Chapter Text
Ricky jogged through the ground floor of the hospital, looking through the occasional door for the cafeteria. Or even a vending machine. Anything to deter Nini’s foul mood a little.
As Ricky passed by the fifth set of glass doors, he spotted some tables and a barista in the corner. Making a beeline for the front counter, Ricky scanned the selection of sweets and snacks along the wall, opting for Reese's Pieces for himself and some Skittles for Nini. That girl was cranky and needed her sugar dose soon if he had any hope of surviving another minute in her company without one of them starting an argument over something stupid again. Ricky knew, deep down, that the only reason Nini was picking fights was because she was nervous about going in for surgery. But that didn’t give her an out to be bitchy to Ricky for no apparent reason.
He huffed in annoyance as the teller rang up the sweets and a bottle of water Ricky had added in last minute, while he thought about Nini’s latest ‘dilemma’. He hadn’t taken his shoes off when he had pitched up at the Salazar-Roberts household to accompany Nini and her moms to the hospital. Ricky had entered Nini’s room and had taken two steps onto her new beige carpet and she had lost it, telling Ricky he was going to ruin it. Then, when they had all piled into the car, Ricky had accidentally sat on Nini’s fingers as he tried to get his seatbelt on. Another meltdown. When they had made it to the hospital, Ricky had gone to close his passenger side door when Nini had yelled at him from inside the car. She had one ankle out of the door and her fingers locked around the frame and was this close to getting squashed by the door. Apparenty, he was supposed to guess she wasn’t going to exit her side door like a normal person. After muttering a few choice words, she threw a, ‘Are you trying to kill me today?’ at Ricky.
His patience with Nini was wearing thin but he figured he should try make it up to her by opening the hospital door for her. But instead, she saw it as him trying to get in before her. ‘I mean, is chivalry dead?’
Ricky didn’t even know why he was bothering to be sweet to her by buying her candy when she had been nothing but plain rude to him all day, but he figured it was better for his sanity now that he invested in the colourful candy she loved so much.
After paying, Ricky took a measured stroll back to the room Nini was designated before she went in for surgery. She was getting an abscess drained. To Ricky, it hardly seemed like a complicated procedure but Nini was anxious about it. Almost to the point of a mental breakdown.
Ricky reached the door to Nini’s room, hovering for a moment to observe as Carol sat at the edge of the hospital bed, fussing over Nini while Dana watched on with a fond smile, laughing at whatever joke her wife was telling their daughter. Nini must have felt Ricky’s gaze because she turned her head to see him leaning against the frame, his poker face intact.
‘Got you these,’ Ricky stated, chucking the Skittles into her lap before settling against the wall alongside Nini’s bed, next to Dana. He peeled open the wrapper to his Reese’s Pieces before offering Dana and Carol who both politely declined. For a few moments, an awkward silence filled the room, save for the chewing of candy.
‘You’re going to be alright, Nini, it’s just a little bit of drainage-‘ Carol started only for Nini to interrupt her, ‘Mom, can we just not talk about it? I’m nervous enough already.’
‘Okay, baby. Should we go? Or do you want us to stay with you until Dr Mike comes?’
‘Stay,’ Nini murmured, barely audible, causing Ricky's pulse to quicken at how vulnerable she sounded.
Carol turned her head to shoot Ricky a look while nudging her head towards Nini and the open space on the bed. Ricky took his cue, pushing off the wall to sink onto the crinkly mattress next to Nini and lay his arm against the back of the pillow, allowing her the option of cuddling up or simply remaining where she was. Nini reclined back against the pillow, her hand brushing against Ricky’s thigh inadvertently, causing a shiver to roll down his spine.
Ricky and Nini provoked each other a little more (‘If you’re cold, Ricky, use the blanket instead of shaking against me’; ‘Shut up and finish your Skittles before the good doctor comes to see you.’) before Dr Mike arrived a few minutes later, Nini still chewing absently on her candy which she shoved (not too conspicuously) into Ricky’s hand. He had to hold in a laugh – sublety had never been Nini’s strong suit.
Dr Mike assured them that Nini would be in good hands, explained the procedure so everyone was aware of what Nini would be going through, and then asked Carol, Dana and Ricky to leave the room. ‘We should be done in about half an hour, tops,’ Dr Mike informed them.
Dana offered to grab a coffee for Carol who looked as nervous as Nini did. Ricky jumped up to go with her – anything to take his mind off of Nini and his fight.
Fifteen minutes passed in the time it took to get to the cafeteria, order coffee and walk back to the waiting room. Ricky excused himself to go to the bathroom, almost getting lost on the way back.
When he made it to Nini’s door, Ricky noticed it was slightly ajar. Was Nini finished already? Just as the thought struck him, Dana popped her top half out the door seeing Ricky just outside.
‘Ricky,’ Dana called him, ‘You can come on in. She’s asking for you.’ Dana held the door open for Ricky to pass through.
He noticed her immediately, as he always did, propped up against her pillows and laughing at her mom as Carol held up a stuffed bear from one of the many on Nini’s bed.
Ricky’s breathe caught in his throat as Nini looked up to meet his gaze, her perfect lips breaking into a grin at the sight of him. ‘Ricky!’ She sang happily.
All his frustration at her attitude that had built up throughout the morning melted away as soon as she said his name that way.
‘I’m so happy you’re here!’ she exclaimed, reaching for him as stumbled toward her hospital bed, dazed.
‘Hi, Princess. Are you alright?’ he managed to stutter after he gained his sense. Why was he mad at her again?
‘I’m so good, Ricky,’ she hicupped then and his heart skipped a beat even as he chuckled.
‘Yeah?’
‘Yeah! Especially now that you’re here,’ her voice lowered an octave and a decibel as he settled into the chair by her bedside.
‘Are you sure it’s not because of the meds they gave you?’ Ricky joked, sending Carol a wink as she hummed her agreement with him.
‘No,’ Nini stated so seriously, her brow furrowed in such a way that made his heart sing for her, ‘it’s because I love you.’
Ricky couldn’t stop himself from leaning over the bed rails to press a lingering kiss to Nini’s mouth. Nini took a second longer to respond but she kissed him back with equal fervour before scooting over to make space on her bed for him to sit. Making sure to be mindful of her, he'd slowly laid himself down next to her, and she’d instantly moved to snuggle against his side.
Carol beamed from her chair while Dana snuck a photo.
Soon, Nini was snoring softly against his chest while Dana and Carol chatted lightly from the foot of the bed. Ricky held his Princess tighter as she snuggled deeper into his warmth, the aenesthetic having taken its toll on her tiny body.
And Ricky couldn’t for the life of him remember what they had fought about in the first place.