Mike and AJ arrive on Friday to spend the weekend in Florida before Tough Enough begins. WWE had wanted Mike to get familiar with the Tough Enough competitors and everything involving the show he will be hosting weekly now, and Ricardo is relieved to see them. More so when Paige returns to Florida and the group of them spend some time together, easing some of his loneliness with Alberto out of the country.

When Ricardo wakes up on Sunday, it's to find AJ and Paige still fast asleep, Sofia tinkering around in the kitchen, and Mike long gone. He stares blurrily at the housekeeper as she pushes coffee in front of him with a gentle smile. "Alex's?" he asks quietly, swirling a little sugar inside of the liquid before sipping from it.

"I believe so, si," she says, resting a hand on his shoulder before bustling back to the stove to finish breakfast. The smell of which proves sufficient at getting AJ and Paige both out of bed, the women flanking Ricardo's chair just before vegetable-spotted omeletes and whole wheat toast appears before them.

They eat quietly for awhile before AJ squints over at them, sipping from orange juice. "Is my husband with Alex?"

"Yes," Ricardo and Paige say together, glancing at either other with warm grins before returning to their meal. AJ hums before biting into her toast with a thoughtful look in her eye. Once done with eating, the three of them venture into the living room, Ricardo flipping through channels until he finds another Woman's Cup game being played. AJ and Paige quickly start arguing over playing, rooting for opposite teams.

They're all deeply invested in the game when the front door opens and Mike's footsteps approach the living room. Ricardo tenses a little when he hears the familiar sound of crutches on hardwood floors, all of them looking up and over as Mike follows Alex into the room. Paige looks curious, Ricardo notices, but AJ looks stoic as she gets to her feet and walks over to her husband, lightly kissing him. She half-turns towards Alex, raising an eyebrow and waiting for him to make the first move.

"Hello, AJ," he says awkwardly. Her eyes bore quietly into him until he releases a strained breath, no one saying a word as he looks down at the floor. "I'm sorry, AJ. That tweet was stupid, I didn't mean to cause you or Mike any pain." He clears his throat and holds a hand out to her. "Bygones?"

She shrugs and jauntily shakes his hand before skipping back into the living room to rejoin Paige and Ricardo, her attention once more on the game. Paige just laughs and leans against Ricardo as he looks cluelessly over at Mike and Alex. "I don't understand women," Alex mumbles as Mike makes sure he hobbles into the living room safely.

"I'm not sure anyone does," Ricardo sighs, dodging Paige's swat with an innocent grin. They spend most of the day in the house, alternating between sports and movies, eating a quick lunch of sandwiches and sliced potatoes, convincing Sofia to join them after she sorts out the kitchen. They're all surprised with how quickly the time passes, the sun soon setting, but none of them are in any hurry to leave, too relaxed and enjoying spending time together for the first time in awhile.

When Alex begins to snore, though, Mike decides it's time for bed. Between himself and Ricardo, they help him into one of the guest rooms and settle him into bed. "He looks so peaceful like this," he chuckles. "Too bad he's not like this all the time." Sighing, he runs his fingers through Alex's hair before tucking the sheet around him. "Good night, Alex."

"Buenos noche," Ricardo murmurs to him. They watch him a moment longer before exchanging glances and leaving the room, shutting the door quietly behind them. AJ and Paige are waiting for them outside in the hall and neither seem that surprised when AJ grips Mike's hand and Paige finds Ricardo's, all of them clearly ready for bed.

-x

The next day, Ricardo wakes up to find Paige and Mike getting ready to leave. "We have to meet with everyone involved in the show tomorrow," she explains to him, kissing him quickly before snagging a cup of coffee and sighing softly. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Have a good day, love."

He nods, trying to smile sleepily at her. "See you soon, mi fuerza." She leaves, Mike behind her, and he sighs tiredly, staring up at Sofia. "Never seems to last very long, hm, Sofia?"

She smiles sympathetically at him, shaking her head. "Unfortunately not, mi hijo. But as long as you enjoy your time together, that's the important thing, si?"

"Si," he sighs, smiling back at her. "At least El Patron and I get to spend the weekend in Providence. That should be fun." He drinks some more coffee, eats a quick breakfast of fruit smothered pancakes, and then goes out to run some errands until he has to go to the dojo to help train the wrestlers there. It helps keep his mind off of things, and by the time he returns home, Paige and Mike are back too, tired but eager for the next day, to start the adventure that will be Tough Enough.

She curls up in his arms as they settle into bed, both exhausted and glad to be able to spend more than just one or two nights in the same room for once. "It's been a long few weeks," she murmurs against his throat. "But as trying as it's all been, it's been rewarding too... I wish I could've done better in my attempts to win the divas' title... but I can't complain too much."

His hand is warm on her back as she talks, softly stroking up and down her spine. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah," she murmurs, kissing his jaw before sitting up to look him in the eye. "I get to be in movies and be a featured attraction at conventions, travel around the country, meeting new people and doing something that I love... and when I get home, I have the best guy in the world waiting for me."

He tilts his head at her, eyes gleaming with a teasing kind of curiosity. "Do I know him?"

"Oh, haha," she mumbles sarcastically, kissing him hard on the mouth. "You know who I mean." Finding his hand, she presses her fingers between his and squeezes gently, watching as he stares up at her reverently. "You do, right?"

"Right, si, of course," he breathes, leaning up to kiss her. Her nails are cool against his skin as she traces the tank top he's wearing, peering into his eyes. "You think I'm the best guy in the world." It sounds questioning and she sighs, nuzzling into him.

