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 Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2025 7:51 am
Upstairs, Julian had done as much as possible to make things comfortable in preparation for their return. He’d changed the bedsheets and pillowcases, and gotten more pillows and blankets ready. He had a string of lights on still, and the television was now playing some old sitcom. Julian wasn’t watching, it was just to keep some noise in the room. He’d put away the ice pack he’d been using. At some point he’d changed into his pajamas, which consisted of sweatpants and an oversized sweatshirt. It wasn’t unzipped but the t-shirt he was wearing underneath was as bland as all of his other clothing. His socks, a gift from Talia, were the most interesting part of his entire outfit.
Julian’s hair was tied back and he’d already washed his face–a bit too roughly judging by how red it was–but he didn’t seem like he was thinking much about that.
He hadn’t heard Riker or Cassidy come up, but he’d just finished moving some of the furniture a bit to give them more room. He’d put away some of his things to make sure there was plenty of space, maybe most notably his violin, but he’d been hiding it in the closet more often lately.
Soleiyu had obviously just been up here, because Julian was absentmindedly lint rolling the bed he’d just made. He wanted it to be perfect and welcoming for Cassidy; he knew it was important to Riker.
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Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2025 7:58 am
Riker felt his ears burn when Cassidy whispered to him. He wasn’t entirely sure what had sparked his desire to kiss him but… probably because he hadn’t when he left him at his home before and regretted it. Now that they were safe and Cassidy wasn’t alone in some dark house, Riker was feeling a bit more relaxed.
Even if he was sure Soleiyu was going to blackmail him in some way. He cringed a little at Zac’s voice and hurried up the stairs, practically dragging Cassidy behind him.
He gave the door a little knock as he pushed it open, not wanting to startle Julian.
“Jules, was that cat harassing you? I’m going to tell Evan to make sure that cat stays out of this room,” he grumbled, placing Cassidy’s bag on the ground before looking around to see what Julian had cleaned up.
“You could have moved my stuff too,” he frowned a little, because of course he noticed that Julian’s violin was missing, but the special stand with his guitar was still neatly in the corner. “I mean, you don’t have to move my stuff. I can do that. But don’t feel like you can’t touch it. Hey, Evan is making some grilled cheese. In case you wanted any,” he said with clear intent of giving Julian a heads up. He didn’t want him to be surprised. The tomato soup was one thing, but maybe Julian wanted a grilled cheese as well, while also not being miserable all night.
“Can I help with anything? I mean, it looks like you got everything already.”
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Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2025 7:59 am
Julian turned quickly, holding the lint roller close.
“Oh–no,” he said quickly, but aware that the response was vague, he was quick to clarify, “Soleiyu was just visiting, he wasn’t bothering me. I think he’s just curious about things. Um, with the lights and all, and–well, I mean, it’s just a bit weird for him.”
He couldn’t exactly say that Soleiyu was making his rounds and checking in on the wiring, but he was sure Riker could infer that Soleiyu had been up here to do Mauvian things.
“I didn’t mind. I think he left because he heard you and wanted to say hello. But–oh, hi, Cassidy,” he waved, trying to stay on task.
Cassidy, unflustered, practically purred, “Hi, Julian.”
He was still holding onto Riker but it was sort of a lazy attachment, like he didn’t want Julian to think he was trying to be territorial.
“I cleared out some space, um–just in case,” he insisted to Riker, already moving to the desk drawer where he kept his medicine. He didn’t want to draw a lot of attention to it so he used his back as a shield to hide behind. He already had a bottle of water on the desk and he’d done this so many times that it was practically slight of hand. “I didn’t want to move your things, it’s okay! We didn’t need that much space. And I wasn’t planning on playing mine any time soon.”
If Cassidy noted Julian being evasive, it didn’t seem any more than normal. “I appreciate you guys letting me come over,” he said, leaning against Riker a little. “I promise I’ll try not to be too much of a bed hog.”
“Oh–that’s okay,” Julian insisted. “I think there should be space so you can take as much as you need. I don’t take up much room.” Which was true, he could probably find a way to sleep in the space between the bed and the wall if he had to, but there was a decent amount of room on the bed if they were willing to be close. He slept next to Riker often enough that he didn’t mind and knew what to expect. “Was, um, was the trip over okay?” he asked, tugging at the sleeves of his sweatshirt as he looked between the two.
