He'd only run into town for an hour or so, just wanting to pick up a few things from the shops, so when Ben comes home to a locked door, he frowns slightly. He can't recall locking it when he left, but he'd at least had the foresight to bring his keys, which he digs around in his pocket for a moment to find. When he lets himself in, the pair of women's sandals on his mat only confirm his suspicions of company, but instead of being concerned, Ben finds himself smiling.
It's a few moments before she sees him there, leaning against the door-frame, and her cheeks turn pink as she halts her movement, her dress still fluttering slightly until it adjusts to her stillness. "I thought you would be longer," she admits after a pause, peeking up at him from between her eyelashes for a moment before her gaze returns to the floor. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come in when I saw you weren't home." "I don't mind." Ben grins, pushing off from the wall and crossing to the center of the room. He plucks one of the flowers from the vase and she blushes deeper as she watches him move.
"I can change everything back," she mumbles, "To how it was, I mean. If you don't like it." Her cheeks are practically burning red now, and Ben stops in front of her, his movements slower now that they're so close.
Carefully, he places the flower behind her ear and smiles widely at her. "Don't," he reassures her, "I like it. It feels... homey." Lived-in, that's what he really wants to say, but he knows it would sound strange. This has been his home for several years now, ever since he won his Games, but it's never felt like much of a home. It isn't as if he spends much of his time there, anyway.
"And you know I don't mind you coming and going as you please," he reminds her, seeking her gaze with his own as he speaks, "I want you to feel comfortable here; this is practically your place now, too." It's only a moment before he says the words that he realizes how true they are, that she's spending more and more time there, with him, with each passing day.
And he kind of likes it.
