int. ryder house pregame - late afternoon, before wedding reception, May 9 @angstfactory (claudio, fitz), @stoneasher @aggierobshaw and ruth discord
Ashton "ha, you should see the way Ruth's medal display holds against mine, can't beat that," Ash chuckled to Claude pointing in the general direction where the two's proof of accomplishments still hung in the hallway in their family home, helping to put out the goods they bought from the grocery store before coming back home for them to snack and drink while they got ready. Ash hasn't changed yet, waiting for Asher to arrive at least before they all got ready together. He called out to Ruth and his mom letting them know they were back home, before turning to Claude, "got your clothes to change?"
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Claudio This was like, experiencing a time capsule in real time for them. They had not been to Ashton’s house in years, so as they scooted in behind Ashton with their arms laden with several bags, they stared around wide-eyed to catch everything that was different, and everything that was the same. Old pictures were there, along with new, the kids growing up in them. And apparently this wall of trophies. “Honestly surprised it can carry all that weight,” they joked, following after Ashton quickly and setting down the bags. Claudio then looked down at themselves, a soft frown furrowing their brows as they twisted the cuffed material that hung down over their palms, because their Sunday best was several years out of fashion and had once belonged to their father, who was a larger man than they were. So, they were a tad drowned in the fabric. “No.. uhm, I’m — this is — I was going in this?”
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Ashton "We made sure it was super sturdy," he shook his head, remembering the youthful days they set that up, it was when they were much younger, when the kids when for their competitions, and they both knew they had the hunger for more. Ash gave them a once over as the realization washed over, "oh," shit was that an insult? "-sorry I just thought.. maybe you went to Saturday church instead since you might be going late tonight." He shook his hands trying to dispel whatever they were thinking he was thinking, "-it's fine, by the way, It looks good, I'm not saying it's not. I just.. thought we were getting ready together is all." Awkward. Someone, Ruth, doorbell, please save him from further embarrassment, it's a weird feeling having Claude back in this household, but honestly.. it's not that bad.
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Claudio This is fine. They wished they could have brought some nice dress they could feel pretty in or a decent silk shirt that fit properly and didn’t make Ashton think they still needed to go home and change. All was well. “I guess I thought we were all just meeting here, to carpool.. not actually getting ready, ready..”
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Asher asher pulled up to the ryder house on his motorcycle, parked it out front, and swung off with the easy confidence of someone who’d been doing it long enough to make it look effortless. he grabbed the garment bag strapped behind him and slung it over his shoulder. like always, he moved with a rhythm only he could hear, steps landing like there was a beat in his head. he crossed the porch, knocked, and then because asher had never been great at waiting pushed the door open with his shoulder.
“hello, ryder household,” he announced, already grinning. “your favorite has returned!” he stepped inside, tugged off his jacket, and hung it up like he lived there, the garment bag still in hand. the house smelled familiar—clean, lived-in, warm. “ash?” he called, letting his voice carry. “are you here?”
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Ashton "hm, that's on Asher not working on his briefing skills," Ash swallowed a laughter, realizing the miscommunications that probably occurred. As if right on cue, the rumble of a motorcycle cut off and the sunshine voice filtered through the door way, "hear ye hear ye," he rolled his eyes hollering back and walking over to the door to give Asher a hand though it seemed like he got it, instead just helping to close the door, "hey, the drive here okay?"
Ash then gestured to Claude, but eyeing Asher, "didn't tell them we were gonna get ready together?" He only held the joking accusatory tone for a second before chuckling, "it's fine Claude, you can just cool down, do your hair or something, or raid our wardrobe for any extras," that last one slipped past his lips, kicking himself that perhaps it would've been fine with friends, but an ex? oof. too much probably.
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Asher seeing his friend made asher grin immediately. he nodded once, like he was approving the universe’s timing. “yeah, good drive” he said, bright and easy. “it’s a good day for a wedding.” his gaze shifted to claude and his smile softened into something warmer. “hey, claude…” he started and then ashton opened his mouth and asher’s eyes went wide. “oh—oh my god, i am so sorry,” asher blurted, hand lifting like he could physically rewind the situation. “i did say we were only pregaming, which is fully my bad.” he looked right at claude, genuine. “i’m sorry, claude.” then, because asher couldn’t sit in guilt for longer than three seconds without trying to turn it into a joke, his grin crept back in. “but hey… you’re just ahead of the game.” he pointed between himself and ashton. “ash and i clearly need to catch up.”
he bumped ashton in the stomach with the back of his hand, playful. “so where are the drinks? because claude and i could use one.” asher shot claude a quick wink and headed for the kitchen, already on a mission. “i’m raiding the fridge,” he called over his shoulder. then he looked back toward ashton, voice raised just enough to carry. “where are we getting dressed, ash?”
