Ehren hadn’t seen Riley since the storm and even then it hadn’t been a pleasant meeting. Riley was busy helping people and worrying about Finn. Ehren on the other hand had been desperately trying to control a panic attack that would take over him by the time he stepped through the door of the apartment. They had a lot of catching up to do, and what better way than a friendly game of Mortal Kombat?
By seven the snacks were laid out and beers in a small cooler next to the couch. The ID that hung from his body felt heavy but he was sure Finn might have mentioned it to Riley by now. There was definitely still some explaining to do. When he heard the familiar knock at the door he opened it up and wide to let his friend inside. “Round one, ladies and gentlemen!” He said with a big grandiose gesture as if they were in a large fight arena.
There was nothing friendly about Mortal Kombat - it was almost as bad as Mario Kart and if you asked Riley he would’ve ranked it up there with Monopoly on the games which ended solid friendships. He wouldn’t brag too much about being fantastic at the game … well, actually he would contribute a phrase or two in his own favor. Fastest button pusher in the west, they called him. Except nobody really called him that at all.
Giving Finn the rundown on where he was going to be, Riley made his way toward the old building and up to his friends door with a spring in his step and a wriggling Corgi hiding in his jacket. He was a social butterfly, he knew it, and being without constant communication with his friends put a damper on his personality. Ehren was no exception. He knew he had to make more of an effort to reach out though lately things had been tense with the guard and the crazy weather before that happened.
Sidling up to Ehren’s door Riley paused, knocked, and waited. A glance around at the corridor told him he was alone, fine. And then the door was creaking open and Riley turned to look at his friend wearing his best grin. “Well well, if it isn’t baby Clemens,” Riley quipped, smirking as he made his way into the apartment. “Come to get his behind whooped by the Crayola Kid. You got balls on ya, son.”
He saw the little figure wrestling to get out of Riley’s jacket and he put his hands underneath to catch the squirmy Corgi. “Daisy! I missed you!!” He said and gave the pup a kiss before letting her down to roam around the apartment. He’d checked his apartment left and right and couldn’t find any cameras so he felt he was mildly safe with her now.
From his shirt hung his badge that he’d forgotten to take off since he got home that day and a bruise marked the skin of his neck. There were so many things he needed to tell Riley about and a good game of Mortal Kombat with some beers would definitely do the trick. “Oh hi, didn’t notice you there, come on in.” He joked.
With the door shut and locked, Ehren made his way to the couch to get the game queued up on the television. “So much has happened, I don’t even know where to begin.”
Riley smiled at the reunion. The little dog reminded him of his old dog, Ace, who he missed terribly. “She’s been so good. The best little thing. I turned her so many colors,” He breathed, hand lifting to pat behind her ears. There had been a time or two when she’d gone to the potty in the apartment but that couldn’t be helped. It was that or risk someone seeing her and that wasn’t about to happen on his watch.
The bruise was noted. He bit back a taunt and opted to close the door with a foot instead once he was safely inside. Jacket would be removed and hung up, shoes would come off - Riley would hop around on a single foot nearly falling over twice before both of his shoes were off and settled safely.
In socked feet he followed the pair of man and beast to the living room, flopping down onto the couch. “Dude, really? You’re like a soap opera.” A giggle would fall from his lips and he smiled patiently up at his friend, waiting for all of the retelling of the things. “The world outside has been crazy, man. Guards are scarier than ever. People at the Marketplace are tense. It’s like we live in the dark ages. I’d give anything to just see someone out there smile for more than a second or two.”
A smile came to Ehren’s face then, leaning his neck a little bit toward Riley. “I don’t know about you but I’ve got something to smile about.” He mused and grabbed a beer of the table. He uncapped it with his bottle opener and handed it to Riley, grabbing one for himself to do the same. That first sip of beer was sweet and he couldn’t help himself any longer.
“I met someone. I’m totally smitten Riley.” Logan had been the best thing to happen to him in a long time and he was beaming from their first date still. The other man had quickly crawled into his skin and refused to leave. Not that Ehren minded, he was a really good person. “His name is Logan, he does maintenance work on the island. Do you know him?” At the very least he’d probably seen the other man around.
