𝐢 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠
𝐢 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨 𝐢 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐲, 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠
𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐲
== n i n i 's p o v ==
nini and ricky's temporary living space in paris, france
i have the house to myself for a few hours, because ricky's working late tonight. i'm thankful for the alone time, but with the limited technology, there's not much to busy myself with. i open the fridge to see the macaroons from the other night that i never got the chance to try and grab the box, carefully opening the paper top and taking out a light purple macaroon. they smell amazing, and taste just like how i always thought they would--a mix of sweetness and relaxation.
EIGHT YEARS AGO -- nini salazar robert's bedroom in salt lake city, utah
"mm, imagine those, but honey-lavender," i say, digging out another spoonful of ice cream from my bowl. ricky and i are curled up under my mountain of blankets in my bed, watching the great british baking show on my computer. right now, they're having a competition to see who can make the best authentic macaroons.
"noted," ricky says, planting a kiss to the back of my head, "if for some reason we ever end up in europe, that'll be my first priority."
"i'd love to go to europe with you someday. maybe we could go on one of those romantic boats like in the movies," i smile, turning my head to look at him.
"you and your rom-coms," he jokes.
"what can i say? i love the sappiness," i say. he laughs as he takes a spoonful of ice cream out of our shared bowl and slides the spoon into my mouth, hitting my nose on the way in.
"whoops," he brings his thumb up to my nose, wiping off the ice cream and licking the excess off of his hand without even thinking about it. that's when i knew.
i'm in love with ricky bowen.
PRESENT -- nini and ricky's kitchen
ugh. i wish i could just go back in time my punch my younger self in the face. just remembering myself be all mush-y gush-y makes me want to puke my guts out--and i know i shouldn't be like that, okay? i'm not saying love is bad. it's amazing. it's just not good when you're not loved back. and now i'm bitter about it, because going through that changes you.
once i'm finished, i throw away the box and i change into my red sports bra and black leggings, grabbing my pink yoga mat from it's place next to my drawer. i tie my long, dark hair up into a ponytail and turn on the taylor swift cd i had packed in my suitcase. i unroll my yoga mat in the free space between the kitchen and the bedroom, stretching myself out in different poses. i sing along to the music, enjoying the feeling of being alone. i needed this.
== r i c k y 's p o v ==
the next morning
i awake to the peaceful sound of morning birds and nini's soft breathing as she sleeps. she's turned away from me, her hair spread around her head. the orange sunlight is hitting her skin just right, and i can't help but smile. it's weird, usually i don't wake up before nini or our alarms. i turn over to see the sunrise casting out of the window--and that's when i realize that our alarms never went off, and we're almost late! i jump out of bed, rushing over to my drawer to get my uniform. i see nini turn over, groggily rubbing her eyes.
"why didn't they go off?" she says, propping herself up on her elbows as she looks at her pager.
"no clue, what time is it?"
"shit, we have to leave in a half hour," nini yawns. she stretches for a second, extending her arms out and arching her back as she sits up. i head over to the kitchen, quickly turning on the old coffee pot on the counter. she quickly gets out of bed, heading into the bathroom and turning on the shower. i change into my white dress shirt and pants, tightening my belt as i check the time. i've only got fifteen minutes before i really have to leave, and i've barely gotten ready. i knock on the door before going inside, seeing nini's clothes she slept in neatly folded and placed on top of the toilet seat. she's already in the shower rinsing off while i fix my hair, setting all my curls in the right places. as i'm brushing my teeth, i see nini peep her head out from behind the light blue shower curtain in the mirror.
i turn around after spitting out my toothpaste to look back at her. she's resting her head up against the shower, her wet hair dripping down the wall. i know she's a changed person, but one thing hasn't changed--she's still just as gorgeous as she was when we were in high school. no, even more.
"can you hand me my soap?" she points to the lavender soap on the counter.
"what?"
"my soap."
"hm?"
"helllooo? earth to ricky??"
"oh, yeah, sorry," i say, reaching over and handing her the body wash. she rolls her eyes sarcastically and laughs as she closes the shower curtain. what's so funny?
YOU ARE READING
𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑 || rini au
Romance✦ IN WHICH ✦ eight years in the future. ricky and nini, like their parents, have trained for and entered an elite rebel undercover program. the pair haven't talked since their messy breakup in high school, but what happens when the system partners...
