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 Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2026 11:13 am
At first, Cassidy's teasing helped.
It was ridiculous enough that Riker could almost breathe. Drugs? Puppies? Dawn? His brow furrowed deeper with each suggestion, expression shifting from confusion to mild offense to outright horror.
"I didn't get Dawn pregnant," he blurted, because obviously that was the part his brain decided needed urgent clarification. "Why would you even—?"
But Cassidy kept going, and Riker tried to let the teasing make it easier. Casual. Normal.
Then Cassidy said 'reams.'
Riker went still. Not all at once. It was more like a delay or a short circuit. His brain had stumbled over the word and needed an extra second to catch up. Then it did, and the air seemed to leave the room along with it.
His eyes lifted to meet Cassidy's.
"You…" His voice caught, so he swallowed and tried again, quieter. "You knew."
It wasn't a question.
His hand twitched near his neck, toward the scar, but he stopped himself before he touched it. Somehow, that made it worse. Proof that he knew exactly which pieces someone might use to figure him out.
For a second, he couldn't decide which part scared him more. That Cassidy had figured it out, or that Cassidy had known and said nothing. That he'd been waiting. That Riker had made him wait.
"I was going to tell you," he said quickly, too quickly, like he might be able to fix things if he just said everything fast enough. "I wanted to. I just— I didn't know how. Last time I told someone, it messed everything up, and I know this is different, I know you're different, but…"
Enna had stopped talking to him for months. Cassidy had already been hurt because of him before. The hospital. The silence. The way Riker had been too much of a coward to show up when Cassidy needed him.
His stomach twisted, along with all of those promises of how he'd drop everything for him. He would! Now. Back then… things had been different.
"How long?" he asked, and now the question sounded smaller, along with his voice. Not accusing. Just… worried. "How long have you known?"
Because if it had been a while, then Cassidy had been carrying that too. Another thing Riker hadn't meant to put on him.
His gaze lowered guiltily, jaw tight.
"I didn't want to drag you deeper into this. I didn't want you to get hurt because of me. And I didn't want to tell you wrong and make you look at me like…" He stopped, breath catching on the words.
Like Enna had. Like someone who realized Riker had been standing in front of him, lying to his face.
He shook his head, frustrated with himself more than anything.
"I'm not mad at you," he said, finally looking back up. There was panic in his eyes, but it didn't outweigh the guilt. "I'm not. You didn't do anything wrong. I just—"
He pressed his lips together, trying to keep himself from spiraling and doing a terrible job of it. At least he hadn't tried to run out of the room yet.
"If you figured it out, then I messed up somewhere. And if I messed up, I don't know who else could figure it out. And if you've known for a while, then I made you keep quiet about something I should've trusted you with."
He paused for a moment, before his voice dropped again. Fragile and honest. "I didn't want to hurt you again."
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2026 11:13 am
“Riker,” Cassidy said, standing upright. “Calm down, it’s fine.”
He wanted to tell the truth. Almost did.
Opened his mouth, ready to spill–and then, he thought about lying.
And lying suddenly seemed so much better.
Because really–did Riker need to know how, or when? He was already juggling so much, and Cassidy didn’t want to see him tear himself apart. Especially not because of him.
He was blaming himself, criticizing himself. Overthinking things. Probably going to get really mad at himself.
For all the fun he thought he’d have pulling the rug out from under Riker, now he just felt bad.
“You didn’t hurt me.” He didn’t clarify if he meant now, or back then, because it didn’t matter. He’d rather Riker absolve himself of blame anyway. The past was in the past, who cared.
“And you didn’t make me do anything.” Could anyone make him do anything?
Riker probably shouldn’t be so quick to decide he wasn’t mad at Cassidy, considering he had his own secret he was sitting on. And might keep sitting on. He hadn’t decided yet.
“It’s not a big deal. I only meant to tease you. Anyway. It was just a lucky guess. I get involved in weird stuff too–I mean, you live in Destiny City for long enough,” he shrugged. “I guess you kind of just learn to keep an open mind.”
