A/n - So it's been a while, and I honestly don't have much to offer. This chapter underwent more rewrites than I've ever seen. But I promised several people that I'd post in December, so I figured I probably should honor said promise. Enjoy?

Disclaimer - Everything in here belongs to someone else, including the restaurant.

Acknowledgments - Thanks to my betas, Rhiannon Aurorafai and 19personality for making sure I don't post nonsense and for being quite blunt with regards to my plot. This chapter is also dedicated to Autumnights and anger without enthusiasm, who took the time to remind me that yes, I still have fans despite the infrequency of updates. Much love goes out to the four of you!

Acquiesce
[ak-wee-ES]
-verb (used without object)
to assent tacitly; submit or comply silently or without protest; agree; consent: to acquiesce halfheartedly in a business plan

I tapped my fingers idly on the Formica table and glanced at my watch for the third time in the past five minutes. Of course Riley was late – I should have known better than to expect otherwise. He seemed to operate on his own clock, which apparently ran a good five to ten minutes slower than Eastern Standard Time.

He had called me yesterday afternoon, as per instruction. I had paid close attention to his tone, searching for any indication of how his breakfast with Alan had gone. Riley had sounded fine, though perhaps a little overeager to set up a lunch date with me. I wondered if it had anything to do with Alan, and if Riley would even tell me if it did. I had refrained from asking about it. I knew from previous experience that Riley wasn't going to want to talk about it. He was remarkably secretive about his brother, which worried me to no end.

I glanced at my watch again, then went back to idly staring at the menu. The waitress had already stopped by, and I had ordered coffee. Yes, it was nearly two o'clock, but I knew that this little diner had some of the best coffee on the East Coast. I wasn't going to pass it up just because coffee doesn't really go well with a hamburger.

Somehow or another, I didn't see Riley until he slid into the seat opposite me. I looked down at the menu, then looked back up and saw him sitting there grinning at me. I nearly jumped out of my skin.

"How many times have I asked you not to sneak up on me like that?" I demanded, though there was no real fire in my voice. Riley just smirked as he opened his menu.

"It's hard not to," Riley commented, immediately flipping to the pie section of the menu. "You're always so enthralled by whatever you're doing that you wouldn't notice a polka band if it materialized in your living room."

"What… a polka band?" I asked with a chuckle. I really didn't know where Riley came up with things like that. He certainly seemed normal; after all, he was coming up with weird sayings again. Maybe Alan was leaving and Riley would finally go back to being himself. I certainly wouldn't be displeased if that was the reason for the Poole breakfast date yesterday.

"Yes, Ben. A polka band," Riley humored me. "I think I want the German Chocolate Pie. And… a vanilla milkshake."

"Are you sure you don't want something that resembles actual food?" I inquired. I knew it was a pointless question. Every time we came to this diner, Riley would order the same thing: pie and a shake. It was a different flavor of pie and milkshake every time; I assumed Riley was going to try every possible combination.

"Ben, what have I told you about Heidi's? Their pies are awesome!" Riley looked at me over the top of the menu. His tone was exasperated, but his eyes shined with good humor. "Besides, who are you to talk? You have coffee. It's two o'clock."

"I'd say it's well after two o'clock," I retorted. I had missed this banter with Riley. He was in remarkably good spirits today. I had expected him to be in a rotten mood due to Alan's continued presence, but Riley seemed completely fine. I was baffled, but pleased. I was content to have normal Riley back. Yes, I still wondered what was up with Alan's presence, and definitely wanted to learn about Riley's childhood, but I wasn't going to pry if Riley didn't want me to – especially if Riley was no longer bothered by Alan.

"Touché," Riley replied. He scanned the menu for another moment, then put it down on the table.

"So, why were you late this time?" I asked, anticipating some humorous anecdote about crazy bus drivers or how he'd once again seen the volunteers from the local animal shelter enticing donations through 'strategic use of puppies' and he'd stood there for an hour playing with the dogs.

Riley shifted uncomfortably, all good humor suddenly gone. My heart sank. I knew that his reason had to do with Alan. Nobody else could have caused Riley's mood to shift so suddenly.

"Well, Alan called about something," Riley admitted. "Believe it or not, he's one of those people that will not shut up when he's on the phone. I had a girlfriend like that in college, she made me late to class more times than I really care to count." Riley's attempt to change the subject was not lost on me.

"What did he want?" I asked. Riley's face fell farther upon realizing his deflection had failed.

"It's not important," Riley shook his head. To say I was sick of this would be a huge understatement. There was only so much of Riley's bad mood and cover-ups for his brother that I could take. Alan was up to something and he had gotten Riley involved, I was sure of it. Riley was unhappy, which made me unhappy. When I was unhappy, I went to do something about it. Getting Riley to open up would not be easy, but I was tired of turning a blind eye to how much Alan was affecting him.

