|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2024 8:18 pm
Evan snorted at ‘mom’, even if it was a joke. A part of him felt giddy–proud. Accomplished. Satisfied that he was doing the right thing. Pleased that Riker was letting him help.
It was a complicated mesh of emotions, but Evan felt good about it.
Even though Riker took the ice pack away again, Evan was glad he was still at least using it.
“It’s not that cold. I can get you a fresh one. And an oven mitt or something so you don’t freeze yourself.” Was that why he kept taking it off? Evan didn’t give him time to protest; he moved away quickly–certainly not to hide the slight wetness in his eyes. He wasn’t upset! Riker was just so sweet, and Evan couldn’t help that he was a sap for any praise.
He returned almost immediately with a clean towel. He held it out without fanfare but it was clear that he expected Riker to save himself from any discomfort.
“I have a friend who got a new identity, but he did that because he left the Negaverse. Well. I guess I’ve actually got a few friends who did that. I don’t really get how the whole magic thing works but I’m really glad it does so we could stay together.”
The mental math to figure out who Riker was talking about was a little over his head but from what he understood, some of them were Knights or Senshi but all of them knew about it, so he could at least find some relief in the fact that he wasn’t just some weird cheese guy hanging around teenagers.
“You’ll have to introduce me so I remember everyone. Blood loss, though,” he huffed and briefly eyed Riker’s arm again. “I am going to worry about you. I’m glad they were there for you. Do you need more iron in your diet or something? I’ve got some red meat here, I can cook you up something. Sorry, I know I’m fussing. Were they trying to get you a new identity?”
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2024 8:21 pm
He didn’t argue when Evan handed him the clean towel, but he did let out a long suffered sigh as he mumbled a quiet thanks. Even as he tried holding back a grin that tugged at his lips.
Every time someone was so genuinely nice to him made him wonder what he could have possibly done to deserve it. He was grateful, of course. It made him want to try harder to be a good person. But it was still strange to experience.
“You don’t have to,” he said in response to the offer of food, but he still perked up a little. And his stomach growled. Riker made a face, clearly incredulous over how convenient it was for his body to announce that he was actually quite hungry.
“Would you rather go home so it’s somewhere more comfortable? Or, oh… I mean, unless you would prefer staying in the truck,” he clarified because he didn’t want Evan doing anything he didn’t want to, especially for him.
The talk of a new identity took a bit longer to respond to, because he had to think about it.
“I don’t know. I wouldn’t be able to be on the team anymore, probably. It would be pretty obvious if I disappeared and a new guy showed up to take the same spot, you know? And there’s still someone I want to talk to. Uh… my friend Yvoire. Well. He’s my friend as a Knight. He kind of hates me as, well, me. Which I get. I wasn’t nice to him. But I apologized and hope that maybe he’ll change his mind one day.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2024 8:36 pm
Evan looked thoughtful and nodded. “Well, an apology is the first step. I hope he changes his mind and gives you a chance.” Evan was most certainly biased but how could he not be? Riker might have been a little rough around the edges but who was he fooling? Evan felt like he could see right through him.
He didn’t know what Yvoire had been through, or the full extent of whatever relationship he and Riker had, but of course he was going to hope that everything worked out.
“The truck’s not exactly comfortable. I mean, I don’t mind being back here, I could get you some beefy mac and cheese to snack on. I don’t want to make you wait to eat.” It wasn't like Evan lived terribly far away, but Riker’s stomach made it sound like he was starving.
Without really waiting for an answer, he drifted to the kitchen and began preparing a serving.
He had more left over tonight than he wanted to go home with but he hadn’t eaten, and he was pretty sure no one else at the house had. Maybe Riker could help put a dent in everything before it went bad. He didn’t stop with the macaroni and cheese; he pulled out two hot dogs and gestured for Riker to come over. He’d been back here often enough that Evan wasn’t worried about him bumping into anything–and the stove and fryer were off anyway. “Come here, you know where things are. Load up, you can put whatever you want on these. Do you really think you couldn’t rejoin the team? I mean, if you leave, they’d have to get a new guy to replace you anyway, wouldn’t they? Might as well go to You-2.0. Maybe your friend could vouch for you, too? I mean! If that was ever something you wanted to do.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2024 8:37 pm
“They’ve got other people to take over if I’m gone, yeah. There’s always an extra couple people in case, you know… someone is sick or ends up in a car crash,” he mumbled as he shuffled over to help himself to whatever he set his eyes on that he didn’t think Evan would mind him taking. And knowing Evan, he didn’t mind him taking any of it. He had to set his ice pack down again so he could use both hands. At least to get situated with a fork, or be able to use his fingers, then he put the pack back on his face.
