Danny frolicked down the main promenade, the strawberry ice cream cone in hand perfectly matching the pink of his hair. Eyes on his phone, Danny stuck out his tongue for a selfie, completely unaware of the curb coming up ahead. As he stepped off the sidewalk, Danny fumbled and the ball of pink toppled off the cone and hit the pavement with a pathetic splat. Danny gasped. “Oh my gods... I’m gonna cry.”
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For Caine, every dreamless night was a blessing. After his sight had evidently moved onto a new host, Caine hoped that his nightmares might leave him too. But just three days after meeting Jacob, Caine once again woke up to the all too familiar alarm of his own screaming. The revelation was disappointing, but Caine knew better than to expect miracles from petty gods.
After a long day of work on Friday running the adoption event and an early morning the day after, Caine just hoped he’d be able to sleep at all. All too often his insomnia would keep him up until the witching hour, sketching terrible ideas into the sides of his clients’ work. Luckily, Hypnos must have taken notice, because when Caine opened his eyes, he was in his own bed, where he was just watching Love is Blind on the couch with Danny a moment ago.
Then, a crash.
Even without his sight, Caine found himself having uncanny “feelings”, stepping aside just as a light fixture came crashing to the ground or waking up just seconds before a loud noise. In this case, a crash from the living room. Caine pulled on the pair of sweats lying on the floor beside the bed—his or Danny’s, he wasn’t sure—and ran to the living room. He flicked on a light, expecting to find some wild animal that had broken into their home. Instead, he saw Ben Ferraro flailing on their couch.
Danny had mentioned to Caine that he invited Ben to come over—that Ben was not feeling well nowadays. But Danny didn’t mention anything about the deep purple bruises that circled Ben’s neck. Caine all but ran over to the sofa, yelling, “Danny!” as went. He dropped to his knees beside Ben. L had taught Caine what to do in case of a seizure, but this looked like something that Caine was more intimately familiar with.
“Ben,” Caine called out, trying to calm the son of Nemesis. “It’s okay.” He ran his hand over Ben’s free arm, trying to get him to stop quaking. “Wake up, Ben. It’s just a dream.” Caine spoke louder now, trying to get through to him. Hearing Ben’s wheezing breaths, Caine pressed his fingers on either side of Ben’s jaw to force his mouth open, but there was no obstruction. Caine pressed a hand to Ben’s forehead. No fever, but he was sweating. “Ben!” Caine yelled. “Ben, wake up, it’s okay!”
Only when they were all the way out of New York City and cruising on the 495 could Danny relax in the driver’s seat. He had put in a lot of effort into learning how to drive without being able to read the street signs. Memorizing the shapes and colors while using Google Maps’ directions definitely helped, but driving in the city where temporary street signs ruled was stressful no matter what. Danny sighed in relief and smiled, keeping his eyes on the road. “So how was Boston, Ben?”
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DATE: Saturday, May 16, 2020
CHARACTERS: Ben, Caine, & Danny
ABOUT: Ben and Caine swap clothes.
The doorbell chimed through Danny and Caine's townhouse. "Cay, can you get the door?" Danny called out from the kitchen. "I'm at the stove." "Yep," Caine replied, already jogging out from their bedroom. Caine took a detour into the kitchen to plant a kiss on Danny's cheek and steal a squeeze of Danny's butt before heading to the front door. "Hey," he greeted with semi-feigned enthusiasm as he opened the door for Ben.
Ben was trying not to feel extremely self-conscious about his clothes or worry about Caine watching his every move with Danny. He took a few deep breaths while he waited for the door to open and managed to return the greeting with the same amount of energy, giving a faint smile. "Hi." Ben stepped inside the apartment and followed Caine into the kitchen, where he spotted Danny cooking. He walked over and placed a hand on his back. "Hey."
Danny turned his head to find Ben. He smiled and sang, "Benny! Hey!" Danny let his head fall onto Ben's shoulder for a moment before stepping away to grab a hand towel. "Sorry, I'm almost done here. But Caine can take you to our room to pick stuff out!" Caine gave a small, "Yep," in confirmation.
Ben swallowed and nodded his head. "Okay, cool." He shifted the bag on his shoulder and turned back to face Caine. "Lead the way."