Riker looked so worried, so anxious, so ready to beat himself up, so Cassidy reached out to brush his fingertips against Riker’s. “I’ve never gotten hurt because of you. I think it’s cool that you’re magical and stuff. Being some hero, you know. It suits you.”
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2026 11:13 am
Riker did not calm down just because Cassidy told him to. If anything, his brows furrowed harder, like his body was taking the suggestion under advisement and rejecting it on principle. But Cassidy's fingertips brushed his, and that helped more than words did. Riker caught his hand carefully, lacing their fingers together before Cassidy could pull away.
He held on for a moment, staring down at their joined hands, then lifted Cassidy's hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss against his knuckles.
It didn't fix the panic, but it at least gave him something real to focus on. Something to help the relief that flooded his chest to settle into something more reasonable, because Cassidy wasn't upset. He wasn't looking at him like he'd been betrayed. He wasn't using it against him. He wasn't pulling away.
Riker kissed his fingers again, softer this time, and kept them close.
"You're too perceptive for your own good," he mumbled, still sounding a little distressed but indeed calming. "A lucky guess, sure."
He knew he didn't sound convinced, but he didn't sound angry either. Just a bit shaken. Cautiously relieved. Still trying to figure out what it meant that Cassidy had known and had just… let him be. Let him get there on his own.
He glanced back up at Cassidy, wary but softer now.
"How long have you been sitting on that?" he asked, then the frown he attempted shifted into something more of a pout. "Have you just been waiting for the perfect chance to use reams in a sentence? Because that was terrible."
And unfortunately effective, which he was absolutely not going to admit.
He absently brushed his thumb over Cassidy's knuckles, not sure how to stop himself from touching him now that he knew Cassidy wasn't going to disappear.
"Thank you," he said after a moment. "For not being mad. Or making it worse. Or… holding it over my head."
He leaned in to press another kiss to Cassidy's hand, lingering longer than before.
"I know I probably made it weird," he admitted. "I just need to figure out what this means now. Not in a bad way," he added quickly, looking up again. "Just… I thought I was still trying to decide how to tell you, and you already knew." He hummed thoughtfully, brows still punched together. More bewilderment than panic now.
"And I'm not a hero," he added before Cassidy could get the wrong idea about him. "I just got lucky enough to defend myself. And sometimes other people. That's all."
That wasn't all. He knew that wasn't all. But calling himself a hero felt… too much. Like it absolved him of things he hadn't done penance for yet. Like he was someone who knew what they were doing and not tripping over every important thing in his life.
He drew Cassidy's hand closer, pressing it to his chest like maybe Cassidy could feel the proof of his words in how fast his heart was still beating.
"I did want to tell you," he said again, softer. "I still do. Properly. Not because you guessed. Because I trust you. Because you're an important part of my life."
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2026 11:13 am
Cassidy shrugged, a little dismissively, without much flamboyance, when Riker spoke. Not about the last part–he knew he was important to Riker–but about the other things. Riker was a little all over the place–which was great, if he’d wanted a distraction about Julian–but now there was a different door open, and the subject was scattered enough that Cassidy wasn’t even sure what Riker actually wanted him to address.
Nothing too stressful, probably. Riker’s heart was somewhere between fluttering wildly and pounding rudely.
“Thinking back on it,” Cassidy said slowly, as if he had not thought about it often, “you technically saved me from a youma. So I think that counts as heroics.”
Cassidy didn’t really deserve the praise Riker lavished him with. He would have liked to hold it over his head and teased him about it.
But it really just felt wrong.
He pressed his lips into a tight smile, a little less lopsided than usual, and buried the thought. Probably wasn’t a good time to mention anyone else, either. Now, or ever, if this conversation was so nerve-wracking.
Too bad, he’d enjoyed dropping all those hints.
“But you really don’t need to worry, you didn’t make anything weird. What do you need to figure out about what this ‘means now’–what do you think is going to change?”
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2026 11:14 am
Riker watched Cassidy for a moment, quiet while he tried to decide what to do with the shift in him.
Cassidy was being careful, and Riker understood why. He appreciated it, even. But it also made something twist uncomfortably in his chest, because Cassidy seemed more serious now, and Riker wasn't sure what to do with that either.
