"How… how do I look?"

Benjamin stood nervously before his aunt, who wore an amused expression on her face. He usually didn't care one bit about how he looked when he stepped outside the house. But today was obviously different. Not only had actually taken time to pick out his clothes, but he even went as far as to tie back his hair.

"Hmm… not bad nephew. But let me help you out a bit." She walked over before reaching up and snatching the hair tie from his head. Then she ruffled it.

"Hey!"

"You're going to a house party, not a five star restaurant. And even if you were going to a five star restaurant, your hair would be fine," she said. "But I think it's cute that you're so worried about how you look tonight. Getting all worried about your date. It's adorable."

"It's not a date! It's just a party!" he argued, blushing heavily. At least he thought it was anyway. She didn't call it a date so… wait, did she think it was a date and just not say it?

His aunt snapped her fingers. "Hey, hey. Kiddo. Stop getting in your head. Whether it's a date or not, just play it like you always do. When you're relaxed and just trying to have a fun time, you gel with one another. So just be relaxed, and treat it like any other time you spend together, got it?" she asked.

He nodded. "Right… right, just act like usual." He just wouldn't think of it as a date. He'd act just like normal. Have fun… that was easy to do when they were hanging out.

A knock came on the door, and they both looked over to see Bruno in the doorway. The eldest Brittle brother wore a smirk on his face. "Hey little brother. Your lady is waiting for you downstairs," he said, smugness dripping off of every word.

Ben scowled towards him. "Shut up…"

"All I said was she was downstairs. Why you looking so nervous?"

"Shut up!"

He made his way downstairs, hearing his aunt and Beck yelling good luck as he did. He hoped Luna didn't hear them. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he saw her waiting for him, and then… concluded he was not going to be able to act normal. At least not when he was looking directly at her.

She had gussied herself up yet again. Not in the same outfit as last time. She had black blouse and red jacket on, along with a red pleated skirt and black boots. Her lips were red, from either lipstick or lip gloss. He couldn't really tell. And the usual purple eyeshadow was also red. She also had tiny skull shaped earrings.

Ben was starting to realize something. While he was used to seeing her in purple, and he always thought she looked pretty, she looked downright stunning in red.

She blushed slightly, rubbing her arms. "You're being all quiet again dude. This gonna happen every time I dress up a little?" asked, letting out a nervous giggle.

He blinked, and then shook his head. "I mean… maybe. You look really pretty. It's kind of hard not to be a little thrown off," he said.

Luna blushed deeper and looked down. "Dude, I have no idea if you're doing it on purpose or not, but you're like… a total flirt," she said. Ben flinched, but then she held a hand up. "I mean, don't freak out over it. It's not like I really mind it."

Ben chuckled nervously. "Well… I wouldn't get used to it. I wasn't trying and chances are I wouldn't be that good at it if I was," he admitted.

Luna looked like she was going to say something, but suddenly the twins burst into the room from the kitchen. "Hey, are you guys going on a date?! Ben kept saying it wasn't a date, but it sounds like it's a date!" Billy shouted.

Ben's eyes went wide, and it felt like time had stopped for a moment. The twins just kept looking towards Luna, waiting for an answer. He was sure he looked shocked, but his gaze was locked onto them. He couldn't tell if they had asked it out of genuine curiosity, or just to mess with him. But it didn't really matter.

He was going to kill them.

"Yeah, we are."

Ben stopped, and then turned towards Luna. Billy turned towards his brother and then pointed at him. "Ah-ha! I told you they were going on a date! You owe me five dollars!"

"Dang it!"

Ben continued to look towards Luna. "So wait… this is a real date?"

Luna shrugged. "I mean, I guess… did you not want it to be?" she asked. She hoped that she hadn't jumped the gun and made things awkward. She had counted her hanging out with Sam last time as a date. She didn't see any reason why this shouldn't be counted too.

He quickly shook his head. "No! No! I'm totally fine with that. I just… you know, I wasn't sure. And I didn't want to psych myself out or anything. But a date sounds pretty cool."

"Okay… cool."

"Very cool, yeah…"

They stood there for a moment, just smiling nervously as one another. And then suddenly went wide eyed when a flash went off. They both whipped their heads to see Berta holding a camera. "Auntie!" Ben snapped, scowling at her.

She ignored him and kept snapping pictures. "It's my baby's Ben's first date! The first 'official' one anyway! You can't expect me not to want to take a few pics to cement the memory!" she said, walking around them. "Hold hands, or put your arm around her or something!"

