Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Riley sat in a conference room at his university, bouncing his leg as an instructor explained the details of an upcoming research expedition.

“You’re expected to be there for around 18 months” the instructor highlighted a section of their power point. “Every 6 months you will receive a supply drop. Please note that you’ll need to make a list of items you’ll need at least 1 month in advance.”

Riley wrote everything down in his notebook.

“Epsilon 448B is an arctic planet. Even though the region you are staying in is considered to be a subarctic region of the planet, you should expect lows as low as -30 Celsius during the coldest months and a high of 10 during the warmest.”

The instructor flipped to the next slide. It had a picture of a beautiful arctic landscape, and a map.

“This is the general area you’ll be in. Your base will be located here.” She gestured to a grey rectangle on the map. “It is equipped with a lab, a med bay, a common room, a kitchen, and two dorms. One for men, one for women.”

She flipped to another slide, this time showing a larger version of the map that covered more territory. “This is a wider look at the region. Your focus will mostly be on the coast and smaller rivers and streams.”

Riley studied the map. In the lower left hand corner, he noticed a small red dot labelled Coldstone. He raised his hand.

“Yes?” The instructor called him on.

“What’s this marker down here for Coldstone?”

“Excellent question. Coldstone is a small town located in the area. If there’s a time where you need supplies in a pinch, you may be able to find some there, but in general there’s no need for you to be in that town.”

The instructor looked down at her watch. “Alright folks, I’m going to call a 15 minute break and then we’ll jump back into briefing. I’ll see you soon.”

Riley closed his notebook and shoved it in his book bag. 15 minutes was just enough time for him to get a sandwich from the coffee stand down the hall from the conference room.

“First expedition?”

Riley turned to face the voice. An older, grizzled man in an aviator jacket stood in line next to him. He recognized him from the briefing.

“Yeah. Is it obvious?”

“A little. No need to take notes on everything. They give you a packet with everything in it.”

“I’m still scared I’ll forget something important.”

The older man chuckled. “Yeah, first timers always get a bit worried about that kind of stuff. But I guess it’s better to be prepared. Name’s Oz, by the way.”

“I’m Riley.”

Riley and Oz got their orders and made their way back to the conference room. Riley learned that Oz was to lead their expedition. Oz took a sip of his tea before taking a seat next to Riley.

“So tell me, what brings you to this expedition?”

“Well, I recently finished my undergrad program for geology and was hoping to go for a master’s degree.” Riley said as he took a seat next to Oz. “One of my professors recommended me, he thought I'd be a great fit.”

“I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

—

A month later, Riley and the rest of the team embarked on their journey to their place of study. The rest of the team consisted of environmental specialists Dr. Fuan and Dr. Delacroix, meteorologist Dr. Buchanan, physician Dr. Gold, and team leader, Oz.

They arrived at the base late at night. It was pretty generic. A small kitchen that was connected to a common area, fitted with a couch, an armchair, dining table and chairs, a cup board (that Oz said was filled with board games) and an old TV. All furniture that seemed outdated, showcasing the styles of decades past, but who could really complain?

“Get some rest. We’ve got a busy morning.” Oz told the crew as they settled in.

The base dorms contained single bed rooms with a large shared bathroom at the end of the hall. Each room was only large enough for a bed, and a small dresser. It was cramped, but as someone who appreciated his privacy he was grateful to have a space to himself.

Riley opened his suitcase and took out an old baggy t-shirt that he had been using as a pajama. He climbed into his sleeping bag and took a moment to marvel at the fact that he was here.

—

“If I have to eat freeze dried cheese again I’m going to lose my shit.” Riley said as he flopped onto the couch in the common room.

“That's the life of a researcher, rookie. Seclusion and shitty freeze dried food.” Oz said without looking up from his book.

The two sat in silence for a moment, Riley staring up at the popcorn style ceiling. “Isn’t there a nearby town?”

“Yup.”

Riley sat up. “Well maybe I should go check it out tomorrow?”

“I don’t think you’ll find much there.”

“But I’ll probably find some better food.”

—

Riley made the trek to the nearby town of Coldstone. He learned that it had a population of roughly 7,000. The majority of the buildings were bright, solid colours: reds, oranges, yellows, and blues that popped against the white of the snow. The snow squeaked beneath his feet as he trudged through the streets, as he admired the colourful buildings and sought out something to eat. Eventually, he stopped by a red, two story building. It had a big bay window out front with the words Nevra’s Pantry painted in white. From the outside, Riley could see what looked to be a diner with a few patrons. He went inside, the warmth of the building a strong contrast to the freezing weather outside. He took a seat at the diner’s counter.

“Welcome. What can I getcha?”

He was greeted by a woman about his height, with cerulean blue skin with a dark, horizontal stripe across the center of her face. Her lips were painted a rich red, her hair styled into french braids.

“Aren’t you one of those researchers?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Hm, normally when you guys come to this area our little town gets overlooked. What brings you in today?”

“A disdain for the freeze dried stuff they send with us. Was really missing something fresh and home cooked, ya know.”

The woman smiled at him. “Well if you’re looking for home cooked you’ve come to the right place. I’m Nevra, the owner of this establishment. Everything made here is made by my own recipe.”

“Wow. What would you recommend?”

“I’m a bit biased so I think it’s all pretty good, but if I were to choose I’d go with the fish ‘n’ chips, the fish we use is in season right now.”

“Sounds great, I’ll take that.”

Nevra turned back to her cooking station, occasionally bringing plates up to the hot plate for a surly waitress to take to the other tables.

He was so lost in thought that he almost didn’t see Nevra place a plate in front of him, snapping him out of his daydream.

“Thanks for waiting. Enjoy.”

“Thanks!” Riley called out to her as she returned to her station.

The plate was arranged nicely with a heap of fries, 2 pieces of fish, and a dipping sauce that Riley assumed was tartar sauce. It was so good! The fish had been cooked perfectly with a golden brown crust that crunched whenever he bit into it. The fries were seasoned nicely, a mix of salty, peppery, and some other spice he couldn’t identify.

Riley could feel himself getting full half way through the plate. There’s no way any of this would hold up if I tried to bring this home as leftovers, he thought to himself. Nobody likes soggy fries and the others would kill me if I microwaved fish in our shared kitchen. Riley decided his best bet would be to finish the plate there.

He started to slow down as he got fuller, but determined not to let anything go to waste, he kept going. As he finished the last few fries, he slumped into his seat, belly aching. Worth it, Riley thought to himself as stretched out before letting his hand fall to his stomach.

“Did you enjoy your meal?”

Riley’s hand dropped his hand to his side as he sat up to address Nevra, who had appeared in front of him.

“It was great, I really enjoyed it.”

She placed the bill in front of him along with a small mint. The words come back soon punctuated with a smiley face were hand written onto his receipt.

Riley paid his bill and headed back to home base. By the time he got back the sun was setting, casting an orangey glow across the snowy plains. Oz was cooking dinner for the crew when Riley walked in. Riley had barely taken off his coat and joined the group when Oz pushed a bowl into his hands.

“Thanks Oz, but-” Riley started but then Oz cut him off.

“No skipping dinner! You gotta have a certain amount of calories in an environment like this, rookie.”

Not wanting to argue, Riley sat down and ate his dinner with everyone else, despite still being full from his meal at Nevra’s. Later, when everyone was left to their own devices, he retreated to his room. Having two dinners back to back had left him uncomfortably full.

Riley lay down in his bed with a groan. I’m never doing that again, he thought to himself.

Chapter Text

Riley got into the habit of going into town every few days with whatever freetime he had. He visited a little shop that sold all sorts of handmade trinkets, from teeny tiny crocheted coasters to big soft quilts. He visited the library whose walls were decorated with wood panels that had been cut into the shapes of fish and painted. The librarian told him it was called The Stream Of Dreams, and that each fish was painted by a local elementary school student. He found out that the town had a train station just south of town that was mostly underground to avoid the tracks getting caked in snow and ice. And of course, there was the food. Besides Nevra’s, he also checked out the local grocery store, coffee shop, and a bakery. There was plenty of food he was used to, but a lot of new things native to this planet that he'd never heard of before. The coffee shop, for example, had something called a klondike berry muffin.

“What’s a klondike berry?” Riley asked the barista working the counter.

“Not entirely sure, some scientist cross-bred salmonberries and some other kind of berry and made that. We grow ‘em in the town greenhouse.”

He took two of them.

Whenever he went into town, he always had to refrain himself from getting some kind of treat. But he’d always cave at the idea of a nice, hot meal from Nevra’s.

“Welcome back!” Nevra greeted him from the counter.

“Hey Nevra.” Riley replied as he shedded his coat. “Been busy today?”

“Eh, same old same old.”

Riley took a seat up at the counter. “We have a special for soup today. Potato and mushroom soup and a slice of sourdough.” Nevra told him.

“Sounds great. I’ll take that.”

Nevra disappeared into the kitchen and returned a few minutes later with a big bowl of soup and a small plate with a thick slice of sourdough bread.

“Thanks Nevra! Looks amazing as usual.”

Nevra smiled and ducked back into the kitchen while Riley dug into his soup. It was thick and creamy, with the lightly toasted slice of bread acting more of a vehicle to spoon more soup into his mouth then to soak it up. 

Riley was mid-bite when he heard the familiar sound of a plate being placed down in front of him. He looked up to see a piece of pie with a custard filling and Nevra standing in front of him.

“What’s this?”

“Sugar cream pie. Don’t worry, it’s on the house.”

Riley sat up. “Really? Thanks, Nevra, you didn’t need to do that.”

“Consider a token of appreciation for being such a good customer.”

Riley was already getting kind of full, but he hadn’t fully finished. Was this a good idea? Dinner wouldn’t be for a few hours. And it was a good looking pie. And it was free. What would be the harm? Riley thought to himself. After all, what kind of person would reject such a nice gesture?

