All Tied Up

River couldn't get that session out of his head, and he was curious whether Emmanuel was going to want to continue on or not. They had exchanged phone numbers after their date, and River really wanted to see him again. They'd parted ways that morning, because they both had things to do. Chuck had asked River to come over to his house because they were asking people to be in the wedding party and wanted to have everyone over.

That meant Chuck wanted River as a groomsman at least, which came with some mixed emotions. He mostly wasn't sure Krysta would be okay with it, but he wanted to show her that he wasn't any sort of threat to their relationship. If anything, with Emmanuel in the mix now, Chuck was a far away want that was losing its fascination by the day. He would always love Chuck in some way, but he was okay with letting go of being in love with him, especially with him getting married.

Krysta opened the door to see River and put on the smile she reserved for him. "Chuck is in the living room. You're one of the first to arrive. Chuck tells me that you haven't decided on a plus one?"

"Not yet, no," River admitted. "I'm kind of between relationships right now, but I'll let you know as soon as I know something, I promise."

She gave a nod of her head at that and River went into the living room where Chuck offered him a beer. River accepted it, glad to have something to distract with while they waited for everyone to show up. It was a mix of men and women who showed up, each getting a little gift bag to ask if they would be a groomsman or bridesmaid. River, when he opened his, noticed it was to ask him to be the best man. River looked surprised at Chuck, who just grinned at him and seemed to wait for a response.

"Of course, I'd be honored to," River replied and Chuck clapped him on the back in thanks.

"We're just waiting on Krysta's siblings," Chuck told him while Krysta was bringing out trays of food with her bridesmaids.

"I didn't realize Krysta had siblings," River admitted to Chuck. He didn't know Krysta as well as Chuck did, but she had never mentioned it around him before.

"Well, they aren't biological siblings," Chuck admitted. "She was part of the foster care system, and got adopted when she was an older teen. She had quite a few foster siblings over the years. Some got adopted to the same family, others didn't, but there are ones she stayed close with because they went through similar things."

"I'm glad she had people who could understand," River commented.

"Yeah," Chuck agreed. "I'm glad none of them felt too alone through it. She was taken from her home when she was about seven, so it was traumatic. She talks openly about it though so it's okay to tell you."

"Can't wait to meet them," River said genuinely.

The sibs (as Krysta called them) showed up singularly and in pairs. Two of the most diverse siblings walked through the door first, neither bothering to knock. Lawrence (never Larry) was a short, balding, white man with hazel eyes and full sleeves of tattoos on both arms. Zahra was a tall, thin, black woman with long braided hair trailing elegantly down her back. They were in the middle of a conversation with each other as they arrived in the living room. Zahra absent-mindedly handed Chuck a bottle of champagne as she finished up making her point to Lawrence.

Chuck told River that meant three more were still yet to get there, and then introduced River to the first set of sibs, explaining he was his best friend since college. Zahra and Lawrence greeted River warmly and easily swept the rest of the room into their conversation. They were both social butterflies and quickly became the center of the party, cornering the discussion for a time while Krysta finished prepping the food in the kitchen. When Krysta joined them, the door opened again.

The next two siblings who came in were Elena, a Latina woman who was tall and beautiful with rich, curly brown hair. She seemed a little shyer than her other sibs but she smiled brightly. The second one was Clara, a trans woman with long straight blonde hair that went down to her mid back, and wearing a beautiful pink flowered wrap dress. Clara immediately came over and hugged Chuck before she asked who his beautiful friend next to him was.

"This is my bestie, River," Chuck told her and Elena. "He'll be my best man."

"Ever wanted to flirt with a bridesmaid?" Clara asked him, and River laughed.

"Sorry, I am very gay," River explained apologetically. "You're a gorgeous woman and if I swung that way at all, I'd take you up on it."

"Well, a girl can dream," she joked with him. "At least save me a dance."

"That I will happily do," River agreed.

Krysta started looking kind of antsy, checking her phone and glancing at the door expectantly. When she saw River's questioning look, Clara explained, "She's anxious about our brother. He's almost never late but he also refuses to upgrade from that bicycle he rides all the time and sometimes he really should at least let one of us order him a rideshare. He lives in a rough neighborhood too!"

