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 Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2025 7:45 am
Takes place just after Christmas 2024 Cassidy hadn’t seen Riker in ages. School felt like it had been out forever, and for as much as Cassidy enjoyed free days, he didn’t really have much to do. His family was split for the holidays so it was a lot of going back and forth. Neither his mother nor father were doing anything special, but both of them were still navigating their ‘newly single’ lives. Both of them were over compensating and underperforming.
On one hand, he had plenty of presents from both of them. On the other hand, he’d had to decorate twice because his father was too busy working and his mother was too busy dating. Whatever, he’d called his grandmother every day and she kept him company. He had no one to cook for, he had no homework to do, no friends to meet. Everyone was so busy.
Sure, he’d been able to exchange gifts with Atticus and Elliot, but everyone else was so elusive.
And then, finally, he’d managed to guilt Riker into finding some free time.
They’d planned to meet at a little cafe, where Cassidy had been spending a lot of time. It was between the two of them so an easy place to meet but Cassidy had already mulled over the logistics of convincing Riker to come hang out after brunch today. Maybe it would snow! And if things iced over, he might need an escort home. In case it was too slippery!
Cassidy sipped at the drink he’d gotten; he arrived just a few minutes ago and ordered something for Riker, to save him the embarrassment of Cassidy attentively needling the workers about ingredients and precautions. He’d been assured the strawberry cream milkshake was safe so Cassidy had ordered two. Now, he just had to wait for Riker to show up.
He had a shimmery red bag next to him and the present inside was hidden in white tissue paper. He’d shrugged off his coat but he’d posed himself, cross-legged and slightly angled off the seat, so Riker could see his legs when he came in. Brown calf-length boots kept his feet warm, and burgundy leggings took care of the rest. Even in winter, he’d found a way to wear shorts. Today, they matched his boots, and his scarf and gloves matched his stockings. He wore an oversized cream cable-knit sweater and was scrolling on his phone as he waited, occasionally tapping his toe to the beat of the ambient music they were playing.
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Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2025 7:45 am
It wasn’t like Riker was trying to avoid Cassidy! There’d just been a lot of stuff going on. Like navigating what he could get away with if he snuck away from home, or how he was going to get the presents that he been destroyed fixed. He managed it, somehow. He wasn’t sure about the quality, but he looked up online how to do it. He could have asked for help, but this was something he wanted to do on his own.
Especially since he’d been spoiled. He was still flustered just thinking about everything Evan got for him. New shoes, which he was wearing now. A new coat in a dark brown that complimented his hair. Gloves, hat, and scarf as well -- which Julian helped pick out since they’d been out shopping for things for Riker anyway.
Riker hoped not, but suspected that Evan might have been traumatized by seeing him wearing practically nothing when he rescued him on Christmas.
And that wasn’t even including the other things Evan had got him. Low stress RPGs that Riker preferred over competitive multiplayer games, and even a savings account so he didn’t have to worry about his mom taking his money.
He spotted Cassidy immediately, of course. He was hard to miss. Especially with the way he sat with his legs out like the table was too short for how long they were or something. And he was always so well dressed. And he had a bag with him that Riker could only assume was a present for him. Naturally, he was already flustered, and even more so when he saw the two strawberry cream milkshakes.
“Hey,” he greeted as he crossed the little cafe and around the other patrons. He tried not to be awkward as he took a seat next to Cassidy, rather than on the other side of the table. Someone else had backed their seat up too close to the other side of the table, anyway. It would have been a pain to make them move just to sit down farther away from Cassidy. Now he would just awkwardly work on removing his gloves and try not to fumble the own little box he’d pulled from his jacket pocket. His ears were red because of the cold, absolutely.
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Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2025 7:46 am
Right on time. And, even better than Cassidy could have expected, Riker sat down right next to him.
Cassidy lowered his phone and faced it towards the table briefly so he could properly greet Riker. “Oh, look at you! Handsome as ever. Take a selfie with me, Riker. I won’t post it online, don’t worry. It’s just for me.”
An expert with working his phone, he quickly maneuvered to his camera and stretched his arm out so he could perfectly capture the both of them in frame.
