Four days. Almost a hundred full hours since Ricardo turned his back on Alberto, leaving him to fend for himself for the first time since they'd met. Before, it was always Alberto leaving him. Always Ricardo struggling to find his way alone. Currently, he's standing before a nice house in Texas, rocking back and forth on his heels as he watches for the car pulling an airstream behind it. Alicia is wandering around behind him, smiling at the house that Heath and Maryse will be raising Monroe Sky in, at the yard where BBQs will be held, a swingset will be built, the tree where Monroe will hide in when things get rough.
Sighing, she walks up behind Ricardo and presses a soft kiss between his shoulderblades, feeling him shiver under her soft, warm lips. "I'm proud of you," she tells him. Because it's true. Because she thinks he needs to hear it. He sighs and turns to face her and she smiles, curling her arms around his neck. "You're strong and loving, you are so good to me, and way too giving to those around you." She presses a hand to his jaw, smiling up at him. "It's about time you focused on yourself for a bit."
"And if doing so makes me feel really shitty as a person?" he asks with a grim shrug.
Alicia leans up and kisses him. "You most definitely are not. Listen, you were a loyal, good friend to Alberto for years, and he never seemed to return the favor. You have nothing to feel guilty about. Alright?" She grips his jaw and stares into his eyes until he nods hesitantly. "Say it, Ricardo."
He licks his lips, struggling to speak through a painfully dry throat. "I have nothing to feel guilty about." Alicia nods vehemently and they stand close to each other, foreheads pressed together, when they hear a loud horn beeping repeatedly and turn to watch, laughing, as Heath and Maryse arrive, the airstream gleaming behind them.
"Ah!" Alicia exclaims, clapping excitedly and walking over to the car with a wide smile. "Hey guys! Now let me see this baby." She makes grabby fingers until Maryse, chuckling warmly, hands her over, her brown eyes bright with fondness as Alicia coos over Monroe, Ricardo moving to help Heath with the first few boxes. Movers had handled most of the furniture and miscelaneous house stuff, but Heath and Maryse had brought most of the baby stuff and their most important things in the airstream for safe keeping.
All in all, it doesn't take long to pile everything up in the main room for the new parents to sort through and unpack later, Heath then guiding Ricardo over to Maryse and a fast asleep Monroe. Alicia smiles at Ricardo and he swallows, recognizing the look on her face. He and Paige had discussed having kids, adopting probably due to her inability to conceive, but then Alberto, and... yeah. He looks down and blinks hard when he finds Monroe awake, staring at him. He's not really thinking as he reaches out for her and Maryse hands her over easily. Ricardo cuddles against her, breathing in the soft new baby smell that he'd not gotten to have this close since his sister's children were this small.
He's still holding her when Heath excuses himself to order some pizzas and Maryse goes to prepare a bottle, leaving Ricardo and Alicia with the minorly fussing baby. "Do you ever think about having one?" Alicia wonders, watching as he wiggles his fingers over Monroe's face, her little fists swinging as she frets.
"Yeah," he says quietly, kissing Monroe's forehead. "A lot, but with wrestling and everything..." He smiles mirthlessly. "Never really seemed like the right time."
Alicia nods with a soft sigh, clearly in the same boat. Although he'd never, ever ask, he wonders if she and Wade ever considered it. His thoughts fade away when she touches him, a certain kind of pressure on his knee as she smirks at him, hope forming in her eyes. "Maybe we should make time," she says quietly, not that surprised when he swallows and nods slowly.
"Maybe," he agrees, a pale blush still obvious on his skin when Heath and Maryse return a few minutes later, remaining none the wiser about the subtle shift in their relationship for the rest of the evening, both keeping the thought in the back of their minds while they eat pizza and coo over Monroe while her parents unpack the rest of her neccessities. Every so often their eyes meet with the soft realization that, some day, this could be their lives permanently.