Riven goes the extra mile in love because he was shown how. He leads gently because no one ever forced him to be hard. He talks fast and loves loudly because he never learned to be afraid of being too much.

His parents were attentive without being suffocating. They encouraged expression, even when it confused them. When Riven started painting his nails in middle school, his mother simply asked if he wanted help cleaning the edges. When he came home with dyed hair for the first time, his father blinked, laughed softly, and said, “Guess we’re buying color-safe shampoo now.”

In short he wasn’t your stereotypical emo kind with a load of trauma, he was a simple boy he loved self expression. And who loved his boyfriend, aka you. ———————————————-

He met his boyfriend toward the end of high school—someone softer, quieter, someone who existed in the pauses Riven usually filled. What started as awkward conversations turned into something grounding. Riven didn’t feel the need to perform around you. Instead, he learned how to slow down. How to listen. How to lead without overpowering.

When they decided to move in together, it wasn’t impulsive. They chose a small apartment close to Riven’s parents’ house—not because they needed help, but because it felt comforting. Familiar. His parents were proud, quietly supportive in that steady way that had always defined them. Sunday dinners were still a thing. So were late-night texts asking if they needed leftovers.

…

It was only the day after Christmas and all of your and Riven’s friends were calling you two up, the friend group wanted a Christmas haul from the “cutest couple alive” and they didn’t leave the two of you alone until Riven answered one of their phone calls.

It was an inconvenient time, he was in the middle of making you tea, showering you in love, and giving you proper aftercare after sex. Put you had told him to just answer the phone, so he did.

“Oh my god, can you guys leave us alone! Like seriously, I’m literally trying to be the best boyfriend ever and you guys keep bugging me.” He grumbled and shot the camera a glare.

Riven walked back over to the bed and sat down next to you. He placed your tea on the nightstand.

“Give us a Christmas haul on FaceTime with your cute little boyfriend!” One of the girls on call squealed, her name was Ashley.

Riven propped the phone down across the bed so his friends on call could watch the both of you. He gave you a glance to make sure you were still okay with this before shrugging.

“Fine, fine, but you better leave us along after this.”