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 Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2023 7:21 pm
Riker watched with curiosity as Evan pulled out his phone to show him the message sent by his friend. There was a moment in which Riker felt the compulsion to look at his phone, but knew he would end up being disappointed.
But the way Evan was talking. The way he was saying that his friend who obviously cared very much for him right now… he was a brat kind of like that group he’d been with.
He didn’t know how long he’d been holding his breath, but once he realized it, he continued chewing the bite he’d had in his mouth.
Then… if what Evan was saying was true. If his friend turned things around and was someone who even stopped by to check in on him…
That meant that one day Beckett might actually like him?
“Oh… yeah sorry, it is getting late. I’m sorry for keeping you. Thank you for helping me,” Riker quickly said, his voice a little more upbeat now that he had hope that everything he was doing wasn’t for nothing. After all, things turned out good for Evan and he’d had a similar experience!
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Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2023 8:56 pm
Something had shifted in Riker and though Evan couldn’t place his finger on it, he was glad to see him looking a little better than before. He made a little noise of protest and shook his head but said nothing while his mouth was full.
He was quick to swallow the bite he’d just snuck in and then insisted, “You’re not keeping me. Sometimes it’s nice to just have a minute to sit down. I don’t even think I had anything to eat since breakfast so I needed this break.”
But, it was getting late. Riker wasn’t so old that someone wouldn’t notice if he was late coming home. Probably. “But if you’re ready to go, do you want a bag to go with you? Anything I’ve got made, you’re more than welcome to.” It wasn’t much, not this late in the night; he’d made his latch batch and figured he’d sell what he could. It had slowed down a bit faster than he thought but he wasn’t looking at much of a loss.
“I can drop you off somewhere with a bit more light, too. Just, you know. To make sure you don’t have to deal with any monsters that might be creeping around out here.”
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Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2023 6:16 am
“Oh… I mean, if you want to give me anything, I’ll take it,” he said honestly, not about to turn down an offer for free food. He would just have to figure out how to hide it from anyone else. But that was an issue for later.
He quickly shoveled in the last few bites of his mac and cheese, and cleaned up where he’d been sitting, making sure he hadn’t made a mess of anything.
“It’s okay. I’m fine on my own. I’ve managed to handle those monsters before, so I’m sure it’ll be okay,” he shrugged. He was taller than Evan. And more athletic, too. He might have been younger, but he at least had his physique going for him.
Or something like that.
“Thank you. Just make sure you get home before your friend comes out to find you,” he snickered with a grin of amusement. He wondered if he would ever have any friends who checked up on him like that. Oh well, that was something to worry about later, too.
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Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2023 7:33 am
A part of Evan doubted that Riker was just fine on his own, not when he was letting his ‘friends’ bully him. But there was a bit of bite in him, and Evan didn’t miss that Riker was visibly taller and looked like he could defend himself a bit better, if he’d wanted to. He’d run into monsters before and lived to tell the tale, so maybe he could handle himself.
“Okay, okay,” Evan sighed, but a little smile had returned to his face. “I’ll head right home.” He would, actually. Not that he needed to be making promises like that to a teenager or anything, but he didn’t see any reason to lie. He didn’t even think he was going to try powering up or going to look for any monsters tonight. He should, though. Just to make sure this area was as safe as possible.
Maybe tomorrow. If Riker was going to be around here, Evan didn’t want him to have to deal with even more than he was always juggling.
He hadn’t finished his food but he had time to do that later. He pushed himself up from his seat and shuffled over to where the food was still being kept warm. Most of this could reheat well enough that he was comfortable packing it up for Riker, and he packed a generous bag.
“I get around pretty often,” he said as he put in a few extra grilled cheese sandwiches to top the bag off. He turned from the kitchen and pulled a business card from a higher shelf, dropping that in the bag. “You don’t have to follow any of my social media or anything, but we post where the truck’s going to be, if you ever decide you need a cheese fix. Just come find me, I’ll have something for you. No charge. I mean, since you’re going to look out for me, we should make sure you’ve got enough energy.”
He presented the bag to Riker; he’d given him a bit of everything and packed it up well enough that he wasn’t worried about a spill.
It would get home safe, as long as Riker did, too.
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Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2023 9:10 am
Riker eyed the business card with some skepticism. Not because he distrusted Evan or anything like that, but it seemed so… official. It was kind of nice, though. Being invested in your business enough to get things like business cards.
He nodded and gathered the bag in his arms, although he was already thinking about opening it up before getting home so he could eat some more.
It was still… strange… for someone to bother helping him out. He was used to people ignoring him or turning the other way if they saw trouble.
“Thanks, Evan,” he said, his voice low although he was trying not to sound emotional so he cleared his throat since… clearly he had something stuck in it that made it sound like that.
Riker moved to the door of the truck and pushed it open. He took a glance around to make sure there weren’t any youma ready to pounce, and when it seemed like the coast was clear he hopped down. After raising his hand in farewell, he closed the door behind him.
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