It's still amazing to Ricardo how quickly things shift in the world of wrestling. One moment, a guy can be on top of the world. The next, unconscious on the mat, his title slipping through his fingers. So it's with no lack of shock that he and Alicia sit on Monday night and watch with their lips parted as Mike loses the WWE title. He'd done all he could to stretch his title reign past tonight, clearly, but nothing came of it- sickness, countout losses, in the end he still had to wrestle Lashley and ultimately lose to the man's impressive strength.

"Wow," Alicia says, the first to speak once they turn Raw off.

"Yeah, you can say that again," Ricardo sighs, running his fingers gently over her sides, enjoying the soft warmth under his touch. "Poor Mike. All of that to end up like this." Ten days of a title reign feels unfair, though Ricardo knows Lashley deserves this accolade as well.

"I'll have to call AJ later," Alicia mumbles, "or tomorrow. Check in, see how he's doing once he has some time to process everything."

"Yeah," Ricardo muses. "Maybe I'll call him. I'm an expert in talking down people fresh off of an unexpected title loss."

Alicia nods, grazes her fingers over his ribs, and smiles sadly. "Yeah. I'm sure he'll appreciate hearing from you."

"Hope so," he mumbles, leaning in to kiss her forehead. "Love you, Alicia."

"Love you too," she whispers back. They spend a few more minutes, quiet and lost in thought, on the couch, before he slowly untangles himself from her long limbs and gets to his feet, offering his hand to her.

She hums and slips her fingers into his, allowing him to ease her up as well, and curling an arm around his waist, they walk side by side to bed. Sofia is asleep already, the light off in her bedroom, so they're quiet as they handle their nightly rituals, brushing their teeth, checking on Andre one last time, fond looks in their eyes as they watch him breathe for a few moments, marveling at the peace he shows as long as it's not 2 AM and he's teething.

Done, they head together to bed, changing into sleep ware- Ricardo, a tanktop and boxers, and Alicia a long shirt that runs down to her knees and some shorts that aren't visible anyway. They smile at each other, meeting back up in bed, and Ricardo hums as Alicia tucks herself under his chin, stroking down his sternum idly.

Ricardo can feel his insomnia beginning to creep in again, but he ignores it, content to lay and listen to Alicia breathe as she slowly dozes off in his arms, warm and beautiful in the faint light coming through the drapes.

Life is change, especially in the wrestling world, but he sincerely hopes that this is the one thing that remains a constant in his life.