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 Posted: Thu Jun 06, 2024 8:32 am
‘Are you working today? I hope not. Can I stop by?’
The message was followed up with another.
‘Unless that’s weird. Are you busy? If you’re busy then I can just call.’
And another.
‘Unless you’re busy.’
‘I want to make sure you’re okay.’
Riker sighed. He knew he should have texted long before making the trek over to where Evan lived. He wasn’t going to just barge in when he didn’t even know if he was home. He knew Evan didn’t have the food truck out because he could see it in the driveway, along with the other car that Evan had picked him up in when it was raining and he had nowhere to go.
He wasn’t trying to be creepy! But he was loitering near a tree a couple houses down. Near the street! It wasn’t like he was in the middle of their yard or anything. But when he decided he wanted to do something, it was usually really easy for him to follow through. Even if it was poorly planned.
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Posted: Thu Jun 06, 2024 8:47 am
The answer came back within a minute, but at first it was
‘I’m okay,’ but then immediately afterwards, ‘I took the day off’, followed only a few seconds later with, ‘I mean yes you can stop by, I’m home’
A few seconds later, ‘I’ve got lunch’.
It wasn’t really a question of if Riker wanted lunch, Evan already had it. He’d been in the kitchen all morning. Food was a return to normalcy, and his time was better spent here than it was laying in bed or cocooned on the couch. Zac was home and would just badger him until he was so frustrated that he didn’t have time to mope or be depressed anyway.
He was doing yard work out back; Evan could see him through the window as he washed his hands. He should probably text Riker to warn him. Well–not that he needed a warning, but if he was going to come over he deserved to at least know.
Evan dried his hands off again so he could send another message. ‘Zac is here but if he’s too annoying we can just head out.’
He held the phone in his hand for a moment longer and wondered if he should ask more questions–was Riker okay? How far away was he?
His fingers hovered over the phone but he had to sigh heavily and put it down; he’d already sent too many messages. He didn’t want to be annoying.
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Posted: Thu Jun 06, 2024 9:01 am
Riker was already making his way down the driveway when he got the message about Zac being there. Evan’s landlord. He hadn’t seen him the night he’d stayed there, but the unknown had Riker making a disgruntled expression.
Not that he didn’t already know there were people who lived there other than Evan! And he was the one showing up, barely announced.
It was fine. Evan already said they could leave if they needed to.
He straightened his shirt and brushed back his hair a bit before knocking on the front door. It might have been summer, but he still wore long sleeves. It was lightweight! And had a thin hood hanging down his back. And it wasn’t actually black this time. It was a dark gray. Jeans seemed to be the only pants he bothered with, and his hair was a bit tousled like he had a rough night, and wasn’t really sure what to do with it now that it was longer than he normally wore it, but also not willing to cut it if he didn’t have to.
“Hey, sorry, I was in the neighborhood already,” he explained when Evan opened the door, immediately looking him over to make sure he at least looked okay.
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Posted: Thu Jun 06, 2024 9:09 am
Maxim barked once on the other side, not out of aggression or even territorial, but as if to just make sure Evan knew someone was at the door.
At first, Evan had almost thought about avoiding whoever was at the door; he thought it must be a solicitor because there wasn’t any way Riker could have made it over so quickly, but as soon as he opened the door and got the explanation everything clicked.
Maxim was trying to nose his way around Evan’s legs; his tail was wagging already. Evan pulled the door open and stepped aside and the dog wasted no time to practically prance over to greet Riker.
The house smelled of many different flavors and once more the television was on in the living room to keep Evan company while he cooked.
“Oh, well don’t apologize for that. Come on in. You want to help me in the kitchen? Or I can pull a chair and you can just keep me company.”
Evan looked tired. His eyes were a little red and looked like he must have been rubbing them a lot, or been around too many spices. Or not slept, or cried. There were many things it could have been.
He was awake now, and keeping busy, and he still smiled when he saw Riker. “Did you have a rough night?”
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Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2024 11:33 am
“Maxim!” Riker greeted cheerfully, crouching down so he could use both hands to pet and scratch behind Maxim’s ears and rub him all over. He didn’t stay on the ground for too long, not wanting to just loiter in the doorway. He scooched his way into the house, giving Evan enough room to shut the door behind him at least.