The bottle was taken up eagerly. In a comical way Riley snapped up and leaned over, squinting at the bruise there. He tutted playfully at his friend, “Bad. You’re a bad boy, Clemens. I like it.” Leaning backward he would nod, and lift his bottle up in a mock toast before a sip would be taken. “You scoundrel! Cheating on me already!”
A look of feigned shock would come over Riley’s face and a palm would press upon his own chest in a gesture to enhance the expression. “Alright, who is he? Or she? They’d better be worth it.” He was glad his friend had found someone, and he hoped that Ehren was successful this time in the endeavor.
At the drop of the name Riley’s eyebrows arched. “The dude from the murder?” He didn’t know the guy on a name to name basis, he knew him mostly by face. Logan did a bit of work now and then at the Facility where the classrooms were and like the other teachers Riley did his fair share of gawking at the statue of hotness.
“So you’re in love? I can tell. I’m an expert at these things.”
Ehren’s eyebrows knit together at the mention of the murder accusations. “He was innocent, he was picked up on bogus charges.” He replied, taking a sip of beer as he thought about it. It made him angry that there were still people out there who thought he was guilty. The evidence was undeniable but that didn’t matter to those who didn’t see it.
At the mention of love Ehren’s cheeks went red. They weren’t even an item yet and while Ehren definitely felt himself going in that direction, it was still too early to say yet. “Uh well, maybe but he’s not even my boyfriend yet.” Which was a long courtship to say the least. The two of them had been seeing each other for the better part of two months but Logan’s incarceration put a halt to whatever had been happening between the two of them.
A happy sigh escaped his lips. “He’s special Riley, I don’t know what it is about him, like I’m drawn to him, like it was just so easy to fall into this. I’ve never felt this way about someone before.” He admitted, even when he was into Meg, even when he liked Dorian. Logan made him want to be a better man.
He then picked up his badge and showed it to Riley. “And I’ve been meaning to tell you something…” he wasn’t sure if Finn had mentioned it yet, he’d asked Finn to keep it a secret when he wasn’t registered but he wasn’t sure if they had spoken about it since.
Another sip of his beer was taken as he listened to what his friend was saying. “I don’t think he’s guilty,” Riley murmured. The dude had never seemed the type to want to hurt someone though he seemed intimidating. Until someone was proven innocent there was no judgment from Riley unless the person was actually caught red handed doing the crime they were being judged for. Texans were usually hard critics when it came to such things.
“No? Why not?” He inquired casually. Even with all of the obstacles between them he was sure it would’ve come up in conversation at some point. But maybe it was good for Ehren to move slowly. He knew his friend had a track record for moving through things quickly.
A smile would widen on his face. “Sounds like love to me,” he teased. “I’m really happy for you, man. Really. That’s great! We should double date or something.”
The ID had been completely bypassed - what an awful friend - and Riley blinked. Another lean forward and he was snatching the card from Ehren, taking a look at the registration. “Nuh uh! Really? That’s amazing, man! You’re one of us lowly types now.” All of that was said as one friend to another, the last part uttered in jest. The card was let go. “I’m not sure we can be friends now.” Another comment made playfully. “You’re too good for us small timers.”
He nodded his head at the assessment. “Yeah I can sort of see the future.” Not sort of, actually but that was just how Ehren talked. “And I saw that I’m going to beat your ass at Mortal Kombat so don’t even try being arrogant because I know the outcome.” He teased. Ehren didn’t see trivial encounters when he had visions, only things that were significant.
“Ri, it’s way too early to tell. He only got out of detainment a week ago.” He countered, since it was true. Had that not happened, the two might be further along in this thing then they were currently. Finally he took a sip of beer and got the game queued up, handing Riley one of the controllers to pick his fighter. Ehren was going to be Johnny Cage this time but on another round he might choose someone else.
“He’s the one who got me Daisy.” He said with a smirk as he looked over at the cute Corgi. “I don’t even know how he did it, it’s like magic or something.” He shrugged his shoulders.
