ˡᵒⁿᵉˢᵒᵐᵉ / 𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌𝐒

INTRO.     WANTED.       ©

          skating is certainly one thing that comes naturally to him and it shows in his ease ( even with grace clinging to him ), though he’d also admit that it’s a little odd to be without all his gear and stick — freeing in a different way, like all the family and friend skates. he straightens up a bit, moving slowly backways, working up their momentum gradually — a sharp contrast to the explosive speed he’s capable of, but certainly more appropriate for their setting.     “ try not to lean too far forward when i pull you — then you’ll end up falling on your face. center of gravity — ”     he briefly gestures to her midsection the best he can without upsetting her vice grip.     “ — over the skates. ”     they’re gliding pretty well now, bennett with an occasional glance over his shoulder to make sure they’re not about to run into anyone — luckily, the rink is pretty empty. perks of being a college student, he supposes.     “ all right, we’re coming up on a turn now — you’re doing great, just let the momentum carry you. ”

          a smug look crosses bennett’s face as murphy grabs his wrist against, gone as soon as it appeared and replaced instead with amusement at murphy determining their odds of finding this elusive not-wine basement. that too wavers as he feels one of murphy’s long legs hook around his thighs, his expression finally settling somewhere between smug and fond. any thoughts of properly claiming victory quickly dissipate as murphys leans in once again, their kiss more a tease than proper — a promise. bennett can’t help but delay them a moment longer, pressing back in when murphy draws back for a deeper kiss, one that feels a bit more proper.     “ should we ?? ”     bennett echoes with a straight face when he finally takes his leave, his hand ( the one murphy had moved away ) settling back on the thigh of murphy’s leg keeping him in place — as if he himself hadn’t been the one boxing murphy in only moments earlier. he could muscle his way out of this if he really wanted to, and maybe that’s what murphy wants.     “ okay, let’s find this wine cellar or whatever, but i’m not carrying your ass. ”

          bennett huffs out a laugh, methodically peeling the lids of two creamers and dumping them into the coffee mug, the spoon clinking in a familiar tune as he gives it all a brief stir.     “ oh it’s definitely the fact that bacon grease just gets into everything on the griddle, ”     he says, chin tipping forward a bit to gesture through the window they can see through to the back kitchen.     “ it’s what makes everything taste good — sober or drunk, no matter what time of day. ”     the waiter comes by to take his order ; bennett gets his usual ( bacon, scrambled eggs, homefries with onions, toast ),     “ — oh and a strawberry milkshake when you get the chance. ”    he hasn’t forgotten his end of the bargain either. attention swinging back to sol he gestures at her lyric notebook, bringing his coffee up for a quick sip.     “ maybe you should give it a rest for a while — staring at your lyrics more isn’t going to help with overthinking. ”

          “ so — ”     bennett echoes, grinning as murphy tugs him closer — further banter is tempting ( you want something, zabala ?? ), but not quite attractive enough to him in the moment. sometimes, even with all the patience in the world, there’s no need to stave off the inevitable. he’s getting there, murphy is too — bennett knows that with the same surety when he knows a pass is going to connect.     “ hmmm — you make a good point — ”     his fingers make a show of smoothing over the collar of murphy’s shirt, tracing his collar bone before skimming lower to fist his shirt, tugging gently but firmly, closing the last space between them. he presses a kiss to murphy’s top lip, grinning as he barely pulls back, the hand still on murphy’s thigh resuming its inching upward path.     “ on a scale of one to ten — ”     one finger traces murphy’s fly nonchalantly.     “ — how sure are you about finding this underground passage ?? ”

          bennett’s mouth presses briefly into a somber line, but he doesn’t reply, focuses instead at the task at hand, flipping the bacon as he nods along to merrick’s words to show he’s listening — or at least acknowledging that she’s speaking.      “ you should eat some carbs too — ”     he says, deeming the bacon done enough and scooping it onto a plate and setting it off to the side between the stove and where merrick’s sitting atop the counter. he fully expects her to start munching away at the pieces before the eggs are done — it’s not a diner after all, and bacon is irresistible hot off the griddle. the grease sizzles as bennett cracks a couple eggs into the pan, waits a few moments and then turns down the heat. cooking isn’t really something he excels at beyond the basics, but he likes how mundane it feels — a basic need that everyone engages in.     “ — you staying with grace tonight or headed home after this ?? ”

" as a society we've come pretty far with PLANT BASED foods, let's be real. i just don't think i could function properly without a carbo-load before game days . . . besides, who doesn't love a good chicken parm the night before, right ?? besides, have you see tazer's ass ?? he's gotta be doing something right. no disrespect to the dogg though — 18.5 carots of new bling, so he's gotta be doing something right too . . . even if it's ugly. "

