enjoy this long-ass fluff chapter to make up the last two days of me not updating🥰

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the sound of the door opening woke ricky up from his comfortable sleep. he sees the nurse setting down nini's breakfast on the table as he slowly rubs his eyes and gets up from the couch. the nurse told him to make sure nini eats before 9am so that she has a regular eating hours at the hospital. he thanked the nurse and soon enough he's left alone with nini.

he approaches her and sit on his usual seat. he didn't have any intention in waking her up at first because it was only about 7.30 am, but when he press a kiss on her forehead, her eyes slowly opened and he greets her with a genuine smile.

"hey you." he beams

nini glances at him with a smile, "hi." she groggily says to him

"how'd you sleep?" he asks

"awful. i can't move." she groans loudly

ricky frowns hearing her response, "i'm sorry."

"it's okay, like you said last night, i'll be okay."

"that's great hearing those words from you, neens." he says as he carress her palm softly, "even though i know you're hurting inside."

she sighs, "let's just say i'm okay now sacrificing my life for us."

"hey, no. don't say that. i-"

"ricky, what happened, happened. let's just forget it and be here for me physically and mentally. it was hard at first knowing how i basically cannot do anything alone, but hey, at least everything's okay now among us."

he chuckles hearing those words from her, "and you said i was good with words."

she was about to raise her left hand but then she put it down again, "i was about to slap you but i feel weak."

this makes him laugh, "you're cute."

"that's not-"

"oh shush, i don't want to have an argument with you." he waves her off, "now let's eat, yeah? the nurse told me to make sure you eat before 9."

she sighs, "i don't have any appetite."

"nini." he says sternly but she keeps shaking her head

"fine then, i'll leave you alone." he was about to stand up but she quickly squeezes his wrist

"don't you dare to leave me alone." she glares at him

"then eat!" he whines

"alright, fine!" she sighs, "but you do realize my right hand's not working and i'm not left-handed, right?"

"which is why i'm here." he grins

he takes the food table to set it right in front of her and set the bed too so it automatically goes up. he gives her a water first to hydrate herself as he starts to open the breakfast.

"what's the menu?" she asks as she put the water

"cream soup." he says as he brings the spoon near her mouth

nini opens her mouth and then she bites and gulps the soup. it was a bit messy, so there was a stain of the soup on the corner of her lips which makes him laugh. as he wipes the stain with his thumb, she gives him a death glare.

"you're so moody today." he chuckles as he feeds her again with the soup

"period is coming." she tells him, "and the fact that i can't do anything makes me even more moody. bare with me for the next few days, please? since you promised to be with me."

"i got to prepare myself mentally, then." he jokes

"hey!"

ricky bursts out laughing as he pinches her cheeks tightly, "shut up and finish this, okay?"

nini is halfway done with the soup and ricky is quite thankful that she eats like the usual. they keep making small talks as he feeds her and make sure she finishes the food.

the door is suddenly open and then they see garrett and alexis coming in to the room. they set their stuffs on the couch as they approach the bed. alexis' eyes widens as she sees the soup is halfway done.

"this is great news, honey!" alexis exclaims

nini chuckles hearing her mother's reaction, "mom, it's just me eating a soup."

"well yeah, but i've never seen you eat like this in awhile. i guess i'm hiring ricky to babysit you."

"you don't need to hire me alexis, i'm already volunteering myself." ricky jokes which makes them laugh except for nini

she observes her boyfriend's interaction with her parents as he keeps feeding the soup. her view definitely makes her heart melt. this is all she wanted, seeing her boyfriend and parents getting along and calling each other with first names. she wishes ricky and her parents' relationship will stay this way until the end.

little did she know

"oh hey, your waffle is on that table." alexis tells ricky as she points to the table beside the couch

"alright, i'll eat it after nini's done." he responds

"hey, i want waffles!" nini whines at him

"nuh uh, not happening. you have to follow the doctor's orders first."

