Tuesday is spent alternating between lazily wandering the beach (Though Miz makes sure to avoid the pier this time) and lounging around in John's apartment, the group of them not feeling up to much after the past few days. As much as Miz likes being active, even he feels like the last few days had been just a little too much all at once, feeling tired and out of it. Between the bar fight, hosting Summerslam, and finally confessing to AJ his feelings, along with Ricardo's revelation of now working with RVD, he feels like he could sleep for a week, although there's no true chance of that happening.
And the news keeps on coming as Ricardo kicks idly at some wet sand before turning to look at Mike while they walk along the beach, the water lapping against their heels now and again. John is off doing some interview for OOYM, and Alex is still asleep inside, but neither of them had wanted to waste this weather completely. "I came to a decision on what I'm going to do about where to live now." He knows that Mike's been worried about his decision, especially as more time had passed without him discussing it in any fashion, so when his friend looks up at him curiously, he smiles. "Alex invited me to live with him in Florida... and I agreed."
Mike takes it in silently, nodding slightly after a few moments. "That... I mean, it sounds like a good idea." His brow furrows, however, as he remembers the relatively short distance from Alex's place to Del Rio's, hoping that at least the ring announcer won't have to run into his former employer too often outside of the WWE... "As long as you're happy, man."
"Gracias." Dark eyes searching Miz's expression, he clears his throat awkwardly. "Has something... happened? I mean, you were- were stressed enough after Summerslam, but it's just... gotten worse since Raw. I don't think even Fandango at his most annoying is worth all of that."
Mike swallows and stares at his feet for a moment, unsurprised by how observant the ring announcer is after all this time, despite everything going on with him. "I told AJ I loved her on Sunday night. She was on the beach after Summerslam, I ran into her... and it just slipped out." He stares over at him for a minute, shaking his head mirthlessly. "I don't even know why I said it, I know her track record, and I don't want to be another in the long line of guys that she's turned on, or ruined opportunities in this business for, but... I'm so sick of leaving everything locked up inside. But that doesn't even matter, she just... she left. Like what I said didn't matter. And who knows, maybe it doesn't. I have put her through a lot."
Ricardo sighs, visibly sympathetic as he pats Mike on the back, unsure what to say. The two of them continue up the beach quietly until they return to Morrison's apartment to find Alex now half-awake and searching the kitchen for something to eat. The rest of the day passes simply enough as John returns and they watch TV, order in pizza, and allow themselves a few hours of laziness before Mike has to get some sleep since he has to leave for Main Event the next day.
Relieved that there are still a couple days to spend with John, Alex and Ricardo before they all have to leave California, he drives out to Bakersfield in the morning, trying to get into the proper mindset for commentary as he approaches the arena. It all comes crashing down, however, when he sees the match board, clearly listing AJ Lee vs Naomi. He swallows heavily and stares at it, shaking his head. He looks over his shoulder, almost expecting the girl- or her enforcer- to come out of the shadows and attack him for his actions on Sunday, but he sees no sign of either of them until the show starts, her match second on the card.
Big E still not allowed around divas matches, it's merely Layla accompanying the divas champion, and Mike breathes a little easier as he watches the match, saying very little. When he does speak up, he finds himself admitting that he has to respect how AJ will do anything to hold onto her belt... then confesses he'd be worried if he was Layla and was a friend of AJ's, considering what she's done to Dolph, Daniel, and John Cena, among others, just for Josh to remind him that those were relationships she was in. He tries to brush it off by saying if she could do that to men, he could only guess what she'd do to female friends. Tired of Josh owning him on the AJ subject two weeks in a row on Main Event commentary, he keeps his mouth shut for the most part after that, relieved when the match ends after AJ makes Naomi tap a couple minutes later.
He is almost relieved when distraction from that comes a little later, Fandango dancing out and mocking him from the stage, merely dancing around a bit before going backstage, it still being enough to leave him steaming from the commentary table. Once the show ends and the lights turn back on after Bray Wyatt defeats Justin Gabriel, Mike storms backstage and begins looking for Fandango, just to be told by one of the techs that he had left with Summer Rae not long after interrupting the show earlier. He groans and shakes his head, barely remembering to thank the guy before he continues on his way, lips twisted unhappily.
He comes to a sudden stop when he walks by the divas champion's locker room, staring over at it curiously. The memory of the look on AJ's face when he'd told her burnt into his brain, he sighs and slumps down into a nearby folding chair, staring at her door as he struggles to think. She hadn't been wrong the other night... although he knew better, had watched her burn through one relationship after another over the last year, barely giving herself time to breathe before leaping into the next- the period of time she's been unattached since the end of her relationship with Ziggler being the longest amount of time she's been single since being involved with Daniel Bryan- he still feels an unexplainable pull towards her.
Still not sure what he wants to do, if he should even bother attempting anything else, he scrubs at his face before solemnly standing up and, only pausing long enough to find his bag, leaving the arena to return to Morrison's until they all have to come back here for Smackdown on Friday, which would be the last hurrah in California for awhile for some of them.
