Chapter Text
College is ALOT which is dumb because Riz has one hundred percent experienced more stressful situations with higher stakes. But sometimes he's running across campus to be only ten minutes late to a class nobody shows up on time for and his mom calls just as he's sliding between someone's legs to snatch case files from getting lost in the whirlwind he's created. He can see on her face the words it's okay if you're having a hard time and this isn't high school anymore while the guilt track in his head reminds him this place isn't siphoning money from their wallets so that the bar can be set at "only ten minutes late to class".
Fuck.
And everyone seems way too relaxed all the time so he tries going to the library which gives off a more frenzied energy that makes him feel less like a green hurricane with a pen behind his ear, even though the quiet makes him squirm. But whatever. He gets a book open and is furiously scribbling notes, feeling like he's got a grip, only to look up and into glaring eyes because he didn't realize he'd been scratching (clawing) at the table absently with his free hand. He tastes an unfamiliar crunch in his mouth and realizes he's chewed the end of his pen clear off.
He's still thinking about it when Fabian visits because his new adventuring party is taking a break from a particularly arduous quest whose next stop is a few towns over.
"You should come with us!" Fabian punches his hand like he's discovered the fix to a problem. He walks backwards through the park as if he's traipsed it dozens of times before, making big gestures with his hands. "Allenfall has a heavy curse on him, my guy will be out of commission for at least a month, maybe longer."
Riz cocks his head, "Why do you sound happy about that?"
"I'm not. I just think it'd be dope to have The Ball back on the court so to speak. See what I did there?"
"From space." Fabian kicks a stick up into his hand and uses it to flick Riz's cap almost off his head, nearly succeeding. "I appreciate the offer, I do, but I've got enough going on as it is." He hesitates for a moment. "I haven't been...myself."
"Look, Fig and Gorgug are playing at Gold Alley next week then my party and I are heading out-if you haven't changed your mind by then just come and say goodbye."
Riz nods. "I'll think about it."
He tries to rehearse partying which is stupid because he's definitely been to parties before, but not since The Bad Kids graduated and went in separate directions. His roommate Desthrial gives him a flyer for a rager they insist will be a good starter for Riz because the frat house throwing it is known for being the least problematic of the bunch. Riz walks through the door and a cup is pressed into his hands and nobody calls him The Ball or a slur, which granted is setting expectations very low. He's only leaning against the wall for a few minutes when someone comes up to tell him he has a cool hat except she genuinely means it and launches into a whole spiel about yellow journalism and film noir. Riz nods, finds an entry point to bring up the fact he's a private investigator, and produces a business card that she actually takes and puts securely into her back pocket. His cup gets refilled as he's mid-story and people are laughing and shoving his shoulder so that the beer spills on the carpet but nobody notices so he doesn't notice. It's going well until he's finished with the Kalvaxus story and makes an offhand comment about how he'd actually tasted kinda awful towards the end, but it was the principle of the matter to finish.
"Whoa, hold up you ate him? You munched down on a Dragonborn?"
Riz bites the side of his tongue. "There's a lot more nuance to it."
"Could you go full Goblin right now? Wild out for real?"
"You know it's actually not a fun cool thing I want to do on command."
"Awww, don't be a buzzkill."
Someone standing behind him gives him a shove forward while a chorus begins, a drunken circle of people twice his height shouting, "Do it!" so forcefully their grip leaves dents in the solo cups they're holding. Riz tries to walk backwards, but is pushed forward again as the chanting continues."Okay guys I can literally feel the trauma forming in my brain, could we-?"
Someone grabs him from behind, arms beneath his, and his feet kick air as he's lifted. Apart of him clocks that he's being picked up to be moved and not thrown, but the part of him that's been clawing at tables and aching to bitethrashgrowl wakes up with purpose. It gets its palm over his eyes and tells him to go to sleep, just for a second, and he gives into it.
