Alberto has no match at Extreme Rules. He's not even thrown into a last minute match, as had been the case for every other pay per view he'd been overlooked. He sits and stews, almost tempted to leave. The only thing keeping him in place is that Ricardo is once more doing commentary, so he watches the preshow, listening to his friend running through the card with Marcelo and Carlos, ignoring the bustle around him. Ricardo looks happy, even now when he's behind a desk and not in the ring, a kind of relaxed joy settling in on him as he rides the wave of his victory from Friday, his upcoming tag match with Kalisto, and the possibilities of good things to come from the NXT Takeover PPV at the end of the month that he will be a part of.
When the PPV ends, the Spanish announce table surviving for once, they meet up at the gorilla position and Del Rio grins at him, clapping him on the shoulder. "Hola, mi amigo. Have fun tonight?"
"Si, I did," he smiles back. "And the Spanish table made it through in one piece!"
Alberto chuckles, squeezing his arm. "Come then, let's find somewhere to eat and we will toast your successes the past few days." Ricardo nods, almost hesitantly, and Del Rio rests an arm around his shoulders, leading him to the locker room to collect their things. "Is something wrong, mi amigo?"
"Eh, no, I just- I'm sorry you didn't have a match or anything to do tonight."
Alberto pauses for a moment, then shrugs. "No worries, Ricardo. It did me good to watch you, happy and relaxed, nonetheless. I have seen very little of that from you these last few months, mi amigo." When his former ring announcer smiles slightly, he winks at him before they continue on their way so they can leave.
The next night, Alberto's gears start turning as soon as he sees the match board. He's been placed in a match against Daniel Bryan, the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Should he beat him tonight, he perhaps would be made #1 contender... and would finally, finally have some meaningful gold to wear once more. Considering how distracted Bryan is with the wellbeing of his new bride, this seems like stealing candy from a baby.
But underestimating Daniel proves to be Del Rio's downfall this evening- no matter how hard he fights, Daniel is just a little bit better and, further weakened by tweaking his knee yet again on a bad landing, Alberto has no choice but to tap when the Yes Lock is in, Daniel digging in deeper and deeper until pain radiates from every inch of Del Rio's tall form. He's disgusted in himself as he stumbles backstage, ignoring trainers and referees alike who attempt to help him, only stopping short when Ricardo approaches him. They stare at each other for a long moment, Alberto's eyes tired and Ricardo's grim, before he takes his place by Alberto's side, helping him to the locker room, where he quietly finds some ice and presses it against the older man's knee, all too familiar with the various knee issues he'd had since his World title run the year prior.
"Come, let's get out of here," he whispers to him, once more helping him up and collecting their bags before they leave the building, Alberto relieved to sink into the soft seats of the rental car, which is quickly replaced by the hotel bed, Ricardo bustling around sorting things for him so they will be ready to leave early in the morning to catch the flight back to Florida. Alberto watches him through glassy eyes, lips twitching up into a small smile as Ricardo peeks under the bed to make sure nothing had fallen under there, this giving him the opportunity to snag his best friend's hand and squeeze it lightly. "Muchas gracias, mi amigo," he murmurs tiredly, Ricardo freezing and looking down at him.
"De nada, El Patron," he finally responds, pressing against Alberto's warm fingers lightly. "Are you comfortable?"
"Si, gracias. You should get some sleep too, Ricardo," he whispers vaguely, eyes mostly shut.
"I will, don't worry," the younger man murmurs, rubbing circles in his knuckles until his grip slackens, showing that he's very close to being asleep, if not there already. "Buenos noches, Alberto." Carefully laying his hand back down on the bed, Ricardo collects a couple of final things before returning to his own bed and settling in for some rest of his own. After all, he has a match to look forward to and he can't screw it up. Not only does his own future depend on his having a good showing, but so does Kalisto. It is, after all, the other man's television debut, that sort of thing can easily make or break a man.
For this reason, once he's back in Florida, he and Kalisto spend Tuesday afternoon and evening, and most of Wednesday laboriously training, making sure their moves are in sync, that they won't have any needless errors in the duration of the match, working desperately to fix anything that could possibly go wrong. Alberto had intended on watching, offering advice where needed, but when he returns to his mansion to check in with Sofia after their flight lands, she has a small smile on her face and... someone is standing behind her, dark eyes resting on his face. Alberto freezes and drops his bag, rushing over to him with a laugh, clapping him on the arms while searching his face. "Memo!"
Guillermo grins and returns the hug when Del Rio wraps his arms around him, the brothers glad to be in each other's presence once more. "I decided, since I am not needed in Puerto Rico for awhile, I should come and visit you now as an early birthday present." He hesitates. "Perhaps I can come with you, when you leave for Smackdown this week-"
"As it happens," Alberto tells him, dragging him over to the couch so they can see and he can properly look at his baby brother, "I have been given the night off on Friday." It's somewhat easier to keep the bitterness out of his voice in the face of Memo, who not that long ago had been fired from WWE, though he's sure that it's still visible in his face. Even so, he brushes past it and pats his brother's face. "I have missed you, so this is timing out quite well all around."