So Riley cleaned his bowl of potato soup, using whatever was left of his bread to sop up any remaining liquid. His fork went clean through the velvety pie slice, Riley revelling in its sweetness. It almost made him forget just how much he’d eaten that day. Almost.

The few final bites were a struggle. But Riley finished them, stifling a burp. After a few minutes, Nevra came up to him with the cheque.

“How was it?”

“It was great. Thank you again for the pie.”

“No worries. Before you head out, I wanted to let you know that Coldstone has its annual fair coming up, since we’re approaching the warmer season. It’s going to be in about a month from now.”

“Oh, neat. I definitely want to go. Maybe I can try and get some of the other guys to come join me.”

Nevra smiled. “Oh, for sure. We’re a small town but lots of people come up to see it, there’ll be lots to do.”

— 

When Riley got back to base, he was greeted by Dr. Buchanan and Dr. Delacroix who were chatting in the shared kitchen. Delacroix had her dreadlocks pulled up in a bun as she stirred a pot on the stove.

“Riley! Wonderful timing!” Buchanan greeted him. “Dr. Delacroix was telling me about how she missed having a good poutine, so we decided to make some for dinner! With a few modifications considering what we brought, of course.”

Riley peered into the pot to see the gravy simmering inside. “Wow, sounds great. How long do you think until it’s ready?”

“Well we just put the fries in the oven, so I’m going to say around 15 minutes.” Delacroix told him.

You don’t need poutine right now, Riley told himself as he watched his colleagues cook, stomach still full. But 15 minutes later when those fries came out of the oven, were slathered in gravy and cheese ( It’s not the same without the squeaky cheese curds , Delacroix told him, but it’s still pretty good ), Riley still got himself a portion, and then another when that was done. Riley quietly slipped into his room for the night, undoing his belt to give his belly some relief from stuffing himself to the brim.

Not even bothering to change into his pajamas, he slipped under the covers of his bed all snug and cozy. His hand gravitated towards his belly, rubbing it at its fullest point. He started to let out a small moan, partially out of relief and partially out of pleasure before clamping his free hand onto his mouth.

Chapter Text

Riley pulled out a pair of trousers and a T-shirt out of his dresser. It was his usual attire that he’d wear at the university, as he was told to keep to the dress code he usually would have while working there.

“Just because you’re working off campus doesn’t mean you get to slack off. You’re still at work and you’ll be representing us, after all.”  The presenter had told them at their briefing. Riley asked Oz about it, whether or not it was something they strongly enforced. Oz just shrugged and told him to use his best judgement when picking out his clothes for the expedition. 

So here he was, putting on the clothes he always wore, only to realize that they had gotten tighter. Not obscenely so, but noticeable enough for Riley.

Maybe I fucked up the laundry? Riley thought to himself as he adjusted the waistband of his pants to try and stop them from cutting into his belly.

His belly . The only thing that pierced his iron wall defense of fucking up the laundry. A small paunch that was forming around his waist. Since what he dubbed as “the poutine incident” (Although the “soup, sugar cream pie, and two servings of poutine incident” might’ve been a more apt name) Riley tried to avoid the same scenario. And he did - but he still speckled his day with little treats like cookies or candy.

He examined himself in the mirror of his dresser. From his wavy chestnut brown hair that went just a little past his shoulders, to his tan skin, to his defined arms, to his half rimmed glasses. He gave his stomach a pinch.

Maybe I need to cut back a bit , he thought to himself.

He put on a shirt and a baggy red sweater. He tied his hair into a low bun, ready to start his day.

—

Riley’s week was pretty uneventful. More samples to collect, more data to parse. By the time he got to his free day, he was happy to get away from the monotony of work and head into town.

“Are you going back into town again?” Oz asked him as he put on his boots.

“Yeah, why do you ask?” 

“I just don’t get why you keep going there.”

Riley sat up. “Why not? It’s a nice little town.”

Oz opened his mouth to say something, before stopping himself abruptly. “Alright.” He left the room, shaking his head as he did.

Riley raised an eyebrow before putting on the rest of his winter wear. What was his problem?

—

As Riley made his way into town, he couldn’t help but notice that it seemed a bit more lively than usual. Groups of people were busy planning, marking out areas with flags.

“Would you be willing to do me a favour?”

Riley took a seat at the counter. “What kind of favour?”

“Well, we’ve got about 2 weeks until the fair. Every year I make a special dessert to sell at my booth, but I’m stumped as to what to make this year. I can’t wait any longer to make a decision, if I do I risk not getting my baking supplies in time.”

Nevra pulled out an oval serving plate that was covered in saran wrap. It had at least 10 different desserts on it, some more similar than others.

“I know you’re probably looking for a regular hot meal, but I was wondering if you’d be willing to do some taste testing for me? Normally I wouldn’t ask, but I don’t have any staff today and the restaurant is kinda slow right now.”

Riley looked at the plate. 10 different desserts would not be cutting back. But it doesn’t really count if he was helping a friend, right?

“Sure. What do you have here?”

Nevra walked him through each dessert she had made. Some of them were similar with mild variations, like an oatmeal cookie with raisins versus an oatmeal cookie with dried cranberries and walnuts. There were also a few different kinds of turnovers, some squares of a sheet cake.

Nevra pulled out a pen and paper so that she and Riley could record their rankings. Riley decided to go by category. He started with the cookies first.

“So how big is this fair?” Riley asked between bites of cookies.

“Biggest event of the year. Loads of people come from down south to see it. Get a couple of people coming in from off planet too. It always happens during the mildest days of the year, so a lot more people are willing to come up here to go sightseeing.”

Riley nodded as he swallowed, writing down his ranking. “Is the restaurant open during all this?”

“Yeah. My family will be coming up to help me. I usually stay in the restaurant, have my parents help out in the kitchen and up front. My younger brother is going to run the booth.”

“Will I have a chance to see you during the fair?” Riley asked her.

Nevra paused. “Hopefully. I’d like that.”

—

Riley leaned back in his seat as he and Nevra looked over the list. “Alright. So the top 3 picks are the walnut and cranberry cookie, the berry turnover, and the seal’s tail.”

“Why do you call it a seal’s tail? Looks more like a beaver tail to me.” The seal’s tail, as Nevra called it, was a flat, fried pastry that was coated in cinnamon sugar.

“Because a beaver tail is oval and smooth. My seal’s tail, however, is a triangle and has grooves.” Nevra said.

“So it’s not like the ones I’ve had back on earth?”

“Well they’re similar, but legally distinct.” Nevra said with a cheeky smile.

“I really don’t think the beaver tail company is going to sue a small restaurant in the middle of nowhere for having non-legally distinct pastries.” Riley shifted in his seat, stifling a burp. 

“Well, legality aside, I think it’s a fun name! Seals are pretty cute, and they got cute lil tails!”

“And beavers don’t?”

“I’m not saying they aren’t cute, I just think that seals are cuter. And frankly, this planet has no beavers on it.”

“Whelp, ya got me there.” Riley said, putting up his hands in defeat. “About there being no beavers on this planet. Not about seals being cuter than them.”

Nevra laughed. “I feel like this conversation is proof enough that I should be selling these at my booth at the fair.”

“Sounds like a pretty good plan to me. I’ll make sure to swing by your booth or the restaurant when the fair rolls around.”

—

Riley arrived back at base feeling pretty good. The only person around was Oz, who was sitting in their kitchenette, spooning soup into a bowl.

“What are you so happy about?” Oz asked him as he took a bowl to serve himself some soup. 

“Went to town, had fun with a friend.”

Oz scoffed at him. “Oh really?”

“Yes? Is that really hard to believe?”

“For a town full of nothing, I’d have a hard time believing it.”

“Nothing? I mean it’s a small town, but it’s not like there’s nothing there.”

Oz rolled his eyes. Again, what is this guy’s problem?! Riley thought to himself.

“What’s the issue? I know you’ve been here a billion times already but Coldstone has probably changed alot since you first went there. I mean, when was the last time you went into town on one of these expeditions?”

Oz just gave him a blank expression.

“... You haven’t actually gone into town before, have you?”

The two stared at each other in silence, Riley awaiting a response from Oz. Nothing.

Riley pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. “Look, I don’t know why you have this idea of what Coldstone is like without having been there. But there’s going to be a fair in a few weeks from now. I was going to see if everyone wanted to go as a group, I think you should come.”

“I’ll think about it.” Oz said, returning to his soup.

Riley took his bowl with him into the living room, not wanting to interact with Oz further. As annoyed as he was, Oz was technically his superior and pissing him off would probably not be the best idea. He finished his soup and left his dishes in the sink, retreating to his room. He pulled out his laptop, scrolling through the library of movies and TV shows he had downloaded before leaving for this trip. He settled on an old B movie, a horror flick that was laughably bad. It was one he and his friends watched many times, usually stoned.

Riley booted up the movie. Despite the bad acting and shitty special effects, it was failing to make Riley laugh.

Maybe I just need some rest , Riley thought to himself with a yawn. He set the laptop aside, and huddled under his covers for a nice, deep sleep.

—

Riley awoke a few hours, bleary eyed. Hungry. He blinked and read the clock on the dorm wall. 2:54 am. 

He trudged his way into the kitchen, making sure not to wake the others. The light of the fridge brought a soft glow to the otherwise dark room.

Riley pulled out the large pot that had the soup they had for supper in it and a bowl. He buttered a roll as he microwaved a bowl of it, making sure to stop the microwave before the timer went off. 

He shovelled soup into his mouth, alternating with bread every so often. He took a moment to savour the flavours, something he didn’t do the first time around. He was too pissed with Oz to take note.

He went back for another bowl after that, then another. He had to stop himself from getting fourths, reminding himself that this might be someone’s lunch for tomorrow. With that, he put away the leftovers, cleaned his bowl, and left it on the drying rack with the rest of the dishes. He sauntered off back to bed, stomach full and content.

