young, commentating with Maryse by his side. Before too long, he gets up, looking like he wants to cause harm to Darren Young... but when it just leads to Del Rio losing, it's all he can do to not laugh even with the camera pointed right at him. He saunters backstage, Maryse on his arm, and she smiles at him. "You did that on purpose, oui?"
He nods. Thinks he should maybe feel bad about it, but remembering the look in Ricardo's eyes the last time he'd seen him quickly rids him of that impulse.
-x
Draft days are always hectic. Odd. No one sleeps well, they're all cranky and high strung. Fights break out backstage often because of it, which means Mike barely blinks when he brushes past Sin Cara and Simon Gotch exchanging punches. Maryse greets him with a faint smile. Neither of them are concerned, whether they're together or apart, they know they'll be fine. They're the most must see couple in WWE, and they will continue to be must see even if they're apart.
When Mike finds he's booked in a tag match with Rusev against Zack Ryder and Darren Young, he can't help but feel uncomfortable. He'd put Zack behind him- Zack had seemingly put Miz behind him as well, moving onto the US title and getting back at Rusev for hurting Ziggler on Raw- but he knows it has to sting, somewhere deep inside. And Mike does feel bad about it, sometimes, because he and Zack had been friends. But it wouldn't be the first time, nor the last, a title opportunity had cost him a friend.
What he doesn't expect is Darren Young to beat him. 24 hours after Del Rio had been pinned soundly to the mat by this very man, Mike finds himself tapping out to the crossface chicken wing. He struggles painfully afterwards, ignoring Rusev's incensed yelling as they trudge up the ramp, Lana and Rusev's bellows barely registering with him. He's still in pain when he's drafted, but it's a relief to be on the A show, on Raw, where of course he belongs. Not to mention he looks better in red than blue anyway. Maryse smiles and laughs as he kisses her hand for the camera, the two of them winking once they're off-screen and able to do whatever they want once more.
Which is settling in in his locker room and watching as the supplemental drafts continue once Smackdown goes off-air. His arm is loosely draped over the back of the couch, Maryse scanning through social media. Naomi gets drafted, then Bo, and Axel. Mike blinks, checks his watch. Frowns and looks at it closer. "Wait, the draft's over? But..." He and Maryse look equally as confused when she exchange glances. "Heath wasn't drafted."
What this means, he doesn't know. But it's hard to watch as the room Heath is sitting in all alone goes dark, Heath gripping a chair and slamming it against the floor. "C'mon," Mike mumbles, gripping Maryse's hand and leading her out of the room. It's not hard to find Heath, he's rampaging through the halls, yelling for Shane and Stephanie, that they'd forgotten him. When things fall silent, Mike walks faster. Finds him slumped against the wall by the exit, his face buried in his hands. Mike doesn't know Heath that well, but he was incredible to Sara Louisa and AJ seems fond of him, so he kneels next to the man and pats him on the back until he looks up.
His eye looks awful, bloodied and swollen, the stitches sticking out in rough, ragged lines of dark thread against his skin. "Whatta want? Here to make fun of me, Mike?"
"No," Mike murmurs. "Just wondering if you need a place to stay tonight. Maryse and I can shift things around, let you stay with us. It'll be fine."
Heath looks between the two of them, sniffing and wiping at his face while careful to avoid his bad eye. "Really? Ya mean it?"
"Of course I mean it," Mike says with a small smile. "C'mon, man. Let's go, we all need some sleep, right?"
Heath nods. Groans wearily as he stands up, Mike guiding him when he falters. "Thanks, man. I appreciate it. 'Specially since my teammates can't be bothered to even look in on me..." There's bitterness in his voice and Mike can't blame him. What the company's done, what Bo and Axel have done, is heartless. Cruel.
He can only think of one possible way to cheer Heath up even a little. "I've got new pictures of Sara Louisa that AJ just sent me a couple of hours ago? Wanna see?" Heath is clearly still distracted, but he nods anyway, lips twitching up into a soft smile as Mike finds his phone and cycles through on his way to the car, Maryse wandering up behind them. As the three of them stare at the pictures, Mike examines Heath as best as he can. It's a hard road, he thinks. But Heath's stubborn. He's strong. He'll make it through this... and hell, I'll help him however I can.