Raw is a shitshow, to put it mildly. Mike has a match against Mustafa Ali and he can barely focus- Ciampa's injury now being confirmed as serious hip surgery which will have him out the better part of a year, everything with Lumis hanging over his head, missing out on Halloween with Sara and Andre, and- well... just everything. He taps his fingers against his thighs and tries to hold himself together, when he hears a familiar music booming through the arena. A wild thought crosses his mind, and he slowly gets to his feet, making it to the curtain to peek out and watch as Heyman and Roman discuss this Saturday in Saudi Arabia and the match against Logan Paul.
He tries, he does. Goes out, tries to compliment Roman and do things the right thing. He even thinks he's getting somewhere when Roman laughs and says he likes him. But it still ends the same way- a punch to the face, a throbbing jaw and at least one loose tooth. He thinks it's an easy way to delay the match against Ali, but no. On top of that, he's informed that Gargano is going to have a tell all interview later that night, and just like that, the old fears that maybe his and AJ's secret will be told to the world, just like that, on Halloween no less. He doesn't want to believe that Ciampa would betray his secret to Gargano like that, but he knows anything's possible. Especially when someone's injured and not really thinking straight.
Mike paces, he rubs his jaw absently, he tries texting Tommaso once or twice- or five times- and gets nothing in the way of answers. He's so distracted that it's not really a shock that Ali ultimately gets the win, Mike hitting the mat in frustration as pain stabs up his jaw anew.
He barely gets backstage, sitting in the trainer's office, when Gargano's interview begins. He hisses and glares up at the screen, trying desperately to hold it together, when Gargano begins to weave a tale that immediately takes some of the tension out of Mike's sails. His babbling has nothing to do with AJ and Maryse, no! It's some stupid recordings of him paying Lumis off, taken out of context. He rolls his eyes and buries his face in his hands, exhaling slowly. Whatever. Let them believe whatever, he doesn't even care. There's no point in trying to explain what he was doing there, how originally Lumis was just to be a distraction while Mike tried to get his footing back under him, still feeling a little off-center after his knee injury, John's firing, the loss to Logan Paul, every other bad thing that had happened the past year.
He grits his teeth after the trainer finishes examining him and lets him go, eager to change into street clothes and return to his hotel, where he can call AJ and release some steam before he catches a flight out to Pennsylvania, just needing to see her, and be somewhere kind of calm and comforting. The first time he calls, though, there's no answer, the phone just ringing and ringing until AJ's voicemail claims it. He frowns and decides to eat the cold chicken leftovers he'd stored in the fridge before trying again, sipping from his bottled water when finally the phone clicks three rings in the second time he tries dialing AJ.
"Hey," AJ says, sounding a little stressed.
"Hey." Mike pauses, deciding to push his own issues aside for a minute. "Are you alright? I tried calling earlier and you didn't answer."
AJ doesn't say anything for a minute, and Mike's really growing concerned. "Alicia gave birth a couple of hours ago," she says with a soft, awed laugh.
"Oh shit," Mike says, almost kicking his food containers off of the bed entirely as he sits up, amazed. "is she ok? Are the twins-?"
"Everyone's great," AJ says, sounding a little tearful. "The doctors were a little concerned, but the babies came out healthy and whole, and Alicia's doing really well, considering. I'm sorry I didn't watch Raw, I know a lot's going on-"
"No, no, don't worry about it," Mike says, waving it off. "It's fine. Um, I was planning on coming out there tomorrow, is that still ok?"
"I'm sure Alicia and Ricardo would appreciate an extra pair of hands," AJ says with a soft laugh. "Yeah, we'll be glad to have you, Mike. I miss you."
"I miss you too," he says, dropping the containers into the trashcan. "I'm sure you're wiped out, I'll see you tomorrow and we'll talk about everything then, alright? Tell Alicia and Ricardo congratulations for me."
"I will," she promises. "Love you. Good night."
"Love you," he echoes back, before hanging up and lounging back on his bed, crossing his fingers over his chest and staring up at the ceiling. "Well, what do you know," he murmurs. "At least something's going right."