Ben was about to just turn and walk out, but then Luna wrapped her arm around his. He locked up for a moment, but then looked down at her. "I mean, I don't think it'll hurt to stick around for a few pics," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "You're gonna get the same thing from my family if you ever pick me up for another date, so might as well get used to it."

He felt butterflies in his stomach. Both from the close contact, and from the implication that there would probably be another actual date. "Well, I don't really like encouraging them, but if you don't mind then sure," he said, turning back towards his aunt. He did his best to give a natural smile, and Luna threw up a peace sign.

"Say future niece-in-law!"

"Auntie!"

Ben parked his bike, and then took his helmet off before looking back at Luna. "And we have arrived," he said. "I'll give Royal Woods one thing. You guys know how to throw some pretty wild house parties." The place was packed. The house wasn't as big as the one at the last party, but there were still plenty of people around.

The music was blasting, and people were excitedly making their way inside. Nothing back home on the island would have been hosted inside of a house. On the beach or outside, sure. But he couldn't think of any friends whose parents would let this type of thing slide within their home.

"Well, I'm sure it was cool and all, but it wasn't a real party until we pulled up," Luna said, handing him her helmet. "Are you ready to blow the roof off this joint?"

Ben smirked. "Not my house, so sure." He held his arm out, and then looped her own around it. They made their way inside, catching a few people from school glancing towards them. Ben decided to ignore them, and he guessed Luna did too since she didn't say anything.

Once inside, Ben confirmed that this party definitely wasn't as big as the last one. But he guessed he couldn't expect every party to be hosted at some rich kid's house.

"Should we find Olley and Kimi?" Ben asked.

Luna hummed. "Maybe later. I mean they'll probably come across us eventually, right? So why not have a little one on one time. It's been a bit since it's just been you and me… you know, without there being all the drama and stuff."

One on one time. Just her and him. He liked the sound of that. "Okay then. So… what do you want to do first?" Ben asked. "I'm down for dancing, or grabbing a bite. Ladies choice."

Luna thought for a moment. "I guess we can get some grub first, and then dance it off later," she said, grabbing her hands and leading him over towards the food table. "Plus I totally wanna hear your professional chef critique."

"I'm not a professional… and if I start critiquing the food then I don't think I'm gonna get invited to many more parties," he said, chuckling.

"Technically you didn't get invited to this one. It was an open invitation."

"Good point."

They reached the table and grabbed a few plates. They also grabbed a few drinks, and then went to go find a place to sit. While there weren't really any secluded spots, there were much fewer people in the actual dining room than there were anywhere else.

They took a seat right next to one another, and the first thing Luna did when they settled was pick something off of his plate. "Hey! If you wanted some of the lo mein why didn't you grab some?" he asked, smirking down at her.

"Didn't think so at the time," Luna said, shrugging. "Besides, you don't mind sharing right? I mean I bet you're already full from snacking on sweets all day."

Ben nudged her. "I don't eat sweets all day. I've get tooth decay in like a week if I did. I just do a little taste testing to make sure everything is good to go," he said. "But… you are right. I don't mind sharing with you. And you should take that as a major compliment because with five brothers sharing isn't on the top of my priority list."

"Who are you telling," Luna said. "At my house if you don't fight for every scrap around you'll end up starving to death." She picked a piece of chicken off of her plate with her fork and held it up towards him. "Here, trade?" He blushed, but leaned forward and ate it. This was probably already the best night of his life.

They sat and talked for a while, about the food, the music, and their siblings. It felt like it had been forever since they had just gotten to sit and talk like this.

"So like… do you know any other fighting moves your aunt showed you?"

Benjamin chuckled. "I mean I could always teach you some time. Never know when you might need to break someone's arm," he said.

Luna smirked up at him. "You sure you're just not trying to get a little one on one contact with me?" she teased. Ben's face lit up, but she quickly raised a hand, laughing. "I'm joking dude. You're so weird. Like you can be so smooth when you're flirting, but then you get all shy whenever someone flirts back."

"I'm not used to being flirted with!"

"Are you sure about that? Maybe you get flirted with a lot and you just zone out."

"Very funny…"

"Ben? Luna?"

They both looked up and then saw Sam approaching. She smiled and waved as she walked towards them, and they both smiled back. "Sam, what's up? Didn't know you were showing," Luna said, getting up to greet her.

They shared a hug, and then Sam fist bumped Ben. "I wasn't going to. But my band wanted to show and mingle so… you know, gotta run with the crew," she said. She then looked back and forth between the two. She didn't see Kimi or Olley anywhere. Were they here on a date? Was she interrupting? "Are Kimi and Olley here?" she asked.