"Si, hermano." He smirks and looks around at the spacious living room, Sofia quietly leaving glasses of iced tea behind for both brothers before she rushes off to start supper. "So how are things?" he asks, watching as Alberto plays with his phone, more than likely tweeting about this. Sure enough, a minute later, Memo's phone lights up and he smirks, staring down at his brother's tweet about his surprise visit.
"Things are... well, things are better than I expected they could be after everything I'd done," he admits quietly, beginning to explain to him all that had been going on since he'd last seen him at Christmas time. The story is lengthy, his brother's attention rapt on him, and the men share smiles as he tells parts of it, winces and frowns at others.
"Ay," Memo sighs, slumping back into the couch as he digests his brother's tale of the last few months. "Well, I am glad that things are better between you and Ricardo." He may not have always understood the friendship between Alberto and his ring announcer, but there had been a distinct sadness in his brother, painfully obvious even in short phone calls, since that day in early August. As he looks over at Alberto now, it's clearly lessened, if not gone completely.
Alberto smiles. "Gracias, mi hermanito, I am as well."
Ricardo closes his eyes as he leans against the turnbuckle, breathing heavily. His body is still adjusting to actually wrestling after months of little more than basic training, and it hurts- in a good way, but hurts nonetheless. When Kalisto suggests they take a break, he nods readily and goes to drink down most of a bottle of water, checking his phone in the meanwhile. He skims through the tweets received before finding Alberto's about his brother coming to visit him for his birthday. Aha, that's why he's not here... He smirks, looking up as his tag partner joins him. "Hey, Kalisto, mind if I borrow your phone a moment?"
"Si, of course," Kalisto says, though he looks slightly confused as he peers at Ricardo's phone while handing his own over.
Ricardo hums and accesses the twitter app before finding Del Rio's tweet and replying to it, "Feliz cumpleanos... te la pases bein..." He smirks slightly, wondering if the Mexican aristocrat will remember...
"Senor," Sofia hisses, snagging Ricardo's sleeve as he walks past the kitchen, dragging him into the room in an amazingly quiet way. He blinks and stares at her in surprise, the two of them talking very little up to this point. He's quiet and keeps to himself, and she generally is the same way, though both of respectful and kind to each other when they do. But Ricardo's role is to help Alberto on the road, and Sofia's is to help at home, and their two worlds very rarely collide, the ring announcer spending most of his time at his apartment when he's not working. Today, however, had guided him to Alberto's home so he could discuss with the other man their next attempt at mocking Big Show, uncertain about its success rate and needing his employer's confidence to bolster his own.
"Uh," he blinks as she shuts the door behind them. "Wha- what is it, Sofia?"
She blinks too, then realizes he looks worried. "Oh, lo siento, senor, I didn't mean to frighten you- no. It's just, it's nearly Senor Del Rio's birthday and I thought perhaps you could assist me." She smiles warily. "Normally I would bake a cake, you see, but there is a bakery not that far away that he enjoys... and I thought it would be nice to surprise him, his first birthday as a wrestler on the main roster, but if I keep the cake here, he will see it and ruin the surprise."
"So you want me to get the cake and store it at my apartment?"
She nods brightly. "Si, por favor, I will even pay you-"
"No, no," he waves her off with a small smile. "I can do that much, consider it a birthday gift to him from us both. Where am I going then?" As she passes over directions, and the kinds of cake he tends to like, Ricardo nods, listening intently to her instructions. "Alright, I will call you when I have it," he promises, walking towards the back door to exit more discreetly.
She beams at him. "Gracias, senor."
"You can call me Ricardo, you know, Sofia," he tells her, pausing in the doorway to look back at her. She merely smiles at the younger man, seeing him out and shutting the door behind him.
When the day comes, Ricardo carefully transports the cake from his apartment to Alberto's house, Sofia meeting him at the backdoor and carefully placing it in the fridge until it's time. Alberto looks surprised to see him but says very little as they once more begin to discuss Big Show, Ricardo's continuing need for reassurance unsurprising to the Mexican aristocrat. As Sofia and Ricardo had expected, Alberto invites the ring announcer to stay for supper and they sit across from each other at the dinner table, Ricardo getting his first real taste of Sofia's cooking and sitting back heavily in his chair, overwhelmed by it as Del Rio smirks at him. The conversation here is kept light, decidedly away from Big Show- they speak of Alberto's brother, who wants to compete in WWE someday, and of Ricardo's California origins, and other simple things, until their plates are cleared and Sofia takes them to the kitchen.
