Ricardo's been in London with a few other Superstars who had flown in from Florida for the past day- he even sees Zack Ryder wandering around but, outside of a quick wave, neither approaches the other, content to stay in their own little corners. But now the others who were on the earlier dates of the European tour are beginning to arrive for the London edition of Raw, so he's sitting in a bar in the hotel, watching them all enter the hotel, swarmed by fans on the outside, and he smirks a bit, glad to be past that sea of people hours before it had truly gotten overwhelming.

When Alberto finally enters the hotel, looking a little impatient and more than a lot aggravated, fans still trying to sneak past security to get inside and harrass them some more, Ricardo coughs down a chuckle and turns to face the bar as Alberto joins him, dropping his bag on the floor. "No laughter, mi amigo," he says grumpily, elbowing the younger man in the side.

"Who, me?" he asks innocently, motioning to the bartender to serve Del Rio, poking his straw in his glass as he listens to Alberto and the other man discuss the drinks being offered. He sips from his glass and laughs for real when Alberto turns to glare at him. "What, El Patron?"

"Hmph," he sighs, relaxing as his drink is delivered quickly, the place pretty quiet considering it's not exactly meal time. "I suppose after all of the years we've spent mocking the others for such things, I deserved this." He spins his glass around in his hands, listening to the ice clinking around inside. "So London has been good to you so far?"

"Si, I always enjoy exploring it." He smiles and glances over at his former employer. "It's better with a friend though."

Alberto chuckles, staring down at his hands for a minute. "Si, I agree, mi amigo." They're sitting there, enjoying their drinks and the burgers they order, when a man comes over to order, double-taking when he recognizes them. It's clear he takes a couple of minutes to build up his courage before asking for autographs and pictures, the bartender's distraction being the push that he needs. They both agree and share a marker, signing the program he has, before posing for the pictures he wants. They turn back to their meals as he moves aside to order a salad after thanking them profusely, Ricardo watching him thoughtfully. Before Alberto can ask, he gets up and joins the other man, talking quietly with him and the bartender. Alberto knows all too well what this means, used to his best friend's actions by now. He smirks into his glass when Ricardo returns, glancing over at him. "Bought another fan's meal, did we?"

"Si." The former ring announcer pointedly looks away from him as he resumes picking at his burger, not looking for compliments or praise. Alberto shakes his head fondly, overwhelmingly proud of the man who had once been his employee and is now his dearest friend. "Any idea what you'll be doing on Raw tonight?"

Alberto sighs, then grimaces. "Your guess is as good as mine, mi amigo. If anything, I suppose we'll find out soon enough."

Ricardo smiles wanly at him. "I suppose so, El Patron. I hope you have a good night, whatever it is you end up doing."

Alberto considers his words and nods. "I'm pretty sure I will. After all, you're here, that is a good start, mi amigo." They grin at each other before moving to finish their food, wanting to explore a little more of London together before they have to go to the arena.

But Ricardo's good karma doesn't bleed over for Alberto. He's placed in a Beat the Clock challenge for #1 contendership to the Intercontinental title against, of all people, RVD. Ricardo says very little about his opponent when he leaves, tapping his fingers against Alberto's abandoned knee brace, the Mexican aristocrat wanting to see how his knee handles going without for the first time in awhile. He had injured it during his first World title run, and Ricardo had never been sure if he'd feel comfortable without the brace again, but here we are. "Good luck, El Patron."

"Gracias, mi amigo. I'll see you soon." Alberto smiles at him as he walks out of the room, Ricardo watching on the monitor as the commercials end and Alberto's backstage promo about how the future of the planet depends on his being champion, his eyes widening as he fights his laughter, despite everyone else listening to the monitor whispering and chuckling around him. Overreaching promo or not, it doesn't matter in the end- Alberto loses, he doesn't even get an opportunity to beat Big E's time.

Ricardo winces as the superstars in the locker room only laugh more, quickly getting up and leaving the room with their things in hand. The last thing Alberto needs to hear is that, especially after another disappointing loss. Alberto meets him halfway to the room and Ricardo grips his arm, turning him away from the rambuctious locker room. "Come, mi amigo, let's not waste our time in there. I have all of your things here."