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Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2025 7:59 am
Riker knew Julian was private about his medicine, so he also did his best to keep Cassidy distracted by tugging him over to the corner of the room where Julian’s violin usually was set up, but instead it was just his guitar. He supposed he would believe him about Soleiyu, but he expected that damn cat to do something that got him into trouble.
“The trip over was fine. Dark. Cassidy said some of his neighbors had their windows broken by whatever low pressure hit the city. You didn’t see any tornado, right? I wonder what the news will be like once the power comes back on.”
He didn’t seem at all concerned about the space on the bed. They’d slept together in that bed before, and that was when he’d been injured. Now, Cassidy could cling to him all he wanted. And Riker had every intention of keeping both him and Julian close.
Not that he would say it out loud, but he was kind of excited for it. It seemed so stupid to like the idea of being able to fall asleep with two people who matter a lot to him beside him. He allowed himself a few moments to think about Énna and Dawn and hope they’re both doing okay, but distracted himself by picking up the guitar by the base of the neck for the best support for it without grabbing the strings.
“I’m still learning. Julian has been a huge help teaching me. But look at the inlay, isn’t it neat?” He was still very happy about it, so of course he wanted to show it off.
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Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2025 7:59 am
Julian’s brows knitted together again. “A tornado? No, I didn’t see anything. Or hear anything, either. I think it’s been pretty quiet? Maxim was a little antsy earlier but he seems, um, like he’s in a good mood?”
“He seems like he’s in a great mood,” Cassidy agreed, and leaned in close to examine the guitar more. “It’s really pretty.” He’d seen the guitar before but didn’t mind the show and tell. Was Riker trying to distract him from whatever Julian had going on? It was mostly working. Especially because it gave him an excuse to lean in close.
Cassidy still felt a little sniffly from before, and out of habit he mopped at his face again, even if his eyes had long since dried.
“I should have brought over my accordion, we could have all played something. Oh, but Julian? You aren’t playing your violin? Why?”
Though Julian paused, he neither looked up nor turned to face Cassidy when he asked. “Oh, I wasn’t paying attention and hurt my hand a little. It’ll be okay. But I should be focusing on school a bit more so I’m just going to take a small break.”
“Aw, too bad. I was hoping I could hear you play sometime. Well I hope you feel better soon. Summer’s coming up soon so I hope you’ll have time. I want to play with both of you.” He reached out to run his fingers across the inlay, admiring how beautiful it looked. “Will you play me something sometime? I know you’ve been practicing for a while now.”
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Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2025 7:59 am
Cassidy was a good sport, as always. Always indulgent and thinking ahead. Riker cast an appreciative glance his way, because while he didn’t think it necessary to hide things about Julian from Cassidy, he knew Julian was self conscious and didn’t like the attention.
He would have kissed him again if Julian wasn’t there. Not that he thought Julian would mind, but he didn’t want to be rude. He wanted to give them both the attention they deserved.
So instead, as Riker leaned over to place the guitar back on its stand, now that Julian wasn’t digging out his medicine, he placed a hand on Cassidy’s back as though to keep himself from falling over.
“Yeah I can play you something sometime. Maybe not right now since we should be getting ready for bed, and I don’t want Zac to come yell at us for making too much noise. We’ll have plenty of time this summer to form a band,” Riker decided, in agreement with Cassidy and flashing them both a little grin of amusement. “Did you know Mr. Reid was in a band? I bet he could give us some pointers.”
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Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2025 7:59 am
“Elliot did mention it, but he loves to talk about his dads,” Cassidy mused. “Have you ever heard any of his music? I don’t think I have, but now I want to. You think they’d let us borrow their garage for the summer?” Of course they would, Cassidy just had to go find Oliver and give him big, sad eyes and talk about how much he missed his friends and he’d crumble.
“I wonder if he can give me any pointers? I don’t really even know how to play the accordion,” he explained to Julian, “I just go by ear.”
Of course, Julian nodded. “That’s okay, that’s really neat,” he said encouragingly. “I can’t do that, I have to have sheet music.”
