Belonging - an adopted by Hamilton sequel

20th of May, 2021: Visiting

[A/N: So this is quite the chapter. It's very long. But I think it's one of the nicest ones in a while💛]

20th of May, 2021

"Hey, I just wanted to call and say that I'm on the train", I said, as I looked out the window. I had AirPods in my ears, while trying to drown out the many sounds of the train.
"I'm so excited to see you", Dom replied immediately. "Is it alright? Are you alright?", he asked me over the phone.
"Yeah", I told him. "It's alright. There aren't too many people, and I'm surprisingly fine this far. I'm glad I decided to take the train and not the bus", I calmly explained, happy to hear his voice. Mostly because I was actually going to see him in a little over five hours.
"Promise to call me if it gets hard, yeah?", he reminded me kindly. I knew he was slightly worried about me doing this.
"Yeah", I said, smiling through my answer.
"And I promise I'll meet you at the platform", he reassured me so that I wouldn't have to ask.
"Yeah", I said. In the background, I could hear his friends chatting. "Go, have lunch with your mates. You're graduating in two days. I'll be alright", I told him, as I put my hair behind my ear.
"I'm sure you will", he said, and I could practically hear him smiling. "But just in case, you know you can call me?"
"I know, Dominic. And I really appreciate that", I told him. "So..."
"Okay, Ruthers. I'll see you in a couple of hours", he said, giving in. "Bye"
"Bye", I told him, and hung up.
I exhaled, and then took a deep breath as I looked around the carriage. Everyone was wearing a mask. So far, it wasn't too many people and because of that, nobody had taken the seat next to mine. Instead, my tote bag sat on the seat, filled with ways that I could occupy my time with. I already had a book on my lap, and I rolled the audio book in my ears at the same time in order to focus better. It was a trick I had figured out during the last couple of years, as it made it easier for me to be able to read in stressful environments. In a way, it filtered out the routines. And I could read.

About two hours later, I was awoken from my reading by my ringtone. I quickly looked at the screen, and realized it was my Dad who was calling.
"Hi Dad", I said, as I answered the call.
"Hey Rue-Rue", he replied, sounding happy. "You're on speaker, Mom's here too. How are you?", he continued to ask.
"Hi!", I could hear my Mom say in the background.
"I'm fine. I finished my final hand-ins yesterday, so I'm great", I told him. "You?"
I folded my book together on my lap, making sure that my bookmark was on the right page. I was tapping, too. I had been since I hung up on Dom. I wasn't sure why.
"Yeah, we're good, we're good- wait, are you on the subway?", my Dad asked me, seemingly surprised but proud.
"No, I'm- I'm actually on a train", I admitted. "I've got about three hours to go"
"V, did you hear that? Rue's on a train!", he excitedly told my Mom, urging her to come to the phone.
"Niñita, a train? That's amazing", my Mom exclaimed, a bit closer to the phone by now.
I cracked a laugh.
"It's not that big of a deal-", I said to them, a little embarrassed by their reactions, even if I was, indeed, really proud of myself.
"It is! In October you barely made it out of the door, Niñita", my Dad softly told me, as he handed me the facts.
"I know, I know. I am proud of myself-", I said, pausing for a brief second. "It's actually gone really well"
"That's great to hear", my Mom said, sounding calmed and reassured by what I had said. "And we were actually going to invite you to dinner tonight to celebrate you finishing your finals, but we'll do that another time then", she explained, laughing a little. I laughed with her.
"Where are you going, then?", my Dad asked, curious as always.

I hadn't actually told them about Dom yet. We hadn't told either of our families. I suppose we had wanted to make sure what we were doing, and what we actually were, before letting them in. However, I was seeing his family this weekend, for his graduation. And we had, sort of, decided that this was the time.

"Um...", I hesitantly began to say, as I weighed the perks and cons of telling them. Eventually, but quickly, the perks won. I cleared my throat ever so slightly. "I'm going to Syracuse to see Dom, actually. He's graduating on Saturday", I explained, as I awaited their reactions.
"You're going to see Dominic?", my Mom asked me, her tone surprised, but I could hear that she was smiling. I could envision the two of them, raising their eyebrows at each other in confusion.
"Yeah. Um, we reconnected at the end of last year", I told them, feeling slightly awkward by the whole situation. "It's still new. So I haven't told you because of that. Sorry", I added, suddenly feeling a little more stressed, as I increased the way I tapped.
"No, Niñita, you don't have to tell us or say sorry", Mom kindly told me.
"We're just a little surprised, you see", Dad continued. "But we're happy for you, you know that right?"
I smiled.
"I do-", I replied, looking down at my lap. I was still tapping. "You always are"
"Right. We're always happy for you when you are happy", Dad assured me, and he sounded happy too.
"And you are happy, right?", Mom asked, just to check.
"I am", I answered, feeling a smile spread into a full grin on my face.
"Okay, then", Mom said, starting to say goodbye. I could hear how excited she was. "Have a great weekend with Dom. And maybe you can call us when you're going home?"
I nodded, though I knew they couldn't see it.
"Thanks. I will", I replied, as I made a mental note to put that into the calendar.
"He's vaccinated, right?", Dad asked, suddenly sounding worried. He always had a harder time wrapping up a conversation.
"Both of us are. And the ceremony is social distanced. He had an extra spot and offered it to me", I reassured him.
"That's good", he replied, sounding satisfied with my answer. Neither of them sounded worried about the fact that I was seeing him. They knew Dom, and so they didn't have to. They knew that he was kind at heart. I knew that too.
"But, I'll give you a call when I'm back, and I'll text you when I get there, I promise", I told them, as I looked at my worriedly tapping hand. "Okay?"
"Yeah, Niñita. Have a great time now. Bye-", Mom told me, as they finished by saying bye in unison.
"Bye", I replied, and hung up. I looked down at my book, as it laid neatly folded in my lap. I was currently reading The secret garden. I'd read it before, around the time Dom and I had broken up. I hadn't touched it since, as if it had been cursed. As if I didn't want to open the door. I hadn't even finished it. But, for some reason, I had reached for it earlier that day, thinking that maybe, maybe, the time had come.