As she finished speaking, the door opened and in walked... Emmanuel! He was dressed very casually in gray sweatpants and a Harvard t-shirt. River's eyes widened as he watched Krysta go over and welcome him, briefly wondering if he looked okay in his jeans and black polo shirt. Chuck picked up the gift bag that was meant for Emmanuel and brought it over to him before he started to introduce him to the people on his side that he hadn't met yet.

"And this is my best man, River," Chuck said as they stopped in front of him.

"We've met," River replied, and then seemed to think better of it and added, "Emmanuel works for the transport company at the coroner's office. Can't get Rufus to stop calling him Manny."

Emmanuel smiled and ducked his head to cover the fact that it was a little more devilish than would have been appropriate for River's story for how they knew each other. River caught the smile though, and turned his own head away a little because he couldn't help the smile that came to his own face. Krysta and the other siblings were looking between the two, having caught the way they reacted to each other.

Chuck seemed to notice it too but decided to give his friend some grace with that because he looked at Emmanuel and said, "And here he told me that nickname was off limits."

"That was smart of him," River commented. "You had the whole rugby team calling me Thorny by the end of our first semester hanging out."

Emmanuel chuckled and started humming a song. Before long, River put the tune together and realized it was a Poison song from the late 1900's. River let out a snort at that and grinned at Emmanuel.

"Is that my song now?" he asked.

Emmanuel turned the flirtation to 11, "Do you want it to be?"

"In general, yes," River replied, flirting back because it felt so natural with Emmanuel. "With you, maybe something a little better, like Talking Body."

Emmanuel was usually careful not to out folks to friends or families, so he kept the flirting casual. "Oh you prefer the more contemporary music to the oldies?" he asked. His demeanor was casual but River got the distinct feeling that he was always taking notes where River was concerned.

"I like whatever fits the mood," River explained. "The right tempo, the right lyrics, the right emotion."

Emmanuel nodded as if he expected as much. "You strike me as someone who always has a soundtrack. I'm surprised that you aren't listening to music right now," he said with a chuckle, remembering River's earbuds from their first meeting.

"I do," River admitted. "And I probably would have but Chuck likes me to be present at these types of things. Music really makes cutting into bodies and collecting evidence go by faster, though."

Krysta scrunched up her nose at that. "I just set out the food, Riv. Can we hold off on the body talk until much, much later?"

River gave an apologetic look, almost forgetting that other people were here and how much Krysta hated him talking about his work. "Right, sorry."

As everyone went to get food, Krysta and the other siblings whisked Emmanuel off to ask questions, starting with Krysta saying, "So, am I right that you and River are maybe more than colleagues?"

"I wouldn't exactly call us colleagues," Emmanuel temporized, still not interested in outing River's relationship with him without discussing it with him first, "We don't really work together so much as our jobs cross paths every now and then."

"That is ignoring the question," Krysta told him. "But fine, keep your secrets."

"He's super cute though!" Zahra told Emmanuel.

"And gay!" Clara added. "I totally flirted with him."

Krysta looked a little conflicted before she looked between her siblings and said in a quieter voice, "He's also been really stuck on Chuck for a long time, so...just be careful."

Emmanuel seemed to consider her words for a few moments before he smiled warmly. "I'm a big boy, sis, but I can try not to catch feelings just in case. I do like him, based on the few interactions we've had. Want me to distract him for you until after the wedding?" That last part he said with a wicked smile. His family knew he was bisexual but did not know about his involvement in the kink community and he preferred to keep it that way.

Krysta laughed at that. "I may take you up on that!"

"So, what was that?" Chuck asked River before taking a swig of his beer.

"What was what?" River asked, feigning ignorance.

"Oh come on, I'm not stupid," Chuck said. "That was not the reaction of someone you work with in passing. That was downright flirting."

River shrugged at that. "He's hot, and interesting. I'm just exploring my options, you know?"

"Hey, as long as you're happy, I'm happy," Chuck told him with a grin.