Riley laughed. “Yeah? The future? When do we get off of this piece of crap island then, huh?” He teased. There was no way Ehren was beating him at Mortal Kombat, at least not without a fight.
The paddle was taken and Riley set his beer down after another drink, turning to focus on choosing the right character. He selected Lu Kane and was ready to play, confirming the choice. “You know when you’re in love, Ehren,” Riley said, honestly. He glanced over at his friend. “It’s just one of those things.” He knew as soon as it hit him when he was in love with Finn, and it was long before they’d become official. He’d been scared to tell him but things had worked themselves out.
“Hey, it’s the thought that counts, right?”
Listening to Riley talk about love, Ehren’s eyes softened and he sighed, looking back at the tv screen while the game started up. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” He could feel any number of things for Logan but people often revealed themselves as different over time. Who knew how he would feel down the road?
Round one. Fight. Ehren began to press the familiar buttons for Johnny Cage’s moves, going in for the crotch punch repeatedly as he backed Lu Kang in the corner of the screen. “I guess I’m just kind of afraid. What if I fuck it up again?” He felt like he’d been prone to that his whole life and for once he didn’t want to do that.
Preening a little bit Riley would shake his head in a saucy manner, dark curls whisping about. He knew he was right. He almost always was, if you asked him his opinion on things. With a smile and a nod he settled in and turned to the screen, gearing up for a royal butt kicking. Bicycle kicks and random button pressing, ahoy!
As the match began, Riley began pressing the buttons he knew that would actually make moves, including that signature Bicycle Kick, evading the punch to the groin with a jump kick though the hit didn’t land. “That’s the risk you take, bro,” Riley explained, moving from side to side with the action of the paddle. “But if you both like each other I reckon you ain’t got nothing to worry about. Let things be, you can’t control life.”
Normally, before Caspians intervention, Ehren might disagree, or at least fear the lack of control. Now he was indifferent to it, like maybe for the first time in his life he could just let things be. Backing up to keep some room between them in the game, Ehren considered his moves again and chose the energy ball move, knocking the Lui Kang character down onto the ground. “Poor Finn.” He said out loud, waiting for Riley to respond.
He did a shadow kick and then a groin punch as soon as he was off the ground and he was down again. “I’m gonna have to hand you back to him in pieces.” He teased, looking over at Riley momentarily with a smirk.
An eye roll would come as the response though Ehren wasn't wrong. It had been a long time since he had played Mortal Kombat and his maneuvers were a bit rusty because of it. The game wasn’t what mattered though, in the grand scheme. He was really there to help his friend and lend an ear.
“Maybe this round, Clemens, but we still got another round to get through. You’d better be prepared to do more than just talk if you’re gonna beat me.”
A laugh and his fingers flew over the buttons on the paddle, determined to at least get a few hits in before the inevitable K.O.
Going in for his fatality move Ehren smirked over at Riley. He may have won against Ehren in Mario kart but fighting games were his forte. Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, etc. “I’m pretty sure Dani hates me right now.” He admitted since Riley was his friend and he needed to talk to someone about what had transpired between them.
“Roman did my blood test, dangled freedom in front of me and then smiled when it came back positive. Like he knew I was going to test positive. So I saw her and I told her about it and she thought I was trying to attack him.” Maybe he was, but she wasn’t there, couldn’t see the maniacal look he had in his eyes.
“He helped me get Logan released, I apologized to him.” Not like he accepted any apologies, Roman had a field day going off on Ehren like he had. He had tried so many times to find the good in the other man, each time it was met with an uneasy feeling. Like he was setting Dani up to get broken.
G
“Ugh! Chicken sandwiches!” Riley shouted in exasperation though he had saw the knockout coming a mile away. But when the comment about Dani was made Riley looked over at his friend with interest, paddle moving to settle on the table for a minute.
“What? Nah. She can’t hate you, bro. Friends get mad at each other all the time.” He wasn’t worried about it unless Ehren had run off at the mouth and didn’t apologize.
