Book of Love: Rini One Shots

How We Came to Be

Summary: My take on how Ricky and Nini became a couple.

************************************************

Ricky was a nervous wreck.

Actually scratch that. He was an emotional disaster. He never thought there'd be a day that he was too afraid to approach his long time best friend in his life, but life has proven him wrong.

He was mentally trying prepare himself for the biggest risk he's ever taken.

He's gonna ask Nini to be his girlfriend.

He's been trying to leave little hints that he was interested in her, and so far she's responded positively. He would hang out with her alone more often and would purposely choose places that were either quiet or had a romantic vibe. He called them "secret dates." It was surprisingly Big Red's idea to do that.

He also tried to have more physical contact with her. For example, he'd find an excuse to hold her hand or hug her. Even a gesture as small as their shoulders touching was good enough for him. He'd always make sure if they were in a group setting that he was sitting next to her.

The most important step is to show her that he truly is willing to open his heart to her. Everyone knows he's not exactly the most open about his personal feelings, but he knew that sharing his thoughts and emotions is a feature that Nini really liked in a guy. If that's what it takes, he's more than happy to do it for her.

Big Red had been a big help during the whole process. He helped Ricky prepare what he was going to say to her and tried his best to calm Ricky's jitters.

Today, Ricky planned on taking her on a picnic in their favorite park. He was gonna wait til the moment felt right to tell her how he felt. He walked up to her door and rang the doorbell.

He had to calm his breathing and wipe his palms on his jeans. When she opens the door, he couldn't help but gawk when he saw her heavenly face. She was wearing a knee length yellow dress with a high ponytail and white sandals. She reminded him of a beautiful summer day.

"You look as gorgeous as usual today."

She blushes and closes the door behind her.

"And you look as handsome as always. Is that flower for me?" She pointed at the singular sunflower that matched her dress in his hand. He completely forgot he brought her a flower since he was distracted by her radiance.

"Oh yeah, I know that sunflowers are your favorite but I also know you don't like taking care of a bouquets, so I only brought one. Hope you don't mind."

She chuckles and gladly accepts the flower. "This is super sweet! You really didn't have to."

He waves her off. "No worries. I wanted to." He winks at her, and he swore he saw her blush.

"Shall we go?" She asks.

"Of course."

When they get to the park, Ricky sets up the picnic under a large tree for shade. The secret date hangout was going great so far. When she was resting her head on his shoulder and playing with the strings on his jeans, something inside of him told him now was the time to tell her.

He takes a deep breath. It's all or nothing.

Before he can get a chance to confess, she began talking.

"Hey Ricky, can I ask you something?"

His attention is fully on her. "Yeah of course."

She continued to play with the strings, and he can tell by her body language that she was nervous about something.

"You have to promise you won't be weird about it when I say it." She looks at him with a vulnerable expression.

"I promise."

She inhales deeply and rests her hand on top of his. She then locks eyes with him.

"Ricky I...I really like you. Like a lot more than just a friend."

Ricky gasped, and he swore he felt his soul leave his body for a second. He was truly speechless. He was not prepared for her to confess before he did. He must've had an alarming facial expression because he saw that she had panic and regret written all over her face.

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have said anything."

She started to get up to leave, but she was stopped by his grip on her wrist.

"Wait no sorry. I was just really thrown off. I'm glad you said something." He watches as she calms down.

She furrows her brows as she looks up at him. "Yeah, why's that?"

He takes both of her hands in his and smiles brightly.

"Because I feel the same way. Matter of fact, I was going to ask you if you wanted to possibly be my girlfriend..."

She beams and wraps her arms around his neck. He gleefully wraps his arms around her small frame. While they were hugging, he had noticed that their heartbeats were in sync.

They both remained in each other's arms trying to get as close as humanly possible. They both knew that they couldn't stay like that forever though. She was the first to release from the hug. She rested her head back on his shoulder except this time she tangled her legs with his.

"We can be boyfriend and girlfriend under two conditions."

"And what would those be?"

"First, you must promise we will still be friends even if things turn sour."

He smiles and pulls her closer to him. "You can't get rid of me that easily Neens."

"And the second is that I get to be the girlfriend." She says in a joking manner.

He laughs wholeheartedly. "Yeah I think we should be good to go then."

They spent the rest of the day strolling around the park laughing like friends but flirting like lovers. It's only been a few hours since they made it official, but Ricky already could tell that this was the start of something magical. He was just mad that he didn't ask her sooner.

He realized quickly that being with each other while being best friends at the same time is the best kind of relationship. He knew this new journey they were taking wouldn't always be rainbows and sunshine, but she was worth the fight. She was his compass and he was a sailor, and without her he'd be lost.

***

The only thing that ever made sense to me was you, and how i felt about you, thats all i've ever known, and thats enough.. thats enough for me for the rest of my life