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Claudio The sound of the motorcycle startled them and they fidgeted only briefly, reaching into one of the bags to find one of the plain m&ms as one walked in with the confidence of a thousand people and the other joked about what they weren’t told. Now they also needed to do their hair? Claude gave a faint touch to their dark curls in seconds of uncertainty and heaping amounts of insecurity. “It’s okay, I take forever anyway.” They dragged the bag of m&ms across the island, towards a particular corner of the kitchen that didn’t happen to be close to the fridge whatsoever. Simply staying out of everyone’s way, that’s all. They, too, looked Ashton’s way to hear the answer as they quietly dug into the candies.
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Ashton In all honestly, this was the first time, for real, seeing Claude with any of his friends at least in his presence again. He wasn't sure how to mentally prepare for that, at the least if he needed to, he could always escape to the other rooms in this house. He knew this childhood home too well. But it was strange, not in a bad way, he caught the way Asher's voice softens for Claude, ..huh. Ashton's eyes darted back and forth between the other two, staying silent to simply observe until the attention was back at him, "yeah yeah, I can make it quick, just throw a suit on, already showered at the ice rink."
Ash retaliated a hand back at Asher as if they were still high school kids, "raid away, alcohol's in the side cabinet, ciders and beers in the freezer, I was gonna make like an orange spritz mocktail batch for me, because - driving, but if anyone else wants it." Ash avoided saying anything on Aggie's pregnancy as requested, easy enough to just put it on him. Following them into the kitchen, Asher looked like he belonged in this household and Claude.. Claude seemed so uncomfortable. "Just make yourself at home, do whatever you want," Ash tentatively flashed them a reassuring look, leaning down against the island, standing in between the both of them. "Hm?" Ash hummed digging into some of the snacks they had, boringly eating a banana first. "I mean... here? where else?" he joked jutting his thumb back into the living room. The hockey player is too used to changing and being naked with 20 odd guys in a locker room. "Kidding, there's a bathroom right down the hall, bedroom's free too, I brought a full length mirror to the living room."
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Asher asher popped the fridge open and immediately grabbed a cider for himself then, without even thinking about it, grabbed a second and handed it to claude like it was the most natural thing in the world. no asking, no checking. just asher taking care of it before it became a question. he clocked the way claude was starting to tuck into the corner again making themselves small, turning into a wallflower by instinct, but he didn’t call it out. not yet. he just stayed close enough that claude wouldn’t feel stranded. then his attention snapped back to ashton. “that sounds delicious,” asher said, bright and approving. “i’ll have some of that spritz.”
he lifted his garment bag a little, as if to remind everyone it existed. “i just need somewhere to put this.” before anyone could answer, he hooked the hanger over a cabinet handle—improvised, but effective—and finally cracked open his cider.
he took a sip, exhaled like his brain just came online, and looked back at ashton with curiosity. “i think aggie said she and fitz were coming over. anyone else?” his brows lifted. “is ruth bringing someone?”
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Claudio This was definitely very awkward. The missing years evident and the once easy familiarity gone. Claudio couldn’t help but feel like they didn’t quite belong there anymore, despite the obvious attempts to include them, but then, that’s not a feeling they were new to. They accepted the cider from Asher with a quick thanks, juggling the bag of candies to their other hand, and backing from the corner. “Well, since I’m ahead of the game, I’m going to go loaf on the couch and wait for the outfit montage,” they mustered as cheerfully as they could, because they appreciated just being invited, and wanted not to become an issue one way or another. The floor felt littered in eggshells. Claude paused at the island, with a cheeky grin at Ashton as they snatched a bag of hot Cheetos from right under his nose, ” And I’m taking these with me too, thank you!” Hustling out of the room, they made their way into the living room with barely looked any different, and flopped onto the solo recliner. “Your mom still has this chair!?”
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Ashton "guess i'm making a bigger batch of spritz then," Ash starting quick work with a pitcher from the cabinet onto the island. He was gonna hang back and let the two gravitate to each other rather than Ashton getting in their awkward way. "can't believe you really went straight for the fridge with this thing, priorities," Ash playfully clicked his tongue, taking the hanger and garment bag off the kitchen cabinet handle, walking over to place it by the bathroom door first. "Yeah, Ags and Fitz are coming over, no one else really, oh- more like someone's taking Ruth," Ash snorted, if a little loudly through the house the announce it. "She'll bail on us when her date comes to pick her up." He was pretended to grumble about it more so than he actually was. In actual fact, he's so happy to see her go out on dates and put herself out there.