“Well, were you?” It was an honest question. Riley knew of Roman, mostly by reputation, but they had never met in person.
The bit about Roman helping with Logan’s case earned a nod. “Sounds like you did what you could to make amends. Dude probably ain’t as bad as he seems if he was willing to help you and Logan.”
Grabbing a beer from the cooler, Ehren used a bottle opener to pop off the cap and take a swig of it. “Yeah I guess I was a little cruel. I got sort of roughed up in the processing and I was kind of fuming.” There was still a bit of evidence on his cheek where the skin was slightly red. He’d finally made it to the dentist and gotten an implant to replace his missing tooth but it still felt odd in his mouth.
“Yeah, I mean, I just… she means so much to me and I’ve tried to like him. I guess I’m just waiting for him to accept that I’m not going away.” Not even if she pushed him away. Dani and Ehren were best friends and he wouldn’t let that go without a fight.
Riley nodded. He understood being mean for the hell of it - his Pops was that way, even with his own family - and knew what it felt like to want to retaliate. “Yeah, processing can be rough. Guards suck!”
“Hey, nothing is gonna come between you and Dani. Even if it does, it’s her loss, not yours. You’re killer, dude. Having you as a friend is the best. Giving up on that is like —the dumbest thing anyone could do.”
He smiled at that, a ‘thanks for stroking my ego’ kind of smile. “Yeah I guess you’re right.” He replied and picked up his beer for another sip. Grabbing his controller he looked back at Riley. “Except you’re also dead, so I guess that makes you dead right.” He joked, looking back at the TV screen.
He pressed the start button and the second round popped up on the screen.
Round two. Fight. He began pushing his favor buttons again, inching forward toward the Lui Kang character and kicking at him when he got close enough. Riley may have been able to beat him once, but it wouldn’t happen in this arena.
A raspberry would be blown playfully in Ehren’s direction. “I take back what I just said,” came a follow up quip though he didn’t really mean it. Swiping up his controller, Riley turned to face the tv screen and began the next match. “My Kingdom for a solid hit!” He shouted, grimacing as Ehren’s guy pummeled the crap out of his.
Random button presses later and they were once more at the crossroads coming up on the K.O.
“Just do it,” he sniffled dramatically, a hand going over his eyes, “I can’t look!”
In one swift move, Johnny Cage swooped into offer a crushing fatality to Lui Kang. He pumped a fist into the air. “Yeah that’s right!!” He yelled and put his controller down. In victory he drank from his beer, still clutching the controller in his left hand. “You know, you should stick to Mario Kart, you suck at this.” He teased, sticking his tongue out at his friend.
The beer would be placed back on the table and a smirk would follow. “Damn, I wish we’d made a bet this time. I could really use some help redecorating this place.” He huffed, looking around at his bare apartment. Where once was stacks of manuscripts now were only clean surfaces. Only one piece of paper sat inside the type-writer with barely a sentence written on it.
With everything that had been happening, Ehren was neglecting that and he was pretty sure it was time to get back into it.
“Mother cheeseburgers!” Riley shouted, standing up with his hands thrown up into the air with disdain. The paddle would be set down onto the table so as not to end up thrown in a bout of disappointment and Riley sat down on the couch again. “You cheater! Cheater!”
And then Riley was looking around, too. “When’d this place become such a dump?” He teased, turning to his friend. “Nah, it’s actually a nice place. Just get some furniture or something? Spruce it up. Some paintings.” A hand waved at one of the walls. “I can paint the walls for you.”
He shrugged at his surroundings. Ehren could paint a picture with words but his spatial capabilities left much to be desired. “I don’t really know what to do, I’ve never really changed anything here.” Back before the island, Ehren had band posters and things left over from his parents place. All of that was left behind before he came to the island and he’d never felt at home since.
At the offer of painting the walls Ehren’s face lit up. “Really? Yeah that’d be awesome, I don’t really know what I’d do in here. Honestly, I am so stupid when it comes to interior decorating.”
Riley nodded.
