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 Posted: Thu Nov 21, 2024 8:04 pm
“It’s pretty hard not to notice you, Cass,” Riker mumbled and picked at his pants some more, if only to give himself the excuse to look at something other than Cassidy.
He felt guilty for so many things. He didn’t know if he would ever not feel guilty about always giving Cassidy a hard time, or taking his teasing too seriously.
And even after all of that, Cassidy was still saying things like how he was worth working hard to get him to notice Cassidy. And that he’d talk over whatever his family said.
Riker wasn’t sure how to express how he felt, especially not with words. So, carefully, Riker shifted a bit and laid on his back next to Cassidy, looking up at the way the curtains were tied to the bedposts. But then he rolled over onto his side, reaching out to gently place a hand against Cassidy’s back.
He closed his eyes so he couldn’t see his expression. Especially since he knew his ears were definitely burning. But he hoped that Cassidy knew he was appreciated. And that Riker was glad he was around.
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Posted: Fri Nov 22, 2024 1:27 pm
For a moment, Cassidy wanted to bask in the pride he felt when Riker admitted it was hard not to notice him because–well, Cassidy worked very hard to be noticed. Of course he wanted to gloat when his efforts weren’t for nothing.
…But Riker moved. Closer.
He put his hand on Cassidy’s back.
Cassdiy didn’t pull away. For a few seconds more, he remained laying as he had been, kicking his feet. They slowed, until he was just resting on the bed.
And then, he leaned into Riker. It was difficult not to just roll right into him, but he would take what he could get in whatever small doses he could get it in.
He made himself comfortable and crossed his arms, burying his face in them. It wasn’t really for him, it was because it was pretty obvious that Riker was so flustered and was trying to hide it. Cassidy could work with that.
If Riker thought it was pretty hard not to notice him, Cassidy was doing something right. Well, maybe.
“Hey, what do you notice most about me? It doesn’t have to be something nice, it won’t hurt my feelings. I always wondered what you thought of me. Especially since you seem to almost always have somewhere better to be!”
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2024 10:18 am
Riker sputtered out a breath of exasperation when asked what he noticed most about Cassidy!
“It depends on if you’re talking or not!” he weakly barked, not wanting to shout in Cassidy’s ear or anything like that, but also trying to throw out an answer as quickly as possible so he didn’t have to think about it!
His eyes were still shut tight, and his brows were furrowed with frustrated embarrassment. He knew he should at least be honest with Cassidy. He was trying to do what was right by his friends.
Was Cassidy his friend? He must be. He was there with him. In his room. On his bed. Riker had told Cassidy about his family life, which… he could probably count on one hand who knew anything about it.
Anxiously, he rubbed his hand against Cassidy’s back, as though trying to convince him that he didn’t actually need to know any more than that. He was chewing at his cheek, and hid his face behind his arm he was laying on. Just in case Cassidy wanted to look at him.
“I don’t know! You always seem like you’re ready to tease me about one thing or another, so yeah, I kept my distance because I didn’t want to have to deal with everyone else laughing at me, too,” he mumbled, still clearly flustered and a little upset by the thought of the reputation he was trying to uphold so that his brother wouldn’t give him a hard time for being too soft or whatever he wanted to harass him about at any given time.
“I mean, you’re obviously pretty, but everyone says that. And sometimes I wish you didn’t make a joke out of everything. I don’t know how to not be serious, sorry,” he grumbled, because of course he’d been teased about it in the past.
“I mean-- wait, no. You don’t have to-- like, not joke about things. I didn’t mean that. Obviously other people really like that you’re not very serious. It makes you approachable to a lot of people. I just don’t know how to handle it, that’s all. But that’s my fault, not yours,” he quickly tried to explain, even as he used his nails to run along Cassidy’s back in his anxiety induced rambling.
“But, like… I don’t know. You have a nice smile and pretty eyes-- I guess.” He was absolutely not going to mention Cassidy’s long legs that were often very distracting.
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2024 10:55 am
Cassidy kept his head down, and despite how plush his bed was it wasn’t difficult to tell that Riker was moving. Sometimes it was the way his hand felt, or the sound of fabric, or Riker’s voice becoming just a little more muffled.
He chewed on his lip and was glad he didn’t have to fight to hide his grin when it was concealed in his arms.
Until Riker started scratching his back, and he shivered because it felt good, and for a few seconds he was so distracted by the sensation that he almost missed what Riker was saying.
He was glad he hadn’t.
“I do have a nice smile and pretty eyes. But you already saw pictures of my mom, you know I get it from her.” He had lucky genetics, there wasn’t much for him to take credit for there. No reason to be modest about it. Riker had called him pretty, and for as cool as he wanted to play it, it still made him feel giddy enough that he was back to doing lazy leg kicks.
“I don’t tease you to laugh at you though, you know. It’s not supposed to be mean, I don’t want to upset you. But you are fun to tease. It’s just because you’re always so serious. I want to figure out what makes you laugh.”