“Sure, I can help,” he easily agreed. He knew Evan liked being in the kitchen so he wanted to let him stay where he was most comfortable.
He hadn’t missed the way Evan’s eyes were red, and he immediately felt guilty for running off during the big fight.
As for himself, he just made a face, like he wasn’t sure if he should agree or come up with an excuse.
“I’m okay, if that’s what you’re worried about. There wasn’t really anything that happened that I wasn’t already used to,” he shrugged, but then realized that probably came off as insensitive or too flippant. He stood once more, but kept his hand down to give Maxim pats when he could.
“I couldn’t sleep because I was worried. About how you were doing. And my friends. We met up after everything but… I don’t know, it was weird and too quiet.”
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Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2024 11:38 am
After Evan closed the door, he too couldn’t help but give Maxim an affectionate headpat before he drifted back towards the kitchen. He didn’t scrutinize Riker too much because he didn’t want the same treatment and he knew that he’d get what he gave. Riker was clever and observant and Evan didn’t want that attention turned back on him if Riker was already worrying about him.
“Oh, I was worried about you, too. But I saw you leave with your friends so I knew you were safe at least. I didn’t want to embarrass you by flagging you down just to check.” Especially because he hadn’t been in the best state. He was okay! It was just exhausting. Everything about that night was draining and Evan wasn’t the best at dragging himself out of a mental hole.
He had friends that were far better than he was, and thankfully they could take care of themselves and him.
Evan glanced out of the window again; Zac was still mowing the backyard. Zac was healthier than he was but it wasn’t like Evan could just turn off his worry. He’d been out there for half an hour already and should come in for a break, but Evan could see him pushing to just finish mowing now. It could have been so he could just be done with it, or because the clouds were rolling in and it was wise to assume a light afternoon rain.
Zac had his hair tied back in a very slight ponytail and he was wearing sunglasses and listening to very loud music. He had a bleach stained and faded band t shirt that he’d had since high school and was wearing jeans. Evan wasn’t sure how Zac wasn’t sweating through everything; he was pretty sure if it had been him he’d have already dehydrated to death.
Needless to say, he’d already made Zac a glass of fresh icewater, and now that Riker was here he pulled out another glass, filled it with ice, and got some fresh lemonade from the fridge. “Try this, it’s all natural. Boiled sugar and water, really simple. Lemon juice, ice. Oh, and–you’ll get tired of me candying things eventually. Maybe. It’s my first time making these.”
He pulled out a tray of little yellow slices, obviously sugared. “Lemon peels. I boiled them in the syrup I made. The only thing I trashed was the seeds, and I kept some of them because Zac said he’d let me try growing a lemon tree. I don’t want to grow it, I want him to grow it. I just want the lemons afterwards.” He sighed–groaned, maybe–and passed over the plate of candied lemon peels. He took two pieces, chewed on them, and then took a sip of his own half-finished lemonade as he gestured for Riker to help himself.
“I’m thinking chicken sandwiches for lunch. I have some breasts brined in pickle juice and buttermilk. Zac’s horrible with his electrolytes and I hate Gatorade. So it’s–I’m making that,” he decided, and began to pull things out from the fridge again. Judging by the empty sink but fresh dried dishes, he’d been keeping himself busy. “Unless you want something else? You can check the fridge and see if anything looks good. All the leftovers are good, but I have to use the chicken today or it’ll go bad. There’s enough for the three of us, and more.”
Maxim had followed them to the kitchen but he laid closer to the garbage can against the back wall. Zac was coming in and out and he didn’t want to be stepped on, and Evan always had to second guess what he was throwing away when Maxim was also a perfectly good garbage can who liked just about everything but lemons.
Was he talking to overcompensate? Maybe. He was balancing some eggs, a glass jar of what looked like homemade breading, a stick of fancy butter, and a large plastic bag full of what was clearly chicken soaked in liquid goo.
“Can you grab me a bowl, please? The big one, right in front of you.” Already dried and ready to go. “And if you can–I’m sorry, I should have thought of it earlier–can you turn the burner on the stove to 8, please? The one that’s already got the pan on it.”