He looked around for something, anything with a pattern and found nothing. A single finger would be held up as an idea came to the forefront of his brain. “Uno momento, my friend.” And then Riley turned on a heel and rushed into Ehren’s bedroom.
Sliding across the floor to the closet on his socked feet, he pulled the door open and searched. “Nope. Nope, that’s ugly, nope.”
And then he found a pattern that he felt would at least make a good accent wall. He plucked the shirt from the rack and raced back into the living room, moving up to Ehren. “This’ll work. You cool with that?”
Surprised by Riley’s sudden Risky Business move across his floorboards and the immediate disapproval of his clothing, Ehren stood up to check out what he was doing with a raised brow. Clothes discarded along the floor of his closet. He backed out when Riley produced one of his shirts. “Won’t it look weird if I wear that shirt in this apartment?” He asked, and it was a nice shirt so he did actually want to wear it. Maybe they could change the colors a little bit to not make it so obvious.
“Whatever you say Ri, I’m just happy to have the help.” He really didn’t know anything about design in the least and if Riley could do it then he’d trust him to change his apartment into something more home-like.
If it was a nice shirt he wouldn’t alter it too much. A nod of delight coupled with a smile and Riley set the shirt carefully over the back of a chair. Pretending to roll up his sleeves - he wore a tee shirt that was nearly impossible - he lifted his hands and pressed his palms against the fabric.
Like an ink pen he began to absorb the color. It flowed up his fingers, across his hands, and ascended to his elbows. When he felt as if he had enough color Riley lifted his hands and turned to look for a wall.
“Perfect,” he stated. Turning, Riley moved to the small wall behind the TV and pressed the patterned palms against it, letting the color bleed across the surface. Every inch of that single wall would be covered in the color and pattern from Ehren’s shirt.
Ehren knew about Riley’s abilities, they’d talked about it before but never had he seen it in action. His eyes lit up as the room transformed into a totally different space. He was speechless and in awe of how it totally changed the look of the room. Where once was a boring apartment now was a colorful pattern. “Holy shit, Ri, that’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.” There were many abilities out there that didn’t have a physical manifestation, not like Riley’s anyhow, and he hadn’t had much of an opportunity to see them.
“Thank you.” He said, honestly. It really was such a nice thing to do. He knew his visions would wipe him out, he could imagine Riley’s did the same from time to time.
Riley rarely used his abilities outside of his own place - hiding from the guards was what he did if he had to use them but it was unheard of to use the chromakinesis outside of his personal space. Over a shoulder he grinned and shrugged, “Only the best for my best!”
He was humbled by the exclamation that his power was cool. It felt good to be appreciated.
Turning back to face Ehren, Riley wandered up. “I like helping out my friends.” He didn’t get tied unless he was doing an entire room or hiding for long periods of time.
He smiled and tilted his head back toward the couch. “Well why don’t you help a friend by drinking some of this beer and playing another round of Mortal Kombat?” He joked, still in awe of the new room. What people could do with their abilities endlessly fascinated him and he wished he could see them all.
“Come on, at least two more games and then I promise I won’t kick your ass anymore.” He joked, sitting himself down on the couch to take a sip of his beer and grab his controller.
“Uh huh,” Riley rolled his eyes though he giggled soon after that. Making his way back to the couch he swept up his beer, took a long drink, and then picked up the paddle.
“Alright, Clemens. Prepare to be annihilated!” He did his best impression of the Terminator, which sadly was not winning him any Academy Awards.
Ehren looked at Riley, alternating his raised brows with a smile before returning his focus back to the tv to get started on the game. “In your dreams.” He said before he chose scorpion for his next character.
Round one. Fight.
Back back B would sling his chain across to the other character and scream GET OVER HERE. His first successful move of the round.
“Get outta my dreams!” He sang, eyes closing as he belted out the tune, “and into my caarr.” Eyes would flutter open and Riley laughed, the end of his nose crinkling. Singing had never been his strong suit.
Choosing Raiden, Riley braced himself for the fight. All at once he was pressing buttons and lightning was flashing around the screen.
