Ricardo's flight is early Sunday, and when he returns, Alberto is waiting for him at the airport and they exchange smiles, Ricardo falling in step alongside him as they walk towards the exit, the former ring announcer telling him all about PWS, reuniting with their former NXT rookie Brodus Clay and the interviews he'd done, attempting to explain the sudden renewal of their working relationship during them.

Alberto nods in satisfaction at what he's telling him, his hand resting snugly on Ricardo's shoulder as they meander through the crowd to get back to the car so they can leave. "Sounds like we all had good weekends then, mi amigo."

"Si, I believe so," he agrees softly. "Now as long as Paige can also..."

They walk in silence for a few moments more before Alberto turns to glance at him once at the door. "Mi amigo, do you want to come to the house and watch the PPV with Sofia? I personally do not watch them anymore, but I know she likes to, sometimes... and perhaps if you wanted to keep her company..."

Ricardo's eyes widen a little and he nods, relieved to be spared of staying in his quiet apartment watching the show by his lonesome once again. "Si, certainly, El Patron, if you don't mind."

"Of course I don't," Del Rio tells him. "Mi casa es su casa, after all." He smiles and gets into the car, pleased that they will all be under the same roof once again prior to the actual move. He knows it's less than ten days away by now, but still...

Sofia already has supper prepared for Alberto, her eyes widening when she spots Ricardo, throwing her arms around him and beaming over his shoulder at Alberto, shaking her head at the surprise. After a quick meal of quesadillas and salsa, Alberto retreats into his bedroom to read, leaving Sofia and Ricardo to surround the big screen TV and watch off of the network as the PPV rolls on. Ricardo is pleased when he sees Mike win the Intercontinental championship, but all pleasure is wiped clean when Paige loses the Divas title to AJ a little later. She's clearly incensed and disappointed, and he wishes he could be there with her. Sofia notices the look on his face and reaches over, squeezing his hand gently.

He smiles wearily over at her and they spend the rest of the show quietly watching match after match go by, Ricardo only remaining this long for Sofia's benefit. He watches WWE sometimes now for Mike, Paige and Alex's benefit, other that than he has very little interest in what's going on, though he keeps up with it via Twitter at times. Once the show ends and Alberto reappears, Sofia hugs Ricardo and disappears into the kitchen while the men slip onto the patio, Alberto sinking into one of the white chairs while Ricardo lightly rocks back and forth in the wooden swing. "The show didn't go well?"

"Paige lost her divas title back to AJ," Ricardo says. "Mike won the Intercontinental title, though."

"Well, that's something, I suppose." It's clear Alberto cares less than Ricardo does, but he makes an effort for Ricardo's benefit, and that means the world to the younger man. They sit quietly for awhile longer until Sofia joins them with apple fritters and ice cream, the best possible ending for the evening.

-x

It's clear Paige is agitated, exhausted after her match at Night of Champions, commentating AJ's match on Raw, and facing off with Naomi on Main Event just to get sideswiped by the divas champion. She's also relieved to be back in Ricardo's arms, however, holding him close. "I'm sorry you lost, mi fuerza," he murmurs into her hair. "But I know you'll work hard and win it back, it's the least that you deserve."

She nods and pulls back, kissing his hands. "Thank you, Ricardo," she breathes. "I love you."

"I love you too." He sighs and strokes her back as she curls up closer to him on the couch. If anything good had come from this situation, it's that at least Paige's feelings towards AJ had definitely cooled into something closer to hatred than anything at all resembling affection, which Ricardo could tell Mike had his suspicions towards, if the texts he'd sent Ricardo had been any indication. Neither pay attention as Alex and Alicia slip past the living room, heading outside into the sun and the sand, eager to play in the surf for awhile.

"One more week," she mumbles against his throat, eyes fluttering slowly as she fights the urge to fall asleep right here, right now. "Then you'll be back in Alberto's home... are you looking forward to it?"

