The little defects
Prompt - Please can you write an R5 fic about Riker’s stutter??! :) My birthday is the 19th of March, but there’s no pressure to write it by then <3<3
Prompt - can you do an r5 one where Riker has a stutter and the fans don’t like it but the rest of the band think it is cute and they reassure him? I’m not sure if you’ve already got one like this
------
As a big brother, Riker was always there to encourage his younger siblings. He’d motivate them to do something that they didn’t feel like they could do. He’d be there to hold their hands whenever they stumbled. He’d protect them when others pointed fingers at them. He’d fight anyone that saw any shortcomings in his bandmates. But when it came to him, Riker would rather retreat in a corner and deal with it by himself but luckily his siblings weren’t going to let him deal with alone.
------
Riker was really proud of his journey in R5 but the only thing that got him embarrassed was his stutter. He grew up with it and despite having a supportive family that never saw any defect in him, Riker still would be bothered by his stutter. You couldn’t really tell that Riker actually stutters because you couldn’t hear it in his singing. You couldn’t hear it when he talks. You could only hear Riker stutter when he was overwhelmed with emotions. If Riker was stressed, upset, crying or angry, you’d very clearly detect the stutter. While it was something that didn’t make much of a difference to Riker’s little group, it mattered a lot to him.
------
Recently, the shows and tours were getting to them quite a bit. They were tired, homesick and just wanted to finish the gigs as soon as possible. It was affecting all of them in some kind. Rocky was tired and would hardly find the energy to do something. Ellington looked pale and was worried about falling sick. Rydel was at the borderline of a breakdown and even a little thing could bring her to tears. Ross was homesick and clung to either one of his siblings. And Riker, his stutter started making itself obvious even more than usual which turned out to be a surprise for many of their fans.
------
While most of the fans found Riker’s stutter cute, they were a bunch of the so-called fans who were more interested in making fun of the boy. Riker had seen the hateful tweets but when the hate banners popped up at their gig, it broke him. They had been singing their song Look At Us Now when Riker could feel himself getting overwhelmed and the lyrics didn’t come out as he would have liked.
We've c-c-come so f-f-far f-f-from the p-p-past
And-d-d they said-d-d we'd f-f-finish last
They j-j-just d-d-don't know h-h-how
Look-k-k at us n-n-now!
------
Riker bowed his head as he heard the boos. He could feel the tears threatening to spill down his cheeks as he took a shuddering breath. He felt a hand wrapped around his shoulders and could tell that it was Rydel. Rocky had a hand on his back as he silenced the crowd.
“Wow! Do I hear you all booing Riker’s stutter?” Rocky asked.
The crowd quietened down quite a bit at Rocky calling them all.
“That’s how thankful you are to the band? Why are we even doing this show if the fans don’t like us complete with all our little defects?” Ellington asked bluntly.
Riker shook his head, trying to stop the boys from scolding the fans when suddenly the place echoed with ‘we love you Riker.’
“Do you really love him?” Rydel asked as the crowd echoed with a ‘yes’. She added, “Even with his stutter?” The crowd’s next ‘yes’ had them all relieved quite a bit.
“Well if anything, I love you with your stutter also. And it’s pretty cute, isn’t it?” Ross said.
Riker had to smile at that as he let his bandmates pull him in a hug.
------
Over the next few days, Riker found a lot of fan love. There were fan messages that pointed out as to how cute Riker’s stutter was. Whereas Riker’s siblings and friends were there to fight anyone that would say otherwise.
------
A/N
Sorry for the delay. Hope you all like it.