Caine nodded and pointed in the direction of the hall before starting toward the bedroom. "I asked Danny how you normally dress and he said that we have some similar clothes, so hopefully neither of us will look too ridiculous."
"Yeah, I really just wear... mostly black. I just brought some band tees," Ben said as he fell into step with Caine. "Who is Danny swapping with?"
"You know Pascal? The hot surfer dude?" As they arrived to the bedroom, Caine took a seat on his bed. "I told Danny that means he's gotta go shirtless, but I don't think he's gonna. My drawers are the top two, you can take whatever you want." He gestured to the dark wooden dresser against the wall.
Ben nodded. If he remembered correctly, Danny used to have a crush on that guy, but he kept that to himself. He put the bag down on the bed next to Caine and pulled out shirts and a chain necklace. "Same, whatever of these you like, if you pick the MCR one people will probably be able to guess it's me, though." He walked over to the drawers and pulled one open. He didn't want to drag this out so he grabbed the first shirt he saw.
"Oh yeah, but MCR is dope though." He lifted the shirt to give it a look over. It would probably fit tight on him, but Caine figured he'd just drink enough that he wouldn't care. "What's your favorite MCR song?"
Ben unfolded the shirt after he closed the drawer and only now noticed that there were no sleeves. "Um, Disenchanted, Thank You For the Venom, Cemetery Drive, House of Wolves, I Don't Love You..." He smiled a little. "Sorry, I'm bad at picking one."
"Nah, those are solid choices. I was definitely a Teenagers or I Don't Love You kid." Caine gestured to the hallway. "Bathroom's right next door if you wanna change in there."
Ben nodded and headed into the bathroom. He pulled his shirt over his head and replaced it with Caine's. His arms were completely exposed, and he felt his discomfort already mounting. When he walked back out, he met Caine again near the bedroom. "Um, would you mind if I borrowed a jacket, too?"
Caine changed while Ben was in the bathroom. He left his own jeans and boots on, figuring that it looked similar enough anyway. "Yeah, sure." Caine pointed back out toward the living room. "Coat closet's back out by the living room. Mine are on the right. You'll be able to tell."
Ben smiled again. "I don't doubt that, yeah." He shoved the rest of his shirts back into his bag and stepped back out of the bedroom. "Um," he started, trying to maintain a halfway decent conversation with Caine, "you excited for their reunion?" he asked, gesturing to the MCR shirt.
"Does a cow shit in a field? Hell yeah, I'm excited." Caine started back down the hallway toward the living room. "You going to any of the shows?"
Ben sighed wistfully. "Nah, I was at work when the tickets dropped and they were sold out before I could check. I probably couldn't afford it anyway. But," he shrugged, "I dunno. They're my favorite band so them being back together is really all I care about."
"Yeah, hey—maybe they'll release an album." Caine pointed toward the closet as they stepped back into the living room. "Take whatever you want." "Cay, can you move that towel for me?" Danny asked as he brought a hot dish over to the dining table. "Oh, yeah." Caine snatched away a stray towel that was sitting in the center of the table. "Thanks, booboo."
Ben opened the closet— Caine was absolutely right, he could clearly see which jackets belonged to who— and picked out a leather jacket. He slid it on and picked up his bag again before trailing after Caine. "Can I help at all?" he asked.
"Sure!" Danny said as he turned back to the counter. "There's some beer and cider in the fridge, can you put a Downeast on the table for me, and then you can take whatever you want for yourself."
Ben hung his bag over the back of one of the chairs and looked to Caine. "Do you want anything?" he asked as he headed into the kitchen.
Caine nodded. "Sure, grab me an IPA?" Danny returned to the table with a big bowl of tortilla chips and clapped. "Dinner's ready! We're having chili bowls because... Why not? I had a lot of bell peppers," he confessed.
Ben grabbed everyone's drinks and placed them down on the table. "Looks great," he said to Danny as he handed over the cider. He passed Caine the IPA and then opened his own, but didn't drink yet.
DATE: Thursday, May 7, 2020
CHARACTERS: Ben and Danny
ABOUT: A birthday dinner date. Ben's sappy, Danny’s happy.
