hello hello hello ! this is another challenge for my wonderful forum, fallenclan!
the idea for this challenge was to rewrite a scene from either your own fic/ the actual books with human versions of the characters. i got a little bit lost, and wrote like 1.5k of buildup, but got to the main point eventually. rewritten bit spans the entirety of obab, but has a focus on beebounce. also the 'theme' of this is kissing.
- Russel Storn is Rushstorm
- Ben 'B' Bunce is Beebounce
- Rose 'Star' Bunce is Rosestar
- Flossy Turn is Frogtoe
- Isha Flora Claw is Fishclaw
- Hans Storn is Hawkstar
- Beatrice Swipe is Brambleswipe
- Darline Spark is Duckspark
- Rusty Spark is Rustpaw
- Petal Spark is Petalpaw
Only two people ever kiss Ben when he's six. His mother, whenever she visits, presses quick kisses to his cheek, before rushing back off to do whatever she has to do. She's deputy of the group, whatever that means. She's busy.
The other person is his sister, Cherry. She grabs at his face with chubby, food-smeared hands, and he tends to just shove her off. Her fingers are so sticky because his aunt Darline (lovingly called 'D') sneaks her sweets whenever she goes to the monthly cross-group meeting. There's a trading circle set up, and the Sky group make incredible candies. Darline takes them back for him and Cherry, every time.
Darline never kisses him. It's all tight hugs, and fist-bumps with his aunt. (Best aunt is what he calls her in his head.)
His other aunt, Beatrice, doesn't speak to him. He thinks he's seen her a maximum of five times in his life, so when she takes him and Cherry out dandelion-picking, it's surprising.
Those dandelions are the only thing he really remembers from that evening. A bright, vibrant yellow, pressed onto green grass. If Ben doesn't really think about it, he can forget the blood that splattered on those sunshine dandelions, the loud scream that shattered the quiet air, the slackness of his sister's hand. The way her fingers uncurled themselves, and he just knew.
Beatrice kissed him, that evening. He leant over to pluck a dandelion from the ground and she pressed a feather-light kiss to his forehead. Her lips were cold.
Everything goes by in a blur from then on. He's not really aware of his friends, or anything really.
All he knows is that from then on, his mother doesn't see him.
He breezes through his childhood without talking to anybody but Darlene. She's got stuff going on in her life, his 10-year-old self can tell that much. But she's talking to him. She fills him in on how his apprenticeship is going to go, who he's going to grow up alongside. He's due to be made an apprentice at the same time as four other people, apparently. A pair of sisters, a rose-cheeked girl named Flossy, and Russell. Darlene tells him in a hushed voice that they found him at the gathering, a tag attached to his hand, saying his name and nothing else. He doesn't speak to Ben at all, but he's friends with Isha, one of the sisters.
The day of his apprenticeship comes about quickly. His mother - no, Rose - gives him his mentor, and touches him for the first time in five years. It's just a tap on the shoulder, but Ben smiles at it, and it's enough for him.
The next day, they leave the complex for the first time, and wander through thick woods, unable to see through the clumped-together trees. They finally get to a clearing, and Ben's heart leaps to his throat. It's the clearing, and very quickly, he can't breath. He chokes out that he has to leave, and sprints from the clearing, heart pounding.
The old cut on his side stings.
That night, he remembers what happened to Cherry. He doesn't tell anybody, just sits and sniffles in silence. This goes on for months - he's on the brink of turning 11 when Russell stirs next to him, and talks him out of his freakout.
From then on, he has a friend. Well, he has several friends, by extension. Isha-Flora starts talking to him, and her friend Flossy chats to him as well. Both girls are very affectionate, and Ben is touch-staved. He tries not to flinch when they hug him.
When he's 13, he realises that he probably has a best friend. Russell's stopped calling him 'Benjamin', and instead just calls him 'Ben' or occasionally, just 'B'. They do everything together, and eventually Ben trusts him enough to tell him the truth about Beatrice, and what happened to Cherry. He cries when he tells him, and Russell gives him a firm hug. Ben thinks he kisses his forehead, and he can't quite work out why his stomach flutters at that.
Flossy is very touchy-feely. She kisses him on the cheek, through loud, bubbling laughter, and throws her arms around him wildly. If they weren't distant cousins, Ben would probably like her.
Or at least, he thinks he would. He tries desperately to feel something, anything for Isha's older sister, and comes up with nothing. He tries to imagine himself with Isha herself, and can't. He thinks he's broken.
When he's 15, he begins to work out why he can't summon anything other than gentle platonic love for his two female friends. And why when he looks at Russell, his cheeks warm, and butterflies swell in his stomach. He pushes it back. It's not a problem for now - there's patrols to go on, and brewing problems with intruders, and tension between Thunder and Shadow. Thunder's leader's adopted daughter was killed in a bloody battle, and there's tension bubbling. So he can't think about the fickleness of his heart.
He doesn't worry about it, really, until the week after his warrior ceremony.
