European tours are always tough. More so now that it means leaving Sara behind and going to places where internet connection might be spotty, not to mention phone service, so he can't communicate with AJ as easy as usual. Mike taps his fingers against the screen of his phone and exhales, watching the bars fluctuate and struggle to find a connection. He sighs and closes his eyes, peeking over as Heath and Maryse sit down next to him, both talking quietly and laughing amongst themselves. "What's so funny?" he asks, probably sounding a bit more cranky than he intends to when they both look up at him, surprised.
"Oh, just lookin' at these old wrestling posters, man. You know there's like a stack of 'em in one of the storage rooms, and some of 'em are, like, really old?" Heath's eyes are lit up, a grin on his face, and Mike gives up on his phone, shifting closer to get a better look at the dated posters. Some are for indy events, some are WWE, there's even a couple WCW mixed in there.
"That is crazy," he says, shifting through the advertisements for the long dead federation. "I kinda wanna take a couple of these, but I bet they'd get pissed if I did. Kinda looks like a collection someone has."
"Yeah, better just put 'em back where we found 'em," Heath agrees, scooping up the papers and leaning over to kiss Maryse before slipping out of the room. "I gotta find Rhyno anyway, do some plannin' for our tag team turmoil match later."
Maryse nods at the abandoned phone as soon as the door shuts behind him. "Can't get ahold of them, huh?"
Mike exhales. "No. Phone's not connecting. I guess I have to wait until after Raw, maybe the internet connection will be steadier in the next leg of the tour."
Maryse nods soberly, feeling bad for him. "Well, I'm sure everything's fine." She rubs his shoulder comfortingly and then looks up. "Show's beginning. Wanna kick it off?"
"Sure." He gets up, helps her to her feet and they both pause when Dean's music beats them to the punch, a scowl spreading across Mike's face. "C'mon." They're heading out to the ring when Mike's phone buzzes, and he jumps, not expecting it to choose now to work. "What the-?" He answers it, not recognizing the number. "Hello?" He frowns. "Stephanie McMahon?"
Maryse looks somewhere between worried and impressed, listening as best as she can until Mike hangs up. "What was that?"
"She wants me to be general manager for tonight because Angle's unable to be here," Mike says with an awed grin on his face. "C'mon, let's wreck ol' Deano's night out there." He grips her hand and they walk out together to do just that, some of Mike's thunder getting taken away when he realizes that Angle had made Dean co-General Manager. Which means he can only do so much when Dean puts him in a match against Finn to pay him back for the week prior, choosing to pay him back by placing Dean in a match against Bray Wyatt.
Finn is a tough bastard, and Mike tries to hold up against him, but it's not worth it. He's #1 contender, and he has better things to do than this. So he tries to get himself DQ'd but of course Dean reappears and forces the match to resume, Finn quickly getting the win while Mike's struggling to get his feet back under him.
Maryse gets him to safety, bless her, and he sits in the locker room, watching through narrowed eyes as the show continues on. She leaves him after Heath takes the bulk of damage in the tag team turmoil match and gets them eliminated, Rhyno having to help him backstage as he leans heavily against him. "I'm sorry," he mumbles. "I shoulda-"
"Not your fault," Rhyno says. "They took me out early too, you did the best you could against both of them. I'm proud of you. We'll get 'em next time."
Heath doesn't say anything to this, resting his head against Rhyno's massive shoulder before spotting Maryse and trying to stand taller as she joins them, cups his face and kisses him slowly. "I'm sorry that happened," she says, eyeing both of them. "Are you both ok?"
"Think so," Heath breathes out, leaning in for another kiss which she grants him, smiling up at him as she tries to sort his messy hair out.
"We will be, don't worry," Rhyno says, still supporting Heath as he staggers down the hall towards Mike's locker room.
Once they're settled in, Maryse tucked in close to Heath's side and Rhyno scrounging for something to eat, Mike holds his phone up. "Yes!"
They all turn to look at him and Maryse beams. "Hey, you got it to connect," she says, waving at AJ.
"Miracle of miracles," he murmurs, talking to his wife and grinning at the sleeping image of his daughter until it's the main event, and he reluctantly hangs up, once more urging Maryse up and walking out to ringside. They watch and wait for an opportunity, which when it comes, eases Bray to get the victory, Mike laughing all the way backstage once the show ends. "Ah, yes. Being Intercontinental Champion after next week will feel so good." Feeling unusually lighthearted, he spins Maryse around and beams at her before going to collect his things. "C'mon, let's get out of here. I wanna celebrate once we make the next town."
Heath and Rhyno are waiting for them by the bus that will transport them all to the next town and while Maryse sits with Heath, Mike ends up next to Rhyno, which isn't bad. The guy apparently had gotten his fill from the various foods in catering and around Mike's locker room, so he sleeps most of the trip, allowing Mike to sit and think about everything going right in his life- title opportunities, his happy homelife, the good friends he's regularly surrounded by.
Glancing out at the moon overhead, he smiles.