Alberto says very little as they walk side by side to a quieter, shadowy part of the arena. "Gracias, mi amigo," he mutters. "You always know just what I need."

"I guess that's what happens when people know each other for so many years," Ricardo says, handing him his street clothes.

"Si, I suppose so. Four years this summer, hm?" He glances up to find the younger man nodding, a bittersweet look on his face. He understands- their beginning and (near) end had been in the same month, only weeks apart. He sighs and reaches over, squeezing Ricardo's shoulder. "August will be better this year, mi amigo."

"I hope so," he mutters, quickly looking away from his former employer. "So, um, I suppose we should go back to the hotel so you can get some sleep before the tour continues tomorrow, hm?" They would be returning to London for Smackdown that Friday, but Ricardo wouldn't be there. He has NXT obligations this weekend, so there is little point to him hanging around past this evening.

"Si, Ricardo," he says, observing his reaction. "I'm sorry I won't be able to watch your matches this weekend, but you'll be fine."

"Si, of course, El Patron," Ricardo smiles faintly. "I hope you don't mind that I won't be here for you during Smackdown."

"No, mi amigo, I understand. You have responsibilities there, I won't keep you from them."

Ricardo chuckles, staring down at his hands. "Gracias, El Patron." The old Alberto would've been mad and let the entire world know. He much prefers this.

Finishing changing clothes and stuffing his gear back into the bag, Alberto looks up and smiles at his best friend. "Come, let's go, we both need sleep before we take the next step in our travels."

"Si, back to Florida for me." Ricardo's smile wavers a little when he ponders seeing Alex again, but the thought that soon his NXT tag title match would happen bolsters him, thinking about all the training he wants to get in for it. "Hm."

Alberto claps him on the back as they stand up, smiling grimly at him. "Just remember what I told you, mi amigo. You're welcome at my house any time, if needed."

"Gracias, El Patron, I will," he says, walking side by side with his former employer to the exit.

Florida is bright and sunny after the typical gloom of London, England. Ricardo sighs and absorbs the warmth, smiling as he leans against his car, in no hurry to return home. He's feeling the slow itch of jetlag overtaking him but he shakes it off, knowing he needs to begin training and meet up with Kalisto and... He closes his eyes and sighs, digging his fingers into his eyes. "Well, Ricardo, let's get this show on the road," he mutters, sinking into the driver's seat and turning in the performance center's direction.

He's just parked and turned to grab his bag out of the back when he freezes, staring at a car across the parking lot. "Ay dios mio," he sighs, grimacing faintly. Alex's car, of course, is parked there, heralding his roommate's presence in the building, probably also training for whatever matches may come up on his calendar soon. "Oh boy." He grunts and lifts his bag over his shoulder before trudging towards the facility. He's barely taken a step into the room when he hears his name being called- but not from Alex. He's just dropped his bag in surprise when there's a flash of black and he's pushed backwards as arms are thrown around him in a huge hug, laughing blankly as he claps Mike on the back, eyes wide as he tries to digest Miz being in Florida.

"Hey, man! Long time no see." He pulls back and claps Ricardo's arms, examining him closely. "How are you doing?"

"I, wow," he laughs. "I'm great, Mike, how are you?" Closer inspection of the room shows AJ lurking around in a nearby corner, Alex watching them both with a small smile. Ricardo nods nervously at his roommate, who nods back, his smile slipping slightly as a strange expression crosses his face. Ricardo sighs, turning his attention back to Mike while he talks about the movie and Vancouver, and everything that's been happening the past month, before he finally runs out of stories. Wrapping his arms around Ricardo's shoulders, he turns him around and leads him into the room, reaching down and snagging his bag as they walk towards the others. "Hello," he greets AJ awkwardly, reaching out for his bag.

Mike smiles and hands it over, watching as Ricardo leaves it next to Alex's, glancing between the two men before turning to his wife. "Hey, AJ, let's give these two some time, huh?" He wraps an arm around her in a loose hug as he walks her towards the exhibition rings, muttering something about the Black Widow into her ear, making her giggle.

"That was subtle," Alex grumbles, smiling slightly when Ricardo snorts. "Vintage Mike," they say together, glancing at each other. "Hey, um," Alex coughs into the wrist tape covering his hand before looking the younger man in the eye. "I think we need to talk..."