—

“Hey, Oz?” Dr. Fuan called to the older man from the fridge as the group filled in the kitchen for breakfast.

“Yeah?”

“How much soup did we have left over from yesterday?”

“Dunno. Didn’t keep track.”

“Huh. I could’ve sworn we had at least half the pot left.” Fuan said as she closed the fridge.

Riley, knowing full well what happened, kept his eyes on his coffee.

Chapter Text

The weeks leading up to the fair were pretty uneventful. He didn’t go into town as much, not because he didn’t want to, but because he didn’t want to disturb people, namely Nevra, in the midst of such a busy time. When he did see her, she made sure to give Riley a detailed pamphlet of everything that was going to be there.

“Wow, you guys are really going all out.” Riley said as he scanned the long list of events and vendors for the week-long fair.

“I wasn’t joking when I said it’s the town’s biggest event.” She told him.

Riley took the pamphlet home. He left it on the kitchen table as he prepped to make dinner. He pulled out a few cans of tomato soup, dumped it all in a pot with some water and put it to heat. As the soup cooked, he pulled out a separate pan to make some grilled cheeses. He was mid flip of a grilled cheese when a voice piped up behind him.

“Where’s this from?”

Riley turned to see Buchanan sitting at the kitchen table, reading his pamphlet. 

“Oh, you know that nearby town, Coldstone? They’re having a fair. That’s a list of things it’ll have.” He hadn’t mentioned the fair to anyone other than Oz yet.

“Will we be going?” 

Riley shrugged. “I wanted to. Wasn’t sure if everyone else would be interested.”

“Well I’m certainly interested!” Buchanan said as he flipped through the program. “I think the others would like it as well. Ice sculptures, crafts, photography…”

“Photography?” Dr. Fuan said as she entered the room, clearly interested.

“Yes, come see!” Buchanan handed her the pamphlet.

Riley continued cooking as his two colleagues chirped and chatted delightfully at the prospect of going to this fair and breaking up the monotony of work. As Riley took the last sandwich off the heat, the rest of the crew filed into the kitchen for dinner. 

“Oz, how would you feel about a group trip into town?” Fuan asked him.

“Why, what do we need there?” Oz replied without looking up from his grilled cheese.

“Nothing we need, but Riley did bring home a flyer for an upcoming fair.”

Oz’s eyes narrowed on Riley “He did now, did he?”

“Yes, it seems very interesting.”

Gold and Delacroix were looking over the pamphlet. “It might be a good idea to get out of the office for a day.” Gold said, Delacroix nodding in agreement.

Oz let out a sigh. “Alright. I guess it wouldn’t hurt if we went for the day.” 

—

The group arrived at the town just an hour after the festivities had started. Despite it both being early and the first day of the fair, the town was already bustling. Fuan immediately went into a building that was hosting the photography exhibit, while Delacroix, Gold, and Buchanan browsed booths filled with knick knacks and souvenirs. That left Oz and Riley, walking down the street lined with tents and booths.

Riley spotted Nevra’s tent just outside her restaurant. It was being handled by a lanky standoffish teenager, who Riley assumed was Nevra’s younger brother. There where trays piled high with the seal’s tails that Nevra made, kept warm by heat lamps.

“Hi, can I get two of those donuts, please?”

The unenthusiastic teenager handed him a paper bag with 2 of Nevra’s donuts. “Have a nice day.” 

He offered one to Oz, who waved him off. Oh well, his loss Riley thought to himself as he bit into the first seal’s tail.

“So is this where you've been spending all of your time when you come into town?” Oz said nodding towards the restaurant. 

“Not always, but I do come here a lot.” Riley peered inside, the restaurant was packed. Nevra was inside, speaking with an older woman who was a head shorter than her. When Riley caught her eye, she waved to him, the shorter woman turning to face the window. Riley waved back.

“Who’s that?” Oz asked him.

“Nevra. She owns the place.”

Nevra turned back to the woman and handed her some plates of food. “I think we need to come back later, seems a bit too busy right now.” 

Riley and Oz continued to walk down the row of tents and booths. Every so often, they’d stop to look at whatever wares were being offered. More often than not, Riley would stop at a booth selling food and buy something.

“Haven’t you had enough?” Oz questioned after Riley bought his third snack.

“It’s a special occasion. Might as well try as much as I can, right?” Riley said before taking a bite of the sausage he got from the booth.

The two men walked in silence as Riley ate. Once he finished the sausage, he pulled out the second seal’s tail and once again offered it to Oz.

“Sure you don’t want it?”

“I’m good.”

He finished the second donut, tossing the empty bag into the trash. Eventually, they came across Buchanan sitting on a bench alone.

“Taking a break?” Oz asked him.

“Yes, I was about to go see the ice sculptures. Maybe get some hot cider, too.”

“Some cider sounds good right about now.”

The area with the ice sculptures was fairly quiet compared to the rest of the event. Intricate pieces of different themes and styles were scattered amongst a vast snowy plain. One in particular had caught Riley’s eye. It was a sculpture of a spire with intricate designs etched into its surface. It was dyed a deep, rich blue. But, in an odd choice, the artist had set a pole in the middle of the spire which held up a glass circle. The sunlight beamed harshly through the circle, causing the sculpture to melt at a quicker rate than the others. A panel next to it labelled it as The Eternal Spire.

“Riley?” Buchanan called out to him.

“Yeah?”

“Are you coming to get cider?”

“Go ahead, I’ll catch up in a sec.”

Riley turned back to the artist’s statement. 

The Eternal Spire, Klaudine Tom, Mixed Media, 2109

The Eternal Spire is a 9 foot ice sculpture with a glass disc that visually acts like a halo and functionally acts like a magnifying glass that heats the sculpture making it melt. Based on the world spire from the Myth of Creation, this sculpture was intentionally built to break down over time to reveal and create a new form. While it will never take the form of a spire ever again, or any other form seen in this show, it will forever and continue to take on new  forms long afterwards.

Riley peered closer at the sculpture. With the ice being dyed such a deep colour, it was difficult to see it at first glance but looking closer at it now he could faintly see something else within the sculpture. He’d have to come back another time to see what it was, though.

With that, Riley ventured back out to find his two colleagues. It didn’t take him long to find them, milling around the cider stand. Riley started walking towards them, and as he got closer, he could hear snippets of their conversation.

“I don’t know how I feel about him constantly hanging out with this Nevra person.”

Riley paused, standing just out of view of the two other men, partially blocked by a large, stocky sculpture. From his angle, he could see them with their backs turned to him, sipping on cider as they conversed.

“And why’s that?” Buchanan questioned.

“I don’t want any relationship drama, no surprises, and none of this boohoo breakup bullshit when we leave.”

Buchanan looked up from his cider “I don’t think that’ll be a problem.”

“And why not?”

“I don’t think he’s-” Buchanan cut himself off, seeming like he immediately regretted his decision to comment on the matter. “Well, what I’m trying to say is…”

“Yes?” Oz said, annoyed at Buchanan’s hesitation. 

“I’m pretty sure he’s… you know…”

“What?”

“...A friend of Dorothy?”

“Tobias.”

“He’s, uh… creative?”

Oz gave him a bewildered look. Riley stayed out of sight, his lips pressed tightly to prevent himself from laughing at Buchanan’s euphemisms and give away his eavesdropping.

“He… plays for the other team?”

“Gay. You think he’s gay.” Oz rubbed his temples in frustration. “Ya couldn’t have been more direct?”

Buchanan shrugged. “I don’t know what the etiquette is for this subject.”

“Jesus christ.” Oz muttered in frustration. “Gay or not, I don’t want him getting too attached when we eventually leave.”

Too attached . So that’s why Oz had gotten so snippy with him, Riley thought to himself. He couldn’t help but wonder if there was more to it, though. His colleagues aren’t stupid or unable to make observations. After all, Buchanan was half right with his assessment.

Riley rejoined the two men, acting as if he didn’t just hear the past minute of speculating about his love life or sexuality.

“How’s the cider?”

“Pretty good.” Oz said as he took another sip.

—

Eventually, as dusk crept over the horizon, the rest of Riley’s colleagues rejoined the group. Fuan had bought herself prints from the photography exhibit that she was showing off to Delacroix. Dr. Gold had with her a plain brown paper bag.

“What did you get?” Riley asked her.

“Dessert.”

The group headed home. Riley was a bit sad that he didn’t have a chance to go see Nevra today. Or see what was inside that ice sculpture. Maybe he’d get a chance to come again later in the week. Hopefully.

They got back to base just as the sun had officially fallen over the frozen landscape. After a long day, no one really wanted to cook.

“Is it okay with everyone if I just heat some leftovers?” Gold called out from the kitchen.

“Fine by me.” Oz called back as he plopped onto the living room couch.

Gold reheated last night’s pasta with tomato sauce. It wasn’t really Riley's favourite thing to eat at base, as he thought the sauce was thin and and under seasoned, but hey, he wouldn’t complain. Especially since Gold had bought dessert for the group. He didn’t know what she got, thought, as she wouldn’t tell him more than she had bought the group dessert and that it was a surprise.

“They looked really nice. I got these just as the woman selling them was bringing out a fresh batch.” She said as she pulled out a triangular pastry covered in cinnamon sugar: Nevra’s seal’s tail. 

Riley could help but smile as he grabbed his food and took a seat on the couch. He finished his pasta, and had just taken a bite of his pastry when Oz came up behind him.

“That’s the third one of those you’ve eaten today!” Oz said as Riley chewed on his dessert.

“Like I said, special occasion! It’s not like I eat like this everyday.” He replied with his mouth half full.

“Well I hope not, cause otherwise you’ll be in for a rude awakening.”

The only rude thing I have to deal with is you, Riley thought to himself as he popped the rest of the seal’s tail into his mouth.