A cast iron pan already full of oil seemed ready to start warming up. He clearly had been planning this even before Riker showed up so at least some of what Evan was saying must have been true. It wasn’t like he was always in the kitchen. He could have been–
Well, he didn’t actually know what he could have been doing. Watching some movies in the living room, playing on his Switch? He could watch from here, although if he were being honest, he probably should have taken some time to play a mind-numbing game where everything was perfect and nothing was wrong. He hadn’t had to in a while. Maybe later. Now that Riker was here, he was already feeling a bit livelier.
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Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2024 11:39 am
Riker could hear the loud music from outside. He’d heard it on the way to the house, but when Evan glanced out the back window, he realized that must have been the landlord friend he was always talking about.
And continued talking about. Not that Riker was going to point that out when Evan looked a bit frazzled already.
He took the glass that was handed to him, tried a lemon peel, but was quickly following Evan’s direction before he had a chance to comment on them. It was clear that Evan was trying to do everything he could all at once, likely to distract himself. Or maybe it was Riker’s worry that was putting thoughts in his head.
“Evan,” he said, trying to make sure he had his attention once he’d turned the burner on. “I haven’t disliked a single thing you’ve made. You’re a great cook. Have you considered writing a cookbook? Or… at least your experiences with the food truck? Want to be a TikTok star? I’m kidding, but also not kidding. You’re cute so I bet you’d get a lot of people watching your videos,” he pointed out, as he reached for another lemon peel.
“These are good. They’re kind of like those colorful gummy candies they used to have at the mall. You know, like in the center kiosks? I don’t know if they still have those places. I think there was an actual candy store set up that kind of ran the small businesses out, but I was given a sample once and it was pretty good. I couldn’t stay and look at everything else they had because I was getting itchy but…”
Oh, he was rambling too much now. He shrugged and chewed on the piece some more.
“It’s good. And I know your weird electrolyte sandwich will be good too,” he teased with a small, encouraging grin.
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Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2024 11:55 am
As Evan sat everything down on the counter, he glanced at Riker thoughtfully before he just shook his head and smiled. “Okay.” He sounded like he believed Riker, in any case. It got him to slow down a little bit.
He poured the breading into a bowl and reached for another jar, this one a pale yellow mixture. He mixed them together as he spoke. “I don’t know about TikTok, I think I’m too old for that. And I’m not so good with technology. Although I do know a Mauvian.” He hummed thoughtfully and cleaned as he worked, but it was clear that he’d done this before because he didn’t seem to be paying much attention to measurements.
“Thank you for saying all of that. I don’t know if I have the patience to write. I don’t know if it’s worth it to hire someone to help me? I mean, I’ve got recipes. I guess I could share.” He stared into the bowl of dry mix for a few seconds and then shrugged. “It sounds like a lot of work. I don’t think I’d be good at that sort of thing. I’m better off in the kitchen. Why, do you want to help me write a cookbook? You could be the TikTok star. Might look good on a college application,” he suggested, though it was impossible to tell how serious he was.
“You could teach people about coconut oil allergies and teach them how to make safe meals. We could figure out new recipes together.” Evan didn’t really care about if the recipes got out to the general public–or, he just didn’t have a plan to–but he did want Riker to learn them. If he was interested! Evan had learned how to cook without coconut oil specifically for him, anyway.
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Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2024 12:01 pm
Riker laughed, amused but it was clear that he was not laughing at Evan. He was comfortable around Evan. Enough that he could relax a little. He was still worried. About Evan. About his friends. But at least for now he could take a moment to breathe.
“I don’t think coconut allergies are that common,” he snorted in amusement, crossing his arms and resting them against the counter as he watched Evan work. “But I doubt I’d be a good TikTok star. Maybe some of my other friends. They’ve got really nice smiles. Ah, when they smile. I think they’ve all got some really heavy things weighing on them, but…”
That was why he wanted to possibly join the Negaverse, if only to make sure they didn’t have to worry about that aspect of the war.
But, that was pretty much out of the question now. He hadn’t known what he knew before talking to Evan. He knew he was still naive in many regards. He didn’t even think he was that good of a person, but he was trying desperately to make up for any heartache he’d caused.