Danny sat on the front steps of the farmhouse. Under the warm glow of the porch light, his pink shirt looked orange. Danny nodded along to the gentle Bossa nova music playing from the living room. "Benny!" He smiled, seeing his friend come down the road. Danny stood and stepped off the porch to greet him. "Can I hug you now? Is it safe?"
Ben smiled at Danny once his friend came into view. He looked past Danny's shoulder and took in the facade of the farmhouse, then turned his attention back when he was spoken to. "Yeah," he laughed, lifting his arms to welcome the embrace, "it's safe. Just don't squeeze me too hard."
"No promises," Danny chirped before stepping in to hug Ben. He didn't squeeze too hard, but Danny pressed close, letting his head rest on Ben's shoulder for a while. "Happy not-birthday."
Ben did the same, lingering in Danny's arms. "Happy not-birthday," he said. "Thanks for arranging this."
"Of course," Danny replied. He gave Ben's cheek a peck then pulled away to head back toward the porch. "Have you been in the farmhouse before?"
"Uh, no, I haven't," he said, following Danny up the steps. He glanced around again. "It looks nice."
"Thank you! It used to be so dusty and gross, I've actually been cleaning and redecorating it for this idea I have." Danny stepped inside and waited by the door for Ben to come in.
The house was old and small, but had a quaint charm. The floor was a mix of carpeting and old wooden floors that creaked underfoot. The floors and ceiling weren't perfectly level in every spot, but it gave the house a cozy, lived-in feel. The walls were adorned with carved detailing, but they were painted white in an old-fashioned kind of tacky way. Each room had a big archway opening up into the next. Danny and Ben stood in an empty space, where a living room or parlor might have been. One room away stood a dark wooden table decorated with candles and two place settings. In the corner of the room, an old record player crackled with Bossa Nova.
"Sorry, it's a little empty right now. I haven't finished putting everything up yet," Danny explained sheepishly.
Ben walked through the doorway and blinked at the sight before him. "You cleaned this whole place up? By yourself?" He moved further inside, gravitating toward the wall to look at the detailing, the floor creaking under his shoes. "It looks great in here so far. What's the idea?"
"Yeah, but I've been doing it for weeks," Danny explained as he shut the front door. "This used to be an office space, but my idea is to turn it into a dining space. We'll have a chef design a menu based on the farm's produce that's in season and then people can buy seats for a nice prix-fixe dinner. They can meet the chef, meet me and Elaine, learn about what they're eating. It'll be like a farm-to-table experience. With wine," Danny added with a laugh. "Of course."
Ben had no idea what a prix-fixe dinner meant, but he didn't bother with asking right now. He turned back to face Danny during the explanation, a warm smile spreading across his face. "That sounds amazing, Danny," he said, walking over to him once again. "It's... really cool. I'm sure it's going to be incredible."
"Well, I really hope so," Danny started, a sly smile on his face. He skipped into the dining room for a moment to grab something off the table, then hopped back into the living room and continued, "Because you're my first guest." Danny held out a menu, handwritten on a flower-pressed piece of paper.
Ben's mouth fell open, and he breathed out a laugh. "Seriously?" He held the menu carefully, reading it over, and then looked back up at his friend. His smile was still there despite a slight pressure in his chest. "I'm honored." He looked back at the menu. "This is the uh, best not-birthday gift I've ever gotten."
Danny clasped his hands over his heart. "You haven't even tasted the food yet! This could still end up being mediocre," Danny laughed. He gestured toward the dining table. "If you wouldn't mind taking a seat. I'm kind of on double duty as both your server and your date tonight. Or triple, if you count the chef too."
Ben walked over to the table and slid into his chair. He shook his head, following Danny around the room with his gaze. "I feel like this shouldn't be a joint birthday if you're doing all the work."
Danny laughed as he went to go pick a big serving plate off the kitchen counter. "Don't think of it like that. I really love to do this. This is me spending time with you doing what I love," Danny explained. He set the plate down on the dining table and took his seat opposite Ben. "Okay, this is the goat cheese crostini with rhubarb chutney. I made the bread and chutney, and the cheese is from our goats!"
He still thought he should be doing something besides show up, but he didn't want to argue the issue. If Danny was happy, so was Ben. Once the food was presented, he waited for a moment before he realized Danny wanted to get his reaction first. Ben picked up one of the slices of bread and took a bite. It tasted unlike anything he'd tried before. Ben pressed a finger to the corner of his mouth to catch any crumbs. "That's so good."