“You got a new outfit for Christmas? You look good. Mine’s new too but I’ll give you a spin when we’re leaving.” Not that he wouldn’t have loved to show off right now but he wasn’t going to waste this moment he had sitting so close to Riker. He could still feel the chill of the outside clinging to him.
It didn’t stop him from leaning in close, nearly cheek to cheek. His eyes were on the camera but he was watching Riker through the lens. “Smile! Or don’t, you’ll look good no matter what.”
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Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2025 7:58 am
Cassidy’s enthusiasm was expected, but that didn’t mean Riker wasn’t still a little awkward and unsure of what to do in response.
He didn’t pull away when Cassidy leaned close, but his smile was more of a confused grimace than anything else. Put on the spot like that, he felt like he wasn’t sure how to relax enough to smile.
“Oh… that was horrible,” he groaned when he was certain Cassidy had taken his pictures. “You’re really not going to post that, are you?” He knew he probably looked as worried as he sounded. Not that he went online, but Cassidy did. A lot. And had a lot of people who saw his stuff.
“Uh, yeah…” he mumbled awkwardly as he glanced down at his coat. He knew it must have been expensive. He felt bad for Evan spending all his money on him. He would just have to make it up to him by working extra hard around the house where Evan wouldn’t feel obligated to pay him like he would if it was the food truck.
“You, uh… look nice too.” He did! As always. Was it weird to copy a compliment like that? Probably.
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Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2025 8:00 am
“I know, thank you. I got dressed up for you so I’m glad you noticed this time.”
Cassidy had taken a few pictures, snapped in rapid succession. He held his phone up so Riker could see them as he scrolled through them. There was one shot, a split second before Riker forgot how to smile and pseudo-grimaced at the camera, just before he’d realized what was going on. Cassidy settled on that one and looked intently at it while smiling. “Oh, this is the cutest one. No, I won’t post it. It’s just for me. Don’t worry, your reputation remains unsullied.”
Finally, he set his phone down on the table, face down.
“I did post pictures of our drinks, though. Very aesthetic.” While Riker finished fiddling with his gloves, Cassidy pulled their drinks closer so Riker wouldn’t have any question that it was for him.
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Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2025 8:00 am
Riker clicked his tongue to the roof of his mouth. As if he didn’t always notice Cassidy and what he wore. He just didn’t comment on it all the time.
He was also going to ignore the way his ears burned as Cassidy picked the photo of him looking more stunned than awkward. He supposed that was the better choice, anyway. He didn’t know if it was the cutest, but he wasn’t going to insist that Cassidy delete it.
“You didn’t have to do that. Thanks,” he mumbled awkwardly as he eyed the drink that was pushed towards him. He didn’t know if he should be flattered that Cassidy remembered something he liked, or if he was really that obvious.
“Did you have a good break?” he asked, debating if he wanted to actually take off his gloves or not. His hands had mostly healed, but there were still a few bandages where the cuts were deeper or in the creases of his fingers and palm. In the end, he set the gloves down and picked up his drink. He could just hide his hands behind his cup.
He didn’t drink it right away. But that was something he’d trained himself to do. He lifted it to sip just enough to touch his lips, and then set it back down again to wait.
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Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2025 8:00 am
“I don’t have to do anything,” Cassidy assured. “If I don’t want to do something, I won’t. But you came all the way out here, through the ice and snow, to spend time with me. Of course I’d want to treat you to–”
He looked at the milkshake for a few seconds.
“More ice and snow. But with sugar, so it’s better.”
As Riker made an effort to taste his drink, Cassidy sipped at his own.
They were too close for him not to see Riker’s hands, he just pretended like he didn’t notice.
“It’s been an okay break. You’d think I was spoiled rotten if you heard what I had to complain about, anyway. Things have been a little lonely so far, I missed seeing everyone. I get a little stir crazy on my own. I start to worry about everyone if I don’t hear from them for too long. I’ve got friends I haven’t heard from in weeks, months! How do I know they’re not dead? I need daily check-ins from everyone.”
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Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2025 8:02 am
Riker gave Cassidy a weary look when he insisted that the ice and snow was better with sugar. It was, but Cassidy only seemed to think about it as an afterthought.