—

The next morning, Riley woke up to his usual routine.

He grabbed a pair of slacks from his drawers, and a plain cotton tee. With the warmer weather, he could get away without wearing a sweater, at least in the base he could. And he almost did, until he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror.

What should have been a mostly flat stomach was now a fatty little belly, big enough to grab a handful or two. In sweat pants or loose hoodie, it wouldn’t be too noticeable, but with a tight shirt and slacks it was quite clear that he was getting chubby.

Ah, shit. Riley thought to himself as he threw on a sweater and tried to ignore how his pants were cutting into his waist as he made his way to breakfast.

Chapter Text

Riley stood at the foot of bed. After realising the dilemma he was in, he decided to take stock of his current wardrobe. 3 pairs of sweatpants, 4 pairs of jeans, and 2 pairs of khakis. The sweatpants he knew fit fine. The khakis he wore yesterday were tight, but not unwearable. The rest of his pants, however…

He started with his other pair of khakis. He shimmied them past his thighs, hopping a little to get them on fully. Buttoned up, he examined himself in the mirror. The waistband was snug, making his belly pooch over his waistband. The tightness of the fabric accentuated his ass and thighs, which were also starting to get thicker as well. Overall fine to wear, as long as he had a baggy sweater on.

He repeated the same process with his jeans. The first two went on alright. The third pair took a moment to button, but were still wearable. The last pair of jeans, which were arguably his oldest and smallest pair, refused to button. He tried sucking in. He tried laying on his bed. The fabric wouldn’t budge.

He sat on the foot of his bed, his belly inching towards his lap. He gave his stomach a pinch. The soft supple flesh gave in to his touch as a simple pinch turned into him kneading his stomach in both hands. The feeling of the extra weight, and how it felt to be handled was surprisingly… pleasant .

A sharp knock at his door interrupted his thoughts. “Riley? Are you almost ready?” Oz called out to him.

“Y-yeah. Just getting dressed.”

“Well hurry up, your breakfast is getting cold.”

“Okay, I’ll be out in a minute.”

Riley emerged from his room to the group in the midst of a heated conversation as he dished himself some scrambled eggs from a large serving bowl.

“Is this something that can wait until we get a supply drop?” Delacroix asked Gold.

Gold sighed, head in hands. “That’s the thing. We could technically wait for the next drop, but what if we have an emergency?”

“What’s going on?” Riley asked as he took a seat with the rest of the group, stabbing a large curd of scrambled egg with his fork.

“Dr. Gold was taking inventory of some of our medical supplies, and it appears that the university sent us with some expired stuff.” Oz said.

“Not just any kind of stuff, it’s what we use to disinfect and close deep wounds.” Gold sat up. “We could wait for another drop, but what if there’s an emergency, we’re in trouble.”

Riley knew which one Gold was talking about: a small green and white bottle that they packed alongside the mini first aid kits they were required to bring with them while doing field work.

“Sarah, you’re right. There’s a reason why we say that these rules are written in blood.” Oz said.

“So how are we going to get more?” Buchanan asked.

Riley piped up. “I can go into town and ask around. I bet there’s somewhere that carries it, being a remote area and all.”

Oz opened his mouth to say something, but Gold beat him to it. “Thank you. If you could go sooner rather than later, I would appreciate that.”

“There’s no field work today, just labs, right? I can go after that.”

“Perfect.” Gold said, looking relieved.

It really was the perfect arrangement. It’d only been 2 days since the group went into town for the fair, which meant it was still going in full swing. He’d get a chance to do a few of the things he couldn’t do the last time around, like seeing what was in the sculpture and seeing Nevra.

—

As Riley typed up the last bit of his report, Oz approached him with a bulky, older model of a high range walkie talkie on a fraying lanyard.

“What’s this for?” Riley asked.

“For when you go into town. I want you to keep in touch and don’t dilly dally.” Oz told him, emphasising those last 3 words.

“Alright, whatever you say.”

“Good. If that report’s done, you should be good to head out.”

Riley shut his laptop. He slipped one of the bottles in his backpack, in case he needed to show someone what he was looking for. Bundled up in his winter gear, he pushed the talk button on the radio,making a soft staticky noise. “Alright Oz, I’m heading out.”

There was a moment of silence before Oz’s voice came through his radio. “...Is there a reason why you’re telling me this through the walkie instead of face to face?”

“Just testing the equipment.” Riley said before embarking.

—

He was surprised to see Nevra outside the restaurant, manning the seal’s tail booth.

“Hey, Nevra!”

“Oh hey, Riley!” 

Riley looked over her shoulder to see the restaurant dark and empty. “Closed today?”

“Yeah, the restaurant is closed as usual today. I’m surprised that you’re here right now, I don’t think I’ve seen you in town on Mondays.”

“Yeah, had a bit of an issue at base,” Riley pulled the bottle out of his bag. “Our physician found out that we got sent expired medical supplies. Wanted to see if there’s a place in town selling it.”

Nevra took the bottle in her hands. “I know they have these for sale in the hospital’s pharmacy, but they tend to upcharge for over the counter stuff. The pharmacy at 3rd and Wilson might have it.” She gave him back the bottle. “I can’t leave my stand right now, but if you have time afterwards… Do you want to do something? Together?”

Riley and Nevra had never spent time together outside her restaurant, since she was usually working. It was something that he’d like to do, but there was an issue, and that issue’s name was Oz.

“I’d really like to, Nevra, but our team leader is being real pushy about getting back as soon as possible.”

“Damn.” Nevra pursed her lips. “That’s too bad.”

“If I can somehow weasel out of it, I’ll come find you.”

“Alright. Just don’t get in any trouble for me, okay?”

Riley walked a few blocks down to the intersection that Nevra said the pharmacy was at. It was a run of the mill pharmacy stocked with all sorts of regular pharmacy goods. The cashier’s counter was manned by a younger guy, probably only a few years older than Riley. He had a pale green and yellow polo, and dark slicked back hair, and a slightly crooked nose.

“Hey buddy, what can I get ya?”

“Hey. I’m looking for 6 bottles of these.” Riley showed him the expired bottle.

“Ah, Adapter Medical Adhesive and Sanitizer. Yeah, we have ‘em.” The clerk turned to the shelving unit behind him, and pulled a small cardboard box. “If you don’t mind me askin’, why do ya need so many?”

“Well, I’m with a group of researchers and we were sent-”

Suddenly, the walkie crackled to life, cutting him off. “Did you find it yet, Riley?”

Riley brought the talkie up to his mouth. “Just a sec Oz, I’m talking to a guy at the pharmacy now.”

“Alright, just remember not to dawdle.” 

Riley rolled his eyes. “Sorry about that. We got sent expired stuff and I promised to get some more.”

“No worries buddy. I hope he’s not just sending you all this way for a few bottles of adhesive.” 

“Well, you heard the man. No dawdling!” Riley said, imitating Oz. “I’d love to stick around, but I don’t think I can without getting in trouble.”

The clerk thought for a moment. “I think I have an idea. Can I use your walkie?”

“Uh… sure?” Riley removed the lanyard from around his neck, and gave the walkie to the clerk. 

“Hey buddy. Are you this guy's supervisor?” The clerk asked into the walkie.

“Yes, I am.”

“Listen mac, your colleague was telling me about your predicament. I can get ya the stuff you need, but you’re gonna have to wait a bit. We got a shipment coming in later this evening.”

“Okay. How long will it take?”

“Few hours tops, I promise ya boss.”

He handed the walkie back to Riley. “I’m fine with waiting if you are Oz.”

There was a pause before Oz responded. “Fine. But the moment you get them you get your ass back to base, got it?”

“I hear you loud and clear, Oz.” Riley said with a smirk, before turning off the walkie.

“Thanks man.” Riley put out his fist for a fist bump, which the clerk gladly returned. “What’s your name?”

“No problem, I’ll gladly help anyone tryin’ to get outta work. Name’s Ronnie, by the way.”

“Thanks Ronnie, I’ll see you around.”

Riley paid for the box and shoved it in his bag. He checked his watch: 6:13. With a few hours to kill, he headed back towards the restaurant. As he turned the corner, he could see her speaking with the same, older, shorter woman he saw her with the day the festival started. 

“Hey Nevra!” He called out to her, as his pace turned into a jog as he got closer to her “I was able to get a few hours of free time. Did you still want to hang out?”

“Riley, that’s great! Yeah, I was just talking with my mom. She’s going to take over the stand tonight until the tails sell out.”

The older woman looked at him with a smile. Seeing the two women side by side, he could see the similarities. While Nevra was at least a head taller and slender, they had strikingly similar facial features and the same blue strip in the middle of their faces.

“This is your mom? It’s nice to meet you, ma’am.” Riley offered her his hand, which she shook.

“And to you.” She turned back to Nevra. “I’ll see you later tonight, sweetheart.”

“Alright, call if you need anything.” Nevra said as she gave her mom a hug. She and Riley began walking down the street. “So, was there something that you wanted to do?”

“I really wanted to see one of the ice sculptures. But right now, I wouldn’t mind getting something to eat.”

“Hmm… I think Raf’s is still open if you’re up for some pizza.”

“That sounds really good right about now.” Last time Riley had pizza would’ve been before coming out to this expedition - Unless you counted the times where he took a slice of bread, slathered some leftover pasta sauce on it, added cheese and toasted it. But Riley didn’t consider that to be actual pizza.

Riley followed Nevra up the street, where commercial buildings were starting to turn into residential. Wedged on the corner was a home that had been transformed into a bodega. The two walked into the orange building, the smells of various foods hitting Riley all at once.

“Oh hey, they're doing a two for one special.” Nevra nodded towards a big poster with a bold but generic font, and 2 pictures of what Riley assumed to be their pizzas.

“Sweet, let’s do that.”

