#ryker/ares

[crestfallencrest]

Tell Me

Fandom: Rune Factory 5 Pairing: Ryker/Ares Word Count: 3,654

Summary:

Ryker lets his fingers brush gently across the other’s cheek, lingering near the dark circles under his eyes. “...Ares, can you do me a huge favor?” Ares’ face leaned slightly into Ryker’s touch, eyes closing with contentment. “Yeah?” “...When you have to go out of town for SEED errands or anything like that, could you let me know? I can’t stop myself from worrying that you’re going to get into some kind of trouble while I’m not there...”

[x] - Read on AO3

It was a chilly autumn day, with winter just on the horizon. Ryker couldn’t help but shiver as a particular cold gust of wind blew past him and he knew he would likely have to stop by the bakery and see if Granny Yuki had any warmer coats on hand. Otherwise, he’d have to improvise. That much wasn’t a problem. In fact, if he got too cold, he at least had someone that he could cuddle up to in order to warm up.

Speaking of...

Ryker let his gaze trail over towards the field that sat not too far from his spot on the grass. He watched as the familiar blonde stood underneath the orange tree that he had put so much time and effort into. He remembered the day that the tree had begun to bear fruit, remembered the day he came across Ares gushing and rambling in excitement to Priscilla and Cecil about how much his hard work had paid off. About how excited he was to eat one of the oranges that he had grown himself.

That was the day that Ryker figured out that Ares really loved oranges, and liked fruit in general. For a while, he never really knew why he filed that information into the back of his head at the time. Really, Ryker should have realized why but he was extremely thick headed at times. But it was when Ares confessed to him that he finally figured it out.

They had been dating for a while now, and already, Ryker has had his fair share of screw ups in their relationship. Nearly screwing up accepting Ares’ confession because he simply couldn’t look Ares in the face because of how embarrassed he was, running away from their first date because they were seen by Martin... and then nearly leaving Ares for good in order to pursue the dream of becoming Basara, under the delusion that it would get his old family together.

Even now, he still remembered how hurt Ares sounded when he found out about Ryker’s crimes. How heartbroken he looked when he had ‘lost’ their competition, how lost he looked. So lost that he didn’t even notice that giant monster sneak up behind him. If Ryker hadn't looked back, Ares would have been...

...Ryker couldn’t even stomach the thought of it. The scar across his own chest that Ryker had received from when he took the hit for Ares was entirely worth it, if it meant that Ares didn’t get hurt because of his own stupidity. The idea of losing Ares was almost unbearable. He was an idiot for nearly leaving the man behind in the first place, but a world without Ares... he couldn’t imagine that.

“...Hey, Ares.”

Ryker watched as Ares perked up at the sound of his name, arms full of his daily harvest of oranges. His blue eyes were practically sparkling with life as he quickly dumped his daily prize into a nearby basket. “Yeah, what’s up? You okay?”

When Ryker requested that they hang out today, Ares seemed a bit uncertain about it, due to him having to do some last minute farm work to prepare for the oncoming winter. The end and beginning of a season always seemed to be the busiest time for the ranger so Ryker couldn’t really blame him for wanting to turn him down but... Ryker really just wanted to be near him for a while. So, he asked if he could just hang out and nap on the sidelines while Ares did his work and the man eventually agreed.

Not that Ryker got much napping done. Not when he was too caught up in watching his boyfriend pick his oranges, the blonde smiling as if all of his dreams had come true. And now, that cute little smile was pointed in his direction and the white haired man could feel his heart skip a beat.

Ryker really didn’t want to get in the way of Ares’ work but... “C’mere for a second?”

As Ryker held a hand out, Ares gave a momentary pause as he looked down at the basket full of oranges and then gave a quick glance around the area, as if determining just how much work he had left on his plate. There probably wasn’t too much work left to do, since Ares ultimately decided to walk over to Ryker to gently place his hand onto the other’s. “Is something wrong, Ryker?”

