Boys Who Rumble
Pairing: Riff x female!Reader
Summary: Riff broke up with her months ago, too scared that he'd end up hurting her somehow. And yet when Tony hears about the rumble his friend has planned, it's still Y/N who he turns to for help trying to convince Riff to call it off
Warnings: Violence (I mean... it's wss what do you expect? lmao), swearing, mentions of drug use
Word Count: 3,750
A/N: Heya so this is my first riff fic so I hope it's alright! I might write a second part to it (maybe as like a prologue or smth like them getting together for the first time?) so let me know what you think! Remember to reblog, comment and everything - anything to tell me your thoughts! Requests are open at the moment so feel free to send them into my inbox :)
Happy reading!
If Y/N was to write a list ranking who she felt was most likely to pay her a visit at her place of work, Tony was probably in last place.
It wasn't that they didn't get along - on the contrary, before he had been sent away for a year, they were pretty close friends what with their mutual link to Riff - but, a lot had changed in the year he was gone. And one of the more major things - something that Tony hadn't believed when he was initially told about it - was that Y/N and Riff had broken up.
And even with Y/N and Riff still being on friendly - though undeniably awkward and painful - terms, there was little reason for Tony to seek her out anymore.
And yet here he was, leaning against the counter casually, looking rather out of breath and a scowl on his face as he waited for her to finish serving the customer currently waiting on their food. Y/N passed it over with a smile on her face, one which became a lot more confused, her eyebrows raising and lips twitching in slight amusement as the customer turned away to leave and there was just Tony and Y/N left in the store.
"Can I help you?" She asked mildly. "I can't give you mates rates anymore, you know that, right?"
Tony let out a sharp laugh, which Y/N was sure bordered on sounding bitter.
"I need your help," he said instead, pushing himself up to walk over to stand in front of her.
"Nice to see you too," Y/N rolled her eyes, but she couldn't stop herself from smiling a little at the familiarity of the situation - who would've guessed that she'd miss getting called on to look after the Jets. Y/N turned away from him and reached up into one of the higher cupboards, bringing out the first aid kit that she had kept in there since she first met Riff. "Baby John again?"
"What?" When Y/N turned around again, Tony's nose was scrunched up in confusion until his eyes landed on the first aid kit and he shook his head stiffly. "Nothing like that - well..." he caught himself and sighed again. "Riff's planned a rumble."
Y/N's heart jumped in her chest and she felt her grip on the first aid kit loosen involuntarily, her throat running dry.
"With-" she cleared her throat, wetting her lips. "With the Sharks?"
Tony sighed again and nodded his head.
"He's got a gun."
This time the kit really did fall from her hands, landing on the floor with a thud.
"He's what?!"
"It can't go ahead," Tony said, almost pleading with her.
"Have you talked to him?"
"Yeah - but he thinks I've betrayed him, deserted the Jets and all that, since I said I wouldn't get involved with it."
"When is it?"
"Tonight," Tony said regretfully.
"Fuck," Y/N breathed. "Well, what do you want me to do about it?"
"Talk to Riff?" Tony said immediately. "He'll listen to you - he always did."
"You know it's different now - Riff broke up with me, remember?"
"Yeah, but it's not like he did it because he stopped loving you," Tony pointed out, sending another stab into her heart.
"Has Graz tried to talk to him about it?" She tried.
"It's not like that between them and you know it," Tony scoffed.
"What's... what's it about, anyway?" Y/N picked up the rag on the counter and began to wipe it down, just to have something to do with her hands as her mind raced with thoughts.
"At the dance last night," Tony's suddenly doing his best to avoid Y/N eyes entirely. "Bernardo tried to start with me."
"Why?" Y/N asked. There's a sudden flush on Tony's cheeks and he cleared his throat, lips beginning to tug into a reluctant smile.
"I... I was dancing with his sister - Maria. He... wasn't a fan," Tony said, though he didn't look the slightest bit ashamed about it. Y/N snorted out a laugh.
"I'm sure Riff wasn't too pleased either," she said knowingly.
"Nah - he hasn't actually said anything to me about it," Tony shrugged. "Think he thinks I just did it to mess with Bernardo."
"You better not have," Y/N said sharply. "Maria's lovely - they all are, I've never understood Riff's problem."
"I didn't," Tony promised her. "I love her," he stated simply with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "And she asked me to get Riff to call of tonight's rumble so..."
"Oh - well, good to know that you wouldn't be bothered about stopping it if your girlfriend hadn't said anything," Y/N couldn't help herself from saying.
"That's not fair! You know Riff, he doesn't listen to anyone!" Tony hesitated. "Well, except for you."
"Riff's avoiding me anyway, he won't talk to me, especially if I just tell him to call off the rumble."
