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The usual ambient noise of the mall is muffled by the shelves as Riz inspects the necklaces in the Fantasy Claire’s.
Too tacky… that one’s plastic… this one is straight-up ugly, that one’s just a rock from outside, who put that here?
The friendship necklace selection here is, quite frankly, terrible. Unfortunately, Riz has neither the budget nor the transportation to access anywhere else, so there isn’t really another option. Really, all he needs is something normal , but that’s far more difficult to find than it should be.
No, no, no- wait, actually. He reaches up, only barely managing to catch his fingers on the packaging and remove it from the rack. Perfect . Just a simple gold heart split in two. Still tacky, of course, but Riz thinks it’s in an endearing way, and he knows Fabian is far more sentimental than he would ever admit, so hopefully he’ll like it too.
A few minutes later, he’s walking out of the store with a spring in his step, clipping his half of the necklace around his neck and tucking it under his shirt. Now he just has to find a chance to give the other half to Fabian.
-
He’s going to give Fabian the necklace soon. Today, even, if things go according to plan.
Speaking of Fabian, he’s meant to be picking Riz up so they can head to school. He’s late, though, as he so often is, and Riz has been sitting on the steps of Strongtower Luxury Apartments for at least ten minutes, necklace in hand.
He’s not complaining though. It means he has more time to plan. His mom would probably say that he’s overthinking things and he doesn’t need to plan to give someone a gift, but he knows better. He’s not paranoid, he takes precautions .
His musings, and his planning, are both interrupted by the sound of a familiar engine approaching as Fabian skids into the parking lot. Note to self: convince Fabian to invest in a helmet. Or maybe get Cathilda to make him get one , Riz thinks as he quickly shoves the necklace back into his pocket before Fabian can see it and making his way over.
“The Ball! Good morning!” Fabian calls, far too loud for both their proximity and the hour of the morning. The Hangman rumbles in annoyance as Riz hops on- it still doesn’t like him, for whatever reason.
“Hey, Fabian! You’re late again , man.” Riz says teasingly.
“Well, The Ball, some of us need to take time to look after our appearances-not everyone wants to walk around with their hair looking like it was attacked with a blow-dryer, you know.” Fabian replies, equally teasing.
Riz almost gets his next words out before The Hangman takes off, the noise of the engine drowning out any words he would’ve said.
He spends the whole ride to school planning out his words as soon as they stop at school. Technically, he already planned them, but there’s no harm in rehearsing, and adjusting, and he’s definitely not nervous no matter what the sensible part of him says.
The school comes into view before long, and The Hangman pulls up outside the school. Both of them climb off, and before Fabian can start walking over to the other Bad Kids Riz grabs his sleeve.
“Wait a second, I have- uh- I have a… thing.” He stumbles over his words, feeling a faint blush come over his face. Who knew giving someone a necklace could be so embarrassing?
“Alright, The Ball, what is it?” Fabian folds his arms, expression somewhat bemused.
Riz stays quiet for a moment, almost reaching for his pocket, but…
What if Fabian doesn’t like it? What if he says they aren’t best friends, and Riz has completely misinterpreted their relationship and he’s making it weird?
He can’t do it.
“Actually, nevermind! Let’s go, we’re already almost late for class.” Riz can tell that Fabian doesn’t entirely believe him, but if he just leaves it for a while, it’ll be fine . Probably.
Clearly, he needs to plan more thoroughly.
-
Ocean travel in a van that really isn’t big enough for eleven people and a motorcycle makes it particularly challenging to have a moment alone with someone, it turns out.
Riz knows he could probably just wait until they reach Leviathan, but given the way their group functions (or doesn’t, as the case may be) he doubts they’ll have more than a few minutes of peace in a literal pirate city before something happens.
So, on this particular quiet moment, rare as it is, Riz finds Fabian sitting atop the van, as he talks to Cathilda. He can’t quite catch the tail end of their conversation as he clambers up, though, and Cathilda smiles knowingly at him as she leaves them alone. He can never tell if she actually knows what he’s thinking or if she just smiles like that.
Fabian leans back where he sits, leaning on his hands, as Riz settles next to him and swings his legs off the side of the van.
“Hey, The Ball! Has Gorgug got any updates about where we are?” He says. He’s keeping his voice just slightly quieter than usual, though, like he’s not fully invested in being his usual overly-boisterous self. Riz isn’t sure most people would even notice, but he does.
