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 Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2024 8:26 pm
He took a few moments to respond. He thought about making something up, just to have Cassidy be satisfied. Or maybe he would just tell him he didn’t want to talk about it. But when did that ever stop Cassidy from trying to get more information anyway? And he didn’t want him going and asking Julian.
“My whole family has really light hair. Blue eyes. Pale skin. It’s a thing. Well,” he paused and gestured to his own hair and eyes, and then shrugged again. “My brother’s dad wasn’t too happy with her having an affair. I guess she was hoping I’d end up with blond hair and eyes, too. Or maybe she just didn’t think it was possible that I’d be someone else’s, I don’t know. So, uh… yeah, they got a divorce, but she gets a check from some mystery guy who I’m not even allowed to know their name per their court agreement or something. I guess it makes her feel better to be mad at me instead of herself for ruining their perfect family. Uh… and everyone else, too. It’s really stupid, but I guess everyone else in my family likes to remind me how I shouldn’t have been born, or that it would have been better. It makes them feel better, I guess. Not that I see them much. I’m not usually invited to family things.”
He shrugged again, clearly flustered about talking too much, but he figured if he spilled everything in one go, Cassidy wouldn’t ever have to ask him about something so dumb again.
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Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2024 8:39 pm
Cassidy looked at Riker but as the seconds ticked on, his eyes narrowed inquisitively.
“...Wow, your family sounds dumb. Sorry. Sounds like your dad must have been a smart guy because I know you didn’t get that from your mom’s side. What a narcissist. ‘Oh I had an affair and then I got pregnant, this is all the baby’s fault’? Okay, lady. Why would you even want to go to family things? Those people sound like snakes.”
Cassidy’s face was a little more animated than usual as he navigated Riker’s honesty but he was making no effort to hide the expressions as they manifested. Confusion, disgust, annoyance–Cassidy was judging Riker’s family, hard.
“Super mysterious though, about your dad? You think he’s like, in politics? Or the mob?”
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Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2024 7:58 pm
Why would he want to go to family things? Well… yeah it sounded pretty stupid now. But for most of his life he hadn’t had any friends. Forced by the fact that his mom wouldn’t allow him to do anything that would give him a chance to hang out with people. And his brother was always going to harass them enough to keep them away.
He’d been lonely as a child. Unwanted. Unloved. Clinging to the hope that maybe he could convince these people that he was worth keeping around. That he was still part of their family and not just an anomaly that didn’t belong.
“I haven’t really thought about it,” Riker admitted with a shrug, feeling his ears and cheeks burn with embarrassment, and definitely not going to admit how desperately he wanted to go to family things.
“Not really a dad if I’ve never met him. Just a guy who gives my mom money for a mistake they made and never wanted.”
He could have cared less about the man. Years ago, when he was a child, he would dream of his dad showing up and taking him away from that place. Maybe he was a secret agent who was forced to stay away for his son’s safety. Or maybe someone in politics, like Cassidy suggested. And once he finished what he was comfortable with for his career, he would want a family.
Riker knew it was stupid, though. All of his dreams and fantasies he’d had as a child seemed really lame when it was brought up by someone else.
“It’s whatever, though. I don’t really care about any of it,” he shrugged, staring very hard at the half eaten pear in his hand, because it was definitely more interesting than his family.
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Posted: Sun Nov 17, 2024 6:47 am
Riker kept so much to himself, it was interesting to see this different side of him. He answered some questions truthfully, probably, but Cassidy could see how hard he was working to weave other answers to be more vague. In some ways, Riker was very clever. In others, he was very obvious.
“Oh, okay,” Cassidy answered. “I can only imagine it all so I’m sure it’s different to actually be in your shoes, I think I’d just be really annoying about it and try to figure out who he was anyway. Like, just to know, you know? I can trace my family back pretty far so I never thought to try that whole DNA testing family tree stuff, but it’s cool that it’s an option. If you ever wanted. I want to know who has that much money and still decided to have an affair with your mom, but,” he shrugged and bumped elbows with Riker. “I’m nosey. And I would be such a pain in the a** about it too. Your mom’s lucky she got you and not me. Too bad she can’t see it.”