"We'll see," River replied, thinking of how he wanted to see much more of how Emmanuel was behind closed doors before he said anything else.

Once everyone was done eating, Krysta let Chuck take his groomsmen and best man down into the basement to talk about planning out when they would get their tuxes fit, and to talk about the bachelor party and such while Krysta spoke about the bridal shower and bachelorette party with her bridesmaids.

"Krysta would prefer no strippers," Chuck told River about the bachelor party. River had already dismissed that idea from his mind anyway because it didn't interest him much and he knew Krysta had her own insecurities and he didn't want to make those worse.

River smirked though, wanting to tease Chuck a little. "We could take you to a cat cafe. You'd be surrounded by pussy all day."

"Okay, someone else please take over bachelor party duties because this guy would actually schedule us for a day in a cat cafe," Chuck laughed.

"I thought you straight men love pussy!" River argued as he looked around at the other groomsmen. "Am I wrong?"

When his eyes met Emmanuel's, River saw the smirk on his face. Emmanuel spread his hands in a gesture of innocence, saying, "Not exactly straight, but yeah, pussy is one of the best things about the human experience. Strictly talking about felines, of course..."

River grinned at that, in agreement about felines. His siblings had cats and dogs and he loved them. He just didn't have time to have any at home. He was gone too much. The other guys ribbed Chuck about it for a little bit and then they got into a full discussion about what they should do for it. In the end they decided that going to a place like Dave and Busters in Livonia was a good plan. They could drink, play games, and have fun.

Once they had most things planned out and a group chat started, Chuck told everyone that they could head home. Emmanuel thanked Chuck for the invitation to be a groomsman, telling him that his sister may have insisted but he was still glad to be included.

"She may have asked but you're a cool dude and I'm happy to have you in the wedding," Chuck told him.

Emmanuel looked around as the last of the guys mounted the stairs out of the basement. "Chuck, I know River has had a crush on you for the longest time, but Krys implied that she would like for me to try to date him. I know you're not interested in him that way, but I still wanted to make sure it was okay with you."

Chuck smiled at him. "I think that would be great. I've always told River that he just needs to find the right guy and then his crush on me would look like childish puppy love. Maybe that guy could be you."

Emmanuel smiled back, happy that this didn't go poorly. "Maybe. Thank you, again. I look forward to getting to know all of your wedding party better!" Emmanuel said in farewell as he, too, left the basement.

River had lingered a little, saying goodbye to the people he knew and telling Krysta that he would help in anything she needed him to. Krysta thanked him and then moved over to start hugging her siblings goodbye. River just started to unlock his car as Emmanuel came outside to get his bike.

"So, what are the odds, huh?" River asked as he leaned against his car door. "It's a small world for a country so big."

"So it seems," Emmanuel answered, putting his helmet on before walking his bike closer to River's car. "It also seems like both your crush and his bride-to-be want me to keep you occupied for the wedding."

River stared at Emmanuel for a moment, trying to figure out if he was being serious or not. The expression changed to one of genuine hurt after Emmanuel didn't show any signs of joking. "Well ouch. I didn't realize I was such a threat that was necessary..."

Emmanuel put a comforting hand on River's arm. "I didn't tell you that to be hurtful, River. I don't want you to hear about it second-hand and feel like I was being evasive or hiding things from you."

River pressed his lips together in annoyance and then let out a breath and nodded slowly. "I appreciate you being candid. I kind of expect it from Krysta, just not from Chuck. Maybe he doesn't trust me as much as I thought."

Emmanuel looked slightly sheepish at that. "Well, I kind of asked Chuck if he'd be okay with me dating you. I know he wasn't your Dom or anything, but I felt obligated," he said with a self-conscious shrug.

River's eyebrows went up through that explanation, though he couldn't quite hide the happiness behind the expression. "Oh really? So, the audition went well enough that you want to try another date?"

"You definitely seemed to. Besides, how do you expect me to deny my big sister such an obviously big favor?" Emmanuel asked with a wolfish smile.

"I do, that's true," River agreed and then smirked. "Wouldn't want to disappoint the bride. Besides, I definitely want to see more of you and what we could offer each other."

