#fox bennett

"Give it to me straight, Ram," Fox said, coming up behind Ramsay Cole and placing their hand on his shoulder. Fox was about a half a foot shorter than him, stocky and muscular as opposed to Ramsay's lean, lanky, and graceful build.

"Mm, you sure you want me to be straight?" Ramsay teased, already anticipating whatever wild shit Fox Bennett was about to say.

"Do you think Ian Malcolm is hot?"

"I think Ian Malcolm is old enough to be your dad," Ramsay said with a laugh.

"Exactly! He's a dilf. A silver… Never mind."

"A silver fox?"

"There can only be one Fox here," the scientist said with a grin.

"Were you even listening to what he said during that lecture?" The head of communications asked, casually wrapping an arm around Fox.

"Sure, he said we were the future." There were practically stars in Fox's gray eyes.

"No, he said the future was fucked. And he implied that it was our faults."

"Well that's rude. He's still hot though. Do you think his hair would be soft or do you think he uses product?"

"Based on the way he smells, he uses at least enough hair gel to drown a raptor."

"You've gotten close enough to smell him? Dude. Jealous. Every time I think about getting him to sign my copy of his book I get nervous and chicken out."

"I thought you were a Fox, not a chicken."

"That was a fowl joke."

"Didn't mean to ruffle your feathers. Anyway, Dr. Malcolm's not that intimidating. And he's not that smart, either. He's just a nihilist with some pizzazz."

"Have you read his book though?"

"Yeah. He's smart but it's all just words. Change comes from action. The future is fucked, thanks for telling us, Malcolm. Now what are we going to do about it?"

Fox paused in their steps, "What are we going to do about it?"

"Step one? No more hero worship. Malcolm is not an idol and Dodgson is not a god."

"What about Wu?"

"Who?"

"Dr. Henry Wu. He's the lead geneticist, I work under him."

"If he can get us out of the mess he caused then he would be a hero, but I still wouldn't worship him."

"Seems kind of cynical, Ram."

"Gentleman," Dodgson appeared before them like a spectre, "Is there a problem?"

Ramsay didn't like to argue with his boss, he didn't want to give away his less than favorable opinion about Biosyn, but some things he wouldn't just overlook, even if his coworkers would.

"Well there is a bit of a problem," Ramsay started, as Fox began to nervously fidget with their glasses, knowing where this was going, "You see my colleague here is not a gentleman, they're nonbinary, so I'd expect you to address them appropriately.

Dodgson blinked and glances at Fox's name tag.

"Of course, Dr. Bennett. My apologies."

"It's really not a problem, sir. It happens all the time."

"It shouldn't," Ramsay muttered under his breath.

"Well, I'll get it right next time."

"Thank you, sir." When Dodgson was out of earshot Fox turned on Ramsay.

"What did you do that for?"

"I'm not going to stand back and let someone misgender the only person here that I actually like," Ramsay said, reaching out and cupping Fox's cheek.

Fox blushed hard, "I appreciate it, Ram, but it's embarrassing when people make a big deal of it."

"I'll be subtler next time," Ramsay promised, subtly pushing Fox against the nearest wall and leaning down to kiss them.

Fox kissed back passionately, not caring about the security tapes or their coworkers or the fucked up future. It was hard to focus on the future when you were living in a perfect moment.

Ramsay ran his hand through Fox's short, caramel colored hair and Fox clasped Ramsay's shirt. One of the buttons came undone when Ramsay eventually pulled away. Ramsay glanced down at it and laughed.

"If you wanted to undress me you could have waited until we were in private."

Fox grinned a shit-eating grin at Ramsay, "There'll be time for that later."

"All the time in the world. But I've got to get going, we have some important guests coming to visit Biosyn. And I have a feeling you've got work to do, too."

"Right, gotta fix the future."

"Somebody has to. Be careful, okay?"

"Okay."

"You're one of the only people I really trust here, so please… Just stay sharp."