“No, he hasn’t said anything- I guess it’s probably pretty hard to pinpoint our distance from Leviathan when it’s just… this.” Riz gestures vaguely to the ocean surrounding them. “I don’t think we’re too far out, though.”
Fabian hums in acknowledgement and turns to stare back out to sea, as the sun begins to set on the horizon.
“Well, I’m sure that when we get there, you’re all going to love it. It’s fucking awesome .” That strange tone is still there.
Riz hovers his hand over his pocket, where the necklace rests. Something is up, and giving it to Fabian now would lead to a whole thing and he’d probably not get a chance to ask.
It can wait.
“Is something up, Fabian?” Riz asks, leaning forward to look up at Fabian.
Fabian’s ear twitches as his eye widens slightly in surprise.
“No- what do you- no, I’m fine!” He fumbles through his words, but swiftly gives in when Riz raises a doubtful eyebrow.
“Fine- I- I’m worried, I guess, about going to Leviathan. I mean, my father isn’t, for some reason, really talked about or- respected, in Elmville, but in Leviathan, it’s different . He knew so many people, and he was-is- feared , and people are going to look at me and- I don’t know. I guess I’m just worried that I won’t live up to his reputation there, or something. I don’t know, The Ball.”
Fabian takes a breath, and in the beat of silence after, Riz considers his words. Moments of true emotional honesty are rare, from Fabian. They’re similar in that way.
He takes in a matching breath.
“Fabian, I- your dad’s reputation isn’t your responsibility, you know? He’s- he’s dead, I don’t think he cares much about it now, while he’s killing devils down in Hell, or whatever. And besides, who gives a shit what a bunch of pirates think of you?” Riz knows his words aren’t perfect, that Fabian might not actually absorb them, but he tries.
“Yeah- I guess, The Ball. I have got a pretty great crew to back me up, as well, don’t I?” He turns to fully face Riz, with his familiar cocky grin back on his face.
Riz smiles back.
“I actually wanted to-” He’s interrupted by a crash from inside the van, and a chorus of voices clamoring over each other.
“Actually- nevermind, we should probably check that out.” He’s barely got the words out before Fabian has climbed back inside through the window, his voice joining in with everyone else’s.
Next time, for sure, he’ll give Fabian the necklace. For sure.
-
The armchair in Fabian’s room is uncomfortable. Good. It’s better that way, so Riz can stay awake. So he can make sure no one else hurts his best friend.
It can’t stop playing in his mind, the moment they found Fabian, blood pooling under his head, hanging above the ground. The repeated voice in his head of what if you didn’t find him in time, what if they had found him first, what if what if what if .
It’s better to just stay awake.
Fabian isn’t meant to be this quiet. Riz shuffles his chair a little closer to the bed.
There’s a small clink on the floor as he does so, and he looks down to see Fabian’s half of the friendship necklace on the floor. Or what will be Fabian’s half, eventually.
If he isn’t careful, if he can’t protect Fabian here, then maybe it’ll never be his half, and it’ll just sit in Riz’s pocket forever.
He scoops it off the floor gently, like it’s something of far more value than what he paid for it, and he looks again at Fabian’s sleeping form, finally actually sleeping after clearly pretending to for a while .
Riz, quiet as he possibly can be, slips off of his chair and pads softly across the floor to stand directly next to the bed.
If Fabian was- if he was okay , and awake, Riz could almost hear him calling that creepy. What the hell are you doing standing over me while I sleep, The Ball, and then both of them would laugh and Riz would deny being creepy and it would be normal , but Fabian isn’t okay and instead he continues to lie there, far too small and far too sad.
Riz lets out a soft breath, and carefully untangles the necklace in his hand.
He takes Fabian’s hand in his, touch feather-light, and presses the charm into his hand, closing his fingers around it.
He isn’t really sure what the gesture will do, whether it will do anything at all, but he hopes that when he wakes up Fabian can find a little comfort in having a physical thing to remind him that people care about him, that Riz cares about him.
He moves back across the room to the armchair again, and returns to his vigil. He won’t let Fabian be alone.
Barely a few hours later, once Kalina has released him from paralysis and he struggles back into the room, he finds the necklace abandoned on the floor next to the bed.
It’s a childish hope, no matter how brief, that it could have done much for Fabian in his nightmare-possessed state.
He takes a brief moment (wasting time, Fabian could be dying or dead or captured by now, he has to hurry ) to take it from the ground and return it to his pocket.
He’ll think about it later. There’s no time .
