After being released from the hospital, Ricardo finds himself at home, Alicia watching over him diligently. She'd called in and claimed a family emergency, taken the week off so they spend the days quietly, Alicia playing with the puppy and giving Ricardo plenty of time to rest, between wrestling obligations and various other things going on. It's a great way to spend the time, reconnecting with her and falling even deeper into this thing between them, but something is weighing on him so finally he licks his lips and looks over at her, brows furrowing. "Alicia? Can I ask you something?"
"Sure," she says, playing with the dog's ears and pursing her lips at him when he flops around and whines at her, paws waving around as if trying to bat at her. "What's up?"
"When I move to California... are you going to stay here?" He'd been too sick to fully chase an answer while in the hospital, but here, now... the time just feels right.
She stares at him long and hard for a few moments. "I've never considered moving to California," she says honestly. "I love Florida, my sister is nearby... but..." She stares down at the puppy and sighs. "My life's been a wreck since my divorce with Alex. It's hard to get out of bed somedays, but then I remember you're down the hall, and it makes me happier, lighter than I've been in a long time. We were both brokenhearted when we moved in together, and I think we're been really, really good for each other. Despite all of the pain I know I've caused you... Know that I'm going to do the best I can to make that up for you," she says, reaching out and squeezing his hands. "I don't want to lose this, us, no matter what we evolve into."
"I don't want to lose us either," he tells her honestly, scooting down off of the couch to sit behind her on the floor. She leans back against his chest and closes her eyes as he strokes her arm. "But I don't want you to give up things just to follow me across the country. That's... that doesn't seem fair."
"I feel like a fresh start is just what I need," she says, eyes closed. "And I'll be near to AJ and baby Sara. Would you... give me a little time to decide? Just a couple of days? Please?"
He nods, leans in to kiss her. "Yes. I can do that." She smiles and cups the side of his face, deepening the kiss and sending coils of warmth through their bodies until he reluctantly pulls away and presses his forehead to hers, smiling weakly.
The following week, Alicia returns to work. She accompanies Noam on Tuesday, but Ricardo pays little attention to it. "I told him we're just friends, he understands." Ricardo doubts it's as easy as the text still lit up on his phone seems to hint, but he trusts Alicia. He half-listens to the show while packing for California. Sara Louisa's first birthday is coming up and he'll be flying out for it soon. He closes his eyes and hums, packing more than he'd planned on originally because he wants to stop in on his mother and leave some things behind so he'll have less to focus on once he moves in April.
Hours later, it's a breath of fresh air when he lands in LA and spots Alicia waiting for him. He hugs her and kisses her gently before following her to the car., their fingers interlaced. "Now I want you taking it easy," she tells him, tugging on his fingers lightly. "I know you're better, and everything happened last week, but you're home and this is basically your vacation before things really start happening so..." She pushes him down onto the passenger's seat and leans over, lightly pressing her lips to his cheek. "... just sit back and relax. Enjoy spending time with your friends and family."
"I'm not going to argue with you," he sighs, eyes fluttering as she smiles down at him, kissing the side of his lips before moving away and shutting the door once his legs are safely inside the vehicle.
Sara's birthday party goes well, Ricardo reconnecting with John and visiting more with Heath than he has since they were both in WWE. He awkwardly shakes Rhyno's hand and nods vaguely at him, a bit intimidated by the ECW competitor. Thursday he spends with his mother and sister, the children running around, Alicia smiling at them all as they chatter excitedly in Spanish until Ricardo flushes, horrified. "I'm so sorry, Alicia, we completely forgot-"
"No, no, it's fine," she tells him. "I like seeing you at ease with your family. No worries." Still, Ricardo's mother seems so embarassed at her lapse in politeness that she bustles off to get more snacks and other drinks, pushing them towards Alicia at the cost of everyone else's comfort. "I'm fine," she laughs softly. "I promise, I wasn't offended or bored."
Despite her constant attempts at reassuring Ricardo's madre, by the time they're ready to leave, Alicia's been plied with all kinds of food and drink, feeling like it'd been disrespect to refuse at least trying a bit of everything. "I may never eat for another week," she groans, dropping melodramatically into the back seat, stretching out while Ricardo laughs at her, lightly patting her stomach from the front seat. "Be careful, I don't want to throw up on you."
He eases back and lightly rubs her warm flesh, his fingers doing interesting, tingly things against her skin. She releases a groan of a sigh and he peeks back at her, taking in how her eyes are closed, her fingers interlacing with his as he stills to the side of her belly button. "You're so gorgeous," he says, an observation he's had about her many times that now seem to solidify in his veins, a fact of life that will never be disproven to him no matter what.
She smiles, lifts his hand and lightly kisses his fingers. "You're not so bad yourself," she says in a way that makes his heart flutter even as he chuckles and reluctantly pulls his hand away, starting the car so they can go back to Mike's house.
