Chapter 11: The Talk (Part III)

"Benjamin, what are you doing?"

"Just making sure your butt wasn't chewed off or handed to you once your dad got done with you." He lifted the tail of Dexter's lab coat. "Nope. Still there." He leaned close to Dexter's ear and whispered, "Still cute."

Dexter snorted faintly, amused. "I assure you that my posterior is intact. I wouldn't be seated otherwise."

"Just checking it out."

Dexter flicked a pencil off the far end of the table. "Go pick that up so I can return the favor."

Ben chuckled and let go the edge of the coat, falling into the chair beside him and all but laying on the table. He leaned on his hand, looking between Dexter and the paperwork he was reading. Back and forth, back and forth, like a dog eager to go play fetch until Dexter couldn't take it anymore and started to laugh. Removed from the front lines and battle and burdens of command, Ben Tennyson was usually quick to convert to his silly, laid-back, teenage self, a trait Dexter valued highly. He had seen Ben in action many times, and it always amazed and impressed the redhead that Ben was as much the relentless warrior, clever tactician, and leader of armies as he was the gentle, caring, laughing friend (and now, by some miracle, his boyfriend) that had teased and charmed his way into the scientist's life. Dexter valued every aspect, knowing the whole was so much greater than the parts and quietly overwhelmed to think that Ben looked at him, Dexter, with his strange clothes and flaming red hair and thick glasses, with the same longing Dexter felt for him.

"Was he very harsh?" he asked, smiling at the brunet.

With a shrug Ben said, "For your dad, yeah, I guess he was. He only threatened me a little bit, but I think I'd rather tangle with Mandy at her worst than your dad at his best. You have no idea how scary he is."

"Please. He said maybe a dozen words to me and I sang like a canary. Speaking of Mandy, what did she want you for?"

"Don't you ever talk to her?"

"Not if I can avoid it."

It was Tennyson's turn to laugh. "Not what you want me for, that's for sure. She got wind that I was here. She's got a few assignments for me, mostly trying to connect with Providence so hopefully DexLabs will play nice. I'll be in and out of HQ a lot, so with a little luck we'll get to see one another pretty often."

Dexter ignored the dig at his company, far more interested in the prospect of Ben being close for a while. Providence and DexLabs had very different philosophies when it came to dealing with things like monsters and EVOs, though both organizations knew they needed to be united against Planet Fusion. Lately there had been a lot of careful exchanges between the two economic titans, and it seemed that Ben was going to be DexLabs' liaison. Dexter liked the idea, and aloud he said, "We make our own luck, Mr. Tennyson."

"Then I'll be seeing a lot of you, Dex. Wow. We might even get to do something normal like go for smoothies!"

"Your notion of smoothies is not normal, and coming from me that's saying a lot. I believe my father would be amicable to the suggestion, though."

Ben hesitantly dipped a toe into that pool. "So the Professor is cool with us? He's not going to make us meet in secret and write in code and send symbolic presents and stuff?"

"No, but we can still do all that for the fun of it. He has his concerns, of course, but since he knows he really can't stop us, he's content to guide us as best he's able. He's one of the kindest, wisest people alive and I'm helpless against him." Pushing his glasses back into place, Dexter stated, "You're coming to dinner."

Ben made a little noise, resting his chin on his hands. "Do I have to? I don't know if I can face him again just yet. Can't we just send for dinner down in the lab?"

"Embarrassment is not terminal, much as we might wish it could be. It wasn't a request. The Professor wants to talk to us both."

"Any idea what about?"

"Us."

"Maybe Fuse will launch a surprise attack."

"We couldn't get so lucky."

"Okay. So long as I'm not on the menu."

"Oh, please. You got off easy. I had to sit through another birds-and-the-bees talk this morning."

A sound of amusement escaped the older teen. "You survived."

"Barely. You're forgetting he's an MD – his talks involve diagrams and vocabulary words and a quiz."

"Ooooh," was the sympathetic reply. He sank low in his seat.

"The fact that I'd already drunk four cups of coffee did not enhance my comfort in any way. The only saving grace was I forgot to put my glasses on this morning. For once rotten vision was a blessing."

()()()()()()()()()()()()

Ben Tennyson couldn't take it anymore. Between Dexter's disgusted, petulant tone (especially when delivered in that accent), the tale he was telling, and the images his words generated, Ben cracked up. Dexter was fidgety at the best of times, but to be stuck enduring the same embarrassing speech Ben had heard from his own dad years ago (complete with diagrams), all while needing to use the bathroom but not daring to interrupt lest Utonium think of more to say, was more than Ben could contain. He ended up putting his head down on his arms and laughing himself breathless. Dexter managed to maintain his piqued air long enough to poke Ben in the ribs, which just set him off again, but even then the ridiculous extent of his father's instruction made him laugh right along with his boyfriend.

Finally Ben sat up and tipped back in the chair. "So what else did you two talk about?"

"His chief concern is our ages. On a legal, not an intellectual basis. Intellectually he recognizes that our skill, intelligence, and experience in leading a war effort removes us from social norms."

"Yeah, I got that legal bit, too. I hadn't thought of that."

"I had. However, since no one can know we're together and if we're careful, no one will know, it's a moot point." He paged through the paperwork he was reviewing. "He's wise enough to see he really wouldn't be able to keep us apart regardless, though . . . I'll admit it feels odd to know that he knows."

Ben considered. "Yeah. I feel less sneaky. I guess it'll be good to have someone you can talk to."