Ryker grinned. “Nah. You just fell into my trap, is all.”

“Huh?”

That was the only response that Ares could get out before Ryker yanked hard at his arm, pulling the man down onto his knees next to him. And then, with a swift movement, Ryker wraps his arms around the other’s waist and pulls him close enough for Ares’ back to press against his chest. For a moment, Ares scrambled for a moment, trying to gain an understanding of what was happening but just as quickly calmed down as Ryker rested his chin on Ares’ shoulder. Once Ares was seated securely between Ryker’s legs, Ryker loosened his grip on the other as he smiled into the man’s shoulder.

“There we go. Much better.”

Ares turned his head to try and look over his shoulder at the white haired man, his voice on the brink of laughter. “What in the world are you doing?”

“What does it look like? I’m holding my boyfriend.” Ryker could feel his cheeks heat up but from Ares’ vantage point, there was no way he could see his cheeks... right?

“Yeah, but I told you I have a lot of work to do!”

“Yeah, but it’s break time.” Ryker grins, squeezing the other again. “C’mooon, you’ve been at it for a while.”

“Yeah, but—”

“Nope. Break time. Take a minute and breathe and look at the sky with me, okay? Then I’ll help you with the rest of your work.”

Ryker knew that his offer to help was a critical success, judging by how Ares went still and couldn’t offer another retort. Ryker smirked in victory as he felt Ares slump back, leaning back against Ryker’s chest with a tiny sigh. “Okay, but only for a little bit.”

Considering that Ares didn’t clarify how long ‘a little bit’ was... Ryker could work with this. “Fine by me. I just wanted you to take a bit of a break. You’ve been looking exhausted lately.”

Ares falls quiet for a moment before a tiny chuckle leaves his mouth. “Heh... well... you know how the end of the seasons are. Plus... SEED work has been pretty rough lately.”

Ryker frowned. He had noticed that Ares and Scarlett both had been leaving town a lot lately, or running around like rampaging cuckadoodles. It wasn’t even just him that’s noticed. The entire town was beginning to notice just how exhausted Ares had been lately. But the ranger would always wave it off with a smile, even turning down free food that had been offered by Elsje, Randolph and Granny Yuki. He even almost turned down a couple of free baths from Murakumo but one pointed look from Misasagi and a perfectly planned puppy dog look from Hina was enough to get Ares to accept the family’s kindness.

It helped, but it wasn’t enough to get rid of the faint and barely noticeable dark circles that were beginning to form underneath his eyes. Harvesting the oranges was probably the most life that he had seen from Ares in the last couple of days. Just what in the hell did SEED have Ares doing?

“...I’ve noticed that you’ve been going on mission after mission for SEED lately. Do I need to complain to the captain about putting too much on your plate? I know how you are. The word ‘No’ doesn’t seem to be in your vocabulary when it comes to people needing help, so if you’re struggling, I can—” Ryker’s offer trailed off when Ares quickly shook his head.

“No, no— it’s fine. Captain Livia isn’t overworking me... Things are just crazy right now, that’s all.” Ares hesitated before shifting in Ryker’s arms, pulling the man’s arms off of him so he could turn to face the other, sitting back on his knees.

Once again, there was that damn smile. That smile that was constantly telling him and the others to ‘Not worry.’

Ryker was never one to worry over much before. Maybe he would worry about making blueprints that would make Palmo’s reputation look bad but he never really had much else to worry about. But then Ares came along, so brave, so kind, so reckless when it came to protecting others... How could one not worry about him?

He took a deep breath, breaking his gaze from his boyfriend before the urge to wipe that smile off of his face took over the entirety of his body. “... Just be sure not to take too much, okay? You’re... amazing. Maybe too amazing. And dependable. And overall, just extremely helpful to everyone you meet—”

From the corners of his eyes, Ryker could see Ares’ eyes widen and his cheeks began to turn a faint shade of pink. “Ryker... I’m not—”

Ryker shook his head and took Ares’ hands into his own. “You are. Maybe not as cool as me, but... just because you’re all of those things, doesn’t mean you need to take on the entire world’s burdens by yourself, okay?”