The two ordered their respective pizzas, splitting the bill. They took a seat in the corner of the bodega choosing to sit at a picnic table amongst the other pieces of mismatched furniture, making small talk until a worker came by and placed their orders in front of them. Riley opened the box and was greeted by the rising steam and smell of a fresh pizza, right out of the oven. It wasn’t anything fancy, just a plain cheese pizza but it was good enough for him. He grabbed a slice and bit into it with gusto, savouring it. 

“Man, I didn’t know how much I needed this until now.” He said as practically wolfed down the first slice. He grabbed a shaker full of red pepper flakes, sprinkling some onto his pizza before grabbing another slice.

“Same. This fair kicks my ass every year.” Nevra said as she folded her slice in half before biting into it. “What did you want to see at the ice sculptures?”

“Last time I was here, there was this really cool one that I saw. I’m forgetting the name, but it was set up in a way that it was supposed to melt and reveal something else. The something spire.”

“The eternal spire?”

“Yes! Exactly. Did you see it too?”

“Yeah. It’s a pretty popular motif, having its religious roots and all.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Riley said as he bit into another slice of pizza.

“Not necessarily. Like, alright, some variations of the story of creation see the destruction of the tower as a punishment, and the followers of those particular denominations can be…uh… what word do I want to use here…?”

“Batshit?”

“I was going to say pushy. But I think that works as well. But yeah, I think the artist is from one of the sects that sees the tower being destroyed either as a positive or a neutral thing. I’m not really a religious person, my parents chose not to raise us with a religion, but I get the gist of it, you know?”

“Huh.” Riley reached into the pizza box to grab another slice, only to be met with his hand scraping cardboard. He’d been listening so intently that he never realised that he finished his pizza. He felt full.

“Do you want the rest of mine? I don’t think I can finish it.” Nevra asked as she turned her box to face him.

Riley looked down at the box in front of him. Nevra got halfway through a small white sauce pizza with mushrooms, which had 2 slices less than his medium size. Usually, he’d stop here, especially after having to go through his wardrobe that morning. But considering how nice it felt…

“Sure.” He said as he pulled the box towards him, grabbing a slice from it. He looked over his shoulder, out the window. “It’s getting kind of late, should we start heading out soon?”

“Oh, yeah. Lost track of time, let’s go. I don’t want you getting in trouble”

Riley walked with the pizza box, eating as they walked. As he bit into the last slice, he realised that eating Nevra’s leftovers might not have been the best idea, as it sat heavily in his stomach. He desperately wanted to soothe it, to rub it… 

No. Nope. Not thinking about that here. Riley thought to himself as he dumped the now empty box in a recycling bin as they turned onto the main street, sculptures coming into view.

“I think it’s over this way.” Nevra said, weaving through sculptures and people. Finally, The Eternal Spire came into view. In the days since Riley had last seen it, around a third of the outer shell of the tower had melted away along with parts of the second layer. The second layer, composed of ice that had been dyed a gorgeous bright shade of red, depicted a long, noodle-like dragon winding around the glass pole that held the structure and halo up. Like the outer shell, this dragon had beautiful intricate carvings, detailing every little scale and hair on the magnificent beast. Its facial expression seemed serene, as if it were a cat soaking in rays of sun on a lazy day.

“Wow.” Riley breathed as the light of a sunset shone through the translucent ice, creating a mosaic of colours on the snow and the memory of an art piece that touched him to his core.

Chapter Text

“Riley, do you have any requests for the first supply drop?”

Riley looked up from the dataset he had been working on. “I’d have to take inventory of our current supplies. I know one of the hammers broke unexpectedly, so a new one of those.”

Oz nodded. “Anything else?”

Riley paused for a moment. “Would it be possible to get some new pants shipped out here?”

“New pants?”

“Yeah. My current ones are a bit… worn out. They were already pretty old so I guess they’ve just hit the end of their life.”

Oz’s eyes narrowed for a moment, before returning to a more neutral expression. “Yeah. They don’t make clothes like they used to. Buncha cheap shit nowadays.”

Judging by his expression, Riley could tell that Oz didn’t fully buy his story. It was technically true - They were old, and the inner thighs of his khakis had started to pill and thin. But it was most likely because now that his thighs were thicker, they rubbed against each other as he walked and the resulting friction frayed the fabric. Not to mention the fact that he had at least one pair that no longer fit.

Oz plopped a catalogue in front of Riley. “Feel free to look through this. No rush or anything, you still have a month before we finalise the order.”

He waited until Oz walked off to take a peek at the catalogue. He flipped to the section for personal items, scanning the page until he found the men’s pants. There wasn’t much to offer, one pair of sweatpants with the university’s logo embroidered on the upper thigh, slacks available in beige and black, and a pair of basketball shorts that would be next to useless in this weather.

I guess it could be worse . Riley thought as he browsed over the sizes. He’d have to find a measuring tape to get his new size. 

—

As days turned into weeks, the luxury of being in the warm season was beginning to fade. Snow fell heavily as the group re-entered their base after a day of being out in the field.

“It feels like just yesterday we were able to walk around and enjoy the warm weather.” Fuan sighed as she took off her coat. “Well, warm for this place at least.”

“Maybe we’ll get lucky and the snow will lighten up?” Riley said as he shook thick fluffy clumps of snow from his jacket hood.

“I wouldn’t count on that.”

The group turned to Buchanan, who was hunched over some of his weather equipment, comparing graphs with one another. “We’ve got our first storm of the season coming up. It’s going to be a big one.”

“How big?” Oz asked him, looking at the graphs.

“Big enough that it’d be dangerous to go out.”

“Great.”

Riley had heard about the weather on this planet as part of his briefing. Harsh storms on a semi frequent basis, and getting caught in a storm could result in the more dire consequences. 

“How long do we have until it hits?” Riley asked him.

“Don’t worry, we have a few days until it hits. Better make sure we have everything in order before then.” Buchanan told him.

—

A rush of cold air entered Nevra’s Pantry as Riley opened the front door. He did a little stomp stomp stomp on the rug in the restaurant’s entrance to remove the excess snow and sludge from his boots.

“Hey Riley.”

“Hey Nevra.” Riley took a seat in a booth.

Nevra offered him some coffee but he declined. “I think I’ll just have a slice of pie today, please.”

She disappeared for a moment before returning with a slice of sugar cream pie. “Should I be worried about tomorrow’s storm?” Riley asked her as she placed the plate in front of him.

“I’m not. It’s not a big one or anything, just a run of the mill blizzard.”

“Ah.” 

“As long as we have a warning, we’ll be fine. Last time we had a flash storm I was 15 and got stuck sleeping in the school gym for 2 nights.”

“Well that sounds… horrible.” No one ever told Riley that storms hitting so suddenly was a thing.

“I mean it could’ve been worse. I was there for some after school thing, so everyone had mostly gone home by the time we got the stay-in-place order.”

“I meant the part about having no warning. That’s wild to me.”

Nevra shrugged. “It is what it is.”

The two sat in silence as Riley picked at his pie. “It’s nothing too severe, if that’s what you’re worried about.” Nevra reassured him. “I know it’s your first time sitting through a storm here, but trust me, you have nothing to worry about.”  

“Thanks.” Riley said with a soft smile. 

“Honestly, the only thing you need is something to do. It gets boring as shit. Also, make sure you have everything you need, at least for this storm.”

Riley finished his pie and paid. He decided to take Nevra’s advice: He’d do a quick supply run just in case he needed anything.

The grocery store was quite busy, with everyone stocking up on necessities. Riley grabbed a basket and started browsing the aisles. Staples like flour, rice, and pasta were all part of the supplies sent with the team at base. They also had items that came in powdered form, like milk or eggs, canned fruits and veggies, and these freeze dried meals that come in plastic pouches. While he could technically buy the actual versions of these foods, Riley opted against it, not wanting to deal with any questions from the rest of the crew (But mainly from Oz). The main department that the base was lacking in food wise is snacks. Sure, they had a powdered chocolate custard, and these weird freeze dried candies, but those were nothing compared to the real deal.

Riley headed down the aisle dedicated to snack foods, chips, and candy. There were a few brands that he recognized, galaxy wide giants that were bound to be everywhere, but it was mostly local names that he never heard of.

“Hmm.” he picked up a box of mini cookies, labelled as Original Chocolate Chip . It wasn’t a brand he knew, but the box art made them look tasty enough. 

He browsed up and down the aisle, adding anything he thought looked good. Another box of mini cookies (this time rainbow chip), 2 bags of chips (one bag of spicy barbeque and one bag of sea salt cucumber), a giant bag of gummies (mixed variety), and a pack of dried seaweed (very similar to the stuff on earth, but with a reddish tint to it).

Satisfied with what was in his basket, he joined the checkout line. As he got closer to the register, he idly eyed the shelves filled with quick sale items like chocolate bars and gum. The contents of a bin with a bright 99 cent sticker caught his attention. He knew he needed one, and looked through every supply bin and every corner of the base, even the kitchen junk drawer, but found one to no avail. As he was loading his groceries onto the counter, he reached over and added a measuring tape to his purchases.

“That’ll be $26.94. Would you like a bag today?” The cashier asked him.

Riley paid and shoved his groceries into his backpack. He left the store feeling ready.

—

The next day started out pretty normally. The group had preemptively decided to cut any field work short that day, so as not to risk getting caught out in the storm. Snow started falling heavily shortly after returning to base, escalating from a light breeze and thick clumps of snow to harsh winds spewing chunks of ice by the time dinner was over.

Riley curled up in his bunk with his laptop, as muffled howls of wind and the sound of snow and ice pelting against the outside walls of the base persisted. He cracked open the box of chocolate chip cookies and popped one of the quarter sized cookies into his mouth as he scrolled through the files of his laptop, trying to decide what to watch. He settled on an episode of an old whodunnit type show.

