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 Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2024 6:11 pm
School was starting soon, and Cassidy had a lot to make up for in a very little amount of time. On one hand, it wasn’t like he needed to go shopping for clothes. On the other hand, he felt like he deserved a treat. A lot of treats. He’d been running around nonstop, had no time to stop and enjoy being back in Destiny City, had no time to meet up with friends.
Everything was go, go, go, and–
Oh, what was Riker doing here?
Cassidy shifted his weight to one foot. He’d been going through his shopping list for school and taken a break at one of the local cafes. It wasn’t like it was super popular, it was just in a convenient place between a few stores he’d planned to stop at to get supplies.
Riker had some of the same bags he did, so it was easy to assume that he was on a similar shopping path.
Cassidy sipped at the drink he’d just gotten. He was keeping all of his things tucked away in the brand new backpack he’d gotten. It wasn’t so heavy that he needed to pull it off, but Riker didn’t know that.
He was here with someone, but no one was in sight. Riker had a drink, and there was a second one in the empty seat across from him.
Who was Riker out with?
He slipped between the other patrons as he shrugged off his bag, and he dropped it down next to the table before pulling out the chair across from Riker and plopping down into it. His lips didn’t leave the straw but he watched Riker with a curious, amused expression.
“Did Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome start dating while I was gone and that’s why he’s been too busy to check in on me for so long?” he asked around the straw.
Cassidy had a little less sun than usual, and he’d lost a bit of weight, but he’d grown a few inches. He was as put together as always; his hair was tied up in the same ponytail it always was, with a green scrunchie. He wore a thin, long-sleeved white shirt and black shorts, with black sneakers and green laces. Which had obviously been put in to match his nails, which were exactly the same color as the sleeveless hooded sweatshirt he was wearing. He’d have been happy to explain that the color complimented his eyes but he doubted Riker was going to ask. He also doubted Riker would even appreciate the effort Cassidy had clearly put into his appearance, but he hadn’t spent so much time making himself up not to at least try to show off.
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Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2024 6:12 pm
It had been a good day. A really good day. As they’d planned, Riker and Julian met up so they could do their last minute school shopping, as well as collecting things Riker could stow away in Julian’s room just in case he needed a place to crash that wasn’t Reims or the Moon or this mysterious Headquarters that was apparently an exclusive perk for being a group of Knights that hung out. It had been too soon since talking to Julian about it for Riker to look into it more, but it was kind of cool to think about.
Unlike around others, with Julian, Riker didn’t feel like he needed to pretend like he was cool and get something manly like black coffee (yuck), and instead got some kind of fancy strawberry cream milkshake with plenty of whipped cream, and even some sprinkles -- after both he and Julian reiterated multiple times that coconut milk could absolutely not be used.
Maybe a bit obsessively, Riker tested the drink out by dabbing some from the straw onto the back of his wrist to see if any reaction happened in a minute or two, and when nothing did, he cautiously sipped at it until he was satisfied he wouldn’t need to call an ambulance.
He was happy and content and waiting for Julian to get back from the restroom, browsing his phone in the meantime.
And for a moment he thought Julian had returned quicker than he’d expected.
But it was not the right voice.
At first, Riker could physically feel the color blanch from his face as he looked up with probably comically wide eyes. His heart had stopped for a moment, before being kicked into overdrive.
Sitting across from him, looking amused and smug and completely comfortable was Cassidy. With his long hair, and painted nails, and way too much leg exposed -- not that Riker could even see his legs, but he knew Cassidy liked to wear the shortest shorts that ever shorted. Usually.
It was then that the color reversed and flooded his ears and cheeks.
“Why would I?? I thought you died!” he choked out what was supposed to be a snapping bark, but sounded like he was struggling to find his voice. He was already tense and leaning back in his chair as if that would put a reasonable distance between them.
He regretted the words the moment they left his mouth.
He knew Cassidy had been in a horrible car accident. The team had gone to visit him in the hospital. Well, most of them. He hadn’t, but that was because he didn’t want to encourage-- whatever this was that Cassidy was doing.
