Mike lays in AJ's arms, watching her watch TV. He thinks something to do with UFC is on but he's not paying it much attention, too content to examine her features. "Can you believe after all of these years, Ziggler is still targetting me? Do you think he's still jealous of us?"
AJ laughs at this before leaning in and kissing him. "Who wouldn't be jealous of us, husband?"
"True enough," Mike agrees, pulling her back in and kissing her longer, deeper, softer, until she's gasping into his mouth. When he shifts things so she's sitting in his lap, his kisses trail lower and she digs her nails into his hair, breathing out his name as he goes. When Sara wakes up, wanting attention, they pull away slowly and grin at each other before going to check on her.
"Either way," AJ says softly, her arm wrapping around his waist as she leans against him. "Dolph has nothing on you. You'll beat him. Again."
"Thank you," he says quietly, kissing Sara on the side of her head before tilting AJ's face up and kissing her too. "My two perfect girls." AJ beams at Sara as she slaps her little hands against Mike's chest, blue eyes welling with unshed tears which quickly dry when Mike begins to dance around the room with her in his arms, distracting her so AJ can prepare a bottle and some cereal for her.
As AJ had predicted, Mike defeats Ziggler that Sunday without too much trouble. Payback for the KFC commercial, he thinks with a sneer, holding the title belt in one hand and Maryse with the other. She coos over him in French until they're out of sight of the cameras and then runs to the computer to watch back Heath's latest interview with Rhyno on the WWE Network. Her dark eyes are fixed on him as he talks about Beulah and the new double wide, her bright red lips parted as she laughs helplessly at his ridiculousness.
"Opposites really do attract, huh?" Mike asks her, smirk growing as she shoots a glare at him over her shoulder. "Well, Heath's lucky. I hope he realizes."
"Oh he does," she says, her accent deep as she turns away from the monitor. "He definitely realizes." Mike nods, the two of them taking their turns ducking into the bathroom to change into their regular clothes, before it's time for Heath's match. Maryse watches anxiously, not pacing, nor talking, just staring wide eyed and desperate as Heath gets waylaid by both Usos. The longer it goes, the worse the tension grows until Mike thinks Maryse might scream if Heath takes another hard hit by one of the twins.
Finally the tide turns, Rhyno gets in, works some of his magic before Heath tags back in. He tries to fight, he does, but the Usos have no qualms against cheating, their new found aggression making them determined to win by any way possible. Rhyno gets involved again, goring the Uso currently in the ring against Heath and allows Heath to roll over and pin him. Rhyno yells excitedly from the outside, Maryse cheering in French as Mike stands up with a grin. They watch with large grins on their faces as Heath stares on in confusion, hugging Rhyno before he hands him the title belt and Heath's face just says it all.
It takes him what feels like forever to get back to them, Heath and Rhyno interviewed, and then needing to have a quick photo session with the tag belts to commemorate the moment. Mike's almost surprised Maryse doesn't just run out and find him, but he supposes she doesn't want to ruin Heath's moment. As soon as the doorknob twists, she's up, however, running forward and throwing herself into Heath's arms as he squeezes her and spins her around, slightly off-balanced until Rhyno braces a hand between his shoulderblades and helps him find his footing.
"Congratulations," Mike offers to the overlooked man, Rhyno's lips twitching.
"Thanks," he says simply, careful to walk around Heath and Maryse without tripping over them. He and Mike eye them for a moment before settling in to watch the last bit of the PPV, Miz smirking when AJ Styles walks out the new World champion. "Guess I'm the only one who retains tonight," he says smugly, patting his Intercontinental title.
Heath looks up from where Maryse is currently playing with his hair. "Hey, that's right, we're both Smackdown's champions. Ain't that somethin'?"
Mike smirks. "Yeah, ain't it just."
Maryse pouts and draws Heath's face back towards her, kissing him slowly. "Heath?"
"Yes?"
"Can we get out of here for awhile?"
