Open Your Eyes: Explanations
Ricardo Rodriguez stares blankly ahead as he sits at the hotel room desk, trying to make sense of his thoughts and feelings as he halfheartedly sketches. He knows Alberto Del Rio is somewhere behind him, doing whatever before he prepares for bed, but the former ring announcer can't bring himself to care right now. It hadn't been a great night for him.
He'd lost a match as El Local earlier in the evening, but that disappointment had been nothing in comparison to what he'd felt when he'd watched Alberto trying to charm Vickie Guerrero to get out of competing against Cena for his World title. The General Manager had requested he kiss her and Alberto had complied, first a somewhat chaste kiss, then a slightly more thorough one, though no less awkward. But his discomfort with the situation hadn't mattered to Ricardo- that he had done such a thing anyway had left him steaming, unable to believe that his former employer had done it at all, especially in such a public format, where he knows that Ricardo would be watching.
Sandow, for once, had been a welcome sight, and Ricardo had fought down his emotions while watching the match that followed, eyes dark and glum as the rest of Smackdown carries on. When Alberto returned to the locker room, pleased about his defeating Sandow, Ricardo had barely spoken, Alberto's face falling slightly when he saw the look in his eyes.
He gives him some time to himself at the hotel before approaching him. "Ah, mi valiente, I'm sorry about your loss." He hugs him from behind, not noticing how tense he still seems. "I'm sure you'll get them next time, hm?"
"Right," Ricardo mutters, his pencil scribbling angry grey lines against the paper, tearing it and ruining the picture he had been working on. "Next time. Sure."
Finally cottoning on that something more is wrong here, Alberto cups his hand and takes the pencil from him, pulling the chair he's sitting on back so he can fit on the desk, facing him. "Mi valiente, what's wrong? Something other than your match-"
"Did you enjoy kissing her?" he asks bitterly, staring down at his hands. "Vickie Guerrero? Did you enjoy the attention she was giving you- would you want to do it again-?"
Alberto looks like he's been punched, trying and failing to grab the other man's hands, Ricardo moving away from him with a frenzied, almost scared look in his eye. "What? Ricardo-"
"Just tell me the truth, Alberto. I know how much your title means to you, but... more than me? Really?" He grimaces and fights tears. "After everything we've been through, you can't even find another way outside of humilating me by kissing someone else on national TV... not once but three times?"
"Ricardo-"
"Was all of this just... pity? You claimed you loved me fresh off of Sheamus' brogue kick that jacked my neck up so badly, then took such good care of me when Big Show kept attacking me, and Swagger broke my ankle. I thought it was because you really loved me, but I... can't help but wonder now, when it's so easy for you to kiss someone else in front of tens of thousands of people... Did you even consider what that would do to me? Where my mind would go when I saw that?" His shoulders shake as he drops down on the bed and scrubs at his face, trying still not to cry. "I... I would never-"
Alberto swallows and approaches him, pain etched across his face. "I know you wouldn't, but- Ricardo, por favor-" The ring announcer doesn't move, doesn't react, as Del Rio kneels down in front of him, careful not to crowd him. "It wasn't pity, everything I've ever said to you regarding my feelings is sincere. I would never lie to you about such things. You have to believe me-"
"Do I?" he asks, voice muffled through his fingers.
Del Rio looks away, fighting his aggravation- with himself, with Vickie Guerrero, with the entire situation regarding Cena and his World title. He understands why Ricardo would feel betrayed, lied to, after everything they'd been through, but it still hurts. When he tries to convince him again, his voice is slightly shaking, fearing that it won't be enough. That Ricardo won't buy what he's saying, take his things, and leave. They're not even connected professionally anymore, so if he chose to leave, Alberto couldn't use a contractual obligation to bring him back. "Mi valiente, please. I have no feelings for Vickie, I have no feelings for anyone but you. You have been by my side through everything, good times and bad, and I would've been lost so many times without you. Vickie Guerrero has been nothing but a terror to both of us for years, constantly belittling you, sticking me in impossible situations. As if my taste in romantic interests would ever be that questionable." His voice trails away as he rests his hands on Ricardo's knees, lightly squeezing. "I aspire to have nothing but the best in my life, so why would I downgrade so sharply?"
The younger man peeks through his fingers, staring down at Alberto, shudders rattling through him. "Re- really?"
"Si! Si, of course, look at me. I'm not lying to you, I know I took it too far by kissing her, and I am so, so sorry for that, mi valiente, but things have not been easy for me either. I miss working alongside you, Ricardo, and I can't lose my World title as well... so I reacted in the moment, and I have regretted it every moment since." He gets back to his feet and settles down on the bed next to Ricardo. "Could you ever forgive me, mi valiente? And if there's anything I can do to make that easier, tell me, por favor, I'll do anything you ask of me..."
Ricardo breathes in deeply and ducks his head. "Could you just... just hold me...?" he asks wearily, Alberto staring at what of his face he can see.
"Of course," he mutters quietly, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him against his chest. "I've got you. Everything's going to be ok." He strokes his fingers through Ricardo's hair, lightly kissing the top of his head. "Lo siento, lo siento," he whispers, closing his eyes as Ricardo starts to cry against him. "Oh, mi valiente. Talk to me."
"It's just- I wasn't expecting any of this when I... I agreed to... cut our professional ties. How much it would hurt," he sniffs. "How hard it would be, without you by my side... I..." He chokes. "Seeing you with Vickie, I know it didn't really mean anything, but... I miss you and I'm afraid the more time we spend apart, the more you'll enjoy your freedom, and..."
Alberto stares down at him in shock and shakes his head. "Ay, Ricardo, never. Who is it I always find first thing as soon as I'm backstage after a match or segment? I hate every second we're apart, and I want no one else by my side to celebrate my victories with, or to comfort me after I lose. And, hey, I promise you," he breathes, tilting Ricardo's chin up so he can look him in the eye. "I will never do anything like this again, si? No matter what's on the line, I will make sure to never put this expression on your face again." He gently wipes the tears off of Ricardo's cheeks and smiles down at him, leaning in towards him. "Trust me?" he asks a couple of inches from his lips, searching his eyes.
It takes a minute, Ricardo staring up at him wonderingly, but his simple, one worded answer eases some of the pain and guilt from Alberto. "Si," he breathes, nodding.
Alberto smiles at him and bridges the gap between them, kissing him warmly, the natural, perfect moment so unlike his forced ones with Vickie not lost on either of them. "I love you, mi valiente."
Ricardo smiles and wraps his arms around him, sighing softly as Alberto hugs him back. "And I love you, El Patron."