And even though she knew her words were the truth, she couldn't help but also think about where she'd be most likely to catch him before the rumble - where the jets would usually go to prepare before their fights.
The door jingled, signalling another customer and Y/N was grateful for the interruption.
"Just..." Tony groaned frustratedly. "Try?" He begged, walking over to the door as it had begun to swing closed again.
Y/N didn't look at him, but gave a single, silent nod of her head.
//
As it turned out, Y/N didn’t have to try and seek Riff out, because when her shift ended that night, there he was. Right outside the bakery, leaning against the wall, lit cigarette between his lips and a would-be-indifferent expression on his face.
It was a sight that was so painfully familiar from their time together, back when Riff would walk her home every night after a shift. He hated the idea of her walking back alone in the dark - and Y/N knew he still hated it, and also that he still cared about her because she would often catch glimpses of the other Jets, walking a distance behind her or hiding behind corners.
Something that would be utterly terrifying to almost anyone else, Y/N was sure. But the thing was - for a while, they had been her boys. And Y/N knew that it was Riff who’d sent them, just to make sure she got home okay, to make sure no one bothered her as she walked.
But this evening it was just him, waiting where he always used to.
“I feel honoured - I hear you already have evening plans.”
Riff’s expression tugs into a slight smirk and he drops the cigarette he’s holding to the ground, crushing it with the heel of his shoe.
“Who told you? Baby John?”
Y/N smiled a little, shaking her head. “Tony.”
Riff’s smirk faded.
“Oh.”
“Yeah,” Y/N agreed. She tilted her head to the side. “You walking me home or not, Jet Boy?”
“Depends - you gonna try and talk me out of rumbling?”
Y/N just laughed and set off walking. Sure enough, Riff was quick to jog and catch up with her. He offered her his arm silently and Y/N took it.
“I’ve always come back fine before,” Riff breaks the silence at last.
“This is different, though,” Y/N said.
“Why? Because I’ve got a gun? I’m only gonna use it if-“
“No, because you came to me.”
Y/N peaked at Riff from the corner of her eye to see him frowning a little.
“I always came to you before rumbles.”
“Yeah. But that was before, Riff,” she pointed out. “You’ve been avoiding me since you ended it, even when you’ve had full on brawls. But tonight you came to me again before a rumble,” Y/N tugged on his arm, forcing him to stop in front of her. He refused to meet her eyes. “That’s how I know it’s different.”
“Ever thought I just wanted to see you, girly girl?” Riff tried to inject some of his usual confidence into his voice but Y/N isn’t fooled. She knew him too well for that.
“I know you did,” Y/N agreed gently. “But you never did until now.”
“You used to be so shy when we met,” Riff chuckles and he tried to make it sound bitter, annoyed. But there’s nothing but affection in the sound. “Convinced that I didn’t like you.”
“And you spent the whole time we were together determined to change my mind - figured you’d be proud of yourself for it,” Y/N teased. Riff finally lifted his gaze to meet hers and it’s the softest that Y/N has ever seen him look, save for the night when he first told her he loved her. “Please don’t go tonight - please call it off, Riff,” she whispered, and it’s instinctual how her hand raises to rest on his cheek, her thumb caressing the scar beneath his eye.
“I can’t,” Riff said gently and he turned to press a kiss to her palm. “It’d be too late now anyway.”
“You ended us because you were scared to hurt me,” Y/N reminded him and she hates herself just a little for the way that her eyes fill with tears. “This is it. This is you hurting me. Seeing you go into this - knowing you’re going to get hurt. And over what? Territory? Tony dancing with a Puerto Rican girl?” She tried to gulp back her tears, tried to calm her shaking breath. Riff noticed her struggle and tugged her just a little closer to him, winding an arm around her waist and kissing her palm again. “You said to me once that - that you were destined to die young. I’m sorry that I couldn’t make you change your mind.”
“That’s not you, Angel,” the pet name is achingly familiar and Y/N closed her eyes, feeling Riff’s other hand come up to brush away the tears on her cheeks. “I’m gonna come back to you, I promise.”
And there’s a resoluteness in his voice that hadn’t been there before, despite all of his suave confidence. A vow, as though now he has a reason to come back from the rumble. He has something to loose.
“You know you’d like Bernardo if you weren’t always trying to fight him for no fucking reason,” Y/N said after a moment and Riff laughed a little and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“Come on, girly girl, let's get you home.”
This time, he held out his hand for her, and Y/N couldn’t not accept the offer, allowing his fingers to wrap tightly around hers.
“I mean it, though! I mean, Jets, Sharks - you do realise you have a common enemy in the police, right?” Riff just chuckled again, squeezing her hand.
“We’ll see.”
