"Alberto," Ricardo says quietly. They'd gone outside after the wedding, watching as the workers began taking the chairs set around for people to sit in during the ceremony away, cleaning up the grounds.

"Si, hermano?" the Mexican aristocrat asks, loosely draping an arm around his shoulders and watching the proceedings. "What's going on?"

Ricardo leans into him and grimaces. "Um, well, a few days ago, I received an offer." He'd intended on telling Alberto and Sofia this at the same time but she's busy cleaning up after the wedding and he doesn't think he can keep it inside of himself any longer, needing someone to talk to, especially after Paige's reaction to his news. "It's very... interesting, and I'm probably going to take it, but..." He hesitates and closes his eyes. "I'd have to live in India for six months."

Alberto looks like he's been slapped as he digests this. "Wha-? But..."

Ricardo winces. "Por favor, El Patron. There's only one thing I need from you during all of this..."

Alberto swallows, his eyes prickling suspiciously. "Si, right, whatever you need, mi hermanito. What is it? Money? Contacts, a place to stay in India? I'll do whatever you want..."

"No, nothing like that," he sighs. As he explains, tears slowly dripping from his eyes, Alberto listens with a troubled expression on his face.

"Of course. I will do that." He wraps his arms around Ricardo and kisses the side of his face. "The house will be quiet and lonely without you."

The ring announcer smiles sadly and squeezes Alberto back. "I will miss you as well. But it won't be forever, I'll return home and maybe... things will be better..." Alberto nods, understanding on some level, as he strokes Ricardo's hair.

-x

Paige is sitting in a guest room in the corner of the second floor, as far away from Ricardo and everyone else as she can get without leaving the house entirely when Alberto finds her. He knocks on the door and leans against the jam until she looks up, eyes red-rimmed and puffy. "Come in." Her voice is shaky, tear-soaked, and he sighs heavily, walking in. "I suppose Ricardo's told you his plans," she says blankly.

"Si," he says simply, settling on the bed in front of her. "Despite everything that's happened between you both, he still loves you." She scoffs and wipes at her eyes, looking out of the window. "He does. And for that reason, I'm offering you this: Stay here, don't move out. This is your home, and in six months, perhaps he will be on steadier ground and will rethink his decision. If you decide to leave, my door will always be opened to you." He taps her ankle and waits until she looks up at him. "You've made him happier than anything I've seen in a long time, and I don't want him to lose that. I'm begging you on his behalf... be patient. You know what I did to him, how I shattered our friendship two years ago. He perhaps finds it easier to leave than be left now, but I suspect that as the months pass, he will regret this decision."

She struggles to breathe, then nods. "Fine, I'll stay. For awhile."

Alberto smiles painfully at her. "Gracias, that is all I can ask of you." He gets up and leaves the room, her to her thoughts, and hesitates at the bottom of the stairs, examining Ricardo's pale face. "She will stay," he says simply, clapping Ricardo on the shoulder as he passes.

The younger man sags in relief, peering up the stairs at the dark, quiet second floor. He had uprooted her life enough with the abrupt break up. To also kick her out of the house she'd settled in over the last few months had seemed beyond cruel. He's not sure what Alberto said to her to make her stay, but he's relieved for it anyway. Returns to his room to continue studying Punjab to prepare for his move.

He remains in there for most of the weekend, only coming out to see Alberto off to his various Indy events and for meals. Paige doesn't come down at all that Ricardo knows of and his heart aches when he stares at where she usually sits next to him, his meals holding no taste for him. Sofia keeps her thoughts to herself, thankfully, when he finishes eating and pokes at the leftovers, still warm, filling a plate and grabbing a glass, pouring water or juice, soda or whatever Paige generally drinks with the sort of meal that Sofia's prepared.

Padding upstairs, in the dark and silence, is eerie and Ricardo finds himself holding his breath whenever he rests the dishes on the floor, staring at the door. Rests a hand on the wood dividing them, bites his lip, and squares his shoulders, knowing that this is the best for her. For him. Because something had to give, they couldn't continue on this way. Too much had been building up with Total Divas, his own insecurities. She deserves better, and sometimes he thinks he does too. Releasing a sad breath, he turns and leaves, pausing in the stairwell only long enough to hear the door open, the clack of dishes.

