Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

uhm well damn i forgot how to write romance FUCK (like i ever could... 😿) flame grill me if i mischaracterize which im positive is gonna happen...

Rief sat in his room, conflicted. Admittedly, he had a crush on Cory. How did that happen? Good question! Not even he knows that, honestly. However, he had two choices. 1. Take this secret to the grave. 2. Tell Cory the truth. However, both paths both had their 'this choice will have consqeuences' in Rief's eyes.

On one hand, taking it to the grave could prevent heartbreak and potential rejection. However, on the same hand, he would never know if Cory returned his feelings and thus, there could be a whole other path of life he could've missed out on. On one hand, if he tells Cory the truth-as he stated before- he would be able to know if Cory reciprocated his feelings. However, if he didn't return the feelings, Rief would probably be left embarrassed and uhm... have you ever had a crush on your best friend and they don't reciprocate feelings? I, the narrator, do NOT recommend it. Neither would Rief, as it makes for a very awkward environment.

But none of that mattered if he couldn't even choose which path he wanted to go down. Maybe I should sleep on it? He thought to himself. 'Sleeping on something' usually never ended in a solid decision, but if it gave him some sort way to start thinking about what to seriously do, then it was worth a shot. Right? Well, there was 'technically' a third option he considered but ended up scrapping. This option was the option of asking Faye for advice, but he scrapped that because he didn't want to involve Faye in any of his problems.

What a considerate friend he is. Give him an award.

Rief leaned over to check the time. 6:24 P.M. He sighed. I haven't had enough coffee for this bs. He thought to himself. And you know what? Who could blame him? He's just a chill salmon 😎. Actually, that's a lie. Nothing about him is chill. (Rief is on my hear me out cake for a reason.../J/J/J/J/J/J/J//J/J/J DID I MENTION I WAS JOKING he is on my hear me out cake though).

"Okay, yeah, I'll think about this a different night," he muttered to himself.

Chapter Text

Rief was once again contemplating his choices in his bedroom. Take his feelings to the grave, confess to cory, and the secret third option; ask Faye for advice. That's when a really stupid thought crossed his mind. "What if I rolled a dice?" He said, mostly talking to himself. However, it only took a moment for him to change his mind. "Actually... I think I'll just ask Faye if she has any advice," he muttered. Although the secret third option was the one he hoped he would avoid, it was going to the path he would go down. I just hope I won't regret it. Rief thought with just the slightest bit of hope.

(Watch that hope go down the drain LMAO 😇😝)

Rief took a deep breath and knocked the door to Faye's room. "Who's there?' Faye asked.

"Rief," he replied.

"Come in!" She said. Rief opened the door and mentally he just wanted to go 'fuck this' and go back to his room to perish alongside his feelings. Oh well, no turning back now. "What do you need?" She inquired. He mentally prepared for whatever the hell was about to come out his mouth. (Don't worry, Rief, I don't know either!)

"Uhm..." Yep, just awesome. His mind decides to fail him right when he needed it most. Just his luck. Use your words, Rief. He told himself. Use your words. He didn't even know how to describe the advice he needed. What ever it was Rief wanted to say in an attempt to ask for advice? It's already slipped his mind.

"Is something wrong?" Faye asked, a genuine hint of concern in her tone of voice. He shook his head. Technically, there was nothing wrong.

"No, it's just..." His voice faltered once more. Damn, this was just sad. (this is actually impressive, i have never heard someone be at such a loss for words.) "I may or may not harbor romantic feelings for a certain octoling who's name starts with C." Congratulations, Rief, you did it. You told Faye you have a crush on Cory. We (and by we I mean Seafoam City. YES all you Seafoamians reading this right now) are so proud of you.

Never in his entire life has Rief ever heard Faye gasp like that. "NO WAY," she gasped, "I KNEW IT." (this is canon trust/j/j/j/j) He just looked at her with the most confused look on his face. Uhm... what the f- He thought to himself, still as confused as a newbie in Turf War. "Is my ship about to sail?" She giggled. (2 things: One; Faye is prolly giggling like a girl at a sleep over. Two; she is most DEFINITELY the #1 Corief shipper. She's a supportive queen 🎀)

"...okay. Anyways- what I actually came in here for was because I... sorta need your advice. On what I should do about this," he continued, "because I have no clue at all. You'd probably be better at helping me with advice anyway."

"What specifically? What to do in general or how to confess?" Faye asked.

Rief shrugged. "Both, honestly," he muttered.

"Mkay, so, in general? Try to be patient- wait and see if you could pick up any hints of Cory returning feelings," she replied. "Confession wise? Definitely try to be straight forward. I think he'd probably appreciate that. If you're being straight forward, your definitely going to be more direct and easier to understand. We all know Cory can be... a bit unique. Sorry, that sounded really mean..."