“Really? Well I guess it’s good if you can read it. What kind of band is that, guitar and accordion and violin? I don’t know any drummers. Mm. Atticus,” he decided, though the corners of his lips were already curling up at the thought.
Julian sat down in his desk chair, probably in an effort to let Riker and Cassidy get settled in first. He was in his pajamas already so if he got into bed, he might just fall asleep. He grabbed one of the extra pillows and placed it in his lap, hugging it close so he could hunch over a little bit while crossing his legs in the chair. He wore a little smile, but he was far less chatty than Cassidy, tonight even moreso. He was just doing his best to play normal; things were already weird enough.
Cassidy patted Riker’s arm. “You play me something and I’ll play you something. Hope you like polka. I’ll try to make it sexy.”
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Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2025 8:00 am
Riker snorted quietly at Cassidy’s suggestions. All of them. Especially about making polka sexy, even if it turned his ears a bit red.
“I guess I’m a bit of both? A little by ear but--”
He caught himself before he could mention the organ. Obviously he shouldn’t have access to an organ. He didn’t want Cassidy immediately thinking about Reims, especially since he’d just been there.
He cleared his throat and shrugged, but cast a little glance over at Julian. He looked so tired, but was being so polite and indulging him and Cassidy. And Julian did such a good job with his shield. Wasn’t paying attention, sure, maybe Cassidy could believe that, but Riker would have to make sure Julian healed up nicely. It was the least he could do after Julian kept everyone safe.
“Maybe we can switch it up, too. I can try the accordion and you can try my guitar,” he offered, once again making sure he had Cassidy’s hand so he could lead him over to the edge of the bed to sit.
“That would be hilarious seeing Atticus play the drums. I bet Elliot would be good. He seems to have the energy for it.”
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Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2025 8:00 am
Julian, as if instinctively aware that Riker’s eyes had found him, met his gaze and smiled. There was a tiredness in his eyes, more than just physical, and he probably knew he wasn’t hiding it well because he lowered his gaze as he settled more into the chair.
Cassidy had flopped onto the bed and laid back, looking at the ceiling. He could make out a very faint glow from the stars on the ceiling but it had obviously been a while since they’d been properly illuminated.
“Elliot’s good at everything,” he huffed. “Don’t invite him to our band, he’ll be better than all of us without even trying.”
He was teasing, obviously; he had nothing against Elliot and liked him quite a bit. When they weren’t competing. “Poor Atticus would probably cry. But you know, I bet it’d be good for him to work out some of his frustration, I just know he’s bottling it all up.”
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Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2025 8:00 am
No, Julian wasn’t hiding it very well. At least not from Riker. He could read that smile. That everything is okay, please don’t worry smile. Except the rest of his body language spoke of exhaustion.
“You think so, about Atticus? I can never tell. He looks like he’s fine,” Riker shrugged, but it wasn’t as though he’d spent a lot of time with him. “Elliot is good at everything,” he scoffed, turning to watch as Cassidy got comfortable on the bed. He was the only one not in his pajamas but that was fine. It wouldn’t take long for him to get changed. And he promised Cassidy he would sleep without a shirt, so that made it even faster.
“I’m gonna see if Evan needs any help carrying stuff up. Jules, why not lay down? You’ve got the farthest in to go, so you’ll have to climb over us if you don’t get comfortable now,” he suggested. Maybe Julian would fall asleep before he got back.
“Can I get either of you anything? Something to drink with your grilled cheese and soup?”
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Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2025 8:01 am
Before answering, Julian looked to Cassidy, like he was trying to read what he wanted before deciding for himself. He was debating on if he should politely decline or if he should oblige and get in bed. He liked Cassidy! It was just different if he was up here, alone, in bed with him. Without Riker.
“What?” Cassidy asked, propping himself up on his elbows. His brows had knitted together and his face settled into a pout. “You’re such a goody two shoes too,” he huffed, but he had that little smile on his face again, that said he liked Riker even if he was running off so soon.
“The only thing I want is you, so don’t take too long.”
Julian, still holding the pillow, decided that he should get in bed. It would have been inconvenient for everyone else if he didn’t. “Um, we have some drinks here,” he said, nodding to the mini-fridge. “I think it’s just some soda and water. Just, um, you don’t have to bring anything up if that works.”