Emmanuel nodded at that, swinging his leg over his bike and getting himself ready to make the long ride back to his neighborhood. "I'll text you," he said as he pushed down on a pedal, settled himself into the seat, and rode away.

River smiled at that and then got into his car and left to go home. He needed to stock his house up with food again, and then follow his sleep schedule for his next shift because he would be working the night shift. Emmanuel kept his promise, as they texted each other throughout the week around their work.

It was the middle of the week when River was on the late shift. Dr. Carrington hadn't left yet when they heard the buzz from the button to tell them they had a delivery or the transport team needed to pick someone up. River went up to the camera to see it was Rufus and Emmanuel, and he couldn't help but smile as he hit the button to let them inside the building.

Rufus and Emmanuel brought in their stretcher, carrying a body with them. Dr. Carrington smiled at them in welcome and showed them which table to put the body on, then stood back so River could do the work. River came over once they got the body onto the table, going through the checklist in his head while he signed for it and then went to check the toe tag himself.

After he did that, he opened up the bag fully to get his first look at the victim they were dealing with and stopped moving completely when he looked at her. She was young, maybe only a little over eight, with pale skin and dark hair. Her eyes were opened, and he could see the dark brown color of them despite any discoloration that had begun in the whites.

River suddenly felt like he was a little kid again, standing with his mom while his dad went into the morgue to identify the body of his baby sister. River had been close with her, so before anyone could stop him, he went running past his dad into where the bodies were kept and stopped in front of the table that held his sister's body. He would never forget the sight of it, and this little girl looked so much like her.

"River?" Dr. Carrington's voice cut through the fog of grief and trauma.

"I, uh..." River stuttered, taking a few steps back. "I need a minute."

With that, he turned and left the room, heading down toward the bathroom and away from the body that reminded him so much of little Cassia Thorn. When he got into the bathroom, he pushed into one of the stalls and started throwing up his dinner. Once he was done, he went over to the sink to use some mouthwash they kept in the bathroom for just this reason so he could rinse his mouth out. Then he splashed cold water onto his face to try and calm down.

River's phone buzzed with a message from Emmanuel. "Hey, are you okay? I don't want to out you at work but I also don't want to leave you alone with your ghosts."

River sat down for a moment, considering what he wanted to say. He didn't talk about his sister with many people. His family knew, and his work knew, but that was about it. Finally he sent, "No, not entirely. I'll have to suck it up though. She just reminded me of my sister, and I reacted badly to the memory."

The response came almost immediately, like Emmanuel must have been monitoring his phone. "Do you want me to come in there? We've got Mrs. Young in the van but I can manufacture a bathroom emergency."

"I definitely wouldn't say no to that," River admitted.

Roughly six minutes later, Emmanuel knocked gently on the bathroom door and slipped inside. He didn't say anything, simply crossed the room quickly and hugged River tightly, stroking his hair. River accepted the comfort, melting into Emmanuel's embrace. He didn't cry, but his body was shaking slightly from the memory. Emmanuel could smell the minty scent of mouthwash on River.

"Sorry," River murmured eventually. "I try to keep this pretty compartmentalized, but that little girl looked so much like her."

Emmanuel smacked him gently on the head when he apologized, then soothed the sting away by gently stroking River's hair again. "Don't apologize for being a human being with feelings," he said, and it sounded like an order. "Are you going to be able to go back to work or do we need to manufacture an emergency?"

River smiled at that. "I'll be able to do my job. Luckily Dr. Carrington knows my history. Maybe we should plan some stress relief soon though."

"I'm free this weekend if you are. Text me when you can, ok?" Emmanuel asked, waiting for a nod from River before kissing his forehead and heading for the door. "I'd stay longer but I don't want to," Emmanuel said with a smile that belied his words.

River just smiled back at him, deciding not to call that out at all, because his face probably mirrored how Emmanuel felt. He took a moment to compose himself again, and then went back out to the work area where Dr. Carrington was waiting for him.

"You alright?" he asked River, and River gave a nod of his head. "Do you want me to do this one?"

River gave a shake of his head. "No, I know I need to find ways to push past this and work."