"That's what I do. See you later, Ram.

A thousand thoughts were running through Ramsay's mind, least of all was whether or not Ian Malcolm was in fact attractive. But he'd had a lot of time to contemplate that question, sitting in the waiting room with a bundle of roses and a signed copy of Dr. Malcolm's book, made out "To The Incredible, Resilient Dr. Fox Bennett."

It was the least he could do, to get the book signed, considering what Fox had been through.

Hell. It must have been hell, all alone, trying to stay safe and in the end getting mauled by a dinosaur anyway, despite their best efforts. Ramsay wanted to cry. He was aware that Fox was in stable condition after multiple necessary surgeries. More than anything in the world he just wanted to see them, but still, he continued to wait.

"Mr. Cole? The patient is awake and asking for you."

Ramsay let out the breath he'd been holding, his eyes beginning to sting. Fox had just gone through hell and the first thing they thought to do was ask for him. That meant a lot to him, more than words could say. Still, he was worried as he made his way down the corridor to Fox's room.

"Hi, love," he said quietly, barely containing a sob. Fox looked so fragile, slightly sitting up on the hospital bed. There were stitches and bandages and an IV, and their eyes looked a little distant, either due to the pain medicine or the trauma of it all.

"Hi, baby."

Ramsay was always weak when Fox called him baby, but this time it left him feeling worse for wear.

"Foxy, I'm so sorry," suddenly words were streaming from his mouth, "I should have been there for you, I shouldn't have left you alone… I knew things were going down and I didn't protect you." Now Ramsay openly sobbed, but Fox wasn't crying. Fox didn't even seem angry.

"Baby, you didn't do anything wrong. You did what you had to do, you're a hero."

"I let you get hurt," Ramsay protested.

"But I'm gonna heal. Look, Ram, most of the surgery was reconstructive…"

Ram cringed, wracked with guilt.

"Which means," Fox continued, "I'm not gonna end up paying a dime of what ended up being an impromptu hysterectomy and top surgery."

Fox offered Ramsay a weak smile and Ramsay's mouth fell open, stunned.

"Wait, really?"

"Mm yeah apparently they don't make you keep your uterus if it gets mauled by dinosaurs."

Ramsay laughed out of shock.

"Well, at least something worked out for you…"

"Biosyn also owes me like a shit ton of money which means I'm paying for our next date."

"How are you so calm, after everything?"

"I love dinosaurs, I work with dinosaurs, I was prepared for the eventuality that I'd get mauled by dinosaurs."

"That doesn't make me feel better," Ramsay admitted.

"How about this? I knew the world was fucked, so I knew that fucked up things were going to happen. And I knew that I had to stick around long enough to fix the world with you. So I wasn't afraid of dying. I knew I'd see you again."

Ramsay forced a smile, "I really love you, I hope you know that."

"I do. I do know that. I love you too, Ram."

"I got you something." Only now did Ramsay think to present the roses and the book.

"I got Ian to sign the book for you."

Fox's eyes widened.

"Really? That's amazing, Ram, thank you so much."

Ramsay was blown away by Fox's persistent enthusiasm. Even when things were hard or bad they seemed so willing to believe that things would get better, so ready to work towards making that belief a reality. And so content to enjoy the moment.

"Hey," Ram said suddenly.

"Yeah?"

"I still feel like I should have been with you when all this was going down, but now that I'm here, I don't want to lose you."

"You won't," Fox immediately promised.

"I know, love, but… What I mean is… Do you want to move in with me? We could get a nice place with the Biosyn money and begin making the world a better place, together." It was Ramsay's way of insuring that next time something happened, he'd get the chance to protect Fox. And in all the moments in between that imaginary next time, they'd just get to enjoy being together, which was also nice.

"I'd love to, Ram." It was hard to tell with all the bandages and medical equipment, but Ramsay suspected his significant other was blushing.

"No more stealing moments at Biosyn," Ram said firmly, "I want the whole world to know that you're the one I love."