InsaneJournal

For the past sixteen years Bennet and Luke had been going to the same somewhat run down bar on their birthday. They’d selected it in the beginning so Ben would be able to sneak in and it had a reputation for not looking too closely at IDs; as time went on, they kept going because it was familiar. Bennet had never been one that cared much about his birthday. He didn’t need a whole day dedicated to him, and in fact found it disconcerting for that much attention to be focused on him. Going to the bar with Luke was the one activity he needed to feel like it was his birthday. Occasionally they would have a friend or two join them, but for the most part it was just the two of them.

It had been a while since the two had been able to meet up in person, ever since Luke’s attack happened. He knew that his friend felt the need to hide away, so he was glad that he was still up for drinks. It was difficult for him to understand what Luke was going through. A part of him - a large part of him if he was honest - didn’t see what the big deal was. Nothing had fundamentally changed about Luke, and most Heros ended up injured in some way. He had sense enough to understand that this wasn’t the right tack to take with Luke, and so had been doing his best to tip-toe around the subject for the time being.

Though it was totally irrational for Luke to think that every pair of eyes were on him the minute he and Ben entered the bar, that's how it felt to him all the same. He shrunk into his hoodie as they approached, his face angled to hide the marred flesh while the bartender—a man they became familiar with over the years—saddled up to them, no glance spared to the scar. "The usual, boys?" he asked, voice gruff.

For himself, Luke nodded, and since he was determined to get drunk as quickly as possible while minimizing the effects of a hangover the next day, he pointed to top self. "The most expensive you got, Steve."

Bennet shot Luke a slightly concerned look. He knew Luke had said that he planned on being wasted the entire night, but a part of him had thought it was a joke. Or, maybe it was that a part of him was hoping if he acted like it was all a joke, it would turn out to be true. But still, starting off with the expensive stuff wasn’t a terrible idea; the first one could go down smooth. “Same for me, but let’s get two waters too,” he said to Steve. He wasn’t sure that Luke would touch his water, but it looked like he was going to need to pace himself to make sure they didn’t get into anything too crazy. Especially since it was one thirty in the afternoon.

"Tequila and whiskey it is," Steve replied, bringing them their drinks before a snap, and Luke was silently thankful that the bartender's intuition left the bottles on the counter. That's what the Underdog hero loved about this place; service was impeccable.

No time was wasted as Luke downed shot and another one immediately after. "Alright," he gritted while his throat burned, but oh, it was good. He reached over to produce a medium-sized present that had been hidden from Ben's view and placed it in front of his friend, "Let's get this part over with."

Yep, he was going to have to pace himself. Ben took a shot, then motioned for Steve to give him a glass so he’d be able to sip his whiskey neat. “You want to get the best part over with?” he asked, his tone teasing. “I can’t say that I’m upset, I’m going to trounce you in gift giving,” he finished, pulling out a smaller wrapped gift and putting it in front of Luke.

The other man shrugged at Ben's taunting words, assessing the thing as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. Their constant bickering, a friendly and amiable state of back and forth, was never ending, and if Dalton did manage to trump him this year, that's why there was always the next.

“Are we opening at the same time?” Ben asked, looking over at his friend.

Luke nodded, "One… two… three." He expertly tore into the wrapping, somehow managing to keep most of it intact, and found a first edition of John Steinbeck's East of Eden. A rare smile, the first of the evening, crept onto his lips. Slight, but there nonetheless. He shook his head fondly, yeah, I'm gonna have to up my game.

Bennet ripped into his gift at the same time, with considerably less grace. Inside the wrapping was a shoe box, which he opened to find a very nice pair of Nike sneakers. Perfect timing, his gym shoes had seen better days. “Thanks, man,” he said with a grin. “Just what I needed. Did you talk with my sister? I’d been telling her how I needed some new shoes.” At the moment, with Luke smiling genuinely for the first time Ben could remember in the recent past, it felt almost like old times.

"Nah, I noticed how rundown they were the other day," the eldest Wright replied, moving to pour himself another shot, then did the same for Ben. "Thank you for the book. A first edition I don't actually have," he clinked the two glasses together, "Bottoms up."

---

A couple of hours later, with a few more drinks under both their belts, Luke cleared his throat pointedly, and turned to look at one of his best friends with seriousness, though the flushed cheeks and slight slurring of his words might have added comedic effect. There was no hiding his inebriated state of mind, "Okay, Dalton, honestly now… What's stopping you from asking Sadie out?"

“Honestly?” he replied, stopping for a moment to think over what the real reason was. While he’d been trying to pace himself, Bennet was still feeling the drinks he’d had. “I guess,” he broke off with a shaky laugh. “I guess I just want whatever part of her she’ll let me have, and she’s been pretty clear that we’re ‘Just Friends’,” he said, making quotation marks with his fingers. It sounded even more pathetic out loud than it did in his head. He started to reach out to the whiskey to pour himself another shot, then changed his mind and took a drink of water instead. “I don’t want to lose her because I made a move and she’s not into it.”

