Kind and Gentle

(Day 106: Sunday Evening)

"So, how's school going?" Ben's mother questions at dinner.

He places some stuffing and mixed vegetables onto his plate, "It's going."

"That's it?" his father questions. "You're not going to say anything?"

Ben gives him a look, "What do you want me to say, that I've been getting math help from Chad? That doesn't sound very reassuring, does it?"

"Honey," his mother intervenes, "we just want to know how you're doing."

"How am I doing?" he raises his eyebrows at her. "I feel like crap. My life is Hell." He looks off, "And there's nothing I can do about it." before he pokes his fork into the vegetables.

"Your life isn't that bad," his father denies.

"Isn't it?" Ben widens his eyes at him, setting his fork down and clutching the table. "I'm sick. We assume you're sick. I've been forced to lie to my friends— the people— and I'm not even fucking human. I mean, how hard would that have been, to just be given a damn normal life and be frickin' human?"

"You can't honestly still be upset about that?" his mother disbelieves.

Ben folds his arm under the one in the sling and leans back in his seat, "What can I say? I liked being human."

"You were never human," his father voices. "All we did was tell you the truth. What would you have had us done, just baby you for the rest of your life?"

Ben's mouth gapes, "You think you've been babying me? Really?"

"You're a beast hybrid," his father reminds him. "To not tell you at some point would have been irresponsible." Ben shakes his head. "And this idea that God or whoever could have made you human is stupid. You were born a hybrid. Nothing can change that."

Ben narrows his eyes at him for a moment, "I know that."

"Honey," his mother sighs, before he faces her and his expression softens. "This can't just be about finding out about what you are. What's this really about?"

His eyes shift down towards the table, "I'm tired… I'm tired of everything." before he looks back up and stares at the brick wall behind her. "I'm tired of arguing. I'm tired of getting sick. I'm tired of lying to everyone…" He looks down again, "I'm just tired of living my life."

"Well, it's no wonder why," his father points a fork at his plate. "You're not eating right. You won't have the energy to deal with anything if you don't eat right. Grab some meat."

Ben glances at the turkey before mumbling, "I don't feel like having meat right now."

His mother laughs, "That's ridiculous. You love meat." but Ben just frowns at her. She shuts her eyes for a second, "Okay. I know that I ask for it to be more cooked than you like, but if it's too dry you can just use the catchup like you always do."

Ben blankly meets her eyes, "I don't feel like having meat tonight."

She closes her hand, her teeth bared in unsureness, before she urgently addresses, "Look. The beast was a carnivorous animal, and that is not something that has changed much even after the curse broke." He looks away from her. "If you are feeling as tired as you say, there is a possibility that you're not getting all of the nutrition you need."

Ben refuses, "I'm not doing it."

"No. You will," his father sternly instructs, before Ben meets his wide eyes and notices the blue vein protruding near his temple. "If you don't eat meat, you will die. That's it."

He doesn't react, "Maybe I'd be better off dead."

"Ben," his mother's eyes widen in worry.

"How dare you say that," his father interrupts, "after everything your mother went through to have you."

"Went through to have any baby," Ben evenly counters. "I shouldn't even exist. She got pregnant three times before she had me. She could have had a girl. She could have had a human child." His eyes shift down, "Something tells me it wouldn't have made a difference."

"If you were a girl, you wouldn't be king," his father points out.

"I never wanted to be king," Ben eyes him in disbelief. "I had no choice."

"And what would you be doing if you weren't king?" his father immediately counters.

Ben's quiet for a moment, "I don't know. I never got the chance to explore that, did I?"

"And he never said he could have been a girl," Ben's mother points out. "He said I could have had a girl instead of him had one of my first pregnancies made it to term." She meets Ben's eyes, "Right?"

"Right," Ben affirms. "Being a girl is definitely the furthest thing from my mind."

"Good to know," his father continues on, eating some turkey. "With the kind of girls you've been dating I was starting to wonder if you have homosexual tendencies."

"Sexuality is different than gender," Ben cautiously proceeds, "but what do you mean by the kind of girls I've been dating?"

"Well, you know," his father uneasily addresses, "just the uptight, assertive type."

Ben glances between his mother and his father, "Right. Because, you've never fallen for that kind of girl before."

"But you know that if you did get those thoughts," he presses, "that you couldn't tell anyone, right?" He takes a drink of milk, "You're king, and sodomy is illegal."

"And I'm a virgin." Ben's mouth gapes, "Do you honestly think the first person I would have sex with would be a guy?" before he shakes his head. "Not that I would do that kind of thing in the first place." He reassures them, "I'm not like that. I have a girlfriend."