Claude slinked out of the kitchen too soon as Ashton returned back to the kitchen finishing the banana as a bag of Cheetos was taken away from the island. "Pff enjoy, we bought a few flavors, not sure which one you wanted," he looked over to Asher to explain, giving him the option to go snag some hot cheetos. A grin growing with a chuckle as nostalgia masks the awkwardness, "she just refuses to throw it out! Still comfy anyways right?" Ash hollered back to the living room, starting to make his spritz concoction, patting Asher's shoulder as he swung around him to grab the ingredients, "c'mon, speakers there if you wanna play music, then go get changed!"
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Asher when claude reached for the cheetos, that’s when asher finally clocked the spread—bags of snacks like someone had prepared for a small apocalypse. “wait,” he said, turning toward the counter, eyes widening a little. “who brought the snacks?” he sounded genuinely impressed, like this was the most responsible thing anyone could do. he immediately stole a cheetos puff, of course, popping it into his mouth as the speaker got pointed out to him. asher’s face lit up. “yes,” he said around the crunch, nodding with absolute confidence. “i got us.”
he pulled out his phone, connected to the speaker in seconds, and started queuing songs like it was sacred work—something upbeat, something to keep the energy moving, something that made getting dressed feel like part of the event. then, still snacking, he pointed his chin toward the bathroom like he was already halfway gone. “i’m gonna go change,” he announced, mouth full of cheetos. “don't have too much fun without me.”
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Aggie The ride over was strangely quiet for the her and Fitz, but the moment the uber dropped them off at Ashton's, Aggie's smile was on and her hand firmly in her boyfriend's, grip just maybe a little too tight, but she hoped that would come off as excitement. She didn't knock, it would almost feel weird to knock on the Ryder door, and instead let just opened it so they could walk into the party. "We're here!" The words were one hand signed as she spoke, joined hands held up to punctuate that. "Did we miss all the fun?!"
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Fitzroy With everything so fresh and heavy on mind, Fitzroy barely noticed the silence on the drive there. He was in his own head. They both were. But like Agnes, once the got out of the car and headed inside, the flip switched to polite friends mode, the smile automatic. “Let’s hope not,” His hand squeezed hers back in a gentler manner, noticing then, that she was kind of crushing his.
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Claudio “Hey guys! You look so nice,” Claudio called from where they sat on the recliner, leaned all the way up to be able to see the latest two arrivals over the counter. Then they settled back in, because something wet touched their hand. “Oh Dawn, you startled me,” they grinned at the retired animal, who had wandered in to see what all the noise was and now stood with her head resting on their lap. “Okay, you want all the attentions, don’t you girl?” Claudio abandoned their candy and hot Cheetos to instead give Dawn all the proper head scratches she asked for. Until somehow, the two of them were cuddled up on the recliner together, sharing the space, and quite cozy.
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Asher it didn’t take asher long to get dressed normally. but he’d gotten distracted in the bathroom doing the important things: eating cheetos, bopping to the music, and turning the mirror into a tiny private dance floor. so what should’ve taken ten minutes took closer to twenty. by the time he finally emerged, he was fully suited up, hair slicked back like he’d actually tried, and his garment bag was slung over his arm like he was on his way to a photoshoot instead of a wedding. there was still a faint orange dusting of cheeto evidence on his fingertips that he was pretending didn’t exist. his face lit up the second he spotted agnes and fitz. “hey, you two!” he said, immediately crossing the room and pulling them both into a hug like he couldn’t help it. he leaned back just enough to look at them properly, eyes bright and approving. “you both look good,” he declared. “damn.”
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Fitzroy His smile became and focus became a little easier, with the reveal of Asher, who always knew how to brighten anyone’s life with just his presence and that smile. “Ah, we were the two best dressed until you came out here,” Fitz joked, both arms going around the other man for a proper hug, one that lingered half a second longer than necessary, the squeeze just a tad too significant, because part of the man craved the comfort right then. “Allow me once more, to say you should never leave us in Carroll again, okay? Not unless you take all of us with you. We’re simply not the same without the one and only Asher Stone. Oh, and you’re all alright as well, of course,” he said the last bit as an aside with a glance towards the others in room, tone intentional and friendly, so it could be understood as the joke he meant it as.
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Ashton "Hm?" Ash hummed to the question pointed towards the snacks, "we got them from the store, I had hockey class today so we went there after, you asked for cheetos no?" Ash glanced to Claude as if to confirm that they both were aware of it before looking at Asher like he had short term memory from the text he sent him earlier today, though no filter in implying both Claude and him were at the grocery store together. "Thanks, more like don't have too much fun without us," Ash chuckled knowing the life of the party follows Asher, and if Asher was in the bathroom the party was most likely in there too. Music played as Ashton got to mixing the mocktail and Claude relaxed with Dawn coming over to them.