He mindlessly ate, eating 2 or 3 or 4 cookies at a time, too engrossed in the mystery to notice how quickly he was going through the box. It wasn’t until he reached the bottom that he realised just how much he had eaten. Riley closed his laptop, setting it aside. He got up to throw out the empty package, catching his reflection as he did.

Riley found himself once again in front of his mirror, examining his body. He was in nothing but his sleep shirt and his boxers, both still baggy despite his gain. He gathered the loose fabric of his shirt and pulled it tight against his body, highlighting the roundness of his belly. He ran his other hand over its curve, the motion causing a stir in his boxers, his face flushing as he realized the fact. It was something that he’d previously pushed to the back of his mind twice. 

Once is a fluke. Twice is a coincidence. Three times is a pattern. Riley thought to himself as he squeezed his belly, sending a shiver down his spine. His hand moved lower, palming at his dick through his boxers.

Ah, fuck it. He thought to himself as he felt himself stiffen through his shorts.

He pulled down his boxers and pulled out a small bottle of lotion from his dresser. He dabbed a bit into the palm of his hand, using it to coat his now erect cock. Riley choked back a moan as he began to jack off.

He was midstroke when his eye caught the colourful packaging of the second box of mini cookies he bought. If there was a time to push himself, it was tonight.

Riley’s hand dug deep into the package, pulling out a fist full of cookies that he shoved into his mouth. He repeated this process until the box was emptied. He moved onto the next item, this time pulling out a bag of chips. He shovelled chips into his mouth, not caring about any crumbs that fell into his sheets. His hedonism continued with the big bag of mixed gummies. He made it halfway through the bag before tapping out, his gut absolutely packed.

He turned his full attention to his cock, rhythmic strokes increasing in speed as his mind raced with thoughts of just how full he was and just how big he got and how much bigger this will make him -

Riley’s hips bucked as he came, followed by quiet moans and hiccups. He lay on his bed panting, both hands now on his belly as he basked in the afterglow of his stuffing session.

Chapter Text

Riley lay in his bed, having woken up after having what he would call his most bizarre sexual experience.

He sat up. He had drifted to sleep without cleaning up, leaving crumbs and empty packaging strew across his bed. It’d probably be best to clean it up now, before it attracted mice or other pests.

Does this planet even have mice on it? He thought to himself as he drowsily picked up his garbage and threw it in the bin. He cupped his hand at the edge of his bed, sweeping bits and crumbs into it. He tossed those into the bin too, creating a rattling sound as the bits bounced off every little surface within his trash can.

He lay in his now clean bed, his mind replaying last night's events. Cheeks tinged red at the display of lust and gluttony, yet intrigued by it.

What exactly is this? Is this just some weird phase? Something that's happening because of the circumstances? Riley heard of isolation from research trips doing… strange things to one's brain. Internet connection wasn’t really a thing out here, so he can’t just plug his question into any old search engine and get some answers. Maybe there’s another way to get information he’s wanting…

His thoughts were interrupted by the electronic chime of his alarm clock. He sat up with a groan, wishing he had spent more time sleeping instead of pondering. He trudged over to his dresser, eyes falling on the measuring tape as he did. He opted to pick it up instead, unrolling it and letting the free end cascade to the floor.

I think I need a plan.

—

“Sweet or savoury?”

It was another slow day at Nevra’s Pantry . With the restaurant empty, the two had resorted to small talk as Nevra idly cleaned or did prep work. It turned into a game of 20 questions, sort of.

“Hmm…” Riley pondered for a moment. “Sweet.”

“Really, I always pegged you as a savoury guy.” Nevra replied, somewhat thoughtfully.

“What about you?”

“I have phases where I switch between the two. I think I’m leaning more savoury right now. Especially when it comes to spreads.”

“Spreads?” Riley asked.

“Yeah. Like spreadable cheeses or like savoury jams.”

“Jam can be… not sweet?”

“Yeah. Usually you put it on meat.”

“That’s a thing?”

“Yup.”

“Huh.” The two sat in silence for a moment. “Are there any other savoury spreads you like?”

Nevra perked up at the question. “Have you tried madora sea pepper paste yet?”

“Nope.”

Nevra retreated into her kitchen cupboards. After a moment, she came back having pulled out a small 4 ounce jar. Its label had a drawing with a mermaid sitting on a rock, holding a basket filled with what Riley assumed were supposed to be peppers. The art style reminded him of old etchings: Thin, wiry lines, lots of cross hatching, all in black and white monochrome.

Nevra opened the jar, making a pop as the metal lid came loose. “This is my favourite brand. It’s made locally, by a little farm in the next town over. Way better than what you can get in store.” She brought the jar to her nose, inhaling deeply. “Let me get some crackers or something to spread this on.” She set the jar back down, and headed towards the fridge.

Riley eyed the jar. The madora sea pepper paste was reddish orange, and it had a thick but almost crumbly consistency. He grabbed a spoon and took a pea-sized dollop of the paste. Just as the spoon was entering his mouth, Nevra turned back to him, eyes wide and panicked.

“NO NO NO DON-”

It was too late. The moment the paste hit his tongue he felt it. Riley was no slouch when it came to spicy foods, but this hurt . He could feel tears forming in his eyes as he coughed and sputtered. This was sinus clearing, sweat inducing, fuck you levels of spicy.

“I’m sorry! It’s really spicy when you eat it just like that.” She dashed back to the fridge and pulled out an already opened carton of milk. Not bothering with a glass, she pushed the carton into Riley’s hands. He fumbled with the spout before gulping down the milk. 

“What. The fuck.” He panted after gulping down a quarter of the carton’s contents.

“I’m sorry. You’re meant to add a small amount of the paste to something like mayo or butter. I should have said something.”

“It’s fine. My fault really, I should have been more patient.”

Riley took another swig from the carton. The sting of spice still lingered on his tongue. 

“You can finish that if you want. I’m getting an order of milk in tomorrow.”

Riley was thankful for her offer. The two resumed their chit chat until Nevra got some customers, two pensioners on a date night.

“I think I should start heading back. Was nice seeing you again.” Riley said as he put his coat back on.

“Same to you.” She placed a small condiment container on the counter. “Don’t worry, I diluted this one.”

Riley thanked her and went on his way. He wanted to hurry, as sunset was coming and he didn’t want to be caught out after dark. Aside from the snow, there was only one other thing that was slowing him down.

I shouldn’t have had so much milk, he thought to himself as his stomach sloshed with every movement.

—

Dinner went on without a hitch, despite the bloat from all the milk. Now that he wasn’t needing to walk anywhere, his stomach had settled and he was able to eat a dinner that left him comfortably full.

Now in his pyjamas, ready for bed, he pulled out the little container of diluted madora sea pepper paste. A little midnight snack, of sorts.

In its diluted state, it had turned a light orange colour. Riley took a slice of bread he snuck out of the kitchen and dunked it in the sauce. It was thick but smooth, unlike the paste when uncombined. Riley assumed that Nevra had mixed it with mayonnaise to get that consistency. Riley bit into the bread, savouring how the spice of the paste mixed with creaminess of the mayo. It was a combination that made a lot of sense, in a way.

Chapter Text

The world is truly marvellous.

Riley examined one of the large chunks of rock along the coastline in his hands. He ran a finger across the striped bands of gneiss tracing over every peak and dip around the surface of the stone. Not the most glamorous of specimens, but still a favourite of his. A byproduct of volcanic activity in this region millions of years ago, and a reminder that now matter where in the cosmos you stand, each place has a deep history of how it came to be.

“Riley! Can you get started on the soil samples, please?” Oz’s voice snapped him back to reality.

“Sure thing.” Riley put the rock back down with the rest, and picked up his soil probe.

The group was working along the shoreline - Collecting soil and rock samples, measuring water levels - All things they would bring back to their lab for future analyses.

Riley knelt over the area where he was taking his sample. Because they were in such a cold climate, it was a little harder to gather samples. Oz had pre-drilled holes and marked them with flags so that someone could go over them with a probe and gather soil. Riley plunged the probe deep in the soil, giving it a little twist. This was probably enough for this sample. He started to pull it out again, only for it to get stuck half-way.

“Come on.” Riley grunted as he pulled the stuck probe.

He gave the probe one last yank, freeing it from the ground with such force that it caused Riley to stumble. Instinctually, Riley grabbed onto one of the rocks to stop himself from falling. Unfortunately, this particular rock when combined with the force of trying not to fall was sharp enough to cut clean through Riley’s glove.

“Motherfucker!” Riley shouted, his colleagues turning to him.

“Are you alright?” Delacroix called out to him.

Riley looked down at his left palm. Blood oozed out of the cut from his hand, the cold air stinging the fresh wound. “Uh, I think I need the adhesive.” Riley called out.

Oz jogged over to him with a bottle in hand. He let out a low whistle when Riley showed him the cut. The ruined glove was removed, adhesive was applied, then replaced with a spare to prevent frostbite.

Millions of years to form, seconds to slice open your hand.

—

The crew brought Riley back to base where Dr. Gold properly stitched up his palm. Gold had instructed him not to do anything that could reopen his wound, so for the next little while Riley would be confined to the lab. 

Riley settled onto his bed with his laptop, begrudgingly pulling up the PDF to write the incident report. Before he started typing, he opened the half filled bag of gummies leftover from the ice storm and popped a few into his mouth. A mix of annoyance and fruit flavoured gummies fueled him as he typed up his report, occasionally broken up by running his finger in between his waistline and the waistband of his pants, in an effort to reduce some of the tightness of his clothing.

