Author's Note: Ben Harmon/Nora Montgomery fic. Alternative scene to Nora's first appearance with Vivien in 1x03. Given Ben's past of cheating, lying and his connection with Young Moira, I've kind of given him a sexual addiction.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, everything belongs to Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and the FX network.
Vivien need not know about this his conscience told him, just look at her; classy, a beauty. Probably begging for it.
He had been flipping through some patient paperwork when the knock had come. Vivien was out at the doctor's office and Vi was at school. He was all alone in that big house, with just the maid to keep him company, though he had specifically warned her not to bother him, he had to work and she had gone about her business, flaunting herself elsewhere around the house. After her had walked in on her pleasuring herself, Ben had had to find release himself. Moira knew about that, of course, she had watched. She often came onto him, pressing against him, feeling him, winking and smirking at him.
When Moira didn't answer the door, Ben decided to go and check it out. From looking through the peephole, Ben saw it was a woman and raised a curious brow. The blonde outside was standing looking anxious on the other side of the door. He wondered if she'd heard him there, because she seemed to look up, straight at the peephole when he'd arrived at the door.
"Hello?" he spoke through the door, wondering what she was doing there but he remembered that Vivien had been adamant about putting the house back on the market after what had happened just weeks before, with the home invasion, "Are you here to view the house?" he asked the blonde.
"Y-yes..." the blonde responded, shakily.
"Well, can you come back another time? I'm pretty busy."
"Yes, I can come back some other time..." she replied, readying herself to turn away from her beloved home.
Glancing behind himself, Ben heard then saw the redheaded maid descending the stairs, smirking to him as she trailed the duster behind herself along the rail. She kept her eyes fixated upon him as she spoke up, "I'll be out of your hair, if you want to give her a tour around the place. I'm taking a longer lunch." she announced before turning off into the closet to fetch her coat and purse, ready to leave. After donning the coat, Moira crossed the hall to Ben and reached for the doorknob, pulling open the door, and meeting the blonde outside, "He's all yours, honey." she told the visitor, casting a glance over her shoulder to Ben, throwing a simple wink his way.
The blonde watched as the maid walked away, her uniform was pristine; starched white collar, black as night below the knee shift dress. She was like a new pin, how a maid should be. But, she saw that glassy eye and tilted her head, blonde tendrils billowing sideways before she turned back to Ben, clutching at her handkerchief like a life raft.
"Come on in..." Ben stated, pushing the door open further and stepping aside as he looked over the blonde. He raked his eyes over her; Blonde, good. Tall, good. Well-dressed, also good. His mind ran through the mental checklist, but really as long as she was female, that's all that mattered to him now. She was willowy, classic, and her posture was incredible, how she held herself so tall and poised.
"Your maid mentioned a tour...may I?" the blonde asked softly, "I am very much interested in your home, it's beautiful." she nodded to Ben and smiled tenderly.
"Yeah, it was love at first sight for me too."
"Is there a reason you're selling? I hope you don't think of me as too forward."
Ben shrugged and shook his head and closed the door, all the while watching the blonde who was glancing just around the entrance hall, clutching at her handkerchief still. He watched her closely, she seemed anxious or maybe she was just overjoyed she'd found her dream home. Whatever the reason, he felt obliged to give her an answer, "We had a situation back a few weeks..."
"We?" the blonde asked, raising her brows in interest.
"My family, yeah. My wife and our daughter, Violet. Some punks broke in, held them hostage...I wasn't here to protect my family..." he began but trailed off, feeling his pride and emotions take a hit. Through his cracked eyelids, he saw how the blonde looked at him; with empathy, forlorn, as though if she could have changed it, she would have done.
Within seconds of Ben looking up at her, the blonde changed her expression, "At least you provide for your family, and would have protected them."
Family troubles. She's got family troubles. She definitely isn't getting any. Take advantage. His mind, once again was encouraging him to do what Vivien had told him not to. Lie and cheat. Ben played off her comment about providing for his family, he gave a simple nod, not wanting to get involved in her personal matters. He cleared his throat and gestured for her to follow him with a simple tilt of his head, "So, that tour?" he suggested, slowly striding off into the living room first, "What's your name, anyway?"
The blonde followed closely behind, in awe of the house she once inhabited, "Nora Montgomery." she gave a smile and a gentle nod of the head as she stepped over the threshold of the living room, glancing around the open planned room and feeling a breath of relief washing over her, she was home.
To be continued...
In future chapters, I will be giving you guys the choice of what happens next. I'll be leaving a few options, and you guys vote for which option you think would work best/you would most like to read about. The winning option will be written into a chapter with a few extras included.