Except that Mike receives an email from Vickie Guerrero early on Thursday morning explaining that the show is booked solid and he's not needed, his lips thinning as he stares at it. Growing too used to seeing this sort of email, he drops his phone back onto the bedside table heavily and grunts, rolling away in disgust as Ricardo blinks and stares over at him from his own bed. "Mike?"
"Sorry. Didn't mean to wake you up, it's nothing," he forces out, glaring at the wall. He can feel the ring announcer's eyes on him, worried, and shakes his head, trying to bury his face in his pillows. "They have nothing for me tomorrow on Smackdown," he finally admits lowly. "I... shouldn't be allowing myself to get used to that kind of crap, but damn... How many general managers have jerked me around like that by now? It's like all they see me being good for is movies and media events anymore." Almost as soon as he finishes complaining, he feels ridiculously low- his role in the company may not be perfect, but at least he hadn't lost everything in one fell swoop like Ricardo had less than three weeks ago. He rolls back over, facing Ricardo, and takes a breath. "I'll come to the show anyway, man. I know RVD will watch out for you, but I'd feel more comfortable with someone who knows the situation better also having your back."
Ricardo smiles at the offer but shakes his head. "You don't have to, Mike. I know how aggravating it can be to just sit around an arena for hours with nothing to do, you don't need to go through that on my account."
"It's not a big deal, I want to be there for you," he says quietly. "Don't worry about it." The apartment is still quiet, Alex and John apparently also taking the opportunity to sleep in and Mike eventually dozes back off too, somehow feeling better after his discussion with Ricardo. When he awakens again, it's dark in the bedroom and he sits up, groggy and feeling very out of it as he stares at a clock, not understanding. He glances around, trying to regain his bearings, figure out what woke him up, why the sun hasn't risen yet, when it finally clicks with him. It's now Thursday evening, just barely after 9 PM.
He grunts and stares at Ricardo's empty bed, shaking his head as he recalls the morning email about Smackdown. Eyes widening, he realizes something else: He'd slept close to fifteen hours, not even counting the couple of hours he'd gotten prior to the email. "Damn," he breathes, staggering to his feet before sluggishly making his way out of the room, down the hall, until he stops to find his friends staring at him with amused grins from the kitchen table. "Why did you guys let me sleep so late?" he grunts, melting into the chair at Morrison's right and clunking his head down onto the table as his best friend leans over and massages his neck and shoulders.
"It was pretty clear you needed it," John tells him. "You've been running yourself ragged the past... who knows how long. So, since us three can actually practice some volume control unlike some people, we stayed nice and quiet and let you sleep it off."
Letting the dig against his loudness pass, Miz blinks blurrily at them as John's repetitive motions against his skin continues on and on. "Keep that up, I might fall back asleep right here," he mumbles, incapable and disinterested in moving even an inch at the ministrations.
John slows, then moves away completely, leaning over until he can look Miz in the eye, smiling a little when he grumbles. "Yeah, well, my table's been abused enough thanks to you this week. It doesn't need drooled on too." As Miz huffs at this, sitting up regretfully to disprove his former tag partner's claims, Morrison stands and wanders to the oven, pulling out something that immediately shuts the Awesome One up. "Ah, that woke him up," he says with a knowing smirk, setting the dish in front of him. "Here you go, we kept it warm for you and everything."
"Lasagna from that Italian place?" he mumbles, immediately digging into it. "God, I feel like I haven't ate there for years." He takes a bite and sighs, eyes fluttering shut. "I'd forgotten how good it is..." The three others grin at each other as he ignores them, not wanting to take his focus off of the mouth watering food before him, startled at just how famished he'd been. I guess they're right, I really did need all of that sleep... and all of this food... he thinks, stuffing a slice of cheesy garlic bread into his mouth. To take better care of myself in general...
Even after staying up half of the night and only getting a few hours of sleep just before daybreak, Mike feels better on Friday than he has in a long time. Even succeeds at keeping his mouth shut as he comes across Vickie Guerrero that night at Smackdown, on her way to the ring to introduce Randy Orton. His good mood, however, starts to slip when he almost runs right into Big E a little later, the large man's dark eyes boring into him as AJ grips his arm, glowering at Mike as well. He smirks darkly at the enforcer, despite only having eyes for the divas' champion. "Long time no see, AJ," he says simply, crossing his arms over his chest as she tosses her head haughtingly.
E.'s just taken a heavy step towards him when she digs her nails into his skin, shaking her head when he looks down at her in some confusion. "Give us a minute," she mutters, waiting patiently as he reluctantly moves away, keeping them both in view despite giving her her request for some privacy. She merely stares at Mike, twirling one of her pigtails around her finger. "I heard your commentary during my match on Main Event," she says simply, smirk more than a little bitter and twisted. "Regretting what you said on Sunday, huh? I had a feeling it wouldn't take you too long."
"No, I don't," he mumbles truthfully, staring down at her. "That's one part of Sunday night I wouldn't have changed, except for the fact I probably should've said it a long time ago."