-
There’s an air of relief, as they return to Kei Lumennura with Adaine in tow. And Aelwyn, Riz supposes, but he doesn’t think any of them besides Adaine (and maybe Fabian) are entirely invested in her wellbeing.
Alongside the relief of seeing Adaine safe and alive, Riz feels though he’s had a weight lifted off his shoulders as Fabian finally looks better . He’s smiling far more, smiling genuinely, and he’s regained the confidence in his step.
Riz smiles to himself as he imagines himself from the start of their freshman year reacting to being relieved that Fabian was being confident and boisterous.
Everyone has split off into their own groups, to talk, or heal, or whatever. Riz and Gorgug are settled together to watch Fabian dance, and while they started out sitting separately somewhere along the line Riz ended up curled against Gorgug, who is struggling to stay awake.
Riz hasn’t fully dropped his smile since they defeated the elementals at Calethriel Tower together. It feels good, to be believed in, and believe in his friends in return.
As he sits, content to simply observe Fabian, Riz finds himself fidgeting with his half of the necklace, cheap metal cool and soothing under his fingers.
It’s slightly tarnished from wear, and has left faint marks on both his skin and his shirt, but he won’t take it off.
He glances up at Fabian again, at how peaceful he looks, dancing under the perfect moon over Fallinel.
In a moment of random motivation, Riz carefully extracts himself from Gorgug, now fully asleep, and steps across the clearing to join Fabian.
Riz does not know how to dance, but he can definitely try. Fabian notices him, before long, and badly represses laughter at his attempt, to which Riz ‘stumbles’ directly into him, making sure to jab his elbow into Fabian’s side.
“Oops.” Riz can feel himself grinning, and Fabian shoves him gently in response.
“Grandpapa was right, you are a little dick.” He puts on his grandfather’s lofty accent for a brief moment, and Riz snorts.
“Like you’re much better, asshole. Am I not allowed to try and connect with my best friend’s hobbies?” He sees Fabian’s eye widen slightly at the words best friend , and that familiar worry courses through him, but Fabian just smiles again.
“Well, I can certainly help you connect .” Riz is promptly swept, quite literally, off his feet, as Fabian resumes his dance with Riz in tow. It’s significantly less graceful this way, but Fabian doesn’t seem to mind and so he doesn’t either.
All thoughts of the necklace are pushed from his mind as he’s spun around the clearing, occasionally wrapped in Fabian’s sheet or otherwise incorporated further into the dance.
Both of them are giggling their way through the dance, the inherent silliness of Riz’s lack of dancing talent proving itself incredibly funny to two sleep-deprived teenagers.
By the time the sun has begun to rise between the trees, Riz is quite thoroughly dizzy and equally out of breath, though Fabian seems completely fine. Unfair.
Fabian seems happy to keep dancing alone, so Riz stumbles away, trying to shake off the spinning vision from a possibly excessive number of pirouttes and spins he was dragged along with.
Panting, he begins to make his way back over to Gorgug, before-
“The Ball, you dropped something!” He turns to see Fabian scooping up something golden and shiny from the perfect green grass.
Panic quickly rushes through Riz and he lunges forward to snatch it from Fabian’s hand before he can look at it properly.
“Woah, The Ball, why am I not allowed to see it?” Fabian asks, amusement clear in his voice.
“It’s- it’s nothing!” Riz huffs, tucking it back into his pocket. He should really find a more secure place to keep it.
“Okay, okay, no need to get stressed about it, man.” Fabian doesn’t seem particularly pressed about it. Good. Is that good? Riz
does
want to give it to him. Ugh, he’s made it awkward now.
Riz scampers away, back to Gorgug, and Fabian returns to his dance, sheet swirling bright gold in the dawn light.
He flops back down onto the… bench formed of branches, and before long he can feel his eyes slipping shut.
-
Riz is perhaps, just perhaps, a little bit drunk. Just a little, for sure! The shrimp party is great , and he’s really only had a little bit of alcohol.
Currently, he’s leaning almost entirely on Fabian, because for whatever reason he can’t seem to sit up straight without feeling kinda dizzy, which is weird, but it’s probably fine.
He thinks he was just saying something about shrimp, but he’s not entirely sure, and it doesn’t really matter. Everyone is being a little less noisy, now, as they all get very drunk and very tired. Except Ayda, and maybe Fig, both of whom he hasn’t seen in a while. Weird.
“The Ball, are you- are you- asleep?” Fabian is also, maybe, a little bit drunk, fumbling through his words.
