Ricardo is the first one in every day to the building to prepare for training. He makes sure the ring is clean and ready to go, trolls around the surrounding area and double checks that everything's set up. Once he's content, he lays in the middle of the ring and tries to clear his mind to prepare for the hours of training that is to come. The long hours of work are finally going to lead to something major- the first wrestling event in India in a week's time. He's nervous, but he's proud, and certain that his roster will pull it off and impress everyone.
Considering they'd only been training seriously for three months under his tutelage... he sighs and rolls over, staring out of the window. It's a bright, beautiful day, and he releases a soft breath, returning to his original position and staring up at the ceiling. He's tired, the students working so long, and so hard... Closing his eyes, he sinks into the familiar, comfortable expanse of the ring and feels as sleep claims him.
He's home, laying in the soft green grass somewhere between the pond and Alberto's garages. He smiles and stares up at the sky, breathing in the soft scent of Sofia's flowers rafting towards him. When a shadow falls over him, he looks up and blinks. Words fail him as he reaches out for her, unsurprised when she sinks down next to him and hugs him, resting her forehead on his shoulder.
She says very little, instead shifting closer and squeezing him, pressing her lips to his in a soft, needy kiss. He makes a faint noise deep in his throat and she settles more comfortably in his lap, her kisses trailing down his throat. Touching her is something he's missed so badly and failed to realize until this moment, her skin warm and soft under his fingertips. He brushes his nose against hers and she looks up, their eyes locked. Before he can speak, she kisses him harder, deeper than before, and he groans, his fingers pressing into her skin in an attempt to keep her there, the warmth from their skin mingling, leaving everything between them intense and close to the surface as she reaches out and runs her fingers through his hair, tangling in the longer strands.
Her fingers dance along his clothes, her lips trailing down his bare skin, and he can barely breathe properly, every inch of him that she touches feeling like it's on fire. Her knees press against his sides and he hisses out breaths, every sense locked on how she moves against him. It's so warm and nice and he sinks into the pure pleasure of it all, biting his lower lip as she claims his lips once more, eyelashes tickling his cheek as his hands trace up her back, bracing her as she kisses him deeper, clinging to him like she's afraid he's going to disappear at any moment.
"Paige, Paige, Paige," he breathes out, almost a chant that she moves in time to, squeezing his forearms. Only when he starts to get shaken does he wake up with a gasp, confused and feeling more and more mortified as he realizes that a couple of his students are standing over him, clearly waiting for who knows how long for him to wake up. He scrambles to his feet, blushing harder. "Oh, hullo, guys. Lo siento." Mortified and certain that he still looks close to madness after that dream, he runs his hands through his hair, across his clothes, trying to make himself look more presentable.
Thankfully, his students are class acts and, whatever they might've heard or seen, they don't judge him. They quickly go back to their usual pre-training rituals, laughing and teasing each other in Hindi, which he can follow enough of to see that none of them mention their bizarre, dreaming trainer. He sighs in relief and quickly gets ready for the hours that are ahead.
Days pass, Ricardo's dream leaving him distracted during the day whenever he has a minute of free time, and haunting his nights until it's impossible for him to sleep. He starts to feel sick, aware that the loss of sleep isn't good for him. Flu, he thinks in disgust, aware that it's the worst possible time for such things. The first event is this Saturday, and he truly needs to shake this. He grunts and looks up a few days later, one of his students dropping a box in front of him with a small smile. "Thank you," he says, brow furrowing in surprise. He'd received a care package from Alberto, Sofia and the others a few days ago, full of wrestling DVDs for his students, and little momentos from home and letters from all of them, Paige's inclusion to the package eating away at him even further, so he can only imagine what this would be.
Peeling it open, he laughs softly when he finds a soft blanket that he would wrap up in at home while sick, and bottles of his preferred cold medicine wrapped up in it. Yawning, he scoops the box up and takes it upstairs where it'll be safe until he can down a dose and hopefully sleep enough to be a 100% for the event on Saturday. "Gracias," he whispers, running his fingers across the mail label that reads Alberto's name and address.
Revitalized by the package, he squares his shoulders and heads out to begin training, feeling slightly better about what's to come. By what he's heard since Monday, Alberto's allegiance with Zeb is over and now they're counting down to Saturday, when his students will blow the minds of their audience. "Let's do this thing," Ricardo announces, clapping his hands and attracting the attention of everyone. "Are you ready to make history, boys?"
The chorusing yes nearly blows him over and makes him grin at the same time. "Then let's do it," he says, clapping his hands together briskly.