She backs up a bit at this, looking visibly thrown for the second time in a week. "How long ago?" she whispers despite herself, eyes locked on him as he swallows.
He takes a breath, trying to pinpoint the exact moment... when he'd slowly realized he was falling for the bizarre, unreadable, beautifully broken girl in front of him... remembers when he'd finally confessed to Alex, and then John awhile later... "Around New Years." She immediately goes pale and he looks away. "I just couldn't tell you. Not after everything. You seemed happy with Dolph, and I really, really wanted that for you, you honestly deserved someone to take good care of you. Especially since I didn't feel deserving of you, considering how I started everything by trying to take advantage of you. I never expected it'd become real... but it did, and I'm so sorry I put you through all of that. I know it's not enough, but I am. I pay for it every day, still, when I see how much pain you're still in, and know that part of it is my fault." Staring grimly at the floor, he turns on his heel and walks away from her.
He stays in the locker room after that, listening to Ricardo and RVD talk lowly across the room until Ricardo excuses himself and joins him, the two of them watching the end of Big E vs Ziggler side by side. AJ had seemed normal enough during her entrance and the match, skipping to the ring as ever with a smug look on her face, Mike feeling even worse at how little his heartfelt words had seemed to affect her, but as soon as E loses to Ziggler, she completely freaks out again, screaming in anger at her ex once more getting the upperhand against them. He closes his eyes and looks away from the screen, relieved for the ring announcer's presence as he rests a hand between his shoulderblades, watching him. "She hates me," he mutters finally, staring at his hands. "Understandably so. It's just... I love her, and it's worse now that she knows, and doesn't care."
The younger man swallows and pulls him closer, resting his head atop Mike's in an attempt at comforting him. "I'm sorry," he whispers, wishing he could do something to help, make things better for the torn man next to him. Even when Del Rio's match starts a bit later, he doesn't move, continuing to rub Mike's back as he keeps an eye on his former employer, RVD doing the same from across the room. Alberto still looks like he's been smacked in the face with a bag of bricks but competes through it all, managing another victory against Christian. Here, Ricardo dispatches himself carefully from Mike. "I'll be back in a few minutes," he tells him, nodding at RVD, who is already on his way out of the room.
Miz sighs. "Knock 'em dead," he says quietly, watching as Del Rio once more goes on about people being peasants and following him and on and on, until finally Ricardo comes out, mocking him, saying that he wasn't going to do that, nor were these people... nor would RVD, who comes out and walks to the ring, Ricardo by his side. They're barely halfway down the ramp when Christian regains himself after the match and dropkicks Alberto from the toprope while he's distracted, rolling out as RVD enters and performs the rolling thunder on an already prone world champion, who once again rolls to safety, gripping his arm in pain as he looks up into the ring, watching Ricardo pick up his title belt which he'd left behind in the melee.
Mike can't help but laugh, though the look on Del Rio's face when the camera turns back to him gives him pause. He looks honestly wounded as he slumps against the ramp, watching his former ring announcer show the title belt to RVD, mockingly waving his fingers at Del Rio while daring him to come get it. "Geez, Del Rio, keep this up, people might start to think you care or something," he mumbles, remembering vaguely that the Mexican aristocrat had looked like this as well when Ricardo first came out on Monday night and denied him as a hero.
Either way, when the two men return to the locker room, he greets them with a grin, feeling slightly better from earlier. "That was awesome," he tells them, dropping a hand on Ricardo's shoulder. "How'd it feel to hold the World title again?" The look in Ricardo's eyes belie his own smile, Mike immediately feeling like a jerk for even asking as he squeezes his arm in understanding. No matter what Del Rio had done, or how good it might feel to pay him back bit by bit on the road to Night of Champions, it has to be odd for Ricardo, after such a long business partnership and friendship, not to mention the actually short amount of time since the initial betrayal, to so suddenly have a new person to represent and want success for. Especially considering Smackdown too had been held in Bakersfield, the very city the two men had debuted in together exactly three years ago to the day.
"It felt weird," he admits honestly, staring at his hands. "But good. Rob deserves to hold it, I'll see that it happens." He's still quiet, however, solemn beneath the smile he keeps on his face as RVD pats him on the back and goes back to watching the show. "I suppose we should begin to head back to LA, si? Pack to leave and all..."
Mike nods, going to collect his own untouched bag. "Yeah, man. It's gonna be a long drive." He's glad he'd come, despite running into AJ. He had needed to say all of that to her for a long time now, relieved to have it too off of his chest, but mostly he's glad to have been here for Ricardo, support him through his continued issues with Del Rio.
After a quick goodbye to Rob, they walk out of the arena side by side to return one last time to Morrison's to collect their things and then leave the past two weeks spent in California behind, though Mike has no doubt that it'll be affecting all of their futures for a long time to come...