“I wouldn’t mind figuring out new recipes with you, though. And help you write a cookbook. Or just help you cook. Or just talk,” he shrugged. He wasn’t too picky.
“You’re the only adult I feel like I can trust, you know,” he said after a moment. Although he was trying not to look at Evan, hoping he could hide the way his ears burned. “I know it sucked, but I was glad to see you at that fight. It made me feel more confident about our odds.”
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Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2024 12:05 pm
Sometimes, Evan thought he knew Riker. Sometimes, Riker just surprised him. Evan nearly dropped the chicken breast he’d pulled out but recovered despite the lack of grace. Maybe Riker knew what that praise meant to Evan, or maybe he didn’t. Either way, it took a moment for Evan to collect himself and when he did, he just bumped Riker with his elbow slightly.
“You’re a good kid.”
Evan was the only adult he could trust? The only one? That would change, probably. He’d meet Zac and Talia and the others, he’d find people that actually cared about him and wanted him to succeed. For now, Evan selfishly basked in the high praise.
“If you like these sandwiches, I’ll show you how to make them. My kitchen can be your kitchen, if you ever need a sink and a stove. Well.” He looked around. “I’ve got a lot more here than that, but you know what I mean. I’d like that. Recipes, cooking. Talking.”
The kitchen was always his safe space and he suspected–knew–that Riker didn’t have its comfort at home. He didn’t know exactly what things were like Riker back there but he could imagine enough of it to know that if Riker could get any ounce of comfort here, he was welcome to it.
“Are you really okay after that fight, though? That magic messed me up a little bit,” he admitted. There wasn’t any point in trying to be cool about it; Evan wasn’t a strong person. Being resilient didn’t even mean much–cockroaches were resilient. But he was still here and that was good enough for him. Tomorrow could always be better, after all.
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Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2024 1:03 pm
Riker wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but he certainly didn’t expect to be called a good kid. He could feel his ears burning and he shuffled his feet a bit as he leaned against the counter.
“What? Oh, yeah, I’m okay. I mean, yeah, the magic sucked but it’s easy for me to turn off and keep fighting, you know?” he quickly said because he didn’t want Evan to think he couldn’t handle himself. But then grimaced at the idea of whatever he said being offensive to Evan.
“Wait, that’s not exactly what I meant. Not being able to fight isn’t the point. It sucks. That magic. I felt myself being pulled under, but then something clicked and I realized we needed to hurry up and finish that thing off. There were a lot of people who couldn’t fight. And maybe I wouldn’t have been able to fight either, if I didn’t know you were there, or my friends. It’s like… I don’t know. I don’t really want to bother anyone at a restaurant if I want ketchup, so I’ll just deal without it, but if someone else says they wish they had ketchup but didn’t want to bother anyone, then I’d ask for them in a heartbeat. Uh, I think that analogy works.”
It sounded a little silly, but he hoped it was enough.
“I bet your sandwiches will be great. I’m learning a lot already. I don’t usually get to cook. Takes too long and too much of a chance I’d have to deal with… people,” he paused to wave his hand like it didn’t matter who. “So yeah, I appreciate the offer. Maybe I won’t be so helpless on my own in the future.”
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Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2024 3:27 pm
Evan could have finished much faster, but when Riker said he was learning a lot already he slowed down just a little in case he wanted to watch. “Stick with me and you’ll know enough to open up your own food truck by the time you move out.”
The chicken was breaded and laid out on a cooking rack so Evan took a moment to wash his hands.
“I guess it might sound kind of silly but if you ever need any help with anything, you can call or come over. Personally, I still don’t know a lot. But I know some really smart people. I get the ketchup analogy, I’m the same way. Well. I mean, technically I keep extra salt packets and condiments in the car. I know it’s tacky but. It beats having to ask a stranger, you know? But,” he shrugged and moved to the stove, where he started depositing the chicken, “You can always ask me for ketchup, is what I mean. I’ve got plenty to give”
The analogy was just getting weirder and he seemed flustered but Riker knew what he meant. “Anyway, I’m impressed that you were able to tune it all out and help people. I was so mopey. I knew it was magic but it made me feel like I was a teenager again. So melodramatic and angsty. No offense. I wasn’t a hero or anything when I was your age, not like you can be. I was too busy trying to get people to like me, who has time to save the world.” He’d grown up since then but he couldn’t pretend like he could have compared to Riker back when he was that age. “But thinking about my friends and the people that are important to me is what got me through the whole thing, too. This whole ‘being a Senshi–or Knight–’ is so weird. I don’t like being surrounded by all that Chaos, but Fang’s a friend of mine. I’m lucky my world doesn’t have all that Chaos, I don’t know how anyone can handle it.”