Late Sunday, he's in bed, nodding off over more common Punjabi phrases, when he hears a knock at his door. "Come in," he says groggily, expecting it to be Sofia. But as soon as the door slips open, he knows it's not, the energy in the room immediately charged, his every instinct drawing him towards her. "Paige," he breathes, waking up as soon as his eyes lock with hers.

She shuts the door behind her and stares at him, her arms crossed over her chest. "I don't know when you're leaving," she says quietly. "I don't care. I'm tired of sitting in that room up there, alone and sad, listening to you tiptoe around and leave me food and drinks. If I needed a hint that you still cared, that would be it. You may not want to be a couple anymore, but you didn't even give me a chance to respond. I've been jerked around by guys before, you know this, but this is different. They've done things because of their own self-interests but you're doing this in an attempt to ... free me? Make me happy?"

He wants to say something, change her opinion, do something to further all of this, make her hate him, but he can't find the words. Continues to stare at her stupidly as she approaches him. "Wha- what are you doing?"

She approaches the bed slowly. "I only have a few weeks, and I'm going to spend as much of that time as I can making you miss me," she says quietly, crawling up the mattress towards him.

His eyes sting at the pain in her voice, the broken look in her eyes. "Paige-" But her lips on his stop him and he hisses as the book slips from his fingers and hits the floor with a soft thud, trying not to respond to her ministrations, the feel of her body against his. Her fingers, brushing along his bare arm, up his sleeveless top, feel like liquid fire against his skin and he fights every impulse to grab her, take control, make up for the last few days. It's not until he realizes that his lack of response is making her cry, heavy tears dripping off her nose and chin onto his face, that the last of his resolve crumbles and when she kisses him again, he presses back, allows her to deepen the kiss, explore his mouth with slow swipes of her tongue.

She whimpers and groans, her hands tracing up his wrists and pinning them to his sides when he tries to touch her. "No," she grunts, sitting up and staring down at him. "This isn't about me, tonight. This is all you." She stares down at him, a dark needy look in her eyes, before she peels his shirt off of him and leans in, pressing open mouthed kisses along his shoulders, down his chest. He shudders and closes his eyes, digging his fingers into the bedding as her soft hair tickles his bare skin, and she looks up at him before lacing her fingers with his, squeezing softly. "You don't want a relationship right now, fine. But I'm tired of sitting in my room and letting you slip through my fingers. I've never let anything go without a fight, and I'm not starting to do so now with you."

He stares up at her in amazement as she brushes her hair aside and settles back against him, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding him close. "Paige..."

"I'm going to remain being your 'fuerza', because there's nothing else I want to be," she tells him, pressing her forehead to his and examining his eyes. "I'll be here when you return from India, and I'll... I'll be by your side as you figure out where you want me in your life, if at all. And I'll accept whatever you decide because... I know you'll make the right choice. But until then..."

He breathes out, searching her face as her words drift, taken away by the sharp emotions they're both drowning in. He'd always heard about people becoming one, and had always scoffed it away as something that would never happen to him, but as she holds onto him desperately, clearly trying to make this moment last as long as it can, he thinks he understands. What it means, the feel of her heartbeat racing in time with his, their breaths mingling between kisses, how they seem so in sync. Yes, they'd had similar moments in the past, but something about this... more intense, more primal. Perhaps the time apart that's looming, perhaps because they aren't officially a couple anymore, perhaps because she fears this could become goodbye, whatever it is...

It's not a fix. He's not sure he'll ever find all of the answers he needs, the inner peace to be the man she deserves, especially after life had battered him so thoroughly the last couple of years, but he vows again to try as she lays against him, motionless and close to asleep. To spend India searching for the man he wants to be for everyone who matters in his life- Alberto, Paige, Sofia, Mike, Mike and AJ's child on the way... He closes his eyes and releases a sharp breath, stroking his fingers through Paige's hair. Through exhausted eyes, he realizes it's after midnight. Staring down at Paige's head, he leans in and kisses her softly. "Happy birthday," he murmurs.

She snuffles, shifts, then smiles and kisses his chest. "Thank you."

Neither of them say another word. When he wakes up, she's gone.