"I don't know what I think is going to change," he admitted after a moment, still holding Cassidy's hand to his chest, thumb brushing over his knuckles. "That's the problem. Last time, everything changed, so I guess I was… expecting the sky to fall. But you knowing doesn't feel bad. It feels… weird. Not because it's you. I just thought I was still trying to figure out how to tell you."
He grimaced a little, flustered all over again, but at least this time it wasn't in panic. Just embarrassment from realizing how much time he'd spent rehearsing an unnecessary confession.
"I thought maybe I'd do it later," he admitted, glancing away. "In the hot tub or something. Not because—" His ears warmed immediately. "Not because of the hot tub. Just because you'd already have me there, and maybe you'd feel too bad to kick me out."
He paused, making a somewhat horrified face at himself.
"That sounds worse when I say it out loud," he cringed. "I wasn't trying to emotionally trap you in your own hot tub.
"And technically," Riker continued, huffing because if they were going to talk about the things he did… "I also saved you from the world possibly ending when that giant space serpent tried to eat Earth. So. If we're discussing heroics." Of course that was followed by another face, because it sounded kind of insane.
"Which I'm sure you already heard all about while you were stuck with Rose and Cynthus," he muttered, flustered. "Mostly Cynthus, because she loves gossip and apparently can't be stopped. Hopefully Rose made it sound less—" He paused, searching for the word. "—humiliating."
Probably not. Cynthus had probably made it worse. At least Cassidy was still speaking to him after all of that.
"I'm not upset that you knew," he said, more seriously now as he let out a sigh and glanced down at Cassidy's hand on his chest. "I just… got scared for a second. Not because of you. Because I thought maybe I'd messed something up without realizing it. Or that telling you would hurt you somehow. Or make you look at me differently. But you don't. I mean, I don't think you do."
That part was still a little hard to believe. Not because Cassidy hadn't given him reason to believe it, but because Riker knew his head was stubborn and cruel when it wanted to be.
He looked back up at Cassidy, then frowned a little, but it was softer than before.
"You're being really serious," he observed. "Which is fine. I know this is serious. But you haven't wrapped your arms around me in, like, five minutes."
He said it grumpily enough that it might have sounded like a complaint, but there was also something vulnerable under it. Something much more awkward and sincere.
"I guess what changes is… I don't have to hide that part of me from you anymore. I don't have to make up excuses when I disappear, or pretend I don't know things as Riker that I've told you as Reims. Or act like I'm two different people all the time."
He paused and let out a quiet breath.
"That actually sounds more relieving than I thought it would. So… I'm okay. Mostly," he said but his brows furrowed a little. "But reams was still terrible. You should probably feel bad about it."
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2026 11:14 am
“I do not feel bad about it in the slightest,” Cassidy hummed, which was mostly true. He probably could have kept it in his pocket for a while longer, probably could have picked a better time.
…But Riker said it was relieving to know he wouldn’t have to come up with his lies anymore, so maybe that was one burden off his shoulders at least.
Knowing Riker, he’d just find something else to replace it, anyway.
“Are you really so upset that I didn’t have my arms wrapped around you for five minutes? You could have hugged me too, you know. Here, come here,” he said, and wrapped his good arm behind Riker’s shoulder, and his–
His less good arm around his waist.
“I like how you switched up on the ‘oh no, i’m not a hero’ so fast. Cynthus and Rose were lovely. It was like hanging out with old friends.” He patted Riker’s back reassuringly. “We shared plenty of gossip, lots of fun. Hardly even remembered the world was in danger. And then you came back to take us home, and all was right in the universe.”
Riker had wanted a hug, so Cassidy would give him one, for as long as he needed. Of course, he could feel how tense Riker’s back was with practically no probing, so he knew he was going to have his work cut out for him later.
“It’s cute that you were planning a hot tub confession, though. Anything else you want to share?”
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2026 11:14 am
"I wasn't upset," Riker huffed. "I just noticed."
Which sounded ridiculous, even to him.
He shifted closer when Cassidy pulled him in, careful of his shoulder even as he wrapped his own arms around him with obvious relief. One hand settled at Cassidy's back, the other lower at his waist. Not too tight, just enough to make it clear that, yes, he wanted this.