He hesitates for a moment, unable to stop the smile from spreading across his face as he considers being able to see his best friend and Sofia every day, and perhaps having more privacy with Paige where he doesn't have to worry about keeping her and Alicia separated all of the time. "Yeah, I am," he finally concedes. "I owe Alex a lot, but I think... it'll be best for all of us."

"I think so too," Paige hums, inching upwards and pressing a kiss to his lips.

Outside, Alex gasps as Alicia tackles him into the water licking the beach, his coughing and sputtering quickly turning into breathless laughter when she pins him against the sand, her eyes flashing in the sun as the few inches of water washes over them, causing her shirt to ride up enough to reveal more of the bikini she's wearing underneath. He smirks, his hands inching up under it as she leans in and kisses him, relieved that most kids are in school now and allows them a bit more freedom. Even so, there are still eyes on them so he stands, lifting her up into his arms and leads her further away, relieved that not a lot of people are swimming right now.

It's easy enough to find a quiet little spot where he drops her unceremoniously in the water and she resurfaces, sputtering and glaring at him as he laughs and dives in next to her, staring at her lazily kicking legs as she twists this way and that, looking for him. He swims closer and grips one of her legs, pressing a kiss to the ankle before he surfaces behind her, drawing her into him and she swats him as soon as she turns to face him, rolling her eyes until his intense gaze quiets her, his roaming touch under the water leaves her clinging to his shoulders. "Alex," she murmurs, releasing a soft breath as her nails dig into his flesh.

"Alicia," he sighs, pulling her closer and kissing her. She sighs, parting her lips just enough for him to deepen the kiss, the subtle tease of his tongue and teeth leaving her groaning and barely able to stand in the wake if not for his free hand around her back, holding her up. Neither are sure how much time has passed, Alex lost in the soft sounds she's making, all of her senses being overwhelmed by him, when finally he pulls away and rests his forehead against hers, staring deep into her eyes. Though he had been against asking her when Ricardo had suggested it, the thought of living with her, being able to fall asleep with her in his arms, making breakfast for her and surprising her with random things through the week, had remained with him ever since. He knows it will probably ruin things between them, so if this is the last few moments they'll be spending together, he's going to make the best of them, but still... He can at least try, especially with Ricardo leaving in a week and Alex not yet finding it in him to seriously look for another roommate.

So he closes his eyes, takes in a breath, and spits it out. "Alicia, would you move in with me?"

He hadn't been aware that Alicia too was deep in thought, her lips parting to say something as well, so his words intermingle with hers, neither quite being legible as a result.

She freezes and he stares at her, confused. This was something he was not expecting, and Alex shakes his head. "Wha- what did you say?"

"What did you say?" she demands, her lips quirking up into a faint smile as they stare at each other, perplexed.

"How about this," he suggests after a moment of fruitless gaping, each silently urging the other to go first. "I'll say my piece on a count of three, then you say yours." She nods, still watching him suspiciously, and he sighs, nerves squirming deep in his stomach. "Alright then... One... two... three. Alicia, would you move in with me?"

"Alex, I'm in love with you."

Again they end up gaping at each other. "What?!" They do laugh together at this, although it's strained and awkward, and Alicia stops laughing quickly, a desperate look on her face. "You want me to move in with you?"

"You're in love with me?" He reaches out for her, a disbelieving twitch of the fingers as he rests his palm on her arm, and she nods jerkily. "For... for how long?"

"Awhile," she confesses. "It... um. I kept missing you so much that it was like a raw ache when you were on the panels, and spending time with AJ, or anyone else backstage who would give me the time of day was nice and all, but it still felt... it just felt really empty." She steps back from him, wrapping her arms around her midsection, and licks her lips anxiously as she stares off into the distance at the sun gleaming over the cool blue water. "It just kind of dawned on me a few days ago, I was watching AJ comfort Mike after he lost the Intercontinental title, and it hit me all over again, so I kind of thought it, just to test it out, and it was just so... easy, natural... to think, to say. I love Alex Riley, and I just... I wanted to say it to you. I know you didn't want anything serious out of this thing between us, it was just supposed to be fun, and I'm sorry if I ruined it for us, but I couldn't not say it, because it's ... it's not always just fun anymore, it really hurts to not say it, and I just wanted you to know."

