A/N: I had this horrible urge to finally post something. This story has been lurking, half-finished, on my computer for quite a while, and there is still that line-break I'm not happy with, but uni is really blocking my brain right now, and I decided it's better for my peace of mind to just post this. Plus, there's always time for revisions later.
Hope you enjoy it ;)
Disclaimer: Not mine, same as always. Merde.
Floats Ton Bâteau
Neil's flat was suspiciously tidy. So tidy in fact, that Ben was not going to be opening any cupboards today for fear of having a medium sized mountain of hidden stuff dumped on him, he mused as he ran his index finger over the backs of the DVDs on the shelf next to the TV, lingering every now and then, recalling his favourite scenes from a particular film or pulling one out just far enough to read the synopsis. Neil, meanwhile, was rummaging around in the kitchen, fixing pizza, crisps and drinks, and humming the theme of Pirates of the Caribbean. Loudly.
"A comedy or a thriller?" Ben shouted over his shoulder towards the clatter of plates and glasses, ignoring the petty provocation.
"How about Titanic?" Neil offered with a barely suppressed chuckle, making Ben shudder slightly at the unbidden, still-fresh images that came to his mind. He had had his fair share of ships and sea and sinking in the last four weeks, thank you very much. Running a hand through his still strawy, sun-and-salt-bleached hair, he replied with an exasperated sigh.
"Well, then, whatever floats your boat, captain!" Neil chirped, that impish grin of his audible in his voice. He was having way too much fun with the fact that Ben had been shipped off – pun intended – to infiltrate a pirating business somewhere classified (but Neil was pretty sure that it was around a continent beginning with an 'A'). And Ben was not too fond of ships to begin with. It was not that he got sea sick, or froze like Wolf when it came to heights, he just felt a little uneasy at the idea of having nothing but water beneath him for miles down. He hadn't slept well on the ship, and he was still waking up with his head spinning from the lack of rocking, even after five days back ashore.
floatstonbâteau
"I met Emma today," Neil remarked, about half an hour into the film, already growing tired of Ben's choice, - probably due to the fact that they had already watched it half a million times - but then, watching a DVD had never really been the point of their movie nights. The topic was a welcome distraction to Ben, and he sighed mentally with relief that Neil finally seemed to be letting off with the teasing.
"She's here already?" Ben raised his eyebrows, then frowned slightly. "She told me she'd arrive tomorrow. We're meeting for lunch."
"From what she told me it was a bit of a last minute decision. I think she wanted some more time for shopping," Neil shrugged.
"I hope she doesn't try and get me roped into that. I was so glad when she finally grew out of her tea party phase." Neil snorted at the mental picture of Ben being forced to attend his little sister's tea parties, and immediately earned himself a cuff over the head, accompanied by a mock-glare.
"Seems she never really grew out of her crush on me, though. Kept getting flustered," a complacent grin spread over Neil's face at the words. Ben just rolled his eyes in exasperation.
"That girl... she's engaged now, but she still has a soft spot for you," he grumbled disapprovingly. "I think it's more of a hero-worship thing, though. At least I hope so for her and Simon."
"Either way, you're in no position to blame her, she's not the only Daniels sibling who can't resist my charms after all," Neil remarked, slowly snaking an arm around Ben's shoulders and shooting him a playfully seductive glance.
"Sorry to burst your bubble there, but Cole isn't into men," Ben smirked, and added a half-chuckled 'oi!' when Neil roughly tugged at his earlobe with his teeth.
"Just admit that you love me already, Benny," he growled after letting go, and nuzzled the crook of Ben's neck, kissing and licking and sucking. "Nothing to be ashamed of."
"No idea what you're talking about," Ben replied with a shrug, made slightly awkward by Neil being half-draped over his shoulders. Neil bit him again and started a friendly scuffle that sent them to the floor the next moment, where they continued their little wrestling match, always heeding the rule of 'all is fair in love and war'. The vague thought that this would lead to some rather... interesting 'battle wounds' passed through Ben's head.
They eventually ended up with Neil on his back - thanks to "bloody cheating, Fox!" and a particularly mean move that Cub had shared with them a while ago -, Ben straddling him and pinning his arms down, both of them panting and laughing. Neil playfully strained against the rather loose grip on his wrists before giving in.
"I always knew you wanted to be on top!" He complained, grinning, and still a bit out of breath. Ben smirked slyly and adjusted his position, grinding his hips down lightly, just hard enough to get his point across.
"Whatever floats your boat," he quoted huskily, searching, finding and keeping eye-contact with an intense gaze that Emma might just have called smouldering. Neil worked one of his hands free to pull Ben down into one of his open-mouthed kisses, lazy, almost sloppy, feeling like a hot shower after an exhausting dayweekmonth of training in a cold drizzle.
Cool lips brushed against Ben's, and he let himself drown in the simplicity of it – there were no teeth and no tongues, just that undiluted feeling of having Neil so very close, which was the best remedy for a pounding heart and dark memories. Suddenly, he did not mind the way the kiss drew tension and strength away from him, weighed down his eyelids and made him all sea-dizzy. They broke away and smiled at each other easily, reading the teasing remarks on the other's lips and deciding to kiss and lick them away, all slow and simple and sensual for now, because sometimes Neil was just too damn good at knowing what Ben needed.
At some point Neil turned them around, swapping their positions on the floor. Ben let him bury his face in the crook of his neck again – he did have a bit of a neck-fetish, didn't he – enjoying the soft noise of Neil mumbling nonsense in a mélange of English and Français, almost too quiet to hear, definitely too chaotic to completely understand. He nearly caught himself murmuring along, je te love, I aime you, when Neil shifted and breathed into his ear, making him shudder in delight and desire.
"You want to move this to the couch?" He whispered and began to push himself off of Ben, who reached around his waist to pull him back down and into another kiss.
"You want to move this to the bed?" Ben replied with his lips still against Neil's.
"Quoi que flotte ton bâteau, mon cher."
A/N: Again, the idea of a bilingual Neil is SamayouTamashi's ;)
Please note that that last line is a literal translation, based on an inside joke, and thus not a real French idiom.