I woke the next morning, holding Robin tight. They felt me stir, rolled over, and kissed me.

  “Good morning. How’re you feeling?”

  I smiled. “There’re no words for it. I feel like a new person.” I sneaked a quick smooch. “Thank you.”

  “Anytime,” they replied. “I’m going to rummage through the fridge, see if there’s any more food.”

  “That sounds amazing.” I stretched. “I don’t think I’ve ever slept that well in my life.”

  Robin smiled. “Me neither. It felt… right.”

  They ventured further into the fridge.

  “Score!” Robin yelled. “Leftover pasta salad.”

  I jumped up and joined them. “I love leftover pasta salad!”

  They sidled close, fork in hand. “Here, you get the first bite.”

  I stabbed the multi-colored noodles, cheese cubes, and pepperoni, brought them to my mouth, and sighed with bliss. “So good.”

  Robin dug in, savoring every flavor. “I don’t know what it is about leftovers.”

  “Everyone looks down on leftovers,” I said. “If they didn’t taste good, no one would care about them.”

  Robin mulled this over. “Your premise is flawed. Not all leftovers taste good.”

  “I disagree.” I braced myself. “Those gross leftovers sit in the fridge for weeks, dying a slow, lonely death in an old whipped cream tub. No one cares—until they start to smell.”

  The container sat empty in front of us. Robin took my hand. “Are you the gross leftovers in this allegory?”

  “I was, two days ago.”

  “And today.”

  “Today, I’m yours.”

  We kissed like no one else existed.

  “Ahem.” Josh stood at the foot of the stairs, again. “I was coming to see how Riley was doing.” He smirked. “I see he’s well.”

  “Sorry,” Robin and I said in unison.

  “No worries, it's—” Josh’s eyes shot to the empty container. “You ate my pasta salad! I was saving that.”

  “Sorry,” we repeated.

  Josh laughed. “I’m just messing with you. Come upstairs. I brought real breakfast. When you’re ready, of course.”

  The room suddenly felt quieter. We laughed, nerves buzzing.

  Robin looked into my eyes. “Want to be my partner?”

  “Yes.”

  We totally made out for ten minutes, straightened our clothes, and went upstairs for “real” breakfast.

  “Robin! Riley! Good morning!” Garrett, Sam, Dustin, and Josh said together, like it was rehearsed.

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  I blushed. Robin laughed with the others.

  “Here. Eat up. I imagine you’re hungry.” Josh tossed us each a burrito.

  “It wasn’t like tha—”

  “They’re teasing you,” Robin cut in. “Like friends do.”

  Friends. I’d thought about that word for years as I watched MJ and her crew laugh, play, cry, fight, and love each other.

  I laughed. “I did build up quite the appetite.”

  “That’s leaning into the joke. Good start.” Robin squeezed my hand and pulled me to the table.

  Josh finished their burrito and looked at me. “So, Riley. How do you two know each other?”

  “We’ve worked together for ten years.”

  “Really?”

  “He never noticed me," Robin chuckled. "I had to make the first move.”

  I munched my burrito, trying not to blush.

  Josh eyed me. “How could you not notice Robin? They’re amazing!”

  I swallowed. “I just… never noticed anyone before.”

  All four Rogues nodded.

  “I get that,” Dustin said.

  “Totally,” Josh added.

  “Not me,” Garrett grinned.

  “Of course not—you talk to everyone,” Sam said.

  “The rare extrovert nerd,” Josh sighed.

  “You know you love me.”

  “Yeah, yeah.”

  I became an anthropologist, eating my burrito and observing the indigenous peoples. Their communication was strong, demeanor relaxed. There was no discernible leader—though Josh might qualify. Garrett seemed second-in-command. The others, likely grunts. Fascinating. Perhaps I could assimilate into their society…

  “Riley.”

  I snapped out of it. Robin leaned closer. “Seriously, Riley. The future depends on your answer.

  “Wait. What?” All eyes were on me. “What was the question again?”

  They chuckled. Josh repeated the question, “If Hulk fought an exact clone of Hulk, could either one of them win?”

  “Let’s see.” I scratched my chin. “No. As Hulk gets angrier, he gets stronger. If it was an exact clone, they’d grow equally angry and strong. So they’d fight until they dropped dead—or destroyed the world.”

  “Nerd,” Garrett teased.

  My face went red. “I read a lot of comics.”

  “Nerd is a good thing!” Garrett added

  “Really?”

  “Yes.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

  “We’re all nerds,” Josh said.

  Robin smirked. “One of us. One of us.”

  I smiled. Long-dormant muscles ached. “Well, we don’t smell like a group of nerds.”

  The group burst into laughter.

  When it faded, Robin squeezed my hand. “I have a very important question for you, Riley.”

  I swallowed.

  “Will you… do me the honor of…” They froze dramatically. “...joining my Dungeons & Dragons game?”

  I exhaled. “Yes! A thousand times yes!”

  We totally made out.

  “Ahem.”

  “We were worried you were running out of air,” Josh teased.

  “We could’ve died,” I joked.

  Robin grinned. “Not bad. We’ll work on your teasing.”

  “I didn’t think anyone here worked—”

  “Nice!” Robin kissed my cheek.

  I glanced at my watch. “Shit! Noon already? We’re late for work.”

  “It’s Saturday.”

  “Oh. Phew.” I grabbed their hand. “Let’s walk down to The Rubber Duck. I want to brag—um, tell MJ about us.”

  “She’s not going to threaten me, beat me up, and hide my body, right?”

  “No guarantees. MJ is volatile.”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  “...”

  “Right?”

  “...”

  “Riley.”

  “I’d say I’m forty-two percent teasing.”

  They squeezed my hand. “I’ve created a monster.”

  ~

  That was a fun chapter, wasn’t it! Rogue’s Roost, games, friends, Robin and Riley figuring things out.

  Yes, yes I hear you: “All Robin and Riley did in this chapter was kiss.”

  I never said there wouldn’t be kissing; I said kissing isn’t the point of this story.

  Aren’t you excited to see where it goes? I know I am.

  ~

  The River and Friends Series - River and the Bug, The Adventures of Alison Alistair, and The Reaper Wears a Scarf. Please check them out!