A/N: While not necessary, I suggest reading a few of my other Rucas/triangle based fics as moments from those stories will appear throughout this story.

The Farkle Files The Corcas Texts Teach me to Play Pictures Chasing Riley

Chapter 1- Oh Brother!

Farkle's POV

I held the door open for Riley as she walked in. My heart hurts to see the worn, tired look on her face. I don't know why people can't just leave her and Lucas alone. Why must everyone continue to speculate on their relationship? They are together…. deal with it. There was nothing snap about Lucas' decision. Truth is? There never was a decision to be made. It has always been Riley. The issue Lucas faced was always how to them that it was Riley. His hesitancy in telling her how he felt was the fear of hurting the other one. Riley has shown to put her feelings above her own so it was not a stretch to assume she would be hurt on her behalf.

I thought we were finally passed the madness. Lucas and Riley made things official during our Nature trip to the Ski Lodge….not that there weren't some worrisome moments during that trip but in the end things were as they should have been all along.

"Hi Farkle" she greets me with a whisper

"Hey Riles. You OK?" I ask knowing full well she is not. I know my sister better than most and she isn't even really trying to hide anything this time. I follow her into my room. She sits down on the corner of my bed and stares at her hands.

"What if they are right? What if he made a snap decision and now regrets it?"

"Riley. I'm telling you that they are so very, very wrong. There was nothing snap about his decision and I know for a fact he doesn't regret it."

"But how do you know?"

"I'm also his best friend, not just yours. I see how he looks at you…how he has always looked at you."

"How does he look at me?"

"Like you are the ocean and he's dying to drown."

"But…"

"No buts Riley. I thought you agreed to talk to him about the important things?"

"I did but I'm afraid"

"Why? Everything he has gone through since that night in Texas was in an effort to avoid hurting you."

"Yeah, but…"

"But nothing. I have proof that it was not a snap decision. That it has always been you."

"Proof? What kind of proof?"

"He sent me emails with attachments. The attachments were letters to you. He said they say everything he wanted to say but couldn't"

"Really? What did they say?"

"Don't know. I never opened them. They are all saved in a folder in my Outlook Inbox. You will see that they are all still unread. You will see the time and date he sent them to me."

"All? How many did he send?"

"Around 10 or so….but you will know shortly because you are going to sit here and read them."

"Read them?! Why would I do that? If he wanted me to read them, why didn't he send them to me?"

"He didn't send them to you because he felt he had no "voice" in the situation. YOU controlled everything. He wanted to make sure YOU weren't hurt, either directly or indirectly. So he wrote his feelings out and sent them to me. I think he was afraid that he would give in to temptation and send them to you before you were ready to read them."

"And I'm ready now?"

"Yes, I think you are. This nonsense has to stop. You need to stop listening to the "Non-Rucas" shippers and listen to your heart….and his"

"Non-Rucas shippers? What does that even mean?"

"I mean our classmates. The ones who think everything they see means more than it does. Remember your dad told us "Perception of a thing doesn't make it so? That's what he was talking about. They perceive your relationship with Lucas to be the way they see it and they don't care who they hurt when they spout off."

"Oh." She looked down at her knees again. "I wish I knew why everyone was so against us being together. Why they think we would make each other miserable."

I kneel before her and stare at her until she lifts her head and meets my eyes "Riley, they don't know him…. heck they don't know you that well. Take it from me…Izzy…Zay and Lucas, you guys are perfect for each other." Her face breaks out into a smile….a real Riley smile.

"Now, I want you to sit at my desk and read his emails. I promise you. There will be no question about his feelings."

"OK." She wiped her hands on her jeans, took a deep breath and stood. As she walked over to my desk, I logged into my email account and pulled up the folder.

From Lucas to Riley (12)

"You are all set Riles. I'm going to go into the game room and give you some privacy. Yell for me if you need me OK?"

"OK. Thanks Farkle."

I walk out of the room and look back as she opens the first email

"Riley-

I'm writing to you because you won't talk to me and I need to say what's on my mind before I lose it. In the span of a few hours, I have gone from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows…shockingly enough? You were a big part of both of them.

I can never thank you enough for the support and encouragement you offered me in my quest to master Tombstone the bull. It was your faith in me that gave me the confidence I needed.

Thank you for staying behind and watching. It meant a lot to me to know that you were there cheering me on.

I meant what I said earlier, you are very important to me. I don't know that I would have survived my move to NY without you.

You also directly influenced my lowest moment… I was preparing to ask you to make us an official couple when you dropped the brother bomb on me. I'm still not quite sure I know what that means. I'm also not sure how we got to this point.

How did things get to this point between us? I thought we both agreed to move our relationship at our own pace. To not let peer pressure influence what we do.

What did I miss? When did your feelings change? I'm not sure why you think that I won't always be around for you to talk to.

In all honesty? You're my best friend (please don't tell Zay or Farkle- they won't understand) you are the first person I think of when I wake and the last one on my mind before I fall asleep. You are also the first person I want to tell all of my stories to, good and bad.

The house is quiet now. I think everyone is asleep except for me. I want nothing more than to barge into the guest room and make you talk to me. I won't but I want to.

I hope we can talk about this in the morning. I need to understand and I need to know if there is anything I can do to fix this… There has to be something….

Chances are you'll never see this so I'm just going to say what I need to… I think I'm in love with you… Scratch that… I know that I am & now I'm kicking myself for not telling you sooner. I was going to tell you tonight in front of the Riley Committee. I wanted them to be there when I told you… Wanted them to know they would never have to protect you from me… Never thought I would need protection from you. I love you Riley Matthews… Not sure that it will matter to you now but I had to say it."

Lucas