Ben knew that he shouldn't be playing videogames all the time, to be quite honest. Maybe part of it was seeing what he could get away with now that he wasn't at home anymore. Maybe part of it was boredom. And still there might have been another part of it that was all about the familiarity of it, it was something he'd done at home and it was something that wasn't completely new and foreign. It might have been all or none of that, Ben didn't really think about what he was doing that way. He just knew he was bored, and he knew his mom wasn't around to harass him about doing homework, or y'know not playing videogames constantly. And it wasn't like Dean was yelling at him to stop spending all his time doing it. Sam, Ruby, and Mary weren't either. So, obviously it was okay, or at least it was for now. It was weird.
It was really weird not to have his mom around, and Ben missed her. He couldn't help it. Part of him worried he'd done something wrong or failed in some way, but honestly he couldn't have done anything to make this all different....could he? At least he was safe and Dean was a cool guy, who Ben thought cared about what happened to him. That was better than nothing. That was better than foster care or whatever. He'd take it.
At least Dean liked good food, unlike his mom. Even if Sam had to ruin it by griping about veggies sometimes. "All right, cool." Ben responded, not even realizing that he didn't say anything about the trick part. What? He was a kid! As Dean was busy setting things on plates, Ben did have the sense to grab napkins before he sat down. It didn't take the kid long to dig in, grabbing up a couple of fries and taking a few chomps out of them.
And then the worst words in the history of words came out of Dean's mouth. Ben wasn't sure what he'd done to be in trouble, but obviously it had been something. Or maybe this was Dean telling him that he didn't want him around. Either way, Ben froze. He didn't think as he wiped his hands on his pants and stared at the older man. "Okay...." If it wasn't bad why did he have to start it that way, all scary and unsettling. Ben was worried, he couldn't help it. Important, but not bad? Was that possible?
Ben couldn't even think about his food now. It sat there in front of him, forgotten for the moment. The kid was totally focused on the man sitting there with him. What came out of Dean's mouth was much different than what Ben had thought was going to come out. Ben was shocked, though. Could you blame him? That was some hefty news.
Ben had grown up without a dad. He'd always been told he didn't have a dad. His mom didn't know who his dad was, and Ben had pointedly ignored what that meant for the most part. Not that he hadn't wished he had a dad at times. Hell, he had pretty much fantasized about Dean being his dad, but that had been in a situation where y'know he imagined his mom and Dean together. This....this was not what he expected. Ben sat there, a few long moments passing. HE was torn. It was so cool 'cause....Ben had never had a dad before, but at the same time why hadn't anyone known earlier. Why couldn't he have had Dean around all his life?
"You're really my dad?" Ben asked, following it up with, "And why today? How did you not know before? My mom never said you were my dad...." Ben was holding in part of his thoughts, but....this could be the coolest thing ever....maybe...