The lawnmower shut off, and for a few seconds the music stayed loud, but then that shut off, too. Evan might have heard it, or he might have been so focused on watching the chicken crisp up.
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Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2024 5:25 am
“I didn’t tune it out,” Riker admitted with a small frown as he watched Evan get the chicken ready to cook, making sure he was out of the way. “I mean… it wasn’t anything special. They were feelings I was used to already. I just--”
He didn’t know how to explain it. He didn’t think he was very strong. He didn’t think he was better than anyone else there. He didn’t think he’d suffered more than anyone else there, either. He knew everyone had different life experiences. They had different ways of coping as well.
“At some point it clicked that I was getting lost, but knew that everyone around me wanted ketchup, and couldn’t ask for themselves,” he said, and shrugged a bit awkwardly. “It’s easier when I can focus on others.”
It sounded dumb, he knew, but he also didn’t like that Evan was brushing off his own troubles. Riker shook his head, not wanting Evan to think that he thought any of that about him.
“I’m not a hero. I’ve also spent a lot of time trying to get people to like me,” he pointed out, and he knew Evan had seen him at one of his lower points when his brother had harassed them both.
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Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2024 6:34 am
The chicken was crisping up nicely now and he bustled around the kitchen to get a few other things ready. Buns, in the microwave with a cup of water. Condiments on the counter. A plate with paper towels to absorb some of the oil.
“I guess that’s true,” Evan mused, but he just shrugged afterwards. “Oh, well. I’ll see what I want to see and I like you so everything’s through rose tinted glasses. I’m old enough that I can look at myself and see what’s wrong. And I mean, really wrong. I try to think of the meanest things I can say to myself because if I’ve said it first, if I’m used to it, then it’s not going to matter as much when someone else says it. It can’t hurt as much if it doesn’t catch me off guard! It doesn’t matter if it’s true or not.”
He pressed his lips together contemplatively and then shrugged. “I used to think I was just prepping myself for the worst case situation but I guess instead I was just reinforcing all the shitty things people were saying about me. And then I’d get upset and I didn’t have anything good to fall back on, and–well, just don’t fall into that trap, okay? If you keep saying all those things to invalidate the good other people see in you then eventually you have a harder time seeing the good, too. So, I say you’re a hero, and you don’t have to say ‘thanks, Evan,’ but you don’t have to tell me no, either. Just know that I think you did a good job.”
He shifted on his feet, not quite uncomfortably but definitely with the worry that he was going to turn into some lame old adult that Riker no longer trusted or wanted to confide in. “The fact that you pushed through all the s**t you were going through to look after everyone else says a lot. Especially because I know it must have been really hard to push through it all. I’m sure you’re going to do a lot of really good, really brave deeds that people aren’t going to see–or aren’t going to thank you for. So as long as you’re here, I won’t let you minimize what a good job you did. You didn’t push yourself too hard or anything, did you? You got to do some, you know, self-care, I guess? You have to take care of yourself after things like that.”
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Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2024 10:52 am
Riker frowned a little. He could think of some mean things to say about himself, sure. If he thought of even worse things than what had been said to him already…? Yeah… at least no one else could say it first. It already made him feel like garbage thinking about it. But… that was the point, right? At least no one else could hurt him worse?
Oh, but then Evan was also saying if he did that he wouldn’t have anything good to fall back on.
Well, that was confusing. Was he supposed to be saying horrible things to himself, about himself, or was he supposed to not?
He wasn’t sure what counted as self-care, so he shrugged.
“I’m seeing you. Does that count? Well, not that I want you to have to take care of me or anything like that. But seeing you makes things a little better. I don’t have to worry about myself when I have other people to worry about. My friends met up after the fight, but some of them still look pretty down. I wasn’t sure how to make them feel better, but was going to at least try and talk with them.”
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