Luke considered this, then shrugged. And while he could understand not wanting to ruin a friendship, he also firmly believed that 100% of shots not taken were missed. "I'm not sure I've ever seen you like this over a girl," he pointed out, rather nonchalant, "Don't you think she may be worth the risk? And for the record, I don't think she'd let your friendship with her die over some pesky, unrequited feelings."

At that thought, Bennet did take another shot. Luke was probably right, on all counts. He also couldn’t think of a time he’d gotten this in his own head about anyone. Normally he thought he did alright with women. Clearly Sadie was the exception. Was she worth the risk? He snorted to himself at that. Of course she was. However, turns out he was being a little bitch about the entire thing. “Anyway,” he said waving his hand in the air vaguely. “Enough about me. What about you?” While he wasn’t sure that Luke was in the mood to be going out and picking up women, he also doubted that his love life was completely dead. “Please don’t tell me it’s Ilana. I’m emotionally fragile right now.”

At his ex-girlfriend's name, Luke took another much needed drink. He emptied his glass, sucking in his bottom lip at the burn in his throat, then sighed, "Don't worry, neither of us want to get back together. I mean, there's always gonna be a small part of me that wants her, but… I think that ship has sailed."

He really wanted to be a good friend and be understanding and try to be there for Luke while he worked through his complex emotions towards Ilana. However, he was multiple drinks in, and he’d never really gotten what he saw in her to begin with. “Probably for the best,” he said with a shrug. “On to brighter shores, or is it brighter lights? Bright lights, big city?” Ben shook his head and then immediately regretted it. He didn’t think the water was helping that much at this point.

"Oh, are we moving to New York now?" the dark-haired man mocked with confused eyebrows, but he shook his head a second later, relenting. "Actually, maybe. So, Rosa told me the other day that she had feelings for me. And I'm… in no position to commit to her or accept those feelings, but… it did sort of make me happy that she admitted that?"

“Why would we move to New York? My family is here,” he replied confusedly. He didn’t understand the sudden switch to moving, and Luke rolled his eyes, waving a dismissive hand as if to say, 'forget it.' While Ben may have started the night out planning on not drinking too much, it seemed that his plans fell apart somewhere after the third drink. He did perk back up at Luke’s admission. “So you mean maybe you’ll stop with the ridiculous ‘No Sex’ vow?” he asked, grinning broadly at his friend. “Because that is just not healthy, man.”

At that, Luke's eyelids flitted, his entire demeanor shifting to look uncomfortable. He couldn't meet Ben's gaze, neither match the wide smile, and he swallowed nervously as his hands began to fidget in his lap. "It's not… well, there's more to it. She doesn't know some stuff about me, and if I tell her, it could change things between us, and… Just, it doesn't matter how much I like her, it doesn't seem right to hook up with her now."

“You don’t have to hook up with her now, but it’s good that you thought about it,” he said, noticing the change in Luke’s demeanor, but being a touch too drunk to fully understand why it had happened. “But what stuff are you talking about? She’s known you for a long time, what could she possibly not know?” He was genuinely confused, and he liked to think he would have been confused even if he was working with one hundred percent brain power.

Instead of answering, the eldest Wright deferred the subject, shrugging as nonchalantly as possible. Now wasn't the time to tell one of his best friends this dark secret, not when he was so drunk the ceiling spun. Or was that just a fan you there? "I miss sleeping with her," he admitted, because that much was true enough. Granted, he missed sleeping with women in general, but he really missed sleeping with Rosa. Luke sighed in defeat, and didn't at all think about what he was about to say next, "You should try sleeping with Sadie."

Bennet laughed out loud at Luke’s casual tone, as if he could just go up to Sadie and ask politely and then the two of them would fall into bed together. It was a nice fantasy, but it seemed so far removed from reality to him that it couldn’t be anything else. “There is something about the Turner women, isn’t there?” he asked dreamily, resting his head on his hand. “To Rosa and Sadie,” he said, lifting up his nearly empty glass in a toast. “The two most fascinating women in all of the greater Los Angeles area.” Somehow it seemed to make sense that they’d end up eventually becoming attached to sisters. He was just surprised it took them this long to get there.

Luke nodded blearily and lifted his glass in turn, clinking them together. When they were done, he looked to his watch and found that they were going to be late to the dinner party. "Oh, shit. We've been here too long. Alright, which one of us is going to call Theo to come pick us up?"

Before Ben could answer, one of his index fingers touched his nose, and he smirked at the other man, "Not it."