"I didn't want to overstep," he added, quieter as he pressed his face against Cassidy's hair. "Which sounds stupid when you've already kissed me against a wall and I was planning to confess in your hot tub so you'd feel too bad to kick me out."
He huffed again, his ears burning, but he held Cassidy a little more securely regardless.
"And I'm still not a hero," he mumbled, though there wasn't much fight in it. "But I can tell when I'm not going to win, so I'm not wasting my breath."
At the question, Riker was quiet for a moment.
"Maybe," he admitted. He brushed his hand over Cassidy's back, his fingers at Cassidy's waist curling into the fabric of his shirt before releasing again.
"I thought about you a lot while I was gone," he said, staring somewhere over Cassidy's shoulder. "It was weird without you there. With the team, I mean. I know you couldn't be, but it still felt like you should've been. I kept turning to tell you things, or complain about Elliot, and then remembering I had to text you instead. Just… stupid stuff I wanted to tell you. Practice, games, things that reminded me of you. Which was annoying because a lot of things apparently remind me of you. So… yeah, there's another thing." He cleared his throat, awkward but sincere. "You're distracting and I missed you."
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2026 11:14 am
Cassidy was glad they were in a hug so Riker couldn’t see the way his face fell. In the reflection of one of the glossy fridge magnets, Cassidy saw the bitterness, and hated it.
Being stuck here was weird to him, too. When the rest of the team had gone off for an important game.
Of course, ‘the team’ meant something different, now. It wasn’t his team anymore.
He wasn’t a part of it.
Well, except when he whined and stomped his foot and gave them puppy-dog eyes and they pitied him enough to let him tag along and pretend. He’d been practicing with his other arm, but he hadn’t gotten good enough before the season started.
He’d have been there if he could have been. Wanted to be there. He’d pouted to the coach and presented a case, but to no avail. Too many days of missing school when he wasn’t even able to play.
Cassidy half-thought about skipping for as long as Riker was gone, just out of spite.
But poor Atticus and Énna and Julian would have been so lonely.
…And what was he going to do at home, alone?
Suddenly, Cassidy patted Riker on the back, and squeezed him tightly.
“Haha,” he chirped. “Well, I heard my replacement isn’t too bad. I saw some clips of the game online. You guys looked good out there. I mean, not all of you. But you looked good.”
He rested his chin against Riker’s shoulder.
“I thought about you a lot while you were gone, too. It’s very lonely when you’re gone, I sat around and waited for you to text me all day. Wasted away without you. Thought about sending you some scandalous selfies, but I figured that would be too distracting, and you had a game to win, after all. But it’s very sweet that I live rent free in your head, I’m flattered.”
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2026 11:14 am
Riker frowned at the word replacement. He knew what Cassidy meant. He knew it was supposed to be light, or at least light enough that Riker didn't have to dig into it. But it still weighed heavily in his chest, because no one had replaced Cassidy. Well… not really, at least. Sure, someone had taken the open spot on the field because the team still had to play, but that wasn't the same thing.
He didn't know how to say that without making it worse.
So instead, he pressed his mouth to Cassidy's hair and held him a little tighter.
"Thanks," he said, because Cassidy had complimented him. Because Cassidy was trying. Because Riker didn't want to draw attention to the ache in his voice, especially if Cassidy wasn't ready for that.
He let the thought pass… or tried to. There were already too many things he didn't know what to worry about, too many things he'd have to think about later, when Cassidy wasn't warm against him and when the world around him settled a bit.
For now, Cassidy knew. Cassidy wasn't mad. Cassidy wasn't holding it over him. That was enough to let him breathe, at least.
Then Cassidy mentioned wasting away, and Riker scoffed, flustered despite himself.
"You did not waste away without me," he muttered, but his voice had softened. "You're very dramatic. I was gone for less than a week."
His hand shifted lower at Cassidy's waist, fingers curling there with a little more intention than before. Not quite innocent. Not quite bold, either, but somewhere in between.
"And I don't know," he added, ears warming as his mouth brushed near Cassidy's neck. "I probably wouldn't have minded the selfies."