Luna hummed. "I think so. They said they were gonna show. Might already be on the dance floor," she said.

Sam smiled. "Why don't we go check? And while we're at it you and me and grab a dance? I still have to pay you back for Dance Dance Rebellion," she said.

Luna blinked. "Oh… I mean, we were gonna…" She looked over towards Ben. They had said this was a date, so she wasn't sure if dancing with Sam was okay. It shouldn't have been a big deal, but… well, she was supposed to be here with him so…

"It's cool," Ben said, waving his hand. "I'll trash our plates and catch up. And both of you can save me one for later, yeah?"

Sam whistled. "Trying to score with two girls in one night. You're bold, Brittle."

His face turned red. "I-I'm not trying to-"

"Ben, I'm kidding. Oh my god, you're just… you're adorable," Sam said, covering her mouth to keep from laughing. She turned and head back out of the dining room, and Luna looked like she was about to follow before looking back at Ben one last time.

"Are you sure you're cool? Because I can wait for you if you want."

Ben rubbed his head. "I mean… I don't really think it's a big deal." He didn't want to be all paranoid and tell her she couldn't dance with other people. "Besides, I'll catch up in a sec anyway."

Luna smiled. "Cool. And it'll just be one quick dance with Sam. Then you and me tear it up and we're like glue for the rest of the night," she promised.

"Looking forward to it!"

The turned to leave, but then noticed he was still holding his punch in his hand. "Hey, if you're not gonna finish that then I totally will. That stuff is killer," she said.

He handed it to her. "Go nuts."

Luna took it and then leaned forward and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. His eyes went wide, and he found himself blushing yet again. Luna did as well, and offered a last wave before turning and walking away. Ben reached up and touched his cheek.

He really, really hoped that Luna picked him…

The night had been fun.

Ben and Luna had danced for a while, met up with Kimi and Olley, and then just hung out for a while. Though they stayed as a group, Ben and Luna mostly focused on one another. Olley and Kimi didn't seem to mind. In fact they seemed to give the two plenty of space, and Ben made a mental note to thank them later.

Though, as much fun as they were having, Ben did think something felt a little off near the end of the party. Luna was sort of… giggly. More so than usual. He remembered her brother once telling him that girls laughed a lot to boost a guy's ego when they liked them, but he wasn't sure if this was what it was.

He wasn't sure if the others noticed it either, but nobody said anything so he just let it slide. When the party started to wind down, Ben offered her a ride home, which she accepted. He parked his bike in front of her house and then took his helmet off. "And we have arrived, my lady," he said.

Luna giggled. "Your lady?" she asked.

"Oh, crap. Sorry. My brothers kept on saying… you know what, never mind. My bad."

Luna hummed. "No… I don't think I mind being your lady," she said, nudging him slightly. "I think your rock queen would be way cooler though."

Ben laughed. "Probably more fitting too…"

Luna giggled a bit more and then leaned on him. "You're funny Ben. Like, really funny."

"Thanks." She walked forward, but then stumbled slightly. He quickly moved in to help her steady herself. "Whoa, you feeling okay?" he asked worriedly.

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm good, I'm good. Maybe I just went a little too nuts on the dance floor," she said, holding onto his arm as they made their way to the door. "Tonight was fun Ben. I feel like I kinda needed this. Things have been getting back to normal with my family, but it's still a little awkward, ya know? So this was nice."

"Glad I could help. And honestly I feel like I kinda needed this too." He had been worried about things between them since it was all out in the open now, but… this had made him feel so much better.

When they got up to the front porch, Luna stared at the door, and then turned towards him. "Ben… kissed Sam when we went to the arcade the other day…" she said.

He blinked. "Oh…" Well, things were kind of awkward again. "I mean… I guess you had a fun time then."

"I did," Luna said, stepping towards him. "But that's not why I'm telling you. I'm telling you because I want you to know that I'm not doing this just because I did it with her." She reached up and then cupped his face with her hands. Ben's eyes went wide, and his face heated up at the contact. "I'm doing it because I really, really want to…"

She leaned up and then pressed her lips against his, and Ben's whole body stiffened.

She was kissing him.

Luna Loud was kissing him.

And… It felt pretty good.

After the initial shock wore off, he leaned into the kiss, reaching up and placing his hands on her hips. He had little experience kissing anyone… well, actually he had zero experience. He didn't know if he was doing this right at all. But it felt nice. Being close to her always felt nice in general, but this… this was even better.

His heart, his stomach, his whole body just felt… pleasant. It felt like his entire being was buzzing. Her lips felt soft and warm, and they tasted like blueberry lip gloss and…

Alcohol…?