His mind began to wander. Instead of actually writing the report it felt more like he was just pressing random buttons. Random letters, backspace, CTRL + Z, CTRL +S. He should also finalise what he needs for the first shipment. He already took his measurements, but he was still hemming and hawing over what size he should get. He could just get the next size up, but he wondered if it was enough. It should be. Should it? He should probably stay on the safe side and get the bigger size. But there’s no way he’d outgrow the next size up, right? Not that he’d mind it…

Riley pinched the bridge of his nose. Does everyone have this kind of dilemma? He was getting flashbacks to his late teens when he was discovering his own bisexuality. At least he had friends and family he could talk to back then.

“Riley, dinner!”

Riley’s train of thoughts was derailed by his colleague calling him for dinner. He looked down at his setup, the incident report half filled and the gummy bag close to empty. A mistake on his part to eat a bunch of candy before dinner.

Well, at least this is the second worst mistake he’s made today.

He saved the file one last time before shutting his laptop. When he joined the group, Delacroix offered him a bowl which he gladly accepted.

“How are your stitches holding up?” Gold asked him as she served herself some pasta.

“They’re holding up okay.”

“And the incident report?” Oz questioned.

“...Mostly done.” Riley dished himself a portion. 

“Don’t worry, it happens to the best of us.” Buchanan reassured him.

The rest of the group settled into small talk while Riley shovelled pasta into his mouth. After such a shit day, he deserved to have a little fun. He finished the first bowl and started on his second while Fuan was telling a story about that time she did this or that, Riley wasn’t really paying attention to her. He got up for his third bowl when he caught the attention of Oz.

“I thought you didn’t like the pasta.”

Riley looked over his shoulder as he grabbed the serving spoon. “It’s not my favourite meal out here but it’s edible.”

“But is it third bowl worthy?”

“I’m just hungry is all.”

Oz raised an eyebrow but otherwise let the subject go. Riley took a spoon and a half of penne in red sauce. He still wonders what he’ll do if or when someone tries to confront him about the whole weight thing. He could tell that Oz was just itching to say something.

Riley took his half bowl and sat back down, sinking into the couch. He slowly finished it before depositing his bowl into the sink and trudgeding back to his room. 

Back in his room, he unbuttoned his pants and let out a deep breath now that his stomach had room to do so. He absolutely could have eaten more, if he really pushed himself. But this should suffice. He slipped his hand under his crewneck, massaging the crown of his stomach, eventually working his way further down past his beltline.

He made a mental note to order the larger sized pants, and stock up on snacks next time he visited town.

—

Riley decided to swing by Nevra’s before grabbing some snacks. You shouldn’t be buying groceries on an empty stomach, or something like that.

“I think that was debunked.” Nevra said as she poured him a cup of coffee as Riley explained his mindset.

“Really? When?”

“I dunno. That myth has been around for a while.”

Riley dumped a couple packets of sugars and creamers into his coffee. Nevra left for a moment before setting down a slice of sugar cream pie in front of him.

“I’m surprised you need to go grocery shopping. Aren’t you provided with stuff?”

“Yeah, but you start to miss actual food after a while.”

Nevra paused for a moment. “Is there anything from back home that you miss?”

“Hmmm… I miss the variety. It’s a big city, so there’s a bit of everything. I also miss my mom’s cinnamon rolls.”

“Hm. I don’t blame you for missing the variety. Or your mom’s cooking. I feel the same about my mom’s. It doesn’t help that she refuses to share my favourite recipe with me.”

“Which one is it?”

“Her fudge brownie bars. They’re moist, and chewy, and chocolatey, and she refuses to share the recipe with anyone.”

A loud ahem came from behind the two. They turned to face another customer who had entered as they were talking that neither of them noticed. “If I can get the recipe out of here next time I see her in a few weeks, I’ll make some for you and your crew.” Nevra went off to help the other customer.

That’d be nice , he thought to himself. Riley used his fork to make patterns in the specks of pie filling that was left on his plate. It’d be nice if he could do something for Nevra, to show thanks for treating him so well since getting here. He’d have to come up with something.

He paid for his food and waved goodbye to Nevra. During his grocery store trip the thought would enter his mind every so often. It didn’t have to be a grand gesture but he wanted it to be meaningful . What would be meaningful for someone like Nevra? Foodstuffs? Being a cook she’d probably like something high quality, but she might enjoy something not related to her job. Art? A nice smelling soap? A really good book, maybe?

Riley left with his purchases. He didn’t have to do this right away, after all he was still here for another year. He still had plenty of time to figure it out.

Chapter Text

“Please don’t pick at them, it can cause scarring.” Dr. Gold said idly as she made herself her morning coffee.

“Sorry.” Riley stopped scratching the palm of his wounded hand.

Lately, life had gotten… uncomfortable for Riley. The stitches on his hand itched and made it hard for him to do things with that hand. And as much as his thickened frame gave him a thrill, the way his clothes dug into his body was becoming quite bothersome.

“Don’t worry. They’ll be out soon enough.”

“And you’ll be back in the field.” Oz said as he entered the kitchen, rummaged in the cupboard and pulled out a protein bar. “What’s the plan for today?”

“I was planning on finishing most of the reports today.”  Riley said between sips of his coffee. “Also wanted to head into town. Nevra told me I might be able to get a library card since they offer them to people who work in the area and I should be within bounds-”

Oz waved him off. “Okay, just bring the walkie with you.” His tone was curt.

If it was anyone else, Riley wouldn’t hesitate to say something. Hash it out like adults. But this was coming from his boss, and that made the situation new and uncomfortable.

Dr. Gold rolled her eyes. “Don’t mind him.”

“What’s with him?” Riley asked her, voice low even though Oz was out of ear shot.

“I don’t know. I figure he’s just in a mood. You know, being out here, isolated, it can really affect you in that way.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well-”

“Oh, tell him about Augustine!” Buchanan piped up as he entered the kitchen.

“He doesn’t need to know about Augustine.” Gold replied.

“But she’s a perfect example for what you’re talking about!”

“Who’s Augustine?” Riley asked.

“She was someone who came on an expedition a while back-”

“And she went insane!” Buchanan cut Gold off.

“Come on now Toby, she did not go insane.”

“What happ-”

“Well then what would you describe her as?”

“She was eccentric maybe, but not insane!” Dr. Gold said, her tone a mix of comical and exasperated.

Riley quietly finished his coffee as the other two bickered about this Augustine person. He was a bit too afraid to ask what they were talking about.

“I’m… I’m gonna get started on those reports.” Riley left his two colleagues to bicker. It was going to be a long day.

—

There was a sign posted on the door of Nevra’s Pantry in plain printer paper.

We will be closed Friday to Monday for the holidays.

Nevra looked up from the flat top as Riley entered. “Hey stranger!”

“Hey yourself.” Riley shed his coat. “What’s happening this weekend?” Riley asked her as he sat down.

She gave Riley a puzzled look. “You don’t know?”

He shook his head.

“Huh. They don’t really tell you much about this place, do they?” She said with a half amused smile.

“I guess not.”

“We’ve got a holiday coming up. People usually get a 4 day weekend for it, so I’m taking that time to go see my parents down in the city.”

“So you’ll be closed over the long weekend.”

She poured him a cup of coffee. “Exactly. You might have some luck on Saturday or Sunday. Lieu Friday and Monday are just made up stat holidays for office workers, so there's a few places that will stay open during the actual weekend.” 

Riley went through his schedule in his head. He probably wouldn’t be able to see her for a while, with the holiday and how work was going. “So… will I be able to see you before you go?”

“Well, If you’re free, I would mind some help bringing my suitcases down to the train station. I’m leaving around 9:15 on Thursday night. No pressure though.”

“That’ll be fine by me.”

“Alright, I’ll see you then. Guess you’ll have to survive off whatever you have back at base while I’m gone.” She said with a titter. “I swear, they don’t feed you enough at that base.”

“Ha, guess not.” He wondered if Nevra noticed the changes in his body. His coat was big and bulky and hid his shape, not taking it off until he was seated.

“Oh well. At least it means I get to see you more often. I do enjoy our time together.”

“Me too.”

The two continued to talk til dusk fell. He never made it to the library that night.

—

On Thursday evening, Nevra was waiting in the front of her restaurant with a backpack slung over her shoulder and a large, chunky suitcase at her side.

He picked it up, lifting it with too much ease. It was nowhere near as heavy as it looked.

Nevra must have picked up on his surprise. “It’s empty. I’m hoping to stock up on some stuff that can’t be easily shipped out here.”

“Fair enough.”

The train station was a bare, brutalist, concrete building. Unlike the other building in town, this building was built directly into the ground.

The two descended into the train platform where Riley was greeted with the tiniest train he’d ever seen.

“Oh my god.” He gasped in delight. “It’s a baby train!” 

The bright orange train was barely the size of the subway cars back home. Nevra had to duck through the door to make sure she didn’t bang her head. As he passed her the suitcase, he took a peek inside: The cozy interior had tight rows of 2 seats lined along the car. Judging by the fact that there was only a few more inches of space between Nevra’s head and the ceiling, he knew that he could stand in the cabin and touch the ceiling with ease.

A metallic chime played over the train’s intercom. “I think that’s the 5 minute warning.” Nevra said.

“Well… I’ll leave you to it then. Safe travels.” He gave her a smile as he ducked back out of the cabin.

His walk home was the same as it usually was, only a bit later into the night. By the time he reached base, everyone had gone to bed.

Everyone, that is, except Oz.

“You’re getting in awfully late.” He said as Riley hung his coat up.

“Yeah… Just had to help my friend out with something.”

Oz said nothing in return. But from the look on his face, Riley could tell he was holding back his tongue.

“Well, just try not to get back so late next time. And please bring the walkie with you. Goodnight.” Oz finally said, receding into the darkness of the base.

Chapter Text

I should’ve gone to the grocery store , Riley thought to himself mournfully as he typed up his report.

It had only been two days since he helped Nevra get to the train station for the long weekend, and he was missing her home cooked meals from the restaurant sorely. And while it wouldn’t have been the same, even something that he cooked himself would have been better than the freeze dried shit.