" i mean . . . it's obvious, right ?? i'd get rid of those people who walk in slow moving mobs that just hog the entire sidewalk and don't move outta your way, y'know ?? it's one of my pet peeves, really — and then murphy x2. "

" murphy knows i love him — who's my other best friend ?? . . . — em, is that you ?? just because i left your laundry in the rain doesn't mean i don't like you. "

          hopefully the party’s died down enough that the smell of bacon doesn’t draw out every other drunk and stoned individual from the woodwork — bennett isn’t holding out hope, but he does know that it’s also a pretty big house. he lets the slices do their thing, settling one hand against the counter to support his weight ( hopefully, she likes it crispy — most people do ).     “ designated driver — ”     he says with a vague wave, though it’s without any trace of contempt or gloom for it — truth is, he usually offers. bennett pauses, picking up the spatula again, poking at one of the crisping pieces sizzling again, before he glances back over at the blonde with a rueful smile.     “ — and i’m getting too old to be showing up to practice hungover and sweating beer from every pore. but yeah, ”     cue a good natured laugh.     “ i still had a good time. ”     a very good time actually, but most things with murphy are.     “ how’d’you like your eggs ?? ”

          bennett hums in acknowledgement and a bit in agreement as well. people change a lot — he’s keenly aware of this : that none of them are the same people they were when they graduated high school, from when they started college, and even from the time they were an underclassman. growth is a normal event of life, and bennett likes to think that’s a reassuring thing — than nothing will ever stay as it is ( but sometimes, it’s a little sad too ).     “ it’s ecology, ”     he decides after a few moments.     “ everything intertwined with one another, especially on a campus like this even though we don’t always notice it. ”     he’s still picking at the corner of that shingle and probably should stop. he doesn’t.      “ people watching can be fun — i suppose there’s something satisfying about hearing about other people’s drama and not getting sucked into it in the least. ”     bennett huffs a laugh at that.     “ you could call yourself an anthropologist, though it probably is best that you don’t write your findings down in a book. ”

          “ that’s on you, ”     bennett says lightly, shoulders rising in a shrug — he’s talking about the hazelnut syrup, and then about the cafe suggestion. he likes to think he’s a pretty good cafe connoisseur, especially going into his final year here at sunset hills, but he can’t say that he’s ever been to rainy’s either — too far from the life sciences building and the hockey arena, and even when he’d been dating sadie, she’d had her own haunts where the theatre kids liked to hang out.     “ sounds good to me — ”     he’s not in any particular hurry either, happy to stretch his legs in the nice sunny morning air and avoid having to hunker down and finish that midterm essay he really wants to finish before the next roadtrip.     “ — you gotta lead the way though ‘cause I can’t say I know where that is. ”

BENNETT : aesthetics

          a love of animals was something bennett would never shake — it might have even been his first love, even if hockey was often said to be that ( it’s just a matter of probability, he was around horses will before he could even put on skates ). but though hockey took over a great deal of his time, he was glad he could still find pockets of time for volunteering at the animal shelter, and short dog sitting gigs like the one he had with nasrin and teddy. he’s in her kitchen, prepping teddy’s diner time meal when the door creaks open, something that might be alarming if not for the excited way teddy immediately bounded toward the door. bennett follows a bit more slowly, food bowl in hand and smile on his face as he watches the joyful reunion.     “ someone’s happy to see you — ”      he says, clearly amused.      “ — don’t worry, i’m not offended. ”      if it was anything he loved most about dogs, it was their staunch loyalty to their owners.

          “ i didn’t take you as a fly on the wall type — ”     it’s not meant to be accusatory, not even surprise coloring his voice, more an observation than anything else — a limited observation bennett realizes. they’re friends, by the loose modern definition of the word, but he’s under no illusions that they really know anything about each other. ( and perhaps, even that is not so rare between friends these days either ). besides, everyone needs a moment to get away from everything at one point or another. he cranes his head forward a bit as seraphina points, trying to see past the gutter of the house to get a better view of the walkway below. it’s quiet now, or at least relatively so.     “ — but that doesn’t seem so surprising, does it ?? ”     he settles back, glancing over at seraphina with a shrug.     “ everything seems like a really big deal when you’re nineteen and drunk. ”     he’d definitely seen no shortage of underclassmen when he’d been inside, always almost hilariously standing out from the rest of the crowd. bennett picks at the corner of a shingle with his fingernail,     “ — what’d’you plan on doing with your newfound power ?? ”