Alberto taps his fingers, looking forward to his post-meal mug of coffee, Ricardo glancing around anxiously, wondering when Sofia will bring in the cake, wanting to see his employer's face, when Del Rio begins to look impatient. "Hmph," he grumbles. "Sofia-" But his words die away when she appears in the doorway with a cake covered in golden icing and swirling borders of silver icing, his eyes widening as she places it before him, a hesitant smile on her face. "Sofia-"
"Feliz cumpleanos, senor," she breathes, hoping that he will like it.
His gaze shifts from her to Ricardo and the ring announcer clears his throat faintly. "Feliz cumpleanos," he echoes the housekeeper. "Te la pases bein..."
Alberto's blank expression slowly shifts as a smile crosses his face, examining the two key members of his staff with a pleased look in his eye. "Muchas gracias, Sofia, Ricardo," he says quietly, staring down at the cake. "It is perfect."
Ricardo smiles, shaking free of the memory- one of the last few times he had spent with Sofia and Alberto before Big Show had pummeled him, leaving him unable to travel for nearly a month and causing him to require help while he recovered, which led to his moving in with Alberto and Sofia- something that was supposed to be temporary but had lasted until... His train of thought derails as the phone lights up in his hand and he chuckles at Alberto's response, eyes soft. "Gracias, hermano."
This all the proof that the ring announcer needs to know that Del Rio does indeed remember the first of his birthdays they'd spent together, he smiles and hands the phone back to Kalisto. "Gracias. Now, let's go get ready to luchaluchalucha all over those Legionnaires faces..."
Kalisto laughs and nods, following him back to the ring to do just that.
The next day dawns bright and warm, just the way Ricardo likes it, and he sits outside on the beach, dwelling on what's to come, and where he was even just a month ago, how different things feel now. Time rushes past too quickly and he realizes with a jolt that he should leave soon for Full Sail, to meet up with Kalisto and go over last minute things for their match. He hasn't seen Alex yet, and that's fine. He would be happy for his roommate's encouragement, but he's not sure it would be honestly given, so he's fine with collecting his things and leaving quietly.
As preparations for the show goes on, he and Kalisto talk strategy, Ricardo tense and jittery underneath his gear and mask. Once they've talked through every possible thing they can think of that may happen, he claps Kalisto on the shoulder and walks to the gorilla position to look out at the crowd. It's still filling in, people talking and pointing at the ring and various things around the room, when someone taps Ricardo on the shoulder. He twitches, wondering who this might be, perhaps one of his and Kalisto's opponents, or... No, no, I can't get hurt now, not when we're so close- But his worries are quieted when he turns around and finds himself face to face with Memo Montenegro. He gapes at him, surprised, before his gaze shifts and he spots Alberto standing behind him, a large, proud grin on his face. "Oh," he stutters. "Me- Memo, hola."
"Hola," he responds. "So, this is you as El Local." He examines Ricardo, who shifts anxiously, a small grin forming across the arrogant face, so different in appearance from Alberto's but so similar in mannerisms and expression. "It suits you, you have clearly put a lot of work into it."
"Ah, si, I have," Ricardo nods, looking back at Alberto, a little overwhelmed by their presence, here, now. But the pride is still there and he realizes- it's not for Memo, as he had assumed, no, it's aimed at him, Del Rio's gaze locked on the blue fabric of his mask. "Hola, El Patron."
"Hola, mi amigo. Are you ready for tonight?"
"Si," he says lowly. "As ready as I'll ever be, I suppose."
Alberto brushes past Memo and pats his chest, staring down at him. "You'll do amazingly, Ricardo. Don't doubt that." He speaks lowly so no one overhears and Ricardo smiles, thankful to him for trying to protect his other identity. "Now, Memo and I will leave you to prepare and we will be watching and cheering you on from right here." He leans in and smirks down at his former ring announcer. "Good luck, though I know you don't need it... and have fun out there, si?"
Ricardo nods, releasing a soft breath. "That is the plan, mi amigo," he murmurs as Alberto grins down at him and slowly pulls away, clapping his brother on the shoulder as they turn to find a place at gorilla where they can watch and take in whatever the cameras might miss in peace. Ordinarily this might've added to Ricardo's tension but no, it bolsters him, encourages him. He puts on the best showing he possibly can and when Kalisto tags in and achieves the victory, he breathes a little easier. He might not have won directly, no, but his team is now 2-0 in a week, and he'll gladly take it. And when he goes backstage and sees the proud on Alberto's face had only solidified, grown stronger since he'd last seen him, he has to laugh and, yes, feel a little pride in himself as well as his former employer hugs him and claps him on the back in congratulations.
There are meet and greets with the fans and other general things happening at the NXT house show that is held the next night Alberto and Memo accompany him to those as well since Alberto isn't needed at Smackdown and, as Ricardo looks from his tag partner at his right to backstage behind the curtain where he can feel the dark eyes of his best friend watching him, he thinks he can definitely get used to this. Having the best of both worlds, as it were, his best friend and his wrestling career all at once...