Another bite, another sip. “What type of family things do they leave you out of? Like, are we talking birthday parties or are we talking Christmas?”
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Posted: Sun Nov 17, 2024 9:21 am
“All of the above,” he shrugged. He already felt weird talking about it. Maybe he shouldn’t be honest and just say it was stupid things like birthdays. Or something that Cassidy wouldn’t pity him for.
“When I was little they had to bring me with them to places, but even if I tried to play with my cousins, or my brother’s cousins, I mean… It was a lot of them making fun of me, so I tried to just hide. By the time I was old enough to stay home by myself, I didn’t even care. Mom does this thing where she decorates a wall and has a cake made and makes me take pictures on my birthday, but then I’m sent to my room and she has her friends over. I guess she needs to take photos for the court or whatever to prove she’s being a responsible and loving mom or something. That’s why she goes to my games, too.”
Riker sighed, trying not to kick his heel too hard against the counter as he sat with Cassidy. It already sounded too much like a pity party, so he figured what was the point in stopping now?
“My brother’s dad I guess wanted to get back at my mom for the whole thing, so he would take my brother out on trips to places. Like to the beach, but sometimes to places like Europe. Mom was always really angry when he did that, so she took out her frustration on me. I tried looking up who my dad was, though. Or at least trying to see who wrote the checks. But it was from some obscure trust or company that I couldn’t locate when I searched for it.”
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Posted: Sun Nov 17, 2024 9:58 am
“Oh wow, so she’s like, a super b***h?” Cassidy leaned forward just a bit so he could get a better look at Riker’s face while he listened. “That’s crazy, Riker. You want to go to Europe? Come with me, I’ll show you Italy. My grandmother would love you, especially since you like all her recipes already.”
He patted Riker’s knee like it was a promise.
“If you ever want any help snooping on your check writer, bring what you can to me. I’m really good at digging around online. When was the last time you had a real birthday? I don’t know when your birthday is. Early in the year though, right? A little before spring?”
He only had a vague idea from school, it’s not like Riker had ever been super open about that sort of thing. At least he knew why he’d never been invited to his birthday party before.
“You’ll have to give me a heads up before your next birthday. And, what, Thanksgiving and Christmas, you get left out of those, too? So you just stay at home while everyone else in your family is out celebrating and everyone’s cool with it?”
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Posted: Sun Nov 17, 2024 5:46 pm
Riker snorted softly in amusement. Cassidy definitely knew how to spin what felt like something horrible into something that wasn’t so bad.
“Yeah, February twenty-eighth. Missed the leap year by one day. Thank god. All this negative attention for my stupid hair… Although I guess my mom would have been thrilled with the excuse to only celebrate my birthday once every four years,” he rolled his eyes, but glanced curiously up at Cassidy and his offers.
“No one really wants me around, no. A reminder of a bad decision, or something. I’m pretty sure my grandparents think I’m evil incarnate,” he sighed. “It sounds ridiculous, yeah. But as a child, you really believe the things people tell you, you know? But… thanks, but I’d need a passport wouldn’t I? I haven't even had access to my birth certificate, so even if I wanted to get my passport, I’m kinda out of luck.”
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Posted: Sun Nov 17, 2024 5:50 pm
“Eh, really? I guess that’s true. Well, she can’t keep that from you forever. Maybe she’s just hiding it because it’s got your dad’s name on it. I know there’s ways to get a copy of your birth certificate so even if she doesn’t hand it over, don’t worry.”
There was plenty of magic in this world anyway, right? So even in the worst case scenario there had to be something they could do.