Danny beamed, pressing his hands to his cheeks. "Thank you!" He shook his shoulders a bit before digging into one himself. Danny smiled as he tasted his creation. Ben was right—it was so good. When he finished chewing, Danny remembered, "Oh! How did the other night go with you and Caine?"
Ben took another bite before answering. He put the crostini down onto his plate as he swallowed. "Uh, I think it went pretty well. We talked about the band. He said that he was going to get everyone together to play some songs. See if I fit the vibe." He shrugged, smiling a bit. "So I guess we'll see what happens there."
"That's great!" Danny cheered. "Oh man. There's no way you're not just gonna blow them all away. I'm so excited." Danny shoved the other half of his crostini in his mouth in one big bite then dusted his fingers off on the napkin beside his plate. Once Danny had swallowed down some of his food, he added, "Caine said he had a really good time too. He thinks you're 'pleasant and sensitive,'" Danny snorted. "His words."
Under Danny's encouragement, Ben's smile grew some, and he glanced back down at his plate and picked up his food again. He was mid bite as he listened to Caine's version of events; he felt his stomach clench for just a moment but didn't otherwise indicate that he was surprised. Ben nodded as he swallowed. "That's nice of him," he said, chuckling. "Caine is... really cool. I like him a lot."
"Oh my gods, that makes me so happy," Danny admitted. "I love you both so much, that's just..." Danny shook his shoulders in excitement. Danny picked up another crostini and nudged the last remaining one towards Ben. "That one's yours."
His first crostini wasn't finished yet but Ben took the last one anyway and put it down on his plate. "Thanks." He picked up the first again but didn't take a bite yet. "But, yeah, I'm sorry I didn't try to befriend him sooner. Hopefully things with the band work out and we can get to know each other better."
"I'm sure everything will work out," Danny assured him. "He took a huge bite of the crostini before dusting his hands on his napkin again and getting up. "Mm!" Danny strolled back into the kitchen. "Let me get the entrée ready," he said, still chewing. "Sorry, am I rushing you? Am I moving too fast? Tell me if I am."
Ben finished the first crostini as Danny replied. He watched his friend get up, and shook his head. "Nah," he answered, raising his voice slightly so Danny could hear him from his place in the kitchen. "You're moving at a normal pace, I just eat really slow."
Danny pulled the oven open and the smell of roasted vegetables and fish wafted out. "Oh my gods, not to ring my own bell here but do you smell that?" Danny glanced back at Ben, beaming. "Ah! It smells so good." He grabbed a mitt to pull the dish out of the oven and set it down on the stovetop. While Danny started plating two large dishes he had prepared on the counter, he called out to Ben, "So, no pressure if you've already told this story a million times, but I'd love to hear more about what happened in Canada." He glanced back. "Once I'm sitting down."
"Yeah, we can," he said. After a moment, he tentatively stood, keeping a hand on the back of his chair. "Can I help at all?"
"If you could move the plates aside! I'm gonna put these dishes down in just a sec." Danny laid the vegetables and fish down gently on the dishes, trying to create some sort of interesting form. Once he was satisfied, he returned to the table holding one in each hand. "This one is for you," he said, setting Ben's down. "It's a slow-cooked salmon with turnips and swiss chard. Everything is from this farm except for the salmon because..." Danny shrugged as he took his seat. "Because salmon don't live here," he laughed.
Right away, he did as he was asked, moving the plates for their crostini's to the side of the table. He bit into his appetizer while he did this so it wouldn't go to waste as Danny brought the main course in. Ben slid into the seat again and admired the plate. "Understandable," he said with a small smile. "You're right, it smells amazing." Ben picked up his fork. "Um, what have I told you about Canada already?"
"Um..." Danny tried to recount everything he remembered. "That there was a hag messing with your dreams in a place called Bonavista. There was a lighthouse. And Nemesis cursed a man through you." Danny furrowed his brows. "I think that's all you told me."