Ehren laughed as Riley sang the old Billy Ocean song. “You are going to get that stuck in my head.” He pleaded, jumping to avoid a bolt of lightning, before using his signature ‘get over here’ move.
“Get outta my dreeeeeeams and into my car.” He replied, completely off key maybe a bit louder than Riley’s singing. “Fuck.”
“Success!” He shouted as his friend echoed the earlier song, knowing it was catchy. It wasn’t Rocketman, but close. Giggling, he sang along, “get outta my dreamsss,” he laughed, nudging his friend.
The chorus was just as good as any of the lyrics. Eighties tunes were his only weakness, or so he would admit.
His eyes stayed focused on the tv screen, the light now brighter that the position of the sun had changed. “You will definitely pay for this.” He replied and bombarded the other character with scorpions signature moves.
“Yeah take that motherfucker!” Riley had a tendency not to actually cuss so Ehren filled in that void with his sailor mouth. Must have been from working in the garage for all those years.
“You scoundrel!” He exclaimed with a gasp, pressing buttons as if the controller would die without his touch. “Take that, and that!” His lack of cursing came from teaching children. He was no less raunchy, only a bit more conservative.
Another gasp. “I would never!” And then he was laughing.
Chuckling back at Riley, Ehren cringed as his life like began to reduce at a fast pace. His fingers couldn’t move fast enough to retaliate and he found himself with only a sliver of life left.
“Shit!” He yelled with a laugh, grabbing at his controller as he waited for Riley to finish him.
“Yesss!” Thumbing over the buttons, Riley played as if his life depended on it. He was glad for the little gaming system, they’d had some good times around it and he looked forward to kicking Ehren’s ass when the opportunity presented itself.
“Haha! I’ve got you now! Say your prayers!”
They were only in the first round so he still had time to beat Riley but for now he accepted defeat. Finishing off his first beer he waved his hand, as to say ‘go for it.’ The kill was as it usually was, less than exciting on such an old game system but the nostalgia made up for the graphics quality.
“Pure luck, I’ll win those next two rounds, just you wait.” He replied, grabbing another beer from the cooler and popping off the top with his bottle opener. He took one large swig before grabbing the controller again.
“Uh huh,” Riley quipped, draining his own beer in a few swigs once the match was over. The bottle was set aside for later disposal and he went back to the task at hand. “Save it for the judge!”
Amped up, he got his dude into position and waited for the onset of attack. “Go ye forth, Raden, and smite!”
By this time around Ehren was ready to for his defense. Round two. Fight. Immediately he did his get over here move and took a chunk out of Riley’s life line. “I’ve still got time to beat your ass.” He retorted, continue his get over here move repeatedly. Riley couldn’t even block or move with how fast Ehren was moving.
Not a drop of scorpions blood had been spilled yet and Ehren was confident he would win this round.
“What!?”
Face contorting with concern and mild irritation he cycled through the limited few moves he actually could recall and then began the oh so elegant button pressing at random. Alas, though, his character was being pummeled into oblivion.
“We can’t be friends anymore.” Laughing, Riley did his best to get away from Scorpion and the painful toll the character was taking on his own.
Finally after a few more moves it was fatality time and he used his favorite fatality to kill Riley’s character. “What?” He replied, nudging his friend after the finale K-O.
“You couldn’t get rid of me if you tried. Seriously, if you didn’t have me you’d probably drive Finn up the wall.” He knew that wasn’t true but that was the nature of their relationship. Tit for tat.
“Ugh, what a terrible thing to do to your most awesome best friend.” An eyeroll would ensue and Riley set his paddle aside to get another beer.
Giggling, Riley shrugged, “Probably. Man was blessed with patience, though,” he remarked with a sigh of adoration. The top would be removed from the bottle and set aside, then he took a sip.
He watched Riley for a minute, taking a sip of his own beer. He really did love Finn, you could see it in the way he talked about him. The starry look he got in his eyes, Ehren wondered if he looked the same.
Back to the game he watched as the final round started, whoever won this would be the victor. “Well he’s going to have to appreciate you in pieces since I’m going to tear you apart.” He teased, and braced himself for the last fight.