It wasn’t annoying, maybe to Riker’s surprise. He found himself having to force the semi-exasperated look while trying not to let his lip twitch into a grin.
He didn’t think it was that weird not to hear from people in so long. Some people just kept to themselves. And he certainly wasn’t one to get in touch with everyone he knew daily. He didn’t want to harass them with updates. Besides, he would get his ego crushed to find out they didn’t care about updates as much as he suspected they didn’t.
Besides, it was a little dramatic to think that people were dead after not hearing from them. Even if he’d almost--
Color seemed to blanch from Riker’s face as he suddenly realized he hadn’t been in touch with Cassidy as Reims. Not since before the incident when he’d kind of died. Was he talking about Reims? Was that who he hadn’t heard from?
“I’m sure everyone is fine,” he tried not to choke on the words, and took a sip before waiting as long as he usually did--
Oh… but he didn’t start to have an allergic reaction, so this was probably fine to drink.
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Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2025 8:02 am
Cassidy hid what might have been a smirk behind his straw and chewed on it thoughtfully. “You think?” he asked around it, before humming contemplatively.
“Well, maybe. Everyone tells me how dangerous Destiny City’s gotten, and I’ve promised so many people I’ll be careful. Worrying is contagious! Maybe I’ve just spent too much time around Julian,” he laughed. It took a moment longer before Cassidy shrugged once more. “Well, maybe you’re right. We’ll see. Hey, I got you a present. Don’t be worried, it’s nothing scandalous. You can open it in public.”
He shifted in his seat, making a deliberately showy effort to uncross his legs, just to recross them opposite of what they had been. He left his drink on the table so he could place the bag in his lap but he held it close so Riker couldn’t peek.
“You want it now?”
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Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2025 8:03 am
“Destiny City is dangerous?” Riker tried to scoff, but his voice was too high to be believable. He cleared his throat and pretended like he was just choking or something. That probably was just as unbelievable.
“You’ve definitely been spending too much time around Julian. And too much time in Mr. Reid’s class. He worries about everything. It’s definitely contagious,” he insisted as he eyed the gift that Cassidy said was for him. He assumed it was, but he also didn’t want to expect anything. It just would have been pretty shitty to have a gift sitting out when it wasn’t for him.
“Yeah, sure, here,” he agreed and practically threw the small box wrapped in snowflake paper down on the table. A little more aggressively than he’d intended. He winced at the sound it made and ducked his head down in case anyone glanced over at them.
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Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2025 8:03 am
“Riker! It’s not a game, you don’t have to be tossing things,” Cassidy laughed, probably only giving Riker a hard time because he couldn’t reciprocate the action. It would look like he was just trying to beat him with the bag.
With no shame, Cassidy sat up in his seat. If anyone thought they were being too rowdy he was more than happy to draw their attention. He didn’t think anyone looked but it was still cute how Riker shirked away.
“I don’t spend any more time in Mr. Reid’s class than you do! Oh, but I was over there last week and he was worrying about the tree being too dry. I guess they’ve got a good reason to worry about fire but it was still silly. He made Math Mr. Reid go on the roof to check the wires.”
Cassidy lifted the box Riker had been so eager to get rid of, and as he held it in one hand, he moved the bag into Riker’s lap.
“If you don’t like it, you can just forget it at my house and I’ll keep it,” he said, good natured and unbothered. Inside the bag was a sweater, much like one he was wearing, only in a deep burgundy color. It was soft to the touch and made well, comfortable and warm. Cassidy kept his head tilted towards Riker so he could see him open it, but at the same time he enthusiastically tore upon the paper to see his own gift.
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Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2025 8:04 am
The wary look continued as Cassidy spoke. Riker was used to Cassidy talking a lot. He didn’t mind it. Surprisingly. It was easier than coming up with things to say, himself.
He knew why the Reids were probably worried about fires, but he couldn’t exactly explain why without revealing too much, so he focused on pulling out the sweater instead.
The number of nice sweaters he owned was, well, few. A couple from Evan. An old one that Dawn gave him a few years back that he was still fond of. And now this pretty burgundy one.
