A/N: I have a ko-fi page now! If you want to help me stay caffeinated to keep the words flowing, my account name over there is corneroffandom. Thank you! Either way, enjoy the chapter.
Ricardo is anxious. Twitchy. He hates not being able to compete. Since he'd temporarily retired a year prior, just laying around, with nothing but his thoughts and worries to keep him company, eats him alive. He pouts as Alicia comes home and stoops to pet the puppy before going to settle down next to him. "How are you?" she asks, tapping him lightly on the nose.
"Hanging in there, I guess," he says, still looking miserable. She tsks at him and kisses him lightly. "You doing ok?"
She smiles. "Yeah." She nuzzles into him. "We're going to have the first ever womens only PPV. I never expected it- but since I had to miss the Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania, now I get this opportunity. It's going to be so much fun." She beams and kisses him again. "I want you there," she shares quietly and he hums.
"Higher ups might not care for it," he says, but she shrugs. "I've just glad it's not too close to our wedding, that would've been uncomfortable if we'd made those plans and then they surprised everyone with this."
Alicia chuckles. "Yeah, Maryse and Heath probably would've hated us for that." She lays her head gently on his shoulder and blinks quietly. "So you have events this weekend, right?"
"I'm canceling one," he confesses. "I'll still make an appearance at the other one, but I'm not going to be able to wrestle until my back's better."
She sits up and rubs his chin. "I'm glad you've decided that," she tells him. "I need you to be able to walk down the aisle when we get married. It really scared me last week when you could barely get out of bed."
"It scared me too," he confesses. "I've had enough problems lately, the last thing I want to do is make things worse for you with my various health issues. I'm trying to take it easy, it's just... not in my nature." He closes his eyes and kisses the side of her face. "I hate laying around and doing nothing, and I know you understand that because your months of recovery was really frustrating for you too."
She nods. "Yeah, I really do understand." She sighs. "I just want you to be ok. I need you to be ok."
"And I will be," he assures her, kissing her on top of the head. "And guess what? I will figure out a way to get there for Evolution. Even if I have to be in the nosebleed seats."
She laughs. "I won't force you to do that. I'll comp you some tickets. If he's nice, I might even give Alberto one. And Sofia, she'll enjoy it, I'm sure."
"That's very generous of you," he murmurs, cuddling her closer as she giggles helplessly into his chest.
"So I had an idea before I came home," she says, getting up reluctantly and digging through her luggage. "Here, I bought these things for you." She hands out a bag to Ricardo and watches as he roots around inside, looking curious and uncertain. When he pulls out a sketch pad and expensive looking colored pencils, his jaw drops. "So you can sketch," she says. "If you want, while you recover. And if I'm off the mark, you can tell me anything else you want to keep you occupied while you're recovering, ok?"
He sighs. Tilts his head at her and smiles. "This is perfect, trust me. I love you, Alicia."
"I love you, too," she beams, leaning in to kiss him again.
"I know what I want to draw first," he says. "You."
Her face colors prettily. "Really? I don't know if I can sit still long enough to be a good subject."
"Don't worry about that," he tells her softly. "You just make yourself comfortable, I'll take it from there." She nods, slowly stretching out next to him and playing with her hair while he sorts out the pencils and gets a feel for the paper.
He smiles at her and begins tracing lines into the paper, starting to draw in earnest as she sits and watches his face, marveling at how focused and happy he seems to be, his eyes gleaming when he glances up at her every now and again to adjust the lines he's making.
She sighs and closes her eyes, in awe that, after all of the pain they've both endured, this is their life now, so calm and loving, a beautiful foundation for the rest of their lives. She feels so incredibly lucky.