But he knew Cassidy had been doing okay with his recovery, because Elliot and Atticus were friends with him. And they sometimes talked about him. But it wasn’t as though Riker cared! Cassidy was just another guy on the baseball team who liked to make fun of him and say ridiculous things to him!
Besides, he knew Cassidy was just making fun of him, because he was wearing the same boring jeans and teeshirt with a lightweight zip up hoodie like he always wore. His hair was longer than the last he’d seen Cassidy, but that just meant it was one more thing to be teased about, and Riker already didn’t look forward to it.
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Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2024 6:13 pm
Cassidy chewed on his straw thoughtfully. “Well, that explains why you look like you’ve seen a ghost. You can’t tell me no one told you. I still talk to half the team. But you...”
He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth and leaned back in the chair, resting his arm over the back of it.
“What, you don’t call, you don’t write? Did I get on your bad side or something?”
He was tapping his toe under the table, as casual and easy going as if Riker had personally invited him to sit down and join him for a drink. He hadn’t taken Riker for a strawberry milkshake kind of guy but there wasn’t much else that was that pink. Cassidy has a similar looking one, only his was pale green and full of mint and chocolate.
“Or is your date the jealous type and told you that you weren’t allowed to have any pretty friends around?”
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Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2024 6:18 pm
He didn’t know what to do. He felt so stupid for being so unnerved by how casual and mocking Cassidy always was with him. He knew he deserved it after being such a jerk to others, but that didn’t mean he knew how to handle it for himself.
“Who said we were friends?” he sputtered, once again immediately regretting the words that escaped his mouth. Maybe it was a defense mechanism -- but did he really have to be mean when he didn’t even want to be mean? But with Cassidy, he felt so on edge, just waiting for him to say something to make fun of him.
Even if he wanted to call Cassidy -- he didn’t! -- it wasn’t like he had easy access to his information, nor would that information be safe from his family.
He felt like he was going to be sick. He couldn’t even deny that Cassidy was pretty, because he was. He wasn’t blind!! Just because he liked girls didn’t mean he couldn’t appreciate when guys were pretty, too!
Riker knew he could say that he was glad that Cassidy was okay, but he saw the way he’d glanced at his drink, and of course he expected some comment about it.
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Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2024 6:26 pm
“Ohhh,” Cassidy said after a thoughtful moment. He took another long, contemplative sip of his drink and then he scanned the cafe looking for any pretty faces. Or maybe not a pretty face? What was Riker so high strung for?
“Well, now I have to meet her if she’s got you so wound up. You really aren’t happy to see me?”
He adjusted how he was sitting and leaned towards the table. He held the cup with both hands and raised a brow. “So what, I shouldn’t try out for the team so we can hang out again?” He let the question sit for a few minutes and then shrugged. He had a perpetual lazy smile on his face. “I’m just kidding, you don’t have to worry. I can’t play anymore. Did you take my spot or something or did I just catch you at a bad time?”
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Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2024 6:46 pm
There were a lot of things Riker was trying to process all at once. With Cassidy, he felt like everything was always so sped up, that when he realized there was something he needed to focus on, it was often too late, or Cassidy had already brushed it off or moved onto another topic.
He wanted to ask who he was talking about, but even though the words didn’t make their way out of his mouth, his facial expression probably did the talking for him.
Riker wanted to tell Cassidy that he didn’t want to hang out with him in the first place, and thankfully he managed not to say such a mean thing that his heart wasn’t really in, because when Cassidy said he couldn’t play any more, he felt himself deflate.
“At all?” he asked, maybe setting himself up to be caught off guard, but he knew that Cassidy was good at baseball, and he genuinely did have fun playing with him and the team, even if Cassidy teased him relentlessly.
For Cassidy not to be able to play baseball at all?
He glanced at Cassidy’s shoulder. He couldn’t see anything, but he could only imagine the scars from surgery. How could he seem so carefree and relaxed? All the time?
