AJ closes her eyes, snuggles closer to Mike. "So, no Ricardo?" she hums against his side.
"No, I don't think so," he sighs. "We'll see, I asked Alicia to try to convince him to make the trip- even offered to pay for the flight, if that was a problem. I know he's been dealing with a lot lately. I just kinda miss seeing him around."
She nods. "I do too. It's sad when people drift apart, but I guess it's pretty common in the business."
"Yeah. I'm lucky that John and I live nearby and can remain pretty close, even though our schedules are so opposite each other." He leans in and kisses the top of her head. "So I think we're grilling for the party tomorrow so you don't have to do anything but make sure Heath doesn't completey hog Sara tomorrow."
AJ laughs. "Yeah, right," she murmurs. "I have absolutely no control over that kind of thing. She's a Heath magnet, I think." She pats his chest. "I know it's his gimmick, but I wonder if he and Maryse will ever decide to have kids."
Mike blinks a few times. "I don't know how that'd work with Total Divas and everything. I guess we'd have to do some quick thinking. That show... has definitely caused enough problems for people," he mumbles, thinking about Alicia and Alex, then Paige and Ricardo, and... He exhales.
"Which is why I don't watch it," AJ tells him, hoisting herself up to kiss him. "We should get some sleep before your ragtag group of friends barge in."
Mike chuckles. "Yeah, let's do that." He continues stroking her skin, relieved when she dozes off easily enough. Between the baby and his all-over-the-place schedule, it's a wonder any of them get a decent amount of sleep. He stares at the ceiling, watching soft paths of light from the moon shining in from the window, until his eyes get too heavy to keep open and he falls asleep as well.
-x
The next day is busy from the start. Cleaning Sara up, preparing the grill, picking up some toys. She'd recently gotten good at throwing things, so little lambs and bunnies are regularly found under tables, behind couches, sometimes on the fan. "She's going to play baseball, I swear," Mike mumbles, climbing a chair to get her favorite teddy bear down from its precarious perch.
AJ grimaces. "Well, as long as she doesn't play for the Cubs," she sighs, rocking Sara back and forth. Noticing Mike's incredulous look, she grins. "By the time she's old enough to play, no team will be able to refuse her, even male teams. She's going to be... awesome at everything she does."
He laughs and shakes his head at her, about to say something when the doorbell rings and... "I think that's John and Taya," he says, still trying to reach the animal as she lets them in.
John comes in and eyes him, incredulous tilt to his lips. "What are you doing, Mike? Need some help? Maybe I should stand here and save you when you fall?"
He scoffs and just snags the thing with his fingertips. "Save this." Tossing it off into John's waiting hand, he smirks and hops down, putting the chair away. "Sara Louisa has taken to throwing random things all over the house, so sometimes I have to do a bit of climbing."
"Ah. Gotta love babies who don't know their own strength, huh?" He turns and lightly high fives the baby, her nose crinkling as she looks up at him, reaching out for the bear in his hands. He laughs and shakes his head at her, letting her have it. "I charm all the women."
"Well, you'd better not," Taya says, leaning in and kissing him. He smiles at her, it clear they only have eyes for each other, when the doorbell rings again before Mike or AJ could make too much of a gagging noise over the PDA.
"Hello, hello," Heath rushes in, followed by Maryse, full of smiles and chatter until Sara notices him, forgets her stuffed animals and reaches out for him with a loud, excited babble. AJ laughs and lets him have her, catching Mike's eye. "Hello, sweety. Long time no see, huh?" He tickles her and kisses her cheek before going into the living room to play with the baby in a safer place than the kitchen.
Maryse smiles at them before following him, leaving John and Mike to finish with the grill, and AJ and Taya to continue preparing potato salad and such. "We should do this more often," Taya says. "I miss you guys. And I know John does too."
"I'd like that," AJ agrees, reaching over to spoon out more mayonnaise into the bowl. "Just have to work it around Mike's schedule." She peeks into the living room and chuckles as Heath and Maryse allow Sara to crawl between them, her babbling loud and enthused.
Once lunch is together, the meat perfectly seared and the sides complete, Heath pouts when AJ puts Sara down for a nap so the adults can eat in peace, Mike laughing at him. "She doesn't sleep for long, you'll have your play buddy back soon."
"Whatever, man," he sighs, sitting down next to Maryse and starting to serve himself. They're all in the middle of eating, laughing over various wrestling things, when the doorbell rings again. "I thought everyone was here," Heath says around a mouth full of steak and potatoes, frowning as Mike gets up and heads inside.
AJ shrugs, looking curiously towards the front, until Mike's footsteps are audible heading back towards them. "Husband, who-?"
Her words die when Ricardo and Alicia step onto the patio, Alicia grinning and rushing towards her for a hug as Ricardo nods at something Mike's saying. "This is a surprise!" she exclaims, squeezing Alicia cheerfully.
"Yeah, well, we thought about your invite and decided hell yes. Ricardo needed a break from Florida anyway." Alicia beams at everyone sitting around the table and then looks down. "Perfect timing, you have food ready and waiting for us!" AJ laughs as she runs over and grabs Ricardo by the sleeve, dragging him over. "Come on, let's eat!"
"Hola," he greets them as she pushes him into a chair, blinking. "Lo siento, she wasn't able to eat breakfast before our flight."
Alicia nods eagerly, smile growing as AJ hands her and Ricardo plates. "Thank you," she singsongs, diving into the food and almost battling Heath for a particular juicy steak.
Ricardo smothers his laughter, grinning at Mike. "Thanks for inviting us, Mike. I think... we both needed this."
"I thought you might," he sighs into his iced tea. "I'm glad to see you, man. I've missed ya."
"I've missed you too. All of you," he adds, casting a quick glance around the table. "So where's Sara at?"
As Mike and the others settle back into eating and conversation, now with the latecomers adding in their own thoughts and stories, everything feels perfect under the California sun.
-x
Raw, however, does not. Mike's attempt at MizTV gets interrupted again. He'd kind of been having fun with Cesaro and Sheamus when the Hardys and Ambrose had to interrupt. Which of course gets made into the painfully original six man tag match by their esteemed general manager. He stews after the loss, hating everything about it, and everyone surrounding him at ring side. This Sunday, he vows to himself as he and Maryse make their exits, this Sunday that title will be MINE, and I will NEVER let it go again.