Ricardo sighs, grimacing. A deep, dark part of him had been dreading this, wondering if perhaps Alex had finally had enough of him as a roommate, or was going to do what Alberto did and start considering leaving the WWE, or... Steeling his shoulders, he opts just to face it instead of dwelling on the terrible what ifs. "Alright, what about, Alex?"

"Come here." Alex's hand is warm on his shoulder, Ricardo reluctantly allowing himself to be led outside into the warm Florida sun once more. "Mike and I were talking and he helped me to figure some stuff out," he starts to explain as they settle, shoulder to shoulder, on the hood of Ricardo's car. "I know I've been a jerk the past month or two..." He stares down at his hands and shakes his head. "Starting with the Colter tweet, I guess. I know it was wrong for me to tweet that, considering everything he'd put you through last year. I was just desperate, especially when I realized I was approaching a year since my last match. It's no excuse, but it... just..." He sighs, unable to find the words.

Ricardo, thankfully, rescues him. "It's ok, if anyone knows about being desperate because of your career, it's me. I've tweeted so many suggestions for my own career over the years and very few, if any, of them really went anywhere."

Alex smiles faintly and releases a shaky breath. "Yeah, well. It was more than that though. I just... guess I've been feeling left behind a little. I couldn't tell Mike this, but I guess ... between his movie and the wedding, and John always so busy with his millions of projects... then you started spending more time with Alberto and getting booked to NXT, and it felt like I was always going to be held back, stuck in the same place, doing nothing but pre-show analysis while you all progressed on without me... It was stupid and I feel ridiculous for being so jealous of all of you, but... I took it out on you even when I didn't realize it, especially when I starting seeing less and less of you because you were always with Del Rio, or training, or spending time with Kalisto."

Ricardo swallows, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, man. I didn't realize you were feeling like this... You should've said something."

"That would've been difficult because I didn't realize it myself until Mike smacked some sense into me a couple days ago." He sighs and lays back against the hood of the car, staring up at the bright blue sky. "Leave it to Miz, home five minutes from Canada and immediately fixes everything."

Ricardo laughs faintly and lays down next to him. "He's a little bit incredible like that, hm? So... you and Alicia..."

Alex chuckles, his eyes softening. "You know, that all started when I was at possibly my lowest, but I really like her. I guess Mike and I have similar tastes, huh? Crazy chicks?"

"I wouldn't let either of them hear you say that," Ricardo smirks, looking over at him. "But I'm glad you've had someone during all of this."

"Thanks." Alex smiles, a lot of the tension leaving him as he reflects on everything that are slowly going right for him. Yes, he had lost his first match in almost a year, but at least he'd found his way back into the ring, and Mike's home too. Even better, he's now talking with Ricardo again... Realizing he had forgotten something in the process of trying to explain himself, he turns onto his side and smiles wearily. "I forgot to say it, but... I really am sorry, man. I'll try to act my age in the future."

Ricardo laughs, nodding. "I accept your apology." He sits up and holds his hand out to Alex. "Friends again?"

"Always," he nods, shaking his hand warmly. The roommates grin at each other. "Now, we should get back in there before Mike thinks we're brawling out here or something."

Ricardo sneers, shaking his head. "Considering who we left him with, he probably hasn't even noticed we're gone yet."

"You... have a point." Alex laughs. "Come on, someone has some training to do to prepare for their big tag title victory in about ten days."

Ricardo pushes away from his car and nods, walking backwards towards the building as he watches his roommate. "You think Kalisto and I really have a good chance at walking away with the belts?"

Alex grins at him, keeping an eye out so he doesn't risk tripping over anything. "I know how much you want it, man. I think there's little to no doubt that you'll win... and even if you don't, I know you'll fight for more chances and better opportunities. Because no matter what happens, you never give up."

Ricardo looks sheepish, smiling slightly as he turns around and falls into step next to Alex, relieved that things are so suddenly better between them. He's not sure what's going to happen with his tag match next week, nor with Alberto in the next few months, but at least things with his roommate seems stable enough for now. He hopes with everything in him that it stays that way, desperately needing something to hold onto, especially if the tag match goes south...