wave after wave 🌊 [rini au]

fall ; 23

Nini's hands were sweaty and lowkey shaking when she applied her eyeliner, and she cursed under her breath when she drew the wing too high, grabbing her makeup remover to rub the error away.

"Nins, you done yet?" Ricky knocked on the bathroom door, startling the poor girl, causing her next attempt at a winged liner to go off-tangent again. She groaned, picking up the makeup wipe to rub the mistake away again. Her boyfriend heard her frustration and took the liberty to open the unlocked bathroom door; she usually never took this long to get ready, makeup or not, and he was starting to get a little worried. The curly-haired boy was shocked when he was met with the sight of tears rolling down her pretty face. "Hey, what's wrong?" Ricky enveloped the girl in a back hug, arms wrapped strongly around her waist, kissing her cheek as he looked at her reflection in the mirror. Nini placed the cap onto her liquid liner and threw the pen into her makeup bag, resting her head against his chest, "I suddenly suck at makeup, I can't even look good for your family." He took her face in his hands, wiping the tears of frustration from her cheeks, "You look amazing, Nins." She let him kiss her, hands clasped as she could feel them still trembling.

Ricky pulled away, worried because her lips were shaking the entire time, and her hands weren't wrapped around him like they usually were. "Are you okay? You're shaking, love," He took her hands in his, squeezing them to assure her that he was here for her. Her head was dipped low, the girl unable to look him in the eye. One of his hands lifted to tilt her chin upward, so that her gaze met his, "Talk to me, Nina." Nini let out a shaky breath, finding the words to express her fear of meeting the Bowen clan.

"I... What if..." She needn't say anything more; Ricky pulled her into a bone-crushing hug, her cheek buried in his chest. "Why did I even agree to do this?" He heard her whisper into his chest, albeit muffled, but he still managed to make it out anyway. His heart hurt when she doubted herself and the decision she had made. "We'll get through the day together, okay?"

"I'm just as scared as you are, love. I don't know who everyone's going to react to me bringing a girl back from Kauai, I don't know what they are going to think of my career or the person I've become in my time away." Ricky admitted, tucking his chin into the crown of her head. "I'm sorry, I made this about me, when I'm supposed to be a supportive girlfriend for you," Nini intertwined his fingers with hers, snapping out of her insecurity. "You're only human, Nina, your heart is fragile too. We got each other, okay? I'll support you as much as you support me." She let go of his hands, wrapping her arms around his neck, kissing him senseless. He pushed her into the bathroom wall, one hand pressed into her hip, the other playing with the hem of her white dress. She giggled into his lips, pulling away slightly, "You're so cheeky," Ricky merely grinned at her, relieved that her spirits were lifted. "Why don't I get ready quickly so that we won't be late and make a bad impression?" He let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding, assured that she was finally feeling a little better than she was a moment ago.

Nini emerged from the bathroom ten minutes later with the perfect makeup: winged liner, eyeshadow, mascara, contour and lipstick, and her hair curly in soft waves. Ricky's jaw dropped slightly, the last time he saw her like this was Midsummer's and it wasn't for a long time. He knew immediately it was going to take him a whole lot of effort keeping his eyes and hands off her throughout the day. Nini laughed at his expression, flipping her hair playfully, "Take a photo, love, it'll last longer." The girl burst into laughter when he immediately acted upon her words, whipping out his phone camera to snap some shots. She pulled him to stand with her in front of the full length mirror next to the bathroom door, grabbing his phone while she placed her arms around her waist; she took a photo of their reflection when he happened to kiss her cheek.

"Oh no, Nina, we are one of them now," Yea, one of those cringey couples who took couple photos in the full length mirror at the souvenir shop that Nini managed, she would sneak photos to the lifeguard, usually accompanied with a barf emoji. "Same as the fancy lemon water, baby." Touche.

Their hands were tightly intertwined as they walked into the Bowen driveway, Ricky whispered into Nini's ear, telling her to squeeze his hand whenever she felt uncomfortable, and then proceeded to let go of her hand. Nini stopped him, wrapping her pinky around his until he finally knocked on the door. They had discussed it the day before, it would be easier for Ricky's family to accept Nini as his girlfriend if they weren't all over each other in front of them. He hated that he couldn't stick close to her to make sure she was okay, but it was the only way that she would really be okay.

Ricky's dad was the one who answered the door, thankfully, and he gave his son and the tiny brunette girl a big hug, welcoming them to the celebration. "Nina, you are so much prettier in real life. You are a lucky guy, Rick," He gushed as he ushered them into the house. Ricky smiled at his girlfriend who returned his smile with her own, one step in the right direction. "Where's Mom?" The curly-haired boy tugged on his dad's shirt like a little boy, Nini laughing slightly at the dependency he seemed to have on his father. "She's talking with Aunt Gracie and Uncle Kai, I don't think you should say hi right now. Maybe you can go greet your Grandad and Grandma first, both of you? They are in the backyard."

The couple headed to the backdoor in the kitchen, gifts in hand. They were stopped by Ricky's relatives who shook their hands in greetings, a fistbump or hug from his cousins and smiles from some of the girlfriends. Nini resisted the urge to hide behind Ricky's shoulder and rest her cheek in his arm. Things were going rather well, the younger crowd largely accepting and fascinated by Nini, saying that she was really pretty and that Ricky had a good catch. They continued to navigate their way to the backyard, where the older folks were. Nini squeezing his hand once anxiously before he turned the knob of the door. One cousin caught this interaction and walked over to them to wish them luck, giving a far warning that Grandma wasn't in a chirpy mood that day. Ricky gave her a little peck on the lips before they walked out to greet the rest of the Bowen clan.

HIs grandfather rose from his seat when he saw the curly hair emerge from the back door, a small smile on his face when he saw a girl in a white dress following his grandson closely. "Alana, my boy has a girlfriend now." The old woman's eyes narrowed at the sight of her young grandson and the girl behind him, "Look at him, frolicked in Kauai and brought a girl home, what a disappointment." Ricky's expression lit up at the sight of his grandad but faltered slightly at his grandma's displeased look. The old man met the younger boy halfway in the backyard and wrapped his arms around him, "Good to see you, Rick." Pulling away from the hug, he turned to Nini, "And, is the lovely girl Nina?" Nini's expression softened as the old Bowen man seemed to be rather approving of her presence, though she was kind of shocked that he knew her name. "Hi Mr Bowen, I'm Nina Roberts, it's nice to finally meet you." He pulled her into a hug too, "I've heard many things about you from this boy, he really loves you." The couple blushed, Ricky embarrassed that his grandfather exposed him, he hadn't told Nini that he talked about her with his grandad, Nini finding the situation a little difficult to grasp but appreciative of his support of their relationship.

"Should we bring her over to Grandma now? Is it safe?" Ricky slipped his hand into hers, despite their pact to keep their hands off each other, especially where his grandparents could see. "Ricky, you don't have a choice, she's seen you guys already," The old Bowen chided the younger one. The three of them walked over to the older woman, whose expression was still as hard as before, if not harder. "Happy anniversary, Grandma," Ricky handed his gift to her, and kissed her cheeks lightly, just as she'd instructed him to do as a child. "Cut the crap, Richard. Who are you?" Her question was pointed straight at Nini, completely disregarding her grandson. "Mrs Bowen, I'm Nina Roberts, I-" Ricky cut her introduction off, "She's my girlfriend, Grandma." He could sense the poison on her tongue as the older woman opened her mouth to speak, an unsettled feeling in the pit of his stomach at what she was going to say next.

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apologises that it's been awhile, i've been struggling a little recently and needed some time off writing. i hope this short one can make up for the sparse updates