WHO: Everett and Ben WHAT: Everett has a happy birthday and Ben has a nice evening for once ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) WHEN: During and after Everett's birthday party WHERE: The Walker chalet WARNINGS: I mean after the time jump it's obvious they banged but it's all v. tame.
The amount of time it took for Ben to catch on was a little embarrassing.
But it couldn’t have been too embarrassing if after every time they drifted off, Everett to mingle, Ben to get another drink and check on Leela, they wandered back to each other to talk. Once again, Ben found Everett sitting at the edge of the fireplace, Hyena and Loofah sitting at his feet. Everett hadn’t noticed him yet. Ben was discreet in checking the time on his phone all the same.
It was getting late. He could get an Uber. Scratch that, he should get an Uber. There was plenty of uncertainty in Ben’s life, and the night at the chalet wasn’t much different. If all the conversation and flirting amounted to nothing, at least he had a handful of hours that were as close to normal as he would ever have again.. Charré’s presence and Ihaka’s suspiciously close proximity to her notwithstanding, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. All things considered, Ben Canton had a pretty damn good night. He didn’t really get what he came for, but he could go home.
Ben’s thumb hovered over the Uber app for a handful of seconds before he tucked his phone back into his pocket instead. This time, he went to Everett and sat down beside him. Hyena immediately leaned into his leg, and after Ben sat his glass down, he greeted her with a small smile and a light pat to her ribs.
“You know,” he paused to let out an amused huff when Hyena gracelessly flopped to the ground for a belly rub. Ben obliged, and when he leaned down, he didn’t bother to correct himself when his knee knocked against Everett’s. “I don’t know if this technically counts or not, but you and I did actually did speak before. On the network.”
Everett Walker wasn’t always the best at taking social cues that weren’t explicitly stated, but he did seem to have a knack for getting laid. That said, most people didn’t play their DTF intentions quite so close to the vest as Ben Canton had been that evening, and Everett had long-since decided that if the opportunity did not present itself, that the evening wasn’t a loss. Ben seemed like the sort that needed company, be it friendly or just plain friendly.
His fingers had disappeared into Loofah’s thick neck fur as Hyena commanded Ben to rub her belly (and Ben wisely compiled without complaint). His knee touching Everett’s didn’t escape notice, but it was just the briefest glace before Ben spoke.
“Did we?” Everett looked briefly puzzled then smiled and shook his head a little sheepishly. “Sorry, I don’t always catch everyone’s names on there.”
“I don’t either, but you more or less introduced yourself, and made an impression.” The smile Ben offered was warmer, more relaxed than any other expression Ben had to offer that night. If Everett noticed as much, hopefully he would know it was a good impression. Pleasantly buzzed or not, Ben thought he was a decent judge of character, and it was more than obvious Everett’s whole demeanor over the internet was just as genuine as it was in person. He was nice, and he knew what he wanted, but the longer he left his knee pressed against Everett’s, the more he hyperfocused on the contact.
Between overthinking and foresight, the former was by far Ben’s strongest ability. Maybe he wasn’t as good at reading people as he thought. Steadily, the crowds of mingling people, locals and New Englanders alike were thinning out. That was probably his cue and he just had too much whiskey to know it. Better safe than sorry.
Ben’s smile thinned a little. He reached for his tumbler, and downed what little left was of his drink. “Well, Everett.” He gave Hyena an affectionate farewell in the form of one last belly rub before he stood. Somehow, he managed to avoid eye contact with the a totally disbelieving Hyena. He looked at Everett instead, his eyes, his lips, both a little too long before he continued. “Happy birthday. And thank you for the invite.”
Everett paused as Ben stood and looked down at Hyena. They shared a brief moment of eye contact that meant very different things for each of them before Everett stood. This was the moment of truth, he supposed. “Hey,” he said, reaching out and touching Ben’s arm to catch his attention, his voice not exactly low, but low enough to keep their conversation private. “You don’t have to go,” he said in the same voice, no hint of nervousness and no hesitation, just a sort of innate confidence that either the situation was going to go the way he wanted it to-- or that he just truly did not mind if it didn’t. “I just need to wrap up with my guests, is all.”
There it was again. That enviable certainty. It took Ben off guard, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. There were a handful of moments when Ben could cope with surprises, even pleasant ones. Everett telling him he could stay was one of them. Shamefully, it was more of a relief than Ben could have expected. He always handled directness so much better, and once they were back on the same page, and that made it so much easier to relax. Ben steadied himself, and finally accepted what was going to happen. He held Everett’s gaze, and drummed a finger lightly on the edge of his glass before giving him a slight nod.
“Alright,” he said, mirroring Everett’s confidence with surprising ease. The anticipation was back in full force, but after all the touch and go, Ben was more than capable of being patient. Ben’s eyes flickered from Everett’s hand, back up to his eyes. “Take your time.” He smiled, with just the faintest touch of slyness before he took a step backwards, towards the bar.
“I always do,” Everett said, and while perhaps a person who was a little cooler would have had a wicked smile to go along with it, but Everett’s was boyish and delighted before he winked and moved off into the dwindling crowd, making the rounds before he could retire.
---
The hours had grown long and Everett had found himself drifting off a bit before he felt Ben stir beneath his arm. He cracked an eye, suddenly very aware he hadn’t removed his contacts. He certainly wasn’t going to do it now. He rubbed his face with his hand to clear his vision and rouse himself into a bit more clarity before he reached out and placed his hand on Ben’s side, skin warm against his fingers. “Hey,” he murmured sleepily. “You don’t have to go,” he said for the second time in the night.
Caught in the act, Ben instantly felt a little guilty. Unless he was with a friend, sliding out of bed and out the door by 6am was generally what all parties preferred. It wasn’t uncommon for Ben to kick, twitch, and yell himself into consciousness if he slept for too long, but in Everett’s bed, he was only awake by accident. Not because of a vivid, unsettling dream or nightmare, but because the bruised side of his face (tiger’s eye, witch hazel, and Arnica, he needed to remember that) rolled on the pillow just right. Even though he exhausted, running on fumes, and found himself more comfortable than he had been in weeks.. it was still reflexive to go. There was literally no real thought to it beyond trying to remember where his pants hit the floor so he could make a prompt and decent exit.
First, he tried to remember if he dreamt. That was reflex too, but when nothing surfaced, he went down the line and went over Everett’s words one by one. After that, Ben thought about the warm hand on his side.
Only fractionally more awake than before, Ben remembered. He realized Everett repeated himself. Sleep addled and still a little buzzed, Ben stayed propped up on one elbow as he stared into the dark. It apparently wasn’t easy if it didn’t sink in the first time, but he finally took Everett’s word for it. Ben could have this for a few more hours.
Ben turned his disheveled head over his shoulder, towards Everett even if he couldn’t see him. “Sorry,” he murmured as he eased himself back down to the bed. Sleepily, he reached for Everett’s hand. He didn’t push it away. Ben just locked his fingers between Everett’s, pulled his arm gently to wrap it around himself again, closed his eyes and sighed, soft and content. “I forgot.”