Riker wasn’t asking him to change, and honestly he didn’t even think it would have been possible if he were, but it was sweet that he was trying to make so many assurances. “I think it makes things easier when you can laugh at them. I mean, you already know that I don’t like to take things too seriously. Sounds so stressful. How’s your back, Riker? I bet you have a lot of knots.”
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2024 10:57 am
Cassidy might not be teasing him with the intention of laughing at him, but Riker was so paranoid about others finding excuses to laugh at him that he just didn’t know how to handle playful teasing. At least not when there were a lot of people around. When it was just Cassidy, it was easier to realize that he was just kidding.
But the shift in topics was a bit startling.
“Huh?” he frowned, peeking out from behind his arm so he could see what Cassidy was doing, as if that would make a difference with what he’d asked. “My back? I mean… I guess.”
He always felt stressed, it seemed. He didn’t know what it was like not to have tension in pretty much all his muscles, especially his back. He had been carrying both of their backpacks home, but his back was sore even before that.
“Why?” he frowned some more, skeptical about the question. Maybe Cassidy found something else to tease him about. He wasn’t sure how he was supposed to be figuring out what to laugh about when he never knew what to expect.
It was easier with Julian. It had been easier with Yvoire, too.
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2024 11:08 am
Only now did Cassidy peek up from his arms, too. When he saw Riker looking at him, he rested his chin on one arm and looked up at him.
“Well, because I figured you’re carrying so much stress. You know it can mess up your muscles? And how you sleep, and your stomach, and your ability to focus, and your teeth? And it makes you more likely to get sick.”
He pushed himself up and sat on his heels
“Part of being so serious all the time. What do you do to let loose, or let off steam? Can you really even relax when you’re at games or meets and your mom is there? I bet you even spend that time worrying. Let me give you a back massage, I know how to do it. And you can tell me what to do when you need to work off some stress. I don’t want you to hurt yourself while you’re working on my shelf so you really shouldn’t say no. I’m good with my hands, you don’t want to miss out.”
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2024 11:08 am
Well, a lot of what Cassidy was saying made sense. He supposed he did have a lot of stress, too. Especially when his mom was around.
Still, he frowned skeptically at Cassidy, not really sure what a back massage would entail. Well… obviously it would involve a back massage, duh. But it seemed so simple, like maybe he was missing something.
But it did make even more sense that Cassidy was good with his hands. He needed to be to catch and throw on the team, after all.
And he was already sitting up so…
Riker sighed and shifted a bit so he could lay on his stomach again. He wasn’t sure what to do with his hands so he crossed his arms under his chin until Cassidy told him otherwise.
“Okay… if you’re insisting,” he said, and he was definitely going to try and remember what Cassidy did just in case he needed to return the favor. He was sure Julian and Evan could use a massage. Maybe he’d give one to Dawn as thanks for putting up with him.
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2024 11:13 am
Cassidy perked up again, though he was already pretty animated. He stretched over Riker to grab a pillow from the mountain. “Pick up your head,” he instructed, and when Riker complied he made sure to tuck the pillow under his chin so he’d be more comfortable.
Without thinking, he’d fluffed the pillow up, stroked Riker’s hair once, and then adjusted himself to straddle his back.
“This is the best position,” he explained, even if he really could have just had Riker sit up to do this. Much of Cassidy’s weight went to his knees, and he sunk into the mattress around Riker a bit in the process,
Cassidy rolled up his sleeves cracked his knuckles before he placed his palms on Riker’s back and began to work slowly, pushing into his muscles before he began to work his fingers into his back, too.
“Wow, Riker. Your back feels like it’s made of stone. Don’t worry, I can fix this. Just tell me if feels too weird,” he said, exuding confidence. He sounded too excited to be making it all up, and there was no awkwardness or hesitation as he worked over Riker’s back.
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2024 11:21 am
Riker realized too late that he’d made a horrible mistake.
He had a sinking feeling that he would regret this once he’d lifted his head to accept the offered pillow, and then realized he’d sealed his fate with the gentle stroke of Cassidy’s hand in his hair.
Cassidy kneeling over his back only solidified it.
In more than one way.
It was no wonder that Cassidy was commenting on how his back felt! Riker was pretty sure he’d tensed so much that he would never be able to move again. And he probably wouldn’t be able to get up any time soon.
The worst part of all of it? Whatever Cassidy was doing felt really good.
“No, it’s fine-- not weird--” he sputtered awkwardly, closing his eyes as if that was going to make things better. Maybe if he thought of something other than Cassidy’s weight or his hands on his back, or how good he was with his hands--
Oh… was that supposed to have meant something else? Because suddenly Riker was thinking that he’d meant something else by that comment.
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2024 11:22 am
“Oh, good,” Cassidy said pleasantly. “I was worried it might hurt a little. Just at first. Sometimes your muscles have to warm up first. But a little soreness is okay because it always feels better before the end. Do you want the television on? I can put a movie on or something.”
