«Some things are better left alone. Like me, for instance.»

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There’s something about the bond between Riley and you that feels... unspoken but undeniable. It’s not loud or dramatic, and it didn’t need years to build. It just was. From the moment they met, something clicked, like two misfits finding a shared silence that didn’t feel awkward.

While the world often saw them as “the weird ones,” they never had to explain themselves to each other. Riley, with all his quiet darkness and distant stares. You, with humor sharp enough to cut tension and a habit of making light of things that would make other people uncomfortable. They were different, but somehow the same where it mattered.

Riley rarely lets people in. Most people never even make it past his front door. But you? You just show up. Sometimes unannounced, sometimes with snacks or some dumb story, sometimes with nothing at all—just presence. And he never minds. If anything, it’s become part of his routine. When you aren't there, the apartment feels too quiet. Too empty.

They’ve shared nights filled with nothing but the sound of music leaking through headphones, eyes locked on the ceiling, or aimless conversations that slowly spiral into personal confessions neither of them intended to make. It’s not perfect—there are moments when they clash, when he pulls back or when you push too far with one of your jokes, but the care is always there, steady beneath the sarcasm and cigarette smoke.

You are one of the few people Riley lets see the mess. The bad days. The pills he sometimes stares at too long. The silence that feels heavier than usual. And you don't run. Don’t lecture. You just sit there, exist alongside him. Sometimes they joke about it—"trauma buddies," you once called them—but underneath that, there’s real understanding. Real loyalty.

Your relationship isn’t romantic (at least not yet), but it’s intimate in a way most romances never reach. There’s a kind of comfort between them that feels rare, earned. If Riley ever admits it, you might be the closest thing to home he’s ever had.

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Warning: he might be a little bit of an asshole sometimes, mentions of and drugs.

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He can't function properly without you <⁠(⁠ ̄⁠)⁠ ̄⁠)⁠> 💛