It’s not far to Y/N’s apartment, and they walk the rest of it in silence, Y/N’s mind plagued with thoughts of the worst case scenario for the evening to come.
When they reach the door, though, they loiter awkwardly, unsure of how to navigate parting on these terms.
“And you’re sure there’s no way you can call it off?” Y/N asked at last.
“They’re on our turf. They gotta respect that - you know that.” Riff said, injecting his usual confidence into the words.
“There’s enough of New York for all of you,” Y/N reminded him. She gnawed at her bottom lip. “I don’t want any of you getting hurt,” she whispered at last.
“I’ll come to you - tonight, after the rumble,” Riff said abruptly. “So you know I’m okay.”
“Okay,” Y/N agreed. “And I know you’re gonna go through with it no matter what but… don’t let it go too far - please,” she begged. “I know you Riff - I know you don’t want that. You don’t want anyone getting seriously hurt.”
There was a moment of hesitation that crossed his face before he, at last, gave a stiff nod of his head.
“Close your eyes,” she instructed, letting go of Riff’s hand to reach up to the clasp of her necklace. Riff raised his eyebrows but did as instructed without question. Y/N unfastened her necklace and slipped the charm off of it and into the palm of her hand, her fingers closed momentarily around it as though by doing that she could store all the luck in the world inside of it for Riff. But then she reached over and carefully lifted the chain from around Riff’s own neck, unfastening it and threading her charm onto it so that lay beside the four leaf clover she knew was all he had left of his mother.
Y/N carefully slipped the necklace back around Riff’s neck, her fingers loitering a little too long where they made contact with his skin before she pulled back. Riff opened his eyes, hand coming up to play with the new charm.
“Doll-”
“Now you have to come back to me. Because I’m not going to a fucking morgue to get that back,” she said fiercely. Riff grinned at the words before glancing up at the darkening sky, and the smile slipped ever so slightly.
“I…” he hesitated before setting his jaw, grim determination on his face. “I shouldn’t’ve ended it. I know that was… dumb. But, if you’ll have me, I still-“
Y/N reached forwards and covered his mouth, scowling at him.
“Tonight. You tell me tonight, when I know you’re safe and I also know you haven’t done anything utterly stupid.”
Riff nodded and Y/N dropped her hand.
“Tonight,” he said and Y/N repeated the word in confirmation.
“Tonight.”
And with a swift kiss to her forehead, and another to her cheek, Y/N watched her Jet Boy disappear into the night.
//
Naturally, Y/N had known all along that she would never be able to fall asleep that night - not until Riff came, at least. She had tried to convince herself that she could, though, by changing into her nightwear and settling into bed with her book.
Not that she was paying any attention to the words on the page whatsoever, far too distracted with her concern for what was happening across town somewhere from her. A concern that only grew as the minutes dragged sluggishly by.
By the time that the frantic knocking came, she had given up all pretence and was instead just pacing back and forth in her room. Her heart dropped into her stomach at the sound - Riff would have just come to her window, as he always did, so as not to wake her flatmates. There had to be something wrong.
Y/N rushed to the door to her apartment and flung it open, greeted by two familiar, red-faced and panting figures.
“You gotta come - it’s Riff,” Anybodys gasped out, Baby John nodding quickly next to him, beckoning with his hand.
“Is he okay?” Y/N asked, though she was already halfway out of the door, not pausing to grab her shoes or a change of clothes.
The three of them sprinted down the steps of the apartment building.
“He’s hurt bad - we got him to Doc’s but he’s just been asking for you,” Baby John filled in.
“How bad?” Y/N asked, the three of them practically sprinting down the near deserted streets of New York. The pavement is cool and rough beneath her bare feet and she knows that she’s going to regret not bothering with shoes the next morning but right now it’s the least of her worries.
“Well… he’s conscious,” Baby John offered, evidently not wanting to have to be the bearer of bad news.
“Well that’s something,” Y/N muttered.
When they arrive at Doc’s, the rest of the Jet’s are clustered inside, not talking save for a few awkward murmurs here and there. Graziella and Velma are also sat inside, looking solemn and worried. The girls stood up when Y/N rushed inside.
“You’re here,” Velma sighed with relief. Y/N nodded mutely.
“He’s downstairs,” Graziella said, reaching out to grab a hold of Y/N’s hand. She gave it a quick squeeze and what Y/N knew she hoped to be a reassuring smile.
As she headed to the door to the backroom, she heard Baby John ask:
“Is he doing any better?”
She shut the door behind her quickly, not wanting to hear the answer.
“Y/N? That you?” Tony’s familiar voice called.
She rounded the corner at the bottom of the steps into Tony’s room and couldn’t help a slight gasp.
