Notes:
Finally, the point where this fic and the original work overlap! There will be lyrics used as dialog though I tried to keep it to a minimum. Any lyrics will be in dialogue form, so punctuation may change but I tried to be respectful and not mess with perfection.
Nina is 19 and Benny is 24.
Nina made her way to the dispatch. She couldn't take the weight of her secret anymore. Her flight had landed at 3 am, which was way too early to break her parent's hearts. Their little girl hadn't only failed out of college, she'd been lying to them about it for months. Abuela Claudia, Usnavi, and even little Sonny were a great distraction, but at the end of the day, even they couldn't help her.
Taking a deep breath in preparation for the inevitable, Nina walked into the dispatch and saw Benny on the mic, which was the last thing she expected. Obviously, someone had called out, her dad would never bench his best driver otherwise.
"Benny hey…" she greeted once he spotted her. Whether it was the guilt of her failure, the unexpected encounter or something else, Nina found that her schoolgirl crush now fully took her breath away.
"Nina, you're home today!" he exclaimed standing up clumsily.
"Any sign…"
"Of you're folks?" he asked completing her sentence, "They're on their way." So she'd missed them again.
"Anyway…" she said awkwardly not knowing if she should wait or go home.
"It's good to see your face…" Benny commented, surprising her.
"Anytime…" she laughed, suddenly more at ease.
"Hold up a minute, wait!" he called after her, "You used to run this dispatch, right?" he asked, already knowing the answer.
"Once or twice…" she smirked, expecting him to try and pawn the job off on her.
"Well check the technique! Yo!" and to her surprise, Benny proceeded to rap the directions over the mic. She wasn't sure if he was doing it for her amusement sensing her mood as he'd always been able to do, or if he simply wanted to show off his latest improv skills, regardless she was grateful for the distraction. Opting to spend the day at the dispatch, Nina and Benny quickly fall back into the easy camaraderie they'd always had, that is until her parents walked in.
Telling them that she'd failed was probably the worst moment of her life to that point. She went from being the barrio's princess to a liar in a second. The hurt and disappointment in her parent's faces was enough to keep her from home for the rest of the day. Instead, she willingly endured some teasing from the ladies at the salon about her crush on Benny, but that too as short lived. All too quickly the conversation turned to praise for her intelligence and accomplishments, and she found herself admitting defeat then running away.
As she'd long ago come to realize, all roads lead to Abuela's step. That was the place for the serious kind of thinking that even the fire escape couldn't fix. It was all just too much, all the pressure to be perfect, it was as if the entire neighborhood was counting on her to rescue it.
Leaving work for the day, Benny spotted Nina sitting on Abuela's doorstep with Sonny. Seeing her reminded him of all the teasing he'd endured regarding his feelings for Nina after Domingo went and told Usnavi about his performance on the dispatch mic. He honestly didn't know what came over him, it was just Nina, the same girl he'd been friends with for years. But the cute little girl he knew with frizzy pigtails was gone, she'd been replaced with a beautiful woman and he didn't know when that happened. Suddenly all the best parts about their relationship were there mixed with something completely new and he didn't know how to respond to it.
Getting rid of Sonny, Benny made himself comfortable on the step next to her. They joked about the jerks he worked with and the college kids she'd met before he couldn't take her melancholy demeanor anymore. Clearly, in need of a boost, he offered to take Nina on a walking tour of the barrio. He knew she knew the city as well if not better than he did, but maybe seeing it from an outsider's perspective would help clear her mind. At very least it might remind her that she could tell him anything.
Eventually, they ended up in the park where he used to rap with Usnavi and the boys, "You know when you're home, the summer nights are cooler...now that you're here with me" he told her after an awkward silence. Receiving a smile in response he continued, "And that song you are hearing? It's the neighborhood just cheering you along…"
"Don't say that." she abruptly cut him off.
"What's wrong?" he asked startled by her outburst, in all the time he'd known her he'd only really made her mad once or twice.
"Don't say that!" she pleaded more desperately, and he felt a classic Nina rant bubbling up. "When I was younger, I'd imagine what would happen if my parents would have stayed in Puerto Rico. Who would I be if I had never seen Manhattan if I lived in Puerto Rico with my people? My people…" she trailed off, presumably thinking of the gringos on the West Coast she'd complained about earlier. "I feel like all my life, I've tried to find the answer. Working harder, learning Spanish, learning all I can. I thought I might find the answer out at Stanford, but I'd stare out at the sea thinking, where am I supposed to be?" She sighed. "So please...don't say you're proud of me when I've lost my way." she ended quietly her voice on the verge of cracking.
"Then can I say…" he started slowly walking towards her so as not to trigger another rant, "I couldn't get my mind off you all day." He admitted. Catching the shock on her face he decided to lay the cards on the table while he had the chance. "Now listen to me. That may be how you perceive it but Nina please believe, that when you find your way again, you're gonna change the world. And then we're all gonna brag and say we knew her when this was your home." he reassured her.
"I'm home," she confirmed, though he couldn't tell if she was talking about him or the barrio...and, to be honest, he didn't care.
"Welcome home." he smiled, extending his hand to her. Nina Rosario 101 she had to do everything in her own time.
"When you're here with me, I'm home," she confirmed, taking his hand, which he held until they reached her parent's place later that night.
"You're finally home."
