"How long has it been since you last slept?" Alicia asks quietly, watching Ricardo as he lays on the couch and observes sunbeams drift across the ceiling.
He shrugs. "Can't remember." Too long, he knows that much. It had started somewhere with Alberto's drama, his insomnia getting worse. Then his request for booking wrestling dates falling on deaf ears had not helped things at all. Mixed in with every other thing going wrong around him, and... yeah. Anytime he'd shut his eyes, it would be to lay there and twitch and think, and toss and turn until he began to worry about disrupting Alicia's sleep. So he'd get up, go for a walk, watch TV... try anything to relax and fail. As beautiful as they are, he's somewhat sick of seeing sunrises and sunsets from gritty, bloodshot eyes.
Alicia sighs softly, trails her fingers up and down his chest. "I have to leave for Raw later," she tells him. "But first..." Her lips are soft against his and he closes his eyes. "Let me try to help you, huh?" He makes a soft, yearning kind of noise deep in his throat and she laughs softly, easing him down onto the bed. He has a diffuser that he never uses as often as he should and he watches quietly as she pours some oil into it, heating it up with a tea candle.
He exhales as sandalwood fills the air, his muscles relaxing as she returns to his side, another bottle of oil in hand. "What are you doing, Alicia?"
She smiles. Kisses his bare shoulder. "Making you feel good," she says against his warm flesh. "You're gonna sleep so good when I'm done with you." Her hands are gentle, a little slick with the oil that he only realizes a few moments later is lavender, its sharp scent easing over him and leaving his eyes slipping shut.
"Alicia," he mumbles, pressing his face into the pillows and exhaling as his body continues to melt beneath her ministrations.
She sits with her legs folded under her, fingers pressing gently against his spine, rubbing out his tension, his anxiety. Leaves him a melted mess against the sheets as he re-focuses, finds himself lingering within the exhaustion, the depression of not being wanted as a wrestler anymore. "I know things are difficult for you," she tells him lovingly. "I wish I could do more to help you, but I promise you. Things will be ok. Somehow, someway. You just need to take care of yourself... stay strong. Alright?"
He nods wearily. Sinks into the bedding as the oils and her touch, her words, guide him into comfort. "I'll... I'll try to watch Raw," he mumbles, barely aware of what day it is, much less what time it is.
She presses her cheek to his neck. "Don't worry about it, Ricardo. You sleep and I'll tell you all about it when I get home." Her kiss is soft, slow. Gentle. "I love you." She smoothes her fingers through his hair, easing back and watching as his eyes finally slip closed. She kisses his eyelids before pulling away entirely, grabbing her suitcase and leaving him to sleep on unhindered.
At the doorway, she stops and counts his breaths for a few moments, smiling to herself before quietly pulling the door up behind her and leaving to go see about regaining some parts of her career as she works to put the whole drama with Noam behind her.
Ricardo had helped her to regain vital parts of herself that were missing after the brat's betrayal. She can only hope she'll be able to do the same for him in time.