"A girlfriend who is known to like girls," his father reminds him. "It's not unheard of that two couples of the same sex pretend to date each other's partners."

"Except that Evie isn't dating anyone," Ben furrows his eyebrows, "so who would my secret boyfriend be?" He looks between them, "That's right. No one. Because, I'm not a homosexual." Ben eyes away, "And neither is Mal. She's just flexible." before he faces them again. "She would have to be with how she has to get heat, right? For her it's not even a choice. It's just how she's been able to survive."

"That may be," his mother expresses, "but I don't understand why she would want to risk that kind of behavior now that she's here. Not only is it illegal if she takes it too far, but she has no need to now. She has you to take care of her."

Ben hesitates, "Mother."

"And even if you weren't up to the task," she continues on, "it's not like prostitution is illegal here. She could just go to one of those sex work places and pay to spend time with a guy, all completely legal."

"Not that she really has the money for that," Ben comments, "and honestly." He hesitates, "I think I would rather have her have sex with Evie than some random guy."

"Is she?" his father concerns.

"No, uh. I don't think so," Ben quickly, yet unsurely answers. "I haven't spent a lot of time with her since… since the accident."

"So, you haven't been giving her heat?" his mother eloquently disbelieves.

"Um," Ben's eyes shift, "no?"

"Well, where's she getting it from?" she questions.

"Somewhere." Ben pauses, "Someone who's not me."

She shakes her head, "Honestly, Ben. She's your girlfriend." before she meets his eyes. "You have a duty to take care of her."

"Unless you want her to get in trouble with the court again," his father suggests.

Ben makes a noise as a breath escapes him, before he attempts to explain, "I'm sorry. It's just that with my English sucking ass right now, I just didn't feel like putting myself in a position where my girlfriend would be chewing my neck off. Literally."

"Sucking ass," his mother repeats. "Seriously, Ben. You're too smart to be swearing so much. You really couldn't think of a more creative way to say that?"

"I bet you it's from spending so much time with that Charming's boy," Ben's father speculates. "That boy's always sworn too much for his own good."

"Never mind that," she bypasses before facing Ben. "What's this about Mal chewing at your neck literally?"

"Well, you know," he uncomfortably answers. "She has that numbing thing in her saliva. After a minute I don't really feel anything." He scratches his head, "So, she makes me feel things by, well, doing that."

"Did you ask her to do this?" his mother seriously inquires.

"No," Ben answers, and then he hears her let out a breath in annoyance. "She has more experience than I do. Who was I to say that she couldn't do it?"

"First off," his mother addresses, "consent isn't just with girls. If you ever feel uncomfortable doing anything at any time, you have the right to tell her to stop." She takes a calming breath, "And secondly, I don't think I like her hurting you like this."

"But it doesn't even hurt," Ben denies. "I mean… not until after the numbing wears off, but isn't it like that with most hickeys? They're nothing but bruises, really."

"Which can cause blood clots," she reminds him. "I hope you know that."

"Son," his father intrudes with suspicion. "Are you sure she isn't just trying to eat you?"

"Why would Mal want to eat me?" Ben questions.

"She's a dragon," he answers. "Dragons eat meat."

"Okay, yeah," Ben confusedly continues, "but supposedly so do I and I've never eaten anyone before. What about you?"

"Ben," his mother continues the subject, "keeping you as a food source would be a very smart thing for her to do if that is her intention." She looks at Adam, "God. Could you imagine if vampires could numb people like that? People could get attacked and not even know it."

"My girlfriend isn't trying to eat me," Ben shouts.

"I think it's something you need to talk to her about," his father opinionates.

Ben's mother voices, "I wholeheartedly agree." before she notices his opposition. "Honey. All it can do is help." She thinks, "You know, while you're at it you should probably discuss the whole heat situation and her relationship with Evie as well."

"Mom," Ben begins.

"No. She's right," his father interrupts, and Ben meets his eyes before he reasons, "If you are really hoping to marry this girl one day you're going to have to meet all of her needs, and if you can't then maybe she's not the right one for you."

Ben's mouth gapes, before he slowly responds, "That's rich coming from you."

"I've had enough of this," his father announces, and he nods down to the turkey. "Now, take some meat and eat."

Ben sternly eyes him for a minute, "No."

His father stares him down, "You either eat or you leave the table."

"Happily," he ceases, before he stands from the table and heads toward the hallway.

"Ben," his mother calls after him, before she gives her husband a look and hurries after her son. At the bottom of the first flight of stairs she turns him around, "Please stay."