Just in time as the door swung open once more, the Ryder's open door policy but only reserved for friends and family to know, with a German Shepherd ready to fight if it was anyone else. "hey guys, we're just in here," Ash hollered from the kitchen, Claude the easiest to be in their line of sight when Aggie and Fitz entered. "Asher just got started on the fun, don't worry," he lightly rolled his eyes nodding his head to the bathroom, if you listen closely you could probably imagine him having a dance party in there. He finished up the pitcher of mocktail, giving it a final stir before bringing it and a few cups over to the coffee table by Claude, "just in time, mocktail's ready, alcohol is also in the fridge if you want some," he mostly faced Fitz on that one, knowing Aggie couldn't drink.
Asher soon joined in the fun, "did you get cheetos dust all over the bathroom?" Ash joked once his friend had a moment to heartily greet the latest arrivals. Ruth probably still up in her room getting ready, and the gang's almost all here, just minus March, his heart aches at the thought. It would've been nice, to get one full polaroid all together again. Fitz was right to make that request, the town had liven up a lot since he's been back. "I for one agree with Fitz's hostage threat," Ash poured out the mocktails into glasses and handed them out before his job was done, "alright I'll go get changed now, I'll be quick, and we should get a polaroid together."
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Claudio As everyone (minus Ruth, where was she? and March) came together in the living room, Claudio's gaze bounced from one person to the next, their arms loosely locked around the German shephard lounging in their lap. A certain small smile on their lips. They were just thinking, how nice it was to be back here with all of them, plus Fitzroy, who they didn't quite know very well but certainly seemed pleasant enough. All of it gave them a rather harsh tug of nostalgia, a missing piece in their life coming back together. At least, that's what it felt like. They might have lingered on Asher a couple seconds longer. "A polaroid?" they bit down on their bottom lip, trying to prevent a smile, at Ashton's old man ways. People rarely used that word anymore, much less an actual polaroid camera. And yet, they were so excited by the prospect of it. They hadn't taken a polaroid picture in years.
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Aggie Standing back she let Asher greet Fitz first, it gave her time to push away every thought of what had happened at the manor so deeply it might never have happened. If she didn't, Asher, Ruth and Ashton would surely notice something was off. Giving Asher a hug and a kiss on the cheek, she turned her attention to Ashton thanking him for the drinks as he too got a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "You really went all out. Grinning she shood him up the stairs as she turned to extend Claudio his own pair of hugs and cheek kisses. "Man, a Polaroid, that brings back memories."
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Asher asher clocked the way ashton said we without even thinking about it. so claude wouldn’t take a ride from asher, but they’d take one from ashton? the thought flickered quickly and weirdly sharp before he shoved it back down where it belonged. claude had said they’d rather walk anyway. it didn’t have to mean anything, and asher wasn’t going to make it a thing.
fitz’s compliment hit and asher did a quick little spin on the spot, laughing as he smoothed his hair back like he was modeling for someone who definitely hadn’t asked. “i wasn’t going to say anything,” he teased, “but since you did…” he pulled fitz into a proper hug, and when fitz said what he said, asher’s grin softened into something touched. “that’s really nice, fitz,” he said quietly. “carroll will always be home, so if i ever leave again—believe me, i’ll always come back.”
then ashton called him out for cheeto dust and asher whipped around, scandalized. “no!” he protested. “just the hand towel in there.” he tossed the bag of cheetos onto the counter with a laugh, then set the speaker down beside it like he was checking items off a list. “yes, go get dressed, ash,” he added, waving ashton toward the bathroom like he was directing traffic. asher dropped his garment bag in the living room (he could deal with it later) and grabbed a drink from the fridge. he took a sip, then looked back at his friends with a huge, bright smile that made it obvious he was genuinely happy to be here.
“i, for one, am so excited for tonight,” he announced. “like, i’m buzzing.” his eyes flicked upward as he started imagining it. “i wanna know if they’re doing classic wedding songs… or if they went for something more elevated.” he grinned, already planning the soundtrack in his head. “because if i hear ‘cha cha slide,’ i’m gonna lose my mind in a good way.”
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Ashton "Yes, a polaroid," Ash chuckled at the question, letting Aggie greet him with a hug and cheek kiss, returning the same affectionate greeting, "unless Ags brought her film camera too, we can do both." He grinned, as if knowing he's just going back further and further in time with their photo albums. The christmas present he got her had to be useful every now and them too.
Ash made a face walking past Asher, laughing not being able to hold it back, "ew, you're gonna wash that." He waved off letting the rest of them take control of the house as he went up to his room to change to a suit. It didn't take him take long to put on a familiar suit already fitted well, gave his face a quick wash and he was probably back down in ten, polaroid in hand interrupting the conversation below, chasing Ruth down for a quick photo together. "Photo time, before we lose Ruth to her date."
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