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“What’s going on— Woah, no need to pull so hard! I’m coming, Riven, I’m coming…!”
Riven had grabbed Edward by the wrist, briskly walking down the halls of Red Fountain. Classes had just gotten out, and Edward was on his way to his and Timmy’s shared dorm when Riven had ambushed him. Now he had no idea what was going on, and Riven wasn’t responding to any of his questions. He looked tense, almost angry.
“Did I do something wrong?” Edward asked, letting himself be pulled along left and right. “If I did, I swear I had no idea! Come on, can’t you at least give me a hint? I have homework to do…!”
They eventually arrived at one of the empty training rooms, normally used for hand to hand combat. They went inside and Riven shut the door.
“Oh no, you’re not gonna challenge me to a fight, are you?” Edward asked. He sat down on one of the foldout chairs. “Because I really don’t wanna hurt you—”
“No, we’re not here to fight,” Riven answered gruffly. “I just needed to get us somewhere private.”
“Well, no one’s gonna be bothering us in here, so what’s this about?” Edward tilted his head to the side, some of his hair coming loose from the gel.
Edward liked to think that he could read Riven decently well. What he was feeling at any given moment was hardly ever obvious. But Edward’s kind of gotten a feel for the system. Riven gets frustrated when he feels nervous, whenever he was snappy, he was bothered by something he did, or whenever he challenged someone’s authority, he was feeling insecure.
Right now, Riven seemed frustrated. His posture was stiff and locked-up. That likely meant he was anxious right now. But what could he be nervous about?
That’s when Edward noticed something. There was a lump in the pocket of Riven’s jeans.
“What’s in your pocket?” he asked.
Riven’s face reddened, and he scowled defensively. “It’s— It’s nothing! It’s just— Oh, what the hell… Might as well show you… I’ve come this far.”
“You’re confusing me, Riven…”
Riven reached into his front pocket and took out whatever was tucked inside. It was a box, similar to one you’d receive a necklace in. The box itself was pretty plain; It was the size of Riven’s hand, and made of red-colored cardboard.
Riven held it out in front of him, turning his head to the side, probably so his friend wouldn’t see his cheeks that were now rosy red. “Take it.”
“Is this a prank or something? Is it gonna shoot water at me, or—”
“Just take it! Jesus, dude…”
Edward shrugged in nonchalance and took the box, which was smooth in his hands.
“Hey, thanks for the box, Riv! I really needed one!” he joked.
“Hardy har har. Open it, you dumb blonde.”
Edward took the top off of the jewelry box, revealing what was inside. It was lined with velvet, and it contained a bracelet. It was a copper-colored cuff decorated with etchings, a polished black glass embellishment near its point.
“This is really pretty,” Edward murmured, examining the piece of jewelry. “Is this for Musa? Because if you ask me, she’s gonna absolutely love it! I never struck her as the type to wear bracelets like these though, but I’m sure she won’t mind—!”
“It’s not for Musa,” Riven corrected, his voice a little stilted. “It’s for you.”
“For— For me? For what? It’s not my birthday, or Christmas, or New Year’s. I mean, I guess it was St. Patrick’s day a week ago…”
“It’s not for St. Patrick’s day!” Riven snapped. “It’s not for any kind of holiday!”
“Then why are you giving me this…?”
Riven’s breath was caught in his throat. He wasn’t sure how he should answer Edward’s question. Should he make up some lie, to preserve his dignity? Well, that ship has long since sailed, so Riven swallowed his pride and forced the explanation out of his mouth.
“I know I’ve been a complete ass lately,” he began. “Even when you’re just trying to help. You’ve always given me the benefit of the doubt, even when I didn’t deserve it. You always tried to understand me, even when I made it hard to. Even when things are fucked and it’s all my fault, you keep giving me that smile and tell me everything’s gonna be okay. And I recently realized that I… I’ve never thanked you. For giving me a chance. So, this is like a— token of appreciation of sorts.”
“Wow, I… I don’t even know what to say.”
This kind of gesture had taken Edward completely by surprise. He was well aware of how much a douche Riven is, he’d be stupid if he wasn’t. Though he was of the strong belief that Riven deserved to be treated with kindness, he hadn’t really expected him to return the favor. He was content with this unrequited compassion. But it looks like those affections weren’t quite so unrequited after all.
“Here, lemme put it on you…”
Gently, Riven took Edward’s wrist and clicked the cuff on. It fit like a glove, especially for a piece of metal. It looked like it belonged there on Edward’s wiry arm.
“So… What do you think…?” Riven asked, feeling a little awkward.
“I… I like it. I really like it,” Edward’s smile widened ever-so-slightly. “I… I didn’t think you gave gifts like this. Wasn’t it… you know… expensive?”
“Edward, you’ve saved my dumb ass more times than I can count,” Riven said. “I’m pretty sure saving my life is worth spending a few extra credits, so I don’t wanna hear it.”
“Alright alright, whatever you say… I mean, if you're sure…”
“Of course I’m sure,” Riven’s normally harsh face softened. “Now please, I want you to have it. Just— Just so I don’t owe anything to you.”
Softly, Edward’s arms wrapped around Riven. His wings fluttered, then embraced Riven as well, covering him like a blanket of soft, warm feathers.
“ You have no idea how much this means to me, ” Edward whispered.
“Trust me, I think I do.”