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 Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2024 6:01 pm
He felt silly for feeling so relieved that Julian stepped closer to him to hug. Naturally, he wrapped both arms around him and, despite Julian’s light embrace, Riker held him tight. Not so much desperate as it was protective. And definitely not so tight that he was squishing him!
Had Julian asked him what he was doing, he absolutely would have taken a step back and shrugged it off, but he also knew it would have been his own fault for Julian not knowing. He was trying, and he was grateful that Julian could see his attempts.
“If it gets too late, I’ll just crash here, yeah?” he suggested, and then shrugged. “It’s not like my mom really cares, especially when getting me out of the house means she can bring her boyfriend over or whatever. Besides, I’ll already have a drawer with my stuff here, so it’ll be easy. But you can keep the drawer that locks. There’s nothing that I have that I wouldn’t trust you with. You should keep anything you want safe locked away in case someone like Zac starts snooping around.”
He didn’t really think Zac would do that, but for the sake of giving him a hard time, he was going to say it anyway.
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Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2024 6:02 pm
Julian stayed in the hug for as long as Riker accepted the contact. If Julian were being honest with himself, he loved hugs. It had been difficult for him to lower his guard enough to find comfort in them, but he had a few friends who had been patient with him while he navigated the emotional labyrinth it took to get to this point.
While Julian was still easily spooked, he found that he actually really did enjoy hugs–when he knew they were coming. And when they were from his close friends.
He’d been missing out on them for too long and he had a lot of time to make up for.
“I don’t think I have anything Zac would be interested in,” he said softly, laughing into Riker’s shoulder. “You can crash here anytime. I’ve got plenty of blankets!” Talia had given him more than he could use himself–and she always wanted to help people. He couldn’t imagine her saying no if he asked to have a friend over. Especially if they were being good and doing schoolwork or something!
And Evan already knew Riker, he could put in a good word for him. Hopefully.
Julian would beg Talia if it came down to it. He didn’t want to abuse her kindness or make her lose faith in him. His friends were the most important thing to him, he’d do anything for them. He needed them–and he needed them to be okay.
“We should fill up your drawer soon so you have one less thing to worry about before school starts. And so you know that everything will be here when you need it. I mean, I’d be happy to let you borrow anything of mine! Although I’m not sure you’d even fit into my pajamas. Maybe we should stay on Zac’s good side in case you need to borrow some of his.”
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Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2024 6:02 pm
Riker groaned and rested his chin on Julian’s head as he held him a bit longer.
“He probably wears something stupid to bed, anyway. Like… all silk or something. Or maybe he’s the kind of guy who doesn’t wear pajamas-- wait, I do not want to think about Zac getting ready for bed,” he insisted, trying to sound disgruntled but ended up laughing about it anyway.
“Okay, when we go look for school stuff, maybe we can grab some basic things? A toothbrush, pajamas, an extra shirt. I shouldn’t need too much,” he hummed as he thought, but glanced at the door and sighed.
He gave Julian one more squeeze before making himself pull back a bit. He didn’t want to upset Evan by waiting too long!
“We’ll figure it out. Thank you, Julian. You’re a really good friend. I don’t know what I did to deserve you in my life but I’m glad we met.”
Fin!
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