Things ebb and flow. Some days are worse than others, and Ricardo grits his teeth against ranting further. He knows on some level that, simply, the wrestling world has changed in the last seven years, but it still nags at him that it passed him by so easily. He hears more than sees Alicia approach and exhales through his nose as she kneels behind him, warm hands gently resting against his shoulders. "Hola," he greets her softly, tiredly leaning back into her touch.
"Hola," she responds somberly, kneading his flesh as gently as she can. "Oh, baby, you're so tense," she sighs, putting a little more pressure in to really start to work out the tension he's holding onto.
"I know, I'm sorry," he mumbles, staring down at his hands as she clucks at him and works over his upper arms.
"You don't need to apologize," she informs him. "I'm not - I don't need that. I just need you to talk to me, to tell me what's going on. You know? You've been quiet and... sad the last few days, and I don't even know why." She presses a slow, tender kiss between his shoulderblades, and he exhales shakily.
"Everyone's getting signed somewhere," he says slowly. "A number of wrestlers all got fired last year, this year,, and they're all... pretty much... doing something now, somewhere, in some wrestling fed. I was fired and the main thing I heard was, 'You can wrestle'? I worked so hard for those years, but just because most of my matches happened off-screen, it was just assumed I was little more than a ring announcer and was only useful for speaking Spanish."
Alicia bites her lip, continuing to massage him. "I'm so sorry, honey. I'm sorry they never saw you for the talent you were. I know it hurts." Another kiss around his shoulders, and another, her fingers still working their magic, and finally he allows himself to lean back into her, granting himself these few moments of affections, of peace. "You know, I'm impressed by you. You still go out there, try to get booked where you can, teach as often and wherever they want you to. I know it's not easy, and it's kind of thankless at times, but you keep trying, and trying, and you never give up. It's admirable, honey."
He sighs, feeling a little lighter just listening to the devotion in her words as she soothes him further with her fingers. "Thank you," he says quietly. Her hands drop to hang awkwardly at her knees as he shifts, leaning away from her and slowly turning to face her. She searches his face as he gets closer, cradling her jaw in his hands, and she exhales softly. "I love you. I'd be lost without you. You and Andre, you're why I never give up, why I keep fighting. NO matter what's thrown at me."
She kisses him on the mouth this time, slow and gentle, lingering and all encompassing as he runs hsi hands up her back, drawing her even closer. "We're not going anywhere," she promises him. "If that's what you need to stay hopeful and determined, then there you have it. Stuck with us until the end of time."
He grins, laughs softly. Guides her down onto the bed properly and hovers over her, searching her face, watching how she breathes in and out deeply. "I wouldn't have it any other way," he tells her before resting his hand on her hips and leaning in to kiss her once more, sighing as for now, for this impossible seeming moment, he feels more put together than he has in quite awhile.