Unless…
There had been a lot of things Riker was learning over the past couple years since becoming a knight. A lot of internal reflection, a lot of seeing things that he normally covered his ears and closed his eyes and went through the motions to get it over with.
For the past two years, Cassidy had been teasing him and saying ridiculous things to him and been cheerful and relaxed, but Riker had (over)heard from Elliot and Atticus that Cassidy had a lot of troubles at home. And then the accident…
And maybe… suggesting that he couldn’t play baseball with that cheerful smile was enough for Riker to look at him differently for the first time.
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Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2024 6:49 pm
Oh, that got his attention. Cassidy wasn’t sure if he’d ever seen Riker look so thoughtful. He shrugged slightly, like it wasn’t much of a big deal that he couldn’t play. His left shoulder moved more than his right, but not for lack of trying.
“At all.” Another slow sip of his drink. “I can’t get my arm up all the way anymore. Just about this much,” he said, and moved his wrist to his shoulder before raising his elbow to almost make a ninety degree angle. He rotated his arm a little, slowly and gently, but the rotation was clearly stiff.
“Can’t throw a ball. Sometimes I can’t even hold it, but I’m still doing some therapy for that. My fingers don’t want to curl and uncurl like they used to so I don’t have a great grip. Not good for catching, not good for throwing. I’ve had to spend so much time retraining my right arm that I don’t have the energy to start learning with the left. I tried, but I don’t think it’s going to work out. Just not a leftie, don’t have it in me. I asked the doctor but he said I have to take it easy for a while.”
He could have told him that all of this was diligently logged across his social media accounts but despite enjoying how easy it was to get a rise out of Riker, who didn’t even use social media, he didn’t bring this up.
“I don’t want to be cooped up inside forever so I was doing my best to stay put so he’d give me the all clear. But now I’m back in Destiny City so I want to get around and see how everything is. Must be fate to run into you here, you know you’re the first person I’ve seen since I’ve been back?”
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Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2024 6:54 pm
Riker was silent as Cassidy told him about his arm, about how he couldn’t throw a ball, or even hold one sometimes.
There was a sudden urge for him to call Atticus, or even Maisie, to get them to use their healing magic, or to have Atticus get his dad to bring Cassidy to his Wonder -- the one with the healing water. Would it even help? Was it too late? What was the timeframe for healing? Cassidy was technically still healing, right? He could benefit from some magic.
Except--
He had no idea what Cassidy knew about the magical war that took place in the city. Was he involved? His heart felt like it sank at the thought that Cassidy might have been lured in by the Negaverse, whether willingly or not.
But, maybe not. If Cassidy had just come back to the city, maybe--
Of course, then Cassidy had to say something to tease him, and Riker could feel his ears burn again.
“Why is it fate? Sorry I was around to ruin your back in Destiny City experience,” he grumbled and crossed his arms defiantly over his chest.
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Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2024 6:57 pm
Cassidy laughed, and shrugged once more, a little looser than before.
“You’re going to have to work a little harder to ruin my experience. Believe it or not, I’m actually happy to see you. You have like, no presence online. I missed that dour expression of yours. So it’s fate because I was just thinking about you last night. You’re still going to Azure, right? I’ll be back there when school starts up again. Don’t ignore me just because I’m not on the team anymore, I’m still going to come to your games. I’m going to judge my replacement the whole time. Unless he’s good.”
He sipped at his drink again thoughtfully. “No, I’ll still judge him no matter how good he is.”
From across the room, and fresh out of the bathroom, Julian locked eyes with Riker and wore an inquisitive expression. He couldn’t read Riker’s mind but he was trying his hardest. He knew Riker was a bit shy when it came to other people getting in his business, and he was worried about someone getting the wrong impression so he hovered nervously in the distance.
Which was okay! There was some neat wall art he could examine, and he could take a seat here and sort of wait it out if he had to!