“I don’t know. It wouldn’t be that easy, would it? It sounds stupid but… I kind of like my name, you know? I guess I’m just used to it. I doubt I’d be able to keep it. The friend I have who changed his didn’t keep his name. Well… it was probably for the best, anyway,” he grimaced around chewing on a hotdog. He wasn’t talking with his mouth full of food! But he was stuffing his cheeks so he could sneak in some chattering without fully swallowing. Oh, that was probably pretty rude, but he had a lot to talk about and the food was good. He would definitely have to do something to make sure Evan knew how grateful he was to him.
“I wouldn’t really have a place to live. I’d feel guilty couch surfing at friends places. And I couldn’t afford tuition to school, anyway. I wouldn’t have a job. And, I don’t know. Isn’t it kind of cheating to just… give up and start over?”
It sounded too good to be true, and he was a bit cynical after everything.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2024 9:41 pm
“Cheating? No, I don’t think that’s cheating. I think that’s using all of the tools available to you. I mean, I’d have killed to change my identity when I was a kid. Oh my God, a fresh start? Where nobody knew me? I could just be Evan. Or–well, I don’t know if I’d pick another name. My friend is–well, he kept his first name, I think. It’s complicated.” He wasn’t avoiding the topic, it was just going to require more brain power than he had.
He gestured to the cheese, to the condiments, to the chili, as if to insist that Riker help himself. “I have absolutely no coconut oil on this entire truck,” he assured, just in case. “Riker’s a nice name. I’ve seen Mauvians work miracles. I mean, if your name was like, ‘Archibald’ or something, maybe that might be different? I don’t know the technicalities of it all. But I know if anyone can work a miracle, it’s a Mauvian.”
He started cleaning up while Riker ate, but he kept checking in to make sure he was eating–and to make sure he wasn’t skimping, either. Evan had all this food, there was no reason for Riker to starve himself or hold back.
“They have to do tryouts for the team, right? I’m really not an expert, you already know that.” Riker could probably just join another team but Evan suspected he also might like to stay with his team. He had friends there, anyway. On the field and in the stands.
“I told you I’d give you a job,” Evan reminded. “If you want it. No pressure. Sorry, these are all big topics, aren’t they? But. If you ever did want a new identity, or to start over, you wouldn’t be on your own. You could live out of my truck! No, I’m kidding. I mean, you probably could, but we could actually probably get you set up somewhere more comfortable.”
Evan had his routine down pretty well by now, so he was operating at maximum cleaning efficiency while he spoke. “I mean, everyone else brings home people! And we never seem to run out of room. I wonder how long before Zac decides to buy the lot next door and try to build a man cave to escape us all. I’m kidding, he likes his bed too much. I wonder if I could buy it and put a mini house on it. I don’t know anything about that, either. Sorry, I was daydreaming. Um–what was it that–Oh, right. Soleiyu–the Mauvian–said that if I ever wanted to go back to school that he could get me some scholarships. If you tell him that he’s the most beautiful Mauvian, and the smartest one you’ve ever met, he could help you with that. No pressure! Just food for thought.”
It wasn’t like they had a miracle cure for everything but–even if it was ‘cheating the system’–why not? They put their lives on the line every day to protect Destiny City. If a furry little alien could help them change the other aspects of their life to make things better for them, why not cash in on that?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2024 10:44 am
Riker was quiet as he listened to Evan, instead focusing on not dropping any of the food he’d collected, and pretending to take his time chewing on a hotdog, despite having just shoved everything into his mouth to ramble before.
It wasn’t the first time he’d thought about how he would like a fresh start. The first time meeting the Code it was mentioned that a new identity could be created. Part of him wondered if he should have asked for a new one right then and there.
But he’d also just become a Knight. He was also still holding onto hope that maybe his mom would change her mind about him. Maybe he just needed to get a little older and she would see he wasn’t so bad.
Now, he felt like he’d missed his chance, and he knew it was his own fault for hanging onto hope.
If he changed everything now…? He’d have to re-introduce himself to everyone he knew. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, since he would only want to talk to those he liked, but he also knew there were others with worse situations than his own who deserved that magic more. Escaping the Negaverse? Definitely. Almost getting murdered? Yeah that was a good reason, too.