"Riley, I'm your friend, right?" I asked. I really hoped he'd say yes. After everything we'd been through together, I certainly hoped that he would consider me a friend. Riley was obviously surprised by the sudden question.

"Of course you are," Riley replied, though there was a note of uncertainty in his voice. He wasn't sure where I was going with my line of questioning, and that made him nervous. Just as long as he didn't try to run away, I was completely OK with him being nervous.

"Then why won't you tell me what's wrong?" I tried to put all of my concern for him in that one sentence. I hoped he would pick up on my worry and not balk. I wasn't sure what I would do if he did. But I had to know! I couldn't just sit there and think the worst about Alan any longer. I had to know if he was a threat to my friend.

"Ben, it's no problem. I can handle it," Riley said. He was looking down at the table. A small frown had formed on his face, which was a definite change from the non-emotion he had displayed previously whenever Alan was brought up. I took it as a good sign.

"I'm sure you can," I assured him. I didn't want him to think that I was worried that he couldn't handle his own problems. That wasn't the issue here.

Oh, who was I kidding? I was worried that he couldn't handle his problems. Yes, Riley was a proud, independent guy. He liked to handle things on his own. Yet sometimes he got himself in over his head, and he would still refrain from asking for much-needed help. It was certainly one of his more infuriating traits. I was afraid that whatever problems Alan brought were too much for Riley to handle alone.

"Then why do you keep asking?" Riley asked. He was still wearing that slight frown. I could hear the unspoken addendum to the question: It's my problem. Why do you care? I thought I had established that I cared about Riley enough to worry about him if he wasn't firing on all cylinders or if something was bothering him. Yes, our friendship had a very rocky start, but I thought I had more than made up for it. Apparently, I still hadn't quite gotten through to him.

"Because I'm worried about you," Honesty really was the best policy here. I had to get it through to Riley that I wanted to help. I wasn't about to judge him based on whatever problems his brother brought.

Riley looked surprised for a moment, then the emotion faded almost as quickly as it had appeared. "It's really nothing to worry about," he said, offering a small shrug. It was my turn to frown this time. How could he say something like that? There was obviously a problem between him and Alan! What else could explain the mood swings?

"I don't believe you at all," I replied. Riley blinked at me for a few seconds, obviously not quite computing what I just said.

"You… what?" he spluttered. I had caught him off guard. It was time to go in for the kill, metaphorically speaking.

"I don't believe you when you say that it's nothing to worry about. Alan is obviously bothering you. I just want to help. Maybe if I knew what was going on between the two of you, I could help you fix it," I leaned back and took a sip of my coffee, giving Riley a chance to figure out what I just said and formulate a response. I hoped I had gotten through to him. I was tired of the song and dance he was putting up as a diversion, and I was really tired of seeing him go quiet whenever Alan was brought up. I just wanted some answers, and I wanted to fix whatever problem Riley had found himself in.

I was suddenly well aware that the waitresses had stayed away from our table, and I was grateful. A waitress would have given Riley an opportunity to change the subject and start talking about pie – and once that happened, there would be no other topic of conversation for at least fifteen minutes. I wasn't entirely sure how Riley could carry a fifteen minute, one-sided conversation about pie, but I had heard him do it before and I was quite sure that he could do it again.

"Alan just…" Riley swallowed convulsively, and I mentally chastised myself for spacing out. I was trying to get Riley to open up, and it was miraculously working, and I just had to start musing about pie. How ridiculous. "Alan means well, he does."

"I'm sure," I agreed, prompting Riley to continue. My heard completely disagreed with the sentiment. I wouldn't put it past Alan to intentionally bring up whatever-it-was that caused Riley so much pain and uncertainty. Of course, I wasn't going to go out and insult Alan to Riley's face, since Riley apparently still had some measure of respect and care for his brother. Doing so would not facilitate Riley's sudden desire to tell me what was wrong.

"But he has this habit of bringing things up, things I would rather not think about," Riley admitted. He looked up at me, his eyes searching my face for reassurance. I was only too happy to give it. I was thrilled he was at least trying to open up to me. It was a start.

"What sort of things?" I asked. Riley glanced away, but I didn't miss the pain that flickered in his eyes. It hurt me to see it, but it was nothing I hadn't anticipated. My goal was to make that pain go away, to the best of my ability.

"I knew you were going to ask that," he admitted. "But first, I'm going to need that pie."

Sorry for the filler/setup chapter, but it had to be done.
Expect questions to be answered next chapter!
Have a happy holidays everyone!

~Craic