Michaela Barnes (michaela_barnes) wrote in btvsal, @ 2010-11-01 12:04:00 |
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Entry tags: | ben bale, kayla barnes, place: la |
Ben Gives Kayla Relationship Advice
Who: Ben and Kayla
When: Friday afternoon, October 22nd
Where: Ben's house
Kayla hadn't really had a chance to speak to Ben since... well, since her evening with Skylar and him. It wasn't to say that she didn't want to talk to him; however, just that life had a funny thing of getting in the way sometimes. School had really picked up again (one project, of which, was really kicking her ass), then there was her job at Avarice, as well as Gabriel... and Chloe. Not to mention Slaying. It didn't really afford much time for socializing, but Kayla knew that she needed time out of her own head-space, or at least to get someone else's perspective.
So it should come as no surprise that she was on Ben's front doorstep, dressed in straight-leg jeans and a clingy AC/DC tee, her peroxide blonde hair a little haphazard, as if she'd just woken up. She knocked, realizing that she should have called beforehand. What if he wasn't home?
Luckily for Kayla, Ben was indeed home. Having just gotten back from training with Naomi (and likely reveling in her huge crush on him), he was relaxing in the main living room (yes, the house was so big it had several living rooms), reading over the notes he'd taken on her training. Yes... while he WAS a total cad, and still a bit of a jackass... he DID take his responsibility as a watcher of the young girl seriously.
When the cameras picked up Kayla knocking on the door, the security guard (actually a demon with the ability to camoflauge itself) quickly called Ben to let him know. Smiling, as he knew immediately by the guard's description who the girl was, Ben walked to the door and opened it, big smile on his face, dressed down in wrinkled jeans and a baggy flannel shirt.
"Well well... if it isnt the hottest bartender I know. What's goin' on, Kay?"
"Not much," she started simply, leaning over to give him a hug and a peck on the cheek. "Or a lot, but that's neither here nor there," she smirked.
He hugged her right back, before giving her ass a playful grab and winking at her, ushering her into the house. Hey... considering the past? An ass-grab really wasn't much, ok?
"You got the look of someone with some serious shit on the brain. So spill it, gorgeous. Or you can just get naked and I we can make you forget your problems again... either way works for me..."
She blushed as she walked inside, giving him a playful little punch in the arm for the ass grab. She kinda expected little displays like that from him, though, so it didn't bother her. "I've got a few things on my mind, yeah," she admitted. "Think your guest can get a drink first, though?"
"Of course. I'll have the help bring you something. What would you like?" He asked, sitting down on the sofa and patting the spot beside him with a friendly smile.
She had work later, so... "Just a coke would be fine." She sat down beside him, cuddling into his shoulder a little. "Sorry I didn't call first, but I kinda missed you."
Did anyone really think Ben was capable of being this... sweet? To someone that WASN'T Skylar, at least? He leaned over to kiss her forehead softly, just letting her cuddle into him. "Helena... bring us each a can of soda..." Now... if Kayla expected a normal-looking maid or something to walk in... imagine her surprise when a small, curvy, goth-ish girl came walking in, hair dyed black and blood-red, piercings in her nose and ears, tattoos all over her arms and back, and clad in a leather miniskirt and cleavage-baring white tank-top. "Thank you, dear." He looked to Kayla. "Anything else before I send Helena here off to work on something else?"
"N-no, thank you," Kayla replied, giving the maid a small bashful(!) smile before accepting her drink. She cracked the can and took a small sip, before smiling softly up at Ben. She was oddly... comfortable with him. It was nice.
"Hm." He said as he saw her reaction there. "Yes, Helena is quite... nice on the eyes, isn't she? What can I say... she's WELL worth the money we pay her. She's a maid, a babysitter, a 'companion' to both Skylar and myself... anyway, enough about that.What's troubling you, love?"
"I usually go for blondes, but... yeah. Nice on the eyes," Kayla agreed. She nibbled on her lip lightly. "Um, I kinda have dating issues."
"Well. Now this should prove for an interesting afternoon then... I wasn't eve aware you were dating again. Last I knew, you and Deanna were still doing the 'angsty puppy dog eyes at each other' thing. " He grinned at the idea of getting some kind of juicy story here. "Details. Now."
