I don't own Baby Daddy and never will. No copyright infringement intended.
Riley and Ben's attempt at a relationship ended up crashing pretty quickly – They broke up a month in. They tried – especially Riley – to make it work, but all they did was fight. It was an amicable end to the relationship, but the two were still a little awkward around each other. Both Ben and Riley were hoping to get over that soon.
Danny, meanwhile, was trying his best to move on, but it wasn't easy. He had been in love with Riley for so long that he didn't know how to feel any differently. Needless to say, it was tense in the apartment, even though Ben was oblivious to his brother's feelings. Tucker and Bonnie were caught in the middle.
And everyone was just glad that Emma's custody arrangements had been sorted out quickly – Angela hadn't informed Ben of her pregnancy and had abandoned the baby, so he had been awarded full custody. She got visitation once a month and it seemed to be working for everyone.
Ben was watching a movie with Tucker and Emma when Danny stepped inside. "Date go okay?" Riley questioned from the kitchen.
Danny shook his head. "It sucked. We had absolutely nothing in common."
"Aw, sorry bro." Ben looked down when Emma suddenly stated crying. "Hey, what's wrong, baby girl?"
Riley checked her watch. "It is bedtime for a certain someone. I'll put her to bed and then I'm heading home." She walked over to the couch and picked up Emma.
"Thanks." Ben smiled at her, but Riley wasn't paying attention and missed it as she walked to the bedroom to put a still crying Emma down.
An hour passed. Ben, Tucker, and Danny were now discussing their worst dates ever (Danny's tonight hadn't even cracked the top ten) and trying to outdo each other. "I'm telling you, mine was worse!" Tucker was determined to win.
Both Danny and Ben scoffed. "Yeah right," Danny said as he grabbed a drink out of the fridge and took a swig.
"I think I may ask out Riley again." Ben rolled his eyes when both Tucker and Danny groaned.
"No, Ben. Why would you think that's a good idea?" Tucker was actually pretty worried about Danny's reaction to this.
"Because we're friends? We may have ended badly but she's still my best friend. I won't screw it up again."
Danny bitterly laughed. "Yes, you will. You always find a way to fuck it up. And I'm not about to let you hurt Riley again, Ben. It's not happening so shut the hell up about it right now."
Ben tilted his head and stared at his brother in confusion. "Why are you telling me what to do? I know she's your best friend, Danny, but stop being so overprotective."
"Ben, listen to me. You two were a disaster and didn't work. Just move on."
Tucker wisely stayed out of it, but stayed alert just in case he needed to step in. He had a feeling this wasn't going to end well.
And that's when it Ben, something he should have realized much sooner. He felt stupid he hadn't figured it out earlier, especially after Danny's freak out on him during Riley's birthday party. "Holy fuck, you're in love with her."
Tucker snorted. "Took you long enough," he murmured.
Danny didn't even try to deny it – He was sick of lying. "Yeah, I am."
Tense silence before Ben broke it a few minutes later. "What do you mean that it took me long enough?" he asked Tucker.
He just rolled his eyes. "Your brother's been in love with Riley for years, but has never said anything. I can't believe he didn't give himself away at her birthday party. It's why his relationship with Amy ended. She knew and couldn't deal with it anymore. Danny is fucking head over heels in love with her and we all knew it. Well, except for you and Riley, anyway."
Ben just gaped in shock at the both of them. "Why didn't you say anything?"
Danny sighed. "She doesn't feel the same way and she's never going to. I had to accept it. It hurts, but I have. Besides, you two were together. I can't date my brother's ex-girlfriend. That breaks some rules."
Ben was feeling like an idiot now. "But don't you want to be with her, be happy?"
He just shrugged. "As long as Riley's happy, I'm good. My happiness isn't a priority as long as she's with someone who cares about her. If she's in love, that's awesome. And I'm trying to move on. That's why I went out on that date tonight. I'll find someone special eventually."
Ben still felt like an idiot, but now he thought his brother was a moron, too, and he told him so. "You should tell her how you feel. It may hurt, but you shouldn't keep doing this to yourself." He felt horribly for Danny.
"It's okay, Ben. Really." It was so far from okay it wasn't even funny, but Danny wasn't about to let them know that.
Ben figured out he was lying and called him out on it. "No, it's not. Danny, you seriously need to tell her. I'm fine with it. Yeah, it's going to be a little weird but that's okay. We'll get over it."
Tucker was impressed. "He's right – Tell her. You might be surprised by what happens. And hey, we can always get you really wasted if it ends badly!"
Both Danny and Ben laughed. "I'll think about it." Danny really was thinking about it, but he didn't think he was going to confess anything. He knew she was just going to reject him and he didn't want to face that fact. He was Riley's best friend and nothing more. It was better to say nothing and deal with this on his own. It had been working fine for years.
From her spot in the bedroom, a forgotten Riley's frame shook with silent sobs. They had forgotten about her in there or maybe thought she had gone home, but Emma had refused to settle down and so she had stayed. She didn't know what to do, how to approach the situation. She loved Danny, but she didn't know the extent of those feelings. But he was hurting and she couldn't stand it. The voicemail message from a few months earlier kept running through a loop in Riley's head, making everything worse.
Danny and Riley were both hurting and there was no easy fix to the situation. For now, they had to live in the hell of the unknown. They'd keep silent before something eventually broke between them, but that was still a ways off.
But now? Now, though, they were just miserable and unsure around each other. It wasn't easy to live with.