disorganized rini thoughts:
I totally see them as a Marshall/Lily from HIMYM thing where they're obviously endgame in my mind, they just have a lot of learning to do first obviously. the future i headcanon for them (based on season 2) goes thusly:
2021: nini takes jamie's advice and starts a youtube channel. nini's first song on there goes semi viral. it's about reconnecting with oneself and gaining back inner strength. even though it's not about him per se, ricky takes this advice and starts taking baby steps to healing his relationship with his parents, and goes to therapy.
2022: after confronting some of his demons and seeking help, life generally looks to be up and up for ricky. he remembers the one time when someone commented on nini's instagram that they were helped by her music and decides to be (actually) supportive this time with no expectations of anything. He also dabbles more in songwriting, and their first collab drops on Thanksgiving break. He gifts her a song off-camera for reaching 500k subscribers. For the first time in a year they actually think they might be ready, but they know better than to do something half-baked and so they wait.
nini crosses 100M views by August 2024; ricky "no marketable skills" bowen is her informal PR and social media team that stays out of her spotlight. he also collabs and writes songs with her occasionally but prefers to be in the background. After working on themselves a lot more, they try LDR through different colleges. Though tough, they make it work this time. Instead of suffocating each other they soar. No more pedestals, no more gilded cages. Nini signs on with Jamie's record label.
Sometime in 2026, after two years of discussions, introspection, a brief mutually agreed-upon break from their relationship, and experiment, Ricky comes out to his girlfriend as bi. They attend their first Pride event together that year. Nini surpasses 20M subscribers. Fame when young is hard for many reasons but having read of accounts from others who have walked her path before, she has countermeasures in place, a support system ready for her, and weathers the storm with grace.
Sometime in early 2033, Nini uploads a single picture of her in a wedding suit modeled after Momma D's, captioned: "Just married!" The speculation sure goes wild for a few days, but Nini's still proud that the fixations on her personal life never out-trended her actual work. There are weirdos, sure, rumours from people who have nothing better to do, threats from scum of the earth targeting her and her loved ones, but all-in-all, she's proud of the impact her songs have had on lives everywhere. Her heart soars from all the stories that she makes possible, all the lives she's able to touch.
Salazar-Roberts-Bowen might be a bit silly and Nina Bowen might be a bit basic so they don't change names.
The proposal involved a tree house and necklaces. A discussion was had prior to it all and she beat him to the question by a day.
Ricky takes a teaching gig at East High and hates the papparazi, though he finds he has a certain charm in dealing with them. He discovers that loves touring with his wife when he can, as well.
They buy back Ricky's childhood home to put down roots and adopts a boy and a girl.