"Okay." Ben nodded. "That's... basically the gist of it." He cut a piece of salmon off as he talked. "There was a man who summoned the hag to terrorize this town, and then he swooped in like he was their savior. Bought up a bunch of their land and businesses so he could profit off of it. So, we had to stop him, and kill the hag." He ran his tongue along his teeth. "He kinda figured out we were there, which is why I came back looking, uh, like that." He tried to smile sheepishly, even though he knew Danny wouldn't find it funny at all. "I dunno, the people were nice, but their accent is impossible to understand."
Danny nodded as Ben recounted the tale. He felt the urge to frown thinking of Ben being in any kind of danger, but instead, Danny chose to smile. He leaned forward to clasp a hand on Ben's shoulder. "That's... Insane and terrifying and wild, and I am so, so happy you saved all those people and came back to tell me about it. Even looking the way you did," he joked.(edited)
Ben laughed sheepishly. He hadn't really thought about what happened as especially heroic, so it was weird to hear Danny say that he'd saved people. He made himself look Danny in the eye. "I'm glad, too." He needed to look down so he focused on the food in front of him. "Like... very glad." He lifted a piece of the salmon to his mouth.
Hearing Ben confess that he was glad to be back, Danny found that he didn't have to try as hard to wear a smile. He relaxed and sat back as Ben took a bite of the salmon, then picked up his fork to do the same. "Bon appétit," he chirped before digging in.
For a long time, Ben found it difficult to fully relax around Danny. No matter how hard he tried, or what they were doing, there was always a knot of tension in Ben's stomach, a constant pressure of guilt. It made him hold Danny at a distance, keep their conversation surface-level most of the time. Even now he felt it, like a habit that he couldn't shake, but he thought he sensed something shift in the air around them. His shoulders released just a touch. Ben swallowed his first bite of food and took a deep breath. "Um, I want to thank you," he said, bringing his gaze back up to meet Danny's. "I was... Having a really hard time, the first few days we were traveling. I thought what we were doing was impossible and... Um, I was just struggling a lot. And after we talked it just," he swallowed, "it reminded me I had, a lot to come back to."
Danny glanced up at Ben as he broke the silence of their eating. His words sent a rush of warmth through Danny's chest and a smile started to blossom on his face. "Benny..." Danny stood and walked behind Ben's chair so he could lean down to give him another hug. Danny leaned his head against Ben's, arms wrapped tight around Ben's shoulders. "I know I say that I Iove you a lot but I mean it every time."
Ben pressed back against the chair, lifting his hands to grasp Danny's arms as they wrapped around him. "I know you do," he said. "And I feel really lucky every time."
Danny savored Ben's embrace for a few more moments before turning his head to lay a kiss on Ben's cheek. "Love you, Benny." Then, Danny returned to his seat, still smiling all the while.
A weight slid off of his chest, and it was easier to match Danny's smile, though it felt as though Ben's heart was rising up into his throat. "I love you, too. And uh," he shifted in his seat, "while we're doing this, I also want to properly apologize for not... For keeping you in the dark. I swear I won't keep bringing it up every time we're together, I just feel like I haven't actually said yet that I was, um, I was wrong to not tell you for so long. And I’m sorry.”
Danny's smile fell a bit as he realized what Ben meant. For a moment, he stayed silent. The smile on his face was tense, not quite reaching his eyes. Then after a moment, Danny sighed and clasped a hand over Ben's. "Thank you."
Ben watched his friend's face carefully, his brow furrowing. "Am I upsetting you? We can change the subject. Your cooking is incredible."
Danny laughed softly. "No, you're not upsetting me. It's just... You know. Bitter subject. But I really do appreciate your apology. And I'm really glad you like my cooking," Danny appended with a smile.
Ben squeezed the hand Danny had placed over his. "I always like your cooking," he said. "I kept tasting your food when I was taking ambrosia last week."
Danny gasped. "Ben, stop! Oh my gods, my heart." Danny's smile grew from ear to ear. He looked like he might cry. "That might be the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me."
His smile wasn't as huge, but Ben matched Danny's expression again. "I mean it. You're... great. Just, overall amazing." Ben ran his other hand down his face, laughing a bit. "Um, and I guess I'm very sappy tonight."
"I love it," Danny assured him. "I feel like I never get to see sappy Ben. In fact, you could tell me that this was my birthday present, just you feeling all this love, and I'd take it." Danny was bouncing with joy. "Ah, okay—" He sprang up from his seat to hug Ben once again, squeezing him for just a moment, then sat back down. "Sorry. Couldn't help myself."