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Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2024 7:14 pm
Somehow, Riker was having a hard time believing that Cassidy was actually happy to see him. It was kind of weird that he was thinking about him, unless he was coming up with ways to tease him. That’s probably what it was.
There were other things he could have asked, could have said, but it was always a struggle to figure out what Cassidy would take seriously or if he would just make fun of him.
So when he locked eyes with Julian, there was immediate relief that filled his expression.
“Yeah I’m going to Azure still, and so is Julian,” he said, very short and sweet and matter-of-fact, as if to get the topic out of the way. He stood from his chair to try and make sure Julian knew he should come over.
“This is Cassidy,” he gestured to the teenager who was in Julian’s seat once Julian was close enough. His demeanor had shifted to something more calm, or at least not as on edge now. Like he could breathe again. “Cassidy was on the baseball team with me,” he explained, but paused because he didn’t know if it was rude to tell Julian how he’d been in a car accident.
“Julian is transferring to Azure this year. He’s friends with Elliot and Atticus and Énna, so don’t give him a hard time.”
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Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2024 7:18 pm
Cassidy saw Riker’s expression change just before he stood up, though he didn’t raise his gaze to Julian before he’d finished shuffling his way to the side of the table. He tapped his finger against his cup and held the straw to his lips but he didn’t sip.
He was putting all his energy into sizing Julian up.
Julian was not the pretty girl he expected Riker to be out on a date with.
“I don’t give anyone a hard time, I’m a nice guy,” Cassidy insisted, but with that smug expression permanently fixed to his face it probably wasn’t easy to believe him.
Julian didn’t know any better, or chose to overlook it. He stood close to Riker and smiled. “Hello, it’s nice to meet you.”
Riker hadn’t introduced a boyfriend, hadn’t introduced Julian as his friend, hadn’t given away any real information. So stiff, so stubborn. Cassidy set his drink down again and wiped his hand off on his shorts before he held out a hand. “Sorry I took your seat.”
“It’s okay,” Julian insisted, and after a quick handshake he said, “I can just pull up another one.”
Cassidy nodded and didn’t try to stand up, so Julian quickly pulled a seat next to Riker. Cassidy watched, at first Julian and then Riker. There were subtle differences in the way that Riker carried himself now that Julian was back, but there was absolutely nothing sharp or hostile in the way Julian presented. He didn’t seem like a jealous date at all. His smile was too nice and friendly. Friends with Elliot and Atticus and Énna and Riker?
No, he didn’t seem like trouble.
He also didn’t seem like he played any sports; he was too pale for it, and too scrawny. What was Riker doing that he was making friends outside of the team and outside of school? Where was this kid coming from?
He wasn’t shy about asking. As Julian settled into his seat, Cassidy asked Riker, “How’d you two meet?”
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Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2024 7:19 pm
Riker met Cassidy’s smug expression with a scowl of his own. He almost suggested to Julian that they could leave, but Julian was already pulling another chair over to the table. So Riker clicked his tongue to the roof of his mouth and lowered himself back in his chair, arms once again crossed over his chest.
“He’s friends with Elliot and Atticus,” Riker repeated, rolling his eyes at how difficult it was for Cassidy to understand. He didn’t like the tone he was using, either.
Of course, Riker didn’t bring up the fact that the first time he’d met Julian was when he’d also been making fun of him. At the time, he didn’t know he was Dering, too.
He felt bad about it, of course. He’d apologized, and Julian had forgiven him. Riker wasn’t sure he deserved such easy forgiveness, but he was happy to have gotten to know Julian a lot better as a result.
“What else? You gonna play twenty questions now?”
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Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2024 7:21 pm
“If I thought I could get you to answer twenty.” Cassidy leaned back in his seat again. “What, you can’t humor me for five minutes? My doctor said I’m supposed to take breaks often. I have to be careful with my whole right side, you know. Hip, knee, ankle. Otherwise it hurts for hours. Sometimes it even goes numb.”
He stretched out his right leg, far enough that he could rest his ankle against one of the legs on Riker’s chair.
