"Grey" Fezco O'Neill x black fem reader

26- Honest conversations

Trigger/content warning: Mentions of getting clean and rehab

You wouldn't say that things were better. In some ways, they were, but not really. Things were still bad, and maybe they'd always be. Before tonight, you'd only seen Ali once. There was no formal introduction, or actually any at all. You'd only seen him from afar after Rue had come to Fezco begging for drugs. Apparently he was Rue's sponsor. And apparently he was also cooking dinner tonight.

Yes you were hungry and yes you didn't want to be rude or "disrespectful", but helping with dinner. Or more specifically, leaving your room sounded unappealing. Exhausting. But as Leslie said, it was a favor. He was doing something nice and the least you could do was participate. It was for your sister, after all.

Participating was a stretch, but washing vegetables and avoiding conversation by blasting music you could do. Or, at least, you tried to do.  You ignored the first nudge, assuming it was a mistake, but when Ali did it a second time, you looked up from the vegetables and saw him signaling you to take your headphones off. Pausing your music with hesitation, you took them off, leaving them around your neck rather than completely taking them off.

"Huh?"

"You hear what I said ?" Ali asked you.

"No, uh sorry, what are we talking about?"

"I was telling your sister how hard it must be on the two of you." He says, taking the tomatoes you just washed ang giving them to Gia. "Dice these."

You looked at Gia for a split second before returning your gaze to the sink in front of you and shrugging. Assuming the conversation was over with, you wanted to throw your headphones back on, but again Ali spoke.

"It's okay to be angry at her."

You held his words close to you for a moment, but you were unsure if you were really the one they were meant for. To him, they were for the both of you and Gia, but there were things he didn't know. You wondered how differently this talk would be if he did. Taking a defeated sigh, you decided the conversation just wasn't for you. None of it was.

With ease, you slid your headphones back on. Muting Ali and Gia and escaping into the music. Allowing it to hoist you all the way to dinner until your mom told you to take the headphones off. Not wanting to fight or argue, you listened. Partially. Switching the headphones for AirPods, you could easily hide behind your braids.

Once Ali was done cooking, you all sat at the dinner table and started eating. You couldn't remember the last time the three of you had a meal like this. All together, with all four seats filled and of course an extra one for Ali. With food that was actually good on top of being homemade. Normally, you'd make your own food, leaving some for Gia and Rue. Or if you were with Fez, you'd make food together. Around you, they all laughed before it quickly died down. With the laughter gone, the bubbly atmosphere and smiles on the three of their faces went with it. You hadn't heard what Ali had asked, but something told you to listen in this time.

"Yes." Leslie answered for Rue before she spoke herself.

"Okay, uh, I know... that I have a lot of apologizing to do. Uh... I get that."

"Uh-huh." Ali encouraged her.

"So, I just figured that I'd, you know... go to rehab, get clean, you know, sort my shit out and, um... then come back and... apologize."

Truthfully, it was a generic response, but right now you had no room to question Rue. But Ali didn't think the same way you did.

"So you wanna get clean?" He questions her, and you become fully invested, quickly taking the AirPods out and really listening.