"I'm still mad at you," Mike says in an overdramatic fashion, refusing to look at John while they walk side by side, pushing Sara Louisa's stroller in front of him.
"Oh please. I promise, next time, I'll go to Smackdown, alright?" John wheedles, poking at the baby's fist as she squirms and fusses, the main reason for this walk along the street outside of Mike and AJ's house. "She's fussing, but still seems more adult than her daddy right now," he teases.
Mike scoffs and continues to walk quietly as John rolls his eyes at him.
"So are you doing house shows this weekend?" he asks after a few moments, tired of the silence.
"Nah," Mike shakes his head. "WWE's got me going to Florida to promote Wrestlemania. Besides, Cena opted to take the weekend off so it seems only fair that I get a couple days off too."
John hums, shrugging. "I thought you were advertised for this week's, though. You think there's some fangirl in Illinois whose, like, say, birthday you're going to ruin by not being there although she expects you to be?"
Mike rolls his eyes, reaching out to slap John upside the head. "I'm pretty sure you were scheduled for events and skipped out on them too. After getting injured that one year?"
"Hey, that school in Canada needed me," John huffs, swatting back at him. Mike smirks over at him and they separate, looking down as Sara yawns and then closes her eyes, falling asleep. "Look, you bored my daughter into finally falling asleep."
"Eh, she's probably just desperate for a way to avoid listening to you for a few minutes," John cracks as they turn slowly back to the house. Taya and AJ are settled in, sipping from glasses of water and discussing her book release in a month, not letting the men disrupt them even as Mike plucks Sara from her blankets and rests her on the couch next to AJ, who idly strokes the baby's back.
"Then they have me heading back to Florida after Smackdown to promote Mania even more," Mike says, already feeling a bit tired of it all.
"How much promoting does Mania really need?" John wonders, pushing the back door open and following Mike out to the grill to set up some meat and vegetables to cook for supper.
"I think it's just an excuse for people to see me," Mike laughs. "It's just as well, Zack's been complaining about how lonely he's been, so I'll probably drag Maryse to go visit him. We might have Heath with us, that'll cheer Zack up a little. Maybe."
"I'm surprised he'd want to see you at all after last year's Mania," John comments, dropping some steak onto the foil.
"He's a forgiving guy, I guess" Mike mumbles, shrugging. "Besides, he's been injured for so long that he's getting restless."
"I know how that feels," John says, throwing some corn on the cob next to the meat. "Well, try to entertain him for awhile."
"Yeah, yeah," Mike rolls his eyes, pushing John aside and putting more meat on to overwhelm the vegetables a bit. "I think I'll actually be sharing a private jet with James Ellsworth, so... uh, that'll be an experience."
"Well, he is warming Cena and Nikki up for you on Smackdown, so I hope you'll try to be nice to him," John smirks.
Mike rolls his eyes and flips the meat, looking up as Taya and AJ join them finally, handing out glasses of iced tea and coconut water. "Think we have enough meat going?"
"Maybe," AJ says, leaning in and kissing him before looking down at the grill. "Either way, I don't think you can fit anything else on this thing."
"Just the way I like it," Mike chuckles, kissing her on the side of the head before dragging her over to a seat, pulling her down onto his lap as the four of them continue to discuss everything and nothing all at once.
-x
Mike isn't enthused to watch James Ellsworth and Carmella vs Cena and Nikki, but he and Maryse sit on commentary and do so anyway, not that surprised when Cena and Nikki win in fast enough fashion. He considers briefly to help James win, but he has no serious reason to, because he's already in Cena's head, and he proves it on the mic that night, Maryse spitting insults towards Nikki as well. There's absolutely no comparison between his marriage and whatever Cena and Nikki have going, so he says as much on the show and at Talking Smack later that night.
The private jet flight later is a little odd, Heath and Maryse sitting on one side of the plane while Mike and James have the other, James thankfully not seeming too bothered by Mike's lack of help in the match earlier. They're all heading to Florida to help promote Wrestlemania, James lost in thought- probably about his not-quite relationship with Carmella- when Mike decides to do something, turning his phone's video on and beginning to film himself as he begins a James Ellsworth impersonation, Maryse giggling and leaving Heath's side to peek at the phone.
This wakes James up a little and he stops staring wistfully at nothing, Mike shifting in his seat to look at him. "So, this thing with Carmella," he says slowly, not knowing James enough to know if he's overstepping.
"She's great, isn't she?" James gushes, clearly lovestruck by the woman, even if she doesn't necessarily feel the same. "I know she only wants to be friends, but she's so beautiful and perfect. I'm happy just being part of her life, you know?"
Mike purses his lips, glancing over at Maryse and Heath. Some would say the same things about them that are being said about James and Carmella, but the differences are night and day between the two. Because Maryse actually has feelings for Heath, her eyes fixed and gleaming as she laughs at something he says to her. Carmella will defend James in the ring, and yell at anyone who treats him poorly, just to turn around and do or say the same things. It's weird and he's not sure what to think about it. It has the makings of disaster written all over it, but still. Not Mike's place to comment on it, or really anything else. "Well, as long as you're happy, man," he says, not surprised when James lights up and automatically reaches for his phone, checking for messages.
His grin fades a bit but he sets right in to text something and Mike sighs, turning to face front once more, listening to Maryse giggle again. At least someone's happy on this flight, he thinks, wishing AJ and Sara were here with him.