Author's Notes: I wanted an RVD/Ricardo Rodriguez fic so I wrote one myself.

It goes without saying that I'm writing about the characters here and not about the actual wrestlers, and I'm not making any kind of money off of this weird hobby of mine.

When Alberto fired him –or bashed his brains in it was more like- Ricardo shut down. He couldn't move or fight back. He just let everything happen, unable to react at all. Three years of his life concluded in a flurry of anger, fists, and steel steps. It just came out of nowhere. He was just doing his job, wasn't he?

Well, he doesn't have a job anymore, he's sure of that. After being taken care of, he can't do much more right now than just lie on his back on the trainer's table and stare up at the ceiling. He's told he'll do just fine. Nothing broken. Just some scrapes and bruises. Nothing that can't be fixed by just taking it easy for a few days. It hurts more than just that. His chest feels like it's being crushed and his guts are being stirred around. He's been smacked around more than a few times, but this was beyond the pale. Why did this have to happen? Was he missing something? What exactly happened there? He might puke or he might start crying. He covers his eyes with his arm. It's so he can protect his eyes from the bright fluorescent lights. That's why his eyes are watering. It's the lights. He's not going to cry. No way.

The door to the trainer's room opens and then there's a knock. "I heard you got beat up after I left the ring, man. You okay?"

He tries to say, "Yeah, I'm fine." but all that comes out is a warbling "Y-yeah" that he struggles to get out around the lump in his throat. Fuck, he is crying. He's not sobbing or anything, but it's definitely happening. Fuck.

"Well, I'm feeling bad about what happened. Anything I can help?" Ricardo can feel the other man standing over him. He can't respond.

"I guess this is a bad time, huh?" He hears him turn around and walk to the door.

"I'm sorry." Ricardo's not entirely sure who he's saying this to or why.

"There's nothing to be sorry about, man." Ricardo hears his footsteps as he turns around. "But that guy? Alberto? He should be sorry. That wasn't cool."

Ricardo wants to defend his old boss like he would always do, but right now he just can't find the heart to do that. He's just trying to breathe and push down the sobbing fit welling up in his chest.

"You mind if I take a seat?"

It takes a few moments for the question to process, but Ricardo shakes his head. The man sits and they spent what feels like forever in silence.

"Do you have anywhere to go?"

Ricardo's chest hitches.

"I mean, I hear you guys were never apart, so I may be making assumptions here… And I'm sorry if I am, but… Do you have anywhere to stay tonight?"

Ricardo purses his lips and bites the insides of his cheeks. He's trying not to give himself away. He turns his head away from the direction the voice is coming from.

"Do you, Ricky?"

Tears are leaking out and rolling sideways across his face and onto the waxy paper on the table. If he tries to talk at all he knows he'll start bawling. He shakes his head as a "No".

"You can stay in my room for tonight."

"…"

"You wanna leave now or… Is now a bad time? 'Cuz if it is I…"

Ricardo sits up facing away from him. He doesn't want him to see him like this, but god, he really doesn't want to stay in this arena any longer than he already has. He sniffs and wipes his face with his already tear-stained tux sleeve. He gets onto his feet to leave with the man, but almost immediately he's down on his knees emptying the contents of his stomach into a waste bin. He can't stop apologizing in between spitting and sobbing. The other man squats down beside him with a hand on his back and an offering of tissues.

"It's okay, man." He helped Ricardo back up onto his feet.

"Thanks, Rob"

When they rode together to the hotel, Rob mentioned the possibility of Ricardo working for him. The prospect of being able to continue being useful to someone lifted a tremendous load of anxiety off of his shoulders. It wasn't a sure thing just yet, but he needed something to hold onto. Rob never mentions the fact that he saw him crying, which is a relief.

Ricardo insists on carrying both their bags up to Rob's room, and once in the room he gets to work on unpacking everything from Rob's bags. Rob stands nonplussed as he watches the young man hang and fold his clothes. What are you supposed to do in this situation? When Ricardo is down to organizing his toiletries on the bathroom sink, he decides that he has to stop this. He can't stand seeing this kid stress out over small stuff like shoe alignment and toothbrush placement.