Riff was laying on Tony’s bed, his shirt discarded on the ground, though Y/N could see it was entirely soaked with blood. There was a deep gash in his torso, which Tony appeared to be in the process of cleaning out.
“We managed to get the bleeding to stop,” Tony filled her in with undeniable relief in his voice.
“What the hell happened?” She asked, stepping closer. Riff’s eyes were shut lightly, though seemed to be flickering slightly as though he was coming in and out of consciousness.
“Stabbed at the rumble - Bernardo… I tried to talk him down, explain everything you know. He just wanted to fight. He started on me and I think that was what… set Riff off - I wouldn’t fight back, see?” Y/N just nodded mutely along with Tony’s shaky words. “So Riff told him that he’d fight. I don’t really… know what happened then? There was a knife on the floor, then Riff was pulling one out of his pocket and then…” Y/N tore her eyes away from Riff to look at Tony, who was struggling with his words. “I managed to get hold of it. I wouldn’t give it to him - he was just wrestling with me for it. He managed to get it free, but when he turned… Bernardo’s knife…” Tony shook his head. “He didn’t mean to do it - I mean, his face,” Tony swallowed thickly. “We’re just lucky that he wasn’t aiming any higher,” he shook his head stoically. “I lost it then, started fighting him properly. Then there were sirens and the police had found us, so everyone else scattered. Anybodys yanked me back before I could… before I could do any worse to him than he did to Riff.”
Y/N just nodded silently.
“You think he’s going to be okay, though?” Y/N asked, hating the hopeful lilt in her voice.
“I hope so,” Tony said, clearing his throat awkwardly.
“And Bernardo?”
“Alive. Sharks carried him out and he was still conscious.” Y/N nodded her head.
“That’s good,” she whispered faintly. Then she remembered: “Maria - weren’t you meant to…”
“I couldn’t leave him,” Tony said, gesturing at his best friend, laying on his bed.
“Go find her. I’ve got it. I swear.”
Tony stared at her for a moment before nodding slowly.
“You’ll… you’ll come find me if…”
“Of course.”
And Tony was gone, rushing up the stairs of his room and outside into the cool night to make amends with Maria, leaving behind him Y/N with a pile of medical supplies and Riff.
“So much for being careful, huh?” She couldn’t help but murmur into the quiet of the room.
“Promised you alive,” came a raspy, weak voice. “Nothing about careful.”
“And I thought you meant alive-alive, not… one bad cough away from the grave,” she said, though couldn’t hide the relief she felt at actually hearing him speak. Riff’s lips twitched up into a slight smile and he shifted on the bed before groaning in pain. “Stop moving! I need to bandage you,” she scolded, placing a hand gently on his chest.
Riff at last peaked open his eyes.
“You came in your nightclothes?” He asked, smiling a little. Y/N rolled her eyes.
“That’s not even the part you’ll find funniest,” she told him as she began to carefully wrap the pristine bandages around his wound, giving a soft apology when he gave a hiss of pain.
“Oh yeah?” He asked.
“Yeah - didn’t even get shoes on my way out of the flat,” she said, lifting her eyes to meet his and grinning. Riff huffed out a laugh, but immediately groaned in pain. “I’ll see if I can find some painkillers,” Y/N said as she finished tying the bandage around the stab wound. She stood up, turning to face towards the exit where the actual pharmacy was. But Riff’s hand shot out and his fingers wrapped around her wrist, stopping her.
“No just - stay here. For a sec,” he said. And when Y/N looked at him again, there was genuine fear on his face that she would leave him.
“I don’t want you to be in pain,” she said, leaning over and she pressed a kiss to the corner of his lips. “I’ll be back in two seconds.”
Riff raised his other hand, which Y/N hadn’t noticed had been clenched into a fist and he slowly moved it towards her, wincing with every small movement, carefully opening it and allowing the chain to dangle from a finger.
“This way you’re the one who has to come back to me,” he said.
The necklace was tinted rusty red in parts, likely from how tightly Riff had been gripping it in his hand. Why he had taken it off to hold instead of wear about his neck was a question that Y/N wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer to.
“I’ll always come back to you,” Y/N vowed, taking hold of the necklace. “And I’ll stay for as long as you let me.”
“Forever, then?” He asked, his voice hushed and embarrassed, vulnerable in the way he often was when it was just the two of them, without any of his jets to see him.
“If you want that,” Y/N agreed, grinning at him. She lent down again and moulded their lips together as gently as she could. Riff’s hand rested on her cheek, pulling her closer, a sense of desperation in the kiss. It felt as though he was making up for lost time, or perhaps that was just Y/N’s imagination.
They broke apart, though Y/N kept her forehead rested against Riff’s, close enough to feel his breath fanning against her lips.
“I’m not gonna let you go again, Angel.”