"it's not like i have a bad condition inside my body!" she protests and garrett laughs lightly

"let's ask dr. west later, okay?" garrett tells her as he rubs her legs softly

"good to know someone's on my side." she huffs which makes ricky and her parents bursts out laughing

"are your friends coming over later?" garrett asks them

ricky nods in response, "around 1 or 2pm, i guess, and my parents will be here in about an hour."

"where are they going, again? i forgot." alexis says to him

"texas." he answers

hearing ricky's parents are visiting her makes her feels uncomfortable. she knows everything's okay now, but she slightly feels awkward to face them, even seeing her parents act so protective over her makes her even more confused, but she knows she won't need to make such a huge deal about it.

ricky sees nini zoning out as he tries to feed her another spoon of soup, so he softly caress her cheek to wake her up from her daydream.

"hey, you okay?"

she glances at him with a small smile, "y-yeah, nothing to worry about."

he knows she's lying, but then realizing her parents are in the room, he knows that she's uncomfortable spilling her guts. as he was about to say something, dr. west and two nurses come inside the room.

"ah, how's the soup?" dr. west asks her

"it's pretty good actually." nini answers with a light laugh

"good to hear that!" he exclaims, "i'm going to check up on you first and then you can finish the soup, yeah?"

nini nods as ricky moves away from her so that dr. west and the nurse can do their job. it takes them about two to three minutes to check up everything on nini while ricky, garrett, and alexis wait for them on the other side of the bed.

"you really are a gifted human, nina." dr. west says as he moves away the stetoscope from her, "you're doing better and must i say you can go home tomorrow afternoon."

nini's lips curl up into a huge smile from ear to ear, which makes ricky's heart melts. it's been awhile since he sees that beautiful smile that could make him drop on his knees so he feels really happy seeing her smile.

"really?"

dr. west nods in response, "as long as you have a good sleep tonight and eat as scheduled. next morning we'll send you a wheelchair and crutches so that you can move and walk better."

"what about her arm and legs therapy? and how long do you think it would take?" alexis asks him

"surprisingly her arm isn't that awful and it can take about two to three weeks to heal, but i don't know about her legs, i'm sorry." he says with a frown, "but don't worry, as long as you come to the therapy as scheduled every single time, i think your legs will recover soon."

nini sighs hearing the news from the doctor. she told ricky that she's accepting what's happening with her, but deep down she's still sad enough about this. she remembers she still has to go to school, and people will see her condition. gaining attention is the last thing she wants, in addition prom and graduation is quite near. but she knows if she keeps complaining about herself, she would annoy people, so she decides to keep it to herself and face the reality.

"i know what you're thinking, nina. don't worry, though. you will heal soon." dr. west says with a hopeful smile

she returns his smile back, "thank you dr. west."

"oh, can she go to school already when she gets home?" ricky asks, knowing how long she hasn't show up at school and she is obviously concerned

"nina should take a bed rest for two days, at least. and when she goes to school, make sure she's not alone, i mean with her condition like this, i can tell how complicated it is for her to be alone." he answers, "oh, and about the therapy, it should be held twice a week, you can choose what day do you prefer, nina. but it should have about two or three days gap."

nini thinks about it for a second, "tuesday and friday?"

"that's good." he answers as he writes down on his board, "what time do you finish school?"

"tuesday is at 3 while friday is at 2."

"i'll set the time for the therapy at 5, how does that sound?" he offers

"that's great, doctor."

"alright," he says as he clicks his pen, "i guess that's it. the nurse will come here quite often to check up on you, okay? i'll try visiting you again at around 5 or 6pm."

"thank you so much doctor." garrett and alexis tells him

as dr. west and the nurse was about to walk away, nini stops them. "is there anything i can't eat?"

"you can eat anything basically, as long as you have no allergies. but i would recommend you to eat more soup instead of fried foods."

"does that mean i can eat waffles?" nini asks which makes ricky and her parents laugh

dr. west chuckles, "of course."

"okay, thank you doctor!"

when dr. west and the nurse are out of sight, ricky moves again to sit next to nini. he wants to feed her again, but nini stops him because she feels full.

"come on, three spoons left!" he whines

"i could literally throw up, ricky." she desperately says

ricky sighs as he glances at garrett and alexis for help and then he sees alexis nods her head in approval to let nini stop eating.

