Mike stares down at his schedule, frowning. "Hey, sweetheart?"
"Yep?" she calls back from where she's settled on the patio, book resting on her legs. He joins her, kissing her shoulder lightly. "What's up, husband?"
"I'll be home in time for fireworks Wednesday, you wanna invite Johnny and Taya over?" Not that long ago, it would've been more- Heath, Maryse, Ricardo and Alicia, but this'll do, he thinks. A lowkey Fourth of July party, watch some fireworks, eat some grilled food, watch Sara's first real experience with fireworks. She'd been too young to understand last year, so he's really looking forward to her seeing the bright lights, helping her to not be afraid at the noise.
AJ taps her bookmark against her lips and then nods. "Sure, unless they're busy with Lucha Underground."
"I'll ask," he murmurs, nosing at her cheek and slowly kissing her, his hands sprawling over her stomach. Sara's napping inside, so things are quiet, calm, and he sighs, humming softly as she turns and throws her arms around his neck, kissing him back eagerly. "The neighbors-" he says after a few moments, easing back from her.
"I don't care," she says, pressing against him and staring him in the eye. "I love you, Mike Mizanin. You're a great friend, a perfect husband and the best father I could ask for, whether we have one child or ten."
He smiles a little bit. "I love you too, of course, but what brought that on?" he wonders, rubbing aimless circles in her back. Searches her eyes for some clue before looking down at what she's reading. "Oh," he breathes, picking up her autobiography and thumbing through it. "Thinking about a sequel?"
"No," she says, exhaling softly. "Just revisiting some things." Rests her head on his shoulder, staring at some of her deepest, darkest secrets scrawled over the pages fanned out before them. "Thinking about how thankful I am that Sara will never experience half of what I did."
Mike nods, kissing the top of her head. "None of our kids will," he murmurs. She smiles up at him, eyes bright with unshed tears, before returning to kissing him enthusiastically, her fingers carding through his hair.
Smackdown is useless. Mike challenges for the US title, Mike loses. The less said the better, he's just eager to return home to his girls and the plans with John and Taya.
He's grilling, listening to Sara babble behind him, when AJ says awkwardly from the house, "Uh, Mike, you might wanna come see this." She rewinds the TV as he hoists Sara up and carries her inside, brows furrowing as he watches Lucha Underground, Taya and John victorious in the match that had delayed their plans temporarily. "Ok-" he's starting to say, when Kobra Moon's faction attacks, leaving Taya and PJ Black tied up, promising bad things for Mundo, who is motionless on the mat, eyes barely open. "Well, shit," he mumbles. They exchange glances before Mike sighs and hands Sara back over to her, going for his cell phone.
It rings and rings and he exhales softly as voicemail clicks in. "Hey, John. I saw what happened after your match tonight, if you wanna cancel, just let me know. We'll keep some food warm for you guys." He hangs up and frowns at AJ. "Well, I guess it's just the three of us for now." He chuffs Sara under the chin and smiles as she grabs at his fingers, fussing slightly as she stares at the toys scattered along the floor.
AJ laughs and puts her down before leaning in to kiss Mike. "Might wanna check the grill," she teases him as his eyes widen and he ducks out onto the patio to do just that. "Daddy's silly," she tells Sara with a soft smile before sitting down to join her.
About half an hour later, they've just sat down to eat when they hear doors slam and John's exhausted voice, "Mike? AJ?"
"Back here," Mike calls, watching as his best friend and his wife pick their way around the house to hte backyard, slumping down in the available chairs. Neither look exactly 100%, Taya's wrists still showing signs of the ropes and John grimacing every time he shifts, anger simming beneath the surface for both of them, but Mike knows exactly how to fix that, offering both of them copious amounts of grilled meat and vegetables, before plopping Sara down in Taya's lap and letting the toddler cheer them up as she babbles and waves her chubby fists around.
It works pretty quickly as Taya's face clears and she leans down to kiss the little girl's cheek, hugging her closely. John watches the two of them with a besotted look on his face and Mike wonders how long it'll be before they try for kids of their own.
They're just cleaning up when the fireworks begin and Sara whimpers at the sudden loud noise, Mike smoothly taking her from Taya and whispering to her as she buries her face in Mike's shirt, starting to cry. "S'ok, baby, just some noise. But it's really pretty." He kisses her cheek, rubbing up and down her back soothingly. She's still tense when she looks up, the bright lights reflecting off of her eyes as she gapes up at the night sky.
She presses her feet into his thighs and he allows her to stand up on his legs, securely gripping her around the middle as she reaches up for the exploding colors out of reach, fists clenching at thin air. He'd missed a lot of her firsts on the road, and every time he sees her, she seems to know new words at a startling speed, but there's one thing he's not heard come from her lips except for once or twice when she first started sounding out words, keeping him awake some nights as he tries not to worry about what it could mean. So when she grabs once more at the nightsky and then looks at him, his heart skips a beat. "Daddy!" she says, a pleasant warmth, loving and sweet, overwhelming Mike as AJ turns to look at them, a soft smile crossing her face as she sees the expression on her husband's face.
"Yeah, baby, I'm here," he says, more than a little choked up as he pulls her in for a hug, cradling the back of her head as fireworks go on, all but forgotten. "I love you, Sara. Never forget that," he murmurs into her hair, determined to Facetime with her more often so that their bond can continue to strengthen, so that she'll never doubt how far he would go for her. Once she's sitting comfortably in his lap once more, watching the fireworks reach their finale, he looks over at his friends and wife with a small smile. "Happy fourth, guys."
"Happy fourth!" they return enthusiastically.