She kinda squirmed when he mentioned Deanna since... Yeah. She still loved her and felt guilty as HELL for leaving her, but the worst thing she could do right not was to try to win the woman back after breaking her heart. "Um, I've been seeing someone but I've also... I guess 'got a little on the side'?" She hated the phrasing, but continued anyway, "And before I tell you with who, you have to PROMISE not to be a dick about it."
"Me? A dick? NEVER." Oh, yeah. This was clearly gonna end well. "So who ya fuckin', babydoll? And it better be good since it ain't me and Skylar..."
She smiled then. It was funny how he could get an honest smile out of her. "My Watcher, Gabriel... And, um, Chloe." She blushed then. Profusely. "It was only the once with Chloe, but... Yeeeah."
He totally passed on making a joke about Gabriel right then, because only ONE thing registered there. "CHLOE? For real? You are my goddamn HERO, woman... God, I'd give my right arm for a shot at that." Nice, Ben. "Ok, so what's the problem? You got a nice, if kind of stuffy and boring, guy likely treating you like a princess, and a hot piece of ass on the side. Where's the sad in this?"
"The sad being that he's willing to lose his job... And she's..." She nibbled her lip lightly, "She's leaving Nica. And neither of them are keen on the concept of sharing." Which, let's face it, would have been nice, instead of this dilemma of having to choose: which she knew she would have to do, eventually.
"Sharing, at least in a bigger way than for fun, never works. Skylar will tell you that much." Ben sighed, just tenderly wrapping an arm around her. "Do you really love both of them? Or EITHER of them? I mean... can you picture spending the rest of your life with either of them? Also, are you sure you don't want me to have Helena come back and make you feel better? She's quite talented..."
Kayla blushed lightly and shook her head at the last part. "I'm sure she could, but... Going back on topic. The thing is, I don't really know if I love... EITHER of them. I know I'm being selfish, but is a little time too much to ask for to find out?"
"No... not if you're honest with them both, and tell them you want to see them BOTH for a while before choosing. If either of them has a problem with it, then fuck 'em." Ah, Ben. So wise. "But between us... ok, so it's too early to sense 'love'... but look into your own future. Years down the line. Can you see yourself happy years from now with either of them? Honestly. It won't leave this room."
"That's a good idea," she murmured, nuzzling into him lightly. "And I hate to sound 'Magic 8 Ball' on you, but... Maybe ask again later?"
"I will." He said, with a serious nod. "Because your happiness means a lot to me, Kayla. You're a good friend, and I don't have a lot of those. And if you need me... hell, me OR Skylar... just to vent or for advice or anything... you're ALWAYS welcome to come over or call us."
"Thanks Ben," she murmured, kissing his cheek lightly. "One thing you CAN do for me is make sure Mere doesn't try to kill me. Vamp or not, as soon as she finds out about Chloe... I don't trust that she wouldn't flip out at me."
"Don't worry. I'll talk to her. Luckily for you, she's human now, and smart enough to know she can't beat up a Slayer. And trust me... Mere has many wonderful talents, but weapon-weilding is NOT one of them." Ben laughed, raising an eyebrow. "So... if you're gonna be technically not dating ONE person now...." Oh jesus...
"God, you're terrible," she laughed, giving him a punch in the arm for good measure. "And if we're being technical, Gabriel's fine about Chloe... As much as he can be, anyway, but I'm not gonna push my luck."
"Damn. Had to try, you know?" Sadly, he wasn't kidding. He'd have gladly dragged Kayla into the next room, worn her out, then let her rest up till Skylar got home for round two. "Anyway... like I said. Anytime you need me, I'm here."
She laughed. "If things don't turn out well, you know you two will be my first port of call, anyway. But thanks, Ben. I feel a little bit better."
"Of course you do." He scoffed, "I'm just awesome like that. You got anywhere to be? We could always pop a movie in or something and have a few drinks..."
"I have to head to work soon, but I'm yours for a couple of hours, at least," she told him.
"Sounds good." He said with a nod. "Because spending time hanging out with a gorgeous thing like you? Yeah... I can think of worse ways to spend my day."