Almost relieved to be back on the road that following Monday, Mike, Ricardo and Alex are hanging out in the locker room, a few of the others scattered around paying them little mind as they watch the beginning of Raw, HHH and Orton starting things off. "Oh, yay," Mike mutters, running his hands through his hair while half-listening to the COO's ramblings. Unable to focus, he turns his attention to his own issues, not really wanting to hear anymore of what H has to say. "Hey, I'll be back in a minute," he tells the other two, leaving the room.
Fandango had successfully evaded him the past few events, but he's determined for that to not happen now, not after how he'd attempted to embarrass him at both Summerslam and Main Event. "You're not getting away that easily tonight," he mutters, wandering the halls until he finds the secondary locker room on the other side of the building, peering inside to find it mostly empty, only 3MB inside. They all freeze, staring at each other, until he shrugs them off and locates Fandango's bag, clearly his by the garishly ugly jacket hanging over it that had urged him to give the dancer the nickname of Skittles. Digging around inside, Mike smirks when he finds the matching pants inside and raises an eyebrow at the so-called rock bands' inactivity, leaving the room with the procured items. "Time to have some fun."
He has to fight not to laugh at the look on Alex and Ricardo's faces, a freshly arrived Rob Van Dam staring at the clothes as Miz sets them out on the bench in front of his actual wrestling gear. "Whoa," the highflyer mutters. "Trippy."
"Um, Mike..." Ricardo starts, sliding away from the clothes and rubbing his eyes like seeing the bright mess first hand had hurt his vision. "What are you going to do with that?"
"You'll see," he smirks, standing back and crossing his arms over his chest as he examines them. "Something's missing... I need a partner. You guys watch over this stuff for me?" When they nod, still looking scandalized, he ducks back out of the room, walking towards the divas locker room. "First diva out," he decides, not wanting to wait for too long as he notices on a monitor that Cody Rhodes vs Fandango is beginning.
It only takes a few minutes, thankfully, the door opening a couple of minutes later to a lot of loud giggles and talking, a familiar form venturing out and stopping short when she sees him. "Miz?"
He smirks. "Rosa. Would you do me the honor of granting me this dance?" She looks confused but smoothly takes his hand anyway as he leads her back towards the main locker room, explaining his idea to her. As soon as she understands, she agrees readily, waiting outside as he hurriedly changes into the blinding so called clothing. "How do I look?"
When he looks up, everyone in the vicinity look truly horrified, gazing at him like he's a trainwreck and they can't look away. He sneers. "Perfect!" And it really does go right to plan, Fandango watching on in disgust as he and Rosa do the most ridiculous looking dancing he can think of, leaving Fandango vulnerable to a roll up pin by Cody. As soon as Damien gets involved, Miz makes his way to the ring and joins in on the fighting, just for Brad Maddox to interrupt and make it an impromptu tag match. His good buzz continues when, after Fandango bails on his tag partner, he hits the Skull Crushing Finale and defeats the Smackdown Money in the Bank briefcase holder, smirking from the ring as Fandango and Summer Rae pose from the top of the ramp, Fandango enunciating his name as always.
Mike is still pleased as he and Rosa make their way backstage, WWE's film crew catching them for an interview. He talks for a bit about why he'd done what he did, Rosa chiming in that he looks better in Fandango's pants anyway, her hand warm on his bare shoulder. "That's what I'm talking about," he smirks before they walk off together. He's just slowed to turn and thank her for helping him before returning to his friends, when there's an abrupt flash of color and he feels a rush of air as something just misses him, Rosa squeeching when flesh meets with flesh, Mike blinking stupidly as he watches AJ Lee solidly push her into a room off to the side of where they'd been standing, shutting the door behind her decisively.
The two of them stare at each other for long, tense moments, Rosa banging and pounding on the door while yelling to be freed, AJ turning and slamming a fist against the barrier. "Shut up!" she snaps, clicking the outside lock in place and keeping her from being able to escape.
Mike swallows, suddenly losing all happiness he'd felt even two minutes earlier. "What are you doing, AJ?"
She tilts her head, smirking at him as she walks closer to him, eyes dark in the shadows of the hallway. "Am I unnerving you, Mike?" She presses against him, fingers suddenly digging into his hair as she pulls him down until they're eye to eye. He barely flinches, trying not to show how true her words are, watching breathlessly as she leans closer. "Do you typically tell someone you love them, then select a different dance partner barely a week later?" she whispers against his ear. "Or is it something you do especially for me?"
"What does it matter?" he asks her. "You've made it clear you don't care how I feel, and I don't blame-" Her fingers dig deeper into his scalp and he wonders if he's bleeding as he stares into her rage-filled eyes. "AJ..."
"You could've asked me," she breathes. "None of this would've happened if you just asked me."
"Asked you what?"
"Anything! Everything!" She lets him go so suddenly that he stumbles back and almost falls into the door Rosa is still trapped behind, gingerly pressing a hand against his head as he massages where her nails had bit into his skull, the girl pacing away from him. "I'm much better at everything than that bleach blonde Barbie doll in there."