"Hey man, you don't have to do all this. I mean it." Rob grabs onto his wrists. Ricardo initially gets that familiar panicked feeling of ice in his veins, worried that he had offended his prospective new boss. Then he looks at Rob's face; the guy's more worried than mad.

Ricardo can't believe this. For so long he's been doing this kind of stuff for Alberto that it's all just muscle memory by now. He wasn't even thinking about what he was doing. He just did what he had been told to do every night for so long. Like a goddamn robot or a circus monkey or something. Pathetic. He drops his hands from Rob's grip and stares at his feet.

"It's been a long day, so how about you just relax, all right?"

"A-alright… Do you mind if I shower before you?"

Rob had no idea why this was even a question. It didn't matter at all who went first.

"Uh… No? Not at all? You don't have to ask. I really don't care, Ricardo. You deserve it anyway." He gave Ricardo's shoulder a brief squeeze before leaving him alone.

After making all his preparations, Ricardo got into the shower. This new situation he found himself in was kind of confusing. While he still worked for Alberto, Alberto was pretty much all he knew. Sure, he still talked to other people, but he still travelled with Alberto, ate with Alberto, roomed with Alberto, and… Well, he did a lot of things with Alberto. His head was full of his former patrón. He truly loved him, but after what he did to him… He just wanted Alberto out of his head. And how was that going to take? What just happened earlier wasn't a terribly good sign.

And Rob? Was he going to turn out to be like Alberto? No… He's too nice, right? But Alberto was very generous at times, too. Very, very generous. Like when he called Ricardo his best friend in public after Sheamus injured him. Like on New Year's Eve, when he let him drive his car, told him he deserved more. Just a month or so ago Alberto was being friendly on a regular basis. He sometimes even let him… Well, Alberto was even nicer than Rob van Dam sometimes. He still betrayed him, though. In front of so many people, and on the first night of being back with him after a month, too. He thought Alberto missed him.

He still can't really believe that happened to him. It still feels like all that happened to someone else. Maybe he'll wake up at any moment, and he'll be in a hotel room and see Alberto sleeping in the bed next to his. He'll get up and get everything prepared for the day and everything will be normal and what happened was all was just a bad dream. He could swear he could hear the alarm on his phone ringing.

Aw, fuck. He can't believe he's even fantasizing about being back with him. Alberto was never really good to him. He was so in love… No, he was so infatuated with Alberto that he never really realized what was going on between them. His "friend" left him in the rain so many times. He made him do some of the most humiliating things. He exploded on him for even the smallest mistakes. He slapped him and knocked him to the ground on more occasions than he could count. He used him as a human shield against his opponents. His old neck injuries still keep him up some nights. He loved him, but he was so afraid of him at the same time. Everything was so wrong, but his obsession with the Alberto he had in his head kept him from seeing it all. And no one helped him. Everyone saw how he was being treated and no one helped him. Some even saw this and made things even worse for him because of his association with Alberto. Most just laughed at him. What had he done to deserve this? He knows he deserved this, but why? Everything is so wrong.

Ricardo covers up his mouth with both hands. He feels like he's screaming, but all that comes out was a long, thin whine. His hands and the falling water muffle it all up, so he keeps going. It's best if he just lets it all out now. Tears and snot run down his face and over his knuckles. His screaming dies down into sobbing and his sobbing to low whimpers and then he's done. His breath is shaking and he feels like he can start all over again if he doesn't concentrate on just breathing, but he's pretty sure done. He's gotten all he can out. He cleans off his face and hands before shutting off the water. He dries off his red, hot skin and drinks a glass of water. His head hurts and he feels like his body's made out of jello.

Once he's dressed he walks into the bedroom. Rob's lying on the bed and the only light in the room is flickering from the TV. Rob gives him a nod in acknowledgement but thankfully says nothing. Ricardo doesn't want to talk right now, and Rob can probably see that. The TV shuts off when Ricardo crawls under the sheets on his side of the bed.

Before he falls asleep, he hears Rob say from the other side of the bed, "If you wanna, like, talk about anything sometime… Doesn't have to be now… I'm here, okay?"

Ricardo just gives a grunt in acknowledgement.

