Jingle Bells

Jingle Bell Rock

**Because I'm nice 🥰**
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He knows he should be admiring all of Nini's incredible planning and setup for this party, but he can't take his eyes off her. She looks amazing, and the proud smile on her face is lighting up the room.

"Nini, this party is perfect." He says.

She looks at him and smiles. "You aren't even looking at it."

"I know," he tells her, smiling back. "It still looks perfect."

She giggles and kisses his cheek. "C'mon, let's go mingle."

They start walking around to talk to people, and Ricky marvels at how much Nini's people skills have improved. She makes conversation with everyone in the office with ease, and everyone loves her. Ricky hardly even has to say anything.

After a while, though, Ricky notices a slight change in Nini's demeanor. She seems a little shorter in her responses to certain questions from people, and she's more tense than she was earlier.

He suspects she's probably just getting tired- it has been a draining couple of weeks for her. So, he disconnects her arm from his and grabs her hand instead, leading her away from the main area of the party.

"Where are we going?" She asks him.

"My office."

"Ricky, I'm really not in the mood for- "

"Just to talk," he assures her as he opens the door. "You deserve a break."

She nods and walks in, and he follows her, shutting the door behind them.

"Are you okay?" He asks.

She shrugs and nods. "Yeah. I'm just really tired."

"You haven't really been feeling good lately."

"I've probably just been overworking myself with the party," she admits. "You were right."

He smiles a bit. "Maybe. But it was cute seeing you all excited about it."

"I thought it annoyed you," she says, tilting her head.

"Oh, it did, don't get me wrong. But it was cute. And it was very you."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Well, considering I love you, I don't think so."

She smiles a bit. "You're lucky I love you too. If you were anyone else, I would've been mad at you for blocking my creativity so much."

He chuckles and takes her hand, kissing the back of it.

"Can we just get out of here?" She asks him.

He nods. "You read my mind."

They say goodbye to everyone at the party and immediately go home. By the time both of them are finally in bed, it's almost midnight.

He's already half asleep while she's still shifting positions and trying to get comfortable. It's kind of a tell of hers- she gets restless when she's sick or stressed.

He reaches out and pulls her into him so her back is pressed against his chest. He presses a kiss to her head and buries his nose in her hair, rubbing his thumb in small, gentle circles on her stomach. She finally starts to relax, and soon enough her breathing is even and matched perfectly to his.
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