"Why?" Ben counters, "He doesn't want me here."

"That is not true," she denies. "He just thinks he can get whatever he wants."

"Like he got you?" Ben insinuates.

"I'm not sure what you're implying," she slowly states.

"He wanted you," Ben elaborates. "He needed some girl to break his curse, he trapped you here, and he got you because he wanted you."

"Honey," she tries to reason.

"And now," Ben continues on, "he wants me to stay here and do whatever he says, but guess what? I'm not you. I'm not going to just give him whatever he wants without a fight."

"You think I never fought?" she exasperates. "I fought. Believe me, but the more time I spent here the more I got to know him. He loves us. You've got to know that."

"He loves you," Ben stares into her warm brown eyes. "He loves you, not me. I remind him too much of himself. Don't you see? He needs to control me, because I'm him."

"You're nothing like him," she reassures. "You're kind."

"Like how he's kind and gentle?" Ben quotes her. "If he's kind and gentle, then I hope I am the meanest, God-damned man on the planet."

"Look," his mother lifts a hand to calm him. "This has nothing to do with love or dominance. This has nothing more to do with than my love for you. As my son, I need to know you're healthy and safe. I cannot let you leave, knowing that you haven't eaten and that I won't likely see you for another week."

Ben nearly denies her, but then his eyes shift off in thought, "Go out with me." He meets her eyes, "None of this stressful dinner arguing." but he sees her rejection clearly. "Please. Just for one night, let me get you alone."

"Ben," she begins.

"It wouldn't have to be tonight," he continues. "It could be any night of your choosing. We could go to dinner, I'll have a nice rare steak, you could have whatever you'd like, and I'll pay. It would be quiet. It would be calm."

"And where exactly would this be?" she entertains.

"Starlit Nights."

"Honey," she shuts her eyes for a second, before she pointedly states, "That is entirely inappropriate."

"How is it inappropriate?" Ben questions. "Father used to take me there. I go there alone all the time."

"It is a romantic restaurant," she reminds him, "and the public has always thought the worst of this family. Can you even imagine what they would think if we went there together without your father?"

"It's the only restaurant I ever go to," Ben quietly excuses. "Father used to claim that it had the best steak anywhere." His eyes shift, "I've never been anywhere else." She observes him before he continues, "What could one time hurt, really?"

"Ben," she carefully responds, "I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I cannot leave your father here alone. We cannot just leave him like that. He's a part of this family too."

"If he's part of this family," Ben counters, "then he should act like it."

"Ben," she says again, her eyes a bit wider this time.

He takes her hand, "Please. You say you want me to eat? This is how."

She's quiet for a moment, and when she answers it's with sternness, "Using my motherly instincts to strong arm me to go out with you alone is in poor taste." and with that Ben lets go of her hand to run his hand over the back of his head. "I am not some object for you and your father to fight over."

"That's not how it's like," Ben shuts his eyes.

"Oh, really?" she inquires. "Then how is it?"

He sighs before wetting his lips, "I don't know how Father views this, but…" A breath escapes as looks into her eyes, and he calmly continues, "I—" His sentence drops, and when the moment passes he looks everywhere but at her. He doesn't know how to put it into words. It's just her sweet scent, her impressive intelligence, and her strong will. It's everything about her. He just wants her close to him. His eyes settle on her, "I like having you around. All I want is to spend some real time with you." His eyes shift, "I'm your son. Is that too much to ask?"

"Honey." She sighs, "My answer is the same as last time." and she pauses to examine his expression. "You understand. I can't easily do something that would surely stress your father."

"I guess you don't need to see me eat, then," Ben defenses, before he eyes down and notices the stain on the white stone.

"Ben," she begins, before he frowns back at her.

His mouth slightly gapes as he lifts his hand, and with hesitance he slowly reaches for her curly, brown hair. He watches as his thumb and forefinger run down a strand of her hair, before her scent strengthens and he faces her again. If only he could get closer, take in the smell for longer. He examines her features. It would be so easy for him to step forward now, just give into that remarkable scent of hers; however, when he meets her eyes again he notices a figure in his peripheral vision, and when he looks up he finds his father observing them from over the railing. Ben's hand immediately falls to his side, and he slips his thumb into his pocket as he meets her eyes again, "Night, Mother." before he takes a step back, moves towards the second flight of stairs, and slides his hand along the banister as he walks down the stairs.

-Danifan3000 Great Theory. The spirit's full identity will be revealed before the end of the fic. Stay tuned.

-Posted: 11/25/2018