The next few days go by pretty normally. Ricardo still messes up sometimes and does things he would have done for Alberto, and Rob assures him that he wasn't messing up. He says there's nothing to be sorry for. He says he's not his boss and he doesn't need to act like he is, though Ricardo still has some doubts about that. Rob seems to be a really nice guy. Alberto wasn't such a bad guy at the beginning, either. Sooner or later Rob's going to figure out Ricardo's weak points and take advantage of those, too. And sooner or later, he's going to disappoint Rob, like he did Alberto. And Rob's going to leave him just like Alberto did, and oh god…

No, he can't let himself think like this. Alberto's already screwed up his body, dignity, and self-esteem. He can't let him ruin his relationships, too. Alberto left him alone and with a lot of enemies. He can't let him take away the one good thing he has going for him right now. He's here now, living in the present. The past is behind, the future is ahead, and he just has to stay here in reality. He can't get stuck in his head like this. It's easier said than done, but still. He can't let himself think like that. Alberto's gone, and he has a new boss, no, friend now.

After the first week or so in his new job as Rob Van Dam's announcer, the situation sank in and Ricardo didn't cry anymore over it. The doubtful thoughts never stopped, but they slowed down, became more manageable. Soon he came to not miss his old employment at all.

Rob is a great friend, it turns out. They share a surprising amount of things in common. Ricardo can have long conversations with him, which he hasn't actually been able to do with anyone in a long time. Most conversations with Alberto were limited to a few sentences, but Rob would let him go on for hours. Not only that, but he would be an active participant in their talks, which on a few occasions last well into night. They don't talk about Alberto or what happened, and Rob never pushes the issue. Maybe Rob should push him about it, but he sees Ricardo has boundaries and Rob respects them, which hasn't happened often enough for him in the past. It's oddly comforting. Being with Rob made him feel like a full-fledged person for the first time in… Well, a very long time.

Another thing Ricardo appreciates about Rob is how physically affectionate he is. Sometimes he'd wrap an arm around Ricardo's shoulders or ruffle his hair. This is stuff he's already used to from Alberto during his better moods, but it feels different with Rob. He can't quite place what exactly makes it different. Is it because Rob does it more freely, consistently? Not just when things go well for him? Maybe it's because he doesn't have to perform for it? No matter the reason, it just feels good. Sometimes even the simplest touch from Rob sends shocks to his wrists and the pit of his stomach, and he would have to stifle an embarrassing moan. He always wants more. The closer he can be to him, the longer a touch can last, the better. So he pushes for more intimate contact over time. In private, a friendly pat can become a caress that makes his stomach flip-flop, a hug can get him chaste kisses, and eventually most of their nighttime conversations end in him falling asleep in Rob's arms. He barely has to push, really. Sometimes he wonders if Rob wants what he wants, or if he's just extremely accommodating. Those thoughts are just coming from parts of him that are still second-guessing himself. He has to keep reminding himself this.

"You like me, don't you?" Rob jostles the shoulder in his hand and Ricardo buries his face into his side to hide his reddening face. He feels too much like a child right now, curled up by his friend on his hotel bed.

"Yeah, you do." There's a bit of laughter in his voice. Ricardo just can't help but laugh into Rob's shirt, no matter how embarrassed he feels.

"Is it okay, though?" His voice is muffled.

"Well, it's kind of weird isn't it? I'm technically your employer, and I'm what, twice your age? I… I just…" He sighs and holds Ricardo closer to him. "It's just weird, you know?"

Ricardo wriggles his way up until he's able to press his lips to Rob's neck. "Yeah, I guess… But I do like you."

"I like you too, kid."

Ricardo grins and nuzzles into his neck. He kisses and nips at his jawline until he reaches his ear. Just having his lips there makes Rob hum, which encourages Ricardo to kiss around the shell of his ear and take his earlobe between his teeth and suck lightly. It doesn't take much before Rob growls and flips Ricardo over to straddle his body. A hand wraps around the back of his head and pulls him down for a kiss. Ricardo responds with enthusiasm. This was a surprise, being their first kiss on the lips, but really, he's been waiting for this to happen for a while now. Too soon Rob separates the kiss, Ricardo let out a small whine at the loss of contact.

"Sorry for that… I-I wasn't thinking, and—"

"Don't be sorry. I want this."