"alright, fine." he sighs

"now you put away the soup and take the waffles. eat on this chair, no buts. let me have the waffles." she demands sternly

garrett and alexis lets out a laugh as they see how funny their daughter is, "the waffles are for ricky, honey."

"three bites, please?" she pleads

ricky groans, "one."

"hey-"

"oh shush! one bite or none." he sternly says

"you're a jerk."

"you're annoying."

"are you two always like this?" alexis asks as she shakes her head

"yup, but she's sometimes so clingy and knowing her condition like this, she's gonna be extra clingy." ricky answers as he sits back on the chair with the waffles

"hey! you're more clingy!"

"no, you."

"you."

"y-"

"children, stop!" garrett says as he bursts out laughing

ricky ended up giving her half of his waffles

he's so whipped towards her

a few moments later mike and lynne arrive at nini's room, which makes nini feels slightly awkward. she sees how close her parents are with them and they act like nothing happened. she wanted to spill her thoughts, but then she sees her boyfriend looked really happy seeing the view, so she thought she shouldn't be thinking about it too much.

"nini, honey, how are you feeling?" lynne asks with a smile as she sits on the bed

"i'm healing, thank you for asking mrs. bo-"

"lynne." she corrects her with a small smirk

"o-oh, alright. sorry. i'm still not used to all of this." she says nervously, motioning her parents and them getting along

mike chuckles hearing her response, "it's alright, honey." he tells her, "oh, lynne made vegan cookies that you used to eat at our house," he hands her the lunch box, "we hope you miss it."

nini's eyes lightens up as she sees lynne's homemade vegan cookies she used to eat everytime she hung out at ricky's on their childhood days.

"oh my, you don't have to. this is too much." she quickly says as she had thoughts about lynne making those cookies just for her

"it's not, honey. think of this as a gift and our apology."

"apology?" she asks confusedly

"for what happened with you and ricky."

"oh..." she trails off, "it's okay, everything will be like we used to now, right? let's forget about the past."

mike and lynne share a smile to each other hearing the mature response from their son's lover. they've always known nini is a good person for their son and they hope their son and nini will always be together.

she finally accepts the lunch box with a huge grin, "i really do miss this, honestly. thank you." she says shyly

"you're allowed to eat this, though, right?" lynne asks

she responds with a nod, "the doctor suggests more soup, but that doesn't mean i can't eat these babies."

they laugh hearing what she says, "i'll make some more for you after our business trip, then."

"thank you." she says shyly

ricky suddenly interrupts their conversation as he approaches nini, "hey, i want that!"

nini was too weak to grip the lunch box on her arms so she quickly glares at him, "this is mine."

"but-"

lynne lets out a laugh, "honey, there's still some cookies at home. you can eat that one."

"yes, ricky. eat that one." she says mockingly to him

he groans loudly, "you're lucky i love you."

"you're lucky i love you." again, she says mockingly

everyone laugh except for ricky which makes him groan, "good to know no one's on my side."

his phone suddenly rings so he excuses himself to answer it outside. before pressing the green button, he sees the caller ID and quickly answers it.

"hey gi, what's up?"

"hey, i want to ask about nini." gina tells him

"oh, she's better than last night thankfully."

"what do you mean?"

"she was pretty out of it, but she had a good sleep so now she's quite cheerful, even she mocks me in front of our parents." he answers with a chuckle

he could her the laugh coming from gina, "that's good, but i know she's hiding her sadness."

"oh, i know. i've known her for years, she's definitely hiding it."

gina sighs, "i still feel bad for her, you know?"

"i know, i feel the same. but do me a favor and just be happy when you see her? mourning over her is the last thing she wants to see from everyone. it will make her even more sad."

"okay, i'll try." she says with a sigh, "thank you for taking care of her, ricky."

"of course, gi. you don't need to thank me, though."

she laughs lightly, "alright, i'll see you later, bye!"

"bye gi!"

he returns back inside the room and nini quickly gives her attention to ricky.

