"I think I'm too old for this," Mike says, laying flat on his back and staring up at the ceiling while AJ reads next to him. It's late, dark outside. They can only just hear the wind rustling through the trees, the thick heat of California remaining even in the sunset hours. Peaceful, except for Mike's racing thoughts.
"Huh?" AJ puts her book down and rolls over so she's pressed against Mike's side, blinking up at him. "You? Old? Never." She kisses him and he sighs, wrapping an arm around her, his fingers resting against her hip.
"I mean, kind of?" he says. "At least to keep having to pull Truth back from whatever ridiculous bullshit he's trying to force us into. Week after week, the guy's relentless. I've forgotten how annoying he really can be sometimes. It almost..." He hesitates, then blows a frustrated breath out. "It almost makes me sympathetic towards the Judgement Day."
She laughs at this, leaning up to brush her fingers through his hair. "He has been pretty exhausting the last few weeks, huh." She rests her head on her forearm and looks at him. "Poor Mike."
"I should've remembered all of this before I ran the risk of actually holding tag titles with him," Mike mourns what little remains of his sanity after the last couple of months. "DIY would've been better champions. Hell, Dunne and Bate could've gotten them. Something to spare me of this."
She giggles again, leaning in to kiss him. "I'm sure it won't last forever."
His eyes widen. "What if it does? Oh god, AJ, what if for the rest of my career, I'm trapped right here with R-Truth, trying to keep him from completely doing something reckless and horrible and costing us our titles?"
She cradles his jaw in her hands and then solidly kissing him, quieting both his fretting and his thoughts. "Nothing lasts forever in WWE, husband," she says fondly. "Just cling to something and don't completely lose it in the meanwhile. And... if you're so desperate to lose the titles, you could pull back a little bit, let Truth do what Truth does best and just... make him live with the consequences of it."
"I guess," he concedes. "It's hard to just... give in like that, because I really do like being champion. But you are right. Maybe I'll do that, if things get worse."
She smiles at him, settling back down against his shoulder. "Good," she murmurs. "It'll all work out, I know it will."
He hopes she's right, running his fingers through her hair as he glances once more at the ceiling before reaching over to shut the light off, his thoughts slowing. Leaving him eager for sleep.
