#thanks!bri

[brooklynislandgirl]

Riley - be honest - you'd actually love it if Beth and I got together.

TMI Tuesday || Always Accepting

Few men can carry a palpable sense of menace when sipping through a straw. Riley has elevated it to an art form. And while he stares silently at Gamble, taking a bite of his burger, he lets his thoughts percolate. On one hand it would kill him. He knows too much about the man's habits of not taking women seriously. Not that Gamble is a trophy hunter per se, but he's also not exactly ready and willing to go the full commitment route. He enjoys his freedom, the ability to choose, the need to have escape routes. And Riley gets it. Especially after the Jersey Devil. Hell, he'd have gladly chewed his other leg off just to get away from her if he had to. But Beth has never been a casual kind of girl. She might seem worldly sometimes with her flirtations but they ~and she~ are still mostly innocent and he could see Gamble inadvertently destroying that. He's afraid of that Gamble could end up fucking the kid up in ways beyond his ability to repair.And not even maliciously, it could be wholly accidental. Just being himself. She clearly doesn't get when he screws with her just to get a rise from her, and more than once Riley's had to listen to her complain about the hurt she's felt, the frustration that your best friend nevah take me seriously.

Riley would never, ever consider dating Gamble's sister, if he had one, because of the potential end.

He sighs. "First of all...fuck you. Second...no really, fuck you. But I guess it wouldn't be the end of the world, after I kicked your ass from here to Pacifica and back. And ground her for years."

[tarnishedhalo]

Centaurus: Favourite holiday?

Space Oddities || Accepting

The question catches Riley off guard, and for a minute he watches Gamble’s profile, wondering what kind of angle his partner’s working on him. But the punchline, if there is one, is elusive. So, to see where it’s all going, he plays along, the words just this side of guarded.

“Growing up, we made a big deal about the 4th, and like King Kamehameha day and other mix and match stuff. Sometimes Dad would be home for Christmas, sometimes it as just us kids. We’d celebrate some of the old Irish stuff, too, maybe as a kind of screw-every-one else. Different countries, different days. But, I think the thing I remember most....“Was Thanksgiving. Not in the Indigenous Peoples’ way, or a celebration of surviving that first landing on the US but... it was about family. Dad would do his best to get off ship if he could, Iwalani would make traditional Hawai’ian and American food, my aunt and her wife would fly in from Ireland or France or wherever they happen to be. We’d cook for a week, me an’ Beth included. Turkey, stuffing, a pig done in an imu. Poi and shit....“But it was kinda...more than that. It was like for that one weekend, everyone agreed to play nice. My dad wouldn’t say all the awful shit he stored up. The aunties would make nice with Iwalani...her relatives wouldn’t look at us like we were foreign invaders. And my sister... I dunno. For as colourful and crowded and loud as it could be... she would look...happy. 

“I guess, I miss that. Try to recreate that with all you guys, with whomever drops in when they wanna. Plus who doesn’t like good food, great games, and free booze, right?”A pause.“Also, fuck you. Now I want a turkey sandwich on King’s bread.”