They spend a lot of time with Ricardo's niece and nephew that week. Alicia laughs when Ricardo purposely outdraws the girl, ignoring her pouts and protests as they put their drawings side by side. "You're a mean one, uncle," she teases him, curling her arms around him once they're alone.
He shrugs with a smirk, not that surprised when Alicia pulls out her phone and takes a few pictures of them, having gotten into the habit of taking a lot of selfies and just pictures in general of everything and anything since her injury. Eventually, he tugs the phone out of her hands and kisses her, lost in thought even as her fingers tease along his sun kissed skin. "Hey, Alicia?" he asks quietly, an almost apprehensive look on his face.
She starts to look worried, stroking his cheek. "What is it?" He doesn't rush to answer and she purses her lips at him. "What'a wrong, Ricardo?"
"I guess I just feel like things have been moving so quickly that we haven't really talked about Texas as much as we probably should." He eases away from her and runs his fingers through his hair. "I made the decision on impulse and didn't really even talk it over with you, so I guess... I mean, whatever questions you have, concerns or anything... I want to hear them."
Her face relaxes and she even smiles a little. "You know, I really don't have a problem with any of it. We'll still be spending time in California, and... I know things are complicated between you and Alberto right now." She steps closer to him and strokes his arm, gaze soft and warm. "You seem to forget, Ricardo, that I've been here for a lot of the bad crap you've gone through the last couple of years, and I'm glad you're doing things for yourself right now, like spending more time with your family and if that includes Alberto, I get it. Your happiness is what's most important to me over most everthing else, and I will support you in anything you feel will being you more of it." She cups his face and searches his eyes, smiling. "I will say, you seem a lot lighter lately, more like the Ricardo I first met all of those years ago. That's all I've ever wanted for you." Her smile turns a little dangerous, briefly. "Though if he ever does anything to hurt you again, broken tailbone or not, I will kick his ass, that I promise you."
He laughs weakly and squeezes her hands, lifts them and kisses her knuckles gently. "I love you," he tells her. "I promise you. you won't regret this. We're going to love Texas as much as we did Florida and as much as we do California."
She smiles up at him. "I have no doubt. It's warm, and you're there. What more could a girl ask for?"
His teeth flash as he hugs her close, kissing her. "Thank you," he murmurs over and over against her lips, overwhlmed by gratitude for her steady presence in his life.
-x
That Saturday, Ricardo holds a lengthy seminar for up and coming wrestlers in the SoCal area, startled when he realizes he's lost track of time so thoroughly that four hours had passed as he shared as much as he possibly could to those inside and surrounding the ring, and then he has a match against SoCal Crazy and Ricky Martel, two familiar rivals from his days as a regular of the SoCal wrestling scene, the old sequences and determination to be victorious so overwhelming that he's amazed how quickly everything's fallen back into place for him. During a lull in the action, both Ricky and Crazy down, he looks out into the crowd as he climbs the ropes, the lights so blinding that it takes a minute for his vision to clear so he could recognize faces of those peering up at him.
AJ and Alicia are in the second row, watching him with hopeful awe on their faces and Alicia blows a kiss at him before he looks back into the ring, pleasantly surprised to see that neither man has moved. He adjusts his footing and takes a breath.
He flies.