His eyes went wide. That… that was definitely alcohol he tasted on her breath…

He broke the kiss, quickly straightening up and leaving her looking confused. "What? What's wrong?" she asked, clearly caught off guard by the sudden stop.

Ben remained silent for a moment. "Luna… have you been drinking?"

"What?"

"Have you been drinking? Like, at the party?"

She scoffed. "No! Why would you think that?!"

"Because I can smell it on your breath… oh my gosh, you're drunk." Now it was starting to make sense. All her giggling, and the stumbling earlier. She must have gotten drunk at the party. But how?

Luna narrowed her eyes at him. "Ben, I'm not drunk! You've been with me the whole night! The only thing I had to drink was punch! That's it!" she argued.

That was true, all she had was punch. A few cups of it sure, but… wait a second. "Luna, I think someone might have spiked the punch," he said. "Think about it. I didn't have any. Neither did Sam or Kimi or Olley. We all had soda. You drank my cup before you went to dance with Sam, and you have a few more cups after we danced."

Luna looked confused. "Wait, but…. I mean…"

"Have you ever been drunk before Luna? Have you ever had, like… any alcohol?" he asked. He had been to a couple of other parties with his brothers and… well, he had learned first hand that he wasn't really a drinker.

She slowly shook her head. "Uh, no…" She then grew a small smile and giggled. "I guess I am a little drunk then…"

Ben sighed. "Okay… let's get you inside. We should get your folks or one of your sisters to make sure you-"

Luna cut him off. "But I don't wanna go inside yet," she said, stepping towards him again. "I wanna keep doing what we were doing…"

She leaned up to try and kiss him again, and Ben almost let her. But, pushing back the little devil on his shoulder telling him to keep going, he placed his hands on her shoulders. "Luna, no…" he said.

She scoffed. "Why? You don't want to kiss me?"

"Of course I want to kiss you! But not when you're drunk!"

"I'm not even really that drunk."

"But you are drunk," Ben said sternly. "I don't want to do this while you are."

Luna crossed her arms. "Ben, you act like I'm just laid out drunk. I'm a little buzzed at most. It's not like you're taking advantage of me or anything. I wanna do this," she said.

"You don't know how drunk you are because you've never been drunk before Luna!" Ben argued. "Look, you know how much I like you. But I don't want to kiss you because you were drunk and feeling loose. I want you to do it because you want to do it."

"But I do-!"

"Sober Luna," Ben clarified. He didn't want her to wake up tomorrow and think back on this as some kind of drunken mistake. He didn't want them getting together because she was tipsy. "Look, tomorrow after you sleep this off if you wanna kiss me I will take the rest of my shift off and we can do that. But just… wait, okay?"

Luna pouted, but then sighed. "Alright… yeah." She was a little annoyed that he wanted to push it off, but she couldn't tell if that was her pride or the alcohol talking. Or maybe both. But even if she was buzzed right now she didn't want to force him into anything.

"Why… why don't we get you inside, yeah?"

"Yeah…"

She reached inside of her jacket pocket to get her house keys, and as she turned away Ben crouched down and grabbed his head. Damn it! Kissing her felt so great! Why did his aunt have to raise him to be such a damn gentleman! Thanks to her he had a conscience, and despite that it was telling him that he was going the right thing, another voice in his head was calling him an idiot.

If she woke up tomorrow and didn't remember this, or just changed her mind… well, he guessed that would be that.

A/N: Uh-oh, Ben and Luna's night seems to go off well, but there's a little hitch at the end. Luna might not even be that buzzed, but Benjamin is nothing else if a gentleman (and his auntie would murder him if she found him being anything else)! Wonder how things are going to pick up from here?!

Reviewer Responses!

Lttlgreg: Yeah, I always recommend giving the songs a little on youtube or something. I wish I could link them properly here, but site won't allow for that. (A big part of the reasons I've been moving a lot of my stuff to ao3). And nothing like having some big siblings around to heckle the younger ones lol!

Massone: Glad you like the choices of music! I try to pick songs I think fit their rocker them (or just ones I really enjoy if I can't think of a rock song that really fits). Hope you like some of the future ones I got planned to feature too!

Anonymous: Since he's so used to living in his brother's shadow it's kind of easy for Ben not to see that he's a catch! And with the whole school now knowing everything that went on it's unsurprising he's got some more eyes on him lol. And yeah, Beck is still a little heartbroken, but he's gotta bounce back. The Brittle boys might get knocked down, but they never stay down!

The New Shinka: Ask and ye shall receive!