And that’s why I love you

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/21883177.

Rating: General Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Category: F/M
Fandom: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Relationship: Ricky Bowen & Nini Salazar-Roberts
Character: Nini Salazar-Roberts, Ricky Bowen, Ashlyn Caswell
Additional Tags: Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Vomiting, Sickfic,
Sad Ricky Bowen (HSM: The Series), Sick Ricky Bowen, Sick
Character, Crying
Stats: Published: 2019-12-21 Words: 3318

And that’s why I love you

by pinkbunnystar

Summary

im rewriting what could have been episode 7 had ricky called nini ??? idk obsessed with the
idea lowkey. anyways ricky goes to nini for comfort and she takes care of him :)))

Notes

tw//light descriptions of vomiting ???? not too detailed but if you can’t stand it at all you
can skip :))

See the end of the work for more notes

Ricky glanced down at his phone, hesitant to click Nini’s name in his contact list under
‘favorites’ but he needed her. Her comfort the night of his parents divorce touched him so deeply
that he wished he wouldn’t have made that dumb move to kiss her cause maybe he would’ve
stayed a little while longer; maybe actually sleep on her couch instead of fleeing in fear.

And now everything felt weird. They spoke but they didn’t speak. Sure it was more than
before which made them equally feel better about the situation but, obviously it wasn’t the same as
last year, though it was clear to everyone but each other that they both secretly wanted it to be.

Regardless, right now he needed a friend, and Nini was the only one he felt safe talking to.
Taking a shaky breath, he clicked her contact name before raising the phone to his ear, listening to
the loud ringing that made him uncomfortably anxious.

It rang for a few moments, building the already present tension on his chest to a painful
max. He felt as if he could cry as a lump began to form in his throat roughly. He needed Nini to
answer, but with the amount of time it was taking for the ringing to subside, he started to believe
she wasn’t going to answer.

Ricky nearly hung up the phone in defeat before the ringing suddenly stopped and a soft
voice spoke through the phone.

“Ricky? Hi.” She said sweetly, her tone calm, which did not match Ricky’s energy.

He tried to speak, but his throat was clogged with pain.

“Hello??” Nini asked again. Ricky continued to stay silent. “Hellooooooo???? Ricky???? Is this a
butt dial or…???” she said.

Ricky inhaled sharply into the phone, tears beginning to well in his eyes.

“Are you okay?” Nini said, her tone now more concerned than before.

“I- I um ...umm…” Ricky tried to begin, but he couldn’t find the right words to say. What was he
trying to say? Did he even wanna tell her what was happening?

As a tear trickled slowly down his cheek, Ricky let out choked out a semi-quiet sob, hoping
Nini didn’t hear him through the phone or his father who was upstairs in his bedrooms

“Ricky what’s going on?” She said worriedly.

“My-my mom? M-mom she...god she….” he kept on crying, not able to form more than a few
words to even make a full sentence.
“Ricky I can’t understand you ba-” She stopped herself before she naturally said the word babe to
him. God not the time. “All I hear is something about your mom? Is she ok? Are you okay?” She
emphasized again.

At this point he placed his phone down, knowing that whatever he tried to say, he wouldn’t
correctly communicate. He just cried on the cold counter beneath him.

Nini was silent for a while, making Ricky think she hung up the phone or completely gave
up on caring for him since he wasn’t being very helpful to her which of course made him spill
more tears all over his sweatshirt.

There was a pause before Nini spoke again.

“I’m coming over.” She said directly. Ricky shot up, wiping his tears before grabbing his phone to
talk to Nini again.

“No no no, I don’t want you to miss the party. I'm sorry for this.” He told her, suddenly being able
to speak more clearly.

“Ricky-”

“No, I’m sorry. You were probably excited to go to the party and I made you worried for no reason
and I'm wasting your time. I’m sorry. I’m fine.” He claimed, though his voice broke at the end of
his phrase.

“You’re not and I’m coming over.” Nini said sharply. “You’re more important than some dumb
party.” She said, a little nervous for his response but glad she said it.

Ricky’s heart fluttered, making him want to cry more, but he held it in.

“Look, I want you at that party. I’ll just meet you there.” He said quietly, not truly wanting to
commit to the proposition he made.

“Are you sure you wanna go out right now? I swear Ricky I can just come to your house if you
don’t want to-”

“I mean it. I’ll see you at Ashlynn’s.” He said, and with that he hung up the phone.

