**Please note this chapter is from the perspective of Jason and Ben, therefore 3rd person, as Thea isn't present for this conversation.**
Jason and Ben sat facing one another at their table, their bento boxes finished, each sizing the other up. Ben had his hands laced behind his head, watching the other man intently.
Truth be told, Jason was waiting for the 'older brother' talk, which he expected. He asked Ben if that's what he (Jason) was in for.
"What? From me? HELL, no. She has older brothers for that. Now, that doesn't mean I'm not taking stock of the man in front of me."
"Ah. You're not going to threaten to kill me if I hurt her, anything like that?" Jason asked, wryly.
"You've met her. You should most definitely be more worried about her trying to kill you than anyone else."
Jason furrowed his brow at Ben, not quite understanding.
"11th grade, she almost killed a dude, I had to pull her off, it was a scene."
"Wait, WHAT?" Jason exclaimed, dumbfounded. "How 'almost killed'?"
"EMT's said if he'd been without oxygen for just a few more seconds he'd've been dead."
Jason's face was a mask of "What the Fuck".
"She hasn't told you about it? There's…more, but it's not my story to tell."
"She mentioned you helped her with something heavy in high school, but she didn't go into detail."
"She really doesn't like to talk about it. She has PTSD. That's all I'm gonna say. My girl does not play." Ben paused. "But she likes you."
"How do you know?"
"Aside from walking in on you two trying to eat each other alive, you were presumably in her apartment when she was not. She trusts you. There aren't many people besides me and her family that have keys to her place. In fact, I'm not sure there are any people besides me, you, and her family that have keys to her place."
"Boyfriends don't get keys?"
"Not in my experience." Ben stopped for a minute. "Speaking of which – does she know you're dating? Are you dating? Or is she just 'something to do'?" Ben's eyebrows rose expectantly.
"We haven't talked about it. She is not just 'something to do'."
"Huh. Does she know that? Might be a conversation worth having, or not, depending on how you want things to go."
"That isn't just up to me."
"That's what the conversation's for, man."
"I will take that under advisement."
"Well, for what it's worth, I hope things work out."
"Why's that?"
"I would do anything for her. Anything. She is truly my very best friend. And I love her, but we play for different teams. But I see the way you look at her. You look at her like you see a future there. And I think you might be able to give her the future she deserves."