Alberto shifts and stirs, groggy and disoriented. His dark eyes blink a time or two, hands sprawling out across the bed in search of... something, someone. He yawns and sits up, frowning to find that the spot next to him is empty, cool. Clearly abandoned long ago. "Ricardo?" he mumbles, kicking the sheets away and stumbling out of his bedroom. Ricardo's room is empty as well, and his confusion turns to worry as he wanders down the hall and finds Sofia in the kitchen, preparing lunch. He smiles slightly when he realizes it's well past 9 AM, but breakfast is still waiting for him, even if it's just homemade muffins and fruit. "Hola, Sofia, buenos dias," he offers, voice still thick with sleep as he takes a seat.
"Buenos dias, senor," she returns, smiling over her shoulder at him as she continues preparing chicken.
He stares at her for a moment, picking at a lemon muffin. "Ay, Sofia, have you seen Ricardo this morning?" He doesn't like seeming needy, but waking up without the ring announcer by his side had left him confused, floundering. Based on the smile that she fails at hiding, he's pretty sure she knows where the younger man is at. "Sofia, where is he?"
She hesitates, still spreading spices and herbs along the chicken before looking up at him. "Senor, I think he should be the one to tell you."
"Is it a surprise?" Del Rio wonders, unable to resist. He likes surprises, despite being well into his 30s, considering a man of his bearing and financial stability is usually the one to treat others to such things. She purses her lips, however, and turns back to her meal plans, clearly determined not to tell him anything else. He makes a face at her back before finishing off his muffin. "Perhaps I will go look for him on my own then," he tells her, dusting his hands off and returning to his bedroom to get dressed. Her lack of response still makes him huff out a breath as he searches his closet, deciding not to go all out in dress clothes as he's not sure what Ricardo is doing, exactly. He pulls on jeans and one of those shirts Ricardo had ordered from an online site with the two of them in chibi form, running a comb through his hair before he grabs one of his many sets of car keys just in case and ducks outside.
He wanders for awhile but his grounds are quiet, untouched by anything but dew and animals, so he quickly gives up that thought, especially when none of the lawn staff have seen Ricardo out this way, so he goes instead to one of the garages and selects a car, peeling out of his driveway after entering the security code at the gate. He's not sure where to look, exactly, checking all of Ricardo's typical favorite places, before he drives past the NXT training facility. Something makes him stop and return, frowning up at the building as he parks. "Hmm..." Mumbling to himself in Spanish, he exits the car and walks inside, glancing around at the facility. He tries to avoid this place, never thrilled with the time he'd spent in developmental, but something is calling to him now, so he follows his instincts.
There are a number of people scattered around, doing whatever it is they do here, his eyes trailing disinterestedly over them... before he spots a familiar form among them, dark hair and focused eyes locked on the nearby trainers, explaining to them what they're to do today. He stares on in shock before finding a seat out of sight of the ring, settling in to watch as the session carries on. Thankfully, everyone here knows to avoid him, especially when he glares warningly at them, so his presence isn't made public to the others who are training. This allows him to watch the duration of the training, his eyes locked on one person in particular, a proud little smirk on his face as they easily manage each practice thrown their way.
Once the group's time in the ring is wrapping up, Alberto stands up and makes sure he's visible, eyebrows raising when Ricardo exits the ring and turns just to come face to face with him, jumping backwards slightly. "Eh- eh, El Patron!" he gasps, eyes wide. "I... I, uh..."
Alberto laughs, resting his hands on his shoulders. "You, you uh what, mi valiente?" Ricardo is still gaping up at him in shock and Alberto decides to put him out of his misery, leaning in to press a soft kiss to his mouth. "This is where you've been all morning? Sofia wouldn't tell me... but somehow I ended up here, and guess who I see, but you..." He searches Ricardo's face with a fond smile. "But, Ricardo, why wouldn't you just tell me? I was confused when I woke up this morning and you were gone, I thought neither of us had plans today..."
The younger man swallows harshly and looks down, seeming ashamed of himself. "I, it's just... I didn't want to tell you that I've decided to begin training, I wanted to wait until I had something substantial to show for it..." He sighs. "I want to compete, I want to wrestle. This is hopefully the first step towards gaining attention, achieving that."
Alberto's smile slips at the hesitant, uncomfortable look on Ricardo's face, realization dawning on him. It had only been a few weeks ago that Del Rio had attacked him, taken him off of TV. Since, he had only been booked sparingly as El Local, and not at all in the last couple weeks. Of course he was going to start doing this, try another way to get booked into matches, even if just on NXT... "Oh, mi valiente, I didn't mean to make you feel bad- I shouldn't have barged in like this, but I honestly didn't know you were going to be here. If I had known how you felt about it..." He releases a deep breath and tugs Ricardo closer, kissing his forehead. "By what I've seen, you're already doing fantastic... I like watching you in the ring, but if you feel more at ease without my watching, I understand."
"I do, I- It makes me happy that you want to watch my progress, but..." He falters for a moment and shakes his head, smiling sheepishly. "You intimidate people on a good day, El Patron, and normally I'm more than fine with that, but not when I'm trying to train, si? And besides, if we're seen together too often, what will come of your idea for us to be separate professionally?"
Alberto winces, releases a breath. "True, mi valiente. You have a point. I was just... worried when I woke up this morning and you were gone, I wasn't truly thinking straight." He strokes Ricardo's neck and sighs. "But even so, I'm thrilled that you have taken this step, I have no doubt it will bring you much success." He smiles down at him. "Although we shouldn't be seen together too much in WWE halls, I know somewhere where we can go that such things will be alright." Ricardo looks curious as Alberto wraps an arm around him and leads him back to the locker rooms so he can shower and change before they leave.
While he waits on Ricardo, he calls Sofia, remembering the chicken she had been preparing, and encouraging her to store it until closer to supper time, as their lunch plans have changed. She's agreeable, thankfully, and his face lights up into a brilliant smile when Ricardo returns, his hair still damp and free of all product, making him look even younger as he stuffs the clothes he'd worn while training back in his bag. "So where are we going, El Patron?" he asks, turning to smile back at his former employer.
"Well, mi valiente, I kept hearing about this new sushi place that someone wants to try out and I figure... what better day than today, to celebrate how well he did in training by doing just that? Hmm? Does that sound good?"
Ricardo's eyes widen and he nods, hurriedly lifting his bag and moving quickly to Alberto's side. "Si, I've been wanting to go there for so long, El Patron! Muchas gracias."
Alberto smiles down at him, his eyes gleaming as he leans in and kisses him. "My pleasure, mi valiente," he whispers, hugging him warmly. "Let's go then, and you can tell me more about your training." He chuckles warmly as Ricardo's grin grows, the two of them walking side by side to the exit as Ricardo begins to do just that, Alberto's arm wrapped snugly around his shoulders. Alberto absentmindedly pushes the door open as Ricardo's hand reaches up and curls around his while it hangs off of his shoulder, squeezing lightly, Del Rio's teeth flashing as he grins too, staring fondly down at the other man.