There seemed to be another shift between them, or maybe just inside Ben, and he felt himself relax a little more. Ben chuckled as Danny slipped back into his chair again. "Don't apologize. I love it, too." He sighed. "I love you." Ben finally remembered there was food in front of him and picked up his fork. "Let's eat before your cooking gets cold."
"Yes! But before we do that—" Danny stood up once again to run into the kitchen. He returned with a bottle of oak-aged Chardonnay and a bottle opener. Danny set the bottle down and made a bit of a show popping out the cork. Then, with one hand behind his back, Danny poured a bit of the wine into Ben's glass. "If you wouldn't mind, sir."
Ben laughed, holding his glass out for Danny to pour. He swallowed the little bit of wine and paused for dramatic effect. "Excellent choice..." He trailed off, smirking. "Is that what you say? I'll take it."
"Perfect!" Danny gave Ben a more generous pour then matched his own glass. As he sat down, Danny explained, "I'm actually not gonna do that for the patrons because we don't have other wines for them to drink if they send it back. But I just wanted to be able to do it at least once, so thank you for humoring me."
"You can do it for me whenever we eat together, I promise I'll never send it back," Ben said, holding his glass out to clink against Danny's.
Danny tapped his glass against Ben's. "To our birthdays."
"To our birthdays," Ben echoed. Once they'd gotten through dinner, Ben helped clear the dishes from the table and brought them into the kitchen. Danny instructed him to sit back down so he could present dessert. Ben did as he was told and went back to his seat, finishing off the last of his wine while he waited.
Once everything was cleaned away from the main course, Danny got to plating their desserts—two perfectly round scoops of pink ice cream in small, handcrafted dishes. "Okay," Danny announced as he came back into the dining room. "I have to be honest, I didn't make this one entirely myself. I got some help from the ice cream shop downtown." Danny set down a dish in front of each of them. "This is strawberry honey balsamic with black pepper ice cream. And I promise it tastes better than it sounds!"
Ben's brow furrowed when Danny announced the flavor of the ice cream sitting in front of him. "Okay," he said as he picked up his spoon. "I trust you." He scooped up a small spoonful and placed it in his mouth. His brow furrowed again as he assessed the flavor. "Interesting. Definitely tastes better than it sounds."
Danny took a bite and hummed in approval. He wiped his mouth with a napkin then muttered, "Can I tell you a secret?"
Ben scooped up another spoonful and leaned a little further over the table. "Of course."
"I actually just got these recipes online," Danny admitted sheepishly. "I guess I've been so caught up in the logistics that I haven't actually thought about the food." He laughed as he stuck the spoon back into the ice cream for another big bite.
Ben didn't understand what the issue was right away, but once it clicked he shook his head. "Oh, well that ruins everything." Ben laughed. "You've done a lot all by yourself, you're allowed to not have it all figured out yet."
Danny shrugged. "I guess so yeah." He took a bite of his ice cream and swallowed it all down in one go. "I think I might hire a chef, though. I like to cook, but I'm not a chef. There's gotta be someone in New Athens who has better ideas than me. Someone who can really look at all the produce we have on any given day and just... Create something magical."
While Danny spoke, Ben let another scoop of ice cream melt in his mouth. His brow furrowed, and he gave a small shrug. "You could do that," he said. He remembered how casually certain Danny had been of him, and he wanted to try to extend the same feeling to his friend. It helped that he didn't think he knew a better cook. "I don't know, you already know you're good, but I think you're even better than you give yourself credit for."
Danny smiled. "That's really sweet. Thanks, Benny." He took another bite of the ice cream, letting himself appreciate all the different flavors in his mouth.
Ben chuckled. "I try. But no, really, I mean it. I can even be a taste tester for dishes you come up with."
Danny laughed. "I think I need to focus on finishing this house before I start coming up with dishes."
"Well, do you want any help?" Ben broke the ice cream into smaller sections with his spoon. "With the house. I have no job right now, so I can. I mean, hopefully this won't be true for long but, yeah, I have plenty of time."
"Maybe!" Danny perked up at the thought of finishing the project with Ben. "Technically, I can't let you help me because then we'd have to pay you as a laborer, but—" Danny paused. "Oh... Maybe we can pay you as a laborer!"