"You can talk to him, too, Ben. I did tell him that we were taking things slowly."

"We don't get much choice in the matter."

"Noooo," was the careful agreement from the redhead. He gave Ben a sideways glance. "But I trust you don't want to take things so slowly that nothing ever happens."

Ben grinned, liking the sound of that. "Heck no."

"Good, because . . ."

He broke off. Ben perked up, looking at him closely.

"Are you blushing, Dex?"

"Yes. Don't pick on me."

"Are you thinking impure thoughts?"

"Define impure."

"What, that wasn't on your vocabulary list?"

Dexter smiled and blushed a little harder. Growing serious, he looked at the young man sitting next to him, this person he loved so completely. Ben caught the gleam behind those tinted lenses and looked at him curiously, waiting for him to speak.

"Do you think this can work, Ben?"

He considered a few moments. "If we want it to, yeah, we can definitely make it work."

"I know I do. More than anything else."

He didn't resist the desire to lay his hand atop Dexter's and he spoke with complete sincerity. "Me too."

"I'm sorry you'll always be forced to come to me."

"Pfft. I'm not." Ben dismissed the apology with a wave of his free hand. "Are you kidding? Coming here is a vacation from the front lines. Good food, good coffee, not to mention that shower of yours." He grinned. "It won't always be easy, Dex. We both have to know that. We're probably going to drive one another nuts. But it'll be fun."

"I think you're right."

He leaned closer, narrowing his eyes suggestively. "Now about those impure thoughts . . ."

Dexter blushed anew and let out his breath in a tight, short sigh. "I have a whole punch list."

"Oh, yeah?" Ben edged his chair a bit closer. "Name one thing."

"After dinner."

"Alright, well . . . name which part of me is involved."

"No."

"Dex-terrrr . . ."

There was a pause, and then, "Fine. Your left ear."

Ben reached up and inspected said bit of anatomy with his hand. "Yeah, I guess it is pretty attractive as far as ears go. Just the left one? What about the right?"

Dexter gave him a knowing look. "I have other plans for the right ear."

"Want to share any of them?"

"Not at the moment. You'll just have to wait and find out."

Ben covered both ears, wondering what it was about them that was a turn-on and if there was a way he might push Dexter into executing his plans for them now as opposed to later. He didn't criticize, seeing as how 1. he was intensely curious to know what Dexter had in mind (he thought back on that first night together and he found himself hoping Dexter's tongue was involved, the mere thought of which was enough to give him a delicious jolt of anticipation) and 2. Dexter's neck, hidden by that turtleneck sweater, was enough to make him lose his mind just by thinking about it. Actually it looked as if Ben had a thing for layers, because he'd fantasized about removing Dexter's gloves and those so-unsexy-that-they-were-sexy boots were just begging to be yanked off. He wasn't even going to touch on the lab coat.

Why was it so much easier thinking and even saying such things with Dexter versus girls? Ben's experience with dating the opposite sex was limited (though enjoyable), and while he certainly still liked girls for what they were, he knew he would have been beet red holding such a conversation (if he actually could have held it, which he doubted). But here he was, discussing his ears and fantasizing about Dexter's wardrobe without staining a cheek. It was so easy and natural and it just felt right. But then, this was Dexter, and he was as fascinating and intriguing as he was endearing to Ben.

"You have an ear fetish?" he asked hopefully, putting his hand back atop Dexter's.

He didn't look up, but he did smile. "I have a you fetish, Mr. Tennyson."

"So when did all this start for you?"

"What, realizing I was hopelessly attracted to my best friend?"

"Yeah, that."

"This past Christmas. You were sitting by the tree with Bubbles, and you were laughing at something she was telling you. There was nothing remarkable or different about the scene, but you absolutley took my breath away. I couldn't look away. You were so happy . . . and I never wanted the feeling to end. That's when I realized that you were like air - I couldn't live without you."

"I had no idea."

"I didn't want you to." Dexter smiled faintly, glad that Ben's hand still rested on his. "Your friendship is vital to me, Ben. I would never do anything to risk losing it."

"Eh, don't worry. You're stuck with me, kiddo."

He clasped Ben's fingers possessively, purple latex to tanned skin, before releasing him. "Good."

"I started figuring it out after Brainstorm. I just kept coming back to wondering how it would be to kiss you. I'd wake up imagining it. Speaking of which . . . " Softly Ben asked, "Is this a bad spot to kiss you in?"

Dexter looked down, trying to hide a smile. "This is not a good location. There are security cameras. However, there is no actual bad spot to kiss me."

"Oh. Okay. You take rain checks?"

"Indeed I do, Mr. Tennyson. But only from you."

"I owe you, then."

"I look forward to collecting."

"After dinner." Now that he knew they were on camera, he shifted to safer topics and looked at the paperwork Dexter was ignoring. "So what are you working on?"

"A pet project. It's a one-man vehicle, something like a cross between a mech suit and a motorcycle, only more maneuverable at high speeds." His obvious pleasure at the interest showed warmed Ben and it seemed he had hit on just the right thing to make the younger teen's good mood better still. Dexter shuffled papers as he looked for a sketch of a long, low, sleek vehicle, and he showed it to Ben with smug triumph in his eyes.

He recognized Dexter's flowing design style immediately. "What's it for?" asked Ben, taking the sketch.

"Going fast."

Ben grinned, liking it already. "What's it called?"

"The Speed Demon."