Ares tensed as Ryker spoke those words and the smile faltered for only a moment. He watched as his blue eyes darted down to their joined hands and for the tiniest moment, Ryker can see past that barrier that the other kept up in favor of putting everyone else first. 

Ryker decided he wanted to tear that damn wall down more than anything.

“I...” Ares squeezed Ryker’s hands. “I’m not alone, Ryker. I have everyone here in Rigbarth and that gives me enough strength to keep pushing forward. Captain Livia, Scarlett, Priscilla, Lucy, Cecil— Everyone. But most important of all, I have you, don’t I? Even if I see you just in passing, just seeing your face is enough to energize me.”

“Heh...” Ryker tilted his head, ignoring the heat on his own face. “I guess I just have that effect on people.”

That managed to get a laugh out of Ares, at least. Ryker would count that as his victory of the day. “It has an effect on me.”

“I would hope so, considering that we’re boyfriends.” Ryker laughed. And then, as silence settled between them once more, the white haired man tugged his hand free so he could lift it towards Ares’ face. He lets his fingers brush gently across the other’s cheek, lingering near the dark circles under his eyes. “...Ares, can you do me a huge favor?”

Ares’ face leaned slightly into Ryker’s touch, eyes closing with contentment. “Yeah?”

“...When you have to go out of town for SEED errands or anything like that, could you let me know? I can’t stop myself from worrying that you’re going to get into some kind of trouble while I’m not there...”

Ares’ eyes opened again to meet Ryker’s gaze, confused and questioning before the gentle smile made its return. “You’ve gotten really overprotective lately.”

Ryker returned the smile as he goes from brushing his fingers against the other’s cheek in favor of cupping Ares’ face instead. “I can’t help it. You’re really important to me, y’know?”

“And you’re important to me, Ryker...”

Ares was just a few inches away from his face now and he wasn’t entirely sure when they had gotten so close to each other. Wasn’t sure when he had started leaning into Ares’ personal space, or when Ares had scooted closer until he was practically in his lap. Ryker stole a glance down at the others lips and even just a tiny glance was enough to make Ryker’s heart race. Come to think of it, despite their many dates... he and Ares still hadn’t shared their first kiss together, have they?

Ryker took a deep breath and leaned in closer. “There’s something else I wanna ask you, Ares.”

“Yeah?” Their noses were barely touching now as Ares moved his other hand so that it would rest on Ryker’s shoulder. His cheeks were a deep red now, his lips parting and Ryker wanted to lean in so badly, to steal a kiss so badly, more than anything—

But still, he found himself asking for permission. Because Ares’ comfort and happiness came above all else in Ryker’s eyes. “Can I kiss you?”

“...Yeah.”

And that was all he needed to hear. Ryker leaned in and pressed his lips against Ares’, with the blond turning his head just right so they could slot their lips together perfectly. As their eyes slipped closed, they lost themselves into the kiss, becoming the only two people left in the world at that moment. Ryker’s hand, the one that rested on Ares’ cheek, moved so he could slide his fingers through the back of Ares’ short blonde hair. He could feel the hood of his coat fall back as his partner slid his arms around his neck, in an effort to get as close as possible.

There was something... desperate about the way Ares kissed. He gripped onto Ryker like a lifeline, his eyes were shut tight as if he were afraid of opening them, afraid of coming back to reality. He even trembled slightly under Ryker’s touch, sighing against the kiss every time Ryker squeezed him and tried to pull him closer. At first, he thought that maybe Ares was getting really into it and that maybe they needed to move this somewhere that wasn’t the backyard of SEED Headquarters… but then he felt something wet slide down Ares’ cheek.

Ryker tore away from Ares in an instant, breathless and maybe a little hot but he shoved that to the side for now as he put all of his focus into Ares. His hand moved back to wipe at Ares’ cheek, panic shooting through his body. “Ares? H-Hey, what’s wrong...? Why are you crying?”