“Come over to my place for the holidays. I mean, actually, I don’t know if I’ll be doing anything. But if I am, you can come celebrate with me. And if I’m not,” he shrugged, “I’ll just make puppy-dog eyes at Atticus until he invites us over. I bet Mr. Gallo goes all out for the holidays.”
But even if he didn’t, even if Atticus couldn’t, certainly Elliot could extend an invitation, or Julian.
Or he’d just find a way to do it himself.
“You shouldn’t have to spend another holiday alone, no matter what your hair color is. Sorry you got stuck with such a tacky family. The only thing that sounds ridiculous is their behavior. You don’t think any of that stuff, do you?”
Cassidy wasn’t wearing his usual lazy smile; he seemed like there was a bit of seriousness to him.
“Like, now that you’re older. You know you’re not evil incarnate? Or any of that other stuff they said?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 17, 2024 5:53 pm
Well, Riker certainly hadn’t expected to be invited to hang out with Cassidy for holidays. Although he was right that surely their friends would invite them if they knew they weren’t doing anything. It was… nice. And he was flustered because of it. Cassidy was probably right about the birth certificate, though. Eventually, he would need it. Once he was eighteen, his mother couldn’t do anything about him contacting the hospital he was born at and getting a copy. It was just a matter of having the money at that point.
As for Cassidy’s questions, Riker was quiet for a few long moments. He shrugged a bit helplessly, before glancing up at Cassidy, hurt and confusion in his eyes. Not directed at Cassidy, of course, but a reflection of his own feelings.
“I don’t know… sometimes I wonder.”
He’d seen the strange things at Reims. He wore darker clothes than most other Knights. Maybe he really was reincarnated from evil. Whatever rituals took place under the cathedral at Reims certainly wasn’t for fun.
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Posted: Sun Nov 17, 2024 5:58 pm
It wasn’t the answer Cassidy had expected, but then, he really hadn’t planned for any of this conversation. He thought, maybe he’d tease him some, he’d see how he was doing in school, ask how he was feeling about track and baseball, talk about the dinner he’d made–not anything big.
He wondered if Riker was just shy when everyone else was around or if he was just under so much pressure that it only took a little prodding for him to have to let some of his worries out.
Better a slow, steady stream of them than an explosion.
“Really? I don’t know if ‘evil incarnate’ would have been worried about me hurting myself carrying a bag, or offered me an umbrella, or even offered to come over and help me set up furniture in the first place. I mean, you didn’t come over to murder me, right? I’m kidding, I know you didn’t. I mean, did you come over here expecting anything in return?”
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Posted: Sun Nov 17, 2024 6:00 pm
Riker gave Cassidy an exasperated look when he joked about coming over to his house to murder him. He knew it sounded stupid to think something like that could be real, but Cassidy also hadn’t seen much of Reims.
He wasn’t sure he wanted anyone to see. It was bad enough that Yvoire saw.
“I thought I was getting food,” he frowned, although it looked more like a pout, probably. He hadn’t actually expected anything from Cassidy, but he had talked about how he made food for him, and Riker doubted he would have left empty handed even if he hadn’t expected anything.
“Yeah, well… maybe I’m just trying to make up for everything I’ve done,” he shrugged and took another bite of the pear before sliding off the counter. He held out his hand to Cassidy to help him down. “Let me take a look at where you want your shelves.”
Maybe he was trying to change the subject a little. He didn’t want Cassidy thinking he was too mopey or whatever.
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Posted: Sun Nov 17, 2024 6:12 pm
Cassidy laughed again, and his smile reached his eyes enough that they seemed to light up. “Well, yes, of course you’re getting food, Riker. But you’d have gotten that whether or not you were here to help me! I need your honesty when I do taste testing!”
Oh, his frown was too cute. Riker could have come over to murder him and he would have still been weak to that little pout.
He took Riker’s hand gladly, and held it tightly as he slid from the counter.
“My room’s this way,” he said, and used the excuse of Riker’s hand already in his own to lead him towards his bedroom.
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