“Oh–yeah, that works for me,” Cassidy said. “Don’t work too hard, Riker.” For all the teasing, there was a seriousness in his words. “Come back soon. Or else I’ll wind up wrapped around Julian, and I think you’d let me get away with drooling on you but I don’t want to do that to him.”
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Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2025 8:01 am
“Please don’t,” he made a face at the thought of Cassidy drooling on Julian. Poor Julian. He didn’t deserve that.
Riker watched as Julian seemed to debate whether he was going to get up or not. He wasn’t going to harass him about it, but he had a feeling that he’d get up soon, so he didn’t bother lingering. Was it a little manipulative to play against Julian’s need to make other people comfortable and happy? Probably, but it was for Julian’s own good, whether he knew it or not.
“Alright, well, let me know if you want me to read off what soda we have, and I can pass a couple over,” he offered, because if they were going to be getting into bed, there was no need to get out again if he could just get things for them.
“I’ll be back soon,” he promised. He grabbed some pajama pants on the way to the door and tossed them over his shoulder.
He wasn’t too quiet about heading down the stairs, and at the bottom he glanced around to see if he could spot what Soleiyu was working on. Or if Zac was still hanging around. He tried not to think about Zac kissing Evan. Gross.
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Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2025 8:01 am
Soleiyu was at the workbench on the other side of the garage, and to an unsuspecting eye he might have looked like a cat looking for something to knock over. He was reading something off of a small screen and had cleaned up just a bit. He didn’t even look up when Riker came down; he could see who it was through a reflective sheet of metal next to his station.
The kitchen smelled like butter and cheese and the garage door was open just a crack so it all filtered through.
There were quiet voices on the other side, and then Evan made an audible, disgruntled noise while Zac laughed.
A few seconds later, the door opened completely and Zac paused mid-step so he wouldn’t run into Riker. He’d stolen a grilled cheese sandwich and had taken a large bite already. Riker wasn’t much shorter than Zac but he still had a few inches to go. So, Zac reached out with his free hand to muss up his hair. “Isn’t it past your bedtime? It’s past Evan’s, you’re not supposed to let him cook too late. You’ve seen Gremlins, haven’t you?” he asked, well aware that Riker still had quite a list of movies he needed to see. He and Julian had been making good progress but for every movie they made it through, Zac thought of two more to add to the list.
Zac himself looked a bit tired, but he looked like he had too much of a purpose to head to bed yet. How was he supposed to sleep tonight? They were lucky he wasn’t out patrolling.
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Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2025 8:02 am
It was Riker’s turn to make a disgruntled noise when Zac ruffled his hair. He immediately lifted his hand to smooth out his bangs, making another face at the questions.
“What’s that?” he scoffed at what he could only assume was another movie that Zac wanted them to watch. “You’re just making him stay up longer if you eat what he makes,” he pointed out, because now Evan would have to make another. It was fine, he could tell him to skip his.
He could see Soleiyu over in the corner of course, and Riker could tell that Zac was probably exhausted, but still acting as though he was unstoppable.
“Uh…” he started awkwardly, but was already inching towards the door to escape. “Thanks for, you know, keeping an eye on Evan tonight.”
He would have been with Malus to keep him safe, if his friends weren’t also there. So he was grateful that Zac was at least there to watch over them when he couldn’t.
But it was also embarrassing to thank him, so he just shrugged.
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Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2025 8:02 am
Zac gave Riker a series of incredulous looks and then took another bite of the sandwich as Riker very obviously inched away.
“You think I haven’t been keeping an eye on Evan since he was younger than you? Don’t thank me for that.” Maybe he’d have been better off if Zac had never been in his life. But then, maybe he’d have gotten himself in worse trouble. Zac didn’t dwell on how things could have gone ‘right’ when he could think of all the points where they went ‘wrong’.
“Nothing’s going to happen to him while I’m around. Thank yourself for not getting hurt. He’d have been really upset if something happened to you.” Evan stress-cooked when he needed to process his emotions, so a kitchen full of grilled cheese wouldn’t have been uncommon on a bad night.
Now, he only had two pans out. So, that was an improvement.
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