Julian was too polite to ask what Cassidy was talking about, but it wasn’t hard to see the worried confusion in his eyes. So Cassidy explained, “I got in a bad car accident a few months ago. I was all messed up, I was stuck in the hospital for weeks. I’ll show you pictures sometime, I’m sure I’ll see you again. I’ll call up Atticus tonight and see if he wants to meet up sometime before school. I’ll have to,” he hummed. “I don’t want the first time I see him again to be at Azure, he’ll definitely cry.”
There was no mockery in his voice, it was just a fact. Atticus cared so much about everyone, he couldn’t help that he just had a lot of emotions. Cassidy wasn’t going to be responsible for making him cry on the first day of school.
“So anyway, I’ll be out of your hair in a few minutes. You don’t have to be so defensive, Riker. Are you afraid I’m going to run around and tell everyone that you’re hanging out with Julian and getting strawberry milkshakes? Please. I’m glad to see you out doing something fun. Is your drink any good? I’m almost done with mine but yours looks good, it’s just that you haven’t touched it since I got here. I’m going to get something else before I leave but I don’t know what I want, yet. It’s so hot outside. And I’ve still got a few more places to go before I head home.”
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Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2024 7:22 pm
Riker tensed when Cassidy stretched out his leg, but he did nothing to push it away. It wasn’t like he was doing anything wrong. It was just difficult for Riker to ignore how much leg Cassidy was showing off. He did his best not to look.
The flustered red of his ears quickly turned to embarrassment when Cassidy pointed out his milkshake.
Maybe he was afraid that Cassidy would run around, making fun of what he got to drink. He only cared about Cassidy talking to people about him hanging out with Julian for Julian’s sake. He didn’t want Julian to be bothered about how he was caught hanging out with him.
So Riker hung his head in shame, and reached out to push his milkshake towards Cassidy.
“You can have it if you want. I’m not really thirsty,” he mumbled. He felt pathetic, but he wasn’t going to lash out like he might have in the past. Maybe mocked Cassidy in return. Not with Julian there. Not when he didn’t want to be that kind of person anymore.
“But, yeah… it’s good.”
He was glad that Cassidy at least wouldn’t harass Atticus. He seemed very gentle with him, which Riker appreciated. Not that he and Atticus were close, but he did think of him as a friend.
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Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2024 7:24 pm
Cassidy was once more chewing on the straw of his drink. He looked thoughtfully at the milkshake Riker was sharing, because that was kind of new. He wasn’t used to these nice gestures. He also wasn’t used to Riker looking like a kicked puppy.
He didn’t know Julian very well but he could tell by the way his brows had knitted together that he was worried about something, too.
“Well, you’ll be thirsty when you go outside, you should save it. Your recommendation is good enough for me, Riker. Thank you though, that was very sweet of you.”
Under the table, Julian snuck his hand to rest atop Riker’s. He didn’t think Cassidy noticed; his eyes were solely on Riker right now. Julian considered if he should speak up or interrupt, but Cassidy’s expression shifted just slightly once more. He looked like he didn’t have the energy to be too expressive, but thankfully his natural expression was a sort of lazy smile. His eyes were half-lidded, which had a natural look of being both unamused and equally complacent. He looked somewhat peaceful now, resigned.
“If you like it so much, maybe next time you can come get one with me.” He winked, for good measure. “You can come too, Julian. You seem nice.”
“Oh, um–well, thank you.”
Cassidy was clearly trying to soak up as much relaxation as he could get in the few moments he planned to stay, so he slumped back a bit in the chair. “Friends with Elliot and Atticus and Énna, huh. I guess we’ll see a lot of each other, then. I plan to bother them now that I’m back. Sorry, Riker, you’ll have to put up with me, too. I hope you enjoyed your break from me because I’ve got a lot of missed time to make up for. You think Coach’ll let me hang around during practice? I can bring you all your drinks and towels and tell you what a good job you’re doing.”
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