Ares’ blue eyes were brimming with tears as he stared back at Ryker with a confused stare. It seemed to take him a moment to realize that he was crying in the first place and then soon, the boy jolted back to reality in favor of wiping his face. “I’m crying—? Ah, I-I’m sorry, Ryker, I dunno what got into me—”

Ryker frowned and continued to help Ares wipe at his face, even going so far as to offer part of his cloak to dry his eyes with. Not once did his eyes leave Ares’ face as he rubbed gently at the other’s back. “Did I do something to upset you? Was it the kiss? It wasn’t that bad, was it?”

It was a weak attempt to make a dumb joke to try and get Ares to stop crying but even if Ares was able to let out a tiny laugh, the tears wouldn’t stop falling. Ryker was... torn. Torn between pulling Ares closer to comfort him, but being unsure if he was the reason he was crying to begin with.

“C’mon Ares... Talk to me. What did I do?”

“Nothing— You didn’t do anything. I’m so happy right now but—” Ares cut in immediately, shaking his head as he wiped at his face. “I just... I guess I just got emotional. That’s... That’s all.”

Ryker’s eyebrows furrowed, a doubtful look on his face. Upon seeing Ryker’s doubt, Ares leaned in and pecked him on the lips once. Twice. Three times and smiled widely at the man when he pulled away.

“I just really love you... you know?”

Ryker nodded quietly, eyes fixed on Ares’. He seemed genuine about that. He was genuine and sincere about everything. It was one of the reasons why he loved the man so much. But still... something didn’t seem right. Something was bugging Ares. But what...?

It was getting late, as the sun began its descent in the sky. It would be night soon and normally, Ryker held more energy as soon as the moon rose. Usually by now, he would start getting more active, start making his way through the town to run off the energy but something told him that the rest of his afternoon was going to be tied up.

“I love you too, Ares.” Ryker dabbed at his lover’s face a little longer before tilting his head with a tiny grin. “Hey... Do you wanna finish up your work real quick and then maybe... I dunno. Head to your room and nap for a while?”

Ares hesitated and for a scary second, Ryker wondered if maybe he was overstepping by inviting himself to Ares’ room. He watched the smaller man glance at the fields and then back towards the SEED headquarters and— Ah. Right.

Ryker wasn’t exactly planning to do anything other than nap but in the few times he had been in Ares’ room, he was very quick to note that there was very little privacy in that place. If someone came upstairs looking for Ares, they would definitely get caught cuddling. Ryker’s face burned at the mere thought of it. “Uh... We can also head back to my place instead? Palmo’s out of town for a job and won’t be back until late tonight so...”

Ryker’s face burned even more. They would have the place to themselves. He almost wished he was feeling brave enough to try and make a move and maybe, just maybe, he would have if Ares wasn’t currently trying to dry his face from whatever had just upset him.

Maybe next time, the helpful part of his brain suggested.

He pointedly decided to tell that part of his brain to shut its trap for right now.

The sound of his heart hammered in his chest seemed to go on forever as he watched Ares, waiting for an answer. And right before Ryker could think to take it back, right before he could just mumble out a “just kidding” in order to save face, he’s blind-sided by that smile again. The smile that told him that no matter what was going on in Ares’ brain right now, Ryker was at least making something better by just being around him.

“Yeah. Yeah, I think I would love that.”

—

Ares let his finger gently twirl and brush through Ryker’s white locks as they laid together in the apprentice’s bed. The house was strangely quiet due to the absence of Palmo. Ares couldn’t help but wonder how Ryker could even stand staying in this house when it was as silent as it was. Palmo was such a loud and joyous individual, it was hard to imagine staying here without hearing him at least singing in joy in the next room.