Ben's eyebrows rose. "Oh, I mean, I don't know, would that be weird?"
"Why would that be weird?" Danny asked, smiling. He took another big bite of ice cream.
"Um," Ben shook his head. "It wouldn't be, I don't know why I said that." He paused, then laughed a little to himself. "I am definitely doing weirder things. Um, that would be nice, if it worked out."
Danny swallowed down the ice cream. "This has been my plan all along. First, I get you to join Caine's band, then I get you to come work with me. Soon we'll be living together," Danny teased.
Ben laughed. "I'm not complaining. Though I might have to split my nights between you and Jacob, if only for our cat."
"Oh my gods, you guys adopted a cat? That's so cute! Was it from the fair? You guys are like two dads!" Danny squealed in delight. "Sorry—platonic dads."
Danny was correct with platonic dads but still Ben found his face flushing and a smile pulling at his mouth. "Um, yeah, we— from the fair. His name is Frank and he's blind and he beeps when he approaches you. It's very cute." He took another bite of ice cream.
"Oh my gods!" Danny clapped both hands to his cheeks. "That's so precious! And—is he both of yours? Like, I guess you guys are gonna be living together for a while if you have joint custody?"
"That's the plan, yeah." Ben felt his stomach flip and he looked away. "Um, I actually wanted to tell you something else, too." Ben wrinkled his nose, then turned his face back to Danny. "I... really like Jacob."
"Aw, that's great!" Danny held a hand over his heart. "I'm so happy that you're finding people that you care about. Especially since you guys are living together." He took another big bite of ice cream.
Ben laughed again. "Yeah, but, I mean... Uh." He shifted in his chair and leaned forward, failing at eye contact and staring at Danny's bowl of ice cream instead. Ben took a deep breath. "I think I kind of, have a... crush... on him."
"Oh!" Danny felt the ice cream make a sudden swerve into the wrong pipe and he started coughing. He banged his chest with his fist, coughing into his other arm. "Sorry—" Danny stood up and walked over to the kitchen to grab a paper towel to cough into. "Oh my—my—" Cough. "My gods!" Danny took a sip of water from the faucet and finally got his breath back. He turned to Ben, out of breath and jaw dropped. "Ben! What!" Danny squealed.
The enormity of Danny's reaction made Ben go fully red in the face. He sat back in his seat and pressed his hands to his face, pulling them back to interlock behind his neck. "Um," he turned toward Danny, giving him a sheepish smile, "yeah. I don't know. We—" He ducked his head again. "Um. Yeah."
Danny clasped his hands over his mouth. He tried not to show how excited he was, but the corners of his smile poked out from behind his hands anyway. "Ben! How? Tell me more!" Danny jogged back over to his seat so he could listen more intently.
"I don't know, I—" He put his face in his hands again, then lowered them so he could focus on Danny as he spoke. "I think? I have for a while." His chest tightened with this confession, but he kept going. "But I didn't realize until I got back when we," Ben breathed out a laugh, "hooked up?"
Danny tried and failed not to gasp audibly. He covered his enormous smile with both hands. "Benny. Benny!"
"Danny." Ben laughed again. It actually felt really good to say all of this. "I pulled away in the middle of a kiss and said I think I'm straight? It was mortifying."
Danny laughed and dropped his hands on the table. "Ben! Oh my gods!" He couldn't help squealing again. "I mean—what did he say? How did he take it? I assume it must have gone well based on the smile on your face right now!"
"He laughed at me and said I could think about it later, and," Ben shrugged, "I agreed. So... yeah. Uh. That... happened."
Danny leaned forward, completely overcome with glee. "Ben. That is... I am... Ah! I have no words. That is so cute and I'm so happy that you've found somebody you feel that way about!"
Ben couldn't help but be infected by Danny's happiness. He looked to the side, grinning. "I don't think anything is gonna happen, honestly. But that's... It's fine, because I'm..." He inhaled and exhaled slowly, collecting himself. "I don't know, Danny, I was so shocked when it happened. But now I'm looking back on some old friends of mine and feeling... really stupid for not realizing? Ugh."