Ricardo leans back down to join their lips again. Once he knows how welcome this is, Rob puts more work into the kiss. His tongue sweeps over Ricardo's lower lip, and he's easily allowed inside. One hand massages the back of the man's neck and the other runs up and down his side, sometimes going under his shirt. Ricardo moans happily into his mouth, kissing hungrily, his hips rocking into Rob's belly. He barely has control over what his body does at this point. He hasn't been touched like this in months, and he's certainly never been kissed like this. His head is just buzzing with sensations and feelings, he can't think at all about what his hips are doing. He's pretty much grinding his groin into Rob, and his head's starting to feel light. He would happily go on forever, but he has to take a break. Their lips part with a wet sound. Ricardo sits back, breathless, panting, and with a tired grin. Rob's hands come down to rest on Ricardo's knees, and he breaths heavily through his nose.

"You look pretty excited, man." He nods to the tent in Ricardo's thin sweatpants. The tip already has a noticeable wet spot.

Ricardo looks bashful. A blush would have formed if he wasn't already flushed. He shuffles around to lie back on the bed and lays his head down on Rob's belly. He's just too flustered to do anything at the moment.

"I can take care of that for you, if you want."

Ricardo stiffens and squeezes his eyes shut. This isn't an offer he's received before. He's used to taking care of others before doing anything for himself. That hasn't happened for a while, and even then no one else has ever touched him that way. He wants to take him up on this, desperately so, but there's a bit of nervousness squirming in his guts when he thinks about it. He swallows thickly.

"Ah… Just let me calm down a bit."

"Sure thing."

Ricardo concentrates on breathing, trying to slow down. Rob cards his fingers through his hair, which helps a little. There's no reason he shouldn't accept Rob's offer, right? He should be able to relax and let someone that he cares about give him pleasure. He deserves to be treated well, doesn't he? His hand drifts down to his cloth-covered erection, gingerly running his thumb over the head. There's nothing to worry about at all, really. He sighs and his eyes open. There's a ridge in Rob's shorts. How long has he been hard? His free hand slowly creeps up on his waistband, stopping once his fingers brush on it. He can see it bob in excitement.

"Can I touch you?"

"Please." His hips jut up to make his point.

He pulls the waistband down far enough to free him, and curls his fingers around Rob's length. It's hot and thick and heavy, and his skin is so soft. He slowly strokes him, earning a soft hum in contentment. He looks back for a second to look at Rob's face. His eyes have slipped closed and the corners of his lips are curled into the most relaxed smile. He leans down and licks the head with the flat of his tongue. Rob moans at this, so he goes on to wrap his lips around him, bobbing and sucking lightly as a warm-up.

"Mmm. Hold up a second."

Ricardo takes him out of his mouth and turns around in response.

"I can't really get into this if I just lie here. I kinda like to give while I receive, you know?"

"What are you thinking?"

"You wanna 69?"

"Oh, ah… Sure." Obviously, this is something he's never tried before, but it should be easy enough. "Should I be on top or bottom?"

Rob sits up and lays a fist on top a palm. "Rock, paper scissors? Winner gets top?"

Ricardo shifts so he's sitting on his heels, and brings out his hands just like Rob's.

Rock… Paper… Scissors… Ricardo has a fist on his palm, and Rob is holding out his index and middle fingers. Ricardo grins and brings his fist down on Rob's hand, making a crashing sound with his mouth like he's "crushing" the scissors.

Rob lets out a "whoop" and swiftly pulls off his shirt and shorts and throws himself back onto the mattress, bouncing when he lands. Ricardo isn't quite as enthusiastic when he tugs down his sweatpants.

"Do you want me to take my shirt off, or…?"

"Nah, who cares? I don't care. Just get over here."

Ricardo decides to just keep the shirt on. He straddles him and Rob grabs his thighs to position his hips just right. Ricardo positions himself over Rob and is just about ready to work on him when he's suddenly enveloped. The sensation causes his upper body to collapse onto him, gasping and mewling in delight against his thigh.

"Ah! So warm!"

He felt Rob laugh around him, the vibrations sending shocks right to his gut. Ricardo grunts at the feeling. Rob takes him out of his mouth and pats one of his thighs affectionately.

"You're really sensitive, aren't you?"