He gapes, finally realizing what her problem is this time. "You... you would've been willing to help me mock Fandango and-?" He cuts himself off, shaking his head as he thinks about even dragging her into the middle of his stupid vendetta against the dancer. "No, no. AJ, you're divas champion. You don't need to- to get wrapped up in the middle of my stupid ideas. You're better than that, you deserve better than that."
She turns slowly and stares at him, lips twisted uncertaintly. "You really think so?"
"Of course I do," he says softly. "I didn't go to you because you have much better things to do than get involved in this sort of ridiculousness... but if I had thought you would've actually wanted to and not just laughed in my face, you're the first I would've asked..." She stares at him, weighing his words, before walking back up to him, eyes dark and unreadable. "AJ..."
"All I've ever really wanted," she murmurs, standing as close to him as she can without touching him, "is to feel safe. Especially in this typically unsafe business. I thought Daniel, or Kane, or Punk could provide that security for me, then Cena... and Dolph..." Her voice grows all the more bitter at the end there and she blinks, licking her lips, visibly trying to distance herself from that well of pain. "Cena wasn't interested, and Dolph... Dolph pretended to for awhile, but he had no problem dropping me at the first sign of trouble." She stares up at him through her eyelashes, taking a deep breath. "After Summerslam, and Smackdown, I thought about everything you said."
"Oh," he says, suddenly feeling exposed and clammy. He'd been wanting closure for a long time, just some sort of answer, but now that it's here, he's not sure what to say, how to feel. "I see." His voice cracks and he closes his eyes in raising nerves as she examines him.
"I considered my past relationships, and what I wanted out of them." She sighs. "It didn't take long to realize that I hadn't felt safe in any of them- even Dolph's, as much as I deluded myself into believing he meant what he said, that he had honest feelings for me. There was a part of me that couldn't believe in it, especially how he kept flirting with every other woman around, and grew obsessive with the world title to the point that he stopped caring about what I was going through in the business..."
He hates hearing about her relationship with Dolph, even if it's less than flattering, but he forces himself to hear her out, knowing that it's the least she deserves from him yet after everything.
"Then I started wondering if I had ever really felt safe... and I could really only pinpoint one time." She sighs and smiles slightly. "Do you remember... the night Jerry Lawler had his heart attack and no one knew if he was going to... to survive or not? And it was all on me, because I was in charge and..." She coughs, becoming a little choked up, and he reaches out, hands pausing a few inches from her shoulders before he drops them back to his sides, not wanting to overstep but also desperate to help her.
"You asked me to hold you that night," he whispers, remembering it well. Similar to now, he'd just wanted to comfort her that night.
She nods jerkily, regaining control of herself at his voice. "Right. I did. And you did. Despite it all, despite you still acting... just trying to get me to get John Morrison his job back. There was nothing insincere about that moment. You held me for so long, I lost track of time, and felt mortified when I pulled back and realized just how much time had passed, but you were so sweet about everything. Walked me back to my office, sat with me in there until the show ended, and made sure I was ok to drive when it was time to leave." She smiles fondly at the memory before looking up at him. "I was close to falling apart again that night but you helped me keep it together, do what needed to be done while we waited for word. I'd never felt safer, and it's a memory that the truth didn't ruin because I could tell it wasn't part of your plan; you weren't pretending or trying to convince me to do anything for you that whole night."
"No," he admits faintly. "I just wanted you to be ok and be around to support you, no matter what was going to happen that night. I'm glad you can look back fondly on something from those days, at least. I never meant to hurt you, I didn't expect it to go this far..."
She presses a finger to his lips. "I know. I understand all of this now, Mike." She takes a breath, looking away from him. "I also realized something else..." She sighs and presses closer to him once more, touch much gentler this time as she grips the back of his head and pulls him down to her level. "The truth of why you did what you did only hurt so much because I... I'm in love you too." Replacing her finger with her lips, she kisses him desperately, swallowing his gasped breaths as he freezes against her. As her hands trail down his sides, he finally wakes up to the reality of what she'd said, what she's doing, and he responds, kissing her back with as much passion, eyes closed so tightly that it hurts because if it's a dream, he doesn't want to know.
"AJ," he mutters against her. "You're so beautiful."
She hesitates mid-kiss, blinking up at him. "And those pants are hideous."
He barks out a laugh, nodding as her hair tickles his skin at the movement. "I agree," he breathes out, relieved that she'd told him her true thoughts about the horrible wrestling gear of Fandango, unlike Rosa who had tried and failed at flirting through exaggerated compliments. He gasps slightly when she pulls away just to leap up into his arms which he instinctively wrap around her hips, holding her in place against him securely as she continues to kiss him, tangling her legs around his midsection. He realizes distantly that they're still in the hallway, where anyone could be watching, and groans. "Your locker room," he mumbles. "Where...?"
"Down this..." She points carelessly over her shoulder, smirking as he slowly heads in that direction, neither of them paying any attention to their surroundings as they continue to make up for lost time, AJ eventually somehow guiding him to her room where he fumbles one-handed for the doorknob before stumbling inside and kicking it shut behind them.