"No, don't feel stupid!" Danny reached out to place a hand on Ben's shoulder. "We all figure things out at different paces! It's just so wonderful that you're letting yourself feel all the things now. And I'm so, so happy that you're sharing this with me." Danny gave Ben's shoulder a squeeze.
Ben lifted his hand and reached across his chest to place his palm over Danny's grip on his shoulder. "Of course. I couldn't not tell you."
Danny sighed and shook his head. "Okay. Sorry. It's happening again." Danny stood up and gestured for Ben to do the same. He held his arms out wide, ready to receive Ben in an embrace.
"I saw that coming," Ben teased as he got up from the table. He closed the space between him and Danny and wrapped his arms around his friend.
Danny smiled at Ben's retort as he took him in a tight embrace. Danny rested his head against Ben's as they swayed gently side to side. "I am so, so happy for you Benny. Seriously. Not just about this, but about everything."
A month ago, the landscape of his world was so different it almost felt unreal. It was not the first time that life seemed to show him all at once many reasons why it was worth holding on to, but it was probably the first time Ben believed it so easily. Maybe it was naive of him, too soon to say, but he didn't care. Ben sank into the embrace, holding Danny as close as possible. "I'm happy, too," he mumbled.
Danny pressed his lips together. "Okay... I have to tell you something and you might hate me a little bit for it," he confessed.
"Oh gods," Ben said into Danny's shirt. He wasn't ready to leave the hug just yet. "What is it?"
Still holding onto Ben and swaying, Danny bit into his smile. "I... Got you a present."
"Danny..." Ben groaned. "You made me dinner!"
"I know, I know! But I actually got this before I even had this idea, so..." Danny trailed off. "Think of it like a coming-back-home present!"(edited)
Ben sighed, pressing his forehead against Danny's shoulder. "Alright. Fine."
Danny gave Ben another squeeze, singing out, "I love you!" After a moment, he let go and waddled out of the dining room to get something from the living. "Okay," he called out from the other room. "Close your eyes!"
Ben heaved a loud sigh and shoved his hands into his pockets as he closed his eyes. He then pulled his hands back out of his pockets in case Danny wanted to put something in them. "Okay."
"I thought about wrapping them, but I didn't wanna create unnecessary waste," Danny explained as he came back into the dining room. He laid out Ben's present—an embossed leather guitar strap—on his hands. "Okay, open your eyes.”
He did as he was instructed and blinked down at the gift. The leather was pressed with a design of leaves and flowers, and on one end was a small square featuring his initials. Ben ran his thumb over the grooves. "Wow," he said quietly, at a bit of a loss for words. "Wow, I— thank you, Danny."
"Don't mention it. I, uh... I thought it'd be a nice reminder that you've always got someone who believes in you, even if you don't. That will always be yours." He gestured at the initials embossed onto the leather. "Music will always be yours. And now nobody can deny it." Danny smiled. "Not even you."
Ben pressed his lips together as he smiled down at the guitar strap. "Um, jeez, okay, I— thank you, Danny. You always know how to pick these." He held the strap to his chest and pulled Danny in for another hug with one arm. "I love it, I'm putting this on my guitar as soon as I get home."
Danny smiled and stepped in to hug Ben. "Love you, Benny." He turned to plant a kiss on Ben's cheek.
Instead of replying, Ben turned his head to kiss Danny on the cheek as well. "I had a present planned, too," Ben said as he pulled back slightly, his hand still resting on Danny's shoulder. "But it was live music. And I don't have my guitar right now so, rain check."
Danny's expression perked up. "Oh my gods, were you gonna play me a song? I might cry."
Ben laughed. "Not that I planned for it, but that doesn't completely surprise me." He smiled and squeezed Danny's shoulder.
Danny laughed. "Oh my gods, wait—" He brought a hand up to his eyes and felt a tear roll off onto his finger. "Oh my gods, I'm already crying." Danny laughed again and wiped his eyes dry. "Ben! What are you doing to me!"
"I'm not doing anything, I swear," Ben said. "I'm just," he shrugged, "feeling good. And, sappy, still. Maybe that's it."
Danny gave Ben's shoulder one more squeeze before sitting down. "I love it. I love you!" He sat down and took a big sip of his wine before turning his attention back to his ice cream. "Oh my gods, this is melted already," he laughed.