[ He didn't do anything terrible, he didn't hurt anyone, but he wrecked the place and gave everyone the exact show they were begging for. He wakes up fully clothed beneath his roommates bed with an alarm blaring that if he leaves now he'll only be ten minutes late to class. ]
Blissfully he gets a new case and it's a meaty one. Someone has been altering test results but only amongst the academic elites, points and percentages raised here and there amongst the same 10 people all vying for valedictorian with clues incriminating every one of them. They all pay him the same price separately to get to the bottom of it so they don't risk becoming the fall guy and amongst them is the true culprit. He can't walk into the library without the regulars eyeing him and Desthrial's on again-off again girlfriend, Jenno, showed up with fangs and a sudden aversion to sunlight so Riz spends his weeknights working at a picnic table situated beneath a street lamp.
One night he's having another listen to the audio he recorded from his first round interviews, pausing only to crack open his notebook and write follow-up questions and suspects in red ink. It gets late and he still hasn't gotten a message from Desthrial telling him it's alright to come back so he climbs into a tree to keep himself focused, balancing on a branch forcing him to maintain a level of concentration as he makes a relationship diagram between the students and admin staff in charge of record keeping. His concentration is split so evenly between the two things that he yelps and nearly topples out of the tree when a rock hits the side of his head.
"The Ball, the fuck?"
"Hey, maybe never do that again."
Fabian rolls his eyes. "Hey maybe don't be in rando trees at midnight. If I may repeat, 'the fuck'?"
"Um, yeah, uh give me a sec." He collects his things, shoving them brusquely into his messenger bag, then climbs down. "What are you doing here anyway?"
"It's Friday." Riz blinks. "Gold Alley. Fig and the Cig Figs one night only. Except it's three nights, but whatever, we're on time to be fashionably late."
"Oh dammit, Fabian, I completely forgot. I'm finally starting to make some headway on-"
"If you say a case I'm going to throw you back into that tree."
Something green and sharp flashes through Riz that he quickly muscles back into place. Nobody is dying, Desthrial hasn't messaged, and his first class tomorrow isn't until noon. He can do this. He can.
He nods. "Let's party."
"THE BALL! Yes!"
It's a great show. Fig wields her bass guitar and voice like a sword and Gorgug has grown his hair out long so it flows around him in waves with the force of his drumming. The ground shakes beneath them and Fabian is shout singing the words with confidence despite only getting about half the lyrics right. There's a push towards the stage and Fig stops the music to radiate hellfire and threaten to bring the wrath of the Bottomless Pit upon them all if one person gets trampled, but Fabian still interlaces his fingers and holds them out to Riz in a silent offer. Riz steps a foot into Fabian's palms and with only a little bit of fumbling winds up on his shoulders. Fig spots him and stops playing again to jump up and down while Gorgug waves his hands in the air. "We love you! Riz we love you!" They shout over the roar of the crowd then launch into a rowdy edition of 'Cupids Fuck Around, I Don't'.
When it's all over they go back to Riz's and he introduces them to Desthrial and their (officially on again) girlfriend. Fig sits on the desk and blows smoke out the window, Gorgug drums the carpet and Fabian acts out a story of prowess that Riz swears he's heard before with significantly less explosions involved. He ends it by saying it would've been an even easier win back in the day.
"Yeah," Gorgug laughs, "we could've just launched Riz straight at him."
"I love my party but they're so anti-throwing! Expert swords folk, but try to swing one into a pile of a ruffians and it's all 'that's what cannons are for' and 'I'm twice your body weight'."
"Cowards," Fig chimes in, tongue in cheek.
"Truly though!"
Desthrial gestures and Fig hands them her cigarette. They hold it out to Riz first who shakes his head, "Before the JavHut party I would not believe Riz could get down like that."
Fig takes the cigarette Jenno passes back to her. "What happened at the JavHut party?"
"Nothing," Riz says quickly, "I got way too drunk."
"And I've got the bitemarks to prove it." Destrial laughs. "I'm a quarter orc, it's cool, but was not expecting it."
Thankfully, Gorgug asks Jenno if vampires drink orc blood thus creating an awkward enough conversational segue to captivate everyone. By the end of the hour Desthrial and Jenno are off-again and Fig has offered to introduce her to one of their roadies who was turned last year and been on a quest to be cured, but found themselves in the process. Desthrial insists on tagging along to vet the person and Riz bets it's only a matter of hours before the pair are on-again.