Heath flushes a little, the expression on her face explaining exactly what she means that the slight language gap between the two of them would make harder to understand. "Uh, yeah, sure, let's do that," he says, his voice a little higher pitched than usual. "Rhyno, ya good, man?"
Rhyno rolls his eyes, not that surprised. "Yes, fine."
Once Maryse and Heath leave for the hotel, Mike turns to look at Rhyno with an uncomfortable grin. "So... do you like movies?"
Rhyno exhales in aggravation as he follows Mike out, the two of them ignoring all of the curious stares as they leave together. "Guess you're getting Maryse's bed tonight," Mike says, struggling and failing to keep his voice level and not reveal just how amused he is by this turn of events. Rhyno merely stares at him and Mike quickly holds his arms up in surrender. "You can take the first shower."
As soon as Rhyno disappears into the bathroom, Mike slumps down onto the other bed and runs his hands through his hair. "Boy, do you owe me one, Heath, Maryse."
-x
Heath's fingers are shaking slightly as he stares at Maryse, her hair and dress gleaming in the soft lamp light. "You're beautiful," he murmurs.
"Being champion suits you," she responds, tracing a finger along the edges of his belt. He laughs softly and she arches into him, kissing his lower lip gently. He exhales as she shifts and kisses him again, her lips sweet and soft against his.
His hand is warm and careful when he rests it against her midsection and pushes her away enough that he can speak without the feel of her against his body leaving him speechless. "Hang on," he exhales. "I... it... We're just gettin' to know each other really well, do you..."
She blinks coyly up at him and he falls quiet, thinking maybe he'd read her signs wrong. "I feel like I've known you better than most since May. All of those hours we sat and talked between takes for Marine 5? And the hours at night, when the others were all busy doing their own thing? I know you were busy with the Social Outcasts-" His eyes darken at the mention of his former teammates and she gently strokes his arm. "but you still stayed with me, kept me company and made the time pass easier. I will never forget that."
"Pretty lady like you, it wasn't right to leave ya alone... and then I got to know you," he admits softly. "You're so smart and nice... and... and graceful, anyone would be a fool to let you go."
Her smile is a little sad now as she shrugs. "Don't tell Mike that."
He blinks, moving forward and cupping her face, kissing her softly. As she keens and arches up into him further, he sighs and lifts her up, groaning into her mouth as his fingers drift lower along the soft satin of her dress, marveling whenever he touches her warm, soft flesh. "We- we should celebrate like this more often," he murmurs, exhaling as she laces her fingers around his neck.
"Yes, we should," she agrees, resting her forehead against his as he walks slowly towards the bed, eyes fixed on hers.
"Rhyno would kill me," he sighs, laying her down on the bed and stepping back to get a better look at her, "but it would be worth it."
She smirks and quirks a finger at him. "I'll protect you," she promises as he joins her, brushing her hair out of her eyes so he can stroke her skin and kiss her.
"Thank you," he says with a faint smile.
-x
Waking up to Rhyno in the other bed is a weird start to any day but Mike shakes it off, doesn't let it bother him as he prepares for Smackdown. Dolph is still on his case, even harassing Maryse, and Mike stands up for her to the crowd. After listening to belittlements and claims of what a coward he is, Mike sees his opportunity after AJ is assigned a tag partner and runs out, all but destroying the young man right in front of the camera. The match against Cena and Ambrose does not go well, unfortunately, and Mike finds himself eating a pin with very little to no help from Styles. He stares up at the lights and closes his eyes, ignoring AJ's anger and the crowd's derision before leaving the ring.
Heath and Rhyno had retained the tag titles in a match against the Ascension earlier so Mike isn't that surprised when he comes back to find Rhyno waiting for him, an impatient look on his face. He grins sheepishly and flips the keys around on his finger. "So... want to go back to the hotel and watch another movie?"
Rhyno looks like he could kill someone but he grits his teeth and walks out to the parking lot anyway.
Mike grimaces. "Never thought I'd regret Heath finally finding good luck," he murmurs before following the large man.