Despite how strange the silence was, Ares couldn’t help but be grateful for it. He could imagine that they wouldn’t have had this moment of peace otherwise. Which meant that Ares would also have missed out on watching just how adorable Ryker was when he was sleeping. It never took his boyfriend long to pass out if his mind was set on resting.

Ares wished he could sleep as easily as Ryker could.

The gentle smile resting on Ares’ face slowly fell away into a more pensive expression. His fingers fell from Ryker’s hair to brush against his cheek and the blonde let out a heavy sigh that he had been holding all day. He wished he could sleep just as peacefully as Ryker could.

Unfortunately, it was hard to sleep at all when the fate of the world weighed down on your shoulders.

At the grim reminder of what was at stake, Ares felt his entire soul grow weary as he shifted closer to Ryker’s sleeping form. His boyfriend’s arms were wrapped loosely around Ares’ waist and upon feeling him shift in his grasp, Ryker let out a tiny mumble before Ares felt the other squeeze him in his sleep before moving to bury his face into Ares’ hair. Ares felt something warm blossom in his chest.

Even if he, himself, couldn’t get enough sleep, he could count on Ryker to sleep enough for the both of them... Mostly. He still had a habit of running around in the middle of the night but one way or another, he managed to catch up on sleep somehow. Ares simply... couldn’t. No matter how much he tried. And he likely wouldn’t get much sleep at all until Gideon was taken care of.

Soon, he would be leaving to go chase after Gideon in his fortress in the clouds. Soon he would be confronting the man who led SEED into power, and would be stopping him from trying to force the world into his image. Soon, he’ll be fighting and putting his life on the line in order to protect the world and the people he had grown to love in his short year of living in Rigbarth.

But for now, he’ll simply rest his head against the chest of the man he loved and listen to the steady and soothing heartbeat within. Even if he didn’t sleep, this was still more than enough to energize him for the coming turmoil that Ares would soon be facing on his own.

All to protect his friends. All to protect Ryker. And all to protect the life he had created for himself, despite everything.

And when he got back, he was certain that Ryker would be more than happy to spend the next twenty four hours in bed with him in order to allow the ranger to catch up on days of lost sleep. It was something that Ares could look forward to when he came home.

Because, he told himself repeatedly, I will be coming home.

[marigoldendragon]

It's been like a year and a half since this game came out and I still think about Ryker's silly wrist ribbons. BOY YOU ARE A CARPENTER. He is a walking safety hazard. I dunno what Palmo is doing letting him wear that to work.

[scramburuehgu]

rf5 ryker x ares

[aashiyancha]

Valentine's day is coming up so I drew a bunch of couple photos. For characters who don't have a partner in my fancomic, I just drew them with some sweets☆

Notice how I drew these in sticker style? Am I planning to make stickers? Idk who can say~~

[cartwheelingintotraffic]

Palmo: Dear Ares, I must congratulate you on your recent engagement to Ryker! Are you here to discuss the wedding arrangemen-

Ares:*Slams bags of money on the counter* I need you to soundproof the silo like your life depends on it

[anir-lol]

Meme

[zaideaben]

my piece for the rune factory 5 zine over at @rf5dawntodusk ♡

[ghost---heart]

I can't believe he did this to me.

[avzplays]

The All-Boys Pajama Party in Rigbarth

Just some snaps of the boys in their pajamas

[loverlylight]

Was looking through some old pictures I took for some reason, and came across a few pictures I took of the Ares/Ryker marriage event that remind me of Curtwen. (& of course I named Ares Gaelio he's voiced by Robbie Daymond I can't just NOT name him Gaelio)

[crestfallencrest]

Based on true events in game that had me literally stop for a few minutes to process

[mikanarezza]

Fic Preview

Hey so I seem to have accidentally, over the course of the last several months, written about 60 pages of polyam Martin/Ryker/Ares fanfiction? It’s only about half over? I haven’t written in years? I’m not sure how this happened? ᴵ ᵗʰᶦⁿᵏ ᴵ'ᵐ ᵍᵒᶦⁿᵍ ᵗʰʳᵒᵘᵍʰ ᶦᵗˀ

Anyway I thought I’d share an excerpt, because at some point it feels wild to not share this somewhere. So here, have this preview for a 50k enemies to lovers fic with a target audience of, like... me?