Fabian stays behind, taking up the empty spot of floor across from Riz.
"So."
"So."
Fabian shrugs. "So?"
"Fabian, I know you don't get this because you've won the genetic lottery of life, but being a Goblin adventurer is complicated. When I go off the rails it confirms everything people think about people like me."
"That's it? I will straight up murder anyone that gives you shit like that pirate who yeeted himself into the ocean."
"Okay, but they're not always going to be pirates, dude. Sometimes it'll be drunk JavHutters who think I'm cool, but want to see me eat through a sofa and crawl up walls."
Fabian crosses his arms, voice quiet as he stares at the space between them. "I miss you."
"I miss you too."
"No," he kicks Riz's dress boot with his sneaker, "I miss you." He scratches the top of his head. "Allenfall isn't cursed anymore. I kicked him out for getting cursed in the first place because it'd make room. For you."
"That's supremely fucked up. You're literally the reason unions exist."
"Yeah I know, he's reported me to the Ministry." Fabian smiles as if pleased with himself. "I'm evading their capture as we speak."
Riz laughs. "You're an idiot. Your dad would be so proud."
"Not why I'm doing it, but yeah he so would." He kicks Riz again and Riz kicks him back. "Not in a dumb 50's patriarchal way, alright, but I'd take care of you." He nods towards the window. "Out there."
"Look at you Mr. Gender Studies 101."
"Bite me." They both laugh, trading a series of feet kicks back and forth until Fabian's cheeks are tinged with red and the tension has gone out of Riz replaced with something freeform and cool like that time he ate through an ice sculpture at a Christmas party with distant relatives. Fabian grabs him by the leg and his palm is hot, Riz can feel it through his slacks. "Riz? Bite me."
"Shut up."
"You bit your roommate."
"That does NOT count, I was way overstimulated and out of it. They caught me off guard!" Riz thinks that's the end of it only to find himself on his back while Fabian's hands roam over him looking for a ticklish spot and not finding it, but still grabbing and pushing at Riz's shirt and bits of skin exposed as his clothing is tangled and shoved. It's funny watching him try to find a magic spot so he's laughing not from the touch, but Fabian's attempts, still squirming because Fabian can't keep still which means he can't either. A soundless alarm is whirring like a broken cop siren in the back of his mind, but before he can figure out what it means Fabian's arm comes up to Riz's face as he repositions himself and Riz's teeth sink into it. He tastes nothing like dragons, Riz thinks and then they've parted with Fabian on his back beside him to inspect the mark.
There's no blood, only indents that match the shape of Riz's mouth, but he still feels awful. His heart stuttering in his chest as Fabian lifts up on his elbows to lean over and hit him maybe, shove him or
"Ow!" It doesn't hurt, Riz says it more on instinct, but still the last thing he was expecting was for Fabian to bite the tip of his nose.
"That was so weak! Literally how did you eat Goldenrod with bite game like that."
"It was different! I was in a frenzy, my mom was there!"
Fabian rolls onto his side, flicking Riz's shirt collar. "Do you want to call your mom and try again?"
"You're saying that in such a gross tone of voice I legitimately want to punch you. Like my gut is telling me to punch you in the face right now."
"Hot."
Riz places his palm on Fabian's face and shoves it away with a smile.
He doesn't go with Fabian because of course he doesn't. He has school, a case, and not a social life exactly but an overarching life plan he's trying to cut out for himself. Getting by is adventure enough and making it is a quest he's prepared to take on. For the rest of the quarter he's only five minutes late to his classes and someone has started leaving threatening notes on his door which means he's also circling the drain of the truth. Another quarter later and his mom has to show up in person to make sure he doesn't sneak any work back to Elmville for Harvest Festival. Which is fine, the heat needs to die down a little and he's got connects willing to crystal him if anything happens while he's gone.
It's not a real Harvest Festival without strained conversations over punch while the Helio and Deo followers argue over decorations, small children creating fencing swords of corn and wheat to duel while their parents verbally battle above their heads. Kristin makes them duck behind a hay bale to drink fermented corn.
"Is this sacrilegious you think?"