"I know you're the best guy in the world," she corrects him quietly. "No one else would be so patient while I'm off doing all of these other things, and putting you through as much as I have because of Total Divas. Brandon was bad enough, but now I'm doing it all over again and I am so, so sorry..."

"At least you gave me advanced notice this time," he says, trying again and again to put an optimistic spin on things. "I trust you, Paige, and if you think this is how things need to be, then I won't try to stop you."

She sighs and settles back in against him, closing her eyes. "I'm not sure what I ever did to deserve you, but I'm so thankful for it." He smiles and kisses her forehead before closing his eyes, giving into some badly needed sleep as she too dozes off.

The next day, they see very little of each other once more. Ricardo returns to the dojo, Paige heads off to prepare for Tough Enough. Alberto returns to the States early evening, driving over to the dojo to watch everyone train for awhile, a proud smile on his tired face. Ricardo approaches him during a quiet moment and sits next to him, staring into the ring with a kind of exhausted pride in his face as well. But whereas Alberto's pride is for him, Ricardo's is for all of the people that he's slowly helping to learn and grow as competitors.

But underneath the smile and the pride, Alberto looks a little guilty and uncomfortable. Ricardo peeks at him now and again, not sure if he should ask, if it's something that Alberto would be willing to talk about in public. Before he can ask, though, his former employer opens his mouth. "Mi hermano, I'm afraid I'm going to have to stay home this weekend. I can't come to Fan Fest."

Ricardo's breath seizes in his chest. "What? Why not?"

Alberto shakes his head, resting a hand on Ricardo's shoulder. "I just want a weekend to myself, hermano. I know you were looking forward to it and I am so so sorry."

"Are you hurt? Or sick, or...?" Worse case scenarios are racing through Ricardo's mind as he examines his best friend closely, trying to find something, any reason for this abrupt change of heart by the older man.

"No, no, I am perfectly healthy. I just need to recharge my batteries, si, I am AAA champion and I cannot let my- our- people down. You understand, right?" Alberto smiles sadly at him. "I know you were looking forward to spending the weekend together, and I promise to make it up to you. Perhaps after you return, we can spend all Sunday together."

Ricardo nods, trying not to show just how disappointed he is. "Right, of course. I do understand. You would tell me if something was wrong, though, right?"

"Of course I would, mi hermanito! But there is nothing, so por favor, don't let it worry you." He clasps Ricardo's shoulder and squeezes warmly. "I believe your students need you. I'll wait here and we can go home together."

Ricardo nods, then smiles. "Alright. It shouldn't be much longer."

"Don't rush on my account," Alberto tells him, settling back and getting comfortable to watch the rest of the training, enjoying watching Ricardo in his element.

Ricardo loses himself in the training for awhile, but the thoughts of why and what is going on? remains fresh in his mind well into the next day, even as all of them- he and Paige, Alberto, Sofia, Alex and Alicia, and Mike and AJ- go to his favorite sushi place, talking and laughing and all around enjoying themselves.

On Friday, when he has to leave, Paige looks sad for him as he stares down at his lone bag and taps his fingers against it, releasing a breath. "I'm going to miss you," she offers, pressing her fingers against his jaw and drawing his face back up so she can kiss him. "I'll see you soon." He's quiet and still and she frowns. "I love you," she insists, kissing him warmly, slowly before pressing her forehead to his.

He sighs and relaxes into her, smiling. "I love you too. I'll call you tonight."

"I'm looking forward to it," she whispers against his skin. "Have fun."

"I'll do my best," he promises her. He gets into Alberto's car, aware that Alberto had offered to drive him out of guilt for not going with him. They drive through the Florida streets in silence, a sad kind of tension between them. When they arrive, both get out of the car quietly and Ricardo follows Alberto through the airport. By the time they reach his gate, he can't hold it in any longer. "El Patron?"

"Si, mi hermanito?"

"I didn't do something, did I? That caused you to not want to come?" he asks, his eyes locked on his feet.

Alberto doesn't say anthing for a long moment and Ricardo feels even worse with each passing second. "Ricardo, que?! That would never be why I'd skip something," he tells him. "Come here." He draws him away from the gate and sits him down, squeezing his neck and staring into his face. "If you honestly thought this since I told you I wasn't coming, I am so sorry. It has nothing to do with you. I'm not coming partially because I do want a little quiet time to rest... and also because Morrison is going to be there. I want you to enjoy yourself, not get trapped in the middle of more drama that isn't something you need to worry about."

Ricardo stares at him. "Really? Because of John?"

"Si, mi amigo. I would never skip something because you'd be there. That fact made it even harder to decide not to go." He smiles fondly down at him. "I promise you, when you come home, we'll do something fun together before the week begins and we're both ridiculously busy yet again. Alright?"

Ricardo smiles. "Alright, El Patron. I can live with that." They nod at each other for a moment before Ricardo turns to look at the gate. "I suppose I should get into line for my flight now." He stands and, when Alberto joins him, hugs the older man. "Thank you. I'm looking forward to Sunday, mi hermano."

"So am I. Have fun in Providence. and I hope people won't bother you about me not being there so much."

"It's fine if they do," he says. "I'll figure out something to say just in case." He pats Alberto's arm. "Thank you for telling me the truth, El Patron. I'll see you tomorrow night."

Alberto nods fondly. "See you then, mi hermano. Bye."