She's crying, her soft sobs floating back on the wind to torture him and he shakes his head, rushing to her and wrapping his arms around her in a warm, loving hug as he turns her around and presses her close, stroking her hair as she continues to weep, her hot tears dripping down his chest. "Oh Foxy," he repeats again and again until she calms slowly, still shaking against him. He leans down and kisses the top of her head gently, pulling her back so he can look her in the eyes, tears also dripping sluggishly down his face. He smiles sadly at her and breathes, "Foxy... I'm in love with you too..."

"You don't need to just say that," she breathes, her fingers curled around his wrists as he strokes the last few streaks off of her cheeks, eyes wide and fearful. "I know you don't feel the same, I-"

"Shhh, I do, I thought you wouldn't want something serious, I thought I'd scare you away if I said anything, so I... I didn't say anything, I just..." He knows his babbling isn't going anywhere so he cuts himself off, shaking his head humorously. "I guess we're both ridiculous."

She cups his face, searches his face, and must find him to be sincere because she laughs brokenly and sniffs, nodding. "I guess we are, but at least we're ridiculous together, right?"

He nods this time and pulls her closer, enjoying the feel of her slick body against his. "Right," he sighs, pressing a kiss to the side of her mouth.

"I'd also love to move in with you," she whispers. He pulls back and searches her this time, a wide grin taking over his face, and he releases a soft breath, lifting her up and carrying her back to shore so they can go back to the apartment and maybe find some privacy to celebrate.

-x

Paige isn't needed for Smackdown so she's allowed to spend the weekend with Ricardo, witnessing his match along with Alberto at the dojo on Friday night against Tristan Keali'i which he wins, and she meets him backstage with an ecstatic look on her face, giggling as he twirls her around a little, neither minding all of the eyes on them as they celebrate the win. "I'm so happy for you," she tells him softly, kissing his cheek as he settles her back on the floor, grinning at her.

"Thank you," he tells her softly. "Give me a few minutes to talk with Alberto about tomorrow, I'll shower and change, and then we can leave." He has a busy week ahead, with another match for Riot Pro Wrestling held in support of the dojo to be contested tomorrow, a radio interview on Monday, and then flying up to Illinois to compete at Dreamwave Wrestling, so everything feels like it's a blur right now. The kind of busy-ness he had missed, especially during his last year in the WWE.

"Alright." She smiles at him and watches him go over to Alberto before wandering around the locker room, collecting his things so they can do just that. She likes the dojo well enough, but he's obviously tired and she's getting there as well, still working through the issues losing her title belt so abruptly yet again had caused her, not to mention the physical stress of it all.

They return to the apartment to find it quiet and peaceful, Paige sighing in relief whenever Alicia isn't around with her loud, wild antics. Ricardo smiles at her and follows her into the bedroom, sitting back and waiting as she disappears into the bathroom, getting ready for bed as he kicks his shoes off and stares up at the ceiling. He's not necessarily sleepy, though the match had tired him out, but he's sore and it feels good to just lay and rest so when she returns, he holds his arm out to her and grins when she immediately curls up to him and settles in with a sigh, kissing his mouth before she closes her eyes and dozes off.

His insomnia is playing up so he listens to her breathing until nearly 2 AM, lightly slipping out of bed and making sure her rest is undisturbed before he ventures out into the living room and looks for something to watch, smiling when he finds The Devil's Advocate is on and watches it through to the end, reminiscing how he had prepared some of his promos in FCW in honor of this movie. He's just about to doze off sitting up when he hears soft footsteps padding his way and looks up to find Paige standing there, a hand held out silently towards him. He smiles and meets her halfway, allowing her to pull him up to lead him back to bed, where she strokes his hair until his eyes flutter shut, Ricardo finally falling into a deep sleep, his last conscious memory being the feel of a soft kiss on his nose.

His tag team match the next night goes well, another win under his belt, and he looks ahead to all of his future matches with a slow-growing confidence that he hasn't felt in a very long time.