"Your good," he responded. "Uh, thanks for the advice Faye."

"Anytime, Rief!" She grinned. He walked back to his room. To be honest, he didn't feel like being patient. However, if it was what works, then being patient may be worth a try.

(Rief is going to throw that out the window REAL quick next Chapter.)

Chapter Text

Patience is a virtue, but it sure as hell isn't one of Rief's. Faye told him to be patient, but it's been a week since he asked her for advice. That should be enough waiting time, riiiiiiiiiight? Mhm, yes, totally. (There's no way this ends badly at all!) However, his only issue? How in the absolute shell was he supposed to tell Cory? I (the narrator) mean, we all know that Rief apparently isn't the best at socializing (shocker), so... what could he do? (This is my cry for help) This time, he probably couldn't ask Faye. Considering her advice was to wait and be patient and he was doing the opposite... Safe to say, she'd probably a bit annoyed and tell him to be patient again. However, when has Rief ever listened? (Never. After all, that's how the pier exploded!) The answer? Never! Advice is just a suggestion, after all. Riiiiiight? (This is once again my cry for help 💔💔) Yeah, this can't go wrong at all!!

Little did poor Rief know, it went wrong. In the worst way possible.

Rief has cracked his knuckles (okay unc) and thought carefully about his words. Minimize awkwardness and minimize embarrassment. (LOOK AT ME, I'M USING A VOCAB WORD 🎀) Also, what the hell would Rief do if things went south? Probably wither away in his room forever out of embarrassment. Oh, or he could just... avoid interacting with Cory until a substantial amount of time has passed for it to be at least 50% less awkward. Actually, could that even work? All three members of Trilight live in the same apartment (HEADCANON BC I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S ACTUALLY CANON) so it would be kinda hard to avoid Cory, wouldn't it? He was confident that this could go well though! Actually, he may have just been a bit overly confident this time... 😈😈😈

Rief took a deep breath. There was nothing to be nervous about! One problem; he didn't know where Cory was. Maybe Faye would know? He decided that he would ask Faye about the whereabouts of the octoling. "Faye?" He called, "do you know where Cory is?" Suddenly, within a moment, that question seemed to summon the blue inkling. She raced down the hallway, practically racing right at him. "Uhm- Faye- slow down," he said.

"Nope, no way," Faye replied, "there's no way you're already confessing!? It's been seven days since you came to me for advice, Rief Vodopad." Rief scratched his head confused. Patience is a virtue, but it is not one of his. Nor is actually listening. "You have to be patient, Rief! How do you know you aren't rushing into something?"

"Confidence," he shrugged. "Gut feeling."

"...did you listen to a thing I told you last week?" Faye asked. Rief nodded his head. "Then you know that I told you to be patience right?" She replied. (Faye is so annoyed, poor girl 😭Giving out good advice just for Rief to throw it away.)

"Yeah, but-"

"Rief, do you genuinely think, and are 100% sure, that this will go well?" She asked once more. He nodded his head once more. "I'll trust your judgement then. If you think confessing now is a good choice, then I won't stop you."

"Thanks, but you never answered my question; where is he?" Rief replied, "kinda an important part of confessing; the person actually being there for the confession."

"Oh, yeah! He's... um... I'm actually not sure," she mumbled, "I think he said something about taking a walk or something. It was like... an hour ago. Oh Cod, who knows what chaos he's gotten into?

"He's chaotic, but not stupid," he responded, "an hour, you said? He'll probably be back soon then." Just as the last few words came out of his mouth, he started to feel a sense of dread start to swirl in his stomach. Rief had told himself he was prepared for this, but now, he didn't feel so confident. How would he even put it into words? I wanna evolve from bromance to romance? He jokingly thought to himself. He was obviously not going to say that. That would actually be 30x more embarrassing than anything else that was going to come out of his mouth. Well, he had an undetermined amount of time to think about it, so he might as well brainstorm.

✨An undetermined amount of time later ✨

Rief sat on the living room couch, planning out every word he was going to say, although something told him that the second he went to open his mouth, it would all vanish. That would be just his luck. It was sort of nerve-wracking, especially knowing there was a chance for rejection. That's what scared him the most. That Cory didn't reciprocate, that Rief could potentially ruin their friendship. That's the last thing he wanted. Cory was one of his closest friends who somehow tolerated him. He really didn't want to lose all of that if things go south. Was that silly? Rief Vodopad, the most standoffish and distant member of Trilight, was scared of losing a friendship over a crush. Rief just had to cling onto the hope that things would go right. In the midst of his overthinking, he heard the door open. Entering the room like your average theatre kid, in came Cory.