Summary: Ares is taken into SEED custody while desperately trying to get his two closest friends to tolerate each other’s presence. With Ares gone, Martin and Ryker will need to put aside their differences on a cross country trip to the capital to get their mutual love interest back. 

Ryker had been waiting for some time at the gates. Maybe Martin changed his mind after all. He tried not to think about how disappointed that prospect made him. He didn’t want him to come along in the first place, it was just that the idea of tackling this alone was terrifying.

That’s why he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Martin making his way towards the gates. “You’re lucky you showed up when you did, I was about to leave without you.”

“Excuse me for living on the other side of town, Ryker.” Martin shifted his sizable backpack to a more comfortable position on his shoulders. He packed much heavier than Ryker seemed to have, but he felt confident in his ability to handle the weight.

“You got a different excuse? I took a pretty big detour.” Ryker said offhandedly. He had rushed off to Basara’s Hideaway upon realizing Oswald was probably still kicking around there.

Oswald didn’t have much intel that they didn’t already know, but he did have notes on his HQ floor plans that would (hopefully) make it more accurate. It was (again, hopefully) worth the trip.

“I packed more than a bad attitude.” Martin stated matter of factly as he began walking through the town gates.

After some comments about where Martin could stick his own bad attitude, they were back to their typical all-out bickering as they began their journey.

Not that he would admit it, but he was glad for it. It felt almost normal. It was something he desperately needed.

 “So… what next? Do we… even know where SEED HQ is?”

“Yes and no.”

“Helpful as always.” Martin said before taking a big swig of his canteen.

“You didn’t let me finish, you ass.” Ryker rolled his eyes and continued. “It’s in the sky.”

Martin nearly spit out his water from the shock. “Oh yes, sorry that’s much more helpful.”  Martin said with an understated sarcasm.

“Still not finished. Anyway, while it could be anywhere, I know what can take us there. Most of SEED uses teleportation to get where they need, but they can’t get around that they need supplies. There are airships that fly back and forth every week. All we have to do is sneak onto one of those ships and we’ll be all set.” Ryker explained. It seemed like Martin was beginning to understand, and so he elaborated. “They switch up the ships they use a lot for security reasons, but it sounds like the one they’re working with right now is the S.S Vespa.”

“And that would be…where?” Martin followed up.

“In Palermo. The capital, if you don’t slow me down too much, should be a twelve day walk. There’ll be a few towns along the way that we can restock in. Any more smart remarks?”

At this Martin stayed quiet but raised his middle fingers with little by way of expression for Ryker to read.

Things continued like this for a ways, their bickering shifted to a more comfortable silence under the guiding light of Ryker’s magic. It didn’t take more than an hour for Martin to begin to yawn. Muffled at first, but as time went on, and even the light of the moon began to fade behind the treeline, it quickly became clear that the last of his energy was waning. 

“Getting tired already, huh?” Ryker teased.

Martin appeared to consider this, before he came to his conclusion. “No.” Martin said tersely as he straightened his posture and moved just a bit faster.

That was not the answer Ryker was expecting. At least not with that level of conviction. Of course he was getting tired. Ryker usually had maybe a few hours left in him around this time, but with the adrenaline wearing off even he was starting to feel it.

Martin was an early bird. He was clearly exhausted.

But fine, if they were doing this, then they were doing this, he wasn’t about to be upstaged.

“Good, because I’ve got five more hours in me at least.” Ryker said, holding out his arms in a grand, theatrical gesture.

Martin stared straight ahead and finally nodded. “Okay.”

Ryker balked. “Okay, then.” Martin is usually so willing to fight, for him not to bicker about this was becoming borderline unsettling. So unsettling he did not press the issue for the next hour as they walked. 