It’s not like I had the free time to go anyways , he told himself. He was itching for something hearty and warm. Something made with love, not made only to hit a calorie minimum. There wasn’t much Riley could do about it but wait.

He thankfully didn’t have to wait long. 

“Freshies!” Dr. Buchanan said delightfully as the crew unpacked their care package. Freshies, Riley learned, was what they referred to fresh produce as. It was nice having fresh fruit and veggies after months of canned and freeze dried ones.

“Did they send me the good stuff?” Buchanan asked as he rummaged through a box.

Oz rattled a small cylinder at him to catch his attention, then tossed it to him.

“Thank you very much!” Buchanan said, beaming as he read the cylinder’s label.

Oz handed Riley a package in a frosted plastic bag. Riley could tell from its floppiness that it was his new pants.

“Thank you.” Hopefully they’d fit alright. He was kind of kicking himself for not picking out a few shirts as well, as most of his were starting to strain. He’d just have to make sure not to take off his sweat shirts when wearing one that was a bit too tight.

“Riley!”

Dr. Buchanan interrupted his thoughts.

“Yeah?”

“I’m making a little treat, would you like to try some?”

“Sure.”

Buchanan pulled out some slices of white bread and a stick of softened butter. “I think it was Glen who taught me how to make these. Or maybe it was Christina? It was one of the Australians.”

He slathered a few slices of bread with butter, then pulled out the cylinder from earlier: A container of round rainbow sprinkles. He added an ample amount of sprinkles to the bread, and finished by cutting the bread into triangles.

“Fairy bread!” He beamed. “Go ahead, try some!”

Riley took a bite out of the colourful slice. “That’s not half bad.” He said as he swallowed.

“Try not to fill up on that stuff.” Oz dropped a large hunk of meat on the counter with a thud, a bag of potatoes and carrots following soon after. “Beef stew for supper.”

“Did you need help with prep?” Riley asked, preemptively grabbing a peeler from the drawer. 

“Sure. Just don’t go slicing your hand open again.”

“Haha, yeah.”

“Speaking of, do you think it’s about time those stitches came out?” Oz looked around the room for Dr. Gold. “Sarah, do you think his stitches can come out yet?”

She looked up from the box she was emptying. “Maybe? I can take a look at them tomorrow and make a judgement then.”

“Prefect. It’ll be nice to have all hands on deck again.” Oz said.

Time went quickly as the group made their beef stew. It turned out quite nice: The meat was tender and flavourful, and it made for a hearty warm meal that scratched the itch Riley had for something warm. It was a comfort that made him go back for seconds.

—

“Alright Riley, let's take a look at the stitches.”

Riley sat in the med bay where the group’s physician, Dr. Gold, sat with a clipboard. She was prepping to remove Riley’s stitches.

“Have you noticed anything unusual?” The doctor said as she looked over the palm of his hand. She made him do a few simple movements, making him ball his hand into a fist, then stretching it back out again. “No pain or discomfort?”

“Nope.”

“Any skin lesions, itchiness, odd or foul smells that you’ve noticed?”

“Nope.”

Dr. Gold pulled out a little vacuum sealed baggy and tore off the top strip. She pulled out a curved blade and motioned for Riley to put his palm out.

“Alright. I think these have been in for long enough. Let’s get them out.”

She worked in a methodical but gentle way, lightly pulling on the knot of each stitch before snipping it. One by one, each suture was removed from the palm of Riley’s hand.

“There we go.” She said as she wiped the area to sanitize it. “Good as new.”

Riley started to get up, but was stopped by Gold motioning him to sit back down.

“There’s one last thing I wanted to talk to you about. Unrelated to the stitches.”

“Oh?”

“I’ve noticed that you’ve put on a bit of weight over the past few months.”

Ah, shit. He knew someone was going to bring it up sooner or later. “Uh… what about it?”

The doctor looked over her notes. “Well, I know this is your first research mission on such an isolated planet. One of the main concerns for anyone who is doing such a mission is the state of one’s mental health, and how we end up coping with it.”

Riley nodded along.

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of. I’m wondering more about how you are feeling, emotionally and mentally.”

“I’ve been doing alright. I mean, I do miss home, but I wouldn’t say I’m depressed or anything. What does this have to do with my weight?”

“Well, like I mentioned, it has to do with how we cope with our mental well being.” She sat down on the chair across from Riley. “And one of the ways that can manifest as under or over eating, which can affect one’s weight. Again, it’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

Riley shook his head. “No, I’ve been doing alright, all things considered.”

The doctor smiled softly “Alright. If anything changes, or you notice anything unusual, please don’t hesitate to speak to me about it.” She pulled out her pen and wrote something down.

Riley looked at the scale in the corner of the room. He should probably weight himself at some point. How much did he weigh before he came here? 170? 180, maybe?

“Hey. Before I go… Would you mind if I weighed myself?”

Gold shrugged. “If you’d like.”

The scale reminded him of one you’d see in a doctors office: An eye level scale, but it was missing its signature weights that the user had to balance. Instead it was replaced with a digital screen.

“That’s a newer scale. Power button is on the top left, please make sure to turn it off before you leave.” Gold said as she left for her office, leaving Riley alone in the med bay.

Riley hit the power button and watched as the monitor played a little loading animation before the number 0 blinked on screen.

Well, no turning back now I guess .

He took a deep breath and stepped on the scale. Numbers flashed quickly as the scale calibrated. It felt like an eternity, but the screen finally settled on a single number that blinked on screen.

211.

He stepped off the scale and felt around for the power button, shutting it off. Riley felt conflicted. 30 to 40 pounds in a 6 month span was a lot. But he couldn’t help but feel… disappointed, if that was the right word, that it hadn’t been more.

Chapter Text

When he started University, Riley moved from a medium sized town to one of the largest cities in Canada for university. It was eye opening: City life had so much to offer, from the people, to the experiences, and of course, the food.

“Did you have any favourites?” Nevra asked Riley as he idly stirred his coffee.

The two sat in an empty diner, a few weeks after the long weekend. He had asked her about the mini holiday she took down to the city, and in return she asked him about his time in the city as a university student. He told her about the variations of the neighbourhoods and streets, the way each little store and home told the story of how everything became. He told her about the good and the bad of people, and the unexpected kindness of strangers. He told her about the restaurants near campus, like the pizza place with giant slices and free garlic oil or the Thai place that’d give you a free spring roll if you brought your student card.

“The one place I really miss from home is this Hong Kong style bakery.” He told her. “You could fill up a tray with all different kinds of pastries and they were usually really cheap. Also had really good dumplings.”

“Wow. That sounds pretty cool.” Nevra said. “I like the fact that your city has so many different people. There’s a lot of people in Simi but it’s still mostly Aeskrians from the northernmost provinces. Very few people outside that population and even fewer off-planet species.”

“Is there one thing there that you wish you had here?”

“Oh, there's many things.” She said with a laugh. “I’d like a thrift store since the owners of the last one retired. Maybe a movie theatre. One of those specialty import stores.”

“Imports?”

“Yeah. From other countries or even planets. It’s always a pain to get stuff shipped up here. Hence why I stock up whenever I go down to Simi. How are the pancakes, by the way?”

“Very fluffy.” Riley said as he finished them off. He wondered if he’d keep doubling up on meals like he was doing here. It’d been pretty cool to do a food crawl of sorts, getting all sorts of entrées and finger foods from all over the city.

He was snapped out of his day dream by the bell atop the restaurant door ringing, signaling a new patron had entered.

“Ey! Nev!” A familiar voice called. 

“Ronnie! Aren’t you supposed to be workin’?” Nevra called back.

Riley turned to see Ronnie in the door shredding his coat. “I got someone to cover for me.” He took a seat next to Riley. “How are ya doing, champ? Long time no see!”

“You guys know each other?”

Riley nodded. “Yeah, he got my supervisor off my back so we could spend some time together at the fair.”

Nevra rolled her eyes. “Ronnie helping with getting out of work? Yeah, that sounds about right.”

Ronnie put his hands up in defence. “To be fair, that guy seems like a real piece of work.”

“He kinda is.” Riley turned to Nevra. “I don’t really like bad mouthing him, but sometimes the guy just acts cagey out of nowhere. It’s weird.”

Nevra set down a cup of coffee in front of Ronnie, which he dumped a packet of sugar into. “I knew that moment I saw him that he was one of those guys who is too serious for his own good.” 

Riley paused. “Wait, you met Oz?”

“Think so. Older guy. Slightly lighter than you, bit of grey in the beard. Was way back during the fair.”

“That’s him alright.”

Ronnie took a gulp of his coffee. “Odd guy. He asked me if we had any other humans living in town.” Ronnie  made a face, then dumped another packet of sugar in his coffee. “I was a little suspicious of the question, y'know? But I don’t think it was case of… uh, what's the word I’m looking for-” 

“Prejudice?”

“Yeah, that works. I don’t think he had a prejudice against us as a species, ‘cause he seemed to loosen up when I told him no, there’s only one non Aeskrian in town and he ain’t human.”

“Huh.” At least he isn’t a racist . But still a strange interaction nonetheless. The trio sat in silence as Riley pondered it.

“So… How do you guys know each other?” He asked, an awkward attempt to break the silence.

The two exchanged puzzled looks. “I don’t think there’s a single person in this town who doesn ’ t know each other.” Nevra said. “It's too small of a town not too, y’know?”

“We also went to high school together. Same grade. I’ll show you our yearbook sometime.”

“You most certainly will not! ” Nevra told him firmly.

“Awwww, c’mon!”

“I’m warning you, Ron.”

“Just a lil’ lookie. A lil’ peak.”

“Don’t.”

“Alright, fine.” Ronnie put his hands up in defeat. “I won’t.”

“Good.”

“Cool. Can I get some more coffee?” Ronnie asked with a cheeky smile.