"Y-yeah. It's been a while."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Rob puts his mouth back on his cock. This time he just licks and mouths at the shaft, taking more time to warm him up before he'd eventually take him back in again. This gives Ricardo just enough where he can still hold himself up and think. Before felt great, it did, but it was absolutely overwhelming. He mutters out a "thank you" for slowing down.

He gathers himself wraps his mouth around Rob and bobs his head, twisting slightly each time he comes up. His style is quiet and efficient, his eyes closed, focused and dedicated to this task. At least, as much as he can be while he has a hot, wet mouth on him and calloused but gentle hands roaming along his thighs and ass. Ricardo's easily able to find just the right amount of suction, his hand cups his balls perfectly, and his tongue swirls around and adds pressure to just the right spots. He may be inexperienced in pretty much everything else, but he has this down to an art. It sends Rob's head buzzing and he moans openly over the underside of Ricardo's cock, hot breath washing over it. He grunts and his legs jerk around Ricardo's head when he gives him a particularly long suck.

"You're getting me really close." Rob moans out, hot breath washing over Ricardo's thigh. Ricardo keeps going, listening intently to every sound from the man under him.

"I want you to hold onto my load for me." Ricardo's stomach flip-flops at the idea.

Ricardo gives just a few more bobs until Rob grips hard onto his thighs and lets out a long, low growl, his legs tensing and his hips pressing up into his mouth. His cock pulses and Ricardo's tongue is coated and filled with his warm cum. Ricardo gives him one last sweep with his tongue. He was worried it would be difficult holding all this, that it would be too bitter to stand, but it's not. It tastes pretty pleasant. Rob gives Ricardo's still-wet member a few strokes and plants a kiss just under the slit.

"I wanna go all-out on you. You ready for that?"

Ricardo grunted an "mmm-hmm" as confirmation and Rob sucked him into his mouth immediately. Rob is a lot messier than Ricardo. His lips smack and slurp along his length, and he hums happily as he goes up and down. Ricardo grinds his forehead into Rob's belly and moans and pants through his nose as the pleasure radiates through his body. Rob punctuates every one of his moans with an extra "hmm" and god all this keeps building up on him, it's too much, and his orgasm crashes into him like a semi. He can't even think and it feels like his entire body is just thrumming. He cries out and a bit of Rob's cum bubbles out and runs down his cheek before he clamps his mouth shut again. Rob makes sure to suck every drop from him. With the last bit of his strength Ricardo rolls off of Rob and onto his back. His forehead is slicked with sweat and his chest heaves with his breath.

Rob flips himself over and moves himself to sit in between Ricardo's splayed legs. One hand goes around the back of Ricardo's head and the other motions for him to sit up. He sits up for him and Rob pulls him in closer. He kisses to corner of his lip first and his tongue flicks over the white trail there. He presses his parted lips full onto Ricardo's, and he responds by opening his mouth to let him in. Cum rolls off Rob's tongue into his mouth and he tastes himself mixed with his friend. Rob runs his tongue over Ricardo's, tasting them together with a rumbling growl. Ricardo throws his arms around his shoulder and pressed his chest against Rob's, who presses harder against the back of Ricardo's head. They continue kissing deeply for a while until they separate, both panting and swallowing, with a string of spit and cum still connecting them. Rob licks off the cum that had dribbled down his friend's chin and wipes his own face with the back of his wrist.

Ricardo looks at him with a wide, tired smile on his face, and Rob can't help but laugh and ruffle his hand through the kid's hair. He snickers and shakes his head side to side, which assists in further mussing up his hair. Rob withdraws his hand presses one last kiss onto his lips before crawling under the sheets. He held the edge of the covers up, inviting Ricardo in next to him. He presses himself against Rob's back, lays a hand over his side, and nuzzles his face into his neck. Rob laughs. He never took him to be the big spoon type.

Rob could ask so many questions right now about what exactly this means for their relationship, where they go from this point, if this was all a bad idea (something makes him doubt that), but it really felt just… Whatever. Backburner stuff. Stuff that should be asked but didn't need to be right this second. He could ask tomorrow.

If I feel like there's enough interest I might write more about these two. I liked writing this character dynamic so I'm hoping you guys want to see more.