Martin spent the time clearly trying to hide his yawns. He was wholly unsuccessful.

Ryker had enough when Martin stumbled and fell against him. Ryker managed to grab him by the shoulders to keep him upright, but just barely.

“Goddess, Martin, what are you-” When he got a good look at him, Ryker noticed his eyes were fluttering as Martin regained clarity. As if he was-

“Okay that’s it. We’re making camp.” Ryker said as he helped Martin regain his balance. 

“Huh? No, I’ll be okay. Sorry I just-”

“You just fell asleep standing up is what you did.” With a huff, Ryker dragged him to the side of the road, and motioned towards the base of a nearby tree. “Sit. I’m going to look for a safe place to sleep.”

Martin seemed to lose all fight he had in him at the prospect of rest. He was sitting before he realized what he was doing and had to stop himself from nodding off then and there.

“Just don’t… don’t go on without me.” Martin mumbled before he finally gave himself over to sleep.

“Ah. So that’s what this was about.” Ryker whispered. Though, if Martin could still hear, he gave no indication of it. 

Of course he thought he was going to ditch him. That Ryker agreed to this in the first place was already a miracle. Still, it was insulting that Martin thought he would just change his mind so soon like that.

Ryker himself was starting to feel the exhaustion creep in as he moved through the brush. He hadn’t walked so much in a day in… well, since he lived with his family.

Pushing thoughts of lost loved ones aside, he was able to quickly find a spot big enough to set a small fire. It wasn’t the safest, but it was enough to scare off wild animals, which were the main threat in this area of the woods. They’d have to think of something more secure on subsequent nights, but for now they both desperately needed the sleep.

After a quick once-over to verify that everything was in order, he made his way back to the nearby trail.

When he returned, he was almost surprised to see Martin was where he left him, fully asleep. After the day he’d had, this felt like a small miracle. “Hey sleepyhead. Time to go, I found a spot.”

“Hm?” Martin muttered as he opened his eyes to see Ryker, arms crossed, tapping his foot impatiently.

As he began to close his eyes again, he was startled by a kick to his side. Not aggressive, but on the sharper side of a friendly tap. 

“Ow, okay, okay, ’m getting up.” Martin said blearily. True to his word, he stood with a loud yawn.

“Good, because I wasn’t about to carry you.” Ryker said as he motioned for the direction of their camping spot and began the final few yards of the day.

As Martin slung his large camping bag over his shoulder, he laughed. “I don’t think you could.”

With a roll of his eyes, Ryker grumbled at this, “Not with all that trash you’re carrying with you, no wonder you’re passing out.”

He scoffed “They’re called supplies, and I can handle it. I knew you’d skimp out, so someone had to make sure we don’t starve.”

As much as he hated to, Ryker did have to admit that he really had carried that bag a long way. And for so much later than, in retrospect, he really should have.

He also hated to admit that Martin was right. He wasn’t thinking when he packed. Thinking wasn’t exactly the thing he was known for.

Martin, on the other hand, was constantly thinking, worrying, working. He never stopped, in a way that Ryker found infuriating. There was a part of him that was honestly surprised he was pushed to the point of passing out this quickly. Not his best record, to be sure. 

Ryker stopped in his tracks as he came to a realization. “Martin… How much sleep did you get the night before?”

Martin was silent a bit too long for Ryker’s liking. He nearly turned to make sure he hadn’t passed out again before he finally spoke. “Enough.”

“So… three hours? Maybe four?” Ryker accused. Thankfully they could see the light of the fire approaching, and they pressed on. “And before you say anything, I don’t think the hours we were knocked out really count here.”

“Maybe two? No… wait, that might have been- look I don’t see why it matters.”

“Might have been what?”

“...Two days ago.” Martin said.

“Martin. Dammit what the hell is wrong with you?” Ryker felt himself short circuit. He grabbed Martin’s wrist as he pulled the other boy through the last stretch of brush towards their makeshift camp. The only thing on his mind was getting his idiot of a travel companion to somewhere that he could sleep.