“Mm. No. Could- could go to sleep, though.” He melts further into Fabian’s side, and takes another messy sip of his drink. Most of it appears to end up on his shirt.
“Hmm. Me too, I think, but- but- we were s’posed to stay up. Shrimp party, hoot…hoot-growl!” Riz can practically see Fabian pumping his arm into the air with that.
“I- I think I had somethin’ to give t’you. Maybe. I don’t really remember, I might be… might be drunk. Maybe.” Riz is trying his best to remember, but there seems to be a haze in the way of thinking clearly. “I’m pretty sure it’s like, really important.”
“Uh. Yeah, I dunno either.” Fabian wraps his arm around Riz’s shoulders. “S’probably fine. We have tomorrow, an’ maybe longer, before we go to the nightmare forest and kick that king’s ass.”
“Hmm. Yeah. Thanks-thank you, Fabian, you’re right. And we’re like, totally gonna kill that guy. And it’s gonna be- it’s gonna be so cool. Spring break!” They attempt a cheers with their drinks, but between their drunkenness and Fabian’s already lessened depth perception it mostly just leads to a spillage.
“We’re gonna have to clean up so much mess in the mornin’. Ugh.” Riz wrinkles his nose. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to throw a party in someone else’s house.
“S’ fine , we can get ‘Thilda to help us. She’s- she’s good at cleanin’, it’s her job .” Fabian declares confidently. “An’ we can make Gilear help.”
“ Fabian , Cathilda’s not- she’s not here, she went with your mom back to Elmville.” Perhaps they’re a little bit too drunk.
“Oh. Yeah, she did. S’rry, I forgot. I miss her, The Ball.” Fabian sniffles, a little, and Riz puts his hand in Fabian’s and squeezes it gently.
“S’okay. I miss my mom, too, I think. Feels like ages since we left. But I- I’m glad that I’ve got you. All of you, but you s’pecially. You’re like, my best friend, ever.” Fabian squeezes his hand back.
“Yeah! Yeah, The Ball, we’re- we’re best friends. The Ball and The Captain, yeah?” Riz hums in affirmation, and can’t help but beam up at Fabian. Then, suddenly, an epiphany.
“Oh! I-I remembered the, uh, the, the thing! I was gonna give you! It’s uh- a necklace! Yeah! So we can, so we can match, as like, a best friend thing!” He gets the vague sense that if he weren’t so drunk he would be significantly more embarassed, but that isn’t important.
“Oh, that’s- that’s really- really nice, of you, The Ball. I don’t think I’ve ever really had a best friend, before you.” Fabian’s tone becomes more thoughtful, then, with a hint of sadness underneath.
“Me neither. You guys are like, the first friends I’ve ever had, beyond Penny. S’really nice, to have a best friend.” He feels the low vibration of Fabian humming a soft affirmation beside him. “But- I dunno where I put the necklace, I think I’m too- too drunk, to remember. S’rry.” Riz can feel his ears droop down, but Fabian just pulls him closer.
“S’okay. We can find it in the mornin’.” Riz is finding it very hard to keep his eyes open.
“Mhm. Yeah. Let’s do that.” He drifts off, then, Fabian beside him.
They don’t sleep the whole night, there’s more partying to be done, but when morning comes around and they’re interrupted by both raging hangovers and the townspeople, the necklace takes a backseat, again.
-
It’s been a few weeks, almost a month, since the Bad Kids returned from their quest, and Riz is working late. Again.
His office is too quiet. It’s unnerving, bringing back unsettling memories of Baron. The scratches from his claws on the floorboards still haven’t been cleaned up, though the mirror is long gone.
The silence is broken by a ping from his crystal.
fabian!!: where r u
Huh. It’s late, almost one in the morning, and Fabian is usually very specific about his sleep schedule.
He responds, though, only to receive another notification a few seconds later.
fabian!!: omw
Riz isn’t sure what to think about that. What could be so urgent that Fabian wants to talk, in person, in the middle of the night?
There’s nothing to do but wait, though, so he tries and fails to focus on his case until he hears the key in the lock of the door. Fabian has a key, of course, all of the Bad Kids do. It’s a precaution, both to make himself and them feel safer after Baron.
Riz gets up from his chair to greet Fabian at the door as it opens on silent hinges, still fairly new after having to be replaced after it was broken down, before.
“Hey, The Ball.” Fabian sounds… surprisingly okay. Riz inspects him as he locks the door again, assessing for injuries or suspicious traces of magic or… something, to explain what’s going on.
