𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌𝐒 | rini & jolivia oneshots

holding your hand when it gets cold

Plot: For Christmas, Ricky gives Nini a surprise she'll never forget.

"Christmas gift for Nini, Christmas gift for Nini!" I panicked. I'd drove through all the stores and malls in town, but they were all closed. It was Christmas Eve, and I didn't know what to get her, so I waited until the last minute when all the shops were closed.

        I sighed. It was probably for the best. I couldn't afford anything over $20, anyway. After Mom left, things had been pretty tight. Besides, Nini deserved so much better than some perfume or lipstick.

       I racked my brain about what I'd given her for past Christmases. Well, there was the soundtrack to all three High School Musical movies. Then there was the Barbie I replaced for the time I burnt hers. Another year, I'd given her a two-month subscription to her favorite magazine. But this year, it needed to be extraordinary.

        Then it came to me. Nini loved music, especially love songs. I was pretty sure I could hear "All I Want for Christmas is You" blasting from inside her house right now.

Another idea popped up in my brain. Nini had given me something very, very, very valuable back in kindergarten. I still kept it, twelve years later.

         I grinned. I knew exactly what to get her.

         "Hey, Neens!" I said as I strolled up to her front porch. She was hanging decorations and tinsel on the door.

         "Yo, Ricky! Merry Christmas. Love that sweater, by the way."

"Thanks," I grinned. "This is probably one of the few that you didn't take yet. Let me help you with that wreath."

         I helped her put the finishing touches. "There, how does that look?"

         "I think it's perfect," she said, leaning up on her tiptoes and kissing my cheek.

        We stared into each other's eyes for a while until Carol asked us to come in and take pictures in our ugly sweaters. I have to say, they turned out pretty great.

Later, it was time for the yearly gift exchange. I gave Nini's moms two coffee mugs (that's what I get them every year) and took Nini under the tree to give her my extra special gift.

"To Nini, may your Christmas wishes come true and your heart be as caring as always," I read from the card I'd written. Then I tossed it away. "Ricky Bowen doesn't need a script!"

"Nini, I knew I fell in love with you the first time we kissed. Since I couldn't find you a gift that you deserved enough, this was the second best I could do."

I took out my guitar and began strumming.

"This gift's the second best I could do,
When the perfect gift is you."

After I finished, I pulled out the box from my pocket. "Remember kindergarten?" I asked.

Flashback in time——————

"Merry Christmas, Richard," Nini said to me, holding out a small box.

I was curious to see what lay inside. An action figure? A lollipop?

I quickly opened the box, to see the components. When I saw what it was, I was a little confused.

"It's o ring," I said, holding it up. It was made out of red paper and had a tiny little Mickey Mouse drawn and outlined in messy black marker. There was an R + N written in sloppy writing on the back.

"I made that to show that we'll always be friends, no matter what," Nini explained.

My mouth turned from its confused look into a big beam. "Thunk you, Nini." I leaned over and pecked her cheek, which made her blush redder than the mistletoe berry.

Flashback over————

"Wow, Ricky," Nini said, her eyes tearing up. "I can't believe you still kept that."

I grinned. "It's still in my memory box. I sometimes take it out and look at it to remember the first present you gave me."

This ring was a little more constructed, made in glittery white paper and decorated with miniature snowflakes, since I knew how much Nini loved snow.

The one thing I kept the same was the R + N in the middle. But this time, it meant something different.

"It's a promise ring," I told her. "For someday, I can assure you that. This time, I'm willing to make commitments and not be the stupid idiot I was last time."

Nini's moms, who were watching from the corner, had tears in their eyes. Kind of like Nini. Well, the entire Salazar-Roberts family was tearing up.

"Have you guys looked at the ceiling?" Dana asked, pointing upwards.

My eyes darted to the ceiling, and of course it was there. The mistletoe.

I stared at Nini, and she stared at me. We both smiled and locked our lips as they met in the middle.