The hallway returns to quiet bustle after that, until... "Hello? ... HEY! Let me out of here! Is anyone OUT THERE?!" Rosa's highpitched screams resume as she slams her fists against the door, desperate to be let out of the dark, empty room. "Miz?! MIZ! See if I dance with you ever again!"
An hour later, Mike watches from the couch in her locker room as AJ slowly pulls herself away from him, leaning down to give him another lingering kiss. "I'll be back," she tells him softly. "I have to deal with some all-important diva business."
"Ok," he murmurs. "I'll be watching... Try not to take too long." She grins down at him, trailing her hands down his chest before finding her title belt and skipping to the door. He sighs, running his fingers through his hair, trying to smooth it back down with an unstoppable grin of his own. "Well, this isn't how I expected tonight to go... at all..." He's so happy he can barely focus on the show until AJ's music hits, the champion skipping out onto stage. Her promo is amazing, Mike's eyes wide as she verbally demolishes the six in and around the ring one by one, smoothly ignoring their attempts at interrupting her and plowing through as if they were meaningless little gnats buzzing around her, which he supposes, is close to truth in this moment.
When she finishes, she skips around the ramp and he smirks, enjoying all of this until the show goes back to commercial. When she returns to him, she looks smug and flushed all at once, tenderly resting the title belt back on the table in front of the couch before sitting in his lap once more, pressing her forehead against his shoulder. "How was that?" she whispers, lightly kissing the skin where Rosa had dug her nails during the interview which feels like it'd been a lifetime ago for Miz, though he's aware that it was barely an hour and a half ago.
"That was awesome," he tells her, cupping her jaw and lifting her face until he can look at her. "You're incredible." She smiles up at him before he leans in and kisses her deeply, brushing his fingers through her hair. As she settles in once more against his chest, they watch as the commentators discuss RVD vs Del Rio next, Mike feeling briefly guilty that he'd completely forgotten Ricardo, hoping that the younger man is doing ok before the first match that he'll be involved in directly that pits his former employer with his current client.
"Hey, where's Mike?" Ricardo asks quietly, trying to get ready for the match but unable to fully focus. A lot rides on this match, and he doesn't want to mess up, especially considering it's the first contest he's involved in since the brutal beatdown Alberto had given him three weeks ago.
"I don't know," Alex says. "Off somewhere with Rosa?" The ring announcer looks as comfortable with that assumption as Alex feels, and they shrug at each other.
Ricardo's distraction fades away when RVD returns, something bright red in his hands. "Eh, Rob?" he asks after a moment, staring at his new friend with some curiosity. "What is that?"
RVD grins as he stares down at the fabric in his hands, shaking it out to cover the bench that Ricardo's always present tuxedo is spread across, waiting for him to change into it. "I had an idea," he says. "See, the whole... dress clothes thing might've worked for Del Rio and all, but it's so not my style. I want you to be comfortable... be yourself... while you're helpin' me out, Ricardo, so what do you say? Wanna wear this?" The three of them peer at the bright red RVD shirt, Ricardo tilting his head as he examines the bright yin/yang symbol near the neckline.
He grins. "Si! In fact, I have something that would match..." He digs around in his own bag and pulls out a nearly as bright piece of Zubaz fabric that he wraps around his fist and across his thumb, Alex noting that it'd succeed at drawing extra attention to his hands for the thumb motions. Rob grins too as the ring announcer lifts the shirt and, brushing the white dress shirt away, quickly pulls it on, staring down at it. He had only worn Alberto's shirts a couple of times in the three years they'd worked together, for tag matches and the like, usually content to remain in his tux, represent Del Rio to the best of his ability... This is a fresh change, one that pleases him, although he'd never required this kind of leniency from Alberto, understanding and even enjoying trying to look his best while he'd stood alongside the older man. "Gracias."
RVD grins at him and claps him on the shoulder before looking up sharply, all of them pausing as they watch the recap of what had happened when Del Rio had attacked Ricardo as it airs on TV, the ring announcer's grin immediately slipping. Rob and Alex both look sympathetically at him before Alex mutes the TV, not wanting to hear the sounds of the bucket impacting with the poor man over and over again. Van Dam stands between him and the screen, trying to distract him from the horrible memories as he drapes the dress jacket over his shoulders and smooths it out, grinning when Ricardo, abruptly understanding the purpose behind this, forces his arms into the sleeves, covering up most of the shirt. "Alright, let's get going."
"Si," Ricardo sighs. By the time they get caught by WWE interviewers, he seems more himself, cheerfully answering a few questions with RVD about their new friendship before they continue onto the ring. It's different, introducing Van Dam, but he does his best, following him down to the ring and waiting for Del Rio, who comes out a few moments later. It's during his entrance that Ricardo unbuttons the jacket, tossing it aside to reveal the whole of the RVD shirt he'd been wearing, pointedly motioning to the back of the shirt as Del Rio glowers up at him, saying something that no one can catch over his theme music.