Riker was just a kid who had everything he needed to survive. So what if his mom and brother hated him? He could still get them to change their minds. Maybe.
He didn’t mind Evan’s rambling, but it was difficult for him to focus on anything in particular to respond to, so he kept eating and nodded every now and then to acknowledge him. Sometimes, he thought, Evan just needed to talk. And that was okay. He just didn’t want him to feel like he wasn’t being listened to, even if he wasn’t sure what to say in response.
“What would you go back to school for?” he asked around a bite of mac and cheese. It was easier to focus on Evan, anyway. He felt overwhelmed when the conversation was on him for too long.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2024 10:48 am
Evan hummed in thought and then just shrugged. “I don’t know. It was sort of a loose idea at the time. Business, or marketing, or even culinary school. I was panicking and overthinking everything. But–you know, I have my food truck and I was scared that I was going to run my dream into the ground. I didn’t even want a food truck originally. I wanted a brick and mortar, like a fancy restaurant you could just go to. But I was scared that I’d sink everything into it and fail. A food truck–it was still expensive to get started, but I had a lot of help. I didn’t want to fail, but I told myself ‘open the food truck because if you do fail, it’s not like you’re failing your dream’, you know?”
Evan was a bundle of worry; he shrugged again to dismiss it. He didn’t think he was making a lot of sense but Riker was patient. And eating, so Evan had time to talk it all out.
“But I really wasn’t good in school. I had a hard time paying attention, I fell asleep, I cut classes. I liked being away from home but I didn’t really have any friends so it’s not like it was fun. I was just the weird kid. I tried to play it cool but, you know. It sucked. I know college is supposed to be different from high school though? So I thought maybe I’d have a chance there? But back then I was just nervous about having to leave the house. So then I was thinking about online classes, and then it was kind of like–well do I even need a degree in those things? So I just found videos of people teaching things online, I read the recommended books and all. I chickened out and didn’t do college. I don’t know if I regret it because I got really lucky with my food truck. But, I don’t know. Do you have an idea what you want to go to college for yet?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2024 10:51 am
“I think you’re clever and resourceful and shouldn’t regret not going to college because at least you’re not stuck with a lot of debt. I mean, I bet you could get scholarships, even without a Mauvian’s help. Anyway, they don’t always make it easy to pay attention in school, so I get it, and it’s not your fault if you couldn’t,” he said after swallowing most of what was in his mouth, but he couldn’t stop himself from taking another bite halfway through.
“I also don’t think it would be your fault if you had an actual restaurant and it failed. I think there’s a lot of factors that go into it, like location. If you did want to do that, though… I’d like to help you, if that’s okay? I don’t want you to feel like you failed,” he frowned, not liking to see Evan worked up about things that weren’t even reality yet.
“I haven’t thought much about college. I like baseball, but I play for Azure, so I doubt there would be any scholarships that come from that. I don’t know. I would be okay just working for you.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2024 11:01 am
Evan smiled at Riker’s words, and he was almost just as pleased to see him eating so much. “You haven’t thought about college? I guess that’s normal. You don’t have to go to college if you don’t want to. I don’t know if they tell you about trade schools? But if you’re thinking about careers, it’s worth looking into. But you’d be more than welcome to work for me. When you’re done playing pro baseball, at least.”
He smiled at Riker, because even if he’d never seen him play baseball, Evan was still determined to cheer for him. In the stands and out. He didn't seem like he had a lot of people–outside of his friends, at least–that really supported him. Evan wanted to. He wanted him to feel safe enough to come here any time he was hungry, too. And eat as much as he wanted.
“Maybe by then I’ll pick out a good location and make a restaurant. The cheese thing works for a food truck, but I feel like I might have to be a little fancier if I did a brick and mortar place. I don’t know, it’s a little overwhelming to think about now so I’ll just keep it in my pocket for a little longer.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2024 11:03 am
Riker snorted quietly in amusement. He doubted he’d ever play pro baseball, but it was fun to think about. There were a lot of things he knew he probably should think about, but college just felt like such a far off thing. And something he was beginning to realize was likely unobtainable without the help of others.
Along with somewhere to stay, because he doubted he’d be living at his current home once he turned eighteen.
“Don’t want too long. I’ve just got a couple more years in high school,” he pointed out with a small grin. He liked that Evan had dreams. He might not have many of his own, but he wanted to see those he cared about achieve theirs.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