“We made good time, didn’t we? Again, it really doesn’t matter.”

Ryker was too tired for this.

“See, this is what’s so frustrating with you all the time. It matters. You matter. And… and I know it’s not my place to say that.” Not anymore, “but Ares isn’t here to make sure you take care of yourself, so I guess that’s my job now.” Ryker hoped the red light of the fire as they arrived at their destination masked the red in his face that he knew was there. 

Martin was stunned into silence as he sat his pack down by the fire and began removing his sleeping bag.

Ryker was honestly hoping for an insult, or something that might allow him to forget how much he overshared. Instead, he was left to wallow for what felt like an eternity.

“Thank you. That… actually means a lot.” Martin finally broke the silence as he crawled into his sleeping bag. “G’night Ryker.”

It was at this point Ryker noticed a second sleeping bag in Martin’s pack. Despite himself, he smiled. “Good night.”

[intomusings]

ೀ ﹒﹒  favorite   names   compilation    !

ur   fav   musings   girly   again   here   with   the   first   of   my   christmas   goodies   .   my   favorite   thing   to   do   is   these   name   compilations   so   i   decided   to   create   another   masterlist   of   my   absolute   favorite   ones   (   some   old   ,   mostly   new   )   anyways   all   i   ask   is   that   if   u   found   this   useful   ,   u   like   or   reblog   to   show   ur   support   .   i   hope   everyone   is   enjoying   the   holiday   season   ♡

- a : abella, ardella, ares, aire, arden, ayla, arie, alder, august, aymes, atlas, alina, alora, aryn.

- b : beau, babette, belle, blake, briar, bronte, banks, boston, bishop.

- c : cassiel, clara, celeste, camden, chandler, collins, clay, cartier, chanel, cosima.

- d : dove, dream, danica, delaney, drue, denver, dacey, delcy, darcy, dahlia.

- e : elodie, emory, emrys, elio, elowynne, emerson, evie, edie, estoria, esme, effy, evans.

- f : flora, faye, fallon, ford, forbes, finnick.

- g : gaia, geles, greer, gensen.

- h : hera, hudson, hampton, heath, harlowe.

- i : isla, inara, ilia.

- j : juniper, josefine, jane, jovie, joey.

- k : kiersten, kairo, kaia, kian, kouvr, keanu.

- l : lysander, lanie, lorena, lawson, lux, ludo, lourdes.

- m : marla, marigold, maren, maeve, marlowe, miller, monet.

- n : neah, north, nola, nell, noel, nariah, niamh, nami.

- o : ozzy, orion.

- p : presley, posy, pearl, porter, pacey, paxon.

- r : reed, ruelle, raya, romey, ryker, rhode, reign, rafe, rohan, raiden, remi, rion, rhiannon, reece, river, raine, rumer, reem, rhys.

- s : selah, soraya, sarifya, savion, sloane, sol, soren, scout, saint, striker, serafina, sabina, sutter.

- t : teal, twila, tristan, tobie, tripp, teague, tate.

- v : vienna, vega, vera, vincenzo.

- w : wren, winter, winona, winnie, wilder, weston.

- x : xaverie, xylah, xiomara, xander.

- y : yves, yara.

- z : zephyr.

[aashiyancha]

After many many moons, I have finished rf5's act 2 plot summary ( totally canon ;])

If you haven't had the chance yet (or just down to read it again) here's the link to the act 1 summary

[cartwheelingintotraffic]

Ares: I was pretty happy when you said you wanted to design and build the twin's cribs, but why is there only one ?

Ryker: Hehe... It's a surprise ;) Look closer...

Ares:...

Ares: Ryker ? Why is there a secret compartment in our baby's crib?

Ryker: So we can put the other one-

Ares: Absolutely not.

Ryker : But babe, look, it spins so we can rotate them-

Ares: ABSOLUTELY NOT.

[anir-lol]

They