Nini sighed, quickly grabbing her shoes to meet Ricky and the rest of her cast at
Ashlynn’s house. She dashed out the door, wanting to be there before he arrived so she didn’t have
to wait any longer to see him.

It took Ricky a while to get out of the door since he was starting to contemplate whether
he really wanted to leave his house or not. “Should I call Nini and tell her to just come here
instead?” He thought to himself. No, she’d be totally annoyed. He already agreed to go to
Ashlynn’s and he didn’t want to bother Nini anymore than he already felt that he was.

Nini arrived at Ashlynn’s fifteen minutes later with Ricky coming only five minutes behind
her. However, within those five minutes, Nini struggled to keep her nerves to a minimum as she
contemplated how the following events were going to play out.

Was he going to cry in front of her like he almost did that one night he came over? Or
would he try to talk but end the conversation leaving Nini pleading for him to open up to her like
he used to when they were, well, together. Or maybe Ricky would avoid the situation entirely and
not even speak, brushing Nini off since she wasn’t able to crack the issue over the phone then.

Ashlynn caught a glimpse of Nini pacing back in forth in the kitchen, furrowing her
eyebrows in confusion. She cleared her throat awkwardly, trying to gain Nini’s attention.

“Hey there...you okay??” She asked, slowly approaching her. Nini looked at Ashlynn, breathing
out a forced chuckle.

“Oh yeah I’m fine.” She said, scratching the back of her head. Ashlynn gave her a stern look. “That
didn’t sound very convincing did it?” Nini asked.

Ashlynn shook her head. Nini sighed loudly, leaning against the kitchen counter.

“What’s going on?” Ashlynn asked smoothly, making her way next to Nini. “I mean you don’t
have to say anything but, ya know, I’m a good listener.”
 Nini shook her head.

“No it’s okay I can talk.” She said, looking at her feet. She shrugged her shoulders before speaking
again. “Stuff is just a little crazy right now I guess. And don’t tell the others but, a lot of things are
happening with Ricky I guess and he calls me whenever things get serious-”

“Is he pressuring you?” Ashlynn asked protectively.

“No, not at all.” Nini told her, letting out a small laugh. “I just wanna be able to help him, I guess?
But ya know with everything that’s happened..” Her voice began to break and she found herself not
able to continue on.

“It’s just hard?” Ashlynn continued for Nini, noticing the trouble she had talking about the
situation.

“Yeah.” Nini said simply. Ashlynn placed a hand on her shoulder, rubbing it with her thumb. She
felt Nini trembling. “I also don’t know if this is even appropriate to tell you since EJ is your cousin
and stuff.” She said, wiping the tears that had not yet left her eyes.

“Hey, okay yah sure EJ is my cousin but you’re my friend first. You can tell me anything, I won’t
snitch.” She said. Nini smiled, giving her a brisk hug.

Then, Nini’s phone buzzed with a texts from Ricky appearing on her screen. She sniffed
and opened her phone to read the message, taking a shaky breath to get herself together.

“Ricky’s here.” She told Ashlynn, who gave her a weak smile.

“Good luck!” She said before walking towards the party again, a bowl of chips in her hand.

So, Nini took another breath before opening the door to a disheveled looking Ricky. He
was shivering in the cold, barely wearing anything more than his thin coat.
“Jesus Ricky, you look like you’re freezing.” Nini said, warming her own hands that were slowly
getting chilly from the gushes of wind that blew into the house.

Ricky just stared at her blankly, not saying anything. Nini hesitated before speaking again.

“Um do you want to come inside and get warm or something? I can ask Ashlynn if she has tea or-”

“No.” He said shyly. Nini arched an eyebrow.

“Are you sure? It’s really cold and I don’t want you getting sick or anything.” All Ricky did was
shake his head slowly. Nini sighed. “Okay well if you’re not coming in the I guess I’m sitting out
here on the bench with you.” She said, shutting the door behind her.

“No Nini, I don’t want to be a bother. I’m just gonna chill out here. I don’t want you getting sick
either.” Ricky tried to tell her. “I’m sorry for being a bother.”

“Ricky don’t be defiant and sit down.” She demanded. His cheeks flushed and he obeyed.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, neither one wanting to speak first. Their hands were
very far away from each other and there was a wide gap between them on the bench.

Nini wanted to say something, but what? There was no way to starting the conversation
without it continuing in an awkward manner, but Nini was dying to say something, anything.