His ceremony comes after a battle against intruders. Him and his fellow apprentices line up, still bleeding from cuts and scraps. Russell has a gash on his cheek that he doesn't notice, and Isha's eye is cloaked with a patch. Still, they're happy. Rose gives him his new position, and after the ceremony, she presses a kiss in between his eyebrows.
It's hard, and it signifies a promise. She won't leave him again.
The vigil also steams by. His group launch themself in the river, after some hesitation from Russell, hands linked together. The water is rushing, cold, and bracing.
It wakes Ben up.
He speaks to Darlene a few days later, and she tells him three things.
One; she's going to train to be a medic, and a spirit-whisperer. He can't say he's surprised, whenever he's sparred with her, she's seemed… on edge. Not wanting to hurt him.
Two; she's pregnant. That's surprising. But he knows she'll make a good mother.
Three; he's got a crush on his best friend. This is the least surprising. It's been sneaking up on him his entire apprenticeship, and he's only just realised. He doesn't know how to react to this one, and he runs away, face red with shame.
Even if Darlene said she doesn't care, doesn't mean the rest of the clan won't. He knows that the medics from Shadow and Thunder are married, but River reacted with such disgust when that news came out.
(He wonders how they're doing, what with the war and all.)
He knows one thing: he can't tell Russell.
Darlene gives birth to three children. Large births are common in his society, but only two children survive. Darlene calls them Rusty and Petal. He feels like Rusty's name is a reference to something, but he can't quite work it out.
He's given his nephew as a preliminary apprentice on his twenty-fourth birthday. He was Darlene's preliminary apprentice - they're usually given to family, and they tend to change by the time the real ceremony comes about. Rusty is just a sullen eight year old, untalkative and trapped in his head. Still, he does his best to accommodate him.
Quite a few things happen in rapid succession.
Russell finds his real family - a woman who doesn't live with any of the groups called Wisp, and Shadow's leader, a burly, broad-shouldered man named Hans. Russell also finds his half-sister, a young woman called Honey. He finds his brother, but he doesn't want to talk. Russell was upset at that, but pleased that he now has Honey. Ben is happy for him - Honey seems lovely.
Next, Russell becomes deputy. There's tension within River for a while; nobody apart from himself, Isha, Flossy, and a girl named Peach know the truth about Russell's parents. He does have spirit-blood in him, just not… the right group.
Pretty immediately after, Ben realises something that has been a long time coming. He's in love with Russell, and the tiny pathetic crush hasn't worn off. He hates himself. He really does. He allows his kid sister to be murdered in cold blood, then he falls for someone he can't have. It's typical of him.
A few years later, Ben is finally given Rusty as his full apprentice. Rusty is twelve, and brimming with teen angst. He's sharp-tongued, and disagreeable, and eventually, Ben realises, he's not quite right. He's needlessly violent towards his sister, and he lashes out aimlessly. There's a familiarity in his movements that makes Ben flinch.
Ben can just about ignore that, until a thirteen year old Rusty starts to blackmail him with things he really shouldn't know. When he starts talking, Ben sees a flash of green in Rusty's blue eyes, and he knows. He knows, deep down, that it's Beatrice behind this, and he feels that cold touch of lips to his forehead again.
He doesn't let his friends get close to him. He shrugs off Flossy's hugs, and pushes away Russell's reassuring glancing pats. He doesn't want them to be hurt. He can't allow it.
But when the body of that girl, only a few years older than his niece, and sharing her name, shows up, he knows he has to tell someone. The blackmail be damned, it's a hazard to the group at this point. So he bites the bullet, and approaches Russell for the first time in months.
Russell's eyes gleam, and he grins. He reaches out his hand, and grips Ben's shaking fingers solidly. It seems like he has a plan, and Ben can't quite figure it out.
He works it out, with a wry ironic smile. Russell's going to ask him to stand by his side at the wedding. He's been anticipating him and Isha getting together since Russell first gushed about him when they were fourteen. It shouldn't hurt this much to see the scattered petals, clearly the scene of a dramatic confession. It shouldn't break his heart to see Russell's hopeful smile as he wanders through the trees, and joins him in the cracked stone tube. It really shouldn't absolutely kill him to imagine his two best friends' children running around the complex.
"Rusty's blackmailing me." He says, taking his seat on the ragged mattress. (It's been in the tunnel as long as he can remember.)
Russell gasps, and grabs his hand. Ben wants to pull it away, but he can't. It's been so long since he's been touched, and he just leans into it. He lets Russell sit down next to him on the mattress. It squeaks loudly, and he winces.
Russell looks at him, and when he speaks, his voice is hoarse. He sounds worried, and Ben's heart leaps. He hasn't done anything to deserve this. He doesn't deserve this.
"Since when?" He asks.
Ben shrugs. "A few months." he says, simply. The grip on his hand tightens. (Why are they still holding hands?)
"A few months?" Russell exclaims, voice echoing in the hollow tube. He slumps. "And you didn't tell me?" He whispers.
Ben tugs his hand away. "I wanted to. But I couldn't." He snaps, urging his best friend not to delve any deeper. Russell doesn't comply.
