After a relaxing week spent in California with his family and friends, Ricardo returns to Florida with Alicia, who looks tired and red eyed. He sends her right to bed before going to get the puppy from Alicia's sister, who looks nervous as she explains that the puppy seems under the weather, listless and barely eating. Ricardo's busy with training and general things that are definitely needed to be figured out before he moves back to California. Moving boxes collected, notifying certain companies that he'll be canceling his subscription to them, and making a list of others that he'll need to change his address from, but he drops all of those plans and gets the puppy into his carrier before taking him to the veterinarian.
After examining him and giving the puppy some medicine to help him get better, the vet lets him go and Ricardo drives him home, watching as he listlessly wanders the apartment, half asleep. Alicia is about as bad off, apparently coming down with a cold somewhere between visiting California and returning home. He rests a hand on her forehead and counts her raspy breaths before wandering into the kitchen to make her soup. He stirs the mixture with a spoon and then finds some crackers and ginger ale, thinking that something sensitive on her stomach would be best right now.
He kneels by the couch and brushes some of the hair out of her eyes, relieved when she stirs at his touch. "Do you think you can eat something?" he asks quietly, smiling when she peeks over at him, hugging her pillow to her chest miserably. "I have soup. It might help."
"I guess," she says hoarsely, watching as he leans over and holds a bowl out to her, the spoon rattling around until she sits up and gets ahold of it. He helps her hold onto it as she spoons up some of it, sipping it with her eyes closed.
"Good?"
"It's warm," she says honestly, feeling too crappy to try to compliment the soup. Especially with her taste buds off anyway. "Thank you." She smiles at him. "I owe you a kiss once I'm sure I won't risk it more, making you sick too."
"I'll make a note of how many kisses you owe me," Ricardo tells her with a small grin. She hums and leans back, closing her eyes until Ricardo taps at the side of the couch, quietly calling for the puppy. The dozy dog slouches up lazily and curls up on Alicia's lap, Ricardo petting him. "Keep her company, huh? You two sickies can comfort each other." He presses a quick kiss to the dog's forehead, pats Alicia's shoulder, and then returns to the kitchen to work quietly on his to-do list.
By the weekend, she's feeling a little better but still tires easily so he cups her face and shakes his head, smiling when she offers to come with him for his first wrestling match since his hospital stay. "No, Alicia, it's fine. You stay here with the puppy and relax. I'll be fine. I promise."
She doesn't look thrilled about it but he leans in and kisses her, throwing caution to the wind for now, missing the feel and taste of her after so long of being hesitant. "I'll text you when I'm on my way home. Don't worry. Ok? It'll be alright."
His hospital stay had scared her, hell it had scared him. Being stuck in the hospital overnight is never good, and he'd been sure that something was seriously wrong with him, but he's back at it, if a little tentative. He loses the match, but it feels good to be competing again, and he doesn't get sick, his heart rate remains in normal range, and he doesn't feel too breathless. He immediately texts Alicia, and then tweets about it so she's less likely to think he's just making things up to comfort her.
By the time he makes it back home, she's fast asleep on the couch, the puppy pressed against her side and Ricardo smiles, leaning down and scooping her up, adjusting his grip on her as he walks towards her bedroom. She hums and buries her face in his chest, comfortable in his arms. Once he lays her down and turns to leave, her brows furrow and she grabs for him, whimpering under her breath. "No," she slurs out, tugging at his shirt. "Please stay. Please..."
He wavers, finally kicking his shoes off and laying down next to her, wrapping his arms around her after brushing her hair out of her face. "I'm here. You're ok. Go back to sleep, Alicia." He presses a kiss to her lips and watches as she slowly drifts back to sleep in his arms, looking so peaceful that it makes his heart hurt in all of the best ways. He still can't fully digest that she wants to move all the way to California with him, starting over and putting all of the bad behind them. "I can't wait," he whispers to her, lips twitching up into a gentle smile as he watches her sleep.