It's weird for the ring announcer, his eyes still instinctively following Del Rio, though he quickly corrects himself as soon as he realizes who he's watching, working at getting the crowd behind RVD to the best of his ability throughout the match. The contest goes back and forth, Ricardo growing more and more anxious with each nearfall, not wanting them to start off on the losing side of things so early in their allegiance. Another two count that came very close to being a victory for Alberto and he starts looking around wildly for something to do- some way to help Rob that wouldn't cause a DQ. It clicks with him when he sees the commentary table, pacing back and forth by the ring apron as his former employer motions for the armbar.
Caring little about much else than helping his new friend and keeping his former employer from managing another success, he scrambles onto the table and begins doing the thumb motions desperately, effectively distracting Del Rio, who points out at him, yelling something at him. Ricardo's impulsive action works, however, as Del Rio turns back to lock that move in on RVD, just for Rob to use his legs to tangle him up in a pinning combination, winning the match as Ricardo leaps back off of the table and races around the ring to join him, relieved.
They laugh at Del Rio's visible anger as he tries to push past a referee holding him back, probably remembering what he'd done to Sin Cara the week before and not wanting a repeat performance, their pleasure at winning this match only growing when Brad Maddox meets them at gorilla, explaining that he'd decided that if RVD had won this match, he'd gain his Night of Champions match against Alberto for the title. RVD releases a breath before clapping Ricardo on the back, grinning. "Well, Ricardo, this little alliance of ours is off to a great start, isn't it?"
The ring announcer nods. "Si, it definitely is. I'm happy for you, Rob."
"Don't go far," Maddox warns them before returning to his office. "HHH wants all of the superstars out for Daniel Bryan vs The Shield in a little bit."
RVD and Ricardo's grins slip a bit as they exchange glances. "Oh. Great..."
They're still standing there when Mike and Alex join them, the group of superstars filling the gorilla area growing by the moment. "Hey, there you are," the younger man greets them, relieved to see that Mike's changed out of Fandango's ridiculous gear and back into his own.
"Yeah, sorry I wasn't around before the match against Del Rio. You alright?" Mike asks, clapping Ricardo on the shoulder. He just barely gets to nod before Maddox appears again, hovering much too close to Mike to all of their displeasure. "What do you want, Maddox?"
"That's Mr. Maddox to you," he snaps back, trying and failing at sounding authoritarian. "I am your general manager after all." He doesn't seem to notice when Mike rolls his eyes at this, barreling right on to the next thing. "Renee Young has been asked to do interviews before the match begins, HHH wants to hear from Dolph Ziggler, Big Show, and you, so the three of you need to be towards the front and in the middle so the world can see, and hear, what you all have to say."
As he walks off, Mike closes his eyes, shaking his head. "Oh, this'll end well." He feels a familiar gaze on him and turns to find AJ staring at him, head tilted as she clings to her title belt. He nods slightly at her, smiling faintly, before turning back to his friends. The match is just about to begin, the group of them waiting for the announcements to begin before filing out, when loud, rough Spanish fills the air and Ricardo tenses next to Mike, all of them immediately aware of what the problem is. Mike turns sharply, watching as Alberto walks by, too close for all of their comfort as Van Dam pushes his ring announcer back, out of the walking path as the World Champion gazes in their direction.
Miz and Rob glower at him warningly as he walks by, his dark eyes shifting from his opponent at Night of Champions to the man who had came close to knocking him out a week earlier, an angry look on his face as he turns away sharply and storms out onto the stage, the rest slowly trickling out after him. Van Dam keeps his hands securely on Ricardo's shoulders, guiding him to the corner furthest away from where Del Rio's standing, close to where Mike has decided to stand, Ziggler nearby and Big Show across the aisle from them, none of them looking necessarily pleased at being singled out like this.
While waiting for the match to begin, Miz spots AJ standing on the opposite side of the ramp, not far from Del Rio. She looks up at that moment and they stare at each other, the girl smiling a little before Renee begins, going from Show, who remains silent, to Ziggler, who also says nothing. She then turns her attention to Miz, who stares down at her when she says that he's outspoken, wondering how he feels about Daniel's situation. He starts to speak but, along with the many hundreds of eyes locked on him, he can feel Ricardo and Alex's anxiety from here, not to mention the intensity of AJ's gaze, which hadn't broken even when Renee joined him. For this reason, he cuts himself off mid-sentence, gritting his teeth until it's painful.
Their hands are all tied as they watch from the ramp as Daniel defeats Seth Rollins, just for Reigns to interrupt his attempts against Dean Ambrose, the match quickly turning into a pure demolition, HHH coming out to stare down Ziggler and Big Show for the duration. When Orton's music hits, however, it goes from bad to worse, the WWE champion getting HHH's approval to storm the ring and add insult to injury by RKOing Daniel yet again before standing over him, title outstretched over his prone form.
