They fall into a routine between their own day to day responsibilities, checking the news here and there for updates on the fire, helping AJ with the kids when needed, and finding time for their own projects when possible. Alicia giggles and bats her eyes at Ricardo when he leans in and kisses her, and he nuzzles her hand whenever she cradles his jaw in her palms. "Life's pretty good, isn't it?" she murmurs and he nods, eyes bright and smile gentle as they lay quietly side by side and reflect on things.

He still doesn't hear from Alberto often, but that's ok, their relationship has had its ebbs and flows in the past, and he knows things will shift again, eventually. It always does. That's just how it is with brothers, no matter what distance may separate them, time and need will always pull them back together. He smiles and shrugs, pressing a kiss to Alicia's cheek. "It's very good," he murmurs to her and she beams at him, bright and happier than he's seen her in a long time.

Retirement looks good on her, in ways he could never stomach when his health had forced him to consider it for a brief while a couple years back. "I love you," she whispers against his skin.

"I love you too," he says, easy as breathing. Runs his fingers through her hair and closes his eyes, wondering how he could ever be so lucky, after everything he's been through, to find this, now. With her. "So much."

Her gaze softens as she leans in and kisses him again, and again, taking his breath away with each tender press of her lips.

-x

"So you're plannin' on going to Europe, huh?" Heath asks, leaning back against the chair Ricardo had offered him after opening the door to find him standing there, a sheepish kind of grin on his face.

"Next year, yeah," Ricardo says, settling down drinks for them both. "I can't wait, it's going to be nice to have a change of scenery, train some new people. That kind of thing."

Heath nods absently, trailing his fingers over the rim of his glass. Ricardo's not surprised to see him like this, he's always kind of distracted and moody when Maryse is off filming stuff for Miz and Mrs, leaving him searching for something to do while they're in California. "Yeah, that sounds nice," he says faintly, and Ricardo tilts his head. "Ever think about just dropping everything and going somewhere?" he asks suddenly.

Ricardo blinks. Hard. "Pretty much every day of my life," he chuckles faintly. "I've always wanted to go somewhere, do something. See new things. It hasn't happened as often as I'd like, but I always appreciate when it does. I've experienced some awesome things." His words fail him when he realizes Heath isn't really listening, and he swallows down some iced tea while he waits, listening to it clank around in his glass for a few moments before setting it back down on the table. "Where do you want to go, Heath?"

Heath does focus this time, frowning at him before exhaling softly. "I... I wanna take Maryse on some sort of a trip, maybe... maybe like a honeymoon. Dunno how or when, she's always so tied to Miz and Mrs, and with the girls... well, WWE ain't been usin' me for awhile now, so I dunno. Guess I'm just kinda stircrazy. Ya know?"

Ricardo knows, all too well, how that feels, being sidelined by WWE and unable to do anything about it, no matter how badly you want to. "Yeah," he sighs. "I do know." Leaning forward, he claps Heath on the shoulder. "You'll figure it out, one way or another, Heath. I know you will."

Heath closes his eyes and shakes his head, giving a rueful smile. "God, I hope so," he drawls before finally taking a sip of his tea and chewing on some ice while he stares out of the window, lost in thought.