Ricardo spends his week preparing some more for India and doing some last minute training at the dojo. It's weird to think that soon all of this will be left behind, his new reality being India, new students, new styles. He stares up at the bright blue sky on Tuesday, arms crossed behind his back. Paige is here, he can sense her, but it's Mike who joins him that afternoon. They wander Alberto's grounds, very little conversation shared between them. "She seems a little better," Mike finally says and Ricardo knows who he means.

"I'm glad," he says simply.

"Alberto?"

"He and Sofia understand. They'll miss me, and I them, but... they understand." He stares at the grass treaded underfoot and releases a soft breath. "Paige isn't ready to give up on us yet. But I wonder how she'll feel in six months."

Mike claps him on the back, rubbing his shoulder. "AJ and I were dancing around each other for almost a year before we stopped being stupid. Don't forget that."

Ricardo nods slowly, Mike's words remaining with him all day and well into night as he reads before bed, sprawled out on top of his mattress, waiting. It's a short week, the superstars are all expected in New York early for pre-Summerslam activities and Paige has a meet'n'greet in Chicago ahead of that. For this reason, he's not that surprised when she slips into his room once more after barely half an hour, neither of them talking that much, simply staring at each other as he places the book down on the bedside table.

He considers asking about Tough Enough, maybe about Total Divas- which he'd purposely avoided watching, not wanting his blood pressure to rise- but she's already inching up towards him and all words fail him as she hovers over his head, pressing a lollipop to his lips. "Where'd you get that from?" he whispers after licking at it lazily.

"Josh," she murmurs back, a sad kind of smirk crossing her face as he grimaces, the fact that one of the Tough Enough rookies had given her candy adding to the list of Bradleys and Kevins that clutter his mind so thoroughly any more. She tosses the lollipop away and cups his face, kissing him to distraction, the sweet taste being shared between them making it harder to break.

It's clear she's trying not to push him too much, because when he wakes up, she's gone again and he groans, burying his face in his pillow. This is what you wanted, he reminds himself. But it's a slow death, a horrible kind of torture and he wonders if she feels as awful as he does, the brief bliss of the evenings followed by a heartbreaking finality of waking up alone. But she's the one who's walking away every night because she thinks it's what I want, he reminds himself. Thinking about how it had felt to be the one to walk away from her first, he can only imagine how it feels to be her, to do it again and again just because she wants to abide by his wishes but can't stand to be away from him for too long.

Despite these thoughts running through his mind, all he can think is she'll have months without him soon, and her feelings may fade, may change. She may see him for the selfish, broken, weak individual he truly is, she may decide that Kevin is the guy for her, or hell maybe even Josh with his lollipops and simple good looks. Although he'd love to keep her in his arms forever and ever, it's just not feasible. So that night, her lips burning a trail down his skin, he stays quiet and just allows himself to feel, memorize every moment, every sensation of her flesh against his, the sound of her voice, the silkiness of her hair, because he knows it's going to end before too long.

Before she leaves for Wizard World, he sneaks up to the second floor and stares at her bag, half-packed for the marathon of events she has ahead of her. He kneels down in front of it and runs his hands over her things, shirts and makeup, some jewelry. His breath catches when he finds, pressed into a discreet little corner, a picture of them. He's smiling and she's sticking her tongue out at the camera, as always, but their arms are wrapped around each other so tightly there's not an inch of space between them, and it'd been such a carefree moment, the love so clear. He closes his eyes and presses a kiss to the physical representation of the memory before tucking it back into place, then turning to why he came here in the first place.

Folding two shirts that he'd gotten onto the prowrestlingtees' website to sell, he gently tucks them in amongst her other clothes, relieved that she wears so much black so she won't notice until she's already in Chicago, or, hopefully, New York. He then gets up, grunting slightly as his knee and ankle protests getting up from such an awkward position after so long. Getting too old for this, he thinks with a vague laugh before leaving the room.

He's just moved down the staircase when Paige comes out of the shadows of the hallway and slips into her room, searching her bag to see what he'd done. She finds the shirts pretty easily and lifts them up to her face, breathing in the lingering smell of him that remains, spicy and warm and just Ricardo. Tears fill her eyes as she slips the shirt with his and his masked persona's visages on immediately, moving to look at herself in the mirror, ran her hand down the applique on the shirt gently. "I love you," she breathes to the reflection, wiping at her eyes desperately. "So much."

Heartbreak warring with hope, she turns and continues to pack.