Riker sat quietly as he held the sweater, smoothing his hand over the plush knit pattern, surprised by how soft it was. He squished it between his fingers, and then held it against his chest.
“Thanks,” he mumbled, still fiddling with the sleeve as he stared down at the table. He felt guilty for not getting Cassidy something more practical. And he really did happen to like the sweater. He just didn’t know what else to say.
In Cassidy’s box was the fixed bracelet that he had to figure out. The red spinel beads had all been collected and strung back together, but he was worried that it would end up falling apart again.
“Sorry, I liked the color, I guess,” he shrugged, wondering if he could ask to take it back so he could get him something else, or if he could just get him another present that wasn’t so boring. Cassidy probably had a ton of bracelets anyway.
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Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2025 8:04 am
“Ah, it’s beautiful!” Cassidy immediately held it up to admire. “They’re practically the color of your eyes! I’ll wear it and it’s like your eyes will always be on me!”
He suffered the chill of rolling up his sleeve so he could slide it onto his wrist, where he continued to admire it. The light caught the beads well and he continuously adjusted the angle so he could appreciate it.
“You like dark colors so I didn’t want to get you something that would stand out too much,” he explained of the sweater, “But I didn’t want to just get you something black. That’s a good color for your complexion. And I love these sweaters, it’s my favorite brand. Any time you wear it, you’ll have to think of me, too. And it’ll be like I’m giving you a hug, haha! Riker, I love this bracelet. Thank you.”
He brought it down to eye level and kept his sleeve rolled up even as he placed his hand flat atop the table so he could continue looking at it. “What’s it made out of?”
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Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2025 8:05 am
Oh… he supposed the color was similar to his eyes. He hadn’t really thought of it when he picked them up. They were probably the color of his ears now, too.
Although, it was kind of weird to think that Cassidy was imagining his eyes on him all the time.
“Oh, it’s red sp--” he started and then paused, trying to process if it was something he should tell Cassidy, or if Cassidy would think too much into it. They were just pretty rocks! They had absolutely no meaning that actually meant anything! And he definitely didn’t get the idea because-- oh… Cassidy had gotten Reims the bracelet, not Riker.
He frowned, clutching to the sweater a bit tighter as he tried to process everything. It was his own fault but… he might have switched the presents. Because even though Cassidy hadn’t heard from Reims, Riker had purchased something to be both from himself and his other identity.
Now that he was sitting in front of Cassidy, maybe the stationary should have been from Riker, and the bracelet from Reims.
“It was just a nice color. I don’t remember,” he lied, making sure to reach out and drink some more of his milkshake so it wouldn’t go to waste. And also to stop himself from talking.
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Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2025 8:05 am
“I thought it was spinel, it’s different from glass or crystal, or ruby,” Cassidy said, like he’d already expected what Riker was going to say.
Poor Riker was always getting himself tongue tied but Cassidy wouldn’t have changed that about him. He loved the little slip ups, the little invitations into his true thoughts or intentions.
“Did you really only pick this because it’s a nice color? Maybe it called to you. You know, the crystals can. In their own way. They sync with your chakra and guide your energy. Like a magnet. Did you know that red spinel has a lot of symbolism? I know everything about it. It’s my birthstone,” he said, as if that made him an expert. He was enjoying himself.
And enjoying Riker’s very visible flush.
“It’s supposed to embody passion and longevity. Which suits me well! I’ve got a lot of passion. And I’m good at not dying. Spinel is good at enhancing strength and attractiveness. It’s good for healing, like spiritually and it improves blood circulation. My mom practically shoved them down my throat when I was in the hospital, haha! But they’re still some of my favorites. They’re enlightening, really good at helping clear up your mind and your chakra. You didn’t know this?” he teased.
“It’s supposed to disperse negative thinking and loneliness, and make you feel more enlightened so you can solve problems and grow. Also it’s a huge boost to energy. It revitalizes and re-energizes and it’s great for boosting confidence. Like I need that though, right? Haha. It’s a really good crystal, Riker.”
He leaned against him, just slightly, and smiled.
“And the color! I really like it, Riker. Thank you. But I bet you put more thought into it than just how pretty it was.”
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