Cassidy didn’t mind the quiet but he at least had something to focus on. He could hear the rain beating against the glass outside but it was calming. He wasn’t much a fan of dreary weather, it was cold and wet and depressing, but it was easy to forget about all of that as he smoothed his hands over Riker’s back and worked at–
Well, all of it. It was hard to focus on any one area because all of it seemed so tense. Was any part of Riker not wound up? Cassidy wasn’t going to be deterred. He’d made it his goal to get through all of them.
…If they ran out of time to set up the shelves then Riker would just have to come back later. He wasn’t going to run out of meals to bring him with any time soon.
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2024 11:23 am
Riker groaned miserably with embarrassment, pressing his face into the pillow as Cassidy talked about how it might hurt a little -- just at first, and how it always feels better before the end. He couldn’t tell if Cassidy was saying things like that on purpose, but now that his thoughts had shifted -- for very obvious reasons -- he couldn’t help but wonder.
“What, are you tired of talking to me?” he choked out the words, hoping he didn’t sound too distressed. It felt good! Whatever Cassidy was doing. Maybe too good. He wasn’t sure if he could relax, but he definitely wasn’t going to be going anywhere any time soon.
He could hear the rain, and he wasn’t really thrilled about the idea of going out into it. Nor was he excited about going home. Maybe over to see how Julian was--
“s**t--” he hissed and uncrossed his arms to try and reach for his phone, only to grab hold of Cassidy’s thigh instead. “Sorry-- I forgot to let Julian know I got here. My phone--” he struggled with the words, trying gesture that his phone was in his pants pocket.
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2024 11:34 am
Riker was reacting before Cassidy could even quip anything back, and though he’d understood that he was reaching for his phone, somehow Riker’s hand on his thigh still made him gasp sharply. It hadn't hurt! It hadn’t felt weird!
It was just surprising, that was all.
It had sent a strange shiver down his spine but he was going to blame that on the cool temperature. Riker probably wouldn’t even ask, he wasn’t worried about it. Even if there was a little lump in his throat and he felt just slightly flushed. Why! He just thought it was a bug, that’s all.Yeah, that made sense. He was still cool.
“Oh, sorry,” he said, and shifted his weight to his other leg so he could move out of the way. He kept his hands on Riker’s back to balance himself a bit but he was careful not to just crush him. He didn’t want to undo all the work he’d put into this.
“I was going to say I could never get tired of talking to you, I was only worried you might get tired of listening. And then, look! Already missing Julian!” He huffed indignantly but there was humor in his voice. “Tell him I said hi.”
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2024 11:34 am
“I just don’t want him to worry,” Riker huffed as he dug his phone out, but he did give Cassidy a curious look over his shoulder, before looking at his phone screen.
“You okay? Sorry, I didn’t mean to hit you that hard,” he frowned, still worried about being able to move after… everything Cassidy was doing to him.
He quickly typed out a text to Julian.
Sorry, got distracted. Got to the house. Was promised food. Did you eat? Cassidy says hi.
He added the last bit only after a moment. Not because he didn’t want Cassidy saying hi, but he still felt flustered about Cassidy straddling him and rubbing his back. It felt good! Maybe too good.
“You can talk if you want,” he insisted, putting his phone down, but kept his hand on it just in case Julian texted back. “I kinda like the weight-- I mean. It’s like a weighted blanket with you using your hands like that,” he tried explaining but it felt a little strange, like he wasn’t quite saying what he wanted. Probably because he was still being shy and awkward about how much he was enjoying this impromptu back massage.
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2024 11:37 am
“You didn’t hit me hard, don’t worry,” Cassidy huffed, settling back down and pressing his palms into Riker’s shoulders again. “It kind of tickled, that’s all.”
He let himself put a little more weight on Riker’s back, but only because he’d said it felt like weight, but he was ready to jump up if need be.
“Just breathe, you are carrying way too much stress. You’re not worried here with me, are you? Maybe I should have fed you first. You know, if you fall asleep here, that’s okay. I’ll just tuck you in and wake you up for dinner.”
Cassidy’s hands were going to be tired by the end of this, he could tell. These knots were relentless and Riker was holding onto them. Maybe he’d relax more once he talked to Julian–who must be the one texting him back, judging by the way Riker’s phone lit up.
‘Oh good, I was worried! The rain really picked up but there’s no thunder at least. We are eating in a little bit but I had a snack. I think I am understanding things a little better so I am glad I came over to study. Hi Cassidy, I hope I am not interrupting!’
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Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2024 11:38 am
“Julian says hi,” Riker said over his shoulder as he read over the most recent text from Julian. In response he responded with ‘Study hard’ and a smiling emoji before setting his phone down again.
“You’d tuck me in and just leave me here by myself?” he huffed, turning his head to see what Cassidy was doing. Trying to get him to breathe, clearly. But… it was a little strange hearing that Cassidy was ticklish. Or that the touch tickled.
With curiosity getting the better of him, he laid his head down on the pillow, but reached back with both arms to gently pat at Cassidy’s legs. It was as light as he’d touched him before. And maybe if he got Cassidy distracted enough, he wouldn’t notice how flustered Riker was.
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