She glanced over at Ricky who was trembling an unhealthy amount. She assumed it was
from the cold weather but there surely was more hidden beneath the surface.

“Ricky…” she started, sadly looking at him.

“I’m okay.” He said before she could proceed.

“But you’re not.” She snapped back. She huffed before taking off her jacket slowly. Ricky looked
towards her.
“What are you doing?” He asked.

“I’m giving you this jacket you’re freezing and this is too miserable to watch.” She told him,
pulling the sleeves out.

“No, no Nini stop! Please I’m-”

“Do not say you’re okay because I know you’re not Ricky!” She yelled, maybe more harshly than
she expected to. Ricky paused.

Nini watched as his body melted into itself with sorrow. His eyes began to well up with
tears that burned, but he didn’t want to cry. Not now. Nini put her jacket over his shoulders.

“Can you please talk to me? Please?” Nini pleaded. “I’m here, I'm right here please!” She grabbed
his hand, getting him to into her eyes.

His eyes were glossed and full of fear visualized by the tears that started to fall down his
blushed cheeks as he blinked. He shook his head at the floor, sniffing as he tried wiping away his
tear streaks.

“Come on Ricky please.” Nini said, choking up as she watched him cry. She hates seeing him like
this, she really hated it.

He choked out a sob before speaking up.

“My mom has a new boyfriend.” He sobbed out, his eyes still darting towards the ground. He was
too embarrassed to look at Nini.

“Oh god.” Nini breathed out at those words hit her heavily. “Oh Ricky…” she rubbed his thumbs
as he began to speak more.

“And I tried to call her because, well, she's obviously not here with me and my dad.” He said,
causing more tears to spill. “And some guy picked up the phone say he knew all about me? And it
sounded like she was with this guy all fucking day.” He sobbed.

Nini didn’t bother saying anything, only listen.

“I don’t even think my dad knows because he told me my Mom was all alone today, which is why
I called her. I never would’ve even dialed her number if I had known.” He cried, feeling as if he
would never stop.

Nini felt a tear trickle down her face after he told her the events of his Thanksgiving
evening. She was used to seeing Ricky upset but, this season something different. His sobs were
never ending which made her want to sob with him though nothing was happening directly to her.

Then it came to a point where Ricky’s cries were now uncontrollable and he nearly doubled
over in pain. Nini watched as he collapsed into her, wailing with so much emotion boiling in his
blood.

She wrapped her arms around him head, showing that she was there to protect him and keep
him safe within her arms. He cried into her shirt as she rubbed his dark curls trying to ease his pain.
Nini leaned down, kissing the top of his forehead in comfort, something that she hadn’t done it
what felt like ages.

It made Ricky feel safe and protected, regardless of whether Nini meant it romantically or
not. But, he still cried for his pain hadn’t yet subsided. So, she kissed his forehead once again
before rocking him slowly in her arms.

She knew that cuddling in intense times was one of Ricky’s favorite things to do, especially
when he felt completely drained and horrible like this. Playing in his hair while simultaneously
swaying him to peace was the most comforting thing to ask for, and surprisingly, but thankfully,
this was the first time she’s really had to execute it.

After almost 15 minutes of Ricky melting down into himself, his crying slowly came to a
close, though there was still some sniffling that carried through ever so often.

Surely, neither one of them let go of their current position they were in together. They were
too comfortable in each other’s grasps to let go. But, then Ricky started to shake violently after he
had just finished completely trembling from before. He coughed violently, causing him to sit up.
“Baby you okay?” Shit. The baby slipped out without Nini thinking clearly. She prayed to the lord
Ricky didn’t hear it, scared it had ruined the moment, but Ricky seemed concerned with other
things.

Ricky coughed again, this time a small gag following directly afterwards. He placed a hand
to his stomach which had uncomfortably bubbles inside of him. Nini placed a hand on his shoulder.

“What’s wrong?” She asked, leaning towards him to look into his eyes. He gagged again.

“I feel sick.” He whined, coughing violently again before a gag ripped through his body. “Nini…”
he groaned looking at her, his voice shaking.

Her eyes widened, she knew what was coming. She suddenly remembered Ricky once
telling her that when he cried so intensely he would get sick, which is why he tried avoiding it at
all cost.

“Come on, we need to get you inside.” She grabbed his hand, forcefully pulling him upwards and
cautiously moving up Ashlynn’s front steps.