“Fabian, why are you here? It’s late, man.” He leads Fabian back to the room he uses as his main space, with his desk and a small couch. He settles there, instead of at his desk, and pulls Fabian down to sit with him.
“I needed to- uh- ask you about something.” He doesn’t really look confused, or worried, mostly just thoughtful. Riz has noticed that he seems more so since the forest.
“Sure, man, what is it?” He tries to get an insight on Fabian, figure out what he’s after, but he can’t quite grasp his expression.
“When we were, like, really drunk, at the shrimp party-the first one- you mentioned something about, uh, a necklace? Or something? As a- as a best friend thing.” Fabian sounds uncertain, and he moves his feet up to sit cross-legged on the couch, fingers drumming a rhythm on his thigh.
Ah. Riz, honestly, barely remembers bringing that up. For one, he was very drunk and also, so much happened afterwards that what they talked about barely crossed his mind.
Well, he has been waiting a while .
“Oh! Uh- yeah, I did. And, yeah, I- I bought us, uh, friendship necklaces. Like, a while ago, but I never… got ‘round to giving it to you, I guess.” Riz can practically feel the heat radiating off his face.
He hops off the couch before Fabian can respond or before he can chicken out, and opens the secret compartment in his desk he’s been keeping the necklace in, alongside a few random trinkets and precious things.
He turns back to Fabian, necklace in hand.
“It’s- you don’t have to wear it, if you don’t want to, I just though it would be… nice, I guess, to have. It’s- I don’t know, I-” He’s interrupted by the necklace being snatched from him, and the sight of Fabian making a valiant attempt at fastening the clasp around his neck.
“Fabian- you should turn it around, dumbass, it’s easier if you fasten it from the front- here, let me do it.” Riz can’t help but let laughter leak into his voice as he scrambles up the couch to click the clasp into place.
“The Ball, I can’t believe you. How long have you had this, and never given it to me? Where’s your half?” There’s laughter in Fabian’s voice too, mixed with clear affection, and Riz pulls the chain out from where it’s tucked under his shirt.
“I- okay, maybe I bought them like, the week before spring break started, and maybe I tried to give it to you a few times and didn’t manage it, but it’s not like you’re any better!” He flops back down next to Fabian, keeping his tone teasingly indignant.
“Oh, I would’ve only taken at most a month, The Ball. Between the two of us you are way worse!” Riz sticks his tongue out in response, and Fabian snorts.
“But- I mean… I guess I was worried that you wouldn’t- that you wouldn’t agree, that we’re best friends.” Riz looks away, ears flicking. “I- I’ve said, that in the forest, in my visions, I saw… all of you, leaving me for people you cared about more than you cared about me. I guess it scares me, that I might care about people too much, and they don’t feel the same.”
It’s scary, being vulnerable like this, but Riz manages to keep the tremble from his voice, just about. He’s still looking away, when he’s suddenly pulled into a tight hug.
“I haven’t… I never actually said everything I saw in the forest. My- my first vision, when we were in the temple, I had- I saw myself, fading away, and you all forgot about me. I just stopped existing, and no one even noticed, and I think that scared me the most. That I could just be forgotten, and I wouldn’t have left any impact of my own.” Fabian takes in a shaky breath.
“I guess- what I’m trying to say is that I get it. Being scared of being left behind, being scared of being forgotten, they’re not that dissimilar, right? And I don’t want to leave you behind. You are my best friend, and I’m not going anywhere no matter what that little puppet freak tells you, okay?” Riz wraps his arms around Fabian to return the hug, and they settle into each other’s space easily.
“I- thank you, Fabian. Thank you. I don’t- I don’t think the fear will go away, not really, but… it’s nice to hear that. And, if it’s anything, I don’t think I could ever forget about you. I don’t think any of us could.” From where they’re curled together, Riz can feel Fabian’s breath falter, and his does the same. He sniffles, just a little.
It’s nice, to hear these things aloud. Baron’s words still pierce deep, even though logically he knows they aren’t true, and hearing Fabian deny them dulls that pain.
“I- I love you. You’re my best friend, and I love you.” He breathes out, voice quiet and soft into Fabian’s side.
“I love you too.” Equally quiet, but the words hang gentle and caring in the air between them.
The silence is no longer suffocating and unsettling, like it was when he was alone, but instead it’s become comfortable and warm, as they sit together on Riz’s shitty office couch and both pretend that they aren’t crying, even a little bit.