"What is goodie, my gang?" Cory said. ...he cannot be a real person. Rief thought to himself.

"Hi Cory!" Faye smiled.

"Sup," Rief replied, waving at the octo. (As in... a form of greeting. Guys, I'm so good at writing/j! #ShadowShouldnGetDiscouraged, challenge failed.) Out of curiosity, before he confessed, he had to know. "Faye said you were taking a walk. What chaos did you wreak in the last hour?" He asked, mostly in a joking manner. He knows that Cory knows better than to cause chaos on a perfectly normal afternoon. At least, he hoped he knew better. (Clearly, Rief doesn't know better than to be patient to confess 😔)

"None! I have no clue what you're talking about," Cory smiled, a silly tone to his voice. Oh Cod, I can't believe my life has come to this. Is this really about to happen? (oh my cod, im so scared and IM THE ONE WRITING THE STORY... my stomach hurts every time I go write this 🥲) Rief thought to himself. He took a moment to think. Was this really a good idea? Well, he came this far. There was no turning back, was there? "Uhhhhhh, Rief, you good there buddy?" Cory asked. "You're looking kinda... spaced out there."

"Yeah, I'm good Cory," he replied. "I..." And just like that, he went speechless. Yeah, he called it. Just as expected; the words slipped his mind. Of course, what else would've happened? He could actually use his words? Pfft, that's impossible. He grappled (HEHE, VOCAB WORD) to find the right words but that's u n h e a r d of. He couldn't help but feel frustrated. I mean, who could blame him? He wants to confess but his words keep slipping away. I, the narrator, would also be frustrated.

"Dude, seriously, are you alright?" Cory asked, "you're lowkey stuttering and stammering and you only do that when you're nervous." (Uhm, here. Drops random headcanon!! Enjoy, I guess) Cory was right, but Rief couldn't really say anything. He was so worried thinking about what could go wrong, he didn't even consider what to say, and now that he was about to confess, the words slipped right from under beneath him.

Breathe Rief. You got this. He told himself. He, in fact, did not have this. Rief, in fact, was panicking. It was either confession panic or gay panic. Or both! It could be both. He took a deep breath. "Uh... I... (now pretend this next part is him whispering like his life depends on it) sorta like you... more than a friend..." His voice was barely above a whisper, 99% because he is absolutely petrified. (Deadass I don't think Rief would ever be seen in this state ever again in his LIFE)

"I didn't hear you," he replied. Rief felt his heart drop but also some sort of sense of relief, as if he wasn't about to repeat himself. "Are you sure you're good?" Rief nodded his head, knowing damn well he's practically quivering in his boots. Don't lie, children, or you'll end up like Rief. "Can you repeat what you said?" Cory asked.

Faye proceeded to say, "I feel like I should grab popcorn. For no particular reason." (So real, Faye, so real. I would grab popcorn too! ...if i could eat it with braces) Rief looked at her with the most '...what the fu-' expression ever.

"Can you not, Faye?" He muttered, "respectfully." He turned his attention back to Cory, who was either concerned or very curious on what Rief was going to say. (I am also very concerned -says the writer...) He took a deep breath again. "Uh... I (now this next part is him whispering but louder) sorta like you... more than a friend..." He mumbled once more."

"Dawg, I can't hear you," Cory said, "you gotta speak louder, bro."

My brother in christ, if I could speak louder, I would. He thought to himself. One more, and no more would he have to repeat himself. He blurted out, "I like you more than a friend." Holy ship, was it that really that hard? (P.S.: That's not me, the narrator, asking if it was really that hard; it's Rief talking to himself internally.) It was just a singular sentence; not a Cod damn speech. Okay, there it is. Hopefully this goes well now. He thought to himself. In pure nervousness, he lowkey avoided looking at Cory.

"Uhm... Sorry, Rief." Rief felt his heart drop. He could already tell the words about to follow that. It wasn't going to happen. "I don't feel the same," Cory replied, "but we can still be friends!" Rief had a feeling. He wished it wasn't true. However, Rief isn't a jerk, so he'll just have to accept it, and pray to Cod that the feelings will fade away one day.

'"I understand," he mumbled. He immediately practically teleported to his room. Now, he had to accept the fact that he is now officially someone who has experienced a one-sided crush. It wasn't the ending he wanted, but it was the truth. So, what could he do now? I'll just have to accept it. Even if it kinda hurts.

Chapter Text

Rief sat in the studio, still pretty embarrassed. Two whole weeks had passed, and he still felt embarrassed at the rejection. He kind of blanked out whenever Cory and Faye were talking, but it was usually about little things like mistakes or stuff like that, so it wasn't thaaat bad, right? He was still sort of paying attention! ...sort of.