Mike grunts in disgust as the show ends, the superstars slowly returning backstage, none of them necessarily thrilled with what they'd just seen, what it hints is to come for all of them with the Helmsley McMahons back on a ridiculous power trip that would put most of the general managers over the years to shame... He's gnawing at his lips, wanting so badly to have been able to say or do something without risking his job- he'd been fired too many times before, repeating it now when so many people are depending on him is the absolutely last thing he wants to do- but to keep his mouth shut, let Daniel Bryan get destroyed like that again had just been so damn demoralizing. He's only taken a few steps when a soft hand slips into his, looking down to find AJ standing by his side, staring up at him. He squeezes her fingers back, suddenly feeling like he can breathe again.
Ricardo looks around curiously as Alex drives from the airport to his apartment, the two of them too tired after the long flight to really say much. Having a few days off before Smackdown, they'd come back to Tampa so Ricardo could unpack and settle in to Alex's apartment, the group of them having shipped Ricardo's things from Morrison's apartment before they'd left California. He's relieved to find the boxes waiting for them, Alex helping to carry them inside and stack them into the bedroom that's to be the ring announcer's from this moment on. "Gracias," he says with a smile as they drop the last two boxes inside, stepping back to examine their handiwork.
"No problem, man. I know the room's not huge or anything, like what you had back at Del Rio's, but do you think you'll be ok in here?"
Ricardo looks surprised for a moment before nodding vehemently, feeling a little bad that Alex had been thinking perhaps the room wouldn't be good enough for him in comparison to Del Rio's large grounds and house. "Si, it's perfect, Alex. I had an apartment similar to this one before Alberto hired me, so I'll be more than fine."
"Great," Alex says, looking relieved. "Do you need any help unpacking?"
The ring announcer looks around the room at his few bags and boxes before shaking his head, smiling. "No, gracias, Alex. I think I can manage on my own."
"Alright," he says, clapping Ricardo on the back as he stands. "Call if you need anything, I have to sort through mail and all of that fun stuff..." He smiles before leaving the room, quickly getting lost in trying to catch up on all of his responsibilities that had built up during the weeks he'd spent in California, busy with WWE and everything going on with Miz and Ricardo. When he finally finds himself at the other side, most of his bills now paid, calls returned, and other business handled, he's surprised to find that the sun's set and he's starving. "Damn," he mumbles, blinking in surprise at the clock.
Getting up from the table and stretching as his back and neck pops in protest of the lengthy period he'd spent not moving, he sighs and ventures back to the bedrooms, knocking on Ricardo's partially open door. "Hey, man, are you hungry-?" he starts to ask, pushing the door the rest of the way open just to come to a sudden stop as he finds his new roommate sitting glumly on the end of his bed, staring down at his iPad. Merch shirts are scattered along Ricardo's bed, as if he'd been examining them, and Alex is startled to find the Viva Del Rio! and RVD shirts laying side by side. "What's wrong?"
Ricardo blinks a few times before handing the device up to him, watching as he reads the interview on the page, mouthing some of it while sitting down next to the ring announcer. "Alberto- he took this interview Summerslam week," he whispers. "It says he's certain that I, his friend, would find a new role in the business soon. Two days later, I aligned myself with Rob." He glances over his shoulder at the shirts and grimaces, tears welling up in his eyes. "He still considered me his friend...?"
Alex closes his eyes, quickly pressing the button to make the tablet go dark before leaning closer to Ricardo, rubbing circles in his shoulders. "Hey, man. I know a part of you is still conflicted, may be for a long time to come, but I saw your face when WWE replayed the clips of him beating you down earlier. Those aren't the actions of a friend, alright? What he did that night was unnecessarily cruel. You didn't deserve that. And perhaps when he took this interview, you working alongside one of his enemies wasn't what he expected, but did he really think you would take that kind of thing laying down? After all that you've done for him, for him to repay your loyalty like that... I think Mike and I would've been more worried if you hadn't wanted some kind of revenge against him."
Ricardo releases a pained breath, still staring at the two shirts side by side. "I know how his mind works," he mutters. "You saw it in the interview. He thinks it's just... business, firing me by beating me up to that extent, that it wasn't personal. But it was three years of my life that he kicked away like it was nothing, with no warning, or... or anything." He stares at his trembling hands. "I'm not wrong here, am I? You don't think I'm overdoing it, by... by going after what I know he values above everything else? His title?"
Alex slowly shakes his head. "Ricardo, you know the only person other than Del Rio who has said you're a traitor by these actions? JBL. I think that says it all. Mike and I are on your side, as are a number of other people. Why do you think Rob so easily agreed to help you?" He smiles at the ring announcer as he slowly calms down, nodding a little. "Now come on, let's put this behind us for now and get something to eat. I lost track of time while working on stuff, I bet you did too."
"Si, I did," Ricardo admits, staring at the clock in shock. As they walk side by side to the kitchen, Alex wraps an arm around the younger man's shoulders and smiles. "I'm going to be ok." It seems almost experimental, the ring announcer saying those words, and he looks pleasantly surprised when he realizes that he actually means them.
"Damn straight you're gonna be," Alex agrees quietly.