Riz thinks about it. "I mean you don't believe in Helio anymore so no?"
"Fucking missed you." He grins before he realizes she's talking over his head to Fabian who drops down with a grunt and holds out a hand for the bottle. He's sporting some new scars on his neck and bare arms.
"Why are you wearing a suit?" He asks Riz before water-falling the alcohol into his mouth.
"Mom told me to dress nice."
"Tackled Riz says what?"
"What?" Fabian leaps atop him while Kristin grabs the bottle before it can spill and eggs them on until spotting Sklonda and kicking dirt over them in the process of trying to nudge them apart.
"Wow, at your big age, huh?"
"You know any other adult would not be able to pull off that slang Ms. Gukgak, but you?" Kristin kisses her fingers. "I dig it."
Sklonda reaches behind Kristin for the bottle, empties it into her mouth and tosses it flawlessly over her shoulder into a trash can. "I've got news for you, Applebees, we're all adults now."
Kristin watches her go, eyes glazed. "Okay is there a world in which-"
"No." Riz wipes dust off his slacks. "And you're hereby dis-invited from all dinners at my house effective immediately."
"Whoa, chill out MILF block, I was kidding."
Fabian shakes his head. "She's not kidding."
"Yeah, no I'm actually not kidding." She puts an arm around his shoulders "Punch time?"
After the festival Fabian insists on driving him back to campus. It's a two day trip if they square out time to drop off some texts to a temple Kristin is currently helping to reform. The followers offer them free room and board for their trouble and they play cards in bed until they've swapped more yawns than words. Riz twists and turns for nearly half an hour before Fabian rolls onto his stomach and slips a hand up his shirt.
"I'm not ticklish."
"Pretend."
They wrestle, fall onto the floor and when Riz makes a small tear in Fabian's shirt Fabian nods and Riz rips it clear through the middle. Sweat falls from his forehead onto Fabian's stomach as he headbutts him only to be thrown to the other side of the room, he skids to a halt with one leg outstretched behind him then runs forward into Fabian's open arms that wrap him up and swing him off his feet as gracefully as if it were an orchestrated dance. Riz bites him at the base of his neck, scraping his teeth down and out as if ripping flesh but not really. When he looks down there's a pinprick of blood that Fabian presses his thumb over then wipes away on his own leg.
"I need a shower," he whispers.
Riz clambers off him and gets back into bed, staring at the ceiling while listening to the water run until he falls asleep.
Master, is Riz Gukgak your boyfriend?
"No, Hangman, shut up."
He smells of you.
"How can you smell, you're a motorcycle."
I am a beast of the infernal realm, I sense all and I sense that the one known as The Ball has either bathed in my master's sweat or you two have been...doing it.
"Gross, listen the only 'it' we did was fight, right Fabian?"
Fabian clears his throat. "He's correct, Hangman, a simple gentleman's spar to pass the evening."
YES.
Fabian takes Riz's bags up to his door, dropping them on the floor and not looking him in the eye when he says that his next quest is due to be a long one.
"How long?"
"A year at least."
"Wow, okay. Well." Riz takes off his cap. "I'll miss you."
"It's fine, I'm sure Desthrial would be super into you biting them if you asked."
Riz frowns. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing. Just if all you want is to go around biting randos, seeking release, there's people who would be into that."
"I didn't ask you to bring that out in me, Fabian."
"No, but you're hella down to let me do it."
Riz opens and shuts his mouth until he realizes he looks like a gaping fish. "What's my line here, buddy?"
"Nothing, buddy, I hope you have a good semester."
Riz's fingers clench in his hat as Fabian begins to walk backwards away from him. "I hope you have a good year."
"I hope you have a good life!"
"I hope you have a good everything!"
"You deserve the world The Ball!"
"No you deserve the world Bill Seacaster's son!"
Riz's fists are clenched and he's panting with so much rage his body is vibrating with the need to put it somewhere. A hand comes to rest on the middle of his back and he flinches, the tension being expelled with one shaky breath as he watches Fabian punch the wall then turn around to jog out of sight. Desthrial removes their hand, pointing to their room.
"Someone trashed the place while we were gone."
Finally, something that made sense.