In the midst of Cory & Faye chatting, he suddenly coughed. It was out of nowhere too. Faye stopped herself mid-sentence before slowly turning her head to look at Rief. While it wasn't "unusual" for him to cough or anything (like, in the sense that everybody has coughs sometimes, yk what I mean?) like that, it wasn't often. (I really hope that made sense/gen)

"That was weird," he mumbled. "Maybe it's just from singing a lot..." Yep, that's totally it, and it's sooooo convincing. Truly, he didn't know. I mean, most people don't cough out of nowhere. At least, not normally. So, whatever it, was probably just a passing cough. Right? Right.

Well, that's what he thought. It happened again. And again. And again. Each time, it somehow sounded like he was dying despite the fact he didn't physically feel sick. At least, not in the moment. Each time he coughed, he felt this... prickly feeling in his throat. Maybe I'm overthinking it. He thought to himself. After all, sometimes a cough can hurt. Although, he wished that he wasn't coughing every two minutes.

"Rief, are you sure you're alright?" Cory asked, "you've been coughing a lot in the last thirty minutes." (I'm surprised he can count.)

Rief shrugged. "I'll be fine," he replied, "anyone got water? Maybe that'll help." It probably wouldn't, but it helped him be a bit more at ease.

"I do," Cory said, tossing Rief a bottle of water. Like the absolute peak catch moment, he caught the water with one hand. He drank some water, and it did help! ...sort of. He still felt that weird prickly feeling, but it wasn't as bad as before! Progress, yippee!

Little did the poor salmonid know. It wasn't getting better.

Chapter Text

Rief was just chilling in his room. Y'know, normal people things. Mostly just random videos he found on Splatube, but yeah, he was chill. He still felt a prickle in his throat even though days had gone by. Maybe he really was getting sick? Either way, he might as well enjoy his leisure time.

For once, he felt calm. That's never a good sign. He thought to himself. Was that a bit pessimistic? Yeah. Was he right? Probably! Guess we'll find out. (Just kidding! I already know what happens.) He stared at his screen, lowkey disinterested. He could (somewhat) recall what the others were doing; Cory was probably vibing to whatever in his room (music) and Faye was watching TV in the living room.

In the midst of whatever it was he watching, he coughed. Okay, phrased strangely, but the point still got across. (I hope...) Once more, the prickly feeling returned. What was it? He couldn't think of any reasons why this prickly feeling kept coming back. Anything else he had thought of had been ruled out, so what could it have been? Whatever it was, it probably wasn't a good. He knew that, at least. However, unlike in the days prior, where he would cough 1-3 times int he span of 5-10 minutes, he was coughing rapidly. It was (most definitely) a bit painful too.

"Rief? Are you alright?" Faye called.

"I'm fine! Mostly!" Rief replied. Mostly wasn't the best answer, but hey, it's better than 'No, I actually feel like I'm dying!' Right? He had a feeling that he prooobably wasn't okay, but hey, better than dying, right?

"Want some water?" She asked.

"Sure!" He answered. Some water would probably help. After all, water usually helps with throats when in pain? Right? Yeahh.

"Alright, give me like... 5 minutes!" She said. Alright, five minutes. Hopefully this cough won't keep up much longer. Rief silently said to himself. He continued to watch Splatube, trying to ignore the lingering prickly feeling. However, despite his efforts, it didn't seem to work. Damn, it was one persistent cough. Painful as well, unfortunately. Every once in a while, he could swear he has the tastes of a flower in his mouth, but he just tried to think nothing of it. It was pretty simple; Rief swears he has the taste of a flower in his mouth, realizes he doesn't eat flowers, and then convinces himself he was just imagining things. That totally couldn't go wrong, right? Yeah, definitely.

What Rief found weird (unironically) was that every time the flower taste came back, it was the same flower: Marigold. Don't ask how he knows what that flower in particular tastes like; it happened once and Cory dared him to eat it. That was it. That's the only reason why he knew what that tastes like. (Lol enjoy stupid headcanon of Rief eating a flower.) He shook off that thought. Coincidence? Probably not, but the salmonid wanted at least some peace of mind. Well, however much that would be. (Not much longer...!)

Rief coughed once more, another sharp pain. It hurt but eh, water would surelyyy work, right? (Poor buddy doesn't know whats coming.) Yeah, totally. Once more, the taste of Marigolds came back. As such, so did the prickly feeling. Seriously, what was up with that? However, he lowkey felt something come out of his mouth?? Maybe he was just imagining things, but it didn't feel unreal. Anyways, he, like a normal person, coughed into his elbow, so it wouldn't hurt to check... riiight? (Dear lord, no amount of praying is going save him now, Seafoamians!!) And so, he did. A fucking flower came out of his mouth.