"Why couldn't you?" He questions. Ben looks away.
"He's… he's dangerous." He gets out, voice small. Russell looks confused, and he continues. "I- I think he might have hurt that girl. And that Wind apprentice." He admits.
Russell blinks, and nods to himself. "You sound unsure." He comments.
"I- I don't think he was quite himself." Ben explains, stuttering slightly. "When he saw her body - it was like he didn't recognise her."
Russell hums thoughtfully, and turns back to Ben. "What was the blackmail about?" He asks, almost as an afterthought. Ben goes bright red, and prays that Russell can't see him in the dark. Russell elbows him. "B?" He questions.
Ben starts, and looks at him. "Um… it was about you." He mutters, looking down at his boots.
Russell starts fidgeting with his fingers, and he bites his lip. "What was?" He asks. Ben looks up.
"He knew about Hans." He murmurs, not meeting Russell's gaze. "And something about Rose and Darlene, and information on Honey's wife." Russell narrows his eyes, and Ben continues. "She doesn't have any spirit-blood, and she's the medic." He explains, and Russell sighs, clearly exasperated.
"All of Wind knows that!" He exclaims. "And I don't care if the Hans thing comes out."
"I'm not fussed about the Rose thing." Ben says, quietly. "It was a lie, anyway."
Russell stops fidgeting, and blinks at Ben. "Why haven't you told anybody then?" He asks. Ben swallows.
"I didn't want people finding out about Hans." He whispers, looking away again. He hears Russell huff, and he winces.
"Why do you care?" Russell questions. He's inched slightly closer to Ben, and Ben blushes at the close proximity. His eyes are soft, and Ben can feel his knee knocking against his own. Perhaps that's why he doesn't answer something that would get him away, maybe it's why he doesn't just say "because you're my best friend".
Instead, he fucks it up. Like he fucks everything up, like how he got his sister killed, like how he managed to get into this mess to begin with.
"Because I love you!" He shouts, his voice ragged. It breaks at the end, and he can feel tears welling up in his eyes. He might as well go all the way, he realises. "I've loved you since we were sixteen, and I know damn well you don't want that scumbag being known as your father." He stops talking, and holds his hand over his mouth, knowing it was too late, and he'd ruined the only good thing that had ever happened to him.
He doesn't look up for a few seconds. He takes a heart-beat to wipe away his tears, and compose himself for the rejection he knew was coming. When he looks up, he sees Russell. He's smiling? No, he's laughing. Laughing at what a mess Ben is.
Ben stands up, and goes to leave. He can't deal with this. It would be better if Russell has just spat in his face.
There's a sudden hand on his wrist, and he's twisting around. Russell's laugh had gone, and it's been replaced with a fond smile. There's a hand on his waist, and his gaze finally meets Russell's. He flinches, but doesn't pull away. Expectant.
"You're an idiot, you know that?" Says Russell with a tilt of his head. He steps closer, and Ben shivers. "That's probably why I love you - we match."
Ben feels like he's about to faint. His heart is thundering in his chest, and if Russell wasn't clinging to him, he thinks he'd fall to the floor. "I-I'm sorry?" He manages to choke out. He must have misheard, there's no way his feelings are returned.
There's no way Russell loves him.
"I love you." Says Russell, so sweetly that Ben wants to cry. He's bought a hand up, and has rested it gently on Ben's cheek. He leans into it. "I was going to tell you earlier, but you beat me to it." He says with a chuckle.
"I- But- you like Isha!" Ben gets out. Russell shakes his head.
"Not since I was thirteen, B." He says. "It's you. It's always been you."
Ben thinks he's going to actually die at that. He blinks, and all he says is "Oh."
"She helped me set the flowers up, actually." Russell explains. They both fall silent, and Ben is hyper conscious of the hand on his waist, of the fingers that are slowly gliding along his cheek, of the breath whispering closer and closer. He sighs, and leans forward.
He doesn't think that Russell's ever kissed before. There's an awkward bumping of noses, and a painful clashing of teeth, and it's over in a heartbeat. The rough lifestyle they've grown up in has made it hard to stop, and slow down, and fully think things out. It's clumsy, and inexperienced, and perfect.
Russell is the first to pull away, with a sheepish smile. Ben grins back at him. "So." He says, lacing their fingers together hesitantly.
"So." Repeats Russell.
Ben blinks at him, and looks at the floor. "What-what do you want?" He asks, trying to keep the fear of rejection out of his voice.
"I want this." Russell says, holding their entwined hands up. Ben nods, and smiles.
He can have that. He will let himself have that.
idk how to feel about this but it took me most of the day so...
review replies for the rosestar chapter;
somestormleaf: thank you! i might rewrite a chapter from her pov who knows. and that warrior was brambleswipe's mate, feel free to suggest names. and yes she's a good mum SOMETIMES lol
minty: thank you! i had fun writing it :)
dragon: thank you! and yes it did lol
guest: thank you! yeah she's no observant all the time. and thanks! i had fun writing it.
silent: thank you! those are three very nice sentences