rilys:
her heart was about to burst out of her chest – had she just ruined a twenty year old friendship ? nico is her best friend and that means too much to her for her to lose them for a feeling , but was it just a feeling ? it was like a wave crashing against her . she had no time to breathe and settle her mind before it all came crashing into her . ‘ promise me we’ll be together forever . ‘ she remembers a younger her asking a younger nico , who they looked at with love and happiness ( the look hasn’t ever changed ) . ‘ i promise riles . ‘ young nico would tell her to settle her nerves . riley was one to ask tons of questions to have confirmation on things . no wonder she got eyes rolled at her through out the school years . it didn’t matter — she would look at nico with glee as she knew they had them . no matter what , right ? that changes when you confess to them that you love them . riley felt like they were doing this all out of order . weren’t they suppose to date , fall in love then , maybe marriage , and then kids ? now it was different . all of it . her mind was spiraling , but what she felt for nico and realized for them hadn’t . riley just was scared of losing them n what she was . “ i-i “ she blurts out as she runs her fingers through her hair , her eyes scanning around as she tries to calm down her breathing . her eyes look at nico – for anything , something to bring her down . nico had always helped her bring her back . all she had to do was see them. “ right . “ clearing her throat as she stares into nico’s eyes . love was special . it was meant to be taken lightly . riley believed you only said it if you truly meant it . you were cruel to lie , so when nico tells her i love you right back . she freezes and pulls her eyes away to look at the floor . did they just say it back ? riley closes her eyes to wrap it around her brain . nico loved her and not the friendship love , but more then that. when she looks back up to see them getting closer to her . a nervous smile is given and she’s messing with her nails . “ y-you do ? you love me ? “ she questions , but she knows they mean it . riley craving more then nothing right now to be more close to them . she holds her breathe as she looks up to say . “ kiss me , nico . “
what a strange upside down world nico was currently living in. one where riley was in front of them, nervously waiting for them to return her feelings. it was enough to fill up the empty sense of dread and worry at the pit of their stomach with warmth. it was too farfetched to be a dream at this point. “ i’ve loved you, i love you, i’ll go on loving you until ... ” the words escaped them, with a pen in their hand they would’ve been able to craft the perfect line but right now there was just a blinking cursor where their brain was meant to be. it was enough to just say that they loved her, but there was probably a reason no one had been able to come up with anything more powerful to say. then just as they were floundering, unsure whether to take another step forward or back, she called them to action. even with it being the same way she told them to cool it on the espresso or stop bracing the new york winters without a jacket, everything had changed. they assumed this time it wouldn’t result in her pulling away, screaming in disgust as she clambered as far away as she could over the hills of their home town. the resulting foot race was one of the main things they had teased riley about over the years, she could barely run to catch the subway without nico popping up to remind her of the day. making a joke of it had been the only way to keep the memory alive, better than forgetting. until today, with a whole new comedy of errors they could see themself laughing about one day - laughing about together. if tommy had ever taught them his bar hopping trick then they would’ve cleared the island in one to get to her but instead they had to practically skid around it, taking riley up in their arms and kissing her the way she deserved it be kissed. their arms wrapped around her saying i’ve got you as their lips dove to hers saying believe me. there, resting in the hand that clasped the side of her head, was all they still had left to say, because it was too much for anyone to hear all at once and they were saying so much more now anyway.