His birthday starts as soon as he wakes up, finding himself on his stomach. His hand is still bruised by the IV the week prior, now ugly shades of green and yellow against the dark purples and blues it'd been the first few days. Healing, he thinks. We're all healing. He smiles and squints at the clock, stretching out with a yawn. Alicia isn't around, the room is quiet. He thinks he can hear activity down the hall so he gingerly pulls away from the sunkissed sheets, the blinds open just enough to let in some light, and he yawns, wiggling his toes around before resting them on the floor. Wiping at his eyes, down his face, he gets up and stretches. Shivering against the feel of his bones cracking and then relaxing, feeling better than he has before, he heads for the living room after pulling some sweat pants on.
Everyone's out there- Alicia, Mike, AJ, Sara, Heath, Rhyno, Maryse, John and Taya settled around talking and eating like it's something the group does every morning- and Ricardo's eyes widen as he gapes at them all. "Whoa," he mumbles, hesitating in the doorway and staring at them. "Good morning?"
Alicia laughs and rushes up, tackle-hugging him. "Good afternoon!" she teases, rubbing her fingers up and down his sides in a ticklish kind of manner that leaves him shuddering and laughing before she kisses him, humming into his mouth.
"Happy birthday!" the others all chant at him, Ricardo beaming at them before Mike pulls him to the couch, presses a plate of pancakes drowning in berries, and strips of bacon before him. It's still not normal, spending his birthdays without Alberto, but he likes this. It's nice. More so when Alicia sits next to him and strokes her fingers through his shaggy hair, in that uncomfortable stage between short and long where one can do nothing with it because it's too short still to ponytail but long enough to get into his eyes at the smallest provocation.
He eats like he hasn't seen food in a month, and then sips from the freshly squeezed orange juice offered to him before hoisting Sara up into his lap and lightly kissing the top of her head. "Now, see, if you had just waited a couple of days," he teases her, "we could've shared birthdays." She stares up at him, eyes wide and confused, and he chuckles. "Don't worry, I agree. It's better to have your own day all to yourself, huh?"
Gifts are a quick affair, Ricardo gaping at the various things obviously needed for a new apartment- small pieces of furniture, new kitchenware, bedding and towels- and he swallows hard, everything still so unplanned and up in the air about what he'll do, how his plans will shake out once he moves back here. If not for his friends and his family, all of the support that is now overwhelming him, he's pretty sure he could've never faced it, once more making the move across country. "Thank you, thank you," he forces out through a dry throat and Mike leans in, hugging him tightly.
"Now," Mike says, beaming. "I have a surprise for everyone here."
"I know where this is going," John sighs as Mike marches over to the shelves where they keep their DVDs, pulling out a still-wrapped DVD with a flourish.
"Oh no," Heath and Maryse both say, realizing as well. "Mike-" she says, getting up and marching over to him. "No, no, it's not meant to be seen by outside eyes before release date, you can't!"
"Outside eyes," he laughs at her, shaking his head. "Ricardo, Alicia, AJ, Rhyno... Sara, are you going to say anything if we watch this?" They all shake their heads, except for Sara who stuffs her fist in her mouth and gums at it viciously, still a little pitiful after a night of teething. "There you have it then." He pats Maryse on the arm this side of condescendingly and winks at her before moving to put the DVD in, the French coming from her lips not sounding all that friendly as she sits back down next to Heath, arms crossed over her chest until he kisses her into relaxation.
After they watch the movie, which leaves Heath flushing as the others compliment him for his time in the movie, chattering about Jake Carter and what might happen for him next- "Well, he's been a marine, a security guard, and now an ambulance driver. Next has to be a PI or I cry foul," John suggests with a smirk when Mike flicks a piece of popcorn at him, despite looking intrigued by the suggestion- the group disperses, Maryse and Heath wishing Ricardo a happy birthday before they take their leave, Rhyno trudging along behind them once they beckon to him. John and Taya follow shortly after making plans to go out with Mike and AJ after next week's events, and then Mike and AJ leave to give Sara a bath.
"And then there were two," Ricardo offers, smiling at Alicia once the room clears out. She nods, staring at him. It's still mid-afternoon, the sun teasing prettily through the drapes, and he swallows as her hair reflects the light perfectly.
"Are you having a good birthday?" she murmurs, leaning closer to him and sighing as his fingers tangle around hers.
"Yeah, I am," he responds. "I'm not used to celebrating without Alberto, but you know. This is one of the best I've had." Lifting her hand, he kisses her knuckles and smiles when she shivers under him. "Your hands are really sensitive, huh?" She chuckles weakly and he continues, turning her hand and tracing the faint lines crisscrossing her skin with his tongue, watching her intensely as she exhales shiveringly. Repeating the motion with his teeth, lightly scraping against her, makes her knees buckle abruptly and he chuckles, curling his free arm around her to stabilize her. "Easy, Alicia. I've got you."
She digs her free hand into his shoulder and dips her head, kissing his throat up to his ear, in which she whispers, "Do that again please." He stares at her, their eyes locked, before he nods shortly, overwhelming her as he works down her palm, finding his way to her wrist, her eyes darkening as he tastes the sensitive skin along her veins. "Oh my God." She cups his face and presses her forehead to his, breathing in and out raggedly. "Ricardo, please. Please."