"who is it?" she asks

ricky approaches her to his usual seat next to her while his parents are still with nini, "gina."

her eyes lightens up, "she's coming over, right?"

he nods in response, "our friends too, i told you last night."

she smiles from ear to ear, "i remember."

lynne suddenly gasps as she looks at the time, "oh god, i almost forgot about our flight."

mike checks the time on his watch, "we should go now."

nini nods, "of course, thank you for coming."

lynne smiles as she press a kiss on nini's head, "we'll see you in two weeks, okay?"

"okay." she beams

mike leans for a fist bump which makes her laugh, "do you want something from texas?"

she shakes her head, "no, it's okay."

ricky says goodbye to his parents and so did garrett and alexis. when they're out of sight, ricky returns back to his seat next to her, "not so bad, right?"

she chuckles as she bites the vegan cookies, "surprisingly no."

ricky was about to response, but then he sees her yawn which makes him laugh a little, "tired already?"

"mhm," she hums as she closes the lunch box, "but i don't want to sleep. i want to talk to you."

he shakes his head, "after you sleep, okay?"

"alright," she sighs, "lay with me?"

he gives her a smile, "of course."

garrett and alexis sees the lovebirds setting themselves to lay down together and they share a small smile to each other.

"are you sleepy, honey?" alexis asks as she approaches nini

she hums in response, "is it okay if ricky's here?"

"of course, honey." she answers, "i might have to go out first this noon with your dad. we'll be back around 5."

"alright, as long as i'm not alone." she says as she closes her eyes

ricky wraps his arms around her as he carress her hair softly and press a long kiss on it. he glances at garrett and alexis and they mouthed "thank you" to him which makes him smile and nod.

seeing her sleep makes him want to sleep too, so he decides to close his eyes for awhile, but "awhile" seems to be long.

few hours later at around 1pm, someone taps his shoulder which makes him flutters his eyes open. he was a bit shocked to see the amount of people there.

"o-oh, hey guys." he whispers as he glances at nini who is still peacefully sleeping on his arms

"how is she?" big red asks him

"healing." he answers, "you want to talk to her?"

"no need, we don't want to disturb her." ashlyn answers him

"it's alright, she must eat at this hour anyway." he says

ricky slowly carress her head to wake her up, "princess, wake up." he whispers

nini is too comfortable on her sleep that she cannot hear ricky waking her up. ricky shifts himself so he carress her cheek softly while pressing a kiss on her forehead.

"hey, it's your time to eat."

as expected, nini slowly opens her eyes while scrunching up her nose which ricky always finds it adorable. ricky was the first thing she sees when she wakes up so she lets out a smile. she clearly cannot see the people who's visiting her because ricky's blocking her view, so she feels like she's alone with ricky.

"how are you feeling?" ricky asks as he caress her head

she shrugs her shoulders, "just like this morning, but the sleep was so good. you should lay with me from now on."

he laughs, "whatever helps you sleep at night."

he leans in to her and they share a long and sweet kiss as if they've never kissed each other. they were too busy showing each other with love and affection, they forgot there are lots of people in the room.

gushes, squeals, and laughters pull them away and nini widens her eyes as she sees many people visiting her.

"you guys are so cute!" zoe squeals loudly

they both blush embarrassedly that their friends have to witness them locking lips for the first time, except for gina and ej.

gina quickly approach her as she gives nini a tight hug, "i'm so glad you're okay. i was scared when i heard the crash from our phone call."

nini pulls away from her, "i'm sorry."

gina shakes her head, "you're not the one to blame, okay? what matters is that now you're okay."

nini's smile turns into a frown as she looks down on her lap, "i'm not."

gina instantly knows what she's referring to, "if your talking about your legs, it will be okay, neens. i promise. we will be with you."

"thank you." nini says as she embraces her to gina's arms

"god, we have so much to catch up on."

nini giggles lightly, "i'd love to hear it."

"that's enough gina, it's my turn!" ej exclaims as he lightly shoves gina away from nini

"rude." gina mumbles as she goes back to kenny's arms

ej gives her a huge grin as he brings nini to his arms, "have you learned your lesson?"

nini raises her eyebrows