“Oh it’s on like Donkey Kong!”
Sweeping up his paddle, Riley braced himself for impact, tried to learn from his mistakes, and began punching through the few moves he knew in an effort to gain the upper hand.
For a moment, Riley’s response threw Ehren off but he came back with a vengeance within a minute, using some kick action to drain his points. “Oh no you don’t.” That was another game he was sure was around here somewhere, one they could still play together.
“Take that Raiden, stuff it where the sun don’t shine with your Asian stereotypes.”
Laughing softly, Riley fought with everything he had - all the prayers and button pushes in the galaxy couldn’t save his skin - but he knew in his heart that Ehren was the better player. It was fun while it lasted, though.
“Hey hey! Don’t accuse a guy of stuff, okay?” Another laugh would follow. “You just focus on the only three words Scorpion knows.”
“Get over here!!” He screamed as he took almost all the rest of the life out of Riley’s character. “Time for total domination.” He said before using his fatality move on the character.
There were things Ehren was good at and things Riley was good at. He just happened to be good at Mortal Kombat.
“Ugh,” Riley huffed, tossing the controller aside. “What a game.” He finished his beer in a few swallows and turned to his friend. “How the hell are you so good at that?” Riley laughed, making a face. “I haven’t played in years.”
“Practice.” He replied with a grin, taking one last large gulp from his beer before standing up to collect the trash. “I was a lonely kid, my mom used to get so mad at me for spending hours on it in front of the tv. Told me I would go blind.”
And clearly, he hadn’t.
“Figures,” he remarked, shaking his head. He was only teasing, of course. Riley had been a fairly lonely child, too. Nobody to play with. He didn’t dare bring anyone to the house on account of his Pops.
“Well you’re more than welcome to come over and practice any time you want. Or if you want to borrow it, I guess that works too.” He offered, it wasn’t like Ehren didn’t know where Riley lived.
Once the empties were trashed he came over to the couch again. “I mean, maybe learn the moves instead of just mashing all the buttons.” He quipped, a smirk on his face.
“Nah, bro. I’m good living over here in I sucks ville,” Riley replied, offering his friend one of those signature Kip double winks. He had better things to do than spend his free time getting hella good at Mortal Kombat.
“Are you crazy? Button mashing has gotten me places that you could only dream of.”
A laugh erupted from his belly. “Well it’s too bad we didn’t put money on it. I could be a billionaire if I play Mortal Kombat with you.” He joked, finding the spot on the couch.
“Thanks for listening to me. I know I’m kind of a soap opera sometimes.” He admitted.
“If I had money to begin with,” Riley laughed. What did money matter in a place like this? It didn’t. You were wealthy if you had friends, not money, and nothing could take those connections from him.
“You’re my best friend, I’d be a terrible friend if I didn’t eat popcorn while you talked.”
Ehren tolled his eyes at that and pushed his friend lightly. “I take my thank you back, I am not your entertainment.” He teased.
“I’m glad I get to be apart of your wedding.” He said with an honest smile.
“Psh, you’re as dramatic as a Mexican soap opera, my friend, and I love it.” Riley laughed, grinning.
At mention of the wedding his smile grew wider and more radiant. “Me too, dude! Thanks for agreeing to be Finn’s best man. Don’t get too crazy with him, okay?”
“I will only hire about 100 strippers, no more than that I swear.” He teased. He did want to throw Finn a bachelor party but it would definitely be game.
“Anyway, get out of my apartment, I’ve got a few things to do.” He wasn’t actually trying to kick Riley out but it was getting a little messy there and he didn’t want Daisy to pee on anything important.
“Oh good. I was scared you were gonna say like a hundred and one or something. That’s too many.” It wasn’t that he was jealous or anything, he absolutely wasn’t, he just knew Finn and something too outlandish might not go over well.
A raspberry would be blown and he pretended to look offended. “Kicking me out? Fine! I’ll go! Good riddance!” Laughing, he got up and waved before sauntering to the door. He took a moment to put on his shoes and his jacket before letting himself out. “Bye!”