He closes his eyes at the raw desperation in her voice and slowly guides her backwards down the hall, into the guest room. It's far enough away from the nursery that he isn't concerned, shutting the door with a sort of confidence he hasn't felt in a very, very long time. She's toying with his shirt and staring at him, so many emotions welling up in her eyes that he's not sure what he's looking at before it changes again. "I never cared about Cedric," she whispers, as if to convince him. "Noam's cute, but he's no you. I wanted to wake you up, make you see that there's life beyond... beyond all of the pain but then you got sick, and..." She sways into his warmth and he holds his breath, waiting. "You're my best friend, my better half. You've done so much for me in the last few months, I don't even know how to explain it, or describe how I feel for you, but I really, really do not want to change you although I..." She laughs brokenly. "I know I've done some messed up crap... since we moved in together... and I'm so sorry for that." Her hands are resting against his chest, his heart racing against the palm he'd been mouthing just a few moments earlier, and she exhales out another soft groan before whispering, "Please let me make it up to you."
He stares at her, lost in a flood of emotion and feeling and just can't fight this anymore. Paige is not Alicia is not a factor in this, Alberto had made his choice, Paige had made hers, and now, on his 31st birthday, it's time for Ricardo to do the same. He breathes out, "please," and immediately she's kissing him, her fingers tangling in his hair, and he knows he'd felt a lot of things with Paige when he was with her, but this is different. This is everything clicking into place all at once, this isn't a fight like it was so often with Paige. This is simple, calm, easy. This is Alicia pressing against him, soft little whimpers coming from her mouth, and leaving him rocking forward and groaning in kind, as hands move and mouths reunite like they've been apart for a lifetime, skin heating up under the sun pouring into the room, and then a soft thump as he's pushed down onto the bed, Alicia hovering over him with a deeply pleased, affectionate look on her face.
"I never want to change you," she repeats, as if tasting something new on her lips for the first time since she came into this world. "I think you're perfect just the way you are." Things she wishes Alex would've said to her, would've felt about her, all right there in her gaze as she stares down at Ricardo, his steady, hazel eyes locked on her as his fingers ease towards her, brushing up her knee to rest at the hem of her shorts. She shivers and rocks forward, closing her eyes, murmuring his name in awe.
"Come here," he exhales, easing her down until they're pressed as close together as is possible. He strokes her hair out of her eyes, smiling up at her. "I know you're perfect," he says softly. "In every way. I remember being in awe of you when you were running around the ring wearing JBL's cowboy hat, you were so ridiculous and free... and although I was so wrapped up in Paige and everything else, I knew Alex was a lucky guy. But now I'm the lucky one. So lucky-" She surges up, kisses him again, and groans into his mouth as his hands begin to roam, easing more of those beautiful, tingling sensations against her back, her thighs, her arms.
She whimpers and shifts, causing his breath to hitch, and she chuckles, kissing his jaw up to his neck before whispering, "I'm gonna make this a birthday you never forget," she promises, causing him to shiver against her, sending a wave of heat through her that makes it hard to focus on what he's saying.
"It already is that."
She arches into him more, their bodies fitting so well together that it makes her head spin. She'd come to her decision already, somewhere between seeing Ricardo with Sara and with his niece and nephew, everything in her aware of what needs to be done, so it's not just the haze of attraction or anything else eating at her as she presses opened mouth kisses along his shoulders, brushing against the tattoos he has scattered here and there across his arms, before lightly pressing her lips to the bruises staining his wrist and up towards his fingers. When he shivers, she sits up and eases his shirt off, his fingers slipping under hers before tossing it somewhere as well. She sighs and hums, his hands warm against her as he leans up, putting enough space between them that the rest of their clothes are easy enough to get rid of, her eyelashes fluttering when she settles, breath coming out in gentle, soft puffs. It's overwhelming, in a good way- there's been no one since Alex, and she bites her lip, imagining how it must feel for him, as well, since everything with Paige and...
She suddenly feels like she wants to cry, that despite everything, he would trust himself to her, mind body and soul, and she must really be crying because when she opens her eyes, everything is blurry and he looks panicked, wiping her face with trembling hands. "Did I hurt you? What-"
"No, no," she gasps, leaning forward and making him moan deep in his throat as everything shifts in such a way that she has to grit her teeth to get her brain to function well enough just to breathe, her toes curling at just that small movement. "Oh my God, oh my God." He nods, words forgotten for a moment as they fall into kissing desperately, chasing this heady, warm bliss. He moves more regularly now, body remembering just what had worked so well before, and she's a trembling, keening mess within seconds, "Please- please-"
It's an abrupt wave of pleasure, cresting into peaceful beauty deep inside of her, and she holds on to him until he feels it too, breathing ragged and exhausted while they cling to each other, Alicia pressing lazy kisses into his chest and throat, her fingers still playing with his hair. He's sleepy, she can feel how he's slack under her, but she needs to say this before he's completely under, leaving her to thing and maybe, God forbid, second guess herself. Easing up until she's hovering over his face, she kisses his eyelids, his nose, his mouth, before pressing her lips to his ear. "I will be honored to move to California with you if you'll still have me."
The way his arms tighten around her, and the peaceful smile on his face, tells her all she needs to know.