The confession came out quieter than he meant it to, and it immediately made him want to bury his face somewhere. But with Cassidy's neck right there, he did the next best thing and pressed a kiss against it.
Soft at first. Then another, lingering a little longer.
"Maybe you'll just have to reenact what you were imagining."
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2026 11:15 am
“Oh, you would have minded the selfies,” Cassidy said, quite confidently. “You wouldn’t have been able to think about anything else. They were going to be good. I took some, I’ll show you. Maybe before the hot tub, maybe after.”
He shrugged, and leaned into Riker for a moment longer.
“Of course, I don’t mind a reenactment, just for you. I like how bold you’re getting, it’s very charming,” he said, like he couldn’t feel the heat from Riker’s face right now.
Red, undoubtedly. He probably looked impossibly cute about it, flustered and a little worried he’d said something too silly.
“Are you so sure I wasn’t wasting away? Hold me tighter, feel how skinny I’ve gotten. You were gone for so long. I speak only the truth, I’ve never been dramatic a day in my life,” he whined, dramatically. “It was so difficult. Never leave me again, Riker. Or,” he kissed his neck. “If you must, at least come back with some clever way to make it up to me. I’ll forgive you if you make me forget how much I missed you.”
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2026 11:15 am
Riker's brain snagged immediately on you would have minded.
He knew what Cassidy meant. Probably. Maybe. His thoughts supplied several possibilities with alarming speed, and none of them were helpful when Cassidy was already pressed against him, warm and pleased and promising to show him pictures that were apparently good enough to ruin his ability to function.
His face went hot all over again.
"I—" He stopped, swallowed, and tried very hard to look like he wasn't suddenly thinking about every possible selfie Cassidy could have taken. "That's not what minding means."
Was it? Maybe it was. He didn't know anymore.
He huffed and tightened his arms around Cassidy as requested, pulling him closer. One hand slipped beneath the back of Cassidy's shirt, palm pressed against warm skin.
"You're not skinny," he mumbled, still flustered. "You're just dramatic."
But his fingers spread against Cassidy's back anyway, testing how close he could hold him without making it weird. Or maybe it was already weird. Maybe that was fine. Cassidy seemed to like weird. Cassidy seemed to like him... Definitely liked him. Which made Riker feel even more flustered.
The kiss to his neck made his breath catch, and Riker's brows pulled together as if offended by how effective Cassidy was.
"You're supposed to be making dinner," he reminded him, voice lower than he intended, hand still pressing against Cassidy's back to keep him close. "You invited me over to help with food, not to—"
He stopped again. That sentence had nowhere safe it could go.
Riker closed his eyes for a moment and forced himself to let out a breath to steady himself.
"Not that I'm complaining," he added, quieter, lips brushing against Cassidy's neck again. "But if I'm supposed to make it up to you, I should probably eat first. You know. For energy."
He grimaced and flushed. "That sounded less stupid in my head…"
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2026 11:15 am
Cassidy laughed, warm and amused. “Oh, so now I’m not skinny, but I am dramatic? You do need some energy, I think you’re getting your compliments mixed up. Come on, you’re supposed to be helping me. So you can take some home to Julian and say ‘made with love’.”
Finally, reluctantly, Cassidy pulled away.
The lasagna wasn’t going to need to cook for four hours or anything crazy, not when he had so much of it pre-prepared and just needing to heat up in the oven, but this thing was going to have to cook a little slow if he wanted it to come out perfect.
“I want to make sure we have enough time in the hot tub. You’re going to need it,” he said, clapping him lightly on the back.
…Especially if Cassidy did decide to throw in some hot tub confessions of his own.
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2026 11:16 am
Riker's face only got hotter when Cassidy laughed.
"That's not what I meant," he quickly muttered, which of course only made it sound worse. "I meant you're not—" He stopped, grimaced, and gave up before he dug himself any deeper. "Forget it."
He huffed, but there wasn't much force behind it. Cassidy was right. He probably did need food before he said anything else that would embarrass him further.
"Fine," he said with reluctant agreement. "I'm helping."
Fin!
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