His hand stayed planted on his middle as he made his way towards the front door with Nini
leading him. She went to open the door but of course it’d been locked. She started to bang on it
loudly.

“Hey! Ashlynn! Could you get the door?!” She yelled. Ricky gagged again, causing Nini to rub his
arm softly. “Hang in there buddy, hang in there.”

Time felt as if it were moving so slowly as Nini tried banging on the door desperately.
Ricky was definitely antsy, wrinkling his hands into fists in discomfort.

Finally, after what felt like hours, Ashlynn cluelessly opened the door to greet the two
sweetly but could not get her words out before Ricky ran himself into the closest bathroom.

Ashlynn watched as the sickly green boy gagged into his hand as he darted towards the
bathroom, hearing him cough once he got inside of it. The whole party turned to look towards the
commotion since, unfortunately for Ricky, he didn’t remember to close the door behind him.

Carlos, Seb, EJ, and a few other members of the party began to surround Nini, asking her
questions: What’s wrong with Ricky? Is he throwing up in there? When did Ricky get here?
What’s going on? Why were you gone so long? A clump of questions rattled her ears, making her
ever so anxious. Ashlynn noticed the panicked look on Nini’s face.

“Guys!” Ashlynn yelled. The party went silent. “Stop swarming her back up and give the girl some
space.” Nini gave her a weak smile, signaling a sign of thank you with her eyes.

“I’m gonna go check on him.” Is all Nini said before she quickly made her way towards the
bathroom. The party watched as she hesitantly approached the bathroom. “Aw Ricky-”was the last
thing each party member heard before Nini shut the door.

Inside the bathroom, Ricky was knelt in front of the toilet throwing up harshly. Nini crept
down next to his frail body and rubbed his back in comfort to calm him since he had to be
completely freaked at this point.

Ricky didn’t get sick for too long, only having to take sudden breaks in between hurling
before allowing anything else to come up. After about five minutes he only found himself gagging
with nothing else but warm tears falling out of his eyes.

“Okay Ricky I think you’re good now baby.” She reassured him. Ugh there was that fucking word
again.

He blew his nose before flushing his tissues down the toilet with the rest of his mess. Nini
stayed rubbing his back though he was done, he needed the extra comfort.

He fell backwards into Nini’s arms, laying down in her lap with his eyes closed. She
wrapped one arm around him and used the other to rub his sweaty curls back, getting a good feel of
his head.

“Ricky you’re burning!” She exclaimed. He grabbed her hand, moving it away from his forehead
but not letting go of it.

“I’m not sick I promise.” He said, his voice hoarse. “It’s just whenever I cry a lot I-”
“Stress yourself so much that your body goes over it’s limit it and makes you throw up.” She said.
He was ready to interrupt and correct her, but there was nothing to correct.

“Wow.” He said in defeat, letting out a chuckle. Nini smiled down at him.

“Yeah I remembered.” Her voice soft as she told him. His heart melted.

“And that’s why I love you.” He said restlessly, maybe not even noticing what he said.

Nini froze, he said it. But did he mean it? Well, she didn’t know. He seemed to tired to
control whatever came out of his mouth or care if he had noticed. So then perhaps he didn’t mean
it. But then again, it had to have come from somewhere or his brain wouldn’t have even though to
say it at all, right? Whatever, there was no time to stress over it.

They sat in silence for a few moments, Nini still crossing her arm around Ricky, letting her
other arm joint as well. He rubbed her left arm, feeling grateful that she was in his grasp.

Eventually, Ricky decided to sit up, realizing the party would get concerned as to where they
were and why they were so silent in the bathroom for so very long. His head rung as he sat and he
grabbed it, groaning.

“You alright?” Nini asked, looking into his eyes. He squinted at her.

“Yeah my head it just...yah.” He said, too distracted by the pain to explain since it was visibly clear
he was feeling pretty damn dreadful.

Daringly, she kissed his cheek softly, making him smile like a child.

“Let’s get you home and find you some Advil, okay?” Nini said in a motherly manner.

Ricky smiles at her, wider this time, wanting to kiss to show his gratitude to her. But he
knew he couldn’t, not the place, not the time, and definitely not a good tasting breath. So all he said
 was,

“Okay.”

End Notes

pls leave kudos if you like and comment request if ya wanna see more <3 this is my first
work on here !!!

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