Mike's not in a good mood. Hasn't been since he'd been pinned. Since he'd stormed off of the set of Talking Smack. Sits at home and mulls over the moment he'd been pinned by that lunatic, how Maryse had been fined because of him. She hadn't seemed concerned but, considering they'd begun the whole married falsehood because of her financial problems, he can't help but feel bad about it. John knows him all too well because he'd spent more time at their house than he has in months, busy with Taya and Lucha Underground and his various other little projects.
Currently, they're sitting on the couch in Mike's living room, Sara crawling around on the ground at their feet, and John can tell that Mike's not fully with it because he's just sitting there, staring ahead instead of teasing his daughter with his socked feet. John's new puppy that he'd gotten with Taya back in Indianapolis is sprawled out over his lap, fast asleep, and even that hadn't been enough to get Mike's attention.
Sighing, Morrison lifts the puppy up and deposits him in Mike's arms before leaning down and hoisting the baby up, bouncing her up and down in his lap as she fusses and babbles some incomprehensible sounds that will eventually shift into proper words. "You're about to talk, huh?" he greets her. "Wanna say hello to my new puppy dog? Hmm? He's sleeping, but if you're gentle, we can pet him." She fusses a little until Mike looks over at them. "Oh, you see your daddy, huh?" He lays her down on the couch cushions and watches her crawl over to him, eyes wide and searching until Mike picks her up and sets her against his chest, hugging her. "There, that's what your daddy needed," John hums, relieved when Mike relaxes.
The puppy eventually wakes up too and turns to look at Mike and Sara, eagerly leaping around and licking the baby's face. She looks shocked, but instead of crying, she giggles and grabs at the puppy's ears, both Mike and John gripping one of her pudgy little hands. "Be gentle," Mike rebukes her soothingly. "He's a baby too, you can't tug on his ears like that." She pouts but soon releases his ears, John and Mike guiding her hands to gently pet the dog's neck and sides. "See, that's what you do to make puppies happy," he tells her with a soft smile.
She babbles again and John chuckles, patting the puppy. "You two are going to grow up together, and be the best of friends, aren't you?"
"I'm surprised you haven't said he's her god-dog yet," Mike smirks, skritching the dog under his chin, laughing when he starts panting joyfully.
"Don't have to, you just did," John laughs, taking Sara back and plopping her in his lap, playing peek-a-boo with her. Turning his head to look over at him, John raises an eyebrow. "Are you alright? I know your Intercontinental title was important to you."
"I'm not, but I will be," he says. "I've had it, I've lost it, I'll win it back again. I refuse to let Ambrose keep it, especially now that they dare to fine Maryse. I'll make them pay." As soon as John opens his mouth, Mike turns and points warningly at him. "Don't say it. Don't say it, I know what I meant-"
"So do I, it's still funny," John says. "Isn't it, Sara Louisa? Daddy's silly? Yeah." He makes faces at the baby as she waves her fists around.
"For shame, Morrison. Turning my own daughter against me," Mike huffs, pursing his lips at her as she glances over at him, giggling enough that he melts all over again and leans forward to kiss her forehead.
-x
Ambrose starts Smackdown off. Miz can only take so much of seeing Dean wearing his title belt, and doing something with some alligator head that he's named Maryse, apparently, before he grips Maryse's hand and leads her out to the ring. He's waving around the Miz participation award, trying to give it to them, before Mike returns, beats him down and then tries to pin his arms behind his back. Maryse is rearing back to slap him, has it lined up perfectly, when Dean ducks and Miz takes the slap hard across the face. She looks shocked and he's dazed, Dean hitting Dirty Deeds and sending him rolling out of the ring.
What happens between Miz rolling out and Maryse coming to his side, he's not sure, but she rambles apologies in English and French, stroking his face where she'd slapped him, until he grips her hand and shakes his head. "You have nothing to apologize for. Let's get out of here."
Heath is waiting for them outside of his locker room and Maryse sighs, leaning up to kiss him quickly before helping Miz the rest of the way into the room. "Where's Rhyno?" she asks him idly, still petting Mike's hair as she looks over at Heath.
"Not sure," he sighs. "We ain't booked and he's kinda been keepin' his distance except for house shows." He gnaws at his bottom lip until Maryse grips it and tugs it free, looking pointedly at him. "I hope I ain't screwed everything up for us with my injury scare a couple'a weeks ago."
She leans in and kisses him again. "I don't think so, that would be beyond awful of Shane and Daniel if so. But I'm glad you're alright, either way."
He smiles at her. "Thanks. Sorry about your belt, Mike," he says, glancing over at the couch where Mike is slumped. "Guess it ain't bein' a great New Year for any of us yet."
Mike nods. "Well, I'm not done fighting for it. And you'd better not be giving up either, Heath."
"I'm not!" he insists. "Just only so much I can do sometimes."
"True for all of us I guess," he exhales. Wrestlemania season is right around the corner, but he's not even sure he's looking that forward to it after all of the back and forth between him and Ziggler, and now him and Ambrose. But I'll make the most of it, he decides, tightening his hands into fists. Like I always do.