A/N: So, I've been reading a lot of fanfiction recently and I keep seeing Riley portrayed as someone that I just don't truly see him being so I wanted to show my idea of Riley and I really love Huey and Riley's brotherly relationship and wanted to maybe delve into some of their more sentimental moments together so that's how this little story came to be. Also I was re-watching Ballin' and that also contributed to a lot of this story. Hope you guys like it. :) Rated T for language. I don't own anything; The Boondocks belongs to Aaron McGruder and Sony.
UPDATE: I didn't like how quickly the climax came, so I edited the beginning a bit. I might edit it a bit more, because it still feels a bit rushed, so don't be surprised if the story seems different to you. Cause it is. Thanks. :)
"What the hell is wrong witchu, Riley?"
Huey Freeman stormed into the living room with a scowl on his face and his hands balled into fists at his side. He watched Riley, who was previously ensconced on the couch with seemingly not a care in the world, jump at the sudden outburst. Just seeing him sitting like that made Huey nearly smack the younger Freeman boy upside the head. Memories of his finding out the news from outside sources instead of his own brother flooded the young radical's mind. What was Riley thinking? He could get killed! He was meddling with the wrong people on dangerous turf and he wasn't prepared for the consequences.
"The fuck you trynna say?" Riley's expression contorted in anger. Huey didn't always know what was right for him. Can't he see that? Riley was hellbent on doing what he wanted this time without fearing the outcome. If Huey was trying to imply that he had lost his mind then he didn't care.
Huey was only further infuriated by this response, but he urged himself to refrain from pounding some sense into this kid. He knew that wouldn't work, and honestly, he didn't exactly want to.
"Riley, you don't know what you're doing," Huey warned through gritted teeth, but Riley just scoffed before plopping back down on the couch with arms folded across his chest.
"I ain't playing with you man! Take this seriously!"
"You don't always know what's best for me, Huey McHater," Riley spat as he glared at his older brother. "I know what I'm doing."
"No you don't!" Huey threw up his arms in desperation. "For once in your life can you please think about what the hell you're getting mixed up in before you get your dumbass killed!"
Riley jumped up from the couch, his blood boiling beneath his skin. He glared at Huey with such a forceful stare, that it almost made the latter boy step back in defense.
"What are you trying to say." It sounded more like a statement than a question, but it caused the older Freeman child to pause for a moment in his rant. He was taken aback by Riley's conspicuous anger, and had never really seen him that riled up before. He knew what he had to say to win this battle, and he knew he had to be calm and collected about it.
"I'm trying to say you're better than this." Huey's voice leveled as he tried to stare down his younger brother. Riley's eyes widened slightly at those words, but they quickly narrowed to angry slits again. He simply wasn't having it.
Well, that idea flew out the window.
"I don't know what you're trynna say, but I gots to get my pa-"
Huey nearly yelled out in frustration as he forcefully grabbed the smaller one by his shoulders and violently shook him in hopes of shoving some sense into his stubborn little head.
"Man, what is wrong with you? Do you have any idea how much damn potential you're throwing away?" Huey's voice had raised immensely as he stared into the frightened boy's widened mahogany eyes. "Do you know how many people would kill to have the intelligence and talent you possess? Do you have any fucking clue what you even have?!"
Riley's mouth fell open, prepared to retort, but no words came out. His gaze fell to the floor as he let Huey's words infiltrate his mind. No one had ever said anything like that before to Riley. Never.
His future had been planned out for him from the beginning for failure. He was constantly seen as some misfit kid that would only get into trouble; who didn't have a future. Even when his graffiti had started being viewed as beautiful art, no one thought that Riley of all people could be behind it. No one ever acknowledged Riley's talents or intelligence, because his childish ignorance and idolization of bad influences was the only thing anyone ever saw.
That, and the color of his skin.
But damn, he's just a kid! Why can't he like mainstream studio rappers and playing basketball while still being smart? Does every black child have to be as depressing and cynical as Huey to be viewed as even the slightest bit intelligent and aware? And even then, it's not like anyone ever listened to Huey. It's just a never ending cycle.
No one perceived Riley as someone who could be the next president (not that he would ever want to be, but still) or a great influential person of high status. Everyone saw Riley as a future convict, or some wannabe gangster or something. Isn't that the nonsense Uncle Ruckus constantly spewed? Ruckus was the epitome of those who bought into these preconceived notions of urban black youth, and it had been embedded into Riley's being for so long that even he started believing it.
And that's when shit really started to go down.
He didn't mean for it to happen like this, but it just did. He was too far into the game to turn back, and it's not like anyone tried to stop him anyway. No one expected anything more from Riley Freeman. But he just didn't understand that becoming society's negative idea of what he should be only lets them win. It had become too ingrained into his mind that he could be nothing more. No one thought to encourage him.
And yet here was Huey, saying the one thing that no one had ever dared to utter towards Riley. Huey actually believed in him. Huey thought he had potential. Huey saw something in him.
And after so long of not even believing in himself, Huey's faith left the torn, young Freeman child with no words.
"Riley?" Huey's eyes softened as his voice pierced the deafening silence that hung between the two brothers for what felt like hours. He wasn't sure what was going through Riley's mind, but he hoped it was something meaningful. Something that could get him off this path. He felt Riley's shoulders relax beneath his grip, not even noticing how tense they were in the first place. His eyes never left the floor, even as he felt his older brother's stare burning through him.
"I don't like losing, Huey."
Huey's eyes widened as he remembered his little brother uttering those exact words in what seemed like ages ago, when it had only been a few years. He watched Riley's downcast eyes slowly close as a single tear escaped. He quickly brushed it away, but Huey had already espied it. A sigh escaped his lips as he looked at the younger boy, trying to figure out how he had gotten himself into this mess. Back then, he had been referring to a harmless basketball tournament, and now… he was referring to his own life.
But Huey knew what to say. His answer was still the same. It always would be.
"Then stop beating yourself."
Riley bit his lip to keep the tears from flowing. Without thinking, he threw his arms around his brother in an embrace that had only happened twice before in their life. Once, when their parents died, and the second when Huey almost had died (or at least, almost arrested). He remembers Huey trying to hug him on the night of Shabazz's execution, but Riley felt his unwillingness to comply took away from the moment, so that didn't really count. Why was it that all of these rare, heartfelt moments happened at the worst times?
"Thanks, man." Riley's voice was smaller than Huey ever remembered it being. He wrapped his arms around his younger brother's smaller frame before pulling away. Riley exhaled slowly as he tried to regain composure, avoiding Huey's gaze at all costs and trying his best to go back to a hard exterior and blasé demeanor. Huey watched the frown on Riley's tear-stained face slowly contort into his usual devious smirk. The young revolutionary quirked an eyebrow upward at this sudden change in expression.
"Yous still a bitch, though," Riley added, punching his older brother in the arm.
Huey rolled his eyes. "Whatever."
The older one pivoted on his heel and started to walk away as the corner of his lips just slightly started to curl upwards. The tiniest of smiles made way onto his features for a fleeting moment.
Riley was a smart kid. He'd do the right thing. He'd figure this out.
Besides, he wouldn't be alone.